"NETTOYAGE ETHNIQUE" À AFRINE (Représentant Du Kurdistan Syrien En France)
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INSTITUT KURD E DE PARIS Information and liaison bulletin N° 396 MARCH 2018 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 Misen en page et maquette : Ṣerefettin 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° 396 March 2018 • ROJAVA: THE TURKS HAVE TAKEN AFRIN, THE “INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY” DOESN’T EVEN BLINK • TURKEY: THE TURKISH PRESIDENT IS LINING UP WITH THE EXTREME RIGHT AND GIVES THE “GREYS WOLVES” SALUTE IN THE MIDDLE OF A MEETING • IRAQI KURDISTAN: BUDGET CUTS AND RE-OPEN - ING OF THE AIRPORTS • IRAN: AFTER THE GREAT DEMONSTRATIONS THE AUTHORITIES ARE TRYING TO PREVENT THE CELE - BRATION OF NEWROZ • FRANCE: THE PERMANENT PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL IS EXAMINING TURKEY’S WAR CRIMES ROJAVA: THE TURKS HAVE TAKEN AFRIN THE “INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY” DOESN’T EVEN BLINK he principal event of Afrin region — their capture of ly empty except for a few thou - this month in the entry Jandairis on the 8 th opened up for sands of its inhabitants. of the Turkish Army them the route to Afrin by the val - T and its Syrian auxil - ley of the river of the same name. Letting themselves be complacent - iaries into Afrin on On the 10 th the aggressors clashed ly photographed, with their fore- Sunday the 18 th , after nearly two violently with the YPG at a point 4 fingers raised in the ISIS Jihadist months of heavy fighting and km from Afrin, setting 2,000 civil - salute, these pro-Turkish fighters intensives shelling. The Syrian ians to flee Southwards to the signalled their role by destroying militia immediately started all out towns of Nobol and Zahraa, con - the statue of Kawa the Blacksmith looting of the abandoned houses trolled by the Damascus regime. (Kawa Asingêr) the heroic revolu - of the Kurdish inhabitants... From the 14 th to the 17 th , this tionary of the Newroz legend, route was incessantly bombed but who overthrew the wicked tyrant Launched on January 20 th , the remained the only one open and Zohak. One couldn’t find a better Turkish invasion had marked time was taken by 200,000 civilians, better way of symbolically high - for a long time, the YPG systemat - including 20,000 Yezidis from lighting the equivalence between ically regaining the lost ground Sinjar, who had found shelter Erdoğan, their lord and master, until the advances were speeded there after the 2014 genocide … and Zohak. The mythical Zohak up early in March. On the 6 th the When the YPG withdrew, the had two serpents on his shoulders, Turks and their allies controlled Turks and their jihadist auxiliaries who constantly demanded to be about 30% of the villages of the entered a town that was complete - fed with the brains of fresh victims • 2 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 396 • March 2018 — the modern Zohak, for his part imposed a stop — and the regime After the violent clashes on the prefers to ensure his control of had no interest in this… evening of the 17 th North of the brains by displaying before his city, the administration decided supporters the mingled symbols Finally the so-called Free Syrian on a tactical withdrawal, given of fascism and Islamism. He calls Army (FSA), revived, financed the Turkish firepower, and the upon his supporters to wage a and armed by Ankara for its own city fell the next day virtually jihad against the YPG “unbeliev - needs, has shown its real charac - without any fighting. As the YPG ers”, boasting of the martyrdom of ter, even indulging in the city in spokesman, Birusk Hasakeh: said: young girls — and making the internal fighting on the 22 nd … “We have seem what the weight of sign of the Grey Wolves in his Originally made up of civilians the intense bombing was to the civil - meetings. At his orders Turkey trained and officered by deserters ians (…) We decised that it was took advantage of the internation - it is now made up of Islamists and urgent to evacuate the inhabitants al inaction to snap its fingers at all Jihadist, it is only there to provide and to redeploy our fighters ”. legal obligations: invasion of a a Syrian screen for Turkey’s inva - Furthermore the Kurdish authori - neighbouring and sovereign State sion, guilty of abuses in the fight - ties refused to give way to the without any proof of anti-Turkish ing, of looting and destruction and Russians’ blackmail. The latter danger, disrespect of the 24 anti-Yezidi abuses. They are now offered their protection, against February decision of UNO’s also accused raping women and Assad’s return. While the SDF Security Council of a humanitari - reducing them into sexual slavery. and the regime remain the two an cease-fire “without delay” in Some Kurdish public figures origi - principal forces face to face in the Syria, bombing and shelling civil - nally from Afrin and now living in Post-ISIS Syria, this clear position ian and military health and medi - Europe have founded an Afrin could assume a great importance cal installations. The Turkish Support Committee and appealed in what follows. Army’s turned off the valves of in le Monde to avoid the setting up Afrin region’s main dam, as its of a new Jihadist hearthstone, a For ISIS the Turkish invasion bombing deprived the city of elec - “second Raqqa”. arrives at a particularly suitable tricity and communications. It point by disturbing the opera - aimed at hospitals and at petrol The assessment diverges depend - tions of the international coali - stations and even civilians trying ing on the estimator. According to tion, whose backbone on the to escape — while continuing to the UK-based Syrian Human ground remains the Syrian deny any civilian casualties! On Rights Centre, over 1,500 Kurdish Democratic Forces (SDF), 1,700 of the 5 th 13 civilians, including two fighters were killed in the Turkish whose fighters have announced children, were killed and many offensive since its beginning two on the 6 th their withdrawal from others injured in the bombing of months ago, “the majority of them the Eastern Front and their rede - Jandairis. On the 16 th sixteen civil - (…) by the air strikes and artillery ployment to Afrin. A military ians, including two pregnant barrages” as well as 400 rebels leader of the SDF, Abou Omar al- women, were killed by a strike at allied to Turkey and over 280 civil - Idlebi declared: “ Our family and the only working hospital in Afrin ians. The Turkish Army reported relations at Afrin are our priority, and the next day another strike 46 soldiers killed. On the 20 th the their protection is more important killed 11 civilians who were flee - Kurdish authorities estimated that than the coalition’s decisions ”. The ing Afrin with a tractor. This poli - about 800 YPG fighters and 500 Pentagon has admitted that the cy of terror was clearly aimed at civilians had been killed. On the Turkish operation had caused “ an pushing the inhabitants, mainly 23 rd the United Nations published operational pause ” against ISIS, Kurds, to flee, to ease the project that an estimated 167,000 people and the chief of Centcom (US of ethnic cleaning so as to replace had been displaced. Command for the Middle East) the present population by one has declared to Congress that the more in conformity with Turkish The loss of Afrin is certainly a US and Turkey had “ diverging interests. defeat for the Rojava Kurds but interests ”... they were still able to resist the The Damascus regime has limited second largest army of the NATO, The invasion and taking of Afrin itself to verbal condemnations of confronting the Air Force without have aroused many expressions the “aggression” and of the having any anti-air defence, and of solidarity abroad. On the 3 rd , Turkish “occupation”, sending in then retreated in good order — several thousand demonstrators the besieged area a few hundreds contrary to the Turkish declara - marched through Berlin; on the of militia who were unable to stop tions that “ the terrorists (were) flee - 6th one of the leaders of the the invasion. Only an intervention ing with their tails between their Movement of Kurdish Women in by the Syrian Air Force could have legs ” or “ without looking back ”. Europe, Nursel Kilic, in a Press n° 396 • March 2017 Information and liaison bulletin • 3• Conference held alongside the Europe published a column in Le that “ François Hollande had had Communist members of Monde on the 20 th attacking the more courage ”. On the same day, in Parliament including the former formal condemnations that lead Germany, Angela Merkel, speak - Minister and CP General to no concrete action by the ing in the Bundestag described as Secretary, Marie-Georges Buffet, “international community”, writ - “unacceptable” that thousands of called for a French Parliamentary ing that “The international com - civilians from Afrin are suffering delegation to be sent to Afrin. On munity’s silence becomes part of from the fighting, also condemn - the 10 th , a second delegation from Erdogan’s gruesome plans. As ing the shelling of Ghouta by Iraqi Kurdistan, containing they wrote: “Silence means con - Damascus. Christians, Yezidis, Zoroastrians sent”. On the same day, the and Kakais and representatives of Rojava representative in Paris, On the 29 th , after having several parties including the Khaled Issa, accused: “ The same expressed his “preoccupation” to PUK, the KDP and the fighters who fought so bravely his Turkish opposite number by Communist Party arrived at against ISIS are, today, abandoned telephone on the 24 th , Mr.