Author: EutccAdmin

Newsletter December 2022

EutccAdmin

Dear Sir or Madam,
Please find below our monthly newsletter.
Kind regards 


Prof. Kariane Westrheim 

Chairperson 

Happy New Year The New Year has started. For Turkey, the Kurds & the Middle East, the question is whether dictatorships and wars will dominate the year or whether the slogan Jin Jiyan Azadî will bring peace and freedom to the peoples. The EUTCC remains committed to the aspirations for democracy.
Statement on Paris Attack The EU Turkey Civic Commission condemns the attack in the strongest terms and demands a complete clarification which is also necessary for the Paris attack in 2013. Generating the narrative of a mentally ill, racist lone perpetrator is dangerous. The European Union, and France in particular, must take a clear stance against all acts of terrorism by Turkey on European soil.
http://eutcc.net/?p=1225

Bianet Male Violence Monitor December 2022 Report– 19 women killed – 65 women subjected to violence- 6 women raped- 16 women harassed
https://m.bianet.org/5/193/272358-men-killed-19-women-in-december

Human Rights Defenders Prison Report 2022According to the Penal Statistics Report published by the Council of Europe, Turkey is the only country in Europe with a prison population of more than 300,000 between 2011 and 2021, while the incarceration rate increased by 89.3%.
https://etkiniz.eu/blog/2021-hapishaneler-raporu/

Statement by HDP Foreign Affairs Spokespersons ⁦Feleknas Uca⁩ and ⁦Hişyar Özsoy on the HDP MP Semra Güzel’s dismissal from her parliamentary seat We will not get used to such sheer unlawfulness. Dr. Güzel continues her struggle for democracy, justice and freedom from within a prison cell.
https://hdpeurope.eu/2022/12/hdp-mp-semra-guzel-has-been-deprived-of-her-seat-in-the-turkish-parliament/

Our statement on the court ruling against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu The court ruling against Istanbul’s mayor İmamoğlu is unacceptable. It is a reflection of autocratic change that should be stopped immediately. In this context, it should be emphasised that dozens of mayors and deputies as well as thousands of members of the HDP are in prison. 

EUTCC Commentaries #21 Kurdistan under new qttacksby Terry Saltsmann and Prof. Michael Gunter
https://journals.tplondon.com/com/article/view/2934

EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission

Commentaries #21

EutccAdmin

Kurdistan under new qttacks
by Terry Saltsmann and Prof. Michael Gunter 

The Turkish November 19, 2022, attack on Rojava dubbed Operation Claw-Sword was reputedly launched in retaliation for the earlier November 13 bomb attack on Istanbul’s sleek shopping district known as Istiklal Street that killed six people and wounded at least 80 more. Although it made no sense for the Kurds to attack Istanbul and thus invite new Turkish wrath, Turkey quickly blamed the PKK and its kin Syrian Democratic Forces/Democratic Union Party/Peoples’ Defense Units (SDF/PYD/YPG) in Rojava for the atrocity despite their quick denial. On November 22, Turkey escalated these air strikes by hitting an SDF/PYD/YPG military base adjacent to the main US military base in northeastern Syria housing some of the approximately 900 remaining few but strategically important troops the United States still maintains in Syria. No U.S. casualties were reported.

However, a Pentagon spokesman declared that the Turkish airstrike had “directly threatened” U.S. troops stationed in the area. Thus, there is the danger of disastrous miscalculations that could lead to Turkish clashes with the United States. Although there is no credible evidence about who perpetrated the original bombing in Istanbul, one might speculate that some rogue Turkish intelligence element carried out a false flag operation to win support for Erdogan’s upcoming reelection scheduled for June 18, 2023. The PKK and SDF/PYD/YPG have accused Turkey of having used such attacks as a pretext for invasions in the past. General Mazloum Abdi (aka Mazlum Kobane), the SDF commander, claimed the reputed bomber, Ahlam Al-Bashir, was related to ISIS jihadists via her brothers and past husbands, some of whom were killed in battles against Kurdish forces. Also possible is a reputed rogue PKK element, such as the so-called Kurdistan Falcons/Hawks blamed in the past for similar violent atrocities. A jihadist group might also be responsible. Meanwhile, the midterm elections in the United States paradoxically both strengthened and weakened U.S. president Joseph Biden’s hand in all this.

EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission

Statement on Paris Attack

EutccAdmin

Dear Sir or Madam,
Please find below our statement regarding the attack against Kurds in Paris. 
Kind regards 
Prof. Kariane Westrheim EUTCC Chairperson 

STOP TURKEY’S ATTACKS ON EUROPEAN SOIL 
Only two weeks before the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Kurdish politicians Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez, on December 23, the Kurdish Cultural Centre in Paris was attacked by an armed person. Three people lost their lives, three were injured. 
There are many crucial questions to be answered. However, there is no question that the attack was politically motivated and specifically directed against Kurds. 

The statements of Turkish ministers are an important indicator with regard to the background of the attack. While communication director Fahrettin Altun warned France that “the disinformation campaign of the terrorist group will not only damage the bilateral relations between Ankara and Paris, but France itself” (speech at a panel entitled “Turkey-France Relations Opportunities and Challenges” in Ankara on 20 December). On December 24 Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu underlined that ‘Tayyip Erdoğan will not only purge the terrorists in Turkey, but also the terrorists in the world.’ 
If the forces responsible for the assassination in 2013 had been brought to light and appropriate consequences drawn, the current attack could have been avoided. 

The EU Turkey Civic Commission condemns the attack in the strongest terms and demands a complete clarification which is also necessary for the Paris attack in 2013. Generating the narrative of a mentally ill, racist lone perpetrator is dangerous. The European Union, and France in particular, must take a clear stance against all acts of terrorism by Turkey on European soil. 
EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission

Newsletter November 2022

EutccAdmin

Dear Sir or Madam,
Please find below our monthly newsletter.
Kind regards 


Prof. Kariane Westrheim 

Chairperson 

EUTCC Statement 

Stop Turkey’s military offensive 

http://eutcc.net/?p=1192

EUTCC Urgent Panel Debate 

The speakers will look at the report of IPPNW on the use of chemical weapons by Turkey and the international reactions. Turkey’s recent military offensive in Northern Syria and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq will also be discussed. 
Speakers of the panel: PYD Co-Chair Saleh Muslim, Co-President of the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights (ELDH) Barbara Spinelli, EUTCC board member Dersim Dağdeviren, scientific advisory board of IPPNW Germany Dr. Jan van Aken,Moderator: Prof. Kariane Westrheim, EUTCC Chairperson 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5FBNpJvgaHc&feature=youtu.be

Statement by HRW on Turkey’s airstrikes in Syria 

Turkey’s airstrikes are inflicting damage on densely populated areas & critical infrastructure across north & northeast Syria, exacerbating an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis for Kurds, Arabs & other communities in the region. 
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/12/07/northeast-syria-turkish-strikes-exacerbate-humanitarian-crisis

Statement by HDP Foreign Affairs Co-spokespersons Feleknas Uca and Hişyar Özsoy on the new military offensive launched by Turkey against the Kurdistan Region of Iraq & Northern Syria

We hereby call on the international community, our friends and international institutions, to take immediate action against Turkey’s cross-border attacks and prevent another humanitarian catastrophe.
https://hdpeurope.eu/2022/11/turkish-airstrikes-hit-kobani-and-other-towns-in-syria-and-northern-iraq/

EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission Bereich mit Anhängen

Vorschau für YouTube-Video “EUTCC Urgent Panel Debate – The Turkish Republic and its Kurdish Question: A War Without Borders” ansehen

EUTCC Urgent Panel Debate

EutccAdmin


The Turkish Republic and its Kurdish Question: A War Without Borders

8 December7 pm (CET) Zoom


On 26 November, Turkey launched another military offensive against the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria, initially via air strikes. Dozens of civilians were killed, important infrastructure (including hospitals, grain depots) was destroyed. President Erdoğan announced an additional ground offensive. 
A few weeks earlier, on 18 October, footage had been released of HPG fighters with symptoms consistent with fatal poisoning by chemical substances. A delegation of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Germany and Switzerland (IPPNW) to the region at the end of September had already called for an investigation into the use of chemical weapons. In the wake of this the President of the Turkish Medical Association, Prof. Şebnem Korur-Fincancı, a renowned forensic doctor and co-author of the Istanbul Protocol, was detained for calling for an investigation. 
The speakers will look at the report of IPPNW and the international reactions. Turkey’s recent military offensive in Northern Syria and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq will also be discussed. 

Speakers:

  • Saleh Muslim, PYD Co-Chair 
  • Barbara Spinelli, Co-President of the European Association of Lawyers
    for Democracy & World Human Rights (ELDH)
  • Dr. Jan van Aken, scientific advisory board of IPPNW Germany 
  • Dersim Dağdeviren, EUTCC board member 

Moderator: Prof. Kariane Westrheim, EUTCC Chairperson 


Registration via brusselsconferenceep@gmail.com until 6 December 2022.

EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission