On Sunday November 4th a group of organizers gathered at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to protest and create awareness of the atrocities perpetrated by Erdogan’s fascist Turkish state on Rojava/Northern Syria.
Kurdish organizers, former combatants of the Rojava revolution, and members of the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement of Inland Empire, participated in the demonstration.
The organizers set up banners at one of the entrances of the airport near the Turkish airline booth and passed out fliers that informed passengers the reasons for protesting; the flier also outlined various ways for people to help and stand in solidarity with the revolution in Rojava. Itcalled for a boycott of Turkish Airlines and to not vacation in Turkey. In addition, the organizers were demanding the release of political prisoner Abdullah Ocalan; Ocalan also known as Apo has been unjustly imprisoned since 1999. As members of RAM it is important to speak out against the imprisonment of political organizers, not only here in the US, but also abroad. There were many curious passersby that were supportive and took fliers, but there was a group of LAX workers that engaged the organizer and wanted to learn more about the struggle in Rojava.
Thank you for your solidarity RAM INLAND Empire ✌️? pic.twitter.com/uIxhuwzxFj
— Çeto Tolhildan (@CetoTolhildan) November 4, 2018
After the workers chatted with the organizers, they left with a handful of fliers that the workers were going to distribute to their other co-workers. The protest did catch the attention of the airport police department; some of the organizers did mention that the police had approached them at previous demonstrations, but that they had not seen so many police nor had they seen Homeland Security Police approach them before. The police presence was unnecessary, but these overreactions by police departments are a common occurrence and strategic response by the police state. Overall the protest achieved its goal to inform people about an often misunderstood and not very well-known struggle.
Long Live the Rojava Revolution Long Live the Resistance of Political Prisoners
November 2018