PD urges Maltese government to stand with the Kurds

Malta must stand with the Kurdish community, Partit Demokratiku has said. 

Posting to social media on Friday, the party said that Malta has always been at its best when it “wielded its diplomatic clout in the name of peace.” 

“As Turkey invades the Kurdish territories of Rojava, the West has been slow to act, with only France threatening major sanctions,” PD said. 

The party said despite the US’s claims that a ceasefire was in effect as of Friday, Turkey has made sure to emphasize that this “temporary end to hostilities” was not a ceasefire at all.

“Partit Demokratiku is, therefore, calling on the Maltese government to stand with France in threatening Turkey with sanctions and to use whatever diplomatic and political pressure available to prevent further bloodshed. Turkey must be made to withdraw its forces from Syria.”

PD said that the people of Rojava live under a system called Democratic Confederalism, based on workers' rights, equality, feminism, and ecology. 

“Their way of life and autonomy deserve to be respected, especially against indiscriminate violence and tyranny, especially after the sacrifice of 11,000 Kurdish lives to defeat ISIS. Every day which passes without Turkey being fully restrained and every day in which its forces are allowed to remain in Kurdish lands threatens the existence of Rojava and the lives of the Kurds.”

The party said it stood in solidarity with Rojava and the Kurdish people and called on the Maltese government to do the same. 

“As Malta shall be bidding for a United Nations Security Council seat, it must send a clear signal not only that it intends to be a key player on the world stage, but it must show just what kind of peacekeeper it plans to be as well.”

On Saturday, a peaceful gathering will take place at 10am outside of the Turkish embassy in Floriana. Planned by the Kurdish community in Malta, with the support of Moviment Graffitti, people are encouraged to join the global outrage at Turkey’s invasion that is “resulting in the massacre of Kurds and other communities in Rojava and their displacement on a mass scale.”