Kurdish grassroot federation in Germany shows solidarity with Jaffna University students

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 December 2012, 12:18 GMT]
YEK-KOM, a German based federation of numerous Kurdish organizations, condemned the genocidal policies of the Sri Lankan government and the repression of the Eezham Tamil students in Jaffna, conveying its solidarity with the protesting students in the Tamil homeland. In a statement in German released on Friday, it said “The oppressed Tamil people for over 60 years have been facing the extinction of their culture, language, religion and homeland. Overlooking this oppression means active support to the decades of genocide of the Tamils.” The statement further urged “the international humanitarian and democratic forces to collectively voice and demonstrate their support with the demands of the Tamil people in solidarity.”

“We as YEK-KOM - Federation of Kurdish Associations in Germany, want to make clear that we are also not complicit by silence and we thus stand in solidarity with the demands of the Tamil people,” the statement said.

“The oppressed Tamil people for over 60 years have been facing the extinction of their culture, language, religion and homeland. Overlooking this oppression means active support to the decades of genocide of the Tamils.”

Drawing parallels between the racisms of the government of Sri Lanka and the Turkish regime, the statement released by YEK-KOM stressed that the genocidal policies of both states can neither be accepted nor be justified by any political motives or ethical maxim.

“Identities must be protected and promoted. With the assimilation of culture and language a people and its many generations lose their uniqueness and self-esteem. Remaining aloof in this case means the endorsement of destruction and human rights abuses, which is a crime against humanity,” the statement said.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the arrests of students, as well as the oppression exercised by the Government of Sri Lanka on the Tamil people, and protest them to recognize the demands of the Tamils. We also call the international humanitarian and democratic forces to collectively voice and demonstrate their support with the demands of the Tamil people in solidarity.”

Several Kurdish activists in Germany had also taken part in protests organized by Eezham Tamils in Dusseldorf on 7 December, in solidarity with the Jaffna students.

A culture of reciprocal solidarity is being cultivated among grassroots Eezham Tamil and Kurdish activists in Germany, with one actively participating in political events of the other.

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