MESOP: HUMAN RIGHTS DEMONSTRATIONS BY KURDS AGAINST PYD (PKK)

ʿAmudah: Demonstration against forcible recruitment of minors

KURDWATCH, December 31, 2014—On December 27, 2014, the Kurdish National Council’s local committee organized a demonstration in ʿAmudah against the forcible recruitment of minors by the Democratic Union Party (PYD). Approximately six hundred people took part in the rally, including numerous politicians and activists. The reason for the rally was the kidnapping of the fifteen-year-old pupil Hamrin Husain [further information]. The banner of one of the demonstrators read: »The Islamic State is kidnapping our women and the PYD our children.«

ʿAmudah: Again minor recruited by PYD against parents’ will

KURDWATCH, December 31, 2014—On December 23, 2014, fighters for the Democratic Union Party’s (PYD) People’s Defense Units (YPG) have recruited ninth grader Hamrin ʿAbdulhamid Husayn (known by the family name ʿIdi) without seeking her parents’ consent. The girl was picked up in front of her parental home in ʿAmudah. In a press release, her brother Marwan ʿIdi stated: »I went to the Democratic Union Party’s Women’s Defense Units and Asayiş. Both claimed, Hamrin were not with them. However, Hamrin had contacted a friend by phone and had told her she and a group of girls were on their way to a military training ground in the Qandil mountains.« On December 24, 2014, about ten family members of Hamrin’s have organized a rally in ʿAmudah and demanded from the PYD to let their daughter return.