NEWS
1. Urgent Call: Worsening Situation in Turkish Prisons
2. We will scream in the face of those who feed off death, oppression and hatred: Women, life, freedom!
3. On the Arrest of Mr Ahmet Turk, Co-mayor of Mardin Municipality
4. Court has no right to take any action against me: HDP co-chair Demirtaş
5. MEP Ward Calls for Sanctions On ‘Police State’ Of Turkey
6. Ministry warns jails of revolts amid fears of staged prison breaks
7. Turkey Increases Pressure on Syrian Kurds
8. EXCLUSIVE: Salih Muslim, Syrian Kurdish leader, dismisses Turkey arrest warrant
9. Syria’s leading Kurdish politician rejects Turkish arrest warrant, calls Erdogan ‘a Sultan’
10. Turkey issues arrest warrant for Syrian Kurdish leader
11. Turkey seeks arrest of Syrian Kurdish political leader
12. Asayish clash with the Syrian military in Qamishli, casualties reported
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Turkey and the Road to Genocide
2. NEWS ANALYSIS: Freezing EU accession talks no easy process
3. The final nail in the coffin of peace process in Turkey
4. Turkey is at a crossroads between democracy and dictatorship
5. Turkey’s emergency rule fuels brain drain
6. AKP bill to pardon child rapists who marry their victims
7. How Erdogan can rule Turkey till 2029
8. Turkey and the Next War: It has become a destabilizing force in the Near East.’
9. Ex CIA and DIA Philip Giraldi speaks to Scott Horton on Turkey and Syria: Audio
10. VIDEO: Turkey’s War Against the Kurds – Women in War
RESEARCH PAPER
The Experiment of the Rojava System in Grassroots Participatory Democracy: Its Theoretical Foundation, Structure, and Strategies
STATEMENTS
1. Emergency Visit to HDP MPs in Diyarbakir, Turkey, 18th -20th November 2016
2. The Turkish Governments enmity of democracy and Kurds continues
———————————–
NEWS
1. Urgent Call: Worsening Situation in Turkish Prisons
23 November/HDP.org
Recently there have been several news and claims in the Turkish and international media that uprisings might be provoked in the prisons of Turkey to provide the government the excuse and opportunity to execute planned massacres against prisoners.
http://www.hdp.org.tr/en/english/news/news-from-hdp/urgent-call-worsening-situation-in-turkish-prisons/9299
2. We will scream in the face of those who feed off death, oppression and hatred: Women, life, freedom!
21 November/HDP.org
We, despite everything, continue to say, freedom, peace and democracy -no matter what. On 25 November [the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women] in particular, the stance of women who put up a daily struggle against violence, persecution and discrimination will play a vital role. Women will begin to illuminate this darkness.
http://www.hdp.org.tr/en/news/news-from-hdp/we-will-scream-in-the-face-of-those-who-feed-off-death-oppression-and-hatred-women-life-freedom/9279
3. On the Arrest of Mr Ahmet Turk, Co-mayor of Mardin Municipality
25 November/HDP.org
“What difference does it make that I am in prison or not? But how will this bloodshed end? How will this issue reach a resolution? This is the question. For peace, we have shouldered responsibility with our body and our soul. We had faced unimaginable tortures in Diyarbakır Prison. But we did not meet anyone with hatred. We walk for the freedom of all peoples. But no people can be free when Kurds are not.”
http://www.hdp.org.tr/en/english/statements/on-the-arrest-of-mr-ahmet-turk-co-mayor-of-mardin-municipality/9322
4. Court has no right to take any action against me: HDP co-chair Demirtaş
28 November/Hurriyet Daily
One of the co-chairs of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has appeared in court for the first time since his capture in early November, saying the courts have no right to take any action regarding him as his authority to represent the public was forcefully taken from him.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/court-has-no-right-to-take-any-action-against-me-hdp-co-chairdemirtas.aspx?pageID=517&nID=106575&NewsCatID=338
5. MEP Ward Calls for Sanctions On ‘Police State’ Of Turkey
23 November/Morning Star
LABOUR MEP Julie Ward has called for sanctions against Turkey after experiencing at first hand the intimidation and harassment dished out to opponents by the Erdogan regime.
http://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-ef17-MEP-Ward-calls-for-sanctions-on-police-state-of-Turkey#.WDWtmbSkqhB
6. Ministry warns jails of revolts amid fears of staged prison breaks
21 November/Turkish Minute
Amid increasing fears of staged prison breaks to kill political prisoners in Turkey, the Ministry of Justice sent a memo to prisons across country on Saturday to warn administrations about possible revolts by prisoners arrested over alleged links to the Gülen movement.
https://www.turkishminute.com/2016/11/21/ministry-warns-jails-revolts-amid-fears-staged-prison-breaks/
7. Turkey Increases Pressure on Syrian Kurds
23 November/VOA News
Turkey is turning up the pressure on Syrian Kurdish forces, which could put Ankara on a collision course with its Western allies. According to local media, Turkish prosecutors have issued an international arrest warrant for Salih Muslim, the leader of Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD.
http://www.voanews.com/a/turkey-increases-pressure-on-syrian-kurds/3608491.html
8. EXCLUSIVE: Salih Muslim, Syrian Kurdish leader, dismisses Turkey arrest warrant
23 November/Middle East Eye
Salih Muslim, the co-chair of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), has shrugged off the arrest warrant issued against him by Turkey on Tuesday. It was an effort to limit his travels around Europe, where he is explaining the Kurdish position on seeking democratic autonomy within Syria and other regional states with large Kurdish populations, Muslim told Middle East Eye in London.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/interview-syrian-kurdish-pyd-leader-dismissive-turkey-warrant-1791422928
9. Syria’s leading Kurdish politician rejects Turkish arrest warrant, calls Erdogan ‘a Sultan’
24 November/ARA News
Salih Muslim, the co-Chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), has shrugged off his Turkish arrest warrant, calling it the “act of a sultan.” A Turkish court issued the warrant on Tuesday, implicating Syria’s leading Kurdish politician and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in a car bombing.
http://aranews.net/2016/11/syrian-kurdish-politician-rejects-turkish-arrest-warrant-calls-erdogan-a-sultan/
10. Turkey issues arrest warrant for Syrian Kurdish leader
22 November/Al Jazeera
Salih Muslim, the co-Chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), has shrugged off his Turkish arrest warrant, calling it the “act of a sultan.” A Turkish court issued the warrant on Tuesday, implicating Syria’s leading Kurdish politician and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in a car bombing.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/11/turkey-issues-arrest-warrant-syrian-kurdish-leader-161122143148528.html
11. Turkey seeks arrest of Syrian Kurdish political leader
22 November/BBC News
The warrant named Salih Muslim of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and nearly 50 other people.
The PYD is affiliated with YPG Kurdish militias, who are backed by the US in the fight against jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38068008
12. Asayish clash with the Syrian military in Qamishli, casualties reported
24 November/ARA News
Clashes broke out on Wednesday evening between Kurdish security forces and the Syrian military. Kurdish police, known as the Asayish, have cordoned off several neighborhoods in Qamishli to limit civilian casualties.
http://aranews.net/2016/11/kurds-clash-pro-assad-forces-syrias-qamishli-casualties-reported/
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Turkey and the Road to Genocide
23 November/Jacobin
On Sunday, April 24, 1915, Ottoman minister of the interior, Talat Pasha, ordered the arrest and detention of Armenian community leaders residing within the empire.
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/turkey-kurds-erdogan-armenia-genocide-hdp-pkk/
2. NEWS ANALYSIS: Freezing EU accession talks no easy process
28 November/Hurriyet Daily
The European Parliament’s decision to call on the European Commission to freeze accession talks with Turkey is important as it marks a first in the overall enlargement process of the bloc but is unlikely to be implemented due to a complex procedure.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/news-analysis-freezing-eu-accession-talks-no-easy-process-.aspx?pageID=517&nID=106531&NewsCatID=510
3. The final nail in the coffin of peace process in Turkey
22 November/Al Monitor
Ahmet Turk is a man with posture. He appears to be the embodiment of nobility and dignity. His noble personality comes with his feudal background; he is the scion of a Kurdish landlord and tribal chiefs in a vast land along Turkey’s frontier. While his dignity gives the impression that it comes from within rather than its being part of his Kurdish aristocratic ancestry, the combination of both creates a very charismatic leader
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-mardin-mayor-ahmet-turk-detained.html#ixzz4Qxkg8WNh
4. Turkey is at a crossroads between democracy and dictatorship
November/Benedict Cooper
On Thursday the European Parliament voted to freeze Turkey’s bid to join the EU, with dire warnings over human rights violations, the systematic abuse of women and children, daily arrests of MPs and journalists, and a brutal campaign against the Kurdish minority. Turkey stands at a crossroads and the world needs to watch carefully which way it goes.
http://benedictcooper.co.uk/turkey-is-at-a-crossroads-between-democracy-and-dictatorship/
5. Turkey’s emergency rule fuels brain drain
21 November/Al Monitor
The aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt has sparked a migration flurry among educated Turks amid crackdowns on media freedoms and free speech, arbitrary restrictions on property and work rights, and growing talk of a looming economic crisis and even a civil war. Many of those leaving the country are academics, expelled overnight from universities via legislative decrees, journalists out of work and under the threat of imprisonment, and members of non-Muslim minorities who feel increasingly insecure.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-emergency-rule-fuels-brain-drain.html?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=20161122&bt_ee=u7JX/kj3O9aGUaMbA4/peIvU4JpBpt27kiv/g3StWGehVPwmrrMax37zlRWNh038&bt_ts=1479840500860
6. AKP bill to pardon child rapists who marry their victims
21 November/Al Monitor
Defying a nationwide outcry, Turkey’s ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) appears bent on ramming a bill through parliament that would pardon child rapists if a perpetrator marries his victim. AKP parliamentary whip Mustafa Elitas refused to withdraw the measure, which is likely to be approved in a second round of voting on Nov. 22. Scrapping the bill “is out of the question,” he said.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/akp-bill-pardon-child-rapists-marriage.html#ixzz4Qgs8AGx7
7. How Erdogan can rule Turkey till 2029
18 November/Al Monitor
The hottest political topic in Turkey these days is the major constitutional amendment the government is cooking up to introduce a “presidential system.” This, in fact, has been the grand ambition of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the past few years. But only now, thanks to the political alliance they formed with the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), they can find enough mandates in the parliament — more than 330 seats out of 550 — to realize this major transition.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-how-erdogan-can-rule-country-till-2029.html?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=20161121&bt_ee=rblpXncskjbPT3bjXL1+u
8. Turkey and the Next War: It has become a destabilizing force in the Near East.’
3 November/American Conservative
The Republic of Turkey has become a loose cannon on deck, a short-term asset in enabling the U.S.’s bombing of northern Syria but a major liability when it comes to any eventual settlement intended to quell the fighting in the region.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/turkey-and-the-next-war/
OR
- Ex CIA and DIA Philip Giraldi speaks to Scott Horton on Turkey and Syria: Audio
http://scotthorton.org/interviews/11416-philip-giraldi/10. VIDEO: Turkey’s War Against the Kurds – Women in War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL6ctOS7eJAdQbbZzlmRSvqwKm8v6DVceV&v=GZ7LbzJmxA4&app=desktop
RESEARCH PAPER
The Experiment of the Rojava System in Grassroots Participatory Democracy: Its Theoretical Foundation, Structure, and Strategies
November/Quest Journals
The country where democracy, human rights, freedom and the rule of law has come to an end and replaced with battlefields, destruction and dungeons. Balance-sheet for attacks on elected representatives and municipalities.
Distrust toward current ruling political systems, democratic and non-democratic, and emphasis on the
need to replace them has been a core argument of many of the recent social movements, from the Movement for Global Justice to the Occupy Wall Street (Della porta, 2013; Fominaya, 2015). While many countries have been labelled as democratic, respect for different groups’ rights inside them varies dramatically (Behrend and
Whiehead, 2016).
http://questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol4-issue11/L4118088.pdf
STATEMENTS
1. Emergency Visit to HDP MPs in Diyarbakir, Turkey, 18th -20th November 2016
21 November/Peace in Kurdistan
Julie Ward, MEP for North West England, and Melanie Gingell, Barrister, visited Diyarbakir in South East Turkey between 18th and 20th November 2016 in response to an urgent call from the HDP and facilitated by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign.
https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/2016/11/21/pik-emergency-visit-to-hdp-mps-in-diyarbakir-18th-20th-november-2016/
2. The Turkish Governments enmity of democracy and Kurds continues
20 November/Kurdistan National Congress
The country where democracy, human rights, freedom and the rule of law has come to an end and replaced with battlefields, destruction and dungeons. Balance-sheet for attacks on elected representatives and municipalities.
http://www.kongrakurdistan.net/en/the-turkish-governments-enmity-of-democracy-and-kurds-continues/
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
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Gingell – Tel: 020 7272 7890
Fax: 020 7263 0596
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, Dafydd Iwan, Former President Plaid Cymru, Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy, John Austin, Christine Blower, NUT International Secretary, Simon Dubbins, UNITE International Director, Doug Nicholls, General Secretary, General Federations of Trade Unions, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, James Kelman, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Mark Thomas, Nick Hildyard, Stephen Smellie, Derek Wall, Melanie Gingell, Steve Sweeney