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A weekly brief of events that occurred in the Kurdish regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- Iranian authorities continued their ongoing crackdown on Kurdish political activity. In Kermanshah, an Iranian court sentenced a female Kurdish activist named Zara Jamali to six months in prison for “propaganda against the government” after she was charged with “unveiling hijab.” On Wednesday, Iranian authorities arrested two Kurdish teenagers, 15-year-old Arya Ameni and 17-year-old Hawram Nadiri, in Sarvabad (Salawla). On Thursday, Iranian intelligence officers (Ettela’at) detained a Kurdish man named Amanj Hamzaloei in Bokan. The Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK) claimed Hamzaloei was accused of “religious activities.” Ettela’at also arrested a Kurdish environmentalist from Sanandaj named Madeh Fathi on Monday. Meanwhile, Kurdish political prisoner Shanaz Sadiqi launched a hunger strike in Urmia to protest the 15-year sentence she received for “membership of a Kurdish opposition party.” Simultaneously, inmates in Urmia’s female prison held a one-day hunger strike and protested the authorities’ failure to take preventive measures against the coronavirus pandemic and provide care for inmates who have been infected by the virus’s rapid spread through Iranian detention facilities. Finally, an Iranian appeals court confirmed a Kurdish political prisoner named Mehdeen al Kabadi’s death sentence for “carrying weapons against the state.”
- The Iranian regime continued its campaign of aggression targeting Kurdish border porters (Kolbars) last week. Last Tuesday, Iranian border guards ambushed a group of Kolbars near Nowsud and injured a Kolbar from Salas-e-Babajani named Saed Mirzaie. Iranian border guards also wounded four Kolbars near Baneh on Wednesday. Likewise, Iranian authorities severely injured a Kolbar named Saman Mahmodian near Urmia on Saturday. Finally, Iranian border guards shot and wounded a Kolbar named Arman Mohamadi in Paveh (Pawa) on Friday. The Iranian regime is mostly responsible for the deaths of over 50 Kolbars and wounding of at least 120 in 2020, though Turkish border guards have killed and injured several Kolbars as well.
Iraq
- The Peshmerga and the Iraqi military finally agreed to establish four coordination centers in Iraq’s “Disputed Territories.” The centers will be staffed by personnel from both forces and are intended to facilitate intelligence sharing and joint operations. As things stand, centers are to be established in four governorates, including Chiman-Kirkuk, Makhmour-Erbil, Kasak-Nineveh, and Khanagin-Diyala. That said, the Kirkuk location has not been finalized. The coordination centers are being established to remedy the deteriorating security situation that has plagued the “Disputed Territories” since Iraqi forces responded to the Kurdish independence referendum by removing Peshmerga forces on October 16, 2017.
- The Turkish military incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan continued with Turkish forces setting up additional bases in the region and airstrikes targeting several positions in Duhok Governorate’s Batifa sub-district on Friday. Though Turkish officials continue to claim the airstrikes and other military operations are targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Turkey’s incursion has killed dozens of civilians and displaced thousands more since it was launched in May 2019.
- Iraqi Kurdistan was the sight of numerous protests on Saturday that took place in Sulaymania, Kalaram Ranya, and Halabja. The protesters voiced discontent with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and demanded the payment of public employee salaries and government reforms. Protesters in Halabja also set the local real estate department on fire, while a demonstration in Kalar resulted in protesters torching the district administrative building. KRG authorities eventually restored order, but several demonstrators were arrested and around a dozen security officers were injured. The protests were partly caused by the KRG’s failure to completely pay public employee salaries since 2016 due to corruption, the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, and Baghdad’s failure to provide the KRG with its share of the Iraqi budget. Kurdish truckers launched a similar protest in Zakhao on Wednesday and voiced opposition to the KRG’s decision to allow Turkish truckers to make deliveries in the region despite Turkish authorities’ refusal to grant Kurds the same rights in Turkey. At least 11 people, including one security officer, were injured during the protest.
Syria
- Representatives from the Assad regime and Syrian opposition groups began a new round of “Geneva Peace Talks” to discuss Syria’s future on Monday. That said, Turkish objections again ensured the exclusion of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) from the latest round of talks.
- Turkey’s decision to shut down the Aluk water plant supplying al Hasakah Governorate has left more than one million residents without water and is likely to cause further problems for the region’s inhabitants due to the summer heat and coronavirus pandemic. The AANES is attempting to develop alternative sources of water and has called for the United Nations (UN) to pressure Turkey into allowing the flow of water to the region to resume. Turkey took control of the Aluk facility during their invasion of northeastern Syria last October.
- Deir Ez Zor Governorate was the scene of several security incidents last week. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported unknown gunmen attacked the People’s Assembly building in Al-Busayrah city. Concurrently, a motorcycle IED injured three people in Hajin town. Finally, unidentified gunmen kidnapped a member of the local security forces in western Deir Ez Zor, tortured him, and demanded he quit his security job.
- Additional protests took place in the Turkish-occupied town of Sari Kani (Ras al Ayin) last week. Among other things, protesters complained about local living conditions and the behavior of Turkish-backed Islamist groups. The protesters also demanded the Turkish-appointed head of the local council be replaced.
Turkey
- The Turkish government continued its crackdown on Kurdish political activity last week by arresting five members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) who were serving on the local council in Sirte city.
- The former co-chair of the HDP, Selahattin Demirtas, proposed several changes to Turkey’s political system from his prison cell. Demirtas first called upon Turkey’s various opposition groups to form a strong alliance capable of “saving the country” from the current government. Demirtas also requested a return to the parliamentary system which was replaced by the presidential system created by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Finally, Demirtas called for gender equality, freedom of the press, and the re-establishment of an independent judiciary.