A new EDM has been tabled in Parliament by Jeremy Corbyn MP calling on the government to acknowledge that the ongoing peace talks between the Turkish government and Kurdish leader, Abdullah Ocalan, offer the best prospect for a peaceful and political resolution to the conflict. It also urges them torevise its counter terrorism strategy and proscription of the PKK in order to remove one obstacle in the negotiation process.
It is important to continue to pressure the UK government to acknowledge that by keeping the PKK on the terrorism list, they are blocking the possibility of the two sides of this conflict negotiating as equal partners. This EDM is one way of doing that.
Now we need you to get in touch with your MP and urge them to sign the EDM! You can find out more about how to do this here:
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/activities/parliamentary-lobbying/
It is important to continue to pressure the UK government to acknowledge that by keeping the PKK on the terrorism list, they are blocking the possibility of the two sides of this conflict negotiating as equal partners. This EDM is one way of doing that.
Now we need you to get in touch with your MP and urge them to sign the EDM! You can find out more about how to do this here:
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/activities/parliamentary-lobbying/
1. PKK will be out by the end of June, says BDP
26 May 2013 / HurriyetThe withdrawal of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants will be completed by the end of June, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş has said. “If we take this schedule into consideration, in order to realize the democratic reforms Parliament may have to work instead of taking a long leave,” Demirtaş told reporters May 25, on the sidelines of a BDP conference. “As we are debating the resolution of such a critical problem, the Parliament might work on legal reforms, or the [drafting of a new] Constitution,” he added.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pkk-will-be-out-by-the-end-of-june-says-bdp.aspx?pageID=238&nID=47643&NewsCatID=338
2. Democracy and Peace Conference opens today
25 May 213 / ANFBDP (Peace and Democracy Party) Istanbul deputy and HDK (People's Democratic Congress) executive member Sebahat Tuncel spoke to DİHA about the two-day "Democracy and Peace Conference" to take place in Ankara on 25-26 May.
The conference has been organized by HDK as part of the four conferences Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan proposed as a necessity for the ongoing process of talks aimed at a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question. Öcalan said the conferences were of importance in terms of highlighting the opinions and proposals of all relevant circles about the resolution process.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/democracy-and-peace-conference-opens-today.htm
3. Demirtaş: BDP to have another meeting with Öcalan soon
29 May 2013 / ANFPeace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş met Stefan Füle, European Parliament commissioner for enlargement, and Martin Schulz, president of the EU, in the Belgium capital of Brussels.Speaking to Nuçe TV after the meetings with EU officials, Demirtaş evaluated the current situation in the resolution process aimed at a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question.Demirtaş said the first stage of the three-phased process Kurdish leader Öcalan initiated has been achieved to a significant extend by now. BDP co-chair pointed out that the Kurdish side, KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) and HPG (People's Defense Forces), have done their part in a serious and disciplined way so far. He remarked that the government's side has also taken some steps which he commented as important but still not at a desired level.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/demirtas-bdp-to-have-another-meeting-with-ocalan-soon.htm
4. Roboski demonstrators sentenced to 37 years in prison
28 May 2013 /ANFSix people who joined a protest demo condemning the Roboski massacre in the Ortaklar town, in the western province of Aydın, have each been sentenced to 37 years and 25 days in prison. Five of the six people have been remanded in custody since the protest demo on 30 December 2011, for allegedly spreading propaganda for an illegal organization and damaging public property, also accused of throwing stone to police and burning Turkish flags.
İzmir 10th High Criminal Court grounded the prison sentence on the accusations directed by police officers, in spite of the reports by two separate expert delegations that couldn't identify the suspects on the security footage they examined.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/roboski-demonstrators-sentenced-to-37-years-in-prison.htm 5. Worldwide Right Organizations Meet in Istanbul
24 May 2013 / BianetBringing together 156 organizations from more than 120 countries, 38th International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Congress kicked off yesterday with the keynote addresses of Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay and FIDH President Souhayr Belhassen. Between May 23 and 24, participant are to discuss and exchange views on a current theme: "Human Rights and Democratic Transitions: Experiences and Challenges".“Human rights constitute the spirit of democratic culture,” Atalay said.
“Human rights is the very basis of our civilization. Back in the 13th century, Rumi said: ‘The violation of individual rights is the violation of the rights of all humanity.’ He also said: ‘There is no servant or slave. All humans are brothers.’ Yunus Emre also invited everyone to peace in the name of human dignity,” he said.
Emphasizing on the motto “Live up the people so the state will”, Atalay said. “People come first and the state is for the people.”
http://www.bianet.org/english/world/146900-worldwide-right-organizations-meet-in-istanbul 6. Iraqi Kurds Call For Turkey To Release Ocalan
23 May 2013 / Al MonitorFollowing the implementation of the ongoing peace process in Turkey, along with the arrival of the first members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to the Iraqi Kurdistan Region on May 14, Kurds in Iraq have begun to pressure Turkey to release PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence in the Turkish Imrali prison. Iraqi Kurds have launched a campaign to collect 5 million signatures (currently there are 60,000) and submit them to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Europe. During recent years, the Iraqi Kurdistan region has witnessed numerous similar campaigns, but none of them gained the support of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq and of Kurdish political leaders, except for this campaign, which was signed on to by high-level figures in the KRG and its parliament.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/iraqi-kurds-pressure-turkey-ocalan-release-pkk.html
7. PKK backs none of Syria war sides: Murat Karayilan
29 May 2013 / KurdpressThe chief of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leading council Murat Karayilan said the militant party will back neither the Syrian government nor the rebels in the country’s civil war. Speaking with T25’s Hassan Cemal, Karayilan said the PKK forces will not back the two sides of the war adding that the PKK forces are following a third line and that’s the path of democracy and freedom.
“Yes, there exists. Democratic Union Party (PYD) has more than 10 thousand military forces in the north of Syria. A small local parliament has been established to control the cities and villages,” Karayilan said in answering a Cemal’s question if a Kurdistan Region, like the one in the north of Iraq, has been established in the north of Syria.
A new political, organizational system has been established which is quite different from the way Kurdistan Region of Iraq is governed, he said.
http://tinyurl.com/okvxecr
8. Turkish writer Elif Şafak wants to translate her books into Kurdish
24 May 2013 / Armenian LifeThe well-known Turkish writer Elif Şafak, whose books have been translated into more than 40 languages of the world, expressed her discontent that her books had not their Kurdish versions. As reported by Armenpress, this was published by the Turkish Demokrathaber.net. “My compatriots, having Turkish passports and living in my country, cannot find my books in their language”, – said the Turkish writer. Elif Şafak stated as well that the state should not avoid form the Kurdish language. Learning Kurdish will not weaken the state, but will strengthen it.
http://www.armenianlife.com/2013/05/24/turkish-writer-elif-safak-wants-to-translate-her-books-into-kurdish/
9. Syria Kurds agreed over differences: official tells Kurdpress
29 May 2013 / KurdpressThe Kurdish parties of Syria agreed on Monday over the disputes that threatened a conflict among them. Speaking to Kurdpress news agency, al- Party political bureau member, Muhammad Ismaeil, said the Kurdish parties agreed in a Monday meeting in Qamishlo over differences. “Fruitful results were achieved in Qamishlo. High Council of Syria Kurds, National Society Front and West Society parties are due to meet in Erbil and put an end to the disputes,” he said, adding that the parties agreed on forming a new joint Kurdish forces. The forces will have a different name and will not carry the name of People’s Defense Units (YPG), the military branch of Democratic Union Party (PYD), a side of the dispute among the Kurdish parties. It is worth mentioning that Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani ordered the closing of the region’s border with Syria after tensions between PYD, affiliated with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Pro- Barzani party of al-Party.
http://tinyurl.com/nwal4x6
10. Syria Kurds want to take part in Geneva peace talks
26 May 2013 / Ahram OnlineSyrian Kurds, long oppressed under President Bashar al-Assad's regime, said Sunday they want to take part in a mooted Geneva peace conference.
A meeting of Syria's main opposition National Coalition in Istanbul remained in deadlock Sunday over participation in the talks and the inclusion of new members.
However Syria's Kurds, who make up about 15 percent of the population, said they wanted to take part even if they did so independently.
"We want to go, either as members of the Coalition or (independently) as representatives of the Supreme Kurdish Council," Sherwan Ibrahim, of Syria's PYD (Democratic Union Party) said on the sidelines of the talks.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/72369/World/Region/Syria-Kurds-want-to-take-part-in-Geneva-peace-talk.aspx
11. Kurdish political parties united in Brussels 25 May 2013 / Ararat News (ANP) Over 200 delegates, representatives of Kurdish and Kurdistani political parties, organisations and guests from four parts of Kurdistan and Diaspora joined in the 13th Congress of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) in the European Union’s capital Brussels. Representatives from different political groups supported strongly the unity of all Kurdistani people and the ongoing peace dialogue with Turkey. Congress ask UN, US, EU and Russia to respect and recognise the fundamental rights of Kurds and people of Kurdistan.
http://www.araratnews.com/nuce.php?aid=698
12. KNK approved final declaration
29 may 2013 / ANFKurdistan National Congress (KNK) has released the final declaration of the 13th KNK General Meeting which took place in the Belgium capital of Brussels on 25-26 May.
The meeting was attended by some 200 delegates, representatives of 35 organizations and parties as well as of 50 institutions and establishments from four part of Kurdistan.
The declaration of the general meeting, where KNK prepared its work schedule for the coming period, listed the following points as to the decisions KNK made during the meeting for the coming period.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/knk-approved-final-declaration.htm
13. The Peace and Democracy Conference to meet in Brussels
29 May 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan CampaignDuring the historic process that we are going through, an opportunity for a lasting peace has been created that lays the foundation for a free and democratic future for all our peoples. This period marks a turning point for the future for everyone.
We believe that the achievement of an enduring democracy is a common demand of everyone. In this context, we believe that all people, regardless of their ethnic origins, religion, language, culture, history and class positions, will carry out their historic responsibilities. The peoples living in Europe who can trace their origins to Turkey and Kurdistan are a fundamental part of this process. All the peoples and religious groups who have suffered massacres, exile and have been cut off from their lands as a result of the repressive policies of the Turkish Republic must be involved in this process and put forward their own demands.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/05/29/the-peace-and-democracy-conference-to-meet-in-brussels/
14. Experts at New York Conference Optimistic Over Turkey-PKK Peace
10 May 2013/ RudawTurkey is engaged in a historic opportunity for peace with its own Kurds and those beyond its borders, and a sign of the emerging relationship are Ankara’s growing ties with Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region, according to experts at a conference in New York.Eminent speakers, commenting in panel discussions at Columbia University’s Organization for the Advancement of Studies of Inner Eurasian Societies (OASIES), praised talks between Ankara and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whose first fruits are an ongoing withdrawal of fighters from Turkey. “If Ankara can successfully solve this problem, it will not only build a partnership with some 17 million Kurds in Turkey, but also with five million in Iraq and two million Kurds in Syria too,” noted the University of Kentucky’s Professor Robert Olson, who has written several well-known books about the Kurds.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/10052013
15. Archbishop Tutu wins Templeton Prize
28 May 2013 / Peace in Kurdistan CampaignPeace in Kurdistan campaign was delighted to hear that Archbishop Desmond Tutu was recently awarded the Templeton Prize, which is offered yearly to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to our vision of human purpose and spirituality.
We wrote to Archbishop Tutu to congratulate him on the award, and to express our appreciation for his outspoken commitment to the cause for Kurdish justice over the years, for example through his participation in the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), and his recent support for the International Peace Initiative, which was launched last December with a call from the Archbishop for peace talks to resume.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/archbishop-tutu-wins-templeton-prize/
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
16. Remove the PKK From the Terror List
21 May 2013 / Huffington PostPresident Barack Obama and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a daunting agenda when they met at the White House last week. The Syria crisis was top of the list. The peace process between Turkey and the PKK was also a priority. The United States can help address both problems by removing the PKK from its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). Sequencing is important. Delisting the PKK should occur at a time when it has maximum impact on events in Syria, as well as Turkey's domestic peace process.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-l-phillips/pkk-terror-group-status_b_3289311.html
17. Turkish-Kurdish Leader Cautious, Hopeful on Peace Plan
23 May 2013 / Al Monitor“I have been to Washington numerous times before, but this time feels different,” Ahmet Turk, a pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) member said on May 22 in Washington at a small gathering of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “I get a sense in this visit that Kurds are for the first time really recognized as an actor in Middle East politics. [US officials] wanted to learn about our opinions on this and that issue, which suggested Kurds are now regarded as a factor in discussions concerning Turkey and the Middle East.”
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/turkey-kurdish-issue-key-regional-stability.html
18. Ahmet Turk interview: It is Time for World to See That Kurds Are Not an Obstacle to Peace
28 May 2013 / RudawThe United States now understands that a democratic Middle East is not possible without the Kurds, according to the co-founder of Turkey’s Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). Ahmet Turk, whose Kurdish party played a key role in a historic peace process between Ankara and the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), said that he had asked the Americans to observe the peace process in Turkey and play an active and encouraging role. Rudaw spoke to Turk during his visit to Washington last week, when he met with State Department and White House officials. Here is his full interview.
http://rudaw.net/english/interview/27052013
19. Turkish-Kurdish Peace: It Is Different This Time
22 May 2013 / Huffington PostFollowing the PKK's offer a ceasefire in March, those living in Turkey are beginning to wonder if there is hope for peace now. The PKK has declared a ceasefire quite a few times in the past. On previous occasions this did not lead to any meaningful peace process. Is it any different this time? Arriving at a peaceful settlement will take some time and will require a great deal of honesty as well as transparency. But the short answer is yes, this time it is different and there is reason to be hopeful for peace. One of the reasons is that Turkish government seem willing to listen to the PKK for the first time in this decades-long conflict. Over the years, Turkey has refused to recognise the PKK and its leader as a party to negotiate peace.http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/professor-ibrahim-sirkeci/turkey_b_3318697.html
20. The Kurdish momentum in the Middle East
26 May 2013 / Jerusalem PostWriting in the aftermath of the 1990 Gulf war about the Kurds of Iraq, Turkey and Iran, David McDowall was quite pessimistic about the prospects of Kurdish nationalism, saying: “One must doubt whether Kurdish nationalism can ever prevail against three hostile governments willing to apply ruthless methods to contain the challenge.” Paradoxically enough, McDowall’s assumptions were based on his intimate knowledge of Kurdish history, which taught him that the 20th century was indeed one of the worst periods in the Kurdish people’s annals. However, events at the turn of the 21st century tell a different story: The convergence of regional and international transformations together with the crystallization of a strong national movement in Greater Kurdistan made the crucial difference between the two eras.
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/The-Kurdish-momentum-in-the-Middle-East-314440 <http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/The-Kurdish-momentum-in-the-Middle-East-314440>
21. Kurdish guards fear for jobs and lives when Turkey and PKK make peace
22 May 2013 / GuardianSitting in front of a small stone cabin on top of a hill overlooking green valleys, with the snow-capped Hakkari mountain range in the background, two men in camouflage uniforms are busy making tea. An AK-47 leans against the wall. "We are optimistic about the peace process, but we are worried about what will become of us," said Mustafa Can.
His anxiety stems from his 12 years as a foot soldier in Turkey's "village guard" system, a huge force of mainly Kurdish paramilitaries created almost 30 years ago by the Turkish state to patrol Kurdish settlements of the south-east. With the conflict winding down and a young and fragile peace process under way between Ankara and the rebel fighters of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' party, the fate of the units is one of the biggest issues in the long-running Turkish-Kurdish conflict.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/22/turkey-kurds-guards-peace <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/22/turkey-kurds-guards-peace>
22. Turkey's Kurdish Arithmetic
29 May 2013 / ForbesOf all the variables that dictate the fate of nations, demography might just be the most decisive. The pace of populations—how they grow, change and decline—helps shape a country’s political outlook, its internal makeup, and its place in the world. It can also provide useful insights into a nation’s foreign policy priorities.
Turkey is a case in point. In late April, TurkStat, Turkey’s official statistics agency, released its latest survey of the country’s population. That study found that the national fertility rate, at 2.08, remains more or less stable. The trend, however, isn’t uniform. In the country’s west, birth rates generally fall significantly below the 2.1 live births per woman needed for “replenishment.” Births in Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated southeast, by contrast, are significantly higher. In other words, Turkey’s Kurdish minority is growing, while the rest of the country is not.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ilanberman/2013/05/29/turkeys-kurdish-arithmetic/
23. Turkey’s Chaldeans Heed Erdogan’s Call for Minorities to Return
23 May 2013 / Al MonitorThe first to respond to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s call for Turkey’s non-Muslims to return to their homes with the launching of the peace process were the Chaldeans. They are coming back to their villages in Silopi. In the Silopi district of the Sirnak province, a new Chaldean village is rising. The Chaldeans, who emigrated from the village of Silopi in 1991, following clashes in the region, are returning to their homeland. Until now, 27 Christian Chaldean families who were living abroad have applied to return to their villages. Petros Karatay, a Chaldean who emigrated from Silopi to France, said that they are now working on resurrecting Aksu, the second largest village of the Silopi district. Karatay said their village was expropriated by Turkish coal companies between 1980 and 1990, and they were allocated new lands for their villages by the government.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/culture/2013/05/turkish-chaldeans-return-erdogan-peace-process-kurds.html
24. Is it the end of Sykes-Picot?
23 May 2013 / London Review of BooksFor the first two years of the Syrian civil war foreign leaders regularly predicted that Bashar al-Assad’s government would fall any day. In November 2011, King Abdullah of Jordan said that the chances of Assad’s surviving were so slim he ought to step down. In December last year, Anders Rasmussen, the Nato secretary general, said: ‘I think the regime in Damascus is approaching collapse.’ Even the Russian Foreign Ministry – which generally defends Assad – has at times made similar claims. Some of these statements were designed to demoralise Assad’s supporters by making his overthrow seem inevitable. But in many cases outsiders genuinely believed that the end was just round the corner. The rebels kept claiming successes, and the claims were undiscriminatingly accepted.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n11/patrick-cockburn/is-it-the-end-of-sykes-picot
25. Turkey and Syria’s Kurds Edging Toward an Uneasy Peace?
28 May 2013 / Al MonitorAs debate continues over Turkey’s controversial Syrian policy, its uneasy relationship with Syria’s Kurds, a crucial element in the equation, goes largely unnoticed. Deadly clashes between the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the most powerful Syrian Kurdish group, and jihadist militias in the mostly Kurdish Syrian towns of Afrin and Tir Tamar that erupted on May 25, will likely change this. Media outlets sympathetic to the PYD suggest that Turkey, together with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), its chief Iraqi Kurdish ally, are prodding the conflict.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/turkey-syrian-kurds-uneasy-peace.html <http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/turkey-syrian-kurds-uneasy-peace.html>
26. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s Visit to Washington and Its Impact on Syrian Crisis
29 May 2013 / Jamestown FoundationOn May 16, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Washington with four issues on his agenda: the crisis in Syria; the future of Turkish-Israeli relations; Turkish-Iraqi relations, in which the Kurdish question and energy issues were the top priority; and a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the United States and Turkey. The Syria crisis apparently overshadowed the other three issues, however.
http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=40953&tx_ttnews[backPid]=7&cHash=9800241c4459e8dd97a7563b51333314
27. Uneasy reflection of a post-Ottoman order
21 May 2013 / Gulf NewsConfirmation last week that Turkey plans to buy into the oil and gas wealth of the self-governing Kurdish region of northern Iraq has led to warnings — most stridently from the US — that Ankara is gambling with the break-up of Iraq. Indeed. But there is more at stake than that. Drop a rock in any pool in this febrile region — now hyperconnected in all the wrong ways — and the ripples will reach every shore.
In Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government and the national authorities in Baghdad are nowhere near a pact for sharing the country’s potentially huge oil revenues, much less a working model of federal power-sharing — with the Baghdad government of Nouri Al Maliki, a Shiite aligned with Iran, invariably favouring sect and faction above state and nation.
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/uneasy-reflection-of-a-post-ottoman-order-1.1186653
28. Iraq vows action against Kurdistan crude sales
24 May 2013 / Arab NewsIraq has vowed to take legal action against companies to halt Kurdistan's crude oil sales to Turkey. "Any oil that is taken out of the country and payments not made to the Iraqi people through the central government is considered to be taking Iraq's national wealth," said Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Hussain Al-Shahristani.
"There are a number of means the Iraqi government is considering, and any responsible government would have the same priority to protect the wealth of the people," said the deputy prime minister, who is also an adviser to the prime minister on energy matters and was attending a conference. Crude exports from the Taq Taq oil field in the autonomous northern region of Kurdistan to Turkey's Mersin port started at a trickle in early January and have risen to just over 40,000 barrels per day (bpd). They are expected to hit around 60,000 bpd by the end of June as trucks unload at the neighboring Dortyol terminal in southern Turkey.
http://www.arabnews.com/news/452770
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