The Kurdistan Youth Diplomacy Committee (Komîteya Diplomasi ya Ciwanên Kurdistan) has today (May 10) begun a one-month delegation journey to South Africa. Members of the delegation will travel to different cities, visit democratic organizations and discuss with them the history of the democratic struggle in South Africa. The young activists will introduce the philosophy of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and the Rojava Revolution to their South African colleagues. In the first days of the visits, organizations will be visited in Cape Town and the delegation will participate in events to promote the Kurdish Freedom Movement.

A meeting was held with ILRIG (International Labour Research and Information Group), which will accompany the delegation during the visit. ILRIG conducts research about the struggles of anti-capitalist workers to develop a democratic alternative for South African society against state oppression and colonization. ILRIG organizes many events for workers and activists together with various other organizations.

The delegation was later welcomed by the CSSAWU (The Commercial Stevedoring Agricultural & Allied Workers Union) and scheduled events for the coming days, which would be attended mostly by women and young activists.

The delegation was warmly welcomed during the meetings. Various similarities have been noted in the history of the struggles of the peoples of South Africa and Kurdistan, including their colonisations.

The practical application and success of Öcalan’s democratic confederalism in North and East Syria inspired South Africans, whose country is characterized by great diversity as well as extreme inequality.

Nelson Mandela, the former and first elected President of South Africa, said in 1997 that “I am a part of the Kurdish struggle. I am one of you."

Prior to the international conspiracy against Öcalan, Mandela offered the Kurdish leader political asylum in South Africa.