NEWS
1. Youth of Kurdistan starts “Rise Up!” campaign
2. Analysts: Turkey May Pay Heavy Price for Iraqi Kurdish Leader’s Resignation
3. Qadir: Barzani failed and should leave the office
4. Iraq’s Kurds Resume Pumping Oil by Pipeline to Turkish Port
5. Iran to lift border curbs with Iraq’s Kurdish region in coming days
6. Ankara, Moscow coordinate steps ahead of new round of Astana talks
7. ‘Isolation on Ocalan is equal to treason against the people’
8. Demonstration for Öcalan in front of the CPT on its third day
9. International Imralı Delegation requests urgent meeting with CPT
10. British fighter plays Ariana Grande song in Raqqa’s main square
11. Fierce clashes between SDF and ISIS in Operation Cizire Storm
12. SDF Commander: Liberation of Raqqa marks a new beginning
13. Peshmerga commander reveals details about Kirkuk attack
14. Iraq Turmoil Threatens Billions in Oil Traders’ Kurd Deals
15. Kurdish officials say thousands flee Kirkuk since Iraqi army takeover
16. 11 activists, including local Amnesty International chiefs, on trial in Turkey
17. Turkey sees ‘village uprising’ as rural areas hit hard by liberal economic policies
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. After the Referendum: What Path Forward for Iraq’s Kurds?
2. Turkey’s paradox in Iraq: Weaker because of a weakened Kurdistan
3. Syrian Kurds focused on federalism
4. Why did Erdogan sacrifice Kurdish vote?
5. What is Trump’s policy toward the Kurds? Does he have one?
6. Kurds lose, but that doesn’t mean Turkey’s a winner
7. Kurds in Iraq: Back to square one?
8. U.S. Tried and Failed to Stave Off Iraq’s Advance on the Kurds
9. Will Turkish-Iraqi alliance against Kurds hold?
10. How Iran helped Baghdad seize back Kirkuk
11. Seizing Kirkuk
12. What Is Turkey Up to in Syria?
13. Turkey cleanses its libraries
14. Revolutionising Kurdish Identity Through Art
KURDISH STUDIES
1. A spatial perspective on political group formation in Turkey after the 1971 coup: The Kurdistan Workers’ Party of Turkey (PKK)
2. Field notes: On the independence referendum in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and disputed territories in 2017
CAMPAIGNS, EVENTS
1. Democratic Confederalism: the alternative to tyranny and chaos in the Middle East: Videos and photos of our joint event Peace in Kurdistan/Centre for Kurdish Progress event held on 23 October 2017
2. No Exclusion of Democratic Federation of Northern Syria from Geneva Peace talks Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
3. Open Letter to the Prime Minister Theresa May on World Kobane Day on 1 November 2017
4. “Freedom for Öcalan” billboards in Switzerland
5. Destruction Accelerates in Hasankeyf and the Tigris Basin
6. Here There Everywhere: Gaza-London P21 Gallery 7-11 November/Our Programme
NEWS
1. Youth of Kurdistan starts “Rise Up!” campaign
30 October/ANF News
Komalen Ciwan (Communities of Youth) and Komalen Jinen Ciwan (Communities of Young Women) launched a campaign named “Rise Up!” in order to raise awareness about the isolation on Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and demand his freedom, resist against Turkish attacks on Rojava and invasion of Southern Kurdistan and celebrate 40th anniversary of PKK. The campaign will last until the Newroz, March 21, of 2018.
https://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/youth-of-kurdistan-starts-rise-up-campaign-22976
2. Analysts: Turkey May Pay Heavy Price for Iraqi Kurdish Leader’s Resignation
30 October/Voice Of America
Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani’s announcement he plans to step down was greeted with jubilation in Turkey’s pro-government media. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Barzani, his once close ally, of betrayal for his decision to hold a September independence referendum.
https://www.voanews.com/a/analysts-say-turkey-may-pay-heavy-price-for-barzani-resignation/4092543.html
3. Qadir: Barzani failed and should leave the office
29 October/ANF News
Barzani failed Kurdish people and should withdraw from presidency Shasuwar Abdulvahid Qadir, the leader of New Generation Movement said. Qadir also voiced criticism about the proposal to postpone the elections for one year and called to hold the elections on time to form a new government in Kurdistan region.
https://anfenglish.com/news/barzani-failed-and-should-leave-the-office-22956 <https://anfenglish.com/news/barzani-failed-and-should-leave-the-office-22956>
4. Iraq’s Kurds Resume Pumping Oil by Pipeline to Turkish Port
30 October/Bloomberg
Oil exports resumed from Iraq’s Kurdish region after halting earlier Monday, a port agent said, highlighting uncertainty about pipeline shipments from OPEC’s second-biggest producer. (…) The halt came days after Iraqi troops captured oil fields from Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq’s disputed Kirkuk province.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-30/iraq-oil-stops-flowing-from-kurd-kirkuk-fields-to-turkish-port
5. Iran to lift border curbs with Iraq’s Kurdish region in coming days
30 October/Reuters
Iran will reopen all its border crossings with Iraq’s Kurdistan region in the coming days, lifting restrictions imposed after last month’s Kurdish vote in favor of independence, its chief of staff said on Monday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-kurds-iran/iran-to-lift-border-curbs-with-iraqs-kurdish-region-in-coming-days-idUSKBN1CZ0UU?il=0
6. Ankara, Moscow coordinate steps ahead of new round of Astana talks
30 October/Arab News
Ankara and Moscow continued their coordination on Syria ahead of the seventh round of peace talks in Astana on Monday.
On Oct. 28, according to presidential sources quoted in Turkish media, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the latest developments in Syria by phone.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1185176/middle-east
7. ‘Isolation on Ocalan is equal to treason against the people’
26 October/ANF News
Ankara MP Önder, who is also a member of the HDP’s Imrali Committee, chair of the Parliamentary group and Istanbul MP Pervin Buldan and Urfa MP Dilek Öcalan organized a press conference in the Turkish parliament to address Öcalan’s health and security conditions.
https://anfenglish.com/news/isolation-on-ocalan-is-equal-to-treason-against-the-people-22906 <https://anfenglish.com/news/isolation-on-ocalan-is-equal-to-treason-against-the-people-22906>
8. Demonstration for Öcalan in front of the CPT on its third day
25 October/ANF News
With hundreds of participants calling for an urgent meeting with Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, the sit-in in front of the CPT building is continuing. Representatives of many movements, institutions and parties from Turkey are expressing their support.
https://anfenglish.com/news/demonstration-for-Oecalan-in-front-of-the-cpt-on-its-third-day-22889
9. International Imralı Delegation requests urgent meeting with CPT
24 October/ANF News
International İmralı Peace Delegation wrote a letter to CPT officials requesting an urgent meeting on the situation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan after reports spread on social media in Turkey regarding his health.
https://anfenglish.com/news/international-imrali-delegation-requests-urgent-meeting-with-cpt-22857
10. British fighter plays Ariana Grande song in Raqqa’s main square
22 October/ANF News
Michael Enright, a YPG fighter from Manchester, has been fighting in the ranks of Syrian Defence Forces against ISIS in the ‘great Battle’ to liberate Raqqa. The first thing Enright did in ISIS’ so-called capital after the historic defeat of ISIS was to rush to the main square of the city and play an Ariana Grande song on his mobile phone to honour the victims of Manchester bombing, in which ISIS killed 22 teenagers and wounded 112 as result of an attack at Ariana Grande’s concert on May 22, 2017.
https://anfenglish.com/features/british-fighter-plays-ariana-grande-song-in-raqqa-s-main-square-22825
11. Fierce clashes between SDF and ISIS in Operation Cizire Storm
25 October/ANF News
ISIS gangs besieged by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Operation Cizire Storm are attacking the SDF positions in an effort to break the siege around them near Deir ez-Zor.
https://anfenglish.com/news/fierce-clashes-between-sdf-and-isis-in-operation-cizire-storm-22883
12. SDF Commander: Liberation of Raqqa marks a new beginning
19 October/ANF News
Klara Raqqa, who is part of the SDF’s coordination team for the liberation campaign of Raqqa, said: “The liberation of Raqqa will have huge political and military effects. It will change the course of this war and marks a new beginning.”
https://anfenglish.com/features/sdf-commander-liberation-of-raqqa-marks-a-new-beginning-22783
13. Peshmerga commander reveals details about Kirkuk attack
22 October/ANF News
Peshmerga commander Colonel Osman Shahid Vahab said that peshmergas under KDP command retreated without firing a single bullet as 105 peshmergas were killed and 45 were captured by Hashd al-Shaabi forces on south and southwest front of Kirkuk.
https://anfenglish.com/features/peshmerga-commander-reveals-details-about-kirkuk-attack-22827
14. Iraq Turmoil Threatens Billions in Oil Traders’ Kurd Deals
18 October/Bloomberg
The crisis unfolding around the Iraqi city of Kirkuk has left some of the world’s largest commodity trading houses worried the country’s autonomous Kurdish region will struggle to repay billions of dollars in cash-for-oil loans.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-18/iraq-turmoil-threatens-billions-in-oil-trader-deals-with-kurds
15. Kurdish officials say thousands flee Kirkuk since Iraqi army takeover
19 October/Reuters
Kurdish officials said on Thursday thousands of their people had fled Kirkuk region fearing persecution since Iraqi armed forces retook it following a referendum on Kurdish independence that was rejected by Baghdad. The officials said roughly 100,000 people had gone, though that number could not be confirmed independently, and many Kurdish neighborhoods in Kirkuk city appeared to be operating normally.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-kurds/kurdish-officials-say-thousands-flee-kirkuk-since-iraqi-army-takeover-idUSKBN1CO1RB
16. 11 activists, including local Amnesty International chiefs, on trial in Turkey
25 October/CNN
Eleven activists have gone on trial for terror offenses in Turkey — including two local Amnesty International chiefs and two foreigners — as the country continues with a purge that has gutted institutions in all areas of public life. Turkey has detained tens of thousands of people, including journalists, activists and opposition political figures, following an attempted military coup last year.
http://us.cnn.com/2017/10/25/europe/turkey-trial-amnesty-activists/index.html?utm_campaign=20171025&utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=manual&utm_term=Middle%20East%20Minute
17. Turkey sees ‘village uprising’ as rural areas hit hard by liberal economic policies
23 October/Al-Monitor
Turkey’s farmers, livestock producers and their related unions are emerging as a new and unexpected mass opposition in the country, staging rallies and marches to protest sustained heavy economic losses. Despite all their efforts to soothe the anger of Turkey’s rural population, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government continue to grapple with this surprising opposition.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/10/turkey-farmers-protest-against-government-policies.html?utm_campaign=20171024&utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=manual&utm_term=Briefly%20Turkey
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. After the Referendum: What Path Forward for Iraq’s Kurds?
Event on the 7th of November/Middle East Institute
The September 25 referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan brought a chilling reaction from Iraq’s central government. Baghdad disputed the legitimacy of the process, but especially rejected Erbil’s claim on Kirkuk and other disputed territories implied by staging the vote there. Following days of military action that resulted in deaths and the retaking of Kirkuk by Iraqi national forces, the KRG has proposed to freeze the referendum results and seeks negotiations about the contentious issues. The United States, which opposed the referendum despite its reliance on Kurdish fighters combating ISIS, must now address the deepened rift between Erbil and Baghdad.
http://www.mei.edu/events/after-referendum-what-path-forward-iraq-s-kurds
2. Turkey’s paradox in Iraq: Weaker because of a weakened Kurdistan
25 October/Al-Monitor
Turkey enjoyed the influence it wielded in Iraq because of its ties with the Kurdistan Regional Government, but it would rather see the KRG fall than risk an independent Iraqi Kurdistan inspiring Turkey’s Kurds to seek the same.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/10/turkey-iraq-kurds-loss-of-barzani-means-loss-of-ankara.html
3. Syrian Kurds focused on federalism
27 October/Al-Monitor
The Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum continues to make waves in Syria as the country’s Kurds believe they can negotiate with the Syrian government to establish a federal state.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/10/syria-federal-state-kurds-turkey-russia.html
4. Why did Erdogan sacrifice Kurdish vote?
29 October/Al-Monitor
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, having lost his last Kurdish “brother” Massoud Barzani, explores other ways to compensate for the Kurdish vote.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/10/turkey-why-erdogan-sacrifice-kurdish-vote.html
5. What is Trump’s policy toward the Kurds? Does he have one?
20 October/Newsweek
The Kirkuk crisis seems largely over.
With the exception of a pocket here or there, Iraq has regained areas lost or abandoned in 2014, while the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) retains control of those regions which the Iraqi constitution assigns it.
http://www.newsweek.com/what-trumps-policy-toward-kurds-does-he-have-one-689620
6. Kurds lose, but that doesn’t mean Turkey’s a winner
20 October/Al-Monitor
The Kurdistan independence referendum backfired and Kurds are suffering, but Turkey might want to hold off on celebrating until it considers the long-term consequences.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/10/turkey-iraqi-kurdistan-kurdish-rout-victory-for-ankara.html#ixzz4wGvQkovj
7. Kurds in Iraq: Back to square one?
20 October/Al-Monitor
The sudden shift in the balance of power between Iraq and its Kurdistan Region has been stunning, even by Middle East standards.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/10/turkey-iraq-kirkuk-kurds-back-to-square-one.html?utm_campaign=20171023&utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=manual&utm_term=Briefly%20Turkey
8. U.S. Tried and Failed to Stave Off Iraq’s Advance on the Kurds
20 October/Bloomberg
The U.S. nearly brokered a deal last weekend to avert the current crisis over the disputed city of Kirkuk, where Iraqi forces and some Iranian-supported militias displaced Kurdish fighters this week. It has been widely reported that Iraqi security forces entered Kirkuk and a nearby military base and oil fields because of a deal made by the relatives of the late Jalal Talabani, the former Iraqi president and Kurdish revolutionary who died this month.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-10-20/u-s-tried-and-failed-to-stave-off-iraq-s-advance-on-the-kurds
9. Will Turkish-Iraqi alliance against Kurds hold?
17 October/Al-Monitor
Ankara is happy that the Baghdad government has regained control over Kirkuk, but questions remain whether Turkey and Iraq can agree on the city’s future status.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/10/turkey-iraq-alliance-against-kurds-may-fail.html
10. How Iran helped Baghdad seize back Kirkuk
17 October/Al-Monitor
Around 8 p.m. on Oct. 15, an Iranian general from the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accompanied by Iraqi Commanders Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Hadi al-Ameri sat down with the Kurdish commanders in Kirkuk. The IRGC commander, known only by his surname, Eqbalpour, who works closely with Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani, told the Kurds to give up the city peacefully. “If you resist, we will crush you and you will lose everything,” the general warned the peshmerga commanders, a source with intimate knowledge of the meeting told Al-Monitor.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/10/iran-kirkuk-recapture-soleimani-quds-force-eqbalpour.html#ixzz4vo5p6EZl
11. Seizing Kirkuk
18 October/CounterPunch
Elite Iraqi security forces have captured the Kurdish government headquarters buildings in the centre of Kirkuk with the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordering the Iraqi flag to be raised over Kirkuk and other disputed territories. An Iraqi Oil Ministry official said that it would be “a very short time” before the Iraqi military seized all the oilfields in Kirkuk province.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/10/18/seizing-kirkuk/
12. What Is Turkey Up to in Syria?
16 October/Voice Of America
Turkey is expanding its latest military intervention in Syria rapidly, sending more special forces and commandos into Idlib as part of a high-risk effort agreed to with Moscow and Tehran to establish a de-escalation zone in the northwest Syrian province that is mainly controlled by an al-Qaida offshoot.
https://www.voanews.com/a/turkey-syria-incursion/4072392.html
13. Turkey cleanses its libraries
17 October/Voltaire Network
Following the coup d’etat in July 2016 attributed to Fethullah Gülen, the Turkish government had cleansed its university libraries. Notably, it had ordered the destruction of 1 800 000 copies of different manuals (including mathematics) published by publishing houses linked to the preacher or simply bearing his initials.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article198412.html
14. Revolutionising Kurdish Identity Through Art
20 October/Morning Star
TOMORROW, the 25th Huseyin Celebi literary festival — organised by the Kurdistan Students’ Union (YXK) in Europe — takes place in London.
It will be the first time that the festival has taken place outside of Germany and is held in the memory of British-Kurdish film-maker and journalist Mehmet Aksoy, who was killed by Isis fighters in northern Syria last month.
https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-10e8-Revolutionising-Kurdish-identity-through-art#.WfiibRPWz-Y <https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-10e8-Revolutionising-Kurdish-identity-through-art#.WfiibRPWz-Y>
KURDISH STUDIES
1. A spatial perspective on political group formation in Turkey after the 1971 coup: The Kurdistan Workers’ Party of Turkey (PKK)
30 July/Transnational Press London
The five years preceding the 1978 founding congress of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partîya Karkêren Kurdistan, PKK) are referred to by its members as the party’s “existential period”. In the PKK’s “existential period” public spaces, such as university dormitories and canteens and student associations played an important role as meeting places, yet political formation occurred mainly in private spaces, especially private apartments and houses.
http://www.tplondon.com/journal/index.php/ks/article/viewFile/887/629
2. Field notes: On the independence referendum in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and disputed territories in 2017
26 October/Transnational Press London
On 25th September 2017, the eligible voters of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq were given the opportunity to respond ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the question, posed in Kurdish, Turkmen, Arabic and Assyrian: “Do you want the Kurdistan Region and the Kurdistani areas outside the administration of the Region to become an independent state?” The aim of this note is to give an empirically focussed account of the independence referendum. The note has been written by four members of a delegation who spent one week in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) with the purpose of observing the referendum. The key point that we draw from these observations is that the referendum and the associated aspiration for independence, which potentially could have unified the different political factions in the KRI, has in fact cruelly exposed divisions.
http://www.tplondon.com/journal/index.php/ks/article/viewFile/1031/634
CAMPAIGNS, EVENTS
1. Democratic Confederalism: the alternative to tyranny and chaos in the Middle East: Videos and photos of our joint event Peace in Kurdistan/Centre for Kurdish Progress event held on 23 October 2017
On 23 October 2017, the Centre for Kurdish Progress put on a joint forum in parliament with the Peace in Kurdistan campaign group on ‘Democratic Confederalism’, the alternative political model of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan. The event was kindly hosted by Kate Osamor MP, who sent her apologies for not being able to attend, and chaired by journalist Steve Sweeney. It featured panel speakers Dr Radha D’Souza, Dr Zeynep Kurban, Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley and Dimitri Roussopoulos.
http://www.kurdishprogress.org/_democratic_confederalism_the_alternative_to_tyranny_and_chaos_in_the_middle_east
2. No Exclusion of Democratic Federation of Northern Syria from Geneva Peace talks Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
We call for the representation of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (previously Rojava) on the Geneva Peace talks.
The seventh round of the Geneva Peace talks on Syria concluded in July 2017 without a resolution. This is partly due to the obduracy of Assad’s envoys who are reluctant to discuss a transitional political process and partly the inefficacy of the UN.
http://chn.ge/2yiopK9
3. Open Letter to the Prime Minister Theresa May on World Kobane Day on 1 November 2017
October 26/World Kobane Day
On World Kobane Day, 1st November, the British government has the opportunity to demonstrate support for rebuilding peace and strengthening popular democracy for the men and women of the middle East who have fought bravely to successfully resist the encroachment of ISIS, whose aggression and politics has been viewed as a threat to all humanity.
http://worldkobaneday.com/2017/10/26/open-letter-to-the-prime-minister-theresa-may-on-world-kobane-day-on-1-november-2017/
4. “Freedom for Öcalan” billboards in Switzerland
31 October/ANF News
The demonstrations held in Switzerland to demand freedom for Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan continue with different methods. Giant billboards in the Solothurn central train station are displaying posters demanding freedom for Öcalan. The posters say “Freiheit für Öcalan” [Freedom for Öcalan] and have photographs of him, and they will be on display for a week in the train station with heavy foot traffic.
https://anfenglish.com/news/freedom-for-Oecalan-billboards-in-switzerland-22986
5. Destruction Accelerates in Hasankeyf and the Tigris Basin
30 October/Hasankeyf Matters
Environmental and heritage destruction has accelerated in Turkey’s historic city of Hasankeyf as crews work day and night, seven days a week to collapse vulnerable portions of the cliffs ringing the town and fill in some 200 caves. The work’s stated aim is to reinforce Hasankeyf’s ancient citadel ahead of completion of the Ilısu Dam, which would flood most of the town beneath approximately 60 meters of water.
http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com
6. Here There Everywhere: Gaza-London P21 Gallery 7-11 November/Our Programme
13 October/AZ Theatre
Over these five days at P21 Gallery, while our partners Theatre for Everybody present their stage adaptation of Tolstoy’s War and Peace to hundreds of people in Gaza, flanked by artwork from Gaza artists, there will be a series of events at which teachers, psychotherapists, paramedics, community activists, artists, theatre makers, public health experts/environmentalists, Shakespeare students, mothers here in the UK and in Gaza will have conversations and share experiences. We will also link up to activists in Gaza and Rojava, Northern Syria. These conversations will be filmed and this film will present a portrait of the community in Gaza as it is drawn by these diverse communities of interest.
http://aztheatre.org.uk/wordpress/2017/10/13/here-there-everywhere-gaza-london-p21-gallery-7-11-novemberour-programme/
Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
Email: estella24@tiscali.co.uk <mailto:estella24@tiscali.co.uk>
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com <http://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com>
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Gingell
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, 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, Dr Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Dr Tom Wakeford, Dr Derek Wall, Julie Ward MEP, Hywel Williams MP.