James Kelman, a founding member of the Academy of Social Science, acclaimed writer, and winner of multiple literary prizes, including the Booker Prize, issued a message of solidarity for Rojava.
“I stand in solidarity with the people of Rojava, and their resistance to the terrorist horrors practised against them by the Turkish State and the interim Damascus government. The situation in Aleppo and Kobane exposes the complicity of an international grouping that includes major European and Middle Eastern powers. They look on while deals are done by the Turkish, Israeli, and US administrations. The real aim is the old one: to criminalise the entire Kurdish nation. Only this will justify using their full military might to crush the life out of Kurdistan.
It is utterly crucial that the world pays attention, that the veil is lifted, and that the reality is uncovered. Only ordinary people can bring an end to these horrors. Ordinary people ‘are the homeland, the first and last losers of wars and battles.’ This is the lesson of the Rojava experience. The world must listen. See reality; stand in solidarity. It is the way ahead, perhaps the only way.”
