Conflict resolution

REPAK women’s organisation questions Turkish attacks after PKK announce ceasefire

This statement was published by REPAK Kurdish Women’s Relation Office:

14 October 2015

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) announced a unilateral ceasefire on Saturday, 10 October 2015, underlining that with this announcement they react to the calls of a number of civil society organizations, international organizations and forces. The Turkish government immediately rejected the ceasefire.

Turkey is going to hold re-elections on 1 November 2015. The AKP government tried to misuse the clashes between Kurdish guerilla forces and the Turkish army for the prevention of democratic elections in Kurdish towns. The PKK declared that with this unilateral ceasefire it aims to give the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) the necessary support for elections. Continue reading “REPAK women’s organisation questions Turkish attacks after PKK announce ceasefire” →

Conflict resolution, Kurdish Women

Delegation Report: Women’s delegation condemns the arbitrary killing of 21 civilians in Cizre

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign: DELEGATION REPORT                                                September 2015

 

Women’s delegation condemns the arbitrary killing of 21 civilians, collective punishment of communities and severe restrictions on the right to freedom of movement in Cizre.


“The siege exacted a heavy toll on women: one woman was shot dead as she ventured out to search for food, several women miscarried due to the stress of the bombardment, two women, a young mother carrying her baby, and the baby’s grandmother were killed as they tried to reach a neighbour’s house. The baby was injured as the mother fell, but survived.”

 

A three-woman delegation visited Cizre in South East Turkey between 17th and 20th September and reported about the conditions for the 100,000 residents following a 9-day round-the-clock curfew enforced by a shoot to kill policy. The delegation, consisting of two human rights lawyers, Margaret Owen and Melanie Gingell, and public health specialist, Dr Shatha Besarani, was invited by the Kurdish Women’s Council of Diyarbakir to consider how the siege impacted on women and children in the city. The council assisted the delegation in their visits to Cizre and Sur and ensured that the delegation was free to take testimony from the people they met there.

Continue reading “Delegation Report: Women’s delegation condemns the arbitrary killing of 21 civilians in Cizre” →

Conflict resolution

UK observers to travel to Cizre, Turkey, to report on blockade

PRESS RELEASE

17 September 2015

A UK delegation of international observers will travel to Turkey today to visit Cizre, the majority-Kurdish town that has been under siege by Turkish security forces since 4 September.

The delegation includes human rights barristers Margaret Owen and Melanie Gingell, and Dr. Shatha Besarani, women’s rights activist for the Iraqi Women’s League. It follows a call from the Kurdish Women’s Council (KJB) for international observers in an effort to bring the crisis in Cizre and across Turkey’s southeast to international attention. Continue reading “UK observers to travel to Cizre, Turkey, to report on blockade” →

Conflict resolution

HDP releases information file on latest wave of attacks

The HDP has released an information file on the violence in Turkey since late July. This is an important dossier which contains detailed information on how the AKP government is attempting to break the HDP’s political power and undermine the peace process. The introduction to the file is below, and you can download the full pdf here.

PEOPLES’ DEMOCRATIC PARTY: FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMISSION

INFORMATION FILE ON VIOLENCE IN TURKEY

INTRODUCTION

After the General Elections on June 7th 2015, Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halkların Demokratik Partisi or HDP) became one of the most significant political actors in Turkey. In particular, Kurds, socialists, Alawites, Non-Muslim groups, democratic conservatives, social democrats, ecologists and other historically marginalized or oppressed identities in Turkey have supported the HDP in the search for expanded collective rights in Turkey’s political and judiciary system. Continue reading “HDP releases information file on latest wave of attacks” →

War crimes

KURDS TO DEMONSTRATE AT THE DSEI ARMS FAIR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

London, 14th September 2015

Kurds are being massacred by the Turkish State and the world is watching…

The ‘International Partner’ of the Arms Fair is the Turkish government’s Defence and Aerospace Industry Exporter’s Association.

Right now London is hosting one of the biggest arms fairs in the world, with tanks, guns, drones and missiles being showcased at the DSEI Arms Fair in the EXCEL Centre. Since Monday, protesters have been successfully blocking the vehicles that are transporting the weapons, and even gate-crashing the set-up inside the EXCEL building.

Continue reading “KURDS TO DEMONSTRATE AT THE DSEI ARMS FAIR” →

Conflict resolution

U.S. Makes a Deal with the Turkish Devil

By Thoreau Redcrow for the Kurdopia Project

There are recent revelations from The Guardian that the U.S. deal with Turkey involves a “no fly zone” (that would only apply to Assad’s Syrian Regime, as neither ISIS nor the Kurds have planes) in exchange for a tacit agreement that Turkey can prevent further land acquisitions by the Kurdish PYD in their quest to unify Rojava by connecting the Kobane and Afrin Cantons. Essentially, the U.S. gets use of a closer location at Incirlik Air base to bomb ISIS from, in exchange for selling out the Kurdish PYD (which includes their heroic YPG & YPJ guerrillas), who were the only ground forces effectively defeating ISIS. Continue reading “U.S. Makes a Deal with the Turkish Devil” →