A recording (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hqODiGQ_us) that was leaked on the 12th of January 2014 - exactly a year after the murders - has provided the public with new information about how and by whom the Paris murders were planned.
In the recording Omer Guney, currently the only suspect and in French custody, clearly states that he was working in conjunction with the Turkish state and that it was he who planned and carried out the attack. It is clear from the recording that Omer Guney and Turkish state officials had been planning not just one attack but several attacks on various targets.
From the start, Kurdish political organisations insisted that this incident was a carefully planned professional attack backed by the Turkish state. Despite the fact that the French authorities never released any information to the public, these political murders can be traced back to Ankara.
The uncovering of every aspect of the Paris murders will at the same time force Turkey to face its past and its present. The revelation of the truth concerning the murders of Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Saylemez will no doubt influence in a positive way the progress of the peace process and contribute towards the democratisation of Turkey.
With this latest development, French President Francois Hollande's planned visit to Turkey this month has taken on far more significance. The Kurdish people's expectation is for M. Hollande to give priority to the Paris murders and to request from the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan the file that he possesses regarding the murders.
What needs to be done now is abundantly clear. Who are the state officials in the recording that were carefully planning the murders with Omer Guney? Our demands are these:
· French officials must make a detailed statement regarding the investigation.
· Omer Guney clearly states that he was able to obtain the weapons he used in the attacks from Belgium. Belgian officials must investigate from which source Omer Guney was able to obtain the weapons.
· In order for French officials to solve the murder they must concentrate on the Turkish state as suspects. National and international law must be made full use of to achieve this.
· Due to the fact that the murders were carried out in a European state, the EU holds a certain degree of responsibility. The EU and its member states must supply French officials with any information that may help in the investigation.
· Human rights organisations, democratic forces and the international media must exert pressure on the necessary institutions to uncover the truth about the murders.
Thursday, 23 January 2014
Kurdish News Weekly Briefing, 31 December - 10 January 2014
1. Kurds demand justice on anniversary of Paris killings
9 January 2013 / Gulf TimesTurkish police fired tear gas and plastic bullets yesterday at hundreds of demonstrators demanding justice for three female Kurdish rebels killed in Paris a year ago.
Security forces moved in to break up a crowd of about 500 to 600 Kurdish protesters shouting “We want justice” as they marched towards the French consulate in Istanbul.
The three activists including Sakine Cansiz – a co-founder of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – were killed on January 9 last year at the Kurdish Information Centre in Paris. Police later arrested and charged 30-year-old Turkish national Omer Guney over the triple murder but the motive remains unknown. French authorities described him as an ethnic Kurd who had acted as an occasional driver for Cansiz. But the PKK denied that Guney was one of its members.
http://www.gulf-times.com/uk-europe/183/details/377322/kurds-demand-justice-on-anniversary-of-paris-killings <http://www.gulf-times.com/uk-europe/183/details/377322/kurds-demand-justice-on-anniversary-of-paris-killings>
2. Turkish police fire tear gas at Kurdish protesters marching to French consulate
9 January 2014 / eKurdTurkish police on Thursday fired tear gas and plastic bullets at hundreds of demonstrators marching to the French consulate demanding justice for three female Kurdish rebels killed a year ago in Paris. Between 500 to 600 Kurdish protesters had gathered in front of Istanbul's Galatasaray High School, shouting "We want justice" for the three victims. The motives of the triple killing remain unclear. As the protesters marched towards the French consulate, they were met with tear gas and plastic bullets fired by security forces seeking to disperse the crowd. Among hundreds who gathered upon the call of the Democratic Free Women's Movement (DÖKH) and the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Women's Assembly were HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party) co-chair and Istanbul deputy Sebahat Tuncel and members of the ESP (Socialist Party of the Oppressed) and SDP (Socialist Democracy Party), Firat news agency reported.
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/1/turkey4919.htm
3. “We Want Justice for Sakine Fidan, and Leyla” Campaign, 1 year on
9 January 2014 / Peace in Kurdistan CampaignOne year since the tragic and callous assassination of Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan (Rojbin) and Leyla Saylemez in Rue La Fayette in Paris, we still wait for answers from the French authorities about who is responsible for their murder. The Ufficio di Informazione del Kurdistan in Italia (UIKI), The International Representation of Kurdish Women and CENI – Women’s Office for Peace have put together a document with the latest information about their campaign for justice for the three courageous women.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/we-want-justice-for-sakine-fidan-and-leyla-campaign-1-year-on/
4. BDP sends UN Secretary General 'Geneva II' letter
10 January 2013 / ANFIn a letter sent to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) has expressed its concerns and proposals regarding the Geneva II Conference scheduled for 22 January. The BDP called for support for the Kurdish Supreme Council (KSC) to attend the Geneva II Conference as the representative of the Kurds. The letter, a copy of which has reached the ANF, bears the signatures of BDP Co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş and Deputy Co-Chair Nazmi Gür. In the letter the democratic autonomy being constructed in Rojava was promoted as a more realistic and sensible model for a Democratic and Federal Syria, while support was urged for the KSC to represent the Kurds at the Geneva II Conference. The BDP called the KSC a 'third way' as an alternative to the Ba'ath regime and radical obscurantist religious groups.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/bdp-sends-un-secretary-general-geneva-ii-letter.htm
5. Turkey clears army over deadly attack on civilian Kurds in Roboski
7 January 2014 / eKurdTurkish military prosecutors on Tuesday cleared five army officers accused of perpetrating a botched air strike on civilian Kurds in 2012 also known as "Roboski Massacre" that killed dozens of people including children. But the ruling was immediately denounced by Kurdish groups and representatives of the victims' families as unacceptable. In December 2012, Turkish fighter jets bombed the Kurdish town of Uludere in Turkish Kurdistan on the Iraqi Kurdistan region border, killing 34 Kurdish civilians, working as smugglers, including 19 children in an attack Kurdish politicians described as a "massacre" of civilians. The army had said it had carried out the strike after a spy drone spotted a group moving towards its sensitive southeastern border in an area known to be used by Kurdish militants. "Members of the Turkish Armed Forces acted in accordance with the decisions adopted by the Council of Ministers and the law," the army prosecutor's office said.
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/1/turkey4915.htm
6. Turkish court orders jailed Kurdish lawmakers be freed
3 January 2014 / ReutersA Turkish court ordered the release from jail on Friday of two Kurdish lawmakers being tried for links to militants in a potential boost to a fragile peace process.
Gulser Yildirim and Ibrahim Ayhan won seats for the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in a 2011 election but have been held on remand for several years, accused of supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group.
The court in the main southeastern city of Diyarbakir ruled in favour of freeing them after the constitutional court said their imprisonment infringed their rights as elected officials. Their release could see them take their parliamentary oaths, helping build confidence in peace talks between Ankara and the PKK aimed at ending a conflict in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast which has killed 40,000 people over three decades.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/03/turkey-kurds-idINL6N0KD1SI20140103 <http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/03/turkey-kurds-idINL6N0KD1SI20140103>
7. Turkey's pro-Kurdish MPs sworn in after freed from prison
7 January 2013 / ReutersTurkey's parliament swore in five pro-Kurdish lawmakers on Tuesday after they were freed from prison during their trial on charges linking them to armed militants, lifting hopes for a shaky peace process. Two courts ruled last week that the lengthy imprisonment of Peace and Democracy Party lawmakers Selma Irmak, Faysal Sariyildiz, Gulser Yildirim and Ibrahim Ayhan and independent MP Kemal Aktas had violated their rights as elected officials. Parliamentarians enjoy immunity from prosecution in Turkey. "I hope our release can contribute to the peace process, but it's really just a first step," Irmak told Reuters. "There are dozens of mayors and other elected officials still in jail, so for real progress the anti-terror law must change."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/07/us-turkey-kurds-idUSBREA060RW20140107
8. High court prosecutor demands approval of convicted sociologist’s life sentence
2 January 2014 / Journal of Turkish WeeklyProsecutors at the Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals have demanded the approval of a life sentence meted out to sociologist Pınar Selek ahead of an appeal hearing in the case.
The feminist scholar, who resides in Strasbourg and is known for her works on Kurds, was convicted of bombing Istanbul’s famous Spice Bazaar in 1998 and sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment last January, despite being acquitted of the same charge three times in the past. Experts called to speak on the case frequently posited that the explosion, which killed seven and wounded dozens, was not caused by a bomb, but by a gas leak.
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/160914/high-court-prosecutor-demands-approval-of-convicted-sociologist-s-life-sentence.html
9. Ragıp Zarakolu: "The culture of Anatolia belongs to us all"
8 January 2013 /HetqThe name Ragıp Zarakolu first echoed throughout Turkey in 1971, when he was jailed for “secretly” collaborating with Amnesty International. He spent five months in jail before the charges were dropped. Not surprisingly, the crucifixion of this human rights defender continued and one year later Zarakolu received a two year sentence for an article he published in the newspaper ANT (Pledge) on Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnam War. The pages of Zarakolu’s biography is written in similar form, jumping from one prison cell to another and taking center stage in a variety of social activism platforms.1977 was a watershed year in Zarakolu’s life, for it was then that he and wife Ayşenur established the Belge Publishing House in Istanbul. Belge continues to speak truth to power by publishing numerous tracts and books on the Armenian Genocide.
http://hetq.am/eng/news/31855/rag%C4%B1p-zarakolu-turkey-must-come-to-grips-with-its-past.html
10. Effort Underway for Meeting of Kurdish MPs from Around the World
3 January 2014 / RudawThe Kurdish Parliamentary Union is working to organize a meeting of all Kurdish MPs in the Middle East and Europe, whose aim is to get lawmakers working for Kurdish interests in their own countries. The initiative has already taken off with the formation of a committee to organize the congress, and MPs said the meeting could be a stepping stone to a Kurdish National Congress that was slated for last August but was never held. "The organizing committee has already travelled to Iran and Turkey and they have also spoken with political groups in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan),” said its head, Nimat Abdullah. “We intend for all Kurdish MPs -- wherever they are in the world -- to attend this congress,” he told Rudaw. Abdullah explained that the end goal of the congress is for Kurdish MPs to pursue the political, economic and cultural interests of Kurdish populations in their countries of citizenship, and to elevate the discussion to the international level.
http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/030120142 <http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/030120142>
11. Solidarity visit of Margaret Owen to Rojava finishes
31 December 2014 / Hawar NewsMargaret Owen, a well-known human rights lawyer and women’s rights advocate has returned from a solidarity visit with women’s groups in Rojava, northern Syria. Owen spent eight days in the region, Rojava, which is currently under the administration of a broad coalition of civil society and political organisations led by the Democratic Union Party (PYD). The region was largely peaceful until clashes with Al Qaeda affiliated groups began this year, and has seen a massive influx of Syrian internal refugees fleeing violence elsewhere in the country. During her visit Owen visited local initiatives, projects and programs led by women calling for peace, Kurdish self-determination and women’s rights. Among them were humanitarian groups, looking after nearly 200,000 internally displaced people (IPDs) without any international aid assistance.
http://www.hawarnews.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=852:solidarity-visit-of-margaret-ow<http://www.hawarnews.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=852:solidarity-visit-of-margaret-ow>
12. Syrian Kurdistan News in brief
10 January 2014 / eKurdAleppo: The joint operations of the Kurdish al-Akrad Front and military forces of the Syrian opposition against the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) are continuing. According to the information obtained from the region, al-Akrad and some brigades affiliated to the Syrian opposition launched a major offensive against the al-Qaeda linked ISIS in the Kastêlo area and Mesakin neighborhood of the mainly Kurdish city Aleppo on Thursday. Nine members of the ISIS were reported killed in clashes in the region. The al-Akrad Front and opposition forces have also reportedly laid siege to the military headquarters of the ISIS. The joining of the Syrian opposition with the Kurdish Front against the ISIS is in the meantime changing the balances in the civil war in Syria, with ISIS reportedly having withdrawn from many central areas in Aleppo. firatnews.com
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/1/syriakurd1005.htm
13. Syrian Kurds Regain Control of 17 Villages in Hasaka Countryside
1 January 2014 / AINAThe Syrian Kurds pushed back Al-Qaeda terrorists from 17 strategic villages in Hasaka province in the Northeastern parts of the country. The Syrian Kurds' Popular Support Committees moved towards Tal Hamis town in Hasaka countryside to push back the armed rebels and regain full control over the town. Reports from Tal Hamis said heavy clashes are underway between the two sides. The Syrian Kurdish fighters have intensified their attacks against the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in the past two months.
Also in the past 24 hours, the Syrian army destroyed several missiles and arms caches of militants in Lattakia countryside in Western Syria, and killed tens of terrorists in fierce clashes.
http://www.aina.org/news/20140101161716.htm <http://www.aina.org/news/20140101161716.htm>
14. Peshkhabur Crossing Reopens to Humanitarian Visits and Trade
6 January 2014 / RudawHundreds of Syrian Kurds have crossed the border for medical treatment and reunion with relatives at refugee camps, after the Peshkhabur border was officially reopened between Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) and the Kurdistan Region, but only for humanitarian aid and trade.“We have opened the border to the people who want to cross into the Kurdistan Region," said Shawkat Barubahri, head of the Peshkhabur border crossing in the Kurdistan Region.“Opening the border is not for trade now, it’s for people who have humanitarian cases,” said Ibrahim Yaro, a senior leader of the Azadi Kurdish Party in Syria, explaining that the opening was so far limited. “Trade can be done in the future between KRG and Syria,”
http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/06012014
15. Syrian Kurds Feel Unwelcome in Lebanon
7 January 2014 / RudawMany thousands of Kurds fled the violence in Syria and went to Lebanon. They mainly found hardship there, as a result of the negative feelings of many Lebanese towards Syrians. “They do not make the difference between Kurds and Arabs. We are Syrians and the Lebanese hate all Syrians,” says Nawrez, a Syrian Kurd from a village near Aleppo. He lives with his wife Nariman and their five-month-old daughter Fatma near the Lebanese town of Jounieh. Nawrez, 27, is one of the over one million Syrian refugees living in Lebanon. Although he came as a worker 12 years ago and is a foreman in the building sector, now he cannot go back home because of the bad safety situation there.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/070120141
16. Terrorists in Syria play soccer with heads of civilians
30 December 2013 / PravdaAnd where is the accountability and responsibility regarding their western terrorist-masters? Terrorists playing soccer not with balls but rather with the heads of Syrian civilians, decapitated. The images are shown in a video released Saturday (28) on social networks, showing the same armed men fighting for more than two and a half years to end overthrow the government in Damascus. This video shows the atrocities committed by terrorists, in particular, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (EIIL) and Al-Nusra Front against Syrian Shia Muslims. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, some countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Western nations, including the United States and its allies, have provided both financial and logistical support to armed groups to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad.
http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/30-12-2013/126520-terrorists_syria-0/ <http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/30-12-2013/126520-terrorists_syria-0/>
17. Parliament approves Kurdish language law officially
8 January 2014 / ZawyaThe Iraqi parliament approved on Tuesday, the official language law in Iraq , which includes the Kurdish language as an official language in all the provinces .
"We and our colleagues in the parliamentary committees approved today, the official language law in Iraq," The Chairman of the parliamentary Culture Media and Committee MP, Ali Shalah with a number of MPs from different nationalities in the parliament said which was attended by " Shafaq News ".
He added that "as you know that Iraq is a civilized country , and we believe that this law is a power and the richness factor for human civilization ."
http://www.zawya.com/story/Parliament_approves_Kurdish_language_law_officially-ZAWYA20140108052301/
18. As Iraq spirals, the Kurds take advantage
6 January 2014 / Global PostAs sectarian violence in Iraq reaches new heights and threatens to return the country to civil war, the semi-autonomous Kurdish north could be set to capitalize on the instability. An estimated 6,818 people were killed in Iraq's violence last year, according to Agence-France Presse, making 2013 the deadliest year since 2008. Rarely a day passes in Iraq without an attack adding to the body count.
“Maybe it will go to civil war,” said Jafaar Mustafa Ali, the minister of Iraqi Kurdistan’s armed forces, the Peshmerga. “Day after day, the violence can make it bigger.”
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/iraq/140103/iraqi-kurdistan-kurds-violence-al-qaeda
19. Genel Rises to Record as Kurdistan Starts Pipeline Crude Sales
9 January 2014 / BloombergGenel Energy Plc (GENL), the biggest oil and gas operator in Kurdistan, rose to a record after the semi-autonomous region of Iraq said it will sell its first crude through a new pipeline to Turkey this month. Shares in the company run by former BP Plc (BP/) Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward rose as much as 6 percent and traded up 5 percent at 1,133 pence as of 9:46 a.m. in London trading. The stock has surged 46 percent since the beginning of last year. The Kurdistan Regional Government said yesterday that the first 2 million barrels of crude to pass through the pipeline will be sold at the end of January. The new export route gives Kurdistan its first unfettered access to international markets after years of disputes over oil payments with the federal government in Baghdad.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-09/genel-rises-to-record-as-kurdistan-starts-pipeline-crude-sales.html
20. Kurdish Photographer Flies High at International Photography Contest
6 January 2014 / RudawA picture of a rare Great Bustard that is found in Iranian Kurdistan and recognized as the world’s heaviest flying bird has won top prize at the Slovenia Photography Festival for Loghman Karimi, a photographer from the city of Bokan in Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province. After camping in wait for several days, Rahimi snapped the award-winning photo of the bird, which is internationally listed as “vulnerable” to extinction. It is known as “Chirem” in the Kurdish language, and the maximum number remaining in Iran is estimated at 161. The subspecies captured on camera by Rahimi is only indigenous to the Bokan region. Rahimi’s photo won in the “Between Heaven and Earth” category of the festival for his particular attention to nature and raising awareness to the need for protecting the environment.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/06012014
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
21. Documentary: Savaşın Tanıkları / Witness of War
4 January 2014 / You TubeAn hour long documentary on the dirty war against the Kurds as told by the journalists who were attempting to report on the violence at the time, many of whom were arrested and tortured by Turkish security services in an attempt to silence them. A must see!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Kz0sd0_H8 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Kz0sd0_H8>
22. Video: Who are the female fighters of the PKK?
5 January 2014 / BBC NewsKurdish women from Syria and Turkey are taking up arms in the fight for their own autonomous state. They train with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), militants who have been fighting for a free Kurdistan for over 30 years - mainly against the Turks.
Around 40% percent of the PKK's troops are women. The BBC's Jihar Gol was granted rare access to the female commanders, where he found they are fighting for more than a Kurdish homeland.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25610424?SThisFB
23. Turkey's Kurdish file
3 January 2014 / CihanFor decades, Turkey's Kurdish file consisted of combating the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist organization by military means only. The Ergenekon revelations suggest that it was not exactly a war but an effort to perpetuate this war.
The latest chapter added to the file is the "Kurdish initiative.” It basically aims at taking an additional step towards the recognition of the Kurdish identity and according some cultural rights to Kurds. The government later baptized it a “democratization project” in order to both assuage the feelings of the nationalistic-minded members of the ruling party and the nationalistic-minded electorate in general and to meet some of the expectations of other religious minorities such as Alevis.
http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Turkey-s-Kurdish-file_7066-CHMTI0NzA2Ni81 <http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Turkey-s-Kurdish-file_7066-CHMTI0NzA2Ni81>
24. Erdogan mishandles Kurdish files
8 January 2014 / Al MonitorTurkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan can be lauded for addressing the Kurdish problem in ways his predecessors were unwilling or unable to do. In Turkey, he has recognized the Kurds and their language rights, negotiated a cease-fire and “peace process” with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan and even publicly referred to Kurdistan in a recent ceremony with Kurdish leaders in Diyarbakir. Erdogan also has successfully negotiated with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq, assuring Ankara’s security, commercial and energy interests in ways that were unthinkable just five years ago.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/turkey-kurds-erdogan-barzani-balance-pyd-pkk-krg.html
25. From Gezi to Kurdish peace bid, 2013 a year of turbulence for Turkey
1 January 2014 / HurriyetFrom a peace bid in the East to a Park riot in the West and a fresh “deep” crisis, the year 2013 has been a turbulent year for Turkey. The year started with a peace process to end the decades-old Kurdish problem, heated up with Gezi Park protests that have rocked the nations and ended with a conflict between the government and “Cemaat.” It was Dec. 28, 2012, when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made public that intelligence agents were meeting with jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Öcalan, exposing a “resolution/peace” process aimed at ending the three-decade long conflict between Turkey’s security forces and the PKK in order to hopefully pave the way for the resolution of the century-old Kurdish issue.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/from-gezi-to-kurdish-peace-bid-2013-a-year-of-turbulence-for-turkey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60395&NewsCatID=338 <http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/from-gezi-to-kurdish-peace-bid-2013-a-year-of-turbulence-for-turkey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60395&NewsCatID=338>
26. Dangerous delusions
6 January 2014 / Hurriyet“Let it be late rather than difficult,” a Turkish saying goes. I always thought that the opposite was more helpful in solving problems, that we should let it be difficult rather than late. Otherwise, after all, it may be too late! Besides, avoiding difficulties often means seeking refuge in delusions, and delusions are often dangerous. I think the most compelling problem concerning the recent political crisis in Turkey is a matter of acknowledgement. It took really a very long time to acknowledge the fact that Turkey is sliding dangerously toward authoritarian rule under Justice and Development Party (AKP) governments. Now, it seems that it will take a long time to acknowledge the extent and importance of the crisis.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/dangerous-delusions.aspx?pageID=238&nid=60583
27. Tough Love for Turkey's Prime Minister Erdoğan
1 January 2014 / Huffington PostTurkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan weathered international criticism for last summer's violent crackdown against peaceful protesters, while keeping his domestic base of support largely intact. However, recent revelations of corruption by senior members of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) have sparked more street protests. Domestic tranquility is also at-risk. The PKK announced a cease-fire and withdrawal of forces earlier this year, but Erdoğan squandered a historic opportunity for peace by failing to implement promised reforms. The West is also concerned about Erdoğan's support for Al Qaeda in Syria, which undermines Erdoğan's credibility as a NATO partner and ally of the United States.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-l-phillips/tough-love-for-turkeys-pr_b_4529498.html <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-l-phillips/tough-love-for-turkeys-pr_b_4529498.html>
28. DISPATCHES FROM THE EDGE: Turkey’s Crisis: More Than Meets The Eye
3 January 2014 / Berkeley Daily PlanetThe current corruption crisis zeroing in on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyio Erdogan has all the elements of one of his country’s famous soap operas that tens of millions of people all over the Middle East tune in to each day: Bribes, shoe boxes filled with millions in cash, and dark whispers of foreign conspiracies.
As prosecutors began arresting leading government officials and businessmen, the Prime Minister claims that some foreign “ambassadors are engaging in provocative actions,” singling out U.S. Ambassador Frank Ricciardone. The international press has largely dismissed Erdogan’s charges as a combination of paranoia and desperation, but might the man have a point? The corruption story is generally being portrayed as a result of a falling out between Erdogan’s conservative brand of Islam and the Gulen Community, a more moderate version championed by the Islamic spiritual leader Fethullah Gulen, who currently resides in Pennsylvania.
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2014-01-03/article/41746?headline=DISPATCHES-FROM-THE-EDGE-Turkey-s-Crisis-More-Than-Meets-The-Eye--By-Conn-Hallinan <http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2014-01-03/article/41746?headline=DISPATCHES-FROM-THE-EDGE-Turkey-s-Crisis-More-Than-Meets-The-Eye--By-Conn-Hallinan>
29. Rule of law at risk in Turkey
4 January 2014 / CihanPerhaps not many people noticed European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle's interesting choice of words a week ago when he said, “I urge Turkey, as a candidate country committed to the political criteria of accession, including the application of the rule of law, to take all the necessary measures to ensure that allegations of wrongdoing are addressed without discrimination or preference in a transparent and impartial manner.”
His reminder of political criteria with a specific focus on the rule of law was the key point in his message, which may be construed as a veiled warning, rather than an implicit threat to Turkish officials to put their house in order. He was recalling benchmarks that Turkey must fully satisfy as a candidate country.
http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Rule-of-law-at-risk-in-Turkey_6133-CHMTI0NjEzMy81;jsessionid=87AYR6UTS6XifJRox2+CDz3C<http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Rule-of-law-at-risk-in-Turkey_6133-CHMTI0NjEzMy81;jsessionid=87AYR6UTS6XifJRox2+CDz3C>
30. Regional aspects of Turkey’s paralyzing corruption case
4 January 2014 / Hurriyet Turkey’s now-frozen corruption scandal has not been sending tremors only to the country’s deeply divided political spectrum, but also has been paralyzing its judiciary system entirely, which has obviously become a political tool no matter what the rival parties have been saying. Similar deadlocks have occurred in two different cases in the last couple of days when prosecutors have been left with their hands tied, despite their raid or search orders as the security forces snub their calls. First, it was the so-called second wave of police raids on the country’s high-profile figures as part of corruption investigation, which was actually a tit-for-tat political struggle between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the influential Islamist group Hizmet (Service).
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/regional-aspects-of-turkeys-paralyzing-corruption-case.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60542&NewsCatID=470<http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/regional-aspects-of-turkeys-paralyzing-corruption-case.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60542&NewsCatID=470>
31. Sunni monarchs back YouTube hate preachers: Anti-Shia propaganda threatens a sectarian civil war which will engulf the entire Muslim world
29 December 2013 / IndependentAnti-Shia hate propaganda spread by Sunni religious figures sponsored by, or based in, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies, is creating the ingredients for a sectarian civil war engulfing the entire Muslim world. Iraq and Syria have seen the most violence, with the majority of the 766 civilian fatalities in Iraq this month being Shia pilgrims killed by suicide bombers from the al-Qa'ida umbrella group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis). The anti-Shia hostility of this organisation, now operating from Baghdad to Beirut, is so extreme that last month it had to apologise for beheading one of its own wounded fighters in Aleppo – because he was mistakenly believed to have muttered the name of Shia saints as he lay on a stretcher.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/sunni-monarchs-back-youtube-hate-preachers-antishia-propaganda-threatens-a-sectarian-civil-war-which-will-engulf-the-entire-muslim-world-9028538.html <http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/sunni-monarchs-back-youtube-hate-preachers-antishia-propaganda-threatens-a-sectarian-civil-war-which-will-engulf-the-entire-muslim-world-9028538.html>
32. Book Review: Do Muslim Women Need Saving? By Lila Abu-Lughod
Dec 2013 – Jan 2014 / Literary ReviewBy Elif Shafak: When I was six years old my parents got divorced and in order to offer me a fully fledged egalitarian holiday they asked me to spend half the summer with my paternal grandmother and the remaining half with my maternal grandmother. In the former house, I learned to fear Allah. Grandma N opened my suitcase and regarded with distaste every dress and pair of shorts that I had brought, finding them inappropriate for girls. She told me that because of my sex I had to be extra-careful and pray night and day so as not to err and end up inside the boiling cauldrons of Hell. By mid-July, more pious and timid than before, I returned to Ankara, where my maternal grandmother was waiting for me. Grandma F took a look at the new clothes I had brought along and found them too thick and too long. 'In this heat, you should be wearing dresses and shorts, for God's sake!' When I questioned her about Hell and what particular torments awaited us there, she said, 'You shouldn't be thinking of such things. Think about God's love instead. He is rahman and rahim. The words mean merciful and womb. So it shows us that in the eyes of Allah we women are much loved, much blessed.'
http://www.literaryreview.co.uk/shafak_12_13.php <http://www.literaryreview.co.uk/shafak_12_13.php>
33. Break the Silence on Honor Killing
1 January 2014 / Rudaw“I am sharing this reluctantly: last night's shooting gun sounds were so close that it turned out a family from our neighborhood killed their daughter after an unsuccessful forced marriage. My only plea is that they could never see the light of day again.”
The update of one of my Kurdish friends on Facebook called for many comments. Mostly shocked, some depressed with the state of development. “How can someone do this to his child?” “A brutal father who needs to be sent to jail for the rest of his life” and “This happens every day in our society, and yet we are silent!” were just a few of them.
Honor killings are still part of the reality in Iraqi Kurdistan and in the Kurdish diaspora. On the one hand the Kurdish region is developing rapidly, and Kurds in the West have access to modernity. On the other hand, old habits die hard.
http://rudaw.net/english/opinion/31122013
9 January 2013 / Gulf TimesTurkish police fired tear gas and plastic bullets yesterday at hundreds of demonstrators demanding justice for three female Kurdish rebels killed in Paris a year ago.
Security forces moved in to break up a crowd of about 500 to 600 Kurdish protesters shouting “We want justice” as they marched towards the French consulate in Istanbul.
The three activists including Sakine Cansiz – a co-founder of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – were killed on January 9 last year at the Kurdish Information Centre in Paris. Police later arrested and charged 30-year-old Turkish national Omer Guney over the triple murder but the motive remains unknown. French authorities described him as an ethnic Kurd who had acted as an occasional driver for Cansiz. But the PKK denied that Guney was one of its members.
http://www.gulf-times.com/uk-europe/183/details/377322/kurds-demand-justice-on-anniversary-of-paris-killings <http://www.gulf-times.com/uk-europe/183/details/377322/kurds-demand-justice-on-anniversary-of-paris-killings>
2. Turkish police fire tear gas at Kurdish protesters marching to French consulate
9 January 2014 / eKurdTurkish police on Thursday fired tear gas and plastic bullets at hundreds of demonstrators marching to the French consulate demanding justice for three female Kurdish rebels killed a year ago in Paris. Between 500 to 600 Kurdish protesters had gathered in front of Istanbul's Galatasaray High School, shouting "We want justice" for the three victims. The motives of the triple killing remain unclear. As the protesters marched towards the French consulate, they were met with tear gas and plastic bullets fired by security forces seeking to disperse the crowd. Among hundreds who gathered upon the call of the Democratic Free Women's Movement (DÖKH) and the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Women's Assembly were HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party) co-chair and Istanbul deputy Sebahat Tuncel and members of the ESP (Socialist Party of the Oppressed) and SDP (Socialist Democracy Party), Firat news agency reported.
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/1/turkey4919.htm
3. “We Want Justice for Sakine Fidan, and Leyla” Campaign, 1 year on
9 January 2014 / Peace in Kurdistan CampaignOne year since the tragic and callous assassination of Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan (Rojbin) and Leyla Saylemez in Rue La Fayette in Paris, we still wait for answers from the French authorities about who is responsible for their murder. The Ufficio di Informazione del Kurdistan in Italia (UIKI), The International Representation of Kurdish Women and CENI – Women’s Office for Peace have put together a document with the latest information about their campaign for justice for the three courageous women.
http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/we-want-justice-for-sakine-fidan-and-leyla-campaign-1-year-on/
4. BDP sends UN Secretary General 'Geneva II' letter
10 January 2013 / ANFIn a letter sent to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) has expressed its concerns and proposals regarding the Geneva II Conference scheduled for 22 January. The BDP called for support for the Kurdish Supreme Council (KSC) to attend the Geneva II Conference as the representative of the Kurds. The letter, a copy of which has reached the ANF, bears the signatures of BDP Co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş and Deputy Co-Chair Nazmi Gür. In the letter the democratic autonomy being constructed in Rojava was promoted as a more realistic and sensible model for a Democratic and Federal Syria, while support was urged for the KSC to represent the Kurds at the Geneva II Conference. The BDP called the KSC a 'third way' as an alternative to the Ba'ath regime and radical obscurantist religious groups.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/bdp-sends-un-secretary-general-geneva-ii-letter.htm
5. Turkey clears army over deadly attack on civilian Kurds in Roboski
7 January 2014 / eKurdTurkish military prosecutors on Tuesday cleared five army officers accused of perpetrating a botched air strike on civilian Kurds in 2012 also known as "Roboski Massacre" that killed dozens of people including children. But the ruling was immediately denounced by Kurdish groups and representatives of the victims' families as unacceptable. In December 2012, Turkish fighter jets bombed the Kurdish town of Uludere in Turkish Kurdistan on the Iraqi Kurdistan region border, killing 34 Kurdish civilians, working as smugglers, including 19 children in an attack Kurdish politicians described as a "massacre" of civilians. The army had said it had carried out the strike after a spy drone spotted a group moving towards its sensitive southeastern border in an area known to be used by Kurdish militants. "Members of the Turkish Armed Forces acted in accordance with the decisions adopted by the Council of Ministers and the law," the army prosecutor's office said.
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/1/turkey4915.htm
6. Turkish court orders jailed Kurdish lawmakers be freed
3 January 2014 / ReutersA Turkish court ordered the release from jail on Friday of two Kurdish lawmakers being tried for links to militants in a potential boost to a fragile peace process.
Gulser Yildirim and Ibrahim Ayhan won seats for the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in a 2011 election but have been held on remand for several years, accused of supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group.
The court in the main southeastern city of Diyarbakir ruled in favour of freeing them after the constitutional court said their imprisonment infringed their rights as elected officials. Their release could see them take their parliamentary oaths, helping build confidence in peace talks between Ankara and the PKK aimed at ending a conflict in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast which has killed 40,000 people over three decades.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/03/turkey-kurds-idINL6N0KD1SI20140103 <http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/03/turkey-kurds-idINL6N0KD1SI20140103>
7. Turkey's pro-Kurdish MPs sworn in after freed from prison
7 January 2013 / ReutersTurkey's parliament swore in five pro-Kurdish lawmakers on Tuesday after they were freed from prison during their trial on charges linking them to armed militants, lifting hopes for a shaky peace process. Two courts ruled last week that the lengthy imprisonment of Peace and Democracy Party lawmakers Selma Irmak, Faysal Sariyildiz, Gulser Yildirim and Ibrahim Ayhan and independent MP Kemal Aktas had violated their rights as elected officials. Parliamentarians enjoy immunity from prosecution in Turkey. "I hope our release can contribute to the peace process, but it's really just a first step," Irmak told Reuters. "There are dozens of mayors and other elected officials still in jail, so for real progress the anti-terror law must change."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/07/us-turkey-kurds-idUSBREA060RW20140107
8. High court prosecutor demands approval of convicted sociologist’s life sentence
2 January 2014 / Journal of Turkish WeeklyProsecutors at the Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals have demanded the approval of a life sentence meted out to sociologist Pınar Selek ahead of an appeal hearing in the case.
The feminist scholar, who resides in Strasbourg and is known for her works on Kurds, was convicted of bombing Istanbul’s famous Spice Bazaar in 1998 and sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment last January, despite being acquitted of the same charge three times in the past. Experts called to speak on the case frequently posited that the explosion, which killed seven and wounded dozens, was not caused by a bomb, but by a gas leak.
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/160914/high-court-prosecutor-demands-approval-of-convicted-sociologist-s-life-sentence.html
9. Ragıp Zarakolu: "The culture of Anatolia belongs to us all"
8 January 2013 /HetqThe name Ragıp Zarakolu first echoed throughout Turkey in 1971, when he was jailed for “secretly” collaborating with Amnesty International. He spent five months in jail before the charges were dropped. Not surprisingly, the crucifixion of this human rights defender continued and one year later Zarakolu received a two year sentence for an article he published in the newspaper ANT (Pledge) on Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnam War. The pages of Zarakolu’s biography is written in similar form, jumping from one prison cell to another and taking center stage in a variety of social activism platforms.1977 was a watershed year in Zarakolu’s life, for it was then that he and wife Ayşenur established the Belge Publishing House in Istanbul. Belge continues to speak truth to power by publishing numerous tracts and books on the Armenian Genocide.
http://hetq.am/eng/news/31855/rag%C4%B1p-zarakolu-turkey-must-come-to-grips-with-its-past.html
10. Effort Underway for Meeting of Kurdish MPs from Around the World
3 January 2014 / RudawThe Kurdish Parliamentary Union is working to organize a meeting of all Kurdish MPs in the Middle East and Europe, whose aim is to get lawmakers working for Kurdish interests in their own countries. The initiative has already taken off with the formation of a committee to organize the congress, and MPs said the meeting could be a stepping stone to a Kurdish National Congress that was slated for last August but was never held. "The organizing committee has already travelled to Iran and Turkey and they have also spoken with political groups in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan),” said its head, Nimat Abdullah. “We intend for all Kurdish MPs -- wherever they are in the world -- to attend this congress,” he told Rudaw. Abdullah explained that the end goal of the congress is for Kurdish MPs to pursue the political, economic and cultural interests of Kurdish populations in their countries of citizenship, and to elevate the discussion to the international level.
http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/030120142 <http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/030120142>
11. Solidarity visit of Margaret Owen to Rojava finishes
31 December 2014 / Hawar NewsMargaret Owen, a well-known human rights lawyer and women’s rights advocate has returned from a solidarity visit with women’s groups in Rojava, northern Syria. Owen spent eight days in the region, Rojava, which is currently under the administration of a broad coalition of civil society and political organisations led by the Democratic Union Party (PYD). The region was largely peaceful until clashes with Al Qaeda affiliated groups began this year, and has seen a massive influx of Syrian internal refugees fleeing violence elsewhere in the country. During her visit Owen visited local initiatives, projects and programs led by women calling for peace, Kurdish self-determination and women’s rights. Among them were humanitarian groups, looking after nearly 200,000 internally displaced people (IPDs) without any international aid assistance.
http://www.hawarnews.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=852:solidarity-visit-of-margaret-ow<http://www.hawarnews.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=852:solidarity-visit-of-margaret-ow>
12. Syrian Kurdistan News in brief
10 January 2014 / eKurdAleppo: The joint operations of the Kurdish al-Akrad Front and military forces of the Syrian opposition against the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) are continuing. According to the information obtained from the region, al-Akrad and some brigades affiliated to the Syrian opposition launched a major offensive against the al-Qaeda linked ISIS in the Kastêlo area and Mesakin neighborhood of the mainly Kurdish city Aleppo on Thursday. Nine members of the ISIS were reported killed in clashes in the region. The al-Akrad Front and opposition forces have also reportedly laid siege to the military headquarters of the ISIS. The joining of the Syrian opposition with the Kurdish Front against the ISIS is in the meantime changing the balances in the civil war in Syria, with ISIS reportedly having withdrawn from many central areas in Aleppo. firatnews.com
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/1/syriakurd1005.htm
13. Syrian Kurds Regain Control of 17 Villages in Hasaka Countryside
1 January 2014 / AINAThe Syrian Kurds pushed back Al-Qaeda terrorists from 17 strategic villages in Hasaka province in the Northeastern parts of the country. The Syrian Kurds' Popular Support Committees moved towards Tal Hamis town in Hasaka countryside to push back the armed rebels and regain full control over the town. Reports from Tal Hamis said heavy clashes are underway between the two sides. The Syrian Kurdish fighters have intensified their attacks against the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in the past two months.
Also in the past 24 hours, the Syrian army destroyed several missiles and arms caches of militants in Lattakia countryside in Western Syria, and killed tens of terrorists in fierce clashes.
http://www.aina.org/news/20140101161716.htm <http://www.aina.org/news/20140101161716.htm>
14. Peshkhabur Crossing Reopens to Humanitarian Visits and Trade
6 January 2014 / RudawHundreds of Syrian Kurds have crossed the border for medical treatment and reunion with relatives at refugee camps, after the Peshkhabur border was officially reopened between Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) and the Kurdistan Region, but only for humanitarian aid and trade.“We have opened the border to the people who want to cross into the Kurdistan Region," said Shawkat Barubahri, head of the Peshkhabur border crossing in the Kurdistan Region.“Opening the border is not for trade now, it’s for people who have humanitarian cases,” said Ibrahim Yaro, a senior leader of the Azadi Kurdish Party in Syria, explaining that the opening was so far limited. “Trade can be done in the future between KRG and Syria,”
http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/06012014
15. Syrian Kurds Feel Unwelcome in Lebanon
7 January 2014 / RudawMany thousands of Kurds fled the violence in Syria and went to Lebanon. They mainly found hardship there, as a result of the negative feelings of many Lebanese towards Syrians. “They do not make the difference between Kurds and Arabs. We are Syrians and the Lebanese hate all Syrians,” says Nawrez, a Syrian Kurd from a village near Aleppo. He lives with his wife Nariman and their five-month-old daughter Fatma near the Lebanese town of Jounieh. Nawrez, 27, is one of the over one million Syrian refugees living in Lebanon. Although he came as a worker 12 years ago and is a foreman in the building sector, now he cannot go back home because of the bad safety situation there.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/070120141
16. Terrorists in Syria play soccer with heads of civilians
30 December 2013 / PravdaAnd where is the accountability and responsibility regarding their western terrorist-masters? Terrorists playing soccer not with balls but rather with the heads of Syrian civilians, decapitated. The images are shown in a video released Saturday (28) on social networks, showing the same armed men fighting for more than two and a half years to end overthrow the government in Damascus. This video shows the atrocities committed by terrorists, in particular, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (EIIL) and Al-Nusra Front against Syrian Shia Muslims. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, some countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Western nations, including the United States and its allies, have provided both financial and logistical support to armed groups to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad.
http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/30-12-2013/126520-terrorists_syria-0/ <http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/30-12-2013/126520-terrorists_syria-0/>
17. Parliament approves Kurdish language law officially
8 January 2014 / ZawyaThe Iraqi parliament approved on Tuesday, the official language law in Iraq , which includes the Kurdish language as an official language in all the provinces .
"We and our colleagues in the parliamentary committees approved today, the official language law in Iraq," The Chairman of the parliamentary Culture Media and Committee MP, Ali Shalah with a number of MPs from different nationalities in the parliament said which was attended by " Shafaq News ".
He added that "as you know that Iraq is a civilized country , and we believe that this law is a power and the richness factor for human civilization ."
http://www.zawya.com/story/Parliament_approves_Kurdish_language_law_officially-ZAWYA20140108052301/
18. As Iraq spirals, the Kurds take advantage
6 January 2014 / Global PostAs sectarian violence in Iraq reaches new heights and threatens to return the country to civil war, the semi-autonomous Kurdish north could be set to capitalize on the instability. An estimated 6,818 people were killed in Iraq's violence last year, according to Agence-France Presse, making 2013 the deadliest year since 2008. Rarely a day passes in Iraq without an attack adding to the body count.
“Maybe it will go to civil war,” said Jafaar Mustafa Ali, the minister of Iraqi Kurdistan’s armed forces, the Peshmerga. “Day after day, the violence can make it bigger.”
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/iraq/140103/iraqi-kurdistan-kurds-violence-al-qaeda
19. Genel Rises to Record as Kurdistan Starts Pipeline Crude Sales
9 January 2014 / BloombergGenel Energy Plc (GENL), the biggest oil and gas operator in Kurdistan, rose to a record after the semi-autonomous region of Iraq said it will sell its first crude through a new pipeline to Turkey this month. Shares in the company run by former BP Plc (BP/) Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward rose as much as 6 percent and traded up 5 percent at 1,133 pence as of 9:46 a.m. in London trading. The stock has surged 46 percent since the beginning of last year. The Kurdistan Regional Government said yesterday that the first 2 million barrels of crude to pass through the pipeline will be sold at the end of January. The new export route gives Kurdistan its first unfettered access to international markets after years of disputes over oil payments with the federal government in Baghdad.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-09/genel-rises-to-record-as-kurdistan-starts-pipeline-crude-sales.html
20. Kurdish Photographer Flies High at International Photography Contest
6 January 2014 / RudawA picture of a rare Great Bustard that is found in Iranian Kurdistan and recognized as the world’s heaviest flying bird has won top prize at the Slovenia Photography Festival for Loghman Karimi, a photographer from the city of Bokan in Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province. After camping in wait for several days, Rahimi snapped the award-winning photo of the bird, which is internationally listed as “vulnerable” to extinction. It is known as “Chirem” in the Kurdish language, and the maximum number remaining in Iran is estimated at 161. The subspecies captured on camera by Rahimi is only indigenous to the Bokan region. Rahimi’s photo won in the “Between Heaven and Earth” category of the festival for his particular attention to nature and raising awareness to the need for protecting the environment.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/06012014
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
21. Documentary: Savaşın Tanıkları / Witness of War
4 January 2014 / You TubeAn hour long documentary on the dirty war against the Kurds as told by the journalists who were attempting to report on the violence at the time, many of whom were arrested and tortured by Turkish security services in an attempt to silence them. A must see!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Kz0sd0_H8 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Kz0sd0_H8>
22. Video: Who are the female fighters of the PKK?
5 January 2014 / BBC NewsKurdish women from Syria and Turkey are taking up arms in the fight for their own autonomous state. They train with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), militants who have been fighting for a free Kurdistan for over 30 years - mainly against the Turks.
Around 40% percent of the PKK's troops are women. The BBC's Jihar Gol was granted rare access to the female commanders, where he found they are fighting for more than a Kurdish homeland.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25610424?SThisFB
23. Turkey's Kurdish file
3 January 2014 / CihanFor decades, Turkey's Kurdish file consisted of combating the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist organization by military means only. The Ergenekon revelations suggest that it was not exactly a war but an effort to perpetuate this war.
The latest chapter added to the file is the "Kurdish initiative.” It basically aims at taking an additional step towards the recognition of the Kurdish identity and according some cultural rights to Kurds. The government later baptized it a “democratization project” in order to both assuage the feelings of the nationalistic-minded members of the ruling party and the nationalistic-minded electorate in general and to meet some of the expectations of other religious minorities such as Alevis.
http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Turkey-s-Kurdish-file_7066-CHMTI0NzA2Ni81 <http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Turkey-s-Kurdish-file_7066-CHMTI0NzA2Ni81>
24. Erdogan mishandles Kurdish files
8 January 2014 / Al MonitorTurkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan can be lauded for addressing the Kurdish problem in ways his predecessors were unwilling or unable to do. In Turkey, he has recognized the Kurds and their language rights, negotiated a cease-fire and “peace process” with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan and even publicly referred to Kurdistan in a recent ceremony with Kurdish leaders in Diyarbakir. Erdogan also has successfully negotiated with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq, assuring Ankara’s security, commercial and energy interests in ways that were unthinkable just five years ago.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/turkey-kurds-erdogan-barzani-balance-pyd-pkk-krg.html
25. From Gezi to Kurdish peace bid, 2013 a year of turbulence for Turkey
1 January 2014 / HurriyetFrom a peace bid in the East to a Park riot in the West and a fresh “deep” crisis, the year 2013 has been a turbulent year for Turkey. The year started with a peace process to end the decades-old Kurdish problem, heated up with Gezi Park protests that have rocked the nations and ended with a conflict between the government and “Cemaat.” It was Dec. 28, 2012, when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made public that intelligence agents were meeting with jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Öcalan, exposing a “resolution/peace” process aimed at ending the three-decade long conflict between Turkey’s security forces and the PKK in order to hopefully pave the way for the resolution of the century-old Kurdish issue.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/from-gezi-to-kurdish-peace-bid-2013-a-year-of-turbulence-for-turkey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60395&NewsCatID=338 <http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/from-gezi-to-kurdish-peace-bid-2013-a-year-of-turbulence-for-turkey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60395&NewsCatID=338>
26. Dangerous delusions
6 January 2014 / Hurriyet“Let it be late rather than difficult,” a Turkish saying goes. I always thought that the opposite was more helpful in solving problems, that we should let it be difficult rather than late. Otherwise, after all, it may be too late! Besides, avoiding difficulties often means seeking refuge in delusions, and delusions are often dangerous. I think the most compelling problem concerning the recent political crisis in Turkey is a matter of acknowledgement. It took really a very long time to acknowledge the fact that Turkey is sliding dangerously toward authoritarian rule under Justice and Development Party (AKP) governments. Now, it seems that it will take a long time to acknowledge the extent and importance of the crisis.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/dangerous-delusions.aspx?pageID=238&nid=60583
27. Tough Love for Turkey's Prime Minister Erdoğan
1 January 2014 / Huffington PostTurkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan weathered international criticism for last summer's violent crackdown against peaceful protesters, while keeping his domestic base of support largely intact. However, recent revelations of corruption by senior members of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) have sparked more street protests. Domestic tranquility is also at-risk. The PKK announced a cease-fire and withdrawal of forces earlier this year, but Erdoğan squandered a historic opportunity for peace by failing to implement promised reforms. The West is also concerned about Erdoğan's support for Al Qaeda in Syria, which undermines Erdoğan's credibility as a NATO partner and ally of the United States.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-l-phillips/tough-love-for-turkeys-pr_b_4529498.html <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-l-phillips/tough-love-for-turkeys-pr_b_4529498.html>
28. DISPATCHES FROM THE EDGE: Turkey’s Crisis: More Than Meets The Eye
3 January 2014 / Berkeley Daily PlanetThe current corruption crisis zeroing in on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyio Erdogan has all the elements of one of his country’s famous soap operas that tens of millions of people all over the Middle East tune in to each day: Bribes, shoe boxes filled with millions in cash, and dark whispers of foreign conspiracies.
As prosecutors began arresting leading government officials and businessmen, the Prime Minister claims that some foreign “ambassadors are engaging in provocative actions,” singling out U.S. Ambassador Frank Ricciardone. The international press has largely dismissed Erdogan’s charges as a combination of paranoia and desperation, but might the man have a point? The corruption story is generally being portrayed as a result of a falling out between Erdogan’s conservative brand of Islam and the Gulen Community, a more moderate version championed by the Islamic spiritual leader Fethullah Gulen, who currently resides in Pennsylvania.
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2014-01-03/article/41746?headline=DISPATCHES-FROM-THE-EDGE-Turkey-s-Crisis-More-Than-Meets-The-Eye--By-Conn-Hallinan <http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2014-01-03/article/41746?headline=DISPATCHES-FROM-THE-EDGE-Turkey-s-Crisis-More-Than-Meets-The-Eye--By-Conn-Hallinan>
29. Rule of law at risk in Turkey
4 January 2014 / CihanPerhaps not many people noticed European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle's interesting choice of words a week ago when he said, “I urge Turkey, as a candidate country committed to the political criteria of accession, including the application of the rule of law, to take all the necessary measures to ensure that allegations of wrongdoing are addressed without discrimination or preference in a transparent and impartial manner.”
His reminder of political criteria with a specific focus on the rule of law was the key point in his message, which may be construed as a veiled warning, rather than an implicit threat to Turkish officials to put their house in order. He was recalling benchmarks that Turkey must fully satisfy as a candidate country.
http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Rule-of-law-at-risk-in-Turkey_6133-CHMTI0NjEzMy81;jsessionid=87AYR6UTS6XifJRox2+CDz3C<http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Rule-of-law-at-risk-in-Turkey_6133-CHMTI0NjEzMy81;jsessionid=87AYR6UTS6XifJRox2+CDz3C>
30. Regional aspects of Turkey’s paralyzing corruption case
4 January 2014 / Hurriyet Turkey’s now-frozen corruption scandal has not been sending tremors only to the country’s deeply divided political spectrum, but also has been paralyzing its judiciary system entirely, which has obviously become a political tool no matter what the rival parties have been saying. Similar deadlocks have occurred in two different cases in the last couple of days when prosecutors have been left with their hands tied, despite their raid or search orders as the security forces snub their calls. First, it was the so-called second wave of police raids on the country’s high-profile figures as part of corruption investigation, which was actually a tit-for-tat political struggle between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the influential Islamist group Hizmet (Service).
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/regional-aspects-of-turkeys-paralyzing-corruption-case.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60542&NewsCatID=470<http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/regional-aspects-of-turkeys-paralyzing-corruption-case.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60542&NewsCatID=470>
31. Sunni monarchs back YouTube hate preachers: Anti-Shia propaganda threatens a sectarian civil war which will engulf the entire Muslim world
29 December 2013 / IndependentAnti-Shia hate propaganda spread by Sunni religious figures sponsored by, or based in, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies, is creating the ingredients for a sectarian civil war engulfing the entire Muslim world. Iraq and Syria have seen the most violence, with the majority of the 766 civilian fatalities in Iraq this month being Shia pilgrims killed by suicide bombers from the al-Qa'ida umbrella group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis). The anti-Shia hostility of this organisation, now operating from Baghdad to Beirut, is so extreme that last month it had to apologise for beheading one of its own wounded fighters in Aleppo – because he was mistakenly believed to have muttered the name of Shia saints as he lay on a stretcher.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/sunni-monarchs-back-youtube-hate-preachers-antishia-propaganda-threatens-a-sectarian-civil-war-which-will-engulf-the-entire-muslim-world-9028538.html <http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/sunni-monarchs-back-youtube-hate-preachers-antishia-propaganda-threatens-a-sectarian-civil-war-which-will-engulf-the-entire-muslim-world-9028538.html>
32. Book Review: Do Muslim Women Need Saving? By Lila Abu-Lughod
Dec 2013 – Jan 2014 / Literary ReviewBy Elif Shafak: When I was six years old my parents got divorced and in order to offer me a fully fledged egalitarian holiday they asked me to spend half the summer with my paternal grandmother and the remaining half with my maternal grandmother. In the former house, I learned to fear Allah. Grandma N opened my suitcase and regarded with distaste every dress and pair of shorts that I had brought, finding them inappropriate for girls. She told me that because of my sex I had to be extra-careful and pray night and day so as not to err and end up inside the boiling cauldrons of Hell. By mid-July, more pious and timid than before, I returned to Ankara, where my maternal grandmother was waiting for me. Grandma F took a look at the new clothes I had brought along and found them too thick and too long. 'In this heat, you should be wearing dresses and shorts, for God's sake!' When I questioned her about Hell and what particular torments awaited us there, she said, 'You shouldn't be thinking of such things. Think about God's love instead. He is rahman and rahim. The words mean merciful and womb. So it shows us that in the eyes of Allah we women are much loved, much blessed.'
http://www.literaryreview.co.uk/shafak_12_13.php <http://www.literaryreview.co.uk/shafak_12_13.php>
33. Break the Silence on Honor Killing
1 January 2014 / Rudaw“I am sharing this reluctantly: last night's shooting gun sounds were so close that it turned out a family from our neighborhood killed their daughter after an unsuccessful forced marriage. My only plea is that they could never see the light of day again.”
The update of one of my Kurdish friends on Facebook called for many comments. Mostly shocked, some depressed with the state of development. “How can someone do this to his child?” “A brutal father who needs to be sent to jail for the rest of his life” and “This happens every day in our society, and yet we are silent!” were just a few of them.
Honor killings are still part of the reality in Iraqi Kurdistan and in the Kurdish diaspora. On the one hand the Kurdish region is developing rapidly, and Kurds in the West have access to modernity. On the other hand, old habits die hard.
http://rudaw.net/english/opinion/31122013
Commemorating the killing of Sakine, Fidan and Leyla in Paris: One Year On
Dear friends,
One year since the tragic and callous assassination of Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan (Rojbin) and Leyla Saylemez in Rue La Fayette in Paris, we still wait for answers from the French authorities about who is responsible for their murder.
The Ufficio di Informazione del Kurdistan in Italia (UIKI), the International Representation of the Kurdish Women’s Movement (IRKWM) and CENI – Women’s Office for Peace have put together a document with the latest information about their campaign for justice for the three courageous women, which is attached and available at the link below.
We Want Justice <http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/dossier-we-want-justice_uiki-ceni-en.pdf> (pdf)
The European Peace and Democracy Assembly (ABDEM) has also called for mass participation in the demonstration to be held in Paris TOMORROW, Saturday 11 January for Sakine, Leyla and Fidan.
The demonstration will take place at 12 noon at the the Gare du Nord, and follows major rallies that have already taken place in Paris, Istanbul, Hewler and elsewhere on the anniversary of the killings. In Istanbul, hundreds of women protesters were met with tear gas and water canons from the police as they attempted to march to the French Embassy. And across Europe, many actions have been taking place to commemorate the life, work and sacrifice of the three women, including a photo exhibition in Berlin organised by the DESTDAN women's association.
The three women were also honoured by the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) at the end of last year in a tribute to all the women who lost their lives fighting for freedom and their rights. The tribute takes the form of an online photo exhibition, which you can view here <https://plus.google.com/photos/110714837166729000165/albums/5947969816908571489> .
NEWS:
ABDEM call for mass participation in Paris rally: http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/abdem-women-s-commission-time-to-turn-11-january-into-an-uprising.htm
Istanbul police attack women commemorating Sakine, Fidan and Leyla: http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/abdem-women-s-commission-time-to-turn-11-january-into-an-uprising.htm
Kurds commemorate the killing of three activists in Paris last year: http://www.demotix.com/news/3641456/kurds-commemorate-killing-three-activists-paris-last-year/all-media
Cansız, Doğan and Şaylemez in photographs: Exhibition in Berlin: http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/cansiz-dogan-and-saylemez-in-photographs.htm
In solidarity,
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish QuestionEmail: estella24@tiscali.co.uk <mailto:estella24@tiscali.co.uk>
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Sirinathsingh - Tel: 020 7272 7890
Fax: 020 7263 0596
Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Conor Murphy MP, John Austin, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas
One year since the tragic and callous assassination of Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan (Rojbin) and Leyla Saylemez in Rue La Fayette in Paris, we still wait for answers from the French authorities about who is responsible for their murder.
The Ufficio di Informazione del Kurdistan in Italia (UIKI), the International Representation of the Kurdish Women’s Movement (IRKWM) and CENI – Women’s Office for Peace have put together a document with the latest information about their campaign for justice for the three courageous women, which is attached and available at the link below.
We Want Justice <http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/dossier-we-want-justice_uiki-ceni-en.pdf> (pdf)
The European Peace and Democracy Assembly (ABDEM) has also called for mass participation in the demonstration to be held in Paris TOMORROW, Saturday 11 January for Sakine, Leyla and Fidan.
The demonstration will take place at 12 noon at the the Gare du Nord, and follows major rallies that have already taken place in Paris, Istanbul, Hewler and elsewhere on the anniversary of the killings. In Istanbul, hundreds of women protesters were met with tear gas and water canons from the police as they attempted to march to the French Embassy. And across Europe, many actions have been taking place to commemorate the life, work and sacrifice of the three women, including a photo exhibition in Berlin organised by the DESTDAN women's association.
The three women were also honoured by the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) at the end of last year in a tribute to all the women who lost their lives fighting for freedom and their rights. The tribute takes the form of an online photo exhibition, which you can view here <https://plus.google.com/photos/110714837166729000165/albums/5947969816908571489> .
NEWS:
ABDEM call for mass participation in Paris rally: http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/abdem-women-s-commission-time-to-turn-11-january-into-an-uprising.htm
Istanbul police attack women commemorating Sakine, Fidan and Leyla: http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/abdem-women-s-commission-time-to-turn-11-january-into-an-uprising.htm
Kurds commemorate the killing of three activists in Paris last year: http://www.demotix.com/news/3641456/kurds-commemorate-killing-three-activists-paris-last-year/all-media
Cansız, Doğan and Şaylemez in photographs: Exhibition in Berlin: http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/cansiz-dogan-and-saylemez-in-photographs.htm
In solidarity,
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish QuestionEmail: estella24@tiscali.co.uk <mailto:estella24@tiscali.co.uk>
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Sirinathsingh - Tel: 020 7272 7890
Fax: 020 7263 0596
Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Conor Murphy MP, John Austin, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas
Kurdish News Update, 30 December 2013
1. Öcalan’s New Photos Released
24 December 2013 / BianetPKK leader Öcalan’s new photos have been released as he met BDP Co-Chair Demirtaş and BDP Group Interim Chair Pervin Buldan on Imrali Island.
Released by Dicle News Agency (DIHA), the photos showed PKK leader Öcalan meeting with BDP Co-Chair Demirtaş and BDP Group Interim Chair Pervin Buldan on the peace process. Öcalan was captured on 16 February 1999 in Kenya and jailed in Imralı Prison ever since. On 29 June 1999, he was sentenced to death.
http://www.bianet.org/english/minorities/152320-ocalan-s-new-photos-released
2. Kurdish MP and HDP co-chair may lose parliamentary seat after top court approves sentence
29 December 2013 / HurriyetThe co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Sebahat Tuncel may lose her parliamentary seat after the Supreme Court of Appeals approved on Dec. 28 an eight-year sentence against her for membership in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Elected from the Peace and Democracy Party’s (BDP) list during the 2011 general elections, Tuncel recently joined the HDP, an umbrella party formed by leftist movements and supported by the Kurds, along with two other prominent BDP lawmakers, Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Sırrı Süreyya Önder. Tuncel may lose her parliamentary seat and immunity after the Supreme Court of Appeal’s eight-year, nine-month sentence is read out in the General Assembly, according to reports.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kurdish-mp-and-hdp-co-chair-tuncel-to-lose-immunity-after-top-court-approves-sentence.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60262&NewsCatID=338
3. Diyarbakir Mayor Tops List of BDP Candidates for Turkish Municipal Polls
27 December 2013 / RudawProminent in the list of candidates, announced by Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) for municipal elections next March, are Diyarbakir mayor Osman Baydemir and the party’s own former co-leader Ahmet Turk, as well as 32 female hopefuls. As political parties in Turkey gear for the polls, BDP is going full strength by nominating some of its most veteran leaders. Turk has been nominated for the city of Mardin. According to a Rudawcorrespondent in Diyarbakir, the BDP is working with a new system, nominating a female candidate for every male hopeful. There are 32 female candidates running across the country. In a speech announcing the list of candidates, BDP leader Selahattin Demirtas said that his party offers an alternative to all other political and religious groups in Turkey.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/27122013
4. KONGRA-GEL: Roboski will continue to be Erdoğan’s nightmare
29 December 2013 / ANHA NewsThe KONGRA-GEL executive council has issued a statement to mark the second anniversary of the Roboski massacre in which 34 civilians, mostly children, were killed by Turkish warplanes on 28 December 2011. KONGRA-GEL remarked that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the person responsible for the Roboski massacre, and that is why he cannot admit it, and therefore it will continue to be his nightmare. The statement continued, noting that two years have passed since the attack, adding: "For two whole years the AKP government has ignored the cries of the people of Roboski, but the murderers cannot escape."
http://www.hawarnews.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=836:kongra-gel-roboski-will-continue-to-be-erdoans-nightmare&catid=1:news&Itemid=2
5. Turkey applies to France for convicted sociologist Pınar Selek's extradition
29 December 2013 / HurriyetTurkey’s Justice Ministry has applied to French authorities to request sociologist Pınar Selek’s extradition to Turkey, Cihan news agency reported Dec. 29. Selek, a feminist scholar who resides in Strasbourg, was convicted of bombing Istanbul’s famous Spice Bazaar in 1998 and sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment last January, despite being acquitted of the same charge three times in the past. The verdict, which has stirred great outrage both inside and outside Turkey, was handed down in spite of the chief judge Vedat Yılmazabdurrahmanoğlu’s opposition. The chief judge rejected the verdict on the grounds that there was a lack of proof that the explosion was even caused by a bomb, but he was outvoted by his colleagues on the court board.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-applies-to-france-for-convicted-sociologists-seleks-extradition.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60282&NewsCatID=339
6. Around 500 lawyers gather in Silivri for trial of their colleagues
24 December 2013 / HurriyetHundreds of lawyers gathered in Istanbul’s Silivri to watch 22 of their colleagues working for the Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD) being tried over alleged links with the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C). All 22 lawyers, who were working for the organization that provides judicial support to human rights victims, are accused of aiding the far-leftist terrorist organization. Nine of the suspects were jailed pending the trial, which will be the first time all 22 suspects have appeared before a judge.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/around-500-lawyers-gather-in-silivri-for-trial-of-their-colleagues-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60077&NewsCatID=338 7. Kurdish Groups Agree to Attend Geneva 2 Under United Banner
26 December 2013 / RudawThe Syrian Kurdish People’s Council and Kurdistan National Council (KNC) have agreed to attend next month’s Geneva 2 conference under a united banner, and to reopen the Peshkhabur border with the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq.
The agreement was declared Tuesday in Erbil by Abdulsalam Ahmed, the co-leader of the People's Council that is affiliated with the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and Tahir Sifuk, who heads the KNC. Both leaders confirmed that Kurds will take part in the UN-backed conference in Geneva on January 22 as a single voice, and that whichever side attends, it will represent the other as well. They also announced a deal to reopen the Peshkhabur border crossing between Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) and the Kurdistan Region for humanitarian aid, trade and political delegations within 48 hours after signing the agreement.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/24122013
8. EUTCC supports Kurdish Supreme Council's participation in Geneva II
27 December 2013 / ANFThe EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) has sent a letter to UN, US, EU - and all other relevant representatives in support of the participation of the Kurdish Supreme Council in Geneva II in which the ongoing situation in Syria will be discussed in details on 22 January 2014. The letter was signed by Kariane Westrheim, Chair of EUTCC and the 10th EUTCC conference, on EU, Turkey and the Kurds, held 4 and 5 December 2013, under the theme ‘Turkey, the Kurds and the Imralı Peace Process: A Historical Opportunity’ was attended by EU parliamentarians, civil society activists, journalists, academics and politicians from across Turkey, Europe, America and the Middle East and discussed the peace process undertaken by Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the leader of the PKK, Mr. Abdullah Öcalan.
http://en.firatnews.eu/news/news/eutcc-supports-kurdish-supreme-council-s-participation-in-geneva-ii.htm
9. Syrian Kurds Agree to Side with Opposition in Geneva Talks
26 December 2013 / IEDEDespite an atmosphere of deep mutual distrust, two major rival Syrian Kurdish bodies have agreed to attend an expected international conference on the fate of Syria, known as Geneva II, on the side of the Syrian opposition forces, Syrian Kurdish sources told IPS.
That is contingent on the possibility that only two sides will be allowed to sit at the negotiating table: the government of President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition groups. Although the decision represents a significant change of direction on the part of the deeply-divided Syrian Kurds, there are serious doubts as to whether the agreement between the Western Kurdistan People’s Council (WKPC) and the Kurdish National Council (KNC) will actually be implemented.
http://www.iede.co.uk/news/2013_3734/syrian-kurds-agree-side-opposition-geneva-talks
10. YPG liberate 17 villages and progressing towards Tel Hamis
30 December 2013 / ANHA NewsThe number of villages liberated by the People’s Defense Units (YPG) in the campaign initiated by the request of all the components of the region in order to liberate the region from groups of mercenaries. The fourth day of the campaign initiated by the People’s Defence Units (YPG) at the request of the people of the region, progress of the YPG, especially in the front, which lies west of Tal Hamis point of the town of Tell Brak. The total proceeds of the liberated villages in front of Tell Brak - Tel Hamis since the beginning of the campaign, 17 villages. And maintained YPG provided by the fronts in the south, east and north of Tal Hamis where the tightly grip on the process of encircling the town, close to the ones in front of Tel Panthers - Tel Hamis a distance of 3 kms.
http://www.hawarnews.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=843:ypg-liberate-17-villages-and-progressing-towards-tel-hamis&catid=1:news&Itemid=2
11. Three Ministers Resign, One Urges PM to Resign in Turkey
25 December 2013 / Bianet3 cabinet ministers declared their resignations this morning while resigner Environment and Urbanization Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar urging PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to resign as well. “PM Erdoğan knew everything [regarding the corruption allegations]. He must resign too,” he told NTV.
“I don’t find anything insulting or inexplainable in the corruption case file after December 17 raids. While PM has the right to work with any minister that he assigns, he also has the right to replace any minister he likes. It is within his competencies.
“However, I don’t accept pressures towards resignation or releasing a relieving statement concerning the corruption probe.
http://www.bianet.org/english/politics/152343-three-ministers-resign-one-urges-pm-to-resign-in-turkey
12. Protesters take to the streets to protest against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan amid a growing corruption scandal
27 December 2013 / BuzzfeedTurkish riot police clashed in Istanbul on Friday with anti-government protestors demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, after a scandal erupted over allegations of widespread government corruption.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/miriamberger/powerful-images-of-anti-government-protests-in-istanbul
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
13. VIDEO: Rojava: Syria's Unknown War
24 December 2013 / ViceAs Syria’s bloody civil war enters its third year, fighting has reached the country’s Kurdish-dominated northeast, a region until recently almost untouched by the conflict. The Kurdish PYD party and its YPG militia, which is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in neighbouring Turkey, took over control of much of Hassakeh province from the Assad regime in the summer of 2012, and with it control of Syria’s precious oilfields.
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/vice-news/rojava-syrias-unknown-war
14. Reflections from Diyarbakir: Delivering the Message of ARF Youth
28 December 2013 / The Armenian WeeklyNavaf came rushing to the stage as we were coming off, ready to greet us with this piece of amazing news he had wanted to share for a long time now. My friend and I had just finished addressing the first youth conference of the Peace and Democracy of Turkey (BDP) in Diyarbakir (Dikranagerd). The mostly Kurdish crowd of supporters, upwards of 30,000, had watched in astonishment as two representatives of the ARF Youth and Student Organizations addressed the crowd first in Armenian and later in Turkish. Although I had briefly studied the Turkish language during my university days, something within me, instinct perhaps, had never allowed me to become fluent; and so, I had the honor of addressing the crowd in Armenian.
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/12/28/reflections-from-diyarbakir-delivering-the-message-of-arf-youth/
15. Rights Lawyer: Turkey Must Free Prisoners to Prove it is Sincere About Peace
26 December 2013 / RudawEren Keskin, the vice-president of the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD), has probably done more than most people for human rights in her country. And she has undoubtedly paid dearly for her work. She has been the subject of about a hundred lawsuits related to her human rights activities. In 1995, Keskin was sentenced to two-and-half years in prison for using the word “Kurdistan” in the article “The World Owes it to the Kurdish People,” which she published in the pro-Kurdish Ozgur Gundem newspaper. The same year she was named by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. But Keskin said the issue is bigger than just the use of the word Kurdistan. “We are talking about a geography which has been divided into four parts,” she told Rudaw in a recent interview. She said she learned about the hardship of the Kurds in Turkey by hearing of past massacres.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/26122013
16. Will Turkey’s Erdoğan Cause His Own Downfall?
27 December 2013 / New YorkerThe revolution always eats its children: in France, in the Soviet Union, in China, and, now, in Turkey. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, one of the most remarkable figures in the modern Middle East, is fast discovering that the authoritarian measures he has increasingly relied on to govern Turkey, and the cult of personality he has built around himself, are conspiring to bring about his political demise. Early this week, three members of Erdoğan’s cabinet, their sons implicated in a far-reaching corruption investigation, resigned, and one of them called on Erdoğan himself to quit. Yesterday, Erdoğan, in a blatant attempt to thwart the investigation, dismissed the lead prosecutor after he announced that he was investigating Erdoğan’s son. The drama is just beginning.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/12/recep-tayyip-erdoan-demise.html
17. Yet another Obama bungle: Turkey
29 December 2013 / American Thinker Barack Obama bet big on Turkey becoming an anchor of stability and democracy in the Middle East. And he is losing. As David Goldman writes at PJM: Obama went out of his way to make Erdogan his principal pal in foreign policy. I have been ridiculing this notion for years, for example in this 2010 essay for Tablet. As with nearly every other aspect of his Middle East policy, Obama is losing, big time. Turkey faces political and economic potential collapse.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/12/yet_another_obama_bungle_turkey.html
24 December 2013 / BianetPKK leader Öcalan’s new photos have been released as he met BDP Co-Chair Demirtaş and BDP Group Interim Chair Pervin Buldan on Imrali Island.
Released by Dicle News Agency (DIHA), the photos showed PKK leader Öcalan meeting with BDP Co-Chair Demirtaş and BDP Group Interim Chair Pervin Buldan on the peace process. Öcalan was captured on 16 February 1999 in Kenya and jailed in Imralı Prison ever since. On 29 June 1999, he was sentenced to death.
http://www.bianet.org/english/minorities/152320-ocalan-s-new-photos-released
2. Kurdish MP and HDP co-chair may lose parliamentary seat after top court approves sentence
29 December 2013 / HurriyetThe co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Sebahat Tuncel may lose her parliamentary seat after the Supreme Court of Appeals approved on Dec. 28 an eight-year sentence against her for membership in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Elected from the Peace and Democracy Party’s (BDP) list during the 2011 general elections, Tuncel recently joined the HDP, an umbrella party formed by leftist movements and supported by the Kurds, along with two other prominent BDP lawmakers, Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Sırrı Süreyya Önder. Tuncel may lose her parliamentary seat and immunity after the Supreme Court of Appeal’s eight-year, nine-month sentence is read out in the General Assembly, according to reports.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kurdish-mp-and-hdp-co-chair-tuncel-to-lose-immunity-after-top-court-approves-sentence.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60262&NewsCatID=338
3. Diyarbakir Mayor Tops List of BDP Candidates for Turkish Municipal Polls
27 December 2013 / RudawProminent in the list of candidates, announced by Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) for municipal elections next March, are Diyarbakir mayor Osman Baydemir and the party’s own former co-leader Ahmet Turk, as well as 32 female hopefuls. As political parties in Turkey gear for the polls, BDP is going full strength by nominating some of its most veteran leaders. Turk has been nominated for the city of Mardin. According to a Rudawcorrespondent in Diyarbakir, the BDP is working with a new system, nominating a female candidate for every male hopeful. There are 32 female candidates running across the country. In a speech announcing the list of candidates, BDP leader Selahattin Demirtas said that his party offers an alternative to all other political and religious groups in Turkey.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/27122013
4. KONGRA-GEL: Roboski will continue to be Erdoğan’s nightmare
29 December 2013 / ANHA NewsThe KONGRA-GEL executive council has issued a statement to mark the second anniversary of the Roboski massacre in which 34 civilians, mostly children, were killed by Turkish warplanes on 28 December 2011. KONGRA-GEL remarked that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the person responsible for the Roboski massacre, and that is why he cannot admit it, and therefore it will continue to be his nightmare. The statement continued, noting that two years have passed since the attack, adding: "For two whole years the AKP government has ignored the cries of the people of Roboski, but the murderers cannot escape."
http://www.hawarnews.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=836:kongra-gel-roboski-will-continue-to-be-erdoans-nightmare&catid=1:news&Itemid=2
5. Turkey applies to France for convicted sociologist Pınar Selek's extradition
29 December 2013 / HurriyetTurkey’s Justice Ministry has applied to French authorities to request sociologist Pınar Selek’s extradition to Turkey, Cihan news agency reported Dec. 29. Selek, a feminist scholar who resides in Strasbourg, was convicted of bombing Istanbul’s famous Spice Bazaar in 1998 and sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment last January, despite being acquitted of the same charge three times in the past. The verdict, which has stirred great outrage both inside and outside Turkey, was handed down in spite of the chief judge Vedat Yılmazabdurrahmanoğlu’s opposition. The chief judge rejected the verdict on the grounds that there was a lack of proof that the explosion was even caused by a bomb, but he was outvoted by his colleagues on the court board.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-applies-to-france-for-convicted-sociologists-seleks-extradition.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60282&NewsCatID=339
6. Around 500 lawyers gather in Silivri for trial of their colleagues
24 December 2013 / HurriyetHundreds of lawyers gathered in Istanbul’s Silivri to watch 22 of their colleagues working for the Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD) being tried over alleged links with the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C). All 22 lawyers, who were working for the organization that provides judicial support to human rights victims, are accused of aiding the far-leftist terrorist organization. Nine of the suspects were jailed pending the trial, which will be the first time all 22 suspects have appeared before a judge.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/around-500-lawyers-gather-in-silivri-for-trial-of-their-colleagues-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60077&NewsCatID=338 7. Kurdish Groups Agree to Attend Geneva 2 Under United Banner
26 December 2013 / RudawThe Syrian Kurdish People’s Council and Kurdistan National Council (KNC) have agreed to attend next month’s Geneva 2 conference under a united banner, and to reopen the Peshkhabur border with the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq.
The agreement was declared Tuesday in Erbil by Abdulsalam Ahmed, the co-leader of the People's Council that is affiliated with the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and Tahir Sifuk, who heads the KNC. Both leaders confirmed that Kurds will take part in the UN-backed conference in Geneva on January 22 as a single voice, and that whichever side attends, it will represent the other as well. They also announced a deal to reopen the Peshkhabur border crossing between Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) and the Kurdistan Region for humanitarian aid, trade and political delegations within 48 hours after signing the agreement.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/24122013
8. EUTCC supports Kurdish Supreme Council's participation in Geneva II
27 December 2013 / ANFThe EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) has sent a letter to UN, US, EU - and all other relevant representatives in support of the participation of the Kurdish Supreme Council in Geneva II in which the ongoing situation in Syria will be discussed in details on 22 January 2014. The letter was signed by Kariane Westrheim, Chair of EUTCC and the 10th EUTCC conference, on EU, Turkey and the Kurds, held 4 and 5 December 2013, under the theme ‘Turkey, the Kurds and the Imralı Peace Process: A Historical Opportunity’ was attended by EU parliamentarians, civil society activists, journalists, academics and politicians from across Turkey, Europe, America and the Middle East and discussed the peace process undertaken by Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the leader of the PKK, Mr. Abdullah Öcalan.
http://en.firatnews.eu/news/news/eutcc-supports-kurdish-supreme-council-s-participation-in-geneva-ii.htm
9. Syrian Kurds Agree to Side with Opposition in Geneva Talks
26 December 2013 / IEDEDespite an atmosphere of deep mutual distrust, two major rival Syrian Kurdish bodies have agreed to attend an expected international conference on the fate of Syria, known as Geneva II, on the side of the Syrian opposition forces, Syrian Kurdish sources told IPS.
That is contingent on the possibility that only two sides will be allowed to sit at the negotiating table: the government of President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition groups. Although the decision represents a significant change of direction on the part of the deeply-divided Syrian Kurds, there are serious doubts as to whether the agreement between the Western Kurdistan People’s Council (WKPC) and the Kurdish National Council (KNC) will actually be implemented.
http://www.iede.co.uk/news/2013_3734/syrian-kurds-agree-side-opposition-geneva-talks
10. YPG liberate 17 villages and progressing towards Tel Hamis
30 December 2013 / ANHA NewsThe number of villages liberated by the People’s Defense Units (YPG) in the campaign initiated by the request of all the components of the region in order to liberate the region from groups of mercenaries. The fourth day of the campaign initiated by the People’s Defence Units (YPG) at the request of the people of the region, progress of the YPG, especially in the front, which lies west of Tal Hamis point of the town of Tell Brak. The total proceeds of the liberated villages in front of Tell Brak - Tel Hamis since the beginning of the campaign, 17 villages. And maintained YPG provided by the fronts in the south, east and north of Tal Hamis where the tightly grip on the process of encircling the town, close to the ones in front of Tel Panthers - Tel Hamis a distance of 3 kms.
http://www.hawarnews.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=843:ypg-liberate-17-villages-and-progressing-towards-tel-hamis&catid=1:news&Itemid=2
11. Three Ministers Resign, One Urges PM to Resign in Turkey
25 December 2013 / Bianet3 cabinet ministers declared their resignations this morning while resigner Environment and Urbanization Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar urging PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to resign as well. “PM Erdoğan knew everything [regarding the corruption allegations]. He must resign too,” he told NTV.
“I don’t find anything insulting or inexplainable in the corruption case file after December 17 raids. While PM has the right to work with any minister that he assigns, he also has the right to replace any minister he likes. It is within his competencies.
“However, I don’t accept pressures towards resignation or releasing a relieving statement concerning the corruption probe.
http://www.bianet.org/english/politics/152343-three-ministers-resign-one-urges-pm-to-resign-in-turkey
12. Protesters take to the streets to protest against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan amid a growing corruption scandal
27 December 2013 / BuzzfeedTurkish riot police clashed in Istanbul on Friday with anti-government protestors demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, after a scandal erupted over allegations of widespread government corruption.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/miriamberger/powerful-images-of-anti-government-protests-in-istanbul
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
13. VIDEO: Rojava: Syria's Unknown War
24 December 2013 / ViceAs Syria’s bloody civil war enters its third year, fighting has reached the country’s Kurdish-dominated northeast, a region until recently almost untouched by the conflict. The Kurdish PYD party and its YPG militia, which is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in neighbouring Turkey, took over control of much of Hassakeh province from the Assad regime in the summer of 2012, and with it control of Syria’s precious oilfields.
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/vice-news/rojava-syrias-unknown-war
14. Reflections from Diyarbakir: Delivering the Message of ARF Youth
28 December 2013 / The Armenian WeeklyNavaf came rushing to the stage as we were coming off, ready to greet us with this piece of amazing news he had wanted to share for a long time now. My friend and I had just finished addressing the first youth conference of the Peace and Democracy of Turkey (BDP) in Diyarbakir (Dikranagerd). The mostly Kurdish crowd of supporters, upwards of 30,000, had watched in astonishment as two representatives of the ARF Youth and Student Organizations addressed the crowd first in Armenian and later in Turkish. Although I had briefly studied the Turkish language during my university days, something within me, instinct perhaps, had never allowed me to become fluent; and so, I had the honor of addressing the crowd in Armenian.
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/12/28/reflections-from-diyarbakir-delivering-the-message-of-arf-youth/
15. Rights Lawyer: Turkey Must Free Prisoners to Prove it is Sincere About Peace
26 December 2013 / RudawEren Keskin, the vice-president of the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD), has probably done more than most people for human rights in her country. And she has undoubtedly paid dearly for her work. She has been the subject of about a hundred lawsuits related to her human rights activities. In 1995, Keskin was sentenced to two-and-half years in prison for using the word “Kurdistan” in the article “The World Owes it to the Kurdish People,” which she published in the pro-Kurdish Ozgur Gundem newspaper. The same year she was named by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. But Keskin said the issue is bigger than just the use of the word Kurdistan. “We are talking about a geography which has been divided into four parts,” she told Rudaw in a recent interview. She said she learned about the hardship of the Kurds in Turkey by hearing of past massacres.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/26122013
16. Will Turkey’s Erdoğan Cause His Own Downfall?
27 December 2013 / New YorkerThe revolution always eats its children: in France, in the Soviet Union, in China, and, now, in Turkey. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, one of the most remarkable figures in the modern Middle East, is fast discovering that the authoritarian measures he has increasingly relied on to govern Turkey, and the cult of personality he has built around himself, are conspiring to bring about his political demise. Early this week, three members of Erdoğan’s cabinet, their sons implicated in a far-reaching corruption investigation, resigned, and one of them called on Erdoğan himself to quit. Yesterday, Erdoğan, in a blatant attempt to thwart the investigation, dismissed the lead prosecutor after he announced that he was investigating Erdoğan’s son. The drama is just beginning.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/12/recep-tayyip-erdoan-demise.html
17. Yet another Obama bungle: Turkey
29 December 2013 / American Thinker Barack Obama bet big on Turkey becoming an anchor of stability and democracy in the Middle East. And he is losing. As David Goldman writes at PJM: Obama went out of his way to make Erdogan his principal pal in foreign policy. I have been ridiculing this notion for years, for example in this 2010 essay for Tablet. As with nearly every other aspect of his Middle East policy, Obama is losing, big time. Turkey faces political and economic potential collapse.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/12/yet_another_obama_bungle_turkey.html
Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Statement on the ROBOSKI MASSACRE
Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Statement on the ROBOSKI MASSACRE
The date of December 28, 2011 is a dark day in the history of Kurdistan and for humanity as a whole. Under the dead of night, the Turkish army, under the authority of the AKP, bombed the village of Roboski near Qilaban resulting in the deaths of 34 people. Roboski village is officially on the border between Turkey and Iraq. However, on the maps of Kurdistan, it is placed centrally in Kurdistan. According to the Turkish army, the area surrounding Roboski is an alleged ‘’war zone” therefore justifying its bombing. The AKP government and Prime Minister Tayyib Erdogan confirmed this claim and did not initiate any investigations, neither administrative nor legally.
The Turkish army holds to the view that the Kurdish people as a whole are rebellious for which it is free to bomb as such. In fact, it has not refrained from bombing all over Kurdistan even today. It is without doubt that Roboski village is not a field of battle but is rather a region of civilian life. Following from the militaristic assimilating and colonialist politics of the Turkish state and the AKP government, the people of Roboski as well as people of many other regions of Kurdistan have been suffering from poverty and extreme circumstances. For this reason the people of Roboski have been trading between their villages and Zaxo, a city of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
The Turkish state, the AKP government, and the military battalion around Roboski are fully aware that the people of the village perform trading “on the borders”. And those doing this on that very day were mostly youths. Without any work or opportunities in Turkey, they had been forced to do business of their own. The reason for these young people doing this kind of work is a result of the basic injustice and unequal politics of the Turkish state and the AKP government. Yet, those who killed the youths are the very same state and the same government. Those killed were aged between 19 and 25. In a savage attack hidden from view, 34 youths and 40 mules were bombed to death by combat flights.
On the day of December 28, 2011 at 9.37 pm the combat flights obediently followed directions from their military commanders and the AKP government and released a rain of bombs over the youths resulting in the total destruction of the bodies of 34 youths and that of their animals.
Two years have passed since this painful and tragic event. Yet, the AKP government has not revealed the names of the assassins of this massacre nor brought them to justice. The pilots of the aircrafts and those responsible for the verdict have not been brought to light. This is due to the AKP government’s reluctance to expose those administratively responsible for this massacre and to bring the murderers to justice. Since the AKP government and the prime minister are politically and administratively responsible and share the main responsibility for this crime against humanity, they are covering up the incident as much as possible and will not allow the facts of the incident to be fully disclosed.
However, the Turkish state, the commanders of the Turkish army, as well as the AKP government and Prime Minister Tayyib Erdogan are to blame for this massacre and are guilty in the eyes of the Kurdish people and all humanity. They must be held fully accountable and are the major culprits in this catastrophe.
The Kurds have passed sentence on the President, the Commander-in-chief and the Prime Minister of the Turkish state in their hearts and their conscience and hold them to be guilty against the court of humanity. Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and all humanity will not acquit them. Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and hence all humanity condemn them in anger and outrage. Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and humanity will not forget nor allow the memory of this massacre to be forgotten.
The massacre of Roboski is not only the cause of the grief of its inhabitants, it is the grief of all Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and hence of all humanity.
We call for all Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and all human beings with a conscience to pursue the truth of this incident, and to continue the pressure on the Turkish state until those responsible are brought to light, to justice and are punished.
Kurds and the people of Kurdistan must work to bring the Roboski massacre to the attention of international law so that it is recognised as a massacre of a group of youths and is always remembered.
On the anniversary of this terrible massacre, we once again send our blessings and condolences to those killed, their families, all people of Roboski and all of the people of Kurdistan.
Executive Council of KNK
December 28, 2013
Brussels
Video: ROBOSKI MASSACRE FLASH MOB DEMONSTRATION - LONDON 28.12.2013" on YouTube -youtube.com/watch?v=osarp7… <https://t.co/redirect?url=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2Fag240cMlVi&sig=e27059071d6bf5da5a1f0c6de52cdc219f1cae8b&uid=383167026&iid=b0553e996776439daadab060dd32aacb&nid=4+1268&t=1> #Roboski <https://twitter.com/i/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3D%2523Roboski&sig=048fa95fd49f46b78f0beadbd6d258ba947b7ffd&uid=383167026&iid=b0553e996776439daadab060dd32aacb&nid=4+1269&t=1> #TwitterKur <https://twitter.com/i/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3D%2523TwitterKur&sig=d15f72fca2e8d9057f241ebb945bc77c86aa5264&uid=383167026&iid=b0553e996776439daadab060dd32aacb&nid=4+1269&t=1>
The Turkish army holds to the view that the Kurdish people as a whole are rebellious for which it is free to bomb as such. In fact, it has not refrained from bombing all over Kurdistan even today. It is without doubt that Roboski village is not a field of battle but is rather a region of civilian life. Following from the militaristic assimilating and colonialist politics of the Turkish state and the AKP government, the people of Roboski as well as people of many other regions of Kurdistan have been suffering from poverty and extreme circumstances. For this reason the people of Roboski have been trading between their villages and Zaxo, a city of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
The Turkish state, the AKP government, and the military battalion around Roboski are fully aware that the people of the village perform trading “on the borders”. And those doing this on that very day were mostly youths. Without any work or opportunities in Turkey, they had been forced to do business of their own. The reason for these young people doing this kind of work is a result of the basic injustice and unequal politics of the Turkish state and the AKP government. Yet, those who killed the youths are the very same state and the same government. Those killed were aged between 19 and 25. In a savage attack hidden from view, 34 youths and 40 mules were bombed to death by combat flights.
On the day of December 28, 2011 at 9.37 pm the combat flights obediently followed directions from their military commanders and the AKP government and released a rain of bombs over the youths resulting in the total destruction of the bodies of 34 youths and that of their animals.
Two years have passed since this painful and tragic event. Yet, the AKP government has not revealed the names of the assassins of this massacre nor brought them to justice. The pilots of the aircrafts and those responsible for the verdict have not been brought to light. This is due to the AKP government’s reluctance to expose those administratively responsible for this massacre and to bring the murderers to justice. Since the AKP government and the prime minister are politically and administratively responsible and share the main responsibility for this crime against humanity, they are covering up the incident as much as possible and will not allow the facts of the incident to be fully disclosed.
However, the Turkish state, the commanders of the Turkish army, as well as the AKP government and Prime Minister Tayyib Erdogan are to blame for this massacre and are guilty in the eyes of the Kurdish people and all humanity. They must be held fully accountable and are the major culprits in this catastrophe.
The Kurds have passed sentence on the President, the Commander-in-chief and the Prime Minister of the Turkish state in their hearts and their conscience and hold them to be guilty against the court of humanity. Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and all humanity will not acquit them. Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and hence all humanity condemn them in anger and outrage. Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and humanity will not forget nor allow the memory of this massacre to be forgotten.
The massacre of Roboski is not only the cause of the grief of its inhabitants, it is the grief of all Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and hence of all humanity.
We call for all Kurds, the people of Kurdistan and all human beings with a conscience to pursue the truth of this incident, and to continue the pressure on the Turkish state until those responsible are brought to light, to justice and are punished.
Kurds and the people of Kurdistan must work to bring the Roboski massacre to the attention of international law so that it is recognised as a massacre of a group of youths and is always remembered.
On the anniversary of this terrible massacre, we once again send our blessings and condolences to those killed, their families, all people of Roboski and all of the people of Kurdistan.
Executive Council of KNK
December 28, 2013
Brussels
Video: ROBOSKI MASSACRE FLASH MOB DEMONSTRATION - LONDON 28.12.2013" on YouTube -youtube.com/watch?v=osarp7… <https://t.co/redirect?url=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2Fag240cMlVi&sig=e27059071d6bf5da5a1f0c6de52cdc219f1cae8b&uid=383167026&iid=b0553e996776439daadab060dd32aacb&nid=4+1268&t=1> #Roboski <https://twitter.com/i/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3D%2523Roboski&sig=048fa95fd49f46b78f0beadbd6d258ba947b7ffd&uid=383167026&iid=b0553e996776439daadab060dd32aacb&nid=4+1269&t=1> #TwitterKur <https://twitter.com/i/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3D%2523TwitterKur&sig=d15f72fca2e8d9057f241ebb945bc77c86aa5264&uid=383167026&iid=b0553e996776439daadab060dd32aacb&nid=4+1269&t=1>
Margaret Owen blogs from the KCK trial of lawyers in Istanbul
Margaret Owen OBE, who yesterday observed a KCK trial of lawyers in Istanbul
along with four other lawyers from the UK, has written a blog detailing her
observations:
Blog from Istanbul, Turkey
By Margaret Owen
December 20, 2013
Our bus, carrying the international delegation of lawyers, from UK,
France, Germany and the Netherlands - diminished now in numbers
compared to the size of the delegation in previous hearings (being so
close to Christmas) - left Istanbul at 7.30am and arrived at the
Silivri Court room, in the prison complex by the Sea of Marmara, by
9.30 on Thursday, the 19th December.
This is the 7th hearing of the trial of 45 Kurdish lawyers under
Turkey's anti-terrorism Legislation. Each time we hope for the case
will be dismissed and all the defendants acquitted, or at least all
those in prison be granted bail.
We are on this ride, most of us for the 7th time, so we are familiar
with the landscape as we travel out of the city and through its
suburban sprawl for 90 minutes. The outskirts of Istanbul becoming
uglier on each journey as the once green land sprouts ever-increasing
high rise concrete apartment blocks stretching into the horizon, often
shoddily constructed, making billionaires out of construction moguls,
some of whom, close associates of Prime Minister Erdogan, have just,
in the last week, been arrested on corruption charges.
These recent arrests reflect the political tensions in Erdogan's
authoritarian government, of concern to many Turkish citizens as well
as its Kurds. The political opposition to Erdogan covers a wide
spectrum of complex issues, including the humanitarian disaster in
Syria, Turkey's role in supporting the opposition there, and, of
course, the continuing question of whether it really wants to solve
its Kurdish problem and make peace non-violently, using dialogue and
negotiation, rather than the gun, and the continual silencing and
persecution of its Kurdish population. These trials of lawyers, in a
country which hosts over 10,000 political prisoners, are, declared
several of the advocates, shaming Turkey's reputation abroad. They
begged the judge to be aware of our presence as international
observers in his court and to show more respect to us by allowing us
to sit nearer to the bench so we could better follow the proceedings.
The corridors of the Court house are crowded with the families of the
defendants. 15 of the 45 lawyers, whose alleged crime is that they
represent the imprisoned Kurdish leader, Abdullah Ocalan, have been in
prison for more than 2 years. Others have spent many months in
detention, and when occasional releases on bail have been granted, no
reasons are given and these decisions appear to have no logical basis.
All are accused of being members or on the board of a "Leadership
Committee" which the Prosecutor declares is an arm of the PKK, and is
covertly delivering terrorist typed messages to it from the imprisoned
Kurdish leader.
My previous blogs have detailed the facts that demonstrate so clearly
that this trial, like the many other long-drawn out ones going on
across Turkey, is a political one, and patently unfair. There is
without doubt, no evidence for these allegations. The Prosecution has
called not a single witness. Moreover, the arrests of the lawyers
breach Turkey's own domestic laws, international standards on the
rights of lawyers, and articles of the ECHR.
As before, we, along with the families, are herded into the very back
seats of the vast courtroom from where it is quite impossible to even
make out, unless you have telescopic eyes, the figure of the Judge,
Mehmet Kildiz, his co-judges or the Prosecutor. Two big screens will
allow us to see the defendants and their lawyers, but not the Bench or
the Prosecutor.
We must rely on the few friends we have among the latter, and the
wonderful and helpful Ramazan Demir (himself now facing possible
charges over his work as defence lawyer of the journalists indicted
under the Terrorism law in another trial) to provide us with whispered
translations of what is being said in Turkish, translated from the
Kurdish speeches of the defendants.
But this was a special and emotional day for the Kurds for it is the
anniversary of the shocking attack with chemical weapons, in 1999, on
the prison in Istanbul, when many Kurdish prisoners died or were
horribly injured. The defence also recalled the wave of arrests of
lawyers, elected mayors, parliamentarians, academics, journalists, and
NGO activists following the BDP election successes in 2009; and the
massacre of innocent Kurds in Roboski in 2011 where 38 people were
killed including 8 children. This trial, they declaimed, is yet
another example of AKP hypocrisy and perfidy, pretending on the one
hand, to gain international approval, that it is willing to make
peace, and on the other hand using the lawyers as "hostages" in its
war with the Kurds.
As the defendants came up through the door in the front section of the
court, several metres in front of us, relatives and small children,
elderly mothers, old fathers and sad brothers waved, tried to shout
greetings to their loved ones. We waved too.
And then the long hearing began, little different from previous ones
but with more fireworks and dramatic political speeches delivered in
Kurdish by lawyers, one of whom was quite Shakespearean in his
gestures making me think of Garrick, Kean and our very own Michael
Mansfield, accompanied by bursts of extreme temper from Judge Mehmet
Kildiz.
It was a very long, tiring and difficult day, with much drama and
anger. Here I have only space and time to report the key issues.
1. There is no presumption of innocence.
2. No examination or cross-examination as there are no witnesses.
3. The judge has never actually seen the so-called digital evidence
upon which much of the prosecution case rests. A woman defence lawyer
skilfully produced a detailed technical analysis of the report by an
internet expert that proved the police claim of digital evidence to be
totally unfounded. The Internet cafe alluded to in the indictment had
CCTV so would have shown the defendant to be there as alleged, and
the photograph showing him in the street outside had no relevance to
the charges; he often walked that street as his office was nearby.
The police never passed on to the court details of the claimed
"digital" evidence, on which the indictment is based, such as
Internet email communications that were supposed to prove that the
defendants were passing on terrorist type messages to PKK agents.
4. Again and again, lawyers have made comments or requests to the
judge that are never answered. The Judge remains silent or simply
answers “No". For example that:
- Ocalan, the principal witness for this prosecution, (for all the
charges concern him and his relationships and conversations with his
lawyers) be brought to court to be examined;
- The court follow the ruling of the Turkish Supreme Court which,
reliant on Article 6 of the ECHR, ruled on a "reasonable" length of
any pre trial detention.
- One defendant is a victim of triple jeopardy. He had twice been
charged and acquitted on the same alleged offence and now, charged
again, is in prison. (Faced with this argument, the Judge simply
shouted " You have no right to accuse people of my court" but made no
other response)
- Give reasons why release on bail has not been granted, and where it
has, on what grounds
- Show respect for the international observers and invite them to sit
nearer the front of the court, so they could better follow the
proceedings
- Delay the closing speech of the Prosecutor until the Judge has
answered the defence arguments
5. The arrests of Kurdish lawyers, journalists, and other peace
activists, occur exactly when the peace negotiations between the AKP
and Ocalan come to a halt. Harassment, arrests and detention of
these individual journalists, trade unionists, and politicians who
dare to stand up for the human rights of the Kurds appear to have a
direct connection with the degree to which the AKP is genuine about
wishing to resolve the Kurdish problem by peaceful means.
6. It is ludicrous that the defendants are indicted for visiting Ocalan
in his island prison, and having discussions with him as his lawyers,
(often in the presence of a government agent, and these confidential
discussions bugged and taped) when the AKP and the BDP are visiting
him. Their visits are lawful, but the lawyers’ visits are criminal.
7. The defendants, as Ocalan's advocates were "simply doing their
professional job". Their conversations with their client were
"privileged".
Finally. Around 7pm. The court was adjourned and the defendants
left the court, the 15 detainees taken back to the prison in the vans,
nobody knowing whether any of them would be released.
The prosecutor, for the first time this day, opened his mouth to tell
us that since he was new to the case, having only been appointed to it
for the 6th hearing in September, he was unable to make a closing
speech since he had yet to read the full indictment. Gasps of
disbelief from everyone at this admission. He has had over 3 months
to read the documents whilst innocent lawyers are kept in harsh
detention for over two years.
After 30 minutes we returned, to hear from the Judge that 5 detainees
would be released on bail. Again, no reasons were given.
The case is now adjourned until April 8th, with the possibility that
the next hearing will accommodate some of the other trials of lawyers,
facing similar charges, elsewhere. These trials could continue for
years.
We left Istanbul no happier. Still 10 lawyers, as many of us sit down
to enjoy our Christmas dinner, with our family and friends, will be
starting a third year in a cold, hard, and wretched prison. What
sort of peace with the Kurds is Erdogan intending?
Alas, I have not done justice to the marvellous oratory of the
defendants and their lawyers, women and men advocates, and the
multiple and appalling examples of injustice, and absence of due
process duly exposed. My notes are copious and I wish I had more
space and time to write more fully.
But I am now off to Rojava, to work with the PYD and the Syrian
Kurdish women to ensure they are participants in any Syrian peace
process and that UN SCR 1325 will be adhered to by all actors in it.
I also intend, in the next few months, to have learnt sufficient
Kurmamji. Kurdish to understand the defendants speeches at the 8th
hearing next April, and one day to make a speech in this beautiful
and ancient tongue on the streets of Ankara and Istanbul.
Margaret Owen O.B.E. Barrister. Peace in Kurdistan
---
For more information on the KCK trial delegation, contact:
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish QuestionEmail: estella24@tiscali.co.uk <mailto:estella24@tiscali.co.uk>
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Sirinathsingh - Tel: 020 7272 7890
Fax: 020 7263 0596
Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Conor Murphy MP, John Austin, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas
along with four other lawyers from the UK, has written a blog detailing her
observations:
Blog from Istanbul, Turkey
By Margaret Owen
December 20, 2013
Our bus, carrying the international delegation of lawyers, from UK,
France, Germany and the Netherlands - diminished now in numbers
compared to the size of the delegation in previous hearings (being so
close to Christmas) - left Istanbul at 7.30am and arrived at the
Silivri Court room, in the prison complex by the Sea of Marmara, by
9.30 on Thursday, the 19th December.
This is the 7th hearing of the trial of 45 Kurdish lawyers under
Turkey's anti-terrorism Legislation. Each time we hope for the case
will be dismissed and all the defendants acquitted, or at least all
those in prison be granted bail.
We are on this ride, most of us for the 7th time, so we are familiar
with the landscape as we travel out of the city and through its
suburban sprawl for 90 minutes. The outskirts of Istanbul becoming
uglier on each journey as the once green land sprouts ever-increasing
high rise concrete apartment blocks stretching into the horizon, often
shoddily constructed, making billionaires out of construction moguls,
some of whom, close associates of Prime Minister Erdogan, have just,
in the last week, been arrested on corruption charges.
These recent arrests reflect the political tensions in Erdogan's
authoritarian government, of concern to many Turkish citizens as well
as its Kurds. The political opposition to Erdogan covers a wide
spectrum of complex issues, including the humanitarian disaster in
Syria, Turkey's role in supporting the opposition there, and, of
course, the continuing question of whether it really wants to solve
its Kurdish problem and make peace non-violently, using dialogue and
negotiation, rather than the gun, and the continual silencing and
persecution of its Kurdish population. These trials of lawyers, in a
country which hosts over 10,000 political prisoners, are, declared
several of the advocates, shaming Turkey's reputation abroad. They
begged the judge to be aware of our presence as international
observers in his court and to show more respect to us by allowing us
to sit nearer to the bench so we could better follow the proceedings.
The corridors of the Court house are crowded with the families of the
defendants. 15 of the 45 lawyers, whose alleged crime is that they
represent the imprisoned Kurdish leader, Abdullah Ocalan, have been in
prison for more than 2 years. Others have spent many months in
detention, and when occasional releases on bail have been granted, no
reasons are given and these decisions appear to have no logical basis.
All are accused of being members or on the board of a "Leadership
Committee" which the Prosecutor declares is an arm of the PKK, and is
covertly delivering terrorist typed messages to it from the imprisoned
Kurdish leader.
My previous blogs have detailed the facts that demonstrate so clearly
that this trial, like the many other long-drawn out ones going on
across Turkey, is a political one, and patently unfair. There is
without doubt, no evidence for these allegations. The Prosecution has
called not a single witness. Moreover, the arrests of the lawyers
breach Turkey's own domestic laws, international standards on the
rights of lawyers, and articles of the ECHR.
As before, we, along with the families, are herded into the very back
seats of the vast courtroom from where it is quite impossible to even
make out, unless you have telescopic eyes, the figure of the Judge,
Mehmet Kildiz, his co-judges or the Prosecutor. Two big screens will
allow us to see the defendants and their lawyers, but not the Bench or
the Prosecutor.
We must rely on the few friends we have among the latter, and the
wonderful and helpful Ramazan Demir (himself now facing possible
charges over his work as defence lawyer of the journalists indicted
under the Terrorism law in another trial) to provide us with whispered
translations of what is being said in Turkish, translated from the
Kurdish speeches of the defendants.
But this was a special and emotional day for the Kurds for it is the
anniversary of the shocking attack with chemical weapons, in 1999, on
the prison in Istanbul, when many Kurdish prisoners died or were
horribly injured. The defence also recalled the wave of arrests of
lawyers, elected mayors, parliamentarians, academics, journalists, and
NGO activists following the BDP election successes in 2009; and the
massacre of innocent Kurds in Roboski in 2011 where 38 people were
killed including 8 children. This trial, they declaimed, is yet
another example of AKP hypocrisy and perfidy, pretending on the one
hand, to gain international approval, that it is willing to make
peace, and on the other hand using the lawyers as "hostages" in its
war with the Kurds.
As the defendants came up through the door in the front section of the
court, several metres in front of us, relatives and small children,
elderly mothers, old fathers and sad brothers waved, tried to shout
greetings to their loved ones. We waved too.
And then the long hearing began, little different from previous ones
but with more fireworks and dramatic political speeches delivered in
Kurdish by lawyers, one of whom was quite Shakespearean in his
gestures making me think of Garrick, Kean and our very own Michael
Mansfield, accompanied by bursts of extreme temper from Judge Mehmet
Kildiz.
It was a very long, tiring and difficult day, with much drama and
anger. Here I have only space and time to report the key issues.
1. There is no presumption of innocence.
2. No examination or cross-examination as there are no witnesses.
3. The judge has never actually seen the so-called digital evidence
upon which much of the prosecution case rests. A woman defence lawyer
skilfully produced a detailed technical analysis of the report by an
internet expert that proved the police claim of digital evidence to be
totally unfounded. The Internet cafe alluded to in the indictment had
CCTV so would have shown the defendant to be there as alleged, and
the photograph showing him in the street outside had no relevance to
the charges; he often walked that street as his office was nearby.
The police never passed on to the court details of the claimed
"digital" evidence, on which the indictment is based, such as
Internet email communications that were supposed to prove that the
defendants were passing on terrorist type messages to PKK agents.
4. Again and again, lawyers have made comments or requests to the
judge that are never answered. The Judge remains silent or simply
answers “No". For example that:
- Ocalan, the principal witness for this prosecution, (for all the
charges concern him and his relationships and conversations with his
lawyers) be brought to court to be examined;
- The court follow the ruling of the Turkish Supreme Court which,
reliant on Article 6 of the ECHR, ruled on a "reasonable" length of
any pre trial detention.
- One defendant is a victim of triple jeopardy. He had twice been
charged and acquitted on the same alleged offence and now, charged
again, is in prison. (Faced with this argument, the Judge simply
shouted " You have no right to accuse people of my court" but made no
other response)
- Give reasons why release on bail has not been granted, and where it
has, on what grounds
- Show respect for the international observers and invite them to sit
nearer the front of the court, so they could better follow the
proceedings
- Delay the closing speech of the Prosecutor until the Judge has
answered the defence arguments
5. The arrests of Kurdish lawyers, journalists, and other peace
activists, occur exactly when the peace negotiations between the AKP
and Ocalan come to a halt. Harassment, arrests and detention of
these individual journalists, trade unionists, and politicians who
dare to stand up for the human rights of the Kurds appear to have a
direct connection with the degree to which the AKP is genuine about
wishing to resolve the Kurdish problem by peaceful means.
6. It is ludicrous that the defendants are indicted for visiting Ocalan
in his island prison, and having discussions with him as his lawyers,
(often in the presence of a government agent, and these confidential
discussions bugged and taped) when the AKP and the BDP are visiting
him. Their visits are lawful, but the lawyers’ visits are criminal.
7. The defendants, as Ocalan's advocates were "simply doing their
professional job". Their conversations with their client were
"privileged".
Finally. Around 7pm. The court was adjourned and the defendants
left the court, the 15 detainees taken back to the prison in the vans,
nobody knowing whether any of them would be released.
The prosecutor, for the first time this day, opened his mouth to tell
us that since he was new to the case, having only been appointed to it
for the 6th hearing in September, he was unable to make a closing
speech since he had yet to read the full indictment. Gasps of
disbelief from everyone at this admission. He has had over 3 months
to read the documents whilst innocent lawyers are kept in harsh
detention for over two years.
After 30 minutes we returned, to hear from the Judge that 5 detainees
would be released on bail. Again, no reasons were given.
The case is now adjourned until April 8th, with the possibility that
the next hearing will accommodate some of the other trials of lawyers,
facing similar charges, elsewhere. These trials could continue for
years.
We left Istanbul no happier. Still 10 lawyers, as many of us sit down
to enjoy our Christmas dinner, with our family and friends, will be
starting a third year in a cold, hard, and wretched prison. What
sort of peace with the Kurds is Erdogan intending?
Alas, I have not done justice to the marvellous oratory of the
defendants and their lawyers, women and men advocates, and the
multiple and appalling examples of injustice, and absence of due
process duly exposed. My notes are copious and I wish I had more
space and time to write more fully.
But I am now off to Rojava, to work with the PYD and the Syrian
Kurdish women to ensure they are participants in any Syrian peace
process and that UN SCR 1325 will be adhered to by all actors in it.
I also intend, in the next few months, to have learnt sufficient
Kurmamji. Kurdish to understand the defendants speeches at the 8th
hearing next April, and one day to make a speech in this beautiful
and ancient tongue on the streets of Ankara and Istanbul.
Margaret Owen O.B.E. Barrister. Peace in Kurdistan
---
For more information on the KCK trial delegation, contact:
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish QuestionEmail: estella24@tiscali.co.uk <mailto:estella24@tiscali.co.uk>
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Sirinathsingh - Tel: 020 7272 7890
Fax: 020 7263 0596
Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Conor Murphy MP, John Austin, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas
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