European Union Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), Kurdistan National Congress (KNC), Brussels Kurdish Institute and the KURD-AKAD led the congress, and the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL), Greens and Socialist-Democratic Progressive Alliance (S&D) were among the supporters.

The invasion operations by the Turkish state against Afrin and Syria in general, the state’s colonialist whims and the perspectives for a solution posed by the Kurds were on the agenda in the conference, where “Turkey’s invasion of Afrin” and “Kurdish academics’ visions for the democratic solution to the crisis in the Middle East” were some of the prominent topics.

Politicians, academics, lawyers and representatives from the Northern Syrian Federation were among the speakers. Opening speeches in the first session of the day were given by Norwegian EUTCC Chairperson Karieane Westrheim, GUE/NGL Chairperson Gabi Zimmer from Germany, Swedish Bodil Valero from the Greens/European Free Alliance and S&D Meber Costas Mavrides from Cyprus.

WESTRHEIM: THERE IS ETHNIC CLEANSING AND COLONIALISM IN AFRIN

Westrheim pointed out Turkey’s invasion of Afrin and the situation of tens of thousands of people who were forced to leave their homes. Westrheim said the second largest army in the NATO conducted attacks in the region for months, and added: “Here we see ethnic cleansing, we see colonialism, we see forced migration. But the Kurds will never surrender and their resistance will continue.”

THE WORLD NEEDS PEOPLE WHO AREN’T AFRAID TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES

Westrheim also spoke about the duties of academics and mentioned famed intellectual Noam Chomsky’s words: “The intellectual isn’t afraid to stand up to the biggest powers alone. The duties of intellectuals are to tell the truth and to expose lies. Sometimes the truth is fearfully simple. As intellectuals, our political duty is to utilize all the power that comes from political freedoms and freedom of media and expression. We have the strength and the knowledge to expose the truth behind various lies in the West.”

Westrheim asked, “How will intellectuals fulfill this matter?” and, stating that Chomsky wrote the article in question 50 years ago, said: “Today we continue to ask this question. The world needs academics, intellectuals and people who aren’t afraid to express themselves.”

Westrheim stressed that it is time for forces in and outside Turkey should come together and defend democracy: “We must use our brainpower, and using that, resist all forms of fascism and find a solution to the democratic crisis in the Middle East.”

VALERO: THE ONLY DEMOCRATIC STRUCTURE IN THE REGION IS ROJAVA

Bodil Valero from the Greens/European Free Alliance made a few comments on how the Syrian war started and then spoke about how the Turkish state attacked Kurds and prevented aid from reaching the region. Valero said Kurds have built a peaceful and democratic autonomy despite all that, and continued: “The only democratic structure in the region was theirs. We tried to show their model as an example. Of course all new democracies will have some issues. But this was a model we could work with. It was a model that could have been applied in the rest of the region. Most importantly, it was a secular model.”

THE EU WAS SILENT AGAINST THE INVASION OF AFRIN BECAUSE OF TURKEY

Valero said the Western forces didn’t want to see this at first, and that Rojava entered the agenda after the Kobanê resistance and victory. Valero added: “We could have believed the world would thank the Kurds. Because they fought for us. Everybody was happy for a while. But when Afrin was attacked, nobody objected. Other countries did not object. We spoke out in the parliament here, but the EU was silent. That is because of Turkey. They have the second largest army in the NATO, and are a candidate country. Of course we know that Turkey is nowhere near actual membership, but the relationship between the EU and Turkey is very strong.”

“Not only in Kurdistan, we are doing all we can to improve the situation throughout the region,” said Valero and continued: “The role we need to play in this matter is very important. We mut play a great role in democracy and humanitarian aid.”

GUE/NGL Chair Gabi Zimmer from Germany spoke about the success of the HDP in Turkey’s June 24 elections. Zimmer said HDP received support from all circles in Turkey and added: “We stand with the Kurdish people as well. We support them in their struggle.”

TURKISH STATE ATTEMPTED TO PREVENT THE CONFERENCE

Zimmer pointed out that the Turkish Ambassador sent her a letter two days before the conference and that the ambassador said the conference was “a terrorist organization” and asked for a stop to the support.

Zimmer said, “The Turkish state exerts too much pressure against events that expose their crimes against Kurds and and peaceful activities that showcase the Kurdish vision,” and that this should be added to the agenda.

THE EU SHOULD STOP WEAPONS SALES TO TURKEY

Zimmer said Turkey used the “olive branch” that should represent peace as a tool for war in Afrin and stated that the Turkish state violated international law. Zimmer stressed that the invasion goes against NATO bylaws and stated that there wasn’t sufficient resistance against it by the EU, NATO or the UN despite that fact. Zimmer said there is no provocation by the Kurds, and that the use of force must stop. Zimmer also pointed out the weapons sales to Turkey and said: “We as the left group members in the EP want to end weapons exports to Turkey throughout EU. We demand Turkey halt all military activity and release all political prisoners. We want to bring the peace process back to the agenda in a more active way.”

MAVRIDES: EVERY DAY WE GET STRONGER

S&D Group Member Costas Mavrides said there is still hope for Turkey and that the source of that is the European Parliament. Mavrides said only a handful of EP members were able to openly defend the Kurdish cause in the past: “But looking at it now, every day we get stronger.”

“THE INVASION OF AFRIN REMINDED ME OF THE INVASION OF CYPRUS”

Mavrides drew parallels between the invasion of Afrin and the invasion of Cyprus: “When I saw that the Turkish soldiers entered Afrin, my own past flashed before my eyes. I became a refugee when Turkish soldiers entered Cyprus. This was called the Operation Olive Branch, and the operation against Cyprus was called Operation Peace. The crimes here are crimes against humanity.”

AS LONG AS FLOWERS BLOOM IN THE MOUNTAINS OF KURDISTAN

Mavrides said, “We are trying to bring a weapons embargo against Turkey. It’s not easy, but for now, we are at a level of negotiations. We have it on the European agenda, we are trying to further it. The European Union sends billions to Turkey in the form of aid, and thus aiding the Erdoğan regime under the guise of helping migrants.”

Mavrides said he has hope: “As long as flowers bloom in the mountains of Kurdistan, we will continue our struggle in the name of humanity.”

The opening speeches concluded with a screening on the Turkish invasion in Afrin.

The first session of the conference will have analyses of the “colonialist whims” of the Turkish state, the second “Silence by the international community against Turkey’s attacks and the EU’s bilateral relationships in Turkey and the Middle East”, and the third “New conditions, issues and threats for democratization”.