Anger Turns to Protest Against Erdogan’s Visit to France

Special for the Armenian Weekly

PARIS (A.W.)–French President François Hollande received Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Oct. 31. Erdogan decided to fly to Paris after Hollande’s decision to support the Kurds in the ISIS attack on Kobani was made clear.

Around 40 people congregated near the exit of the “Invalides” subway stop at 2 p.m. Some protesters held signs, others spoke to journalists. Proud, angry, they all shouted slogans such as “Political solutions for Kurdistan,” “Erdogan, murderer,” and “Stop fascism in Turkey.” The crowd grew by mid-afternoon, while voices became louder.

Still, for Sergul, 48, it was disappointing that more people had not joined the protest. “We are not many today, but we are used to it. We won’t give up. We are here, in Paris. But for a few of us, our families are in Kurdistan, and some have family members in Kobani. We can’t believe that the French President is welcoming Erdogan. He is a murderer. He allows these attacks on Kobani and worse, he supports Daesh [ISIS]. The world can’t turn a blind eye anymore to that man and the politics he runs,” said Sergul.

Sylvie Jan from the association France-Kurdistan just came back from Turkey, where she witnessed from a hill what was taking place on the Kobani border. “There are Turkish military tanks and Turkish servicemen with arms crossed. It is obvious that France and the world have to take a position. The refugee situation is precarious. We are here to tell François Hollande, ‘Do not give up in front of the Turkish government who chose to support Daesh. You should not put the Kurdish people on the discussion table, and second to your economic policy. Do not choose money over human beings. Send a sign of dignity to the world,’” she said.

For Ara Toranian, from Nouvelles d’Armenie, it is important that the Kurds know that they are not alone in the struggle, and that they have the support of the Armenian community. “I came here today to show you the support of the Armenian community of France. We feel strongly about the Kurdish struggle, and their right to exist. We want to express our disgust at Erdogan’s visit. He is received with all the honors by the French government. He still has a denialist policy toward the Armenian Genocide. Erdogan just watches people be massacred. We are here to tell Hollande to be careful of the duplicity of the Turkish authorities, who specialize in blackmail and lies on the international scene,” said Toranian.

In their call to demonstrate, the Democratic Council of Kurds in France said it was inadmissible that France listens to “a criminal state that supports Daesh and that prevented—until recently—the transiting of humanitarian and military aid to Kobani, with the aim of suffocating the resistance.” With this demonstration, they also hope that France will provide weapons and humanitarian assistance to Kobani.

It has been more than a month that the Kurds and their allies stage demonstrations all around Europe to denounce the massacres in Kobani, to alert to the need of weapons to fight Daesh, and for medical support for the refugees. During their meeting, Erdogan told Hollande that he blames the international coalition for concentrating its attacks on Kobani, saying that other cities are also facing the Islamic State. He also said that there was almost no one left in Kobani except fighters, redirecting Hollande’s attention to Aleppo. Hollande reportedly responded, “Mister Erdogan is right. There are other cities which are also threatened by Daesh. The most important city is Aleppo.” Hollande also confirmed his trust in Turkey to Erdogan, saying, “Even if there is no population left in Kobani, it is very important to bring to the city the necessary reinforcements, and we trust Turkey to do it.”

Fiona Guitard filed this report from Paris for the Armenian Weekly.