Kurds to Lay Flowers for Massacre Victims & Show Solidarity with the People of Manchester

St Ann’s Square, Manchester, Monday 29 May, 12.30pm:

We are Stronger Together – Let’s Beat ISIS Together

Kurds from across the North West and beyond will gather in St Ann’s Square, Manchester on Monday to lay flowers and hold a minute’s silence at the memorial site in memory of the victims of the Manchester Arena atrocity. They will display their deep sympathy with the families and loved ones of those killed and injured and solidarity with the people of Manchester.

Kurds know only too well the pain caused by the terrorism of ISIS and other jihadi groups and by those governments, like the Turkish government, which have supported these groups and waged war against Kurdish civilians, bombing their towns and killing their children.

A local Kurdish organiser said: “The Kurds have experienced injustice and persecution by occupying states for decades, and this has been intensified by ISIS terrorism. Last year, the terror against Kurds claimed the lives of five of my family members aged 14, 15, 16, 19 and 23 and led to the bulldozing of 11 homes of my relatives, including my mum’s house. We as Kurds know very well, from the past and from our current struggle against ISIS, how it feels to become a subject of terror. Therefore, we wish to show our sincerest condolences for the victims and their loved ones. Let us all work together so that peace and justice may prevail across the globe”.

North West Labour MEP Julie Ward said: “I am touched by the expression of sympathy shown by the local Kurdish community who understand the pain of loss and violence through their own experience of suffering at the hands of religious extremists and as a result of state-sponsored violence in places like Turkey. I have visited the besieged cities of Diyarbakir and Nusaybin in Turkish Kurdistan and have met the bereaved parents of young people who were caught up in the violence. The fact that young people, youth culture and progressive societies were the main target of the MEN Arena attack is especially sad. It is a growing phenomena that we must tackle. Meanwhile, I would like to thank the Kurdish community for their planned act of solidarity on Monday”.

Kurdish YPG/YPJ forces, women and men, are today on the front line of the battle to drive ISIS from its stolen ‘capital’ of Raqaa in Syria. Among the Kurds in St Ann’s Square will be people from Kobani, the first city to stand firm and defeat an all-out assault by these terrorists.

Kurds salute Mancunians’ long, proud history of challenging injustice and championing democracy and equality. We offer our sympathy and extend a warm hand of friendship.

Organised by: Democratic Kurdish Peoples Assembly, kurdscentre@gmail.com
Supported by Manchester Friends of Kurdistan