NEWS

  1. Moslem: There are documents to enable the ICC to prosecute Erdoğan
  2. Erdoğan silences the opposition
  3. ‘Placement of refugees in Kurdistan aims the destruction of Kurdishness’
  4. Number of prisoners in Turkey doubles the 12 September coup period
  5. Elif Şafak takes a swing at Turkish bourgeoisie in latest novel
  6. The reality of life under Turkey’s internet censorship machine
  7. Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney to defend Yazidi women, ISIS sex slaves
  8. Russia and US agree on closer military cooperation in Syria, after Putin calls Obama
  9. Syrian Kurds declare Qamishli as capital for the new federal system
  10. Draft of the Social Contract is being discussed

 OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS

1. Turkey and Russia Soon to Renew Relations
2. How new alliance among Iraq’s Kurds might actually deepen divisions
3.Great Power Conflict over Iraqi Oil: The World War I Era 4.
Tariq Ali on Chilcot Iraq Report: Tony Blair is a War Criminal for Pushing Us into Illegal War
5. ISIS: The Cornered Beast
6. The war next door: Syria and the erosion of stability in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey

PRESS RELEASE
Hassaka Attack Shows How Brutal the ISIS Is!

 ACTION
1. Demonstration: Rise Up-For Europe, Defend Free Movement, Migrants Welcome Here
2. Support Turkish Academics Under Attack

NEWS

1. Moslem: There are documents to enable the ICC to prosecute Erdoğan
July 7th 2016/ANF English
PYD Co-President Saleh Moslem spoke to ANF on recent political developments, and said that the US and Russia have documents that will enable the ICC to prosecute Erdoğan. Moslem recalled the ongoing court case of Rıza Zarrab in the US, and said that this case enables certain powers to pull the plug.
http://anfenglish.com/features/moslem-there-are-documents-to-enable-the-icc-to-prosecute-erdogan

2. Erdoğan silences the opposition
July 2016/Le Monde Diplomatique
Turkish politics took another step towards the abyss on 20 May when the immunity of several dozen MPs was retroactively lifted by a temporary amendment to the constitution. The article adopted by the parliament is itself in violation of the constitution, and contrary to the universal principles of law and democracy.
http://mondediplo.com/2016/07/07erdogan

3. Placement of Refugees in Kurdistan aims at the Destruction of Kurdishness.
July 7th 2016/ANF English
KCK (Kurdistan Communities’ Union) Executive Council Co-President Cemil Bayık stated that Turkish president Erdoğan would go down in history as the biggest enemy of Kurdish people. He recalled that Erdoğan wants to place Syrian refugees in Kurdistan, and described this initiative as the de-Kurdification of Kurdistan. Bayık noted that Kurds would reject the placement of Syrian refugees in Kurdistan, and said that accepting this initiative would mean suicide for Kurdish people. Cemil Bayık dedicated his most recent article in Azadiya Welat and Yeni Özgür Politika newspapers to this topic, and called upon Syrian refugees to reject Erdoğan’s plan.
http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/placement-of-refugees-in-kurdistan-aims-the-destruction-of-kurdishness

4. Number of New Prisons in Turkey Doubles the 12 th September Coup Period.
July 8th 2016/ANF English
According to the figures by Turkish Ministry of Justice’s General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses, there are 290 closed prisons, 60 detached prisons, 2 juvenile detention centers, 5 closed prison of women and 3 closed prisons of children. As many as 105 prisoners and 34 additional buildings have been built during the AKP period between the years of 2006 and 2016. With these, the total number of prisons and detention houses in Turkey has risen to 362. Although these 362 prisons and detention houses have a capacity of 180.256, there are a total of 187.647 people jailed across the country as of March 31, which means an additional 7.391 people are held in over-crowded jails.
http://anfenglish.com/news/number-of-prisoners-in-turkey-doubles-the-12-september-coup-period

5. Elif Şafak takes a swing at Turkish bourgeoisie in latest novel
July 8th 2016/Hurriyet Daily News
World-renowned Turkish author Elif Şafak tells the story of three girls – one sinner, one believer and one agnostic — in her latest novel “The Three Daughters of Eve.”  “This is the story of a woman’s quest for love, faith, God, identity, happiness. It is a very contemporary book that deals with some of the major issues of our time. There is also a sharp criticism of Turkish society and bourgeoisie,” Şafak told the Hürriyet Daily News in an exclusive interview.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/elif-safak-takes-a-swing-at-turkish-bourgeoisie-in-latest-novel.aspx?pageID=238&nID=101210&NewsCatID=386

6. The reality of life under Turkey’s internet censorship machine
July 5th 2016/The Daily Dot
Turkey, the world champion in Twitter censorship, presents a tough challenge for regular internet users thanks to its growing blacklist of 100,000 banned websites. But determined Turks are tough. After all, they are the ones who placed the #TurkeyBlockedTwitter hashtag on world’s top trends list—while Twitter was blocked nationwide.
http://www.dailydot.com/layer8/turkey-censorship-real-life/

7. Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney to defend Yazidi women, ISIS sex slaves
June 12th 2016/ARA News
International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney will defend Yazidi women who have been victims of sexual slavery, rape and genocide by Islamic State militants in Iraq, her law firm said on Friday. Clooney, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London, is seeking to prosecute the Islamist group through the International Criminal Court for their crimes against the Yazidi community.
http://aranews.net/2016/06/human-rights-lawyer-amal-clooney-defend-yazidi-women-isis-sex-slaves/

8. Russia and US agree on closer military cooperation in Syria, after Putin calls Obama
July 6th 2016/Russia Today
The Kremlin says that both Russia and the US are ready to better coordinate efforts to eliminate radical Islamists in Syria, following a telephone conversation initiated by the Russian leader.“Both sides have confirmed their readiness to increase military cooperation between Russia and the US in Syria,” said a statement from the Kremlin released on Wednesday evening. “It is also important to resurrect the UN-mediated peace talks to arrive at a political solution of the crisis.”
https://www.rt.com/news/349715-putin-obama-syria-russia/

9. Syrian Kurds declare Qamishli as capital for the new federal system
5th July 2016/ARA News
The Syrian Kurds and their allies declared the northeastern city of Qamishlo [Qamishli] as the new capital of the federal system in Northern Syria and Rojava, a Kurdish leaders and member of the Democratic Society Movement (TEV-DEM) told ARA News.
http://aranews.net/2016/07/syrian-kurds-declare-qamishli-capital-new-federal-system/

10. Draft of the Social Contract is being discussed
June 28th 2016/Hawar News
The Syrian Kurds and their allies declared the northeastern city of Qamishlo [Qamishli] as the new capital of the federal system in Northern Syria and Rojava, a Kurdish leaders and member of the Democratic Society Movement (TEV-DEM) told ARA News.
http://en.hawarnews.com/draft-of-the-social-contract-is-being-discussed/

OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Turkey and Russia Soon to Renew Relations
5th July 2016/Lobe Log
Turkey and Israel first had to agree to exchange ambassadors so that Turkey and Russia could also mend relations. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will probably schedule a face-to-face meeting at the G20 summit meeting in China in September.
http://lobelog.com/turkey-and-russia-soon-to-renew-relations/

2. How new alliance among Iraq’s Kurds might actually deepen divisions
July 5th 2016/Al Monitor
Often touted as the main beneficiaries of Iraq’s post-Saddam Hussein order, the Kurds obtained political recognition for their autonomous region in the country’s 2005 constitution and have played what sometimes appears to be an outsized role in Iraqi politics. In key elections in 2005 and 2010, the Kurds’ unity landed them the role of kingmakers, deciding who would get to sit in the coveted prime minister’s office. Today, however, that unity appears to be history. The Kurds are now so fragmented that they apparently cannot agree on how to deal with the Baghdad government, jeopardizing their stature and position in the country.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/07/iraq-kurdistan-division-puk-gorran-deal-kdp.html#ixzz4Dp9THGGo

3. Great Power Conflict over Iraqi Oil: The World War I Era
October 2002/Global Policy Forum
During World War I (1914-18), strategists for all the major powers increasingly perceived oil as a key military asset, due to the adoption of oil-powered naval ships, new horseless army vehicles such as trucks and tanks, and even military airplanes. Use of oil during the war increased so rapidly that a severe shortage developed in 1917-18.The strategists also understood that oil would assume a rapidly-growing importance in the civilian economy, making it a vital element in national and imperial economic strength and a source of untold wealth to those who controlled it. Already in the United States, John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil Company, was the world’s richest person.
https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/185/40479.html

4. Tariq Ali on Chilcot Iraq Report: Tony Blair is a War Criminal for Pushing Us into Illegal War
July 6th 2016/Democracy Now
While Iraq is marking a third day of mourning, a long-awaited British inquiry into the Iraq War has just been released. The Chilcot report is 2.6 million words long—about three times the length of the Bible. Using excerpts from private correspondence between former Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush, the report details how Blair pushed Britain into the war despite a lack of concrete intelligence.
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/6/tariq_ali_on_chilcot_iraq_report?utm_source=Democracy+Now%21&utm_campaign=93966ce467-Daily_Digest&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa2346a853-93966ce467-190239665

5. ISIS: The Cornered Beast
July 5th 2016/New York Review of Books
Just when Muslims around the world thought that ISIS was in retreat and that it was safe to celebrate the end of Ramadan, the group has struck back with a devastating series of bombings in four Muslim countries. Claiming more than three hundred lives, most of them Muslim, during the final days of the month-long fast, the attacks in Turkey, Bangladesh, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia have created pandemonium.
http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2016/07/05/isis-cornered-beast-losing-territory-more-terrorism/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NYR%20Krugman%20on%20King%20Als%20on%20Martin%20Cole%20on%20police&utm_content=NYR%20Krugman%20on%20King%20Als%20on%20Martin%20Cole%20on%20police+CID_9def725d3263b14fe6dce4894ed64907&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_term=ISIS%20The%20Cornered%20Beast

6. The war next door: Syria and the erosion of stability in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey
July 4th 2016/European Council on Foreign Relations
Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have so far been surprisingly resilient to the spillover from Syria’s civil war, in terms of refugees, terror, and domestic divisions. But now the region’s fragile stability is hanging by a thread – with Turkey the most precarious of all.
http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/the_war_next_door_syria_and_the_erosion_of_stability_in_jordan_lebanon_7066

PRESS RELEASE
Hassaka Attack Shows How Brutal the ISIS Is!
July 7th 2016/Kurdistan National Congress
Yesterday, Tuesday July the 5th, was the last day of the Muslim month of Ramadan and which usually is a day for making preparations for the Ramadan feast, the ISIS terrorists managed again to kill tens of civilians (22) and injure many more in a terrorist attack. The attacker was a single suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt that blew him up while standing among people in a queue in front of a bread bakery. This terrible terrorist act of ISIS shows again how brutal this terrorist group is and how criminal are those who support and help them.
http://www.kongrakurdistan.net/en/hassaka-attack-shows-how-brutal-the-isis-is/

ACTION
1. Demonstration: Rise Up-For Europe, Defend Free Movement, Migrants Welcome Here
RISE UP FOR EUROPE
* Migrants and refugees welcome here
* Defend free movement
* Say no to ‘Fortress Britain’
Tomorrow, 9 July, 1-4pm https://www.facebook.com/events/993593024089717/

2. Support Turkish Academics Under Attack
July 8th 2016/ Peace in Kurdistan
Please make a small video on your phone in support of the academics who are standing with Kurdish people under attack in South-East Turkey and who are losing their jobs and facing prosecution as a result. See below for details.
https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/2016/07/08/support-turkish-academics-under-attack/#more-6111

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

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