KURDISH NEWS WEEKLY BRIEFING, 21 – 27 May 2016
NEWS
- KONGRA GEL issues urgent call for action for Nusaybin
- SDF continues its march for freedom in North Raqqa
- What has happened during the Operation Liberate North Raqqa?
- Erdogan Targeting the 59 Pro-Kurdish HDP Parliamentarians with 445 Police Investigations
- Danish parties call on the EU to withdraw support from Erdoğan’s policies
- KCK calls upon Kurdish people to rise up everywhere to claim their will
- 50 thousand signatures collected for Erdoğan’s trial in the ICC
- Demirtaş: None of our MPs will go to court voluntarily to testify
- 5TH LEAD Turkish parliament strips immunity of lawmakers; Kurds concerned By Shabtai Gold, dpa
- Turkish Parliament Approves Stripping Lawmakers of Their Immunity
- German Arms Supplied to Turkey Used in Fight Against Kurds
- Sir Richard Dearlove is right, visa waivers for Turks are dangerous, Patrick Cockburn
- Rojava officials negotiate Iraqi Kurds over reopening Semalka border crossing
- Kurds and Russians concerned about Turkish attempts to create a safe zone north Syria
- A Kurd is elected mayor of London’s Haringey
- Briton who joined Kurds to fight ISIS faces terrorism charges
- Iran publicly executes five Kurdish rights activists in Urmia
OPINION, COMMENT, ANALYSIS
- Rojava revolution: on the hoof
- Turkey´s Kurdish peace process: regional implications
- Erdogan irked as major players snub humanitarian summit
- Behind the Barricades of Turkey’s hidden War
- Raqqa Operation and the New Strategic Period
- Syria’s first Kurdish university attracts controversy as well as students
- The 100-Year-Old Disease Plaguing the Middle East
- The mysterious appearance of ‘Northern Syria’
- Ouster of Kurdish MPs threatens to fuel separatism in Turkey
- Turkey must stop feeding its environment of fear for journalists and trade unionists
- America and NATO’s Outrageous Behavior, Greatest Threat that Exists
- CONFESSIONS OF AN ISIS DESERTER
- ANALYSIS: Kurds welcome US support, but want more say on Syria’s future
STATEMENTS, PRESS RELEASES
- PEACE IN KURDISTAN CAMPAIGN: The lifting of immunity threatens to take Turkish politics back decades
- The Task of the Kurdistan people in the Hundredth Anniversary of the Sykes-Picot Agreement (16th of May 1916)
- PES DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT UNCONSTITUTIONAL MOVE TO STRIP TURKISH MPS OFF IMMUNITY
BOOK REVIEW
- The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism 1880-1925 by Robert Olson
NEWS
- KONGRA GEL issues urgent call for action for Nusaybin
26 May 2016 / ANF News
The KONGRA GEL Co-Presidency has issued a written declaration on the state forces’ massacre attempts in Mardin’s Nusaybin district.
The declaration pointed out that the state forces failed to break the people’s resistance in Nusaybin and attempted to destroy the district along with the people with bombs from fighter jets. The statement stresses “This shows how Erdoğan’s fascist state waging this dirty war against our people is cornered as well” and continues:…
http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/kongra-gel-issues-urgent-call-for-action-for-nusaybin
- SDF continues its march for freedom in North Raqqa
26 May 2016 / ANF News
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continues to advance during its operation to liberate North Raqqa from ISIS and receives support from Arab, Turkmen, Assyrian and other peoples. SDF had recently liberated the villages of Qirtaca, Mitşerce, Nemrudiyê, Indibên, and Mitemeşric. Many ISIS gangs were killed during the SDF operation, and some gangs disguised as SDF fighters tried to escape the area today.
http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/sdf-continues-its-march-for-freedom-in-north-raqqa
- What has happened during the Operation Liberate North Raqqa?
26 May 2016 / ANF News
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continues its advance during the operation to liberate the northern part of ISIS gangs’ capital Raqqa. There were numerous developments on the second day of the operation.
http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/what-has-happened-during-the-operation-liberate-north-raqqa
- Erdogan Targeting the 59 Pro-Kurdish HDP Parliamentarians with 445 Police Investigations
23 May 2016 / The Real News
Turkeys parliament on Friday approved stripping its members of immunity from prosecution, a move likely to see the pro-kurdish opposition sidelined, easing President Tayyip Erdoğans path to strengthening his presidential powers. Erdoğan has accused the pro-kurdish HDP, the parliaments 3rd largest party, of being the political wing of militants. The militants have waged a 3-decade insurgency in the countrys largely Kurdish southeast. Erdoğan wants to see them prosecuted. That is the parliamentary end prosecuted, not to mention the terrorists. The HDP denies such links and says its parliamentary presence could be all but wiped out if prosecutions go ahead. The HDP has said an overwhelming majority of its 59 deputies could be jailed, mostly for views they have expressed. In the 3rd and final vote of a secret ballot, 376 MPs in the 550 seat parliament, backed the plan to lift MPs immunity. A high enough level of support to change the constitution directly without needing to hold a referendum. On to discuss these and other developments, we are joined by Baris Karaagac. Hes a lecturer in international development studies at Trent University in Ontario. Hes also the editor of the book, Accumulations, Crisis, and Struggles, Capital and Labor in Contemporary Capitalism.Baris, so good to have you with us.
- Danish parties call on the EU to withdraw support from Erdoğan’s policies
21 May 2016 / ANF News
As Turkey’s lifting of MP immunities continues to draw reactions from across the country and abroad, yet another criticism has come from an initiative formed by three political parties in the Danish Parliament, Enhedslisten, Socialistiske Folkeparti and Alternativet.
http://anfenglish.com/news/danish-parties-call-on-the-eu-to-withdraw-support-from-erdogan-s-policies
- KCK calls upon Kurdish people to rise up everywhere to claim their will
21 May 2016 / ANF News
The Executive Council Co-Presidency of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) has released a statement related to the lifting of parliamentary immunities. KCK pointed out that the war waged by Erdoğan and the Palace gladio against the Kurdish people has now been turned towards the elected deputies.
http://anfenglish.com/news/kck-calls-upon-kurdish-people-to-rise-up-everywhere-to-claim-their-will
- 50 thousand signatures collected for Erdoğan’s trial in the ICC
21 May 2016 / ANF News
The petition signed by 50 thousand people who demand Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan be tried in the International Criminal Court has ended with a rally in front of the UN building. The 50 thousand signatures will be presented to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on Tuesday, May 24.
http://anfenglish.com/news/50-thousand-signatures-collected-for-erdogan-s-trial-in-the-icc
- Demirtaş: None of our MPs will go to court voluntarily to testify
20 May 2016 / ANF News
HDP co-chairs Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş made a statement to the press in the wake of the lifting of parliamentary immunities, a “coup” proposal introduced by the AKP and approved by the CHP and MHP on the basis of an anti-Kurdish alliance.
http://anfenglish.com/news/demirtas-none-of-our-mps-will-go-to-court-voluntarily-to-testify
- 5TH LEAD Turkish parliament strips immunity of lawmakers; Kurds concerned By Shabtai Gold, dpa
20 May 2016 / Europe Online Magazine
Istanbul (dpa) – The Turkish parliament voted by a two-thirds majority Friday in favour of a constitutional amendment lifting the immunity from prosecution of 138 members of parliament, including nearly all the pro-Kurdish legislators.
- Turkish Parliament Approves Stripping Lawmakers of Their Immunity
20 May 2016 / The New York Times
ISTANBUL — Lawmakers from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s governing party pushed through an amendment to the Turkish Constitution on Friday that would strip members of Parliament of their immunity from prosecution, a move that is likely to lead to the ouster of Kurdish deputies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/21/world/europe/turkey-parliament-immunity-kurds.html?_r=1
- German Arms Supplied to Turkey Used in Fight Against Kurds
20 May 2016 / Sputnik News
ANKARA (Sputnik) — The weapons that Germany sells to Turkey are used in Ankara’s military campaign against the Kurds in the southeast of the country, lawmaker from Germany’s Left Party Sevim Dagdelen told Sputnik Turkey.
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160520/1039998636/kurds-arms-germany-supplies.html
- Sir Richard Dearlove is right, visa waivers for Turks are dangerous, Patrick Cockburn
20 May 2016 / Independent
Fierce criticism has greeted the claim by the former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, about the dangers of giving Turks easier entry to Europe. He said that for the EU “to offer visa-free access to 75 million Turks to stem the flow of migrants across the Aegean seems perverse, like storing gasoline next to the fire.” He warned that extreme right wing populist parties in Europe would benefit from the hostile reaction to a fresh wave of migrants as has happened already in Austria and beyond.
- Rojava officials negotiate Iraqi Kurds over reopening Semalka border crossing
26 May 2016 / ARA News
A delegation from Rojava’s Auto-Administration, led by Syrian Kurdish politician Aldar Xelil, met with a delegation from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of northern Iraq to discuss the closure of the Semalka border crossing.
http://aranews.net/2016/05/rojava-officials-negotiate-iraqi-kurds-reopening-semalka-border-crossing/
- Kurds and Russians concerned about Turkish attempts to create a safe zone north Syria
21 May 2016 / ARA News
Russia expressed serious concern about attempts by Turkey to create a vast ‘security zone’, to keep out both the Syrian government and Kurdish forces. Also Kurdish officials have expressed concern over Turkish attempts to prevent the Kurds from expanding their territory northern Syria.
http://aranews.net/2016/05/kurds-russians-concerned-turkish-attempts-create-safe-zone/
- A Kurd is elected mayor of London’s Haringey
19 May 2016 / Kurdistan 24
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – An Alevi Kurd, originally from Kurdistan of Turkey (Bakur), was elected as the mayor of London’s Haringey Council on Monday.
Cllr Ali Gul Ozbek, a pharmacist, is the first Alevi Kurd who has ever won the local election for Haringey. He will also serve as the civic and ceremonial head of the district’s Council.
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/457c17cf-b9a8-47a3-aedb-c785bcdd4339/a-kurd-is-elected-mayor-of-
- Briton who joined Kurds to fight ISIS faces terrorism charges
21 May 2016 / ARA News
Kurds launched a petition on Change.org for British citizen Aiden Aslin, who previously went out to Syria to fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), and now is threatened with terrorism charges, after returning to the United Kingdom in February.
http://aranews.net/2016/05/briton-joined-kurds-fight-isis-faces-terrorism-charges/
- Iran publicly executes five Kurdish rights activists in Urmia
21 May 2016 / ARA News
Authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran executed five Kurdish rights activists in the northwestern Urmia city, officials and local activists confirmed on Friday. The Kurdish rights activists Naji Kiwan, Ali Kurdian, Haidar Ramini, Nadir Muhamadi and Ruhman Rashidi were arrested on Wednesday on charges of “conspiring against the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
http://aranews.net/2016/05/iran-publicly-executes-five-kurdish-rights-activists-urmia/
OPINION, COMMENT, ANALYSIS
- Rojava revolution: on the hoof
23 May 2016 / Open Democracy
Rojava is a fast moving, dynamic place where things change by the minute. What are the material conditions which support this woman-centred revolution ? Part 5 of 50.50’s series Witnessing the revolution in Rojava, northern Syria.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/rahila-gupta/rojava-revolution-on-hoof
- Turkey´s Kurdish peace process: regional implications
23 May 2016 / Open Democracy
In Turkey, the pro-Kurdish People´s Democratic (HDP) Party won an unprecedented 13 percent of the national vote during Turkey’s General Election on June 7, 2015. For the first time since 2002, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its parliamentary majority. Though this trend was reversed in the November election, with the AKP regaining political dominance and exhibiting increasing authoritarian tendencies, Turkey´s political landscape had clearly shifted. The growing influence of Kurds in the country both politically and militarily, for better or worse, means Turkey is holding the key to either fostering peace and stability in the region, or more violence and chaos.
- Erdogan irked as major players snub humanitarian summit
25 May 2016 / Al Monitor
Imagine throwing a huge fundraiser. You proudly plan it for months. You invite all the must-have, high-society elites. On the big night, the place is packed, but at the last minute the big spenders — the ones you really want — don’t show.
- Behind the Barricades of Turkey’s hidden War
24 May 2016 / The New York Times
On the morning of Oct. 29, 2014, a long convoy of armored vehicles and trucks rolled northward in the shadow of Iraq’s Zagros Mountains and crossed a bridge over the Khabur River, which marks the border with Turkey. As the convoy rumbled past the border gate, the road for miles ahead was lined with thousands of ecstatic Kurds, who clapped, cheered and waved the Kurdish flag. Many had tears in their eyes. Some even kissed the tanks and trucks as they passed. The soldiers, Iraqi Kurds, were on their way through Turkey to help defend Kobani, a Syrian border city, against ISIS. Their route that day traced an arc from northern Iraq through southeastern Turkey and onward into northern Syria: the historical heartland of the Kurdish people. For the bystanders who cheered them on under a hazy autumn sky, the date was deliciously symbolic. It was Turkey’s Republic Day. What had long been a grim annual reminder of Turkish rule over the Kurds was transformed into rapture, as they watched Kurdish soldiers parade through three countries where they have long dreamed of founding their own republic.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/magazine/behind-the-barricades-of-turkeys-hidden-war.html?_r=1
- Raqqa Operation and the New Strategic Period
27 May 2016 / Kurdish Question
The operation to rid the Islamic State (ISIS) from its self-declared capital Raqqa, which the world has been awaiting for some time, was officially launched on May 24. There had been military, political, and diplomatic preparations for this operation for some time now. The final decision was made in mid May. Military dispatching started on May 19 and the “Operation Liberate Northern Raqqa” launched yesterday with the announcement.
http://kurdishquestion.com/article/3184-raqqa-operation-and-the-new-strategic-period
- Syria’s first Kurdish university attracts controversy as well as students
18 May 2016 / Al Monitor
A group of dedicated educators has found a way to circumvent the war that has disrupted all aspects of Syrian life. Since students can’t travel to universities to study, a university has come to them. Afrin University, the first university based in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan), began registering students in August. Though it is not yet accredited, the school’s officials already plan to expand its offerings and facilities.
- The 100-Year-Old Disease Plaguing the Middle East
27 May 2016 / Kurdish Question
The Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, written at the height of the First World War, had a significant impact on the Middle East throughout the twentieth century. And it still has far-reaching consequences today – particularly for groups like the Kurds, who were left as ‘minorities’ living within the borders of hostile nation-states.
http://kurdishquestion.com/article/3185-the-100-year-old-disease-plaguing-the-middle-east
- The mysterious appearance of ‘Northern Syria’
24 May 2016 / LSE Middle East Centre
The announcement of a federal system for Rojava (Western Kurdistan) in March 2016 was notable. Not just because it strengthens Kurdish autonomy in Syria and provides a new model for local government but also because of the appearance of a new geographical term with no real pedigree: ‘Northern Syria’.
- Ouster of Kurdish MPs threatens to fuel separatism in Turkey
23 May 2016 / Al Monitor
Turkey’s parliament passed a constitutional amendment May 20 that revokes the immunity of current lawmakers in a move designed to prosecute members of the Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and oust them from parliament. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the far-right Nationalist Action Party (MHP) voted in favor of the amendment, backed by a number of deputies from the main opposition, center-right Republican People’s Party (CHP).
- Turkey must stop feeding its environment of fear for journalists and trade unionists
20 May 2016 / European Federation of Journalists
The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ and IFJ) is calling upon the presumptive upcoming Turkish Prime minister, Binali Yildirim, to end the climate of permanent judicial intimidation, threats, harassment, detention and physical assaults against journalists and media workers in Turkey.
- America and NATO’s Outrageous Behavior, Greatest Threat that Exists
20 May 2016 / Global Research
On May 18th, two top people at NATO, one being its current Secretary General — the very top person — laid out in preliminary form the case for war against Russia, which presumably will be presented in more detail at the NATO Summit to be held in Poland on 8-9 July this year.
As if that weren’t bad enough, there’s the matter reported by Bryan Cloughly at Strategic Culture, headlining on May 19th, “Surging Towards yet Another War”, where he pointed out that…
- CONFESSIONS OF AN ISIS DESERTER
21 May 2016 / Newsweek Europe
In most ways, Abu Khadija, a 39-year-old Syrian, is not remarkable.
He used to make a living as a salesman in a men’s clothing shop in Damascus. He has four children, two boys and two girls, and a wife he loves dearly.
The unremarkable man of medium build with a light beard and kind, unassuming eyes looks like many of the shopkeepers in the capital’s renowned Hamidiyah marketplace.
- ANALYSIS: Kurds welcome US support, but want more say on Syria’s future
23 May 2016 / Middle East Eye
The head of US forces in the Middle East has shown his country’s support for Syria’s Kurds in an unprecedented visit to the training camps of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as the group and its US coalition allies prepare recruits for operations against the Islamic State (IS).
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/kurds-syria-us-general-292550977
STATEMENTS, PRESS RELEASES
- PEACE IN KURDISTAN CAMPAIGN: The lifting of immunity threatens to take Turkish politics back decades
23 May 2016 / Peace in Kurdistan
The decision to lift immunity is yet another step in President Erdogan’s efforts to tighten his grip on power with the ultimate aim of creating a presidential system, which critics say is an attempt to introduce a “one-man rule” dictatorship. This amounts to a political coup that demands a proportionate response.
- The Task of the Kurdistan people in the Hundredth Anniversary of the Sykes-Picot Agreement (16th of May 1916)
6 May 2016 / Kurdistan National Congress
Kurdistan is a rich and a fertile land. Therefore, it has been subjected to aggressions and occupations. The richness of Kurdistan has always attracted both neighboring countries and other countries far away in a colonial-interest manner. They all have exploited Kurdistan and have tried to continue their dominance and occupation against the will of the Kurdistan people. These aggressors have always harmed the people of Kurdistan and have caused them bloodshed and suffering. Thus, Kurdistan has been a battlefield and a field for imposing the hegemony of outsiders. Kurdistan lost its national unity for the first time in history due to the Qesri Shirin Agreement in 1639. The agreement was a result of war between the Ottomans and the Safavids. In the aftermath of the Qesri Shirin agreement, Kurdistan was divided into two parts. This condition continued to the beginning of the 20th century.
http://www.kongrakurdistan.org/
- PES DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT UNCONSTITUTIONAL MOVE TO STRIP TURKISH MPS OFF IMMUNITY
16 May 2016 / PED Socialists & Democrats
The Party of European Socialists is deeply concerned about the upcoming vote at the Parliament General Assembly in Turkey to lift the immunity of the members of the Turkish Parliament.
We consider the measure to be a new attempt to crack down on the opposition and as directly targeting the HDP party, which an associated member of the PES.
http://www.pes.eu/pes_deeply_concerned_about_unconstitutional_move_to_strip_turkish_mps_off_immunity
BOOK REVIEW
- The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism 1880-1925 by Robert Olson
27 April 2016 / Allah is NOT Kurdish (YouTube channel)
Kurdish nationalism, Sheihk Ubaydallah movement, Hamidiye Regiments, Turkish nationalism, British Imperialism, Koçgiri genocide, Sevres treaty. South Kurdistan, North Kurdistan etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uubCZx7Wq6A
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 General 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