Proposed Military Strike on Syria

[Steven Gaal]

‘They don’t want to get rid of ISIS completely, no serious effort to fight terror’ – Assad

Submitted by WorkerAnt#11, on March 27th, 2015

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Assad: Anti-ISIS coalition doesn’t want to get rid of Islamic State completely

The alliance of 60 countries declaring plans to finish off the Islamic State is not serious, Syrian President Bashar Assad told Russian media. Some of its members would prefer to retain the terrorist force to blackmail different countries, he said.

The rate of airstrikes conducted by the anti-ISIS coalition member states, some of which are “rich and advanced,” is only about 10 raids a day on the territory of both Syria and Iraq, Assad said in an interview published Friday.

“The Syrian Air Force, which is very small in comparison to this coalition, conducts in a single day many times the number of the airstrikes conducted by a coalition which includes 60 countries,” Assad said.

“This doesn’t make sense. This shows the lack of seriousness,” said Syria’s president. “They don’t want to get rid of ISIS completely.”

“There is no serious effort to fight terrorism, and what is being achieved by the Syrian forces on the ground equals in one day what is being achieved by these states in weeks,” Assad said. “An anti-terrorist coalition cannot consist of countries which are themselves supporters of terrorism.”

‘Peacekeepers in Syria would mean recognition of Islamic State’

Moreover, he warned that the decision to send peacekeepers into Syria is unacceptable and could have dangerous consequences. If implemented, the move would mean recognizing Islamic State.

“The peacekeeping force is usually based between countries at war with each other. And when someone talks about sending peacekeepers to deal with IS, that acknowledges IS as a state. Such rhetoric is unacceptable and dangerous,” Assad said.

The Syrian president said the West does not have a political solution to the crisis in Syria, claiming it is only interested in destroying the government.

“They want to turn us into puppets. I do not think that the West has a political solution. It does not want one. When I say the West, I am primarily referring to the US, France, the UK. Other countries are secondary.”

To put an end to the ongoing armed conflict in Syria between the government troops and international militants, such countries as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and some European countries should stop arming the terrorists, the Syrian president said.

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http://rt.com/news/244457-assad-interview-us-ukraine-syria/

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US warns Damascus against interfering with its ‘aerial assets’ in Syrian airspace

The Pentagon is yet to officially acknowledge the downing of a surveillance drone over ISIS-free territory controlled by the Syrian govt, but scarce details of the incident hint at US involvement going beyond its self-mandated anti-ISIS plan in Syria.

Anonymously, US military sources have confirmed that the country has lost contact with one of its drones over Syria, after SANA news agency reported Syrian government forces shot down a hostile drone in Latakia province. Sources however did not reveal the cause of the incident.

At about 1740 GMT, US military controllers “lost contact with a US MQ-1 Predator unarmed remotely piloted aircraft operating over northwest Syria,” a US defense official said in an email Tuesday. “At this time, we have no information to corroborate press reports that the aircraft was shot down. We are looking into the incident and will provide more details when available.”

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http://rt.com/usa/242065-us-drone-downed-syria/

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ISIS has recruited 400 children in Syria since January – report

At least 400 children have been recruited in Syria by Islamic State militants over the past three months. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the so-called ‘Cubs of the Caliphate’ have received military and religious training.

The monitoring group said that children under 18 have been recruited near schools, mosques and other public areas. It also added that the children are taught being to fire live ammunition, fight in battles and drive in the training camps.

Sometimes militants use them as spies or guards. They also welcome children with birth defects into their ranks. The Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL) encourages parents to send kids to the training camps, and also recruits them directly – often luring them with money or other benefits.

The head of the Observatory, Rami Abdulrahman, explained what could be behind their actions.

“They use children because it is easy to brainwash them. They can build these children into what they want, they stop them from going to school and send them to IS schools instead,” Abdulrahman said.\==

http://rt.com/news/243701-isis-recruited-children-syria/

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Syria’s Assad calls chemical attack allegations ‘propaganda’

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad has rejected allegations that his military used barrel bombs or chlorine gas against opposition-held areas, calling the accusations “malicious propaganda.”

In an interview with CBS News, the Syrian leader also said that he would be open to a dialogue with the United States, but that it must be “based on mutual respect.” CBS published excerpts of the interview online Friday.

The Syrian opposition and activists say government helicopters dropped bombs containing chlorine gas on the town of Sarmin in northwestern Syria’s Idlib province on March 16, killing six people.

Videos posted online showed people struggling to breathe, and the international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders said symptoms described by medics in contact with the group clearly indicate the presence of chlorine poisoning.

Assad dismissed the accusations, saying “this is part of the malicious propaganda against Syria,” and suggesting the rebels were behind the alleged chlorine attack.

“It’s not used as military gas. That’s very self-evident. Traditional arms is more important than chlorine, and if it was very effective, the terrorists would have used it on a larger scale,” he said. The government refers to its opponents as “terrorists.”

Also Friday, several rebel factions pressed their offensive on the government-held northwestern city of Idlib, capturing several outlying neighborhoods, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The group said 14 rebels and six troops were killed Friday, adding that many more from both sides are feared dead.

Syrian state TV said the air force carried out heavy raids on the outskirts of Idlib and nearby villages, killing “a number of terrorists.” It said the armed forces are fighting “fierce battles” in the city of Idlib and its outskirts.

State TV said “thousands of terrorists are coming from Turkey to attack Idlib and its suburbs.” Turkey is one of the main backers of the rebels.

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http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9c051746201b4100b3738e55ea1c164f/syrias-assad-says-open-dialogue-united-states

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[John Dolva]

30 March 2015

Siamand Moeini, Council Member of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), interviewed by Akhbare Rooz News Agency.

The political, social and democratic struggle of PJAK has been neglected.

What is going on in Kobanê? This was the first question we discussed with Siamand Moeini and Shirzad Kamangar, two council members of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan, PJAK. They happily discussed Rojava, the Cantons, people’s democratic participation in administration, the defiance of Kurdish fighters, especially the historic role of female warriors in the resistance of Kobanê and the ejection of ISIS fighters from the city. Kobanê, where heroes were made, and facts came out.

We discussed how regional developments, such as the current events in Iraq, relate to the future of the Kurdish struggle, and evaluated the politics of Rouhani’s government in Kurdistan. We also discussed the political and strategic aspects of PJAK and the importance of political co-operation and joint combat among the different nations of the Iranian people, and PJAK alliances with other Iranian political forces: these all are the issues that we brought up with the PJAK leadership. Siamand Moeini believes that Kobanê could be a template for the Middle East in the future. He thinks that the leadership in Iraqi Kurdistan is not responding to Kurdish demands. Rouhani’s government in the Islamic Regime of Iran is more secure by contrast, but the possibility of a change in politics with regard to Kurdistan is non-existent. He believes that the radical left in Iran is necessary for this…

Q: At what stage is the battle against ISIS terrorists in Kobanê?

A: As you know, after brutal attacks from ISIS, which planned to occupy Kobanê and stifle the people’s democratic gains in Rojava, with support from some hegemonic political forces in the region, the people’s defence forces, with great determination, protected all the achievements and threw them out. At the moment the People’s Defense Units, the YPG, are clearing the villages and all surrounding areas of radical Islamic forces.

Q: What are the message and the outcome of the survival of Kobanê for Kurds and for regional forces?

A: Kobanê does not just belong to Rojava, but is a symbol of freedom for people’s will and resistance. Kobanê’s resistance sends a message to all hegemonic powers involved in conflict in the Middle East. Kurdish people pioneered the process of seeking freedom at every stage, and will remain unshaken in this. Kobanê is an alliance of united nationalities, reaching agreement beyond community differences. In Rojava the system of Self-Rule is based on the pragmatism of the leader APO “Abdullah Ocalan,” which has already been practiced in Cantons from different strata. As you also know, women’s role as scouts in the Cantons, and especially their resistance against ISIS are all adapted from this philosophy.

Q: Besides fighting together in Iraq against ISIS, Kurds are also fighting side by side with coalition forces; however they are not being identified as a Kurdish nation and people. How far has the Kurds’ future been determined by the current conflict in Iraq?

A: If you look at the Kurdish people and the other oppressed people, they have never had an offensive plan in mind. Kurds have been a victim of the Nation-State mentality. Due to lack of organisation, they have not been able to defend themselves against attack, but now we are on the verge of bringing down this system and Kurds are prepared for any confrontation. ISIS will not be able to undermine Kurdish will. The future of Iraq depends on the political system in Kurdistan’s management. Will and resistance in Kobanê are signs of a particular world view and philosophy that can be a template for the Middle East in the future. A symbiosis of the united nation and respect for the rights of others and their differences is the perfect model. The current system of Kurdistan’s leadership in Iraq is not responding to the will of free Kurdish people and their request. It is a bourgeois system, and the experience of Sinjar “Shengal” proved that this system is in a critical condition and is not able to protect what the people have achieved. We saw how the defenceless city was left to ISIS attack, causing the massacre of thousands of Shengal citizens and bringing tragedy for humanity.

[John Dolva]

Making the womens' revolution

We have had a difficult time in recent weeks keeping up with the news and providing a good analysis of events. We are trying to struggle through this. Tonight we will combine many dispatches from women in North Kurdistan, Rojava and Turkey.

In Urfa

The Halfeti district of Urfa is hosting the celebrations of the 66th birthday of Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) Leader Abdullah Öcalan, as we reported earlier today. The district is known for its peoples living together in peace and struggling for a joint ideal.

Three women, representatives of the freedom and democracy struggle, are the most beautiful example of the joint life in this city and the DIHA news service did a good profile of them today. Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Halfeti Co-chair Zeliha Güngören is an Armenian woman from Cibin village, Party of Democratic Regions (DBP) Co-chair Afife Canpolat is a Kurd from Halfeti, and Halfeti Co-mayor Ayşe Durmuş is a Turkish woman from Erêh (Ortayol) village of Halfeti. The three women come from three different peoples and they carry on their works for women's representation under one joint roof.

HDP Halfeti Co-chair and Armenian woman Zeliha Güngören told DIHA that Armenians, Kurds and Turks live in peace and freedom together in Halfeti and emphasized that, "We can evaluate this as the birth place of the democratic nation model. We, as all the peoples in this region, have lived in peace for a long time. Halfeti is a mosaic of peoples. The mother of this fact is the paradigm of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan as he is from Halfeti."

"Various races, beliefs and sects live in peace together in Halfeti," Kurdish woman and DBP Co-chair Afife Canpolat said. "If we can live in peace and freedom together on these lands, this is a proof for the same life in all the other parts of our country. Women have come into their own via the philisophy of Öcalan. We'll lay claims to our leadership until end. We are proud that Öcalan is from Halfeti. We paid a great cost to come here. Mustafa Dağ and Mahsum Karaoğlan were massacred by Turkish police and soldiers here in 2009. Despite all the prohibitions and bans, we never gave up from celebrating the birthday of the Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan)."

Halfeti Co-mayor Ayşe Durmuş is a Turkish woman residing in Erêh (Ortayol) village of Halfeti. "I am a Turkmen and we have lived in peace with the Kurdish people for centuries. Our relationships are very powerful. I never saw any discrimination here. Our village is a socialist village. I am honored to become a countrywoman of the leadership. The system of co-chairship is the model of Dear Öcalan. Women have begun to have a voice more in this way. We want the freedom of the leadership anymore."

In Van

In Van, meanwhile, women have started a campaign against the attacks on women legitimized as "women's suicides" in the province. They say that state-encouraged violence against women is an invisibilized continuation of war in the region. The last month saw an alarming rise in violence against women in Van province. Four women committed suicide in just one week in the province, where abuse of women is a persistent problem. Women say that these suicides are not individual, but political. When the state ignores harassment, rape and child marriage, says activists, it condemns women to death—--particularly in Kurdistan. Perpetrators of gendered violence frequently receive sentence reductions in Turkey. This week, eight Turkish soldiers in the Northern Kurdistan province of Bingöl received sentence reductions and acquittals in the case of their repeated sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl. Meanwhile, Nevin Yıldırım in the Black Sea region received a life sentence for killing the rapist who threatened her life.

"It's clear where the system wants to see women. That's why we're standing up for what we believe in," said Nazmiye Acar, one of the coordinators of the awareness-raising campaign in Van province. The Congress of Free Women (KJA) is leading the awareness-raising campaign from April 1 to May 10. Throughout the month women will be leading marches, neighborhood meetings, seminars and TV programs to raise awareness about violence against women. They plan to work first with school-age children, but say they want to reach every household in Van. Unions, the opposition HDP and DBP parties, democratic Islamic groups and the Peace Mothers are also taking part.

With the peace or resolution now underway between the PKK and the state some people may see the war in Northern Kurdistan as over, Nazmiye Acar said. But while "there's not a war with weapons, there's a dirty war continuing in Kurdistan. And it's being realized through targeting women." She said that the tactics are the drug trade, the forcing of women into prostitution and impunity for rapists and killers of women (for which the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, is well known). Remarks like President Erdoğan' recommendation that women have at least three children and that their best career is motherhood are, as ridiculous as they may seem, propaganda in this undeclared war, according to Nazmiye.

The slogan of the Van campaign is "I exist too, and I'm standing up for my moral and political values."

That slogan is being tested in action. Women's group's in Van have filed charges against the Turkish state, a family and a husband and religious officials in the suicide case of an 18-year-old woman who was forced to marry as a child. Women's groups say that the rate of women's suicides are increasing. N.S., 18, who killed herself with her father's gun in the town of Çaldıran, was the latest.

The Van Women's Association (VAKAD) and Life Women's Cooperative (YAKA-KOOP) have filed charges against the Ministry of Family and Social Policies, who turned a blind eye to N.S.'s being married while still a minor, as well as against her family and religious officials. "Everyone's fingerprints are on that gun," said YAKA-KOOP member Şengül Şen outside the Van courthouse. "The ones who pulled that trigger were the state that reinforces sexism and the institution of the family, as well as all those in society who stay silent in the face of violence against women. We don't accept the practice of downplaying these deaths as 'fate.'"

Müjde Tozbey Erden, a lawyer for the women, said that only punishing those responsible can end the phenomenon of women being pushed to suicide.

Also in Van, women are organizing against the dams and other attacks on nature planned for the province. Forty years of the the Turkish state's brutal war in the region have devastated nature as much as social life. As of 2013, according to Turkey's Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, there were 478 operational hydroelectric power plants in Turkey, and 534 more plants and hundreds of dams are in the planning stages.

The Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), which was initiated by the government years ago, was a development project that saw hundreds of villages forcibly emptied to build dams, destroying historic and natural sites. Environmentalists say that these development projects aimed to change the social, demographic and geographic profile of the region to the state's advantage.

Now, in war-torn Van, the plans to build power plants, dams and large military installations have escalated in the period of the peace process. The state is planning hydroelectric plants in the towns of Çatak, Bahçesaray and Muradiye which will disrupt the river ecosystems in the Van area.

"Ecocide always happens in critical places and times in this place, where there has been a long struggle for identity rights," Deniz Gedik said. Deniz is with the Lawyers of the Environmental and Ecological Movement (ÇEHAV), founded in 2009. She pointed to the dam explicitly built "for security reasons" in Dersim province, the high-security military installation planned in Lice and the recent massacre of villagers' mules in Roboski and Yüksekova as examples of ecocide in Northern Kurdistan that target human and natural life in an attempt to bring the region under state control. Deniz has seen the state take every available legal avenue to realize these projects. "But when there's a popular response saying 'we won't let this go through,' we see the administration change its approach," she said. She pointed out that the division between human life and nature was a historic project, not a given, resulting from the development of a mindset that sees nature as an object of exploitation.

At the Women's Conference in January, activists selected Van as a pilot city to build an ecological city and to stop the mushrooming concrete buildings destroying the city's natural setting in the mountains on the shore of Lake Van.

Beriva Nefise Hakan, of the Ecology Committee of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), said that the AKP's massive construction projects are an attempt to force people into urban life and to assimilate their Kurdish identity. The committee is working to bring ecology classes to schools in the region. She said that the city should be a tourist and cultural destination, not a monotonous sea of concrete.

In Izmir

In Izmir women in a poor neighborhood facing home demolitions have announced that they will not leave their homes. The women residents of the Atatürk and Soğukpınar neighborhoods in the town of Kemalpaşa say that the government's declaration of so-called "health hazards" in their neighborhood is an excuse for gentrification.

The state recently quietly announced an "urban transformation" project for the neighborhoods in the official gazette. The project was officially launched with Mayor Ahmet Uğurlu and Environment and Urbanism Minister İdris Güllüce holding a ceremony, but the government has never produced any report demonstrating the "health hazards" they say justify the demolition project. Turkey is notorious for the AKP's bloated construction projects and hasty land grabs targeting poor neighborhoods.

"I don't want to live anywhere except this house," local woman Eşe Kasap told JINHA. "Everything I have is here; my memories are here. I dug the foundation for this house. I'll never turn it over to urban transformation." She said that she is extremely skeptical of the decision to demolish the neighborhood. There has never been any survey or investigation of the neighborhood to justify the "health hazard" claims.

Müjgan Kasap has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years. She is also skeptical of the "health hazard" claim. She said that neighborhood is safe and the buildings there have withstood earthquakes in the past. "Someone who knows something about this issue would have to come check. We know that no one has ever come here. This was a decision made from a desk somewhere," she said. "As the women of this neighborhood, we will resist."

With the Êzîdî women

In Shengal (Sinjar) some Êzîdî women survivors of the August Daesh/ISIS attacks have moved to Baadrê village near the Southern Kurdish city of Duhok. They say that they do not know how they will recover from the trauma.

Thousands of Êzîdî women found their lives changed in an instant one morning, when Daesh gangs launched their August 3, 2014 assault on the people of Shengal, beheading men and boys and abducting women and children. For Êzîdîs, this is the "73rd edict"---that is, the latest in a long history of regional powers and empires calling for their extermination. What was a sensational media event for world public opinion was the moment that changed these women's lives.

Many Êzîdî women fled to Duhok, in the province neighboring Shengal. They set up plastic tents in the empty buildings and construction sites of the city and its surrounding villages. One of these villages is Baadrê. Many of the women residents, like Sêvê Silêman, are the only surviving members of their families here; her male relatives were killed, her five sisters captured and killed in captivity. She told JINHA that what relatives she still has alive are in Daesh captivity.

Families gather in a different house in the village every day, telling their stories to one another as a way to attempt to overcome the trauma they are living with. Many say that self-defense units like the Women's Defense Forces (YPJ) and YBŞ (Shengal Resistance Units) are the only answer. They are anxious to see the thousands of Êzîdî women still in Daesh captivity rescued.

Şaha Meto Kasım, from the village of Koço near Shengal, was the only person in her family who reached freedom. She now lives in Baadrê. Daesh members killed her husband and sons. Her daughter is still in captivity. "The only thing I want is for my daughter to be rescued," she said. "It's like I've lost my mind here. I'm running this way and that. My pain doesn't let me sit still."

Naima Bişar said that she can't sleep because her children are still in Daesh' hands. Her siblings, husband, nieces, nephews and cousins were all killed. She called for more organizations to follow the example of the platform "Struggle for Women Detained by Daesh," which recently brought several escaped Êzîdî women and children to the village to be reunited with their family.

"When I was cooking for them, inside I was always saying, 'I hope it poisons you,'" said F.A., 50, who was one of the older women forced to do cooking and cleaning for the ISIS gangs. "They raped my daughter in front of my eyes, the scum." When the 24-hour labor made her sick, Daesh released her and other sick older captives a little over a month ago in order not to have to care for them.

"When I was there, I saw a lot of women impregnated by their rapists," said N.H., who escaped three months ago. "Thinking about them, I'm losing my mind. There's no feeling worse than being pregnant with your rapist's child," she said. She said that all peoples need a self-defense system and that self-defense might have saved the Êzîdî people from the massacre.

Two Êzîdî women from Shengal who successfully escaped Daesh with their children, recently reunited with their families in Southern Kurdistan, have called for immediate intervention. The Diyarbakır-based joint effort by NGOs and civil society organizations called "Struggle for Women Detained by Daesh" coordinated the return of the women, who were in Daesh captivity for seven months. R.Y., who has spent the last nine months in Daesh captivity with her two children, related the day 200 gang members descended on her village in Shengal to reporters who worked with the "Struggle for Women Detained by Daesh" effort.

"At first they said 'we won't do anything; if you just become Muslims you can go on with your lives.' I think in that period they had taken thousands of captives and couldn't accommodate any more. So they wanted to buy time. A little while later, they took us captive. They burned alive the ones who tried to run, so the roads were full of corpses. They looted our villages, and took all the gold and money," R.Y. said. "They separated out the young and old women. Then they took me and my eldest child and put us in the section for young women." They were kept in a basement in Til Alfar with 300 other women and children. "It was hot and airless. August is really hot in Kurdistan. Just think of it, 300 women and children, trapped there, hungry and thirsty. Our children were vomiting from the heat. There was nowhere for them to sleep, and we were all standing, because we didn't fit in the basement. It was hard to stand the smell."

After 20 days of living on only rice porridge in the basement, R.Y. and the others were transported to the village of Kesra Mihaba. There they were told that all of the men in their families had been killed. They spent two months in Kesra Mihaba, but one day Daesh members told them they were leaving. "It was hard to travel in that heat. The whole way, the children were vomiting from the heat and from fear. We had no idea what would happen to us. And then we got to Rakka." There, in the city Daesh has declared as its capital, R.Y. and her child were among ten captives selected for an unknown fate and carried away to a house in the city. "Then we looked and saw they had brought some gang members they called 'husbands,'" she said. "We were so scared. We said 'please don't touch us; God above is watching.' No one listened to us. Each one chose a woman." R.Y. said that the ISIS gang members, including American, German, Russian and Arab gang members, used both physical violence, including rape and torture, and psychological violence against the women.

"I was beaten right in front of my children. They were crying and wailing from fear. The gangs hit them too," she said. "I tried to kill myself several times but my little daughter was crying, and I gave up that idea. What's so interesting about what I experienced is that those scenes were just like the things cooked up in films. For example, they would eat right in front of my children and throw them the bones. They were always giving my children Qur'an lessons, trying to brainwash them. One day my child, H., was crying for meat. I sneaked him a little piece of chicken, thinking they wouldn’t notice. Then the man who took us captive realized what I had done. He hit me for hours. He hit my son very hard and whipped him for minutes without stopping. Then he forced my finger into my son's mouth and made him throw up the meat."

R.Y.'s friend N.B. said that she was captured when her baby was just four months old. "The thing I remember most from that time is the children crying for days from hunger and the women being raped," she said. "There was no woman there who wasn't sold multiple times. Women would be sold as a group to one person. When that man got tired of them, he'd sell them to someone else. So the market for women was always going. I was sold and raped so many times. I tried a lot of different methods to keep from being pregnant. I begged the neighbors for a pill and they managed to sneak me one. It was a terrible time. They would ask me, 'do you love Kurdistan?' Every time I would say 'yes, I do,' and every time they would slap me. The same happened to my children," she said. R.Y. said that she and her friend N.B. were finally able to escape. The women and children hid their identities under long black robes and set off on the first road they saw.

"I don't know how I survived. There was a moment when I was about to give up," she said of the flight. "I was really thirsty and I was telling them, 'leave me behind.' But N.B. wouldn't let me stop. She said I had to keep running."

"There were moments I was sure we would be killed. We just ran faster," said N.B. "After we ran for hours, we reached Kobanê. The YPG/YPJ (People's/Women's Defense Forces) forces met us and we stayed with them for a while. Then they helped us reach our family."

"Now I've found out that my husband survived. I'm so happy to hear this," R.Y. said. She was reunited with her family in a village near Duhok this week. "But after living this pain for months, I don’t know how we will go on living as a family," she added.

"There are so many women still in Daesh's hands. I just want them to be saved," said N.B. "They sold them all. They raped them. There are ones who are still children and are pregnant. Please, let the world stand up for us."

Women organizing in defense of the revolution

The second Europe conference of Rojava's Democratic Union Party (PYD) has met in Essen and raised the slogan "Society lost its freedom with the repression of women." Seventy representatives from women's groups across Europe and Rojava's PYD leaders gathered in the German city to discuss recent developments in Rojava and to make plans for the coming year. Delegates came from Switzerland, Belgium France, Holland and other European countries fort he conference, where they debated the current political situation, delivered action reports and discussed upcoming elections.

Xezne Hesen, the leader of the PYD's women's sections in Europe, and Gulbahar Hesen, the PYD Aid Council representative for Europe, were present at the conference. Asya Abdullah, co-chair of the PYD, attended the conference by way of a teleconference system and said that women need to organize in Europe with the spirit of Kobanê's victory.

Asya Abdullah also said that Kurdish women in Europe had long been under-organized but that the last two years have seen them begin to get organized. "We are holding this second conference, even with all the inadequacies," she said. She said that European Kurdish women need to play a stronger role and one befitting the extent of the YPJ struggle.

The women at the conference decided to hold more frequent meetings of local women's assemblies, to organize a young women's conference and to hold events honoring YPJ martyrs Silava and Arîn Mîrxan.

"The thing controlling us until now was the system of the patriarchal and colonialist states," Leyla Viyan Kürt said, speaking on behalf of TJK-E (European Kurdish Women's Movement). "But now the Kurdish people, and especially women, have reached a higher level." Leyla also stressed that it is important for women not to lose their ties with Kurdistan. "We have to act in Europe as if we're a part of the country (Kurdistan)," she said. "We need to form committees and be organized to protect our culture, our identity and language."

Women gathered in Cologne and Hamburg in Germany; Arnhem in the Netherlands; and Stockholm, Sweden to discuss the discuss activities that can strengthen the struggles in both Rojava, to defend the Rojava revolution, and in Northern Kurdistan, to support the democratic resolution of the Kurdish question and to help the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) succeed in the June elections. Women also planned training camps at their local congresses.

Posted by Urun Harvest at 9:02 PM

[John Dolva]

Friday, April 3, 2015

People in the US: Support Zeyneb Celaliyan and build a local fight against femicide in solidarity with women in Turkey!

We hope that our friends in the US will think seriously about using the tactic of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) women described below. Femicide is also an issue here and our country is full of streets named after generals and presidents---but when did you last see a street named after a feminist or dedicated to women killed by male violence.

Likewise, people in the US should be joining the international movement to liberate Zeyneb Celaliyan. Doesn't it bother you that there is not a human rights organization in the US defending the democrats, the revolutionaries, the feminists, the workers and youth and the anti-imperialists across Kurdistan, Iran, Iraq and Turkey?

The Izmir city government has produced a range of excuses to deny the proposal made by women from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) to change a militarist street name to one that honors women killed by femicide.

The HDP is known for their "right to the city" slogan, "the city is yours." Their grassroots efforts to change the militaristic street names in the city of Izmir to honor victims of femicide has met with a number of procedural roadblocks from the city council, run by the liberal/social-democratic Republican People's Party (CHP).

With femicides gaining speed across Turkey this past year, women led a grassroots campaign and petition to change a street name in the city to honor the victims of femicide. The campaign gained widespread support, including support from the international feminist World March of Women action that passed through the city last month.

Izmir City council members told the HDP members that "HDP members could not make proposals" to the council, although Fatma Acar, HDP regional co-chair, said that when she first informally spoke with council members about the proposal as an individual she received a positive response.

Meanwhile, the CHP-run city council has been considering a proposal to rename streets presented by the ruling reactionary Justice and Development Party (AKP). The women see this move as a further insult, insofar as the AKP is notorious for encouraging violence against women.

Zeyneb Celaliyan (Zeynab Jalalian)

Zeyneb Celaliyan is a 33-year-old female Kurdish political prisoner born in Maku, a city in Rojhelat (Eastern Kurdistan, or so-called "Iranian Kurdistan"). She long ago committed her life to women’s rights and the participation of Kurdish women in politics. She was especially engaged in political education among girls and women and did so as part of an effort to challenge the patriarchal and male-dominated system in the region. At the time of her arrest she resided in Başur (Southern Kurdistan).

Zeyneb Jalaliyan often travelled across the border to Rojhalat, where she encouraged women to gain self-­awareness and stand up for their rights. Her efforts were centered on challenging sexism in society, not only for Kurdish women but for all women that she came into contact with.

In March of 2008, she was arrested by the secret service in the Kurdish city of Kirmaşam. The Revolutionary Court in Kirmaşam conducted a brief trial in the beginning of 2009, without a proper investigation or legal representation being present. The trial lasted for only a few minutes. Zeyneb was charged with “Moharebeh” (being an Enemy of God) according to Islamic law.

Based on the weak information provided, the Supreme Court in Tehran confirmed the death sentence imposed on Zeynab Jalalian in December of 2009. However, the charge of her being “Moharebeh” was only due to her alleged membership in the Kurdish liberation movement, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK). The Islamic Republic uses this term to condemn people for acting against the interests of the regime or for committing other so-called crimes which are otherwise difficult to label legally.

In December of 2014, Zeynab Jalalian was transferred from the Kirmaşan rehabilitation and training center to Xoy prison. Over the past few years she has been transferred out of specialized rehabilitation clinics in Kirmaşan several times despite ophthalmologist’s diagnoses and reports which ask that she remain in the clinics and prep for eye surgery. Both the prosecutors and the Kirmaşan court have interrupted her treatments and she has been sent back to prison, causing her eyesight to further deteriorate. Even after Zeynab's transfer to Xoy prison for "security reasons," officials in Kirmaşan continued to deny and refuse to facilitate her treatment. The fact that Xoy prison has limited health services complicates the situation further and is a point of serious concern.

Zeynab Jalalian is in critical condition. She is at risk of blindness and suffers from internal bleeding and intestinal and digestive problems but she is being denied badly needed medical treatment by the Iranian regime. CENÎ (Kurdish Women’s Office for Peace) has started an international campaign with a Worldwide Women’s Day for Zeynab Jalalian's Freedom, and KJAR (Free Women’s Society of Eastern Kurdistan) in Europe has joined this campaign in some Scandinavian and European countries. This campaign has drawn people' attention to the issue of the political prisoners held in the Iranian regime’s prisons, and especially towards the situation of Kurdish political prisoner Zeynab Jalalian.

The campaign has released information about Zeynab's situation and condition and this information has been sent to parliaments in different countries and to human right organizations. KJAR’s intention is to force Iran to release Zeynab and they need the support of human right organizations everywhere to do this. This campaign deeply impresses people and they raise many questions while also condemning Iran’s anti-human rights policies. The Iranian regime suppresses and destroys democratic and human rights values and those who wish to stand for these values. This campaign will continue until Zeynab Jalalian is released from prison. She is an example for all women who, despite such inhumane conditions, do not surrender and remain true to their struggle for liberation.

The Iranian government often resorts to executions as a method of intimidation and punishment of those committed to democratic rights and freedom. Through torture, death sentences and executions, the regime attempts to eradicate forces and groups within society who resist such inhumane and undemocratic practices. As the regime aims to destroy the dignity of their prisoners by using all of their means, the cruelty and nature of the methods of torture and imprisonment and the number of executions have greatly increased.

The campaign has so far been organized in the following countries:

Germany

In Dresden, Belfield, Hamburg and Frankfurt the KJAR shared information about Zeynab Jalalian and her health condition through leaflets.

Norway

In Oslo KJAR shared information about Zeynab Jalalian.

Denmark

In Copenhagen information was sent to parliament and the parliament then promised to support Zeynab Jalalian’s rights as a women and as a political prisoner. Also, information about Zeynab Jalalian’s health condition was shared in Aarhus through leaflets and a dossier was given to the Aarhus Municipality.

Sweden

In Stockholm, Karlstad and Uppsala people have been informed about Zeynab Jalalian’s health condition through leaflets produced by CENÎ and a statement from KJAR was read to the public.

Finland

In Helsinki and Turku KJAR shared information about Zeynab Jalalian, and they also sent a dossier regarding her condition to the parliament of Finland and several human rights organizations as well.

France

In Paris KJAR has shared information about Zeynab Jalalian in many parts of the city.

United Kingdom

In Manchester committees of PJAK and KJAR contacted a socialist magazine that has promised to share information regarding Zeynab Jalalian in their journal.

Posted by Urun Harvest at 9:57 PM

[John Dolva]

'Fighting women will defeat Daesh'

13:04

Nisan 6 / 2015

VildanAtmaca/JINHA

WAN – The mother and sister of YPJ fighter NurselErgün, who lost her life fighting Daesh in Qamişlo, said the Van native spent her life struggling for freedom.

Over the last seven months, the resistance of the YPG/YPJ fighters in Rojava has reached historic proportions and witnessed the lives of countless heroes—especially the YPJ fighters who have become symbols of freedom for women around the world.NurselErgün, code name ViyanZilan, was one of those fighters, launching a suicide attack in the course of a battle with Daesh on January 4, 2014, in order not to fall into Daesh'shands.

Nursel a native of Erciş town in Van province,joined the PKK in 2006, when she was 17. Her mother Zerif says Nurselwas interested in the Kurdish freedom struggle and began reading the books of Abdullah Öcalan at a young age.

"Holding the Kurdish flag always made her happy. She wouldn’t put it down for hours," said Zerif of Nursel's childhood. The girl was deeply affected by the clashes between the PKK and Turkish soldiers that took place in the area. "Nursel didn't eat for days after one clash. She was devastated by sadness. We got mad at her and said, 'enough already; you've ruined yourself at this young age.' She said back to me, 'while we're sitting at home comfortably, our friends are becoming martyrs.'"

Young Nursel would often ask her mother why people were being killed in Kurdistan, and why it was being occupied. When she got older, Nursel argued that the massacres experienced in the 1930s by the Kurds were only going to grow. She was concerned by the system of "village guards"—the paramilitary system in which the Turkish state armed certain Kurds and favored them to encourage them to massacre and displace other Kurds involved in the Kurdish freedom struggle. Her analysis of historical and ongoing injustices drove her to join the PKK.

"My daughter Nursel would say, 'I'm going to be a fighter worthy of my mother,'" said Zerif. "After she left, she would call me on the phone and say, 'Mom, if I'm martyred, don't cry. Don't let anyone cry. Don't gratify the enemy.'"

"Some people need to struggle for this people," said NurtenErgün, Nursel's young sister. "My sister went, struggle and was martyred. When I saw her sorrow over the years at the deaths of guerrillas, I could send that one day she would be one, too."

Nurselloved the singers Rotinda and Dino, and would often head out on trips into the mountains, gathering flowers for their mother.Nurten remembers the last flower she brought home, the day she was going to join the PKK. It was a daisy.

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Sorgul Kobanê/JINHA

TILTEMÎR –Fighters in the Revolutionary Young Women, an armed group organized in response to Daesh attacks on the multicultural Rojava city of TilTemîr, say they hope they will soon be able to announce definitive victory against the Daesh attacks on the region.

Daesh'sattacks on the city of TilTemîr, home to Assyrians, Syriacs, Arab and Kurds, began on February 23. Daesh abducted hundreds of women from Assyrian and Syriac villages during their attack. Young women in the city, located in Cizîre Canton, have responded by joining the resistance in high numbers—often taking their place on the frontlines in the Revolutionary Young Women, a group working alongside the YPG/YPJ to defend the city.

"As young women, we'll do whatever it takes to defend our country," said RukenQamişlo, a Revolutionary Young Women volunteer. "We're here to support the resistance of the YPG/YPJ here and to defend our people." She said all Arab, Assyrian and Kurdish women had a duty to defend their homeland here.

"The Daesh gangs are attacking with the goal of destroying our people," said RojbînQamişlo, another volunteer, "so there needs to be a total resistance from all entities and institutions here."

She wished all her comrades and her people the best for April 4, the birthday of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

(şg/mg/cm)

[John Dolva]

JINHA

WAN – Sibel Abo (nom de guerre Zîlan Piling), who lost her life in the resistance against Daesh in Shengal, was buried in a ceremony attended by thousands.

Hundreds of vehicles formed a convoy to greet Sibel's coffin on the outskirts of Van as her funeral procession entered the city. Representatives from MEYA-DER (a group that supports the families of those lost in war in Mesopotamia), the Peace Mothers Assembly, the Congress of Free Women (KJA), the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) joined the funeral.

After the convoy brought Sibel's coffin to the Yeni neighborhood, women bore the coffin on their shoulders, leading a march of thousands. Marchers bore pictures of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, photographs of Sibel and the flags of the PKK and KCK. "Martyrs never die," chanted the crowds as they marched to the ceremony.

"The murderer is ISIS, the collaborator is the KDP" shouted marchers, referencing the peshmerga forces withdrawal from Shengal, which led to Daesh's murdering of thousands of Êzîdî men and boys and kidnapping of over 7,000 women and children.

After the religious portion of the ceremony, attendees held a minute of silence for those who lost their lives in the struggle for democracy.

"An honorable martyrdom isn't everyone's fate," said Democratic Regions Party (DBP) provincial co-chair Hamiyet Şahin, speaking at the funeral. "Women's resistance and heroism in Shengal and Kobanê has been an example for women around the world."

Sibel's father Şaban thanked all the attendees, wishing his condolences to the entire Kurdish people.

(gk-şa/fk)

KOBANÊ - Medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders has started building a hospital in Kobanê, where just two hospitals (one civilian and one military) serve the medical needs of the population.

Officials in the city, whose population has reached 50,000 with recent returns, said there is a lack of ambulances and medicine. They said that the opening of a humanitarian corridor would solve the urgent health problems in the town across the currently-restricted border with Turkey.

YPG/YPJ fighters wounded in the ongoing fight in Kobanê Canton are treated in a military hospital with 12 beds on the basement floor of a building. The hospital serving the cities tens of thousandsof civilians has only 15 beds. The hospitals are severely understaffed. There are a total of 10 doctors and 25 nurses in the city, working night and day.

The hospitals also lack equipment for first response for emergency patients. The few ambulances currently available are generally being used to transfer the fighters wounded in clashes to the military hospital. While many patients seek treatment in Turkey, it is technically very difficult to refer patients across the border.

Doctors Without Borders has started work to provide a 13-bed hospital for the town.DWB are currently repairing a building damaged in the battle, previously used as a school. They plan to bring in the needed medical equipment and devices once the repair works are completed. Three doctors are ready to start at the hospital; hospital spokespeople say they plan to hire four more.

Kobanê Health Assembly Spokesperson Dr. HikmedEhmed said they would work to meet the urgent medical need in the town with the planned hospital. Ehmed remarked that they would continue providing free health service to the people with the help of DWB's medical aid.

(nt/cm)

JINHA

SHENGAL – A group of 28 women, children and elders held captive by Daesh in a village near Shengal have successfully escaped Daesh captivity and reached Kurdish forces in the area.

The group, held captive in the village of Herdan, say they were able to escape captivity with the help of two Arab villagers who Daesh recruited to transport the captives to another area. The group has now reached an area under the control of Kurdish forces.

When Daesh assaulted the Êzîdî city of Shengal in August, they took over 7,000 Êzîdî women, children and elders captive. Although many have successfully fled captivity, over 5,400 people are still in Daesh hands, according to recent figures. 4,000 of them are women.

(fk/cm)

[John Dolva]

The Rojava Resistance: Rebirth of the anti-capitalist struggle

The hope and idea in Rojava might be able to lead to something that is bigger than Kurdistan or the Middle East. It can lead to a new beginning in revolutionary undertakings around the globe.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at 12:30 PM

KOBANÊ - ANF/SALVADOR ZANA*

The problem that we face today is not a new one. Its roots lie more than 6000 years ago with the roots of civilization itself. It was then that some ideas took hold which attacked society like a deadly virus and after a long struggle managed to infect the very core of human communities everywhere. These ideas are essentially opposed to the very nature of humankind and of life itself: that oppression and slavery are necessary, that they are right and that humans deserve them. The subjugation of nature paved the way for the subjugation of women, the subjugation of women in turn enabled the enslavement of men by other men. We have since lived under the yoke of these evils inflicted on us, being aware of their presence without ever truly understanding them. I will not elaborate this point, as one of the great things about Ocalan is that he has developed a more thourough analysis of these issues than I or any other human could hope to perform in our times (although I hope on this prognosis I will be proved mistaken). Much more urgent is to emphasize that he has published these analyses of the development of state and civilization and suggested solutions to our most pressing problems.

Countless wise, passionate and courageous persons have since taken on the fight against this system, ever changing its outer manifestation but leaving its core intact. Instead of overcoming it they gave the system powerful new weapons, their movements' strenghts were absorbed by the insatiable Leviathan. This has been the fate of all revolutionary struggles through history that were capable of challenging the global hegemony.

These movements have a common basis. They appear in next to all imaginable forms – as religions, struggles for autonomy and independence, philosophical schools, cultural movements, ideologies calling themselves socialism, communism or anarchism. As different as they may seem, they are fueled by the same universal desires for freedom, peace and siblinghood. However advanced and successful the system may be, nowhere has it been able to quench the longing for these goals that exist in every human society. It has however managed to channel the energies which arise from the stark contrast between these wishes and the societal reality for its own purposes. The people's struggles moved against singular governments or priviliged groups in the best and against social minorities and other kinds of arbitrary scapegoats in the worst case. The divide and rule credo has brought the oppressed to fight each other while the means of achieving unity remain in the hands of the oppressors, based more than anything on the hegemonial privilege of knowledge.

Most struggles fail because they lack an analytical basis, an understanding of the dynamics of society that is necessary to target the true origins of the crisis humankind has fallen into. This is what makes Ocalan one of the most outstanding revolutionaries of all time. He has managed to present a profound analysis of the crisis, developed an alternative to the current dilemma and brought in motion a movement that is willing to fight for this way out of the crisis, targeting its roots and not just symptoms of the problem. The establishment of the autonomy of Rojava as a confederation of stateless democratic communities can today be seen as the greatest success of more than forty years relentless revolutionary struggle.

The Rojava project is now at a crucial stage. If it stays isolated the military and economic necessities along with the ideological pressure of the hegemonial capitalist paradigma will force it to develop into some kind of liberal socialist state at best. To be successful the liberation of society needs to expand into the bordering parts of Kurdistan and, even more importantly, the societies of the wider Middle East. The model of autonomous communities administrating themselves and interacting in decentralized confederations can only thrive if it expands. The Rojava revolution promises the liberation of society, ecological development and the freedom of women as its basic mechanisms. It is vital for its success that all three points are wholeheartedly put into practice.

The current socio-political quarantine as well as the exhausting war are poisonous to the development of revolutionary ways of life in a society to which they are still very new. Nothing leads to dangerous compromises with the system like the pressure of war.

To avoid making unforgivable mistakes at this stage we need to learn from the examples of similar revolutionary projects in history. It surprises how staunchly similar the Spanish civil war situation 1936-1938 is to what is now happening in Mesopotamia. A communal, anti-state revolution brought in motion by a people's organization (PYD, CNT), the tensions between the central state and a people (Kurds, Catalans) within it striving for autonomy, a revolutionary fighting force (YPG, FAI) defending the country against a clerical-fascist counter-revolution (Daesh, Franco) in alliance with opportunist groups (Peshmerga, PSUC) who enjoy the support of the international powers (NATO, USSR)... Without doubt there are also mayor differences between both situations, most notably maybe between the Catalan anarchists and the Ocalan movement (the analytical comparison of these two revolutions is definitely material to fill more than one book), but the Catalan example is indispensable to understand about the great dangers we are in now.

The revolutionary transformation in Catalonia was compromised more and more under pressure from the communist and right-wing-socialists in the unity government. While the revolutionary anarchists were bound to the front by the fascist attacks, the opportunists step by step took over the control of the cities behind the frontlines, preparing to betray the revolutionaries. Citing the necessities of the war they drove the workers' councils out of the factories, reinstated repressive mechanisms and formed a mandatory 'People's Army' (corresponding to Rojavas Erka Parastina, service in which is mandatory for all able young men for six months) until finally they betrayed first the revolutionary socialists and then the anarchists, storming their centres in the cities and murdering thousands of them. The result was that the fascists overran what was left at the time of the Spanish republic.

We must never forget how easily everything we fight for can be lost if we are inattentive for one moment. It is so tempting to ease the long and difficult road to freedom by making concessions and arrangements with the system. Only must we realize that, if we take another way, this road will be lost. The war has caused us to pull all our energies and resources to the front, causing a dangerous stagnation in the revolutionary development in society. Achieving our goals requires a change of very deeply rooted ideas, a revolution of mindsets. It will take more than one generation. We must set it in motion now if our fight shall lead to more than a mention in textbooks fifty years from now.

Rojava has yet to prove that it can realize its vision of a republic without a state. It owes this effort not only to its own people, but to all those around the globe who today look to Mesopotamia with the hope that there is now an idea taking hold more powerful than all fascists of the world. This hope and this idea might be able to lead to something that is bigger than Kurdistan or the Middle East. It can lead to a new beginning in revolutionary undertakings around the globe.

It is wrong to merely criticise the establishment of the Erka Parastina without looking to the reasons of its formation. There is simply no alternative to resisting against Daesh at all costs – and YPG/YPJ alone can hardly muster the necessary numbers. Forced recruitment is never acceptable. But why did it become the only option? All internationalist revolutionaries have to give a hard self-critique about this. The defence of the Rojava revolution is our indiscussable responsibility. If we had filled up the ranks of our comrades in time they might never have had to resort to one of they most despiccable instruments of the state – forcing boys and young men to go to war.

It is not to late to take the right steps. Rojava has become a revolutionary center for people from all continents who have come to help. This gives us a great shot at the unity we so desperately need to win. At the moment our enemies know us better than we know each other. Rojava can be more than an example. It can be the common ground on which we come togheter to march as one against nation, state and oppression. And towards a new future.

*Salvador Zana is an internationalist revolutionary with roots in Europe and Africa. He is currently with YPG in Cizîre canton of Rojava.

[John Dolva]

ABOUT

WELCOME TO DELIST THE PKK, AN INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO REMOVE THE KURDISTAN WORKERS’ PARTY FROM GOVERNMENT TERRORISM LISTS

Delist the PKK believes that framing the Kurdish-Turkish conflict in terms of ‘terrorism’, far from solving the violence, has fuelled further conflict and resentment. Thousands of peaceful human rights activists and demonstrators, as well as elected politicians, lawyers and journalists, have been imprisoned in Turkey for entirely non-violent activities, deemed by the state security apparatus to be acts of terror against the state. Europe and the UK, which support Turkey’s position, also placed the PKK on the list of banned organisations and for many in the diaspora who remain linked to their homeland’s struggle for self-determination, this has led to intolerable levels of state harassment, stops and searches at border crossings, detentions, and arrests. As it has been put elsewhere, the war on terror “has generated an extensive repertoire of its very own terror”.

Sign the appeal here

In addition, the peace talks that were announced at the end of 2012 and the following ceasefire called by Abdullah Ocalan, laid the foundations for the onset of negotiations that have the potential to lead to peace in Turkey and self-determination for the Kurdish people. However, as long as the PKK remains a blacklisted organisation, these talks are unlikely to turn into genuine negotiations. Some of the Kurdish movement’s most important representatives, who should be playing a key role in the resolution process, are still in prison, including Abdullah Ocalan himself. The blacklisting has led to intensive criminalisation of political dissent and of pro-Kurdish voices, creating a host of political prisoners whose amnesty must also be a condition for a genuine peace process. In May 2014, campaigners initiated an appeal to the European Court of Justice on the grounds that the continued listing of the PKK on the EU terrorism list “contradicted basic European Laws and constituted an obstacle to the attainment of a democratic solution.”

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Hundreds of people have already signed our appeal to the government to delist the PKK. Signatories include prominent human rights lawyers such as Gareth Pierce and Michael Mansfield QC, as well as a broad range of academics, writers, campaigners and parliamentarians. We need you to JOIN US in calling for the PKK to be delisted. A true peace will need to respect and reflect the wishes and traditions of the Turkish nation and the Kurds who form an integral part of it.

SIGN OUR APPEAL: We wrote an appeal to the governments of the UK, EU and Turkey calling for them to delist the PKK. Hundred have already signed but we need more signatures! Sign your name today!

SEND A POSTCARD TO THERESA MAY: We aim to send 500 postcards to Theresa May MP, the Home Secretary, to demand that the government review the listing of the PKK as a terrorist organisation. In fact, how about organising a postcard-writing session with a few friends? The more that end up on the Home Office doorstep, the better.

COLLECT SIGNATURES FOR US: We are always looking for volunteers to hit the streets and find support for our campaign from the public. If you want to help us, get in touch!

ADVERTISE THE CAMPAIGN TO YOUR SUPPORTERS: If you are an organisation or group supportive of the aims of this campaign, how about putting a link to our appeal on your website or publicising it to your supporters in your next newsletter?

SHARE OUR CONTENT: Spread the word! We aim to keep the public informed about developments in the peace process and updated about our campaign, but we need your help sharing our content with the world. So don’t forget to like Peace in Kurdistan Campaign on Facebook for updates and share our campaign with friends, family and colleagues.

[John Dolva]

Koma Cudi Dahola Rojava

JINHA

KOBANÊ – The dengbêj and YPJ fighter Viyan Peyman lost her life in a clash with Daesh gangs on Monday in Kobanê, as recently reported by Rojnews.

Dengbêj are Kurdish folk singer-poets. Viyan Peyman, a native of the city of Maku in Eastern Kurdistan (located in Iran), fought in the recent Kobanê resistance and was at the same time a dengbêg, known for raising her comrades' morale through song. She composed songs about the Kobanê resistance, in which she fought.

The YPG Press Center has announced that they will make an official announcement soon.

(fk/cm)

JINHA

SERÊKANIYÊ – Amara Botan, one of two YPJ fighters killed in a clash that broke out with Daesh recently in Serêkaniyê, was buried in a village near the city yesterday.

The songs of Viyan Peyman, the dengbêj (folk singer and poet) and YPJ fighter who lost her life along with Amara in the clash, were played at the memorial service yesterday. Amara's fellow YPJ fighters organized the memorial, which took place in the village of Berkevirê. They honored Amara's role in struggling against Daesh gangs and building a free future.

"We will continue to struggle until our enemies are driven from this place," they said.

Hundreds joined the YPJ fighters who bore Amara on their shoulders to the Şehit Rüstem Cudi Martyrs' Cemetery. As Amara requested in her will, the song "Dahola Şer" was played as she was lowered into the earth.

(fk/cm)

[John Dolva]

YPG Press Centre has released a statement providing information about the ongoing clashes with ISIS gangs in Cizîrê and Kobanê cantons of West Kurdistan, Rojava.

Attack on gang groups in Menacir village

The statement said that clashes between ISIS gangs and YPG/YPJ (People's/Women's Defense Units) are going on in the west of the Cizîrê Canton. An attack launched by YPG/YPJ targeted a convoy of the gangs en route near the village of Menacir in Til Temir last night. A military vehicle of the gangs was destroyed and one member of theirs was killed in the attack.

YPG Press Centre reported that ISIS gangs have launched a fresh wave of attacks on and around the village of Xerîta, which is located between Til Temir and Heseke, early this morning. Heavy clashes erupted upon the immediate response of Defense Units, and are still continuing, the statement said.

Kobanê resistance in its 205th day

Stating that the Kobanê resistance continued in its 205th day, YPG Press Centre said that Defense Units carried out an operation against some ISIS-held areas in southeast Kobanê. The operation in which strategic hills between the villages of Xweydankê and Derfilît were targeted, has accomplished and the targeted area was cleansed of ISIS gangs and liberated, the statement said.

18 members of ISIS groups were killed in clashes in this area, the statement said, also reporting that a fighter of the Defense Units who played a major role in the accomplishment of the operation has been martyred.

According to the statement, ISIS gangs have launched a new wave of attacks on Girêk and Norellî villages, and Dicle road control point in south Kobanê earlier today. While the attacks of the gangs have been repelled following fierce clashes, Defense Units have started an operation against the gang groups that are now resorting to further attacks with heavy artillery and mortar shells at some points in the mentioned region.

[John Dolva]

Thursday, April 9, 2015 at 10:30 AM

BELLINZONA - ANF- SERKAN DEMİREL

Prof. DR. Franco Cavalli, the head of the UICC, a Switzerland-based International organisation committed to fighting cancer worldwide, said the YPG and YPJ were the only forces fighting the obscurantists attempting to establish a caliphate in the Middle East. Cavalli said: "Only the Kurds in Rojava are constructing an alternative system, which should be supported."

Prof. Dr. Franco Cavalli, the head of the UICC, which has its HQ in Geneva, is also known as a socialist politician who has supported efforts to establish socialism in Cuba and Venezuela, and is also a doctor who treated Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.

‘21,000 francs collected for Kobanê and campaign will continue'

In an interview with ANF, Cavalli said he had had a long interest in the Kurdish struggle, adding that the Kurds were now going through a historic period, as they were the only force combatting ISIS. He added that since January a campaign in the Ticino Canton of Switzerland involving 40 doctors had raised over twenty thousand Swiss Francs, and that this campaign would continue.

Cavalli criticised the policies of the USA in the region, saying that only the Kurds had a project offering coexistence of peoples in the Middle East. "America bombing ISIS from the skies does not liberate the peoples," he added.

‘The struggle of the YPG and YPJ is like resistance to Hitler and Mussolini'

Cavalli said the struggle of the YPG and YPJ against ISIS was similar to that waged in the mountains by socialists to Hitler and Mussolini during WWII. He added that this struggle should be appreciated, as it offered an alternative vision to the people of the region.

‘Rojava is only alternative model in the Middle East'

Cavalli said the system established by the Kurds in Rojava was the only alternative to the reactionary, feudal Arab regimes and Zionist system backed by Western powers. "The struggle of Kurdish women is an unprecedented one in the Middle East, and will change the destiny of women in the region," he added.

Cavalli said that with the resistance in Kobanê the Kurdish struggle had for the first time received worldwide attention, with the silence of the Western powers towards the Kurds being broken. He added that it was only the Kurds who were defending Western values against ISIS terrorism. "The Kurds will present their system and freedom to the peoples of the Middle East," he said, adding that he would like to meet Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan. "Years ago I had the opportunity to go to Imrali, but was unable to go because I was in Latin America. I hope another opportunity will be created," he said.

Thursday, April 9, 2015 at 12:30 PM
STOCKHOLM - MURAT KUSEYRİ - ANF

Swedish journalist Joakim Medin: “There is hope in Syria alongside death and tragedy and that is what I always try to get over.”

Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, who has closely followed developments in Rojava and Kobane, is explaining his most recent impressions at public meetings and in the Arbetaren weekly journal in Sweden. In the latest edition of the paper there is a 6-page story on "Rojava's revolutionaries'.

The article details the how the Rojava canton system works, with particular mention of the Cizîrê (Jazireh) canton. Medin reports that the Tel Beder military academy opened in January this year and has Kurdish, Arab and Chechen commanders. He says the soldiers there wear khaki uniforms and caps, different to the guerrillas in Kobanê.

Medin said following the revolution in Rojava a lively atmosphere exists, with the Kurdish people beginning to govern themselves, and with women's rights being guaranteed by newly enacted laws. "With the equality laws women have attained the rights denied them for 45 years by the Assad dictatorship.".

Most striking aspect of Rojava revolution is education

Medin stressed that one of the most striking aspects of the Rojava revolution was the education system, adding that many schools and educational institutes had been opened. He said the Mesopotamia Academy had been opened in September last year and provided education in sociology and history.

Medin said women's and language schools had been opened in all 3 cantons, that in the Nuri Dersimi Academy there were departments of philosophy, politics and geography and that all education was free of charge.

Canton administrators receive compulsory education

The Swedish journalist drew attention to the fact that all officials, bureaucrats, police and military officials in Rojava attend three week courses on gender issues, equality and the history of women's problems.

Hope springs in Rojava

Speaking at a conference in Stockholm last week, Medin said in reply to a question as to what should be done to protect the system in Rojava: "I always try to explain that there is hope in Syria in addition to death and tragedy, and that this hope is growing in Rojava. The whole world must see this and assist the Kurds, who have established this system."

Medin added that the resistance in Kobanê had attracted the world's attention, but that now after the victory of the resistance there was silence. He said it was necessary to tell world public opinion that there was not just a military resistance there, but an egalitarian, just system.

The future is in the Rojava system

Medin continued: “Officials from Rojava met the French President last month. Developments in Cizîrê offer hope for both Syria and the whole Middle East," adding that all revolutionaries and progressives have a duty to explain what is happening in Rojava and support the system that has been set up there. Medin concluded, saying: "Instead of romanticising the women guerrillas there, they should draw attention to the system and the organisation there, which is the future."

JINHA

NEWS CENTER – With the White House expected to announce the removal of Cuba from the U.S. terrorist list at any time, the role of Cuban lead negotiator Josefina Vidal in securing this step, which Cuba has announced as an important goal in the talks, is noteworthy.

Cuba has been on the U.S. terror list since March 1, 1982. With the U.S. State Department officially recommending that Cuba be removed from the terror list, the countries say there may be a Cuban embassy in the U.S. in the future.

That the two lead negotiators in talks between Cuba and the U.S., ongoing since December, are both women is noteworthy. Cuba has made clear in talks that among its major concerns is the fact that it is listed on the U.S. terror list and therefore unable to use international banking services. If the U.S. does indeed delist Cuba in the coming days, this will represent a major success in the negotiations.

Cuban lead negotiator Josefina Vidal Ferreiro is known in Cuba as a leading Americanist. She has been the head of the U.S. section of Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2006. Before that, Josefina had studied in Havana and Moscow, and traveled to American universities as a cultural and academic representative.

Josefina is a member of the Cuban Communist Party's important Central Committee. She has announced that her ultimate goal in the negotiations is to end the U.S.' economic blockade and state of embargo against Cuba.

KOBANÊ – The Rojava women's self-defense force YPJ reports that their resistance against Daesh gangs has been drawing an increasing amount of volunteers.

The armed force, known worldwide for their women's self-defense struggle against Daesh's patriarchal and genocidal attacks, recently celebrated its third birthday, on April 4. They say there are increasing volunteers to their ranks.

Ronahi Jiyan, who has been a YPJ fighter for several years, discussed her reasons for joining the self-defense force. She said that she and other women in Rojava had lived like slaves, imprisoned in their houses, before the revolution.

In a 15-day education session about women's liberation philosophy and the thinking of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, said Ronahi, she said she began to feel "that women have willpower."

"After the training, I went to my family and told them I decided to join the YPJ. Then I volunteered with their support," she said.

Ronahi recalled listening to a conversation between Daesh members talking about YPJ fighters over their walkie-talkies during a clash.

"They were saying, 'the people fighting against us are women. We don't want to fight them. If they kill us, we'll go to hell,'" she recalled. She said that she was proud that the sound of women's ululations ringing out in Kobanê both gave morale to her comrades and terrified the Daesh gangs.

"For five months, we as women took part in the war for Kobanê," she said. "We broke Daesh attacks just with the sound of our ululations. At that moment, I understood that free women can fight against all backwards thinking. Women can do what they want, at any time, and can live a beautiful life when they're organized."

[John Dolva]

Democratic Modernity:Era of Woman’s Revolution

Woman, reborn to freedom, will amount to general liberation, enlightenment and justice in all upper and lower institutions of society.

Abdullah OCALAN

Woman’s freedom will play a stabilising and equalising role in forming the new civilisation and she will take her place under respectable, free and equal conditions. To achieve this, the necessary theoretical, programmatic, organisational and implementation work must be done. The reality of woman is a more concrete and analysable phenomenon than concepts such as “proletariat” and “oppressed nation”. The extent to which society can be thoroughly transformed is determined by the extent of the transformation attained by women. Similarly, the level of woman’s freedom and equality determines the freedom and equality of all sections of society. Thus, democratisation of woman is decisive for the permanent establishment of democracy and secularism. For a democratic nation, woman’s freedom is of great importance too, as liberated woman constitutes liberated society. Liberated society in turn constitutes democratic nation. Moreover, the need to reverse the role of man is of revolutionary importance.

The dawn of the era of democratic civilisation represents not only the rebirth of peoples but, perhaps more distinctively, it represents the rise of woman. Woman, who was the creative goddess of the Neolithic society, has encountered continuous losses throughout the history of classed society. Inverting this history will inevitably bring the most profound social results.

Woman, reborn to freedom, will amount to general liberation, enlightenment and justice in all upper and lower institutions of society. This will convince all that peace, not war, is more valuable and is to be exalted. Woman’s success is the success of society and the individual at all levels. The twenty first century must be the era of awakening; the era of the liberated, emancipated woman. This is more important than class or national liberation. The era of democratic civilisation shall be the one when woman rises and succeeds fully.

It is realistic to see our century as the century when the will of the free woman will come to fruition. Therefore, permanent institutions for woman need to be established and maintained for perhaps a century. There is a need for Woman’s Freedom Parties. It is also vital that ideological, political and economic communes, based on woman’s freedom, are formed.

Women in general, but more specifically the Middle Eastern women, are the most energetic and active force of democratic society due to the characteristics described above. The ultimate victory of democratic society is only possible with woman.

Peoples and women have been devastated by classed society ever since the Neolithic Age. They will now, as the pivotal agents of the democratic breakthrough, not only take revenge on history, but they will form the required anti-thesis by positioning themselves to the left of the rising democratic civilisation.

Women are truly the most reliable social agents on the road to an equal and libertarian society. In the Middle East, it is up to the women and the youth to ensure the anti-thesis needed for the democratisation of society. Woman’s awakening and being the leading societal force in this historical scene, has true antithetic value.

Due to the class characteristics of civilisations, their development has been based on male domination. This is what puts woman in this position of anti-thesis. In fact, in terms of overcoming the class divisions of society and male superiority, her position acquires the value of a new synthesis. Therefore, the leadership position of woman’s movements in the democratisation of Middle Eastern society has historical characteristics that make this both an anti-thesis (due to being in Middle East) and a synthesis (globally). This area of work is the most crucial work that I have ever taken on. I believe it should have priority over the liberation of homelands and labour. If I am to be a freedom fighter, I cannot just ignore this: Woman’s revolution is a revolution within a revolution.

It is the fundamental mission of the new leadership to provide the power of intellect and will needed to attain the three aspects crucial for the realisation of a democratic modernitysystem: a society that is democratic as well as economically and ecologically moral. To achieve this, we need to build a sufficient number of academic structures of appropriate quality. It is not enough to merely criticise the academic world of modernity–we have to develop an alternative. These alternative academic units should be constructed according to the priorities and the needs of all the societal areas, such as economy and technology, ecology and agriculture, democratic politics, security and defence, culture, history, science and philosophy, religion and arts. Without a strong academic cadre, the elements of democratic modernity cannot be built. Academic cadres and elements of democratic modernity are equally important for attainment of success. Interrelationship is a must to attain meaning and success.

The struggle for freedom (not only of women but of all ethnicities and different sections of the community) is as old as the enslavement and exploitation history of humanity. Yearning for freedom is intrinsic to human nature. Much has been learnt from these struggles, also from the one we have been waging for the past 40 years. Democratic society has existed alongside different systems of mainstream civilisation.

Democratic modernity, the alternative system to capitalist modernity, is possible through a radical change of our mentality and the corresponding, radical and appropriate changes in our material reality. These changes, we must build together.

Finally, I would like to point out that the struggle for women’s freedom must be waged through the establishment of their own political parties, attaining a popular women’s movement, building their own non-governmental organisations and structures of democratic politics. All these must be handled together, simultaneously. The better women are able to escape the grip of male domination and society, the better they will be able to act and live according to their independence initiative. The more women empower themselves, the more they regain their free personality and identity.

Therefore, giving support to women’s ire, knowledge and freedom movement is the greatest display of comradeship and a value of humanity. I have full confidence that women, irrespective of their different cultures and ethnicities, all those who have been excluded from the system, will succeed. The twenty first century shall be the century of women’s liberation. I hope to make my own contributions – not only by writing on these issues, but by helping to implement the changes.

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Edited April 10, 2015 by John Dolva

[John Dolva]

TIL TEMIR - ANF

152 ISIS gang members have been killed in the ongoing clashes between the YPG/YPJ forces and the ISIS in the villages to the south and west of Til Temir, while a tank of the gangs was destroyed in addition to many other vehicles, including a bomb-laden one.

According to the information obtained by Hawar News Agency from the YPG sources, ISIS gangs launched on 8 April night an extensive attack on the villages to the south and west of Til Temir. The clashes that broke out following the strong response of the YPG/YPJ forces, continued till last night.

Til Ruman village liberated

According to YPG sources, 60 gangs members were killed in the clashes in the villages of Til Sukerî, Xerîta, Til Necmê, Til Ruman and Til Cezîrê on Hasekê road to the south of Til Temir, while the corpses of 11 gang members were seized by the YPG forces.

Following fierce clashes, Til Ruman village has completely been cleansed of the gangs while the corpse of an ISIS leader (Emir) named “Ebû Meryem” from Indonesia was seized by the YPG.

Airstrikes by coalition forces

In the meantime, coalition forces also launched frequent airstrikes on the ISIS emplacements during the intensifying clashes in villages to the south of Til Temir in the last two days, destroying a tank and 6 military vehicles, in addition to two others loaded with bombs and ammunition.

According to the reports, the ISIS gangs launched a second wave of attacks on the villages to the south of Til Temir last night , but had to retreat after facing strong response by the YPG forces.

YPG sources said 42 gang members were killed in the clashes of last night. The coalition forces are also said to have bombarded many positions of the gangs while no concrete information about the casualties on ISIS side could be obtained.

32 gang members killed in Xêbiş village

The gang groups also launched an attack on the western village of Xêbiş last night. Fierce clashes between YPG/YPJ forces and ISIS gangs left 32 gang members dead, and 2 vehicles of the gangs destroyed. The attack was broken as a result of strong resistance by YPG/YPJ.

Battle field extending

It is reported that the attacks of the gangs on southern villages of Til Temir have extended to a larger area involving Til Şamîran village today. 18 gang members were killed in the clashes that broke out in the village, say the recent reports.

NEWS DESK - ANF

36 members of ISIS gangs were killed in the resistance against ISIS attacks in Kobanê and Cizîrê cantons of West Kurdistan, Rojava.

YPG Press Centre said that heavy clashes on the western boundaries of the Cizîrê Canton continued since the ISIS attacks on 23 February.

According to the statement, gang groups that are continuing their attacks on the Xerîta bridge between Hasekê and Til Temir since 8 April intensified their attacks on the area throughout yesterday. The three major attacks launched by the gangs were repelled by YPG/YPJ (People's/Women's Defense Units) who inflicted heavy losses on the gang groups in clashes.

Gangs carried out a suicide attack with a bomb-laden truck near the bridge and started their 4th attack in evening after their attacks were failed, leading up to clashes that ceaselessly continued till this morning.

YPG Press Centre reported that 25 members of the gangs were killed on a 6-km line where clashes have intensified during the past 24 hours. Airstrikes by the international coalition destroyed 4 vehicles of the gangs at separate locations.

Three fighters of the YPG/YPJ who played a major role in the repelling of attacks lose their lives fighting against the gang groups, it said.

2 other gang members were killed in an attack in which Defense Units targeted gang groups in Til Xenzir area of Serêkaniyê last night.

Recalling that the Kobanê resistance against the occupation attempt of ISIS gangs continued on the 207th day, YPG Press Centre said that the operation started by Defense Units in the southeast of Kobanê the night before continued. The villages of Çelebî and Gultepe were liberated in the wake of long and fierce clashes during the operation in which 7 gang members were killed and 4 vehicles of theirs, including two carrying dochka (anti-aircraft) weapons, were destroyed.

Clashes that have re-intensified around the village of Minîfê Kor this morning, are continuing, the statement said, adding that one fighter of the Defense Units has been martyred in the fighting in this area.

The statement reported that YPG/YPJ forces launched two separate attacks on the villages of Îqbiş and Xanê in the same region.

A military vehicle of the gangs, with militants inside, was destroyed in the Îqbiş village, while 2 members of the gangs were killed in Xanê village, YPG Press Centre added.

[John Dolva]

Allan Sorensen on Amara Botan---Portrait photo by Asger Ladefoged

"Amara Botan (20) a Kurdish female fighter took me for a ride when photographer Asger Ladefoged and I visited the front line YPJ base near Sare Khaniyeh in Northern Syria. She wanted to show us the hill where she was wounded in battle against Islamic State fighters last year. She sat silently in the front seat, turned up the Kurdish music and drove through the war-torn terrain. This week she died in battle in the very same area. Yesterday she was buried.

Last month I wrote this about Amara as part of a feature article from the front line:

.... This is exactly how 20-year-old Amara felt, as she stood on the hill Tal Boga in front of the villages Rawia, Dahma and Mabrooka controlled by Islamic State. It was a warm June night in 2014. The time was 02:00. At first she saw flashes of light, then she heard the sound of vehicles followed by thunderous gunfire. Talk Boga had come under attack and more than 100 IS fighters stormed towards Amara and the 19 other Kurdish soldiers who stood guard that night.

Islamic Stats mortar shells rained down on the hilltop. After several hours of fighting Amara had lost three friends. 11 others were injured. There were six Kurdish soldiers left to fight almost 100, when they received orders to withdraw. Then she was hit by a mortar. In the left leg and face.

"I emptied two magazines on a group of IS fighters who were on their way up the hill. Then I climbed down the hill and took cover about 500 meters away, where our reinforcements waited. They drove around the southern side of the hill in a daring maneuver, surrounded the IS fighters and ended the battle, "Amara said.

She tells the story of the night she looked death in the face as she stands in exactly the same place on the Tal Boga hilltop. She points out the three villages that are still under control of Islamic State. The sound of gunfire is heard in the background. The IS fighters are on exercise. When darkness falls exercise will turn into real war. That´s how it is every night.

In the past week Islamic state succeeded in conquering Tal Khanzir (Pig Hill) located nearby.

Amara is one of the most experienced of the women at the base. She has been a soldier since 2012, when YPJ was created and merged with YPG ..." Journalist Allan Sorensen

As we mourn the loss of Viyan Peyman...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGeCJ4ZJLLQ#t=184

[Steven Gaal]

Chemical Fabrications: East Ghouta and Syria’s Missing Children

By Prof. Tim Anderson

Global Research, April 12, 2015

The dirty war on Syria has involved repeated scandals, often fabricated against the Syrian Government to help create pretexts for deeper intervention. Perhaps the most notorious was the East Ghouta incident of August 2013, where pictures of dead or drugged children were uploaded from an Islamist-held agricultural area east of Damascus, with the claim that the Syrian Government had used chemical weapons to murder hundreds of innocents. The incident generated such attention that direct US intervention was only averted by a Russian diplomatic initiative. The Syrian Government agreed to eliminate its entire stockpile of chemical weapons (Smith-Spark and Cohen 2013), maintaining that it had never used them in the recent conflict.

Indeed, all the independence evident on the East Ghouta incident (including evidence from the US and the UN) shows that the Syrian Government was falsely accused. This followed a series of other false accusations, ‘false flag’ claims recorded by senior nun Mother Agnes (SANA 2011), a shamefully biased investigation into the Houla massacre (see Anderson 2015) and failed or exposed attempts to blame the Syrian Government over Islamist group killings, for example at Daraya and Aqrab (Fisk 2012; Thompson 2012). The Islamist groups’ use of chemical weapons was mostly dismissed by the western powers, and that dismissal has been reflected in most western media reports. However, because the chemical weapon claims have been repeated for years, public perceptions seem to have little reference to facts based on evidence. After a little background, let’s consider the independent evidence on the East Ghouta incident, in some detail. Arising from that evidence we are led to another serious crime of war, the fate of the dead or drugged children portrayed in those infamous images.

1. Chemical Weapons in Syria

Chemical weapons are a crude relic of an earlier era, such as the trench warfare of a century ago. They have no utility in urban warfare, where an army hunts armed groups amongst streets, buildings and civilian populations. No real utility, unless a ruthless party wants to create a general panic. In the case of the Syrian Arab Army, their conventional weapons were far superior to such crude weapons and their urban warfare training, often done in Iran, had the aim of rooting out terrorist groups, building by building (al Akhras 2013). A stockpile of chemical weapons had been kept as a deterrent to Israel, which holds nuclear weapons; but there had been no proven use of them in recent decades.

By mid 2013 the war had turned in favour of the Government. Although parts of Aleppo and some parts of eastern Syria were held by various Islamist groups, the Army had secured the major populated areas in western Syria and had closed much of the armed traffic across the mountainous Lebanese border. Along the borders with states which backed the Islamists – Turkey, Israel and Jordan – there were regular incursions, but they were always beaten back by the Syrian Army. Over May-June 2013 the Army, backed by Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia, took back the city of Qusayr, south-west of Homs, from a combination of the Farouq Brigade and Jabhat al Nusra, including many foreigners (Mortada 2013).

In this context anti-government armed Islamist groups were accused of using chemical weapons. The main foreign support group for the Syrian Islamists, Jabhat al Nusra, were reported to have seized a chemical factory near Aleppo in December 2012 (Gerard Direct 2012). Then in March the Syrian Government complained to the UN that sarin gas had been used in a major battle with the Islamists at Khan al Assal, west of Aleppo. The Syrian news agency SANA reported that terrorists had fired a rocket ‘containing chemical materials’, killing 16 people and wounding 86, soldiers and civilians. The death toll later rose to 25 (Barnard 2013). The Muslim Brotherhood-aligned British-based source, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, along with other anti-government ‘activists’, confirmed the casualties but insinuated that the Syrian Army might have used the weapons and ‘accidentally’ hit themselves (Barnard 2013). Western media reports mostly elevated the Islamist counter-claims to the level of the Government’s report. In April 2013 Jabhat al Nusra was reported as having gained access to chlorine gas (NTI 2013).

About Khan al Asal, a 19 March statement from Syria’s UN Ambassador, Bashar al Ja’afari, said that ‘armed terrorist groups had fired a rocket from the Kfar De’il area towards Khan Al Asal (Aleppo district) … a thick cloud of smoke had left unconscious anyone who had inhaled it. The incident reportedly resulted in the deaths of 25 people and injured more than 110 civilians and soldiers who were taken to hospitals in Aleppo’. The following day the Syrian Government ‘requested the Secretary-General to establish a specialized, impartial independent mission to investigate the alleged incident’ (UNMIAUCWSAA 2013: 2-3).

Almost immediately following this, from 21 March onwards, the governments of the USA, France and Britain (all of which were by then directly or indirectly supporting the Islamist groups) began to add a series of incidents, claiming the use of chemical weapons in Syria (UNMIAUCWSAA 2013: 2-6). Washington repeatedly claimed there was ‘no proof’ the ‘rebels’ were responsible for chemical weapon use. They sought to turn the accusations against the Syrian Government.

However, in an interim statement in May, UN investigator Carla del Ponte said she had testimony from victims that ‘rebels’ had used sarin gas (BBC 2013). Then in May, Turkish security forces were reported to have found a 2kg canister of sarin, after raiding the homes of Jabhat al Nusra fighters (RT 2013). In July Russia announced it had evidence that Syrian ‘rebels’ were making their own sarin gas (Al Jazeera 2013).

Despite dissatisfaction over the Houla inquiry the previous year (see Anderson 2015), the Syrian Government invited UN inspectors to visit the Khan al Asal attack site. Details were organised and the UN’s Special Mission finally arrived in Damascus on 18 August 2013. The Mission ‘intended to contemporaneously investigate the reported allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Khan Al Asal, Saraqueb and Sheik Maqsood’, that is three of the 16 reported sites, ‘which were deemed credible’. However, ‘after the tragic events of 21 August 2013’ the UN Secretary General directed the group to investigate that incident ‘as a matter of priority’ (UNMIAUCWSAA 2013: 7-8). The East Ghouta incident and claims of mass gassing derailed the initially planned investigations. Despite the implausibility of the Syrian Government launching a chemical weapons attack, just as it had invited UN inspectors in Damascus, the Islamist claims succeeded in gaining world attention.

2. The East Ghouta Incident

The main armed Islamist group which controlled the area, the Saudi-backed Islamic Front (Liwa al Islam), blamed the Government for gassing children. Photos of dozens of dead or injured children were circulated. Supporting the ‘rebel’ accusations, the US government and the Washington-based Human Rights Watch blamed the Syrian government. Human Rights Watch said it had ‘analyzed witness accounts of the rocket attacks, information on the likely source of the attacks, the physical remnants of the weapon systems used’, and claimed the rockets used were ‘weapon systems known and documented to be only in the possession of, and used by, Syrian government armed forces’ (HRW 2013a). Much the same was said by the US Government. Close links between the two should tell us that this was more collaboration than corroboration. A group of Nobel Prize winners would later accuse Human Rights Watch of running a ‘revolving door’ between its offices and those of the US government (Pérez Esquivel, and Maguire 2014).

The New York Times backed the US Government claim ‘that only Syrian government forces had the ability to carry out such a strike’ (Gladstone and Chivers 2013). The paper claimed vector calculations of the rocket trajectories indicated they must have been fired from Syrian Army bases in Damascus (Parry 2013). Yet studies at MIT quickly showed the rockets to have a much shorter range than was suggested. The NYT retreated from its telemetry claims saying, while ‘some argued that it was still possible the government was responsible’, new evidence ‘undermined the Obama administration’s assertions’ about the rocket launch points’ (Chivers 2013; also Parry 2013). The final MIT report was more emphatic, concluding that the rockets ‘could not possibly have been fired at East Ghouta from the ‘heart’, or from the eastern edge, of the Syrian Government controlled area shown in the intelligence map published by the White House on August 30, 2013’ (Lloyd and Postol 2014).

While western media outlets mostly repeated Washington’s accusations, independent reports continued to contradict the story. Journalists Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh reported direct interviews with ‘doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families’ in the East Ghouta area. Many believed that the Islamists had received chemical weapons via Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the gas attack (Gavlak and Ababneh 2013). The father of a rebel said his son had asked ‘what I thought the weapons were that he had been asked to carry’. His son and 12 other rebels were ‘killed inside of a tunnel used to store weapons provided by a Saudi militant, known as Abu Ayesha’ (Gavlak and Ababneh 2013). A female fighter complained they had no instructions on how to use chemical weapons. A rebel leader said much the same. Many of those interviewed reported that their salaries came from the Saudi government (Gavlak and Ababneh 2013).

Next a Syrian group, ISTEAMS, led by Mother Agnes Mariam, carried out a detailed examination of the video evidence, noting that bodies had been manipulated for the images and that many of the children appeared ill or drugged (ISTEAMS 2013: 32-35). The videos used ‘artificial scenic treatment … there is a flagrant lack of real families in East Ghouta … so who are the children that are exposed in those videos? (ISTEAMS 2013: 44). All reports came from ‘rebel’ controlled areas. The medical office of the area claimed 10,000 injured and 1,466 killed, 67% of whom were women and children; while the Local Coordinating Committee (an FSA linked group) said there were 1,188 victims; but videos showed less than 500 bodies, by no means all dead (ISTEAMS 2013: 36-38). Even more striking was the subsequent absence of verified bodies. ‘Eight corpses are seen buried. [The] remaining 1,458 corpses, where are they? Where are the children?’ (ISTEAMS 2013: 41). A ‘rebel’ spokesperson claimed that ‘burials took place quickly for fear the bodies might decompose as a result of the heat’ (Mroue 2013).

The ISTEAMS report suggested a possible link with a large scale abduction of children in Ballouta, Northern Latakia, just two weeks prior to the East Ghouta incident. ‘We refer also the list of the victims of the invasion of 11 Alawite villages in Lattakia the 4th of August 2013, where 150 women and children were abducted by Jobhat Al Nosra’ (ISTEAMS 2013: 43). The report said: ‘the families of some adducted women and children … recognise their relatives in the videos’, and called for an ‘unbiased’ investigation to determine the identity and whereabouts of the children (ISTEAMS 2013: 44). Later reports noted that the children abducted in northern Syria had been held in the northern town of Selma (Martin 2014; Mesler 2014), with one alleging the armed groups had drugged those children to create a video, sending it to East Ghouta to be uploaded (Mesler 2014). If this were true, those children were never in the East Ghouta.

At the end of 2013 a Turkish lawyers and writers group issued a substantial report on crimes against civilians in Syria. A particular focus was the responsibility of the Turkish Government, which was backing the ‘rebel’ groups. The report concluded that ‘most of the crimes’ against Syrian civilians, including the East Ghouta attack, were committed by ‘armed rebel forces in Syria’. The Saudi backed group Liwa al Islam, led by Zahran Alloush, was said ‘by several sources to be the organization behind the chemical attack (Peace Association and Lawyers for Justice 2013).

North American veteran journalist Seymour Hersh interviewed intelligence agents and concluded that Washington’s claims on the evidence had been fabricated. Al Nusra ‘should have been a suspect’, he said, ‘but the [uS] administration cherry picked intelligence to justify a strike against Assad’ (Hersh 2013). President Obama cited as evidence the Syrian Army’s preparation for a gas attack and ‘chatter’ on the Syrian airwaves at the time of the incident. However Hersh said he had found ‘intense concern’ and anger amongst agents over ‘the deliberate manipulation of intelligence’. One officer said the attack ‘was not the result of the current regime’ (Hersh 2013). The White House backgrounder combined facts after the event with those before. Hersh concludes that the White House ‘disregarded the available intelligence about al-Nusra’s potential access to sarin and continued to [wrongly] claim that the Assad government was in sole possession of chemical weapons’ (Hersh 2013).

The UN special mission on chemical weapons returned to Syria in late September and investigated several sites, including East Ghouta. They decided to investigate seven of the initial sixteen reports (UNMIAUCWSAA 2013: 10). This Mission was not briefed to determined responsibility, but rather to determine whether chemical weapons had been used and what had been the results. In a December 2013 report they reported that chemical weapons had been used in Syria, and specifically ‘against civilians, including children, on a relatively large scale in the Ghouta area of Damascus on 21 August … in Khan Al Asal on 19 March 2013 against soldiers and civilians … in Jobar on 24 August 2013 on a relatively small scale against soldiers … in Saraqueb on 24 August 2013 on a small scale, also against civilians … [and] in Ashrafiah Sahnaya on 25 August 2013 on a small scale against soldiers’ (UNMIAUCWSAA 2013: 19-21). Notice that on three of these five occasions chemical weapons were used against soldiers. Logically those attacks came from groups were fighting soldiers, not from government forces. A later report for the Human Rights Council (February 2014) noted that the chemical agents used in Khan-Al-Assal attack ‘bore the same unique hallmarks as those used in al Ghouta’; however they could not determine the perpetrator (HRC 2014: 19). The independent evidence was overwhelming and inescapable: chemical weapons had been used in East Ghouta, but the charges against the Syrian Army were fabricated.

East Ghouta chemical weapons incident (August 2013): significant reports Source/report/evidence Method and conclusion Carla del Ponte (UN) Pre-East Ghouta: ‘Rebels’ believed to have used sarin gas in North Syria Various news reports Pre-East Ghouta: ‘Rebels’ (al Nusra) arrested in Turkey with sarin gas ‘Syrian Rebels’ and associates 1,300+ killed, including children, from Government CW shelling (however only 8 bodies are publicly buried) Human Rights Watch The CW used were only in possession of the SG New York Times Telemetry evidence links attacks to SG bases (later MIT studies force NYT to modify this claim) Lloyd and Postol (MIT) Rockets used had limited range and could not have been fired from suggested SG positions. Gavlak and Ababneh (MINT Press) CW had been supplied by Saudis to ‘rebel’ groups, some locals had died due to mishandling Mother Agnes / ISTEAMS Images were contrived, no social context, only eight people buried – who are the children? John Mesler (NSNBC) Parents identified children in photos as those kidnapped in Latakia, two weeks earlier Seymour Hersh (LRB) Interviewed US officials. Intelligence was manipulated to blame President Assad, false claims used. Turkish lawyers and writers group (PALJ) Saudi backed ‘rebel’ group Liwa al Islam believed to be responsible. UN Dec 2013 report on CW attacks in Syria CW were used in East Ghouta; three of five CW attacks were ‘against soldiers’ or ‘against soldiers and civilians’ HRC Feb 2014 report chemical agents used in Khan-Al-Assal attack ‘bore the same unique hallmarks’ as those used in East Ghouta

-

Independent evidence came from Syrian, Jordanian, Turkish and US sources, and from a United Nations team. Further, many of the displays of children were not reliably linked to East Ghouta. Nor is there independent verification of who those children are and what happened to them. The weight of evidence proves this was another ‘false flag’ incident, designed to attract deeper foreign intervention. The scale of independent reporting which undermines claims against the Syrian Government stands in contrast to the open self-publicity of ‘rebel’ atrocities such as beheadings, public executions, truck bombings, mortaring of cities, bombing of hospitals and destruction of mosques and churches. The fact that the Syrian Army strongly contests civilian atrocity claims (the treatment of captured fighters is another matter), while many of the ‘rebel’ groups publicise their own atrocities against civilians, sets a distinct background to these controversies.

3. Chemical Fabrications and Syria’s Missing Children

After the East Ghouta incident, Islamist groups supported by a range of anti-Syrian governments kept up their accusations, while covering up their own exposures. Jabhat al Nusra claimed the chemicals they were caught with in Turkey were ‘not for making sarin gas’ (Today’s Zaman 2013). Yet video evidence from south Syria showed al Nusra using chemical weapons against Syrian soldiers (Turbeville 2014). In July 2014 barrels containing sarin were reported as discovered in parts of ‘rebel-held Syria’ (RT 2014). Then in 2015 Iraqi Kurds reported the al-Nusra breakaway group ISIS using chemical weapons (Solomon 2015; Ariel 2015). Kurdish fighters seized chlorine canisters after a suicide bomb attack which left them ‘dizzy, nauseous and weak’ (Akbar 2015).

Anti-Syrian ‘activists’, plus US-based NGOs such as Avaaz, the Syria Campaign and The White Helmets, also repeated and extended their accusations, while urging a Libyan styled ‘no fly zone’ (NFZ Syria 2015; White Helmets 2015), clearly intended to topple the Government in Damascus. By 2014 there seemed little chance that would happen. Such one-sided campaigns seemed unlikely to do much except help extend the killings. In April 2014 Al Jazeera accused the Syrian Government of using chlorine gas (Baker 2014), while anonymous activists’ accused the Syrian army of a poison gas attack (Mroue and Lucas 2015). In neither case was there any independent verification. Counter-campaigners exposed the financial and political links between Washington and a range of US-based ‘civil society’ groups like Avaaz (Morningstar 2014; Sterling 2015). Nevertheless, media channels repeated the initial claims of the East Ghouta incident, as though they were fact, oblivious to the evidence. An April 2015 article in the UK Guardian, for example, claimed in its backgrounder that the Syrian Government had used chemical weapons and ‘killed up to 1,400 people in August 2013’ (Black 2015).

The smokescreens around chemical weapons have effectively derailed reasonable public discussion about the war in Syria, at least in western circles; and perhaps that was the point. It is sad, though, that reasonable discussion of the evidence should matter so little. Further, the constant stream of fabrications have certainly aggravated and helped prolong the violence. Islamist militia carry out their crimes with relative impunity, often blaming them on the Syrian Government.

Another crime has been buried by the chemical fabrications: the fate of the children kidnapped in Ballouta. Even Human Rights Watch reported this crime (HRW 2013b), if not the link to the children said to have been injured or killed in East Ghouta. This mass kidnapping was just one of many by the Islamist groups. The victims are held for ransom, for prisoner exchanges, or simply slaughtered because they are thought be from pro-government families. The latter was the case with Alawi families in the Aqrab massacre (Thompson 2012), while a failed prisoner exchange was behind the Daraya massacre (Fisk 2012).

However in the East Ghouta incident, several sources (ISTEAMS 2013; Martin 2014; Mesler 2014) now link the Ballouta children to the photos of the dead or drugged little bodies said to be in Ghouta. That is, their images may have been uploaded from East Ghouta but the bodies were never there. While some of those kidnapped were released in a 2014 prisoner exchange, many are still held; and this is said to be why many families in north Syria have not yet more publicly identified their children. The want to see them released. Western media sources continue refer to ’1,400′ dead, without names, but only eight bodies are known to have been buried. In the fog of war, Mother Agnes Mariam has been right all along to insist on names and details of people killed, and not just a recital of numbers, as though these killings were a cricket match. Back in September 2013 her ISTEAMS group posed one of the most most vital questions of this whole affair: ‘Eight corpses are seen buried’. [The] remaining 1,458 corpses, where are they? Where are the children?’ (ISTEAMS 2013: 41).

Notes:

Al Akhras, Samir (2013) Interview with this writer, Damascus, 24 December

Al Jazeera (2013) ‘Syria rebels made own sarin gas, says Russia’, 10 July, online: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/07/20137920448105510.html

Anderson, Tim (2015) ‘The Houla Massacre Revisited: “Official Truth” in the Dirty War on Syria’, Global Research, 24 March, online: http://www.globalresearch.ca/houla-revisited-official-truth-in-the-dirty-war-on-syria/5438441

Ariel, Ben (2015) ‘United States ‘concerned’ about ISIS use of chlorine gas’, Arutz Sheva, 17 March, online:http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192730#.VSJJc5MY6q4

Akbar, Jay (2015) ‘More evidence emerges of ISIS using chemical weapons as Kurdish fighters seize chlorine canisters after suicide bomb attack that left them ‘dizzy, nauseous and weak’’, 15 March, Daily Mail, online: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2995150/More-evidence-emerges-ISIS-using-chemical-weapons-Kurdish-fighters-seize-chlorine-canisters-suicide-bomb-attack-left-dizzy-nauseous-weak.html

Baker, Graeme (2014) ‘Syrian regime accused of chlorine gas attacks’, Al Jazeera, 17 April, online:http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/04/syrian-regime-accused-chlorine-gas-attacks-201441703230338216.html

Barnard, Anne (2013) ‘Syria and Activists Trade Charges on Chemical Weapons’, New York Times, 19 March, online:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/world/middleeast/syria-developments.html?pagewanted=all

BBC (2013) UN’s Del Ponte says evidence Syria rebels ‘used sarin’’, 6 May, online: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-22424188

Black, Ian (2015) ‘Former ambassador attacks Cameron’s ‘arrogant’ Syria policy’, UK Guardian, 8 April, online:http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/07/former-ambassador-attacks-camerons-arrogant-syria-policy

Chivers, C.J. (2013) ‘New Study Refines View of Sarin Attack in Syria’, New York Times, online: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/world/middleeast/new-study-refines-view-of-sarin-attack-in-syria.html

Eva Pal (2014) ‘Talk with Lilly Martin and Steven Sahiounie, part 1’, YouTube, May 10, online:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc2HRk42O-w

Fisk, Robert (2012) ‘Inside Daraya – how a failed prisoner swap turned into a massacre’, 29 August:http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-inside-daraya–how-a-failed-prisoner-swap-turned-into-a-massacre-8084727.html

Gavlak, Dale and Yahya Ababneh (2013) ‘Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack’, MINT PRESS, August 29, online: http://www.mintpressnews.com/witnesses-of-gas-attack-say-saudis-supplied-rebels-with-chemical-weapons/168135/

Gerard Direct (2012) ‘Syria: jihadist al-Nusra Front seizes chemical factory near Aleppo’, 9 December, online:http://gerarddirect.com/2012/12/09/syria-jihadist-al-nusra-front-siezes-chemical-factory-in-allepo/

Gladstone, Rick and C.J Chivers (2013) ‘Forensic Details in U.N. Report Point to Assad’s Use of Gas’, New York Times, 16 September, online: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/world/europe/syria-united-nations.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1387381766-55AjTxhuELAeFSCuukA7Og

Hersh, Seymour M. (2013) ‘Whose Sarin?’, London Review of Books, Vol. 35 No. 24, 19 December, 9-12, online:http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n24/seymour-m-hersh/whose-sarin

Hersh, Seymour M. (2014) ‘The Red Line and the Rat Line’, London Review of Books, 36:8, 17 April, pp 21-24, online:http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n08/seymour-m-hersh/the-red-line-and-the-rat-line

HRC (2014) ‘Report of the independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic’, Human Rights Council, A/HRC/25/65, 12 February, online: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/IICISyria/Pages/IndependentInternationalCommission.aspx

HRW (2013a) ‘Attacks on Ghouta: Analysis of Alleged Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria’, Human Rights Watch, Washington,10 September, online: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2013/09/10/attacks-ghouta

HRW (2013b) ‘You Can Still See Their Blood’, Human Rights Watch, Washington, 11 October, online:http://www.hrw.org/node/119675/

ISTEAMS (2013) ‘Independent Investigation of Syria Chemical Attack Videos and Child Abductions’, 15 September, online:http://www.globalresearch.ca/STUDY_THE_VIDEOS_THAT_SPEAKS_ABOUT_CHEMICALS_BETA_VERSION.pdf

Lloyd, Richard and Theodore A. Postol (2014) ‘Possible Implications of Faulty US Technical Intelligence in the Damascus Nerve Agent Attack of August 21, 2013’, MIT, January 14, Washington DC, online: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1006045-possible-implications-of-bad-intelligence.html#storylink=relast

Malas, Nour (2013) ‘As Syrian Islamists Gain, It’s Rebel Against Rebel’, Wall Street Journal, 29 may, online:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323975004578499100684326558.html

Martin, Lilly (2014) in Deena Stryker ‘The Hidden Australia/Syria Story’, Op Ed News, 22 December, online:http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Hidden-Australia-Syria-by-Deena-Stryker-Children_Community_Death_Government-141222-294.html

Mesler, John (2014) ‘Combating the Propaganda Machine in Syria: The ‘Moderate Opposition’, the Children from Ballouta, and the Sarin Gas Attack on Eastern Ghouta’, NSNBC, 10 October, online: http://nsnbc.me/2014/10/10/combating-propaganda-machine-syria/

Morningstar, Cory (2014) ‘Syria, Avaaz, Purpose and the art of selling hate for empire’, Wrong Kinds of Green, 17 September, online: http://wrongkindofgreen.org/tag/white-helmets/

Mortada, Radwan (2012) ‘Syria Alternatives (II): no homegrown solutions’, Al Akhbar, 13 June, online: http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syria-alternatives-ii-no-homegrown-solutions

Mortada, Radwan (2013) ‘The Battle for Qusayr: Decisive Victory or War of Attrition?’, Al Akhbar, May 21, online:http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/15864

Mroue, Bassem (2013) ‘Syrian forces bomb area of alleged chemical attack’ USA Today, 22 August, online:http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/22/syria-attack/2683855/

Mroue, Bassem and Ryan Lucas (2015) ‘Activists accuse Syrian military of deadly poison gas attack’, 17 march, online:http://news.yahoo.com/group-syrian-attacks-may-amount-war-crimes-074128323.html

NFZ Syria (2015) ‘Call from Syria: London march 26th April’, 4 April, online: http://www.nfzsyria.org/

NTI (2013) ‘Syrian militants have access to chlorine gas: plant owner’, 1 April, online: http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/syrian-militants-have-access-chlorine-gas-plant-owner/

Parry, Robert (2013) ‘NYT Backs Off Its Syria-Sarin Analysis’, Global Research, 30 December, online:http://www.globalresearch.ca/nyt-backs-off-its-syria-sarin-analysis/5363023

Peace Association and Lawyers for Justice in Turkey (2013) ‘War Crimes Committed Against the People of Syria’, December, online: http://www.wpc-in.org/sites/default/files/documents/war-crimes-committed-againts-the-people-of-syria.pdf

RT (2013) ‘Turkey finds sarin gas in homes of suspected Syrian Islamists – reports’, 30 may, online: http://rt.com/news/sarin-gas-turkey-al-nusra-021/

RT (2014) ‘‘Abandoned’ barrels containing deadly sarin seized in rebel-held Syria’, 8 July, online: http://rt.com/news/171076-two-sarin-barrels-found-syria/

SANA (2011) ‘Mother Agnes Merriam al-Saleeb: Nameless Gunmen Possessing Advanced Firearms Terrorize Citizens and Security in Syria’, Syrian Free Press Network, 19 November, online: http://syrianfreepress.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/mother-agnes-merriam-al-saleeb-nameless-gunmen-possessing-advanced-firearms-terrorize-citizens-and-security-in-syria/

Smith-Spark, Laura and Tom Cohen (2013) ‘U.S., Russia agree to framework on Syria chemical weapons’, CNN, 15 September, online: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/14/politics/us-syria/

Solomon, Erica (2015) ‘Iraqi Kurds claim ISIS used chemical weapons’, Financial Times, 14 March, online:http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6e69cfca-ca78-11e4-8973-00144feab7de.html#axzz3WW8sO2k1

Turbeville, Brandon (2014) ‘New video evidence points to al-Nusra chemical attack against Syrian soldiers’, 5 May, Online:http://www.activistpost.com/2014/05/new-video-evidence-points-to-al-nusra.html

Stack, Liam and Hania Mourtada (2012) ‘Members of Assad’s Sect Blamed in Syria Killings’, New York Times, December 12, online: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/world/middleeast/alawite-massacre-in-syria.html?_r=0

Sterling, Rick (2015) ‘Humanitarians for War on Libya’, Syrian Free Press, 5 April, online: https://syrianfreepress.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/report-44442/

Thompson, Alex (2012) ‘Was there a massacre in the Syrian town of Aqrab?’, 14 December: http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/happened-syrian-town-aqrab/3426

Today’s Zaman (2013) ‘Detained al-Nusra members say chemicals not for making sarin gas’, 13 September, online:http://www.todayszaman.com/national_detained-al-nusra-members-say-chemicals-not-for-making-sarin-gas_326332.html

UN (2013) United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, December, online: https://unoda-web.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/report.pdf

UNMIAUCWSAA (2013) ‘Final report’, United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, 12 December, online: https://unoda-web.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/report.pdf

White Helmets (2015) ‘It’s time to stop the bombs’, March, online: https://www.whitehelmets.org/