Protesters celebrate second anniversary of Kurdish resistance in Leicester city centre

By Luke Cowley

Members of the Leicester Kurdish Solidarity Campaign gathered at the Clock Tower on Tuesday evening  to commemorate the second anniversary of Kobani resistance.

Zeki Zarif, 29, Chris Allen, 50, and Sheila Mosley, 62, held up signs and played traditional Kurdish music to celebrate World Kobani Day, a day that celebrates the resistance of the area of Kobani to ISIS attacks in 2014.

Sheila Mosley, coordinator of the Leicester Kurdish Solidarity Campaign said: “We are only part of our group.

“There’s stuff happening in the continent, in Scandinavia, Liverpool and other areas around England, celebrating Kurdish resistance. Today is a very important day for a lot of people.”

Two years ago, Kobani, a Kurdish area in Syria, was under siege from Muslim extremists bearing heavy weaponry.

Furthermore, a border blockade from Turkey prevented Kurdish fighters entering the area and defending the area from ISIS.

The defenders pushed through the attack thanks to heavy resistance and airstrikes from the U.S that turned the tide in favour of Kobani fighters.

However huge numbers of people were killed during the attacks, with many giving their lives to leave hope for a better, peaceful life behind themselves.

As a result, Kobani was ‘almost wiped off the map’ after the battles lasted for more than six months, leaving 70% of houses destroyed.

Kurdish politicians therefore launched the World Day for Kobani on November 1 2014 to remember the resistance of the Kurdish people against ISIS.

Sheila said the group see Turkey as the “oppressive regime that needs to be bought under control”.

The group also called for the British government to ‘be stronger with the Kurds and to ‘balance their priorities in a way that would advantage them.’

“It seems that if it’s advantageous to them, our government support the Kurds. If it’s not, then they will just forget about them” said Sheila.

They work in partnership with the Nottingham Kurdish Solidarity Campaign to spread their message.

Each Friday for the past year they gather at the Clock Tower to lay out peace and anti-war messages, and allow the public to write their own.

Kobani Day is now celebrated in almost 100 countries and centres.

Information on the Leicester Kurdish Solidarity Campaign can be found at leicesterkurdishsolidaritycampaign.org.uk.