Proposed Military Strike on Syria

[John Dolva]

12:33
March 7 / 2016

JINHA

ŞIRNEX - Women said that Cizre would be rebuilt with the soul of massacred people. Women said, "We will never forget and forgive." When we asked the children "What is the state?" they answered us; "persecution".

After 79 days genocide attacks on the Cizre district of Şırnak, 24-hour curfew was lifted for daylight hours on March 2. Women begin to return to Cizre. Before going to check their homes, the women are going to check "basements of savagery". Dozens of people, including wounded, women and children had been trapped in three basements in Cizre. State forces shelled the basements. All people in the basements were burned to death by state forces. The basements are known as "basements of savagery". Women pray for those who were killed in the basements. Women said that they would never forget the state's persecution. We asked the children "What is the state?, they answered us as "it is persecution and death."

Sabiye Aydın, one of the women, looked for the "basements of savagery" between destroyed homes. "Our case is the case of humanity. I am 50 years old. I have experienced three massacres so far. I experienced them in Nusaybin, in my village and now in Cizre. The Kurdish people are an oppressed people. The Kurdish people are humanist people. They respect the rights of others. We will continue our struggle. Our children will write this savagery to the history."

Ayten Türk talked to us in front of first "basement of savagery". Mehmet Tunç gave a shout out to all people. Cizre Peoples' Assembly Co-President Mehmet Tunç had been trapped in a basement with wounded people in the Cizre district of Şırnak. He spoke live on a program and he gave the information about the wounded. However, the state forces attacked the basements. All wounded people and Mehmet Tunç were burned to death in the basement.) However, no state heard his scream. Whole world kept silent. All countries stayed by Turkey. There aren't human rights in the world. They trapped the people in the basements and they massacred them. Cizre becomes worse than Kobane. We will never leave Cizre. These lands are ours. They declared everyone as "terrorist". They massacred our young people. They killed only civilians in Cizre. We will never forget this savagery until we die. This wound will never be closed."

"They killed our youths. First they had burned our villages. Then we had to move to Cizre. We have been here for 20 years. They burned and demolished our homes here, too." said Semra Yen.

13-year- old Enes Tarık said, "Erdoğan bombed everything here. Even, we don't have a room. The state is oppressing us. It shells our homes. Why do they kill children? They can demolish our homes. But they mustn't kill us. Curfew means death for us. They killed children and young people. Erdoğan will never annihilate the Kurds. We will resist."

(ekip/fk/gd)

[John Dolva]

Wednesday, March 9, 2016 12:15 PM
STRASBOURG - ANF - HÜSEYİN ELMALI

HDP Urfa deputy Osman Baydemir, Batman deputy Ali Atalan and HDP European Parliament Representative Faik Yağızay held a press conference in the EP together with the Left Group.

Marie-Christine Vergiat from the Kurdish Friendship Group in the European Parliament, Takis Hadjigeorgiou, co-chair of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, and Spanish MP Miguel Urban Crespo also attended the press conference which called upon the European Union and other European institutions to take action against the Turkish state massacres in North Kurdistan.

Speaking here, HDP Urfa MP Osman Baydemir called attention to the genocidal attacks conducted by AKP forces against Kurdish population, describing the situation as a "state of war violating human rights".

Baydemir recalled that more than 650 civilian people were killed and 450 thousand forcibly displaced during the past 10 months under the name of "counter-terrorism". Drawing attention to the ongoing artillery and tank strikes against the living areas of civilian population, Baydemir stressed that the European Parliament, European Union and other institutions should urgently visit the Kurdish region and witness the destruction on the ground. He added that independent press members are not allowed to cover the ongoing conflict in the region, while perpetrators are being granted impunity.

Baydemir emphasised that Europe should take initiative for the re-beginning of a ceasefire and talks for negotiations, and avoid giving into Erdoğan's blackmail on refugees.

Speaking after, Takis Hadjigeorgiou, co-chair of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, stated that; “The ceasefire process was important to the European Parliament for it stopped the bloodshed as negotiations between two sides continued. When we went to the mainly Kurdish region, governors, especially that of Diyarbakır, rejected our demand for a meeting with their side despite the fact that the Kurdish question can be resolved only through negotiations.”

Spanish MP Miguel Urban Crespo told the followings regarding his observations during the course of their visit in North Kurdistan; “The city of Diyarbakır was being shaken by the sounds of artillery strikes. This is not a normal situation but truly a state of war. Municipality administrators, workers, politicians and everyone we talked to are under a great pressure.”

Speaking after, Marie-Christine Vergiat, President of the Kurdish Friendship Group in the European Parliament, also called attention to the massacres committed by the AKP against Kurdish people, saying; “What we saw and learned show that the state doesn't respect the laws of war, let alone human rights.”

[John Dolva]

Turkey Helps Terrorist Take Chemical Weapons to Syria: YPGThursday 10 March 2016 Turkey Helps Terrorist Take Chemical Weapons to Syria: YPG

Alwaght- Turkey provided a clear transit route for the chemical weapons that were deployed against Syrian Kurds near the city of Aleppo on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Kurdish YPG militia says.

In an interview with RT, Redur Xelil, Syrian anti-government militants “took advantage of the ceasefire” to launch attacks against a Kurdish-controlled area near Aleppo in northern Syria.

According to Xelil, the shells emitted an “unnatural smell” and “yellow smoke” upon impact, indicating that chemical weapons were involved.

“Our sources inside the rebel groups have confirmed that toxic substances were used. We also have verified information that sarin gas was delivered to them from Turkey. All signs point to the fact that these factions were using banned weapons, but we cannot access the launching area, as it is located on the front between the Turkish and rebel forces,” Xelil added.

Kurdish deputies in the Turkish parliament have previously accused Ankara of supplying ISIS and other terrorist groups inside Syria with chemical weapons, which are used both in their fight against the Syrian government and to pin responsibility for their deployment on the government of President Bashar Assad.

Tuesday’s attack, which also involved phosphorus, did not result in any severe casualties.

“This attack was a failure, but this doesn’t mean that there won’t be another one. We are convinced the enemy has shells containing improvised shells containing phosphorus and sarin gas,” said Xelil.

Early January a senior Russian diplomat said it is highly likely that the ISIS Takfiri terrorists are using chemical weapons in Syria, state media report.

Mikhail Ulyanov, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s department for non-proliferation and arms control said an investigation must be launched into claims that Turkey sends possible supplies of sarin components to Syria, citing proof provided by a Turkish lawmaker lawmaker Eren Erdem of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Erdem said ISIS terrorists in Syria were behind a 2013 chemical attack, and that they received materials required to produce the deadly sarin gas through Turkey.

[John Dolva]

Celebrating International Womens Day in Kurdistan

Turkish jets target civilian villages in Qandil

https://t.co/xGGlqyTfh1

Rojava Defense Units ‏@DefenseUnits Mar 9

Rojava Defense Units Retweeted Rêdûr Xelîl

On March 8 in #Aleppo, opposition groups utilized chemical agents in their attacks on #SheikhMaqsoud neighborhood:

Sputnik Verified account ‏@SputnikInt Mar 8

White phosphorus used in jihadist attack on #Kurdish-controlled area - #YPG http://sptnkne.ws/aNwg

Sputnik Verified account ‏@SputnikInt Mar 2

Thousands of #Kurds have been killed in Sur region during #Turkey's crackdown on #PKK http://sptnkne.ws/aKvP

'We want to convey our views on peace negotiation at the Geneva III' 09:45 09/03/2016 3

İlham Ehmed, co-chair of the Assembly of Democratic Syria (DSM) talked about Syrian Civil War peace conference (Geneva III) which has been delayed many times. İlhami said that women want to attend ...

ARTE documentary on Kurdish woman fighters on Women’s Day

QSD fighters to liberate Mekmen, ISIS’ last base between Raqq and Cezîre

‘Burned to death, beheaded’: Cizre Kurds accuse Erdogan’s forces of civilian massacre (RT EXCLUSIVE)

Edited March 11, 2016 by John Dolva

[John Dolva]

12.03.2016 14:22 Headline, News

12.03.2016 14:22 Headline, News

NEWS DESK – 10 revolutionary organisations from Kurdistan and Turkey have announced the establishment of Peoples’ United Revolutionary Movement as a unity of force and action formed in the wake of discussions ongoing since December.

Representatives of 10 revolutionary organisations attended a joint press meeting in guerrilla zones to announce their alliance with the purpose of stepping up the revolution in all areas including armed struggle against the “collaborative fascist AKP and TC (Turkish Republic) system of sovereignty”.

Speaking here before the press release, PKK Executive Committee Member Duran Kalkan listed the names of the following revolutionary organisations from Turkey and Kurdistan that got united to defeat fascism and become a glimmer of hope for peoples; TKP/ML, PKK, THKP-C/MLSPB, MKP, TKEP-LENİNİST, TİKB, DKP, DEVRÎMCÎ KARARGAH and MLKP.

While Proletarian Revolutionary Coordination also joins the United Revolutionary Movement, Resurrection Movement has voiced favorable opinion to join the association.

Kalkan said this unity of revolutionary forces has been formed to accomplish revolution against the AKP that is trying to establish a new fascist dictatorship by restoring the fascist military coups of 12 March and 12 September. He pointed out that the Peoples’ United Revolutionary Movement has also been announced on 12 March at the 45th anniversary of 12 March 1971’s fascist military coup, 21st anniversary of 12 March 1995 Gazi massacre, and 12th anniversary of 12 March 2004 Qamishlo massacre.

Kalkan continued, inviting all those revolutionary organisations and societal circles that want to fight fascism to join the joint struggle.

Kalkan’s speech was followed by the read-out of the joint declaration in Turkish and Kurdish, which called attention to the ongoing crisis and war in the Middle East that threatens the whole humanity.

Stressing that the AKP government took part in one of the dirtiest alliances formed by regional and international powers in this bloody war, the joint declaration pointed to the all-out war the AKP is waging against all the peoples and opposition groups in the country today, with especially the Kurdish people suffering a massacre under tank and artillery fire targeting their ancient living areas.

“The Turkish Republic is trying hard to establish a one-party dictatorship and suppress the entire opposition by gathering behind itself all the traditional, modern, reactionary and fascist powers of the system of sovereignty. This bloody and fascist alliance is being sustained over enmity against Kurds today. The heavy destruction, pain and exploitation created by regional powers has brought the revolutionary state to maturity and paved the way for Peoples’ United Revolutionary Movement. Defending and progressing the Rojava revolution, Kurdish resistance for self-rule and United Revolutionary Struggle of our peoples means defending the life safety and future of all the oppressed, laborers, intellectuals, democrats and all the people. No social circle in Turkey has a safe future within this system as all opposition powers are under attack. If the Kurdish resistance for self-rule gets broken, the AKP government will suppress the entire opposition in Turkey with blood in the same aggressiveness and cruelty. The future of progressive, revolutionary and pro-labor circles in Turkey is therefore intertwined with the future of the Kurdish resistance”, the declaration said.

The statement underlined that Peoples’ United Revolutionary Movement aims to attain democracy and free future for peoples against imperialism, capitalism, chauvinism, fascism and racism, by considering the overthrow of the fascist AKP ruling with all its social bases through popular revolution as essential.

Peoples’ United Revolutionary Movement called upon everyone harmed by fascism and reactionism, mainly women, youth and workers to get organised, united and fight for freedom, democracy and fraternity of peoples.

[John Dolva]

15 March 2016

by Memed Aksoy

Recently I appeared for the second time on Russia Today's 'Sputnik Orbiting The World' hosted by George Galloway and Gayatri Galloway. This time our topic of discussion was centred around Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's tightening grip on power, tensions and struggle between the government and the Gülen Movement, freedom of expression, media and judiciary and the war on the Kurds.

Once again due to time constraints not everything that was necessary to complete the discussion was said. I would like to add some notes to the discussion, which you can watch at this link or at the bottom of the page.

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The most important point to add to the discussion is that there are currently two camps in Turkey; one camp is the Erdogan and AKP government camp, which includes the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and large sections of the co-opted Republican People's Party (CHP) as well as conservative, neo-liberal, right-wing circles outside parliament. This camp's character is statist, nationalist, Islamist and authoritarian and its aim to get Turkey through the next 5-7 years with the state, status-quo and its borders intact regardless of any cost.

The second camp, which is much smaller is headed ideologically by imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and politically by Selahattin Demirtas and includes the Kurdish movement, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), socialist and leftist parties and groups in Turkey and North Kurdistan and certain social democrat, labour and minority groups in Turkish society. This camp's character is based on democratising and strengthening society, weakening the centralised state and building local democratic structures for regional autonomy to resolve Turkey's longstanding Kurdish question as well as other deep-rooted issues.

Making this distinction in the light of recent developments - the declaration of the Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement, the Ankara bomb and Turkey's continued attacks on Kurdish towns within Turkey and also across the border in Rojava - is important because these two camps represent the fundamental contradiction in Turkey, not Erdogan and Gülen. But Erdogan's rhetoric has also escalated the polarisation and dichotomy that has been formed. Increasingly his rhetoric has echoed George W. Bush's "war on terror - us against them" rhetoric before the invasion of Iraq and we all know how that turned out. Unfortunately, now more than ever Turkey is faced with the danger of civil war and it is the policies of the government and president that has created the current crisis.

It is questionable whether Erdogan and the AKP ever had the intention of resolving the Kurdish question or writing up a new constitution, as they have been in power for 14 years and are yet to do either. What is for sure is that their time and credit has run out, because for the Kurds and democracy forces of Turkey who have been waiting for almost 100 years, now is a historic moment. It will either bring about lasting change in the region and strengthen a secular, leftist, democratic movement that can go on to play an active part in the politics of the Turkey or it will consolidate the AKP's historical political line, which will continue meaning an attack on freedoms, democracy and human rights.

The EU, US and other powers will not intervene or be overly critical of Erdogan and the Turkish government in the coming months or year. Although they are not very happy with Erdogan's performance and intermittent outbursts targeting them, they will try to keep him onside for as long as possible. I believe Erdogan knows he has lost their support and this is why he has turned his attention to crushing the opposition within Turkey and North Kurdistan. He believes that he will be able to stay in power electorally if he controls public perception and opinion using the media and silences dissent using the judiciary and military. But the history of Turkey and world governments tells us that this is not necessarily the case. If the 'superpowers' do decide to get rid of Erdogan and he is weakened enough to achieve this, then a very difficult time will be on the cards for the 'neo-sultan' of Turkey. Some quarters are even saying Erdogan could find himself at the International Criminal Court, to be tried for war crimes against Kurds and in Syria.

Dare I say we have crossed a line recently and there is no turning back, this may be a fight to the death.

[John Dolva]

#JusticeForKurds

[John Dolva]

Turkish army commits massacre by chemical gas against civilian in Kurdish city

19.03.2016 22:04 News

Turkish army has commited chemical massacre in Gever (Kurdish city on Turkey-Iran border). At least 40 civilian have been killed by chemical Gas which Tukish Army used it to attack the people at the city who are refusing Turkish army existing in their city . One person talked to Dijla Agency (Diclehaber) and told them 40 person have been killed and the other people in the city are facing the death after the chemical attack.

It is worth to be mentioned, Turkish army has started a big campaign against Kurdish people in Bakur (east south Turkey) to defeat their uprising against Turkish authorities.

[John Dolva]

Saturday, March 19, 2016 4:50 PM
BEHDINAN - ANF

KCK (Kurdistan Communities' Union) Executive Council Co-Presidency issued a written statement on the blast that occurred near the Beyoğlu Governorate and the riot police stationed in front of the governorate in Istanbul earlier today. Quoting Turkish media and officials' statements, KCK noted that one assailant and 4 other people died during the attack, and the attacker’s identity and affiliation remain unknown.

KCK emphasized that it is against the targeting of civilians, and condemned attacks that are carried out in this way. The Co-Presidency also offered condolences and well wishes to the families of the civilians massacred in Istanbul.

Kurdistan Communities' Union stated that it has been insisting on a democratic political resolution of the Kurdish question since its guerrilla struggle began in 1984, noting that the AKP government sabotaged the democratic solution of the Kurdish issue and attempted to crush the Kurdish Freedom Movement.

KCK recalled that the Kurdish people’s resistance for self-administration emerged as a response to the ongoing dirty war in Kurdistan and the AKP’s refusal to solve the issue through democratic politics. The Co-Presidency highlighted Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan’s decisions to refuse the peace declaration made by state and HDP officials on February 28, 2015 and Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan’s call for a peaceful solution; and to heavily isolate Öcalan, who has been viewed as the most reasonable political actor in the resolution of the Kurdish issue, since April 5, 2015. The statement also recalled the AKP’s invalidation of June 7 elections and the launch of an all-out war against Kurdish people on July 24, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of people including soldiers, police officers and PKK guerrillas.

In its statement, KCK emphasized that it does not prefer war to peace, and described the massacre of civilians as a crime that the KCK firmly stands against. The Co-Presidency recalled its dedication to abide by the Geneva Convention on War and stated that the guerrillas of the Kurdish freedom struggle would continue to act within the boundaries of this convention. KCK said that unlike the Turkish state that continues to commit serious war crimes, it would pay utmost attention in order to prevent damage to civilians during the on-going war.

WE MUST OPPOSE CIVILIAN MASSACRES NO MATTER WHO PERPETRATES THEM

KCK called upon everyone to oppose civilian massacres no matter who perpetrates them, and condemned Turkish politicians and media outlets for their selective approach that ignores the Turkish forces’ massacre of hundreds of civilians including children, women and the elderly. The Co-Presidency described the silence on Turkish forces’ massacre of hundreds of civilians as political immorality, and called upon everyone to stand up against all civilian massacres. KCK noted that the murder of civilians should not be normalized, and invited international powers to stop having double standards and object to civilian massacres no matter who perpetrates them.

The Co-Presidency reminded that Newroz currently celebrated in Kurdistan and the Middle East represented the people’s resistance against cruelty. KCK called upon political powers in Turkey to take a step for the solution of the Kurdish issue and the democratization of Turkey, and announce the beginning of a ceasefire that would end the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan and enable the healthy political negotiation of the issue. Lastly, KCK stated that the democratic solution of the issue with the spirit of Newroz would bring about people’s solidarity and a free and democratic life in Turkey and the Middle East.

[John Dolva]

The truth behind Brussels attacks

After France, simultaneous attacks targeting Belgium have claimed almost 40 lives, with around 200 injured people. The attacks targeted Zavantem International Airport and Maalbeek metro station.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016 11:20 AM
NEWS DESK - ANF - ULAŞ ÖMER DEMİR

After France, simultaneous attacks targeting Belgium have claimed almost 40 lives, with around 200 injured people. The attacks targeted Zavantem International Airport and Maalbeek metro station. The security alarm in the country have been raised to the maximum level. The attack was claimed by ISIS, but considering the scope, attacks of this extent are extremely hard without aid from any country.

Two weeks before the attacks, following the EU-Turkey refugee deal, on March 8 a committee consisting of Belgium’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders, Minister of Interior Jan Jambon, Minister of Justice Koen Geens and Minister of Asylum and Migration Theo Francken visited Turkey.

The Belgian committee met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Interior Efkan Ala and Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ from the Turkish committee before the Turkey-Belgium Ministers of Foreing Affairs, Justice and Interior Affairs meeting on March 9.

The main agenda of the meeting was sharing information on ISIS recruits from Belgium and the joint efforts of police forces regarding common finger print databases. The Belgian committee knew going in to the meeting that the Turkish side would put the Kurds in Belgium and their institutions. The Belgian committee wanted to reach an agreement on sharing information on 1224 Belgian nationals with relations to ISIS. Thinking they would reach said agreement with minor compromises regarding Kurds, the Belgian committee withdrew from the meeting when the Turkish side raised difficulties. The reason for the withdrawal was Turkish committee insisting on the arrest of Kurdish politicians (several politicians including Kongra Gel President Remzi Kartal, KCK Executive Council Member Zübeyr Aydar) in Belgium, their return to Turkey and the shutting down of Kurdish institutions (KNK, foundations and Kurdish press institutions). Pointing out that these requests would mean breaking their own laws, the Belgian committee withdrew from the agreement when the Turkish committee made the agreement harder at the last minute.

Minister of Asylum and Migration Theo Francken’s party NVA had the following statement on their website regarding the meeting: “The information provided by our side can be used against the Kurdish people, we cannot take this risk as it can be used with the intention of oppressing the Kurdish people.”

Francken also pointed out that they made a choice of principle by withdrawing from the agreement, which hinted that they were facing a Turkish committee with no regard to principles or law.

Before these meetings, the Kurds in Belgium put up a tent, with permission from Belgian authorities, in front of the European Council building in Brussels to draw attention to Turkey’s massacres in Kurdistan. The Kurdish people wanted to draw both European and Belgian authorities’ attention to the massacres in Kurdistan with this action.

But failing to get what they wanted from the Belgian committee, Erdoğan and the AKP started pushing news that there was a “PKK Tent in front of the European Parliament” from their own visual and printed media. Despite the targeting, Belgian authorities didn’t intervene with the Kurds’ tent. First, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu targeted the Kurds’ tent and said it was a challenge to Turkey. Then Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan in a statement on March 18 said, “It may not mean much to you to watch the bombs exploding in Turkey from television screens. When the same bombs start to explode in your cities, you will definitely know what we feel. But then it will be too late. There is no reason that this bomb won’t explode in Brussels where terror sympathisers are allowed to put on a show in the middle of the city, or in any other city in EU.”

Following Erdoğan’s threat, the tent Kurds put up in front of the European Council was burned down by a group of fascists in the night of March 19. The burning of the tent in Europe’s capital, so easily and in a place covered inch by inch by cameras, and the failure to determine the perpetrators created questions. Reports say the police have told the Kurds on duty in the tent at night that they didn’t need to stay in the tent and the security of the place was in the police’s hands. The tent is attacked after the two guards leave, in the most protected part of Europe, and the attackers can not be caught. The attackers are yet to be apprehended, although they have taken selfies in the tent they burned and shared them on social media.

Despite the tent being burned down, the Kurds continued their demonstration in front of the European Council. And the tent was targeted by AKP media once again.

On the day of the attack in Belgium, March 22, 2016, AKP newspaper Star came out with the headline, “Terrorist Belgium”. The AKP newspaper the tent was repaired, Öcalan posters were put up again and the police was protecting the demonstrators, thus putting the tent in target again.

It is not a coincidence that Belgium’s Zavantem International Airport and Maalbeek metro station are targeted simultaneously on the day Star came out with the headline “Terrorist Belgium” and right after Erdoğan threatened Belgium on March 18. It is a clear indication that Erdoğan, not getting the support he wants against the Kurdish people and the PKK, will not refrain from committing massacres in Europe’s capital Brussels, like the ones committed in Cizre and Sur.

[John Dolva]

ISIS, oil & Turkey: RT films trove of jihadist docs detailing illegal trade with Ankara (EXCLUSIVE)

Published time: 24 Mar, 2016 03:00 Edited time: 24 Mar, 2016 03:48

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Islamic State documents, including invoices, which militants abandoned while retreating in haste. / RT

An RT Documentary crew filming in northern Syria has seen Islamic State (IS, ISIS/ISIL) documents abandoned by retreating terrorists and found by the Kurds that, along with captured IS recruits, provide a stunning insight into Turkey-IS oil trade links.

TrendsIslamic State, Syria unrest, Syria-Turkey

Shortly after the outbreak of the Syrian war, IS became a game-changer in Iraq and, in particular, Syria. Beheadings on camera, mass killings, and enslavement, as well as apparent connections to the Paris and Brussels attacks had become synonymous with the terror group, giving it wide publicity.

Running a viable militant organization with such remarkable capabilities would be impossible without some logistical and financial support from the outside.

Turkey, which has been actively engaged in the Syrian war since the outset, has repeatedly denied claims that it is aiding IS. However, while Ankara insists that it is the jihadist group’s sworn enemy, facts on the ground often tell a different story.

RT has spoken to several witnesses who were involved in Islamic State’s trade activities and accessed the terror group’s documents, which provide insight into how and where foreign militants enter Syria to join the terrorist “state.”

Abandoned buildings used by ISIS militants in northern Syria. / RT

Detailed oil invoices

The RT Documentary team did most of its filming in the town of Shaddadi, located in the Syrian province Hasakah, which has been partly overrun by IS jihadists. Following the liberation of Shaddadi, which is home to some 10,000 people, RT filmed Kurdish soldiers walking around what used to be the homes of IS fighters and examining piles documents that had been left behind.

Some of the files seized at the scene turned out to be detailed invoices used by IS to calculate daily revenues from their oil fields and refineries, as well as the amount of oil extracted there. All the documents had Islamic State’s symbol at the top.

Example of an Islamic State invoice specifying the quantity of oil sold. / RT

The files showed that “IS has kept very professional records of their oil business,” said the author of the new RT Documentary on Islamic State filmed in northern Syria, who chose to remain anonymous for security reasons.

Every invoice included the name of the driver, the vehicle type driven, and the weight of the truck, both full and empty, as well as the agreed upon price and invoice number.

One of the discovered invoices dated 11 January, 2016, says that IS had extracted some 1,925 barrels of oil from Kabibah oil field and sold it for $38,342.

IS oil goes to Turkey – IS fighters come via Turkey

RT spoke to local residents who had been forced to work in the IS oil industry about what it was like working at the terrorist-controlled oil refinery and where the extracted oil was sold.

The locals attested that “the extracted oil was delivered to an oil refinery, where it was converted into gasoline, gas and other petroleum products. Then the refined product was sold,” the RT documentary’s author said. “Then intermediaries from Raqqa and Allepo arrived to pick up the oil and often mentioned Turkey.”

Important information revealing the connection between IS and Turkey was provided by a Turkish militant previously captured by the Kurds. The IS recruit said on camera that the terrorist group does, in fact, sell oil to Turkey.

“Without even us asking the fighter directly, he admitted that the reason why it was so easy for him to cross the Turkish border and join IS was, in part, due to the fact that Turkey also benefited. When asked how, he said that Turkey gets something out of it – something such as oil.”

RT was also able to speak with a Kurdish soldier in the area, who displayed a collection of passports he had gathered from the dead bodies of IS fighters. The documentary crew’s exclusive footage shows the documents of several jihadists who had come from all over the world, including countries such as Bahrain, Libya, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tunisia, and Turkey.

Passports belonging to Islamic State fighters bearing stamps from Istanbul, Turkey. / RT

Most of these foreign fighters seemed to have come via Turkey, as all of their passports contained entry stamps issued at Turkish border checkpoints.

A YPG member also provided some photos that were retrieved from a USB drive allegedly belonging to future IS militants. One photo showed three men standing in front of the Obelisk of Theodosius, known today as Sultanahmet Meydani, a famous landmark in Istanbul. The next photo showed the three among other fellow militants somewhere in Syria – all armed and equipped.

One of the IS fighters that RT interviewed revealed that there had been no border guards waiting for them when they crossed from Turkey into Syria.

Islamist propaganda printed in Istanbul

Turkey’s logistical support for extremist fighters trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, or at least its non-interference with their cross-border movements, has been widely reported, but little has been said about the ideological support coming from Turkish soil.

Among the documents left behind by the terrorists at an IS-run hospital, RT’s crew discovered an Islamist propaganda leaflet printed in Arabic titled “How to wage a perfect battle against the criminal Assad’s regime,” which described ways to combat the Syrian government.

Curiously, the brochure was printed in Turkey, with the cover openly displaying the postal address and phone number of an Istanbul printing house, supplemented by Facebook contacts.

Cover of an Islamist, anti-Assad propaganda leaflet printed in Istanbul, Turkey. / RT

“Many of the people spoke about the connection with Turkey. Turkey is the direct neighbor of IS. If it was willing to close the ‘connection’ between Turkey and IS, the terrorist organization could no longer survive,” the author of the RT documentary said, recalling interviews with Kurds and captured IS recruits. “If IS would stop receiving weapons, new recruits, food, and other help from Turkey, then IS would lose a big sponsor.”

Turkey benefits from Islamic State because the terrorist group provides it with cheap oil and is fighting both Syria’s government and Kurdish population. This is an opinion shared by both Kurds and their mortal enemies from the jihadist organization. The IS documents obtained by RT may provide additional evidence revealing the dirty game being played by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Syria.

[John Dolva]

RT:

The stream of accusations is growing against Ankara over illegal oil trade and support of Islamic State, with politicians and experts calling for Turkey to be held accountable for its actions after a new batch of evidence gathered by RT.

Former UK ambassador to Syria, Peter Ford, has described as “very convincing” a report aired by RT which features piles of oil accounting papers left behind by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) fighters.

“There was plenty of evidence even before these latest – very damning – revelations that Turkey was up to its neck in support for collaboration with Islamic State,” he said.

Read more

ISIS, oil & Turkey: What RT found in Syrian town liberated from jihadists by Kurds (EXCLUSIVE)

According to Ford, the “obsession” of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with removing from power his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, and preventing the strengthening of the Kurds in Syria saw Turkey become eager “to stop at nothing, including collaboration with Islamic State terrorists,” Ford stressed.

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that if Turkey had sincerely tried to put an end to the activities of Islamic State it could well have gone slow and we wouldn’t perhaps even be having this latest atrocity in Brussels,” the former ambassador stressed.

[John Dolva]

What is the ‘TAK’ and who are its members? – Amed Dicle

25.03.2016 08:06 News

NEWS DESK – Amed Dicle of Firat News Agency (ANF) released a news today on TAK analyzing TAK’s structure and its role in the Kurdish Question. Dicle’s news is given as its original version released by ANF.

“It is beneficial to examine the TAK; an organization that received attention after its actions in Ankara. In fact, it is not the Kurds but the state that should explain the TAK because the existence of the organization is a direct result of state policies. Still, let us have a look at the general structure of this organization.

According to the information on its website, Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (Teyrêbazên Azadiya Kurdistan-TAK) was formed in 2004. In its website, the TAK states that it did not carry out any actions in 2004 and 2005, and began its actions in Turkish metropolitan areas in 2006.

The TAK carried out its first action on May 22, 2007. TAK member Güven Akkuş (Erdal Andok) carried out the action in the Anafartalar Bazaar of Ankara’s Ulus district. Akkuş was from Maraş, grew up in İstanbul, and joined the organization from Europe. The TAK stated that Akkuş’s target was Yaşar Büyükanıt, the former commander of the Turkish armed forces, but the action did not reach its goal.

Back when the action was carried out, the political environment was intense like today and the signs of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan’s poisoning had caused public indignation among Kurds all across the globe.

On its website, the TAK says that it carried out actions between 2006 and 2012, but there is no information on the details of these. In 2013 and 2014, the organization did not carry out any actions. It resumed its actions on December 23, 2015 in Sabiha Gökçen Airport, and most recently carried out the two actions in Ankara in 2016.

In its written statement on December 30, 2015, the TAK described the goals, actions and tactics of the PKK and other Kurdish organizations as ‘too soft and ineffective responses to the war the Turkish Republic’s fascism is waging against Kurdish people’ and announced the beginning of a new process.

The TAK did not carry out any actions during the negotiations in İmralı but declared that it would be active after the end of the negotiation process.

In the same statement, the TAK emphasized that it would avenge the oppression and massacre of Kurdish people.

In other words, the TAK positioned itself as a revenge organization. It also organized itself on the basis of responding to all threats and pressures targeting the Kurds and the Kurdish People’s Leader Öcalan.

After the recent two actions in Ankara, many people argued that the TAK was under the influence of the PKK. The TAK is not the PKK. The PKK declared numerous times that it had no relations with the TAK. The PKK is a movement with political and social projects and a perspective. It is organized in many different aspects of life and has thousands of guerrillas. It is not logical for a movement that has military structures to establish another military group. Its actions against soldiers and militarist forces do not defy the laws of war, and it views attacks targeting civilians as war crimes. The PKK signed the Geneva War Convention in 1994 and launched investigations into its actions during the 1980s that resulted in civilian casualties. It criticized these attacks and condemned the killing and harming of civilians, even if they were accidental.

The TAK points out that it targets the Turkish state’s institutions and economy. It declared that it does not target civilians, and expressed its sadness for the civilian casualties in Ankara.

As we understand from the organization’s recent statements, the TAK perceives the PKK’s war as incomplete and adopts a more radical line of action.

From TAK statements, we can see that some of the organization’s members were in the PKK in the past. Many TAK members come from the social groups that were created through the PKK’s struggle. However, the TAK and the youth around it view the PKK’s efforts for a political solution as inadequate, and form other organizations that aim to increase the level of struggle.

Arguing that the TAK and the PKK are the same can only be a special war propaganda or plain ignorance and unconsciousness.

Then, could the PKK stop the TAK if it wanted to?

The answer to this question is no. In its website, the TAK states that it does not get orders from the PKK and would continue its actions until the liberation of Öcalan and Kurdish people.

This issue is not a simple one; it is beyond hierarchies and organic relations. The sociological and emotional dimensions of the issue are deeper than what most people think.

Why does the TAK exist, when a radical organization such as the PKK is already waging a political, military and social struggle?

This is the question that should be asked because thousands of young people in Kurdistan believe that a result can only be reached through fighting the Turkish state. Thousands of people chant the slogan of ‘Revenge’ on the streets and call upon the PKK to take revenge. There are sociological reasons behind why some people seek revenge. Thousands of young Kurdish people carry out the photos of TAK militants in the streets of Turkey, London, Berlin, Paris, and Brussels.

Thousands of young people were criticizing the PKK for not fighting during the process of negotiation in İmralı. If you go to any event that brings together thousands of Kurdish people, you will see that many people share the TAK’s perspective. You can observe thousands of young people expressing themselves in a similar manner.

So it is impossible to understand the situation from a table far away from Kurdistan and Kurdish people. Many groups that are sensitive on the Kurdish issue have not yet figured out the situation. They do not know why thousands of young people come to the point of being a member of TAK. They focus on the political components of the situation as opposed to the sociological ones.

In its website, the TAK does not offer a political project for the future. Since every action has political reasons and consequences, politics is the only way for dissolving the TAK. It is necessary to remove the social and political conditions that lead up to such actions, and we have witnessed this need in 2013 and 2014. After the state ended the political talks and resumed its massacres, the TAK reactivated itself. Politics prevent such organizations from getting a social footing.

We must examine why people in their 20s sacrifice themselves and organize for this purpose. It is more beneficial to examine the TAK through sociology as opposed to simple political analyses.

Who are these people?

TAK members are the acquaintances, neighbors and relatives of Taybet İnan, a 60 years old woman and mother of 8 children, who was killed and whose body was left to rot on the street by the police in Silopi…

They are the peers, schoolmates, and colleagues of Hacı Birlik whose dead body was dragged behind an armored vehicle in Şırnak…

They are the friends of Mahsum whose dead body was ran over by tanks in Diyarbakır…

They are the friends of Ekin Van, whose body was displayed after her execution in Varto…

They are the acquaintances and friends of the tens of women and men who were burnt in basements in Şırnak…

They are the brothers and sisters of hundreds of children who were shot while playing games in front of their houses…

They are the children of families whose houses were destroyed in Sur and relatives were executed on the street…

They are the children of the streets that have writings such as ‘Be proud if you’re a Turk, obey if you’re not’ on the walls…

To summarize, any young Kurd will give you thousands of reasons for joining the TAK.

It is impossible to approve the death of civilians during TAK actions. It is everyone’s right to criticize and condemn these casualties. We should criticize more and make it clear that targeting civilians is not acceptable in any war. However, all of these points do not change the reality of TAK because of the realities described above shape the emotions and thoughts of thousands of people.

How many Turkish intellectuals that analyze the Kurdish issue today know of the basements of savagery in Cizre, or Taybet İnan, Hacı Birlik, Ekin Van, and the 3 months old Miray from Cizre who was shot in the arms of her grandfather?

It is impossible for people who have no idea about these to have an understanding of TAK. This is why many Kurds view their criticism towards TAK as repulsive and insincere.

Examining the TAK as a contemporary reaction will not yield any results. The only way for deactivating such structures is an ending of the state’s oppression and denial of Kurdish people. Otherwise, TAK will continue its actions and even new TAKs will emerge. Some AKP officials who criticize the PKK today are remembered to have said that more PKKs would emerge if the Kurdish issue were not solved. The situation is exactly the same for TAK.

If thousands of people are ready to ‘sacrifice their lives’ and the majority of Kurdish society does not believe in a resolution within ‘Turkish borders,’ it is time to completely reexamine the situation. Focusing on the results of actions in evaluations is the easiest option.”

[John Dolva]

Sunday, March 27, 2016 4:00 PM

GİRÊ SPÎ - ANF

Documents seized by YPG and SDF refute Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s claims that Turkey prevents the passage of ISIS and Al-Nusra gangs into Syria. The hundreds of documents the SDF seized in the ISIS headquarters it captured in Til Hemis, Til Bırak, Hol, Kobanê, Mount Kızwan, Şeddadê and Gîrê Spî refute Turkish President Erdoğan’s claim that ‘ISIS captures are captured and sent back.’ In these documents, the passage of ISIS gangs from all across the world, particularly Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and Tajikistan, from Turkey to Syria can be seen. The documents prove that ISIS gangs have been using the airports in İstanbul and Adana, receiving residency permits from the Turkish government, and entering Syria and Rojava from Turkey since 2013.

ISIS GANGS TRAVEL TO SYRIA VIA TURKEY

After the ISIS gangs’ massacre in the Belgian capital Brussels on March 22, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed that Turkey had ‘captured the perpetrators of the massacre and sent them back to their countries.’ The documents the SDF seized in Şeddadê and Gîrê Spî show that hundreds of ISIS gangs traveled to Syria and Rojava with the help of the Turkish state. The Turkish state, whose ties to ISIS become clearer every day, claimed that they had warned Belgium about the gangs in order to cover up its responsibility. However, the documents SDF seized show that hundreds of ISIS gangs travel to Syria and Europe through Turkey.

The aforementioned documents include bus tickets, electronic Turkish visas, residency permits, and documents with the stamps of Turkish immigrations and airport offices.

TURKISH STATE CONTROLS RESIDENCY AND TRANSPORTATION!

The seized documents include residency permits lacking information on the dates of entrance and exit to Turkey, and show that the gangs primarily use Kilis and Urfa for crossing into Syria and Rojava.

TURKEY-ISIS RELATIONS ARE CRYSTAL CLEAR!

The Turkish state’s logistical and military aid to jihadist gangs in Syria shows that Turkey-ISIS relations are crystal clear. The documents seized by the SDF include information on the transportation of chemical and explosive materials from Turkey to Syria. One of the documents belongs to a jihadist from Kazakhstan called Bekmurzayev Meiirzhan, and another one signed by İstanbul Police Foreigners’ Deparment Manager Erkan Aydoğa belongs to Sultan Argerim also from Kazakhstan. SDF also seized a document showing that ISIS gang Mukysh Tolganay entered Turkey through İstanbul Sabiha Gökçen airport. Other documents show that Abdulaziz Abdullah from East Turkistan, Kiyomov Thumakul from Tajikistan, Syahhutra from Indonesia and hundreds of other ISIS gangs had residency permits issued by the Turkish state.

Below, we share some of the documents that the SDF recently seized. We will soon share other documents on the Turkish language classes ISIS gangs receive, and Turkish manuals explaining how to make explosives and poison to jihadist gangs.

http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/relations-between-turkey-and-isis-documented-once-again

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News Desk - ANF

According to the Syrian state television, regime forces took control of Palmyra.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Reuters have confirmed that regime forces took control of Palmyra. The city of Palmyra is in the UNESCO world heritage list.

ISIS gangs had entered the city last year, and burned and damaged temples and historical artifacts that are two thousand years old.

[John Dolva]

Why Turkey must free Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan

Monday, March 21, 2016
By Dilar Dirik


Flag of PKK with image of Abdullah Ocalan.

Millions of Kurds view Abdullah Öcalan as their political representative. His freedom is directly linked to a democratic and peaceful solution to the war in Turkey.

Wounded people trapped in basements, civilians burned alive, children shot on the streets, dead women's bodies stripped naked for display — the Turkish state and army is engaged in a mass-murderous war, not on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, but on the civilian Kurdish population in front of the eyes of the international community, which does not dare to even condemn the atrocities.

Seventeen years after Öcalan, the leader of the PKK, was captured in 1999, civil war is tearing northern Kurdistan and Turkey apart.

Well-aware of Öcalan's power to direct politics in war and peace, the Turkish state has been isolating him completely from the outside world since April 2015, before the parliamentary elections and the massive escalation of the war, which violently marked the end of the two-and-a-half-year long peace process initiated by Öcalan.

After being forced out of Syria due to Turkish pressure, Öcalan first tried to seek asylum in Europe and was pressured out of Italy by the threats of EU countries, which sided with their NATO partner Turkey.

On his way to South Africa, Öcalan was kidnapped in Kenya and renditioned to Turkey in a furious collaboration of several secret services, including the CIA. His final destination, and home ever since, has been the prison island İmralı.

Referring to him as “baby killer,” the Turkish media launched a massive propaganda campaign showing a drugged, semi-conscious Öcalan in an attempt to ridicule the Kurdish struggle by humiliating its leader.

This day is regarded as “Roja Resh” (Black Day) by millions of Kurds to this day. On countless occasions, Kurds made it clear that Öcalan's freedom is directly linked to freedom and peace in Kurdistan and Turkey.

Although Öcalan has many times expressed his denunciation of this act, more than 100 people have self-immolated to protest his imprisonment.

Öcalan has on countless occasions emphasised the importance of dialogue and negotiation, announcing several unilateral ceasefires. In 2009, on the day that marked the 25th anniversary of the PKK's armed struggle, he finished the “Road Map to Negotiations.” His historic Newroz statement in 2013 effectively ended a war and announced the era to “silence the weapons and let the ideas and politics speak”.

His renewed isolation is a calculated war tool used by Turkey to weaken the Kurds psychologically, as well as to legitimise its limitless killing spree on the civilian population.

The “European Guantanamo”: İmralı Island

For the first 11 years of his imprisonment, Öcalan was the only prisoner on İmralı. No less than 1,000 soldiers were guarding his cell. His initial sentence was death for high treason, but three years after his capture, the death penalty was abolished in Turkey due to pressure from the EU, which Turkey desperately wanted to enter at the time.

An atmosphere of psychological harassment and torture dictates the security regime of İmralı. Öcalan receives only censored information from the outside and was denied any human contact, including handshakes for years.

Thousands of Kurdish activists, both in Europe and in Turkish prisons, engaged in several hunger strikes, some of them up to 68 days, to raise awareness of Öcalan's conditions. Only after these hunger strikes drew attention to evidence that Öcalan was being slowly poisoned, the EU's anti-torture watchdog, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, agreed to examine Öcalan's health in 2007. İmralı violates human rights with impunity, which has led some to call it the “Guantanamo of Europe.”

Öcalan has been denied access to his lawyers since 2011 and his family since 2014. His lawyers are constantly harassed, threatened and jailed. Political delegations were able to visit Öcalan in brief meetings in the framework of the peace process initiated by him. For almost a year, he has been totally isolated — anything could have happened to him.

Daily vigils in front of the European Council in Strasbourg have been held for Öcalan's freedom since mid-2012. Every week, a different group of activists camps out in front of the council. In a tireless worldwide campaign, led by the international initiative “Freedom for Öcalan – Peace in Kurdistan,” more than 10.3 million signatures have been collected for his freedom. Signatories include Noam Chomsky, Arundhati Roy, Jeremy Corbyn and Antonio Negri, as well as many parliamentarians, authors, thinkers and activists.

As hundreds of thousands of activists across the world marched for his freedom this year, activist and former lawyer of Nelson Mandela, Judge Essa Moosa, led an international delegation to İmralı to request a meeting with Öcalan to re-initiate the peace process.

Moosa said, “We believe Öcalan can play a very important role for the resolution of the Kurdish question in Turkey, in the same way President Nelson Mandela did in South Africa.”

While the Turkish state enjoys the support of NATO and EU countries, Öcalan does not even have proper access to the media. It is impossible to negotiate a solution to a four decades-old conflict in isolation. In the words of Mandela: “No man can negotiate in chains!”

Not only does Öcalan continue to be seen as the political voice of millions of oppressed Kurds, he is also an intellectually impactful person who authored at least 40 books, many of them while in prison.

His philosophical views underwent a massive paradigm shift, illustrating remarkable intellectual creativity and willpower despite suffering inhumane conditions. Öcalan heavily criticised himself and his own party for authoritarian practices in its initial stages. He publicly apologised for many actions. His analysis of the nature of power, patriarchy, the global economic order, nation-states and ecological issues, not only gained him even more support among Kurds, but more recently engaged radical thinkers and movements around the world.

Although only a few of his books have been translated into European languages, many people began to engage with his thought, from Latin American grassroots-movements to progressive leftist groups in the Middle East to women around the world.

In the last few years, people like Immanuel Wallerstein and David Graeber wrote forewords to his books, while thinkers like David Harvey, Slavoj Žižek and John Holloway expressed the immense value of Öcalan's writings for radical change in the Middle East beyond Kurdistan.

The fact that Öcalan's proposals resonate with so many groups across the world obviously threatens the ideology of the Turkish state and its accomplices.

Recently Resat Baris Ünlü, a Turkish professor at Ankara University was charged for promoting terrorism when he posed an exam question on the development of Öcalan's thought to his students. The prosecutors perceived this question as dangerous and subversive because it “legitimises” Öcalan's thinking and suggests that he is a political leader.

Much has been written about Öcalan's “democratic confederalism” as an alternative to the nation-state, a system that is currently being implemented in different parts of Kurdistan, most notably in Rojava.

However, to many people who understand his position solely as a charismatic leader, the emotional meaning that millions of Kurds attach to him is incomprehensible.

Thousands of people spent time with him in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon and in Damascus. Countless ordinary people received his education and got to know him closely.

Unlike corrupt, wealthy Kurdish leaders that are selected by Western governments and states like Turkey as the “true representatives” of the Kurds, Öcalan is the son of a poor family and led a very modest life throughout his leadership. His claims about leading a people's movement were reinforced by his lifestyle and approach to the people.

Especially for women, Öcalan has always been a comrade — he never viewed them as lovers, mothers, sisters or daughters, but as themselves. He always emphasised that women are the most democratic force and that the struggle for freedom will be led by the women's revolution.

Many of the women who now fight against the Islamic State group joined the struggle after having met him and having been influenced by his respect and faith in women's power and his profound analysis of patriarchy, from the Kurdish family to the global system.

In Rojava, where a women-led social revolution is underway, many elderly women keep old photos of educationals and assemblies with Öcalan like treasures, as they vow to defeat the Islamic State group by organising the strength of women. They say that the women's revolution of Rojava began with his arrival decades ago. Kobanê was his first destination.

With his theoretical writings and practice, as well as his unconditional support for women, the Kurdish women's movement has today become one of the most dynamic and radical forces of change in the Middle East.

Few leaders would have managed to convince millions of people to opt for radical democracy instead of a nation-state, while centring their liberation discourse on the power of women, re-initiating peace and reconciliation with all peoples of the Middle East, while making ecology a central ideological pillar in the fight for freedom.

Öcalan has created a community of millions of strong-willed, courageous and determined individuals, with a political project that has become a shining light of hope for peace in the Middle East. This faith in the community is what draws people to him.

His leadership produces and reproduces an entire self-determining society of leaders, with women at the forefront. The democratic autonomy and self-administration struggles accompanied by fearless resistance in different parts of Kurdistan are the practical manifestation of this.

In spite of all the attempts to isolate Öcalan from the Kurdish people, it remains undisputed, even by his biggest enemies, that he is considered the political representative by millions of Kurds. The renewed total isolation at this time of war illustrates that one of the biggest threats to the Turkish state is his voice. In that sense, in the words of Huey Newton: “You can jail a revolutionary, but you can't jail the revolution.”

Free Öcalan!