NEWS
1. Erdoğan to US: Choose either Turkey or the PYD as your partner
2. Unknown chemicals used in Cizre sewers
3. The Guardian view on the war in south-eastern Turkey: a tragedy and a danger, Editorial
4. Academia in Turkey ‘reminds me of Ceauşescu’s Romania’, says exiled scholar
5. Criminal Charges Against Authorities Exposing Naked Dead Bodies Of 2 Women
6. A call for an end to collective punishment in Turkey
7. Collective Punishment in Turkey Must Stop
8. Turkey seeks to maintain influence in northern Syria: Commentator
9. Turkey planning military invasion in Syria – Russian Defence Ministry
10. Russia Accuses Turkey of Preparing to Invade Syria
11. Turkish leader: U.S. responsible for ‘sea of blood’ for supporting Syrian Kurds
12. Why so Much Hate – Closer Look at Erdogan’s ‘Kurdophobia’
13. Turkish president questions relations with US over Syrian Kurdish groups
14. Erdogan Guard Attacks Pro-Kurdish Lawmaker in Ecuador
15. Kurdish PYD indirectly attends Syria peace talks
16. Kurdish female fighters commandeer tanks in battle to capture Aleppo air base
17. Syrian Kurdish PYD opens office in Moscow
18. Yazidi Slave Survivor Urges Britain to Help Free Women in Captivity
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
1. Will he, won’t he? Turks ponder whether Erdogan will invade Syria
2. Turkish State Brutality against Kurds Continues
3. An aimless hitchhiker….
4. Turkey’s Syria strategy lies in ruins as rebel-held Aleppo teeters
5. The Case for Delisting the PKK as a Foreign Terrorist Organization
STATEMENTS
1. Open letter to the European Parliament on the killing of Mehmet Tunc
2. Urgent HDP call for action for Cizre and Sur.
3. Turkey Commits Mass Murder in Cizre
DOCUMENTARY FILM
Censored PKK documentary BAKUR previewed on teleSUR English
————————————————————————————————————
NEWS
1. Erdoğan to US: Choose either Turkey or the PYD as your partner
Wednesday 10th February /Today’s Zaman
In one of his strongest remarks to date, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan<http://www.todayszaman.com/index/recep-tayyip-erdo%C4%9Fan> has lambasted the US after a senior official’s visit last week to the northern Syrian town of Kobani, which is under the control of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD<http://www.todayszaman.com/index/pyd> ), and called on Washington to choose either Turkey or “terrorists in Kobani” as a partner.
http://todayszaman.com/diplomacy_erdogan-to-us-choose-either-turkey-or-the-pyd-as-your-partner_411628.html<http://todayszaman.com/diplomacy_erdogan-to-us-choose-either-turkey-or-the-pyd-as-your-partner_411628.html>2. Unknown chemicals used in Cizre sewers
Friday February 6th /Jinha
ŞIRNEX – As Turkish state forces maintain a siege on the town of Cizre, state forces have introduced an unknown chemical agent into the sewers. Meanwhile, there has been no contact with a building where nine residents burned to death since yesterday evening.
http://jinha.com.tr/en/ALL-NEWS/content/view/44366<http://jinha.com.tr/en/ALL-NEWS/content/view/44366>3. The Guardian view on the war in south-eastern Turkey: a tragedy and a danger, Editorial
Friday 5th February/ Guardian
The town of Sur, part of the larger city of Diyarbakir, is notable both for its historic buildings and for its recent public embrace of ethnic and religious diversity. Now it is more or less a war zone. Its former mayor, Abdullah Demirbas, described its plight in a recent article. “Tanks ram through narrow alleys … residents are trapped indoors for weeks … Those who venture outside risk sniper fire … Their bodies lie in the streets for days.” Many of its people have fled. Its old houses and monuments have been smashed up by shell fire. A 24-hour curfew has been imposed since the beginning of December.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/05/the-guardian-view-on-the-war-in-south-eastern-turkey-a-tragedy-and-a-danger <http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/05/the-guardian-view-on-the-war-in-south-eastern-turkey-a-tragedy-and-a-danger>
4. Academia in Turkey ‘reminds me of Ceauşescu’s Romania’, says exiled scholar
Times Higher Education/January 26th 2016
A politics lecturer has alleged that he was forced to resign from a Turkish university after making a Facebook comment criticising government efforts to intimidate and silence academics.Andrei Stavilă had recently been informed that his one-year contract at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, in western Turkey, would be renewed for two more years when, following the arrests and suspension of dozens of academics, he posted a comment condemning the state of Turkish academia. Scholars at 89 universities have been threatened with dismissal and 30 have been arrested after Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, denounced the “treason of so-called intellectuals” who had demanded an end to what critics see as state violence in clashes with Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/andrei-stavila-academia-in-turkey-reminds-me-of-ceausescus-romania<https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/andrei-stavila-academia-in-turkey-reminds-me-of-ceausescus-romania>5. Criminal Charges Against Authorities Exposing Naked Dead Bodies Of 2 Women
Bianet/12th February 2016
Diyabakır Bar Association has filed a criminal complaint against the authorities in charge exposing the naked dead bodies of two women lying on the street on charges of “disrespect towards the dead, inciting people to hatred, grudge and hostility, defamation and insulting one’s memories”.
http://bianet.org/english/law/172081-criminal-charges-against-authorities-exposing-naked-dead-bodies-of-2-women<http://bianet.org/english/law/172081-criminal-charges-against-authorities-exposing-naked-dead-bodies-of-2-women>6. A call for an end to collective punishment in Turkey
By Robert C. Hockett, contributor
Friday 5th February/The Hill
Perhaps because we are distracted by violence throughout the Middle East, not to mention a high-stakes electoral campaign now in full swing, many of us here in the U.S. (including the media) have been overlooking a mass atrocity now underway in Turkey, our own NATO ally. Since the summer of 2015, the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has in effect been laying siege to predominantly Kurdish areas in southeastern Turkey. This siege has denied food, water and even emergency medical care to civilians in areas that Erdoğan has placed under martial law.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/268351-a-call-for-an-end-to-collective-punishment-in-turkey<http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/268351-a-call-for-an-end-to-collective-punishment-in-turkey>7. Collective Punishment in Turkey Must Stop
Tuesday 2nd February/Huffington Post
Evidently distracted by violence in neighboring Syria and Iraq, much of the world appears to be overlooking a mass atrocity now underway in Turkey – a member of NATO and aspiring entrant to the European Union. Since the summer of 2015, the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has in effect laid siege to predominantly Kurdish areas in southeastern Turkey – denying food, water, and even emergency medical evacuation to civilians seeking escape from places the President has placed under martial law.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-c-hockett/collective-punishment-in-_b_9125706.html <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-c-hockett/collective-punishment-in-_b_9125706.html>
8. Turkey seeks to maintain influence in northern Syria: Commentator
Friday 5th February/PressTV
Press TV has interviewed Fred Weir, a journalist and political commentator in Moscow, about the Russian Defense Ministry stating that Russia has serious grounds to suspect Turkey of preparing for a military incursion into Syria.
The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: Do you think it would surprise anyone if Turkey were to genuinely invade Syria considering its track record?
Weir: Well no. A lot of commentators without the benefit of aerial reconnaissance, which the Russians surely have, have been suggesting that Turkey is becoming desperate to maintain the influence it had by proxy groups in northern Syria, and that the last card it may have to play in terms of creating that zone, it is long advocated in northern Syria, is to actually invade with troops.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/05/448824/Russia-Turkey-Syria-NATO-military-intervention-Kurds<http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/05/448824/Russia-Turkey-Syria-NATO-military-intervention-Kurds>9. Turkey planning military invasion in Syria – Russian Defence Ministry
Thursday 4th February/Sputniknews
What is happening on the Turkish-Syrian border gives grounds to think that Turkey is preparing a military invasion in Syria, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
“We have good reasons to believe that Turkey is actively preparing for a military invasion of a sovereign state – the Syrian Arab Republic. We’re detecting more and more signs of Turkish armed forces being engaged in covert preparations for direct military actions in Syria,” Konashenkov told media.
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160204/1034221247/turkey-syria-military-invasion.html#ixzz3zlE9vRwt<http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160204/1034221247/turkey-syria-military-invasion.html#ixzz3zlE9vRwt>
10. Russia Accuses Turkey of Preparing to Invade Syria
Thursday 4th February/abc news
The Russian military said Thursday that it has “reasonable grounds” to suspect that Turkey <http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/turkey.htm> is making intensive preparations for a military invasion of neighboring Syria <http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/syria.htm> .
Images of a checkpoint on the border between the Turkish town of Reyhanli and the town of Sarmada in Syrian taken in late October and late January show a buildup of transportation infrastructure that could be used for moving in troops, ammunition and weapons, spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in an English-language written statement.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russia-accuses-turkey-preparing-invade-syria-36713847 <http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russia-accuses-turkey-preparing-invade-syria-36713847>11. Erdogan Using Al-Quaeda, Nusfra Front to Encircle Kurds – Lawmaker
11th February 2016/Sputnik news
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is encouraging Islamist terrorists to encircle and isolate the 20 million Kurds who live in the eastern half of the country, Turkish parliament member and Kurdish activist Osman Baydemir told reporters.
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160211/1034554893/erdogan-using-qaeda-nusra-against-kurds.html#ixzz3zxhltSQG <http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160211/1034554893/erdogan-using-qaeda-nusra-against-kurds.html#ixzz3zxhltSQG>
12. Turkish leader: U.S. responsible for ‘sea of blood’ for supporting Syrian Kurds
CNN/10th February 2016
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has had no shortage of harsh, withering words for enemies involved in the bloody civil war in neighboring Syria.
Now, he’s turning his verbal barrage on a key NATO ally: the United States.
Erdogan ripped into Washington on Wednesday, claiming it’s responsible for a “sea of blood” in Syria for what he called its ignorance about dangers posed by other groups, not just ISIS, in the region. Specifically, he slammed America’s refusal not just to resist branding Syrian Kurdish fighters as terrorists but in supporting them militarily.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/10/middleeast/turkey-erdogan-criticizes-us/index.html <http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/10/middleeast/turkey-erdogan-criticizes-us/index.html>13. Why so Much Hate – Closer Look at Erdogan’s ‘Kurdophobia’
Sputnik News/9th February 2016
As the ongoing clashes between the Turkish government and Kurds intensify and more innocent civilians are dying, there is something distinct and perhaps intangible about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: his deep-rooted personal hatred of Kurds.
Is the reason behind the current war between Ankara and the Kurds in Southeastern Turkey Erdogan’s ‘Kurdophobia’? Abd Salam Ali, a representative of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), recently said Erdogan “suffers from Kurdophobia.” How true are his words? Sputnik looked at Erdogan’s past quotes and actions to find out whether the Turkish president is a true Kurd-hater.
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160209/1034477022/turkey-erdogan-kurdophobia-crackdown-kurds.html#ixzz3zxk4KhTC<http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160209/1034477022/turkey-erdogan-kurdophobia-crackdown-kurds.html#ixzz3zxk4KhTC>14. Turkish president questions relations with US over Syrian Kurdish groups
Hurriyet Daily News/Friday February 12th
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan<http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/tag/Recep%20Tayyip%20Erdo%C4%9Fan> has publicly raised questions over the nature of bilateral relations with the United States, as Washington has not categorized Syria’s Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) as a terrorist organization.
“Are you on our side or the side of the terrorist organizations?” Erdoğan asked the U.S. on Feb. 10, as tensions between the two NATO<http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/tag/NATO> allies have flared over the PYD, which Washington supports in its struggle against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-president-questions-relations-with-us-over-syrian-kurdish-groups-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=94998&NewsCatID=338<http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-president-questions-relations-with-us-over-syrian-kurdish-groups-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=94998&NewsCatID=338>
15. Erdogan Guard Attacks Pro-Kurdish Lawmaker in Ecuador
Thursday 4th February/Telesur
Supporters of the Kurdish struggle took to the streets Thursday in Ecuador’s capital Quito to protest Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in Ecuador on an official two-day visit. The protesters gathered in opposition to Ankara’s military operation in the Kurdish southeast areas of Turkey against the militant PKK group. Hundreds of civilians have been killed since August. Protesters were heard chanting slogans such as ”Long live Kurdistan,” “Murderer Erdogan” and “Out with Erdogan” as the Turkish leader entered the IAEN University in Quito.
“http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Erdogan-Guard-Attacks-Pro-Kurdish-Lawmaker-in-Ecuador-20160204-0050.html“<http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Erdogan-Guard-Attacks-Pro-Kurdish-Lawmaker-in-Ecuador-20160204-0050.html>
16. Kurdish PYD indirectly attends Syria peace talks
Wednesday 10th February /Today’s Zaman
Although it has not received an official invitation to attend peace talks inGeneva <http://www.todayszaman.com/index/geneva> , a main Syrian Kurdish political party is indirectly taking part in the UN-mediated talks, in a way that is designed to circumvent objections from the official Syrian opposition andTurkey<http://www.todayszaman.com/index/turkey> , who are adamantly against inclusion of the Democratic Union Party (PYD<http://www.todayszaman.com/index/pyd> ) in the fragile negotiation process.
http://todayszaman.com/diplomacy_kurdish-pyd-indirectly-attends-syria-peace-talks_411656.html <http://todayszaman.com/diplomacy_kurdish-pyd-indirectly-attends-syria-peace-talks_411656.html>17. Kurdish female fighters commandeer tanks in battle to capture Aleppo air base
Newsweek/2nd November 2016
Footage emerged on Thursday of female Kurdish fighters commandeering tanks, sniper rifles and machine-gun mounted trucks in the successful offensive to capture the Mannagh air base from Islamist rebels in Syria’s Aleppo province.
The video, released by the Kurdish AHNA news agency, begins with female voices before cutting to a tank with three female Kurdish fighters sitting atop the vehicle and another in a front seat.
http://europe.newsweek.com/kurdish-female-fighters-commandeer-tanks-battle-capture-aleppo-air-base-425432?rm=eu<http://europe.newsweek.com/kurdish-female-fighters-commandeer-tanks-battle-capture-aleppo-air-base-425432?rm=eu>18. Syrian Kurdish PYD opens office in Moscow
Today’s Zaman/February 10th 2016
The Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) has opened its first European representation office in Moscow, a development that reveals close ties between the PYD and Russia and has caught the wary eye of Ankara.
Attending an official ceremony on Wednesday, Merab Shamoyev, chairman of the International Union of Kurdish Public Associations, hailed the move as a historic moment for the Kurdish people.
Shamoyev praised Russian support for the PYD and called Russia a great power and an actor that “writes the script” in the region.
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_syrian-kurdish-pyd-opens-office-in-moscow_411986.html<http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_syrian-kurdish-pyd-opens-office-in-moscow_411986.html>19. Yazidi Slave Survivor Urges Britain to Help Free Women in Captivity
VOA News/February 8th
A young Yazidi survivor of slavery will urge British lawmakers Monday to help free the thousands of women and girls that remain captive at the hands of Islamic State militants in northern Iraq.
Nadia Murad Basee Taha, 21, who is in London to address the parliamentarians, is also appealing for more help for displaced Yazidis living in refugee camps, and to investigate whether the militant group has committed genocide against the Yazidi people.
http://m.voanews.com/a/yazidi-slave-survivor-britain-help-free-captive-women/3182089.html <http://m.voanews.com/a/yazidi-slave-survivor-britain-help-free-captive-women/3182089.html>
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
1. Will he, won’t he? Turks ponder whether Erdogan will invade SyriaAl Monitor/9th February 2016
Nowadays, when two or more Turks come together, the conversation inevitably moves into questioning the motives of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his plans for Turkey’s role in the ever-worsening situation in Syria. The question is: Is he going to push the army into Syrian territory?
Turkey’s link with the Syrian rebels has been severely weakened by the seeming collapse of the Geneva III talks and the advances of Syrian regime forces from the north to Aleppo with the support of Russian air power. Dramatic developments are taking place in the Azaz-Jarablus corridor, which served as a lifeline for Syrian rebels backed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and also, more or less, for those endorsed by the United States. The fighting there is not only depriving Turkey of its most important leverage in Syria, but also triggering a massive exodus of Syrians to Turkey.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/02/turkey-syria-united-states-possible-military-intervention.html#ixzz3zxomjGBN <http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/02/turkey-syria-united-states-possible-military-intervention.html#ixzz3zxomjGBN>
2. Turkish State Brutality against Kurds Continues
Armenian Weekly/11th February 2016
The Kurds in Turkey seem to have committed an unforgivable sin in the eyes of the Turkish regime: They were born Kurds. Despite all the pressure on the part of the state, they continue to resist attempts at forced assimilation; to demand national rights in their ancient homeland; to demand equal rights for non-Muslims, as the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has done; and to resist Islamist jihadist groups. For these reasons, they have been forced to pay a horrible price: Their towns are exposed to constant bombing and destruction by Turkish security forces.
Turkey has started an all-out attack against the Kurds because they demand their right to self-rule.
http://armenianweekly.com/2016/02/11/turkish-state-brutality/<http://armenianweekly.com/2016/02/11/turkish-state-brutality/>
3. An aimless hitchhiker….
WordPress/5th February 2016
“We’re solidarity activists,” we say to a man who greets us as we cross the border into Rojava.
“You’ve come too late!” he replies.
Nevertheless, he smiles widely, welcomes us and shakes our hands. In a way, I agree with him. We have come too late. We are only visiting Rojava when there has been a revolution; only after the people have successfully formed their own autonomous region. Where were we when the Kurdish population of Syria were fighting for their rights, for their own self-determination, under Assad?
https://anaimlesshitchhiker.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/travels-in-rojava-part-1-cizire-canton/ <https://anaimlesshitchhiker.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/travels-in-rojava-part-1-cizire-canton/>
4. Turkey’s Syria strategy lies in ruins as rebel-held Aleppo teeters
By Gönül Tol
CNN/10th February 2016
Turkey’s nightmare is coming true.
Not only is the battle for Aleppo sending tens of thousands of desperate people fleeing toward Turkey, but the fall of the rebel-held city would deliver a major blow to Ankara’s Syria policy.
Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air power, have cut off the last major supply route to rebels in Aleppo. The route, known as the Azaz corridor, links rebel-held eastern Aleppo with Turkey.
If the corridor falls, the rebels could lose Aleppo — and the entire Turkey-Syria border could fall under the control of forces that Ankara hates: the forces of President Bashar al-Assad’s Russian-backed regime, and the Kurds.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/10/opinions/turkey-syria-nightmare-scenario/index.html <http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/10/opinions/turkey-syria-nightmare-scenario/index.html>
5. The Case for Delisting the PKK as a Foreign Terrorist Organization
By David Phillips, Kelly Berkell Thursday, February 11, 2016, 8:00 AM
Lawfare/11th February 2016
Removing the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) would create conditions for greater security cooperation between the United States and the PKK in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In exchange for delisting, the PKK could be required to reiterate its rejection of ISIS, pledge to further support the campaign to degrade and destroy the terror group, and officially renounce violence aimed at achieving political objectives. Delisting could also catalyze political negotiations between the Turkish government and the PKK, resulting in an arrangement enhancing Turkey’s security while enshrining greater political and cultural rights for Kurds.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/case-delisting-pkk-foreign-terrorist-organization <https://www.lawfareblog.com/case-delisting-pkk-foreign-terrorist-organization>
STATEMENTS
1. Open letter to the European Parliament on the killing of Mehmet Tunc
KNK/11th February 2016
Even though news of Mehmet Tunç’s death is being shared on social media for two days I didn’t want to believe it. For the past two days, telephone in hand, speaking to people from places spanning from Cizre to Brussels, I have been trying to find out what happened to him. I didn’t want to believe that this brave man had died.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/2016/02/12/open-letterto-eu-about-the-killing-of-mehemet-tunc/ <http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/2016/02/12/open-letterto-eu-about-the-killing-of-mehemet-tunc/>
2. Urgent HDP call for action for Cizre and Sur.
Wednesday 10th February 2016
It has come out that Turkish forces are committing yet another savagery in another basement in Şırnak’s Cizre district where as many as 40 people have taken shelter
As more details are coming out regarding this basement in the Sur neighborhood, it came out that around 20 civilians were massacred as a result of tank strikesaimed at the building several hours ago.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/2016/02/12/urgent-hdp-call-for-action-for-cizre-and-sur/
3. Turkey Commits Mass Murder in Cizre
Revolutionalry Communist Group/10th February 2016
The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) has issued a statement saying that almost 60 civilians were killed in Cizre on 7 February 2016 by Turkish state forces. It is possible that chemical weapons were used. The 60 dead people were wounded, took refuge and were trapped in the basements of two buildings in Cizre. Turkish state forces would not allow medical staff, elected politicians or family access to them before they were finally killed. The hideous manner of their death is a deliberate warning to all Kurds not to resist Erdogan and the AKP government. Turkish state broadcaster, TRT, proclaimed ‘60 terrorists killed in Cizre’ and the Prime Minister Davutoglu said it was ‘A successful operation’ . On 10 February there are reports of some 25 more people in Cizre trapped in a third basement by Turkish armed forces and facing slaughter.
http://www.revolutionarycommunist.org/middle-east/me/4232-ts110216 <http://www.revolutionarycommunist.org/middle-east/me/4232-ts110216>
DOCUMENTARY FILM
Censored PKK documentary BAKUR previewed on teleSUR English
Censored at the Istanbul Film Festival, banned by the Turkish government, Bakur follows a group of PKK guerrillas going about their daily lives in the mountains of southeastern Turkey. Reflective and intimate, this documentary marks the first time a professional film crew has had full access to the PKK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k35dDiAe7Rk
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 Avebury, 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, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas, Nick Hildyard, Stephen Smellie, Derek Wall, Melanie Gingell