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cyberneticpeoplespolis · 5 years

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A Primer on Northern Syria

Originally posted on the Organise Aotearoa Blog on 14/10/19

Northern Syria, also known as the NES (Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria) or by its Kurdish name, Rojava (the west), is often in the news for all the wrong reasons. This week, Turkish troops and their local Islamist allies crossed the border in the name of protecting Turkey from Kurdish-led militants it denounces as terrorists. The US, ostensibly an ally of the Kurds, has granted Turkey a free hand to bomb the region at its leisure, and has assisted Turkey by closing off the border crossings with Iraq, and along the Euphrates. To understand the conflict holistically means we need to go far back into history, before capitalism, and before the ethno-nationalism it fostered could tear the region apart.

Pre-Capitalist History

Prior to the spread of Islam in the 600s, the region known as The Levant, or Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, was home to a number of competing religions. Greek Orthodox Christianity, Syriac Christianity, and Zoroastrianism (an ancient precursor to modern monotheistic religions) were all practiced across the region, along with smaller religions that can be traced back to the earliest human cities in Mesopotamia, such as the Yazidi religion. Most of these religions are still practiced by minorities in the region today, with the exception of Zoroastrianism which has been reduced to tiny enclaves much farther east.

In pre-capitalist times, humans have understood cultural differences quite differently to how we do today. It’s hard for many to understand now, but race and ethnicity were concepts that would only come into play later. Religious and cultural practice was a much more important and tangible aspect of identity. When Islam spread across the region, many Levantine peoples welcomed it because of its similarities to local forms of Christian iconoclasm (meaning religious opposition to figurative representation of the divine).

Map showing the spread of Islam under successive Caliphs.

Islam brought with it a renaissance period where Levantine peoples led the world in the arts and sciences. The conservative institutions of the Byzantine orthodox church, and Sassanid Zoroastrian fundamentalists were swept aside by a new wave of Islamic scholars and thinkers, whose rationalist approach now seems extremely modern compared to other cultures of the time. Islam was led by Caliphs, ideally philosopher-king descendents of the prophet, far removed from the more sinister modern use of the term.

By the late Middle Ages, the Caliphs were no longer direct descendents of the prophet, but rather powerful sultans who took on the title themselves. By the 1400s the Caliphs were a Turkish dynasty from central Anatolia, the Osmanolgu family, better known as the Ottomans. The Ottomans ushered in a second Islamic renaissance, and despite their brutal methods of warfare, were relatively fair administrators who allowed a great deal of autonomy for minorities. Christians, Jews and Muslims cohabited peacefully, to the point that whole cities were granted to minorities, such as the Jewish-led city of Salonica (Thessaloniki) in Greece.

Map showing the spread of the Ottoman caliphate.

However, this second period of peace wouldn’t always last. As the centuries passed, the Ottomans found themselves in direct competition with European powers, whose absolute monarchies and mercantilism proved to be a much stronger economic and political base. By the time of the Industrial revolution, the Ottomans were referred to as “The Sick Man of Europe.” A vast, but ultimately weak power, that could be easily divided up between the emerging European colonial powers.

The Ottomans adapted to this by adopting European-style cultural, political and economic practices. They experimented with colonial practices, beginning Turkish colonies across their provinces, and attempted to impose aspects of modern state power, like standing armies and police forces. These reforms were not enough, and the Ottomans found themselves being eaten alive by European powers. Napoleonic France took Egypt, Russia took Crimea, and Britain took Cyprus.

Capitalism reaches the Levant

This crisis led to growing anxiety amongst the emerging Turkish bourgeoisie. They feared that the Empire wouldn’t modernise fast enough to avoid disintegration, and that the Sultan needed to abolish the system of regional autonomy (the millet system), and replace it with a modern capitalist state under an absolute monarchy. Ottoman nationalism emerged as a means to consolidate the many regional identities, and a policy of “Turkification” was pursued throughout the empire. Capitalism requires a relatively homogenous populace in order to effectively create a working class to fuel industrial modernisation, and so the myriad ethnic identities of the empire presented a problem.

Several events in the first decades of the 20th century created the conditions for the form of Turkish ethnonationalism we see today. In 1908, Turkish army officers and the Ottoman bourgeoisie rose up in the Young Turk Revolution, demanding a liberal parliamentary system with representation for ethnic minorities. A counter-revolution in 1909 by reactionaries and proto-Islamists reversed some of the changes, and brought violence against ethnic minorities who were seen to be in support of the earlier revolution. The empire was now divided between liberal-bourgeois Ottomanism and reactionary Turkish ethnonationalism. A narrative of betrayal stemming from the loss of the Balkans in 1912 and an inability to mobilise the Anatolian Armenian population against Russia in 1914 added fuel to the flames. From 1915 to 1923, up to 1.5 million Armenians and other Christian minorities were systematically killed, the first modern genocide on an industrial scale, and a crime denied by Turkey to this day. Lesser known are the Greek and Assyrian massacres, which themselves account for up to a million additional deaths. Muslim populations historically allied to the Ottomans, such as Kurds and Circassians, participated in the killings.

Map showing sites of documented Armenian and Assyrian genocide.

Ultimately neither clamping down on dissenting minorities, mobilising Turkish enthnonationalist sentiment, nor an alliance with the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary could save the empire. During the First World War, the “Sick Man of Europe” was finally carved up between the European colonial powers, after they successfully took advantage of a large scale Arab revolt by making false promises of statehood. The League of Nations, established in the aftermath of the war and the precursor to the modern UN, tasked various ‘responsible’ European powers with administering the conquered territories in the Levant and Mesopotamia.

The agreements signed during this period, in which the Arab revolt was thoroughly betrayed, would have profound implications, and are the source of many modern borders. Israel can trace its legacy back to this period; in the Balfour Declaration of 1917, Zionist immigration to Mandate Palestine was encouraged as a form of demographic engineering. The Sykes-Picot agreement led to the creation of Palestine, Transjordan (Jordan), Kuwait, and Iraq under British influence, and Lebanon and Syria under the French. Saudi Arabia, then known as the Emirate of Nejd, also participated in the partitioning by annexing the Ottoman Persian Gulf territories, and the lands captured in the Arab revolt by the rival Hashemites. In all of these territories, the Europeans encouraged regional nationalism and solidified the new borders, cutting several communities and tribes off from one another and effectively fracturing the entire region.

Map showing European zones of influence following WWI. Europeans also effectively controlled Egypt, Cyprus, and zones within Turkey, which is not shown.

The Mandate territories revolted against the Europeans several times. Turkey, occupied by the Europeans since 1918, successfully overthrew them in 1923, led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Atatürk), who attempted to combine the liberal-secular parliamentarism and Turkish ethnonationalism of the 1908 and 1909 revolutions into an ideology known as Kemalism. Palestine also attempted to overthrow the British in 1936 but was brutally crushed. Iraq attempted to do the same in 1941, even allying itself with Nazi Germany to do so, but was similarly put down.

After the end of the Second World War, the European powers were no longer able to exert direct control over the entire Levant, instead holding on to key areas like the Suez canal. The British also granted large parts of Mandate Palestine to the emerging Zionist movement as they believed an Israeli state would be more amenable to the West than the unruly Arabs. Pan-Arabism emerged in this period as a rejection of the atomisation, arbitrary borders, and demographic engineering that marked the European mandate territories. Wars against Israel and horror at its genocide of Palestinians would be a rallying cry for this movement, which resulted in a degree of consolidation in Levantine identity.

The Postcolonial Levant

Pan-Arabism would take on a social-democratic character as the various postcolonial states founded welfare systems, and allied themselves with the Soviet Union. However, the ideology was still strongly anti-communist on the domestic front. Indeed, anticommunism was the chief motive behind the zenith of Pan-Arabism: the attempt at a united Arab state in 1958. The United Arab Republic (UAR) was a union between Egypt and Syria, both led by social-democratic nationalist governments who feared that the alternative would be a Syrian communist revolution. Iraqi military officers soon overthrew their pro-Western monarchy and very nearly joined the UAR themselves.

Ultimately however, this sentiment would be short lived. As the threat of communism died down and the realities of post-colonial statehood set in, Pan-Arabism was replaced with a number of competing ideas. Marxists remained a strong faction, but would never again find themselves in a position to take power. Ba’athism, a legacy of the Pan-Arabist period, would later become the dominant ideology in Syria and Iraq, where its contradictory character would lead to both social-democratic reforms and the uneven repression of minorities and communists. Islamism, encouraged as a state ideology in Saudi Arabia, also became a powerful force, buoyed by its successes and US-funding in Afghanistan. Ethnonationalist separatism also emerged out of the decline of Pan-Arabism, which sharpened the contradictions facing minorities like the Kurds, Assyrians, and Armenians.

Modern Northern Syria

Northern Syria bears the marks of all of these competing ideologies from the postcolonial/Cold-War period, as well as the ethnic and religious divides from the preceding centuries. There are Marxist factions, generally split along ethnic lines between Kurds and Arab/Alawites; as well as Ba’athists; Islamists, most infamously ISIS; and ethno-nationalists of all stripes. Amongst them are the somewhat apolitical ethnic and religious minorities, like the Yazidis, who are motivated primarily by survival in the face of repeated threats of genocide. Newer factions include Kurdish Apoists, and the mercenary factions funded by various global powers.

Northern Syria is also the site of three major global battlegrounds. There is an expansionist and ethnonationalist Turkey seeking to quash Kurdish aspirations to nationhood; a regional battle between Saudi wahhabism (extreme Sunni fundamentalism) and Iranian principlism (revolutionary Shia Islam); and the US and EU making the most of the situation to access oil and guarantee long-term superiority over Russia. There are also smaller conflicts exploited by all parties, as well as the opportunism and warlordism that a collapse of civilian government and constant arms shipments engenders.

Map of the Syrian war as of October 13, 2019. Government (Ba’athist) areas are shown in red. Green areas are a mix of Western-backed militias (in Al-Tanf), Free Syrian Army remnants (in Idlib) and Turkish-backed militias (in the far north). Yellow is areas controlled by the SDF and Kurds. Black shows hardline Islamist remnants. Blue shows Israeli occupation.

Discussion of Northern Syria inevitably centers around the PYD (the Kurdish Democratic Union Party), arguably the most mythologised and interesting of all the Syrian factions. Depending on who you talk to on the internet, the PYD can be anything from anarchist insurrectionists, to Marxist revolutionaries, to eco-feminist warriors, to Kurdish terrorists, to Western imperialist Contras paid to undermine peace in the region. It’s our goal to demystify the group somewhat.

The PYD is the Syrian sister party of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, led by the imprisoned Abdullah Öcalan. Initially a Marxist group formed out of Kurdish students in Turkey, the PKK was forced underground by Turkish repression, becoming a guerilla army armed and supported by the Ba’athist governments of Iraq and Syria, who tolerated the PKK’s Marxist rhetoric so long as it was aimed at Turkey. The PKK of today is quite different, having dropped Marxism-Leninism and alliances with Ba’athism from its doctrine. The PKK and PYD, along with the other member parties of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) umbrella organisation, have shifted towards enacting a democratic confederalist or “Apoist” (after a diminutive form of Öcalan’s name) programme in the predominantly Kurdish areas of northern Iraq and Syria, southeastern Turkey, and northwestern Iran. This gained a lot of attention in the west due to its communalist, feminist, and anti-capitalist aspirations. However, the system of autonomous cantons remains an admirable small-scale experiment, and tends to be overstated by the western left. The territory has also had difficulty living up to its ecological aspirations due to reliance on diesel generators, unregulated oil refineries, and wartime economic constraints.

The PYD and its armed wing, the YPG/YPJ, also gained infamy for its conditional alliance with the US and EU, whereby the Kurds and their allies gained air support, weapons and other assistance in return for allowing 10 US military bases on their territory. The US also assisted with arming the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), a broad military coalition that included the YPG/YPJ along with those whom it had previously opposed, such as Kurdish nationalists, religious Sunni Kurds, mercenaries, and conscripted soldiers of dubious willingness. As the result of US negotiations this new armed force came to control all lands north of the Euphrates, well beyond the initial territorial aspirations of the PYD, which had initially only included the majority-Kurdish regions in a strip along the northern border. This put the Kurdish-led military force in control of most of Syria’s oil fields, and a large population of Arabs and minorities critical of the SDF, the only Syrian faction to use forced conscription. Allegations of ethnic chauvinism, and the discovery of “blacksites” (interrogation and torture facilities) within SDF areas added to the criticism.

Map showing initial Kurdish territorial aspirations. De-facto Kurdish territories are now much larger.

Turkey is the main adversary of the Kurdish-led force. Since 2014 Turkey has been ruled by the fascist-adjacent and increasingly autocratic Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose Justice and Development Party is a direct descendent of the reactionary strain of Islamo-Turkish nationalism introduced in the counter-revolution of 1909. Turkish chauvinism towards Kurds stretches back decades, officially denying their existence and calling them “Mountain Turks” despite their historical loyalty in the Ottoman period.

Turkey is also in NATO, the US imperialist military alliance, however it often violates agreements with the US and makes overtures towards Russia, attempting to play both sides off against one another for military aid. Turkey has used this shaky alliance to lobby the US for more territorial control in Syria. The Afrin region was taken from Kurdish forces in 2016, and this week, vast swathes of northern Syria were declared up for grabs by Turkish expansionism.

Northern Syria invaded

Whatever our overall analysis of Syrian factions may be (and it is so easy to make mistakes in such a heavily propagandised environment) the question of the hour is Turkish expansionism, as this is the specific form that ethnonationalism has taken in the region. Turkey plans to demographically engineer a huge swathe of northern Syria by resettling 2 million refugees in NES, a move tantamount to a threat of genocide against displaced minorities. The US, for its part, has done far more harm than good as an ally, and is now patrolling the Euphrates, effectively enforcing the isolation of NES.

It would be a great mistake for people in the west to conclude that the people of Northern Syria somehow deserve a Turkish invasion as just desserts for their alliance with the US, especially since many Kurds and other minorities joined the fight in a struggle for survival against ISIS and Turkish-funded militias, only later finding their movement subverted by US geopolitical goals. Moreover, Turkey is the only faction in the Syrian conflict with a history of genocidal policies towards all of the minorities of Northern Syria at one point or another, and thus a defense of NES is a defense of all ethnic minorities in the region regardless of their political orientation.

All Syrian peoples deserve self-determination without the intervention of foreign powers. It may be easy to dismiss such a conflict as too complicated, the product of ‘tribal’ conflicts among a backwards people, but this ignores the entire history of imperialism in the Middle East. Thousands of ethnicities lived in relative peace prior to the imposition of nationalist ideology, demographic engineering and arbitrary borders, all products of capitalism. The Syrian people deserve an end to the constant war imposed upon them.

#syria #syria civil war #northern syria #rojava

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political-affairs · 11 years

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Tariq Aziz

Tariq Aziz (Arabic: طارق عزيز‎ Ṭāriq ʿAzīz, né: Mikhail Yuhanna (Syriac: ܡܝܟܐܝܠ ܝܘܚܢܢ Mīḵāil Yōḥānon, Arabic: ميخائيل يوحنا‎ Mīḫāʾīl Yūḥannā baptized Manuel Christo; born 28 April 1936) was the Foreign Minister (1983 – 1991) and Deputy Prime Minister (1979 – 2003) of Iraq and a close advisor of former President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s when both were activists for the then-banned Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He is an ethnic Assyrian but an Arab Nationalist and a member of the Chaldean Catholic Church.

Because of security concerns, Hussein rarely left Iraq, so Aziz would often represent Iraq at high-level diplomatic summits. What the United States wanted, he averred, was not "regime change" in Iraq but rather "region change". He summed up the Bush Administration's reasons for war against Iraq tersely: "oil and Israel."[1]

Since surrendering to American forces on 24 April 2003, Aziz has been held in prison, first by American forces and subsequently by the Iraqi government. He is currently in prison in Camp Cropper in western Baghdad.[2] He was acquitted of some charges on 1 March 2009 following a trial, but was sentenced to 15 years on 11 March 2009 for the executions of 42 merchants found guilty of profiteering in 1992 and another 7 years for relocating Kurds.[3] On 26 October 2010, he was sentenced to death by the Iraqi High Tribunal, and this has sparked regional and international condemnation from Iraqi bishops and other Iraqis, the Vatican, the United Nations, the European Union and the human rights organization Amnesty International, as well as various governments around the world, such as Russia.[4] On 28 October 2010, it was reported that Tariq Aziz, as well as 25 fellow prison inmates, had begun a hunger strike to protest the fact that they could not receive their once-monthly visit from friends and relatives, which was normally set for the last Friday of each month.[5]

On 17 November 2010, it was reported that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani declared that he would not sign Aziz's execution order.[6]

Early life and education

Aziz was born on 28 April 1936 in Tel Keppe,[7] to an Assyrian family and is a member of the Chaldean Catholic church. Aziz studied English at Baghdad University, and later worked as a journalist, before joining the Ba'ath Party in 1957. In 1963, he was editor of the newspaper Aj-Jamahir (al-Jamaheer) and al Thawra, the newspaper of the Ba'ath party.[8]

In April 1980 he survived an Iranian-backed assassination attempt carried out by members of the Islamic Dawa Party. In the attack, members of Islamic Dawa Party threw a grenade at Aziz in central Baghdad. The attack killed several people.[9] It was among the casus belli of the Iran–Iraq War.

Family

His son Ziad Aziz lives in Jordan with his wife and four children, and Tariq Aziz's two sisters. Tariq Aziz's wife and another son live in Yemen.[10]

He began to rise through the ranks of Iraqi politics after the Ba'ath party came to power in 1968. He served as a member of the Regional Command, the Ba'ath Party's highest governing organization from 1974 to 1977, and in 1977 became a member of Hussein's Revolutionary Command Council.

In 1979, Aziz became Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, and worked as a diplomat to explain Iraq's policies to the world. In April 1980, Iranian suporters attempted to assassinate senior Iraqi officials, including Aziz. Such attempts were one of the motives of the Iran Iraq war, which began the same year.[11]

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Tariq Aziz served as the international spokesman in support of the military action. He claimed the invasion was justified because Kuwait's increased oil production was harming Iraqi oil revenues. He condemned Arab states for "subservience to the United States' hegemony in the Middle East and their support for punitive sanctions."[12] On 9 January 1991, Aziz was involved in the Geneva Peace Conference which included the United States Secretary of State, James Baker. The goal of the meeting was to discuss a possible resolution to the occupation of Kuwait.

In 2001 Aziz's son Ziad was arrested for corruption. In January 1999 Ziad was accused by his former mistress of using the official position of his father (mostly his cars) to facilitate smooth crossing of the Jordanian border with contraband, attempted murder on her husband and family, as well as for corruption involving French and Indonesian companies. He was arrested and sentenced to 22 years in prison. Tariq Aziz resigned from his post but Hussein did not accept his resignation. Ziad was eventually released from prison when Hussein decided that Aziz had paid enough for his mistakes.

On 14 February 2003, Aziz reportedly had an audience with Pope John Paul II and other officials in Vatican City, where, according to a Vaticanstatement, he communicated "the wish of the Iraqi government to co-operate with the international community, notably on disarmament". The same statement said that the Pope "insisted on the necessity for Iraq to faithfully respect and give concrete commitments to resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, which is the guarantor of international law".[13]

Detention

He voluntarily surrendered to American forces on 24 April 2003, after negotiations had been mediated by his son.[16] His chief concern at the time was for the welfare of his family. At the time of his surrender, Aziz was ranked number 43 out of 55 in the American list of most-wanted Iraqis despite a belief "he probably would not know answers to questions like where weapons of mass destruction may be hidden and where Saddam Hussein might be."[16]

Before the war, Aziz claimed he would rather die than be a U.S. prisoner of war: "Do you expect me, after all my history as a militant and as one of the Iraqi leaders, to go to an American prison – to go to Guantanamo? I would rather die", he told Britain's ITV.

Defense witness

On 24 May 2006, Aziz testified in Baghdad as a defense witness for Ibrahim Barzan and Mukhabarat employees, claiming that they did not have any role in the 1982 Dujail crackdown. He stated that the arrests were in response to the assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein, which was carried out by the Shiite Dawa Party. "If the head of state comes under attack, the state is required by law to take action. If the suspects are caught with weapons, it's only natural they should be arrested and put on trial".[17]

He further testified that the Dujail attack was "part of a series of attacks and assassination attempts by this group, including against me." He said that in 1980, Dawa Party insurgents threw a grenade at him as he visited a Baghdad university, killing civilians around him. "I'm a victim of a criminal act conducted by this party, which is in power right now. So put it on trial. Its leader was the prime minister and his deputy is the prime minister right now and they killed innocent Iraqis in 1980," he said.[17] The Dawa Party is now a party in the Shiite coalition that dominates the Iraqi government. The party's leader, Ibrahim al-Jaafari was prime minister until mid-May, when another leading Dawa Party figure, Nouri al-Maliki was picked and he was able to form a new government before the end of May 2006.[18]

In closing he stated that "Saddam is my colleague and comrade for decades, and Barzan is my brother and my friend and he is not responsible for Dujail's events."

Imprisonment

On 29 May 2005, the British newspaper The Observer published letters (in Arabic and English) from Aziz written in April and May 2005, while he was in American custody, addressed to "world public opinion" pleading for international help to end "his dire situation":[19]

“It is imperative that there is intervention into our dire situation and treatment ... We hope that you will help us. We have been in prison for a long time and we have been cut from our families. No contacts, no phones, no letters. Even the parcels sent to us by our families are not given to us. We need a fair treatment, a fair investigation and finally a fair trial. Please help us.”

— Tariq Aziz[20]

In August 2005, Aziz's family was allowed to visit him. At the time the location of Aziz's prison was undisclosed; his family was brought in a bus with blackened out windows.

Due to security reasons he has since been moved to Camp Cropper, part of the huge US base surrounding Baghdad airport.[21] His son said that while his father was in poor health, he was being well treated by prison officials. He can make 30 minutes of telephone calls monthly and has access to US Arabic-language radio and television stations. Every two months his family can send a parcel containing clothes, cigarettes, chocolate, coffee and magazines.[21]

The spiritual leader of Iraq's Chaldean community, Emmanuel III Delly, called for Aziz's release in his 2007 Christmas message. Aziz was acquitted of crimes against humanity, and his health conditions demand an immediate release from his prison Camp Cropper.[10]

Aziz is currently in prison in Camp Cropper in western Baghdad.[2] On 17 January 2010 he suffered a stroke and was transferred from prison to hospital.[22] On 5 August 2010, The Guardianreleased his first face-to-face interview since his surrender.[23] On 22 September 2010, documents were released that he had given an interview about how he had told the FBI that the dictator Hussein was "delighted" in the 1998 terrorist bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa but had no interest in partnering with Osama bin Laden.[24]

Trial

Aziz was set to appear before the Iraqi High Tribunal set up by the Iraq Interim Government, but not until April 2008 was he brought up on any charges.[10] This changed when, on 29 April 2008, Aziz went on trial over the deaths of a group of 42 merchants who were executed by the Iraqi regime in 1992, after the merchants had been charged by the Iraqi regime with manipulating food prices when Iraq was under international sanctions.[25] The charges brought against Aziz were reported by The Independent to be "surprising" as the deaths of the 42 merchants had always previously been attributed to Saddam Hussein.[26] Nevertheless, on 11 March 2009 the Iraqi High Tribunal ruled that Aziz was guilty of crimes against humanity, and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.[27] On 2 August 2009, Aziz was convicted by the Iraqi High Tribunal of helping to plan the forced displacement of Kurds from northeastern Iraq and sentenced to seven years in jail.[28]After these judgments had been passed, the BBC News published an article stating that, "there was no evidence that a Western court would regard as compelling that he had anything like final responsibility for the carrying out of the executions" of the 42 merchants and "there was no real evidence of his personal involvement and guilt" with regards to the displacement of Kurds.[29] That same year, he was acquitted in a separate trial which concerned the suppression of an uprising in Baghdad during the 1990s.[27]

On 26 October 2010, the Iraqi High Tribunal handed down a death sentence against Aziz for the offense of "persecution of Islamic parties,"[30] amongst them the serving Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party, following a crackdown on a Shia uprising after the 1991 Gulf War.[21] The Associated Press reports that "the judge gave no details of Aziz's specific role" in the crackdown.[31] His lawyer stated that Tariq Aziz's role in the former Iraqi government was in the arena of "Iraq's diplomatic and political relations only, and had nothing to do with the executions and purges carried during Hussein's reign."[32] His lawyer further stated that the death sentence itself was politically motivated and that timing of the death sentence may have been aimed at diverting international attention away from documents released by WikiLeaks, which detailed crimes in which Maliki government officials have been implicated.[33] His lawyers have 30 days to lodge an appeal, following which the court would have another 30 days to look into the appeal; if the appeal is turned down the sentence would be carried out after another 30 days.[33] On 26 October 2010 the Vatican urged the Iraqi government not to carry out his execution,[31] and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton stated that Aziz's execution would be "unacceptable and the EU will seek to commute his sentence."[34] That same day, the human rights organization Amnesty International issued a statement condemning the use of the death penalty in this case, as well as for the cases of two other former Iraqi officials; the statement also expressed concern regarding the manner in which trials may have been conducted by the Iraqi High Tribunal.[35] On 27 October 2010, Greek President Karolos Papoulias and the Russian Foreign Ministry both released statements urging the Iraqi government not to carry out the death penalty against Tariq Aziz.[36][37] Also on 27 October 2010, a spokesperson for United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon was reported to have "stressed that the UN is against the death sentence and in this case, as in all others, it is calling for the verdict to be cancelled."[38] On 28 October 2010, it was reported that Iraqi Bishops and ordinary Iraqis also condemned the death penalty for Tariq Aziz.[39] Furthermore, according to the Wall Street Journal, "several international human-rights groups have criticised the procedures and questioned the impartiality of the court."[40]

According to AFP, his family had stated that Tariq Aziz, along with 25 fellow inmates, has been on a hunger strike following the sentence to protest the denial of their once-monthly visits with family and friends, but an Iraqi court official has denied this.[41] According to AFP, Aziz and the other prisoners were "still at the site of the court in Baghdad’s Green Zone and had not been transferred back to prison where they could have received their monthly visit."

On 17 November 2010, it was reported that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani had declared that he would not sign Aziz's execution order. However, there is still a possibility that the execution will be carried out anyway.[6]

According to press reports on 29 November 2010, Tariq Aziz will probably not be executed. He was accused of only minimal involvement in connection with atrocities committed against Kurdish people during the Iraq-Iran War and received a 10-year prison sentence from an Iraqi court in addition to previous convictions.[42]

On 5 December 2011, Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi, an adviser to the Prime Minister, indicated that the execution of Aziz would "definitely take place" after the withdrawal of American forces.[43]

#United States #Tariq Aziz #Saddam Hussein #Iraq #Camp Cropper #Baghdad #Ba'ath Party #Aziz

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peywendi · 4 years

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According to the European Syriac Union (ESU), more than thirty Christian villages in Southern Kurdistan have been depopulated during the Turkish invasion that started on 16 June. The Turkish air and ground attacks have led to fear, displacement and the death of civilians, according to a statement published... via Peywendi

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tevnakurdi · 4 years

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Letter from 93 Organizations Operating in North and Northeast Syria to Brussels Conference

Download Arabic.

Mr. Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,

Mr. Geir O. Pedersen, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria,

Dear representatives in the Joint Commission of the European Union and United Nations organizing the Fourth Brussels Conference, representatives of donor countries and organizations,

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Since the last year, the Syrian crisis has been further worsened, and the international inability towards resolving the Syrian issue has become more present. This resulted in creating difficult humanitarian conditions, such as destruction, displacement and impediment of the political process in Syria among all the conflicting parties in the country.

We, the ones who are working in the Syrian civil society organizations and institutions operating in Syria, and the signatory on this letter, believe in the necessity of a political solution in accordance with the path of the Geneva Conference and international resolution (2254), as the only way to resolve the Syrian issue. We reject violence in all its forms, and we condemn the use of all internationally prohibited weapons by all parties.

We would like to recall the necessity of stopping all military operations by all the local, international and regional conflict parties, forced displacement, expulsion of indigenous people from their regions, as well as stopping demographic change operations, eliminating its effects, compensating the victims, and condemning all human rights violations in the Syrian territories. In addition to work to ensure the return of indigenous peoples to their regions and provide rapid support to the population, internally displaced people and refugees in neighboring countries, especially those residing in camps. And to work to end all occupations on the Syrian territories, particularly the Turkish occupation which mainly supports extremist Syrian militias, which in turn, have been committing massive violations against the Syrian people in Afrin, Ras al-Ain, and Tal Abyad, and press for all foreign militias to be removed from Syria, while we emphasize the need to maintain the Syrian territories' unity.

We would also like to stress the need for all parties to the conflict in Syria to adherence of International Humanitarian Law rules, and shank the civilians from the dangers of indiscriminate bombing and military operations and stopping them, as well as working on providing the urgent needs of the internally displaced people who reside in the camps, within the country and in neighboring countries.

Health Sector:

NES region recently had been attacked by the Turkish military which resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, and has destroyed the infrastructure in all sectors, including health and education sectors, at a time when the region has not yet recovered from the devastation left by the war against ISIS and other jihadi organizations.

Therefore, we like to stress the need for coordination between international donors and organizations working in health sector in Northern and Northeastern Syria, to provide rapid support to health sector in a geographical area that constitutes 30% of the Syrian geography, and develop the infrastructure of the health sector to respond to crises, where Covid-19 experience had demonstrated the poor capabilities available in the region to deal with epidemics.

Civil organizations believe that it is essential to promote health sector through development projects and centers for treating cancer and chronic diseases, and to support the provision of medicines and medical devices. Similarly, support the health sectors to provide the necessary care to individuals affected by the war and its remnants in the region, and put pressure on the actors in the Syrian affairs to open humanitarian crossings between north and northeast of Syria with the neighboring countries.

Women Sector:

Women issue, in the Syrian conflict, is one of the most important issues that needs to be internally supported because of the massive violations, such as kidnapping, rape, verbal and physical abuse, that have occurred by some parties to the conflict, particularly the extremist armed groups.

Within this context, it is important to provide the urgent support to reduce violations against women in the areas occupied by Turkey, such as Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad in Al- Hassakah and Raqqa governorates, Afrin in Aleppo and other Syrian towns. Furthermore, it is important to address and stress on women's development projects and psychological support projects, as well as activating their role in political and civil life, and enhancing their participation in decision-making in Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, Al-Hassakah and Northern Syria.

It is also significant to focus on the women affected by military operations, re-supporting them, rehabilitating them, and compensating them for the violations that had been committed against them.

Education Sector:

The educational process in Syria has gone through very difficult circumstances and the educational curriculums were diversified in the governorates of Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, Al-Hassakah and Aleppo, with the multiplicity of the military forces controlling the region, and hundreds of thousands of children were deprived of education rights completely for many years. The educational infrastructure was destroyed as a result of bombing the schools, and educational facilities in the area were used as military headquarters and refugee shelters, and the emergence of the Coronavirus has further complicated the educational process.

It is important for the international community to pressure the United Nations organizations to recognize the educational achievement and educational certificates, sponsor them, support and develop an educational curriculum and provide the necessary logistical support for the continuation of the educational process as the Coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, as well as providing university scholarships for Syrian students, and ensuring adequate support for education in refugee and IDPs camps in North and Northeastern Syria.

Similarly, it is important to pressure to support the education process in the Kurdish and Syriac languages, along with the Arabic language as basic languages, as well as other local languages of the North and Northeast regions of Syria and to rehabilitate children who joined the military to engage them in civilian life and ensure their education rights.

We also believe that it is necessary to pressure the conflict parties to neutralize educational centers from the ongoing military conflict in the country and to support development projects to the rehabilitation of the educational infrastructure.

Protection Sector.

The region has suffered from adverse security conditions since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, where there have been extensive disagreements between the different parties of the conflict, the war against jihadi organizations in particular. During the past two years, the Turkish attack on Afrin, Ras Al-Ain, and Tell Abyad has brought back that suffering. It also, has exerted pressure for the prevention of humanitarian and relief aid access to the region after the local population had lived a kind of security stability.

Therefore, the protection file features as a top priority, which must be worked on, in order to guarantee ongoing stability, remove all remnants of the conflict, and the remnants of the war against the Islamic State ISIS, in addition to working on ensuring they never return.

Similarly, it is crucial for the international bodies to train the teams specialized in demining mines left by the war in the region. Also, to provide sufficient support to organizations and individuals view to work on the files of detainees and abductees of the different parties of the conflict.

Likewise, to support protection sector in the region and support the delivery of individuals official identity documents, establish DNA laboratories for the corpses of war victims, and work on the completion of the process of returning citizenship to those who were stripped of it according to the iniquitous extraordinary census of the year 1962. Those who were unable to finish the proceedings for providing their identification documents due to security prosecutions and the state of military conflict. As well as, compensation for those affected by the damage caused by being stripped of their identification documents, having their properties seized, depriving them from job opportunities, employment, and studying. In addition to stressing the necessity of reassuring the right of the undeclared nationality people to regain their nationality and settle their legal status and its results and modification of the legal adaptation of the totality of those stripped of citizenship according to the aforementioned census based on (restoration of the nationality) and not granting it.

The Societal Cohesion Sector.

The societal cohesion and justice issue are considered as one of the most fundamental ones that must be worked on in the entire Syrian geography, and in particular the North and Northeast Syria regions. Taking into consideration the considerable societal intersection between nationalities, ethnicities, sects, and religions in the region. Therefore, it is essential to concentrate on relations and interactions within the society, and it is also necessary to work on establishing a civil political system based on the principles of equality, justice, and parity.

Taking this into consideration, we find an urgent need for the international community to work to help organize an international court to prosecute perpetrators of war crimes by different armed parties. In particular the Islamic factions supported by Turkey and the Islamic State “ISIS”. A well as, the establishment of special committees supported by the international community to pursue the files of missing, detainees, and kidnapped persons. Consequently, holding those responsible for their disappearance accountable.

Supporting truth and inquiry committees and the competent authorities in the field of civil, societal, and religious peace. Also, identifying the underlying causes of the conflict and marginalization in addition to removing the causes of division by supporting civil projects concerned with this issue and provide a full understanding of the aspects of justice and equality. Thus, achieving a comprehensive, just, sustainable, and appropriate solution that guarantees the rights of all Syrians, with their national, religious, and sectarian diversity, as well as documenting them in the new Syrian constitution.

It is also important for the international community to focus on supporting contributions that seek to bring women to justice in work, employment, education, legal and societal issues. Likewise, to eliminate all depictions of violence against women, and those projects related to the protection of minorities; in particular Yazidis and Christians, and the protection of property of the displaced, expatriates and refugees.

On the Issue of Refugees and Internally Displaced People.

One of the most fundamental issues generated by the war in Syria is the one of Syrian IDPs and refugees, who live inside and outside Syria. Also, north and north-east regions of Syria are no exception to this issue. As the engagements between the different parties forced hundreds of thousands of civilians to migrate towards safer areas and settle in camps that lack the lowest qualifications of a dignified life.

Therefore, we believe that the most important files that must be supported by the international community and relevant parties are those of the displaced and refugees in north and northeast Syria. This should be applied, in an urgent manner under international supervision and control, through the support of humanitarian and relief projects, courses for improving the capacities of the displaced and refugees, psychological rehabilitation courses and service and health development projects in the camps. Especially, in light of the spread of the Corona virus pandemic.

We also look forward to the governments of the countries participating in Brussels conference to urgently introduce the international community to solve the issue related to ISIS families and children in Al-Houl camp in Hassakah governorate, in northeast Syria, and return them to their countries.

This letter represents the hopes of the Syrian citizens in North and Northeast Syria, who have gone through long years of war, and are still cautiously watching the military and political developments in the country. As well as, being subjected to violent military attacks that force them to be displaced from their homes. Also, this letter is merely an attempt to express the needs of the people and their necessary priorities, and to bypass the remnants of war that affected their social life and service circumstances. The inhabitants of this region have not yet lost the hope of victory over the war, rather they are determined to overcome it. Therefore, in order to achieve all of this today, they need real international support that paves the way to achieving a stable and secure life in a new civil political system.

For more information or to provide feedback and opinions, please contact TEVN via email.

also You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook . And subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates about the TEVN's work.

The Undersigned (listed in alphabetical order)

#KURD #Syria #HumanRights #KURDISTAN #B4C

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armeniaitn · 4 years

Text

Armenia Politics News Digest for Thursday, February 13, 2020

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/daily-digests/politics-digests/armenia-politics-news-digest-for-thursday-february-13-2020-2105-13-02-2020/

Armenia Politics News Digest for Thursday, February 13, 2020

This is the Daily Digest of political news for Armenia for Thursday, February 13, 2020. The important stories are the following (we hope you like them):

Armenia, Germany keen to strengthen relations: Pashinyan, Merkel meet in Berlin

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.

Welcoming the visit of the Armenian Prime Minister, Mrs. Merkel said it provides an opportunity to discuss issues on the agenda of bilateral relations.

The Chancellor noted that her country’s government would continue to support the Armenian side in various ways to promote democratic reform effectively.

Prime Minister Pashinyan touched upon the economic developments in Armenia, noting that high growth rates were recorded in different sectors of the economy. The Prime Minister emphasized that the Government of Armenia is interested in expanding the German business and capital market presence in the Armenian market and inviting German companies to participate in different investment projects.

During the meeting the sides discussed various issues, including cooperation in the fields of industry, infrastructure, tourism, information technologies, education.

Prime Minister Pashinyan also referred to the constitutional referendum in Armenia on April 5 and its circumstances, noting that the Armenian government is going to invite international observers to observe the referendum.

Angela Merkel expressed support to the German government for judicial reforms in Armenia and highlighted the steps taken by the Armenian government to develop democratic institutions.

In a statement to the press prior to the meeting, Chancellor Merkel said she still fondly remembers the trip to Yerevan 2018.

“Since then we have actually had a very close exchange, and German-Armenian relations have also intensified,” she said.

“I was very happy that we recently signed contracts to set up a TUMO center in Germany. During my visit to Armenia, in Yerevan, I was very enthusiastic about this center, in which young people are taught IT skills and learn a lot. We will inaugurate the first German TUMO center in Berlin this autumn,” Merkel said.

She thanked Armenia for the participation in the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.

PM Pashinyan said, in turn, that “Germany is a close partner of Armenia, and we feel the strength of this partnership in both the theoretical and practical areas. “

“Our connection to Germany is one of the bridges that connect Armenia with European culture and science. Today I can underline that our friendship is based on common values and that these common values serve as the basis for any cooperation. I would also like to state that we have common interests in various projects today. We are ready to do our best to strengthen these relationships,” the Prime Minister said.

Read original article here.

Armenia hails Syrian Parliament Resolution recognizing the Genocide

Armenia has highly appreciated the adoption of the Resolution on the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian people by the People’s Council of the Arab Republic of Syria.

“The genocide unleashed by the Young Turk government, a significant part of which took place in the territory of Syria under the Ottoman Empire at the time, forms part of the general historic memory of the Armenian and Syrian peoples,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The Syrian people, who witnessed the atrocities against the Armenian people, were among the first to extend a helping hand to the victims of the genocide. Thousands of survivors reclaimed their new homeland in Syria by forming one of the richest Armenian communities and contributing to the development of the country,” the statement continued.

The Foreign Ministry said “the resolution is a vivid testimony to the centuries-old friendship and mutual sympathy of the Armenian and Syrian peoples.

“It is a significant contribution to restoring historical justice and preventing genocides,” it concluded.

The Syrian legislative body voted unanimously today to pass a resolution recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide.

Read original article here.

Germany supportive of Armenia’s judicial reform – PM Pashinyan meets with Bundestag President

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with German Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble in Berlin on the sidelines of his working visit to Germany.

Welcoming the Armenian Premier to his country, the Bundestag President was pleased to state that the pledge made exactly a year ago was fulfilled: The Bundestag has ratified the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Wolfgang Schäuble expressed confidence that Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Berlin will impart fresh impetus to the furtherance of Armenian-German relations.

Thankful for CEPA ratification, Prime Minister Pashinyan said it will facilitate the reform process in Armenia. “Armenia has recorded tangible progress in its international ratings as regards democracy. Our government sets another important goal in developing relationships with Germany. We are interested in your country’s experience as a long-established and well-organized parliamentary state, given the fact Armenia embraced the semi-presidential system of governance in 2018,” the Prime Minister said, highlighting the importance of German know-how from the perspective of building a more functional system of governance in our country.

Nikol Pashinyan underscored that his government’s ultimate goal is to ensure that democracy is irreversible in Armenia, supported by an independent and reliable judicial system. The Prime Minister gave details of the decision to hold a referendum on constitutional reforms this April 5. Nikol Pashinyan invited German Bundestag to send observers to monitor the upcoming referendum.

The Bundestag President voiced support for the judicial reform and the democratic process underway in our country. He advised that they are closely following Armenia’s domestic developments.

Taking the opportunity, the interlocutors touched upon the development of cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the European Union. Wolfgang Schäuble expressed hope that Armenia and Prime Minister Pashinyan personally will continue to promote interactions between the two Unions.

The Head of the Armenian Government stressed the need to look for new partnership formulas between the EAEU and the European Union, noting that the issue is being discussed within the EAEU.

Read original article here.

Syrian Parliament recognizes the Armenian Genocide

The Syrian Parliament voted unanimously today to adopt a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, SANA reports.

The Parliament’s Secretary Rami Saleh was earlier quoted by Ahval News as saying that “the history of the Ottoman Empire is full of massacres of various components of the Armenian, Syrian peoples and others.”

The website quoted the head of the Council’s Arab and Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Committee, MP Boutros Morjana as saying: “There is no doubt that the massacre certainly occurred and there was a genocide of the Armenian, Assyrian and Syriac peoples. It is time to recognize this genocide.”

The resolution was presented by the Syria-Armenia parliamentary friendship group.

Read original article here.

Syrian Parliament to vote on a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide

The Syrian Parliament will vote today on a resolution on recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, the Parliament’s Secretary Rami Saleh has declared, Ahval News reports.

He has said the history of the Ottoman Empire is full of massacres of various components of, Armenians, Syrians and others.

The newspaper quoted the head of the Council’s Arab and Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Committee, MP Boutros Morjana as saying: “There is no doubt that the massacre certainly occurred and there was a genocide of the Armenian, Assyrian and Syriac peoples. It is time to recognize this genocide.”

The resolution has been presented by the Syria-Armenia parliamentary friendship group.

Today’s vote by the Syrian Parliament comes amid escalating tensions between Turkish and Syrian forces in Idlib governorate, eastern Syria.

Read original article here.

Azerbaijan "using Karabakh conflict to cover up its failure in democracy"

February 13, 2020 – 12:57 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Azerbaijan is trying to use the Nagorno Karabakh conflict as a cover-up for its failure in democracy, spokeswoman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry Anna Naghdalyan said Thursday, February 13.

Naghdalyan made the comments after Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement claiming that voters from Karabakh participated in recent parliamentary elections as well, while some newly elected parliamentarians were also elected representatives of Karabakh.

“On a number of occasions, we have stated that the establishment and enhancement of democratic societies in the region are in the interests of regional stability, development and prosperity,” Naghdalyan said.

“We are aware of the assessment of those elections by the international observers. As it was assessed by the preliminary report of the international observation mission and the heads of the observation mission, the elections were marred by systematic and gross violations.

The spokeswoman said Azerbaijan is once again trying to use the conflict as a cover-up for its failure in democracy and extremely low level of legitimacy of the elections.

“The false and empty claims of Azerbaijan pretending that representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh have been elected in those elections vividly illustrate Azerbaijan’s distorted perception of democracy,” the diplomat said.

“The people of Artsakh have never participated in the elections of Azerbaijan either now, or throughout the entire history of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

Naghdalyan reminded that the people of Artsakh will exercise their right to vote in the upcoming nationwide elections to be held in the country on March 31 and elect their representatives – the President and the members of the National Assembly – through free expression of will.

Read original article here.

People of Artsakh never participated in Azerbaijani elections – Armenian MFA

The people of Artsakh have never participated in the elections of Azerbaijan either now, or throughout the entire history of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Spokesperson for the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anna Naghdalyan has stated.

“The people of Artsakh will exercise their right to vote in the upcoming nationwide elections to be held in their Homeland on March 31, in which the people of Artsakh will elect their representatives – the President and the members of the National Assembly through free expression of will,” she added.

The comments come after the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement, claiming that voters from Nagorno-Karabakh participated in the recent parliamentary elections highly criticized by international observers.

Naghdalyan reiterated Armenia’s stance that “establishment and enhancement of democratic societies in the region are in the interests of regional stability, development and prosperity.”

“Once again Azerbaijan is trying to use the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a cover up of its failure in democracy and extremely low level of legitimacy of the elections. The false and empty claims of Azerbaijan claiming that representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh have been elected in those elections vividly illustrate Azerbaijan’s distorted perception of democracy,” the Spokesperson stated.

Read original article here.

Armenia PM details top court developments to OSCE envoys

February 12, 2020 – 17:38 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday, February 12 hosted ambassadors of Armenia-accredited OSCE countries, his office reveals.

“Pashinyan addressed in detail the situation around the Constitutional Court, the referendum on Constitutional amendments and the circumstances that led to the decision to hold a referendum,” the statement from the government reads.

“The Prime Minister on his government’s comprehensive reform agenda, the ongoing democratic transformations and the government’s anti-corruption policy.”

In conclusion, Pashinyan answered questions by the ambassadors.

Read original article here.

IAEA hails Armenia’s efforts towards enhancing nuclear security

On a working visit to Austria, Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan met with Rafael Gross, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Hakob Vardanyan was also present at the meeting.

Minister Mnatsakanyan noted that Armenia, being a proponent of peaceful use of nuclear energy, attaches great importance to the cooperation with the IAEA. The sides highly appreciated the effective cooperation existing between Armenia and the IAEA and expressed their readiness to make joint efforts to point out new horizons of cooperation and make full use of the existing potential.

The parties touched upon a number of issues on the agenda of the Armenia-IAEA interaction, in particular the terms of operation and safe operation of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, the development of nuclear energy and nuclear security. The IAEA Director General highly appreciated Armenia’s ongoing reforms aimed at enhancing security in the field of nuclear energy.

The Minister emphasized the importance of peaceful use of nuclear energy in the economic development and energy security of Armenia. In this context, the two sides underscored the effective cooperation between Armenia and the Agency in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Read original article here.

Armenian PM to attend Munich Security Conference

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will pay a working visit to the Federal Republic of Germany on February 13-15.

During the visit, the Prime Minister will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. The leaders of the two countries will make statements for the press. Nikol Pashinyan will also meet with the President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Schauble.

The head of government will meet with the German scientific and expert circles at the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung of the Social Democratic Party.

On February 14, PM Pashinyan will leave for Munich to attend the official opening ceremony of the Munich Security Conference. He is expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the event.

Read original article here.

Today on Twitter

These are several tweets about Armenia. Contact us via Twitter if you want to be part of this Twitter list. We retweet occasionally.

Armenia @armenia·

12 Feb

No, not finished yet… Greco-Roman #wrestlers Karen #Aslanyan (67 kg) & Karapet #Chalyan (77 kg) ensured the presence of the Armenian flag on pedestal by taking the #bronze medals during #EuropeanChampionship. Congrats to our heroes! #wretslerome

Reply on Twitter 1227698917468405760Retweet on Twitter 12276989174684057607Like on Twitter 122769891746840576082Twitter 1227698917468405760

Retweet on TwitterEmbassy of Armenia to Austria/Slovakia Retweeted

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan@ZMnatsakanyan·

10h

Useful dialogue w/ @GhadaFathiWaly of @UNODC. Discussed broad national reforms in anti-corruption, law enforcement & judicial systems. Reaffirmed that transnational level of crime and illicit trafficking requires robust intl coop, as no single nation can address challenges alone.

Reply on Twitter 1227991958460735490Retweet on Twitter 12279919584607354905Like on Twitter 122799195846073549021Twitter 1227991958460735490

Armenia Mission to UN@ArmeniaUN·

At the #UNSC open debate, PR of #Armeniastresses the importance of transitional justice for strengthening #RuleOfLaw, highlights the role of @theICTJ and legal analysis on #ArmenianGenocide. Condemnation of past atrocities is vital for upholding #HumanRights & #sustainablepeace

Reply on Twitter 1228103508332883968Retweet on Twitter 12281035083328839681Like on Twitter 12281035083328839686Twitter 1228103508332883968

JAMnews@JAMnewsCaucasus·

13h

#Azerbaijanis accounted for a little less than a third of all citizens #deport|ed from #Georgia last year.

https://jam-news.net/azerbaijani-citizens-deported-from-georgia-more-often-than-any-other-nationality/

Reply on Twitter 1227955135617343489Retweet on Twitter 12279551356173434891Like on Twitter 12279551356173434891Twitter 1227955135617343489

Armenia at NATO@armmission_nato·

11h

Delegation led by Deputy Defense Minister of #Armenia #GabrielBalayan attends @NATO #DefMin in #RSM format. Continued contribution of Armenia and other partners to peace and stability in #Afghanistan highly appreciated by #NATO Allies.

Reply on Twitter 1227978046524809217Retweet on Twitter 12279780465248092173Like on Twitter 12279780465248092178Twitter 1227978046524809217

Artsakh Parliament@Artsakh_Parl·

12h

32 years ago, these days, the #Karabakhmovement began. With mass demonstration the people of #Artsakh demanded from the Soviet Union the withdrawal of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) from the #Azerbaijan SSR and its reunion with the Soviet #Armenia. #selfdetermination

Reply on Twitter 1227958323607220225Retweet on Twitter 12279583236072202251Like on Twitter 122795832360722022510Twitter 1227958323607220225

Retweet on TwitterArmenia Ombudsman Retweeted

Arman Tatoyan@atatoyan·

15h

A productive meeting w/ #President of #Armenia, H.E. Armen Sarkissian today. We discussed our mutual cooperation as #constitutional institutions; projects of the Human Rights Defender (@OmbudsArmenia ); #humanrights issues; #reforms of the #Constitution & #judicial-#legal system.

Reply on Twitter 1227912992752316416Retweet on Twitter 12279129927523164161Like on Twitter 12279129927523164164Twitter 1227912992752316416

Retweet on TwitterUSC Armenian Studies Retweeted

Emil Sanamyan@emil_sanamyan·

12 Feb

I looked at composition of Nagorno Karabakh Republic’s first elected parliament (1991-95). Some things stood out: of 81 seats, 6 were set aside for NKR’s Azerbaijani minority (3 in Shushi, 1 in Khojali, 1 in Karadagli & 1 in Umudlu); they remained vacant. https://twitter.com/ArmenianStudies/status/1227282593516621824

USC Armenian Studies@ArmenianStudies

Leading up to #elections in #Karabakh scheduled for March 31, here is a look back at electing #Artsakh’s Parliament in 1991 by @emil_sanamyan for #FocusOnKarabakh https://armenian.usc.edu/electing-artsakhs-first-parliament-conditions-and-composition/

Reply on Twitter 1227452337255518209Retweet on Twitter 12274523372555182093Like on Twitter 122745233725551820918Twitter 1227452337255518209

ArtsakhPress Agency@ArtsakhPress·

13h

More than 2 billion envisaged by the #housing #program for #construction works https://artsakhpress.am/eng/news/121129/more-than-2-billion-envisaged-by-the-housing-program-for-construction-works.html #Artsakh #NagornoKarabakh

Reply on Twitter 1227952040304922624Retweet on Twitter 1227952040304922624Like on Twitter 12279520403049226242Twitter 1227952040304922624

Artsakh MFA@mfankr·

18h

On Feb 13, 1988 tens of thousands of people participated in first major demonstration in #Stepanakert, demanding reunification with #Armenia. Since then mass demonstrations were held in #Stepanakert, #Hadrut, #Martuni, #Askeran & #Yerevan. #Karabakh http://www.nkr.am/en/karabakh-national-liberation-movement

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Today on Facebook

These are some of the Facebook posts about Armenia from some of the Facebook pages we follow. Reach out to us on Facebook if you want to be part of this list. We share posts occasionally.

This message is only visible to admins.

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Error: (#803) Some of the aliases you requested do not exist: Armenia,ArmeniaFanPage,ArmeniaFund,BirthrightArmenia,LiveLoveArmenia,RepatArmenia Type: OAuthException Solution: See here for how to solve this error

#Armenia #Armenians #Artsakh #Karabakh #Yerevan #Politics Digests

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paoloxl · 5 years

Text

Il 9 ottobre 2019 lo Stato turco ha iniziato la sua guerra di invasione e occupazione sul territorio della Siria settentrionale. L’esercito turco sta attaccando tutte le principali città e insediamenti lungo il confine, con attacchi aerei e colpi di mortaio. Secondo le cifre pubblicate da Mezzaluna Rossa Curda (The Kurdish Red Crescent), solo durante i primi cinque giorni di attacchi, sono stati uccisi almeno 46 civili e si contano 139 feriti – tra cui molte donne, bambine e bambini.

Attualmente, l’esercito turco insieme a un cosiddetto “esercito nazionale siriano”, composto da mercenari di diversi gruppi terroristici, sta tentando di estendere la propria invasione su quel territorio. Allo stesso tempo, le cellule dormiente dell’ISIS hanno iniziato nuovi attacchi in tutta la Siria settentrionale. Le forze SDF e YPJ-YPG, che hanno liberato la Siria del Nord-Est dal regime terroristico dell’IS, ora stanno dedicando le loro vite per proteggere le persone da nuove occupazioni e massacri. Quelle donne che hanno liberato migliaia di donne della schiavitù sotto IS sono ora bombardate da un esercito NATO. Milioni di vite, di persone di tutte le diverse comunità etniche e religiose, in questa regione, sono sotto minaccia. Diecimila famiglie sono state sfollate. Oltre ai villaggi popolati principalmente da popolazioni curde e arabe, ci sono stati attacchi mirati a quartieri cristiani. È ovvio che questi attacchi vengono portati avanti con obiettivi di pulizia etnica e cambiamento demografico.

L’occupazione turca e i crimini di guerra ad Afrin, a partire da gennaio 2018, sono stati fino ad oggi condonati dalla comunità internazionale. Così, la Turchia s’impegna per espandere il suo territorio e imporre il suo dominio su ulteriori regioni della Siria settentrionale e orientale, violando il diritto internazionale e la sovranità stessa della Siria. Allo stesso tempo, la Turchia trascura la volontà dei popoli della regione che hanno vissuto insieme pacificamente, sotto l’Amministrazione democratica autonoma. Gli attacchi della Turchia sono diretti contro gli avanzamenti della rivoluzione delle donne nel Rojava, che è stata una fonte di ispirazione per le donne di tutto il mondo. Le donne, che sono state avanguardia nella costruzione di un modello sociale alternativo, per una società democratica ed ecologica basata sulla liberazione delle donne, sono prese di mira dagli attacchi delle squadre assassine jihadiste. Il copresidente del Partito Futuro della Siria, Hevrin Xelef è stata assassinata in un’imboscata il 12 ottobre, mentre era in viaggio per visitare feriti e sfollati nella regione di Til Temir. Nonostante 8 anni di guerra continua in Siria, le regioni dell’amministrazione Autonoma nel Nord-Est della Siria sono riuscite a garantire diritti democratici e rispondere ai bisogni di tutte le persone in questa regione. Centinaia di migliaia di rifugiati di guerra provenienti da diverse regioni della Siria hanno trovato rifugio qui. Senza alcun sostegno degno di nota da parte delle organizzazioni delle Nazioni Unite, questi rifugiati sono stati accolti, protetti e sostenuti dalle strutture dell’Amministrazione Autonoma.

Mentre il governo di Erdogan ha annunciato apertamente questa guerra e i suoi piani di occupazione, la comunità internazionale – compresi gli organi dell’Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite (ONU) – non ha adottato misure adeguate per impedire che ciò accadesse. Inoltre, potenze egemoniche come la Russia e Gli Stati Uniti hanno incoraggiato l’aggressione della Turchia. I genocidi dell’Impero ottomano contro gli armeni e il popolo siriaco nel 1915 e i massacri contro il popolo curdo a Dersim, Halebje, Nussaybin, Cizire, Afrin … sono ancora nelle nostre menti. Oggi di nuovo, i crimini contro l’umanità sono stati preparati ed eseguiti apertamente, poiché il calcolo dei profitti di guerra conta di più del diritto internazionale, dei valori e diritti umani.

Le donne del Rojava hanno sempre sottolineato:

“Abbiamo difeso la rivoluzione delle donne con i nostri sacrifici. Conduciamo la nostra lotta a nome di tutte le donne nel mondo”.

La guerra della Turchia contro le donne e i popoli del Nord-Est della Siria è un’aggressione contro tutte noi. Mira a colpire gli avanzamenti e i valori delle nostre lotte per i diritti, la libertà e la giustizia delle donne – ovunque. Con la campagna internazionale Women Defend Rojava (Donne in difesa del Rojava), ci uniamo contro il fascismo, l’occupazione e il patriarcato. Alziamo la nostra voce per il riconoscimento dell’autonomia dell’Amministrazione autonoma nel Nord-Est della Siria, per la pace e la giustizia in Siria.

Per prevenire nuovi genocidi e femminicidi nel 21° secolo, esortiamo il Consiglio di Sicurezza delle Nazioni Unite, tutti gli organismi competenti della comunità internazionale e i governi ad intraprendere azioni urgenti al fine di:

Fermare immediatamente l’invasione e l’occupazione della Turchia nel Nord-Est della Siria; Istituire una No-Fly-Zone per la protezione delle vite delle persone nel Nord-Est della Siria; Prevenire ulteriori crimini di guerra e fermare la pulizia etnica da parte delle forze dell’esercito turco, dell’ISIS, di El Nusra e di altri gruppi terroristici jihadisti; Processare tutti i crimini e i criminali di guerra; Interrompere il commercio di armi con la Turchia; Attuare sanzioni politiche ed economiche contro la Turchia; Riconoscere l’Amministrazione autonoma democratica dei popoli del Nord-Est della Siria; Adottare misure immediate per una soluzione politica della crisi in Siria con la rappresentanza e la partecipazione delle donne e rappresentanti di persone di tutte le diverse comunità nazionali, culturali e religiose in Siria.

Women Defend Rojava Campaign Committee 15 ottobre, 2019

Per Adesioni

• individui: dal sito https://womendefendrojava.net/ compilando il modulo online scorrendo un po’ la pagina sulla destra

• Organizzazioni: scrivendo all’indirizzo: [email protected]

Prime adesioni:

Organizzazioni:

Women‘s Council of North and East Syria; Kongra Star; Council of Women in Syria MJS, Union of Free Women East Kurdistan KJAR, Organisation of Freedom Seeking Women Kurdistan RJAK, East Kurdistan Women’s Association Ronak, Kurdish Women’s Public Relation Office REPAK, Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe TJK-E; International Representation of Kurdish Women’s Movement IRKWM, Kurdish Women’s Peace Office CENÎ; Kurdish Women’s Student Union JXK; Young Women’s Movement Jinên Ciwan; Êzidî Women’s Freedom Movement TAJÊ; Alevit Democratic Women‘s Movement; Free Women‘s Foundation Rojava (WJAR); Initiative of Democratic Muslim Women; Jineolojî Academy; Palestine Women’s Association Lebanon; Women’s Branch of Syriac Union Party Lebanon; Social and Cultural Association NEWROZ Lebanon; Mujeres Terretorios y Resistancias (Santa Cruz / Bolivia); Southall Black Sisters (UK); Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA); Women’s Strike Poland; Mujeres Libres (CNT / Spain); Union Syndicale Solidaires France; International Labour Network of Solidarity and Struggles; Feminist Assembly of Madrid (Spain); Feministas de Abya Yala (Uruguay); Centro de Intercambios y Servicios Cono Sur CISCSA (Argentina).

Individui:

Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (Forum for Women Farmers‘ Rights, India); Sylvia Marcos (Author, Mexico); Meredith Tax (writer & Emergency Committee for Rojava, USA); Nadje Al-Ali (academician, USA); Collette McAllister (Sinn Féin, Irland); Maria Luiza Duarte Azedo Barbosa (World Women‘s March, Brazil); Dr Radha D’Souza (University of Westminster, UK); Dr Mahvish Ahmad (University of Western Cape, South Africa), Francesca Gargallo Celentani (author and feminist, Mexico); Laura Quagliuolo (editor, Italy); Teresa Cunha (academician, Portugal); Tor Bridges (aunt of Anna Campbell, Producer, UK); Lilian Galan (MPP, Uruguay); Nancy Fraser (professor of philosophy and politics, USA); Dr Mithu Sanyal (author and broadcaster, Germany); Margaret Owen (Widows for Peace through Democracy WPD & Patron of Campaign Peace in Kurdistan, UK); Alba Sotorra Clua (filmmaker, Spain); Rahila Gupta (writer and activist, UK); Dr Mónica G Moreno Figueroa (sociologist, UK); Julie Ward (Member of European Parliament, UK); Prof Sarah Franklin (sociologist, UK); Wendy Lyon (human rights lawyer, Ireland); Dr Zahra Ali (sociologist, USA); Fatemeh Sadeghi (McGill University, Canada/Iran); Dr Sarah Glynn (academician, Scotland); Maryam Ashrafi (social documentary photographer & film-maker, Iran); Dr Hettie Malcomson (academician, UK); Debbie Boockchin (journalist & author, UK); Selay Ghaffar (Solidarity Party of Afghanistan); Dr Marina Sitrin (Binghamton University, USA); Amber Huff (researcher, UK); Christelle Terreblanche (University of

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dougielombax · 2 months

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Just leaving this here.

Feel free to reblog.

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ritchiepage2001newaccount · 9 months

Note

Right.

I see.

Speaking of Syriac (you mentioned you attend a Syrian church, idk if you mean Assyrian (as in Syriac orthodox or Syriac Catholic) or Maronite), I have a question or two.

1. Do you know where I might be able to find any Syriac language resources? (Beyond the pinned post on my blog) I only ask as I have been making plans to learn Syriac.

2. Also, since you post frequently about the YPG and other SDF-aligned groups like Sutoro or the Syriac military council (among others), I figured I’d ask, do you know where I can find news sources about Assyrian affairs? So far all I have are the Assyrian International News Agency, Syriac Press and the European Syriac Union, all of which are good but I feel I need to look elsewhere.

Sorry if I’m wasting time btw.

Syriac (Oriental) Orthodox.

All I can really recommend is Google for language resources.