NEWS
- International Imrali Delegation urges CPT to uphold its responsibilities
- Kurdish Joint Diplomacy Committee appeals to EU officials on Öcalan
- VIDEO interview with Macer Gifford. SDF: ISIS responsible for civilian deaths in Syrian border town, not coalition
- TEV-DEM: the terrorist act indicates its bankruptcy
- ‘IS’ bomb blast in Syrian Kurdish city kills dozens
- Kurds blame Syrian regime for facilitating ISIS attacks in Qamishli
- KCK on Qamishlo massacre: Measures of self-defense must be advanced
- Health Council: 35 killed, over 150 wounded in Qamishlo attack
- Rojava Asayish: Qamishlo attack targeted civilians
- Syria: Deadly IS blast rocks Kurdish city of Qamishli
- Turkey’s Other Crackdown
- Öcalan’s lawyer: With the state of emergency, all of Turkey is like İmralı
- Erdogan excludes pro-Kurd party from first meeting with opposition after coup
- Some AKP members may be behind the coup attempt: HDP
- Former US war crimes ambassador calls for UN investigative probe into Yazidi genocide
- Video: Syrian Democratic Forces Free Sixty Civilians from ISIS in Manbij
- Isis fighters dressed as women captured by Syrian Democratic Forces escaping Manbij
- Turkey: EU Must Hold Turkish President Accountable for Press Freedom Violations
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Turkish Police Torture, Rape Own Soldiers, Officers, Judges
- The Causes Of the Coup Attempt in Turkey: a History of the Usual Suspects
- Turkey: A War of Two Coups by Sungur Savran
- Turkey’s Botched Coup And State Of Emergency: Internal Dynamics And Implications
- Turkey’s post-coup purge furthers state aim of a subservient sector
- The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight
- Monday Briefing: Turkey’s Post-Coup Military Restructuring and US-Russia Meeting in Geneva on Syria Coordination
- The Mainstream Media Whitewashed Ross Kemp’s Explosive Anti-ISIS Documentary. Here’s the Truth
- Under Pressure, Syria’s Rebels Face al-Nusra Quandary
- Raising Women’s Voices in Syria’s War
STATEMENT
Neither Coup nor State of Emergency Turkey Needs Peace and Democracy
ACTION
FREEDOM FOR OCALAN DEMONSTRATION
NEWS
1. International Imrali Delegation urges CPT to uphold its responsibilities
July 28th/ANF English
Conditions of isolation on Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan have been in place for the last 17 years. Despite all peaceful efforts of Öcalan, the Turkish state continues and intensifies the isolation. Despite all the insistence from Kurds, European institutions keep their silence.
2. Kurdish Joint Diplomacy Committee appeals to EU officials on Öcalan
July 28th/ANF English
The Joint Diplomacy Committee of Kurdish and Syriac Parties and Institutions sent an open letter to EU officials calling for action to enable an urgent meeting with Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan.
http://anfenglish.com/news/kurdish-joint-diplomacy-committee-appeals-to-eu-officials-on-ocalan
3. VIDEO interview with Macer Gifford. SDF: ISIS responsible for civilian deaths in Syrian border town, not coalition
July 29th/ARA News
http://aranews.net/2016/07/sdf-isis-responsible-for-civilian-deaths-in-syrian-border-town-not-coalition/
4. TEV-DEM: the terrorist act indicates its bankruptcy
July 28th/Hawar News Agency
NEWS DESK– the Executive Body of the Democratic Society Movement(TEV-DEM) announced its commitment to mourning declared by the Democratic Autonomous Administration, noting that this terrorist act is an indication of the bankruptcy of the parties lying behind it.
http://en.hawarnews.com/tev-dem-the-terrorist-act-indicates-its-bankruptcy/
5. ‘IS’ bomb blast in Syrian Kurdish city kills dozens
July 27th/Deutche Wells
A devastating suicide truck bomb blast claimed by the so-called “Islamic State” killed nearly 50 people and wounded at least 150 in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli on Wednesday, the deadliest attack to hit the largely Kurdish city since the Syrian conflict began.
http://www.dw.com/en/is-bomb-blast-in-syrian-kurdish-city-kills-dozens/a-19429875
6. Kurds blame Syrian regime for facilitating ISIS attacks in Qamishli
July 28th/ARA News
QAMISHLI – Syrian Kurdish officials have blamed the Syrian government for facilitating or supporting the Islamic State (ISIS) deadly attack in Qamislo that killed at least 50 civilians in the unofficial Kurdish capital of Qamishli.
http://aranews.net/2016/07/kurds-blame-syrian-regime-facilitating-isis-attacks-qamishli/
7. KCK on Qamishlo massacre: Measures of self-defense must be advanced
July 28th/ANF English
KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council Co-Presidency has released a statement on yesterday’s bomb attack in Qamishlo, describing it as yet another savage massacre perpetrated in Rojava that is targeted by continuous threats of the fascist AKP state.
Recalling that the at least 35 people lost their lives and over 150 others were injured, KCK offered condolences to the Kurdish people and their friends, and wished a speedy recovery to all the wounded.
http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/kck-on-qamishlo-massacre-measures-of-self-defense-must-be-advanced
8. Health Council: 35 killed, over 150 wounded in Qamishlo attack
July 27th/ANF English
Cizîr Canton Health Council Co-Presidency has released a statement about the attack that hit the Xerbî neighborhood of Qamishlo at 09:25 this morning. The statement reads; “After the Turkey-backed ISIS gangs were defeated in Manbij by Manbij Military Council, these terrorist groups carried out a barbaric attack in Qamishlo in the morning hours. 35 people, mainly civilians, were martyred as a result of the bomb attack near the Asayish center at 09:25 this morning. While the martyrs include women and children, more than 150 people were also wounded.
http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/health-council-35-killed-over-150-wounded-in-qamishlo-attack
9. Rojava Asayish: Qamishlo attack targeted civilians
July 27th/ANF News
Rojava Asayish General Administration has released a statement about the attack that hit the Xerbî neighborhood of Qamishlo at 09:25 this morning.
The Asayish General Administration offered condolences to the families of those killed in the attack, wished speedy recovery to all the wounded and vowed to avenge them.
http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/rojava-asayish-qamishlo-attack-targeted-civilians
http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/rojava-asayish-qamishlo-attack-targeted-civilians
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Syria: Deadly IS blast rocks Kurdish city of Qamishli
July 27th/BBC News
Forty-four people have been killed in a massive bombing in the Kurdish-controlled city of Qamishli in north-east Syria, Syrian state TV reports. The blast was caused by a truck bomb which struck near a Kurdish security headquarters, according to a UK-based monitoring group.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-36902604
- Turkey’s Other Crackdown
July 27th/Foreign Policy
ISTANBUL — At 7:43 in the morning, Hursit Kulter sent a final message to his family. “I won’t get out,” the Kurdish politician wrote. “Give my greetings to everyone.” It was May 27 — exactly two months ago. No one has heard from him since. Kulter, a 33-year-old who sports a thick mustache, was a vocal advocate of self-rule for Turkey’s Kurds. His hometown of Sirnak lies some ten miles from the border triangle with Syria and Iraq, countries whose own Kurdish minorities enjoy a degree of political independence.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/27/turkeys-other-crackdown-hursit-kulter-kurds/
12. Öcalan’s lawyer: With the state of emergency, all of Turkey is like İmralı
July 27th/ ANF News
Today marks the fifth year of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan’s denial to see his lawyers. Asrın Law Office lawyers who haven’t been allowed to see their client since July 27, 2011 are concerned about Mr. Öcalan’s general situation after the coup attempt on July 15.
http://anfenglish.com/features/ocalan-s-lawyer-with-the-state-of-emergency-all-of-turkey-is-like-imrali
13. Erdogan excludes pro-Kurd party from first meeting with opposition after coup
July 27th/Middle East Eye
The co-leader of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party (HDP) has hit out at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for exluding his party from talks at the presidential palace, while inviting the heads of the two other major opposition parties.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hdp-co-leader-hits-out-exclusion-erdogan-meeting-turkish-opposition-500618200
14. Some AKP members may be behind the coup attempt: HDP
July 29th/Hurriyet Daily News
Some former and current members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) might have supported the failed coup attempt on July 15, the co-leader of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has said, suggesting that such a big mutiny could not have occurred without political backing.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/some-akp-members-may-be-behind-the-coup-attempt-hdp.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102065&NewsCatID=338
15. Former US war crimes ambassador calls for UN investigative probe into Yazidi genocide
July 21st/International Justice Tribune
After a United Nations Inquiry commission found last month that the crimes of Islamic State (IS also known as ISIS) against the Yazidi minority in northern Iraqamounted to genocide the call for accountability and prosecution of the perpetrators increased. What are the options to see anyone in the dock for not only genocide but also the underlying war crimes and crimes against humanity the commission said have occurred? International Justice Tribune spoke to former US ambassador for war crimes Stephen Rapp [IJT-186] who plays a central role in advising all stakeholders inside and outside on how to move forward and find justice for crimes against the Yazidi.
https://www.justicetribune.com/articles/former-us-war-crimes-ambassador-calls-un-investigative-probe-yazidi-genocide
16. Video: Syrian Democratic Forces Free Sixty Civilians from ISIS in Manbij
July 25th/Ajansa Hawar ANHA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArHnLH2PW_o
17. Isis fighters dressed as women captured by Syrian Democratic Forces escaping Manbij
July 24th/ International Business Times
Up to 10 militants fighting for Islamic State (Isis) have been captured attempting to flee the besieged Syrian city of Manbij in drag, it is being reported in Middle Eastern media. Manbij is surrounded by US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which mostly consists of Kurds, who reportedly gave Isis (Daesh) forces 48 hours to flee the city.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/isis-fighters-dressed-women-captured-by-syrian-democratic-forces-escaping-manbij-1572246?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=/isis-fighters-dressed-women-captured-by-syrian-democratic-forces-escaping-manbij-1572246
- Turkey: EU Must Hold Turkish President Accountable for Press Freedom Violations
July27th/European Federation of Journalists
As arrests of journalists and media closure continue, the European and the International Federation of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) call on the European Union to take additional steps to hold Turkish president Erdogan accountable for press freedom breaches.
http://europeanjournalists.org/blog/2016/07/27/turkey-eu-must-hold-turkish-president-accountable-for-press-freedom-violations/
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Turkish Police Torture, Rape Own Soldiers, Officers, Judges
July 25th/ The Clarion Project
Following the attempted coup in July 15, upon the calls of mosques all across Turkey and of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and PM Binali Yildirim to the Turkish people “to take to the streets and airports,” pro-government Islamists started hunting Turkish soldiers – their own soldiers – in the streets, beating, torturing,lynching them.
https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/turkish-police-torture-rape-own-soldiers-officers-judges
The Causes Of the Coup Attempt in Turkey: a History of the Usual Suspects
July 21st/War on the Rocks
In its first decade in power, President Erdogan’s AK Party successfully neutralized the military as a political force, through both legal and extralegal means. Yet, the AK Party’s frayed political coalition, conflicts in Syria and southeast Turkey, and the party’s falling out with the Gülen movement, partially restored the military’s standing. Though Erdogan had installed a pliant senior leadership, large portions of the military remained bitterly opposed to the AK Party. With restored institutional confidence and enduring hostility toward the governing party, a faction within the military sought to interrupt Turkish democracy for the fifth time.
http://warontherocks.com/2016/07/the-causes-of-the-coup-attempt-in-turkey-a-history-of-the-usual-suspects/
3. Turkey: A War of Two Coups by Sungur Savran
July 20th/Monthly Review Magazine
On the night of 15-16 July, Turkey went through a cataclysm that stunned the world: a huge section of the armed forces of the country (TSK in its Turkish acronym) attempted to take power from the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP, came very close to its objective, but was ultimately defeated. Official statements of imperialist countries celebrate the triumph of democracy. Nothing can be farther from the truth.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2016/savran200716.html
4. Turkey’s Botched Coup And State Of Emergency: Internal Dynamics And Implications
July 27th/Social Europe
Military coups have been a regular feature of Turkish politics since the transition to a multi-party electoral system in 1950. Those that occurred during the Cold War era in 1960, 1971 and 1980 have been analysed in the light of the conceptual framework put forward by Eric Nordlinger in his 1977 book titled Soldiers in Politics.
https://www.socialeurope.eu/2016/07/turkeys-botched-coup-state-emergency-internal-dynamics-implications/
5. Turkey’s post-coup purge furthers state aim of a subservient sector
July 28th/Times Higher Education
So far, all faculty deans (1,577 in total) have been forced to resign; 15,200 education ministry officials have lost their jobs; the licences of 21,000 private-school teachers have been revoked; and a travel ban of unspecified duration has been imposed on all academics. Article 5 of the first decree issued under the state of emergency is likely to result in the revocation of the passports of the 1,128 academics who signed the open letter of Academics for Peace in January, condemning state violence in the Kurdish region. Also under this decree, 15 universities suspected of close ties with the Gulen Islamic Movement – blamed by the government for the coup attempt – have been shut down, with explicit provision that the list may be extended if necessary.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/comment/turkeys-post-coup-purge-furthers-state-aim-of-a-subservient-sector
6. The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight
July 18th/The American Interest
The failure of the attempted Turkish coup portends both good and bad news for the future of Turkish democracy. The good news is that the coup failed and the Turkish body politic stood its ground. But that’s about it. The bad news is that the government will try to overcompensate by accelerating the pace of constitutional changes that may make Turkey’s less democratic.
http://www.the-american-interest.com/2016/07/18/the-gang-that-couldnt-shoot-straight/
7. Monday Briefing: Turkey’s Post-Coup Military Restructuring and US-Russia Meeting in Geneva on Syria Coordination
July 25th/Middle East Institute
In the aftermath of the failed coup, the government is preparing to restructure the security establishment to bring it under its full control. Before the coup attempt, the military enjoyed considerable institutional autonomy. Kemalism, the founding ideology of the republic that has served for decades as a bulwark against Islamism and Kurdish separatism, has formed the ideological core of the curriculum at military high schools and academies.
By Gönül Tol and Randa Slim | Jul 25, 2016
http://www.mei.edu/content/article/monday-briefing-turkeys-post-coup-military-restructuring-and-us-russia-meeting-geneva-syria
8. The Mainstream Media Whitewashed Ross Kemp’s Explosive Anti-ISIS Documentary. Here’s the Truth
July 17, 2016/Sky 1
Ross Kemp – actor, investigative journalist, novelist, Grant – is off to war again. He was once embedded in Afghanistan, for which he underwent military training (his only prior military training was acting in military training films). In Ross Kemp: The Fight Against Isis (Sky1), he travelled to parts of Iraq and Syria
http://kurdishquestion.com/article/3314-the-mainstream-media-whitewashed-ross-kemp-s-explosive-anti-isis-documentary-here-s-the-truth
Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXV0QjZnU8c
9. Under Pressure, Syria’s Rebels Face al-Nusra Quandary
July 18th/Middle East Institute
For several days now, upwards of 300,000 people living in opposition-held areas of Aleppo city have existed in a state of de facto siege. As forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad closed down the opposition’s last remaining route into the city, sources within the city reported that supplies of critically important fuel and flour are already running low, while food prices have risen 400% in 48-hours. Fruit, vegetables and meat were fast disappearing.
http://www.mei.edu/content/at/under-pressure-syrias-rebels-face-al-nusra-quandary
OR
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/under-pressure-syrias-rebels-face-al-nusra-quandary_us_578bbd07e4b0e7c8735055e4
10. Raising Women’s Voices in Syria’s War
By Rasha Elass – Guest contributor |
July 20th/Middle East Institute
Syria’s uprising-turned-war is the first to unfold on social media for the whole world to see in real time. While this gives unprecedented power for local, grassroots activists and citizen journalists, it also comes with challenges.
http://www.mei.edu/content/article/raising-womens-voices-syrias-war
STATEMENT
Neither Coup nor State of Emergency Turkey Needs Peace and Democracy
July 25th/Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
The defeat of the coup attempt in Turkey should have been a great victory for democracy, a triumph for the protection of civil rights and the rule of law.
Instead the failed coup has led to a state of emergency, mass arrests, the suspension of democracy and a rising climate of fear.
Calling the coup “a gift from God”, President Erdogan ruthlessly seized the moment as an opportunity to assume more powers to the presidency and to carry out what he had long been unable to achieve in the course of normal politics.
https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/2016/07/25/neither-coup-nor-state-of-emergency-turkey-needs-peace-and-democracy/
ACTION
FREEDOM FOR OCALAN DEMONSTRATION Saturday, 30 July, 3pm Tomorrow!!!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1175490622501317/
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