Etxebarrieta: The solution to the Kurdish question passes through Mr. Öcalan’s freedom

The Basque Parliament MP from Euskal Herria Bildu, Oihana Etxebarrieta, said that "the solution to the Kurdish question passes through Mr. Öcalan’s freedom."



DEM Party Urfa MP Ömer Öcalan met with Abdullah Öcalan in Imrali after 44 months of incommunicado. Öcalan told his nephew that isolation in Imrali continues, and said: "If the conditions are right, I have the theoretical and practical power to move this process from the grounds of conflict and violence to the grounds of law and politics."

Oihana Etxebarrieta, is an MP in the Basque Regional Parliament from the left party Euskal Herria Bildu (EH Bildu), and one of the supporters of the global initiative “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, Political Solution to the Kurdish Question”. She spoke to ANF about isolation in Imrali and the role of the Kurdish people’s leader.

A leader who tries to exist despite everything

Etxebarrieta said: "Abdullah Öcalan is the undisputed political and intellectual leader of a movement that has never given up working, existing and trying to transform the situation that not only the Kurdish people but also the Turkish people are subjected to, despite all the oppression by the Turkish government."

Isolation is real torture

Etxebarrieta added: "This absolute isolation forces Abdullah Öcalan to endure severe oppression. This isolation is not legal. Depriving a person of all communication and interaction for 44 months is real torture. Isolation is also torture for Abdullah Öcalan’s family and friends, who do not know what his situation is. The Imrali isolation is also another form of oppression targeting the Kurdish movement as a whole."

The meeting should evolve into a real negotiation

Etxebarrieta said that the last meeting with the Kurdish people’s leader was important, and added: "This visit was something that was eagerly awaited because everyone needed to learn about the situation of Mr. Öcalan. Many people were worried about Mr. Öcalan’s life, and this is understandable. We did not know anything about him, so it was very important to learn what his situation was. I hope that this meeting will mark the beginning of a new era. A process will take place where he can express himself and establish more comprehensive communication, both to those close to him and to his movement. Time will tell. I hope that change will come, because Abdullah Öcalan represents both the path of dialogue and the voice of a people who need to be recognized and exist with their own identity. Abdullah Öcalan is a political leader who must be a part of the process that the Kurds are trying to build at every stage."

Etxebarrieta continued: "The message that Abdullah Öcalan sent from his cell is very impressive. I said that the conditions that Öcalan is in are torture and that this torture has become a constant against the leader of a people. Öcalan’s message is a very clear indication that, despite the conditions he is in, he still maintains the intellectual and political capacity to understand the moment we are in and to identify the needs of his people. Instead of surrendering, he is trying to open a path of dialogue, a political path for the Kurdish people. This situation is impressive and shows the great political and intellectual capacity of a leader. If a real solution is desired, Öcalan must be released. This is our first demand. I believe that Abdullah Öcalan has already shown his ability to open channels for dialogue, to initiate solution processes in which the people are a part, and to establish and recognize social rights not only for the Kurdish people, but also, as I said, for the Turkish people."

Etxebarrieta added: "In my opinion, Mr. Öcalan represents everything that the Kurdish people want, and the movement expects from him. However, first he should be listened to by the state and should have the necessary tools to initiate the dialogue stages. I would like to emphasize in particular that in order for these dialogue stages to take place, Abdullah Öcalan must be free. He must remain free."

An inspiring leader

Parliamentarian Etxebarrieta said: "Mr. Öcalan’s thoughts are very important. For me, Öcalan is not only someone who is aware that political and social change is through the liberation of women, but also someone who defends this fiercely in practice. Abdullah Öcalan has put forward and shown this stance, that is, the path to women’s liberation and the path to women having equal rights with men, through Jineoloji. In a region where women's rights have suffered great setbacks today, seeing Kurds continue to place these rights at the center of their system of defense is, in my opinion, one of the greatest examples of progress. I think Öcalan's approach is an inspiration for everyone, including us. ‘Jin Jiyan Azadî’ is more than a slogan. It is the expression of a feeling, an emotion, a revolution that can take other forms. Of course, as feminists and people who believe in the possibility of another world, we believe that it is essential to place this at the center of our thinking. Öcalan’s ideas, as I said, are an important source of inspiration for us."


Emphasizing that the European Union’s stance against the PKK constitutes a significant obstacle to a solution to the Kurdish problem and that the PKK should be removed from the ‘terrorist list’ immediately, Etxebarrieta said: "We are against Europe’s decision regarding the PKK. We believe that if the way is to be opened for negotiations as part of the peace process, it is essential to create equitable conditions that will allow all parties to participate in the process under fair and balanced conditions."

Solidarity is essential for us

Noting that the international community has a great responsibility in terms of solving the Kurdish question and the freedom of the Kurdish people’s leader, Etxebarrieta said: "We must continue to do what we have done so far in the international arena. We must continue to show and defend the political and democratic nature of the ideas put forward by the Kurdish movement. At the same time, it must be essential for us to underline and condemn the very strong oppression currently being applied to the Kurdish people, especially Abdullah Öcalan and many Kurdish politicians in prison. As we have always said and will always say, as Euskal Herria Bildu (EH Bildu) in the Basque Country, we are very close to the Kurdish movement and stand by them. We demand and hope that Abdullah Öcalan will be free. We will always stand by the Kurdish people and Öcalan. We hope that we will walk this path together with Öcalan in the future as well."

KURDISTAN

YPS-Jin carries out actions to mark the PKK’s founding anniversary

The Civil Protection Units – Women carried out several actions in Amed to mark the anniversary of the founding of the PKK.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Friday, 22 November 2024,

The Civil Protection Units – Women (YPS-Jin) carried out a series of actions in Amed (tr. Diyarbakir) to mark the anniversary of the founding of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) on 27 November 1978.

The series of actions by YPS-Jin began with an attack on a Vodafone base station in Silvan district on 8 November. The station was severely damaged. On 18 November, the activists hung a banner in a prominent place on the city wall of Amed. The poster read ‘Congratulations on 27 November’. On 21 November, the YPS-Jin targeted a power distribution centre that supplied the homes of judges and prosecutors in the Bes Yuz Evler neighbourhood of Amed.

In a statement on Friday, YPS-Jin said: “With our actions, we are celebrating the 46th anniversary of the founding of the PKK. This day is the day of the birth of our freedom, it is our holiday. Rêber Apo (Leader Abdullah Öcalan) ensured the resurrection of a people who were about to die. He revealed a struggling people who are passionately attached to freedom, who forbid themselves to live a life other than freedom. The PKK became the representative of the Kurdish people's struggle. As a people who have been claimed finished for 46 years, we respond to the fascist system: the PKK is the people and we will smash your system of denial and destruction with this ideology.”

‘The PKK has become the hope of freedom for all humanity today’

"The PKK is fighting for humanity, and humanity sees its salvation in the PKK. Today, the PKK has become the centre of hope for freedom for all humanity. The freedom guerrillas have been struggling for 46 years without interruption for this purpose.”


RUKEN TOLHİLDAN-TEKOŞÎN DEVRÎM
BEHDINAN
Friday, 22 November 2024, 13:39

Guerrillas from the HPG (People’s Defense Forces) spoke to ANF on the occasion of the foundation anniversary of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) on 27 November 1978 in the village of Fis in Amed (tr. Diyarbakir) province. The guerrillas stated that all Kurds rose up thanks to the struggle led by Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

HPG Guerrilla Mordem Efrîn: “Our party, the PKK, has left 46 years behind and entered its 47th year. May this meaningful and historic day be blessed to Rêber Apo (Leader Abdullah Öcalan), to the HPG-YJA Star guerrillas fighting in the positions and war tunnels, and to all our people. Undoubtedly, the conditions that led to the establishment of the PKK represent an important period for the Kurdish people and the Middle East in particular. At that time, society was in the grip of great violence and genocide. In these difficult conditions, Rêber Apo took the first steps and founded the PKK. The PKK started with a small group; today it has gained thousands of cadres, millions of sympathisers and friends. This has an important meaning for us. Many revolutionary movements have emerged in history, but the PKK has a very different place. The PKK, which analysed the reality of that period in depth and lived among the people, built a social revolution against capitalist modernity. On the basis of Rêber Apo's philosophy, it has been shown that socialism should be based on a correct foundation. For this reason, the PKK has continued its struggle until today.

In particular, it fought against the occupying forces in Kurdistan and, first and foremost, against the occupying Turkish state. The Turkish state claimed that it had finished the Kurds, but with the struggle led by the PKK, the Kurds rose up. Today, the Kurdish people are leading the peoples of the world with their struggle. The PKK is fighting for humanity, and humanity sees its salvation in the PKK. The guerrilla struggle is for the peoples of the Middle East and for humanity. The people also consider and embrace this struggle as their own. The people support the guerrilla resistance with their marches. The 46-year struggle continues today and will end in victory. With the support and determination of the people, this victory will be won faster. The system of capitalist modernity will be destroyed. The PKK is the power of the people. Especially today, an inhuman war is being waged in Southern Kurdistan and Behdînan. What sustains the HPG and YJA Star guerrillas is the ideological and spiritual power of their party, the PKK. They are sacrificing themselves to protect their people. The guerrillas are defending human values. The PKK is no longer just a Kurdish party, it is a universal party and today it has become the hope of freedom for all humanity.”

HPG Guerrilla Şahîn Botan: “The PKK is the party of martyrs. The PKK was founded by our Leader in memory of our pioneer comrade, the martyr Haki Karer. Thanks to the sacrifices of Rêber Apo and our martyrs, we have achieved many gains until today. It is very important to get to know the PKK and grasp its reality. The PKK is a movement for humanity. It has defended its culture, language, people and country. Before the PKK was founded, there was nothing left in the name of the Kurds and Kurdistan. Kurds could not speak their mother tongue or live their culture.

However, the struggle that started with Rêber Apo's words ‘Kurdistan is a colony’ has reached a very strong point today. The Turkish state, with the support of imperialist powers, is attacking the Kurdish people and all libertarian movements. However, against these attacks, our comrades who resist in the tunnels put up the greatest sacrifice. It is very important to understand this reality and live accordingly.

One who does not see the truth cannot wage a correct struggle against the enemy. Those who do not wage a real struggle are assimilated into the enemy and lose their humanity, language, culture and identity. This is why it is so important to live with the PKK and to be a PKK member. Our leader built a party that granted our people their identity. Rêber Apo's ideology has spread all over the world today and the struggle for his physical freedom continues. The Rojava Revolution and the struggle all over Kurdistan were born from the reality of the PKK. The PKK is a movement that embodies the history of Kurdistan and humanity. There is no life without the PKK. Those who are on the side of the PKK are collaborating with Kurdish enemies and betraying their people and country. But the PKK and the guerrillas stand against this occupation. The PKK is not only a Kurdish movement, it is an international movement. The PKK defends human values and the culture of free life. Finally, I congratulate Rêber Apo, the martyrs of the revolution, all the comrades and our people struggling for freedom on the anniversary of the founding of the PKK.”

 

Caucasus Feminist Anti-War Movement: Against Azerbaijan’s authoritarianism, COP29, green capitalism, wars and the regional slide into authoritarianism

By Caucasus Feminist Anti-War Movement

Published 22 November, 2024

First published at LeftEast.

Caucasus Feminist Anti-War Movement (C-FAM) is an emerging movement of feminist and anti-war/peace activists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Unified in our defiance, C-FAM originated from a powerful solidarity action to confront the greenwashing practices at COP29 taking place in Azerbaijan on November 2024, one of the largest events in our region in recent times. Our movement embodies the principles of feminism, anti-militarism, anti-war, anti-authoritarianism, anti-nationalism, and anti-capitalism, opposing oppressive systems that perpetuate inequality and violence.

We advocate for the radical decolonization of the South Caucasus, rejecting the oppressive binary imposed by Western and Russian influences, which fractures our region and suppresses its true potential. C-FAM is committed to dismantling the pervasive nationalist and patriarchal structures that fuel conflict and exploitation in our homelands.

Our activism is rooted in intersectionality, recognizing that the liberation of one is inextricably linked to the liberation of all. We strive to forge a new geopolitical consciousness that prioritizes local voices and sustainable, community-led development over foreign intervention and corporate agendas.

C-FAM calls for transformative change through direct action, educational outreach, and international solidarity. We aim to re-envision our region’s future free from the shackles of neo-colonialism, militarization, and authoritarian rule, fostering a culture of peace and egalitarianism. We fight to create a South Caucasus that is autonomous, resilient, and grounded in the values of freedom and equity for all its peoples.

Together, we reject the false dichotomy between the West and Russia, advocating for a third path — one that is crafted by and for the people of the South Caucasus, reclaiming our region’s agency and redefining its place in the world. We believe peace is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of justice.

Our protest in Georgia during the opening day of the COP29 summit on 11th of November 2024 is a testament to our shared resistance and the growing demand for a just future. We come together to expose the devastating impacts of authoritarianism, green capitalism, and the entrenchment of oppressive regimes across the region. As a coalition of feminist anti-war voices from across the Caucasus, we are challenging the narrative that seeks to isolate our struggles from global movements for justice. We reject the complicity of both local and international powers in maintaining systems of exploitation and demand an end to the erasure of our experiences and the voices of those most affected.

Below, we share our full statement, outlining the core demands and messages of our movement. We hope it resonates with those who share our vision for a world that prioritizes freedom, equality, and sustainability over profit and oppression.

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Collective statement by Caucasus Feminist Anti-War Movement: Against Azerbaijan’s authoritarianism, COP29, green capitalism, wars and the regional slide into authoritarianism

In the face of oppression, we raise our voices for those silenced. In the wake of greenwashing, we tear down the mask of exploitation. In the shadow of war, we demand justice for the people of the Caucasus: Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Georgians, Talysh, Lezgins, Avars, Tats, Kurds, Chechens, Kabardins, Tatars, Abkhazians, Ossetians, Cherkess, in total more than 50 ethnic groups that inhabit our homeland.

Today, we stand united—Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian activists, along with allies around the world—demanding an end to the systems of oppression that devastate our lands and communities.

We, a coalition of activists, came together to let our voices be heard and deliver several messages to the World.

Together, we declare:

1. Stop Azerbaijan: A COP29 host that masks authoritarianism with greenwashing

The Azerbaijani regime has captured people into an open-air prison. It’s land borders are closed for four years since 2020 under the pretext of the COVID pandemic. The regime wants to have full control over our bodies and our minds. It imprisons the ones who think differently, it exiles the ones who are declared to be ethnic and political others, it prevents the ones who are in the country to leave and find refuge elsewhere, it drowns people in poverty and oppresses dissent by taking the loved ones of those dissenting as hostages.

Those who speak out — journalists, activists, feminists, or the brave souls without labels in villages like Söyüdlü and Nardaran — are met with police brutality, imprisonment, and, in some cases, risk of disappearance without even an illusion of a trial. This isn’t just political persecution; it is the systematic erasure of voices who dare envision a freer Azerbaijan. But as we see today, the regime fails to silence us all as we are among the people who refuse to surrender their existence and thus, continue to resist.

We stand here for our friends and comrades in Azerbaijani prisons:

For Sevinj Vagifqizi

For Nargiz Absalamova

For Elnara Gasimova

For Bahruz Samadov

For Igbal Abilov

For Farid Mehralizada

For Gubad Ibadoghlu

For Afiyaddin Mammadov

For Fazil Gasimov

For Aykhan Israfilov

For Elvin Mustafayev

For Mahammad Kekalov

For Ulvi Hasanli

For Hafiz Babali

and the other 300 political prisoners.

As these political prisoners languish behind bars, tortured in silence, the world looks away. For decades, the world has looked away and tolerated a dictator who oppresses its own people. These powers have not only tolerated a dictator but made his very reign possible by pumping his clan with oil money. It is only in the moment when this dictatorship has become dangerous for neighboring countries that some are opening their eyes. Aliyev failed to resolve this conflict for almost 20 years in power. His way was to start a war with Armenia and ethnically cleanse Armenians. However, even then we see how profit can make the those who have a voice indifferent again.

Today, we say: No more. Authoritarianism cannot be “greenwashed.” The hypocrisy must end. We call on COP29 attendees to demand the release of political prisoners in Azerbaijan and reject all forms of complicity in Aliyev’s oppression. Environmental justice must mean freedom, not oppression masquerading as sustainability.

2. End our region being a battleground for capitalist and imperial interests

Since the first wells of oil were drilled in Azerbaijan, our region has suffered under the yoke of imperial forces. Today, both Russia and the West, and regional powers like Turkey exploit our region for profit and control, deepening divisions among our people. Under the guise of “green energy,” the West seeks new extractive markets, while Russia and Turkey cling to their imperial ambitions. Our countries are used as pawns — sites of conflict and profit, torn apart by outside interests. Nothing much has changed over a century: colonial and imperial logic of “divide and rule” continues.

Yet today it has a new mask- a “green and sustainable” one. Under the name of green energy – a new brand for extractivism cloaked in sustainability rhetoric and entrenched in profit – Allies in the Global North aim to profit from the transit of green energy and goods from the Global East. But for “in-between” empires like Russia – we are only an asset and an ex-colony – the periphery of Empire, that it can’t lose.

Being on the crossroads of empires and world capital means bloodshed, war and enormous grief to us – indigenous peoples of these lands. Our national elites are in the same club with colonial powers and capital and will never be on our side. They will never hesitate to impose war and devastation upon us to hold their power. This is what the Azerbaijani regime did in 2020 by waging a war, and later in 2023, by ethnically cleansing Armenians from their homes. Let us be clear: Azerbaijan’s plans to transform Nagorno-Karabakh into a so-called “Green Zone” is an exploitation agenda built on ethnic displacement, raw material extraction and resource monopolization.

To the profiteers: our region’s “green transition” must not come at the expense of our people, nor should it deepen inequality or exploit our resources. We demand a transition that serves the people, not global corporations or empires.

3. Keep the local tyrants accountable

Imperialism screws us over, but that doesn’t make our homegrown dictators any better. These so-called leaders only bring devastation, insecurity, and poverty. After more than 20 years of Aliyev’s rule — following the 30-year reign of his father — the people of Azerbaijan have only endured suffering: lacking decent food, healthcare, jobs, education, and freedom.

In Georgia, it’s been over a decade of suffering under the rule of the Georgian Dream and Ivanishvili. The people have faced broken healthcare, precarious jobs, and a neoliberal economy that offers nothing but misery. Now, Ivanishvili wants to strip away freedom of speech and assembly, hiding behind the excuse of a “Global War Party” conspiracy, which conveniently lets Russia elude any responsibility for its war in Ukraine and its chaos in our region.

These wannabe monarchs hold a massive chunk of our economies in their pockets. Ivanishvili alone controls a third of Georgia’s GDP, while Aliyev and his family, let alone his daughters, sit on an estimated $13 billion — almost half of Azerbaijan’s national budget.

To our so-called leaders, we say: The people deserve dignity, not dictators.

4. Stand with the Caucasus: Not isolated, but an essential part of global struggle

South Caucasus countries—Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia—are not in isolation and very much depend on world politics, but it is not a one-way street.

Today, the Azerbaijani regime is desperate and thus, claiming regional power. They try to host COP29, influence elections in Georgia, actively engage in politics in Turkey, have a stronghold in Central Asia, buy off European politicians, engage in illegal lobbying in the USA, and of course, force Armenia into political submission after the defeat in 2020. What is most vile is its ongoing role in and support for the genocide in Gaza by supplying Israel’s oil and gas. More than 40,000 people are massacred by the Israeli regime with the support of the Azerbaijani regime, and its State Oil Company – SOCAR – is shamefully complicit in this.

We are not separate from global politics, from what is happening in the rest of the world. We feel the chaos and turbulence of international relations more than people in the metropoles.

We, the people of the Caucasus, reject the greed, violence, and hypocrisy of our elites and their global allies.

Our Call to Action

We call upon all people, movements, and leaders to recognize that Azerbaijan’s regime is the antithesis of justice. Let us join together to expose these crimes, to amplify the voices of the silenced, and to reclaim our discourse of social justice. Only a world that prioritizes freedom and equality over profit, and community resilience over capitalist growth, can sustain life on this planet.

To those who try to divide us, we say:

We will not choose between genocidal and non-genocidal fascism.

We will not choose between Russia and The West.

We will not choose between starvation and a false freedom.

We will not choose between your imposed traditional values and your “civilized” values.

We reject these false dichotomies. We say: A plague o’ both of your houses.

Our struggle is global, our solidarity unbreakable, our commitment unyielding. No more silence. No more complicity.

Turkey: What's behind Erdogan's outreach to Kurds?

Elmas Topcu 

DW

November 20, 2024

The Turkish government is sending ambiguous signals to the Kurds. Analysts believe it is hoping to garner some votes while also possibly splitting the opposition.

Political gestures of importance: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes the hand of Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Leader Devlet Bahceli (L)

Image: DHA

When Devlet Bahceli, chairman of the ultra-nationalist Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP party, shook hands with politicians from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), the gesture marked a political U-turn.

Up until October, Bahceli had claimed that the left-wing, pro-Kurdish DEM Party, just like its predecessor, the HDP, was an extension of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party ( PKK) and should, therefore, be banned.

Even more surprising was Bahceli's next suggestion that PKK head Abdullah Ocalan could be released in exchange for announcing the dissolution of his party. Bahceli's party is considered the parent organization of the right-wing extremist group Grey Wolves and is known for its anti-minority ideology.

In the following days, the 76-year-old Ocalan received a visit from his family for the first time in 43 months. He has been in solitary confinement in a high-security prison since 1999.

A peace process with the PKK was put in place a decade ago already, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan terminated it a year later in 2015.

After a few non-violent years, the bloody conflict flared up once more.

The Turkish government cracked down on Kurdish politicians in Turkey and launched military operations in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria.

The PKK has its headquarters in Iraq's Qandil Mountains. A de facto self-governing Kurdish state, known as Rojava, has established itself in northeastern Syria.

Ahmet Turk, a pro-Kurdish politician, was elected as mayor three times and also dismissed three times

Image: Kivanc El/DW

A carrot and stick approach?

Since Bahceli's push for Ocalan's potential early release, people in Turkey have been puzzling over what the government in Ankara is up to.

Why are its representatives seeking proximity to Ocalan at the same time as elected Kurdish local politicians are being removed from office?

In late October, Ahmet Ozer, the mayor of Istanbul's Esenyurt district and a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP), was arrested for alleged links to the PKK.

A few days later, three Kurdish mayors in southeastern Turkey were replaced by state officers.

This also happened to Ahmet Turk, an 82-year-old veteran of Kurdish politics. He has been elected and dismissed as mayor of the city of Mardin three times.

Observers agree that Erdogan is set on becoming the president of Turkey again.

However, a constitutional amendment would be necessary for a fourth term in office. As of now, Erdogan lacks the necessary majority in parliament.

Analysts believe that his plan is to use the carrot and stick approach to bring the Kurds and pro-Kurdish DEM Party into line by offering concessions, such as softening Ocalan's sentence to house arrest or possibly ending the practice of imposing state officials in Kurdish regions.

Moreover, such moves could also split the opposition.

Could the Turkish government's hope be to offset Abdullah Ocalan's release for Kurdish votes?

Image: Christoph Hardt/Panama Pictures/picture alliance

Power shift in the Middle East?

Arzu Yilmaz, a political scientist at the University of Kurdistan Hewler in Iraq's city of Erbil believes that there are other reasons for the latest developments.

"First and foremost, the unstable situation in the Middle East and the US govenment's decision to withdraw US soldiers from Iraq and Syria by 2026," she told DW.

Given Donald Trump's re-election, this could happen sooner than expected, she added.

Around 2,500 US soldiers are still stationed in Iraq, and some 900 in Syria, where they cooperate closely with local Kurdish militias.

"The balance of power in the Middle East is shifting, but despite its ambitions, Turkey is not an important player," Yilmaz said, saying that Ankara might want to change that.

Bese Hozat, the co-chair of the Kurdistan Communities Union, an umbrella organization of several parties of Kurdistan, including the PKK, echoed these thoughts. "Turkey's geopolitical and geostrategic position and influence in the region is gradually weakening," she said in an interview, adding that this was "causing the Turkish government to panic."

In her view, this has pushed it to find a workaround and try to instrumentalize Kurdish leader Ocalan for its own purposes.

Military operations expected

Earlier this month, Erdogan announced that he would soon close the "security gaps on the southern borders".

This signals a new round of Turkish military operations in Syria and Iraq.

Arzu Yilmaz believes that the Iraqi Kurds have no reason to worry about the future as their status quo is enshrined in Iraq's constitution.

However, the future of the self-governing Kurdish region in northeastern Syria is more uncertain, she said, adding that so far the US had supported the Kurds but it remained to be seen what would happen after the withdrawal of US troops. It was unclear who would fill the resulting power vacuum.

A key factor would be how the Kurds in the various regions cooperated with each other, she said: "This will determine whether the Kurds ultimately emerge from this crisis stronger or weaker."

Sources close to the PKK say that an initial meeting of Kurdish parties from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey took place in the Belgian capital Brussels in November, however, the result of the discussion remains unknown.

The Kurds are the largest ethnic group in the world without their own state. According to estimates, more than 12 million live in Turkey, around 6 million in Iraq and the same in Iran, and just under 3 million in Syria.

Germany boasts the largest Kurdish diaspora community, which numbers around 1 million.

This article was translated from German.

A decade after the Islamic State, what lies ahead for the Iraqi Kurdistan region?

Analysis: As the decade that began with the rise of IS ends, the Iraqi Kurdistan Region faces a disturbing array of internal challenges.



Analysis
Winthrop Rodgers
19 November, 2024
THE NEW ARAB

At the start of 2014, Iraq’s Kurdistan Region was a centre of geopolitical attention. It had experienced a period of economic growth dating back to the mid-2000s, with many Kurds who had fled abroad in previous decades returning home.

At the beginning of the year, it was marketed positively as the “other Iraq”. By the end, the Kurdistan Region was the platform for the International Coalition to fight the Islamic State (IS). A decade later, it is now awkwardly caught between what it was and an uncertain future.

With the threat of IS much diminished, the international community has turned its focus elsewhere as crises in Ukraine and Gaza have emerged. As a result, domestic challenges in the Kurdistan Region are all the more potent and can no longer be papered over.
Related

Will KDP-PUK tensions threaten Iraqi Kurdistan's unity?
Analysis
Winthrop Rodgers

Former Kurdistan Parliament Speaker Yousef Mohammed Sadiq acknowledged that the war against IS was important but argued that there should be a greater focus on domestic factors when assessing the last decade.

“Other incidents that happened along with the emergence of the IS war have affected Kurdistan more,” Mohammed told The New Arab. “Unfortunately…Kurds could not benefit from all the sacrifices they made in the war against IS.”


Despite the massive influx of attention and funding from the international community for the fight against IS, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) struggled to pay its civil servants and launched a devastating program of austerity. Its economy is still struggling amid disputes with Baghdad and problems exporting oil.

Politically, it was pulled in two directions: a drive to reform the duopolistic system that had emerged in the 1990s or realise the birth of an independent state. Both paths failed to achieve their goals. Socially, a new generation of young people came of age shaped by these economic and political headwinds.

“Due to the local issues within the Kurdistan Region, I expect that it either stays like this or will get weaker,” Mohammed said.
A dark economic period

The Kurdistan Region’s economic boom came to a crashing halt in 2014. Although this coincided with and was exacerbated by the emergence of IS, it was primarily caused by disputes between Iraq’s federal government and the KRG over the budget and Erbil’s desire to export oil independently.

When the exports started, Baghdad cut off budget transfers to the Kurdistan Region. This had an outsized impact on the economy because the public sector is by far the most important employer and the KRG could no longer make payroll. In response, Erbil began withholding a portion of the salaries of all civil servants.

Although framed as a temporary measure, this austerity policy would last five years until 2019, and then resume for a time during the Covid-19 pandemic. The KRG promised to repay what it kept back from its people but has never made good on that pledge. The independent oil exports that it fought so hard to achieve never brought in enough money to offset what it had lost from the federal budget.

“People’s conditions got worse and they ended up spending all their savings from before 2014,” said Mohammed, noting that public servants still do not have much certainty about when their next paycheck is coming. Instead of being routine, the timing of salary disbursements is still front-page news in the Kurdistan Region.


There was a massive influx of attention and funding from the international community to Iraqi Kurdistan for the fight against IS. [Getty]


“This has not only affected government employees, but all residents of Kurdistan, because what is coming in and out in the market relies on public sector salaries,” Mohammed added.

Today, relations between Baghdad and Erbil remain troubled. The prospects for a national oil and gas law have dimmed. Despite some encouraging noises, oil exports are still suspended after almost two years. It is doubtful that there will be a major budgetary breakthrough ahead of the Iraqi parliamentary elections next year as all factions look to their bases.

Another lost decade lies ahead unless Baghdad and Erbil can find an agreement to provide timely, regular, and large infusions of cash from the federal budget.

Political failures

Since 2014, the Kurdistan Region was pulled in two directions politically: one focused on addressing a popular desire for reform and the other driven by nationalist ambitions. Neither would succeed in meeting their goals. As a result, Iraqi Kurdish politics is perhaps returning to its fundamentals.

By 2014, the Gorran Movement represented a serious challenge to the ruling duopoly of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union Kurdistan (PUK). It won the second-most seats in the Kurdistan Parliament in the 2013 regional elections on a platform of fighting corruption and instituting parliamentary democracy.

A constitutional crisis was boiling. Then-Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani had overstayed his mandate in office, in part because of an emergency agreement to aid the KRG’s response to IS. With the Kurdistan Parliament set to debate the issue, the KDP prevented Yousef Mohammed Sadiq from entering Erbil to preside as speaker. The KDP-Gorran power-sharing cabinet collapsed.
Related

A dark future for press freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan
In-depth
Winthrop Rodgers

Meanwhile, the war against IS and the support from the international community convinced Barzani that there was a unique opportunity to seize the long-held dream of independence. Without a functioning parliament, the KDP-led KRG pressed forward with the 2017 independence referendum.

In hindsight, the referendum is viewed as a major strategic mistake. It resulted in significant territorial losses, including Kirkuk. Since then, Baghdad has pressed its advantage and repeatedly restricted the Kurdistan Region’s autonomy.

As the reform project spearheaded by Gorran collapsed, the KDP and the PUK regained their footing as the two most powerful parties. However, they have become increasingly divided and unable to present a unified front.

Mohammed, who played a central role in these events, reflected that the politics of the past decade “caused a deep impact on the region and the loss of trust in the process of democracy in the KRG”.


Iraqi Kurdistan's social dynamics have changed massively in new ways over the past decade. [Getty]


“The Kurdistan Region is getting weaker and more divided due to the issues between the KDP and the PUK. As a consequence, the KRG as an entity has gotten weaker within the framework of the Iraqi state,” he added.

With both the reform and nationalist projects suffering heavy setbacks, the ruling KDP-PUK duopoly has again become the driving force in Iraqi Kurdish politics.

This is not encouraging. There will likely be a lengthy government formation process following the Kurdistan Parliament election on 20 October characterised by discord between the two parties. The result will be more instability and less certainty.

A new generation comes of age

If the Kurdistan Region’s economy is still grappling with the upheaval that began ten years ago and its politics are returning to a previous era, its social dynamics have changed massively in new ways over the past decade.

“A new generation has developed and emerged in our society,” Mohammed said. “This generation has not experienced the [1991] uprising and civil war era. That is why they have different goals and dreams.”

There are ongoing debates about freedom of speech, the role of women and minorities, and religious conservatism. All of them are heavily influenced by the emergence of social media.

The new generation sees “the whole world through their phones and most of them speak a different language, especially English. They also have a lot of aspirations and dreams but not enough opportunities,” Mohammed added, suggesting that this is partly the source of wide discontent among young people.

One consequence of this social upheaval, combined with the economic and political dysfunctions, is that many Iraqi Kurds are trying to migrate to Europe. This is a darker bookend to the late-2000s when the diaspora was coming home.

As the decade that began with the rise of IS ends, the Kurdistan Region faces a disturbing array of internal challenges. Even in the most ordinary circumstances, they would be difficult for a government and society to manage. But the Kurdistan Region is located in a part of the war where cataclysm is all too common.

A new era dawns, but the future is highly uncertain.

Winthrop Rodgers is a journalist and analyst based in Sulaymaniyah in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. He focuses on politics, human rights, and political economy.

Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @wrodgers2

Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan given new 6-month ban on lawyers’ visits

Abdullah Öcalan has been given a new 6-month ban on lawyers’ visits. Asrın Law Office will appeal to the Constitutional Court against the decision.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 21 November 2024

According to Mezopotamya Agency, Abdullah Öcalan and the other three prisoners in Imrali, Ömer Hayri Konar, Veysi Aktaş and Hamili Yıldırım, have been given a new 6-month ban on lawyers’ visits.

The lawyers of Asrın Law Office applied to Bursa 2nd Execution Judgeship for a visit with Öcalan and the other prisoners, but instead they learned that a new 6-month ban had been given to their clients on 6 November. The lawyers were not informed about the reason for the ban.

The objections to the decision were rejected by Bursa High Criminal Court. The lawyers will now appeal to the Constitutional Court (AYM) against the decision.

Internationalist activists: Abdullah Öcalan's thoughts and philosophy give us hope

Expressing that the aggravated isolation of Abdullah Öcalan is against international law, internationalist activists said, “Abdullah Öcalan's thoughts and philosophy give us hope. We must fight together for his freedom.”


DENİZ İKE-ZİLAN KARATAŞ
COLOGNE
Thursday, 21 November 2024,

Tens of thousands of Kurds friends participated in a march and rally in Cologne, Germany on 16 November as part of the ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’ campaign that was launched globally in October 2023. The internationalists who participated in the rally conveyed the message ‘Abdullah Öcalan's greeting is the light of women's struggle’.

Internationalist activists Min Sommer and Sarah Berg, who participated in the rally, spoke to ANF and stated the following: “We must fight together for the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and take a decisive stand.”

Min Sommer noted that Öcalan has been in isolation for 26 years in violation of all international laws and said, “The German government and the European Union talk about democracy and human rights, but they do nothing about it. They are acting in their own interests because they are continuing their arms deals with the Turkish state. They consider these relations with Turkey more important than the protection of human rights. This is because big German companies benefit from these relations. This is why the repression of the Kurds is increasing in Germany and this is a great hypocrisy. The international community and Germany must take action to end the isolation and ensure the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan.”

Sarah Berg, another young internationalist, stated that she participated in the rally for the physical freedom of Öcalan and said: “We came together here today for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and the crowd gathered here shows how important this demand is. Millions of people do not accept and condemn the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and the practices against international law. The existence and freedom of Abdullah Öcalan is a great source of hope for us internationalists. His thoughts and philosophy give us hope. We want to fight for this together and that is why we are here today.”

Colectiva Las Kompas vows to continue the struggle for ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan’

Colectiva Las Kompas expresses their anger at the Turkish state's continued isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and emphasises that they will continue to struggle together for his freedom.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 21 November 2024

The Mexico-based women's collective Colectiva Las Kompas sent a letter to the Kurdistan Women's Freedom Movement and the people of Rojava.

In a letter sent by comrades of the Kurdistan Women's Movement in Abya Yala, the Collective expressed their happiness after learning that Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan is in good health and, but said they are very angry and resentful that the Turkish state continues to keep Öcalan in isolation and under constant torture. “For this reason, together with you, our comrades, we will continue to demand his freedom,” said the letter, which further included the following:

“We also see that the bombings of the fascist Turkish state have intensified in order to destroy the Kurdish people's struggle for freedom and the Autonomous Administration experience in Rojava, which has raised the hope of all peoples. We also see ourselves in this barbarity. Today, a massacre is also taking place in Mexico. With the help of the government, the war, which supposedly appears to be between the drug cartels, is in essence being waged against our peoples. In this context, murders of indigenous leaders, human rights defenders and journalists who protect the land are increasing. The Mexican state and gangs are forcibly arming young people. With these pressures, they force people to flee and leave their territories. Thus, they are trying to destroy the Zapatista autonomy and the resistance of indigenous peoples, which is the hope for our region. The Zapatistas have a new generation of youth and children who are trained to build a new world; they want to eliminate them.

The same thousand-headed monster (Hydra) is chasing us all over the world, but it cannot destroy us. We are outraged at all the suffering that has brought tears to our eyes in Rojava, Chiapas and many other places. We know that the source of all the disasters we are experiencing is this damned patriarchal capitalist system. We see that this monster tries to neutralise our resistance by creating in us a sense of helplessness. But at such moments, we turn to your struggle and draw strength and energy from your struggle and resistance. Your struggle insisting on love, honour and free coexistence in the midst of evil and war is a source of inspiration for us.

And here we are. We are with you in our territories, in the spaces of indigenous communities, in the cities and suburbs.”

The collective concluded its letter by recalling the words of Bety Cariño, the murdered female pioneer in Mexico: “As our sister and comrade Bety Cariño says, ‘We sow dreams and reap hope’ and we send our love, resistance and rebellion energy to you through this letter. Freedom for Öcalan, Jin, Jiyan, Azadi.”

TURKIYE OCCUPIED KURDISTAN

Mehmet Karayılan: I call on our people to support the municipality

The co-mayor of Halfeti, Mehmet Karayılan, was removed from office by the Turkish regime and replaced by a trustee. He said that this approach is part of a strategic plan, calling for people to stand up for the city administration.


ANF
URFA
Thursday, 21 November 2024, 11:13

On 4 November, a so-called municipal coup took place in three Kurdish cities. The co-mayors of Batman (Êlih), Mardin (Mêrdîn) and Halfeti (Xelfetî) were deposed by the AKP-MHP regime and replaced by government-appointed trustees.

The co-mayor of Halfeti, Mehmet Karayılan (DEM party), talked to ANF about the regime's actions and the prospects for resistance against them.

Halfeti is a district town of strategic importance and, as the home of Abdullah Öcalan, also has significant symbolic value. It is striking that a trustee was appointed to Halfeti after the leader of the MHP, Devlet Bahçeli, a member of the coalition government with the AKP, had said that Öcalan should speak in parliament? Do you see a connection?

It is important to note that this is not just about Halfeti. For three terms, the will of the Kurdish people has been trampled on by trustees. So the latest appointment of trustees in three cities is a strategic goal. Hezbollah was organized in Batman in the 1990s and the AKP and HÜDA-PAR [the political arm of Hezbollah] are making great efforts to intimidate the population here. Nevertheless, Gülistan Sönük was elected co-mayor with a large share of the vote. I think the trustee was appointed by the system in Batman because it was unable to accept this defeat. In Mardin, Ahmet Türk, a very important Kurdish politician, a long-standing MP who held both the general chairmanship and the co-chairmanship, was elected co-mayor. The appointment of the trustee here is obviously intended to attack Kurdish politics also at a symbolic level.

Halfeti is the place where Mr Öcalan was born. It is also a district where Turks and Kurds live together. Therefore, it is in an important and strategic location. Here, the appointment of a trustee goes against the model of fraternal coexistence, in my opinion.

You came into office with the local elections held on 31 March, and built service structures. With the appointment of the trustee, these services were stopped. What do you think about this?

When we came into office, the situation in Halfeti naturally relaxed. This affected even the police and the military police. Because the trustee had built up a criminal network in Halfeti and established complete control over the bureaucracy. Land sales and speculation were at the highest level; communal land and communal properties, which actually belong to the people, were sold off and pastures destroyed. Halfeti is a multicultural and multi-ethnic region. But the trustee administration deepened polarization, corruption increased and drugs became widespread. I also see a connection with the strategic importance of Halfeti as Mr. Öcalan's hometown. But our people supported us. Immediately after the election, we began to offer the same services to everyone, regardless of whether they voted for or against us. We held meetings with the shop owners and created a city administration based on participation. When a new trustee was appointed, the first thing he did was cut down the mulberry tree opposite the town hall that had provided us all with shade. He deleted the Kurdish names from the city administration's social media accounts and closed the city administration building. Not just to us, but also to his own employees and the entire people.

What would you like to tell the people of Halfeti?

I would like to respectfully greet all those people who have not left our city council alone since the coup of 4 November, as well as those who have defended their will, and all those who cannot be with us physically but condemn the trustees. We will not accept this coup against our will and will continue to resist. We invite all our people to march to the city hall and defend their will.

 

Kiribati Has Benefitted from Abolishing Its Military

by Richard Westra / November 20th, 2024

David Swanson asked me to write about Kiribati after I wrote to him to point out Costa Rica is not the only “full-fledged and totally independent country to be entirely demilitarised.” Kiribati, and other small countries I suspect, have no military. In Kiribati’s case this was a deliberate decision taken by the first President and Government of Kiribati as it was becoming Independent in 1979. Like Costa Rica it has almost certainly benefitted from that foundational decision. Many other newly independent ex British colonies suffered from coups and military rule as a result of the British policy of promoting nationhood on the British model: Westminster type parliament, independent judiciary, and a military force. It was interesting interviewing Sir Ieremia Tabai, the first President and a leading campaigner at the time when it was an issue, stating that the motivation was heavily economic – we are a small country with very little money so we can’t go wasting it on buying guns. If only more leaders would adhere to such basic commonsense!

But first of all a bit of an introduction to Kiribati, as most people have never heard of us and even fewer know much about us. Kiribati sits right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean but tending to the Western side. It is the only country in the world with a claim to be in all four hemispheres, north, south, east and west, spanning as it does the Equator and the 180 meridian, the International Date Line. There are 33 islands spread over 3000kms from west to east along the Equator. The population is currently 130,000 and rising fast, with more than half living in the capital Tarawa. The population is over 90% ethnically homogenous Micronesian, I-Kiribati, with its own language and unique culture. Kiribati dance is a unique cultural form and is central in the culture, an integral part of every occasion from the opening of Parliament to weddings, birthdays, and public holidays. It is one of the main ways in which the culture preserves itself, the Kiribati diaspora using it as an excuse to come together wherever they are and teach it to the children.

Current revenue is predominantly from fishing licences for the right to fish in Kiribati’s vast Exclusive Economic Zone, mainly tuna. The country is very democratic with 45 MPs elected from all the islands who then choose Presidential candidates from amongst their number and these then go up for election by the whole country. The President, who sits for 4 years, barring a vote of no confidence, then chooses a Cabinet from amongst their supporters. The country is now on its fifth President in 45 years. Presidents can have a maximum of three terms. Despite being classified by the UN as a Least Developed State Kiribati has free universal education and health provision, a form of Universal Basic Income, state provision for disabled people, and a non-contributary pension scheme for all those over 60. While some of these benefits are well below the standards provided in more wealthy countries they all represeent advances on previous times. Kiribati has a sovereign wealth fund of $1.5 billion and receives foreign aid from countries such as Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Korea, the USA, Cuba, the UN, and the EU. The logistics of Kiribati ensure that it is never likely to become a developed state: the isolation and distances involved, and the consequent difficulties of providing services to tiny communities of only a few hundred people separated by thousands of kilometres ensuring that it continues to be underdeveloped, by world standards.

Isolation has not prevented Kiribati from suffering the depradations of colonialism, militarism, and capitalism. The islands were initially settled by various waves of settlement over the past few thousand years resulting in a homogenous culture and language developed over that timescale. Western Europeans started to arrive in the 19th century, particularly whalers operating out of America and elsewhere which started the first great exploitation, decimating the whale population which has not recovered to this day. This was followed at the turn of the 20th century by the beginning of phosphate mining on Banaba, or Ocean Island as it was called by the British. Banaba was mined to such an extent that its inhabitants were forced to resettle on another island which had been bought for them with their own money. It has been suggested that Banaba’s phosphate was used to subsidise the exponential growth of agriculture in Australia and New Zealand, Britain’s partners in exploiting Kiribati, to the tune of $800 million until the phosphate ran out in 1979, the year of Kiribati independence from Britain. Banaban phosphate royalties also covered the cost of Britain’s colonial administration of the Kiribati.

During WWII, the Japanese invaded Kiribati and fortified one island heavily which then became the site of one of the first major battles of the Pacific war when it was retaken by the Americans at the Battle of Tarawa. In the post WWII decades the British used Kiribati as a nuclear testing ground, doing atmospheric tests on Kiritimati Island in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The U.S. tested its bombs on Bikini and Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands immediately north of Kiribati, while the French tested theirs in Muroroa to the south, inflicting on Kiribati and its Pacific island neighbours what Western nations’ own populations refused to accept.

Whilst fishing revenues are now the basis of the Kiribati economy, it is also true that this is the main way in which the country is exploited as its fishing licence revenues are only a small percentage of the profits gained by foreign fishing companies fishing in its EEZ. Kiribati has had to work hard, along with other Pacific countries, Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNU), to get even the comparatively small amount it gets in licences, gradually building on its success in forcing American fishing fleets to pay in the mid-1980s. Faced by the complete refusal of U.S. fishing companies to pay for fishing in Kiribati waters Kiribati sold the fishing rights to the Russians, exploiting their superpower rivalry so effectively that the following year the U.S. started to pay as prescribed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS) – a great example of a microstate manipulating two superpowers to achieve its own ends!

Although to date Kiribati has suffered little from climate change it is quite possible that this could provide an existential threat in the future if ocean acidification and temperature increases, sea level rise and weather pattern change combine to make life impossible and cause dispersal of Kiribati’s people, despite Kiribati having made minuscule contributions to the causes.

Kiribati has hosted visits from foreign warships from the U.S., China, Taiwan, Australia, France and others but these are courtesy visits often bringing medical and other teams to share their expertise. Kiribati benefits from the assistance of an Australian patrol boat to police its EEZ and has occasionally held fishing boats illegally fishing in Kiribati waters. It also benefits from New Zealand Air Force search and rescue teams assisting searches for missing fishermen.

Pacific countries generally, and Kiribati particularly, are seen by the United States and its allies as being stategically important in their geo-political rivalry with China – or their need to have an enemy in order to justify their military spending and safeguard the profits of the military industrial complex. Whenever Kiribati is mentioned in articles and programmes in the Western media it is usually accompanied by references to its strategic significance and the threat of it being taken over by China, particularly over recent years since 2019 when Kiribati returned its diplomatic recognition to China following recognition of Taiwan in 2003. The fear seems to be that Kiribati will allow China to build ports and airbases from which China would be able to attack the United States and disrupt trade, although neither Kiribati nor China has shown any inclination to do this, a case it seems of the pot calling the kettle black. The United States has multiple military bases in the Pacific, and indeed throughout the world, and seems to think that everyone else wants to waste money and resources in the same way. Following the switch from Taiwan to China in 2019 the U.S. has been keen to make connections in Kiribati but has been thwarted by the lack of a military it can entice with hardware and a shortage of land in the capital Tarawa where it could build an Embassy. Kiribati sees itself as a Christian country and is naturally culturally connected to the U.S. – its first missionaries were American. U.S. churches have a strong presence in the country. It was liberated by U.S. forces defeating the Japanese in World War II. It has benefitted in the past from Peace Corps volunteers. And its official language is English which makes it part of the Anglophone world. There is a Kiribati diaspora including communities in the U.S. At the same time, the people of Kiribati have no wish to be controlled by any foreign power, and resent any country that interferes with Kiribati’s independence. Experience has also taught Kiribati that it can exploit rivalry for its own benefit. The dangers for Kiribati in this are that should the rivalry escalate to war it is likely that rival powers would prefer to fight in somewhere like Kiribati rather than in their own countries.

Whilst thinking about writing this article it occurred to me that a major benefit of Kiribati’s lack of a military is the lack of guns in the country. I can’t remember anyone ever having been shot, and on asking around I found that no one else could either – hardly surprising as there are no guns to shoot with! This was not always the case. Early contact with Europeans, mainly whalers and traders, was characterised by a trade in tobacco, alcohol, guns, and metal — knives, pots and pans, nails etc. Various chiefs and factions acquired guns to gain an advantage over local rivals, which led to a number of conflicts on and between different islands in the latter half of the 19^th century. This came to an end however with the declaration of a Protectorate by the British in 1892 when HMS Royalist raised the Union Jack on all the different islands and rounded up all the guns at the same time.

It feels to me that Kiribati has much to teach the world. Its culture is very communal with an expectation that we should help each other, most strongly within the extended family but also on a wider level. Strangers and visitors are welcomed and treated very well. There are hundreds, probably thousands, of maneabas, communal meeting houses where everybody is welcome, often offering accomodation to anyone who needs it. The expectation is that decisions should be reached by consensus. Most houses are not locked and many are indeed open sided without walls. Kiribati clearly demonstrates the benefits of any people having their own space over which they have control and which they can call their own, without being dominated or subjugated by other ethnicities — a principle which if applied worldwide would lead to the break up of bullying superpowers and other countries that have usually been created through conquest. We could see hundreds, or indeed thousands, of states offering all peoples their own autonomy within a cooperative world framework. Many conflicts in the world are caused by the domination of one group by another within the confines of a larger state, whether that be the Palestinians in Israel, the indigenous peoples of the Americas within their colonised lands, the Rohingya in Myanmar/Bangladesh, the Uyghers in China, the Basques and Catalans in Spain, the Kurds within Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, the West Papuans in Indonesia, or innumerable ethnicities within the colonial imposed boundaries of Africa.

In conclusion, it is worth reiterating the main benefits of Kiribati’s lack of a military. Ieremia insisted that the rationale was wholly economic – we cannot afford to spend money financing a military as that will deprive far more essential services such as education and health of much needed resources. And who is going to attack us anyway out here in the middle of the ocean? The other benefits, which are difficult to be so sure about, include the political stability that has allowed peaceful development and the unchallenged primacy of the democratic electoral system without interference from unelected military officers enforced by soldiers. Then there is the lack of a gun culture leading to completely unnecessary deaths. It is difficult to imagine any advantages that would be gained by having a military!

Richard Westra is Designated Associate Professor, Graduate School of Law, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan. His work has been published in numerous international refereed journals. He is author and editor of 10 books including Confronting Global Neoliberalism: Third World Resistance and Development Strategies, Clarity Press 2010. Read other articles by Richard.

Russia and China Join Turkey in Call for UN Arms Embargo on Israel

By ZeroHedge - Nov 16, 2024,

Turkey's President Erdogan is leading a diplomatic push for a United Nations arms embargo on Israel, citing its actions in Gaza.

Russia and China have joined Turkey in supporting the proposed arms embargo, signaling a growing international concern.

Turkey has officially severed ties with Israel, marking a historic low in their relationship.


Earlier this month Turkey submitted a letter to the United Nations calling for a complete arms embargo on Israel, charging that its military is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has presented a full blockade on weapons as an 'effective solution' for ending the war in Gaza and achieving peace. Notably, among at least 52 countries to cosign that letter are Russia and China.

Erdogan on Wednesday highlighted the importance of the UN letter, warning that Israel "will become more and more aggressive if arms and ammunition supplies continue."

He is lobbying the international community to sign onto the ban, and touting that powerful BRICS countries like Russia and China are leading the way.

In fresh comments made after visiting Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, Erdogan described, "China and Russia have both said that Israel's attacks are unjust and illegal. They also talk about the need to stop the attacks and settle the issue diplomatically."

"Russia and China have signed our joint initiative calling on the UN to take measures to stop the supply of arms and ammunition to Israel. This is an important step," he continued, as cited in Anadolu news agency.

"The humanitarian situation in Palestine and Lebanon will continue to deteriorate daily if Israel is not stopped. As long as humanitarian aid is not freely delivered, people will die there every day due to lack of medicine, hunger, thirst and merciless attacks," Erdogan added.

Turkey-Israel relations have fallen to their lowest point in modern history, and an extensive ban on Turkish exports to Israel has remained in place; however, some analysts have highlighted that some materials are getting through and that top Erdogan officials are looking the other way. Several Wednesday reports have said Turkey has officially cut ties with Israel altogether...

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey has officially severed relations with Israel, according to reports in Turkish media.

News outlet Medya Ege reported Erdogan to have said, "We, as the State and Government of the Republic of Turkey, have cut off relations with Israel. We do not have any relationship with Israel at this point. Period." —Newsweek


Given that in the US, President-elect Trump is stacking his foreign policy apparatus with pro-Israel officials, Turkey is set to possibly have rocky relations with the US moving forward as well.

However, Erdogan has expressed hope that Trump will will take a significantly different approach to the Middle East during his second term. One key issue remains US support to the Kurds of northern Syria, and another is America's policy on Gaza.

"Our hope is that Trump takes very different steps towards the region this term because the messages being given from time to time concern us," Erdogan told reporters after leaving Baku.

But one area where Trump could work closely with Turkey in the near future and moving forward is Ukraine. Turkey has been key to the only successful negotiated deal of the war - the grain export deal allowing for Ukrainian products and Black Sea ships to safely reach global markets.

By Zerohedge.com