KURDISH NEWS WEEKLY BRIEFING, 1 – 7 OCTOBER 2016
NEWS
1. Motion in Swedish Parliament for Erdoğan’s trial in the ICC
2. What about our human rights? : Kurds feel force of Turkey’s crackdown
3. EU report expresses concerns over increasing racist violence against Kurds in Turkey
4. European journalists meet with the CoE Secretary General on Turkey
5. MED Nûçe employees protest Eutelsat
6. ‘Kurds vs Turkey’ in six wars ongoing in Syria, says Kerry in Paris
7. Even SpongeBob can’t escape Turkey’s post-coup crackdown
8. ‘Turkish Pentagon’ to be formed in capital Ankara: Report
9. Demirtas: We did not visit Kurdistan Region for PKK-Turkey peace
10. Sinam Muhamad: we will strive to expose the mercenaries’ acts
11. Bomb kills 20 at Kurdish wedding in Syria – reports
12. Kurds say Turkish border guards continue to kill Syrians
13. Rojava administration launches new education system in Kurdish, Arabic and Assyrian
14. PSYOPs: Operation Syria
15. 85% of the Iraqi Kurds who joined Daesh were trained in Quranic schools
16. Canadian MP introduces motion to recognize Kurdish genocide
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Will state of emergency become the new normal for Turkey?
2. AKP fingers obscure professor for coup mastermind
3. US failed to create non-radical opposition in Syria – Col. Mansoor, XO to Gen. Petraeus
4. Why the cease-fire in Syria has failed
5. Rojava Administration conducts census north Syria
6. No State, No Nation, Federalism and Revolution By ANA (pt) [machine translation]
7. Inside the Shadowy PR Firm That’s Lobbying for Regime Change in Syria
8. Rojava at 4: Examining the Experiment in Western Kurdistan
INTERVIEWS
1. French member of YPG: joining the fight against ISIS is a moral obligation
2. No turning back for Kurds now, Turkey’s HDP leader says
PRESS RELEASE
Call for solidarity with rule of law, human rights, democracy and freedoms
CAMPAIGNS, EVENTS
1. The Advent of the Trials of University Students in Istanbul
2. The Trial of IIhan Comak in Istanbul
3. Panel discussion on “Abdullah Ocalan’s incarceration, and peace talks in Turkey
—————————————
NEWS
1. Motion in Swedish Parliament for Erdoğan’s trial in the ICC
7 October/ANF News
Coalition partner Environmental Party Greens MP Jabar Amin submitted a motion demanding Sweden take initiatives in the United Nations to have Erdoğan tried in the International Criminal Court (ICC). Amin stated that the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has attacked press freedom and freedom of expression in the recent years and has carried out massacres in Kurdish cities, and listed Erdoğan’s crimes against humanity as follows: “He threatened, accused and arrested independent journalists.
2. What about our human rights?’: Kurds feel force of Turkey’s crackdown
6 October/The Guardian
Ahmet stood on a roof in the district of Sur in Diyarbakır and watched as two bulldozers razed his family home. Dust clouds rose into the sky as another wall collapsed. “This is the second time that I watch them demolish my house,” the 33-year-old said softly.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/06/what-about-our-human-rights-kurds-feel-force-turkeys-crackdown
3. EU report expresses concerns over increasing racist violence against Kurds in Turkey
7 October/ARA News
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) is increasingly worried about the large number of violent attacks against Kurds, a report released by the ECRI said on Tuesday. “ECRI is greatly concerned about the large number of violent attacks against Kurdish people, many of which are committed on grounds of the victim’s ethnic origin,” the ECRI said.
http://aranews.net/2016/10/eu-report-expresses-concerns-increasing-racist-violence-kurds-turkey/
4. European journalists meet with the CoE Secretary General on Turkey
7 October/ANF News
During the meeting, journalists informed Jagland about the pressure, repression and arrest of journalists and closing of TV and radio networks in Turkey, and asked what efforts the Council of Europe made on this subject. Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland on the other hand stated that their cooperation with Turkey regarding the freedom of press continues, but did not highlight what progress has been made in this scope.
http://anfenglish.com/freedom-of-the-press/european-journalists-meet-with-the-coe-secretary-general-on-turkey
5. MED Nûçe employees protest Eutelsat in Paris
6 October/ANF News
Employees of the pro-Kurdish MED Nûçe TV channel, the broadcast of which was stopped by French company Eutelsat on Turkey’s request, staged a protest in French capital city Paris. The demo in front of the Eutelsat building on Balard Street was also supported by representatives of many French parties and NGOs including Left Party, Anti-Capitalist Party, Communist Party and International Federation of Journalists.
http://anfenglish.com/freedom-of-the-press/med-nuce-employees-protest-eutelsat-in-paris
6. ‘Kurds vs Turkey’ in six wars ongoing in Syria, says Kerry
7 October/Hurriyet Daily News
The Syrian theater is in fact staging six wars between different forces, one of which is between the Syrian Kurds and Turkey, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a speech delivered at an Oct. 4 meeting organized by the German Marshall Fund in Brussels.
“That presents a Syria with a splintered opposition, filled with different complex forces. Sometimes I say this is a place which may be hosting six different wars all at the same time. Kurds vs. Kurds, Kurds vs. Turkey, Shiite vs. Sunni, people vs. DAESH [the Arabic acronym of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant], people vs. [Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Persians, Arabs,” Kerry said, describing the complexity of the Syrian unrest.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kurds-vs-turkey-in-six-wars-ongoing-in-syria-says-kerry-.aspx?pageID=449&nID=104611&NewsCatID=429
7. Even SpongeBob can’t escape Turkey’s post-coup crackdown
4 October/Al Monitor
The Smurfs, Maya the Bee and SpongeBob SquarePants finally started speaking Kurdish in Turkey last year, courtesy of Zarok TV, the country’s first and only Kurdish-language channel for children. But their voices were silenced last week as the channel fell victim to the Turkish government’s continued purging since the July 15 failed coup.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/10/turkey-kurdish-kids-lose-their-only-tv-channel.html
8. ‘Turkish Pentagon’ to be formed in capital Ankara: Report
7 October/Hurriyet Daily News
The National Intelligence Agency (MİT), the Defense Ministry, the Turkish General Staff and other security commands will be moved to the Etimesgut district of Ankara, as a part of measures taken after the failed July 15 coup attempt, daily Habertürk reported on Oct. 4. The move comes after the government decided to move all military units with heavy weapons and armored vehicles to the outside central areas of cities.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-pentagon-to-be-formed-in-capital-ankara-report.aspx?pageID=238&nID=104570&NewsCatID=338
9. Demirtas: We did not visit Kurdistan Region for PKK-Turkey peace
3 October/Kurdistan 24
The Co-chair of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas over the weekend said his recent visit to the Kurdistan Region was not meant to revive peace talks in Turkey. The Germany-based pro-Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Yeni Ozgur Politika,newspaper published an interview on Saturday given by Demirtas. In the interview, the HDP Co-chair said his two meetings with the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani was for Kurdish unity.
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/f8e98e22-5d50-40f5-aad9-b4e02aec7145/Demirtas–We-did-not-visit-Kurdistan-Region-for-PKK-Turkey-peace
10. Sinam Muhamad: we will strive to expose the mercenaries’ acts
5 October/Hawar News Agency
Representative of the Autonomous Administration in Europe Sinam Muhamad has denounced the terrorist explosion saying” it clearly indicates the hideous perspectives of those terrorists, who oppose the coexistence in Rojava” stressing that they as Autonomous Administration representation in Europe will strive to expose these terrorist groups’ acts before the world to be informed of the pioneer role Rojava is undertaking in maintaining peace and security with the limited possibilities amid this destruction and sabotage that is striking Syria.
http://en.hawarnews.com/sinam-muhamad-we-will-strive-to-expose-the-mercenaries-acts/
11. Bomb kills 20 at Kurdish wedding in Syria – reports
4 October/Reuters
A bomb killed at least 20 people at a Kurdish wedding in the northeast Syrian city of Hasaka on Monday, a Kurdish militia and a monitoring group said, while state media said the casualties had risen to at least 30 dead. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 22 died in the blast, adding that many of the wounded were in a critical condition. Among those killed were the groom and a leading Kurdish party figure, the Observatory said.
http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-crisis-syria-wedding-hall-idINKCN12326B
12. Kurds say Turkish border guards continue to kill Syrians
2 October/ARA News
The Kurdish Asayish have accused Turkey’s border guards of killing dozens of civilians as they tried to flee war-torn areas in Syria. The Asayish police the autonomous cantons within Northern Syria – Rojava (NSR). Kurdish Asayish said on Saturday: “Turkish border guards have violated humanitarian and moral principles and passed all international laws and norms, by killing innocent Syrian civilians, including children such as 4-year-old Khalaf Ahmed and 2-year-old Shahd Majd.”
http://aranews.net/2016/10/kurds-say-turkish-border-guards-continue-kill-syrians/
13. Rojava administration launches new education system in Kurdish, Arabic and Assyrian
7 October/ARA News
The 2016-2017 school year has started in Northern Syria – Rojava (NSR), and the self-administration has introduced a brand new Kurdish curriculum. According to the Rojava’s Education Commission, the old Ba’athist curriculum has been replaced. Primary education will now be taught in three languages: Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac-Assyrian.
http://aranews.net/2016/10/rojava-administration-launches-new-education-system-kurdish-arabic-assyrian-2/
14. PSYOPs: Operation Syria
27 September/Voltaire net
Special units of the US Armed Forces and Secret Services are trained for “PYSOPs”: psychological operations that the Pentagon defines as «planned operations to use specific information to push emotional and motivational buttons and thus the conduct of the public, organizations and foreign governments». Why? «To bring about or consolidate conduct promoting pre-set objectives».
http://www.voltairenet.org/article193474.html
15. 85% of the Iraqi Kurds who joined Daesh were trained in Quranic schools
4 October/Voltaire net
The Minister of Foundations and Cults of the Regional Kurdish Government of Iraq has revealed that 85% of the local Kurds who have joined Daesh were educated in Quranic schools. These Quranic schools exist mainly in Afghanistan, in Egypt, in Iran and in Yemen. There are 23 in Iraqi Kurdistan.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article193540.html
16. Canadian MP introduces motion to recognize Kurdish genocide
4 October/Kurdistan 24
A Canadian Member of Parliament tabled a motion to officially recognize the two-year campaign against Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s as a genocide. Tom Kmiec, Member of Parliament for Calgary Shepard, wanted his parliament to recognize the 1986-1988 mass killing of Kurds by the former Iraqi dictator as a genocide. Saddam Hussein ordered the murder of Kurds while at war with Iran. Official statistics say 182,000 were killed, but Kurds believe the number is much higher than that.
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/4fd86e39-954e-4604-a3ac-14e9ede518e0/Canadian-MP-introduces-motion-to-recognize-Kurdish-genocide
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Will state of emergency become the new normal for Turkey?
3 October/Al Monitor
Within a week of the failed July 15 military coup in Turkey, the government declared a three-month state of emergency. According to the Turkish Constitution, a state of emergency can be declared for a maximum of six months. After the coup attempt — which took more than 240 lives and left nearly 2,200 people wounded — the declaration of a state of emergency on July 20 seemed to many to be legitimate and fully justified.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/10/turkey-state-of-emergency-becomes-new-normal.html#ixzz4M9lsygRY
2. AKP fingers obscure professor for coup mastermind
4 October/Al Monitor
As Turkey continues to reel in fugitive disciples of Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based Sunni cleric accused of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt, a key suspect remains on the run: Adil Oksuz, an obscure theology professor who is now being touted by the ruling pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) media as the top civilian organizer of the putsch inside Turkey.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/10/turkey-master-coup-erdogan-akp-stand-up.html?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=20161004&bt_ee=Wp/sS236RcIASvjPoUuyyTkZ3TgkAdUcRov9GHL1RauFeB+UVJlYxsMY/ilMbFtQ&bt_ts=1475603744011
3. US failed to create non-radical opposition in Syria – Col. Mansoor, XO to Gen. Petraeus
7 October/Russia Today
A fragile truce for Syria brokered by Russia and the US fell apart within just a few days, and now Washington has decided to cut off further talks with Moscow. While the fighting in Syria rages on, some in the US are voicing hawkish ideas. Among them are proposals for a no-fly zone over Syria that could lead to conflict with Russia, and sending even more arms to rebels troops despite the fact that they often join the jihadists with American guns in their hands. So who exactly is the US supporting in Syria? And how can international powers move forward in the fight against Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)? We ask Retired Army Colonel Peter Mansoor, who was Executive Officer to General David Petraeus during the Iraq War.
https://www.rt.com/shows/sophieco/361884-syria-conflict-russia-us/
4. Why the cease-fire in Syria has failed
26 September/Voltaire net
The cease-fire in Syria lasted no longer than the week of Eïd. There have been many cease-fires since the signature of the peace treaty between the United States and Russia. This one lasted no longer than the current peace or the previous cease-fires.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article193449.html
5. Rojava Administration conducts census north Syria
24 Sptember/ARA News
Video
http://aranews.net/2016/09/rojava-administration-conducts-census-north-syria/
6. No State, No Nation, Federalism and Revolution By ANA (pt) [machine translation]
26 September/Umanitanova
Il 24 settembre scorso migliaia di persone hanno manifestato a Romain solidarietà al popolo curdo. Donne e uomini di tutte le età, già dalle prime ore del mattino, sono giunte in città da ogni parte d’Italia, dal nord al sud e dalle isole, per concentrarsi nel piazzale di Porta Pia.
http://www.umanitanova.org/2016/09/26/nessuno-stato-nessuna-nazione-federalismo-rivoluzione/
7. Inside the Shadowy PR Firm That’s Lobbying for Regime Change in Syria
3 October/Alternet
On September 30, demonstrators gathered in city squares across the West for a “weekend of action” to “stop the bombs” raining down from Syrian government and Russian warplanes on rebel-held eastern Aleppo. Thousands joined the protests, holding signs that read “Topple Assad” and declaring, “Enough With Assad.” Few participants likely knew that the actions were organized under the auspices of an opposition-funded public relations company called the Syria Campaign.
http://www.alternet.org/world/inside-shadowy-pr-firm-thats-driving-western-opinion-towards-regime-change-syria
8. Rojava at 4: Examining the Experiment in Western Kurdistan
August 2016/LSE Middle East Centre
In July 2012, Kurds in northern Syria began taking control of territory. This led to the creation of the largely self-governing areas known collectively as Rojava (Western Kurdistan), and a new experiment in local government which has deep significance for Syrian, Kurdish, Middle Eastern and international geopolitics. Four years on from this unprecedented development, the LSE Middle East Centre convened a workshop on 19 July 2016 to examine the progress and nature of the Rojava project.
http://www.lse.ac.uk/middleEastCentre/publications/Event-Proceedings/Rojavaat4.aspx
INTERVIEWS
1. French member of YPG: joining the fight against ISIS is a moral obligation
26 September/ARA News
VIDEO
http://aranews.net/2016/09/french-member-ypg-joining-fight-isis-moral-obligation/
2. No turning back for Kurds now, Turkey’s HDP leader says
2 October/Rudaw Net
The Kurdish people will protect their achievements and no force will be able to take their gains away from them, says a confident Nadir Yildirim, MP for Van and co-vice chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) in an exclusive interview with Rudaw. Yildirim who visited the Kurdistan Region last week along with a top HDP delegation says unity and agreement are crucial for the Kurds to preserve their achievements throughout the Kurdish lands and calls for further dialogues among Kurdish factions.
http://rudaw.net/english/interview/02102016
PRESS RELEASE
Call for solidarity with rule of law, human rights, democracy and freedoms
https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/2016/10/07/call-for-solidarity-with-rule-of-law-human-rights-democracy-and-freedoms-trial-of-kamuran-yuksek/
CAMPAIGNS, EVENTS
1. The Advent of the Trials of University Students in Istanbul
5 October/International Criminal Law Bureau
On Tuesday, I met Hisyer Aydun, a 23-year old student from Bilgi University, Istanbul. He has recently been released, pending trial, and spent 3 months in prison, following arrest by the police in a cafe in Diyarbakir. He happened to be with a young woman who the police suspected might be a member of a terrorist organisation ( a militant Kurdish youth group who are linked to the PKK (Kurdish Workers Movement).
http://www.internationallawbureau.com/index.php/update-on-the-trial-of-students-in-istanbul/
2. The Trial of IIhan Comak in Istanbul
6 October/International Criminal Law Bureau
Today the final trial of the former University Student, Ilhan Comak, takes place. He was only 20 years old when arrested 22 years ago. Ilhan is from Izmir, but because he was arrested, charged with membership of a terrorist organisation, when studying here in Istanbul in 1994, all the numerous trials in which his lawyers have tried in vain to get his acquittal and release have been held here.
http://www.internationallawbureau.com/index.php/the-trial-of-iihan-comak-in-istanbul/
3. Panel discussion on “Abdullah Ocalan’s incarceration, and peace talks in Turkey”
5 October/Kurdish Question
VIDEO
https://www.facebook.com/thekurdishquestion/videos/vb.1598949563664645/2003521606540770/?type=2&theater
Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
Email: [estella24@tiscali.co.uk]estella24@tiscali.co.uk
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Gingell – Tel: 020 7272 7890
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, Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy, John Austin, Christine Blower, NUT International Secretary, Simon Dubbins. UNITE International Director Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Mark Thomas, Nick Hildyard, Stephen Smellie, Derek Wall, Melanie Gingell