Kurdistan: For over 40 years people in Kurdistan have been fighting the assimilation policies of Turkish state and other paramilitary forces for a life in freedom, dignity and self determination. The people in Cizîr, Amed and other cities of Bakur are resisting against the Turkish occupation.
Over the last 40 years Kurdish movement has had several accomplishments, including the creation of democratic confederalism. It is a social model based on the ideas of Abdullah Öcalan, representative of Kurdish movement, which will abolish the nation state over time and replace it with the structures created and led by the people themselves. The democratic confederalism places an alternative to the current capitalistic system and the exploitation of people. Over the last 10 years people in Northern Kurdistan have organized themselves in the street and neighborhood councils. Since AKP's reelection in November 2015, the Turkish government has intensified its repression and military operations against the Kurdish movement. As a reaction several regions in Bakur declared their autonomy from the Turkish state. In Rojava, the Kurdish region in Syria, the movement has put the idea of democratic confederalism into practice. In both parts of Kurdistan cooperatives erupted providing the needs of the people, free schools and women councils were created as well as armed self defense units.
Berlin: For a while now several progressive spaces and structures in berlin have been threatened with eviction and organized attacks by the state. One example is the Friedrichshainer Nordkiez, which has been under close police survelliance, since it was declared a “dangerous zone” in November 2015. the inhabitants are confronted with daily controls and repression. The reason: the people from the Nordkiez are resisting against the ongoing restructuring of the neigborhood and the expulsion of long lasting renters. Places, in which people struggled for a self-determined and self-organized life, such as Cuvrybrache or Oranienplatz in Kreuzberg were already evicted in 2014. Currently, the “Laden für Revotionsbedarf” (M99) located in Manteuffelstrasse 99, the Friedel 54 in northern Neukölln and the Radical Queer Wagonplace Kanal as well as other self-organized spaces are threatened with possible eviction.
From Kurdistan to Berlin, all these spaces and structures are the essential sources of resistance against state's organized oppression, as well as fascist, racist and patriarchial structures in the society. Our ways of struggle are different according to the circumstances we are facing. But what brings us together is our passion for freedom, the struggle for self-determination and a life in dignity and solidarity.
Today we are here to emphasize the connection of our struggle, to resist in solidarity against those who threaten our freedom. Coming together, we stand against the capitalistic exploitation trying to control our lives. We are taking back the street today to know each other and learn from each other. We do this without asking the permition of those who murder, deport, hurt and torture on a daily basis. We cannot and we do not rely on the state and the police. Everyone is invited to join us on the street today. Change can only be achieved if we stand side by side in solidarity with each other.
No peace with the enemies of freedom!
Resistance is Life!