INSTITUT KUDE RPARD IS E Information and liaison bulletin N°369 DECEMBER 2015 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° 369 December 2015 • THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT HAS DECLARED WAR ON ITS OWN CITIZENS • TURKEY: THE UNION OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES OF SOUTHEAST ANATOLIA HAS ISSUED AN APPEAL FOR AN END TO THE ACTS OF VIOLENCE • SYRIA: THE KURDISH-ARAB ALLIANCE AGAINST ISIS HAS SET UP ITS OWN POLITICAL PLATFORM • IRAQI KURDISTAN: THEPOLITICAL PROCESS IS GETTING BOGGED DOWN WHILE AN ECONOMIC CRISIS LOOMS THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT HAS DECLARED WAR ON ITS OWN CITIZENS ince the breaking off of by security forces using armours endangering them or their col - peace negotiations cars and even helicopters; tanks leagues. (Some inhabitants S between the Turkish may shell the town from the sur - housebound in this way have government and the rounding hills (as at Cizre); the testified that they had to drink PKK last July, the level town is kept under continuous the eater from their toilets.) of violence in Turkish Kurdistan curfew for days, or even weeks, Those wounded this way could has been constantly rising — a at a time and public services not even be taken to a place of phenomenon largely due to the such as water and electricity and treatment as the security forces State’s own activities. medicines are cut for the dura - prevented ambulances going to tion of the curfew. The inhabi - those wounded to take them to a Police and troops seem to be tants of quarters so isolated are hospital or health centre. using the same kind of collective absolutely forbidden to go onto Consequently their bodies often repression that they initiated in the streets to fetch food, water, remained lying in the street Cizre on 4 to 13 September on all medical treatment medicines where they had been hit without the towns they have attacked while police snipers lie in anyone daring to go and collect over the last few weeks. ambush in the areas concerned it — sometimes the body of a Diyarbekir is now experiencing and aim at anybody they see, deceased family member its first curfew. Different actions even children, without seeking, remained in their home for days are nearly always used simulta - before opening fite, to judge before they could be taken to the neously: the town is surrounded whether their targets are really mosque. • 2 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 369 • December 2015 Masked militiamen sometimes report by the opposition party forces, two others were wounded accompany the police and Army CGP (a Kemalist party, formerly and about forty arrests were patrols who it has not yet been in power and this not inclined to made. On the 23 rd , also at possible to identify positively, sympathise with Kurdish Diyarbakir, while thousands of but who behave more like mem - activists who Erdogan was people were tyring to march on bers of ISIS than state officials, attacking so fiercely) tens of the old city, blockaded since the shouting “Allahu Akbar” and thousands of the inhabitants of 2nd , they were dispersed in the leaving Islamo-nationalist slo - the Diyarbekir’s old town had same way and a 16-year old boy gans on the walls with the name been forced to flee from their was killed by a bullet through they have adopted of “Allah’s homes. the chest. In Van, on the 22 nd , a Lions” (Esedullah). demonstration of 500 was broken The security forces also carried up in the dame way with 18 Alongside the loss of human out many arrests, sometimes arrests. On the same day hun - lives and acts of violence, the with acts of violence: an aged dreds of demonstrators from photos broadcast on the social couple of a village of the Sirnak Sirnak, trying to enter Cizre and networks by the inhabitants tes - district were obliged to walk 60 Silopi were prevented from tify to massive material damage. Km to the city’s police headquar - doing so by the police with tear - On the 34rd, some inhabitants of ters. N Cizre, on the 27 th , a baby gas. There were also demonstra - Cizre testified that they had been and her grandfather were shot tions in support of the Kurds in obliged to hide in the cellars of dead: the little 3-month old girl the west of the country: at their bock of flats because of the is said to have been hit in the Ankara on the 18ththere were shelling: 23 people from 4 differ - head by a bullet. The grand clashes between police and stu - ent families, including two father, seeing she was still dents from the Middle East babies, were obliged to share a breathing, was then shot down Technical University (METU) two-roomed unheated cellar (it as he tried to take her to an who wanted to march to should be mentioned that tht e ambulance. The family testified Erdogan’s palace with a banner winters in this part of Kurdistan that the shots came from the bearing the slogan “ The Kurdish are much harsher than in Cizre public hospital, which was People is not alone ”. Six of them France). controlled by the security forces. were arrested, including two This cannot fail to recall the women. On the 26 th , 300 demon - A resident of the town of Silopi, events and massacre at Robiski, strators marched through Kizilay very close to the Border with whose fourth anniversary was Square to protest at the violence Iraqi Kurdistan, told AFP News on that day: In the night of 2011, in the Southeast of the country Agency that the firing had bro - after some Turkish fighter planes forming a “peace chain”. ken the windows, that the water had killed 34 Kurdish youths in had been cut off and the flat had the Sirnak region as they were On the 15 th of the month, Prime been rendered uninhabitable crossing the border om a smug - Minister Davutoğlu, to justify because by cold. In Diyarbakir, gling expedition. The soldiers the brutal and indiscriminate after six days of continuous cur - had forbidden any First Aid to methods used, described them few the security forces burned go near the site, and so several of as a collective punishments, down the historic Kurşunlu the wounded, who had survived arguing that the curfew s had mosque, not far from the place the attack lost all their blood or been “imposed to prevent where the Bar Association presi - died of cold… Kurdish activists from mas - dent, Tahir Elçi, had been assas - sacring civiliams”!! At the same sinated in the middle of the The protests against these unac - time the Minister of the Interior, road. just as he was protesting ceptable practices aroused an Efkan Ala, declared to the State’s and the destruction of local her - extremely violent reaction from News Agency Anatolia that “ the itage. Just before he was shot the security forces. Thus all the terrorists wanted to paralyse every - down he had said: “We do not protests called by the “pro- day life in these towns by intimidat - want clashes, guns and opera - Kurdish” HDP party were sys - ing the inhabitants who they had tions in this historic place”. In tematically broken up by water held to ransom ”. In reference to another part of old Diyarbakir, canons and tear gas— sometimes Cizre (100,000 inhabitants) and Hasiri, a house hit by police reinforced by gun fire with real Silopi (80,000 inhabitants) Mr. gunfire caught fire and the bullets: on 14 December at Davutoğlu also declared that neighbours had to act, still under Diyarbekir, two young protesters these operations aimed at police gunfire, to bring the chil - of 21 and 25 years of age were “cleansing these districts of terror - dren out of it. According to a killed in clashes with the security ists house by house ”. n° 369 • December 2015 Information and liaison bulletin • 3• As could be expected, the lead - reacting in a small way with a ians, whereas the Diyarbakir Bar ers of the pro-Kurdish HDP criti - communiqué from the Association and other groups cised these excuses. Its co- spokeswoman of the EU have identified 16 civilians ding President, Mrs. Figen Yuksegdağ External action Department, of wounds from bullets and burst out at a press conference Maja Kocijancic, suggesting that shrapnel and five others who “There are people living in those the only way of resolving the died because they had been houses Davutoğlu! ” while its conflict taking place was to unable to obtain medical treat - other co-President Selahattin return to the peace process ment during the curfew. Human Demirtaş asked the government began earlier and calling on the Rights watch has recorded 8 before a group of journalists ask - Turkish authorities “ to act in a deaths from bullets.” ing “ Are you trying to be heroic by proportionate manner and show sending 6 generals and 10.000 sol - some restraint ”.