Kurdish Society President launches petition to get Macer Gifford to speak

It already has over 1,000 signatures


petition to get a former UCL student who fought ISIS to speak at the uni already has over 1,000 signatures.

The campaign was started by Kurdish Society President Kavar Kurda just three days ago after Macer Gifford – who fought with Kurdish group YPG in Syria – was no-platformed by the union last week.

UCLU said “there were concerns an event with a person speaking about their experiences fighting in Syria could lead to others going and fighting in the conflict,” but Kavar was unhappy with the decision and started the petition on Friday.

Kavar (left)

Kavar wrote on the petition page: “Macer Gifford is an excellent example of someone laying his life on the line in order to champion human rights, and to deny a man who has spoken at the BBC, Portcullis House and an ex-UCL student is absolutely outrageous.”

Kavar is aiming for 1,500 signatures, at which point he will use it to lobby the union.

Kavar told The Tab: “I’m deeply humbled by all the support. Universities have no right to censor us, especially in the face of terrorism. Academic debate is vital and it’s great to see so many people showing open support for this cause.”