A rally was held in Lyon, France, to protest against the massacre of Alawites in Syria by imperialists and the Turkish state-backed Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), also known as ‘New Syria’.
On Saturday 15 March 2025, the Alevite Cultural Centre (AKM) and the FUAF Rhône held a press conference at Place Bellecour in Lyon to protest against the massacre of Alawites in Syria by the gangs of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Partizan and the coordinating committee of the Anti-imperialist League participated in this protest and solidarity rally with the Alawite people.
The Alevi organisations AKM and FUAF, as well as many other organisations and democratic institutions, took part in the rally and expressed their solidarity with the massacred Alawite people in Syria. In addition to the statement by the Democratic Platform and the Mesopotamian Cultural Centre, the statement by the Coordination Committee of the Anti-Imperialist League (AIL) was also read out, condemning the massacre of the Alevites. The statement emphasised that the imperialist powers and the Turkish state are responsible for the ongoing massacres of the Alevites.
The statement emphasised that the jihadist groups that have gathered under the umbrella of the so-called ‘Syrian National Army’ have once again shown their barbaric face and carried out a bloody massacre of Alevites.
In the speeches at the rally, it was emphasised that this massacre is part of the imperialist strategy to dismember Syria. ‘The imperialist powers, which for years have released reactionary, anti-people gangs in Syria with the lie “We will bring freedom to Syria”, are complicit in every murder committed today! The jihadist terror, supported by imperialism and the fascist Turkish state, which is today directed against Alevites, will tomorrow be directed against Shiites, Christians, Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens and all oppressed peoples!
The rally ended with calls for support and solidarity with the struggle of the oppressed peoples and for the development of a common struggle against the imperialists and all reactionaries:
‘Down with imperialism! Down with reaction! Long live the unity of the peoples and the revolutionary struggle!’
This press release, issued in Lyon as part of the international solidarity actions against the attacks on Syria and the region, has once again shown the importance of the peoples’ united struggle against imperialism and its regional collaborators.
Coordination Committee of the Anti-imperialist League
March 2025
