Protestors urge UN to act over Afrine

Protestors called on the UN to act against Turkish bombing of Afrine, a Kurdish enclave in Syria. Keystone

Some 1,200 protestors have gathered in Geneva calling for United Nations action to stop Turkish bombing of Afrine, a Kurdish enclave in Syria. They called notably for an air exclusion zone. 

The marchers began their protest on Monday in Lausanne, reaching Geneva on Thursday after a four-day staged walk. They included people of 17 nationalities, according to Swiss public television RTS, although the group was mainly made up of Kurds living in Switzerland. 

Their starting point was the Palais de Rumine, where the Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1923. The treaty established the borders for modern Turkey, ending the Kurdish people’s aspiration of having their own state.  

Turkey launched a military operation on January 20 against Afrine, targeting Kurdish militia who have helped in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. These attacks have killed at least 150 civilians, according to the Kurds. 

This represents a failure of the West, which has abandoned its allies against the Jihadists, one human rights expert working for international organisations told the demonstration. 

Protestors slammed Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, calling him a “fascist”, a “dictator” and an “assassin”. But their main target was the United Nations, which they accuse of guilty silence. They called for the UN to guarantee an air exclusion zone, international troops at the border and application of the Geneva Conventions.