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A weekly brief of events occurred in the Kurdistan regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- After the reactivation of the morality police, Iranian authorities banned a film festival due to a promotional poster that showed a woman without a hijab. Additionally, activists launched a social media campaign in solidarity with two female journalists who had been detained for over 300 days. These journalists were the first to report the death of the Kurdish woman, Zhina Mahsa Amini, which subsequently led to mass anti-government demonstrations lasting six months. In the Kurdish region, security forces arrested dozens of civilians, including activists and former protestors in various cities like Saqqez, Kamyaran, Ilam, Mehabad, Pawa, Shinno, Baneh, and Senna. The regime courts also sentenced several Kurds to lengthy prison times for charges related to activism and anti-government demonstrations, including a 15-year sentence for Ayoub Jwanpour in Saqqez. Moreover, in Senna, five labor activists were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 months to three years. Additionally, a Kurdish teacher in Saqqez was sentenced to eight months in prison and 70 lashes. These events coincided with new raids on border porters (kolbar) by Iranian border guards, which resulted in injuries to four Kurds, while in Urmia, a kolbar died after falling off a cliff.
Iraq
- During this week, a series of high-level meetings took place between theThe Global Coalition Against Daesh and members of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). On July 19th, Kurdistan’s Region President, Nichervan Barzani, met with Commander of Allied Forces in Iraq and Syria, Matthew McFarlane, and announced intentions to reform the Ministry of Peshmerga and integrate the Peshmerga forces. Discussions are ongoing about a memorandum of understanding, with the primary goal of uniting the Peshmerga forces under the umbrella of the ministry. The United States Department of Defense has made it clear that unification is necessary for Iraqi Kurdistan’s continued membership in the coalition.
- Fawazi Hariri, head of the KRG office, announced that Kurdistan parliamentary elections will take place on February 18, 2024, resolving weeks of uncertainty. This decision came about as a result of an understanding between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraq High Election Commission, which was invited to aid in the planning of the elections by the Kurdistan Regional Governorate. However, some view the IHEC’s participation as an incursion on constitutional regional rights, as the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court had previously declared the extension of Kurdistan Parliament’s term unconstitutional.
- On July 18th, the Iraqi Council of Ministers approved a bill to cancel nine decisions issued after 1976 that allowed the occupation of Kurdish and Turkmen farmland in Kirkuk and other disputed territories. Kurdish and Turkmen farmers had been on strike for months due to the occupation of their land by Arab settlers and the Iraqi military. The bill will now go to parliament for further consideration. Meanwhile, many people remain displaced from their homes in Iraqi Kurdistan. On July 20th, the Iraqi army deployed a large force in the fields of Kurdish farmers on the border of Saragan, forcing several to flee to Erbil. Others have been forced out by Turkish military activities. Turkey’s bombings and clashes near the Metin mountain range in Duhok province have resulted in the deaths of five PKK guerillas and three Turkish soldiers. Turkish incursions also continue in Batifa, where 13 villages have been closed for nearly four years, leading to the displacement of the local population.
Syria
- Turkish forces ran over and killed a young man in Tal Abyad (Giri Spi). Additionally, their proxies in Afrin have arrested five Kurdish citizens for arbitrary reasons. Meanwhile, residents of occupied Afrin took to the streets to protest as Turkey continues to block nearly 800 cancer patients from seeking treatment that is unavailable in the occupied areas. Furthermore, Turkey continues to implement its policy of Arabization, which has led to the marginalization of the Kurdish and Yazidi populations in the region. Disturbingly, several Yazidi organizations have accused Turkey of using this policy to bolster its power by “deepening the conflicts in the society, promoting the religious opposition between the Yazidis and Muslims.”
- Tensions continue between Russia, the Syrian regime, and the International Coalition against Daesh. On July 24th, Russia accused the US of flying an MQ-9 drone dangerously close to Russian aircraft, adding to 10 allegations of coalition violations of the non-contact protocol by coalition forces in the past 24 hours. The coalition accused Russia of flying Su-35 jets, maneuvering around an operational US MC-12 aircraft and putting passengers’ lives at risk. While Russia and the Syrian regime pressure the United States and its allies to leave Northern Syria, the fight against Da’esh continues. On July 19th, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the backing of the international coalition, dismantled a Daesh cell in southern Hasakah, killing two terrorists, arresting one, and seizing several small arms. The international coalition has also recently started intensive monitoring of several transit corridors after identifying militias that were protecting the movement of Daesh fighters and supplies.
- This week, a heatwave struck Syria, pushing temperatures 5-7 degrees Celsius above average. In Northwest Syria, more than 100 fires have erupted since the heatwave began, devastating over 1,500 acres of fruit trees and agricultural produce. The fires are also spreading in Turkish occupied Afrin, destroying 20 acres last week. Concurrently, water scarcity is escalating, with Turkey significantly restricting the flow of the Euphrates into Syria, affecting over one million citizens of Rojava Kurdistan and Syria who have lost access to water. In Deir Ezzor, the price of water has nearly doubled. As a result, heat stroke cases are on the rise, with an unusually high number reported in Hasakah this week.
Turkey
- On July 22nd, Salih Demir, provincial head of the Free Cause Party – a conservative Kurdish party – and Sacat Pisgin, the party’s provincial secretary, were stabbed inside the prayer room of the party’s office in Adana. Pisgin was killed. While official motives are unknown, party officials blamed local drug lords. On July 19th, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) office building in Altindag, Ankara, was attacked by unknown assailants holding weapons. Nobody was in the building at the time. On the same day, allegations surfaced that village guards had confiscated the homes of Yezidi residents of Altınbaşak village in Şanlıurfa’s Viranşehir district. The villagers are prevented from tending to their fields and have been internally displaced. In reaction, the HDP released a strongly-worded statement condemning the systematic destruction of Yazidi settlements and graveyards.
- On July 21st, the Ankara Prosecutor submitted its indictment of Kurdish Journalists Dikle Muftuoglu and Sedat Yilmazı for alleged connection to the PKK in a move widely considered as a crackdown on the freedom of the press. The court will give its decision within 15 days. On July 24th, the Istanbul Governor’s Office banned a march from Istanbul to Ankara intended to draw attention to assimilation and advocate for Kurdish language education. The march was planned for the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne, the basis for the modern state of Turkey and a watershed moment for the future of the Kurdish people. According to the current law, no language other than Turkish may be taught to Turkish citizens as their mother tongue in educational and training institutions. This policy is intended to erase the distinct identity of Kurdish people, forcing them to assimilate to Turkish language and culture.