Singers in Lausanne call for Kurdish unity after Turkey’s attacks on Syrian Kurds
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdish singers, plus over 100 intellectuals, writers, politicians, and artists from the four parts of Kurdistan finished a two-day march between the Swiss cities of Lausanne and Geneva on Friday, calling for Kurdish unity in response to Turkey’s military incursion into northern Syria.
“We are in the same city where it was decided to divide Kurdistan a hundred years ago,” Kurdish singer Xelil Xemgin said during the march on Friday. “All respectful Kurds here are calling on you - you Kurdish politicians - it is critical that you establish unity. Unity. If you do not unite, we will be destroyed.”
Because of the post-WWI Treaty of Lausanne signed in 1923, Kurdish territory in the Middle East was partitioned between Turkey, Iran, the French mandate of Syria, and the British mandate of Iraq, leaving the Kurds stateless.
Xemgin continued, “For the sake of Afrin children, for the cries of Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi [Tal Abyad] mothers, we call on you Kurdish politicians. It is enough! If you are not going to unite at this time, too; if you do not establish unity and dialogue among yourselves, we will lose this century as well.”
“There will be no one left that we could sing for,” he warned. “There will be only our mothers singing for their children when they bury them. If you do not establish unity after recent massacres, you will be complicit in the crimes.”
The march began on Thursday and followed an earlier meeting of dozens of Kurdish singers in late November in Germany in which they made a similar call for Kurdish unity among various and often bitterly-divided Kurdish parties in the face of Turkey’s attacks in northern Syria.
So far, two major rival factions among Syrian Kurdish parties have failed to reach a unity deal despite continued meetings since early November.
Read More: Syrian Kurdish parties continue to call for unity
Xemgin told Kurdistan 24 in November that, during challenging times when the [Kurdish] people are faced with threats and massacres, “it is essential that artists shoulder their roles and responsibilities for their society, art, and culture.”
Singer Diyar Dersimi stated that the purpose of the initiative of Kurdish artists is to raise awareness that the greater concept of Kurdistan is experiencing a critical time, that there are sustained and systematic attempts to deprive the Kurds of their rights, similar to what has been done in the past.
Kurdish singer ?ivan Perwer also joined the march on Thursday, and a video of him sharing a stern message meant for Turkey was shared on social media.
?ivan Perwer Türk devletine sesleniyor.... pic.twitter.com/qJLPYu8S9s
— Serkan Demirel (@araz_serhad) December 5, 2019
“The [oppressors] think that the Kurds will eventually be silenced. No! We will not be silenced!” he passionately shouted.
“For the last 100 years, you’ve destroyed our movements, demolished our homes, executed our leaders, but you couldn’t stop us and you will never stop us.”
Editing by John J. Catherine
