Iraqi Pm Abadi: 'We will not fight the PKK or tackle Êzidîs'.

Cemil Bayik, Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) guerrilla group leader, in Iraq

Iraqi Pm Abadi: 'We will not fight the PKK or tackle Êzidîs'. (ANF).

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi spoke during the Security Commission meeting at the Iraqi parliament and stated that they would not fight the PKK and their Iraqi supporters, or tackle Êzidîs and intervene in political partisanship.

Goran Movement parliamentarian and Iraqi parliament Security Commission member Hoshyar Abdullah issued a written statement on the most recent commission meeting, and recalled Abadi’s statement that Turkey and Hewler are intimidated by the PKK.

Abadi reflected upon his meeting with Turkish officials and reportedly told them that Iraq would not fight the PKK and their Iraqi supporters, or tackle Êzidîs and intervene in political partisanship.

In his written statement, Hoshyar Abdullah noted that Abadi drew attention to the petroleum sales of the Kurdistan region and said “We are aware that the Kurdistan region is selling 20 percent of Iraqi oil. They sell 1 million-1million 300 thousand barrels of oil every day, why can they not paid the salaries of civil servants and peshmergas? The parties in the Kurdistan region are silent because they are complicit on this issue.”


Regarding the PKK and Shengal, Abadi reportedly said “Turkey and Hewler are scared of and intimidated by the PKK. Our policy is clear and we told Turkey that they cannot use our land for war. We also told them that we won’t fight the PKK and we are not concerned by them. We told them that we cannot tackle Iraqi PKK supporters and Êzidîs, or intervene in political partisanship.”

'There is no difference between Erdogan and Baghdadi.' PYD Co-chair Saleh Moslem.

'When we look from Rojava, there is no difference between Erdogan and Baghdadi.' PYD Co-chair Saleh Moslem. (ANF).

PYD Co-chair Saleh Moslem spoke during a people’s meeting in London and answered Erdoğan’s “Let YPG save you now” comment on HDP MPs with: “Freedom for Demirtaş and his friends is our duty.”

Democratic Unity Party (PYD) Co-chair Saleh Moslem is in the United Kingdom for a series of meetings and he spoke at the Kurdish Social Center in London.

Moslem assessed the latest developments in Syria and the Middle East. He pointed out that the Turkish state’s attacks in Cizre and Şırnak were no different from the attacks in Kobanê and said: “They couldn’t even tolerate the tents Şırnak residents whose homes were demolished put up on the periphery of the city, and they burned those too. They want to ‘cleanse’ these lands.
The events in Ottoman history are being repeated, in a way.

Where do the Central Anatolian Kurds come from? These are all people forcibly pushed out of Kurdistan. It’s all to assimilate these people. And the proposed camp in Maraş is a part of this plan as well. That is what bringing Sunni Arabs into a residential area that is wholly Alevi means.”

“A TOUGH FIGHT IS TO COME FOR KURDS”

Moslem stated the following in the rest of his speech:

“We are a movement that fights a moral war, that is loyal to humanitarian values, that only wages a fight for freedom and democracy, we have no other goal. On the other corner is a terror such as ISIS and Al Nusra that the whole world fears. This is why all international powers are revising their plans. Kurds are stepping on to the stage of history once more, they are recognized at this level for the first time. For example, if we see such a level of international support on November 1 World Kobanê Day, this is valuable for us.

But this doesn’t mean that the Kurds have made it. There is a tough fight to come for us. I don’t mean this in a military sense, the military struggle continues daily in any case. We are building a system in Rojava now. Of course we want this system for all of the Middle East, not just for Rojava. We have been building our own democratic autonomy since 2012. But there are territories such as Manbij, Girê Spî and others that have joined us recently. Arab population is dense in these new areas. At this point, we must adapt our system. A democratic system in which all peoples can live together. We define this system as federalism for now. A democratic federal system for all of Syria.

But there are those who still don’t want a system where the Kurds have a will. And they have no suggestions of their own. Syria won’t go back to the old Syria, it’s impossible. Everybody must see this.

The villages to the north of Al Bab are very important to us. Of course, Turkey is after implementing the safe zone plan that they have been talking about since the beginning. They want to change the demography. And on the other hand, they don’t want their relationship with ISIS to end. So, they enter those lands with their tanks, artilleries and jet fighters. They haven’t reached Al Bab yet, and I don’t believe they can. Our forces are 7-8 km away from Al Bab from the east. 10 km to the south of Al Bab are the regime forces. At this point, the Free Syrian Army is a lie. They are not an army, they are not free and they are not Syrian. The International Coalition has yet to reach a decision on this matter. The Turkish army wanted to advance, our forces stopped them. Of course the clashes weren’t directly with the Turkish army, it was with forces they call FSA. Al Bab is still controlled by ISIS. And the Turkish state still has a relationship with ISIS. The forces fighting there are not the SDF, they are local forces, like Al Bab Military Council and Jabhat ul Akrad.

ANSWER TO ERDOĞAN

When we look from Rojava, there is no difference between Erdoğan and Baghdadi. Whatever ISIS is doing in Syria, Erdoğan is doing the same in Northern Kurdistan. 

It is our responsibility to be in solidarity with the people of Northern Kurdistan, we must do this. Tayyip Erdoğan said about Demirtaş, ‘Let YPG save you’. I would like to say this here: It is our duty to save them! The Turkish state forces us to say these things. Yes, we will fight until the end and achieve the freedom of Demirtaş and his colleagues.”

“YPG'S RETREAT FROM MANBIJ TURNED INTO A CRISIS”

PYD Co-chair Salih Muslim answered a question on YPG’s retreat from Manbij: “YPG was formed for the interests and security of all the peoples of Kurdistan. When local forces form and reach a point where they can achieve their own security in places like Manbij, there is no more need for YPG to be there.

Of course the matter turned into a crisis between Turkey and the US.

The last ones were a 200 person force that stayed behind for military training, and they completed mission and retreated. So this was a crisis? Alright, we are retreating - and we are marching onwards to Raqqa. Nobody worry about Manbij, it is the land of Abu Leyla, there are heroes who will defend that land.”

ISIS Leader Baghdadi 'Hiding in Mosul', Better to die as a Martyr for the cause?

ISIS Leader Baghdadi 'Hiding in Mosul', Better to die as a Martyr for the cause? (Aina) (Independent).

The Iraqi Army has entered Mosul for the first time in over two years at the start of a battle which is likely to end in a decisive defeat for Isis. The significance of the fight for Mosul will be all the greater for Isis because its self-declared caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is believed to be still inside the city, a senior Kurdish official has told The Independent.

Fuad Hussein, chief of staff to Kurdish President Massoud Barzani, said in an exclusive interview that his government had information from multiple sources that "Baghdadi is there and, if he is killed, it will mean the collapse of the whole [Isis] system."

Isis would have to choose a new caliph in the middle of a battle, but no successor would have the authority and prestige of Baghdadi, the leader who surprised the world by establishing the caliphate after capturing Mosul in June 2014.

Baghdadi has kept himself concealed for the last eight or nine months according to Mr Hussein, who added that the caliph had become very dependent on Isis commanders from Mosul and Tal Afar, a city just to the west of Mosul.

The presence of Baghdadi in Mosul may complicate and prolong the battle for Mosul as his surviving adherents fight to the death to defend him.

Mr Hussein said that "it is obvious that they will lose, but not how long this will take to happen." He said that Kurdish Peshmerga forces had been impressed by the extraordinary number of tunnels that Isis had dug in order to provide hiding places in the villages around Mosul. Hmmm....Better to die as a Martyr for the cause than to run to fight another day? Read the full story here.

 Update: Seems Baghdadi is willing to die as a 'Martyr'.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi calls on followers to obey their emirs as an act of worship.

— Hassan Hassan (@hxhassan) November 2, 2016

Video - Turkish soldiers Execute in cold blood two Kurdish female PKK fighters captured alive.

Turkish soldiers captured alive two Kurdish female fighters was executed. @BBCNews @cnni @CNN @TheSun @AP @AFP pic.twitter.com/8omlfbkL88

— Sîdar (@simbelazer) October 29, 2016

Photo circulating of the 2 Kurdish Gerilla POW's murdered by Turkish State Military;Turks continued subjugation of Kurds @ their lands. pic.twitter.com/nuU3oVpock

— DeanParkerYPG (@DeanParkerYPG) October 30, 2016

On an uncertain date in November 1942, this photograph was taken of an SS unit executing anti-Nazi partisans in Belarus......similar tactics.

Geneva conv: Art.3. Prisoners of war are entitled to respect and honor. Women shall be treated with all consideration due to their sex.

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) October 30, 2016

Turkey Suspicious About Washington's 'Federalization' Plan in Syria.

Erdoganistan Turkey Suspicious About Washington's 'Federalization' Plan in Syria. (SP).

The US-Turkish alliance is hanging in the balance, Salman Rafi Sheikh, political analyst and expert on Pakistani foreign affairs writes in his article for New Eastern Outlook.

Although Ankara's Euphrates Shield operation was apparently coordinated with Washington, Turkey has repeatedly demonstrated "strategic autonomy" from the US and NATO since stepping in in Syria," the analyst emphasizes.

"While Erdogan's primary concern is Turkey's own security, the definition of security and national interest that he is now following extends beyond the borders and, therefore, requires a re-balancing act between the West and the East. As such, not only is Turkey using the entire scenario to create a strong military wedge against Kurds, but also to redefine its relations with both the US and Russia," Sheikh writes.

In his op-ed for Hurriyet Daily News Turkish journalist Serkan Demirtas expresses concerns regarding the CIA's John Brennan latest remark on Syria's territorial integrity.

"I don't know whether or not Syria and Iraq can be put back together again," Brennan noted, as quoted by the Turkish journalist. "Brennan's words sparked fresh questions about whether Washington was changing its line for redrawing the borders in the Middle East, as many suspect in Ankara, for the creation of a Kurdish autonomous entity in Syria," Demirtas highlights.

"Although US officials have underlined that their policy was to keep both countries united, these statements need to be put into effect through concrete moves in a bid to convince Ankara and other regional capitals," the Turkish journalist stresses, adding that in that context the "Euphrates Shield" operation takes on a new significance after the brokered deal between the US and Russia.

Stanislav Tarasov, Russian expert and head of the Middle East-Caucasus think tank, echoes Demirtas in his interview with Svobodnaya Pressa.

"The situation may… get worse if the US continues to favor Kurds by providing weapons, training and air cover. Were Turkey's 'red-line' be crossed once again, the US-Turkey relations will certainly be at the lowest ebb in recent history, leaving the space wide open for Russia and Iran to step in," Sheikh emphasized. Read the full story here. 

Does the Turkey-Russia-Iran deal mean the end of the Kurdish independence dream?

Does the Turkey-Russia-Iran deal mean the end of the Kurdish independence dream? (Rudaw).

Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of the first world leaders to call his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan only hours after the July failed coup attempt, expressing his full support for Ankara and his government. That phone call became the basis for a new understanding. On his visit to Moscow this month, Erdogan explicitly told Putin that his phone call on the night of the coup provided a psychological boost for him.

  An understanding on resolving the Middle East crises, especially in Iraq and Syria, is fast coming into being among Turkey, Qatar, Russia and Iran. Saudi Arabia and the United States will not play a main acting role in this scene.  With regard to the US, the Obama administration seems intent on keeping out.

With built-up grievance and criticism against the West, Erdogan traveled to Moscow with a high-level delegation, where he had a day-long meeting with Putin and Russian officials.  There, it was decided that ties should return to where they were before they were soured by the shooting of a Russian fighter jet over Turkey, and that every aspect of relations should be better than ever before.

Soon after this Moscow visit, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif arrived in Ankara, where he and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu warmly embraced more than once and were all talk of a new understanding between the two countries. According to Cavusoglu, most of the calls on the night of the coup were made to Zarif.

A day after Zarif’s visit, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim invited his country’s media for a conference where he told them: “If you see significant changes in the coming months in Syria, don’t be shocked and be prepared!”

Turkey feels it is imperative to find a way to come out of the diplomatic isolation it had recently faced. Turkish leaders expected great support and sympathy from their US and NATO allies in the aftermath of the shooting down of the Russian jet. But there was no such response. The refugee and migrant crisis only further complicated Turkey’s relations with Europe.

Like a wounded tiger, Erdogan is now after scoring politically against Europe and he sees no better field for that game than that of Russia. Not only has his luster for the EU vanished, even leaving NATO has now become a subject.

The shooting down of the Russian jet cost Turkey $10 billion and a 43 percent decline in its trade ties with Russia.

Russia for its part is seeking to fill the vacuum left by the US, particularly its nonintervention in Syria and a similar one in Turkey. It is Putin’s dream to weaken NATO at any cost and by any means, and Turkey is a good start both as a NATO member and as a corridor for Russian natural gas.

Above all, Russia and Iran must find a political settlement in Syria and save themselves from the giant expenditure they have undertaken in support of Bashar Assad’s regime. For this they need Turkey, and Ankara is more than happy to become part of this new equation and act as an envoy of the West.

The heart of the Turkey-Russia-Iran meetings is: Iraq and Syria’s territorial integrity, a political settlement for Syria, hitting ISIS and the Nusra Front (now called Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham), strengthening economic ties -- especially the energy sector -- and the establishment of a joint defense mechanism.

As far as the Kurds are concerned, this means they will be pushed back to their state of several years ago. In Turkey the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) will be compelled to return to the peace process and quit its dream of self-rule and violence.

In Syria, the Kurdish region will be seen as an inseparable part of that country: the autonomous Cantons will be dashed, entered into the political process and likely included in the Geneva talks. As a first indicator of this scenario, Salih Muslim, head of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), has already told Russian media that he is ready for friendly ties with Turkey.

This new Middle East alliance will similarly impress upon the Kurdistan Region the integrity of Iraq, and through Turkey they will apply pressure for the postponement of the referendum and Kurdish independence project. There will be pressure on Erbil to resume ties with Baghdad and keep the country’s stability. In return, Turkish companies will find themselves invited to the world of post-ISIS reconstruction.

Well-placed sources have revealed that the Iranians had told a visiting KRG delegation that the new deal with Turkey is of the highest importance because they see that as the only remaining hope for stability in the region, and that they are also against an independence referendum and a Kurdish state.

Turkey is willing to help Iran keep Iraq’s territorial integrity and Iran would do the same in Syria.

In realpolitik terms, central governments -- weak though they may be -- still have a say in their countries’ affairs and internationally they will be preferred over regional and non-state actors.

The fruit of this new rapprochement shall be seen in the next six months, and its work has already kicked off. The Ankara-Moscow operation room is active and in daily contact. Iraqi and Turkish delegations have also already met twice in a European country to normalize ties.

All eyes are now trained on the next six months because, as Iran’s Zarif said in a tweet from Ankara: “More cooperation for peace is ahead.”

AKP Using Jihadi 'mercenary' Fighters Against Kurds in Turkey?

Is the AKP Using Jihadi Fighters Against Kurds in Turkey? (KurdishQuestion).

A village guard has claimed the presence of a “special team made up of soldiers who speak poor Turkish,” fighting Kurdish militias in Hakkari’s Yüksekova (Gever) district.

As the siege of Kurdish district Yüksekova continues for the 37^th day and clashes intensify between Turkish military and police special teams and Civilian Protection Unit (YPS) fighters, claims continue surfacing that ‘Daesh-looking’ individuals with long hair and beards are fighting in the ranks of the Turkish army.

“They speak broken Turkish”

The most recent claim has come from a leading village guard employed by the state in Yüksekova, who has said, “A special team is being used in operations. I saw them a few times in the military barracks. They refrained from speaking too much in our presence but when they did speak they spoke broken Turkish.’

They are wearing Gendarmerie Special Forces (JÖH) uniforms

Wanting to remain anonymous the village guard said, “They could be foreigners, or Turks from the Caucuses. They might be contra-forces, I can’t say for sure. But they are wearing Gendarmerie Special Forces uniforms."

They were used as a ‘frontal force’

Stating that this “special team” was used as a “frontal force” in the Orman, Eski Kışla, Cumhuriyet and Güngör neighbourhoods when the most fierce clashes took place, the village guard added, “This team was sent to fight at the front and this is why they are not revealing the number of dead. I don’t know the exact number but it is much higher than the number that has been disclosed. Some of them could be from orphanages. Let me also tell you this, the Police Special Forces (PÖH) generally disclose their losses but the JÖH don’t. This is why the hospital is in that state.”

Hospital blockaded

Responding to the question, “How many deaths are being hidden?” the village guard responded, “I can’t tell you a number. They are not letting anyone near that area of the hospital. If you don’t believe me you can try and access that area, no one is being allowed near it. We know they have more than 200 wounded, sometimes they mention it.”


Clashes between the YPS fighters and Turkish state forces are ongoing in the districts Yüksekova and Nusaybin where hundreds of deaths are being reported on both sides. Hmmm.......'Turkmen mercenaries? 

PYD Co-leader Salim Muslim: Syrian Kurds not Seeking Independence from Syria, “Turkey has Kurdish phobia”.

PYD Co-leader Salim Muslim: Syrian Kurds not Seeking Independence from Syria, “Turkey has Kurdish phobia”. (Basnews).

ROJAVA — The Co-leader of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Saleh Muslim, has once again stated that they do not seek independence from Syria.

Saleh Muslim told a German news agency that they have no intention to control A'azaz area which has deeply concerned Turkey.

"Turkey has Kurdish Phobia and deems any rights for Kurds as a threat to Turkey" Muslim said.

PYD co-leader, who is ruling the three cantons in Syrian Kurdistan, asserted that they do not intend to declare independence from Syria, except seeking their constitutional rights within Syria.

He insists that the armed 'terrorist' groups that came recently to Aleppo from Turkey are believed to have joined the Islamic State (IS) and al-Nusra Front in Syria.

Syrian democratic forces, created and backed by the US to liberate Al-Raqqa, the defacto capital of the Islamic State (IS), are in control of a proportion of 20% of the Syrian territory.

Jordan to lead the quest for who qualifies as a 'terrorist'.

Jordan to lead the quest for who qualifies as a 'terrorist'. (SP).

The Russian diplomats met with a number of Syrian opposition members during the Syria crisis settlement talks in Vienna, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Sunday.

"We did have contacts [with the Syrian opposition] in Vienna as well. These were several rebel groups in Vienna," Bogdanov told reporters.

On Saturday, a fresh round of international talks on Syrian reconciliation, which involve Russia, the United States, Iran and the UN Special Envoy for Syria, among others, was held in the Austrian capital.

A Jordan-led discussion on who should be put on the unified list of terrorist organizations will take place within coming weeks, according to Bogdanov.

"We agreed that Jordanians will organize an extensive exchange within next two-three weeks to debate who is a terrorist and who is not," Bogdanov said.

Jordan is due to contact anti-terror experts from countries involved in the effort, including Russians.

Asked if the final blacklist would be put to vote in the UN Security Council, the diplomat replied that "That’s what we are offering." "Six or seven," the diplomat told reporters when asked how many terrorist organizations Russia suggests to include in the list.

"There are many organizations that pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda or the Islamic State, which shelled our embassy, the center of Latakia," Bogdanov said adding that Jaysh al-Islam was among the suggested groups.

Russia, Turkey and the United States disagree on whether Kurdish militant groups should be put on the unified blacklist of terror organizations, to be compiled using a UN draft roster, according to Bogdanov.

Turkey insists that Kurdish militant groups should be outlawed, while the United States and Russia regard them as a major player in the fight against Islamists in Syria.

"They [Ankara] consider the Democratic Union Party to be a terrorist group. We think they are a lawful organization," Mikhail Bogdanov said.

"There are differences not only between us and Turks, but also between Turks and Americans. They have disagreements even within NATO," he added.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister stressed that Russia is ready to set up an anti-terrorist coordination center with Egypt similar to Baghdad and Amman centers, but no agreement has been reached on the matter yet. "We have offered it to Egypt, we are ready," the Russian diplomat said. Hmmm.....I for one like Lavrov's definition of a terrorist.