Various protests have been held in the streets of Europe against Turkey’s bombings of Sinjar on 16 and 17 August, in which ten people died.
During the marches there were also protests against the bombings by Turkey and its affiliated militias of the Abu Rasin (Zargan) district of Al-Hasakah in Northeast Syria on 17 August, in which still more civilians were killed and wounded.
A march has been held in the city of Bielefeld in Germany to protest against Turkey’s bombing of Sinjar town in Northern Iraq. The well-attended march was led by women and a children’s chorus. The demonstrators, mainly from Kurdistan, held a rally outside Bielefeld municipal council building where the march ended.
The Yazidi children’s chorus put on a play by the name of Zaroken Rojê (Children of the Sun), and musicians also took to the stage.
There were also protests held in the German capital Berlin. Kurdish politician Sibel Yiğitalp spoke there, expressing her dismay at the silence of the UN in the face of the attacks.
A speech was made by Hüseyin Yılmaz, co-chair of Nav-Berlin (the Free Kurdish Community of Berlin), who emphasised that the world was watching these massacres.
There were also protests in Saarbrücken against the attacks on Sinjar. The speeches made there expressed anger at international silence in the face of the attacks, and pointed out that Turkey gains strength from silence in the international field.
In the meantime in the cities of Rennes and Marseilles in France more protests were held against the attacks. Hundreds marched there chanting the slogan: “The people of Sinjar are not alone”
The protests have been continuing throughout Europe since the day the attacks started.