NEWS
- HDP co-chair Buldan: The end of the tyrant is near
- UN’s Mueller: Turkey’s offensive displaced over 200,000 people
- MEPs call for immediate action to stop Turkey’s attacks on Kurds
- Disciplinary sanction for Öcalan and other 3 prisoners in Imrali
- Activists from Villiers-le-Bel take over Freedom for Öcalan Vigil
- Dictator defends occupation and demands oil revenues in Geneva
- KESK calls on workers to join rallies for a “dignified life”
- Recognition of Armenian genocide will prevent Turkey’s “massacre” of Kurds: SDF commander
- Turkey sentences 7 Syrian Kurds to aggravated life sentences on terror charges: report
- First Kurdish candidate elected for the Labour Party
- Over objections from Trump and Turkey, Senate passes Armenian genocide remembrance measure
- The 70th NATO Summit and the Looming Crisis around Turkey
- Russia opposes expansion of Turkey’s north Syria ‘safe zone’
- “Öcalan is the only person who can lead the way to peace”
- Wife of ailing, jailed Kurdish leader Demirtas relays message after visit
- European Parliament to host Rojava Conference on 11 December
- ‘In cold blood’: Syria Kurds say killed, robbed by Turkey proxies
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- Solidarity campaigners call on Plymouth-based aerospace company to stop arming Turkey
- How one of the most inspiring projects in the Middle East has been devastated by NATO’s second-largest army
- EU condemns Turkey again while sticking to its position on the Kurdish administration in north-east Syria
- ‘I paint for my dreams’: art in the Yezidi camp of Bajed Kandala
- An Outrageous Proposal: Peace Boats to Iran
- Turkey plans to speed up fighter jet project with Britain
- Turkey’s Kurdish sweep backfires
- Turkish government blocks care of Kurdish HDP’s jailed ex-leader Demirtaş
- It’s time for Climate Bonds Initiative to scrap its hydro certification scheme (commentary)
- Turkey Begins Resettling Refugees in Northeastern Syria
- Demirtaş: AKP Has to Wage War Against Kurds to Ensure Support Within ‘Fascist Front’
- Turkey’s war on Kurds and the fate of the European project
- Pariah people in the 21st century: the Kurds’ predicament in the Middle East
- Freedom of speech denied at the UN!
- Journey for Resistance and the Footsteps of Time – reflections from the massacre in Serêkaniyê
- Bachelet calls on Iran to address multiple human rights violations in context of recent protests
- Turkey’s military drones: an export product that’s disrupting NATO
- The Kurdish quest for a democratic civilization, through democratic Confederalism and a sociology of freedom
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NEWS
- HDP co-chair Buldan: The end of the tyrant is near
21 December 2019|ANF English
Pervin Buldan, co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), spoke on current political developments in Turkey at the congress of the Ankara Provincial Association. “We are a party that continues to stand on its feet even though half of us are in prison,” Buldan declared in a pugnacious speech.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/hdp-co-chair-buldan-the-end-of-the-tyrant-is-near-40248
- UN’s Mueller: Turkey’s offensive displaced over 200,000 people
20 December 2019|ANF English
Ursula Mueller, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator highlighted the worsening humanitarian situation for people in many parts of Syria. In a briefing to the UN Security Council on the Humanitarian Situation in Syria, Mueller cited the Secretary-General’s latest report updates about many concerning developments and touched upon the continued importance of cross-border humanitarian operations.
- MEPs call for immediate action to stop Turkey’s attacks on Kurds
20 December 2019|ANF English
Around 40 members of the European Parliament wrote a letter to Josep Borrell, High-Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, calling for immediate action against the Turkish state’s genocidal campaign against the Kurdish people in various parts of Kurdistan.
- Disciplinary sanction for Öcalan and other 3 prisoners in Imrali
18 December 2019|ANF English
It has been disclosed that Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan and three other prisoners in Imralı were given a new disciplinary sentence on 21 October. Öcalan’s lawyers said the disciplinary sentences were sealed and so they could not see their contents.
- Activists from Villiers-le-Bel take over Freedom for Öcalan Vigil
18 December 2019|ANF English
The Freedom for Öcalan Vigil held in front of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg has reached week 391. The group of activists from Drancy who took over the Vigil last week was replaced by 5 Kurdish activists from Villiers-le-Bel. Despite the cold weather Nadir Özdemir, Soro Karakoçan, Selçuk Karasu, Şoreş Demir and Hasan Alagöz said they are proud to having taken over the Vigil.
- Dictator defends occupation and demands oil revenues in Geneva
17 December 2019|ANF English
The 1st Global Refugee Forum has begun in Geneva with the participation of 120 countries. The controversial guest Erdoğan has defended the occupation of Northern Syria and demanded that the income from oil production be used for demographic change.
- KESK calls on workers to join rallies for a “dignified life”
17 December 2019|ANF English
KESK, the Confederation of Public Workers’ Trade Unions, called on workers to join the regional rallies for a dignified minimum wage. The Executive Committee of the Confederation of Public Workers’ Trade Unions (KESK) issued a written statement prior to the third meeting of the Minimum Wage Determination Commission.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/kesk-called-on-workers-to-join-rallies-for-a-dignified-life-40139
- Recognition of Armenian genocide will prevent Turkey’s “massacre” of Kurds: SDF commander
14 December 2019|Rudaw
“This is a clear message that genocide campaigns are not possible in the 21st century. This decision will stop Turkey from committing massacres against the Kurdish people and stop its invasion of Rojava,” said commander Mazloum Abdi in a tweet, using the Kurdish name for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/131220191
- Turkey sentences 7 Syrian Kurds to aggravated life sentences on terror charges: report
14 December 2019|TurkeyPurge
At least seven Syrian Kurds who were brought to Turkey from Syria by the Turkish army, were handed 3 life sentences each for attempting to “disrupt the unity and territorial integrity of the Turkish state,” the Mezopotamya news agency reported. 4 other Kurds in the same case were given 12 years over “membership on terrorist organization,” the agency reported.
- First Kurdish candidate elected for the Labour Party
13 December 2019|ANF English
North Enfield candidate for the Labour Party in the UK elections has been elected. Feryal Clark Demirci became the first Kurdish and Alevi woman to enter the British Parliament.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/first-kurdish-candidate-elected-for-the-labour-party-40070
- Over objections from Trump and Turkey, Senate passes Armenian genocide remembrance measure
12 December 2019|Washington Post
The Senate, without fanfare and over long-standing objections from President Trump, unanimously passed a resolution Thursday officially recognizing the Armenian genocide, joining the House in condemning Turkey’s mass slaughter of 1.5 million people early last century.
- The 70th NATO Summit and the Looming Crisis around Turkey
12 December 2019|Byline Times
With Turkey’s new provocative challenge of maritime boundaries in a memorandum of understanding with Libya, the tensions are only going to increase in the already hot area of the Eastern Mediterranean and the divisions in the North Atlantic alliance are going to deepen.
https://bylinetimes.com/2019/12/12/the-70th-nato-summit-and-the-looming-crisis-around-turkey/
- Russia opposes expansion of Turkey’s north Syria ‘safe zone’
11 Dec 2019|Ahval
Turkey should remain within the boundaries of the area it calls a safe zone that it set up in an October deal with Russia and should not expand beyond it, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said on Tuesday.
- “Öcalan is the only person who can lead the way to peace”
10 December 2019|ANF English
Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan is in Imralı for 20 years and has not been seen since 7 August. Devran Yildiz co-chair of the Human Rights Association (IHD) Batman Branch, evaluated the continue isolation in Imralı. Reminding that Öcalan has been held in solitary confinement basically since he was brought to Turkey in 1999, Yildiz said that Imralı prison system is ruled by unlawfulness and illegality which is further increased each passing day.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/Oecalan-is-the-only-person-who-can-lead-the-way-to-peace-39986
- Wife of ailing, jailed Kurdish leader Demirtas relays message after visit
8 December 2019|Kurdistan 24
Basak Demirtas tweeted on Saturday that she had visited her husband, jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas, who was earlier taken to the hospital after collapsing in his prison cell. The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party former co-chair lost consciousness after having breathing difficulties and chest pain on Nov. 26, sources close to him asserted. “We visited Selahattin yesterday. He was enraged and saddened because of the recent developments. Yet again he sent out his sincere greetings,” she wrote.
https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/15d6d268-c43e-402f-a1b7-179c21e29a2a
- European Parliament to host Rojava Conference on 11 December
10 December 2019|ANF English
During a two-day conference on December 11 and 12, deputies, human rights defenders, academics, representatives of organizations defending press freedom, journalists and researchers will gave presentations regarding the Syrian conflict and the Turkish invasion and occupation of North East Syria. The conference was promoted by the Greens / EFA group, the and the International Alliance for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms (AIDL), among others.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/european-parliament-to-host-rojava-conference-on-11-december-39981
- ‘In cold blood’: Syria Kurds say killed, robbed by Turkey proxies
6 December 2019|France 24
Turkish troops and their Syrian proxies have overrun a swathe of northern Syria since October, after a deadly military campaign against Kurdish forces that caused tens of thousands to flee their homes. Rights groups and displaced Kurdish families have accused Ankara-backed Syrian rebels of executions, home confiscations and looting in that border strip — charges that Turkey-backed fighters deny.
https://www.france24.com/en/20191206-in-cold-blood-syria-kurds-say-killed-robbed-by-turkey-proxies
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- Solidarity campaigners call on Plymouth-based aerospace company to stop arming Turkey
18 December 2019|The Canary
Campaigners in Plymouth have written to a local company demanding that it: “cease all trading with the Turkish military and with Turkish arms companies – until there is clear evidence of an end to the war crimes and human rights violations against Kurdish people”.
- How one of the most inspiring projects in the Middle East has been devastated by NATO’s second-largest army
18 December 2019|The Canary
The Turkish army, NATO’s second largest, launched an invasion of northern Syria (aka Rojava) in October. Turkey and its extremist allies quickly faced accusations of ethnic cleansing and war crimes. And they displaced more than 300,000 civilians while killing at least 250. They also caused great destruction and misery in communities which had been at the forefront of fighting against Daesh (Isis/Isil) and which had been building a progressive democratic system in the middle of Syria’s brutal conflict.
- EU condemns Turkey again while sticking to its position on the Kurdish administration in north-east Syria
17 December 2019| The Brussels Times
An international conference took place last week in the European Parliament on the deteriorating humanitarian and military situation in North-East Syria following the Turkish invasion in beginning of October. The conference ended with a strongly worded condemnation of the invasion and a call to the EU and the international community to recognise the Autonomous Administration in the region (Rojava) and include it in the UN-led Constitutional Committee tasked to draft a new constitution for Syria.
- ‘I paint for my dreams’: art in the Yezidi camp of Bajed Kandala
14 December 2019|Rudaw
Bitterly cold winds sweep through Bajed Kandala camp, where some 11,000 displaced Yezidis face their sixth winter in tents. Some brave the chill in queues trailing outside one of the entire camp’s two makeshift doctors’ offices. Established by Kurdish-Swedish doctors after the genocide of Yezidis by the Islamic State began in 2014, the organisation provides not just the medical aid the camp’s residents so desperately need, but holistic and educational activities too.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/14122019
- An Outrageous Proposal: Peace Boats to Iran
13 December 2019|Counterpunch
You may still remember the news about the latest protest wave in Iran, in November of this year, when Iranian government killed at least two hundred of our people protesting against suffocating social and economic conditions. More than seven thousand have been arrested. I am not here to ask for monetary donations. I am writing to ask for something far more outrageous: A fleet of peace boats full of western leftists to bring comradely salutations to the people of Iran, who are struggling mightily.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/an-outrageous-proposal-peace-boats-to-iran/
- Turkey plans to speed up fighter jet project with Britain
11 December 2019|The Guardian
Turkey plans to speed up its collaboration with Britain for the building of a new generation of fighter jet engines for the Turkish air force, the foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, has said. The £100m deal between Kale Group and Rolls-Royce was in effect put on hold in March after it was initially signed by the previous UK prime minister, Theresa May, in 2017. The news is likely to be controversial as Turkish jets strafe Kurdish positions in northern Syria, and the Turkish president has threatened to send troops to Libya in defiance of the UN weapons embargo.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/11/turkey-fighter-jet-project-britain
- Turkey’s Kurdish sweep backfires
11 December 2019|Al-Monitor
President Erdogan’s Syria plan has had unintended ramifications: Saudi Aravia and the UAE are now cozying up to the Kurds, the Kurds are uniting, and the Russians are guiding the solutions on the ground.
- Turkish government blocks care of Kurdish HDP’s jailed ex-leader Demirtaş
10 December 2019|World Socialist Website
Nearly two months after the beginning of the latest Turkish invasion into Syria to drive the Kurdish nationalist People’s Protection Units (YPG) from the Turkish-Syrian border, reports have emerged that Ankara is denying medical care to jailed Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtaş. Last week, amid a growing crackdown on Kurdish politicians and newly-elected HDP mayors, Aygül Demirtaş, Demirtaş’s sister and one of his lawyers, stated on social media that her brother had still not been taken to the hospital despite losing consciousness on November 26.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/10/turk-d10.html
- It’s time for Climate Bonds Initiative to scrap its hydro certification scheme (commentary)
10 December 2019|Mongabay
Today, 276 civil society organizations from 77 countries around the world launched a statement calling upon CBI to “abandon its misguided attempt to greenwash hydropower.” This diverse array of groups — from established human rights and environmental advocates to localized initiatives fighting to protect their communities’ freshwater resources — are unified in opposing CBI’s plans to “[channel] scarce climate dollars toward projects that fail to help us confront the challenge of preventing a 2oC scenario.”
- Turkey Begins Resettling Refugees in Northeastern Syria
9 December 2019|Foreign Policy
Continued reports of atrocities by Turkish-backed forces raise concerns about ethnic cleansing.
Turkey has begun shuttling Syrian refugees across the border into northeastern Syria despite dangerous security conditions in the border towns—the first sign Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is moving forward with his plan to resettle some 3 million Syrians living in Turkey into 20 miles of formerly Kurdish-held territory.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/12/09/turkey-resettling-refugees-northeastern-syria/
- Demirtaş: AKP Has to Wage War Against Kurds to Ensure Support Within ‘Fascist Front’
9 December 2019|Bianet English
In an interview with the daily Evrensel, Selahattin Demirtaş, the jailed former co-chair of the HDP Demirtaş has made remarks on his imprisonment despite release orders, dismissal of HDP mayors in Kurdish-majority cities and his health condition. The dismissal of mayors and imprisonment of politicians from the Peoples’ Democratic Party are part of an “all-out attack to annihilate the opposition,” according to Demirtas.
- Turkey’s war on Kurds and the fate of the European project
9 December 2019| The Jerusalem Post
While European leaders pay lip service to the sacrifices of Kurdish forces, they refuse to stop Erdogan while simultaneously stressing the need for Kurds to continue fighting on the West’s behalf.
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Turkeys-war-on-Kurds-and-the-fate-of-the-European-project-610335
- Pariah people in the 21st century: the Kurds’ predicament in the Middle East
9 December 2019|Open Democracy
The resolution of the Kurdish question will pave the way for the democratisation of authoritarian regimes that prevail in the Middle East, argues postdoctoral researcher Veysi Dag.
- Freedom of speech denied at the UN!
December 2019|Tove Skutnabb-Kangas
I participated as an invited expert for the first Theme at the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues, 12th Session, 28-29 November 2019, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. This Forum was the Fourth and final in a series organised by the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Fernand de Varennes. But crucially three UN staff did not want genocide to be mentioned, and they did not want Uyghurs, Tibetans and China, or Kurds and Turkey and Syria to be mentioned.
http://www.tove-skutnabb-kangas.org/en/Freedom-of-speech-denied-at-the-UN.html
- Journey for Resistance and the Footsteps of Time – reflections from the massacre in Serêkaniyê
8 December 2019|Women Defend Rojava
Rojbîn Ekîn is a journalist from the middle east, living and working in Rojava. As part of her work she joined the first civilian convoy to head for Serekaniye on the 14th of October- and so was there when the occupying forces targeted and shelled the convoy, killing 11 people and wounding more than 70, including Rojbîn herself. This is her report and reflection from that day.
- Bachelet calls on Iran to address multiple human rights violations in context of recent protests
6 December 2019| UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
As more information gradually filters out of Iran in the wake of the recent protests, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Friday expressed alarm at the continuing lack of transparency about casualties and the treatment of thousands of detainees, as well as continuing arrests reported to be taking place across the country.
https://ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25393&LangID=E
- Turkey’s military drones: an export product that’s disrupting NATO
6 December 2019| Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists
Just over a decade ago, the prototype of an unmanned aircraft that would become the Bayraktar TB2 took off for its maiden flight at Sinop Airport on the Black Sea. There were few signs then that the mid-sized, twin-boom aircraft would become Turkey’s first indigenously produced armed drone and the backbone of its unmanned air force. Ankara’s drone program has morphed into a successful industry that’s already exporting products. It’s also a potent military force that’s further straining the NATO alliance.
https://thebulletin.org/2019/12/turkeys-military-drones-an-export-product-thats-disrupting-nato/
- The Kurdish quest for a democratic civilization, through democratic Confederalism and a sociology of freedom
2018|University of Oxford
The two books reviewed here are exceptional in many ways. One is the latest volume of prison writings by Abdullah Öcalan – a work full of inspiration and profound insights, yet due to the circumstances it was written in, often repetitive and hard to grasp, let alone summarize. The other is a book about Öcalan and the fascinating, anguished complexities of the Kurdish situation in Turkey and beyond to which he has devoted his life
https://www.anthro.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/anthro/documents/media/jaso10_2_2018_204_212.pdf
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: John Austin, Christine Blower, NUT International Secretary, Prof Bill Bowring, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Prof Mary Davis, Lord Dholakia, Simon Dubbins, UNITE International Director, Jill Evans MEP, Lindsey German, Convenor STWC, Melanie Gingell, Rahila Gupta, Nick Hildyard, Dafydd Iwan, Former President Plaid Cymru, James Kelman, Bruce Kent, Jean Lambert MEP, Elfyn Llwyd, Aonghas MacNeacail, Scottish Gaelic poet, Mike Mansfield QC, Doug Nicholls, General Secretary, GFTU, Dr. Jessica Ayesha Northey, International Coordinator, Green Party of England and Wales; Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy, Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Kate Osamor MP, Margaret Owen OBE, Gareth Peirce, Maxine Peake, Lord Rea, Joe Ryan, Stephen Smellie, Steve Sweeney, Dr Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Dr Tom Wakeford, Dr Derek Wall, Julie Ward MEP, Hywel Williams MP.