Kurdish art happening in front of the Bundestag

A group of Kurdish artists from Germany and some of the neighboring countries is organizing an art happening in front of the German Bundestag on November 18, 2019. A total number of 14 artists will create a piece of art together – from about 11 am to 3 pm – and then hand it over to the Bundestag. With the happening and the resulting piece of art, the Kurdish artists, who are mainly organized in the Cologne-based group "Reng Art", want to thank the members of the German Bundestag for condemning the Turkish invasion in northern Syria. "The artists will try to persuade the parliamentarians to put more pressure on the German government to no longer remain silent about the human rights violations and war crimes committed by the Turkish army and its jihadist allies," stated Dr. Kamal Sido, Middle East Consultant of the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP). "The government must no longer support Erdogan's war against the Kurds, Christians, Yazidis, and other ethnic groups in northern Syria."

The Kurdish artists and the majority of the Kurds living in Germany and Europe are grateful that the German Bundestag condemned the war of aggression against the civilian population in northern Syria. "They expect the German federal government to adopt a new policy towards Syria and the Kurds," Sido emphasized. "The international community must not allow Erdogan's army and its Islamist allies to implement their plans in northern Syria." Erdogan wants to drive off the Kurds, Assyrians/Aramaeans/Chaldeans, Armenians, Christians, Yazidis, but also Arabs who reject his Islamization policy, from northern Syria. Instead, he wants the region to become a home to Sunni Muslims who support his policies. The deportations and forced relocations will result in ethnic cleansing – which is a crime against humanity.

"Erdogan and his Syrian Islamists allies are fighting against those who have been fighting against the so-called Islamic State for years," Sido recalled. They suffered 11,500 deaths and at least 25,000 injuries. Our human rights organization strongly supports the demands of the Kurdish artists. "On November 6, the STP had already demanded the establishment of a committee of inquiry in the Bundestag to review the current Syria-policy of the federal government. An according appeal of the STP and the Kurdish community in Germany (Kurdische Gemeinde Deutschland e.V.) had been sent to Wolfgang Schäuble, President of the Bundestag, and to all parliamentary groups of the Bundestag. "The German Federal Government must do something against Erdogan's activities," Sido demanded. "Otherwise, northern Syria will continue to sink into chaos."

Header image: duncan c via Flickr