NEWS

  1. Ahmet Türk: We have a rightful cause and will continue our struggle
  2. Indictment against DBP’s Tuncel ready: 135 year sentence demanded
  3. Aggravated life sentence sought for HDP’s Baluken
  4. Council of Europe raises alarm over abuses against Kurds in Turkey
  5. Turkey excluded from Raqqa operation: Coalition official
  6. Why are the flames of Aleppo burning Turkey?
  7. Muslim meets with Kurdish politicians at PUK office in Oslo
  8. Turkey inciting extremist groups to attack Kurds in Belgium: Kurdish Institute
  9. Armenian MP criticizes Turkey, his question angers Turkish FM Cavusolglu in Istanbul
  10. German court cites Turkey’s support for terrorism in Kurdish militant case
  11. Turkish spy in Bremen plotted murder of 2 Kurds: report
  12. Turkey Increases Pressure on Syrian Kurds

OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS

  1. A turning point for Kurds across the Middle East
  2. The ‘Rojava Revolution’ in Syrian Kurdistan: A Model of Development for the Middle East?
  3. Turkey’s looming prison massacre grows nearer
  4. REBELS COLLAPSE IN EAST ALEPPO & CIVILIANS FLEE; TURKEY’S POSITION WEAKENS; DIPLOMATIC EMERGENCY
  5. Erdogan comes face to face with US, Russia in Syria
  6. Turkish companies flout law for cheap Syrian labor
  7. Is Turkey all talk, or will it split from the West and NATO?
  8. Syria: Jihadi Fronts Fall Apart, Egypt Enters The Fight
  9. The Kurds in the Turkish–Armenian Reconciliation Process
  10. Kurdish Politician Who Recognized Armenian Genocide Detained in Turkey
  11. No Peace No Future in Turkey, HDP Arrests Fuel Kurdish  Discontent

REPORTS

  1. Solidarity from Dublin to Rojava: Report on “Kurdish Resistance in Turkey and Syria” meeting (November 2016)

BOOK REVIEW

  1. A Road Unforeseen: Women Fight the Islamic State, by Meredith Tax

EVENTS

  1. EP to host 13th International Conference on “EU, Turkey and the Kurds”
  2. Democratic transformations, Kurdish women and regional conflict: Lessons from Rojava and beyond

—————————————-

 NEWS

  1. Ahmet Türk: We have a rightful cause and will continue our struggle
    2 December/ANF News
    Mardin Metropolitan Municipality Co-mayor Ahmet Türk has sent a message from Silivri Prison where he is jailed.Türk said he is in good morale and Van Metropolitan Municipality Co-mayor Bekir Kaya who is kept in the same ward shoulders all his burden as well.
    http://anfenglish.com/news/ahmet-turk-we-have-a-rightful-cause-and-will-continue-our-struggle
    2. Indictment against DBP’s Tuncel ready: 135 year sentence demanded
    3 December/ANF News
    The indictment prepared by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office that demands a 135 year prison sentence for Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-chair Sebahat Tuncel, imprisoned in Silivri Prison since November 6, has been accepted by the Diyarbakır High Criminal Court No.8. Tuncel is charged with “membership to a terrorist organization” and “terrorist propaganda” for 16 demonstrations and events she attended between 2012 and 2016, her comments in DBP caucuses and her attendance to Democratic Society Congress (DTK) meetings.
    http://anfenglish.com/news/indictment-against-dbp-s-tuncel-ready-135-year-sentence-demanded
    3. Aggravated life sentence sought for HDP’s Baluken
    3 December/ANF News
    The prosecutor who managed to whip up a charge of “dividing the country” from HDP Group Deputy Chairperson İdris Baluken’s speeches prepared an indictment with a demand for aggravated life sentence and an 18 year prison sentence. The indictment shows that during Baluken’s 2014 meetings with the state and Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan in line with the resolution process, “evidence” was being gathered against him.
    http://anfenglish.com/news/aggravated-life-sentence-sought-for-hdp-s-baluken
    4. Council of Europe raises alarm over abuses against Kurds in Turkey
    4 December/ARA News
    The Turkish military operations against Kurdish rebels “have caused widespread human rights violations”, the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner Nils Muiznieks said after two visits to the Kurdish-majority southeast of Turkey.
    http://aranews.net/2016/12/council-europe-raises-alarm-abuses-kurds-turkey/
    5. Turkey excluded from Raqqa operation: Coalition official
    1 December/ARA News
    Major General Rupert Jones, deputy commander of the international coalition against ISIS, said on Wednesday that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are leading the operation to isolate Raqqa, and Turkey is not involved. Raqqa, and Turkey is not involved.
    http://aranews.net/2016/12/turkey-excluded-from-raqqa-operation-coalition-official/
    6. Why are the flames of Aleppo burning Turkey?
    3 December/Al Monitor
    Turkey, which has made Aleppo the key to toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, is gearing up for the worst-case scenario now that the armed opposition groups it has been supporting have suffered a series of setbacks.
    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/12/turkey-syria-aleppo-defeat-worst-case-scenario.html#ixzz4Rp26pRLA
    7. Muslim meets with Kurdish politicians at PUK office in Oslo
    30 November/PUK Media
    Co-Chairs of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) Salih Muslim had discussed with 15 different parties members, the latest developments in Kurdistan and the region. The meeting was held at the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s Representative in the Norwegian capital Oslo.
    http://www.pukmedia.com/EN/EN_Direje.aspx?Jimare=39213
    8. Turkey inciting extremist groups to attack Kurds in Belgium: Kurdish Institute
    19 November/ARA News
    Tensions are increasing in Europe between Turks and Kurds as a result of crackdown on Kurdish media and political parties by the Turkish authorities following the failed coup attempt last summer.
    http://aranews.net/2016/11/turkey-inciting-extremist-groups-attack-kurds-belgium-kurdish-institute/
    8. Armenian MP criticizes Turkey, his question angers Turkish FM Cavusolglu in Istanbul
    19 November/Armen Press
    During the NTO Parliamentry Assembly’s 62nd session, Armneian MP Koryun Nahapetyan in his speech strictly criticized Turkey presenting it as a terrorist state, “Armenpress” reports citing Hurriyet.
    http://armenpress.am/eng/news/868598/armenian-mp-criticizes-turkey-his-question-angers-turkish-fm-cavusoglu-in-istanbul.html
    10. German court cites Turkey’s support for terrorism in Kurdish militant case
    26 November/DW. com
    A German court has taken into account Turkey’s persecution of Kurds and support for the so-called ‘Islamic State’ (IS) and al-Qaeda in a case against a PKK member. The court opinion is sure to rile Turkey.
    http://www.dw.com/en/german-court-cites-turkeys-support-for-terrorism-in-kurdish-militant-case/a-36532293
    11. Turkish spy in Bremen plotted murder of 2 Kurds: report
    25 November/The Local
    Two major public broadcasters reported on Friday that a man believed to be a Turkish agent spied on two Kurdish functionaries and plotted to murder them.
    http://www.thelocal.de/20161125/report-turkish-spy-in-germany-plotted-murder-of-2-kurds
    12. 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

OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS

  1. A turning point for Kurds across the Middle East
    29 November/New Internationalist
    Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast is witnessing, what is possibly, an unprecedented peak of violence. Fierce clashes between Turkish security forces and urban militants have levelled districts to the ground. The ongoing post-coup crackdown in Turkey targets Kurdish political representatives as new fronts also open for Kurds across the Middle East. ‘It’s a turning point for our people,’ says Riza Altun from the headquarters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Qandil mountain range.
    https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2016/11/29/turning-point-for-kurds-across-the-middle-east/
    2. The ‘Rojava Revolution’ in Syrian Kurdistan: A Model of Development for the Middle East?
    3 December/Anarkismo
    As the civil war in Syria continues, in the territory of Rojava – in Kurdish, ‘the West’ – the northern Syrian Kurdish political movement is attempting to implement ‘libertarian municipalism’, based on the thoughts of United States (US) anarchist Murray Bookchin.
    http://www.anarkismo.net/article/29816
    3. Turkey’s looming prison massacre grows nearer
    17 November/ AEIdeas
    Based on a number of conversations with Turks in the security forces, press as well as some whose family members have been arrested in the widespread purge which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unleashed in the wake of the abortive July 15 coup, I had speculated that Erdogan might massacre political prisoners under the guise of crushing a fictitious prison riot.
    https://www.aei.org/publication/turkeys-looming-prison-massacre-grows-nearer/
    4. REBELS COLLAPSE IN EAST ALEPPO & CIVILIANS FLEE; TURKEY’S POSITION WEAKENS; DIPLOMATIC EMERGENCY
    29 November/Shadow Proof
    Syrian coalition forces broke through to East Aleppo and recaptured territory, working with Kurdish YPG forces. Al Qaeda-led rebel forces are collapsing. Thousands of civilians fled to government-held West Aleppo and to a Kurdish district. Turkish forces and their FSA allies, Syrian coalition forces, Kurdish forces, and ISIS are all battling for al-Bab. And more, in our roundup…
    https://shadowproof.com/2016/11/29/next-cold-war-112516/
    5. Erdogan comes face to face with US, Russia in Syria
    29 November/Al Monitor
    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been promising since September to liberate the northern Syrian town of al-Bab from the Islamic State (IS) and move east to Manbij to rid it of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). Turkey claims that the YPG — the core of the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting IS — and its parent organization, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), are terrorist groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but it has failed to generate international support for this position. Recent developments on the ground also point to increasing difficulties for Erdogan’s efforts to fulfill his promises.
    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-syria-russia-wants-ankara-stay-clear-al-bab.html#ixzz4RXd1kJY2
    6. Turkish companies flout law for cheap Syrian labor
    30 November/Al Monitor
    Mohammed Zaghnoun, a refugee from Aleppo, arrived in Turkey two years ago and considers himself relatively fortunate. He earns 1,500 Turkish liras ($436) a month, 200 liras ($58) above the minimum wage, in a furniture factory in Ankara. Many of the 3 million Syrians in Turkey don’t even have a job.
    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-syria-legal-syrian-refugee-workers-cost-more.html#ixzz4RXlOIw4k
    7. Is Turkey all talk, or will it split from the West and NATO?
    30 November/Al Monitor
    People nowadays seriously wonder if Turkey is about to split from the West. Is Turkey’s opening up to the East, which became more noticeable after the July 15 coup attempt, a passing reaction to the lack of interest shown by the United States and Europe, or is it Ankara’s more independent and nonaligned policy choice? Will the honeymoon between Ankara and Moscow in recent weeks become a long-term alliance?
    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-disengaging-western-security-system.html#ixzz4RXlmTTH1
    8. Syria: Jihadi Fronts Fall Apart, Egypt Enters The Fight
    27 November/Global Research
    The Syrian army (SAA) and its allies made huge progress in east-Aleppo. There, as seemingly everywhere else, the Jihadi’ fronts are breaking down. Disunity in the opposition, in reflection of disunity among their sponsors, disrupts all of their attempts for new initiatives. The largely hidden Russian air campaign behind the “rebel” frontlines diminished their material and personal reserves.
    http://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-jihadi-fronts-fall-apart-egypt-enters-the-fight/5559320?utm_campaign=magnet&utm_source=article_page&utm_medium=related_articles
    9. The Kurds in the Turkish–Armenian Reconciliation Process
    2 December/MassisPost
    In this article, Bilgin Ayata argues that issues such as the Armenian genocide and the violence against Kurds and Alevis should be examined jointly instead of separately.
    https://massispost.com/2016/12/kurds-turkish-armenian-reconciliation-process/
    10. Kurdish Politician Who Recognized Armenian Genocide Detained in Turkey
    1 December/Mirror Spectator
    Kurdish politician Ahmet Türk who has been recently dismissed from his post as the mayor of Mardin, has been detained as part of the ongoing terror probe in Turkey, Anadolu reported.
    http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2016/12/01/kurdish-politician-who-recognized-armenian-genocide-detained-in-turkey/
    11. No Peace No Future in Turkey, HDP Arrests Fuel Kurdish  Discontent
    1 December/Mirror Spectator
    Supporters of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) fear the detention of the party’s co-leaders and several other MPs earlier this month may have closed the door to any possible resumption of the peace process between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish state.
    http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2016/12/01/no-peace-no-future-in-turkey-hdp-arrests-fuel-kurdish-discontent/

REPORTS
1.Solidarity from Dublin to Rojava: Report on “Kurdish Resistance in Turkey and Syria” meeting (November 2016)
About 50 people gathered in the Teacher’s Club on Monday evening for a public meeting organised by Rojava Calling.
http://www.wsm.ie

BOOK REVIEW
1. A Road Unforeseen: Women Fight the Islamic State, by Meredith Tax
30 November/Jacobin
According to the back of Meredith Tax’s A Road Unforeseen: Women Fight the Islamic State, a “democratic society” with “women on the front lines as fierce warriors and leaders” is growing in the midst of Syria’s destruction. This new society — Rojava — was founded by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian-Kurdish offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/rojava-syria-kurds-ypg-pkk-ocalan-turkey/

EVENTS
1. EP to host 13th International Conference on “EU, Turkey and the Kurds”
3 December/ANF English
The annual International Conference held in the European Parliament will take place on 7-8 December this year.
The conference titled “The European Union, Turkey, Middle East and Kurds” will discuss the crisis in the Middle East, latest situation in Turkey and the Kurdish question. A large number of academics and experts from all around the world are expected to attend the conference.
http://anfenglish.com/news/ep-to-host-13th-international-conference-on-eu-turkey-and-the-kurds
2. Democratic transformations, Kurdish women and regional conflict: Lessons from Rojava and beyond
Workshop, exhibition and roundtable discussion on 10 December 2016
Event registration https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/democratic-transformations-kurdish-women-and-regional-conflict-tickets-28868615807
Event Program: http://www.gre.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/1319553/Workshop_Program_Logo2.pdf

ACTION
URGENT APPEAL to the UK Government to Defend Democracy in Turkey
 https://www.change.org/p/uk-parliament-urgent-appeal-to-the-uk-government-to-defend-democracy-in-turkey?recruiter=402018972&utm_source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink

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