Solidarity Call from Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement for Turkey

Came up in Brazil, Landless Workers' Movement (MST - Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra) has become one of the greatest opponent movements in the world. Landless Workers' Movement occupies the lands belonging to the state and companies in order to create employment opportunities and it has millions of members to actualize their alternatives in the fields of food production, sheltering, health and education. The movement’s vital aims are to form a collective willpower in every subject and to cooperate.

The international delegates of III International Congress on Dilemmas of Humanity organized by the MST (Movemento Sem Terra) in Sao Paulo Brazil made a solidarity call for Turkey.

Signatories of the solidarity call text represent more than 50 countries. At least 90 organizations and non-governmental organizations functioning in these countries called for Turkey’s government to stop violence and restart resolution process.

Solidarity text was created by Özlem Yeniay who studies over Landless Workers’ Movement, David Harvey and Abdullah Aysu who represents our country on behalf of Farmers’ Union. 

Özlem Yeniay, David Harvey and Abdullah Aysu are creating the solidarity text

Solidarity Call in English

“We are the international delegates of III International Congress on Dilemmas of Humanity organized by the MST (Movemento Sem Terra) in Sao Paulo Brazil.

We are deeply distressed by recent reports of the outbreak of hostilities initiated by the Turkish State against the Kurdish populations in Northern Syria, Northern Iraq and even within Turkey itself.

The liberation of that part of Northern Syria known as Rojava and the liberation of the cıty of Kobane from ISIS control through the brave resistance of the Kurdish population and ıts YPG militia with US aır support was a turning point in the battle to contain the spread of ISIS power in the region. Against this there is strong evidence of the collusion of Turkish government with ISIS in order to secure the overthrow of President Asad of Syria and to curb Kurdish initiatives to establish a new kind of social order in Rojava on the principles of democratic confederalism. This excıtıng experiment in a new form of democratic governance based on principles of personal and gender equality is threatened by Turkish military action.

In addition Turkish airstrikes against Kurdish populations in Northern Iraq and even within Turkey itself suggest the intention on the part of the Turkish state to launch an all out attack upon Kurdish populations everywhere.  

We also protest the widespread and arbitrary arrest of supposed Kurdish sympathizers in Turkey itself and the threat to strip the parliamentary representatives of the Kurdish population of their immunity from prosecution.

In the light of all these events we call upon the Turkish government to cease and desist from all further military actions against Kurdish populations everywhere and we call upon all parties to renew the peace negotiations as envisaged in the ceasefire accords agreed in 2011.

We call upon the international community and all of those concerned with the establishment of peace and justice in the world to put maximum pressure upon the Turkish government to desist from the dangerous and violent course of action upon which it appears to be currently embarked.”

Solidarity Call in Kurdish

 “Em delegeyên ji welatên cuda yên tevlî III. Kongreya Dîlemaya Mirovahî Ya Navnetewî ku ji aliyê MST(Tevgera Bêerdan)ê ve li bajarê Sao Paulo yê Brezîlyayê pêkhatî bûne ne.

Em erîşên dewleta Tirk ên Bakûrê Sûrî, Bakûrê Iraqê û yên di nava Tirkiyeyê de li hemberî gelê Kurd dayî destpêkirin bi nûçeyên dîroka nêz dibihîzin û em bi van nûçeyan bifikar in.

Rizgarkirina herêmên di kontrola ÎŞÎDê de yên wek Bakûrê Sûrî ku wek Rojava tê zanîn û bajarê Kobanê, bi berxwedaneke bêhempa ji aliyê gelê Kurd û hêzên milîsên Kurd YPG ên ku ji ABDyê piştgriya erîşa hewayî distîne, bû xala werçerxa tekoşîna pêşîgirtina belavbûna heremê ya ÎŞÎDê. Li hemberî vê rastiyê ên ku hikûmeta Tirk ji bo serokê dewleta Sûrî Esad hilweşîne û ji bo pêkhatina peyanên Kurdan ên ku bi hêmanên konfederalîzma demokratîk li Rojavayê avakirina pergaleke civakî bisekînîne, bi ÎŞÎDê re hevkariyê dike û delîlên xurt li ser vê hevkariyê hene. Ev şêweyê nû yê rêveberiya demokratîk ku xwe spartiye hêmanên wekhêviya takekesî û wekhêviya zayendî tecrûbeyek e û kelecanê dide mirovan bi êrîşên dewleta Tirk ên leşkerî ve tê tehdîtkirin.

Li cem vê, pêkanîna erîşên hewayî yên li ser hejmara Kurdên li Bakurê Iraqê û di nava Tirkiyeyê de dijin de şanî me dide ku dewleta Tirk di niyeta erîşeke mezin bi tevahî li her cihî li ser Kurdan bike.

Bi vê re em, belaveyî û li gorî kêfê di nava Tirkiyeyê de girtina sempatîzanên hereketa Kurd û tehdîda rakirina destnedayîna zagonî ya li ser nûnerên gelê Kurd ên di parlementoyê de protesto dikin.

Li ber roniya van hemû pêkhatinên çêbûyî de, em bangewazî hikûmeta Tirk dikin ku bi lezgînî hereketên leşkerî ên li hemberî gelê Kurd li hemû hereman bi dawî bike û bila ji nû ve hemû hêl, dest bi hevdîtinên aşitiyê yên ku bi pêşbîniya çarçoveya peymana agirbestiya di sala 2011an de bikin.

Em ji civaka navnetewî û ji hemû kesên ku di cîhanê de ji bo aşitî û edalet werê sazkirin ji xwe re kirine pirsgrêk daxwaz dikin, bila aniha ji dewleta Tirk bê xwestin ku dev ji vê tevgera xwe ya xeternak û şîdetê bedre.”

(Kurmanci werger: Mehmet Emin Aslan)

P.S. I thank my lecturer Neşe Özgen who supported me to write this article. Nice books of Metin Yeğin  and Abdullah Aysu about the Landless Workers’ Movement can be suggested for related readers.

 (BŞ/BD)

Click here to read the article in Turkish