Which party won how many seats in South Kurdistan? ( NORTHERN IRAQ)

According to the results from 99 percent of the opened ballot boxes in the parliamentary elections held in the Kurdistan Region on 20 October, the number of seats of the KDP decreased, while the number of seats of the PUK and New Generation increased.


ANF
HEWLÊR
Monday, 21 October 2024, 

Voters in the Federal Kurdistan Region went to the polls on Sunday to elect 100 members of parliament. According to the Iraqi Independent High Election Commission, the turnout in the elections was 72 percent.

In the elections held in Hewlêr (Erbil), Sulaymaniyah, Duhok and Halabja, no party was able to reach the number to form a government on its own.

According to the results, KDP became the first party, followed by the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) and New Generation. The rise of New Generation is considered as a surprise.

According to the results from 99 percent of the opened ballot boxes, KDP won 40 seats, PUK 23 seats and New Generation 16 seats. In addition, Yekgirtû won 7 seats, Kurdistan Justice Community won 3 seats, Helwest won 3 seats, Popular Front won 2 seats and Gorran movement won one seat.

The number of seats in the Kurdish parliament, which previously consisted of 111 deputies, was recently reduced to 100 by a Baghdad court ruling. 5 seats are reserved for minorities. In the last elections in 2018, the KDP won 45 seats and the PUK 21 seats. In the same elections, Gorran won 12 seats, New Generation 8, Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal) 7 and the others 7 seats.

In the elections held on 20 October, the KDP traditionally came first in Hewlêr, while the PUK maintained its first place in Sulaymaniyah. KDP won the majority of votes in Duhok and PUK won the majority of votes in Halabja.

In total, the KDP reportedly received more than 802 thousand votes and the PUK received more than 348 thousand votes. More than 270 thousand people voted for the New Generation. The Islamic party Yekgirtû is in fourth place with more than 110 thousand votes.

These results do not include the results of the special voting held on Friday 18 October with the participation of security forces. The Electoral Commission has not yet announced the final results.

Iraqi Supreme Election Commission announces results of parliamentary elections in South Kurdistan

The Iraqi Supreme Election Commission announced the results of the parliamentary elections held in South Kurdistan on 20 October.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Monday, 21 October 2024,

The Iraqi Independent Supreme Election Commission announced the results of the South Kurdistan parliamentary elections following the special vote held on 18 October and the general vote held on 20 October.

According to the information provided by the commission, the vote distribution in 4 provinces is as follows:

Erbil (Hewlêr):

– KDP: 345,822 votes

– PUK: 110,353 votes

– New Generation Movement (Newey Nû): 103,684 votes

– Yekgirtu İslami (Islamic Union): 24,065 votes

– Komele Dadgeri: 20,191 votes

– Helewst Movement: 16,736 votes

– Berey Gel (People's Front): 9,735 votes

Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî):

– PUK: 256,813 votes

– New Generation Movement (Newey Nû): 136,131 votes

– KDP: 57,832 votes

– Yekgirtu Îslamî (Islamic Union): 42,622 votes

– Komele Dadgerî: 36,627 votes

– Helwest Movement: 29,346 votes

– Berey Gel (Popular Front): 20,300 votes

Halabja:

– PUK: 12.530 oy

– Yekgirtu Îslamî (İslami Birlik): 7.847 oy

– KDP: 4.940 oy

– Yeni Nesil Hareketi (Newey Nû): 4.732 oy

– Komele Dadgerî: 4.215 oy

– Bizutnewey Îslamî: 1.596 oy

– Helwest Hareketi: 1.283 votes

– Berey Gel (Popular Front): 725 votes

– Kurdistan Regional Alliance: 518 votes

Duhok:

– KDP: 400,603 votes

– New Generation Movement (Newey Nû): 46,444 votes

– Yekgirtu İslmi (Islamic Union): 42,447 votes

– PUK: 28,445 vote

– Helwest Movement: 8,410 votes

– Komele Dadgeri: 3,677 votes

– Berey Gel (People's Front): 2,605 votes

According to the election results, the KDP won in Hewlêr and Duhok, while the PUK won in Sulaymaniyah and Halabja. The New Generation Movement won four emerged as the third party in the region.

The total votes received by the parties in the four electoral districts are as follows:

KDP: 809,197 votes

PUK: 408,141 votes

New Generation Movement (Newey Nû): 290,991 votes

Yekgirtu Îslamî (Islamic Union): 116,981 votes

Komele Dadgerî: 64,710 votes

Berey Gel (Popular Front): 33,365 votes

Helwest Movement: 55,775 votes."

DBP Co-Chair: Isolation must be lifted, Kurdish question must be solved democratically

Referring to the latest discussions on possible negotiations with the Kurds, DBP Co-Chair Keskin Bayındır said that the state is looking for a new way for itself and the struggle must be increased even more.


ANF
AMED
Wednesday, 23 October 2024, 

Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-Chair Keskin Bayındır visited Peace Mothers' Assembly members in Bağlar district of Amed.

DBP Women's Assembly Spokesperson Berivan Bahçeci, DBP provincial co-chairs and Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Van MP Gülderen Varlı accompanied Bayındır during the visit.

Welcomed by the Peace Mothers at the door, the delegation expressed their disapproval of the attacks the mothers were subjected to during their attempts to set up a tent in Silopi district of Şırnak last week to express their demand for peace against war.

Keskin Bayındır made a short speech during the visit and congratulated the resistance of the mothers in Silopi. He said, “We congratulate you on your upright stance for 3 days. On the one hand, we were hurt by the attacks directed against you, but on the other hand, your resistance honoured us. We know that mothers are resisting not only in Silopi but in many places. Mothers have been pioneering this struggle to bring down this order for years. Mothers' resistance continues from the parliament to prisons. When mothers pioneer a path, they do not stop until they get results.”

Bayındır emphasised that the struggle of the Kurdish people was won at great cost and said, “We have put up great resistance at great cost. This success, this great resistance, has paved the way for us. Our goal is to carry this struggle forward by further increasing our unity, resistance and organisation.”

‘The Kurdish people can only win through resistance and struggle,’ Bayındır said, referring to the “Freedom” rally held in Amed on 13 October, adding that the message of the Kurdish people for the lifting of the isolation and the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan was clear. He emphasised that the Kurdish question must be solved through democratic means and that this solution must be supported by steps such as constitutional amendments.

Bayındır said, “We gave two messages: the lifting of isolation, the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and a democratic solution to the Kurdish question. This solution can be achieved through constitutional amendments, it can be through parliament, but our message was clear at the rally. We know that something has changed within the state. We must increase our struggle against this. The state is looking for a new way for itself.”

Bayındır added, “There is a great opportunity for freedom if Kurds increase their struggle against attempts to extinguish their struggle. No matter what they say, this struggle will continue in line with rights and the law.”

Peace Mothers call for an end to war

“If you want to negotiate and set up a table for a solution, first end your war,” said the Peace Mothers, who appealed to the government to take steps for an honorable peace.


ANF
AMED
Tuesday, 22 October 2024

Members of the Peace Mothers' Assembly who wanted to set up a “Peace Tent” with the slogan “No war, peace now” in Tilqebîn (Başverimli) town in Silopi district of Şırnak were attacked by Turkish soldiers and police officers on 15-18 October. The beaten mothers applied to the Human Rights Association (IHD) Amed (Diyarbakır) Branch and requested legal assistance. After submitting their application, the mothers made a statement to the press.

IHD Branch President Ercan Yılmaz stated that the Peace Mothers' Assembly has been struggling for many years for a solution to the Kurdish question and said: “Each mother has experienced the most severe pain during this process. Still, they have serious insistence on a solution to the Kurdish question. The government is insensitive to the demands of many segments of society. With the opening of the parliament, the government and its partners have developed some discourses on the solution of the Kurdish question. It is valuable that this issue is discussed in the parliament, but when approaching the issue, an honourable and just peace must be achieved, independent of the daily conjuncture. There are steps that need to be taken for this. MHP Leader Bahçeli talked about ‘isolation’. He accepted it. The Peace Mothers who raised the issue of isolation were repeatedly subjected to investigations and harsh interventions by the police. Today, the government partner mentioned the lifting of isolation, expressing who the interlocutor is and what the main solution is. We think that the issue that has been voiced for years should be recalled again; the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan must be lifted.”

Meryeme Tura, a member of the Peace Mothers’ Assembly, said, “We wanted to open a peace tent in Silopi on 15-18 October to stop the bloodshed, to end the dirty war, to end the isolation. Soldiers blocked our way and asked why we had gathered. We told them that we were there for peace and brotherhood. They talked about the bans. Then they attacked us. We were detained for a night. During the detention we said that we came for peace, for an end to these atrocities, for an end to deaths. We came with our white headscarves for an honourable peace. We extend our hand everywhere for peace. We wanted the mothers of soldiers and police officers to join us. We want this dirty war to end.”

Peace Mother Havva Kıran stated: “They took away our banner because it contained the word ‘isolation’. Today Bahçeli made a statement and said ‘Let Öcalan come here and we will find a solution’. The solution was on that banner and you took it away from the mothers. You attacked the mothers for that very word. While you are so intolerant of that word, your statement today is contradictory. Be clear.”

Noting that mothers aged 70-80 were attacked one by one with tear gas in Silopi, Kıran said, “Some mothers were hospitalised and some were detained. If you cannot tolerate mothers, you cannot tolerate anything. As Peace Mothers, we appeal to everyone. If you want Mr Öcalan to come to parliament, but you cannot tolerate the mothers saying, ‘Let the isolation be lifted’, this is a contradiction. If you want to negotiate and set up a table for a solution, first end your war.”

Havva Kıran called on the public and said that peace has no meaning ‘if it has no foundation’ and added: "If you do not give way to mothers, it is not peace."

Message from Abdullah Öcalan

Kurdish People's Leader Öcalan said: "Isolation continues. If conditions are right, I have the theoretical and practical power to move this process from the ground of conflict and violence to the legal and political ground."

ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 24 October 2024, 09:15

Urfa (Riha) MP Ömer Öcalan shared the message Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan asked him to convey to the public.

Ömer Öcalan wrote: "This visit was held as part of a family meeting. Mr. Öcalan commented on general political developments during the meeting and asked for the following message to be conveyed to the public: 'Isolation continues. If conditions are right, I have the theoretical and practical power to move this process from a ground of conflict and violence to a legal and political ground.' He was in good health and sent greetings to everyone."

Abdullah Öcalan met with DEM MP and nephew Ömer Öcalan in Imralı - FLASH

Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan met with his nephew, DEM Party Urfa MP Ömer Öcalan, after 43 months of total isolation.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 24 October 2024, 07:50

Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan met with his nephew, Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) Urfa (Riha) MP Ömer Öcalan, after 43 months of total isolation.

Ömer Öcalan said on his Twitter account: "The last face-to-face meeting with Mr. Abdullah Öcalan was on 3 March 2020. As a family, we finally met with Mr. Öcalan years later, on 23 October 2024. We want routine family visits, which are a legal right, to continue regardless of the circumstances."

Öcalan's lawyers: Stop systematic rights violations in Imrali

In a statement about the meeting with Abdullah Öcalan on 23 October, Asrın Law Office requested that systematic rights violations be stopped and that a lawyer's visit be granted.


ANF
ISTANBUL
Thursday, 24 October 2024, 14:34

After 43 months of absolute lack of communication, Asrın Law Office made a statement following the visit of Ömer Öcalan, Urfa (Riha) MP of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), to Imralı on 23 October.

The statement said: "Our client, Mr. Abdullah Öcalan, and his nephew, Mr. Ömer Öcalan, had a meeting on Wednesday as part of a family visit. This visit, which took place 4 and a half years after the last family visit (3 March 2020), should not be single and limited like the previous ones, and its continuity should be ensured. Ensuring that Mr. Abdullah Öcalan, Mr. Hamili Yıldırım, Mr. Ömer Hayri Konar and Mr. Veysi Aktaş receive visits from lawyers and families regularly as it is a requirement of the constitution, domestic law as well as international agreements. Again, holding regular meetings with Mr. Öcalan, who has the theoretical and practical power to move the process from the ground of conflict and violence to the legal and political ground, will pave the way for the solution of political and social problems in Turkey and the region on the basis of dialogue, peace and democratic consensus. In this context, it is necessary to put an end to the systematic violations of rights in Imralı, to ensure that the right to visits with families as well as lawyers (no lawyer visits have been allowed since 7 August 2019) is implemented in accordance with the law. We reiterate the necessity of ensuring this."

‘Leader Öcalan’s freedom and Shengal's autonomy are not far away’

Shengal Autonomous Administration and TAJÊ stated that 2025 will be the year of Leader Öcalan’s freedom and vowed to enhance their struggle to achieve this goal.


ANF
SHENGAL
Tuesday, 22 October 2024, 14:39

The ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’ campaign, which was launched by friends of the Kurdish people on 10 October 2023, has reached millions of people all over the world.

The Yazidi community also joined the campaign on 21 October 2023 with the slogan ‘Freedom for Leader Öcalan, Autonomy for Shengal’.

The Yazidi and Arab community living in Shengal organised many actions and events across Iraq and Shengal under the leadership of the Shengal Autonomous Administration and the Yazidi Free Women's Movement (TAJÊ).

Shengal Autonomous Administration and TAJÊ made a joint statement at Martyr Dilgeş and Martyr Berxwedan Cemetery on the occasion of the second anniversary of their campaign. The statement was read by Suham Şengali, member of TAJÊ Foreign Relations Committee, and Xwedêda Elyas, Co-Chair of the Autonomous Administration of Shengal.

“Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) has been leading the peoples' resistance in Imrali Prison for 25 years. During this period of time, countless events and actions have been organised for his freedom. However, the ‘Freedom for Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’ campaign launched last year is quite different from other campaigns. This campaign will continue in line with its aim until the physical freedom of Leader Apo is achieved. All actions and activities for the freedom of the peoples and democracy are also linked to this campaign. In other words, the freedom of Leader Öcalan and the struggle for autonomy and freedom are not independent of each other,” said the statement.

Remarking that the campaign received support from all over the world, the statement continued: “With this campaign, the ideas and philosophy of Leader Abdullah Öcalan have spread more than ever in the world. With the recognition of Leader Öcalan's ideas, the hope and faith of humanity has once again flourished. Enthusiasm, morale and hope increased wherever the campaign reached. Artists, intellectuals, politicians, philosophers, writers and academics all over the world were revitalised by Öcalan's ideas. The whole world rallied around this campaign. The world could not unite in the Ukraine-Russia war or the Hamas-Israel war, but the whole world became one voice for the freedom of Leader Abullah Öcalan. This reveals that the world, divided by wars, conflicts, religious and sectarian wars that started due to the policies pursued by the governments, has found unity in the idea of the freedom of Leader Abdullah Öcalan.”

The statement pointed out that the wars in the Middle East in the last year have once again proved Leader Apo's assessments right and added: “Leader Abdullah Öcalan has been stating for decades that the problems in the Middle East cannot be resolved by war. The events of last year also confirm this. That is why the peoples of the Middle East are turning to the ideas of Leader Öcalan more than ever. Everyone says that the isolation of Öcalan deepens the war in the Middle East and that his freedom will pave the way for the solution of the problems in the region. This was one of the important results of the campaign.”

The campaign has also exposed the true face of the state and the ruling system, said the statement and continued: “It has been revealed that the European states, which present themselves as the representatives of freedom and democracy, have nothing to do with freedom and democracy. The move has revealed that the Imrali system is an international system, that those who cause the isolation to continue and deprive Leader Abdullah Öcalan of his physical freedom are the same ones who swear every day in the name of freedom and democracy. This move again showed that these states are against the freedom of peoples and democracy.”

Emphasising that hope and the claim of freedom are stronger than ever with the campaign, the statement continued: “The main goal is to ensure the physical freedom of Leader Abdullah Öcalan and to recognise the autonomy of Shengal. Although steps have been taken towards these goals, we have not yet fully achieved them. This is also a matter of self-criticism for us. For this reason, we must correct our deficiencies, strengthen our actions and accelerate our work in order to achieve victory in the second year of the campaign. We must reach out to everyone in every house in Shengal and introduce the ideas of Leader Öcalan.

In the second year of the campaign, we will bring the ideas of Leader Abdullah Öcalan to the agenda more in the Nineveh Plain and at the Iraqi level. We will try to turn the campaign into a step towards freedom and democracy, especially in Iraq. Iraq cannot get rid of the war and crisis it is in. For this reason, we say that the ideas of Leader Abdullah Öcalan are the solution for the Iraqi people and the Iraqi state as well.”

Stating that the campaign is also a response to the war policy in the region, the statement said: “We firmly believe that 2025 will be the year of freedom of Leader Abdullah Öcalan. If we raise our hope, belief and struggle, the freedom of Leader Öcalan and the autonomy of Shengal are not far away. As the Shengal Autonomous Administration, we will strengthen our work in the second year of the campaign. We call on the people of Shengal, all the peoples of the Nineveh Plain and the democratic forces of Iraq to embrace the campaign more than ever.”

How can Turkey be saved?

If Leader Apo is wanted to play a role, conditions for this must be created immediately. The opportunity for Leader Apo to meet with everyone, including the PKK leadership, must be created, and Turkey's democratic change must be initiated on this basis.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Wednesday, 23 October 2024, 13:13

The Israeli attacks, which have been intensifying for about a month, have undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to Lebanese Hezbollah. To be honest, many people did not expect such a war, they did not think that Israel would deal such a heavy blow to Hezbollah in such a short time. Because Hezbollah also had power, making military preparation and deployment. There were also some states that it relied on, such as Iran. But the results were a bit surprising for almost everyone. It even shook and shocked many of them. Why?

There are, of course, many answers to this question. For example, if Israel had attacked from the ground and not from the air, it would not have achieved such rapid and effective results. One of the reasons for the current military result is that Israel had prepared for and relied on an air attack. Again, Israel followed a clever tactic by first detonating the devices and then cutting off contact. This is also an important reason for the current result. Moreover, the indecisive war policy pursued by Hezbollah and Iran, on which it relies, has also been a factor in this outcome. Hezbollah and Iran, while appearing to support Hamas, have also pursued an attitude of political reconciliation. It is even rumoured that Israel and Hezbollah came to the point of signing a ceasefire through the mediation of France and similar powers. It was at this point that Israel carried out the big attack and hit Hassan Nasrallah. In other words, Hezbollah and Iran have been brought into a kind of political game. It is said that the reaction of the French Administration to Israel stems from this.

So, what will happen now? Obviously, the US-Israeli bloc will try to reshape Lebanon. It will want to create a Lebanon in which Hezbollah and Iranian influence are weakened and which does not pose a threat to Israel. Not satisfied with this, it will try to neutralise Iran's power outside its borders. In other words, it will target Iran's power spread throughout the region. It had already started this process four years ago by shooting Qassem Soleimani. Now, based on the military superiority it has achieved, it will try to reach a conclusion.

In the face of this state of affairs, the current Iranian leadership is always talking about peace, trying to limit the war as much as possible and to continue the search for reconciliation. However, it is difficult to realise this unilaterally. Even though the Iranian administration approaches this way, a kind of Israeli-Iranian war has already emerged. In other words, the circles that rely on and want such a war have actually found what they were looking for. Let's see who will gain and who will lose from this war.

Undoubtedly, the AKP-MHP administration was one of the forces that most wanted and provoked a war between Israel and Hezbollah, and therefore Iran. The spokespersons and lackeys of this administration were resorting to all kinds of lies and tricks to provoke such a war a month ago. However, when the war started and the harsh Israeli attacks came to light, they became tongue-tied and started to say ‘We are against war’ with a sharp ‘U’ turn. The bombs that exploded in Beirut shook the foundations of the Palace in Beştepe. It seems that those who thought everything was as easy as slaughtering Kurds and women began to realise the seriousness of the matter with the Lebanon war. So, despite their warmongering, they thought that such a war would not happen. But when they saw the reality and realised that their turn was coming, they started to show childish behaviour.

First, the fascist chief Tayyip Erdoğan said ‘Israel will attack us too’ from the rostrum of the parliament. Having received or given the message, the fascist chief Devlet Bahçeli kissed the hands of DEM Party members in the parliament for no reason. Discussions on a ‘resolution process’ were raised again. KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council Co-Chair Besê Hozat, referring to Devlet Bahçeli, said, ‘İmralı is there, take Erdoğan and Özel with you, go and solve the problems with Leader Apo’. In response to this, Devlet Bahçeli addressed Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) and called on him to ‘surrender and liquidate the organisation’. In other words, he once again repeated what he had been taught by heart since his youth.

A debate on these issues has been raging in the visual and print media, with the government and the opposition, the right and the left. For more than two weeks, everyone has been arguing day and night. People have been shouting at each other for hours. Countless fictions are made every day; some almost go to the point of saying that the PKK has liquidated itself, some utter threats from a high level, some call the prosecutors to duty and threaten to ‘shut down’ the DEM Party. As the saying goes, if you tell a lie forty times, the first person to tell it believes it to be true! This is how they are trying to make themselves believe their own lies. What is being done in the name of so-called debate is like whistling while passing through a cemetery.

In fact, they are trying to overcome their fear by talking and shouting so much. A great fear has fallen into them. Their anti-Kurdish, fascist-genocidal mentality and politics have completely collapsed. They are trying to deceive society and overcome their fear by deepening the special war in this way. When the effect of the bombs exploding in Lebanon is added on top of the defeat they have suffered in Kurdistan, they are beginning to see what will happen to them, albeit hardly. Why?

Because once they were defeated against the Kurdish freedom struggle, their fascist, colonialist and genocidal faces came out in the open and were thoroughly exposed. The Global Freedom Campaign [Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question], which aims for the physical freedom of Leader Apo, has spread this reality to the whole world. In the face of Kurdishness gaining freedom, it has become impossible to maintain the fascist mentality and politics in Turkey that is hostile to Kurds, women and the people. There is only one way out for Turkey, and that is democratisation based on Kurdish freedom.

Secondly, there is no longer any room for the existing Turkey within the system of capitalist modernity, of which it has been a part for a century. There was no existing Turkey in the global structuring of the capitalist modernity system. This Turkey, which has been alive for a hundred years, has existed on the basis of two things: The October Revolution in Russia and Kurdish support! Without these, there would not have been such a Turkey after the First World War. On the basis of these two forces, the Kemalist movement developed and gained strength, and on the basis of the two tasks assigned to it, it was recognised by Britain and France and became a state. One was to encircle the Soviet Union from the south, and the other was to serve as a model for the nation-state organisation in the Middle East and the birth of Israel by agreeing to the division of the Arabs!

In the last century, the Turkish Republic fulfilled both of these tasks. It stood against the Soviet Union and served the formation of the real Israel as a proto-Israel. The Soviet Union no longer exists, the present Russia is not the Soviet Union of the past, so this task of Turkey is over. After the Second World War, the real Israel was established and now, in the Third World War, the system of capitalist modernity wants to reshape the Middle East region on the basis of Israel-Arab reconciliation. It is trying to change the Middle East system, which was shaped under the leadership of Turkey and Iran after the First World War. Iran's extraterritorial forces are targets on this basis, but apart from these, Iran within its own borders exists within the global organisation of capitalist modernity. Turkey, on the other hand, which is not part of this organisation and has existed for centuries on the basis of additional tasks, is now the main power that needs to be changed. In other words, it is in contradiction with the system in which it exists. Whether it leans on NATO or begs Russia-China, it is not possible to change this fact. Turkey will change according to this system; Turkey will change according to the Kurds, women and working peoples. If it changes according to the latter, the current unity of Turkey can keep itself alive as an alternative democratic system. This is Turkey's only chance.

There is neither the Soviet Union nor Kurdish support to keep Turkey alive for the last century. Within the current system, it can only survive by serving Israel, as a servant-slave; it has no other chance. In this situation, the only real chance is to regain Kurdish support. The way to do this is democratisation on the basis of Kurdish freedom. The real situation is so serious and concrete. Therefore, there is no time to be spent on discussions based on speculation. Problems cannot be solved just by going to Imrali. Since it is desired that Leader Apo plays a role, then the conditions for this must be created immediately. The opportunity for Leader Apo to meet with everyone, including the PKK leadership, must be created, and, on this basis, Turkey's democratic change must be initiated. Those who really love Turkey must hurry. Because there may be no time left for change.

Source: Yeni Özgür Politika

Zilar Stêrk: A basis for dialogue should be established with Leader Öcalan

Zilar Stêrk, member of the General Presidential Council of the KCK, spoke about the current discussions surrounding the physical freedom of the Kurdish people's leader, Abdullah Öcalan, and the related Kurdish question.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Friday, 25 October 2024, 07:50

Zilar Stêrk, member of the General Presidential Council of the KCK, about the current discussions surrounding the physical freedom of the Kurdish people's leader, Abdullah Öcalan, and the related Kurdish question. Stêrk discussed the struggle for this as well as the games that some actors are playing in an attempt to renew the international conspiracy.

There are currently many discussions about the Kurdish question, the role of Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Ocalan and his total isolation, which has now lasted for 26 years. What can you tell us about the overall situation? How should the current conflicts be understood?

Firstly, I once again condemn and curse the international conspiracy with all my hatred and anger as it enters its 27th year. Also, I commemorate all martyrs of the revolution by commemorating the martyrs that gave their lives in the "You cannot darken our sun!" struggle, who stood in front of Rêber Apo to protect him with their bodies.

We slowly leave the month October behind us, which is a month in which many women of our women’s movement fell martyrs. I once again commemorate all of our martyrs of the month of October with respect and gratitude, by commemorating comrade Beritan (Gulnaz Karatash), the pioneer and leading cadre of our women’s army.

Today, a great and glorious historical resistance is going on in the mountains of Kurdistan. I respectfully commemorate all the comrades who martyred, especially in the areas of Zap, Metina, and Avashin. Comrade Asmin Seyit, whose martyrdom was announced recently, again comrade Agir, comrade Besta, and comrade Cemal. I bow with respect in front of their memory. I also commemorate with respect and gratitude Ape Nemir, who fought and struggled shoulder to shoulder with the revolutionaries against the gangs and mercenaries of ISIS in the Battle of Kobane and was wounded several times. I express my condolences to his family and the entire Kurdish people.

It has been 26 years since the launch of the international conspiracy, and throughout these 26 years, Rêber Apo, who was held hostage in solitary confinement in the Imrali torture center, has been in a very historic resistance. I take this opportunity to salute Rêber Apo and his resistance, his glorious resistance, and send my greetings and love.

The main purpose of this conspiracy was the physical destruction of Rêber Apo. In fact, the aim of the physical annihilation of Rêber Apo did not only start with the conspiracy of October 9. Already on May 6, 1996, a great conspiracy was staged in Damascus, again aiming at the physical destruction of Rêber Apo. Thanks to the measures taken by Rêber Apo and his foresight, that conspiracy did not come to fruition.

In the face of the international conspiracy of October 9, Rêber Apo left the Middle East and thereby prevented physical annihilation. Rêber Apo is aware of the cruciality of his existence and how it is connected to the fate of the Kurdish people. He knows that his physical destruction would pave the way for the genocide of the Kurdish people. Based on this, thinking with a very strategic mind, he left the Middle East and thus frustrated the conspiracy’s aim of physical annihilation. At that time, when Rêber Apo went to Europe, during the period he spent in Rome, our people flocked to Rome in droves. Hundreds of thousands, millions of people, met and united around Rêber Apo. People set themselves on fire out in protest. They carried out big sacrificial actions. They sent the conspiratorial forces a very clear message: “Rêber Apo is us.” The existence of Rêber Apo means Kurdish existence. The main guarantee of Kurdish existence is the existence and freedom of Rêber Apo. The conspiratorial forces could not carry out physical annihilation through this, so they planned the international conspiracy of February 15. Rêber Apo was abducted and handed over to the genocidal colonialist Turkish state.

For 26 years, Rêber Apo has been resisting under conditions of absolute isolation and isolation in the Imrali torture center in order to prevent this conspiracy from achieving its goals and objectives and to defeat it. He is putting up a historical and glorious resistance. And this resistance is not only physical resistance. Rêber Apo has realized a great mental revolution. Of course, he did not start this while being in Imrali. Already before, Rêber Apo was constantly concentrating on every ideological, paradigmatic, and organizational dimension of this. But the conditions of war outside, again, the problems and agendas that had to be dealt with for the organization, posed difficulties in front of the mental revolution Rêber Apo wanted to realize. As Rêber Apo put it, the situation on Imrali changed circumstances.

Rêber Apo has a great style of struggle. It is in fact a legendary struggle. This needs to be grasped very well. As I pointed out, this is not only physical resistance. This is an intellectual, spiritual, ideological, paradigmatic resistance. One can say that Rêber Apo has created a form of resistance that complements other forms of resistance and therefore is in fact far superior to them. With the tremendous mental revolution, the paradigmatic change and transformation that he realized in his own person, he frustrated all the calculations of the conspiracy. What did Rêber Apo do? One by one, Rêber Apo analyzed both the mentality and the calculations of the five thousand-year-old statist civilization, a statist, power-oriented, male-dominated civilization system. One by one, he unmasked them in front of all of us. He created an enormous paradigm with the prison writings he presented to the courts. The prison writings enlightened us all. They revealed perspectives and system analyses that enlighten the whole of humanity about the reality of the five thousand years of male-dominated capitalist civilization. And we all benefit from this today. In other words, civilization called its gods to account. Rêber Apo judged them, called them to account, and put forward an alternative to this system.

There are other thinkers who have tried to solve the crisis of civilization. But Rêber Apo’s way of analyzing civilization is not an approach that is limited to theoretical analysis. He looked at the issue from a more revolutionary point of view, as a revolutionary leader. Before Imrali, there was already an enormous Kurdish freedom movement that he had created and developed. There was organized public opinion. With the new paradigmatic change, this multiplied itself even more and brought about much greater developments. For example, the Rojava revolution developed. The Rojava revolution developed and took shape on the basis of Rêber Apo’s tremendous paradigm based on the pillars of democracy, ecology, and women’s freedom. What are the revolutionaries of Rojava saying today? They say that they have taken Rêber Apo’s idea and his paradigm as their guide and that they are trying to implement it as a new system of democratic and free life. We all see this in a more concrete form day by day. Therefore, it also attracts the world’s attention.

What has developed during the past twenty-six years that Rêber Apo is held captive in Imrali? The inhuman ISIS gangs were created in order to cause a great war of peoples in the Middle East. They attacked Kurds in Kobane, and before that, they attacked our Yazidi (Êzidî) people. They attacked the Yazidi people in Shengal (Sinjar). Today, our Yazidi people in Shengal are also in great resistance and are broadly organized with the aim of establishing a new system and a new life model based on Rêber Apo’s democratic, ecological, egalitarian, libertarian, and for the freedom of women’s standing ideas. For this reason, the genocidal, colonialist, and sovereign powers, particularly the Turkish state, are constantly carrying out extermination attacks and operations against our Yazidi people.

One can say that in this twenty-six-year period, the international conspiracy has actually been frustrated to some extent. But one cannot claim that complete results have been achieved or that the conspiracy was defeated. Because all the struggle we have waged over the past twenty-six years has been aimed at developing a democratic solution to the Kurdish question. It is directed towards ensuring the physical freedom of Rêber Apo. Because the solution to the Kurdish question means the physical freedom of Rêber Apo. And the freedom of Rêber Apo means the solution to the Kurdish question. Both are two fundamental aspects that are as close to each other as possible.

Our people are aware of the nature of the problem. They are aware that the Kurdish question cannot be solved without the liberation of Rêber Apo. As long as Rêber Apo is imprisoned, the conspiracy, the international conspiracy, cannot be defeated completely. That is why every anniversary of the conspiracy, our people, together with their international friends, protest; they condemn the conspiracy and put up a great resistance against it. This resistance continues on every anniversary; it continues to rise on the anniversary. All the struggle we have waged together with our people during these twenty-six years is for the defeat of the international conspiracy, which started on October 9 and completed its first stage on February 15, with the captivity of Rêber Apo. But the conspiracy itself continues.

Of course, during all this time, the conspiratorial forces have not been idle. They tried to renew the conspiracy again and again. Both Rêber Apo, the Kurds, and we, as the Kurdish freedom movement, have tried to wage a great resistance and struggle against this conspiracy. The new concepts they tried to develop were always tried to be frustrated. Today, the conspiracy continues in certain dimensions. On which pillars does it weave itself? The genocidal, colonialist, genocidal policy of the Turkish state on the Kurds is being carried out most concretely on Rêber Apo in the Imrali torture center. They do not allow a single word of Rêber Apo to come out, so that the movement and the people do not get inspired by Rêber Apo. They are trying to ensure that nothing comes out of there. They prevent even the most human rights and legal rights of Rêber Apo. It is commonly known that Rêber Apo’s freedom is now legally due. They are trying to prevent this.

For example, they are not implementing the retrial decision taken by international European courts. They are afraid of this. They do not allow the voice of Rêber Apo to be heard. They are really afraid that Rêber Apo will gradually become physically free. As the struggle of the people, the movement, the society and the international friends of the Kurdish people grows, they see and fear that as the resistance and a certain level of resistance and willpower emerges, the physical freedom of the Rêber Apo is becoming increasingly possible. For this reason, they are not allowing Rêber Apo to implement the retrial decision, and they are not allowing Rêber Apo to exercise his legal rights, even the legal rights of a normal prisoner. This is a pillar of the conspiracy.

In addition to this, there are great extermination operations on the Kurdish freedom movement, again on the Kurdish freedom guerrillas. There are great liquidation and annihilation operations and attacks. The genocide and extermination attacks carried out today in the Kurdish mountains in Zap, Metina, and Avashin are one of the most fundamental pillars of the international conspiracy. Without the freedom guerrillas without the resistance of the guerrillas in Kurdistan, can the Kurds sustain themselves? Can the Kurdish freedom struggle survive? What guarantees the existence of Kurds today is, of course, the existence of the Kurdish freedom struggle in the mountains of Kurdistan. It is the existence of freedom guerrillas. We can say that the existence of the Kurdish guerrillas, its will, and its resistance are the basic guarantee of Kurdish existence. That is why they want to destroy it. Therefore, the genocidal attacks and extermination attacks on the guerrillas continue uninterruptedly both in northern Kurdistan and in southern Kurdistan. It continues in the most inhuman way, through chemical attacks and with the use of tactical nuclear weapons. The Kurdish guerrillas continue to put up a glorious resistance under genocide and extermination attacks.

In addition to this, also in other fields, the international conspiracy’s effort to sustain itself, to make it permanent, is going on as well. The genocidal attacks developed by the enemy are not only carried out against the guerrillas in the Medya Defense Areas or in the provinces of northern Kurdistan. The genocidal and extermination attacks are being carried out both on the leading cadres of our movement and on the people who work together with our movement around the struggle for freedom, who participate in the struggle, who support it, who are in solidarity.

Every day, the cities, villages, streets, and neighborhoods in Rojava are being bombarded under the pretext of attacking PKK cadres. It is our patriotic people that are attacked. This is also what they are doing with the continued genocidal attacks on Shengal. And at the same time, the genocidal attacks on the Makhmur refugee camp continue. These genocidal attacks take place everywhere in southern Kurdistan as well.

This needs to be seen as the continuation of the international conspiracy. The conspiracy has developed with significant protests on the occasion of the new anniversary. The time has come to not only frustrate the conspiracy but to defeat it once and for all. Twenty-six years have passed. And in these twenty-six years, it was shown that neither the Kurdish will be broken, nor the Kurdish existence could be wiped out, nor the Kurdish guerrillas could be destroyed, nor Rêber Apo could be compromised, nor the Kurdish people could be annihilated, nor the Kurdish freedom movement could be forced to kneel.

The struggle that has been waged in Kurdistan during these twenty-six years is a struggle that centers on the freedom of Rêber Apo. It needs to be understood this way. All the actions and activities that have taken place explicitly for Rêber Apo’s freedom anyway, but also all the other efforts of the Kurdish freedom struggle of the last 26 years, served the same goal: the freedom of Rêber Apo. The solution of the Kurdish question, the realization of the Kurdish freedom revolution, and the freedom of Rêber Apo are totally intertwined. They cannot be separated from each other. On various occasions, Rêber Apo saluted the actions carried out under the name of his freedom and pointed out that his freedom depends on the solution of the Kurdish question and the realization of the freedom revolution in Kurdistan.

There is a tremendous resistance that the Kurdish people have developed from the first day of the international conspiracy. At a magnificent level, people take on their responsibility towards Rêber Apo.

When the first process of the conspiracy developed, there was a tremendous struggle, there was a tremendous cohesion, a tremendous level of sacrifice emerged. And this continues today. The Kurdish people have never distanced from Rêber Apo. There was never the slightest weakening in their bond with him. We saw this most recently at the rally in Amed (tr. Diyarbakir) on October 13th. That unbreakable bond between the Kurdish people and Rêber Apo, which has existed since day one, is growing exponentially day by day. It is both widening and deepening.

During the past twenty-six years, many campaigns have been carried out. There was, for example, the “Enough is Enough!” (Edi Bese) campaign, or also the “Abdullah Ocalan is my political will” campaign. In that campaign, signatures were collected from both Kurds and their international friends, who claimed Rêber Apo as representative of their political will. Ten million signatures were collected. The international ruling powers were confronted with this.

The genocidal colonialist Turkish state was confronted with this. These campaigns, in some way, continue today. Again in 2019, there was the big hunger strike led by the hunger strikes in prisons, first and foremost by dear Leyla Guven. At that time, there was a tremendous campaign being carried out. Through that resistance, for example, a breach was opened in the absolute isolation and genocide regime in Imrali. And through that breach, talks with Rêber Apo started. There were a few meetings, but no results were obtained. It was interrupted again. It was sabotaged again. And it was the fascist AKP-MHP government, which still rules the genocidal colonialist Turkish Republic with its insincere approach, that sabotaged it. Still, to a high extent, both the Kurdish people and their international friends take on their responsibility towards Rêber Apo. If the conspiracy has not achieved its goals and objectives in these twenty-six years, this is primarily due to the spirit of resistance put forward by our patriotic people.

One pillar is the spirit of resistance shown by our people. It is the magnificent extent to which they take responsibility towards Rêber Apo. Another pillar is the resistance and struggle of the Kurdistan freedom guerrilla in the mountains of Kurdistan. And there is the, and I would say it is the most fundamental pillar, the tremendous resistance of Rêber Apo, who is in a position of absolute isolation and hostage in Imrali.

Kurdistan Workers' Party claims deadly Ankara attack

ONE MAN'S TERRORIST IS ANOTHER WOMAN'S ARMED STRUGGLE

The PKK has claimed responsibility for this week's attack on Turkish defense firm TUSAS that killed five people in Ankara, the militant group said in a statement.

Turkish President Erdogan has condemned the 'cowardly' attack

Image: AP/picture alliance

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Friday claimed an attack on a state-run Turkish defense firm in Ankara that killed five people and wounded 22 others earlier this week.

Two assailants carried out Wednesday's onslaught with automatic rifles and explosives on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in the Turkish capital.

"The act of sacrifice at TAI campus in Ankara at around 15:30 local time on Wednesday was carried out by a team of the immortals battalion" of the PKK, it said on Telegram, referring to Turkish Aerospace Industries.

Previously, the Turkish government had said it had proof the PKK was responsible while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack targeted "the survival of our country."

Turkey responds by striking PKK targets

A few hours after Wednesday's assault, the Turkish government launched airstrikes on PKK targets in northern Iraq and Syria. The PKK has its headquarters in the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq.

The group has waged an on-off insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and is regarded as a terror group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Turkey blames Kurdish group for attack on defense firm  01:54

In 2011 President Erdogan supported backchannel peace efforts in a bid to resolve the issue but the fragile truce collapsed in 2015 in a fresh round of violence.

This prompted Erdogan's AKP government along with its junior partner, the far-right MHP, to change tack, ramping up military pressure on the Kurdish rebels.

jsi/wd (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

Turkey: Burials before possible talks with jailed PKK leader

Turkey has said it struck numerous PKK cells in response to a Wednesday terror attack in Ankara. 

Meanwhile, a deal could be in the works to free PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan if he vows to disband the group.

Victims of Wednesday's attack in Ankara were being buried as Turkish forces pummeled PKK sites in Syria and IraqImage: Adem Altan/AFP

Turkish officials attended the burials of five people killed in a terror attack Wednesday as Ankara responded by bombing numerous targets hours later.

At the same time, there are indications that jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan may be willing to renounce violence against the Turkish state and disband his organization.

The Wednesday attack targeted state-owned Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), killing five and injuring 22. Officials claimed it was "very likely” that the PKK was behind the incident.

Turkey announced that its forces had hit "47 terrorist targets” in Syria and Iraq overnight and pledged more attacks would follow.

Turkey, the EU and the US all label the PKK a terrorist organization.

Speaking from the BRICS summit in Russia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday's attack had only "strengthened Turkey's determination and resolve to eliminate terrorism."

Turkey blames Kurdish group for attack on defense firm 01:54

Ocalan ready for a change after 25 years of solitary confinement?

All of this has played out against the backdrop of possible talks between Ankara and the jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan.

Ocalan, who co-founded the group, has been in solitary confinement at Istanbul's Imrali island prison since 1999.

On Tuesday, Devlet Bahceli, an ally of Erdogan and the leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), suggested possible parole for Ocalan if he would renounce violence and disband the PKK.

Ocalan is serving a life sentence and was granted his first visit in more than four years this week.

After the visit, Ocalan's nephew Omer, a lawyer for the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equity and Democracy Party (DEM) — the third largest party in Turkey's parliament — said his uncle was "in good health."

He also reported that Ocalan had given him a message, saying, "if conditions allow, I have the necessary theoretical and practical power to shift this process from the arena of conflict and violence to one of law and politics."

Media sources close to the government reported Ocalan as saying that he was, "ready to lay down his arms."

The DEM, whose support Erdogan needs if he is to see through his plan to change the Turkish constitution to allow himself to remain in power indefinitely, condemned Wednesday's attack, pointing out that it had come at a time when, "Turkish society was talking about a solution and the possibility of dialogue."

The most recent attempt at peace talks between the two sides failed in 2015, opening a bloody new chapter in a conflict that began in 1984.

The fight to establish an autonomous Kurdish state has claimed tens of thousands of lives since it began 40 years ago.

Turkey: Dreaming of Kurdistan  04:30

js/lo (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

Turkey buries attack victims after striking PKK

Ankara (AFP) – Turkey said it had proof that PKK militants were behind the deadly Ankara attack that claimed the lives of five people who were laid to rest Thursday after an emotional farewell.

The coffin of Murat Arslan, the taxi driver killed in Wednesday's attack, was carried by Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, left, and parliamentary speaker Numan Kurtulmus 

© Adem ALTAN / AFP

Wednesday's shooting attack at the state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) came after days in which the government appeared to be leaning towards a resumption of dialogue with Kurdish militants.

After government ministers said they were "very likely" responsible, the military pounded PKK targets in Syria and Iraq overnight in raids that Kurdish militants in Syria said left 12 civilians dead.

And on Thursday investigators confirmed that both attackers, a man and a woman, were "PKK terrorists", Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X.

Both appeared in CCTV images posted on X in which they are seen emerging from a taxi then firing assault rifles before entering the building in an attack that killed five and wounded 22 others.

Family members mourn the death of taxi driver Murat Arslan who was killed during Wednesday's attack on the TAI defence firm © Adem ALTAN / AFP

After flying in from Russia where he had attended the BRICS summit of major emerging economy nations, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chaired a security meeting at Istanbul's old Ataturk airport.

There he was briefed by top diplomat Hakan Fidan, spy chief Ibrahim Kalin, the defence and interior ministers, the army chief, the head of Turkey's state Defence Industry Agency and top officials from his ruling AK party, the Anadolou news agency reported.

After a day in which the victims were laid to rest following mournful ceremonies, many attended by government representatives, Turkey appeared to be planning a tough response.

Security stepped up

With 14 of the 22 wounded still in hospital, security measures were stepped up at Istanbul's two international airports.

Overnight, the military struck "47 terrorist targets" in Syria and northern Iraq, the defence ministry said, claiming to have killed "59 terrorists" including two in senior positions.

Five people were killed in the attack, with taxi driver Murat Arslan shot dead by the attackers who stole his vehicle © Adem ALTAN / AFP

Kurdish sources in northern Syria said the strikes had killed 12 civilians and wounded 25 others.

The attack struck amid growing signs of a political thaw between Ankara and Kurdish militants.

Just hours before the attack, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan -- who has been jailed on a Turkish prison island in solitary confinement since 1999 -- received his first family visit in years.

His nephew, Omer Ocalan, a lawmaker for the main pro-Kurdish DEM party, confirmed the visit on X, saying the family had last seen him "on March 3, 2020".

The only other contact was a brief phone call in March 2021.

Earlier this month, demonstrators protested against the ongoing isolation of PKK head Abdullah Ocalan, who has been languishing in solitary confinement since 1999 © Ilyas AKENGIN / AFP/File

His uncle was "in good health" and had sent a message, saying: "If the conditions allow, I have the theoretical and practical power to shift this process from an arena of conflict and violence to one of law and politics."

Abdulkadir Selvi, a columnist for the Hurriyet daily which is close to the government, said the meeting lasted two hours and that "Ocalan said he was ready to lay down his arms."

The visit came a day after Devlet Bahceli, head of the far-right MHP, which is close to Erdogan and fiercely hostile to the PKK, sparked shockwaves by inviting Ocalan to parliament to renounce terror and dissolve his movement.

DEM -- the third largest party in parliament -- said it was "noteworthy" that the TAI attack happened "just as Turkish society was talking about a solution and the possibility of dialogue".

Arrested on February 15, 1999 in Kenya by Turkish security forces after years on the run, Ocalan was brought back and tried but escaped execution after Turkey abolished capital punishment in 2004.

He has since lived in an isolation cell on Imrali prison island in the Sea of Marmara, turning 75 in April.

For many Kurds, Abdullah Ocalan is a hero © MICHEL GANGNE / AFP/File

In 1978 he founded the PKK which went on to spearhead a brutal insurgency that has killed tens of thousands in its fight for independence.

He first called for dialogue and a ceasefire in 2012 and again in 2013, before the bloody conflict resumed in 2015.

© 2024 AFP

Turkiye buries attack victims after striking PKK in Iraq, Syria

AFP Published October 25, 2024 

ANKARA: Family members and relatives mourn next to the coffins of people who were killed in an attack on the state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries building, on Thursday. Turkish forces struck PKK militants in Iraq and Syria, whom Ankara blamed for Wednesday’s assault that killed five people and injured 22 others.—AFP

• Kurdish sources claim strikes killed 12 civilians, wounded 25 others

• Erdogan says Ankara attack ‘further strengthens resolve to eliminate terrorism’

ANKARA: The first Ankara attack victims were being buried on Thursday, just hours after Turkiye struck PKK militants in Iraq and Syria whom it blames for the assault on a defence firm that killed five.

As the dust settled after Wednesday’s deadly att­ack on the state-run Tur­kish Aerospace Industries (TAI) that also left 22 injured, Turkiye pointed the finger at Kurdish militants as “very likely” responsible.

Turkish investigators said both attackers were “PKK terrorists”, identifying them as a man called Ali Orek, codename “Rojger”, and a woman called Mine Sevjin Alcicek, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X.



Both appeared in CCTV images posted on X in which they are seen emerging from a taxi then firing assault rifles before entering the building.

The taxi driver, whom they killed, was buried on Thursday at a funeral attended by Yerlikaya and parliamentary speaker Numan Kurtulmus.

Of the 22 people hurt in the attack, eight had been discharged, while the other 14 remained in hospital, Turkiye’s health ministry said.

Security stepped up

Istanbul’s two main airports have since stepped up security, the DHA news agency and private NTV channel reported.

Sabiha Gokcen airport, which is located on the Asian side of the city, told passengers to arrive “at least three hours” early to avoid delays due to increased security.

Overnight, the defence ministry said the military struck “47 terrorist targets” in Syria and northern Iraq and pledged the raids would continue. Kurdish sources in northern Syria said the strikes had killed 12 civilians and wounded 25 others.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in Russia attending the BRICS summit of major emerging economy nations, said the attack had “further strengthened Turkiye’s determination and resolve to eliminate terrorism”.

The attack happened amid growing signs of a political thaw between Ankara and Kurdish militants.

Just hours beforehand, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan — who has been jailed on a Turkish prison island in solitary confinement since 1999 — received his first family visit in years.

Ready to lay down arms?

His nephew, Omer Ocalan, who is a lawmaker for the main pro-Kurdish DEM party, confirmed the visit on X, and said the family had last seen him “on March 3, 2020”. The only other contact was a brief phone call in March 2021.

His uncle was “in good health” and had sent a message about the ongoing “political developments”, saying: “If the conditions allow, I have the necessary theoretical and practical power to shift this process from an arena of conflict and violence to one of law and politics.”

According to Abdul­kadir Selvi, a columnist for the Hurriyet daily which is close to the government, during the two-hour meeting “Ocalan said he was ready to lay down his arms”.

On Tuesday, Devlet Bahceli, head of the far-right MHP, which is fiercely hostile to the PKK and belongs to Erdogan’s ruling coalition, sparked shockwaves by inviting Ocalan to parliament to renounce terror and dissolve his movement.

After the attack, DEM — the third largest party in parliament — condemned the violence but said it was “noteworthy” it happened “just as Turkish society was talking about a solution and the possibility of dialogue”.

Arrested on February 15, 1999 in the Kenyan capital Nairobi following a Hollywood-style operation by Turkish security forces after years on the run, Ocalan was brought to Turkiye for trial and sentenced to death.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2024

At least a dozen civilians killed in Turkish strikes, says Kurdish-led Syria force

At least 12 civilians were killed in Turkish air strikes in northeastern Syria on Thursday, according to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The attack comes a day after Turkey launched air strikes on Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria, blaming them for an attack that killed five people at a defence firm near Ankara.


Issued on: 24/10/2024 - 
By: NEWS WIRES

Turkish police officers secure part of a main road in Kahramankazan, about 40 kilometres north of Ankara, on October 23, 2024. 

© Adem Altan, AFP


The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Thursday that Turkish air strikes killed 12 civilians in northeastern Syria, following a deadly attack on a defence firm near Ankara.

"Over the past hours... a new wave of (Turkish) attacks on northern and eastern Syria" killed "12 civilians, including two children", and wounded 25 others, a statement from the US-backed force said.

"In addition to populated areas, Turkish warplanes and UAVs (drones) targeted bakeries, power stations, oil facilities and (Kurdish) Internal Security Force checkpoints," the statement added, also reporting Turkish shelling.

Turkey launched air strikes on Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria Wednesday blaming them for an attack that killed five people at a defence firm near Ankara.

A further 22 people were wounded in the attack, which the government said was "very likely" carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Hours later, "an air operation was carried out against terrorist targets in the north of Iraq and Syria," the defence ministry said in a statement.

"A total of 32 targets belonging to the terrorists were successfully destroyed."

The US-backed SDF spearheaded the campaign that dislodged Islamic State group jihadists from their last scraps of Syrian territory in 2019.

Turkey sees the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which dominate the SDF, as an offshoot of the PKK.

Turkish troops and allied rebel factions control swathes of northern Syria following successive cross-border offensives since 2016, most of them targeting the SDF.

(AFP)

DEM Party Headquarters in Ankara attacked

The DEM Party Headquarters in Ankara was attacked last night.


ANF
ANKARA
Friday, 25 October 2024, 

The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Headquarters building in Ankara was attacked last night.

DEM Party Spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan wrote on her social media: "Our DEM Party Headquarters in Balgat, one of the busiest neighborhoods of Ankara, where many political parties have their headquarters, was attacked at midnight on Thursday."

Doğan added: "As seen in the photos, the doors and windows were broken, and an attempt was made to take down our sign. We reiterate that this poor mentality that seeks provocations cannot intimidate or stop us. We call on the Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya to quickly take action to take the necessary precautions and to identify the attackers."

DEM Party calls for immediate halt to Turkish air strikes on Northern and Eastern Syria

The DEM Party called for an immediate halt to Turkish air strikes on the autonomous region of Northern and Eastern Syria: "Military operations against civilians violate international law."


ANF
ANKARA
Thursday, 24 October 2024, 13:07

The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) called for an immediate halt to Turkish attacks on the autonomous region of Northern and Eastern Syria.

The party executive's statement said: "The air strikes launched after the attack on the TUSAŞ compound in Ankara-Kahramankazan will only exacerbate the violence in the region. The bombing of many centers in Northern and Eastern Syria, especially in Kobanê, is endangering the lives of civilians. The devastating effects of the war could be catastrophic for all parties in the region. Military operations targeting civilians also violate international law. The continuation of war and conflict will only cause more suffering and losses. We appeal to all parties to work for dialogue and peaceful solutions. The bombing of civilian habitats must stop immediately."

Turkey targets wheat warehouse in Kobanê, injures workers

The Turkish state targeted a wheat warehouse in Kobanê. Many workers were injured.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Friday, 25 October 2024, 

The occupying Turkish state bombed a wheat warehouse in the village of Rovî in Kobanê.

It was reported that many workers were injured, one seriously, in the attack carried out by unmanned armed aerial vehicles.

KDC-F: Stop Turkish state bombing of civilians in Rojava



ANF
PARIS
Thursday, 24 October 2024, 17:42


The Kurdish Democratic Council in France (KDC-F) issued a statement in which it "strongly condemns the deadly bombings carried out by the Turkish army in northern Syria, which have caused, according to initial reports, the death of more than 12 civilians, including children, and injured more than 25 other people. These bombings, which occurred after the attack on the headquarters of Turkey's defense industries near Ankara, are not only unjustified, but also constitute flagrant war crimes."

The KDC-F added: "By targeting villages, civilian infrastructure and populated areas, Turkey is once again demonstrating its determination to break the legitimate resistance of the Kurdish people. These barbaric acts, which blindly strike children and civilians, reveal the Turkish government's war strategy of eradication."

The statement continued "We denounce this unacceptable violence, which violates international law and humanitarian conventions. The KDC-F calls on the international community, as well as France and the International Coalition, to assume their responsibilities by intervening to put an end to these massacres and protect civilian populations."

The KDC-F said that on Saturday, demonstrations will be organized throughout France, particularly in Paris, to denounce these bombings and express our solidarity with the victims and the Kurdish people.

The Kurdish organization called "on French civil society to mobilize against these repeated attacks and to stand alongside the Kurdish people in their struggle for peace, justice and dignity."

Under the sea

Many scientists believe that the real unexplored frontier lies deep in the oceans.

Rafia Zakaria 

Published October 23, 2024

DAWN

WHEN people think of unexplored frontiers these days, they tend to think of other planets and the universe at large. Space exploration, including successful missions to Mars, have led many to believe that in a couple of generations from now, travel to the moon and Mars will not only be possible but also quite easily achieved.

If you speak to oceanographers, however, they will tell you that the real unexplored frontier is not beyond the heavens but under the sea. The depths of the ocean, they assert, have more secrets and possibilities than moons and planets. Maybe, there is some truth to their assertions, given that oceanographers say that a paltry 20 per cent of the ocean has been mapped.

One expedition in the Atlantic Ocean has found a real ‘lost city’ beneath the waves and oceanographers say that it is teeming with marine life. While this city is not some lost human civilisation its description is still awe-inspiring. The towering landscape of this marine city is located near the mid-Atlantic Ridge and consists of massive walls, columns and monoliths of more than 60 metres. Many of the white spires spew hydrogen or methane gas into the surrounding water. These, in turn, are believed to provide fuel to trillions of microbes living in the city.

Such a world’s existence under the sea is beyond the limits of imagination. This city, along with its rock walls and rich marine life, is said to be over 120,000 years old — an indescribably long period of time. But even this marine ecosystem is a blip considering that our planet and life on it is believed to be around four billion years old. Scientists have become fascinated with studying microbes and the ecosystem in this undersea city, because it is an example of how organisms can survive without oxygen. Scientists think that such an undersea ecosystem might provide clues as to the possibility of life in space.

Many scientists believe that the real unexplored frontier lies deep in the oceans.

It may take a while before scientists can establish what nutrients the microbes in the lost city are scrounging around for. The lost city might provide clues as to how life may be possible in extreme conditions. As humans we rely on oxygen to survive, and the exploration of new frontiers has thus been guided by the search for nutrients and gases that we consider necessary for our own survival. However, in this ecosystem, scientists hypothesise that the swirling waters could generate favourable conditions for life.

An interesting report in the New York Times, a couple of months ago, focuses on the oceanic exploration. It refers to the journal Science, which published a report about a 30-member expedition that had managed to drill deep into the lost city to access a vast expanse of rare rocky material, which may support the work of scientists who believe that life began under the ocean and through basic microbes that survive in inhospitable underwater conditions. The large amount of rocky material will lead to systematic scientific studies that can help us understand processes integral to the origin of life on Earth.

This particular expedition — named the ‘Building Blocks of Life — drilled into a rocky seabed located at a distance of 2,250 kilometres from Bermuda. According to the NYT, “Its tallest spire rivals a 20-storey building.” It was due to the efforts of an international consortium of 20 countries that made the exploration possible — an example in global cooperation that could be replicated to solve other scientific puzzles.

The conseque­n­­ce of such scientific discoveries can tra­nsform human bei­ngs’ understanding of themselves and of life on Earth. The story of tiny organisms surviving on almost nothing links up with the unknown frontiers of life. Just like it felt impossible that any kind of life would exist in the mega depths of the ocean, so it had seemed that life would be impossible in the depths of space.

Delving deep into these little understood frontiers of exploration inevitably makes one aware of the small fraction of time in which human beings have existed on Earth. The idea of billions of years in which microbial life existed on our own opens up questions about where planets and moons that seem austere and lifeless really are in their life cycle. When we do not see life on the surface of planets or moons in a form that we are familiar with, it does not mean that there isn’t any life at all.

The seeming emptiness of new frontiers could mean simply that life is in a long state of gestation — a period that lasts millions of years here on Earth.

The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy.

rafia.zakaria@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, October 23th, 2024