Memorial ceremony for Amara Cûdî in Heilbronn

While German Chancellor Angela Merkel smiled into the cameras together with Erdogan in Istanbul on Saturday, one of the victims of Turkish war crimes was commemorated in Heilbronn. Amara Cûdî (Rojîn Ramazan), a guerrilla fighter from Dêrik in Rojava, died on Oct. 5 along with four other guerrillas in a chemical weapons attack by the Turkish army on the Werxelê mountain range in southern Kurdistan. A sister and other relatives took part in the memorial service at the Kurdish Community Center in Heilbronn.

The commemoration was introduced with a minute of silence for the martyrs of the Kurdish liberation struggle. Afterwards, Zozan Dêrik, representing the women’s movement Kongreya Star, gave a speech in which she addressed the Turkish state’s actions in Kurdistan, which are contrary to international law: “Amara and the friends who fell with her did not capitulate to the murderous attacks of the Turkish state. The Turkish army was helpless in the face of their resistance and therefore used internationally banned chemical weapons. The whole world is watching Erdogan do this and is complicit. We call on our people not only to stand emotionally behind the martyrs, but to respond with resistance.”

In a speech, PYD representative Abdin Xorşîd pointed to the invasion of Rojava threatened by the Turkish state and called for the defense of the revolution of northeastern Syria. Amara’s sister Norşîn Ramadan spoke about her life and personality, saying she was brave as a child and chose to fight for freedom.

After other speeches, a film about the five martyrs was shown at the event.

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