NEWS
- Foza Yusif: Federalism protects the interests of all Syrian people
- On the road to Raqqa: Kurds close in on Islamic State’s Syrian capital
- Syrian Kurds Set to Approve New Govt Blueprint for Autonomy
- Final declaration of the Federal System Constituent Assembly conference
- Kurds and Damascus meet over tensions, future of Rojava
- Russia, Turkey, Iran eye dicing Syria into zones of influence
- ‘Rojava’ no longer exists, ‘Northern Syria’ adopted instead
- Kurdish-led SDF forces expel ISIS from key town west Raqqa, kill over 50 jihadists
- Constitution Draft Passed in Parliament
- Necmiye Alpay, Aslı Erdoğan, Zana Kaya Released
- Journalist Ahmet Şık Taken Into Custody
- Pro-Kurdish HDP party co-chair arrested in Ankara
- Roboski, 5 years ago
- IHD meeting on Roboskî: Perpetrators have been protected
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- Rojava leader: Turkey cannot stop Kurds from advancing in Syria
- Can Syrian Democratic Council play unifier in postwar Syria?
- Would Putin accept Turkish buffer zone in Syria?
- Has PKK reached impasse in Turkey, Syria?
- Time to Get Tough on Turkey
- A Murder in Ankara
- Prominent U.S. ‘Journalist’ in Syria Serves as Mouthpiece for Violent Extremists
REPORT
Report on Women in Local Administrations and Appointment of Trustees to the Municipalities
ACTION
1. NEW! Limited edition Kurdish Struggles 2017 Calendars
2. Petition: CALL FOR THE RELEASE OF STUDENTS ARBITRARILY DETAINED IN TURKEY -Still open for signatures.
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NEWS
- Foza Yusif: Federalism protects the interests of all Syrian people
30 December/ANHA News Agency
Foza Yusif, member of the Democratic Federalism Political Committee of Northern Syria, noted that with the democratic federalism, they intended to defend the rights of all Syrian people and that the federalism would be built with the essence of unity in nation and geography.
http://en.hawarnews.com/foza-yusif-federalism-protects-the-interests-of-all-syrian-people/
- On the road to Raqqa: Kurds close in on Islamic State’s Syrian capital
28 December/Trib Live
“Raqqa we are coming,” say the words spray-painted in Kurdish at the entrance to this empty little town, which lies on the front line of a U.S.-backed advance toward the Islamic State’s capital.
- Syrian Kurds Set to Approve New Govt Blueprint for Autonomy
28 December/TeleSur
Syrian Kurdish groups and their allies are this week expected to approve a detailed blueprint for a system of federal government in northern Syria, Kurdish officials said, reaffirming their plans for autonomy as Russia and Turkey seek to revive peace diplomacy.
- Final declaration of the Federal System Constituent Assembly conference
30 December/ANF News
The Northern Syria Constituent Assembly conference began in the town of Rimêlan on December 27 and lasted three days. Yesterday, the 165-member council approved the Social Contract draft.
- Kurds and Damascus meet over tensions, future of Rojava
29 December/Rudaw News
Tensions between Kurds and the Syrian government have reached fever pitch this week over the future of the Kurdish autonomous enclave, also called Rojava, as envoys of the two sides met on Tuesday, the second such meeting since the uprising in 2011.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/29122016
- Russia, Turkey, Iran eye dicing Syria into zones of influence
28 December/Reuters
Syria would be divided into informal zones of regional power influence and Bashar al-Assad would remain president for at least a few years under an outline deal between Russia, Turkey and Iran, sources say.
- ‘Rojava’ no longer exists, ‘Northern Syria’ adopted instead
28 December/Kurdistan 24
Syrian Kurdish parties and their multi-ethnic and religious allies announced on Wednesday the completion of the draft constitution for a system of federal government in northern Syria.
- Kurdish-led SDF forces expel ISIS from key town west Raqqa, kill over 50 jihadists
27 December/ARA News
Backed by the US-led coalition’s air support, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday expelled ISIS militants from the strategic town of Jaabar in western Raqqa Governorate.
- Constitution Draft Passed in Parliament
31 December/Bianet English
The Constitutional Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) has passed the constitutional amendment draft.
http://bianet.org/english/politics/182234-constitution-draft-passed-in-parliament
- Necmiye Alpay, Aslı Erdoğan, Zana Kaya Released
31 December/ Bianet English
Jailed pending trial, charged with “Terror organization membership”, author Aslı Erdoğan, Özgür Gündem newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief Zana Kaya and linguist Necmiye Alpay have been released.
http://bianet.org/english/human-rights/182206-necmiye-alpay-asli-erdogan-zana-kaya-released
- Journalist Ahmet Şık Taken Into Custody
29 December/Bianet English
Journalist Ahmet Şık was taken into custody in his apartment by police this morning (December 29). Attorney Can Atalay has reported that Şık would be delivered to İstanbul Security Directorate after a health check in Haseki Hospital.
http://bianet.org/english/media/182174-journalist-ahmet-sik-taken-into-custody
- Pro-Kurdish HDP party co-chair arrested in Ankara
26 December/ DW. Com
Turkey’s crackdown on the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) showed no sign of slowing down on Monday after the arrest of Aysel Tugluk, deputy co-chair of the party. Tugluk was taken away by anti-terrorism police at her home in Ankara about a month after 10 HDP lawmakers were detained on charges of having ties to the outlawed militant group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
- Roboski, 5 years ago
28 December/ ANF News
On the night of 28 December 2011, Turkish Armed Forces’ warplanes bombed an area on the border with South Kurdistan (Iraqi Kurdistan). The bombs killed 34 mostly young men on their way back from the Iraqi border they had crossed for “Border Trade” from the villages of Gülyazı (Bejuh) and Ortasu (Roboskî) in Şırnak’s (Şirnex) Uludere (Qileban).
http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/roboski-5-years-ago
- IHD meeting on Roboskî: Perpetrators have been protected
28 December/ ANF News
Human Rights Association (IHD) Amed Branch held a press conference on the 5th year anniversary of Roboskî massacre today. IHD Deputy Chair and Amed Branch President Raci Bilici, Regional Representative Abdusselam İnceören and other IHD administrators attended the meeting. Bilici read out the press statement, recalled the massacre of 34 civilians including 19 children, and said “Roboskî will be remembered as a bloody massacre.”
http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/ihd-meeting-on-roboski-perpetrators-have-been-protected
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- Rojava leader: Turkey cannot stop Kurds from advancing in Syria
27 December/ Al Monitor
Fawza al-Yusuf, a Syrian Kurd from a modest family, left northern Syria as a teenager and student in 1991, fearful of arrest for her political activities. She joined the uprising that broke out in the Kurdish areas of southeastern Turkey in 1977 and remains ongoing, calling herself Zakho Zaghrous after Zakho, a city in Iraqi Kurdistan, and Mount Zaghrous, which dominates the mountain range between the Iranian- and Iraqi-ruled Kurdish regions.
- Can Syrian Democratic Council play unifier in postwar Syria?
13 December/Al Monitor
Ilham Ehmed chose a path quite different from that taken by most Kurdish women in northern Syria. Instead of getting married and staying at home in line with societal norms, Ehmed chose political action — defying the tribal and social restrictions imposed on Kurdish women in the Afrin district of Aleppo governorate — and became a member of the executive committee of the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM).
- Would Putin accept Turkish buffer zone in Syria?
26 December/Al Monitor
When Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield on Aug. 24, two objectives were declared: to distance the Islamic State (IS) from the Turkish border, and to prevent the Kurds who had crossed to the west of the Euphrates River, despite Turkey’s stated red lines, from connecting with Afrin.
- Has PKK reached impasse in Turkey, Syria?
27 December/ Al Monitor
Two recent bombing attacks that killed 60 people in Turkey were part of a long chain of violence. In 2016, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its affiliate, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), carried out 20 bombing attacks in 12 towns, killing 225 people and seriously wounding 1,022. Clashes by the Kurds in Turkey were only one side of the coin. According to official figures, 9,500 PKK militants have been killed since July 20, 2015. In the same period, more than 10,500 Kurds were detained, while 843 security personnel and 335 civilians were killed in PKK attacks.
- Time to Get Tough on Turkey
27 December/National Review
Turkey has now been a candidate for membership in the European Union longer than any other country in the history of the European integration process. It submitted its application to the European Economic Community, the EU’s predecessor, in 1987. Twelve years later, in 1999, it was formally recognized as a candidate, and six years after that, it was finally allowed to begin accession negotiations with the EU.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/443339/turkey-european-union-west-tougher-stance-erdogan
- A Murder in Ankara
21 December/American Interest
The brazenness of the assassination of Ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, recorded for all to see, has shocked everyone. The ramifications of the murder will be felt far and wide.
http://www.the-american-interest.com/2016/12/21/a-murder-in-ankara/
- Prominent U.S. ‘Journalist’ in Syria Serves as Mouthpiece for Violent Extremists
29 December/Alternet
During the final days of rebel control over the eastern areas of Aleppo, the Western media depended almost entirely on a handful of English-speaking, self-described activists to relay news of the situation to a captivated public.
http://www.alternet.org/world/prominent-us-journalist-syria-serves-mouthpiece-violent-extremist
REPORT
Report on Women in Local Administrations and Appointment of Trustees to the Municipalities
21 December/ Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
Authoritarian tendencies of the current government in Turkey have reached new heights after two important turning points; namely the end of the peace negotiations with the Kurdish movement in July 2015 and the coup attempt on 15 July 2016. During this period, all liberties including right to live are repeatedly violated by the Turkish state.
ACTION
- NEW! Limited edition Kurdish Struggles 2017 Calendars
13 December/Kurdish Solidarity Network
Brighton Kurdistan Solidarity have created some new exclusive limited edition calendars. There are only 50 available, so get them while they’re hot!
- Petition: CALL FOR THE RELEASE OF STUDENTS ARBITRARILY DETAINED IN TURKEY -Still open for signatures.
23 December/ Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
We are deeply concerned that approximately 400 students are being held in arbitrary detention in Turkey. Pre- trial detention should only be used as a matter of last resort, as an exceptional practice, however, now in Turkey it is now used as a matter of course and, in effect, as a method of punishment without trial.
Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
Email: estella24@tiscali.co.uk
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Gingell – Tel: 020 7272 7890
Fax: 020 7263 0596
Patrons: Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Kate Osamor MP, Elfyn Llwyd, Dafydd Iwan, Former President Plaid Cymru, Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy, John Austin, Christine Blower, NUT International Secretary, Simon Dubbins, UNITE International Director, Doug Nicholls, General Secretary, General Federations of Trade Unions, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, James Kelman, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Mark Thomas, Nick Hildyard, Stephen Smellie, Derek Wall, Melanie Gingell, Steve Sweeney