Via KSN Jin

On the 9th anniversary of the massacre of 3 Kurdish women revolutionaries in Paris, KSN-Jin, the autonomous women’s structure of the Kurdistan Solidarity Network will be supporting our Kurdish sisters and internationalists all over Europe in taking to the streets.

We will be commemorating the brutal murder on January 9, 2013 of one of the founders of the Kurdish Freedom Movement, Sakine Cansiz, and two of her comrades, who all three live on in the hearts and actions of millions of women who continue their struggle for a free life everywhere.

Below we publish the call to action from the Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe (TJK-E), as we urge all who can to join our march at 1pm, Sunday 9th January, Trafalgar Square.

It has been 9 years since the massacre of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) founding member Sakine Cansız (Sara), Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) representative Fidan Doğan (Rojbin) and Kurdish youth movement member Leyla Şaylemez (Ronahi) in Paris on the 9th of January 2013. As the Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe, we pay tribute to the martyrs of Paris with respect, love, and gratitude, and once again reaffirm our commitment to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice and reiterate our promise to keep the memories of our martyrs alive as the women’s freedom movement grows.

The patriarchal system is criminally targeting women with its fascist mentality, with women pioneers at the forefront. Historically, people’s and women’s movements have been preyed on in an attempt to disorganise and intimidate them, with the massacres of the Mirabel sisters, Rosa Luxembourg and their likes primary examples of this. Such systematic attempts to disorganise and intimidate the movement continue in current times. By massacring women pioneers such as Karima Baloch in Canada, Forouzan Safi in Afghanistan, Zara Alvarez in the Philippines, Hanan Al Barassi in Libya, and Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez in Paris, the patriarchal system wrongly assumes it can intimidate women’s revolution. For us, the struggle to bring the perpetrators of the Paris massacre to justice is a significant step in the struggle against all political femicides. For 9 years, Kurdish women, the Kurdish people and democratic forces have been calling out for the perpetrators of the Paris massacre to be brought to trial, both on the streets and on legal platforms. Given the clarity of the evidence regarding the perpetrator, they continue to demand that this crime against humanity is not left unpunished for.

While all evidence has pointed at the Turkish state and the AKP government led by Tayyip Erdogan, and the first case investigation firmly concluded that the massacre was orchestrated by the Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MİT), the French government closed the case on the grounds that the hitman had died. This was followed by the confessions of MİT personnel and subsequent confession of the ex-chief of the General Staff Intelligence Agency İsmail Hakkı Pekin. Similar assassination plans had been made in other areas of Europe. However, international governments are covering up the truth for their self-interests and relationships. Despite case investigations regarding the massacre being re-opened in the last 3 years, the French government is yet to take this case to trial in light of the concrete evidence. We are seeing as we speak that this has encouraged the AKP-led Turkish state as it continues to add new massacres to its criminal file in the last 9 years.

On the anniversary of the Paris massacre, we will once again strengthen global women’s solidarity against fascism, patriarchy and femicide. We will show the world that women’s revolution and resistance transcend borders and cannot be inhibited. We will continue to emphasise that the free women’s movement is our past, present, and future, as it has been symbolised in Sara, Rojbin and Ronahi. We haven’t forgotten, we will not forget! As TJK-E, our search for justice continues and will continue until the perpetrators are brought to justice.

With the slogan of France is guilty as justice remains in the dark, we will be on the streets of Paris and other regions on the 5th and 8th January to call out that it is time to bring the perpetrators to justice. Our call is on all women! Our call is on the Kurdish people! Our call is on the democratic peoples, leftist, and socialist organisations! To everyone who wants to call out against the Turkish state’s heinous crimes! We want justice for Sara, Rojbin and Ronahi! We want perpetrators of crimes against humanity to be tried! Let’s make 2022 the year of challenging and succeeding against fascism and patriarchy and bring the perpetrators of rape and genocide to justice! With the firm belief that fascism will be overcome through the unity of women and people’s movements, we are calling for a collective struggle to destruct fascism, rape culture, genocide policies and state-gang institutionalisation.

Jin, Jîyan, Azadî!

Read more about the life of Sakine Cansiz and how her courage continues as a model for revolutionary women today.