Hundreds of Kurdish demonstrators gathered outside the Tweede Kamer (Dutch parliament) in The Hague last night, demanding that the West stop abandoning the very people who defeated the Islamic State.
The late-night protest saw demonstrators waving flags and holding banners accusing Europe of betrayal.
One flyer cut straight to the point: “What Europe first called terrorism, it now finances with 620 million euros at the cost of Kurdish lives.” There was also a large protest in Rotterdam about the same issue this past Sunday.
From heroes to abandoned allies
For nearly a decade, Kurdish SDF forces controlled northeastern Syria after doing the West’s dirty work by fighting IS on the ground.
Now, they’re watching their territory disappear as the Syrian government launches a major offensive.
According to the NOS, intense fighting over recent weeks has seen the SDF lose significant ground. A ceasefire was agreed on Sunday, but fresh clashes erupted just one day later, including battles near prisons holding IS fighters.
But it’s a familiar pattern.
The Kurds do the fighting, the West promises support, and then geopolitics inevitably gets in the way. Of course, the US won’t step up in this day and age as well.
IS prisoners: everyone’s problem, no one’s responsibility
Under the ceasefire deal, Syria’s government takes control of IS detainees, including foreign fighters. That’s the same government run by people with their own jihadist backgrounds.
For the Netherlands, this matters.
Dutch IS fighters and their families remain detained in the region, a political headache successive governments have tried to ignore. Perhaps they’ll try to join the new Syrian government, or perhaps they’ll try to return to the Netherlands.
A peaceful protest with riot police watching
The ME (Dutch riot police) were deployed, given the crowd size, but the demonstration remained entirely peaceful with no arrests.
Previous Kurdish protests about regional conflicts have sometimes turned violent when counter-protesters appeared, but last night avoided such confrontations.
Do you think the Netherlands should be doing more to support the Kurds? Let us know in the comments.
