Turkish Islamist 'Dictator' Erdogan and Barzani's son will be in the US at the same time.

Turkish Islamist 'Dictator' Erdogan and Barzani's son will be in the US at the same time. (Anf).

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to visit the US on May 16, while KDP President Masoud Barzani’s son and Southern Kurdistan intelligence official Masrour Barzani has been reported to have a visit on the same date.

Barzani is going to attend a program organized by a right-wing organization called the Heritage Foundation. Barzani will also be meeting with US officials to discuss the Mosul operation and the situation in Southern Kurdistan.

Erdoğan’s US visit will be focused around seeking support for their anti-Kurdish and anti-Rojava stance. Turkey had protested US President Donald Trump approving a plan that foresees providing the Syrian Democratic Forces with heavy weapons before Erdoğan’s visit last week.

It is unclear whether Erdoğan and Barzani will have a meeting in the US.

Is Erdogan’s War on Syrian Kurds Becoming a War on the United States?

Is Erdogan’s War on Syrian Kurds Becoming a War on the United States? (TheNation).

President Erdogan seems to believe he can bully Trump into abandoning his allies in the fight against ISIS.

The Trump administration was unusually subdued this week after the Turkish air force launched a bombing campaign against facilities of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria.

The State Department said it “asked” Turkey to stop killing US allies in the fight against ISIL (ISIS, or the Islamic State). The Pentagon complained that Turkey not only hit its allies but failed to coordinate with the US Air Force, which is flying in the area. In essence, Turkey acted as a hostile power against the US war effort. In the aftermath, a fierce firefight has broken out at the Syrian-Turkish border between YPG forces and Turkish army units operating in northern Syria.

Washington has been deeply frustrated by Turkey’s unwillingness to devote significant resources to rolling up ISIL. Erdogan’s priority has been attempting to destroy the PKK, and attacking what he sees as its Syrian Kurdish allies. Ankara fears that for the sake of defeating al-Baghdadi in Raqqa, the United States is helping to create an autonomous Syrian Kurdistan, which in turn may act as a model for Turkish Kurds, some 20 percent of the population of Turkey. In fact, separatist sentiments are not very widespread among Turkish Kurds, though economic discontent over government neglect of the hardscrabble southeast is. Erdogan has displaced some 350,000 Kurds with his current campaign, however, and is polarizing his country on several fronts at once.

The United States cannot hope to retain credibility as a battlefield ally of YPG fighters risking all to take on ISIL if it cannot even protect them from a NATO member like Turkey. Erdogan appears to believe that he can bully Trump into abandoning the Syrian Kurds as allies. It remains to be seen if he has calculated correctly. Read the full story here.

UN REPORT DETAILS MASSIVE DESTRUCTION AND SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS SINCE JULY 2015 IN SOUTHEAST TURKEY.

UN REPORT DETAILS MASSIVE DESTRUCTION AND SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS SINCE JULY 2015 IN SOUTHEAST TURKEY. (UNog).

GENEVA (Issued as received) – The UN Human Rights Office on Friday published a report detailing allegations of massive destruction, killings and numerous other serious human rights violations committed between July 2015 and December 2016 in southeast Turkey, during Government security operations that have affected more than 30 towns and neighbourhoods and displaced between 335,000 and half a million people, mostly of Kurdish origin.

The report describes the extent of the destruction in the town of Nusaybin, in Mardin Province, where 1,786 buildings appear to have been destroyed or damaged, and the Sur district of Diyarbakir, where the local government estimates that 70 percent of the buildings in the eastern part of the district were systematically destroyed by shelling. The destruction apparently continued even after the security operations ended, reaching a peak during the month of August 2016. Before-and-after satellite images from Nusaybin and Sur show entire neighbourhoods razed to the ground.

The UN Human Rights Office is “particularly alarmed about the results of satellite imagery analysis, which indicate an enormous scale of destruction of the housing stock by heavy weaponry,” the report states.

Heavy damage is also reported from a number of other towns, including Cizre, in Şirnak Province, where witnesses and family members of victims “painted an apocalyptic picture of the wholesale destruction of neighbourhoods” where, in early 2016, up to 189 men, women and children were trapped for weeks in basements without water, food, medical attention and power before being killed by fire, induced by shelling.

“The subsequent demolition of the buildings destroyed evidence and has therefore largely prevented the basic identification and tracing of mortal remains,” the report continues. “Moreover, instead of opening an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the reported excessive use of force, recourse to heavy weapons and the resulting deaths, the local authorities accused the people killed of participating in terrorist organizations and took repressive measures affecting members of their families.”

The report describes how one woman’s family “was invited by the public prosecutor to collect her remains, which consisted of three small pieces of charred flesh, identified by means of a DNA match. The family did not receive an explanation as to how she was killed nor a forensic report. The victim’s sister, who called for accountability of those responsible for her death and attempted to pursue a legal process, was charged with terrorist offences.”

The report also cited information received from the Government of Turkey indicating that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which the Government considers a terrorist organization, “had conducted a number of violent attacks that caused deaths and injuries among Turkish security forces and other individuals. The PKK has also been involved, according to the Government, in kidnappings, including of children; digging trenches and placing roadblocks in cities and towns; and preventing medical services from delivering emergency health services.”

The UN Human Rights Office says it has been seeking access to the affected parts of southeast Turkey for almost a year, to independently investigate allegations of serious human rights violations. In the absence of meaningful access, the report – the first in a series – was produced through remote monitoring, using both public and confidential sources, satellite imagery and interviews to gather information about the conduct and impact of the security operations in the southeast of the country.

The report also documents accounts of torture, enforced disappearances, incitement to hatred, prevention of access to emergency medical care, food, water and livelihoods, and violence against women, as well as expressing concern “about the post-security operation policies of expropriation,” citing a number of examples including the Council of Ministers’ March 2016 decision, which reportedly resulted in the expropriation of up to 100 per cent of all land plots in Sur.

Measures taken under the state of emergency following the attempted coup of July 2016, including the dismissal of more than 100,000 people from public or private sector jobs during the reporting period, have also deeply affected the human rights situation in the southeast. Some 10,000 teachers were reportedly dismissed on suspicion of having links with the PKK, without due process. The use of counter-terrorism legislation to remove democratically elected officials of Kurdish origin, the severe harassment of independent journalists, the closure of independent and Kurdish language media and citizen’s associations and the mass suspension of judges and prosecutors have also severely weakened checks and balances and human rights protections.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein acknowledged the complex challenges Turkey has faced in addressing the attempted coup of July 2016 and in responding to a series of terror attacks. However, he said the apparent significant deterioration of the human rights situation in the country is cause for alarm and would only serve to deepen tensions and foster instability.

“I am particularly concerned by reports that no credible investigation has been conducted into hundreds of alleged unlawful killings, including women and children over a period of 13 months between late July 2015 and the end of August of 2016. It appears that not a single suspect was apprehended and not a single individual was prosecuted,” High Commissioner Zeid said.

“The Government of Turkey has failed to grant us access, but has contested the veracity of the very serious allegations made in this report. But the gravity of the allegations, the scale of the destruction and the displacement of more than 355,000 people mean that an independent investigation is both urgent and essential.”

The full report can be accessed here: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/TR/OHCHR_South-East_TurkeyReport_10March2017.pdf

Link to satellite imagery showing the scale of the destruction: http://cern.ch/unosat-sdn/ohchr/turkey/samples.zip    

For more information and media requests, please contact: Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org) or Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org) or Liz Throssell (+41 22 917 9466 / ethrossell@ohchr.org) 

Again Major Human Rights Violations by Turkish Army against Kurds.

Again Major Human Rights Violations by Turkish Army against Kurds. (ML)

ISTANBUL – Allegations of major human rights violations have emerged from Koruköy, a village of perhaps 500 in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast that’s been under military blockade since February 11.

“Five helicopters and lots of soldiers came to the village and we heard them come into our neighbors’ homes,” Newal Aygül (not her real name), a Koruköy resident told The Media Line, speaking secretly over the phone.

“They took nearly all of the men out of the village, and some of the women. We don’t know where.”

Soldiers cut off access to and from Koruköy, confined the villagers to their homes, and reportedly took all of their telephones, though Aygül managed to hold on to hers.

She says soldiers have abused the villagers, harassed the women and scared the children.

“My husband was beaten by soldiers in front of our children. They also took him to the village square in front of the neighbors and beat him there,” Aygül said.

“I saw soldiers beating a boy, maybe 15 or 16, just for using his phone, maybe because of the sounds or pictures. Then they took him and dunked him in the well.”

Their livestock, crucial for their rural livelihood, have died.

“All the animals died because the soldiers don’t let us take them out. ‘If you let them out, we’ll kill you,’ they tell us,” Aygül says.

Water was cut off for two months until recently being turned back on, and Aygül thinks dirty well water made many villagers ill.

“There are lots of children here, and probably most are sick. We don’t know how to treat them. There’s an ambulance, but when we take them there, the doctors and nurses don’t care for them properly.”

The Mardin Governor’s Office, which has jurisdiction over Koruköy, denies any abuse has occurred. Publicly, it says the military operations aim to “neutralize the terrorists” and arrest collaborators. Read the full story here.

İHD delegate who tried to get into Koruköy told me the same - armed men with long beards and no uniforms at checkpoints. https://t.co/A3aFV1PknO

— Nick Ashdown (@Nick_Ashdown) February 23, 2017

Social media accounts linked to Turkish Special Forces have shared in the last days pictures of tortured and killed villagers from #Koruköy

— Cahida Dêrsim (@dersi4m) February 23, 2017

İHD report says several families cannot reach their children in blockaded Koruköy https://t.co/Uz7V6oX2H5

— Istanbul Turkey (@IstanbulTuRRkey) February 25, 2017

Video - Armenian Bishop Armash Nalbandian: Countries Supporting the Turkish Criminals in Syria Bear Responsibility for Genocide.

Video - Armenian Bishop Armash Nalbandian: Countries Supporting the Turkish Criminals in Syria Bear Responsibility for Genocide. HT: MEMRI.

Bishop Armash Nalbandian, Primate of the Armenian Church of Damascus, accused Turkey of giving militants in Syria instructions "to target Armenian places, churches, and schools, and to target the very identity of the Armenians." Bishop Nalbandian, speaking on the Egyptian ON TV channel on January 28, said that a new genocide was taking place in Syria and that "the Arab and non-Arab countries that support the Turkish criminals in Syria bear responsibility for the new genocides." Recognizing the Armenian genocide and condemning it would "send a message to the world that genocides should never take place," he said.

Turkish Human Rights Association IHD: "We are experiencing the worst period for human rights in Turkey".

Turkish Human Rights Association IHD: "We are experiencing the worst period for human rights in Turkey". (ANF).

IHD Co-chair Öztürk Türkdoğan: “We are experiencing the worst period for human rights. We are facing developments that never should have happened in a country that claims it’s democratic.”

Human Rights Association (Insan Hakları Derneği - IHD) Co-chairs Eren Keskin and Öztürk Türkdoğan met with the press in a breakfast in Cezayir Conference Hall. IHD Deputy Co-chair Gülseren Yoleri and Executive Committee members Mukaddes Şamiloğlu, Osman İşçi, Selahattin Okçuoğlu and Hatice Kalpaklı were also in the meeting.

IHD Co-chair Öztürk Türkdoğan called Turkey’s current situation an “autocracy” and said that Turkey is governed by a de facto presidential system. Türkdoğan pointed out that Turkey is being governed by an administrative model outside its constitution and added: “This actually shows that democracy has been shelved. We are experiencing the worst period for human rights. We are facing developments that never should have happened in a country that claims it’s democratic.”

Türkdoğan said IHD pushed for a democratic Constitution since the day it was founded, and added:

“Until the Constitution in Turkey brings freedom of expression and gender equality, until it solves the Kurdish issue, until it brings true freedom of faith and religion, it is not possible for us to support such propositions. The constitutional amendment proposed today will not only not solve these problems, but it will make them more chronic and turn the administration absolutely autocratic. We state once more that we don’t support this. Other than the eclipse of reason, we are talking about an absolutely irrational constitutional amendment. This is a group of people pushing their political stance on all of us.”

Türkdoğan also pointed out the following: “The dialogue started, but it never could turn into negotiations. On one hand, there is the ongoing war, and on the other, there are the amendments that will guarantee the administrators themselves. The most important issue Turkey is facing is the Kurdish issue. The political power doesn’t want there to be a discussion on peace. This is unacceptable. Thus, we have to continue talking about peace under such conditions. In this sense, we will continue our efforts.

Do you know that there are 12 soldiers and police officers PKK is holding hostage now? The President announced this as 31. The detention time for these people is getting longer and longer. There is no explanation on this matter by the political power. Think of a country that is as insensitive as this about their own officers. We have shown initiative to ensure these people are released and a return to peace.”

“Currently, we are under the State of Emergency rule. It is pretty unlawful. Definitions outside our punishment and discipline legislation were brought in with the Statutory Decrees. The political power can define whatever framework they want,” said Öztürk Özdoğan and stressed that the Council of Europe should object these Statutory Decrees. Türkdoğan added that the tolerance the Council of Europe shows Turkey causes an increase in rights violations.

Türkdoğan also touched upon the detentions and arrests targeting the Peoples’ Democratic People (Halkların Demokratik Partisi - HDP) and Democratic Regions Party (Demokratik Bölgeler Partisi - DBP) and said: “There are close to 5 thousand arrested politicians. In Turkey, if you are aligned with the governing party, there is the will of the people, but if you’re in the opposition, there is no will of the people. The will of the Kurd is void, but the will of AKP voters is valid.” Türkdoğan stated that the pressure on the Kurdish politicians should be lifted.

Türkdoğan also spoke on the referendum process and said they foresee that the referendum will be held under strict “security” precautions with police and soldiers stockpiled. Türkdoğan warned that these extreme precautions may be provocative and stated that they will be election observers as an association in places with their branches and representatives, and that they will invite international committees.

Türkdoğan said the election process should be observed and added: “What we want is the referendum to be held in an atmosphere of ballot safety, and the election observation obstacle to be lifted for NGOs.”

Speaking after, IHD Co-chair Eren Keskin pointed out the rights violations in prisons and said: “Especially, cameras are set up in women’s wards. They can’t even fulfill their private needs.” Keskin stated that the most fundamental problem in Turkey is militarism and continued: “Militarism doesn’t mean that the soldiers are in government. It means it is organized in every aspect of life. Up to now, I have never seen a period of time when militarism was so widespread in society.”


Türkdoğan answered the question “What will happen when the outcome of the referendum is Yes or No?” and said: “Turkey will enter a new era. The peace table will certainly be set up to solve the Kurdish issue. Because this is now imposing itself and has become an international problem. If the outcome is Yes, or if it’s No, Turkey’s new constitution will be written at the peace table. This constitution is a move by the government. I believe in Turkey’s peoples’ commitment to democracy.”

'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.”

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

Video - Could Kurdish independence dream lead to a new Iraq war?

Kurdish representative Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman and Iraq scholar Abbas Kadhim debate the future of Kurdish independence.

Two years on and with a fresh joint offensive against ISIL under way, calls for Kurdish independence are getting stronger. But in the absence of any real power-sharing negotiations with the Iraqi government, some are left wondering if the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) is making a landgrab instead.

The KRG - with its own executive leadership, armed forces and diplomats abroad - is able to sign oil deals with foreign companies on its own. But the KRG say they are being held back: that the Peshmerga are not armed or trained properly, and that they cannot tap into the international market as freely as they would like.

If the autonomous Kurdish region were to declare independence, what would it mean to war-torn Iraq? Could it spark a new war?

'Sometimes NATO Ally & ISIL Airforce' - Turkish jets strike U.S.-backed Kurdish militia in Syria.

'Sometimes NATO Ally' - Turkish jets strike U.S.-backed Kurdish militia in Syria. (Yahoo).

ISTANBUL/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Turkish jets pounded a U.S.-backed group of Kurdish-led militia fighters in northern Syria with more than 20 air strikes overnight, highlighting the conflicting agendas of the two NATO allies in an increasingly complex battlefield.

The jets targeted positions of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in three villages northeast of the city of Aleppo which the SDF had captured from Islamic State, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said late on Wednesday.

The Turkish military confirmed its warplanes had carried out 26 air strikes on areas recently taken by the Kurdish YPG militia, the strongest force in the SDF, and that it had killed between 160 and 200 fighters.

The British-based Observatory monitoring group reported a much lower toll of 11 dead and dozens wounded. Officials of the Kurdish-led administration that controls much of northeastern Syria said dozens had been killed.

The air strikes, the heaviest against the YPG since Turkey launched a military incursion into Syria two months ago, came hours after President Tayyip Erdogan warned that Turkey could act alone in rooting out its enemies abroad.

They also came ahead of an expected visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter to Ankara on Friday.

"From now on we will not wait for problems to come knocking on our door, we will not wait until the blade is against our bone and skin, we will not wait for terrorist organizations to come and attack us," Erdogan said in a speech on Wednesday. Hmmmm.....Erdogan Obama's BFF. Read the full story here.

Related:

Jaysh al-Thuwar (The Army of Revolutionaries) Media Center has announced that Turkey and the gangs attacked simultaneously and the revolutionary forces retaliated strongly against the attacks.
In their statement, Jaysh al-Thuwar said that following the bombing by Turkish aircraft, Turkey’s gangs attacked El Hisiyê and the Shehba Dam to invade.

The statement says the gangs in “Euphrates Shield” attacked from the north of the dam and ISIS gangs attacked from the Al-Wehshiyê and Tal Midîq side simultaneously, and that the “Euphrates Shield” gangs attempted to invade Al-Hesiyê from the Tal Malid village side.


Jaysh al-Thuwar said, “Our forces are retaliating strongly against the invading Turkish army. As a result of attacks by gangs allied with Turkey and ISIS gangs, there are intense clashes around the Shehba Dam and Al-Hesiye.”

PYD Co Chair Saleh Moslem speaks at EU Parliament: 'EU must speak up about Turkey’s invasion'.

PYD Co Chair Saleh Moslem speaks at EP: 'EU must speak up about Turkey’s invasion'. (ANF).

A conference titled “The Urgent Situation in Northern Syria, Turkish Invasion, Europe’s Security and An Alternative to the Turkey Deal” has been held in the European Parliament in the Belgian capital Brussels today.

The conference hosted by Slovakian EP deputy Branislav Skripek was held in Anna Politikovska Conference Hall. PYD Co-chair Saleh Moslem and David Vergili in the name of the European Syriac Union attended the conference as speakers. Attendance was high in the conference. Branislav Skripek gave the opening speech and said they were there to draw attention to the situation Rojava is in, and that “There is a serious fight against ISIS in Rojava. Everybody should take their part in it.”

“WE ARE IN POSSESSION OF DOCUMENTS SHOWING TURKEY’S AID TO ISIS” PDF.


PYD co-chair Saleh Moslem mentioned Turkey’s attack on Jarablus and said: “Jarablus attack didn’t come out of the blue. Turkey has been attacking Rojava and Kurdish interests for years.

We are in possession of documents showing their aid to ISIS. With this attack, Turkey is also attacking Syria’s democratization and the model we are trying to realize. They are on the same side as the regime in this matter.”

Moslem continued: “There is a serious embargo against Rojava. Both from Turkey and Southern Kurdistan. We as Rojava take in serious numbers of refugees. We can’t receive any aid in fulfilling their needs. Because of this embargo, no aid can come from anywhere. It’s not allowed.

As institutions of Rojava, we want to contact EU and EU countries directly. Our cities have been torn down, we have taken in significant numbers of refugees, they have needs and these needs have to be met. We want to communicate directly, not over Turkey or Syria, but as institutions of Rojava.”

Moslem said they defend freedom in Rojava, saying; “The model we defend is a model where everyone can live freely. We want Arabs, Syriacs and Kurds to live together freely. These are also European values. We are the only movement in Syria to defend these values. We are paying a great price to defend these values. This is why we fight ISIS.”

Moslem made a call to EU countries and said: “EU countries should stand with us in this struggle and speak up against this invasion by Turkey.”

“EU SHOULD PRESSURE SOUTHERN KURDISTAN GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE EMBARGO”

European Syriac Union representative David Vergili criticized Turkey’s invasion of Jarablus in his speech and said:

“Turkey launched this attack to change the agenda. AKP government is experiencing significant hardship within the country now. They resort to this attack to change the agenda. Turkey’s administration wants the Middle East to change to their whim. So they make up new stories to this end. Turkey has no right to say “Democratic Syrian Forces shouldn’t cross to the west of Euphrates”. 

Vergilli made a call to European Union member states and said: “The embargo on Rojava must end. For this, EU should pressure the Southern Kurdistan Government. Gates to Rojava must be opened at once”.

Video - Erdogan's son Bilal grinning while his father comments on Gaziantep suicide attack.

CAUGHT ON TAPE: Fury over #Turkey president's son Bilal's grinning while his father commenting on #Gaziantep bombing pic.twitter.com/r4i9HsgZBZ

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) August 22, 2016

AKP delegation booed and people shout “Murderer Erdogan” when they show up to meet #Gaziantep victims - @anfenglishpic.twitter.com/BRhgdNEC3L

— Gissur Simonarson (@GissiSim) August 21, 2016

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.”

Two Polish Seim commissions recognize Volhynia atrocity genocide of Polish population by Ukrainian nationalists.

Two Polish Seim commissions recognize Volhynia atrocity genocide of Polish population by Ukrainian nationalists. (Tass).

Two commissions (for links with the Poles and for culture and media) of the Polish Seim on Tuesday adopted a resolution recognizing genocide the atrocity committed by Ukrainian nationalists against the Poles in Volhynia, a region in the northwest corner of Ukraine, in 1943-1944 during WWII.

"We establish July 11 as an official day of mourning dedicated to the victims of genocide carried out by Ukrainian nationalists against the citizens of the [interwar] Second Polish Republic," the draft resolution said.

"The genocide carried out in 1943-1945 claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people, predominantly peasants. Their exact number is unknown. Many of them have not been buried with dignity until today," the draft said.

"The memory of the victims of those crimes committed by Ukrainian nationalists 40 years ago has never been perpetuated and the mass killings have not been recognized genocide to match the historical truth," the resolution’s text stressed.

The Polish deputies also remembers the reprisals, which the Poles committed in retaliation in Ukrainian villages. "Remembering the crimes committed by Ukrainian nationalists, we cannot keep silent about Polish retaliatory actions in Ukrainian villages which also claimed civilian lives," the document said. The Polish deputies expressed their gratitude to those Ukrainians who risked their lives to help the Poles. They suggested that the Polish president decorate them with state awards.

The deputies added a clause urging to establish and mark the places of fratricidal crimes and bury the remains of all the victims, if such are found, with dignity as well as to draw up the victims’ full list.

The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) is an ultra-right political organization (banned in Russia) which operated predominantly in the territory of Western Ukraine during WWII.

In collaboration with German reconnaissance bodies, OUN fought against the Soviet rule. In February 1943, Ukrainian nationalists started mass extermination of the Polish population of Volhynia. The campaign reached its peak in July-August 1943. On July 11, 1943, the units of OUN - UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) attacked about 100 Polish populated localities and killed about 100,000 Poles, mainly women, children and old people.

The killings’ main purpose was to cleanse the territory of a future Ukrainian state from all non-Ukrainians.Read the full story here.

Iraqi Christian refugees are forced to sign a document to support the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Iraqi Christian refugees are forced to sign a document to support the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan. (Fides).

A fair number of Christian Assyrians, Chaldean and Syrian displaced, who took refuge in the city of Dohuk after their villages were conquered by the jihadists of the Islamic State (Daesh), were forced to sign a petition in recent days in support of the proclamation of an independent Kurdish State in Iraqi Kurdistan. This was reported by local sources, consulted by Agenzia Fides. Ankawa.com. site also publishes a facsimile of the signature collection form, with a space to register the identity card and mobile phone number.

The petition, addressed to the government of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, is divided into four points: In addition to state the support owed to the Kurdish Peshmerga militia and Masud Barzani, President of the autonomous region of Kurdistan, it asks the Kurds to speed up the release of Mosul by jihadi forces and prefigures the transformation of the Province of Nineveh (Mosul as capital) in the autonomous region within Iraqi Kurdistan, transformed de facto in independent Kurdish State.

The news of the petition provoked alarmed reactions even among the political representatives supported by militant Chaldeans, Syriacs and Assyrians. Christian politician Imad Youkhana, a member of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (Zowaa) and member of the Iraqi Parliament, urged the authorities of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan to open an "urgent investigation" to clarify who inspired and organized the collection of signatures, stressing that the demands of the petition, in a serious moment lived in the region, help to increase the division and further undermine the peaceful coexistence among the different components of the Iraqi nation.

While Mosul and much of the Nineveh Plain remain under the control of the jihadists of Daesh, the story of the petition which Christians displaced in Dohik were forced to sign, allows interests and political projects to be half-seen that could point to a fragmentation of the Iraqi national territory.

Video - Black-out of info on Alarming reports of major Human rights violations in SE Turkey.

S-E #Turkey: Black-out of info about alleged violations in this large area fuels suspicions about what's going onhttps://t.co/tA5VJQc4FE

— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) May 10, 2016

"S-E Turkey: Black-out of info about alleged violations in this large area fuels suspicions about what's going on" UN Human rights.(UNHR).

Alarming reports of major #humanrights violations in SE Turkey. Transparency & independent investigation are needed https://t.co/h4gLQOeDFs

— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) May 10, 2016

Video - Documentary on Turkish war crimes during siege of Kurdish Cizre that killed 100s of civilians(EN subs)

Erdogan's BFF The Obama 'admin' sending a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to Turkish - Syrian border.

Erdogan's BFF The Obama 'admin' sending a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to destroy the Kurds Turkey. (DS).

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu confirmed media reports that the United States will be sending a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) – a U.S. light multiple rocket launcher mounted on a standard Army Medium Tactical Vehicle (MTV) – to Turkey's border that has been hit by DAESH rocket strikes recently.

Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi on Monday, Çavuoğlu said that the HIMARS will be deployed in May and that NATO allies hope to assist 'moderate' terrorists Syrian opposition groups on the ground with this artillery system.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu: Our priority is to mop up the 98 kilometer Manbij area and eradicate DAESH. After accomplishing this, the safe zone will come into being on its own, eventually. Most recently, [U.S. president Barack] Obama said that he is not against the idea of a safe zone and Germany is on the same page with us about this issue as well.

To eradicate DAESH from this area, the opposition must be empowered. In fact, if the armed conflict in Syria stops, it could be possible to assign more forces to fight against DAESH. We have to support the moderate opposition. Our cannons have a range of 40 kilometers while American HIMARS rockets have a range of 90 kilometers. We have come to an agreement with the U.S. regarding the closing down of the Manbij area.

The Americans have learned the truth about the PYD and they are aware that the PYD is unreliable. However, they were always in search of alternatives in the fight against DAESH on the ground as they cannot send any troops to the region. We are warning of how dangerous it is to collaborate with the PKK, the PYD and the YPG [People's Protection Units]. For instance, the PYD opened an office in Moscow as they ideologically feel close to the Russians. Now, the Americans are working on creating a power against DAESH among different groups such as Turkmens, Arabs and other communities.

Fundamentally, the U.S. has not entirely changed their politics regarding the PYD but they told us that they understand our concern about the YPG. [U.S. Secretary of State] John Kerry, himself told me that YPG is unreliable.

We will see the change in their approach through their actions. We do not want the U.S. to team up with the PYD and YPG from now on because we proved to them that the PKK is no different from these groups with documents. Hmmm.....As i said at the time of Erdogan's last meeting with Obama: 'Obama just threw the Kurds under the Bus'. Read the full story here.

Obama and BFF Erdogan agreed on throwing the Syrian #Kurds under the bus. https://t.co/Mi73gaCMm5 pic.twitter.com/6cXDzX6t49

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) April 4, 2016

#Lavrov calls #Kerry's offer to split #Syria into zones of influence "a simplistic idea."
Quite expected reaction. pic.twitter.com/VEuHiKuHRL

— Alexey Khlebnikov (@AleksKhlebnikov) April 25, 2016

Kremlin says it has sent troops to fight with Kurdish units in Syria.

Kremlin says it has sent troops to fight with Kurdish units in Syria. (WSJ).

The Russian government says it has sent troops to fight alongside Kurdish units in northwestern Syria and is providing weapons to Iraqi Kurds in a tactic that could upstage a long-standing U.S. alliance with the stateless ethnic group and increase Moscow’s influence in the region.

Russian and Kurdish officials say the Kremlin intends to keep a foothold in the area by cultivating ties with some Kurdish groups through weapons, ammunition and oil deals, building on its presence established through its relationship with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Russia’s support appears to be focused on one group in western Syria, the Afrin Kurds, an American defense official said.


The Afrin Kurds have not been backed by the U.S., which has supported an umbrella group of Syrian Kurdish fighters, known as the People’s Defense Units, or YPG.

 The American officials said Mr. Putin’s announcement was likely a provocation against the U.S. and Turkey.

In political circles, Russia’s outreach to Kurds in Iraq is raising concern about more tension between Moscow and Washington, which wants to keep Iraq a unitary state.


“Russia will take on any opportunity it can to undermine U.S. interests globally, but they don’t always think through the consequences,” said Rep. Seth Moulton (D., Mass.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee. “We’re concerned about the long-term stability of Iraq and I don’t think they are.”

“There is no doubt that the Kurdish factors will be one of the most important factors in the Middle East transformation in years to come,“ said Fyodor Lukyanov, head of a Kremlin advisory body known as Russia’s Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. Read the full story here.

Kurdish Opposition Leader Demirtas: 'Erdogan Wants a Caliphate'.

Kurdish Opposition Leader Demirtas: 'Erdogan Wants a Caliphate'. (Spiegel).

Kurdish opposition leader Selahattin Demirtas, 43, says that his HDP party wants a cease-fire in the ongoing battle between Turkish troops and Kurds in southeastern Turkey. But, he says, Turkish President Erdogan isn't willing to listen.

SPIEGEL: German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hoping that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be able to solve Europe's refugee crisis. Is he able to?

Demirtas: I wish he could. But I fear he is creating much larger problems. If the Turkish government continues its war against the Kurds, then millions of Turkish citizens could seek asylum in Europe.

SPIEGEL: Would Angela Merkel have been better off not negotiating with Erdogan?


Demirtas: No, but she has to be careful not to disregard European principles. She can't remain silent when a country seeking to join the EU bombs its own towns and cities.

SPIEGEL: The government says it is exclusively pursuing terrorists.


Demirtas: The war is primarily focused on civilians that Erdogan suspects of supporting the PKK. Almost 400,000 people have had to leave their homes. The southeast of Turkey resembles Syria.

SPIEGEL: Even HDP supporters are critical and say you should have distanced yourselves from PKK violence earlier and more decisively.

Demirtas: I did. Erdogan and his henchmen in the media didn't want to hear anything about it. They are consciously defaming me as a terrorist.

SPIEGEL: Not long ago, Erdogan was working towards a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish conflict. Why do you think he has changed course?

Demirtas: He's striving for absolute power in Turkey. Erdogan wants a caliphate. We Kurds are in his way. Erdogan can't stop us politically, so he is denouncing us as terrorists.

SPIEGEL: What role will the Kurds have in the new reorganization of the Middle East?


Demirtas: The Kurds are stepping onto the stage of world history. In northern Iraq, they are well on their way to an independent state and in Syria they are successfully fighting for federal rights. In Turkey, the Kurds are pushing for democratization. Read the full interview here.

Hmmm..........Turkey is already the center of the 'Caliphate' ....since 2014.

The most prominent spiritual leader for the Muslim Brotherhood is none other than Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi and this Sunday he declared that Turkey is where the Caliphate will be established.

In an interview with TV Turkia Qaradawi declared that:

“We came to Turkey to assess the Fourth Assembly of the Union of Muslim Scholars in Istanbul, capital of the Islamic Caliphate!”

Qaradawi added that:

“Turkey is the Caliphate State, and Istanbul is its capital … Turkey unites religion and the world, Arab (Wahhabist Sunnis) and Persian (Shiites), Asia and Africa, and it (the Caliphate) should be based upon this nation (Turkey)”.