A statement by the Gorran Movement about their concerns of Terror and political assassination in the region of Sulaymani

We at the Gorran Movement and all of our councils in Europe and abroad are very concerned about the recent developments in the sulaymani region which have happened over the last two months.

The abduction, political killing and the also attempted political assassination, has been unprecedented in the sulaymania region. The security apparatus and police have not as yet, reached any conclusion.

In the middle of October 2009, a vehicle belonging to a well-known Journalist named Bhaktiar Ali, had been found burnt-out. On 7th November the attempted killing with an iron tool, was intended for General Dara Tawfiq Aga. He received an injury to his head, in front of his house in Bhaktyari district in Sulaymany. On 4th December the third accident to happen, was when Sardar Kahdir was visiting one of his relatives. He was attacked in his relative’s house and had been badly injured and also shot in the leg. On 11th December Yasin Abdulla in the Mamostayan district had also been shot and injured. On 22nd December In the village of Shanadari, the Burhan Hama Hamaramazan had been shot and received a serious injury to his stomach. On the 27th December the Rauf Zaraynee had also been shot and died in front of his house. On 28th December the resident of Bhaktyar Shiek Osman had been attacked by several people but without any injury.

It is not a coincidence that all these people are active, inside The Gorran Movement. It is a wonder why these events had happened during this particular time of year and with only a few weeks away from the Iraqi assembly election .It is not surprising that the police and security apparatus had not issued any statements in respect of these incidents.

We in the Gorran movement condemn all these acts of violence and hold the PUK and KDP both responsible for all of these incidents. The security and peace in the Sulaymani area are the responsibility of KRG which is controlled by two ruling parties.

We in the Gorran Movement are sending this letter to the Iraqi section in the House of Commons in the UK and also the state department in the US. This to inform them, to be aware of the possibility of an outbreak of civil war within the Sulaymani area.

The Gorran Movement

The Gorran council in UK

The Gorran Council in Germany

The Gorran Council In Sweden

The Gorran Council in America

The Gorran Council In France

The Gorran Council In Norway

The Gorran Council In Holland

The Gorran Council in Belgum

Kurdish opposition meets Kurdish president

30-12-2009

Erbil- Leaders of Goran movement met with Southern Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani and talked about issues such as dismissing people from government jobs by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan on suspicion of voting to Goran during the July 25th elections, Mam Rostam, a leader of the movement told Rudaw.

Mam Rostam said that the delegation met with Barzani on Friday December 24. The delegation promised to solve the issue upcoming new year.

“(Goran) has become reality (of the political process), we have 25 seats in the parliament,” said Mam Rostam.

“We told Barzani that people are being fired from their jobs and transferred (on suspicions of voting to Goran in the parliamentary elections),” he said adding that the president promised that he will not let anyone to be fired because of supporting a political faction.

© Rudaw

More than 220 murders were committed in 2009

31-12-2009

By Salam Saadi

Erbil - During the last 11 months of 2009, more than 221 murder cases have been recorded by KRG ministry of interior, although this is scary number of murder but scarier than this is the way of committing the murder in some of the cease. Two slaying cases were among murders.

Both slaying cases happened in fifteen days. The first one which happened on 23 Nov. 2009 in the village of (Gird Musak) belonging to Soran district, in this murder case a woman has slew her husband after three months passed on their marriage. The second murder case which happened on 8 Dec. 2009 in the village of (Gird Jan) belonging to Chwar Qurna sub- district, the victim was a woman in the name of (Trifa Muhammad, mother of three children, has been killed by un known people just for the sake of stealing her gold. Trifa was pregnant when she killed.

Recording 221 murder cases in eleven months only are telling us about the catastrophe which has faced Kurdish society. Sociologist and psychologists believe that an urgent solution is needed for this phenomenon and we need to find out the reasons behind and then discuss with the related parties to prevent it.

Free Market for selling Violence

"If one similar murder case happened in a year, then it should be investigated and concentrated on urgently," says Dr. Yousif Hama Salih, the head of psychology department in college of arts, Salahadin university. Dr. Rebwar Siwaily, author and instructor in philosophy department in college of arts, Salahadin University believes part of the factors and reasons are from outside our country. "The outcome of globalization entering our home with out having any local filter to purify the things we need to serve our society" said Siwaily. "Recently violence is became some thing which is transferring from a society to another. So many films and play station games entering Kurdistan while none of them is nor necessary neither goes through factorization system," added Dr. Siwaily.

He believes that there should be a quality control of the media which affects Kurdish personality building directly. "We need to work on this very accurately. Ministry of culture and ministry of interior take major responsibility of this issue, because this is part of our national security and safety," said Siwaily.

A model for revenging on society

Dr. Yosif Hama Salih believes that the development of violence is connected to the political and historical factors which Kurdish nation has passed on. "

Apart from political, social and economical factors, Dr. Hama Salih talks about social injustice which can be seen clearly in Kurdish society. "As far as these factors remain as they are, I am expecting more continues violence in Kurdish society" added Dr. Hama Salih.

Dr. Siwaily believes that youths and women are two main groups in Kurdish society which face most of the problems. In our political system they have not been defined, their rights and duties have not been indicated. This is why there is a lot of psychological pressure on them which made them to be angry with their own society. "These reasons make them to look for an opportunity to show an act to attract attention of the society and shock them. We can say most of the reasons behind this phenomenon is internal" said Siwaily. According to Siwaily the local power is involved with violence in Kurdish society. "We are part of a society which produces violence in any second. Police and its procedure of investigation is a kind of violence," said Siwaily.

He also talks about the role of media channels which some times play a negative role in creating a model of revenge on society un intentionally. He also believes there is a need of rearrangement of the relation between media channels and security agencies in terms of how to transfer an incident for public. "Transferring an incident without a journalism ethics will create a model for those who want to revenge on society and shock them," he added.

A positive censorship

Rebwar Siwaily believes that it is necessary for ministry of interior to prevent having some kind of films and electronic games which can be a way of producing violence. "This kind of market paves the way for new generation to think of violence instead of tolerance". Siwaily asks educational establishments to observe the behavior of children in school, "we need to have some measures to know how the films affect on the mind of the children and to know how many films each of the children have seen and how may of the films produce violence and to what extend they have affected o the behavior of them. This is the task of social and psychological researcher which our educational system does not believe in it," added Siwaily.

According to Dr. Hama Salih the first step is to control the reasons of violence. "The law must play its role, but putting people in prison, torturing and executing people can not control the violence and sin in general. Other related parties must play their role parallel to the law to work on this issue. Media channel should aware people as well as family and schools. We need to have seminar and workshops on this subject. It needs hard work to teach new generation calmness. There should be social equality as well" said Dr. Hama Salih.

© Rudaw

Kurdish soldiers want helicopters

31-12-2009

Erbil - The Kurdish Ministry of Peshmerga has declared it wants heavy weapons and helicopters to defend the Kurdistan region.

Spokesman of Peshmerga Affairs, Cebar Yawer has indicated that an agreement signed between Kurds and Baghdad in 2007 under supervision of the Americans, gives the Kurdish government the right to sign arms agreements with foreign countries, one time in every two months. But this must be accepted by the government in Baghdad and be paid by the Iraqi authorities.

“As long if we don’t get the money that the Peshmerga deserves, we cannot buy heavier weapons. Our goal is, as part of the Iraqi forces, to also defend our borders with helicopters and other materials,” said Yawer.

Recently Prime Minister Maliki threathened to close down two military academies of the Kurdish peshmerga forces in Zaxo and Qala Choalan.

© Rudaw

Google: Ordinary citizens, extraordinary videos

12/29/2009 10:04:00 AM

(Cross-posted from Citizentube and the YouTube Blog)

The images are grainy, often jerky and hard to follow (like most footage shot using hand-held cameras and cellphones), but the message is unmistakable: in the months since the disputed Iranian presidential election in June, the people of Iran have become fluent in the new language of citizen video reporting. What might have seemed an isolated moment immediately following the election, when we watched videos of Iranians marching, battling and even dying on the streets of Tehran, appears to have become an essential part of their struggle.

At YouTube, we have been watching week after week as new videos have appeared on the site within hours of every single protest or similar event reported from Iran in the past six months. Thousands of uploads have brought the fear and tension of these protests to YouTube, inviting millions of views around the world. It is as if the revolts that are taking place could not do so outside the eye of the camera.

Unlike traditional news footage from foreign correspondents (currently prohibited in Iran), these videos are the voice of the people — unfiltered, unedited and with a single, sometimes disturbing point of view. No professional film could capture the one-to-one feeling of watching an ordinary citizen's images of unrest in his or her own country.

We are constantly amazed by the videos our community uploads, whether from their own backyards or the streets of a faraway land. Armed with only a camera and a means to reach the Internet, anyone can ask another to bear witness to their lives. Given the nature of the YouTube videos from Iran, we may want to turn away from some of the images we see, but we keep watching, knowing that we are seeing through the eyes of a people who have discovered the power of information — despite the often extreme measures their government is using to try to stop them.

We will continue to provide the platform for you to see what they see, hear their voices and learn about their struggles. And we encourage you to join the global conversation. Leave a comment, upload your own response video or share a moving moment with someone else.

Posted by Olivia Ma, YouTube News and Politics

Ibrahim Burro is released from prison in Syria

December 30, 2009 by sks

Kurdish Yekiti Party in Syria announced today that Ibrahim Burro has been released from prison in Syria. He was arrested in April 2009 and sentenced in October 2009 for belonging to a ’secret organisation’. He was given a warm reception upon his release by people from his Party and leaders of other Kurdish political parties in Syria.

Fouad Aleko, Secretary of Kurdish Yekiti Party in Syria gave a speech condemning the facist policies of the Syrian Government that are used against the Kurdish population in Syria. He said that the methods used against the Kurds will not stop our movement and activities in working for Kurdish rights.

Fouad Aleko stated that Kurds are very passionate about living under a democratic system, and said that if the cost of working towards this will be imprisonment then we are not afraid.

He spoke about the arrests of Hassan Saleh, Mohammed Mustafa, Marouf Mela Ahmed and Anwer Naso, saying that these arrests are unjustified, and are seen as a message for our Party and our political movement that the authorities intend to continue to oppress and to ignore the basic rights of Kurds, and humanity. He committed the Party to continuing activity, saying that although the Syrian authorities may arrest many hundreds or thousands of us, they cannot arrest all of the three million Kurds and kill our spirit of freedom.

Fouad Aleko invited the authorities to open responsible dialogue with the Kurdish leaders so that initiatives can be found to solve these difficulties regarding the Kurdish question on the basis of equality and co-existance.

Ibrahim Burro gave a speech describing his experiences in prison, including his isolation. He reported that there are many teenagers in prison who are naive about politics and who have been imprisoned merely for wearing emblems of the Kurdish political parties. He said that the arbitrary political arrests are malicious in intent against Kurds. Ibrahim Burro confirmed that he will continue in his political life in defence of basic Kurdish rights.

Previous report re: Ibrahim Burro – http://supportkurds.org/news/free-mr-ibrahim-burro/

Report re: arrest of Hassan Saleh, Mohammed Mustafa, Marouf Mela Ahmed and Anwer Naso – http://supportkurds.org/news/kurdish-political-leaders-arrested-in-syria/

29 December 2009

Open Letters of Abdullah Demirbas, Urgent Action!

Mayor of Sur Municipality (Diyarbakir) 30.12.2009- "Dear Sir/Madam,First of all I would like to tell you about my health problems that really give me unbearable pain in my legs which this illness called (vein thrombosis (DVT) and need to be controlled by my doctor all the time. If I will not be controlled by the doctor that it may cause bad illness while I am in the jail."
As you may know I have been arrested and jailed with another 23 members of the BDP political party including 7 mayors.

The Turkish state have started a new war against the civilian Kurdish political movement in 11 provinces from Diyarbakir and neighboring cities to İstanbul and İzmir.

Homes of prominent DTP (the Kurdish party recently banned by the Constitutional Court) leaders houses were broken into 5 a.m. and around 60 party members, including mayors of Kurdish provinces and districts and the human rights association chairperson in Diyarbakir were arrested.

Also these party members and mayors brought up to court building with handcuffs on their hands. All the media were recording and taking pictures of this shameful scene.

I would like to point out an important fact to you that those party members never use a gun or never connected with the violence acts. All we have been trying to do to solve the Kurdish problem in a democratic ways.

The Turkish court has charged 23 Kurdish officials, including eight mayors. This was the third operation during this year. More than 100 people have already been charged in the investigation led by the chief prosecutor’s office in Diyarbakir.

54 party members got arrested and jailed on the March 2009. Unfortunately they haven’t brought up the court or Turkish Court hasn’t opened a case against these jailed party members.

As you can see that the government categorically rejects dialogue with the Kurdish movement.

The Kurdish question cannot be resolved without recognizing the will of the Kurdish people and holding dialogue with its interlocutors.

I believe that Turkish government refuses to recognize its Kurdish population as adistinct minority.

I believe that Turkish government refuses to recognize its Kurdish population asadistinctminority.

The European Union, which Turkey wants to join, has praised Turkish Prime Minister R. T. Erdogan’s efforts to end the conflict. His so-called democratic initiative. But as you see the government instead of making dialogue with the Kurdish, they make these operations. The Turkish Government cannot endure the Kurdish people and their party as a free decision so this operation is against the Kurdish free volition and they want to break the Kurdish free volition.


As I mantioned above that I also have a seriously bad ill condition which I have to be under the doctor control all the time. Therefore I cannot stay in the jail with any conditions. Even Turkish law agreed that it was inappropriate for me to stay in the jail. But still they put me in jail with (POLITICAL) reasons.

Therefore, I kindly wish from you dear friends;

• We are waiting considerably your quick reaction for this unjustice act,
• If you take this act and shared in international arena which you connected with society, associations and etc.. and If you request from them to respond about our situation that we will be really appriciated,
• I hope to see you soon in a near future together in our free live days.

All best wishes to you,

Yours Sincereley.

General Staff Denies Connections to JİTEM

Tolga KORKUT - The General Staff has sent a writ to the court dealing with the JITEM case saying, "There is no such established unit connected to us". Lawyer Elçi awaits a reply on the matter by the Gendarmerie Command. Meanwhile, witnesses have claimed evidence for the existence of JİTEM.


The Chief of General Staff has sent a writ to the Diyarbakır 3rd High Criminal Court regarding the trial known as the "JITEM case", stating, "A unit called JITEM does not exist within our structure".

JİTEM (Gendarmerie Intelligence Anti-Terrorism Unit) is a clandestine and highly illegal gendarmerie intelligence unit set up in the late 1980s to counter ethnic separatism in the south-east of Turkey. The anti-terrorism unit is accused of extrajudicial killings.

Upon the request of joint attorney Tahir Elçi, the court had asked the General Staff "whether a unit called JİTEM exists and in case it does, when it was established and whether it is still being active".

The reply was sent by Judge Colonel Orhan Önder, Criminal Justice Affairs Branch President, "on behalf of the General Staff".
Awaiting an answer from the Gendarmerie Command

Lawyer Elçi spoke to bianet and said that now they are expecting a reply from the Gendarmerie General Command which was asked the same questions. Elçi commented the writing of the General Staff, "The text is very limited indeed. It is not understandable and it makes you want to hoot. It says 'There is no such unit within our structure'. I am curious about the answer the Gendarmerie Command will give on the matter".

Witnesses' statements regarding JİTEM

According to testimonies from people who worked within the JİTEM structure or had other encounters with the anti-terror unit, JİTEM seems to exist and furthermore to be responsible for illegal activities, for killings known as "unsolved" murders or for enforced disappearances of people.

Arif Doğan: As stated in the indictment of the Ergenekon case, defendant Retired Colonel Arif Doğan founded JİTEM within the Gendarmerie General Command together with Majors Hüseyin Kara, Cem Ersever and Captains Aytekin Özen and Ali Yıldız. Later on, Doğan allegedly transferred the management of the unit to Brigadier General Veli Küçük. The indictment includes excerpts concerning illegal activities carried out by JİTEM, such as bombing the JİTEM building and leaving a claim of responsibility from the PKK (militant Kurdistan Workers' Party), being in touch with an illegal organization (in this case it is referred to Hezbollah), instant executions, civilian armed task forces and forged IDs.

JİTEM payroll: Former PKK member and later member of JİTEM Abdülkadir Aygan talked in detail about which murders had been committed in what ways during the time when Abdülkerim Kırca was at the Diyarbakır command. Kırca has supposedly committed suicide later on. When Brigadier General Küçük said "JİTEM does not exist", Aygan presented a payroll dated from March 1993 labeled "Place of duty: JİTEM".

Hanefi Avcı: In his statement regarding the "JİTEM case", Diyarbakır Intelligence Branch President from 1984-1992 Hanefi Avcı confirmed the existence of the organization. He testified, "JİTEM signboards were posted in the Diyarbakır Public Order Corps Command and in the Diyarbakır Regiment Command. Those parties participated in different public order assessments as commissioned by the JİTEM Command. When Corps Commander Hikmet Köksal was Commander of the Diyarbakır Public Order Corps, all units were subordinate to him, and so was JİTEM".
Next hearing on 31 December

10 defendants are tried in the case, stated to be JİTEM personnel by the prosecutor's office: İbrahim Babat, Adil Timurtaş, Mehmet Zahir Karadeniz, Lokman Gündüz, Faysal Şanlı, Recep Tiril, Abdülkadir Aygan, Ali Ozansoy, Hüseyin Tilki, Hayrettin Toka and Hacı Hasan who currently resides in Syria.

The next hearing of the case will be held on 31 December. (TK/VK)

Iran: End slide to more bloodshed

Amnesty International

30/12/2009

Amnesty International today condemned the further and wholly avoidable loss of up to 8-15 lives in Iran during the ‘Ashoura religious commemorations.

The organization called on the authorities to ensure that those attending funerals and commemorations in the coming days and weeks are guaranteed the right to assemble peacefully and to express their opposition to the current government.

"The spiral of violence is growing in Iran and the excessive force by the security forces appears to be meeting unprecedented resistance from protestors,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Demonstrations on 27 December were policed by the Basij, a plain-clothed, volunteer paramilitary force under the control of the Revolutionary Guards, and the Special Forces units of the police. In the unrest following June's presidential elections, Basij personnel used firearms.

“The loss of life during ‘Ashoura was wholly avoidable and this slide to more bloodshed must end now," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

Amnesty International has only been able to contact people in central Tehran who spoke of day-long clashes, from Vali Asr Square, College and Hafez Bridges - the latter of which security personnel used to hurl rocks at vehicles below - and Revolution Square (Meydan-e Enghlab) in the day to Mir-Damad street late into the evening as swathes of the city with covered in the smoke from the tear gas.

The funeral of 35 year old Seyed Ali Mousavi, the nephew of former presidential candidate and political leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, is expected to take place along with others in the coming days.

Iran is bound by international human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that guarantee the right of peaceful assembly and expression.

"Despite Amnesty International’s and others’ advance appeals, in far too many places the authorities singularly failed to respect the rights of those Iranians taking part in ‘Ashoura commemorations to peacefully assemble and to express themselves, even in opposition to the government. We deplore the increased levels of violence and renewed killing on ‘Ashoura that was wholly avoidable.”

“The Supreme Leader and government must instruct the police to end the use of force while leaders of the Revolutionary Guard must withdraw the Basij from demonstrations since time and time again it has been shown that their actions are fuelling conflict, leading to the loss of life.”

Amnesty International again urged the authorities to invite to Iran independent human rights experts, such as those from the UN, in order to make an independent investigation into ongoing human rights violations.

"Inquiries announced by the authorities so far have been confusing and opaque and are simply not believed by most Iranians,” Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said.

Amnesty International also expressed concern at reports of arrests that are said to have taken place on 28 December. Reports indicate that political leader had once again been detained along with three advisors to Mir Hossein Mousavi and Ayatollah Mousavi Tabrizi, a religious leader.

Human rights activist was detained at 06:45 in the morning, reportedly by four plain-clothed and armed men who are said to have forcibly entered Baghi's residence. A Dubai TV correspondent, a Syrian national, appeared to be unaccounted for in the course of 27 December.

Amnesty International considers Emadeddin Baghi and Ebrahim Yazdi to be prisoners of conscience.

Background

The unrest on ‘Ashoura was the worst since the days following the June 2009 presidential election. As then, the mobile phone networks and internet services appeared largely disabled.

‘Ashoura, the 10th day of the Islamic month of Moharram, is a Shi’a Muslim religious occasion marking the killing, or martyrdom, of Hossein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad and an important religious and community leader.

By around 21:00 GMT on 27 December the Acting Head of the Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) for Greater Tehran, Ahmad Reza Radan had admitted to four deaths in Tehran, adding that there were 300 hundred arrests.

One person was said to have fallen off a bridge; two in car accidents and only one man – whose identity was not revealed – was said to have been shot. It is widely believed that this was a reference to Mir Hossein Mousavi’s nephew.

Commander Ahmad Reza Radan of the Iranian police called the shooting suspicious since the police were not equipped with guns. During the unrest in June and July 2009, it appeared that only the Basij militia and members of the Revolutionary Guards were armed.

The authorities have claimed that some of those arrested belonged the illegal People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), banned since the early 1980s.

The Jonbesh-e Rah-e Sabz (JARAS) news outlet issued five names of individuals who were said to have been killed on ‘Ashoura: Mehdi Farhadinia, Mohammad Ali Rasekhinia, Amir Arshadi, Shahram Faraji and Seyed Ali Mousavi, who is said to be the nephew of Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of the presidential candidates in June’s election. Amnesty International has not been able to confirm the names issued.

Confrontation between thousands of mourners marking what is believed by Shi’a Muslims to be the martyrdom of Emam Hossein on the tenth (‘ashoura) day of the month of Moharram and security officials were reported from Tabriz, Babol and Mashhad in the north of Iran; Tehran, Qom, Najaf Abad and Esfahan in the centre and Shiraz in the south.

Amnesty International

Khalid Kanjo – deported from Germany, trial adjourned in Syria

December 29, 2009 by sks

The trial of Khaled Kanjo who was deported from Germany to Syria, was held today – Tuesday 29 December 2009 – before the Military Individual Judge Court, in Qamishli.

Khaled Kanjo has been charged with ‘broadcasting false news that would bring the Syrian State into disrepute’, in case number 3813/2009.

The hearing was dedicated to presenting Khaled Kanjo’s defence. He was represented by the following lawyers:

• Mohamed Khalil, a member of the Trustees Board of DAD – organisation,
• Mohammed Ashraf al-Seno member of the Trustees Board of DAD – organisation,
• Luqman Ebana,
• Redwan Seydou,
• Sulaiman Ismail,
• Ibrahim Ahmad.

The trial was adjourned until 8 February 2010, for sentencing.
The Kurdish Organisation for the Defence of Human Rights and General Liberties in Syria – DAD condemns these trials and false accusations made against Kurdish citizens. We call upon the Syrian authorities to stop arbitrary detention in particular, and to release all political detainees and prisoners of conscience.

• We call for respect for freedom of expression, and democracy,
• the abolition of the State of Emergency and martial law,
• the separation of the Judiciary from the control of the State,
• respect for the authority of international charters and conventions on human rights,

so that Syrian citizens can live in peace, freedom and tranquillity.

Kurdish Organisation for the Defence of Human Rights and General Liberties in Syria – DAD

29 December 2009

…………

See: http://supportkurds.org/news/germany-returns-kurds-to-uncertain-fate/#more-982

Kurdish Youth Shot Dead in Turkish Bar for Singing Kurdish Song

Emrah Gezer was out with some friends in a bar and sang a Kurdish song. Some Turkish police got so annoyed by this that an argument ensued and Emrah was shot and killed by them. DİHA

Freedoom for Lawyer Muharrem Erbey!

Lawyer Muharrem Erbey, Vice President and Diyarbakýr Branch President of Human Rights Association (IHD), was detained on early hours of the morning of 24 December 2009 in Diyarbakýr and was arrested on the midnight of 26 December 2009 by the Diyarbakýr Special Heavy Penal Court. To participate to the Constitution Workshop in Diyarbakýr, to give a speech regarding to the Kurdish Issue in the parliaments of Belgium, Sweden and England, to participate to “Kurdish Film Festival” in Italy and to become a legal adviser of Osman Baydemir (the Mayor of Diyarbakir) are some of the accusations against Muharrem Erbey. These events were describes as illegal activities and Mr. Erbey was accused being “a member of an illegal organisation”.
Following the detention of Muharrem Erbey, the police raided the Diyarbakýr Branch of Human Rights Association in the hope of finding “more evidences”. Besides the unlawful raid, the search and confiscation in our branch, which had not any relation with the related investigation, were a scandal in terms of law. The Diyarbakir Branch of IHD had not been raided even during the years of state of emergency. The accusations against Muharrem Erbey are the activities of a human rights defender. In this way, The United Nations of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders was violated frankly.

Right to freedom of expression and association was violated once again with the arrest of Muharrem Erbey. With this imprisonment, the rule-of-law principle and Lawyer of Muharrem Erbey’s right to be tried without arrest were violated.

A human rights defender was accused of being “the international affairs officer of an illegal organisation” because of his speeches on Kurdish Issue, which is the most important problem in Turkey, in the parliaments of Belgium, Italy and England. These countries are the members of European Union, for which Turkey negotiate for full membership. Thus, these countries should question the attitude of Turkey. Human rights is a universal concept. It should be expressed in everywhere. European Union and the related countries should not be just an onlooker to this situation.

The ongoing imprisonment of Lawyer Filiz Kalayci (board member of the Human Rights Association) in 2009, the imprisonment Ms. Yuksel Mutlu (a member of the Honorary Board of the Human Rights Association ) for six months in 2009, the penalties of imprisonment and fines against Ethem Açýkalýn (Former President of Adana Branch of Human Rights Association) in 2009 and the investigations and cases against the other members and executives of IHD were the indicators of pressure on the human rights defenders in Turkey. All the activities of human rights defenders are within the frame of freedom of expression and freedom of association. According to the United Nations of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the government should protect the human rights defenders. However, the ongoing investigations and cases against them indicate that there are serious violations in this area.

We request the immediate release of Muharrem Erbey.

HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION (IHD)

Tehran's Biggest Fear

New York Times
By Selig S. Harrison
29/12/2009

The biggest threat to the ruling ayatollahs and generals in multi-ethnic Iran does not come from the embattled democratic opposition movement struggling to reform the Islamic Republic. It comes from increasingly aggressive separatist groups in Kurdish, Baluch, Azeri and Arab ethnic minority regions that collectively make up some 44 percent of Persian-dominated Iran’s population.

Working together, the democratic reform movement and the ethnic insurgents could seriously undermine the republic. But the reform movement, like most of the clerical, military and business establishment, is dominated by an entrenched Persian elite and has so far refused to support minority demands.

What the minorities want is greatly increased economic development spending in the non-Persian regions, a bigger share of the profits from oil and other natural resources in their areas, the unfettered use of non-Persian languages in education and politics and freedom from religious persecution. Some minority leaders believe these goals can be achieved through regional autonomy under the existing Constitution, but most of them want to reconstitute Iran as a loose confederation or to declare independence.

Should the United States give money and weapons aid to the ethnic insurgents?

During the Bush administration, a debate raged between White House advocates of “regime change” in Tehran, who favored large-scale covert action to break up the country, and State Department moderates who argued that all-out support of the minorities would complicate negotiations on a nuclear deal with the dominant Persians.

The result was a compromise: limited covert action carried out by proxy, in the case of the Baluch, through Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate or, I.S.I., and in the case of the Kurds by the C.I.A. in cooperation with Israel’s Mossad. My knowledge of the I.S.I.’s role is based on first-hand Pakistani sources, including Baluch leaders. Evidence of the C.I.A. role in providing weapons aid and training to Pejak, the principal Kurdish rebel group in Iran, has been spelled out by three U.S. journalists, Jon Lee Anderson and Seymour Hersh of the New Yorker and Borzou Daragahi of the Los Angeles Times, who have interviewed a variety of Pejak leaders.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaking in the Kurdish city of Bijar, charged on May 12 that the Obama administration had not reversed the Bush policy. “Unfortunately, money, arms and organization are being used by the Americans directly across our western borders in order to fight the Islamic Republic’s system,” he declared. “The Americans are busy making a conspiracy.”

Mossad has long-standing contacts with Kurdish groups in Iran and Iraq established when the United States and Israel wanted to destabilize the Kurdish areas of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. But now the United States wants a united Iraq in which Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis cooperate. Iran, too, wants a united Iraq because it fears cooperation among its own Kurds and those in Iraq and Turkey to create an independent Kurdistan. So aiding Pejak would hamper future Iran-U.S. cooperation in Baghdad in addition to complicating the nuclear negotiations.

Both the Baluch and the Kurds are Sunni Muslims. They are fighting vicious Shiite religious repression in addition to cultural and economic discrimination. By contrast, the biggest of the minorities, the Turkic-speaking Azeris, are Shiites, and Ayatollah Khamenei himself is an Azeri. His selection as the supreme leader was in part a gesture to the Azeris designed to cement their allegiance to Iran and to blunt a covert campaign by ethnic kinsmen in adjacent Azerbaijan to annex them. The Azeris in Iran are better off economically than the other minorities but feel that the Persians look down on them. Prolonged rioting erupted for days after a Tehran newspaper published a cartoon in May 2006, depicting an Azeri-speaking cockroach.

The Arabs in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, who are also Shiites, pose the most dangerous potential separatist threat to Tehran because the province produces 80 percent of Iran’s crude oil revenue. So far the divided Arab separatist factions have not created a militia but they periodically raid government security installations, bomb oil production facilities and broadcast propaganda in Arabic on satellite TV channels from shifting locations outside Iran.

The most serious military clashes between the Revolutionary Guards and separatist groups have come on the Kurdish border, where Iran repeatedly bombarded Pejak hideouts in September 2007, and in Baluchistan, where the Guards frequently suffers heavy casualties in clashes with militias of the Jundullah movement operating out of camps just across the border in the Baluch areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Compared to the massive protests in the streets of Tehran and Qum, the uncoordinated harassment of the regime by ethnic insurgents may seem like a sideshow. But if the ethnic insurgents could unite and if the democratic opposition could forge a united front with the minorities, the prospects for reforming or toppling the Islamic Republic, now dismal, would brighten.

For the present, the Obama administration should tread with the utmost care in dealing with this sensitive issue, guided by a recognition that support for separatism and engagement with the present regime are completely incompatible.

Selig S. Harrison is director of the Asia program at the Center for International Policy and author of “In Afghanistan’s Shadow.”

New York Times - By Selig S. Harrison

London Kurds unite in opposition to events unfolding in Turkey

KurdishMedia.com
By Mary Pole
29/12/2009

The Kurdish diaspora in London is not homogenous. Differences in dialect, culture and political persuasion all contribute to a community that is often recognised as divided. Despite this, Turkey’s banning of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) has provoked a strong uniform reaction from within London’s Kurdish community.

A relatively new party founded in 2005 the DTP holds 21 seats out of a total 550 in parliament, making it the first pro-Kurdish party with elected members of parliament since 1991. On the 11th December 2009 a unanimous ruling by the Turkish constitutional court demanded the closure of the DTP due to its links with the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, more commonly known simply as the PKK. These were alleged to make the party the ‘focal point of activities against the indivisible unity of the state, the country and the nation.’ In addition to the party ban, the DTP leaders Ahmet Turk and Aysel Tugluk were stripped of diplomatic immunity and banned from politics for 5 years.

Protests and demonstrations have taken place across the Kurdish regions and the diaspora since the ban of the DTP was announced. These have included major demonstrations in Turkey that have seen violent clashes between protestors and state police. Although protests in London have remained peaceful their message is no less clear than that of their counterparts in Turkey.

On the 15th December the Kurdish Federation in the UK organised a demonstration outside the Foreign Office in London protesting the ban and calling for equality for Kurds in Turkey. Attended by over 200 people the event brought together representatives from a wide variety of Kurdish organisations in London and expressed the sense of solidarity felt by many towards the 10million Kurds in Turkey.

The chair of the Kurdish Federation in the UK Arzu Peshman stresses that the event was organised ‘in order to raise awareness of the injustices committed against Kurds by the government of Turkey. The closure of the DTP has removed the only political voice of the Kurds and has left them without a voice.’ She adds that ‘Not only does this affect the Kurds but it is a move sharply in contrast with the democratisation of Turkey.’

In a statement given to the Foreign Secretary, David Milliband, the Kurdish Federation refers to the ruling of the Contemporary Lawyers Association of the closure as a ‘massacre of justice’ and calls on the British government to condemn the closure of the DTP by the Constitutional Court, and to pressure the Prime Minister of Turkey to ‘solve the Kurdish issue by democratic and peaceful methods.’

Other key Kurdish organisations in London have expressed similar sentiments. ‘Closing elected political parties down in Turkey is a clear example that the rights to freedom of association, free expression, and to free and fair elections are not safe in Turkey’ said Kerim Yuldiz, Chief Executive of The Kurdish Human Rights Project. He also drew attention to Turkey’s EU accession bid, arguing that this decision is a blow to the reform agenda of the government and displays the severe failings of the Turkish legal and political system.

On the eve of the announcement of the ban Medeni Kirci, a member of the DTP Foreign Affairs Committee, addressed a predominantly Kurdish audience at a seminar organised by the Kurdish Studies and Student Organisation (KSSO) held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. The DTP member shared instances of human rights abuses in Turkey and the importance of retaining a Kurdish voice within the political process in order to seek justice peacefully through change in legislation rather than through fear and violence. His message was particularly poignant given the sentencing of Leyla Zanar, a prominent Kurdish politician in Turkey, to one year and three months imprisonment following a speech given at a KSSO seminar in London in May 2008.

In all these instances the message is clear. The Kurdish community in London may be geographically distanced from the events unfolding in Turkey, but their voice will be raised nonetheless. Given the political isolation of Kurds in Turkey and the impact this may have on a militarization of Kurdish efforts to achieve equality, the voice of the diaspora is becoming increasingly important in the hope for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue in the region.

Mary Pole is a writer based in London, whose research interests include forced migration, the Middle East and Central Asia. She holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Oxford in Forced Migration.

KurdishMedia.com - By Mary Pol

Kurdish political leaders arrested in Syria

December 29, 2009 by sks

Kurdish Yekiti Party in Syria reports that Hasan Salih, Muhammed Mustafa and Marouf Mela Ahmed – the members of Political Committee of Kurdish Yekiti Party in Syria, and the political activist and artist Anwer Naso from Amouda, were arrested in Qamishli by Political Security forces on 26 December 2009. The reason for their arrests is unknown.

There has been no direct contact with these men but they are now reported to be Adra Prison in Damascus.

28 December 2009

A Little Bit of Poetic Justice!

Two things I like about this video.

1)Associated Press have taken it from Roj TV.

2)At the end of the video (52 secs) a gas cannister has been given back to the army by being lobbed back into an army Land Rover!! I particularly like the plain clothes police guy kneeling on the floor coughing his guts up. Obviously does not have as strong a constitution as the Kurdish youth who throw these things back at the police/army without a blink of the eye!!


yüksekova haber gever gergin
Uploaded by erkancapraz. - Up-to-the minute news videos.


Interesting footage shot in Hakkari. Watch how 18 grown men beat a man on the floor. And at 4.29 how UK Land Rovers are used in Turkey against a civilian population.

© Hevallo

Turkey: "Fuck the Geneva Conventions!"

Warning do not watch if easily upset by images of dead bodies.

Watch how Turkish army 'soldiers' treat the Kurdish Guerilla Fighters when they have died.

Humanity is being treaded on!

Kurdish Info 27.12.2009- We witnessed the images shown on Roj TV. These were devastating images of the savagery inflicted on the corpses of guerrillas. These images were an indication of how humanity is being treaded on by the Turkish Army. How the rules of war are being violated and the levels of enmity and hostility the Turkish Army feels towards the Kurdish people, these images were a document of this and were telling… We apologise to the families of both guerrillas for showing these images.

The images showing this savagery were recorded after December 4th.

The barbarism and intolerance of the Turkish Armed Forces, even towards dead Kurdish guerrillas is hidden in these images. As was seen, a guerrilla, face down, was being dragged on the floor.

When the honour of the other guerrilla, also being dragged, was being a trampled on, a soldier is heard saying, ‘‘even to carry this (the guerrilla) is a sin.’’

When the guerrilla who was dragged face down is seen, another soldier can be heard swearing and saying that he is going to smash the guerrilla’s head.

These brutal images were recorded by a Turkish soldier named Onur Ibrahim Alper.

It is interesting and unusual that the images were shared on Facebook.

It is also striking that the images, shared with what intent it is not known, were removed from the site a short while later.

However, also on Ibrahim Alper’s Facebook wall are videos of the soldiers taking their oaths.

It is evident from these images that apart from prosecutors and the police, soldiers are also following the orders of the Turkish State and doing ‘what needs to be done.’ In short Kurds are being massacred in the street, in the mountains, in prison or wherever they are.

Making a statement regarding these images, the HPG (People’s Defence Forces) Media and Communications Centre reacted strongly against this savagery and said that this had been done despite the ceasefire of April 13th.

The HPG emphasised that the degrading images had exposed the savage methods of the Turkish Army once again. They also added that kicking and swearing at corpses was not humane and warned the Turkish Army not to test their patience with such savage practises.

The HPG asked that the right lessons be learned from history and also pointed out that these images had been recorded 3 days before the Tokat attack. The statement also asked for the inhumane images to be watched carefully by everyone and called on the Kurdish public to voice their anger.

The HPG disclosed that the corpses belonged to guerrillas Metin Güleç (codename: Zafer Cudi) and Yakup Dellayimilan (codename: Harun Betirs), who had been killed in battle in Cudi on December 4th.

If the Kurds Were Not Muslim

Kurdishaspect.com - By Dr. Aland Mizell

If the majority of the Kurds were not Muslim, what would their status be by now? Would the Kurds get support from Christian nations? Would Kurds have their independence? Would their case be like East Timor, which was granted independence from Indonesia, so that now East Timor is a sovereign state in the 21st century and one of the only two Asian countries that is predominantly Roman Catholic? The other is the Philippines. Since today most Kurds are being oppressed and deprived by Muslim countries such as Iran, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, what would be their status if those countries were not Muslim,? If Kurds were oppressed by Christian countries, what would the status of the Kurds be? Would Kurds have support from Muslims nations? Would Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul visit Kurdistan because it was being oppressed by the infidels? Would Syrian President Bashar Assad or Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visit Kurdistan because many Kurds have disappeared? Would Erdogan speak for one minute for the whole world to listen as he denounced how the Kurds are being oppressed and suffering? What would the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) do? If Kurds were not Muslim, would the OIC support the Kurds like they support the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MLIF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the Southern Philippines to get their independence? The OIC ‘s web page and its mission statement ask for support for the struggle of the Palestinian people to assist them in recovering their rights and liberating their occupied territories, so if the Kurds were being oppressed by non-Muslims, then probably they OIC would speak out. Maybe because the OIC assumes, as the Turkish Prime Minster said, “Muslims do not commit genocide, perhaps because only non Muslims commit genocide.” Is the Sudan a Muslim country? Is Syria a Muslim country that killed and leveled Kurdish towns early in the 80s? Is Iraq a Muslim country whose government gassed thousands of Kurds? Is Iran a Muslim country that killed and jailed many Kurds? Is Turkey a Muslim country that killed so many Kurds, burned their villages, and caused thousands of them to disappear?



Hypocrisy is a lie in action and the legacy of indecency. The OIC is an international organization consisting of fifty-seven countries that combine their efforts and speak with one voice to protect their interests and to secure the progress and well being of Muslims in the world. I wonder what the OIC has done for the Kurds’ well being. But the OIC has granted the MNLF observer status, a privilege given to nonmembers to allow them to participate in its activities. It also defends the rights of and helps Muslims in the Philippines. Iran and Libya had even at some point in the early 70s put an oil embargo on the Philippines because of the national government’s bad treatment toward Muslim minorities and subsequently forced Manila to give Muslims an autonomous region—the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The MLNF, which has a permanent observer status in the conference, is strongly opposed to the Philippine national government. The Republic of the Philippines has been seeking observer status in the OIC since 2004, but Turkey has objected to it, with Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Yemen joining in the protest. The MILF has repeatedly accused the Philippine government of violating the human rights of Muslims in the Mindanao region. It is true that Muslims have been oppressed and deprived by the government, but why does the OIC not protect the interests of the Kurdish people who happen to be oppressed by the Muslims, not by the Christians? How can we talk about fairness and justice? Is fairness what justice really is? The government in a democracy should ensure justice, fairness, and equality for all. One cannot speak of government where these do not exist. Power dominance is transitory, but truth, justice, integrity dominance are eternal. Even if these conditions do not exist for the Kurdish people yet, I hope they will be practiced in the near future. If Turkey wants peace, why does it not work for justice?

Dr. Aland Mizell is a regular KurdishMedia.com writer and is with the MCI and can be contacted at aland_mizell1@hotmail.com

America cannot promise the Kurds anything

27-12-2009

By Hawar Abdulrezaq

Erbil - The Americans cannot make any promises to the Kurds concerning Kirkuk, says the advisor to the US consulate in Erbil, Kenneth Katzman.

The American government declared it’s support for article 140 after the election law was signed, in exchange for the Kurds supporting this law. Article 140 specifies three phases for implementation that includes normalization, a census, and a referendum on troublesome city of Kirkuk and other disputed areas between Baghdad and the Kurdish government in Erbil. The Kurdish government is eager to carry out a referendum and to include Kirkuk into the Kurdistan region.

But US advisor Katzman told Rudaw that America doesn’t have the authority to promise things. “I don’t think we have made a decision. This problem is an issue between the central government of Iraq and the Kurds. The Obama-government cannot speak in name of the Iraqi government.”

Katzman emphasizes a dialogue between Baghdad and Erbil to solve the issues between Kurds and Arabs. “The Iraqi’s should solve this problem themselves.”

The American analyst also said the rise of the Kurdish opposition list Change is a good thing, but will also influence the Kurdish unity and would worsen relations with Baghdad. Katzman says it’s possible Kurds will now vote for other parties than the Kurdistan alliance (Photo: Rflerl).

© Rudaw

Dutch MP: summon the Turkish ambassador

27-12-2009

Barendrecht – The Socialist MP Harry van Bommel asked the Dutch minister of Foreign Affairs Verhagen to summon the Turkish ambassador in the Netherlands due to the arrests of Kurdish politicians in Turkey.

Basing itself on news reports of Rudaw, Bommel asks the Dutch minister Verhagen if he shares the opinion that the recent arrests of 80 Kurdish politicians and activists is a ‘ political attack’ and is unacceptable in a country that should be democratic.

The MP says there should come and end to this pressure against political and social organizations in Turkey (Photo: SP).

© Rudaw

Ten wounded in fights between police and Kurds

27-12-2009

Gever – In clashes between the police and demonstrators ten people were wounded, including three police agents.

The clashes took place after Kurds demonstrated against the massive arrests of pro-Kurdish politicians of the Democratic Peace Party (BDP) in Turkey. Thirteen Kurdish mayors are still in prison.

Three police agents were wounded when they were hit by stones of demonstrators. The police allegedly also shot at the demonstrator (Photo: Rudaw/Diha)

© DIHA

END THE COERSION! WE WANT FREEDOM! STOP THE COERCION ON IHD’S DIYARBAKIR

TIHV - Today early in the morning, human rights defenders, Human Rights Association (IHD) and democratic institutions were raided. In eight provinces, more than 30 politicians, mayors, opinion leaders and human rights defenders –including İHD’s Vice General Chairperson and Chairperson of Diyarbakır Province Branch, Lawyer Muharrem Erbey, Democratic Society Party’s mayors, Democratic Society Congress’ spokesperson Hatip Dicle- were detained.
These people and institutions were allegedly linked with an organisation called KCK. IHD’s Diyarbakır Province Branch was attempted to be searched without a search warrant and due to the objections the search was done after getting a judge rule in five minutes. As it happened before in every two or three years IHD was raided, our archives were scattered and our documents were confiscated. IHD’s Diyarbakır Province Branch has been working on political murders by unknown assailants and forced disappearance cases and gathered our archive which is 21 year-old. Mass graves that had been excavated recently were put into practice with the help of these documents.

Can there be such an unlawful practice? Can a search warrant be ruled like this? If in a country, the demands of the police were met by the judiciary without any investigation, can someone say that human rights are under the protection of the judiciary?

The police forces that are loyal to the executive power, i.e. the government on the one hand and the judiciary on the other have been generating new coercive attitudes.

For this reason we qualify this kind of coercion as coercion of the system. The system has been hindering the solution of the Kurdish Issue with peaceful and democratic ways with these methods.

On the one hand the political parties were closed by the Constitution Court and on the other hand political parties, human rights defenders and democratic organisations were intimidated with police and judicial mechanisms. The responsibility of the executive and judicial powers can clearly be seen in the violations.

Peace and democracy are in contradiction with coercions, detentions, search and confiscation rules that have been targeting human rights defenders and democratic public opinion. Then the discourse of “democratic initiative”, Kurdish initiative could not be realised. We protest the coercion.

We want freedom. Put an end to the confiscation of the documents in IHD’s Diyarbakır Province Branch! Our chairperson and other detainees should be released immediately.

HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION OF TURKEY

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign:Letter to The Rt Hon David Miliband MP

"Dear Foreign Secretary,Mass Arrest of BDP Party Members, Turkey-We write to express our grave concern at the detention over the past 24 hours of more than 80 members of the Turkey's Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). The detentions follow the banning on 11 December of Turkey's largest pro-Kurdish party, the DTP (Democratic Society Party), and come at a critical moment in efforts by the Kurdish leadership to engage with the Government of Turkey in a dialogue aimed at a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question. We urge you to protest the detentions and to use your good offices to press for those detained to be released."
The Rt Hon David Miliband MP
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH

24 December 2009


The detentions were carried out without respect for Turkey's human rights obligations.Those detained are all former pro-Kurdish deputies or mayors and include; the former DEP deputy and co-president of Democratic Society Congress, Mr. Hatip Dicle; the Mayor of Sur Municipality, Mr. Abdullah Demirbas,; the Mayor of Kayapinar, Mr. Zülkif Karatekin; the former DEP Deputy and Mayor of Siirt, Mr. Selim Sadak; the Mayor of Batman, Mr. Necdet Atalay; the Mayor of Viransehir; a member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Mrs. Leyla Guven; the Mayor of Kiziltepe, Mr. Ferhan Turk and vice-president of Human Rights Association, Mr. Muharrem Erbey.

The detentions are part of a wider pattern of repression of pro-Kurdish politicians. In March this year, 53 central executives of DTP, including the Party's vice co-presidents, were been taken into custody and arrested. In the intervening eight months. not one of those detained has been brought to trial. Moreover, the authorities have yet to give reasons for their detention. To date, some 500 Kurdish politicians including DTP executives have been arrested or detained since April 2009.

The detentions cast grave doubt on the sincerity of the AKP government's "democratic initiative" to resolve the Kurdish question. On the one hand, the government talks peace: on the other, it has redoubled its offensive against Kurdish People’s political representatives. The DTP had the backing of 2.5 million voters in the last local election. Such actions can only place in jeopardy the efforts by responsible politicians to seek a peaceful solution to the hostilities that have beset the Kurdish region over the past 30 years, efforts which have been promoted through numerous recent initiatives by Kurdish leaders.

We urge you to protest the detentions vigorously and to underline the need for Turkey to abandon its current repression of the Kurdish leadership if a peaceful settlement to the Kurdish question is not to be jeopardised.

Yours Sincerely,

Estella Schmid
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign

Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish question
Patrons: Lord Avebury, John Austin MP, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP,
Jean Lambert MEP, Alyn Smith MEP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Julie Christie
Gareth Peirce, Noam Chomsky, Edward Albee, Mark Thomas
Tel 020 7586 5892 Fax 020 7483 2531e-mail: estella24@tiscali.co.uk

Kurdish European conference in February

25-12-2009

Brussels - The annual conference on the EU, Turkey and the Kurds will take place at the European parliament on the 3rd and 4th February 2010. The conference will focus on the recent tensions in Turkey.

The conference organized by the EUTCC, which supports Turkey’s accession to the EU, whilst monitoring the implementations of its reforms. The conference will bring together European, Kurdish and Turkish politicians, human rights defenders, writers, academics, lawyers and experts on Kurdish issues to discuss the developments that have taken place this year, and assess the current situation with respect to accession and human rights (Photo: Rudaw). © Rudaw

In Iran’s Kurdistan, Kurdish names are forbidden

24-12-2009

By Sabir Qaderi

Erbil - The Islamic regime of Iran doesn’t allow Kurdish people to name their children a Kurdish name, and because of that most of the Kurdish children have two names.

Nuradin B (30) is one of those victims that has been forced to give his name an Iranian name, because the authorities of Mahabad didn’t want to register his first child with a Kurdish name.

“I and my wife agreed to find a Kurdish name for our first child, but the authorities in Iranian establishments didn’t permit on the name and we were forced to choose another name”, Nuradin said.

Some Kurdish intellectuals believe that this policy by Islamic regime is another way of eradicating Kurdish identity in Iranian Kurdistan. “Even though Iran is a shia country and shias are very sensitive toward names like Omar, Abu-Bakr and Usman [names of the rival Sunni sect], but you’re allowed to name your child those names. At the same time you’re not allowed to name them Kurdish names like Gizeng, Agren and Peshawa,” saidd Kurdish writer Rasul Sultani.

However the Iranian General Consulate in Irbil Azim Hussaini in exclusive interview with Rudaw revealed that after the Iranian revolution in 1979 there isn’t any difficulty to choose Kurdish names for your child, but in registration offices in Mahabad and other Kurdistan cities, it’s totally different.

An official in the Mahabad registration office confirmed this news and revealed that it’s not only the Kurds, in fact it happens to Baluchies, Turkmen and the Arabs.

In a recent survey by Iranian central registration website, it clearly shows that during the last 8 years most of those names in which has been recorded its shias or persion names, for example for boys name they it’s names like Muhammad, Ali, Mahdi, and for girls it’s names such as Fatima, Zahra and Miriam (Photo: Rudaw).

© Rudaw

Paulo Casaca Maliki is a dictator

25-12-2009

By Hawar Abdulrazaq

Former socialist MEP Paulo Casaca, who’ve been in the EU parliament for 10 years and is very knowledgeable on Iraq and Kurdistan, says the current Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki acts more like someone who wants to be a dictator. He also says the Iraqi government is under investigation from Spanish judicial court, because of the last July’s “inhumanly” attack on camp Ashraf.

Paulo Casaca who at present works for non-government organization called Organization for Studying peace, which is based in New York and he’s in Kurdistan region trying to make report about Iraq’s future after U.S’s withdrawal and he’s planning to talk with all Iraqi parties.

Concerning the recent political development in Kurdistan region, the former MP told Rudaw, that the rise of the Kurdish opposition is important. “In my view the steps taken in Kurdistan should be compared with other Middle Eastern countries and not compared to European countries”.

Maliki is a dictator

About the issues of Kirkuk and the disputed territories, Casaca believes that the best solution for those issues is that the people of that region should make their own decision and no one should force them to do something against their will.

“I’ve visited Kirkuk plenty of times and have talked with all the parties in the city and the people haven’t got any problem. Those who have got problem are Iran, Turkey and Al-Maliki, because right now Al-Maliki behaves like somebody who wants to be a dictator”, Casaca added.

Ashraf attack inhumane

Last Summer, Iraqi authorities under intense pressure from Iran, attacked Camp Ashraf and the members of Mujahedin Al-Khalq, which is an outlawed Iranian opposition group.

“The last July’s attacks on camp Ashraf were inhuman act and currently the Iraqi government under investigation from Spanish judicial court. The Iraqi authorities took this action under Iranian pressure and we can see it clearly that recently the security situation in Baghdad has become worse, because Iran is responsible for the latest terrorist act and it’s a message from Iran to Maliki, so that he can remove the member of Mujahedin and close down camp Ashraf,” the Portuguese politician explained.

DTP ban bad for Turkey

A few weeks ago Turkish government banned a Kurdish party “DTP”, and accusing them of helping terrorists inside Turkey, Paulo Casaca thinks this decision will cost Turkey the European membership.

“In my view this decision will hurt Turkey very bad and will cost them the EU membership, because the first principle of becoming an EU member is to respect minority’s rights, and Turkey hasn’t done that and that’s not just against the Kurds, the condition of Turkish Christians are worse than the Kurds,” he claimed (Photo: partido-socialista.net).

© Rudaw

Turkish lobby protests Kurdistan map of NBC Today

25-12-2009

Washington - The America’s largest Turkish American organizations, the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) and Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA), submitted a letter to NBC Today for referring to Turkey as “Kurdistan”.

According to these Turkish organizations, the word Kurdistan is used by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and therefore NBC is abetting terrorism. The Turkish organizations want a ‘public correction’ and asked Turks to support their campaign against the NBC.

So far, Kurdish lobby organizations haven’t responded yet. The Kurdistan region of Iraq is recognized by the Iraqi constitution. Also in Iran there is a Kordestan province

In the NBC program ‘Today Show’ about the three detained American hikers in Iran, it showed the map of Kurdsitan. Reporter Andrea Mitchell said they were detained ‘when they wandered too close to the border between Iran and Kurdistan.’ On screen (left) was a map labeled Iran and Kurdistan (Photo: NBC).

© Rudaw

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