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A weekly brief of events occurred in the Kurdistan regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- The Council of the European Union (EU) sanctioned seven Iranian officials for “serious human rights violations.” Among those sanctioned were the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander in Isfahan Province and the governor of Gilan Province. The Council claimed it has now sanctioned 223 Iranian individuals and 37 entities, frozen their assets, and banned them from traveling to the EU. That said, Iranian security forces arrested three activists and a teen in Saqqez, an activist named Wahid Chawaran in Ilam, a journalist named Jabar Azizi in Jwanru, and three environmental activists in Kamyaran. At the same, Tehran courts added 91 days to activist Ahmed Deraza’s prison sentence of three years and eight months for supporting anti-government protests and sentenced another activist named Parham Parwari to 15 years in prison for “disruption of national security.” Lastly, Iranian border guards killed a Kurdish border porter (kolbar) near Baneh on Saturday. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights stated the regime has killed five kolbars and wounded at least 32 since March 20.
Iraq
- On June 21, the U.S. House Armed Services Committee passed an amendment to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that supported the provision of air defense systems to the Kurdish Peshmerga. Representative Don Bacon (R-NE-02) sponsored the amendment and said that the systems will help the Peshmerga defend against Iranian drones and missiles. The IRGC has attacked Iraqi Kurdistan dozens of times since 2018, killing and injuring scores of civilians. Iran reacted negatively to the amendment, and the spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nasir Kenani, asked the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for further clarification of what the provision of the air defense systems entails while accusing the U.S. of attempting to disrupt the stability of regional states and their relations with neighbors.
- Representatives from the Iraqi and Turkish governments met and discussed resuming oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan through the Ceyhan pipeline last week. Though both sides appear to have resolved all outstanding technical issues, numerous political issues remain. Rudaw reported Turkey asked Iraq to pay the maintenance costs of the pipeline from Kirkuk, but Iraq refused because Turkey stopped exports. Additionally, Turkey asked Iraq to withdraw its complaint from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and requested that it be allowed to pay the $1.3 billion the ICC ruled it owes Iraq in installments. Iraq asked Turkey to agree to the resumption of oil exports in good faith before negotiations on those issues, however. Meanwhile, Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzini met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on June 20 to discuss various regional developments and bilateral relations between the KRG and Turkey.
- The bodies of 39 Yazidis murdered by ISIS (Da’esh) were finally returned to Mosul after being identified two years ago. The Iraqi government offered no official ceremony and sent no senior representatives to oversee the victims’ return to Mosul or greet their relatives. The victims’ families were also required to purchase their own coffins and Iraqi flags.
Syria
- Kazakhstan hosted the 20th round of the Astana talks on June 20 and 21. Syria, Russia, Iran, Turkey, and members of the Syrian opposition participated. Observers from the United Nations (UN), Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq were also invited. The focus of these talks included rebuilding Turkey-Syria ties and facilitating the Assad regime’s reintegration into the regional order. A spokesman for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), Bedran Chiya Kurd, said that the counter-terrorism element of the talks was framed within Turkey’s interest and portrayed the Kurdish people and the AANES as part of the terror problem vice part of the solution. Kurdish activists have also criticized these talks and claimed the sponsors of the meetings are actually hostile to the aspirations of the Syrian people. Despite a plethora of unresolved issues, Kazakhstan unexpectedly proposed the conclusion of the talks, claiming their goal had been achieved with Syria’s gradual reemergence from isolation. Russia expressed a desire for further talks and proposed hosting alternating rounds in Turkey and Russia.
- On June 20, a Turkish drone targeted a vehicle carrying several AANES officials, killing the co-chair of the Qamishli Region Council, Yusra Darwish; the deputy co-chair, Leyman Shouish; and their driver, Farat Toma. The attack, which also wounded the Qamishli Region Council’s other deputy co-chair, Gabi Shamoun, came days after the AANES announced it would begin trying Da’esh fighters held in its detention facilities, a move Turkey opposes. Shamoun later said the repeated Turkish attacks aim to destabilize the region and stressed the attacks have forced the region’s civilian population to live in a state of fear and terror. Simultaneously, Raqqa residents, Arab tribal leaders, elders, and members of the Raqqa Civic Council publicly demonstrated against the ongoing Turkish attacks.
- Turkey continued efforts to “Arabize” Turkish-occupied zones in Syria by breaking local economies and terrorizing indigenous populations. In the past three months, 256 native families, mostly Kurds, have fled Turkish occupation zones towards Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-controlled zones because Turkey’s policies and the predatory behavior of Turkish-backed proxies have made their homes uninhabitable. Turkey plans to repopulate these areas with repatriated Arab refugees. On June 25, Turkish authorities deported 130 people from Turkey to areas north of Aleppo. At the same time, Syria’s North Press Agency reported Turkey’s resettlement policy has reduced the percentage of Kurds in Afrin from 90-95% to approximately 33%. Concomitantly, Turkish forces killed a member of the Afrin Liberation Forces, and Turkish proxies arrested four Qarzihel residents and held for them ransom for performing compulsory service with the AANES. Lastly, the Turkish Gendarmerie killed a civilian for crossing the Syrian-Turkish border.
- On June 25, the SDF arrested three men in Qamishli and charged them with recruiting young men on behalf of Iran-affiliated militias. The suspects claimed Lebanese Hezbollah and the Assad regime were recruiting, arming, and training young men from Hasakah and Deir Ez Zor to subvert the AANES.
Turkey
- Turkish authorities arrested a famous journalist named Merdan Yanardağ for criticizing the visitation ban imposed on imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and charged him with “making propaganda for a terrorist organization.” Yanardağ, who is employed by Tele 1, questioned the legality of imposing isolation on Ocalan in response to a statement from a Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker. Concurrently, Ocalan’s lawyers reminded the public that Ocalan last met with his relatives on March 25, 2021, and described the Turkish government’s visitation ban as “one of the forms of torture.” Separately, Turkish authorities released several Turkish police officers accused of torturing a Kurdish teen in Diyarbakir. The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) condemned the release of the officers and said, “Leaving a crime and its perpetrators unpunished and failing to conduct effective trials is neither in accordance with international nor domestic law.”
- The Turkish lira hit an all-time low against the U.S. dollar on Monday, which exacerbated concerns regarding Turkey’s economic situation that were fueled by President Erdogan’s reelection. On a different note, Secretary General of NATO Jens Stolberg held a phone call with Erdogan and discussed Sweden’s bid to join the alliance. Erdogan remains opposed to Sweden’s application and claims the Swedish government must do more to counter Kurdish demonstrations on its soil. Sweden recently stiffened its anti-terrorism laws in response to Turkish pressure and has agreed to maintain its distance from Kurdish groups in Syria.