For all of the latest Kurdish news, see these sources:
ANF English: https://anfenglishmobile.com/
Hawar News: https://www.hawarnews.com/en/
Rojava Information Center: https://rojavainformationcenter.com
Women Defend Rojava: http://womendefendrojava.net/en/
Rojhelat: http://rojhelat.info/en/
Rojava Centre for Strategic Studies: http://nrlsrojava.com/en/
Komun Academy: https://komun-academy.com
Peoples’ Democratic Party: https://www.hdp.org.tr/en/
KCK-Kurdistan Democratic Communities Union: https://kck-info.com
News
- Turkey’s war of attrition against Syria’s Kurds
- Globalization conference in Oslo addresses Turkey’s war against Kurds
- Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov meets with Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Council for Democratic Syria I. Ahmed
- Turkey: Police break up ‘violence against women’ protest in Istanbul
- Eight Mercenaries of the Turkish Occupation Forces Were Killed While Our Forces Responded To Two Separate Attacks On The Villages Of Ain Issa
- UK nominates documentary on femicide in Turkey for Oscars
- 111 journalists under trial in November
- Why thousands of Iraqi Kurds risk their lives to reach Europe
- EXPLAINER: Turkey’s currency is crashing. What’s the impact?
- Osman Kavala: Council of Europe set to discipline Turkey for blocking philanthropist’s release from prison
- Turkish opposition leader helps shape unlikely alliance to challenge Erdogan
- Amid Tensions With Turkey, China Is Putting the Kurdish Issue in Play
Videos
- Stephen Smellie: Turkish government should be investigated and indicted for war crimes
- .(Video) Democracy and Despotism in the Turkish Republic – An Interview with Dr Kumru Toktamış
- .(Video) “Turkey is out of control” – Simon Dubbins, UNITE the Union
News
1.Turkey’s war of attrition against Syria’s Kurds
17 November 2021/Al Monitor
Alongside shelling and drones, Turkey is weaponizing water supplies in northeast Syria, turning an already horrible situation into a nightmare
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/11/turkeys-war-attrition-against-syrias-kurds#ixzz7EDC25r8T
2.Globalization conference in Oslo addresses Turkey’s war against Kurds
21 November 2021/ANF English
During the globalization conference in Oslo. there was a panel discussion on Turkey’s war against the Kurds and Norway and NATO’s role.
Dr. Nazan Ustundag explained how Turkey uses water as a weapon in Rojava and how olives are stolen from Afrin and sold as a Turkish product in Europe. Dr. Nazan pointed out that the biggest crime is Turkey’s chemical warfare, which is taking place in silence. Turkey uses chemical weapons in Iraq, Syria and has already used it in southeastern Turkey. This is something we must talk about and demand an investigation of, she said.
3.Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov meets with Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Council for Democratic Syria I. Ahmed
23 November 2021/Ministry of Foreign Affairs Russian Federation
On November 23, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov received Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Council for Democratic Syria Ilham Ahmed.
During the conversation, a discussion of the situation in the SAR with an emphasis on the situation in the north-eastern region of the country took place. At the same time, special attention was paid to the task of promoting a political settlement in Syria on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2254 , restoring its economy and social sphere, returning refugees and internally displaced persons, and providing humanitarian assistance to those in need.
4.Turkey: Police break up ‘violence against women’ protest in Istanbul
26 November 2021/MME
Riot police fired pepper gas to disperse demonstrators who gathered in Istanbul on Thursday to protest violence against women, some chanting “government resign,” nearly five months after Turkey withdrew from an international treaty on the issue.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-police-violence-against-women-protest-istanbul
5.Eight Mercenaries of the Turkish Occupation Forces Were Killed While Our Forces Responded To Two Separate Attacks On The Villages Of Ain Issa
27 November 2021/SDF Press Office
Eight mercenaries were killed and nine others were injured during our forces’ response to two attacks by the Turkish occupation on the villages of Al-Msherfa and Sidon, belonging to Ain Issa yesterday evening, Friday evening, as violent clashes erupted between our fighters and mercenaries, during which heavy artillery shelling was carried out by the occupation.
https://sdf-press.com/?p=35188
6.UK nominates documentary on femicide in Turkey for Oscars
30 Novemer 2021/Al Monitor
Kubra, a former TV anchor who lost her mobility and speech after a brain hemorrhage, is one of the heroines of “Dying to Divorce,” an 80-minute documentary on gender violence and femicide in Turkey. Directed by Chloe Fairweather and produced by the Turco-British team of Sinead Kirwan, Ozge Sebzeci and Seda Gokce, the film is Britain’s official entry in the
Academy Awards for best international feature film. The shortlist is expected to be announced on Dec. 21.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/11/uk-nominates-documentary-femicide-turkey-oscars#ixzz7ED4EGPil
7.111 journalists under trial in November
1 December 2021/ANF English
According to the report, at least 111 journalists and media workers appeared in court in November. In the ongoing trials, sentences have been demanded for 111 journalists from a total minimum of 812 years, 9 months to a total maximum of 1,817 years and 11 months in prison. A judicial fine of up to 35 thousand days was also demanded. A fine for a total of 40 thousand TL and damages of 2 million 100 thousand TL were demanded for 4 journalists.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/freedom-of-the-press/november-sees-111-journalists-under-trial-56572
8.Why thousands of Iraqi Kurds risk their lives to reach Europe
2 December 2021/Al Jazeera
Asos Hassan is among thousands of people from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq who have risked their lives trying to reach Europe this year.
Desperate to escape economic hardship and political repression, the 28-year-old university graduate from Koya, a town located east of the capital Erbil, has twice tried to cross the Aegean Sea to Greece, but was deported by Turkish authorities.
9.EXPLAINER: Turkey’s currency is crashing. What’s the impact?
3 December 2021/Washington Post
Turkey’s beleaguered currency has been plunging to all-time lows against the U.S. dollar and the euro in recent months as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presses ahead with a widely criticized effort to cut interest rates despite surging consumer prices.
10..Osman Kavala: Council of Europe set to discipline Turkey for blocking philanthropist’s release from prison
3 December 2021/MME
The Council of Europe (CoE) said on Friday that it will launch disciplinary action against Turkey for refusing to free activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala. The pan-European rights body’s committee of ministers agreed to discipline Turkey after Ankara refused to comply with a 2019 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to release Kavala from prison.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-kavala-council-europe-discipline-over-arrest
11.Turkish opposition leader helps shape unlikely alliance to challenge Erdogan
5 December 2021/Financial Times
Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s CHP and rival parties have set aside deep differences and joined forces in push to oust president
https://www.ft.com/content/daa4614f-4838-4346-9723-43d7ba43e6a9
12.Amid Tensions With Turkey, China Is Putting the Kurdish Issue in Play
4 December 2021/The Diplomat
These incidents forced China to move against Turkey. China’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Geng Shuang accused Turkey of violating human rights in Syria. Geng described Turkey’s actions in northeast Syria as illegal. “Since Turkey illegally invaded north-eastern Syria, it has regularly cut off the water supply service from the Alouk Water Station,” he said. A fierce argument ensued between Geng and Turkey’s representative, Feridun Sinirlioglu.
Videos
13.Stephen Smellie: Turkish government should be investigated and indicted for war crimes
23 November 2021/Peace in Kurdistan
Stephen Smellie, an activist in the public sector UK trade union UNISON, the biggest trade union in the United Kingdom and trade union liaison for Peace in Kurdistan, was recently interviewed by Erem Kansoy.
14.(Video) Democracy and Despotism in the Turkish Republic – An Interview with Dr Kumru Toktamış
4 December 2021/Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
Connor Hayes speaks with Kumru Toktamış, Associate Professor of Social Science and Cultural Studies at the Pratt Institute, about her work with Human Rights Watch in Turkey, the historical role of Kurdish mobilisations in the formation of the Turkish nation-state, the 2013 Taksim protest movement in Turkey, the current state of democracy in Turkey under the AKP-MHP regime and prospects for democratisation, and the violence against women and the women’s movement in Turkey.
15.(Video) “Turkey is out of control” – Simon Dubbins, UNITE the Union
5 December 2021/Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
Topics discussed include the need for the international community to act against Turkey given Turkey’s aggression towards its own population and interventions around the region, the silence of the international community on Turkey’s alleged use of chemical weapons for political and economic reasons, and the proscription of the PKK as a terrorist organisation in the context of the global war on terror, and the significance of the Belgium High Court ruling that the PKK is not a terrorist organisation and how that may serve as a precedent for similar rulings elsewhere.
Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
Email: estella@gn.apc.org
https://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peaceinkurdistan1/
Contacts Estella Schmid: 07846 666 804 & Melanie Gingell: 07572 430903
Patrons: John Austin, Baroness Blower of Starch Green, former GS NUT, Prof Bill Bowring, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Maggie Cook, UNISON women activist; Prof Mary Davis, Lord Dholakia, Simon Dubbins, UNITE International Director, Jill Evans, former MEP, Desmond Fernandes, Lindsey German, Convenor STWC, Melanie Gingell, Christopher Gingell, Prof Dr. Michael Gunter, Secretary-General, EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), Rahila Gupta, journalist, Nick Hildyard, policy advisor, Dafydd Iwan, Former President Plaid Cymru, James Kelman, Bruce Kent, Jean Lambert, former MEP, Dr Les Levidow, Open University, Elfyn Llwyd, John McDonnell MP; Aonghas MacNeacail, Scottish Gaelic poet, Mike Mansfield QC, David Morgan, journalist, Doug Nicholls, General Secretary, GFTU, Dr. Jessica Ayesha Northey, Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy, Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Kate Osamor MP, Margaret Owen OBE, Ali Gul Ozbek, Former Councillor and Mayor of Haringey; Gareth Peirce, Dr Felix Padel, Maxine Peake, actor, Dr Thomas Phillips, Liverpool John Moores University, Trevor Rayne, writer, Joe Ryan, Bert Schouwenburg, International Trade Union Adviser; Tony Simpson, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation, Stephen Smellie, PIK Trade Union Liaison Officer, Jonathan Steele, journalist, Steve Sweeney, journalist, Gianni Tognoni, General Secretary Permanent People’s Tribunal, Dr Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Dr Federico Venturini, Associate Researcher, University of Udine, Italy; Dr Tom Wakeford, Dr Derek Wall, Julie Ward, former MEP, Kariane Westrheim, Chair, EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC); Hywel Williams MP.