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Leila Yunus: Celebration of Human Rights Day in Azerbaijan is the same as to celebrating Hanukkah in Auschwitz in 1943 by Jews

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“Today, celebrating Human Rights Day in 2013 in Azerbaijan is the same as celebrating Hanukkah in Auschwitz in 1943 by Jews. Of course, we celebrate it with a Leila Yunus Human rightheavy heart and uncertainty that will live to see the liberation,” reads the statement of the Director of the Azerbaijani Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD) Leila Yunus, which is published on the site of “Turan” news agency.

“More than 140 (!) Political prisoners and prisoners of conscience lose their health and life in prison. After another usurpation of power by October 9 trails on false charges go around the whole country. In Sheki and Ganja Detention Units where Ilgar Mamedov (REAL movement) and Tofig Yagublu (Musavat) are taken to is actually tuned into months-long ordeal. In Lyankyarani the judicial farce over Yadigar Sadikhov (Musavat) is aimed at demonstrating to the inhabitants of the south: even the most intelligent, bespectacled teacher will be recognized as a hooligan and will be arrested!” noted Yunus, listing the trials of opposition activists in Azerbaijan.

As noted in the statement, in the Azerbaijani Court of Grave Crimes the youth are taught: “When the master orders, not 8 but 8.000 will be condemn as drug-terrorists, and no Europe and America will help you.”

Leila Yunus writes that during the first 2 months after the presidential elections held on October 9 in the republic, those four people who had the courage to oppose the force of the word of truth and the power of the rich, ruling authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan, are already imprisoned: it is the human rights defender Gurban Mamedov (sentenced to 3 years imprisonment), theologian Thale Bagirov (sentenced to 2 years imprisonment), journalist Sardar Alibeili (sentenced to 4 years imprisonment), blogger Rashad Ramazanov (sentenced to 8 years imprisonment).

Leila Yunus notes that “the word of truth” has always frightened dictators and occupiers, and Azerbaijan, according to her, it occupied by criminal authoritarian regime.

“Citizens expect to avoid terrible fate of the freethinkers by their silence and submission. The most important thing is to feed their families, to ensure their children’s future, and therefore they need to be quiet, in order to live calmly – our compatriot thinks. And then wonders: what for (?), when they come to demolish his house, he can defend neither his family, nor his house,” the statement reads.

Leila Yunus notes that the Mejidovs’ family from Devechinski region of Azerbaijan did not manage to protect their children (7 and 14 years old daughters) when in 2007, by the order of chief of the local police, they were kidnapped to be sold. “But at least the boys survived, thought the relatives of this family. In Novruzali Mamedov’s family (professor and linguist, editor of “Tolyshi Sado”) survived only his widow, he and his two sons were killed in 2008 – 2009,” reminds IPD director.

“When you are not driven into the gas chamber and the furnace, but are appointed to work at the furnace and to remove the ashes by shovel, it is not yet a guarantee, my dear citizens, that tomorrow you will not rake the ashes of your children and your parents: Happy Holidays! Happy Human Rights Day Azerbaijanis!” Leila Yunus sums up.

‘Not real James Bonds’: Assange explains why ‘small publisher’ WikiLeaks beat the Pentagon

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WikiLeaks’ major achievement is in weakening the authority of US intelligence, according to the whistleblowing website founder, Julian Assange, who has just Assangemarked three years under virtual house arrest in the UK, RT reported.

Julian Assange believes that the WikiLeaks website he founded represents “an example of a small publisher beating the Pentagon” and by doing so reducing the public fear of government institutions.

“If a small publisher can beat the Pentagon, then some committed and strong political groups in various countries don’t have to be quite as scared of US as they have been before,” Assange said in a comprehensive interview given to Slovenia’s Delo newspaper. “The US intelligence agencies have a big budget and immense technological resources, but the more we learn about them, the more we see how incompetent they are. They are definitely not real-life James Bonds. More a vast number of sickly office workers dreaming about their next holiday.”

Assange has acidly compared the government agencies that had their activities exposed by WikiLeaks’ revelations, to “creepy and sleazy beetles which start to run around in panic when the stone which was shielding them from the daylight is torn away.”

This panic has led to a severe crackdown on whistleblowers. The most recent example has been the persecution of Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, who is wanted in the US on espionage charges and has found temporary asylum in Russia.

Assange himself has spent the last three years under virtual house arrest in the UK. For more than half of this time he was confined to a five square-meter room, after he had been granted asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, fearing extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted in relation to a sexual misconduct investigation. The WikiLeaks founder has labeled the investigation as politically motivated and has said it will lead to his further extradition to the US, where he could be brought to court for leaking sensitive data.

Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning, a major WikiLeaks contributor, was sentenced to 35 years in August 2013 for having released classified files. Assange believes Manning’s revelations should have led to quite different trials.

“There is a nasty case concerning our single most popular and known public disclosure, the video tape of an US Army Apache helicopter attacking some civilians and Reuters journalists in Iraq. What is the outcome of it? Manning, who revealed that document, was sentenced to 35 years in prison, while there are no disciplinary actions against the gunner, the pilot, or their superiors – they are still serving in the US military.”

Speaking of his unsuccessful Australian Senate election campaign, Assange said it had not been in vain, as the WikiLeaks Party had “established a network of people working for us in Australia.” The whistleblower insists he wanted to make politics different and “to come into the Senate as a spy for the people.”

“During the prosecution of Manning, the District Attorney said about WikiLeaks that they are ‘the intelligence agency of the people,’ and I consider this a big compliment. It is a phrase I used years ago to describe us. This is what we are: spies for the people. If states have their intelligence agencies to spy on us and control us, should the people and history itself also not have their own counterintelligence?”

As for Snowden’s revelations, the WikiLeaks founder says he was not generally surprised to learn of the NSA’s mass surveillance tactics. It was rather certain individuals’ behavior that had him stunned, particularly some US personalities’ desire to impose American values and worldview on Arab and Asian countries. Assange came up with the example of Google executive Jared Cohen.

“Some documents that were given to me disclose how Cohen and his collaborators met in London with leading managers of the Bollywood cinema and promised them financial support from a covert fund, and link ups with Hollywood if they eliminated extremist messages – presumably stabs against America. I have no doubt that while Cohen was corrupting these individuals, Bollywood, Hollywood, the State Department, the funds accountants and himself, he thought he was saving poor Indians from terrorism.”

Assange has also spoken of the WikiLeaks’ uneasy relations with the media. At first, they were eager to make sensational leaks public, while, later, they “began to carefully control and contain the damage to the establishment” and manipulate with the data they received, redacting certain parts of the documents, which resulted in distortions of the information they contained.

“For example; there was a cable on Yulia Tymoshenko that said she’s hiding her money in London: they deliberately redacted that portion,” Assange said, adding that they nevertheless “did run a big story on how the president of Belarus had stolen $9 billion. The cable says the allegation was very thinly sourced from a Ukrainian opposition newspaper via Russia. The Guardian, which is the UK establishment’s preferred attack dog on the former Soviet, kept the $9 billion theft allegation, but redacted how the allegation had little credibility. They published the story immediately before the Belarus election.”

Assange has called on readers of the media not to be passive news consumers and to check the information’s credibility at WikiLeaks website, where the full versions of the classified documents can be found.

“This is what we want to achieve – to bring people to use WikiLeaks website the same way millions of us use Wikipedia, as a universal encyclopedia which allows you to measure the partiality of other sources of information.”

James Corbett Interview David L. Smith Geneva Business Insider (Video)

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By: James Corbett Corbett.com

Screen Shot 2013-12-08 at 1.10.12 PMInterview with David L. Smith of the Geneva Business Insider blog joins James and David once again for monthly conversation on economics, finance and politics. This month they tackle the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, the latest in the Eupocalypse with the latest abysmal stats out of France, and a new Swiss initiative to provide every Swiss citizen a guaranteed basic income.
 
 
 

Source: http://www.corbettreport.com

Turkey popularity declining in Middle East: Poll (Video)

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Turkey’s popularity in the Middle East has been plummeting significantly over the past two years, a new poll shows.

Screen Shot 2013-12-08 at 7.13.06 AMThe poll conducted by an Istanbul-based think tank in 16 Arab countries found that Turkey’s rating has fallen nearly 20 points from 78 percent in 2011 to 59 percent this year.

The survey conducted by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation and published on Wednesday also said that the drop has been mainly linked to the country’s negative role in the Syrian conflict as well as its policy towards Egypt.

In Syria, 88 percent of respondents said they do not view Ankara as a friend to their country, and in Egypt only 38 percent had favorable views about Turkey.

In September, leader of Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu criticized the ruling government for its foreign policy vis-à-vis the Syrian crisis and the developments in Egypt.

“A wrong foreign policy causes very serious breaking points in countries’ histories,” Kilicdaroglu said, adding, “Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkish Prime Minister) has no neighbor left he can say hello to or invite for cooperation. Not Iraq, not Syria, not Egypt and not Iran.”

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

Moreover, relations between Turkey and Egypt have grown tense after the Turkish government adopted a harsh position over removal from power of former Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, by the the country’s military.

Saudis worried about being abandoned by US

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Iranian Diplomacy’s interview with Dr. Mehran Kamrava, Director of the Center for International and Regional Studies at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar

Saudi Diplomasy– Considering recent developments in Saudi diplomacy, such as rejecting UN Security Council membership, not accepting to cooperate to hold the Geneva-2 conference on Syria, attempts to find a new ally in the world to replace the US, …, how would you assess Saudi diplomacy at the present time?

– Saudi Arabia has long followed a foreign policy that may be described as “bandwagoning”, whereby it has sought shelter in the American security umbrella and aligned its foreign and security policies with that of the US. In such cases, countries that bandwagon often worry about “entrapment” and “abandonment”, worrying that they might be either trapped in the policy adventures of their guardians or, alternatively, be abandoned by them. Right now, because of the prospects of negotiations between the US and Iran, Saudi Arabia is worried about being abandoned by the US. That’s why its foreign policy lately has reflected an unprecedented degree of panic and worry.

– In your opinion, could Saudi Arabia distance itself from the US and be inclined towards China or Europe? To what extent does the US consider closeness between China and Saudi Arabia a threat? How challenging do you think Saudi Arabia’s policies are for the US?

– No. US-Saudi relations are rooted in deep economic, diplomatic, and military relations. Saudi Arabia wants to make sure that the US does not take it for granted and does not abandon it. But its ties with the US are too deeply rooted for there to be a meaningful realignment toward either China or the EU. These concerns will be resolved over time, as the US continues to reassure the Saudis that the fundamental basis of their relationship will not be changed. The US relationship with Saudi Arabia is too lucrative and profitable for the US to let it be easily abandoned.

– It is said that the presence of different factions in Saudi Arabia’s political scene has directed this country towards political chaos. This has led to the absence of a united voice in Saudi diplomacy. Can such an interpretation be made with regard to Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic behavior?

– There are, of course, different factions within Saudi Arabia’s royal family. But there is a fair amount of coordination at the highest levels of decisions-making when it comes to foreign policy.

– Saudi Arabia attempts to advance a separate agenda on the issue of Syria in accordance with its own special equations. Considering Qatari policies with regard to Syria and the policies of other countries involved in this issue like Iran, the US, and Russia, do you predict that Saudi Arabia will be able to achieve its objectives in Syria? What leverage does Saudi Arabia have to advance its goals and what are its weak points?

– Saudi Arabia is committing a tremendous amount of money and resources to Syria to ensure the collapse of the Assad regime. But so far the Assad regime has proven a lot more resilient and it appears to be regaining some of the strength it had lost in the past. Clearly, the Assad regime has lost considerable power compared to before, but so far Saudi Arabia’s policy objectives have not had their desired success. Also, after the experiences of Libya and Egypt, and also the growth of Al-Qaeda and other extremists in Syria, the US is concerned about developments in a post-Assad Syria. This is another reason why the Saudis are at odds with the US, believing that that the US has abandoned them in Syria and does not support their policy objectives.

– Following his election as Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani reiterated in his first press conference the necessity of improving relations with Saudi Arabia and opening a new chapter in these relations. His election was also welcomed by the Saudis. But after 100 days since the establishment of Rouhani’s government, not only have these relations not been improved but Saudi Arabia has also been acting against Iran in certain cases including the nuclear dossier. Why did these optimisms lose their momentum and what challenges exist on the path towards improving relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia? Could we envisage a future for the improvement of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the shadow of developments in the region?

– Just recently FM Zarif maintained in a press interview that Iran’s relations with its neighbors are Iran’s top priority. So far, the Rouhani administration has focused on the nuclear negotiations with the P5+1 and has not made major foreign policy moves in the other areas–in relations to Iran’s neighbors across the Persian Gulf, in Syria, etc. I can only imagine the relations with Saudi Arabia and the other Arab countries improve.

– It has been reported that Qatar is attempting to improve its relations with Iran and the Defense Minister of this country has even welcomed the expansion of security relations and the creation of a strategic pact with Iran. In your opinion, what would Saudi Arabia’s approach be with regard to the improvement of relations between Iran and Qatar? Does Saudi Arabia consider Qatar as a rival in regional relations with Tehran on one hand, and in regional relations with the international community, on the other?

– There have long been rivalries between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and in this rivalry they offer make both intentional and regional moves and alliances. I doubt if Qatar will make substantive and meaningful moves toward security cooperation with Iran, but, in line with its broader foreign policy moves, it is eager to improve its relations with Iran, and it is likely to do so in the coming months.

– Do you believe that Saudi Arabia truly considers the closeness of relations between Iran and the West to be to its disadvantage? Why?

– For more than thirty years, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf have capitalized on tensions between Iran and the United States. Saudi Arabia and the other regional states are concerned that if these tensions lessen, they will lose their comparative advantage in the region, and will not be able to capitalize on their pro-US policies.

– The Times of London published a report last week stating that Saudi Arabia looks to purchase nuclear weapons from Pakistan. Since long ago, Saudi Arabia has been accused of attempting to buy nuclear weapons. Even in 1989, this country was accused of purchasing missiles with nuclear warheads from China. Do you think that acquiring nuclear weapons is one of Saudi Arabia’s objectives? How effective do you think Saudi Arabia’s achievement of nuclear weapons would be in changing the political equations of the region? In that case, what impacts would this issue have on the approach of the international community towards Iran’s nuclear dossier?

– This is a rumor that Saudi Arabia encouraged in order to put pressure on the US in its relations with Iran. The Saudis have indeed said, and I believe they will, buy a nuclear device from Pakistan if others in the region acquire them, but I think this is at best a future possibility rather than a probability.

Syria humanitarian crisis: one has to be held accountable – expert

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The civil war in Syria has claimed the lives of over 11,000 children. According to a report published by the Oxford Research Group 11,420 syrian Childrensunderage boys and girls, many of them tortured and executed, have been killed in the nearly three-year conflict. The given numbers are not final, the British think tank claimed as the death toll from the ongoing war continues rising. Dr. Bart Janssens, the Director of Operations for Doctors Without Borders in Brussels, talked with the Voice of Russia about the disturbing statistic and the global community’s reaction.
Dr. Bart Janssens – the Director of Operations for Doctors Without Borders in Brussels.

– Do Syrian children get any aid, medical or psychological, for example?

– Very little, unfortunately. There are many-many areas where good medical and psychological support for children is probably fully unavailable. As an example, in the north MSF has 6 hospitals and 2 health centers where we provide basic healthcare for about 250 000 people. In this area we take a lot of effort to get healthcare for children, vaccination, but also save deliveries. But in many other areas such activities we know of are not available.

– Let’s get to those figures. It is claimed by the Research Group that the data includes only the deaths of named victims. How many Syrian children do you think are still unaccounted for?

– Unfortunately, nobody will really know. And as you’ve mentioned already, the report specifies what we call direct victims of the conflict – the children that have died as a direct consequence of violence. We know that all over Syria more than 4 million people are displaced, that in many parts of the country the situation overall is very bad and specific enclaves are almost totally cut off of the world. In these places vaccination or treatment of pneumonia, which is deadly specifically with the upcoming winter, is simply not available. And this will definitely create even a much higher level of mortality.

– Do you think that this study might trigger any reaction both from the international community and the country’s fighting sides?

– We hope so. Unfortunately, what we really believe is that the humanitarian cost and the humanitarian effects of this horrible conflict in Syria receive much less attention than the political side. So, any such report that provides well-studied and well-researched data is very important to draw a picture of what is really going on and reemphasize the humanitarian drama this crisis is creating.

– It’s mentioned in the study that most children were killed deliberately, targeted by snipers and even tortured? On a broader scale, is there any way to protect children in war-torn countries?

– This is of course a very difficult question. I read the report and I read the recommendations. They are very valuable. The only thing is that we need to create more visibility and accountability of all these deaths. And this is important to put it continuously on the agenda of all political talks around this dreadful conflict.

 

‘Media ignore Christians killed in Syria’

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Press TV has conducted an interview with Dr. Randy Short, political commentator from Washington, about the targeting of Christians in Syria by foreign-backed 2Takfiri terrorist groups that include a massacre of 45 Christians, women and children, in the remote village of Sadad; atrocities ignored by Western mainstream media.

– First of all, why is it that Christians let alone Muslims are becoming the victims of terror by the insurgents?

– This is a design. I need to make it clear that the Saudis who are supporting this strongly, are equal-opportunity Christian killers. They are killing them in Saudi Arabia – the Ethiopians working who are there are persecuted.

These Christian minorities have been persecuted all over the Middle East. And the United States is equally guilty because their intervention in the region for the last 12 years has made life hard for Christian minorities.

And then there is the ignorance in the Western world particularly in the United States that imagines only Muslims in the Middle East, which gives them a justification to support Christian Zionism and the persecution of all Muslims at the expense of Muslims and Christians who happen to live in the Middle East.

And the media of course is controlled by Zionists, many of them happen to be in that persecuted minority group that has Israel. Of course, they don’t want to alert people who happen to be Christian to understand that they’re helping kill Christians because that gets into a long discussion going way back that’s not pleasant for them.

-Where is the situation in Syria heading? Who has the upper hand in Syria now?

– The government has the upper hand; however, the government is besieged. The government is being persecuted. It’s facing all sorts of things that are being done to break the backs of the Syrian people who recognize that Bashar (President al-Assad) is going to be the head of state and only negotiated peace is the answer.

But you have spoilers like Saudi Arabia; spoilers like the United States and Turkey… who are generating all this violence. They need to leave this alone and let negotiations take place.

War is what makes money; it allows people to grab and to take things that are not theirs.

But the government of Syria remains strong. They’ve defeated the odds; they’ve embarrassed Obama – shown him to be a buffoon in terms of getting his agenda across in Syria….

And Saudi Arabia is failing and it’s falling apart on the inside as it turns on its own immigrants who make the empire run for the handful that take from everyone else.

Israel, Charles Aznavour says that if the Armenians and the Jews who had survived the tragedies would have disappeared long ago if they did not like the life

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“We, Armenians and Jews have so many survived the tragedies that if our peoples did not like the life they would have long since disappeared” entrusts Charles arton95047-480x323Aznavour (89 years) the Israeli media venus the interviewer in the hotel “Dan” of Tel Aviv. Charles Aznavour who will give this evening its prime and unique concert in Israel.

“I know that we are born to die, but in the meantime he must live her life fully ( … ) the thirst for life pushes me in before” would have then declared the famous singer and French actor of Armenian origin. Has the question of a journalist who asked to Charles Aznavour why it happens in concert for the first time in Israel, the singer reportedly replied that “unfortunately it is the first time that I am being invited in Israel”. But he indicated that he was not in Israel for the first time. He was the first singer who has visited the country just after the foundation of the Hebrew State. Charles Aznavour who stated that he was “surprised to not giants achieved during these last few years by this young State “.

The spectacle of Charles Aznavour is title “concert in the name of peace”. Charles Aznavour who during his visit to Israel has also desired to visit the autonomous territory of Palestine. But this last visit was unable to achieve due to security conditions which coloratura soprano to the cancel. “I came to Israel to sing and not make the policy” was specified, however the singer. The journalists were then asked to Charles Aznavour his opinion on Israel’s refusal to recognize the Armenian genocide. Charles Aznavour would then replied that the recognition of the Armenian genocide by Israel of great significance and that as Armenian he knows struggle for the recognition of the genocide. It also includes the importance of the word “genocide” from the Jews.

He said he was confident, however that one day Israel will recognize the Armenian genocide. Charles Aznavour has also entrusted that he had in his family of Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims. And he is convinced that the men will be able to live together in peace and this irrespective of their religion and of their political opinions. Below an article published Friday, November 22, 2013 on the site of Radio Canada” for the first time in his career, the French singer Charles Aznavour will give a first concert in Israel, Saturday evening. In a press conference on Friday in Tel Aviv, he explained that he had just “sing for peace”, an invitation he could not refuse. However, the artist of 89 years has deplored the fact that he chanterait exclusively before an Israeli public. Charles Aznavour who has also the Armenian nationality regrets that Israel has still not recognized the Armenian genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. In 2009, he was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland, where he lives. During his entire career, he has always defended the memory of the Armenian people. Charles Aznavour recalled that he had gone several times in Israel. He had even sung in a cabaret of Tel Aviv just after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 “. Krikor Amirzayan

‘Suspicious things going on’: UK, US aiming to block Iraq war inquiry

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The US and Britain are trying to block the inquiry into the UK’s involvement in the invasion of Iraq, anti-war activist Lindsey German told RT. Iraq War InquaryConversations between former British PM Tony Blair and former US President George W. Bush remain unattainable.

RT: Who is trying to stall the inquiry, the UK or the US?

Lindsey German: They are both trying to block this inquiry. It was set up in 2009. It was supposed to report in 2011. It is now being pushed back to at least the middle of next year and might be pushed back even further than that. And they are saying they can’t release American confidential documents, but this is something they must have known when they set the inquiry up. So they could easily release them. People in this country are becoming very perturbed about the fact that 8 million pounds has been spent on this inquiry, but there isn’t likely to be an outcome any time soon. That really seems to be a cover up on both the parts of people who support Tony Blair and George W. Bush.

RT: We hear officials in Washington and London saying they need more time to figure out their position on this report and some of its details. Why? Are they censoring it?

LG: There are definitely suspicious things going on here. The cabinet secretary in this country is the person who is blocking things. He is now blaming it on the US. But the truth of the matter is that neither he, who was an adviser to Blair previously, nor Blair, nor David Cameron, who supported the war, are particularly keen for the truth to come out. It makes you wonder exactly what is in these conversations between Bush and Blair. There must be quite a lot to hide for them to be so worried about them being released. I think surely it is in the interest of the public in this country and the US to have them released. After all, there was mass opposition to this war 10 years ago and it hasn’t diminished. People still feel the same way, they still feel that we are living with the legacy of these wars and they’d like for the truth to come out.

RT: The relationship between the US and the UK has always been called “special.” The US basically dragged the UK into war, and doesn’t want to talk about it afterwards. It doesn’t seem like a win-win situation, does it?

LG: Both governments have their reasons for not wanting these things to come out. We’ve had a recent war in Libya, we’ve had the threat of war this summer in Syria, and we have terrible consequences in Iraq, and of course many thousands of NATO troops still in Afghanistan. These are still live issues and people want to know: What did Tony Blair and George W. Bush agree? How early did they agree to the war? What were the conditions of it? Because if this was agreed when many people believe, in the spring of 2002, it means that all the effort to produce a dossier, all the pressure for the second resolution at the UN, were a charade because Tony Blair already knew that he was going to go to war.

RT: Does Washington need other countries to justify its actions? Is England just another suitable friend?

LG: What people are worried about is that there is maybe lots of evidence here for war crimes, for an agreement for a war over regime change, which of course is illegal under international law. There may be lots of other things to come up. We’ve had a number of reports over the Iraq war, none of them satisfactory. People felt that maybe Chilcot would be better because it was a much more thorough going report. Nearly 200 British soldiers died during the Iraq War, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died, and millions of people were demonstrating. All of these people have the right to know, and it is absolutely shameful that our government and the US government are trying to prevent them from knowing.

Source: Panorama.am

Outrageous comments by Turkish puppet Massoud Barzani, has accused the (PYD) of making “secret deals” with the Syrian regime

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Mehmet Gungor
There is a Kurdish saying says that the enemies of your father will not be a friend of yours. It is undeniable fact that Mr Barzani and his family have sacrificed their lives for well being of Kurds who live in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq however his foreign policy that is exactly in line with Turkish interest which is anti-Kurd would harm his legacy and his heroic past. While Turkey invade Kurdistan economically the biggest beneficiary of this economic ties is Mr Barzani not people.

Alex Kader

Just shut up Mr. Barzani. Where were you when PYD was fighting heroically against barbaric terrorists. If you don’t help and support your comrades what kind of person you are. I guess after he talked to corrupt Davutoglu, Barzani feels that he should act against PYD.

ARBIL – Anadolu Agency Report,

The leader of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Massoud Barzani, has accused the Democratic Union Party (PYD) of making “secret deals” with the Syrian regime in an n_57956_4attempt to establish PYD rule in parts of northern Syria, also denominated as Rojava.

“PYD claims having made a revolution in Rojava. And may I ask who is this revolution targeted at? The only thing that [the PYD] does is rule in areas that the [al-Assad] regime has conceded to them,” Barzani said in a written statement on Nov. 13.

The Iraqi Kurdish leader said the PYD violated an agreement signed on July 11, 2012 which states that all Kurdish groups in Syria would act in concertation.

“Unfortunately the PYD has not abided by this agreement and divided all sides. It declared itself a fait accompli military force by way of its military armament and mutual agreements it entered into with the [Syrian] regime,” Barzani said.

Barzani’s statements come as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party-affiliated (PKK) group declared an interim rule in Rojava.

The Iraqi Kurdish leader is also set for an important visit to Diyarbakır on Nov. 16, where he will meet with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

PYD’s co-chair Saleh Muslim said a constituent assembly was formed as a “first step” toward a transitional government, adding that they aimed to hold elections within three months. Both Ankara and Washington had expressed concerns regarding the move, with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu stating that some Kurdish parties did not participate in the meeting prior to the declaration of the autonomous rule. For his part, Barzani expressed concerns about the possible consequences of the Syrian Kurdish Party’s declaration of self-government.

PYD ‘playing a dangerous game’

Barzani also said that the PYD was imposing its agenda on other parties.

“PYD’s cooperation with the regime is a dangerous game for the future of our people in Rojava. PYD has not only taken control of the region, it has already started to arrest and kill members of other party members,” Barzani said.

“The PYD has dragged the Kurds into a war which does not belong to Kurds and will not bring them any gain. This war has forced thousands of Syrian Kurds to migrate, with PYD members opposing Kurdish unity and banning Kurdistan’s flag in Rojava. They have currently declared a de facto administration. This is clearly an unilaterally act which disregards the other Kurdish parties.”

The Iraqi Kurdistan regional administration refused Muslim’s to entrance to its territory last week, which was interpreted as a sign of the disagreements between the PYD and the KRG. The Syrian Kurdish leader stated that he had to wait for five days before ultimately being told that he would not enter Iraqi Kurdistan.

“Our piece of advice to the PYD is to maintain their unity with other parties and abide by the Arbil agreement. If the PYD only bring themselves to the forefront and push its brothers to the rear, it won’t be able to deal with the inevitable threats alone. Then the faith of the Kurds in the region would face very serious threats,” Barzani said.

Turkish commentators noted that Rojava will be the first item on the agenda in the Erdoğan-Barzani meeting in Diyarbakır on Nov. 16. The meeting is also considered as key with respect to the ongoing Kurdish peace process in Turkey.