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A weekly brief of events that occurred in the Kurdish regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- In the most recent crackdowns by the Iranian regime against the Kurdish border porters (Kolbar) across the Kurdish region, four people were injured including a minor. On November 16, a Kolbar was shot and seriously injured by the Iranian border guards near Baneh. On November 17, a 15 year old Kolbar was shot near Sardasht city. On November 19, two Kolbars were also shot and wounded on the border of the Kurdish region of Iran and Penjwen in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Iranian guards also shot and killed nearly 20 horses used by the Kolbars.
- After several schools in Marivan city held protests against the condition of the students in the Kurdish region, the Iranian intelligence office (Ettelaat) of Sanandaj launched investigations against the teachers who organized the school protests in Marivan. The Ettelaat office had also warned several activists of imprisonment if they would organize further demonstrations. The schools in the Kurdish region lack proper educational supplies which has led to holding protests against the discrimination policies of the Iranian regime.
- On November 19, a Young Kurd was arrested by the security forces in Marivan. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK), Salman Afra (22) was called by the security forces of Marivan and later arrested. No charges were given to Afra while other residents of his village were arrested last month. The Iranian security forces also arrested a Kurd (Karim Askhary) from Sanandaj city without charges yet.
Iraq
- Official talks among the Kurdish parties have started to form the new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Last week, a delegation of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) visited Sulaymaniyah and held meetings with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) followed by a meeting with the Change Movement (Gorran). Gorran announced earlier their willingness to participate in the government while it’s unclear whether the Islamic Group (Komal) will also join or will remain as an opposition group like the Islamic Union (Yakgrtu) and the New Generation. It is unclear whether the PUK will obtain the positions of the deputy Prime Minister and the Speaker if the Change party is part of the new formation.
- Two new agreements occured between the KRG and the Iraqi Federal Government last week. The first agreement is to resume the oil exports from Kirkuk’s fields via the Kurdistan pipeline to Turkey since it was stopped on October 16, 2017. The oil flow would be 70% less than before 2017, which is estimated about 50-100k barrels per day as a first stage. The KRG prime minister described the agreement as “positive gesture”. The two sides also agreed to remove the imposed customs checkpoints by the former Prime Minister Haider al Abadi between Kirkuk and the Kurdistan region. The custom setup received rejections by the Kurdistan region and all the various parties of Kirkuk including Arab and Turkmen parties.
- On Wednesday, the Turkish warplanes bombarded Amethi district near Duhok which resulted in the death of three beekeepers. The civilian deaths incited anger among the Kurdish population against the continued airstrikes by Turkey. The Turkish airstrikes have killed ten civilians so far in attempts to hit members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The Peshmerga ministry of the Kurdistan region also denounced the Turkish attacks calling them “illegal.” Two of the victims were members of the Peshmerga forces (off-duty).
Syria
- On November 18, after several months of on and off clashes among Turkey-backed Jihadi groups in Afrin region over the wealth and the control of the Kurdish olive farms, the Turkish military sided with the Turkmen Jihadi groups and clashed with the Ahrar al Sharqia, an Arab Syrian Jihadi group. The clashes resulted in the deaths of a number of Jihadis on both sides, however, the Turkish military sent special units to back the Turkmen Sultan Murad group against al Sharqiya group. The clashes continued as the Turkish military-imposed curfew in the Afrin region. On November 19, a motorcycle exploded near a Jihadi headquarters in Old Afrin neighborhood. The explosion resulted in the injury of five people. Afrin security has deteriorated since Turkish backed Jihadi groups seized control from the Kurdish forces on March 18. The Islamic group’s infighting is caused mainly over the immense production of olives farms they controlled from the Kurdish citizens. Turkey’s Minister of Agriculture admitted on Saturday that his country was seizing olive products from the occupied Afrin Canton of Syrian Kurdistan and selling them in markets.
- In a briefing, James Jeffery, the Special Representative for Syria Engagement, said the U.S. government is focused on three things in Syria. “What we’re looking for is the enduring defeat of ISIS, a reinvigorated and irreversible political process in Syria led by the Syrian people and facilitated by the UN, and de-escalation of the conflict that will include all Iranian-commanded forces departing from the entirety of Syria.” Meanwhile the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) backed by the U.S. led coalition continued clashes with ISIS near Hajin.
Turkey
- On November 20, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered the Turkish government to release the imprisoned Kurdish leader, the former Co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Sellahattin Demirtas. In a statement the ECHR said: “The Court found that it had been established beyond reasonable doubt that the extensions of Mr. Demirtaş’s detention, especially during two crucial campaigns, namely the referendum and the presidential election, had pursued the predominant ulterior purpose of stifling pluralism and limiting freedom of political debate, which was at the very core of the concept of a democratic society.” Despite the court ruling, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected the decision. Demirtas was arrested while he was a lawmaker on November 4, 2016.
- The Turkish government has sentenced a renowned Kurdish singer Hozan Cane to 6 years and three months in prison. Cane is also a German citizen. The Turkish authorities charged her with anti-terror laws “membership to a terrorist organization” as she was campaigning for the HDP and is pro-Kurdish rights in Turkey.
- The Turkish police detained five Kurds in Lice and Silvan districts-Diyarbakir (Amed). The five Kurds are civil activists and one is suffering from cancer.