1. Turkey's pro-Kurdish parties 'to merge soon'
19 April 2014 / World BulletinTurkey's pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party has said it will merge with the Peace and Democracy Party in the near future. The People's Democracy Party (HDP) and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) are both politically linked, with candidates running for office under the HDP banner in Turkey’s western provinces and candidates running under the BDP banner in the east. HDP co-chairman Ertugrul Kurkcu told Anadolu Agency on Friday: "We've decided deputies to be represented under HDP group in the parliament by transferring the BDP deputies to the HDP." "We will make a decision separately ... but it will not be too late."
http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/134136/turkeys-pro-kurdish-parties-to-merge-soon<http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/134136/turkeys-pro-kurdish-parties-to-merge-soon>
2. Kürkçü: HDP will be a common voice for everyone
24 April 2014 / ANFIn a statement about BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) deputies' joining the HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party), HDP co-chair Ertuğrul Kürkçü said the merging of the two parties had actually been decided before the local elections on 30 March.
Kürkçü explained that the merge will happen only now, after the elections, because some deputies of the BDP wanted to take part in the elections in Kurdistan within their party as they believed it would be difficult to have masses adopt a new emblem, a new logo and a new party identity in the electoral campaigning process.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/kurkcu-hdp-will-be-a-common-voice-for-everyone.htm
3. Banned Kurdish politician returns to Turkey
17 April 2014 / World BulletinYasar Kaya, the 76-year-old writer and founder of the Kurdish Democracy Party (DEP), is returning to Turkey on Thursday from Germany, as an arrest warrant in Turkey was lifted after 21 years. Kaya told the Anadolu Agency while boarding his plane in Frankfurt on Thursday, "We always support peace." Kaya thanked the solution process, initiated by the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party which aims at establishing long-lasting peace in southeastern Turkey, for leading to his return. Mentioning his days in exile, Kaya said, "Exile is like an open air prison. The months and years of longing and nostalgia have worn me out. If there was no solution process, we could not return to Turkey because there was an arrest warrant remaining over our heads."
http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/133993/banned-kurdish-politician-returns-to-turkey<http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/133993/banned-kurdish-politician-returns-to-turkey>
4. Erdogan confirms ‘aid’ to Turkish military post inside Syria
23 April 2014 / HurriyetA Turkish convoy has carried “aid” into Syria, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on April 23, responding to claims that Turkish forces have started an operation against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) near the tomb of Süleyman Shah, which sits 25 kilometers from the border and remains under Turkish sovereignty under a 1921 treaty. “Right now, the issue is not about ISIL. The job of our convoy there is to transfer aid to the Süleyman Shah tomb. Our friends in charge are continuing the effort,” Erdoğan told journalists after hosting primary school students in Ankara for national Children’s Day.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogan-confirms-aid-to-turkish-military-post-inside-syria.aspx?pageID=238&nID=65477&NewsCatID=352
5. KCK condemns digging of ditches
22 April 2014 / Kurdish InfoThe Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council Co-Presidency has released a statement against the ditches simultaneously being dug by the AKP and South Kurdistan governments on Rojava border for some time now.
The KCK pointed out that the digging of ditches aimed to break the democratic will of the people of Rojava where – it noted – Kurdish, Arab, Armenian and Syriac peoples have declared democratic autonomy by means of their own will and organized struggle, thus setting a leading example for all the oppressed ethnic and belief groups in the Middle East. Remarking that the people of Rojava do neither attack the lands of others nor bear hostility against them, KCK said the people in West Kurdistan defended their lands and built their democratic administration, adding that the Kurdish movement will always stand by Rojava as it continues to resist.
http://www.kurdishinfo.com/kck-condemns-digging-ditches
6. ISIS has been defeated in Syrian Kurdistan's Kobane - Part II: YPG General Commander
19 April 2014 / eKurdIn an interview with ANF, Kurdish YPG (People's Defense Units) General Commander Sipan Hemo stated that their forces have repulsed the attacks of the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) in Kobanê in Syrian Kurdistan, underlining that this heavy defeat will lead ISIS to extinction. Hemo remarked that YPG forces have defeated the ISIS as the people of Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) are resisting against the ditches dug at the border.
What happened to the attackers, where are they now?These attacks which were carried out with the aim of strangling the Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) revolution from four-sides has been entirely unsuccessful. The plan didn’t work. The attacks which began March 10th continued to increase every day. We experienced the most violent clashes we have witnessed in the course of the Rojava revolution March 18th and 19th right before Newroz in Arab villages in the Sirrin region. We fought here for 9 days without pause.
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/4/syriakurd1146.htm<http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/4/syriakurd1146.htm>
7. 11 killed in suicide attacks in Rojava
April 2014 / The Kurdish QuestionThe YPG Press Centre reports that 11 people were killed and 11 wounded in two car bomb attacks carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ayn) district of West Kurdistan.
The first attack targeted a YPG centre on the outskirts of Serêkaniyê, followed by a second attack in the Tel Halaf district 4 kilometres away which targeted the police station. According to the YPG Press Centre, one YPG fighter was killed in the first attack, while 4 police and 6 civilians were killed in the second attack. 11 people, including children, were wounded in the two attacks.
http://www.kurdishquestion.com/west-kurdistan/news/11-killed-in-suicide-attacks-in-rojava.html
8. Mihemed: UN To Begin Work In Rojava
23 April 2014 / Rojava ReportA new report compiled by Bahoz Deniz for ANF says that the UN will begin operations in Rojava. Deniz spoke with Sinem Mihemed, the co-President of the Rojava People’s Assembly (MGRK), who explained that the decision was taken after high-level meetings with a UN committee and aims at developing local procedures in conjunction with the Canton governments and providing humanitarian aid.
Mihemed explained that the Canton governments had made contact with UN channels in Europe, and these contacts resulted in a high-level UN committee meeting with representatives of the Rojava governments on April 5th in the Turkish city of Antep, saying “we had meetings before with UN officials in Norway. They asked whether or not we wanted UN help for Rojava. We said that we accepted
http://rojavareport.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/mihemed-un-to-begin-work-in-rojava/
9. Rojava Kurds held conference at European Parliament
17 April 2014 / ANFRepresentatives of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) held a press conference prior to the session to take place at the European Parliament to handle "the situation of the people in Syria left without any defense" today. The opening speech of the conference, moderated by EP Left group press secretary Gay Kavanagh, was held by Kurds Friendship Group president Jürgen Klute who underlined that the Kurdish region in Syria, Rojava, was relatively stable when compared with other regions in the country, and that this stability has been achieved thanks to the PYD and the YPG (People's Defense Units). Drawing attention to the attacks of radical Islamists against Rojava, and to the relentless war in Syria, Klute noted that these armed gangs, Salafis being in the first place, attacked everyone except themselves.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/rojava-kurds-held-conference-at-european-parliament.htm
10. Syrian refugee crisis: Turkey must open border for humanitarian aid to Syrian Kurdistan
17 April 2014 / GUE/NGL GroupTwo GUE/NGL MEPs intervened this afternoon in a European Parliament debate on the situation of vulnerable communities in Syria. GUE/NGL MEPJürgen Klute said: "In Syrian Kurdistan in the north of the country the violence has been limited to an extent and people there have set up a basic democratic structure. As a result many refugees have fled there. But the area remains isolated and cut off from humanitarian aid.
"We need to break isolation of this region, which sits on the Turkish border, so as to get aid through. We appeal to the Turkish government to open its borders for humanitarian aid."
http://www.guengl.eu/news/article/syrian-refugee-crisis-turkey-must-open-border-for-humanitarian-aid-to-syria
11. London MEP visits Kurdish Community Centre
8 April 2014 / Jean Lambert website
LONDON'S Green Euro-MP Jean Lambert has visited a Kurdish Community Centre in North London to discuss the role Kurdish people are playing in bringing stability to Syria - and how best to develop the peace process between the Turkish government and Kurds ahead of August's Presidential election in Turkey. Ms Lambert said many Kurdish people were working as a force for equality and stability in the region, and it was essential to develop peace between Kurds and the Turkish government.
"We need to get a better understanding of the role Kurds are playing in Syria - in particular developing at least one area of stability in the Kurdish region, Ain al Arab.
"It is always a pleasure to meet Kurdish people living in London, to hear about the positive contribution they are making to civic life both here and abroad."
http://jeanlambertmep.org.uk/news_detail.php?id=1099 <http://jeanlambertmep.org.uk/news_detail.php?id=1099>
12. Kurds and Tamil in Paris demo
24 April 2014 / ANFFrance-based Tamil Associations have started to stage weekly demo outside the French Ministry of the Interior between 2 and 4 pm every Wednesday. During the demos, protestors demand that light be shed on the murder in France of three Tamil woman militants, Nathan, Kayan and Paruthu. This week's demo outside the ministry office was also supported by Kurdish people who demanded justice for three Kurdish women, Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez, who were murdered in the French capital Paris on 9 January 2013.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/kurds-and-tamil-in-paris-demo.htm
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
13. BDP for an Autonomous Kurdistan, HDP for a Democratic Turkey
The Kurdish QuestionThe Kurdistan freedom movement is passing through a significant phase. On the one hand, there are developments in Rojava Kurdistan that are redefining the identity of the Kurdish freedom movement and its global political clout. On the other hand, the advancement of the Kurdish freedom struggle is helping democratise Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq. Before I further dilate this discussion through the BDP-HDP transfer, I want to outline a brief historical context.
http://www.kurdishquestion.com/north-kurdistan/bdp-for-an-autonomous-kurdistan-hdp-for-a-democratic-turkey.html
14. Ocalan: Civilisation as Ecological Destruction
20 April 2014 / The Kurdish QuestionCivilisational history of the Middle East is a history of denial and environmental destruction. History has taken this course as a dialectical consequence of the denial of Neolithic social values at the outset of material and moral civilisation; while Neolithic society was both morally and materially ecological. The spiritual world of Neolithic society is based on an animate environment and is therefore immensely valued.
The roots of economy are based around the ability of the woman to provide nourishment. Women and nature are symbiotically unified. A natural animate spiritual understanding is symbolised by goddesses. The means for material production are mostly invented by women.
http://www.kurdishquestion.com/dossiers/civilisation-as-ecological-destruction.html
15. Interview with Zeki Shengali: 'The peace process is reaching a dead end'
23 April 2014 / Deutsche WelleDW: How do you assess the peace process with Ankara so far?
Zeki Shengali: There has been dialogue but we have not yet turned it into negotiations. We took every single agreed step toward a peaceful settlement; we declared a ceasefire, we started pulling out our troops, our prisoners ceased their hunger strike and we released theirs … Turkey did not lift a finger for the peaceful settlement when it was in a strong position so, given its current weakness, it's unlikely it will. Ankara has been trying to gain time through words, and not tangible moves, so we believe the process is reaching a dead end.
16. Why should people in the UK support the Kurds and Kurdistan?
The Kurdish QuestionIn 1907 British army officer Sir Mark Sykes (who later co drafted the Sykes Picot agreement between France and UK) travelled 7,500 miles through all parts of Kurdistan and produced a map detailing the approximate distribution of Kurdish tribes. He wrote in a letter that to make a more detailed and accurate map would take "30 Savants (wise men) about 15 years!"
Colonial Britain had a massive interest in the Kurds and Kurdistan. Their later occupation of Mesopotamia gave British political intelligence officers lots of work to do amongst the Kurdish people. Amongst these officers was Major Ely Bannister Soane, who converted to Islam and knew Kurdish and Farsi perfectly. He travelled through Kurdistan and wrote the book To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise that was a sympathetic testament to his support for the Kurds.
http://www.kurdishquestion.com/dossiers/why-should-people-in-the-uk-support-the-kurds-and-kurdistan.html
17. What if Turkey supported Syrian Kurds?
22 April 2014 / Your Middle EastIn addition to being subjected to an economic embargo imposed by Turkey and its local allies in Syria and Iraqi Kurdistan, Kurds in Syria are also facing ongoing terrorist attacks by jihadist groups including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2012, Turkey has strongly opposed Kurdish interests in Syria, which increasingly alienated Kurds from the Syrian opposition and pushed them towards pursuing a more distinct Kurdish front.
Indeed, Turkey’s imposition of the embargo on the Kurdish regions of Syria, also known as Rojava, and its alleged support of Sunni Arab groups including fundamentalists fighting in Syria were at least partly motivated by Turkey’s desire to prevent the Syrian Kurdish population near its border from achieving any self-rule.
http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/opinion/what-if-turkey-supported-syrian-kurds_23040 <http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/opinion/what-if-turkey-supported-syrian-kurds_23040>
18. Talking to the Kurdish Front - PART II
24 April 2014 / ANFJabhat al-Akrad – or “Kurdish Front” as it is sometimes known – was founded as a part of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in 2013 and is composed largely of Kurds living in Kurdish-areas outside of Aleppo but has fighters of many different backgrounds. In a new interview for ANF, Bahoz Deniz has spoken with the commander of the Jabhat al-Akrad, Heci Ehmet El Kurdi, about the beginnings of the organization, its mission, and the state of the conflict in Syria more generally. Below is a translation of that interview into English.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/talking-to-the-kurdish-front-part-ii.htm
19. I Fraught in a War
4 April 2014 / ViceAs of today I have spent roughly an hour and 20 minutes in war, and you know what? That’s all the war I’m doing. Don’t care if you start waging the noblest, most legitimate war imaginable—you could be battling literal Nazis in defense of my mother’s house. I’d still tell you, “I’m out.”
Right now, the Kurds in Syria have one of the best wars going. (The Kurds, in case Wikipedia’s down, are a group of very pleasant mountain folk who live in the overlap between Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, and want this horrible piece of real estate to be its own country called Kurdistan.) They are fighting al Qaeda for women’s rights. I’m simplifying a bit, and technically al Qaeda is fighting the Kurds because they hate women’s rights, but still, how good is that?
http://www.vice.com/read/i-fraught-in-a-war
20. The Syrian Conflict: Where Strategic Interest and Humanitarian Urgency Intersect
21 April 2014 / The Washington InstituteOn April 17, 2014, David Miliband and Robert Ford addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Miliband is president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee and former foreign secretary of the United Kingdom. Ford is a former U.S. diplomat who recently retired after completing four years' service as ambassador to Syria. The following is a rapporteur's summary of their remarks. Institute senior fellow Andrew J. Tabler moderated the event.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-syrian-conflict-where-strategic-interest-and-humanitarian-urgency-inter
21. The Armenian genocide, 99 years ago
24 April 2014 / ANFToday Armenians around the world remember their dead.
Adolf Hitler is quoted as saying, eight days before invading Poland in 1939, “Who today, after all, speaks of the annihilation of the Armenians?” He was speaking of being inspired by the 1915 genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as he began his own systematic campaign of destruction. Today, the Armenian genocide remains fresh and relevant in the minds of Armenians around the world.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/the-armenian-genocide-99-years-ago.htm
22. 99 Years of Turkish Genocide
24 April 2014 / AINAOn April 24, 1915 the Turkish genocide of Assyrians, Greeks and Armenians began very simply, without pomp and circumstance. "We have made a clean sweep of the Armenians and Assyrians of Azerbaijan." Those were the words of Djevdet Bey, the governor of Van Province in Ottoman Turkey, who on April 24, 1915 lead 20,000 Turkish soldiers and 10,000 Kurdish irregulars in the opening act of the genocide of Assyrians, Armenians and Pontic Greeks. In three short years, 750,000 Assyrians (75%) would be killed, 1.5 million Armenians and 500,000 Greeks.
On April 24 Assyrians, Greeks and Armenians will commemorate the 99th anniversary of the genocide with vigils, church services, lectures, demonstrations and personal reflection.
http://www.aina.org/releases/20140423134125.htm
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