AFTERMOVIE || What a week this was! Full of action, full of anger! There were demonstrations in Den Haag, London and Marseille, banner drops, posters and graffiti all over Europe, a very succesful and still ongoing hashtag action. We would like to thank everyone who took part in solidarity actions, we know from our imprisoned comrades this means a lot to them! Don't forget that you can still write letters to them, they appreciate that a lot and also share this aftervideo as widely as possible!
Our struggle will not end here, this was only the beginning! Until all are free!
Friday, 3rd December, around 100 people staged a demonstration at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, Netherlands. They protested Turkey's use of chemical weapons against the local population and Kurdish fighters in the mountains of South Kurdistan (North Iraq). Despite earlier requests for an independent research, the OPCW - who is the leading organization in prohibiting chemical weapons worldwide - remains silent.
As an act of civil disobedience, some protesters entered the building of the OPCW and shortly occupied its entry hall. The police repressed the protest violently: 4 people got injured (the police broke a protester's arm and another's nose), 44 people were detained and held for multiple days, all of the formerly detained protesters will be tried in court and one detainee has been extradited to their country of asylum. Four of our Kurdish comrades are still being held in custody in various locations in the Netherlands. This will last at least until their trial on the 23nd February, to us this signifies yet another act of systemic racism in The Netherlands: white activists are usually being released quickly after similar direct actions. We oppose this ridiculous court case and the violent behaviour of the Dutch state. Further, the fight against war crimes should be supported instead of criminalized. The Netherlands and the European Union should reconsider their cooperation with the Turkish state and leave space for the right to protest.
Instead, the EU continues its cooperation with the fascist Turkish state. The OPCW continues to ignore fundamental human rights violations, which is most likely due to the fact that the OPCW is financed and controlled by NATO states including Turkey. Further, it is also of strategical significance for NATO, the EU and its member states since Turkey functions as a bouncer for the European Union. Turkey stops refugees attempting to enter the EU and makes them live under horrific conditions. We will continue our fight until this stops.
Activists throughout Europe have denounced the harsh repression of the Kurdish protesters by the Dutch state. Demonstrations in solidarity with the protesters were staged at multiple Dutch consulates, embassies and other important landmarks, including those in London, Brussels, Vienna, Basel and Strasbourg. In addition, messages of solidarity were sent by activists from Germany, Catalonia, Galicia and the Philippines. We embrace this spirit of international solidarity and salute everyone who took part in these actions.
We demand the immediate release of the protesters and all charges to be dropped. In addition, we support the initial demand of the protesters for an independent investigation by the OPCW into the use of chemical weapons by Turkey.
