NY protest: ‘Stop aggression against Kurdistan!’

Militant

NEW YORK — “Independence for Kurdistan yes! War no!” chanted some 60 people at a Nov. 3 rally outside the United Nations here. The protest was organized by the Kurdistani-American Community of North America.

Participants came from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Tennessee and Washington, D.C. Most were originally from the part of Kurdistan that is currently in Iraq. In addition to many signs condemning the attacks on Kurdistan by both Iraqi and Iranian forces that followed the overwhelming vote for independence Sept. 25, many carried Kurdish and U.S. flags.

“When the United States wants our help fighting ISIS [Islamic State], they talk a lot about us. But now that we’re being attacked, they’re very quiet, they don’t say a word,” Bayan Merani said.

“Our fight continues,” Jogiyar Taha, who came to the demonstration from Binghamton in upstate New York, told the Militant. “Kurdistan is our land and we’ll never give up.”

— BRIAN WILLIAMS