A weekly brief of events occurred in the Kurdistan regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
The Iranian regime released the Kurdish teacher Zara Mohammadi last week. Mohammadi said neither she nor her attorney were informed of any plans for her release. That said, the regime sentenced four Kurdish men to prison in Piranshahr. Omed Azadawar received a sentence of three years and seven months, Hasel Omari received a sentence of eight months, Hasel Qado received a sentence of four months, and Abdul Rahman Mohammadi was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Likewise, a Bokan court sentenced Hussein Qasmati to six months in prison, Diyar Korshidi to four months in prison, Younis Mahmudzadeh to three years and six months in prison, and Arej Rashidi and a Kurdish woman named Frishta Husseini to eight months in prison. Iranian courts also issued a three-year sentence to Siamek Dawoodi in Sanandaj, a one-year sentence to Kurdish teacher Salah Aazdi in Marivan, a ten-month sentence to 17-year-old Kianosh Azami in Jawanru, and a sentence of three months in prison to an activist named Qubad Yari in Hamadan Province’s Bahar city. All of the sentenced Kurds were charged with “propaganda” and “national security disruption” for participation in anti-government protests, and several of their sentences included dozens of lashes. Concurrently, Iranian security forces kidnapped a 17-year-old named Shaheen Mohammednoor in Jawanru, which raised the total number of students detained since September 17, 2022, to 400. Separately, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported that Iranian border guards killed four Kurdish border porters (kolbars) in Sardasht, Urmia, and Kamyaran. At the same time, a mine from the Iran-Iraq War killed a Kurdish man in Sarpol e Zahab. Finally, hackers interrupted a televised speech from Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Republic.
Iraq
A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation arrived in Baghdad to hold several meetings with Iraqi officials regarding the “budget, oil and gas issues, and Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution.” The Kurdistan Region remains at an impassel after Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court ruled against releasing funds for its public employees’ salaries. Further, Iraqi President Abdul Rashid Latif told the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) parliamentary bloc that a new supreme court would be formed because the current court, backed by Iran and its Iraqi militias, was created unconstitutionally.
The Iraqi dinar regained some of its value after Iraqi representatives met with U.S. Treasury Department officials, and the Iraqi government implemented several new monetary policies. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein met with several American officials in Washington, D.C., including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and described the meetings as fruitful and important. “There is a clear understanding on the American side of the steps taken by Iraq to reform the economy and monetary and financial policy,” said Hussein. Secretary Blinken said his meeting with Hussein focused “very intensely on the economic dimension of the Strategic Framework Agreement between the two countries.” Baghdad is now allowing international travelers, except those from Iran, Lebanon, and Syria, to purchase U.S. dollars at a supported rate. The Iranian regime is suspected of smuggling U.S. dollars out of Iraq to bolster its struggling economy.
Syria and Turkey: Earthquake Death Toll Crosses 37,000
Impact after one week
Turkey and Syria are still hosting rescue and humanitarian operations following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck both nations and its Kurdish regions on February 6. The earthquake’s death toll has now climbed above 37,000, with 31,643 deaths in Turkey and 5,714 in Syria. Concomitantly, more than 160,000 people have been evacuated from disaster zones, and both countries’ cities have suffered immense structural damage. Over 5,700 buildings in Turkey have completely collapsed, and a much larger number suffered varying degrees of damage. As many as 5.3 million Syrians are now homeless in a nation plagued by over a decade of brutal warfare, and the World Health Organization claimed up to 23 million people may ultimately be impacted by the earthquake. Kurds in Turkey and Syria have been ignored by both governments, denied aid deliveries from Kurdish areas, and even been attacked multiple times by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) despite the fact the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) declared a unilateral ceasefire.
International Response and Limited Cross-Border Access Creates Aid Bottlenecks
The international response has been robust but inadequate. European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen promised to bolster aid, but the European Union (EU) has been criticized for not doing enough to aid affected populations. Some EU representatives bristled at the accusation and highlighted the EC has coordinated aid from 21 member states that included 38 emergency response teams, 1,651 rescue professionals, 106 search-and-rescue dogs, and over $50 million in aid. That said, it is difficult to get humanitarian aid into Syria because the Bab al Hawa border crossing remains the only one open along Syria’s 565-mile border with Turkey. Only 58 UN aid vehicles have entered northwestern Syria through the Bab al Hawa crossing as of February 13.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to approve the opening of two additional border crossings between Turkey and Syria to facilitate the delivery of more aid. Russia – who remains a player in Syria because of its military backing of the Assad regime and holds a permanent seat on the UNSC that entails veto power – denied that more open border crossings were necessary. The Assad regime requested UN aid but demanded all assistance be provided in coordination with Damascus and delivered from within Syria vice across the Turkish-Syrian border into opposition-controlled areas. The U.S. Treasury Department issued General License 23 to authorize all earthquake relief transactions that would otherwise be blocked by sanctions against Syria for 180 days. The United Kingdom (U.K.) suggested it may follow the U.S.’s lead in relaxing Syrian sanctions to facilitate disaster relief efforts. Of course, it must be remembered the Assad regime has a long history of profiting from humanitarian aid, using it to patronize supporters, and weaponizing it against opponents. The EU noted the Assad regime’s history of aid diversion and responded to reports of Turkish proxy forces extorting money from Kurdish drivers delivering aid by claiming it was attempting to implement “sufficient safeguards” to ensure all aid reaches its intended destinations.
Turkey’s Misaligned Priorities
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has not invested all of its resources into disaster relief and, faced with a daunting, multi-year reconstruction project, is investigating property developers and construction firms for non-adherence to building safety regulations. Several experts suggested approximately 20 percent of buildings in Turkish cities were not built to modern earthquake resistance standards, but it is probable Erdogan’s actions are intended to bolster his support before Turkey’s 2023 presidential election. In the Turkish city of Hatay, which is currently under martial law, unidentified militants wearing what appeared to be Islamist garb coordinated stabilization efforts with the TAF and Turkish police. It remains unknown if these militants were involved with the extrajudicial torture and murder of two brothers, Ahmet Gureşçî and Sabrî Gureşçî. The Turkish military forces slowed or prevented the delivery of aid to Kurdish citizens. Moreover, Syrian refugees in Turkey face a potential crisis, as the Turkish government is attempting to deport them back to a warzone where they are liable to face imprisonment or death. The Turkish government has also refused to assist Syrian refugees not facing imminent deportation with search-and-rescue efforts, which has forced independent volunteer groups to dig through rubble with their bare hands in search of survivors.
Across the Syrian border, the jihadist organization Hayat Tahrir as Sham (HTS) has stymied the flow of humanitarian aid. HTS militants mocked and killed two men without cause in the town of Jindires, in the Turkish-occupied Afrin. HTS has also disregarded Jindires’s dire situation by looting civilian homes, stealing aid, and refusing to assist rescue operations. The earthquake destroyed approximately 90 percent of Jindires. It also killed 531 and injured another 831 in the town and its surrounding areas.
How Have Kurdish Authorities Managed?
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) has opened all crossings it controls to deliver aid to devastated areas and called on the UN and international community to do the same. Official documents claimed the earthquake killed six and injured 58 in AANES-controlled territories, and AANES officials have prepared relief convoys to service earthquake-affected areas. “The convoys are still on borders and not allowed to have access to these areas, owing to political stances by armed groups, Turkish occupation, and the Syrian regime,” said AANES Deputy Co-Chairman Badran Chiya Kurd. Chiya Kurd continued, “When it comes to the Kurdish majority areas situated on both borders [with government and opposition], the humanitarian situation is being tackled in a discriminating manner and with systematic delay.” Separately, the Afrin Liberation Forces (HRE) denied attacking the TAF or its proxies and expressed their deepest condolences to those suffering from the impact of the earthquake. Turkey responded by shelling Tel Rifaat on February 7 and launching a drone strike that killed one Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) member near Kobani on February 12.