Kurdish News Weekly Briefing, 14 - 20 December 2012

1. ECHR Finds Turkey Guilty For Blocking Google Sites
18 December 2012 / Bianet
The ECHR held that Turkey was to pay the applicant Ahmet Yıldırım 7,500 euros in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 1,000 in respect of costs and expenses.
"The effects of the measure in question had therefore been arbitrary and the judicial review of the blocking of access had been insufficient to prevent abuses. There had therefore been a violation of Article 10 of the Convention," the verdict said, pointing out the arbitrary nature and ineffectiveness of the Turkish court decision to block Google Sites. In June 2009, the Denizli Criminal Court of First Instance ordered the blocking of an Internet site whose owner had been accused of insulting the memory of Atatürk. The order was issued as a preventive measure in the context of criminal proceedings against the site’s owner.
http://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/142913-echr-finds-turkey-guilty-for-blocking-google-sites

 2. Turkey: World’s biggest prison for journalists
19 December 2012 / Reporters without Borders
Coinciding with the publication of its annual roundup, Reporters Without Borders is releasing the findings of the investigation it has conducted in recent months into journalists imprisoned in Turkey.
“With a total of 72 media personnel currently detained, of whom at least 42 journalists and four media assistants are being held in connection with their media work, Turkey is now the world’s biggest prison for journalists – a sad paradox for a country that portrays itself a regional democratic model,” Reporters Without Borders said.
“The number of detained journalists is unprecedented since the end of military rule but is not surprising given the Turkish judicial system’s structural problems – very repressive legislation with broad and vaguely-worded provisions that allow all kinds of excesses, and markedly paranoid judicial attitudes that prioritize security concerns to the detriment of defence rights and freedom of information.
http://en.rsf.org/turkey-turkey-world-s-biggest-prison-for-19-12-2012,43816.html

3. Set journalists free in Turkey: EFJ campaign update
20 December 2012 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) continues their international campaign to set free all journalists in Turkey with a debate on press freedom in Turkey, featuring writer and publisher Ragip Zarakolu, and the EFJ vice-president, Philippe Leruth.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/set-journalists-free-in-turkey-efj-campaign-update-9/

4. Kurdish workers treated like foreigners
15 December 2012 / ANF
In an interview to ANF, Democratic Society Congress (DTK) member and Dev Sağlık-İş Union representative Ferda Koç remarked that the Kurdish workers in Turkey suffer serious violations of rights. Koç says that the Kurdish workers here are treated like 'migrant workers' and that the Kurdish society's modernization under the influence of the national freedom movement has been hindering the Turkish state's economic pressures on Kurds. Pointing out that Kurdish workers constitute a remarkable part of "unsecured workers", Koç noted that these workers mainly join Turkey's labor army not in Kurdistan but across the Turkish territory.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5473

5. Murad Karayilan: In strong position we seek for a peaceful solution
20 December 2012 / Rojhelat
At the upcoming of the first anniversary of massacre of Roboski villagers, the president of Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Murad Karayilan asked that those responsible of this crime must be prosecuted. Karayilan in an exclusive interview with Firatnews agency said; the position of Turkish government regarding massacre of Roboski villagers has showed the Turkish occupation policy about Kurds. He said; the massacres of Dersim, massacres during Sheix Seid revolution, Sasus, Zilan, etc. all were committed in the similar way. In the tragedy of Roboski, the Turkish government has repeated its former policies; despite all the protests, while they have not revealed the details of this massacre, they even did not apologize. Karayilan, asked that this crime, was committed in front of the eyes of the international community, thus, it should be prosecuted at the international level.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=4708

 6. PYD: Turkey supports armed groups against Kurds
17 December 2012 / ANF
Speaking to Nuçe TV on Saturday night on the current situation in the West Kurdistan city of Serêkaniyê, Democratic Union Party (PYD) Leader Saleh Muslim pointed out that the Turkish government is supporting the armed groups attacking on Kurds in the city with an aim to invade the West Kurdistan territory. Muslim remarked that the mentioned armed groups broke their promise by not leaving the city and not ending attacks on Kurds in accordance with the ceasefire they demanded following the clashes in November. "These armed groups aren't independent structures that act according to their own decisions. The reason why they attacked once again after the ceasefire is the fact that Turkish authorities had a meeting with them and asked them to attack on the Kurds in the city".
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5476

7. Kurdish Parties Remain Cautious of Syrian National Coalition
19 December 2012 / Rudaw
After they held several meetings in Qamishlou on the issue, Syrian Kurdish leaders say they have not decided yet whether to join the newly established Syrian National Coalition. However, Nasraddin Ibrahim, a senior member of the Kurdish National Council (KNC) told Rudaw that his council will send a delegation to convey Kurdish demands to SNC before making a final decision. The Arab League as well as major western countries such as France and the United States have recognized the SNC as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. This international recognition enticed Kurdish political parties to join this coalition. Abdulhakim Bashar, secretary general of Al Party fears that in the future the Kurds will be sidelined if they boycott the SNC.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/5562.html

8. Iraqi president Jalal Talabani flies to Germany for stroke treatment
20 December 2012 / Guardian
The Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, is flying to Germany for treatment after suffering a stroke, his office has said. The 79-year-old Kurdish statesman was admitted to a Baghdad hospital on Monday night. "Treatment has allowed suitable conditions for his excellency to be transferred outside the country," the statement said, adding that Talabani's health had improved.
It was uncertain whether he would be able to return to his post, and his potential exit from politics is raising concerns about what could be a messy succession battle.
He has often mediated among Iraqi Shias, Sunnis and Kurds, and in a growing dispute over oil between Baghdad and the country's autonomous Kurdistan region.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/20/iraqi-president-jalal-talabani-germany

9. 15 December: Three Kurds executed in Iran
16 December 2012 / Alliance for Kurdish Rights
Urmia Prison, West Azerbaijan Province of Iran: On Friday 15 December three Kurds were summarily executed in Urmia prison, among them Gafur Mirza, who’s father was executed last year. Part of Gafur’s last words were allegedly:
Urmia Prison sees more than its share of executions and persecution. Two prisoners were executed just last month after a three year prison term for alleged drug charges, and nothing is known about five Kurdish prisoners in Urmia who were transferred to an unknown location without prior warning or notification.
http://kurdishrights.org/2012/12/16/15-december-three-kurds-executed-in-iran/

COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS

10. VIDEO: EFJ debates about press freedom and freedom of expression in Turkey
20 December 2012 / European Federation of Journalists
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is organizing a press conference on "Press freedom and freedom of expression - What's wrong with Turkey ?" next Wednesday 19 December 2012 at 11 am with Ragip Zarakolu (Turkish columnist, writer, publisher) and Philippe Leruth (Belgian journalist, EFJ's vice-president).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOa7uipNneA&feature=youtu.be

 11. Turkey’s Second Phase of Dismemberment: Unavoidable
12 December 2012 / Armenian Life
Much to Turkophiles’ chagrin the coming networks and coalitions in a multipolar world may deprive Turkey of massive economic aid at U.S. taxpayers’ expense keeping the Turkish state financially solvent. Many economists agree that the so-called positive economic news and reports mask Turkey’s real economic and political troubles and it’s only a matter of time before the time bomb explodes in the face of pro-Turkey neo-con propagandists. A recent report from the U.S. National Intelligence Council focuses on the possible “separation” of “Turkey’s territorial unity” by 2030. However the Intel Report under-rates several factors that can contribute to expedited dismemberment of Turkey. In certain cases, it over-rates Turkey.
http://www.armenianlife.com/2012/12/12/turkey%E2%80%99s-second-phase-of-dismemberment-unavoidable/

 12. Syria's Kurds face uncertain future if Assad falls
14 December 2012 / Guardian
The quarrel began when a young Arab called Mohammad drove up to a Kurdish checkpoint. The Kurdish fighters manning it beat him up. Bruised, angry and humiliated, Mohammad gathered up a group of armed friends. There was a shootout; Mohammad, his brother and three others were killed. Three Kurds also died. Both sides agreed a truce. As part of the deal the Kurds abandoned the mountaintop checkpoint in the village of Qastal, seven miles from the town of Azaz in northern Syria, and retreated down the road.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/14/syria-kurds-if-assad-falls

13. VIDEO: CrossTalk: Kurd State Soon?
6 December 2012 / Centre for Turkey Studies
Will the Kurdish people have a state of their own in the near future? With the Middle East in turmoil, can they exploit this instability? What are the chances of a positive outcome for Syria’s Kurds? And will Turkey be forced to compromise on the Kurdish issue? CrossTalking with Edward Joseph, Ibrahim Dogus and Fevzi Bilgin.
http://ceftus.org/2012/12/06/crosstalk-kurd-state-soon/#.UNL7ArZnJCZ

14. Syria: after Assad falls, what then?
18 December 2012 / Guardian
It was not the supposed imminent collapse of the Syrian regime that dominated the recent meeting of the Friends of Syria in Marrakech but the thorny subject of al-Nusra, one of the armed resistance groups operating in the country, which the US has just classified as a "foreign terrorist organisation". The chairman of the Syrian National Coalition called for the US to reconsider its decision; the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamad Tayfur condemned it as wrong and hastily made. Many other statements of support for al-Nusra followed, most notably from non-Islamist members of the coalition.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/18/after-assad-falls-what-then?INTCMP=SRCH

15. A Report from Kurdish Syria
13 December 2012 / Santa Barbara Independent
I was sitting on the dirt floor of a hut on the Tigris River in northwestern Iraq, just outside the booming territory established by Iraqi Kurds 21 years ago in 1991, a place that today looks increasingly like an independent Kurdish state. I was negotiating with smugglers to get across the border into Syria, where the civil war against the dictator Bashar al-Assad was raging. I wanted to get what I considered the important but under-reported story of Syrian Kurds, who recently had taken up arms in the hope of establishing their own autonomous region.
http://www.independent.com/news/2012/dec/13/report-kurdish-syria/

16. Proof of a Scandal: U.S. Policy is Making Syria into an Anti-Western, Antisemitic Islamist State <http://www.mesop.de/2012/12/19/commentary-proof-of-a-scandal-u-s-policy-is-making-syria-into-an-anti-western-antisemitic-islamist-state/>
18 December 2012 / Mesop
In his article, “The Revolt of Islam in Syria,” Jerusalem Post, December 12, 2012, Jonathan Spyer, senior fellow at the GLORIA Center, points out compelling information about the new Western-backed leadership in Syria.
The bottom line: If this is Syria’s new government then Syria now has an Islamist regime. This is happening with the knowledge and collaboration of the Obama Administration and a number of European governments. It is a catastrophe and one that’s taking place due to the deliberate decisions of President Barack Obama and other Western leaders. Even if one rationalizes the Islamist takeover in Egypt as due to internal events, this one is U.S.-made. http://www.mesop.de/2012/12/19/commentary-proof-of-a-scandal-u-s-policy-is-making-syria-into-an-anti-western-antisemitic-islamist-state/

17. Why Palestinians yes, Kurds no?
11 December 2012 / Kurdish Aspect
At a conference I attended in the mid-1990s, I dared to compare the Kurdish national movement in Iraq with that of the Palestinians. The conference dealt with the changing political map of the Middle East against the background of the 1991 Gulf War, the Oslo Accords of 1993 between Israel and the Palestinians, and the burgeoning autonomies that were developing concurrently in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG ) and the newly established Palestinian Authority. At the time, both groups spoke of their peoples' right to self-determination, and it was only natural to pinpoint the similarities and differences between the two national movements. The comparison, however, caused an uproar among the participants, who were mostly Palestinians and other Arabs, with some even leaving the conference hall in protest.
http://www.kurdishaspect.com/doc121112OB.html

18. Iraq, Kurds, Turks and oil: A tortuous triangle
20 December 2012 / The Economist
SNAKING their way from Kirkuk, a city 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of Baghdad, through Kurdistan and across Turkey’s eastern region of Anatolia to the Mediterranean are pipes that once carried 1.6m barrels a day (b/d) of Iraqi oil to the global market and yielded fat transit fees to Turkey along the way. The infrastructure underpinned the two countries’ mutual dependence. But nowadays the balance of power has shifted. A third party, the Iraqi Kurds, has changed it. It is unclear who will emerge on top. But Iraq’s central government in Baghdad is on the defensive.
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21568760-governments-turkey-iraq-and-iraqi-kurdistan-play-dangerous-game

Turkish justice system cast into major doubt by David Morgan, Morning Star

Turkish justice system cast into major doubt
Sunday 09 December 2012 by David Morgan

Grave concerns are mounting over a mass trial of lawyers in Istanbul who are being charged and tried for terrorism offences.

The 47 lawyers in the dock had represented Kurdish leader and founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party Abdullah Ocalan (pictured) who has been in jail since 1999.

Outside observers fear that the lawyers are actually being tried simply for carrying out their work as lawyers.

Evidence against them had been gathered by tapping their private meetings with Ocalan - a flagrant breach of confidentiality - and the defendants were not given full access to the prosecution case against them, impeding the preparation of their cases.

The trial seems to have been initiated as part of a wider clampdown on Kurdish opposition parties and organisations launched by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government immediately following the last national election two years ago.

This election saw the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) make significant electoral gains, suggesting that a political motivation was behind the trials rather than any quest for justice.

The backdrop in Turkey is one of widespread repression of suspected members of the Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), which the Turkish government characterises as the "urban wing" of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party. Many trade union members and journalists have also been arrested.

Thousands of suspects remain in detention, awaiting trial at special "heavy penal courts" in a number of Turkish cities.

Many of the suspects were taken into custody in mass arrests, adding extra weight to the accusations of political motives. The lawyers, for example, were all arrested at the same time, alongside the arrest of other professional groups.

A group of leading British lawyers, having recently returned from observing the latest session of the mass trial, have briefed British parliamentarians on their concerns.

They have flagged up how the competence of the court to try the accused was brought into question by the appointment of a judge who had helped to draw up the prosecution case, adding that the conduct of the trial was farcical and chaotic, giving no confidence that justice was going to be done.

They further explained that the Turkish legal code details quite specific technicalities that are required to initiate proceedings against a lawyer, but that they had not been followed in this case.

The meeting of observers and MPs also heard evidence from campaigning journalist Barry White who said that reporters in Turkey suffered similar treatment to the lawyers.

They were often similarly rounded up in mass arrests and held in detention for long pre-trial periods.

The Turkish authorities need to respond urgently to independent observers' serious concerns if they want the international community, and their European Union neighbours in particular, to have any confidence in the country's justice system.

Turkey appears to fall far short of what is normally expected of a legal system in a democratic country that supposedly abides by international norms.

But there is one way that Turkey can end these trials and avoid all the criticisms about its flawed legal system - it can open negotiations with the Kurds to resolve the conflict that is at the root of the problem.

Prime Minister Recep Erdogan needs to stop playing politics with the Kurdish issue and let peace talks with Ocalan be resumed as a matter of urgency.

The meeting, which took place on November 27 at Westminster, was hosted by Plaid Cymru MP Hywel Williams and was attended by MPs Mary Glindon and Pat Doherty, as well as Lord Rea. Representatives of the International Bar Association and the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers also participated in the discussions.

Information and Relations Centre of the Democratic Union Party

On the Ground Activities in West Kurdistan

Bread crisis in Aleppo turns into a trade between the regime and FSA
Aleppo - the crisis of flour and bread is still in ongoing despite the declaration of both struggling parties in media to find a solution and allocate money in order to remedy the humanitarian problems.
Some public and private bakeries returned to work this morning in areas of Aleppo controlled by the FSA. Still, bakeries in some neighborhoods such as Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh-Maqsoud are still out of service due to lack of subsidized flour. Some private sources claim that the FSA brings flour and fuel to their regions, which they have captured.
The source added that the Free Army imposes fees on transportation vehicles, laden with goods, especially those carrying flour. Fees can be as high as 10,000 SP per ton of flour in regions under the control of the Syrian regime.
The regime refrains from performing its duties towards the people of Aleppo, and it is only committed to ensure bread and subsidies for its supporter, intelligence staff and government employees.
Such behavior keeps the poor people exposed to the exploitation by both the regime and the FSA. The crises have occurred at the hands of the regime and the opposition, and they are dealing with poor peoples blood.

Catholic church bell in Amude chimes again after more than twenty years
Amude - on Sunday, after being closed for more than twenty years, the Catholic Church in Amude was opened again in the presence of a delegation from the Catholic community, representatives of the Islamic and yazidi religions, Kurdish movements and people of the city. In 1930 the syriac Catholic Community Church was built in Amude city. It mainly received worshipers from the Christian community in Amude. The number of Christian families was not small in Amude were not small, exceeding 165 at one point. However, in 1984 the city witnessed an exodus of Christian families to the cities of Alhasake and Qamishlo. Because of the decrease in the number of Christian families in the city, one Baathist official took the advantage and transformed the church into his private residence, going against all religious and ethical values.
After the people of Amude welcomed he delegation from Qamishlo city, they began to pray and to practice religious rites. The chairman of the local council of the Syriac Catholic Church in Qamishlo later gave a speech where he stated: "We thank all help we have received to restore the church into what it was always meant to be, a house of God, and whatever affect this city, it affects all its people, not only one party or group." He also stressed on the peaceful coexistence between all the components of the Syrian people in general and in the private spherein particular.
Death of a young Kurd in Afrin after he was kidnapped and tortured
Efrin - An unidentified armed group kidnapped a young Kurdish man ‘’Khaled Daoud’’ from his work under mysterious circumstances. His body was found by Alasayesh (police) force and revealed severe exposure to torture.
Number of martyres in Sheikh-Maqsud District-Aleppo increased to 11
Aleppo, ANF correspondent in Aleppo reported that the number of Martyrs in Sheikh-Maqsud District-Aleppo increased to 11 due to shelling from an unknown source hit Jamil Horro coffee shop in Sheikh-Maqsoud west district. The shelling also wounded several civilians, some critically, who were ambulanced by Alasayesh to several hospitals in the Alashrafya district.
Names of martyrs:
Luqman habash 40 years, Mahmud Kamal rasho 27 years, Mezgin Mustafa Saido, Sendiat Mustafa Saido, Samira (Mustafa’s wife) 45 yrars, Asterfana Luqman Eibesh, Sawsan Horik Hasan, Ibrahim Mhd Mhd, Ilham Ibesh, Hayfa Jabo 5 years, Abdulah Husain Alo (Arabic citizen) 61 years.

More than three thousand children in Amude city receive vaccination
Amude - The health clinic in Amude city has today completed the childrens vaccination campaign in order to protect them against polio and measles. The campaign started on 25/11/2012 and lasted 15 days.

100 young men from youth movement joined YPG forces in Derik city
Due to the recent attacks on the Kurdish areas such as Alashrafya district in Aleppo and Qastal Jindo village in Efrin and the latest ones in Sere Kaniyê, 100 young men, from all regions of western Kurdistan, men who belong to the Youth Movement, have decided to join the Peoples Protection Units, YPG.

People House in Derbasieh distributes aids to displaced people in Serê Kaniyê, Aleppo and Deir Al Zor as well
Derbassiyeh - the organized committee by the People's House in Derbassiyeh city continues distributing aid which was received from different regions, including aid sent by the United Nations to displaced people in different parts of Syria as a result of the ongoing conflict between the FSA and the regime.

Aldar Khalil: The delegation sent to the “Syria friends conference” should represent The Supreme Kurdish Council (Desteya bilind ya kurdî)
Qamishlo- Aldar Khalil, member of the supreme Kurdish council, declared that after long discussion with the National Kurdish Council, “we agreed that the Kurdish delegation who are heading to Casablanca-Morocco to attend the Syria friends conference tomorrow should represent the supreme council, and if the Syrian opposition doesn’t accept it, we should return and refuse their dictates”.
He added that this is a chance to practice the Hawler agreement, established 23-11-2012, which was greeted by one million Kurdish people.

Derik city is collecting aids for Serê Kaniyê city
Due to the destruction and displacement which is taking place in Serê Kaniyê, local councils in Derik city collected different types of aids such as food, clothes and children necessities in order to send it to Serê Kaniyê.

Four children dead and 19 wounded after shelling on Sheikh Maqsoud-Marouf district
Aleppo- Sheikh Maqsoud district was attacked by two mortar shells who hit just behind the Peoples House, resulting in the deaths of four children and 9 wounded who later were transferred to Alashrafieh district hospitals.
Names of martyrs:
Aref Othman 13 years, Rezgar khetiar 11 years, Jolia Hasan 6 months, and forth martyr is unknown. It is worth mentioning that Sheikh-Maqsoud district was bombed in the past days, resulting 11 martyrs and several wounded.
Representatives of Syriac community states that YPG is the only force capable of protecting the region
After the events in Serê Kaniyê which were initiated with the direct support of the Turkish government and some Kurdish fractions as well, a ANF correspondent interviewed a representative of the Syriac community, Ishaq Abdo in Derbasieh city, in order to get their views on the developments.
Mr. Abdo initially referred to the mosaic of the Al-hasake province where Syriacs, Kurds, Arabs, Charkas, Assyrians Keldanians, and Yazidians are living together in peace and security. Mr. Abdo thanked PYD for its efforts in education and their interest to keep the region secure and stable. He sent special thanks to YPG (People Protection Units) who are protecting the region against the armed mercenaries groups and pointed out that these groups entered through Turkish lands and with direct support from the Turkish government and some Kurdish parties. “These groups are destroying the city and displacing its people”, he claimed.
Finally Mr. Abdo, asked all people to support YPG by all means because they are sustaining the security of the region.
12 killed and 22 wounded of armed groups in Serê Kaniyê
Serê Kaniyê - Via a private source, a ANF correspondent reported that the clashes between YPG and the armed groups are still ongoing in Serê Kaniyê which has resulted in 12 deaths and 22 wounded from the ranks of the armed groups. Their wounded were transferred to the nearby Turkish hospitals.
Reports indicate that these clashes were caused by the so-called ‘’Abu Jamil” group, which entered through the Turkish border to Serê Kaniyê. The Ahrar Gouiran and the Meshal Tamo groups assisted them. The ANF correspondent reported that the attack of the armed groups was launched while people were trying to reopen the main bakery of the city after maintaining it due to damage caused by armed groups.
The Supreme Kurdish Council: The national coalition should show a clear attitude about the situation in Serê Kaniyê
We got a copy of the issued statement by the supreme Kurdish council to the public opinion. The statement condemns the massacre of the Aqrab village in the Hama countryside, the Shekh Maqsoud massacre, attacks on a funeral on the Efrin road. It also made a harsh condemnation concerning recent events in Serê Kaniyê, asking the National Coalition of the revolution forces and the opposition forces to declare its own stance on the situation.
13.12.2012

Kurdish News Weekly Briefing, 7 - 13 December

1. EUTCC resolution calls for restart of direct negotiations
11 December 2012 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
The EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) held its 9th International Conference last week In Brussels, with politicians, academics, NGO workers and political activists from Kurdistan, Europe and across the world gathering for two days of discussion. The final resolution, which is reproduced below in full, reflected the main focus of the conference this year by calling for direct negotiations to resume between the Turkish government and the PKK. This echoes the call made made Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Despond Tutu at the recent launch of the International Peace Initiative (IPI). A special resolution was also passed calling for the release of Kurdish politician Adem Uzun from French custody, which is also below.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/eutcc-resolution-calls-for-restart-of-direct-negotiations/

2. Papers from the 9th International EUTCC Conference
11 December 2012 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
Several conference papers from last week’s EUTCC Conference, entitled The Kurdish Question in Turkey: Time to Renew the Dialogue and Resume Direct Negotiations, have been made available in English. The final resolution of the conference is also available, and you can download the opening speech by Kurdish MP Leyla Zana(pdf) and Dutch academic Joost Jongeden’s paper, Rethinking Politics and Democracy in the Middle East.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/papers-from-the-9th-international-eutcc-conference/

3. EU conference calls for dialogue
7 December 2012 / ANF
The 9th conference on EU, Kurds and Turkey ended in Brussels on Thursday. It focused on "The Kurdish Question in Turkey: Time to renew the dialogue and resume direct negotiations". At the conference a call was made for the release of KNK (Kurdish National Congress) member Adem Uzun, who is still in prison in Paris pending trial, after being arrested in France last October. In their final resolutions participants underlined that "What is going on in Turkey today appears to be an attempt to stifle Kurdish voices and impose on the Kurds a unilateral solution to fundamental issues of security and the future of the country.".
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5445 <http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5445>

4. Demirtaş: Negotiations need to be among equals
7 December 2012 / ANF
Speaking at the 9th International Kurdish conference at the European Parliament in Brussels, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş underlined that negotiations between the Turkish state and the Kurdish people should be carried out on the basis of equality. And this, he said, could be ensured by the liberation of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, the main actor in any negotiations. Referring to the speech by KNK (Kurdistan National Conference) executive council member Zübeyir Aydar at the conference, Demirtaş said that; "What Mr. Aydar has repeated here at this conference is an official declaration: one of the parties to this conflict is ready for negotiations. As this party has clearly stated what it is expecting from the negotiation process, it is now the Turkish government that needs to be brought to the negotiation table.”
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5444 <http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5444>


NEWS

5. Kurdish mayor among dozens detained in Turkey on militant links
8 December 2012 / Reuters
Turkish police arrested dozens of Kurdish activists and politicians on Saturday, including a provincial mayor, in their latest push against alleged supporters of armed militants. Selim Sadak, mayor of Siirt, was among about 60 people detained in simultaneous operations in three southeastern cities, police said. Many are local officials from the legal, pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and civic groups. Turkey has jailed thousands of Kurdish politicians, academics, lawyers, journalists and others since 2009 on charges they support the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought the state for autonomy in a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/08/us-turkey-kurds-idUSBRE8B707I20121208 <http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/08/us-turkey-kurds-idUSBRE8B707I20121208>

6. Turkish prisons: a photograph of the state of human rights
12 December 2012 / ANF
Human rights organizations in Diyarbakır held a press conference in front of E Type Closed Prison on Tuesday to mark Human Rights Week (10-17 December) organized by IHD (Human Rights Association) Diyarbakır branch, MAZLUMDER, TİHV (Human Rights Foundation of Turkey), Diyarbakır Bar Association and Chamber of Doctors.Speaking on behalf of six NGOs, Mazlum-Der executive Nurettin Bozkurt evaluated the current situation in Turkey prisons as a picture of the practices by the present political regime. Bozkurt indicated the cases of torture and ill-treatment in custody, imprisonment of relevant and irrrelevant people in so-called KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) operations, solitary confinement imposed on Kurdish Leader Abdullah Öcalan and the Pozantı incident as the most apparent examples of the state's psychological warfare mentality that regards human dignity as an object.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5464

7. Turkish justice system cast into major doubt
11 December 2012 / Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
Grave concerns are mounting over a mass trial of lawyers in Istanbul who are being charged and tried for terrorism offences. The 47 lawyers in the dock had represented Kurdish leader and founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party Abdullah Ocalan (pictured) who has been in jail since 1999. Outside observers fear that the lawyers are actually being tried simply for carrying out their work as lawyers. Evidence against them had been gathered by tapping their private meetings with Ocalan – a flagrant breach of confidentiality – and the defendants were not given full access to the prosecution case against them, impeding the preparation of their cases. The trial seems to have been initiated as part of a wider clampdown on Kurdish opposition parties and organisations launched by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government immediately following the last national election two years ago.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/turkish-justice-system-cast-into-major-doubt/

8. Set journalists free in Turkey: EFJ campaign update
11 December 2012 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
The Committee for the Protection of Journalists has written a special report on the imprisonment of journalists worldwide – and Turkey occupies the proud position of number one jailer in the world. As ever, the EFJ has been ensuring that this information get circulated widely as part of their Set journalists free in Turkey campaign, and has provided a link to the report below as part of their weekly update.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/set-journalists-free-in-turkey-efj-campaign-update-8/

9. Özgüden: International Pressure Needed To Stop Jailing Of Journalists In Turkey
12 December 2012 / Info Turk
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says a record 232 journalists are currently imprisoned around the world, with Turkey being the worst offender. In a report released December 11, the U.S.-based media watchdog says 49 journalists are behind bars in Turkey -- a NATO member and EU candidate country – compared with 45 in Iran and 32 in China. The CPJ says most of the imprisoned Turkish journalists are Kurdish reporters and editors held on terror-related charges and in connection with alleged antigovernment plots. Turkey was already subjected to harsh criticism in an EU progress report in October, which listed freedom of expression, as well as the right to a fair trial, as areas of particular concern. RFE/RL correspondent Eugen Tomiuc talked to exiled Turkish journalist Dogan Ozguden, the head of the Brussels-based Journalists’ Association of Turkey, about the report’s findings.
http://www.info-turk.be/412.htm#International_ <http://www.info-turk.be/412.htm#International_>

10. Turkey: more than 1500 days of preventive detention amount to punishment, says EFJ ahead of hearing in “Ergenekon” case
12 December 2012 / EFJ
As the so-called "Ergenekon" trial is about to resume in Istanbul, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Turkish affiliate the Türkiye Gazeteciler Sendikasi (TGS) are concerned about the fairness in the case of two Turkish journalists who have been in detention for more than 1500 days . The EFJ says their trial has been marked by lack of due process and procedural violations. "Today more than ever before, the EFJ is determined to continue defending the journalists' right to a fair trial ," said EFJ President Arne König. "After more than 1.500 days behind bars, it is now obvious that detention is not used as a means of precaution by the Turkish authorities, but as a punishment for critical journalists".
http://europe.ifj.org/en/articles/more-than-1500-days-of-preventive-detention-for-turkish-journalists-amount-to-punishment-says-efj-ahead-of-hearing-in-ergenekon-case

11. Criminal complaint on Roboski reached International Criminal Court
11 December 2012 / ANF
The International Committee Against Disappearances (ICAD) Netherland Section has brought the Roboski massacre to the International Criminal Court. ICAD filed a criminal complaint to the International Criminal Court in the city of Den Haag concerning on one hand the Roboski massacre which claimed the lives of 34 Kurdish civilians and on the other hand the attack on Tamils in Sri Lanka in 2009. The criminal complaint by ICAD defined the Roboski massacre as a crime against humanity and demanded the trial of Turkish President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chief of Defence Nejdet Özel. ICAD also presented documents on the massacre to the ICC.
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5460

12. Exclusive: UK military in talks to help Syria rebels
11 December 2012 / The Independent
A plan to provide military training to the Syrian rebels fighting the Assad regime and support them with air and naval power is being drawn up by an international coalition including Britain, The Independent has learnt.
The prospect of Western intervention comes as opposition groups, which have been disorganised and divided, at long last formed an umbrella political group and a command structure for their militias. Their foreign backers are said to believe that the 22-month-long civil war has now reached a tipping point and it has become imperative to offer help to the revolutionaries to enable them to make a final push against the regime.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/exclusive-uk-military-in-talks-to-help-syria-rebels-8399658.html

13. Syrian rebels defy US and pledge allegiance to jihadi group
10 December 2012 / The Telegraph
A total of 29 opposition groups, including fighting "brigades" and civilian committees, have signed a petition calling for mass demonstrations in support of Jabhat al-Nusra, an Islamist group which the White House believes is an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Iraq. The petition is promoting the slogan "No to American intervention, for we are all Jabhat al-Nusra" and urges supporters to "raise the Jabhat al-Nusra flag" as a "thank you".
"These are the men for the people of Syria, these are the heroes who belong to us in religion, in blood and in revolution," read a statement widely circulated on Syrian opposition Facebook pages.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9735988/Syrian-rebels-defy-US-and-pledge-allegiance-to-jihadi-group.html

14. More than 63,000 Syrian refugees in Iraq: UN
8 December 2012 / Daily Star
More than 63,000 Syrian refugees have fled the bloody conflict in their home country for neighbouring Iraq, according to figures released by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Saturday. The intense fighting between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels battling to overthrow him has sparked a huge exodus of Syrians to neighbouring countries. There were 63,496 Syrian refugees in Iraq as of December 5, a weekly update released by the UN said. Most of them -- 54,550 -- were in the three-province autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, while 8,852 were located in Anbar province in the west and 94 in other provinces. The 21-month conflict in Syria has also seen tens of thousands of Iraqis who had fled to their country's western neighbour return home.
http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Dec-08/197741-more-than-63000-syrian-refugees-in-iraq-un.ashx#axzz2EbM2aCFm

15. Genel in Kurdish oil link to Turkey
7 December 2012 / The National
Genel Energy, the biggest oil producer in Kurdistan, plans to fund a pipeline from the autonomous region in Iraq to Turkey. Tony Hayward, the company's chief executive, expects work on a 1 million barrel per day (bpd) pipeline from Kurdish oilfields to the Turkish border to begin in the first half of next year, even as relations between Ankara and Baghdad have soured. "We are intent on investing and funding that development," he said at an energy conference held in Erbil this week. Genel will complete a pipeline connecting its Taq Taq oilfield to another field this month. The new pipeline would connect that field to the border.
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/energy/genel-in-kurdish-oil-link-to-turkey

16. Hot Issue: New Arab-Kurdish Front Could Strengthen Assad
10 December 2012 / The Jamestown Foundation
Clashes between Kurdish militias and armed Syrian opposition groups in Aleppo starting at the end of October in Ras al-Ayn near the Turkish border have raised the specter of a possible Arab-Kurdish civil war in Syria. An Arab-Kurdish civil war would weaken the efforts of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and non-FSA affiliated groups to take over strategic areas in northern Syria such as oil-rich Hasakah province and Aleppo. Any fighting between the Syrian armed opposition and Kurdish militias trying to establish their authority in Kurdish-dominated areas could strengthen the resolve of the Assad-government. Moreover, the fighting could indicate that Turkey is facilitating the entry of Syrian armed rebels into Syria to prevent the influence of Kurdish groups affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=40221&cHash=76a6154321d72e1033f9fb9a652d3bcd <http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=40221&cHash=76a6154321d72e1033f9fb9a652d3bcd>

17. World Citizen: Turkey Feels the Heat From Baghdad-Kurdish Tensions
6 December 2012 / World Politics Review
There is practically no space left on the Middle East’s geopolitical plate for another conflict. Like it or not, however, the long-simmering animosity between Iraq’s central government and the country’s Kurdish minority is reaching a boiling point. The conflict has recently heated up dangerously, and it shows no sign of cooling down.
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/12545/world-citizen-turkey-feels-the-heat-from-baghdad-kurdish-tensions

18. German Justice Minister awards Ludovic-Trarieux Prize to imprisoned Turkish lawyer Muharrem Erbey
11 December 2012 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
It is a symbolic action: Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has awarded one of the most important prizes for lawyers to a man who has been held in custody for three years. The German FDP politician appealed to Ankara to end the imprisonment of Muharrem Erbey. Berlin – Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has awarded the Ludovic-Trarieux Prize, one of the most important human rights prizes for lawyers, to Muharrem Erbey, who is in prison in Turkey. He has been in prison for three years, not until September was the trial against him begun.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/german-justice-minister-awards-ludovic-trarieux-prize-to-imprisoned-turkish-lawyer-muharrem-erbey/

19. Nations without States: Big nations versus small people
13 December 2012 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
The committee of Nations without States coalition has written to the EU Head Representative at Europe House, calling for justice and self-determination for all. The coalition produced a declaration for World Human Rights Day on 10 December, which begins:
As a coalition of activists, engaged in campaigns on behalf of the world many small, stateless and subjugated nations; we make this important appeal for justice and fundamental rights of the world’s disempowered, persecuted and suppressed small nations, such as the Kurds, Kashmiris, Tamils, Chechens, Sikhs, Nagas, Igbos (Biafra), Matebele, Karens, Ogoni, Tibetan, Uyghurs, Swarak, West Papuans, Banda Acehans and more.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/nations-without-states-big-nations-versus-small-people/

COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS

20. The Kurds and Human Rights
11 December 2012 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
The Kurds constitute one of the world’s largest populations without a nation state of their own. This great injustice is the root cause of the abuses and discrimination to which Kurds are still subjected to at the present day. This occurs despite the fact that the Kurds are one of the oldest peoples of the Middle East and can trace their lineage back thousands of years; the first mention of the existence of Kurds is traced to reference to ‘Karduchoi’ made by the classical Greek historian Xenophon in The Expedition of Cyrus. Today, the actual size of the Kurdish population is very hard to establish because of the difficult circumstances in which the Kurds find themselves, but the number is usually estimated at approximately 40 million. The majority of the communities of Kurds are distributed unevenly between the four states of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/the-kurds-and-human-rights/

21. For Turkey, world's leading jailer, a path forward
11 December 2012 / Committee for the Protection of Journalists
Turkey has no business being the world's leading jailer of journalists. But the numbers don't lie. With 49 journalists imprisoned for their work, according to CPJ's annual worldwide prison census, released today, Turkey holds more individuals behind bars than Iran (45), China (32), or Eritrea (28). How did Turkey find itself in this situation? Unlike the other countries that top CPJ's imprisoned list, Turkey has a relatively open and vibrant media. It is an emerging democracy, a NATO member, and a candidate for European Union integration. The use of imprisonment as a media pressure tactic in Turkey is selective. The imprisoned journalists in Turkey fall into two broad categories: Kurdish journalists the government alleges are linked to a violent separatist movement; and leftists and ultranationalists accused of conspiring to overthrow the government.
http://www.cpj.org/blog/2012/12/for-turkey-worlds-leading-jailer-of-the-press-a-pa.php

22. “Chemical Weapons in Syria: Fact, Fiction, and Fib,” by Aron Lund
8 December 2012 / Mesop
On the WMD discussion in your last post, which I think was spot on: My guess is that what’s happening is that some intelligence agencies are really picking up signals of WMD motion on the ground, but that the dramatic “mixing sarin and putting it into bombs” info is pure propaganda. It seems designed to spook the public, make a case for intervention, and, to some extent, force the hand of the Obama administration. In the unlikely event that Assad has really started activating his WMD capacity, it could be for a military purpose or as a political signal. There are basically three things he would be interested in: 1) to threaten any would-be intervention force, e.g. Turkey, 2) to remind everyone that he could carry out a lethal last strike on Israel if the regime falls, 3) possibly, to shift chemical material over to allies in Lebanon, to create a kind of second-strike capability if the regime is attacked and unable to respond.
http://www.mesop.de/2012/12/09/chemical-weapons-in-syria-fact-fiction-and-fib-by-aron-lund/

23. Hrant, embarrassment, a disaster
6 December 2012 / Todays Zaman
The government has introduced a new institution which we all welcomed at first. I am talking about the newly established ombudsman.
However, the government’s choice to fill the role has shaken all the country’s democrats from head to toe. It’s like a bad joke; it is an insult to anyone with a little intelligence in this country. Our conscience was deeply wounded with this appointment.The government appointed, through parliamentary election, one of those judges from the Supreme Court of Appeals who voted in favor of punishing Hrant Dink under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) for the infamous article that brought about charges of “insulting Turkishness” to be the ombudsman.
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-300405-hrant-embarrassment-a-disaster.html <http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-300405-hrant-embarrassment-a-disaster.html>

24. Why Turkey is paranoid about the Kurdish role in the Middle East
6 December 2012 / eKurd
Turkey‘s real issue is not with the Syrian President Assad killing his people or concern about a lack of democracy in Syria. Rather, Turkey’s problem is with the Kurdish people. Actually, an authoritarian Assad was good for Turkey to oppress the Kurds and keep them silent, but Turkey realized that, if it does not go against Assad, Western powers will get rid of Assad sooner or later. Therefore, it is better for Turkey to help the opposition groups in the name of democracy, so that it can fight against the Kurds who do not have any kind of autonomous region in Syria and Turkey like they do in Iraq. Hoping to topple Assad, it wants to replace him and put one of its own people in charge, so that it can run Syria from behind the scenes. Since Turkey lost Iraq to Iran, which is dominated by the Shias, an Islamic sect that most Sunnis do not consider true Muslims but a cult religion, it remains opposed to the Shias.
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/12/turkey4351.htm

25. As noose tightens on Assad, rebels ask: what comes next?
9 December 2012 / The Observer
Syrian rebel fighters are at last allowing themselves to believe what seemed unthinkable just a few weeks ago. After a bloody three-week siege of Damascus, they are so confident that they may be on the brink of seizing the capital that they are allowing themselves to consider what would happen in the chaotic aftermath of a victory. And it is not just in Syria that anxiety is growing about what might follow the fall of the beleaguered Syrian regime. Fear is growing among its neighbours, too, about what might then ensue. The security establishment and presidential palace, so far unbending pillars of state control, are now well within reach, rebel fighters on the outskirts of Damascus say. But to hold on to the city once it falls, they believe, means turning their minds to what comes next.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/09/syria-fall-of-damascus-aftermath

26. VIDEO: SERHILDAN, le soulèvement du peuple kurde
4 December 2012 / Youtube
A film by Chris den Hond, from 2004 (in French).
http://youtu.be/8KWJoBd29BE

PYD: Kurdish Supreme Council made some promises

13 December 2012

Despite the fact that not all our demands have been definitely
accepted, we got a promise from the Syrian Coalition, says Saleh Muslim


Speaking to Yeni Özgür Politika daily about the recent talks between
Kurdish Supreme Council and Syrian opposition groups, Democratic Union
Party (PYD) co-chair Saleh Muslim said that the majority of Kurds'
demands were found acceptable.

The National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces
which was formed in on 11 November 2012 at a conference of opposition
groups held in Doha, Qatar didn't include Kurds in the first place. The
Coalition which a number of countries started to recognize as the
legitimate representative of Syrian opponents later invited the
Kurdish National Council KNC of which however rejected the
invitation defending that the Council didn't represent all Kurds. The
Coalition therewith sat down at the table with a delegation of seven
members of the Kurdish Supreme Council KSC on behalf of Kurds.
Concerning the negotiation process, PYD Leader Saleh Muslim said that
Kurds are now represented by the mentioned delegation.

"Despite the fact that not all our demands have been definitely
accepted, we got a promise from the Coalition for the election of a
Kurdish deputy president of the Coalition, constitutional assurance
for the rights of Kurds, recognition of the Kurdish identity and
culture as well as provision of Kurdish education at schools", said
Muslim and added the followings concerning the discussions on the new
political status of Kurds in Syria;

"The choice between a Federation or a Democratic Autonomy form of
governance were both on the table during the talks with the Coalition
which, it seems, will agree on the Democratic Autonomy. Details will
become clear in the coming period when also the name of the Syrian
Arab Republic will change to Syrian Republic".

Referring to Kurdish defense forces YPG, Muslim said that; "Everyone
needs to see and accept that YPG is the force of all Kurds. It will
not be affilated to Free Syrian Army but it will act in coordination
with it".

Muslim underlined that the talks between two sides were carried out on
the basis of promises, not an official agreement, adding that; "A
transition period is expecting the Syrian country where the government
will change after the formation of a provisional government in this
process. Kurds and the Kurdish supreme Council uwill
once again have talks on their agreement once constitutional
commissions are established after the government change."

ANF / FRANKFURT

ANF NEWS AGENCY



The Kurdish Globe No. 379, Thursday, December 13, 2012 4 Globe interview with Saleh Muslim, Co-leader of the Kurdish Syrian PYD

‘’For us it’s not a case of liberation’’

Syrian Kurds with new found autonomy and historic opportu- nity find themselves in the lime- light and key actors in the Syrian struggle. The Democratic Union Party (PYD) is at the centre of the Kurdish struggle in Syria and in the Kurdish quest to capitalise on their new dawn. With rumours and scrutiny facing the party, Bashdar Pusho Ismaeel of the Kurdish Globe spoke exclusively with Saleh Muslim, Co-leader of the PYD on a number of issues to set the record straight.

Globe: At times the PYD is por- trayed negatively, as a PKK-af- filiated party who has not abided by power sharing agreement with other Kurdish parties, does not tolerate other Kurdish armed forces and has even allegedly col- laborated with the Assad regime. What is your answer to that?

Muslim: The PYD is a political party established in 2003 and of course we have our way and our philosophy and our strategy for the works. I mean if our philoso- phy or strategy was the same as classical Kurdish parties, there would be no reason to establish a new party. We established PYD which is different from the classi- cal parties in Syria. We have the philosophy of Mr. Ocalan and his ideas are adapted to the condition and situation of Western Kurdis- tan. Our work is different from a radical party or the philosophy of classic parties. So it’s usual for people who promoting the inter- est of regional and global powers to attack our party and to blame it, because we are promoting and working for the interest of the people in Western Kurdistan and all Syrians.

In 50 years the Kurdish par- ties could not submit anything to Kurdish politics or to the Kurd- ish people of Western Kurdistan. They could not organise them- selves very well and especially for the critical duration facing Western Kurdistan. So everything belonged to the PYD, all the re- sponsibilities including defend- ing the people and organising the people fell to the PYD. PYD is doing everything and because of that, we are being attacked not only by the classic Kurdish par- ties but also other sides that are against the Kurdish people and their struggle.

They are enemies of the Kurd- ish people. So we are under attack from all of them. There are many rumours and sayings, trying to affiliate us with the PKK where other than the general philosophy we are completely different from them. We have our own leader- ship, strategy, and work for West- ern Kurdistan, we do not have any organic relations with the PKK or affiliations with them. But we

Saleh Muslim, Co-leader of the PYD

support each other like any party, our relation with them is no differ- ent to our relations with the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) of Massaud Barzani or PUK (Patri- otic Union of Kurdistan) of Jalal Talabani.

Globe: Do you have any prob- lem working with other Kurdish parties or power sharing?

Muslim: No, not at all. We would like to share the power with all Kurdish parties. We can do ev- erything together. We have been seeking the co-operation with them since we were established in 2003, where we knocked on all their doors, we met them one by one to build relations and to work together and to make agree- ments with them but we could not achieve this.

Globe: In terms of the Kurdish forces, do you have any problem in working with other Kurdish forces specifically the “Syrian Peshmerga” trained in Kurdistan Region? Is the force in Syrian Kurdistan, a PYD force or a na- tional force for all Kurds?

Muslim: We have no problem to unite all the armed forces for the sake of the Kurdish people. In Western Kurdistan you can have many political parties, many organisations but when it comes to the armed forces, there should only ever be one armed force for the region. Otherwise if you have intra-fighting it’s a massive prob- lem. Because of that, as part of the Kurdish Supreme Council we decided to unify all of the armed forces, including those Kurdish forces in Syria or those trained in Southern Kurdistan. We are trying to unify them and this is no problem as the forces belong to the people. They are protect-

ing people of Western Kurdistan. Everybody has a right to join it to defend his family and relations. This is never a problem for us. But importantly, any force should only be under one commander.

We don’t refer to such forces trained in Southern Kurdistan as Peshmerga, they are simply part of the Peoples Protection Unit, the defence units. It’s the same to us and we do not differentiate on the type of forces by referring to these specifically as “Peshmerga”. Those forces are in Syrian right now. Most of them are Kurdish soldiers who had defected from the Syrian Army and they are simply the army of the Kurdish people in Western Kurdistan pro- tecting them. An important point, they do not belong to any political party, nor the PYD or even Dem- ocratic Society Movement (Tev- Dem). They are established by (Tev-Dem) but they belong to the Syrian Kurdish people, because they take orders from the Kurdish Supreme Council.

Globe: Some have accused you of collaborating with Assad’s re- gime in Kurdish areas, can you set the record straight on that?

Muslim: We have been fighting this regime since we were estab- lished in 2003. We have had our people killed under torture, when the Syrian uprising started in March 2011 we had about 1,500 people under arrest and tortured by Assad’s security apparatus. Because of that we cannot say we have relations with them. But because our strategy is different from other organisations and oth- er parties, they try to find a reason to blame us. Only because we re- fused to become soldiers for the others as on many other occasions

in Kurdish history. Kurds have always been soldiers for others, fighting for them, dying for them and at the end they receive noth- ing. So we refuse to follow that historical trap. Now they point the blame at us as we refused to be their soldiers. We have no re- lations with the regime at all, nor would we ever open the hand of the gladiator that is killing us.

Globe: Turkey has been closely observing the new found Kurd- ish autonomy in Syria with great unease. Do you have any contact with the Turkish authorities? Do you see any threat in a direct Turkish invasion?

Muslim: We are on the side of dialogue with everybody, not just Turkey. Anyone involved in the Syrian conflict or the Kurdish case, we are open to negotiations with them and we do not have any objections. Today, we don’t have any contact with the Turk- ish authorities but we don’t refuse contact or meetings with them, if the Turkish regime accepts us. As for any invasion, I don’t think in- ternational conditions make sense for any invasion, they will not allow such an invasion nor is it convenient for any military inter- vention in Syria. But the Turkish hand is clearly in Syria from the beginning of the uprising. They are trying to be involved and are supporting armed groups to desta- bilise relatively peaceful Kurdish region and the Turkish interven- tion has succeeded in turning the peaceful uprising into an armed uprising against the regime. This was only possible with Turkish support of armed groups.

In the Kurdish case, we have already seen what happened in Aleppo, Afrin and Sere Kaniye

where armed groups have in- vaded the Kurdish areas from Turkey. They are supporting them and they are sending them to mix the Kurdish areas and to destroy peaceful situation of the Kurdish areas. Groups such as Al-Nusra Front and Ghuraba al-Sham are all related to the Turkish regime, affiliated, supported and sent by them.

And even in Sere Kaniye when they were going to escape to get back to Turkey, Turkey closed the border and said to these armed groups you either have to fight or die. So they didn’t allow them to go back and still those forces are there. Just yesterday there was an air attack by regime forces on those armed groups, but they have nowhere to escape because Turkey closed the border and they are unable to move out, so they are hemmed in. More than 20 of them were killed yesterday by that air attack.

Globe: What is your message to Turkey?

Muslim: Turkey must step away from their Kurdish phobia. Kurds can live together with the Turk- ish people, we have no problem with any Turk. We are friends and neighbours with Turkmen in Syr- ia and the same with the Turkish people. We have no problem with the Turkish people and we can co-exist peacefully. The Turkish government should understand that and build on the brotherly ties between the two nations, in- stead of been driven by a phobia of Kurds.

Globe: Recently, there has been much violence between FSA, par- ticularly their Islamist wings and PYD forces in Sere Kaniye and within Aleppo itself. Why such hostility and general animosity? What must happen before you will work with the FSA?

Muslim: If they leave us alone, then we don’t have any problem with the Free Syrian Army. They are mostly compromised of sol- diers defecting from the Syrian Army and to protect the civil- ians. But it is only specific armed groups that are fighting and at- tacking the Kurdish areas even when there are no regime forces in such areas. They are attacking civilians and such groups do not belong to the FSA at all and even the FSA have issued declarations that they are not affiliated with them. They are different groups to the FSA and they are only us- ing the name of FSA, but nobody recognises them as FSA. They belong to the Turkish regime. Especially, in Aleppo, Afrin and Sere Kaniye, these groups were clearly supported by Turkey with weapons, with facilities of move- ment and they are coming from

Freedom to Publish Mass Trial Continues in Turkey IPA Calls for Release of Academic and Publisher Deniz Zarakolu

Freedom to Publish Mass Trial Continues in Turkey
IPA Calls for Release of Academic and Publisher Deniz Zarakolu


Geneva, 11 December 2012 – For immediate release

As the third hearing of the trial of Ragıp and Deniz Zarakolu opens tomorrow in Silivri, Turkey, the International Publishers Association (IPA) urges once more the Turkish authorities to drop all charges against both publishers and to immediately release Deniz Zarakolu who has been detained since 7 October 2011. As the previous ones, this third hearing will last for a week. Publishers Ragıp and Deniz Zarakolu, academic Büşra Ersanlı, linguist Mulazim Ozcan, or writers Aziz Tunc and Ayşe Berktay are among more than 40 people arrested in October 2011 under the Koma Civaken Kurdistan (KCK) investigation which has seen scores of writers, journalists, and publishers detained following thousands of arrests over the past two years. In addition, dozens of writers and publishers in Turkey are either held in prison, or currently on trial.

Deniz Zarakolu, a publisher, writer, translator, and PhD student specializing in political thought at Bilgi University, is charged with ‘being a member of an illegal organisation’ and risks up to twelve years in prison. He was arrested on 7 October 2011, after giving a lecture at the Political Science Academy of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy (BDP) opposition party. This party is legal, and such party-affiliated research academies are common in Turkey, with similar institutes run by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

For his part, his father Ragıp Zarakolu is charged with ‘aiding and abetting an illegal organisation’ and is threatened with up to fifteen years in prison. He was released on 10 April 2012 following 160 days spent in a high security prison on pre-trial detention. IPA believes that he and several other writers and intellectuals are charged solely because of their writings and publishing, which violates Turkey’s international human rights obligations. Ragip Zarakolu, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, risks between 7.5 and 15 years in prison.

In June 2012, the 29th IPA Congress adopted a resolution “rejecting the abuse of broad definitions of terms such as defamation, state security, state secrecy, or terrorism as dangerous inroads for censorship, harassment of the media, and undemocratic influencing (…)”.

Sadly, Turkey’s strict anti-terror legislation (ATL) illustrates the resolution above only too well. The broadness of ATL has allowed the Turkish authorities to curtail the freedom of expression of many in Turkey, including publishers who have for a long time advocated freedom to publish for all publishers and writers. This is particularly true of the Zarakolus.

IPA’s Freedom to Publish Committee Chair, Bjørn Smith-Simonsen commented: “IPA emphatically protests the ongoing detention of publisher Deniz Zarakolu and urges the Turkish authorities, once more, to release him as the third hearing of the KCK mass trial opens tomorrow in Silivri. Deniz Zarakolu has already spent 14 months in prison. This is much too long! IPA takes this opportunity to remind the Turkish authorities that the European Convention on Human Rights requires Turkey to come to decisions within a reasonable time frame, especially when the defendants are in detention.
“Deniz and Ragip Zarakolu are outspoken, peaceful publishers who have worked to bring down the barriers of censorship in Turkey. Thinking that their publishing activity encourages the violent pursuit of political agendas is absurd. IPA therefore urges the Turkish authorities to drop all charges against Deniz and Ragip Zarakolu as soon as possible, and calls on the Turkish authorities to secure Deniz’s immediate release.

“Turkey is a signatory of international human rights treaties and is therefore under the obligation to observe individuals’ human rights, including in particular Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). IPA remains concerned that these rights will be denied to the Zarakolus, and several other intellectuals, including Büşra Ersanlı and Ayşe Berktay who are also defendants in the KCK case. More writers are either in prison or on trial in Turkey than in any other country in the world”.

Background Information:

Deniz Zarakolu has written books on Thomas Hobbes and the Turkish justice system. He has also translated Hobbes’ De Cive (“On the Citizen”). He had previously been arrested and charged with “inciting revenge or hatred” over a speech he gave in 2002 at the funeral of his mother Ayşe Nur Zarakolu, a founding member of the Belge Publishing House, although he was later acquitted.

For more information, please visit: www.freedomforragip.wordpress.com <http://www.freedomforragip.wordpress.com>

More about IPA:

The International Publishers Association (IPA) is the global non-governmental organisation representing all aspects of book and journal publishing worldwide. Established in 1896, IPA's mission is to promote and protect publishing and to raise awareness for publishing as a force for cultural and political advancement worldwide. IPA is an industry association with a human rights mandate. IPA currently has 65 member associations in 53 countries.

Towards freedom and democracy for Syria and all the peoples of the Middle East

Urgent Appeal to members of Parliament, the European Parliament, NGOs and activists

Towards freedom and democracy for Syria and all the peoples of the Middle East

On 3 December 2012, co-president of the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD), Mr Saleh Muslim, briefed a packed room in Westminster on the latest developments in Syria and the role and objectives of the Kurds in relation to the ongoing conflict. The meeting titled “Syria, the Kurds and the New Middle East” was hosted by Jeremy Corbyn MP, and sponsored by Liberation and Peace in Kurdistan campaign. Also present at the meeting were representatives of the National Coordinating Body for Democratic Change (NCB), Support Kurds in Syria, and members of Kurdish community organisations in London. This appeal was written In response to calls for action made at the meeting and is issued jointly by Peace in Kurdistan and Liberation.


Peace in Kurdistan and Liberation wish to put on record our grave concerns at the increasingly deteriorating situation inside Syria where the conflict shows few signs of abating.

We are concerned that the people of Western Kurdistan are being drawn into the wider social conflict raging throughout the country and we believe that the increasingly desperate situation in parts of the Kurdish region, which has seen an influx of refugees from other parts of Syria, is not receiving the proper recognition by the outside world that it deserves. It is a concern in particular that international aid organisations are not sending aid to assist the region in supporting these refugees which as a consequence is facing hardship and dwindling of resources.

The Kurdish region under the leadership of the PYD and its allies has remained in relative peace until recently when it faced provocations from opposition groups seeking to provoke clashes in towns like Ras al-Ayn in November. It is of concern that these militants have sought to draw the Kurdish region into the conflict and in this manoeuvre they have had the explicit support of the NATO-backed Turkey, which has hosted the Free Syrian Army and accommodated the Syrian National Council.

Furthermore, we express our concerns that the newly formed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, which has now been recognised by Turkey, the UK, the US, France and the Gulf States, had refused to invite the PYD to participate in its founding conference.

This has exposed the shallowness of its claims to be a genuinely representative coalition of all opposition groups and bodes ill for the future if the main Kurdish group is not to be fully represented in a post-Assad settlement in Syria.

We recognise that the Kurds have natural suspicions as to the true motives of Turkey which continues to deny rights to its own Kurdish population that the Kurds in Syria have been increasingly successful in achieving during recent months.

Ankara’s foreign policy objectives inside Syria remain unclear and the likelihood of it being prepared to permit the achievement of democratic rights for the Kurds in a future Syria is at best uncertain.

We would like to point out that the PYD is the largest supported Kurdish organisation inside Syria; it is a founding member of the National Coordinating Body for Democratic Change in Syria, and it was the first political party to declare and introduce a comprehensive resolution to solve the Kurdish question and democratise Syria. It has united with other Kurdish parties to form the Kurdish Supreme Council, which now jointly administers and protects the emerging Kurdish administration in Western Kurdistan.

The PYD’s project of ‘self-governance’ demonstrates how it is possible to challenge an oppressive state through mass popular action by peaceful means and without foreign intervention, military or otherwise. The erroneous allegation that the PYD is simply an off-shoot of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) should be repudiated as a cynical attempt to deny the legitimate demands made by the party and the people of Western Kurdistan for self-governance.

The PYD was established in 2003 to represent the Kurds in Syria and is founded on the heritage and struggle of the Kurdish national liberation movement.

The party declares itself to be an ethical political party promoting social equality and a culture of democracy and tolerance.

It aims to resolve the Kurdish question inside Syria based on democratisation of the country and on the right to self-determination through a system of Kurdish democratic self-governance.

It is working on democratise the authoritarian Syrian state structures and establish a truly democratic society, where everyone is recognised under the constitution and can live together freely.

The PYD is a national public political party that believes in social equality, justice and the freedom of belief.

It supports pluralism, the freedom of political parties, implementing a democratic means and a peaceful political dialogue in addressing its issues and achieving its goals.

It is striving for a democratic solution that includes the recognition of cultural, national and political rights. It develops and enhances the peaceful struggle of the Kurdish people for self-governance in a pluralistic, democratic society.

The meeting on 3 December appealed for support for the aims and objectives of the Kurds in Syria:

We urge support for and protection of the peacefully established and self-governed Syrian Kurdish region, which is hosting around 500,000 Syrian refugees who have been fleeing violence elsewhere in the country.

We call for recognition of the right to self-determination for the Kurds, as Syria’s second largest minority, within a plural and democratic constitution.

We urge support for the drawing up of new constitution which recognises the national and cultural rights of the Kurdish people, including the right to speak Kurdish and the opening of schools and universities that teach in Kurdish.

We call for the lifting of all discriminatory policies against the Kurds and that all displaced people are able return, that the citizenship be returned to those from whom it had been stripped by the Assad regime.

We believe that without justice and recognition for the Kurds, Syria will never become a truly democratic and pluralistic society nor will it achieve a lasting peace.

THE KURDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

David Morgan asks what the Kurdish people have to celebrate on International Human Rights’ Day 2012.

The Kurds constitute one of the world’s largest populations without a nation state of their own. This great injustice is the root cause of the abuses and discrimination to which Kurds are still subjected to at the present day. This occurs despite the fact that the Kurds are one of the oldest peoples of the Middle East and can trace their lineage back thousands of years; the first mention of the existence of Kurds is traced to reference to ‘Karduchoi’ made by the classical Greek historian Xenophon in The Expedition of Cyrus.

Today, the actual size of the Kurdish population is very hard to establish because of the difficult circumstances in which the Kurds find themselves, but the number is usually estimated at approximately 40 million. The majority of the communities of Kurds are distributed unevenly between the four states of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. The borders of these contemporary states only came into being following the First World War with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the reshaping of the region by the imperial powers. Britain, France and the US share much of the responsibility for the denial of social, cultural, political and citizenship rights to the Kurds and which is still the condition of existence for the majority of Kurds today.

Despite their common heritage, the historical paths of Kurds have diverged greatly in the 20th and 21st centuries; while, for example, the Kurdish region of Iraq has achieved a strong autonomy and a degree of international diplomatic recognition, the Kurds in Turkey, which is the country where about 20 million of them dwell, are still struggling for basic ‘human rights’ such as the rights to freely make use of their mother tongue in public venues such as education and in the court system; it was not too long ago that the Turkish state defined Kurds as ‘mountain Turks’ and denied their very existence. The national awareness of the Kurdish masses has been mobilised over the last few decades by the political struggle led by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, which was founded by Abdullah Ocalan, and who, despite being jailed by Turkey for 14 years, has continued to be regarded as a national leader by millions of Kurds.

Under pressure from its need to appear as a modern democratic state and motivated by its aim to join the European Union, Turkey has gradually been making reforms but at a very hesitant pace and with many backward steps on the way. The legal and physical persecution of Kurdish organisations, including elected Kurdish politicians, academics, lawyers and people in the media, has gathered pace in recent months with the start of mass trials against Kurds who are accused of supporting terrorism simply by the act of campaigning legally for Kurdish rights. Recently, a mass hunger strike of Kurdish political prisoners demanding improved rights was abandoned after more than sixty days in response to the intervention of Abdullah Ocalan. This episode has taught an important political lesson. Abdullah Ocalan’s role was essential to avert a real crisis in the country; had the hunger strikers been left to die, then serious unrest could have followed. It appears that the Turkish state was left helpless, unable to end the hunger strike alone. This shows very clearly that Ocalan has a key role to play in any future talks towards a peace settlement as the leader and spokesman of the Kurds.

The fate of the Kurds in Turkey is presently closely intertwined with the fate of the Kurds across the border in Syria, where Kurds number about three million. With the onset of the uprising against President Assad’s regime, people in many Kurdish towns in Syria have secured a fragile autonomy and begun to rule their own localities themselves led by the Democratic Union Party, PYD.

These successes in the achievement of Kurdish rights in Syria alarmed Turkey which appears to be intent on covertly undermining the Kurdish gains by provoking conflict with Syrian opposition forces who are receiving material support from Ankara and many of which share the ruling AKP’s Islamist outlook. By contrast, the Kurdish movement remains a largely secular based political organisation. The struggle to achieve the legitimate national and democratic rights of the Kurdish people is therefore a kind of ‘work in progress’ which shows no immediate end in sight.

Ultimately the fortunes of the Kurds are going to be linked to those of the peoples of the Middle East as a whole among whom they share a common geography and related histories. Indeed, proposals have been made by Ocalan for a new Middle East to be reshaped by the principles of democratic autonomy encompassing all the peoples of the region. The preservation and extension of human rights, including cultural and language rights, ultimately depends not only on the fine words enshrined in international law. These rights can best be secured by granting a greater degree of local autonomy and self-governance to the people, including of course, the Kurdish people.

Briefing news and activities in western Kurdistan and Syria 05.12.2012

The People's Council of Kobani provide work for people from Serê Kanîyê-

Since November this year the city of Serê Kanîyê has been bombed by regime forces and the invaded by armed mercenaries associated with the Turkish government. This has lead to deteriorating living conditions and as a result residents have been forced to leave their homes and are now in other Kurdish areas. Many of them have gone to the city of Kobanî. Here the Peoples Council and people in general have provided assistance to these displaced people, they have been provided with housing and also job-opportunities so that they may earn their daily bread
Kurdish Patrols guarding the neighborhoods of Aleppo-

After several bomb attacks were carried out by armed groups targeting Kurds in Aleppo, Afrin and Serê Kanîyê hundreds of young women and men joined the ranks of the Peoples protection Units (YPG) in order to protect their neighborhoods. Kurdish women in the neighborhoods of Ashrafieh and Sheikh Mahsuq not accepting being helpless formed groups and announced that they would join the YPG, they began training one month ago and are now protecting their neighborhoods. These units consisting of only women is the first of its kind in Western Kurdistan and it’s a bold step forward moving away from past traditions that places women in a state of inferiority, in the areas in which these units are active women weren’t even allowed to drive cars .

People's Councils in Hasaka forms patrols guarding the city

In order to preserve and protect their neighborhoods and their families the people of Hasaka have formed patrol units. They patrol at night making sure the neighborhood is peaceful and safe. People of other cities have followed their example and also formed patrol units.

Jenderes, a model of fraternity between Kurds and Arabs

Jenderes is a region in Western Kurdistan characterized by the presence of a mixture of nationalities which forms a beautiful mosaic of people. The vast majority of the population is Kurdish and they are living together with arabs and Christians. It is hard to even tell the difference between nationalities or creed in this town. It is a city of brotherhood.


Patrolling guard forces expell a group of armed people in the neighborhood of Sheikh Mahsuq

On Saturday an armed group randomly opened fire in the neighborhood of Sheikh Mahsuq in order to create panic and chaos. During this shooting they encountered a patrol of Kurdish guards who quickly intervened and expelled them from the neighborhood. During this a member of the civil guards Zakaria Mohamed was injured, he was shot in the jaw and was taken to a hospital where his health condition is now stable.

Residents of Kobani continue to learn their mother tongue

>From the first day of the Syrian Revolution, the Kurdish people moved to undertake the enterprise of teaching Kurdish language, the people began opening schools and institutes for teaching and learning the Kurdish language, hundreds of students have enrolled. Professors and teachers of this area helped in respect. The Foundation for the Kurdish language in Kobani have no distributed certificates that have been granted after examinations at the end of each term.The first school opened in Kobani on 26/09/2011 and was named Martyr Osman School, the Kurdish language is now studied in public schools in Kobani.

Guard patrols of Kobani responsible for the security

After the liberation of the city of Kobani on the 19th of July, many feared that there would be a security and administrative vacuum in the city, but just days after the contrary was proven. The Kurdish people in western Kurdistan proved that they are well capable of organizing and managing themselves. They are responsible for the protection of their community and have formed committees in which public- and social service is administered, they have formed units of brave men and women to protect the all of the peoples living in the Kurdish areas. These units played a a major role in Kobani in terms of protecting public property and keeping civil peace after the liberation of the city.

In surrounding villages of Afrin several shelling occured

Seven Russian-made missiles were launched in Hearoua, the villages of Sugunaki and Kimar, and later next to the village of Conde Mizin, this occurred at 13.00 in the afternoon, causing no injuries. We do not know who fired these. The strong noise of the shells created terror and panic among the people of Kurdish villages in Hearoua, and the loud explosions were heard in the surrounding areas of Hearoua district, especially in the city of Afrin and in Jenderes.

Six civilian Kurds became martyrs after Syrian military aircraft bombed Serê Kanîyê

Correspondent of Firat news agency reported that 6 civilians, including 3 children lost their lives today during the bombing carried out by Syrian MiGs in the city of Serê Kanîyê.

The Syrian regime used prisoners from the Aleppo prison as human shields

Families of detainees in Serê Kanîyê organized a sit-in in the neighborhood of Sheikh Mahsuq to denounce the practices of the Syrian regime against political prisoners and demanding their immediate release.

Derik receives immigrants from Hassake

The suffering of the Syrian people and the Kurds in general as a result of the Syrian crisis worsening day by day, the city of Derik registered the names of citizens displaced from hot areas such as Damascus and Aleppo for the distribution of humanitarian aid to them after the damage done to them as a result of the constant bombardment of the Syrian regime aircraft on their territory. The municipal office was open from 8 in the morning until 14 in the afternoon to receive citizens in order to register them. As a response to their living conditions supplies and other aid is to be provided to them. Municipal officials will make sure that food and medical aid is distributed to the affected families.

The Womens Society honors disabled people in Qamislo ​​

on the occasion of the International Day for the Disabled Kurdish women yesterday organized an afternoon ceremony to honor disabled people who have physical or mental disabilities.

Traders of Hassake provide aid to the people of Serê Kanîyê and to the Peoples protection units (YPG)

Traders in the city of Hassake have launched a campaign as an expression of solidarity and support for the people of the city of Serê Kanîyê and the YPG units that are there to protect the people. The campaign is scheduled to continue on a weekly basis to provide fruit and vegetables for the people of the city of Serê Kanîyê.

Distribution of gas cylinders to the citizens of Serê Kanîyê is secured with the help of the YPG

The peoples Defense Units are helping the people to secure the necessary supplies for parents that have children, they are helping distribution of food, including baby milk, and also gas cylinders. delivered gas cylinders to the Commission on a civilian for the People's Assembly in secret Canet


An Administrative Committee oversees bakery to solve the bread crisis –

Because of the security vacuum that existed in the city of Tel pass before liberation from Baath state system, chaos spread in all institutions in the city. The bakery of the city was under a lack of control and due to this the distribution of bread was often mishandled by bribes in order to obtain larger quantities of bread and sell them at high prices to the citizens who were waiting in line to get bread. A formation of the Joint Management Committee was formed including all the people of the city to oversee the distribution after complaints were made by citizens. The committee will make sure that the organization of the work is fair and that the bread is sold at a normal price to prevent that less privileged citizens go without bread.


Aid by the Syriac Catholics to affected residents of Serê Kanîyê

A delegation from the Syrian Catholic Church provided aid and materials to people which will be distributed by the organization Peoples House. Families that came from the city of Serê Kanîyê were given a place to live in the church. The Syriac Christians turned their Church from a house of worship to a home for many people.

Sources told Firat News Agency that shells used by the regime are contaminated

A source in the hospital in the city of Aleppo, told Firat news agency that more than forty cases of poisoning were found the blood system during treatment of patients in the hospital of Aleppo. It is believed that this poisoning is caused by bacterial materials in the shells that are used by the regime. The source confirmed that the cases have been discovered at the hospital after various exposure to wounds caused by the shelling of residential neighborhoods, many people also lost their lives as a result of the blood poisoning because medical staff had no access to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs caused by bacteria.

Baath Party center in Derik turns into a center for the families of martyrs

After the liberation of the city of Derik from the authority of the Baathist regime the Kurdish cities are organizing themselves. Some of the institutions that under decades were used to plan and exercise chauvinist policies against the Kurdish people have now turned into institutions to maintain Kurdish culture.


Police Guards solve the problem of selling diesel on the black market

It is now winter and the season means increased demand for ethylene gas oil and gasoline heavily, however there is not an abundance of this and some weak people are taking advantage of situation seeing an opportunity to get fuel illegally sell on the black market in order to make a profit. The Police guards of the city of Derik reasons discovered this and intervened immediately to resolve the problem before it worsened because it could pose a serious threat to the city.


Poor medical services in Aleppo

In the Kurdish city of Aleppo people are living in conditions that are fast degrading due to the poor security situation. They are also suffering from poor health care due to the dire terms of services provided to patients, there is a shortage of medicines and doctors have been displaced and are now living in nearby villages, there is also a shortage of gas and electricity which makes it hard to run hospitals.

Humanitarian crisis in Aleppo

The city of Aleppo is suffering an humanitarian crises like many other Syrian cities affected by the horror of fierce fighting between the free and formal armies. This has caused a shortage of bread which is the main source of food for poor families. Due to the shortage an unprecedented rise in the price of bread was noted in recent days.
Syrian warplanes bomb Tel Abiad

The Syrian regimes warplanes attacked the city of Tel Abiad pounding village areas and peasant associations. The regime were attacking elements of the “Front Victory” which were believed to be hiding there. Many of its members were killed and several others were wounded.

Bakeries shut down in Kurdish areas in Aleppo

Most bakeries have stopped producing bread due to the shortage of diesel fuel which are used to operate the furnaces and because of the high prices on the black market. In many Kurdish neighborhoods bakeries were closed despite the fact that flour is available. In a number of these bakeries owners excused their choice by stating that the authorities no longer provided them with subsidized diesel.

The Peoples Council of Qamislo together with institutions of civil society protest

Organized unions and civil society organizations as well as neighborhood councils in the city of Qamishlo protest the blockade imposed on al-Hasakah province in Antria neighborhood.

05.12.2012

PYD leader puts the Kurdish case for achieving peace in Syria

7 December 2012

PYD leader puts the Kurdish case for achieving peace in Syria


Saleh Muslim, co-president of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), addressed a packed room in Westminster on 3 December, at a meeting hosted by Jeremy Corbyn MP and sponsored by Liberation and Peace in Kurdistan campaign.

The meeting brought together members of the British parliament, representatives of the National Coordinating Body for Democratic Change (NCB), the Support Kurds in Syria group and members of Kurdish community organisations and the public, all keen to hear from Mr Muslim and develop stronger support for the Kurds in Syria. The meeting also received apologies from Lord Ashdown, Lord Hylton and Hywel Williams MP among others.

Mr Muslim provided a grave assessment of the ongoing conflict in Syria and its impact on the Kurdish community, which has become critical in recent weeks with armed clashes between rebels in the opposition forces and Kurdish units in towns like Ras al-Ayn.

Furthermore, services have been stretched to their limits with the arrival of more than half a million refugees from other parts of Syria who have been fleeing the violence. This has led to a severe humanitarian crisis in Western Kurdistan, to which the international community has been turning a blind eye.

The PYD’s project of ‘self-protection’, however, which was initiated in 2007 and is now operating in conjunction with other Kurdish parties after recent unification of different factions to form the Kurdish Supreme Council (KSC), has kept Western Kurdistan in relative peace. These civil units have maintained security in Western Kurdistan and protected the gradual development of a functioning Kurdish administration in the area, which includes new language schools that teach Kurdish.

He stated that the PYD was in favour of peaceful democratic change inside Syria and had long been in struggle against the Baathist regime. Unlike Arab citizens of the country, the Kurds had been denied the rights to express their identity and culture. The most recent Kurdish uprising, in 2004, was violently supressed by the ruling regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Mr Muslim made it clear, however, that Syrian Kurds were not only defending themselves against the Syrian government, but against the NATO-backed Turkish government also, which has armed and encouraged opposition militants to provoke clashes on its soil to draw the Kurdish areas into the conflict. Turkey has been lobbying fellow NATO members to have Patriot missile systems stationed along the Turkish-Syrian border, and has since succeeded in this objective.

It is an outrage that the PYD was not even invited to Doha to participate in the formation of the latest incarnation of the Syrian opposition, the Syrian National Coalition, calling into question the legitimacy of attempts to claim that the SNC is the ‘sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people’. The SNC has now been recognised by the governments of the UK, France, Turkey, the Gulf States, and the US.

Turkey’s ‘phobia’ of Kurdish liberation was discussed as one of the principal concerns for both Syrian Kurds and Syria as a nation; Turkey’s own conflict against its substantial Kurdish population has been more violent in the last twelve months than in the last decade, leading to nearly 900 people losing their lives and more than 8,000 Kurdish political prisoners being taken into detention. Turkey’s use of anti-terror legislation to criminalise any legitimate call for political and cultural equality in the country is to blame for this, and is also an obstacle for Syrian Kurds and the PYD, who are repeatedly and erroneously referred to as simply an ‘off shoot of the PKK’ in Turkish and western press. The PYD is the largest supported Kurdish organisation inside Syria and is not a proscribed organisation, unlike the PKK; as Peace in Kurdistan, we would strongly argue that it is the PKK that should be de-listed. Any attempt to ban the PYD should be seen as a cynical political act as well as a total injustice.

Kurdish News Weekly Briefing, 30 November - 6 December 2012

1. New international initiative calls for peace talks
6 December 2012 / Peace in Kurdistan campaign
A new initiative was launched at a press conference on Monday with a call for the reopening of dialogue between the Turkish government and the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. The call, made by Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu, has the support of a number of world leaders.
The International Peace Initiative was launched with statements from South African Judge Essa Moosa and Ngodup Dorjee, representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the joint call was signed by such prominent dignitaries as former President of the USA Jimmy Carter and Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/new-international-initiative-calls-for-peace-talks/

2. No translation, no witness
3 December 2012 / ANF
Despite the Turkish government's claim that "there is no obstacle for defines in mother tongue for people who do not speak Turkish in Turkish courts" an attention grabbing event happened in Mersin. A total of 180 years prison sentence has been asked for six children who have been denied to call a witness. The witness was to give his testimony in Kurdish but the court said there was no translator and so the witness was not able to appear. Defense lawyer Eyüp Sabri Öncel said the decision by the Court was biased "because the witness was going to give evidence in Kurdish and in favour of the defendants".
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5429

3. Court gave unbelievable penalties to 20 students: 590 years imprisonment
6 December 2012 / Dicle News Agency
In the judgement hearing of 21 students of them 8 arrested, the court board gave extraordinary imprisonment penalties to the students that were judged with the claims of being in DYGM (Democratic Patriotic Youth Council). The court board gave dozens years of imprisonment and extracted arrest decision to 10 other students. 20 students were sentenced to 590 years 9 months imprisonment penalty and 36 thousands tl money penalty. The judgement hearing of 21 students of them 8 arrested, who were judged since the operations made on 19 March 2010 in Antalya, was held in Izmir 10th High Penalty Courthouse. The arrested students and their lawyers stood by in the hearing. As it’s known, the DYGM (Democratic Patriotic Youth Council) is a youth organization under the body of the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party).
http://www.diclehaber.com/2/1001/viewNews/332436

4. Turkey police clash with Kurdish protesters at funeral ceremony
2 December 2012 / Press TV
Turkey’s police have clashed with hundreds of Kurds in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir as they tried to hold a funeral ceremony for two Kurdish militants. The violence broke out on Sunday after police disrupted the funeral ceremony for two militants, who were killed during clashes with the Turkish army. Witnesses say security forces used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd and that at least two protesters were injured during the clashes. Several protesters were also arrested. Ankara has launched a full-scale military operation against the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) southeast of the country.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/02/275815/turkey-police-attack-kurdish-protesters/ <http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/02/275815/turkey-police-attack-kurdish-protesters/>

5. Imprisoned Journalists Are Not Alone
30 November 2012 / Bianet
Journalists, journalist associations and human rights advocates were in solidarity with the imprisoned journalists in April – May – June 2012. The associations followed the hearings, visited the imprisoned journalists and protested the trials.
During the BIA Media Monitoring and Freedom of Expression April-May-June 2012 reporting period, human rights associations, freedom of expression advocates and professional media associations protested the detention and arrest of journalists. Throughout the period, the associations followed the hearings, visited many prisons, and protested the Anti-Terror Law and the Specially Authorized Courts. They made statements about the judicial reform and freedom of press and expression. They published reports.
http://www.bianet.org/english/other/142496-imprisoned-journalists-are-not-alone

6. Kurdish-Iraqi government talks collapse amid fear of civil war
30 November 2012 / The Christian Science Monitor
Talks between Kurdish and central government forces aimed at defusing military tension in northern Iraq have collapsed amid fears that bitter political divisions are again bringing the country to the brink of civil war.
The talks in Baghdad between Iraqi and Kurdish military commanders brokered by a three-star American general broke down on Thursday, two days after the prime minister announced both sides had agreed on pulling back forces in part of the disputed areas. Officials on Friday said there were no new talks scheduled.
Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani, who has described deployment of Iraqi forces as a plot against the Kurds, accused the Iraqi prime minister of reneging on the agreement and vowed that Kurdish forces would deter Baghdad’s “militarism.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/1130/Kurdish-Iraqi-government-talks-collapse-amid-fear-of-civil-war


7. Turkey’s Kurdish Impasse: The View From Diyarbakır
1 December 2012 / Eurasia Review
Though battered economically, socially and politically for decades, the city and province of Diyarbakır could offer hope for Turks and Kurds who want to live together, if Ankara can refocus its policies on creating a more equal, democratic Turkey. Turkey’s Kurdish Impasse: The View from Diyarbakır, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the country’s biggest Kurdish-majority city and province in light of the main issues underlying the Kurdish problem and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) insurgency: mother language, local government and identity and political representation. “The armed conflict is more violent than ever before in the past decade and has killed over 870 people since June 2011”, says Didem Collinsworth, Crisis Group’s Turkey/Cyprus Analyst.
http://www.eurasiareview.com/01122012-turkeys-kurdish-impasse-the-view-from-diyarbakir/

8. Democratic Autonomy: a model for the Middle East
6 December 2012 / ANF
The 9th international conference on "The European Union, Turkey and Kurds" continues at the European Parliament in Brussels with a panel called "Middle East at the cross-roads: Whose regional order?". Democratic Union Party (PYD) co-chair Saleh Muslim, journalists Cengiz Çandar and Serdar Akinan, Dutch academic Joost Jongerden, Israeli academic Ofra Benngo and Democratic Society Congress (DTK) co-chair Aysel Tuğluk were among the speakers taking the floor today. PYD co-chair Saleh Muslim said the followings in his speech on Thursday morning; "We Kurds want to be the soldiers of ourselves, not others'. The autonomy project consists of not only Kurds but also Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Alewis and all other belief groups. Democratic autonomy is the only model of solution for the West Kurdistan territory."
http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5443

9. NATO establishes Allied Land Command in Turkey
30 November 2012 / Examiner
A new ground forces command has been established in the Turkish province of Izmir, in the western region of the country. According to NATO, it is a part of an effort to update NATO's ground forces command structure. NATO Supreme Commander U.S. Admiral James Stavridis was on hand to dedicate the commissioning of the new command, which will be known as Allied Land Command. U.S. General Frederick Ben Hodges will be its first commander. Adm. Stavridis pointed out the geographic location of Turkey vis-a-vis Europe and Asia as a factor in the decision to base the new command in Izmir. The new command is the succeeding organization to NATO's Land Component Command which was based in Spain. Gen. Hodges took the occasion to reiterate that the pending deployment of Patriot missiles in Turkey is meant only for defense and not to create a no-fly zone inside Syria.
http://www.examiner.com/article/nato-establishes-allied-land-command-turkey

10. Turkey protests PKK book presentation in Athens
30 November 2012 / Reuters
Turkey protested on Friday against the presentation of a book by a Kurdish militant leader in Athens, saying it undermined friendship efforts between the long-standing regional rivals. Greece and Turkey have a history of enmity which has brought them to the brink of war on several occasions, most recently in 1996. Relations have since warmed with natural disasters in both countries bringing the two NATO allies closer.
Ankara, however, reacted angrily to the presentation of a book in the Greek capital's War Museum written by Murat Karayilan, the de-facto leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who is sought by Interpol.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/30/greece-turkey-pkk-idUSL5E8MU85620121130

11. Kurdish party conveys solidarity message on Tamil Eelam Heroes Day
30 November 2012 / Tamil Net
“History of the world has been full of clashes between the occupiers and the occupied. As a result of struggles, resistances and sacrifices more of the occupied people have been liberated and the fascist and chauvinist occupiers are being destroyed successively,” writes Mr. Rehman Haci Ehmedi, the Secretary General of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), in a solidarity message sent to the Eezham Tamil nation on the occasion of Heroes Day. In a note sent to TamilNet via Rojhelat.info on Thursday, Mr. Ehmedi, who is the highest authority in the PJAK, drawing parallels between the struggle of the Kurds and the Tamils, urged the Eezham Tamil nation to continue the struggle, “In the hope of revitalization of the heroic nation of Tamil Eelam, in the hope of triumphant and freedom for the resolute and revolutionary nation of Tamil Eelam; never rest unless triumphing!”
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=35803

12. PYD: On the Ground Activities in West Kurdistan
5 December 2012 / Rojhelat
People in the cities of Western Kurdistan has expressed solidarity with their brethrens in Serê Kanîyê. In Kobanî doctors and pharmacists have expressed their support by declaring that they will provide medicine and healthcare to the people of Serê Kanîyê and if the need arises also form field hospitals.
Qamishlo – the role and influence of the people on its society has been institutionalized by the Peoples Council. In all cities of Western Kurdistan a wave of democratic change has come and at its forefront is the Peoples Council which allows the people to organize and distribute public goods, service and social welfare to the inhabitants of Western Kurdistan regardless of nationality or religion.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=4580

13. Syrian Kurds Suspicious Of Islamic Militants, Turkey
5 December 2012 / Al Monitor
The relationship between the Syrian opposition factions and Kurdish groups is still precarious, despite the efforts on both sides to bridge the gap that is widening by the day, to the extent that they started to hurl accusations of ethnic intolerance at one another. The tension is growing even greater amid a rift within the ranks of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) regarding the issue of the Kurds. Some FSA members see the Kurds as a major player in Syrian popular movements, while others perceive them as mortal enemies that collude with the regime. There is also a third group within the FSA that prefers to keep its distance from this issue. In the last two cases, one must pay heed to the hidden engine of change behind these positions, which is Turkey. Turkey is mobilizing its forces on the border, while some Kurds accuse it of facilitating the transportation of the fighters to the areas they control.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2012/12/syrian-rebels-kurds-trade-accusations.html

14. Syrian Kurds Keep Eye on Country's Oil
1 December 2012 / Rudaw
The oil fields in the resource-rich province of Hasaka account for more than half of Syria’s 370,000 barrels a day. Although Hasaka is 60 percent Kurdish, the Kurds have not benefited from the oil. Syrian Kurds hope to profit from the oil in the future like the Iraqi Kurds were able to. However, most Syrian Kurdish parties have yet to put in place a plan for what to do about it. Both the Democratic Unity Party (PYD) and Kurdish National Council (KNC) confirm that they have not discussed the issue during negotiations, unlike the Iraqi Kurds who managed to attract many foreign companies after the fall of Saddam Hussein. According to a report by the Turkish think tank ORSAM, despite the fact that Hasaka is the richest part of Syria in terms of oil resources, there is no investment in the area due to government policies. In addition, says the report, “Arabs were placed within the Kurdish population through strategic projects and an aim to establish a demographic balance.”
http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/5491.html