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45 the RESURRECTION of SYRIAN KURDISH POLITICS by Ro
THE RESURRECTION OF SYRIAN KURDISH POLITICS By Rodi Hevian* This article examines the current political landscape of the Kurdish region in Syria, the role the Kurds have played in the ongoing Syrian civil war, and intra-Kurdish relations. For many years, the Kurds in Syria were Iraqi Kurdistan to Afrin in the northwest on subjected to discrimination at the hands of the the Turkish border. This article examines the Ba’th regime and were stripped of their basic current political landscape of the Kurdish rights.1 During the 1960s and 1970s, some region in Syria, the role the Kurds have played Syrian Kurds were deprived of citizenship, in the ongoing conflict, and intra-Kurdish leaving them with no legal status in the relations. country.2 Although Syria was a key player in the modern Kurdish struggle against Turkey and Iraq, its policies toward the Kurds there THE KURDS IN SYRIA were in many cases worse than those in the neighboring countries. On the one hand, the It is estimated that there are some 3 million Asad regime provided safe haven for the Kurds in Syria, constituting 13 percent of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Syria’s 23 million inhabitants. They mostly Kurdish movements in Iraq fighting Saddam’s occupy the northern part of the country, a regime. On the other hand, it cracked down on region that borders with Iraqi Kurdistan to the its own Kurds in the northern part of the east and Turkey to the north and west. There country. Kurdish parties, Kurdish language, are also some major districts in Aleppo and Kurdish culture and Kurdish names were Damascus that are populated by the Kurds. -
Kurds & the Conflict in Syria
Handout: Kurds & the Conflict in Syria TeachableMoment Handout – page 1 Background The Kurdish fight for a land of their own goes back centuries. The immediate roots of the current conflict date to 2011, when multiple forces in Syria rebelled against the autocratic rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In 2012, Syrian Kurds (the country’s largest ethnic minority) formed their own small self-governed area in northern Syria. In 2014, at the same time as a bloody civil war was raging in Syria, the group ISIS began taking over territory in Iraq and Syria in its attempt to create a fundamentalist Islamic state. The Kurds joined the fight against ISIS and became an essential partner in the U.S.-led coalition battling ISIS. As the Kurds captured ISIS-held territory, suffering enormous casualties, they incorporated the area into their self-rule. Turkey is home to the largest population of Kurds in the world—about 12 million. The Kurdish minority has faced severe repression in Turkey, including the banning of the Kurdish language in speech, publishing, and even song. Even the words “Kurd” and “Kurdish” were banned. The fight for civil and political rights combined with a push for an independent state and erupted into an armed rebellion in the 1980s. The response from the Turkish state and military has been overwhelming and lethal. Tens of thousands of Kurds have been killed in a lopsided on-again off-again war. The self-governed Kurdish areas in Northern Syria came together in 2014 to form an autonomous region with a decentralized democratic government. -
Kurdish Institute of Paris Bulletin N° 414 September 2019
INSTITUT KURDDE PARIS E Information and liaison bulletin N° 414 SEPTEMBER 2019 The publication of this Bulletin enjoys a subsidy from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Ministry of Culture This bulletin is issued in French and English Price per issue : France: 6 € — Abroad : 7,5 € Annual subscribtion (12 issues) France : 60 € — Elsewhere : 75 € Monthly review Directeur de la publication : Mohamad HASSAN ISBN 0761 1285 INSTITUT KURDE, 106, rue La Fayette - 75010 PARIS Tel. : 01-48 24 64 64 - Fax : 01-48 24 64 66 www.fikp.org E-mail: bulletin@fikp.org Information and liaison bulletin Kurdish Institute of Paris Bulletin N° 414 September 2019 • TURKEY: DESPITE SOME ACQUITTALS, STILL MASS CONVICTIONS.... • TURKEY: MANY DEMONSTRATIONS AFTER FURTHER DISMISSALS OF HDP MAYORS • ROJAVA: TURKEY CONTINUES ITS THREATS • IRAQ: A CONSTITUTION FOR THE KURDISTAN REGION? • IRAN: HIGHLY CONTESTED, THE REGIME IS AGAIN STEPPING UP ITS REPRESSION TURKEY: DESPITE SOME ACQUITTALS, STILL MASS CONVICTIONS.... he Turkish govern- economist. The vice-president of ten points lower than the previ- ment is increasingly the CHP, Aykut Erdoğdu, ous year, with the disagreement embarrassed by the recalled that the Istanbul rate rising from 38 to 48%. On economic situation. Chamber of Commerce had esti- 16, TurkStat published unem- T The TurkStat Statistical mated annual inflation at ployment figures for June: 13%, Institute reported on 2 22.55%. The figure of the trade up 2.8%, or 4,253,000 unem- September that production in the union Türk-İş is almost identical. ployed. For young people aged previous quarter fell by 1.5% HDP MP Garo Paylan ironically 15 to 24, it is 24.8%, an increase compared to the same period in said: “Mr. -
Operation Inherent Resolve, Report to the United
OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE LEAD INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS JULY 1, 2019‒OCTOBER 25, 2019 ABOUT THIS REPORT In January 2013, legislation was enacted creating the Lead Inspector General (Lead IG) framework for oversight of overseas contingency operations. This legislation, which amended the Inspector General Act, requires the Inspectors General of the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of State (DoS), and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide quarterly reports to Congress on overseas contingency operations. The DoD Inspector General (IG) is designated as the Lead IG for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR). The DoS IG is the Associate IG for OIR. The USAID IG participates in oversight for the operation. The Offices of Inspector General of the DoD, DoS, and USAID are referred to in this report as the Lead IG agencies. Other partner agencies also contribute to oversight of OIR. The Lead IG agencies collectively carry out their statutory missions to: • Develop a joint strategic plan to conduct comprehensive oversight of the contingency operation. • Ensure independent and effective oversight of programs and operations of the Federal Government in support of the contingency operation through either joint or individual audits, inspections, and evaluations. • Report quarterly to Congress and the public on the contingency operation and activities of the Lead IG agencies. METHODOLOGY To produce this quarterly report, the Lead IG agencies submit requests for information to the DoD, DoS, and USAID about OIR and related programs. The Lead IG agencies also gather data and information from open sources, including congressional testimony, policy research organizations, press conferences, think tanks, and media reports. -
Information and Liaison Bulletin N°324
INSTITUT KURD E DE PARIS Information and liaison bulletin N°324 march 2012 The publication of this Bulletin enjoys a subsidy from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGCID) aqnd the Fonds d’action et de soutien pour l’intégration et la lutte contre les discriminations (The Fund for action and support of integration and the struggle against discrimination) This bulletin is issued in French and English Price per issue : France: 6 € — Abroad : 7,5 € Annual subscribtion (12 issues) France : 60 € — Elsewhere : 75 € Monthly review Directeur de la publication : Mohamad HASSAN Numéro de la Commission Paritaire : 659 15 A.S. ISBN 0761 1285 INSTITUT KURDE, 106, rue La Fayette - 75010 PARIS Tel. : 01-48 24 64 64 - Fax : 01-48 24 64 66 www.fikp.org E-mail: bulletin@fikp.org Information and liaison bulletin Kurdish Institute of Paris Bulletin N° 324 March 2012 CONTENTS • TURKEY: NEWROZ IS CELEBRATED IN VIOLENCE THIS YEAR . • IRAQI KURDISTAN: TENSION IS RISING BETWEEN IRBIL AND BAGHDAD . • SYRIA: A KURDISH NEWROZ AND A SYRIAN SPRING. • TURKEY: THE ACAT REPORT ON TORTURE . • CULTURE: “ I WILL NOT STAND ALONE ” A NEW CD ALBUM BY KAYHAN KALHOR . TURKEY: NEWROZ IS CELEBRATED IN VIOLENCE THIS YEAR very year, the degree to trial of strength between the gov - equinox, it can, depending on which Newroz, the ernment and the Kurdish popula - the year, occur on the 20th or the Kurdish New Year, is tion than a celebration of the 21st, in all countries where it is E accepted by the Turkish arrival of Spring. an official public holiday, be it in authorities is a pretty Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan, Georgia certain indictor of the way the Indeed, this year the celebrations and a number of countries in the Kurdish question will be treated by were “limited” by the governor of Caucasus and Central Asia. -
Analytical Report Woman's Role in the Kurdish Political Movement in Syria
www.jusoor.co Analytical report 0 Woman's role in the Kurdish Political movement in Syria www.jusoor.co Analytical report 1 Analitik Rapor Woman's role in the Kurdish Political movement in Syria www.jusoor.co Analytical report 2 Index Introduction ................................................................................................. 3 Historical preface ........................................................................................ 4 Woman's participation in Kurdistan workers' party ................................... 6 Women's representation in the Syrian Kurdish political life 2011-2017 ... 8 Democratic union party (PYD) ............................................................... 8 The networks of women's institutions .................................................. 9 Main figures of women in the party ................................................... 11 The motives of women's participation in the party ............................ 11 The other parties ................................................................................... 12 Table (1) ................................................................................................ 14 The rate of women's participation in the leadership committees for some Kurdish parties in Syria: ....................................................................... 14 An actual participation or nominal and propaganda role? ........................ 15 Women's future in the Kurdish political movement. ................................ 16 Woman's role in the Kurdish -
The West's Darling in Syria
Introduction Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Comments The West’s Darling in Syria WP Seeking Support, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party Brandishes an Anti-Jihadist Image Khaled Yacoub Oweis S US bombings in 2015 repulsed Islamic State attacks on cities in mostly Kurdish self- rule regions called cantons in northern Syria. The three cantons, which border Turkey, are dominated by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). The party is linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a former client of the Syrian regime and considered a “terrorist” group by the United States, the European Union, and Turkey. At the risk of deepening an Arab Sunni backlash that has fanned radicalization, Washington is set ever more on the prospect of the PYD retaking mostly Arab territory captured by the Islamic State. In line with German reluctance to arm warring sides, Berlin has refrained from giving military aid to the PYD, which is accused of carrying out war crimes. Still, an international effort to rebuild the cantons tied to breaking the PYD’s monopoly on them could help stabilize the area – even more so if Turkey could be brought on board. The Kurds have scored some of the biggest PYD is not calling for outright secession. Its territorial gains in Syria since the outbreak declaration of self-rule and accompanying of revolt against Assad family rule in 2011. “social contract” mix Marxist jargon and a Cooperation with the Assad regime and vague form of popular democracy. The docu- backing from the United States against the ments also emphasize rights for women so-called Islamic State have strengthened and minorities. -
RSIS COMMENTARIES RSIS Commentaries Are Intended to Provide Timely And, Where Appropriate, Policy Relevant Background and Analysis of Contemporary Developments
RSIS COMMENTARIES RSIS Commentaries are intended to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy relevant background and analysis of contemporary developments. The views of the authors are their own and do not represent the official position of the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU. These commentaries may be reproduced electronically or in print with prior permission from RSIS. Due recognition must be given to the author or authors and RSIS. Please email: [email protected] or call (+65) 6790 6982 to speak to the Editor RSIS Commentaries, Yang Razali Kassim. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ No. 099/2012 dated 11 June 2012 A sleeping dragon awakes: Kurds Take Centre Stage in West Asia By James M. Dorsey Synopsis As popular uprisings and post-revolt transitions change the political, economic and social structures of the Middle East, Kurds, the world’s largest nation without a state of their own, are emerging as the force that could spark a redrawing of borders and rewriting of minority rights in West Asia. Commentary As popular uprisings and post-revolt transitions change the political, economic and social structures of the Middle East the struggle for Kurdish rights, including autonomy if not independence, moved center stage in the past week with a Syrian Kurd becoming head of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC), Iraqi Kurdistan hosting an international tournament for nations that world soccer body FIFA refuses to recognize, and the hardening of attitudes of Turkish Kurds. The election of Abdelbasset Sieda, a Sweden-based Kurdish activist and historian, is intended to unite Syria’s fractured opposition as the country reels from mass murders of civilians believed to be by militias loyal to embattled President Bashar al-Assad and teeters on the brink of civil war. -
COVID-19 & Counterterrorism
OBJECTIVE ·· RELEVANT ·· RIGOROUS || JUNE/JULYJUNE 2020 ·2018 VOLUME · VOLUME 13, ISSUE 11, ISSUE 6 6 FEATURE ARTICLE A VIEW FROM THE CT FOXHOLE SPECIAL ISSUE Audrey Cronin, The Jihadi Threat Michael Nagata, COVID-19 & LTC(R)Magnus Bryan Ranstorp, Price to Indonesia Ali Soufan, and Counterterrorism Juan Former ZarateDirector, Kirsten E. Schulze Combatingon the challenges Terrorism ahead Center FEATURE ARTICLE Editor in Chief 1 A View from the CT Foxhole: A Virtual Roundtable on COVID-19 and Counterterrorism with Audrey Kurth Cronin, Lieutenant General (Ret) Paul Cruickshank Michael Nagata, Magnus Ranstorp, Ali Soufan, and Juan Zarate Paul Cruickshank and Don Rassler Managing Editor Kristina Hummel ANALYSIS EDITORIAL BOARD 16 The Security Threat COVID-19 Poses to the Northern Syria Detention Camps Holding Islamic State Members Colonel Suzanne Nielsen, Ph.D. Audrey Alexander Department Head Dept. of Social Sciences (West Point) 26 Pandemic Narratives: Pro-Islamic State Media and the Coronavirus Chelsea Daymon and Meili Criezis Brian Dodwell 33 The Limits of 'Shabaab-CARE': Militant Governance amid COVID-19 Director, CTC Christopher Hockey and Michael Jones Don Rassler 40 Iran's COVID-19 Disinformation Campaign Director of Strategic Initiatives, CTC Mark Dubowitz and Saaed Ghasseminejad This issue was produced with editorial 49 Pandemic Preparedness: A U.K. Perspective on Overlaps with Countering Terrorism support from CTC interns Marley Carroll, Nikita Malik Anyssia Kokinos, Kevin Laiveling, and Stephanie Lizzo. COVID-19 is arguably the biggest crisis the planet has faced since the Sec- ond World War and will likely have significant impacts on international CONTACT security in ways which can and cannot be anticipated. -
Middle East, North Africa
MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA The SDF’s Meeting on Security Assessment and Future of Syria OE Watch Commentary: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF, or Hêzên Sûriya Demokratîk in Kurdish) played a significant role in ending the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)’s territorial control in Syria, including capturing ISIS’s de-facto capital, the Syrian city of al-Raqqa. The SDF was established in 2015 and is a Kurdish-led group comprised of Kurdish and Arab forces under the command of Mazloum Abdi or Mazloum Kobanê. Despite the SDF’s success in pushing back ISIS on the battlefield, remnants of ISIS still remain underground. As the accompanying article highlights, the SDF recently gathered its leadership to discuss the challenges it may face in Syria. According to the article from Kurdish Hawar News Agency, an agency that closely monitors developments regarding Syrian Kurds, speaking at the meeting, Kobanê discussed several security related challenges. First, he stated that the meeting was held to “assess the military and political victories” of the SDF. Second, the meeting would Flag of the Syrian Democratic Forces. Source: FugeeCamp via Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Syrian_Democratic_ lay the foundation for the establishment of a military force that will secure a free and Forces.svg#/media/File:Flag_of_Syrian_Democratic_Forces.svg, Public Domain. united Syria. Third, while ISIS was defeated militarily, “ISIS remains strong” and poses a threat to the region and to the SDF. The commander noted “it is widespread in the region” in the form of sleeper cells in especially populated areas, “so fighting ISIS is one of the most important topics of our meeting.” He also called on the international community to keep supporting the SDF to ensure ISIS does not make a comeback. -
W E E K L Y D I G E S T 19 O C T O B E R – 25 O C T O B
A B O U T I N T E G R I T Y U K Integrity UK is an organisation committed to preventing extremism through innovative approaches to promoting integration, cohesion and social reconciliation within the MENA region and the UK. W E E K L Y D I G E S T 19 O C T O B E R – 25 O C T O B E R S Y R I A Politics The United States and Turkey Sign a Ceasefire Agreement in Northern Syria In a major development concerning the situation in northern Syria, the United States announced on 17th October that they have reached a ceasefire agreement with Turkey. The agreement acknowledged Turkey's “legitimate security concerns” and indicated that they would prevent the re-emergence of the Islamic State (IS) and highlighted the importance of the continued implementation of the safe-zone and the collection of heavy weapons from the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the disablement of fortifications. It also indicated that the enforcement of the safe-zone would be conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The ceasefire was timed to last 120 hours during which Turkey suspended its Operation Spring of Peace. By all indications, the agreement gave Turkey the upper hand, as it required the removal of the YPG and gave the TSK the right to resume the operations in the event of the YPG’s non-withdrawal. A number of factors, such as lack of clarity about the exact area and scope of the ceasefire, as well as the lack of US troops in the area to enforce the agreement. -
A Turkish Perspective on Syria
A Turkish Perspective on Syria Ercan Çitlioğlu Introduction The war is not over, but the overall military victory of the Assad forces in the Syrian conflict — securing the control of the two-thirds of the country by the Summer of 2020 — has meant a shift of attention on part of the regime onto areas controlled by the SDF/PYD and the resurfacing of a number of issues that had been temporarily taken off the agenda for various reasons. Diverging aims, visions and priorities of the key actors to the Syrian conflict (Russia, Turkey, Iran and the US) is making it increasingly difficult to find a common ground and the ongoing disagreements and rivalries over the post-conflict reconstruction of the country is indicative of new difficulties and disagreements. The Syrian regime’s priority seems to be a quick military resolution to Idlib which has emerged as the final stronghold of the armed opposition and jihadist groups and to then use that victory and boosted morale to move into areas controlled by the SDF/PYD with backing from Iran and Russia. While the east of the Euphrates controlled by the SDF/PYD has political significance with relation to the territorial integrity of the country, it also carries significant economic potential for the future viability of Syria in holding arable land, water and oil reserves. Seen in this context, the deal between the Delta Crescent Energy and the PYD which has extended the US-PYD relations from military collaboration onto oil exploitation can be regarded both as a pre-emptive move against a potential military operation by the Syrian regime in the region and a strategic shift toward reaching a political settlement with the SDF.