jpg A petition containing 8,000 signatures was submitted at the gates of Downing Street
The leaders of Britain’s Alevi community were in Downing Street this week to deliver a petition condemning Islamic State and Western policy in the Middle East.
The British Alevi Federation, which has been actively campaigning for awareness of the conflict in the region, collected 8,000 signatures for its petition, which was handed over at the gates of the Prime Minister’s official residence.
İsrafil Erbil, the president of the federation, said his delegation was not permitted inside because they were a large group, but was told to expect a response from Downing Street official within five days.
Speaking outside the gates of Downing Street, he said that Western countries had aided the massacres of Islamic State and al Qaida through their ambitions of bringing democracy to the peoples of the Middle East.
Also presenting the petition was Mehmet Yüksel, a senior Alevi figure who had come to Britain for the Muharram festival.
“The people of Iraq and Syria who are being massacred by the day are not alone. The awareness of Alevis living in Europe has made us very happy,” Mr Yüksel said.
“It is time for European countries to withdraw their hands from the Middle East. Their weapons are a cause of war, not peace. We will continue to stand by Kobane, Shengal, Lazkiya and the peoples of everywhere that is suffering.”
jpg İsrafil Erbil, president of the British Alevi Federation, said Western countries were responsible for the violence in the Middle East