TikTok: Why people think the US bill to ban app is linked to pro-Palestine content

Journalists, rights experts and social media users say move to ban TikTok is being pushed by pro-Israel lawmakers

Representative Robert Garcia (D) speaks at a news conference about TikTok, on 12 March 2024 in Washington DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images via AFP)

By MEE staff
Published date: 18 March 2024 

After a bill in the US Congress was overwhelmingly passed to ban the social media app TikTok, social media users expressed outrage online and linked the move to pro-Israel groups trying to curb the surge of pro-Palestinian content on the platform.

The bill, which passed in the House by a 352-65 vote, requires that TikTok be sold to an American company or face a ban in the US.

To become law, it still needs to be passed by the Senate, which the Biden administration has been pushing to happen quickly.

The legislation was the culmination of a year-long effort and has been largely attributed to lawmakers with hawkish views on China.

TikTok was created by ByteDance, a company founded by Chinese entrepreneurs. While the app is owned by TikTok LLC, a company headquartered in the US, TikTok's ownership falls under ByteDance.


Sign up to get the latest alerts, insights and analysis, starting with Turkey Unpacked

While US opposition to China helped launch the bill, journalists, experts, and social media users pointed to several issues since October that they say show pro-Palestinian content was a part of the issue behind the bill's resurgence.

"The deranged hysterical push to ban TikTok is driven by the Zionist propaganda complex," said one user on X.

One of the instances they pointed to was a reportedly leaked recording of Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the Anti-Defamation League, in which he said, "We really have a Tik-Tok problem."

Another example users cite is that one of the major donors for Mike Gallagher, the Republican congressman who introduced the bill, is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac).

The Wall Street Journal also reported last week that there was "new momentum in part because of anger over TikTok videos about the Israel-Hamas conflict".

In another report by the WSJ, Democrat Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said it was the war in Gaza that led him to support a ban on TikTok.

Krishnamoorthi said: “Oct 7 really opened people’s eyes to what’s happening on TikTok.”

Republican Senator Josh Hawley sent a letter to the Biden administration in November calling for the ban of TikTok. In the letter, he specifically cited the "ubiquity of anti-Israel content on TikTok" as one of his main reasons for advocating for the ban.

"Every serious news account of how this 'ban TikTok bill' suddenly gained momentum - seemingly out of nowhere - emphasizes Oct. 7, when Bipartisan DC became enraged so many Americans were allowed to criticize Israel," said Glenn Greenwald, a US journalist and co-founder of The Intercept.

He is now the host of an independent news programme called System Update.

Others pointed to the idea that the goal of pro-Israel groups is not to ban the social media giant, but for a pro-Israel entity to purchase the application.

Last week, former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he is putting together a group of investors to try and buy TikTok.

"They are not trying to ban #TikTok. They are trying to use government power to force TikTok to be taken over by pro-Israel ownership to silence criticism of #Genocide and #apartheid," said Craig Mokhiber, the former director of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.

Analysis

Will Britain hold its armed forces accountable for alleged war crimes in the Middle East?

In-depth: Britain's secretive special forces have operated across 19 countries, including the Middle East, but there's been a lack of government accountability.




Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

The New Arab.
13 March, 2024

Last week, five British special forces soldiers were arrested for alleged war crimes during their deployment in Syria two years ago.

They stand accused of using excessive force in the killing of a suspected militant, found with a suicide vest nearby, although the suspect was reportedly not wearing it when killed. The five soldiers deny these charges, saying they believed he posed a genuine threat.

The soldiers will be investigated by the Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU), which focuses on allegations of criminal activity by British armed forces.

In the past, Britain’s record of investigating alleged war crimes committed by its forces has been woeful, with ministers and senior military officials accused of covering up extrajudicial killings and other crimes, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"In both Iraq and Afghanistan, there's been a glaring shortfall in how the UK authorities held members of the military to account over horrific alleged misconduct, and this must not be repeated with Syria"

Only one soldier has ever been prosecuted over an unlawful killing in Iraq, despite increasing indications of war crimes. That record has triggered mounting calls for independent judicial oversight to bring justice for the victims.


“In both Iraq and Afghanistan, there’s been a glaring shortfall in how the UK authorities held members of the military to account over horrific alleged misconduct, and this must not be repeated with Syria,” Kristyan Benedict, Crisis Response Manager for Amnesty International UK, told The New Arab.

A damning indictment

The arrests follow a public inquiry last year over allegations of special forces committing war crimes in Afghanistan. A series of damaging media reports and a legal challenge lodged by several Afghan families, who say dozens of their relatives were unlawfully killed in raids between 2010 and 2013, prompted that investigation.

Since the Afghanistan tribunal commenced, with the Ministry of Defence, or MoD, naming special forces for the first time, more allegations have surfaced.

In 2011, Gen. Gwyn Jenkins, who is now the second most senior officer in the British armed forces, received warnings that Special Air Service, or SAS, soldiers may have executed handcuffed detainees in Afghanistan, thus committing a war crime.

RELATED

Seeking justice for British army war crimes in Afghanistan

In-depth

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

While legally obliged under British law to report any evidence suggesting a war crime to the military police, Jenkins instead opted to “lock up” this disturbing evidence within a classified dossier, according to the BBC Panorama investigation, effectively silencing these allegations.

It also emerged that the special forces blocked applications from eight Afghan commandos who had fought alongside British troops to relocate to the UK. Some Afghan forces had witnessed alleged war crimes, triggering fears that these commandos may provide evidence in the public inquiry, according to the BBC.

As King’s College London researcher Elizabeth Brown wrote, the inquiry suggested a failure to investigate deaths promptly and attempts to cover up the incidents, with patterns indicating extrajudicial killings had occurred.

The investigation also includes reports that weapons were planted alongside victims who were unarmed civilians, while soldiers had turned off their cameras before raids.

According to Brown, if only some of the allegations presented were true, “they would represent a damning indictment of Britain’s Special Forces, and of the wider British armed forces’ ability to self-police”.

Britain's record of investigating alleged war crimes has been woeful, with ministers and senior military officials accused of covering up extrajudicial killings and other crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Operating in the shadows

Britain’s military forays into Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya are well known. Yet traditionally, the UK has refused to comment on special forces’ activities, leaving much of the public in the dark about their operations.


These elite teams operate in the shadows of Britain’s geopolitical aims, with a degree of operational autonomy compared to other branches of the army. The MoD has also traditionally upheld a policy of not commenting on SAS activities.

When they do attract attention, it’s often when they’re involved in controversy or when operations go wrong.

According to Iain Overton, Executive Director at Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), the use of special forces represents an attempt to “be everything, everywhere, all at once,” underpinning London’s ambition “to appear to be a power worth its seat at the UN Security Council,” despite having relatively limited resources.

"Given the SAS has been operational in at least 19 countries in the last decade, this is clearly an unacceptable lack of accountability and oversight, a failure that is now being seen in arrests and inquiries"

“It’s a post-colonial legacy that is, at best, an overstretch and one that appears invariably to lead to ill-defined policy goals. At times, it seems to be more about bombast than effectiveness,” he told The New Arab.

The recent Syria arrests have spotlighted special forces’ role in that country. During Syria’s war, not only did special forces join the fray to back up British airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS), but they also previously assisted anti-Assad rebels in 2012 – even before the British parliament voted against putting British troops on the ground against Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in 2013, to deter the use of chemical weapons.

The fixation on operational secrecy was so intense that when SAS sniper Matt Tonroe was killed in Syria in 2018 due to an accidental grenade detonation from a US ally, his official designation was stated as a member of the Parachute Regiment.

RELATED

Britain's complex colonial legacy in Yemen

In-depth

A Yemeni journalist

Their actions didn’t end there. In Yemen, special forces had advised Saudi-led coalition operations against the Houthis, while later dropping humanitarian aid for impoverished civilians.

Stepping up their actions, around 40 SAS forces were deployed in August 2021, to hunt down Houthi rebels following a reported drone attack by the faction on the Israeli-operated “Mercer Street” oil tanker.

As Yemen once again comes into focus, following UK-US airstrikes on Houthi targets as they step up attacks on Red Sea shipping, the use of special forces was tabled for possible missions such as disabling the engines of Houthi boats.

Traditionally, the UK has refused to comment on special forces' activities, leaving much of the public in the dark about their operations. [Getty]

Lack of transparency

While the use of special forces to assist the Saudi-led coalition raised further concerns that the UK was “taking sides” in the war, they also triggered criticisms in parliament that British troops may have fought alongside child soldiers recruited by the Coalition, many as young as thirteen, highlighting the lack of parliamentary oversight.

And during the 2011 revolution in Libya, not only did special forces assist in hunting down Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed by Libyan rebels, they remained in the country until 2019 to support countering IS which had emerged post-revolution, while 20 troopers were deployed to Tunisia to preventing illegal crossings from IS in Libya.

After special forces fired a missile which blew up an IS-owned truck packed with explosives, then-chairman of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee Crispin Blunt called for “proper accounting” and “clarity” over what the special forces were doing in Libya, despite stressing the need to support Libya’s post-revolution government.

RELATED

Why UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia are back in the spotlight

In-depth

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

Also operating in Ukraine, Sudan and Somalia, SAS forces were also recently on ‘standby’ in Cyprus to assist Israel’s assault on Gaza, with the stated aim of rescuing British national hostages taken by Hamas. Although the MoD declined to give any details on possible SAS operations in that context.

With aims to punch above its weight in terms of resources, the use of special forces to project power on a budget has inevitably led to blowback.

“The government still refuses to speak about Special Forces' actions in parliament and there is no oversight by any select committee,” said Iain Overton.

“Given the SAS has been operational in at least 19 countries in the last decade, this is clearly an unacceptable lack of accountability and oversight, a failure that is now being seen in arrests and inquiries,” he added.

"The UK needs to demonstrate that it can hold members of its own forces accountable, especially for crimes committed overseas"
The need for accountability

Despite efforts to project a positive and pro-rule-of-law image of its foreign policy, a primary concern remains the pervasive political will to avoid holding its armed forces accountable.

This pattern is historical. A notorious instance is the 1919 Amritsar Massacre in British-ruled India. In that dark episode, Colonel Reginald Dyer, who ordered his troops to open fire on a peaceful Indian gathering, killing and injuring thousands of men, women, and children within ten minutes, escaped prosecution and was merely dismissed from his position.

Even after the dissolution of Britain as a colonial power, that trend persisted as Britain followed the United States into various wars, including Iraq.

An International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation concluded in 2020 that war crimes were committed in Iraq, as dozens of Iraqis reported torture, assault, deliberate hydration and starvation, and religious and sexual degradation. However, the court didn’t take any action, nor did Britain.

On the contrary, the government pursued its Overseas Operations Act following the investigation, which in its final form prevents the prosecution of soldiers if they took place over five years ago, while limiting the time to bring a claim for personal injury or death to six years. That bill would have made prosecutions virtually impossible.

Yet advocacy from rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Freedom from Torture, as well as opposition in the House of Lords, ensured the original bill was watered down, ensuring that time limits would not apply to war crimes, torture, and genocide.

However, legal experts and rights groups still feel there is room for improvement.

“The justice system has a lamentable track record of applying the principle of command responsibility,” Clive Baldwin, Senior Legal Advisor at Human Rights Watch, told The New Arab. “The UK needs to demonstrate that it can hold members of its own forces accountable, especially for crimes committed overseas,” he added.

"Military investigations need to be completely independent and outside of the chain of command, as well as beyond governmental influence. Preventing criminal investigations is also a crime under human rights law,” Baldwin said.

“Independent judicial oversight is necessary to ensure justice is delivered for alleged victims, whether in Iraq, Afghanistan or Syria.”

Legal advocacy and media pressure have driven a shift towards transparency. It will be prudent to monitor whether recent investigations, including those concerning Syria and Afghanistan, will ensure accountability is upheld.

“The recent scandals should be a wakeup call for future governments to ensure that the SAS are not only held to account but reined in and reformed.”

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey is a journalist and researcher who focuses on conflict, geopolitics, and humanitarian issues in the Middle East and North Africa.

 

In Iraq, Kurds digitise books to save threatened culture

The Kurdish language was mostly marginalised until the Kurds’ autonomous region in the north won greater freedom after Saddam’s defeat in the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

Wednesday 13/03/2024

A member of the Kurdistan Centre for Arts and Culture inspects an old book before making a digital copy, in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk, February 13, 2024. (AFP)

DOHUK, Iraq-

Huddled in the back of a van, Rebin Pishtiwan carefully scans one yellowed page after another, as part of his mission to digitise historic Kurdish books at risk of disappearing.

Seen as the world’s largest stateless people, the Kurds are an ethnic group of between 25 and 35 million mostly spread across modern day Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.

In Iraq, the Kurds are a sizeable minority who have been persecuted, with thousands killed under the rule of late dictator Saddam Hussein and many of their historic documents have been lost or destroyed.

“Preserving the culture and history of Kurdistan is a sacred job,” said Pishtiwan, perusing volumes and manuscripts from Dohuk city’s public library in Iraq’s northern autonomous Kurdistan region.

“We aim to digitise old books that are rare and vulnerable, so they don’t vanish,” the 23-year-old added, a torn memoir of a Kurdish teacher published in 1960 in hand.

In Iraq, the Kurdish language was mostly marginalised until the Kurds’ autonomous region in the north won greater freedom after Saddam Hussein’s defeat in the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

After the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled the Iraqi leader, remaining documents were scattered among libraries and universities or held in private collections.

Once a week, Pishtiwan and his two colleagues journey in their small white van from the regional capital Erbil to other Kurdish towns and cities to find “rare and old” books.

They seek texts that offer insights into Kurdish life, spanning centuries and dialects.

‘Property of all Kurds’

In Dohuk’s library, the archiving team scours the wooden bookshelves for hidden gems.

With the help of the library’s manager, they carefully gather an assortment of more than 35 books of poetry, politics, language and history, written in several Kurdish dialects and some in Arabic.

Pishtiwan holds up a book of old Kurdish folk stories named after 16th-century Kurdish princess Xanzad, before gently flipping through the fragile pages of another religious volume, tracing the calligraphy with his fingers.

Back in the van, equipped with two devices connected to a screen, the small team starts the hours-long scanning process before returning the books to the library.

In the absence of an online archive, the Kurdistan Centre for Arts and Culture, a non-profit founded by the nephew of regional president Nechirvan Barzani, launched the digitisation project in July.

They hope to make the texts available to the public for free on the KCAC’s new website in April.

More than 950 items have been archived so far, including a collection of manuscripts from the Kurdish Baban principality in today’s Sulaimaniyah region that dates back to the 1800s.

“The aim is to provide primary sources for Kurdish readers and researchers,” KCAC executive director Mohammed Fatih said.

“This archive will be the property of all Kurds to use and to help advance our understanding of ourselves.”

A member of the Kurdistan Centre for Arts and Culture retrieves old books from the shelves in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk, February 13, 2024. (AFP)

Out of print

Dohuk library manager Masoud Khalid gave the KCAC team access to the manuscripts and documents gathering dust on its shelves, but the team was unable to secure permission from the owners of some of the documents to digitise them immediately.

“We have books that were printed a long time ago. Their owners or writers passed away and publishing houses will not reprint them,” Khalid said.

Digitising the collection means that “if we want to open an electronic library, our books will be ready”, the 55-year-old added.

Hana Kaki Hirane, imam at a mosque in the town of Hiran, unveiled a treasure to the KCAC team, several generations-old manuscripts from a religious school established in the 1700s.

Since its founding, the school has collected manuscripts but many were destroyed during the first war pitting the Kurds against the Iraqi state between 1961 and 1970, said Hirane.

“Only 20 manuscripts remain today,” including centuries-old poems, said the imam.

He is now waiting for the KCAC website launch in April to refer people to view the manuscripts.

“It is time to take them out and make them available for everyone.”

Iraq bans PKK after high-level security talks with Turkey

Turkish foreign and defence ministers Hakan Fidan and Yasar Guler as well as intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin held counterterrorism talks with their counterparts in Baghdad.

Friday 15/03/2024

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) receives his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Baghdad, March 14, 2024. (AFP)

BAGHDAD –

Iraq’s National Security Council has banned the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging an armed campaign against the Turkish forces for Kurdish self-rule inside Turkey.

The decision was disclosed on Thursday in joint Iraqi-Turkish statement issued after a high-level security meeting in Baghdad.

“Turkey welcomes the Iraqi National Security Council’s decision to designate the PKK as a banned organisation in Iraq,” said the statement shared on both the Turkish and Iraqi foreign ministries’ websites.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the insurgency.

The conflict was long fought mainly in rural areas of southeastern Turkey but is now more focused on the mountains of northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, where PKK militants are based.

Turkish foreign and defence ministers Hakan Fidan and Yasar Guler as well as intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin on Thursday held counterterrorism talks with their counterparts in Baghdad.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Mohammed Hussein, Defence Minister Thabet al-Abbasi and other high-level Iraqi officials along with Kurdistan Regional Government’s Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed joined the talks, according to the statement.

Fidan’s chief adviser Nuh Yilmaz hailed the move as a “turning point.”

Turkey and Iraq “decided for the first time to jointly fight against PKK terrorism,” he wrote on X. “A decision that will mark a turning point! We will see the results gradually!”

The parties also agreed to set up joint committees to “work exclusively in the fields of counterterrorism, trade, agriculture, energy, water, health and transportation,” the statement said.

Speaking earlier this week, Guler said his country offered to establish “a joint operation centre” to strengthen the two countries’ coordination in Turkey’s fight against the PKK but they had failed to achieve progress on the matter.

Ankara has long been pressing Baghdad to designate the armed group a terrorist organisation. But the central Iraqi government has deemed Turkey’s operations against the group and its military outposts in the Iraqi territory as a violation of its sovereignty.

“The parties stressed the importance of Iraq’s political unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” Thursday’s statement said. “They have also stressed that the PKK constitutes a security threat for both Turkey and Iraq.”

Ankara has ramped up cross-border operations against the PKK which is based in northern Iraq’s mountainous regions, and warned of new incursion to the region.

A Turkish defence ministry official said that officials from the Turkish army held talks with Iraqi counterparts over the weekend to discuss “measures to increase security of the civilians” in the region where Turkey is conducting operations.

Turkey has, since 2019, conducted a series of cross-border operations in northern Iraq against the PKK, dubbed “Claw.”

Committee established to analyse Euphrates water in North-East Syria after Erzincan mine disaster

Following the allegations that poisonous water mixed with the Euphrates water after the soil collapse in Erzincan, the Euphrates Canton Executive Council established a committee to analyse the water.


ANF
KOBANÊ
Wednesday, 6 March 2024,

On February 13, the Çöpler gold mine in the İliç district in the province of Erzincan was the scene of a catastrophe. A huge slope of rubble contaminated with cyanide slid down and buried several workers. At least nine workers still remain trapped under the earth. A toxic dust cloud rose up, threatening the surrounding settlements. The disaster is expected to affect the Euphrates basin and the Tigris and all of Mesopotamia.

Following the disaster, images of cyanide water mixing into the Euphrates River were circulated on social media. According to reports, the poisonous water mixed with the river water and spread over a long area with the current due to the AKP government's failure to take precautions.

In the face of the allegations, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria took action to analyse the water flowing into the Syrian part of the Euphrates River. Since the Euphrates River water is an important source of drinking and agricultural irrigation water in the region, concerns have increased.

The Euphrates Canton Executive Council established a committee to analyse the water.

A total of 8 members, 2 from the Environment Committee, 2 from the Local Administrations Committee, 2 from the Health Committee and 2 from the Executive Committee, were elected to the committee established under the name of Euphrates Canton Emergency Situations Committee.

Following the appointment of the Committee, work was initiated. According to initial analyses, no toxic substances were found in the river water.

The members of the committee stated that there is a possibility that the poisonous substances will be transferred to Northern and Eastern Syria in the coming days and that they will carry out analyses continuously and inform the public about the issue.


Kahraman: Iliç mine disaster will have serious consequences for at least a century

Tuğba Kahraman from Polen Ekoloji, said that the ecocide in Iliç covers a very large area, and added that “cyanide and heavy chemicals will mix with the Euphrates as the result of a disaster that will have consequences for at least a century."


ANF
NEWS DESK
Sunday, 25 February 2024, 

Tuğba Kahraman from Polen Ekoloji answered ANF's questions about the before and after of the disaster in the Iliç mine. Nine workers who were trapped under the rubble of the Çöpler Gold Mine in Iliç in the province of Erzincan could not be reached, and the search efforts stopped.

Various expert reports have been published regarding the mining accident in Iliç. From the first day, it was claimed that waste from Iliç did not reach the river and precautions were taken. First of all, if we put all these explanations aside, is it possible to calculate the estimated destruction toll of the mining disaster?

It is very difficult to predict the toll of an ecocide of this magnitude. The destruction covers a very large area. There is a destruction that will affect the Euphrates basin and the Tigris and all of Mesopotamia. Cyanide and heavy chemicals will mix with the Euphrates. The consequences of the disaster will last at least 100 years... Considering that two million cubic meters of this toxic soil were scattered here and there, mixing with the groundwater through rainfall, and that the chemical mass weighed approximately 27 million tons, it is very difficult to imagine the size and destruction of the massacre. People, animals, soil, our waters will die. Unfortunately, the responsible companies and their collaborators will continue their way with ostensible fines and trials.

The air analysis carried out by the Ankara Branch of the Chamber of City Planners using photographs and satellite images revealed that it is almost impossible for the chemicals not to mix with the waters of the Euphrates River. It was also stated that Keban, Karakaya and Atatürk Dam were at risk. What danger does this pose?

As environmental engineers and other experts in the field point out, cyanide and other chemicals remain suspended in the air when mixed with the air through evaporation. They can be directly in contact with living creatures in that environment through inhalation, and if inhaled, they will cause public health and environmental health problems. If the chemicals affect the soil, animals and people will be affected through the plants growing there. This will affect the entire endemic structure, the health of living beings and human health through the food chain. COPD and cancer-like diseases will gradually emerge in subsequent generations. In the case of leakage into groundwater and water leakage, the width of the basin is very bad in terms of the scale of the disaster.

It is clear that the responsibility lies primarily with the Ministry of Environment, as permission was given to expand capacity despite the previous infiltration. Now new mining areas are being opened. What can we expect?

One of Turkey's largest gold mines is not going to give up so easily on the benefits it gets from favourable agreements with the government. The number of EIA positive reports and capacity expansion permits for all mines, not just Iliç, is increasing day by day. The ostensible closure of the mine in the previous leak in Iliç and the efforts to minimize the seriousness of the incident by saying that this disaster was in reality just a landslide, are the result of the agreement of the capital and the state. This result paves the way for other disasters.

To what do you attribute the ability of international monopolies to carry out, in countries like Turkey, many practices that are otherwise normally prohibited?

Turkey has become the dumping ground of the EU. The ease with which cyanide and asbestos can be used is an indication of how capital's greed for profit is superior to the right to life of humans and all living things, and how deep Turkey's relationship with international capital actually is. With the practice of ecological struggle that has developed in the last few years, there is more awareness that the problem stems from capitalism. The massacre can be stopped by developing these practices and increasing the struggle.


Miners buried in cyanide-laced landslide at gold mine in Erzincan

Several mine workers were buried in a landslide at a gold mine in the province of Erzincan. The DEM party blames the disaster on the negligence of the AKP/MHP government and the unscrupulousness of the mining companies.


ANF
ERZİNCAN
Wednesday, 14 February 2024,

A serious landslide occurred at the Çöpler gold mine in the İliç district in the province of Erzincan on Tuesday. A huge slope of rubble contaminated with cyanide slid down and buried several workers. According to the Ministry of the Interior, nine of the 667 workers in the mine are unaccounted for, and search efforts continue. It remains unclear whether this figure is correct and whether the 667 officially employed people are all those who were at the site of the disaster at the time. The governor's statement that the landslide was caused by the dumping of overburden points to negligence as the cause of the accident. According to the Ministry of Justice, four public prosecutors have begun investigations into the matter.

Governor conceals the toxicity of the earth

While the governor of the province claimed that it was soil under which the workers were buried, environmental initiatives are warning of the highly toxic earth. In view of the disaster, the İliç Environmental Platform stated: "We have said that the disasters in İliç will not end. The governor of Erzincan says it's a landslide, no, it's the cyanide-contaminated overburden, millions of tonnes of toxic soil!"

The spoil is highly toxic, so, according to mining engineers, the rescue workers would have to wear protective clothing to avoid being poisoned. Images from the scene show that this, however, is not the case. Apparently, fine cyanide dust was released during the landslide and formed a toxic cloud that spread over the surrounding area. Cyanide is still used in many places as a means of extracting gold from the ground by amalgamation. This causes massive environmental problems.

Departures to Erzincan banned, 4 detained

In the meantime, Tunceli Governorate "banned" the departure of the provincial organisation of Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) and Dersim Environment Association members from Dersim due to disaster in Erzincan. 4 members of the Human Rights Association (IHD) who wanted to go to Erzincan were detained.

DEM Party Dersim Provincial Co-Chair Özcan Gürtaş stated that they were stopped at the exit of the province and said: "They justified the decision of Erzincan Governorate to ban entry and exit to the city. They stated that no one would be allowed to enter the scene of the incident in İliç. They cited the Tunceli and Erzincan Governorate decisions on leaving Dersim and entering Erzincan. They said they would intervene if we insisted on going."

DEM party holds the government partly responsible

"The government and its capitalists are responsible for every loss of life in İliç," said the DEM Party Commission for Ecology and Agriculture. "This is a massacre with a number of people responsible! The Canadian company Anagold as the operator of the mine, Çalık Holding as one of the shareholders of the mine and the AKP government and its bureaucrats, who turned a blind eye to this blatant disaster, are successively and equally responsible for this catastrophe. As a result of the landslide, carcinogenic cyanide was released into the air, water and soil. The effect of cyanide, which is poisoning the water resources, the entire soil and the atmosphere in the region, will continue for a very long time. The AKP government, which has always been at the service of capital and corporations, has not even taken into account that the active Bingöl-Yedisu fault line is located in the region where the Çöpler complex mine is operating. A favourable Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was carried out for this mining project in 2008. In addition, the capacity was increased twice with new EIA reports in 2014 and 2021. In 2019, the mine was converted from cyanide production to production with 39 types of chemicals plus sulphuric acid plus cyanide. In August 2023, Anagold received approval to expand the open pit within the mine site by a further 5.83 hectares, with the decision being 'EIA not required'."

DEM Party: "Close the mine - hold those responsible to account"

Calling for the mine to be closed, DEM Party stated: "The mining licence for this mine, which continues to pose a threat to nature and the people in the region, must be revoked immediately and the mine closed. Urgent steps must be taken to remove the heavy metals and toxic chemicals that have been released into the air, water and soil as quickly as possible. Effective measures must be taken to achieve this. Immediate action must be taken to protect local residents, neighbouring communities and the environment affected by the cyanide cloud created by the soil spill. This incident is a massacre! As the DEM party, we will continue to pursue the issue until all those responsible for this massacre are held accountable."

Previous toxic disaster caused by gold company

The US-Canadian gold company Anagold, which operates the mine together with Çalık Holding, made the headlines back in 2022 when up to 20 tonnes of cyanide and large quantities of sulphuric acid flowed into the Euphrates. The company denied this and claimed it was only eight kilograms. Although this was a huge ecological disaster, the company's licence was not revoked. Instead, it was sentenced to a small fine of 16.4 million lira (far less than one million euros).

A gold company with AKP involvement

Instead, the company made record savings through the state. As part of a tax amnesty on 12 March 2023, the Group was waived taxes, interest and penalties amounting to USD 7.2 million. Instead, the company only had to make a cash payment of USD 1.4 million instead of USD 8.6 million. A paltry sum in view of the USD 1.5 billion in income from the mine between 2020 and 2023, including USD 334.6 million in net profit. This support for an extremely dangerous mine cannot be explained by neoliberal policies alone. If we take a closer look at the mine's co-operator, Çalık Holding, the background becomes clearer.

Çalık Holding is responsible for around 20 per cent of the mine and is one of the fastest growing companies under the AKP government. Thanks to privatisations, TOKİ (Housing Development Administration) tenders, agreements and favourable credit conditions, the holding company has grown rapidly in many sectors from energy to telecommunications, finance to textiles, construction to media. According to its annual reports, the holding company increased its equity approximately ninefold from 2012 to 2020, from 1 billion 600 million liras to 13 billion 900 million liras. Ahmet Çalık, the owner of the holding company, is listed in the 2021 Forbes list with a fortune of 1.5 billion dollars. In the Forbes list of the "100 richest Turks" of 2020, Çalık ranks 15th. At the same time, Çalık Holding has smuggled millions past the tax authorities in offshore companies. The holding company is known for its closeness to the AKP.

Close ties between the Erdogan family and Çalık Holding

In 2010, the Çalık Group company DAPRAŞ received a subsidy certificate for an investment totalling 14.8 billion liras for a refinery project in Ceyhan. Erdoğan's son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, was appointed General Manager of Çalık Holding in 2007.

The holding company has won numerous tenders in the telecommunications, construction, energy and mining sectors and was also the winner of the December 2007 tender of the seized media group Sabah-ATV. All participants withdrew from the tender and the only bid came from the holding company, whose general director at the time was Berat Albayrak. During its entry into the media sector, the group received a loan of 750 million dollars from public banks. The sale of Sabah-ATV to Çalık Group was a turning point in the media sector. After that, the process of transferring the majority of mainstream media to government-affiliated companies began. On 20 December 2013, Çalık Holding transferred its subsidiary Turkuvaz Medya to the Kalyon Group and ended its activities in the media sector.

A marriage of state and capital

The connection to the AKP was particularly evident at the wedding of the son of Ahmet Çalık, the chairman of Çalık Holding. Mehmet Tevfik Göksu, Mayor of Esenler, performed the wedding ceremony. The former Prime Minister of Turkey, Binali Yıldırım (AKP) was the best man. Former intelligence chief and current Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and many other high-ranking AKP government officials attended the wedding. The bride was Öznur Çalık, who has been a member of parliament for the AKP for four terms.

TAJÊ: Against femicide, be the voice of self-defense

The Freedom's Movement of Êzidî Women launched a new international campaign against femicide.


WOMEN CAMPAIGN AGAINST FEMICIDES
ANF
NEWS DESK
Wednesday, 13 March 2024

The Yazidi women's liberation movement TAJÊ has launched an international campaign against femicide and for the self-defense of women worldwide.

This campaign, which kicked off on 8 March, aims to bring together voices of women and women's organizations until August 3, the tenth anniversary of the genocide and femicide in Shengal.

TAJÊ invites everyone to participate using a variety of methods, such as photos, videos, texts, songs, poems, rallies and demonstrations.

The manifesto for the campaign names five central demands of the Yazidi women's movement. TAJÊ demands that femicide be recognized as a war crime and that all perpetrators and supporters be convicted. Women's right to organized self-defense must find social and institutional acceptance. The massacre committed by ISIS in Shengal ten years ago must be officially classified as genocide at all levels and prosecuted accordingly. TAJÊ also calls for the recognition of the self-administration and security forces established in Shengal after 2014 as the legitimate representation and defense of the community. The cessation of all attacks on Yazidi society, especially the air raids by the Turkish state, is also called for as necessary for survival.

The manifesto reads as follows:

"To the women of the world,

As TAJÊ (Tevgera Azadiya Jinên Êzidî), the Freedom's Movement of Êzidî Women in Şengal, we send our warmest greetings and respect to all the fighting and resisting women in the world. To all those women standing up against the violence against our bodies and souls. To all those women organizing to make a better life possible. To all those women defending their lives, lands and cultures.

The times we live in are marked by brutal wars and inhuman violence. As women, we are beaten, raped, sold, killed and burned. Our lands are occupied and nature destroyed. However, with every new attack, our global resistance and struggle against war, violence and femicide is growing. This gives us hope and strength. Our pain and our resistance is one.

For us as Êzidî women, the year 2024 is a special year. It marks the 10th anniversary of the genocide and femicide committed by the so-called Islamic State (Daesh) in Şengal. On August 3rd, 2014, tens of thousands of Êzidî were murdered, abducted and taken as slaves. Children were forcibly recruited as child soldiers. On top of that, hundreds of thousands of inhabitants of Şengal were expelled from their homeland. Our holy places were blown up and tens of buildings were detonated. However, despite all the difficulties and dangers, hundreds of families remained on the soil of Şengal, took up weapons and resisted against Daesh. They participated in the offensive to liberate Şengal and created their own protection forces, called Yekîneyên Berxwedana Şengalê (YBŞ; Şengal Resistance Units) and Yekîniyên Jinên Şengalê (YJŞ; Şengal Women's Resistance Units).

In all massacres and genocides, women are the ones suffering most. The assimilation and killing of women are frequently adopted as a means to wipe out the identity, culture and belief of a society. When, in 2014, women fell into the hands of Daesh, they were raped, sold as slaves and/or forced into marriage with jihadist fighters. Until today, 2.941 persons, most of them women and children, still remain in the hands of Daesh. The genocidal and femicidal attacks against Şengal are a cruel wound in all our hearts. We assess these attacks as the brutal face of patriarchal violence and therefore as attacks against all women.

We do not accept that, so far, no state and institution has judged Daesh and its accomplices, such as the Turkish State or KDP, for the systematic attacks carried out against the people of Şengal. On August 3rd, 2014, Şengal’s security was under the responsibility of the KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) and its ruling party, KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party). However, when Daesh attacked the first villages, 12,000 PDK-peshmerga left Şengal without shooting a single bullet and delivered our people to Daesh. We demand that the responsibility of all forces will be proved and convicted.

The genocide and femicide of August 3rd, 2014 caused lots of pain, trauma and deep losses within our community. However, today this pain is the soil for our resistance. Many fighters have lost their lives for the sake of defending our land and people. We call them Şehîds. They are our light and hope.

After 2014, the people in Şengal organized in all fields of life based on the thoughts of Abdullah Öcalan. As Êzidî women we built the Freedom's Movement of Êzidî Women in Şengal called TAJÊ with the philosophy of JIN JIYAN AZADÎ. With proudness we can say that the mothers of Şengal are at the forefront of our resistance. We are organized in women's councils and work in the fields of culture, health, economy, press and diplomacy.

Our history is a history of struggle and resistance but also a history of 74 genocides. It taught us that we cannot trust in the protection of other forces. After the genocide of August 3rd, 2014, we therefore built our own protection forces, YBŞ, YJŞ and Asayîş Êzidxan (a security structure to meet the daily security needs of the population). YJŞ is a woman’s-only military force and our greatest honor. Today, as Êzidî women, we know how to self-defend. This is our revenge against all the pain we suffered.

However, also ten years after the genocide and femicide, the attacks against our people continue. The Turkish state, with the support of the KDP, is continuously committing air strikes against members of our military forces as well as against civilians. Dozens of our brothers and sisters have been killed in these airstrikes since 2017. Furthermore, the Iraqi state as well as the KDP are trying to abolish our self-organization and self-administration in Şengal through diplomatic pressure and their agreement of October 9th, 2020.

We claim that all suppressed people, societies and beliefs have the right to defend themselves against the danger of genocide and femicide. We consider the self-defense of the people and women of Şengal – that in other ways would be eliminated – as the only legitimate one.

As the freedom movement of Êzidî women, TAJÊ, and the Şengal Women's Resistance Units, YJŞ, we carry out an active struggle against nationalism, religious fundamentalism and especially against sexism, so that in the future no women, people or community of belief will ever again have to face genocides and femicides. We believe that in the countries we live in, we will only reach democracy, freedom and peace if we as women lead the way on the basis of self-determination and free will.

The best response against the atrocities carried out against the Êzidî women is the solidarity and worldwide organization of women.

We therefore declare that the year 2024 will be marked by raising our voices against femicide and for self-defense.

We demand:

1. That femicide will be recognized as a war crime and that all perpetrators are convicted of committing or supporting the systematic killing of women.

2. That the right of women to organize for the defense of their lives, lands and culture will be accepted by all people and institutions.

3. That the genocide of August 3rd, 2014 in Şengal will be offcially recognized as a genocide. This also indicates, that the responsibility of all perpetrators and supporters, including ISIS, KDP, Turkey and Iraq will be proved and convicted.

4. That our self-administration in Şengal as well as our protection forces YBŞ, YJŞ and Asayîş Êzidxan will be accepted as the legitimate representation and protection of our people.

5. That all attacks against our people in Şengal, especially the airstrikes committed by the Turkish state, stop.

From March 8th, International Women’s Day, until August 3rd ,the tenth anniversary of the genocide in Şengal, we will therefore collect the voices, signatures and participation of various women and women’s organization to call on all women across the globe:

Let us unite our voices in the spirit of JIN JIYAN AZADÎ. Let us raise them against femicide and for self-defense.

Together we will demand accountability for the massacres of women in Şengal and every other place on earth."

Croatia becomes third EU country to pass femicide law

In Croatia, with a population of 3.8 million, 13 women were murdered in 2022, 12 of them by a close relative, and 9 in 2023.


FEMICIDE
ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 14 March 2024

Croatia became the third country in the European Union to give femicide a separate legal status.

"With these amendments, we are protecting the rights, safety and dignity of women and sending the message that violence against women is unacceptable," Croatia's conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in late February when presenting the proposed law.

The text adopted by parliament stipulates that sentences could range from 10 to 40 years in prison, the maximum penalty under Croatian law.

The amendments to the penal code were adopted with 77 MPs voting in favor and 60 against, the official Hina news agency reported.

According to local NGOs, Croatia has the third highest per capita femicide rate in the EU.

According to EU data, 2,300 women were murdered by their husbands or family members in Europe in 2022.

In Croatia, with a population of 3.8 million, 13 women were murdered in 2022, 12 of them by a close relative, and 9 in 2023.

The government decided to propose this law after the murder of 20-year-old law student Mihaela Berak in September by a police officer with whom she had a brief affair.

Mihaela Berak's death sparked a heated debate about the failures of a system designed to protect victims and the law itself. Demonstrations were organized across the country to demand justice for Mihaela and to call for femicide to have a legal cover.

Prior to Croatia, Cyprus and Malta also gave femicide a separate legal status.

Turkey's Kurdish policy and the future of the KDP

KDP officials who make statements with cheap political calculations by saying that the PKK is the cause of the Turkish state's attacks on Southern Kurdistan should once again think about what their own fate will be in the future.


KDP-AKP COLLABORATION
RAUF KARAKOÇAN
ANF
Monday, 11 March 2024

The PKK's freedom struggle against the Turkish state did not end with the captivity of Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan), but its intensity was reduced militarily. It has been 25 years since Leader Apo's captivity. The International Conspiracy led to developments in many areas. While the paradigmatic change brought about a reorganization due to the need for a change-transformation in the organization, on the other hand, the so-called 'solution process' came up. As a result of the ceasefires and aborted processes that were intended to contribute to the process and a democratic solution to the problem, the organization was forced to fight the most relentless war in its 50-year history of the struggle.

Leader Apo's captivity also paved the way for the collaborator leadership in Bashûr (Southern Kurdistan). The KDP is not an organization that came to power by its own means. Regarding the formation of the federal region in Bashûr, Erdoğan has repeatedly stated that it is a "faulty formation".

The Kurdish policy of the fascist AKP-MHP government in Turkey has been entirely oriented towards the extermination of the Kurds and the elimination of their gains. The problem has long gone beyond the liquidation of the PKK. The fascist-occupying Turkish Republic is intensifying its invasion attacks against the Autonomous dministration of North and East Syria, citing the PKK issue as an excuse. It carries out assassinations with UCAVs. It creates civil unrest and applies unimaginable special warfare methods to disperse the society. It continues with similar attacks in Shengal and Maxmur.

Unfortunately, this Kurdish hostility of the Turkish state is not sufficiently comprehended by the Federal Regional Government of Southern Kurdistan. The Turkish state's occupation of Bashûr is not an ordinary temporary occupation. The ground beneath the regional administration has shifted, but the failure to realize this is a blunder, if it is not intentional. KDP officials who make statements with cheap political calculations by saying that the reason for the Turkish state's attacks on Southern Kurdistan is the 'PKK' should once again think about what their own fate will be in the future. If only the KDP officials, who are dizzy with the current power opportunities in Bashûr, who reign in pleasure and enjoyment, could correctly read the political developments that concern them in recent times, they would be ashamed of the aggressive rhetoric they use against the PKK.

The Kurdish policy of the Turkish state is the product of a concept with international dimensions. Whatever the requirements of the Middle East project are, they will place the Kurds on the basis of the requirements of this project. As a matter of fact, the future of the KDP is only a part of the big picture.

In order to analyze the issue a little more, listing some topics may help us to read the sad end that awaits the KDP.

The decisions of the Iraqi federal court concerning Southern Kurdistan and especially the KDP are very important. It is not a spontaneous situation that the KDP's political powers, economic situation, electoral gains and even the federative status of the region are almost unrecognizable.

It is not spontaneous for the court to make decisions that undermine the KDP’s political powers, its economic situation, electoral gains and even render the federative status of the region almost unrecognizable.

It is also quite meaningful that the US court decision concerning the Barzani family coincided with the decision of the Iraqi Federal Court, while some news reports accusing Masrour Barzani were circulating. Even the fact that the fascist government of Erdoğan, in which the Barzanis put a lot of trust, creates a ground for attacks by labeling the PKK, cannot save the Barzanis from a sad end.

Even the Barzanis' assets in Turkey are under threat. They have made themselves so dependent on Turkey that they are forced to act as spies, they have become weak-willed. The KDP's relations with Turkey are also noted by Arab countries. We think that they cannot be so politically blind that they do not know that being in a close embrace with a dictatorship that speaks in every direction will have a cost. Let us just emphasize that some Arab countries, Iran, Israel and sometimes even the US, do not approve of the relations between Turkey and the KDP.

Even in history, some Kurds who betrayed their people to curry favor with the Turkish state on a collaborative basis could not escape punishment. Now it is the turn of the KDP. The fate of the treasonous Kurds who were punished with the idea that "He who betrays his own people will betray me one day" has always been similar.

No matter how close the Barzanis get to Turkey, no matter how much they establish brotherhood and friendship with Erdoğan, no matter how hostile they are to the PKK, they should know that they will have difficulty finding a place for themselves in the political conjuncture of the future. They have fed on the collaborationist line as much as they could, but they have brought themselves to the brink of extinction. They must realize that their current power will not last.

For the KDP to draw conclusions on Dictator Erdoğan's Kurdish policy, we suggest that they examine Turkey's relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood. Erdoğan hosted the Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Turkey. He allocated them an office in Ankara. Just as he supported Hamas against Israel, he allowed them to open offices and political representation in Ankara. Fascist Erdoğan was one of the most ardent supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood coming to power in Egypt. He uttered unspeakable words against Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who overthrew Morsi's government. He symbolized the Rabia sign and used it for his interests in domestic and foreign politics. A lot of water has flowed beneath the bridge. 'Murderer' Sisi became 'Brother' Sisi. Just as he expelled Hamas' representative Aruzi in exchange for improving relations with Israel, he first used and then discarded the Muslim Brotherhood in exchange for improving relations with Egypt. The reward for his visit to Egypt was the approval of the execution of 8 members of the Brotherhood.

Fascist Erdoğan does not even tolerate the existence of the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) today. They are making threats to subjugate Bafil Talabani. Erdoğan, the fascist dictator, took the Barzanis under his sway, turned the KDP like a spinning top and made it a servant for his political interests. As if this was not enough, he is now trying to turn the PUK into a satellite political organization. They have become reckless enough to threaten it openly. In order to make the Kurds serve their own political interests, they immorally threaten, attack and, when necessary, slaughter them.

If Ankara's pro-extermination and pro-occupation Kurdish policy does not change, all the Kurds' vested rights, including the autonomous administration in Southern Kurdistan, are in danger. The political statuses in Bashûr and Rojava are also in danger. This is the purpose of Erdoğan's latest threat. He wants to annex the 30-40 kilometer borderline to his territory and take it under his political control. This includes Bashûr. Unfortunately, the KDP has become the biggest supporter of this danger.

With the idea that ‘it is never too late to mend’, we say that the collaborative line established and developed on the basis of PKK hostility will do them no good. History is full of examples of this.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s visit to the United States: Enhancing and Strengthening the Partnerships Between the Kurdistan Region and the U.S.

2024/02/29 

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani's visit to the United States represents a significant milestone in the advancement of partnerships between the Kurdistan Region and the U.S. Engaging in a series of high level discussions with the U.S. officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Following his meeting with Prime Minister Barzani, Secretary Blinken conveyed a crucial message, stating, "The U.S. remains supportive of a resilient Iraqi Kurdistan Region as a cornerstone of our 360-degree relationship with Iraq”. This message reinforces America's unwavering support for the stability and prosperity of the Kurdistan Region and underscores the deep-rooted historical ties.

The United States has maintained a strong relationship with the Kurdistan Region, dating back to the aftermath of the First Gulf War in the 1990s. The imposition of a no-fly zone by the U.S. and coalition partners provided protection to the Kurdish people in Iraq, enabling the establishment of the Kurdistan Regional Government in 1992. Since then, the U.S. has been a key ally of the KRG in its efforts towards political stability, economic development and in providing security and military support.

However, challenges persist in Iraq due to the Iraqi federal government's failure to comply with the constitution, ratified by all Iraqis in 2005. The federal government's disregard for the principles and provisions outlined in the constitution has led to political tensions, disputes, and governance challenges, particularly concerning issues over oil and gas revenue-sharing, budget allocations, and the governance of disputed territories. Disputes over oil and gas resources between Baghdad and Erbil have intensified due to the federal government's neglect of constitutional mandates on revenue sharing. Budgetary issues have also been a contentious point, with the federal government failing to meet its obligations under the constitution by allocating KRG’s share of the budget. The cutting and uncertainty surrounding budget allocations has affected and contributed to economic challenges and financial uncertainties in the Kurdistan region. Also, the non-compliance with Article 140 on the status of disputed territories has sustained instability and insecurity in areas of Kirkuk, Sinjar, and the Nineveh Plains. The recent decision by the Iraqi High Supreme Court's to remove minority seats, which includes representation for Christians and Turkmen, in the Kurdistan parliament has further exacerbated tensions between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region.

Prime Minister Barzani's visit to the United States demonstrates a commitment to address these challenges and forge a path toward greater cooperation and stability in Iraq. By engaging with US officials and reaffirming the importance of upholding constitutional rights, Kurdistan Region aims for a more inclusive, democratic, and prosperous future for all Iraqis.

The ties between the U.S. and the Kurdistan Region continue to serve as a foundation for building a strong partnership that addresses pressing issues of constitutional compliance and political governance in Iraq. Prime Minister Barzani has played a crucial role in addressing the challenges facing the Kurdistan Region through dialogue and commitment to upholding the principles of the constitution. His efforts to resolve disputes with the federal government have been characterized by a spirit of goodwill and dedication to find peaceful and constitutional solutions to all issues.

Prime Minister Barzani has also focused on strengthening the Kurdistan Region's democratic institutions and upholding the rule of law. The KRG’s 9th cabinet has implemented key reforms to promote transparency, accountability, and good governance, laying the foundations for a more inclusive and equitable society, and to build a stronger and more resilient Kurdistan Region that is responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people. Prime Minister Barzani has played a significant role in advancing the Kurdistan Region's foreign policy strategy, engaging with the world leaders to promote peace, stability, and cooperation. His recent participation in the World Government Summit (WGS) conference in Dubai highlighted the Kurdistan Region's commitment to foster international partnerships and engage in constructive dialogue on global challenges. By participating in key international forums, conferences and engaging with world leaders, Prime Minister Barzani has demonstrated the Kurdistan Region's willingness to contribute to regional and global efforts towards peace and prosperity.

Prime Minister Barzani's leadership and his commitment to dialogue, adherence to constitutional principles, and focus on democratic governance reflect a visionary and pragmatic approach to governance, has been instrumental in driving the Kurdistan region towards sustained stability, prosperity, and growth, and under his leadership the Kurdistan region is positioned to play a significant and influential role in shaping a more peaceful and prosperous future for Kurdistan, and the continued support and partnership between the U.S. and the Kurdistan Region serve as a critical foundation for advancing common goals, fostering stability in Kurdistan Region, Iraq and the wider region.