EP – Call for the reconstruction of Kobanê

February 18

Members of the European Parliament have signed a letter drafted by the Kobanê canton administration calling for the reconstruction of the city of Kobanê.

Urgent Appeal : Reconstruct Kobanê

To the European Union and Member States:

On the 15th of September, Daesh launched a major offensive against the Kurdish Canton of Kobanê in Syria. The Kurdish people, not least the Kurdish women’s defense forces (YPG and YPJ), staged a huge resistance against the attacks. The international coalition supported the resistance of the Kurdish forces with aerial bombardments. Thanks to this resistance and support, the Kurdish forces were able to liberate Kobanê on the 134th day of the attacks. The liberation of Kobanê was celebrated by all democratic forces around the globe and the 200,000 refugees that had fled Kobanê. The resistance of the men and women in Kobanê against Daesh was for democracy, human rights, a joint future and the liberation of women.

However, liberated Kobanê is almost completely in ruins. The people of Kobanê want to urgently return to their hometown, but are unable to do so because they do not have the means to rebuild their homes. The Canton of Kobanê has formed a commission for the rebuilding of the town and have commenced with their work. This commission has issued an urgent appeal to the international community to support its efforts to rebuild Kobanê.

On this opportunity, we, as the undersigned Members of the European Parliament, salute the Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council called “Elements for an EU regional strategy for Syria and Iraq as well as the Daesh threat”, issued by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Commission on 06.02.2015, which states that “Kurds have been in the front-line of the fight against Daesh”.

We support the recommendations made in the Joint Communication, for example to help “re-establish an administration and public services (including civil protection, health, education), as well as overall economic activity […] in the mainly Syrian Kurdish populated regions of the north of Syria”. We specifically demand that urgent aid is supplied to the refugees and for the rebuilding of Kobanê in collaboration with the canton administration of Kobanê.

We also ask to put pressure on the authorities of neighbouring countries to Kobanê to honour their verbal commitment on the opening of a humanitarian corridor which remains a vital urgency to bring assistance to injured civilians and Kurdish fighters.

We call upon the European Union and the member states to actively support the efforts to rebuild Kobanê.
Confederal Group of the European United Left – Nordic Green Left
MEP Marie-Christine Vergiat,
MEP Marisa Matias,
MEP Patrick Le Hyaric,
MEP Gabriele Zimmer
MEP Fabio De Masi,
MEP Josu Juaristi Abaunz,
MEP Sabine Lösing,
MEP Pablo Echenique
MEP Curzio Maltese
MEP Dimitrios Papadimoulis
MEP Ronja KARI Rina
MEP Eleonora FORENZA
MEP Miloslav Ransdorf
MEP Barbara spinelli
MEP Manolis Glezos
MEP Helmut Scholz
MEP Anne-Marie Mineur
Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance
MEP Bodil Ceballos,
MEP Bart Staes,
MEP Ernest Urtasun,
MEP Karima Delli,
MEP José Bové,
MEP Monika Vana,
MEP Philippe Lamberts,
MEP Judith Sargentini
MEP Maria Heubuch
MEP Michèle RIVASI
MEP Jean Lambert
Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
MEP Eric Andrieu,
MEP Michela Giuffrida,
MEP Brando Benifei,
MEP Demetris Papadakis,
MEP Soraya POST
Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
MEP Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Vice-Chair
MEP Pavel Telička, Vice-Chair
MEP Fernando Maura Barandiaràn, Vice-Chair
MEP Petr Jezek,
MEP Urmas Paet,
Maite Pagazaurtundúa
Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats)
MEP Mariya Gabriel,