On October 6, the Trump administration announced it was pulling US troops out of northern Syria, essentially giving Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a green light to invade Rojava, carry out ethnic cleansing, and forcibly resettle the area. We are calling for people around the world to engage in protest and/or disruption at Turkish consulates, US government offices, arms manufacturers, and businesses connected with the Turkish government, such as Turkish Airlines. A list of upcoming solidarity demonstrations appears at the end of this text, below; we encourage you to organize and carry out your own actions.

Since 2012, the autonomous region of Rojava has hosted an inspiring multi-ethnic experiment in self-determination and women’s autonomy, all while fighting the Islamic State (ISIS). After years of struggle, despite sustaining massive casualties, fighters from Rojava participated in liberating all of the territory that ISIS had occupied and freeing those who had been held captive in ISIS strongholds.

In an attempt to justify permitting Turkey to invade Syria, Trump has tweeted that US taxpayers should not have to pay to keep ISIS fighters detained. In fact, the US has not paid a cent to detain captured ISIS fighters; that has been completely organized by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The reality is that the Turkish invasion of Kurdish territory will create the conditions for ISIS to reemerge and resume operations in Syria and around the world. For years, Turkey has permitted weapons, recruits, and resources to reach ISIS through its borders.

Both ISIS and the Turkish invasion pose an existential threat to all the ethnic and religious groups indigenous to the region, including Arabs, Christians (Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Syriacs), Turkmens, Chechens, Alevites, and Yazidis. Many of these groups have gained a voice in their own lives for the first time, yet now face massacre at the hands of the Turkish military and the jihadists.

Turkey’s invasion of Rojava sets a new precedent for military aggression, ethnic cleansing, and the destruction of egalitarian and feminist experiments like the one in Rojava. It sets the stage for more bloodshed and oppression everywhere around the world, paving the way for ethno-nationalist autocrats like Trump, Erdoğan, Bashar al-Assad, Jair Bolsonaro, and Vladimir Putin to dominate world politics for generations to come.

For months, people in Rojava have called for international solidarity in the event of an invasion. We must bring attention to the plight of the people in Rojava and make it known that there will be consequences for this.

To keep silent is to be complicit.

We call on all people of good conscience to engage in protest and disruption at Turkish consulates, US government offices, arms manufacturers, and businesses connected with the Turkish government, such as Turkish Airlines. The Rojava Solidarity Committee Europe has joined organizers in Rojava in calling for a day of action on October 12 against the Turkish invasion; we endorse this call, and call for further actions before and after October 12.

We need to build a context for broad-based direct action as a step towards building a global movement that can make such atrocities impossible. Together, we can stop the invasion.

See you in the streets.

Rojava is not dying, the people of Rojava are being killed, and the corporations helping to kill them have names and addresses.

Click on the image to download a printable PDF of the above call as a flier.

Another version of this call as a printable PDF in bifold.

Endorsements

If your organization endorses this call, please circulate this text and contact us at coordination.for.rojava@protonmail.com to sign on. This list will be updated regularly at crimethinc.com and itsgoingdown.org.

Coordination for the Defense of Rojava

1312 Press

Acid Communist League of Atlanta

Agency (www.anarchistagency.com/)

Albany General Defense Committee

Horacio Almanza Alcalde

AK Press (www.akpress.org/)

Anarchist Federation (UK)

Anarkis.org

Anarresti Hacker Union

Angry Socialist Community - ASC (@AngrySocialists)

Anon Anarchist Action

The Anti-Capitalist League (facebook.com/anticapitalistleague)

Antifa Sacramento

Antifascists of the Seven Hills

Antifascistas Belo Horizonte - Brazil

Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement (awsm.nz)

Asociación de Amistad con Kurdistán (Spain)

Atlanta Antifascists

The Autonomous University of Political Education

The Base

Bay Area Mesopotamia Solidarity Committee

Black Cat House

Black Rose Anarchist Federation - Los Angeles Local

Black Socialists of America

Bloomington Anarchist Black Cross

The Boiling Point Collective (http://facebook.com/pg/boilingpointkzoo/about/)

Bonfire Collective, Santa Barbara, CA

Debbie Bookchin

The Rev. Dr. Colin Bossen, Unitarian Universalist Minister, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Houston

Boulder County Democratic Socialists of America

Breakaway Social Center

Brigada 71 - NY Cosmos Supporters (@CosmosAFA)

Shane Burley

Campus Marxist-Humanists

Carne Ross (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyqG-71zOi0&feature=youtu.be)

Chicago Anti-Fascist Action

Chicago General Defense Committee

Noam Chomsky

Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists

Cooperation Jackson

CrimethInc. Workers’ Collective

The Dandelion Network

Decolonize This Place (decolonizethisplace.org)

Demand Utopia Seattle

Democratic Socialists of America - Central Jersey

Democratic Socialists of America - Cincinnati (dsacincy.org, @dsacincy)

Democratic Socialists of America - Communist Caucus

Democratic Socialists of America - Harrisburg, PA

Democratic Socialists of America - Libertarian Socialist Caucus

Democratic Socialists of America - Metro Atlanta

Democratic Socialists of America - National

Democratic Socialists of America - Sacramento

Democratic Socialists of America - San Francisco (Immigrant Rights & International Solidarity)

Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) - Bloomington

Denver Anarchist Black Cross

Direct Action Front for Palestine

DC Antifascist Coalition

Ricardo Dominguez, Associate Professor, UCSD

Earth Strike International (www.earth-strike.com)

Economics for Everyone - Olympia (facebook.com/EconomicsforEveryoneOly/)

Emergency Committee for Rojava (ECR) (www.defendrojava.org)

Extinction Rebellion Seattle

The Fayer Collective

Fédération Anarchiste - France (federation-anarchiste.org)

The Final Straw

George Fish, Indianapolis

Frontline Organization Working to End Racism (FLOWER)

Flyover Social Center

Gilets Jaunes de Saillans, France

Le groupe libertaire Jules Durand (le-libertaire.net)

Andrej Grubačić, Professor and Department Chair, Anthropology and Social Change, CIIS

Grupo Erva Rebelde Anarquista (GERA), Porto, Portugal

David Graeber

A Gralha Self-Managed Social Center - Porto, Portugal

Gulf Revolutionary Artist Formation

Hispagatos

The Holler Network

Industrial Workers of the World - Atlanta

Industrial Workers of The World - Central NJ GMB

Industrial Workers of the World - West Virginia

Indy Food Not Bombs (@FNB_INDY)

Inhabit

International Red Front (https://www.instagram.com/irf.official)

It’s Going Down

Kali Akuno

Kasa Invisível Belo Horizonte - Brazil

Knoxville Anti-Fascist Action

Knoxville Radical Alliance

Leveller Communications (leveller.info)

Little Village Solidarity Network

Love and Rage Media (@loveandrageNY)

The Lucy Parsons Center

Midwest Unrest (@MW_Unrest)

Minnesota United Against Fascism (@MNUnitedAF)

Mulheres pela Revolução (https://www.facebook.com/mulherespelarevolucao/)

Murfreesboro Anti-Fascist Action (Mboro AFA)

Neighborhood Anarchist Collective (neighborhoodanarchists.org)

New York City Antifa (https://twitter.com/NYCantifa)

No Space for Hate Bloomington (https://nospace4hate.btown-in.org/)

North Valley Mutual Aid

Northeastern Mutual Aid and Defense (NOMAD)

Noumenon Distro

Olympia Assembly (olyassembly.org)

Olympia Solidarity Network (olyassembly.org/olysol/)

One People’s Project (idavox.com)

International Outlive Them Network

Pacific NorthWest Antifascist Workers Collective (http://pnwawc.com/)

Palang Hitam Indonesia (Instagram.com/palang__hitam)

Palestine Solidarity Committee - Blooomington, IN

Panic! in the Discord Collective

Dr. Ian Alan Paul, Assistant Professor of Emerging Media at Stony Brook University

People’s Defense League - South Louisiana

PM Press (www.pmpress.org/)

Popmob - Portland, OR

Progressive Global Commons (@ProGloCommons)

A Radical Guide (www.radical-guide.com)

rek2 (as individual)

Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement- Elm City

Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement - NYC

Revolutionary Organizing Against Racism (ROAR Collective)

The Right to the City - Timisoara, Romania

Robert Evans (@IwriteOK)

Rojava Azadi Madrid

Rojava Montréal

Rojava Solidarity Colorado (@RojavaSoliCO)

Rojava Solidarity Portland (facebook.com/rojavasolidarityportland/)

Rojava Solidarity Seattle

Rose City Antifa, Portland, Oregon

Georgia Sagri

San Gabriel Valley Mutual Aid

Santa Barbara Student Activist Network

Scuffletown Anti-Repression Committee

Seattle Rising Tide

Second Bektashi Sufi Mission to the West

Micol Seigel, author of Violence Work

Le Social Club (Le-Social.Club)

Soflaexit (Soflaexit.com)

Solidarity Against Fascism East Bay (SAFEBay)

Solidarity and Direct Action - Seattle

Sprout Distro

Subversión #1312 (Subversion1312.org)

Tar Sands Blockade - Texas

The Teardown Community

The Torch Antifascist Network

Tulungagung Anarchist Individual Network

Union Communiste Libertaire (unioncommunistelibertaire.org/)

Voices in Movement

A World Without Police

Youth Liberation Front (Portland, Seattle, Wisconsin, Carolina, Bay Area, Illinois)

Upcoming Solidarity Events

Saturday, October 12

Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, E Dove Building, 425 Northern Avenue, 8 am to 1 pm—details

Albany, NY, Townsend Park, 11 am

Chicago, IL, 401 N. Michigan Avenue, 11 am-1 pm—details

Knoxville, TN, 11:30 am—details

Montréal, Canada, 12 pm—details

New London, CT, New London Parade Plaza—details

Norfolk, VA, 12 pm—details

Washington, DC, 1 pm—details

New York, NY, Union Square, 2 pm—details

Portland, OR, Brooklyn City Park, 3400 SE Milwaukie Ave, 2 pm—details

San Fransisco, CA—International Arrivals Terminal at SFO Airport, 3 pm—details

Bloomington, IN, Indiana’s People’s Park, North Dunn Street and Kirkwood Avenue, 5 pm—details

Rochester, NY, 6 pm—details

Richmond, Virginia, meet at Carytown Kroger parking lot, 8 pm—details

Paris, France, 2 pm, place de la République—détails

Strasbourg, France, 2 pm, place Kleber—détails

Marseille, France, 2 pm, Canebière—détails

Bordeaux, France, 2 pm, Place de la Bourse—détails

Lyon, France, place Bellecour—détails

Tours, France, 3 pm, place Jean-Jaurès—détails

Nantes, France, 4 pm, place du Commerce—détails

Sunday, October 13

Los Angeles, CA, 12 pm—details

San Francisco, CA, Union Square, 12 pm—details

Boston, MA, Massachusetts State House, 1 pm—details

Philadelphia, PA, 1 pm—details

Atlanta, GA, 2 pm—details

Seattle, WA, 3 pm—details

South Bend, IN, Morris Fountain (near Michigan and Colfax) , 2-3 pm—details

Toronto, Canada, 3 pm—details

White River Junction, VT, Upper Valley Food Coop, 193 N. Main St., 3:30 pm-5 pm—details

Thursday, October 17

Dallas, TX, 5 pm—details

Friday, October 18

Detrioit, MI, Detroit Metro Airport, 4 pm—details

Saturday, October 19

San Francisco, CA, Union Square, 333 Post Street, 12 o’clock high noon—details

Seattle, WA, Seatac Airport, 3 PM—details

Sunday, October 20

Seattle, WA, 2 pm—details

Thursday, October 24

Documentary Screening and Fundraiser at the Reformed Church of Highland Park, 19 S. 2nd Ave, Highland Park, New Jersey, 6 pm—details

Friday, October 25

Montpelier, VT in front of the State House, 5:30 pm

Saturday, November 2

Bellevue, Nebraska, 1040 Bruin Blvd., 4 pm—details

Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles Grand Park, 10 am—details

Oakland, CA, Oscar Grant Plaza (“Frank Ogawa” plaza, according to the state), 2 pm—details

Portland, OR, Chapman Square, SW 4TH Ave Ste 520, 2 pm—details

There is a list of international actions inspired by another call to action here.

The First Two Days of Solidarity Actions following Trump’s Announcement

Monday, October 7

Toronto, ON, Canada: Solidarity protest outside the US consulate.

Anarchist solidarity banners in Appalachia. https://twitter.com/zerofuckingcool/status/1181393012632555521?s=20

Tuesday, October 8

Solidarity banners dropped in Lincoln, Nebraska. Report and photos here.

Ottawa, ON: Protest outside US embassy.

Washington, DC: Rally outside the White House by Kurdish groups and antifascists. https://twitter.com/lacymacauley/status/1181647582361206784?s=20

Wednesday, October 9

New York City, NY, 2 pm—details

Boston, MA, 1 pm—details

Vancouver, BC, Canada, 12:30 pm—details

Washington, DC, 5:30 pm—details

Strasbourg, France, 1:30 pm, devant le Conseil de l’Europe—détails

Toulouse, France, 6:30 pm, Métro Jean Jaurès—détails

Grenoble, France, 6 pm, place Félix Poulat—détails

Thursday, October 10

Montréal, Canada, 6 pm—details

New York, NY, 6:30 pm—emergency planning meeting—details

Friday, October 11