Kurdistan Media Project

28/06/2021

"A Turkish court sentenced 14 Kurdish civilians to a total of 50 years in prison on Saturday on trumped-up terror charges.

Those convicted are thought to have been subjected to brutal police torture after their arrest in Urfa province in May 2019.

Investigations into the allegations are ongoing, but the judge accepted confessions likely extracted through coercion and sentenced the accused to prison.

The 14 were arrested after Turkish security forces fought with two guerilla fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Halfeti, in the largely Kurdish south-east of the country.

At least 51 Kurdish civilians were hauled in during mass operations later that day, accused of helping the PKK fighters by giving them food and water.

But photographs of those arrested, including children as young as 13, provoked outrage as they were seen lying face down with their hands tied behind their backs.

Shocking allegations of r**e, waterboarding and electrocution by Turkish police were heard in courtrooms soon afterwards, but requests for detainees to be examined by forensics were denied."

Tortured Kurds jailed for 50 years on trumped-up terror charges × This is the last article you can read this month You can read more article this month You can read more articles this month Sorry your limit is up for this month Reset on: Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here A TU...

28/06/2021

"The 1982 massacre of Palestinian refugees in Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in Beirut is notorious.

About 3000 refugees were brutally slaughtered when Israel — which had early invaded Lebanon and forced the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) to evacuate to Tunisia — unleashed the Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia on the refugee camps.

Today, another large refugee camp in the Middle East is facing the same prospect. This time, the attackers are Turkish armed forces and the camp is the UNHCR-recognised Makhmur refugee camp in northern Iraq/South Kurdistan. About 13,000 Kurdish refugees from south-eastern Turkey live there, in poor conditions, after fleeing in 1998.

Speaking on Turkish state TV on June 1, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatened to “clean-up” the Makhmur refugee camp, which is located 180 kilometres south of Turkey. In a clear violation of international law, Turkish armed drones bombed the camp on June 5."

About 13,000 Kurdish refugees from south-eastern Turkey live inside the UNHCR-recognised Makhmur refugee camp, which is being attacked by Turkish forces, reports Peter Boyle.

28/06/2021

Back in April, we had the unique opportunity to visit one of the three factions of the historic Komala, the legendary Iranian Kurdish organisation that has fought for Kurdish liberation and social justice since their foundation in 1969.

With their headquarters and Peshmerga camp now nestled in the mountains between what constitute the current borders of Iraq and Iran, it was a journey replete with fascinating stories and anecdotes.

We had a far-ranging and thorough conversation on a number of issues, some that we shared common ground on, and others where there were points of contention and divergence.

Marcel Cartier talks with leaders from the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan.

17/06/2021

"Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) tweeted that the Izmir provincial building was raided and set on fire.

In a statement, the HDP said, “An armed attack was carried out targeting our İzmir Provincial Building at around 10:30 this morning. Our party has been targeted by the ruling party and the Ministry of Interior for months, and some families have been directed to our provincial buildings for provocation.”

The HDP said that the attacker is 35-40 years old and raided the provincial building while party member Deniz Poyraz was inside.

“The attacker, who opened fire and set the building on fire, was not intervened for a long time. Our party member, our comrade Deniz Poyraz, was killed during the attack,” the statement said.

People began to gather in front of the Konak District building after the attack was reported."

The building of the Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) İzmir Provincial Organization was raided and set on fire by ‘unidentified people’.

17/06/2021

Young Struggle Europe has translated our interview with the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) into German.

In diesem exklusiven Interview beantwortet der Sekretär der Kurdistan-Organisation der Marxistisch-Leninistischen Kommunistischen Partei der Türkei und Kurdistans (MLKP) eine Vielzahl von Fragen zur aktuellen Situation im Nahen Osten, darunter die Haltung der Partei zum Chauvinismus innerhalb de...

16/06/2021

"Germany has been accused of colluding with Turkey after it prevented 17 members of the delegation from leaving Duesseldorf last Saturday, citing potential damage to Berlin’s foreign relations. Another group was detained at Erbil international airport and deported.

Footage sent to the Morning Star appeared to show peshmerga forces of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) deployed to the Metina region with German-supplied weapons, which Kurdish officials say are being used in operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)."

Steve SweeneyTuesday, June 15, 2021 International Peace Delegation calls on world to unite in ‘moral clarity’ and prevent a Kurdish genocide Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Nato summit in Brussels yesterday × This is the last article you can read this month You can read more arti...

16/06/2021

In this article, Marcel Cartier discusses his recent visit to the Sulaymaniyah branch of the Kurdistan Communist Party - Iraq, where a number of issues were discussed including the historical role of the Party, the chauvinist views of a number of regional communist organisations on the Kurdish national question, the imperialist role of the U.S. in the region, and much more.

https://redstaroverkurdistan.blogspot.com/2021/06/an-afternoon-with-kurdistan-communist.html

11/06/2021

In this exclusive interview, the Kurdistan Organization Secretary of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Turkey and Kurdistan (MLKP) answers a wide range of questions related to the current situation in the Middle East, among them the party's stance on chauvinism within the Turkish left, the contradictions within Rojava (western Kurdistan), the regional role of the United States, the MLKP's relationship to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and much more. A must read!

https://redstaroverkurdistan.blogspot.com/2021/06/an-interview-with-marxist-leninist.html

09/06/2021

"Suffering a heavy defeat against the guerrilla resistance, the Turkish state cannot not carry out its occupation operations and has attacked the Maxmur refugee camp on 5 June 2021, which is under the supervision of the UN and Iraq. Although the Turkish state is responsible for this attack, the Iraqi state and the UN, which remained silent and even paved the way for the threats and invasion attacks of the fascist dictator Erdoğan, also bear responsibility for this attack.

Based on what laws do the drones and fighter jets of the fascist and genocidal Turkish state fly over a refugee camp that is under the control of the UN and the Iraqi state? On the basis of which international law is the airspace used for attacks targeting civilians? It is not possible for the Turkish state to use the airspace and carry out an attack without the consent of these forces. Turkey wants to indicate that they will target every Kurd who claims her/his language, culture and patriotic duties, even if they are civilians, and to suppress the resistance and struggle of our people.

The people of Maxmur have always promoted resistance and patriotism, from Botan to Maxmur, against the genocidal attacks of the Turkish state since 1993. Therefore, the recent attacks are a part of the genocide plan of the Turkish state and are doomed to failure. It is the responsibility of the UN, EU, Iraqi, Kurdistan local government and the KDP to stop the attacks against our people in Maxmur, which defy all international law and human values. We urge these forces, who have remained silent, approved and paved the way for these fascist and genocidal attacks, to perform their duties. Maxmur is Kurdistan's honour and a stronghold of resistance. We therefore strongly condemn this attack against our people in Maxmur."

The Foreign Relations Committee of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has released a written statement on the Turkish genocidal campaign seeking to invade South Kurdistan and the historic guerrilla...

17/05/2021

Steve Sweeney Journalist, in an exclusive for The Morning Star, reports on the alleged use of chemical weapons by Turkish forces in Southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq).

"Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) spokesman Zagros Hiwa told the Morning Star: “You can see that the martyr has no wounds on his body. It is clear that this is the result of a chemical attack by Turkish forces.”

He explained that the footage was circulating on Turkish fascists’ WhatsApp groups, but had not appeared in the Turkish media “as it would prove that they are celebrating the use of chemical weapons.”

PKK military commander-in-chief Murat Karayilan accused the Turkish state of using poison gas when its operations were failing to advance as they hoped.

“It does not use it over a wide area, but in a very targeted manner. So, for example, in a particular area, from which it then stays away for a few days,” he said, explaining that the Turkish army had removed the dead bodies of the PKK fighters.

Turkey is a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), a 1997 treaty which “prohibits the large-scale use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of chemical weapons and their precursors, except for very limited purposes.”

It has consistently denied holding stockpiles of such weapons but has faced a string of accusations that it is conducting “a dirty war” against Kurds, using chemicals on a number of occasions, including attacks in northern Syria and the Makhmour refugee camp in northern Iraq.

In 2019 the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) dropped investigations into such an attack in Seri Kaniye, Rojava.

OPCW chief Fernando Arias claimed that white phosphorus, which had been identified as the substance “likely” used, cannot be used as a chemical weapon, therefore its use “doesn’t fall under the CWC.”

His statement came just days after Turkey donated €30,000 (£25,000) to the OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology, which both parties insisted was coincidental."

Steve SweeneySunday, May 16, 2021 Exclusive: Footage of alleged Turkish chemical weapons attack leaked to Star amid calls for independent investigations Screenshots of the footage leaked to the Star × This is the last article you can read this month You can read more article this month You can read...

16/05/2021

The Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement (HBDH), the alliance of ten revolutionary organisations which includes the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has issued a statement in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance.

The United Revolutionary Movement of Peoples (HBDH) issued a written statement to condemn the attacks against the Palestinian people as Israel steps up its offensive on the Gaza Strip.The stateme...

11/05/2021

Marcel Cartier and Steve Sweeney joined Susan Price of Green Left and Heval Herki for an extensive conversation on building connections between the Kurdish and Palestinian solidarity movements at a time when both peoples are under sustained attack, countering NATO aggression against the Kurdish Freedom Movement in northern Iraq and Syria, the efforts of the Turkish state to ban the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and much more.

This is the livestream of this forum: https://www.facebook.com/events/3960668917382092/Special guests:* Marcel Cartier is a Hip-Hop artist, journalist and au...

10/05/2021

As Palestinians once again rise up against Israeli apartheid and ethnic cleansing, let's recall the historical similarities between the Palestinian and Kurdish revolutionary struggles against colonialism and for national liberation.

There’s something deep...

10/05/2021

Nubar Ozanyan, whose nom de guerre was Orhan Bakırcıyan, was born in 1956 in the central Anatolian town of Yozgat and was active for 40 years within the Workers' and Peasants' Liberation Army of Turkey (TIKKO), the guerrilla organization of the TKP/ML. He devoted almost his entire life to the revolutionary struggle.

In 1988-1990 Ozanyan was in Palestine, and from 1991-1992 he fought in the Armenian Caucasus republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). In the early eighties, he stayed in France for a while. Ozanyan was a close friend of the filmmaker Yılmaz Güney, a pioneer of Kurdish cinema, and was even his bodyguard in Paris for a while.

In 2014, Ozanyan moved to South Kurdistan, where he fought against the Turkish occupation. In Rojava, he took part in the Siluk resistance in the circle of internationalists. The town near Girê Spî (Tal Abyad) was liberated from the rule of various Islamist groups in the summer of 2015 as part of a YPG offensive. After having stayed in Dersim in northern Kurdistan for a while, he returned to Rojava. On August 14, 2017, he died as a TIKKO commander fighting the jihadist terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) outside Raqqa. The Armenian Battalion, founded in 2019 in northeastern Syria on the commemoration day of the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, is also named after him.

In the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishlo, a street in the central neighborhood of Bişêriyê has been named after the Armenian revolutionary Nubar Ozanyan. The street renaming, which is a joint pr...

30/04/2021

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's book "The Daughters of Kobani" has become a New York Times bestseller.

Despite its often powerful storytelling of the fighters of the YPG and YPJ, Marcel Cartier argues that the book does a great deal of harm in attempting to sanitise U.S. imperialism across the region.

Even before it was released and became a New York Times bestseller, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon’s book The Daughters of Kobani made headlines, writes Marcel Cartier.

26/04/2021

"The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) issued an urgent appeal for the international community to “stop an imminent massacre and genocide” after Turkish troops invaded Iraqi Kurdistan on Saturday.

Soldiers dropped via helicopter into the so-called Medya defence zones in the mountainous Duhok province, which borders Turkey, following a series of air strikes.

“The Turkish state has signalled the launch of a campaign of massacre and genocide,” KNK co-chair Ahmed Karamus said yesterday.

“We call upon the United Nations, the European Union, Nato and other international institutions to take action immediately and stop an imminent massacre and genocide,” he said.

Turkey has escalated its campaign of aggression with air strikes targeting civilians in border villages in recent days."

Steve SweeneyMonday, April 26, 2021 Calls for international community to prevent genocide of Kurds after Turkish invasion of northern Iraq Kurdistan Communist Party general secretary Hawre Osman addresses a protest at the Slemani government offices over the latest announcement to cut public sector w...

26/04/2021

The so-called Kobani case has gotten underway today, with the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) urging international solidarity at this critical moment.

"The HDP, whose 55 MPs make it the third-largest force in the Turkish parliament, is under serious pressure, with 108 leading figures, including former co-chairs Figen Yuksekdag and Selahattin Demirtas, facing life imprisonment on a number of charges.

They have been indicted on 37 counts of murder in the so-called Kobani case, being blamed for calling street protests over government inaction when Isis were holding the largely Kurdish city in northern Syria under siege in 2014.

Government forces and paramilitaries led a brutal crackdown on the demonstrations, killing at least 54 people and injuring and arresting many more.

According to the Mesopotamia news agency, “HDP politicians are accused of the deaths of their party members … [while] investigations to reveal the perpetrators of these deaths are avoided.”

HDP MP Meral Danis Bestas said the main prosecutor in the case was known to be close to the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the junior partner in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s coalition government.

Ms Bestas accused him of preparing “a freakshow of an indictment” full of lies and with no criminal element. She said that it was a combined effort by the ruling parties to push the HDP out of democratic politics.

MHP leader Devlet Bahceli led calls for the HDP to be shut down earlier this year, with a closure file lodged in March. Turkey’s Constitutional Court sent the papers back, citing irregularities.

The foundation of HDP in 2012 represented a major step forward for democracy in Turkey, bringing together trade unionists, environmentalists, communists and supporters of the Kurdish freedom movement."

Steve SweeneyFriday, April 23, 2021 HDP calls for international solidarity ahead of most important trial in modern Turkish history HDP's Mayors & MPs Photo: Kobani Case × This is the last article you can read this month You can read more article this month You can read more articles this month Sorr...

15/04/2021

"The Anfal is a genocide that has never ended. It affected my parents, it affected me and it affects my children.”

Yesterday marked the day of remembrance for the 182,000 victims of the Anfal genocide, a campaign of extermination and ethnic cleansing waged by the Iraqi Ba'athist state between 1986 and 1989 with the full backing of imperialism and western weapons companies.

Steve SweeneyFriday, April 16, 2021 Anfal is a genocide that never ends, Kurds say as they continue their fight for recognition Graves of the victims of the Anfal campaign × This is the last article you can read this month You can read more article this month You can read more articles this month S...

09/04/2021

Kurdistan Media Project met the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan at their camp in Iraqi Kurdistan to discuss the history of their party, national oppression in Iran today, and their perspective for the future.

Steve SweeneyFriday, April 9, 2021 Exclusive: Komala Party urge world not to forget the Kurds of Iran Kawsar Fattahi (left) and (right) Siamak Modarresi of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan × This is the last article you can read this month You can read more article this month You can read more...

25/03/2021

In light of attempts by the Turkish state to ban the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), many organisations, parties and individuals have expressed their solidarity with the party at this crucial moment.

The following solidarity statements rose all around the globe for our party after this lawsuit was filed. Herewith we thank you all friends who stand in solidarity with us.

25/03/2021

NEWROZ SPEECH IN QANDIL BY KMP CO-EDITOR STEVE SWEENEY

[The video is a partial recording, but the full transcript is below]

Sisters, Brothers, hevals. What a great honor and privilege it is to be here speaking today as we celebrate Newroz. And what better place to be than Qandil, the beating heart of Kurdish resistance.

I stand here as a friend, a brother, a heval. I may not be Kurdish but Kurdistan is in my heart. I share your desires for peace. I share your desire for equality. I share your desire for freedom. Those things are fundamentally under threat by those who seek the genocide of the Kurdish people.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks war. He has declared war on women through pulling out of the Istanbul Convention, because he is afraid. He is afraid of free women. He is afraid of Kurdish women, and he is right to be. Because it is free Kurdish women that will be his downfall.

He is moving to shut down the HDP, in a political genocide, and a coup against democracy. But HDP, is the only force standing in the way of are the ones illegal wars and invasions in Rojava in Bashur in Libya in Nagorno Karabakh.

HDP is the only force that will expose Erdogan's war crimes and genocide against Kurds in Parliament.

HDP is the only force holding Erdogan to account for the crushing of democracy in Turkey, the jailing of journalists, academics, and workers

HDP is the only force in Parliament standing for women's rights against femicide, and against r**e. And for the Istanbul Convention

HDP is the only force, supporting Kurds and Alevi , Armenians Syrians, Circassians, and other minorities HCP is the only for standing for workers rights, trade unions, and those in struggle

HDP is the only for standing up for LGBT rights against a bitterly homophobic and reactionary government

HDP is the only for standing against the isolation on Imrali, and for a peaceful resolution to the so called Kurdish question.

But Erdoğan cannot win the HDP is the will of the people, and we say, hands off HDP, no coup in Turkey.

Erdogan is weak, but this makes him dangerous. He has suffered a humiliating defeat in the Gare mountains, but this is not just about Erdogan. Behind him stands the forces of imperialism.

The war on Kurds is NATO's war. It is the EU's war. It is America's war. It is Britain's war, Kurds, stand in the way of imperialist plans for regional domination, and the plunder of natural resources.

The cause of the Kurdish people, is the cause of humanity. It is also intertwined with the freedom of Abdullah Ocalan. His freedom is key to the freedom of the Kurdish people. He is known as the Mandela, of the Middle East, like Mandela. He has paid a heavy price for the freedom of his people. But like Mandela. He has inspired millions of people across the world.

And despite the imprisonment, despite all the might of NATO's army, despite their missiles, their tanks, their bullets and their bombs. You cannot defeat the people's desire for freedom, have ours.

The future does not belong to the Erdogan's of the world. The future belongs to us and our time is coming. We stand for an end to imperialism, and a future based on solidarity, love and cooperation, instead of greed, war, and profit.

As we light the new laws fires. We turn the flames of rebellion into an inferno of resistance.

There is a phrase in the Irish Freedom Movement: Tiocfaidh ár lá. It means our day will come.

Biji HDP, Biji Serok Apo, Biji Kurdistan. Long live international solidarity!

24/03/2021

On the second anniversary of his assassination, Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) leader Bayram Namaz was commemorated in several cities across northern Syria.

In the words of the MLKP at the time of his death, "Comrade Bayram Namaz, nom de guerre Baran Serhat, had been assassinated on 23 March in Serêkaniyê - Rojava by a bomb placed in his car under the fascist dictator Erdogan's order, the organization of the Turkish Intelligence Service ( MIT ) and the counter-guerrilla. The revolution and our party are now deprived of practical contributions of an unyielding militant who lived his life on the edge of the cliff such an ordinary way, of a competent organizer with a great founding will, a pacemaker vanguard with his sacrificing spirit and commitment, an assertive political fighter who does not give up big dreams, a strong representative of revolutionary comradeship and an ardent laborer of internationalism. It is impossible not to feel his absence. Nevertheless, our comrade's struggle, the values he holds high, his great revolutionary goals and the spirit of breakthrough that he has always kept his eyes on will continue to give power to the revolution, to our party and to his comrades. He will continue to be the source of power and inspiration, to lead our path as a red guide in the most difficult and impossible moments and conditions."

24/03/2021

"On Tuesday, twelve Kurdish activists were arrested in simultaneous raids in Marseille, Paris and Draguignan. In addition, police officers searched the Kurdish Society Center (DKTM), a shop and several private apartments in Marseille. The basis for the security forces' action ordered by a Paris anti-terrorist judge is the suspicion of involvement in a “terrorist organization abroad” and the alleged financing of terrorism.

The French Communist Party (PCF) said: “This decision by the French authorities comes after Emmanuel Macron held talks with his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to resolve recent tensions. Obviously, the price of this reconciliation is the criminalization of the Kurds of France, who campaign for democracy in Turkey through peaceful activities. This democracy has been undermined since the Islamic Conservatives of the AKP came into power and supported various jihadist terrorist organizations.”

After months of tension, France wants to improve its relations with Turkey to the detriment of Kurds. On Tuesday, twelve Kurdish activists were arrested in simultaneous raids in Marseille, Paris an...

17/03/2021

BREAKING NEWS: Urgent appeals for solidarity as Turkish state moves to close the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

The Supreme Court of Appeals filed a lawsuit at the Constitutional Court (AYM) this afternoon.

Chief Public Prosecutor Bekir Sahin filed the case at the AYM with the HDP indicted for aiming “to destroy and eliminate the indivisible unity of the state with its nation through their statements and actions.”

In a written statement Mr Sahin claimed that the HDP acted “together with the PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party] terrorist organisaton and...is an extension of the organisaton.”

This is the biggest attack on a legal political party since World War Two with some 20,000 HDP members detained since 2016, 10,000 of whom have been jailed including more than 200 elected officials and at least 7 MPs.

Raise in your trade union branches and CLPs and other party organisations and send urgent messages of solidarity.

15/03/2021

Today marks the third anniversary of the death of British internationalist Anna Campbell, also known by her nom de guerre Hêlîn Qereçox. She was killed in a Turkish airstrike while defending the city of Afrin along with her comrades in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ).

15/03/2021

The Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement (HBDH) has marked five years since it was founded in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan.

The alliance of more than ten communist parties and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was founded to unite the struggle against the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the AKP.

Speaking on the anniversary, Revolutionary Communard Party/Birlik (DKP/B) member Ekrem Demirci said, "If the revolutionary forces can gather their own forces, become visible and appear in practice against fascism, and if this triggers the anger of the poor, fascism will lose and we will win. When we join our forces, nobody can stand in front of us."

15/03/2021

"Iraq must avoid the agreements with Erbil and Ankara against the values ​​of the Yazidi community in Shengal, since this does not serve Iraq and its people. The greatest beneficiaries are those who left Shengal and its people without protection from ISIS terrorism first, then the Turkish occupation state, which uses all methods to completely empty Shengal of the Yazidis and to settle the extremist Islamists there, and to launch air strikes whenever it wants to undermine the will of the Yazidi community in Shengal. This has caused so far the martyrdom of dozens, injury of hundreds and destruction of their property and damage in front of the eyes of the world.

Our Kurdish people in general, the Yazidis in particular, and all civil society organizations everywhere, should mobilize their potentials, to be holders of positions befitting the will of the Yazidi community in Shengal who are facing a new decree today.

The Iraqi government should be aware of the interest of the Iraqi people and any wrong decision will contribute to the revival of ISIS in all of Iraq."

The Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) issued a written statement regarding the latest developments in Shengal (Sinjar), and the Iraqi government's efforts to undermine the will of the Yaz...

08/03/2021

On the sixth anniversary of her martyrdom yesterday, friends and comrades of Ivana Hoffmann celebrated the German MLKP fighter's life and her dedication to the cause of socialism, anti-fascism and internationalism.

In a video posted by the Internationalist Commune, they remembered her with the words, "On her departure she wrote that if necessary, she will defend the revolution in Rojava with her life. And that’s what she did. But in this fight she has regained her freedom. Today we are missing her in the fight against Turkish fascism. But she has become a support for us, which gives us strength and courage again and again. She lives on in our resistance."