.jpg)
Syrian Kurd refugees at Turkish border
Press Release:
Fri 26 Sept, 10am-1pm
Turkish General Consulate, Los Angeles
A demonstration will be held by the Kurdish community in Los Angeles on Friday Sept 26 in front of the Turkish General Consul in Los Angeles from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM to denounce and protest the ethnic cleansing of Kurds in Syria by the Islamic State and the Turkish complicity and irresponsibility in handling the influx of Kurdish displaced refugees who are fleeing the murderous ISIL.
We are outraged by the violence sweeping through the Syrian Kurdish region, with yet a gloomier prospect for the besieged Kobani. Recent events mirror the Islamic State’s genocidal war against the Yazidis (Ezadis) except that this time very little attention is being paid to the plight of these refugees and no one is lending any support to the Kurdish resistance against ISIL. The new brutalities have set in motion another mass exodus, nearly 150000 Syrian Kurds have been driven away from their homes in a matter of days; the displaced refugees have recounted horrific tales of massacres, kidnappings, plunder, and pillage. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has said that most of the fleeing refugees are women and children, and the elderly, one of the largest waves of refugees since March 2011.
As Marl Poeromo, a former European Union ambassador to Turkey has said, “Can Turkey and the recently formed coalition of allies against the Islamic State ignore a massive ethnic cleansing operation on the border of a NATO member almost within the sight of Turkish soldiers?” Ironically, many of the traumatized refugees find themselves behind closed barbed wires at the Turkish border as they are denied entry into Turkey. Turkish authorities have floundered in response to questions about the border closures and their policy towards IS. Strangely enough while an international coalition is being formed to fight ISIL, the Turkish government has denied permission to the Kurdish youth to join the struggle against ISIL.
The fall of Kobani will turn the town with over half a million people into another site of massacres and mass expulsion with yet another colossal catastrophe, which in turn will only embolden and expand ISIL’s terrorist grip on a vaster territory.
We members of the Kurdish community in Los Angeles feel appalled at disturbing reports that an extensive Jihadist infrastructure in Turkey has been involved in supporting, recruiting, placating, and funding different Al Qaeda affiliated organizations. In accordance with new international resolutions, the Turkish government should dismantle and eliminate all forms of protection and flows of oil revenues for the Islamist extremists if it does not want to be implicated in the monstrosities committed by the ISIL. Kurdish displaced refugees have already paid too high a price to be held at the border. The international community should recognize and stop the atrocities that are being committed against them before more villages and towns are destroyed, before more men are executed, and more children and women are expelled from homes.
Media Contact: Cheikosman: 626-3765028, mcheikosman@yahoo.com
Date and Time: September, 26, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Address: 6300 Wilshire Blvd #2010, Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-8832
