Thousands in London: 'Stop Turkey's war on Kurds!'

Militant/Hugo Wils

LONDON — Thousands marched here March 6 in the first national demonstration to demand "Stop Turkey's war on Kurds! Break the silence!" Hundreds of people have died and several hundred thousand displaced as a result of the Turkish government's military assault on the mainly Kurdish region of southeast Turkey since last summer. Agit Kaya, co-chair of the Kurdish Society at the University of Westminster, said they built the demonstration through information tables on campus and brought a contingent of 20 people.

"The Turkish state attacking Kurds is not acceptable," said Serpil Kilic, part of a contingent of about 50 from Manchester Kurdish Solidarity.

"Workers here have a stake in supporting the Kurds in their fight to advance their national struggle," said Peter Clifford, right, Communist League candidate for Ancoats ward of Manchester City Council. "The same forces that are attacking living standards and rights of workers in the U.K. are undermining the Kurdish struggle for national rights. Gains by the Kurds would push back the capitalist rulers and give confidence to toilers throughout the region."

—  PAMELA HOLMES