September 1st is celebrated as a day of peace and anti-war day. In Germany, the day commemorates the Wehrmacht attack on Poland in 1939. Since 1959, trade unions and peace groups have been taking to the streets every year on this date for a peaceful world under the slogan "Never again war, never again fascism!".

This year, the Congress of the Kurdistan Democratic Society in Europe (KCDK-E) appealed to its community to participate in peace actions to be held on 1 September.

“Throughout human history, wars have repeatedly witnessed disasters that threaten human life, destroy nature and leave millions of people homeless, injured, hungry and miserable. Even today, the ruling powers are still threatening human life with wars,” the Kurdish umbrella organization said in a statement.

With a view to what is happening in Kurdistan, the KCDK-E directed sharp criticism at the arms industry and those states that export weapons of war and chemical weapons to despotic and fascist regimes such as Turkey and thus support the war against the Kurdish people.

"The Turkish state is an obstacle to peaceful coexistence"

“For 100 years, the fascist Turkish state has subjected the country to non-stop bloodshed and imposed a policy of assimilation, denial and annihilation on its peoples and diverse sects. To this day, the Turkish state is the decisive obstacle to peaceful coexistence,” said the KCDK-E, adding: “Encouraged by the silence and the support of the hegemonic states, dictator Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is pushing through his occupation ambitions, starting new wars, destroying nature and mercilessly massacring civilians. He and his fascist regime are constantly committing every conceivable atrocity, robbery and exploitation in Kurdistan and the Middle East.”

"Erdoğan poses a threat to world peace"

Turkey has also been threatening another invasion of northern and eastern Syria for months. For legitimacy, the leadership in Ankara refers to the "protection of national security", which is threatened by the existence of "terrorist organizations" along Turkey's southern border - meaning the autonomous administration and its military structures from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). According to the KCDK-E, this threat situation is fictitious and only an excuse to occupy other regions in the northeast Syrian autonomous areas and to smash the Autonomous Administration. “It is the dictator Erdoğan himself who poses a threat to both regional and world peace. He pushes the entire region into instability. Despite these facts, the international community remains silent, thereby supporting Erdoğan's racism and his expansionist goals.”

“The Kurds defend the dignity of humanity”

The statement said: “The Kurds are an important part of the fight for peace in the region and in the world. This applies in particular to their fight against reaction and colonialism in the region and the project they developed for free, ecological, collective, democratic coexistence and for women's liberation. They proved that in the best way in their fight against ISIS by defending the dignity of humanity there.”

Call to attend actions on 1 September

The KCDK-E also underlined its demand for freedom for the Kurdish pioneer Abdullah Öcalan, who developed the project of peaceful and democratic coexistence in the region. "On the occasion of World Peace Day, we ask everyone to spread our slogan 'Freedom for Öcalan, peace in Kurdistan' to support. As KCDK-E, we call on everyone, especially the Kurdish population, to actively participate in all events and actions on World Peace Day.”