Peace in Kurdistan Campaign issued a statement of solidarity with Jeremy Corbyn, after current Labour Party leader, Sir Kier Starmer, suspended him from the party and barred him from standing as a Labour MP at the next election.

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign said: "If any political position marks out Jeremy Corbyn it is his anti-racism and fierce internationalism. He has always supported oppressed peoples everywhere in the world. The Kurds know him very well as their friend and as an ally to whom they can turn towards in their times of need. Many other communities will have the same experience of dealing with Jeremy Corbyn as an MP and during his period as Labour leader.

Jeremy’s track record speaks for itself. He has been president of Liberation, one of the oldest human rights organisations in the UK, which has an impeccable history in campaigning on international issues and was formerly known as the Movement for Colonial Freedom.  Jeremy is respected as a politician of integrity throughout the world, from Latin America to the Middle East. He is a longstanding friend of Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Palestine and many, many other countries and peoples, not least of which are the Kurds."

The statement added: "Throughout his long political career, he has worked tirelessly to expose foreign interventions and the malign machinations of the United States and other states whose activities overseas have often been totally disastrous for people struggling to liberate themselves from colonialism and imperialism.

Since entering Parliament in 1983, exactly forty years ago, Jeremy has established a strong reputation as one of the few politicians to approach for support and his solidarity has never been in question.

We are proud to have Jeremy Corbyn as a patron of Peace in Kurdistan and would like to put on record his consistent support for the Kurdish people over many, many years.

His Islington North constituency has a large Kurdish community, and they will testify to the invaluable support that Jeremy has provided as their local MP. However, it is not because he has Kurds living in his area that Jeremy has expressed support for the Kurdish struggle. It is integral to his nature as a politician and as a human being to take a stand on the side of the oppressed and against those who abuse power in various manifestations."

The statement continued: "Jeremy enjoys a much deserved and honourable reputation as a greatly energetic and reliable Member who serves all his constituents and seeks to speak up on behalf of people all over the world.

Anyone who knows Jeremy personally will be impressed by his approachability and genuine friendliness. He genuinely likes people and treats everyone with the utmost respect. It is regrettable that he has not received the kind of respect from the media and from his own party that he has always shown to others. Jeremy Corbyn is one of us.

We therefore deplore the personalised campaign that has been waged against Jeremy as an individual, as leader of the Labour Party and since leaving office. The latest action by Sir Kier Starmer, the current Labour leader, to suspend Jeremy from the party and to bar him from standing as a Labour MP at the next election is malicious, wrongheaded and deeply disturbing. The action is malicious because it is totally unfair to Jeremy and to the thousands of voters in Islington who have returned him as their MP in successive elections. He has one of the biggest majorities in the country. It is wrongheaded because it flagrantly disregards the history of the Labour Party as a political organisation which has been sufficiently broad to encompass diverse political opinions and has been strengthened as a result. The ban on Jeremy from standing for the party signals a significant narrowing of Labour’s politics and as such marks a tremendous diminution of its appeal to people of diverse and radical opinions."  

Peace in Kurdistan said that "the decision is disturbing because it is an affront to democracy and reflects a growing intolerance in the party and in the wider society. Jeremy is a socialist, but his opinions have been regarded as quite mainstream over many years and his ideas are in truth extremely popular. Jeremy stands for peace, human rights and solidarity with oppressed minorities whether they are living in this country or overseas. He makes no distinction between campaigning for his local constituents and supporting the rights of people, like the Kurds, who live in countries far afield across continents. Internationalism runs through his bloodstream, it is who he is. This is a position that reflects the best of Labour, and the best of the British radical political tradition as has been expressed by political figures over many decades."

Peace in Kurdistan continued: "Jeremy Corbyn’s politics are actually very central to what progressive British politics is all about and we cannot afford to lose them. This is why the decision to block him from representing Labour in Parliament is such an outrageous one. It is not simply an attack on Jeremy as a person. It is an assault on the entire history of political radicalism in this country and an attempt to undermine its legitimacy as a political trend. As such, Keir Starmer’s action against Jeremy Corbyn, whom he not so long ago described as his friend, is an attack on everyone. It is an attempt to undermine the possibility of progressive political change in this country. In this respect, it is a denial of hope. 

We are proud to stand in solidarity with Jeremy Corbyn, a politician of the utmost integrity and an outstandingly decent human being."