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
Komun Academy:
NEWS
1. People in Aleppo salute the Rojava Revolution
2. Autonomous Administration: There will be no polls in our areas
3. Bridge in Italy named after Hevrin Khalaf
4. Armenia: Turkey destabilizes region
5. Activists gear up for Global Action Day for Rojava
6. KCDK-E calls on people to join the global actions for Rojava
7. ‘Hostility towards Kurds amid pandemic’ report by the HDP
8. Appeal from Kobanê to UN Security Council
9. Occupation forces set fire to fields in Afrin
10. Rojava University calls on academic world for support
11. Police attack lawyers’ protest in Ankara
12. SDF commander Kobanê: If Turkish attacks increase we will respond
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Peace in Kurdistan Campaign salutes the Rojava Revolution
2. July 19th Revolution is revolution for change, building – 3
3. Foza Yûsif: The Rojava Revolution is a milestone for women
4. ‘The Rojava Revolution is also the revolution of the Armenians’
5. Osman: Turkey has many plans to go against Kurds
6. Kongra Star: July 19 revolution is women’s revolution
7. PYD: July 19 revolution is completely different from the rest of the revolutions
8. TJA Spokesperson Gökkan: Government has waged war against women
9. Woman jailed for 10 years by Iranian regime for teaching Kurdish
10. The looming genocide against the Kurds: history should not repeat itself
11. (VIDEO) Freedom for Ocalan Online Rally July 2020
12. Woman jailed for 10 years by Iranian regime for teaching Kurdish
13. (VIDEO) Interview with Hawzhin Azeez about Kurdish responses to COVID-19
14. Another pro-Kurdish mayor replaced as detentions continue in southeast Turkey
15. Turkey ramps up war on Kurds in Northern Iraq
16. Rojava 7th Festival of Culture and Art launched in Qamishlo
17. UN official: 700 people died in Syrian camps for IS families
18. Mandela of the Middle East?
19. Prosecutors refuse to explain why they dropped terror charges against Kurdish YPG supporters
20. Take concrete steps, as economic and targeted sanctions, to help end Turkey’s unlawful repression and attacks
21. Caesar’s Act casts shadow over area … Opening Tel Koçber crossing urgent necessity
22. Sick prisoners in Turkey and the case of Mr Deniz Yıldırım
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NEWS
1. People in Aleppo salute the Rojava Revolution
19 July 2020| ANF English
Hundreds of people joined the torch march organized for the anniversary of the 19 July Revolution in the neighbourhoods of Şêxmeqsûd and Eşrefiyê in Aleppo.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-syria/people-in-aleppo-salute-the-rojava-revolution-45364
2. Autonomous Administration: There will be no polls in our areas
18 July 2020| ANF English
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria confirmed that the elections scheduled for July 19 do not mean anything to them and said: “There will be no ballot boxes in the areas of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.”
3. Bridge in Italy named after Hevrin Khalaf
18 July 2020| ANF English
A bridge over the river Rivi Freddi in the Italian city of Berceto was named after Hevrin Khalaf. The Kurdish politician was murdered by Turkish-backed jihadists in October 2019.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/bridge-in-italy-named-after-hevrin-khalaf-45356
4. Armenia: Turkey destabilizes region
18 July 2020| Hawar News Agency
Armenian Foreign Minister Zehrab Manatsakanian said on Saturday that he was “not surprised” by Turkish policies in recent developments between his country and Azerbaijan, describing what Ankara is doing as “a dangerous geopolitical step”.
https://hawarnews.com/en/haber/armenia-turkey-destabilizes-region-h17949.html
5. Activists gear up for Global Action Day for Rojava
17 July 2020| ANF English
Activists all over the world are gearing up for the Global Action Days called on 18 and 19 July to celebrate the 8th anniversary of the Rojava Revolution.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/activists-gear-up-for-global-action-day-for-rojava-45311
6. KCDK-E calls on people to join the global actions for Rojava
16 July 2020| ANF English
The Kurdish umbrella organisation in Europe called for participation in global actions to be held on the anniversary of the Rojava revolution on 18 and 19 July.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/kcdk-e-call-on-people-to-join-the-global-actions-for-rojava-45293
7. ‘Hostility towards Kurds amid pandemic’ report by the HDP
16 July 2020|Bianet
According to a recent report by the HDP, 84 summaries of proceedings have been brought against HDP MPs and trustees have been appointed to 14 HDP municipalities since March 11, when the first coronavirus case was confirmed by Turkey.
http://bianet.org/english/politics/227504-hostility-towards-kurds-amid-pandemic-report-by-the-hdp
8. Appeal from Kobanê to UN Security Council
16 July 2020|ANF English
The human rights organization points out that Turkey is lowering the water level of the Euphrates and thus committing a crime against humanity. The UN Security Council is urged to act immediately.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-syria/appeal-from-kobane-to-un-security-council-45307
9. Occupation forces set fire to fields in Afrin
14 July 2020|ANF English
Turkey’s jihadist proxies involved in the occupation of North-East Syria have set fire to agricultural land in villages of Turkish-occupied Afrin city.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-syria/occupation-forces-set-fire-to-fields-in-afrin-45264
10. Rojava University calls on academic world for support
13 July 2020|ANF English
The Rojava University called on the academic community for support as it continues its preparations for the new academic year.
11. Police attack lawyers’ protest in Ankara
10 July 2020|ANF English
The Turkish police attacked the lawyers protesting in Ankara. For weeks the lawyers have been opposing a draft law of the regime, through which it tries to get the bar associations under its control.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/police-attack-lawyers-protest-in-ankara-45174
12. SDF commander Kobanê: If Turkish attacks increase we will respond
10 July 2020|ANF English
Erdal Kobanê said that the Turkish state does not act according to the ceasefire agreement and increases its attacks day by day. He added that the SDF will use their legitimate defense rights.
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Peace in Kurdistan Campaign salutes the Rojava Revolution
19 July 2020| ANF English
“What has been achieved in Rojava is a pinnacle of resistance – new peaks will arise and be ascended. We salute the 19 July and we will spread the lessons to be learned from it,” says Peace in Kurdistan Campaign.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/peace-in-kurdistan-campaign-salutes-the-rojava-revolution-45360
2. July 19th Revolution is revolution for change, building – 3
19 July 2020| Hawar News Agency
During the Rojava Revolution, women took the principles that the leader Abdullah Ocalan urged in the cause of women’s liberation and who praised the “women’s revolution” for the victory of peoples’ revolutions. So were women able to reach their goals? Were they able to highlight their role more in the international forums? What are the deficiencies and problems that hinder its revolution?
https://hawarnews.com/en/haber/july-19th-revolution-is-revolution-for-change-building-3-h17956.html
3. Foza Yûsif: The Rojava Revolution is a milestone for women
19 July| ANF English
The Rojava Revolution has been a woman-led revolution since its inception. However, how do you evaluate the impact of this democratic system, which has grown within the framework of the democratic nation and is embodied in North-East Syria, on the Middle East, the peoples of the world and the women of the world?
4. ‘The Rojava Revolution is also the revolution of the Armenians’
19 July| ANF English
One of the witnesses of the Rojava Revolution since the beginning is Şexmus Ehmed Fetah, an Armenian living in Dirbêsiyê. “We joined the revolution since the beginning. We found ourselves in this revolution. This is our revolution, the revolution towards freedom”, Fetah explains.
5. Osman: Turkey has many plans to go against Kurds
19 July| ANF English
Hiwa Mahmut Osman has visited Rojava many times since the revolution and met with the military and autonomous administrators of the region.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-syria/osman-turkey-has-many-plans-to-go-against-kurds-45363
6. Kongra Star: July 19 revolution is women’s revolution
19 July 2020| Hawar News Agency
The Kongra Star celebrated the 8th anniversary of the July 19 revolution, and appealed to all women and peoples of northern and eastern Syria to escalate the struggle against the Turkish occupation.
https://hawarnews.com/en/haber/kongra-star-july-19-revolution-is-womens-revolution-h17964.html
7. PYD: July 19 revolution is completely different from the rest of the revolutions
18 July 2020| Hawar News Agency
The General Council of the Democratic Union Party of Northeastern Syria issued a statement, on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of the July 19 revolution.
8. TJA Spokesperson Gökkan: Government has waged war against women
18 July 2020|Mezopotamya News
Free Women’s Movement (TJA) Spokesperson Ayşe Gökkan defended the work TJA does and said: “The government has waged war against women by detaining, arresting, murdering them”.
http://mezopotamyaajansi22.com/en/ALL-NEWS/content/view/104201
9. Woman jailed for 10 years by Iranian regime for teaching Kurdish
18 July 2020|Morning Star
Iran’s clerical regime has been urged to stop persecuting minorities after it sentenced a woman to 10 years in prison earlier this week for teaching Kurdish.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/woman-jailed-10-years-iranian-regime-teaching-kurdish
10. The looming genocide against the Kurds: history should not repeat itself
17 July 2020| Open Democracy
Turkey’s military operations are part of an extermination policy against the Kurdish populations.
11. (VIDEO) Freedom for Ocalan Online Rally July 2020
16 July 2020
On the 16 July 2020, the UK trade union Freedom for Ocalan campaign hosted a major online rally. The event was chaired by Unite the Unions Director of international and Freedom for Ocalan Co-Chair Simon Dubbins. It included contributions from Hişyar Özsoy an MP for the People’s Democratic Party, Lloyd Russell-Moyle an MP for the UK Labour Party, Christine Blower former General Secretary of the NUT, Labour Peer and Freedom for Ocalan Co-Chair and Elif Sarican Kurdish activists and Freedom for Ocalan campaign advisor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQYffKVtvQA
12. Woman jailed for 10 years by Iranian regime for teaching Kurdish
16 July 2020|Morning Star
Iran’s clerical regime has been urged to stop persecuting minorities after it sentenced a woman to 10 years in prison earlier this week for teaching Kurdish.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/woman-jailed-10-years-iranian-regime-teaching-kurdish
13. (VIDEO) Interview with Hawzhin Azeez about Kurdish responses to COVID-19 in Rojava and Rojhelat
14 July 2020|Peace in Kurdistan
Dr. Jeff Miley interviews Dr. Hawzhim Azeez of the Center for Gender and Development Studies at the American University of Iraq in Sulaimani about Kurdish responses to COVID-19 in the Kurdish region of Syria as well as the Kurdish region of Iran.
14. Another pro-Kurdish mayor replaced as detentions continue in southeast Turkey
14 July 2020|Al-Monitor
Police detained more than 50 people on alleged terror links in southeast Turkey a day after yet another mayor with the People’s Democratic Party was replaced with a state-appointed trustee.
15. Turkey ramps up war on Kurds in Northern Iraq
13 July 2020|The New Internationalist
Turkish airstrikes in Northern Iraq are nothing new, but the recent co-ordinated air and ground assault is unprecedented, writes John Lubbuck.
https://newint.org/features/2020/07/13/turkey-ramps-war-kurds-northern-iraq%C2%A0
16. Rojava 7th Festival of Culture and Art launched in Qamishlo
10 July 2020| Hawar News Agency
Under the slogan “Green Fountains Salute All the Cities of the Heart,” the activities of the Rojava Seventh Festival of Culture and Art were launched this morning in Qamishlo in northern Syria, which will last for 8 continuous days.
17. UN official: 700 people died in Syrian camps for IS families
10 July 2020| The Hour/Associated Press
The U.N. counterterrorism chief said his office received information that 700 people died recently in two camps in northeast Syria, where more than 70,000 mainly women and children connected to Islamic State fighters are detained in “very dire conditions.”
https://www.thehour.com/news/article/UN-official-700-people-died-in-Syrian-camps-for-15398606.php
18. Mandela of the Middle East?
10 July 2020| The New Internationalist
How did a once hardcore Marxist-Leninist and nationalist guerrilla leader come to develop a politics of participatory democracy, feminism and ecology? Vanessa Baird traces Abdullah Öcalan’s journey.
https://newint.org/features/2020/06/11/mandela-middle-east
19. Prosecutors refuse to explain why they dropped terror charges against Kurdish YPG supporters
10 July 2020|The Independent
One defendant believes the about-face was made to avoid revealing diplomatic communications with Turkey.
20. Take concrete steps, as economic and targeted sanctions, to help end Turkey’s unlawful repression and attacks
7 July 2020|Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP)
46 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) sent an open letter to the EU High Representative/Vice President Josep Borrell calling for immediate action to stop Turkey’s attacks peace and democracy, in Kurdistan and everywhere.
21. Caesar’s Act casts shadow over area … Opening Tel Koçber crossing urgent necessity
7 July 2020| Hawar News Agency
More than 5 million of the northeast Syria are on the verge of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe, due to the implementation of the Caesar Act sanctions by the United States of America on the country, and the continued closure of the Tel Kocber/ Al-Yarubia border crossing in the face of humanitarian aid after the Russian veto.
22. Sick prisoners in Turkey and the case of Mr Deniz Yıldırım
30 June 2020|Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP)
According to human rights and prison monitoring organizations, the conditions of prisons in Turkey have worsened with the pandemic. Failure to provide healthy food, insufficient cleaning and hygiene materials, water shortage and suspension of treatment of sick prisoners continue to be common problems in many prisons.
https://www.hdp.org.tr/en/sick-prisoners-in-turkey-and-the-case-of-mr-deniz-yildirim/14413
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.