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A weekly brief of events that occurred in the Kurdish regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- Fires continue to deal significant damage to the Iranian Kurdish region’s ecosystem in the vicinity of the Zagros Mountains. A Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK) report claims about 2,400 different types of trees have burned in the region. The fires have also affected numerous wildlife species. Kurdish environmental organizations and activists blame the Iranian regime for failing to provide fire control equipment. Arson attacks have also targeted Kurdish-owned farmlands in the region and destroyed thousands of acres of agricultural land in 2019. On Tuesday, a new wave of arson attacks damaged or destroyed 250 acres of farmland in Kermanshah, Sanandaj, and Ilam.
- Last Tuesday, Iranian border guards ambushed a group of Kurdish porters known as Kolbars in the Hawraman region. The Kolbars suffered no casualties but were forced to flee the scene and abandon their cargo. Iranian border guards also confiscated 25 Kolbar-owned horses near Oshnavieh (Shino). The Iranian regime has killed 40 Kolbars and wounded 73 since January 1, 2019.
- The Iranian Islamic Court of Sanandaj sentenced a Kurdish man to five years in prison for “membership of the opposition party” last week. The Kurdish rights group Hengaw reported that Mohammed Kanani was arrested by Iranian intelligence officers (Etela’at) and held for 100 days before being released on bail. Also, in Sanandaj, Iranian authorities imposed a travel ban on a Kurdish environmental activist named Afsheen Shikhol. Simultaneously, three civilians were arrested by the Etela’at in Naqadeh and Bokan cities for “membership in Kurdish parties.” In Urmia, the fate of a Kurdish political activist, Esmaat Salsahour, remains unknown following his arrest by the Etela’at, as the Iranian regime refuses to release any update regarding his status or location of confinement. Salhashour was arrested for “aiding Kurdish opposition parties.”
Iraq
- Following an agreement with the Change Party (Gorran) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP) is pushing both parties to present the names of the nominees for the new cabinet by June 27. The KDP, which holds a plurality in the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament, is aiming to confirm the nominees for the ministerial positions before the parliamentary recess on July 1. Neither the PUK nor Gorran has submitted their nominees yet. The KDP Prime Minister-elect, Massrour Barzani, has until July 12 to form the new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The primary obstacle facing the PUK and the KDP regarding the formation of the KRG is the election of a new governor for Kirkuk Province.
- Kirkuk’s acting governor, Rakan Saed al Jabouri, was released on bail after a warrant was issued against him for mismanagement of public wealth on several contracts, including reconstruction contracts for areas liberated from ISIS (Dae’sh). Saed is also accused by Kurds of restoring Arabization policies in Kirkuk. According to a Rudaw report, 7,166 Arab families have relocated to Kirkuk to occupy Kurdish lands in a manner resembling the policy previously implemented by the Ba’athist regime to institute demographic change in the province. On Saturday, Iraqi forces in Kiuk raided the Kurdistan Communist Party for hanging a banner in their office displaying the word “Kurdistan.” Iraqi federal forces and Iranian-backed militias seized control of Kirkuk and removed Peshmerga from the province after the failed Kurdistan independence referendum of 2017.
- The Turkish military incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan continued with more air and artillery strikes in multiple areas, including the Amedi District. Thousands of Kurds remain displaced in villages near the Qandil Mountains, where the Turkish military is launching attacks on the headquarters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Syria
- On June 18, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Muallem met with his Chinese counterpart and implored U.S. and Turkish troops to leave Syria while thanking Iran and Russia for “assisting… in the fight against terrorism.” Muallem also thanked China for its investments in Syria’s infrastructure and political support of the Assad regime.
- Representatives from two U.S. allies visited the Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria (AANES) during the week of June 17-June 24. On June 22, a representative from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade met with AANES officials in Qamishli. The AANES co-chair of the Foreign Relations Commission, Abdul Karim Omar, stated the officials discussed the fate of foreign fighters and importance of a decentralized Syria. The visit appears to have facilitated the repatriation of eight children of two deceased Australian Dae’sh fighters, who were evacuated from Syria by local aid agencies on June 23. Also, on June 23, a top Danish diplomat crossed into Syria from Iraq in order to evacuate the child of a Danish Dae’sh fighter. The diplomat praised the AANES for its cooperation and expressed a desire for future relations between the two sides.
- On Sunday, General Mazlum Abdi of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stated that if the Assad regime were willing to recognize the AANES, it would be willing to engage in further negotiations with the Syrian government. Abdi’s comments come at a time when fires continue to rage across agricultural lands in northeastern Syria and jeopardize the livelihood of the region’s inhabitants.
Turkey
- Ekrem İmamoğlu, the opposition candidate of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), won Istanbul’s mayoral rerun election on Sunday. The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP) decision not to participate in the rerun election contributed to İmamoğlu’s victory. During his victory speech, İmamoğlu thanked both the HDP and Kurdish voters. However, prior to Sunday’s election, media outlets linked to President Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) claimed that the imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan called for Turkey’s Kurdish voters to remain neutral. Hundreds of Kurds celebrated the defeat of the AKP in Istanbul.
- Turkish police launched a new wave of arrests targeting Kurdish activists last week. On Wednesday, twelve members of the HDP were arrested in Izmir. Meanwhile, Kurdish activists are set to hold protests on July 14 in Hasankeyf against the government’s construction of a dam which will sink several areas in the Kurdish region and result in the destruction of hundreds of historic Kurdish villages.