MEZOPOTAMIA KURDISTAN DAILY INDEPENDENT NEWSSERVICE
Mezopotamian Development Society (Registered) GERMANY – FRANKFURT
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MESOP TODAYS RELEVANT TWEETS & SHORT CUTS
MESOP CFR ANALYSIS NO CEASEFIRE AT ALL FOR SYRIA
A cease-fire agreement in Syria may not be the turning point its international backers have claimed it is, says expert Noah Bonsey in this CFR interview. http://www.mesop.de/?p=71538
MESOP TODAYS HEADLINE : PUTIN’S CLOSER LOOK ON WASHINGTON
Russia Wants Closer Look From Above the U.S.
By ERIC SCHMITT and MICHAEL R. GORDON – “23 Feb 2016 – New York Times
Russia has requested to upgrade the cameras it uses on sanctioned surveillance flights across the United States, which are part of a treaty. www.mesop.de
U.S.-Russia Deal on a Partial Truce in Syria Raises More Doubt Than Optimism
By MARK LANDLER – 23 Feb 2016 – New York Times – The cease-fire is to begin Saturday, but officials acknowledge that obstacles remain in getting the Syrian government and the armed opposition to comply. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/23/world/middleeast/us-russia-cease-fire-in-syria-obama-putin.html?emc=edit_ee_20160223&nl=todaysheadlines-europe&nlid=73143833&_r=0
MESOP : THE PROXY FRANCHISING OF PKK
Speaking to the country’s parliament today, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu claimed that the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia was receiving orders from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and that the two groups had coordinated the deadly bombing of buses carrying soldiers in Ankara last week.
MESOP TODAYS COMMENTARY (I) : IS & RUSSIA COULD EXPLOIT TURKEY’S DIVISIONS
PolicyWatch 2567 – February 22, 2016 – By Soner Cagaptay
Unfortunate civil unrest could emerge if the jihadist group continues targeting anti-government Turks and Moscow keeps its sights set on Erdogan and his party. Following its November 1, 2015, victory in parliamentary elections with 49.5 percent of the vote, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has established itself as the leader in a dominant-party system echoing African National Congress (ANC) rule in South Africa since 1994. Yet unlike the ANC, which continues to garner more than 60 percent popular support, the AKP has just half the Turkish population lined up behind it, with the other half vehemently opposing its agenda and that of its leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Perceiving the divide between the pro- and anti-AKP camps, the Islamic State (IS) is already acting to exploit Turkey’s population from the right while Russia does so from the left. This dynamic creates challenges for Turkey’s domestic stability and will require deft navigation by U.S. policymakers. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71542
MESOP TODAYS COMMENTARY (II) : Turkey-Iran Relations and the Syrian Quagmire
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016 – By Kaveh L. Afrasiabi – *Kaveh L.Afrasiabi, Ph.D. is the co-author of Iran Nuclear Negotiations: Accord and Detente Since the Geneva Agreement of 2013 (Rowman & littlefield, 2015).
For a long time, various Iranian politicians including President Hassan Rouhani have expressed the hope that the relations between Iran and Turkey can remain insulated from the surrounding crises, especially in Syria. As there are reports of President Rouhani’s planned trip to Turkey in the near future, and given the vast economic opportunities to expand the Iran-Turkish trade in the post nuclear agreement era, it is fairly safe to assume that Iran will continue to cling to this hopeful expectation — that is becoming more and more difficult to sustain in light of the big divide between Ankara and Tehran over Syria. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71527
MESOP TODAYS OPINION BY : Robin Yassin-Kassab / The United front – SDF and the PYD (PKK) – Al Araby 23 Feb 2016
….. So the PYD’s gamble is likely to backfire. Its current approach is criminally stupid, and for that many must bear the blame. Certainly the ‘official’ opposition could have done much more early on to assure Kurds of their right to autonomy, at least to remove the ‘Arab’ from ‘Syrian Arab Republic’. Too many, particularly those of the older generation who adhere to traditional political models, continue to worship the notion of a strongly centralised (and Arabist) state.
But still the Kurdish National Council, repressed in Rojava, is incorporated into the Syrian opposition’s coalition, and a Kurd, Abdel Baset Sida, once led the Syrian National Council.
There are plenty of Kurds in the Free Syrian Army as well as in the Islamist battalions. All over the country Kurds work alongside Arabs in civil activism.It’s a grave mistake to equate the PYD with the Syrian Kurds in general, who are a people as diverse in opinion as any other. Even IS boasts a large Kurdish contingent. The leader of the attack on Kobani was a Kurd. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71510
MESOP: PRODUCTIVE COOPERATION MERKEL WITH ERDOGAN & ERDOGAN WITH ISIS
Daily: Turkish border officers cooperate with ISIL – The front page of Cumhuriyet daily published on Monday.
February 23 – TODAY’S ZAMAN | ANKARA – Wiretapped telephone calls between a leading figure from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and several members of the Turkish military reveal cooperation between ISIL and the Turkish military in letting smugglers cross the Turkey-Syriaborder, a report by a Turkish daily has alleged. Watch all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71508
EAST KURDISTAN (IRAN)
MESOP INSIGHT : IRGC Saberin Special Forces at work in Syria / By Amir Toumaj Defend Democracy Organisation
IRGC Saberin Special Forces coat of armsElite Iranian Special Forces, named “Saberin” units, have been deployed as part of the broader Iranian expeditionary force to Syria. Iran’s Ground Forces significantly escalated their involvement in October 2015, coinciding with Russia’s military intervention. There has been a corresponding spike in Saberin fatalities since the escalation. Their deaths have been publicly announced, and funeral ceremonies have been held in their hometowns across Iran. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71515
SOUTH KURDISTAN (IRAQ)
Kurdish Flag Spray-painted on 7th Century BC Assyrian Relief
(AINA) — A 7th century B.C. Assyrian archaeological site in north Iraq has been vandalized. A picture posted on the twitter account of a Kurdish man shows a Kurdish flag spray-painted on the nearly 3,000 year old relief. The site is known as Khinnis and was once part of an aqueduct built by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in the 7th century. It is located near the city of Dohuk (Assyrian Noohadra).
MESOP TODAYS ACTUAL SITUATION REPORT SOUTH KURDISTAN/IRAQ
By Patrick Martin and ISW Iraq Team – 23 Feb 2016 – Key Take-Away: Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi made his boldest move against Iranian proxy militias yet by appointing a retired Federal Police general, Mohsen al-Kaabi, as Deputy Chairman for Financial, Administrative, and Operations Affairs in the Popular Mobilization Commission (PMC), the government body that officially has authority over the Popular Mobilization. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71540
WEST KURDISTAN (SYRIA)
MESOP: BE SURE ! THE REFUGEES WILL NEVER GO BACK !
THE ACTUAL UN SITUATION REPORT ON SYRIA – Syria ‘Reduced to Ruins’: UN Human Rights Panel
As the Syrian conflict is entering its sixth year, civilians are bearing the brunt of intensifying hostilities conducted by an ever-increasing number of warring parties, with aerial bombardments by pro-Government forces leaving “few safe places,” a new United Nations-mandated report has found.The new report of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, a body mandated by the UN Human Rights Commission to investigate and record all violations of international law since March 2011, details the catastrophic destruction of civilian infrastructure, including medical care and educational facilities, public spaces, electricity and water installations. Read more http://www.mesop.de/?p=71520
MESOP : OBAMA’S GREAT FAVOR FOR TEHRAN & ASSAD / DESTROY THE DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION & GO FOR “ELECTIONS” !
Experts fear US abandoning Syrian rebels / THE HILL
By Kristina Wong – 02/21/16 05:37 PM EST – The Obama administration is allowing moderate Syrian rebels, which the U.S. spent hundreds of millions training and equipping, to be slowly destroyed, experts warn. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71522
MESOP : AFTER THIS WORK IS DONE GO FOR DEMOCRATIC “ELECTIONS”
Syria Feature: Almost 2,000 Barrel Bombs by Assad Forces in 2 Years
Almost 2,000 barrel bombs have been dropped by Assad regime forces across Syria in the two years since a UN resolution called for an immediate end to attacks on civilians, according to the pro-opposition Syrian Network for Human Rights. A report on Monday documented attacks with at least 19,947 barrel bombs, defying the UN Security Council’s “intent to take further steps in the case of non-compliance” with Resolution 2239. The SNHR said 8,136 civilians were killed in the bombings, documenting names, locations, and dates. The report offers further evidence through photographs, videos, and interviews with witnesses and activists.President Assad has denied that his air force uses barrel bombs and kills civilians, including in an April 2015 interview with the US Public Broadcasting System: Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71524
MESOP : AS MANY YEARS BEFORE UNDER APO – COLLABORATION WITH ASSAD AGAIN ?
Britain says uneasy after evidence of Kurdish coordination with Syria & Russia
LONDON – 23 Feb 2016 – REUTERS – Britain said on Tuesday it had seen disturbing evidence that Syrian Kurds were coordinating with the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad and the Russian air force.
“What we have seen over the last weeks is very disturbing evidence of coordination between Syrian Kurdish forces, the Syrian regime and the Russian air force which are making us distinctly uneasy about the Kurds’ role in all of this,” Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told the British Parliament. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge) http://www.mesop.de/?p=71536
MESOP INTEL : The New Danger To Europe Isn’t ISIS. It’s Assad’s Thugs.
Are suspected war criminals, forged in the crucible of Syrian bloodshed, heading West as ‘refugees’? – By Ben Davies – Tablet Magazine February 22, 2016 •
Since 2015 more than a million refugees have crossed into Europe; several hundred thousand are Syrians fleeing a government-sponsored program of ethnic cleansing that is organized and directed in part by Iranian commanders on the ground and supported by Russian air power and heavy artillery. The large numbers of Syrians fleeing this horror have provoked all manner of responses, from the right-wing Pegida demanding an end to the influx of migrants, to some expressing concern that Da’esh (ISIS) fighters will sneak into Europe. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71532
MESOP SYRIA : PEOPLE IN AL HASAKAH FLEE PKK-LED SDF COALITION / GOING FOR GERMANY
In battle for one corner of Al-Hasakah, 30,000 displaced move south toward Islamic State territory amidst fears of Kurdish-led SDF
AMMAN: Tens of thousands of residents in Islamic State territory in the southern Al-Hasakah countryside have fled south towards neighboring Deir e-Zor in the wake of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) lightning advances towards the former’s last stronghold in Syria’s far northeastern province. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71544
NORTH KURDISTAN (TURKEY)
MESOP “THE PROXY SYSTEM” – THE PKK FRANCHISING OF DIRTY ATTACKS & JOBS / By Timur Göksel (AL MONITOR)
Was last week’s Ankara attack just the beginning?
PKK has been learning from fighting IS. One technique that the PKK has adapted well is the decision-making process for operations, allowing local cells to decide on their planning, execution and financing. This means we are facing autonomous cells that don’t take direct orders from the PKK’s upper echelons and that they plan their attacks by assessing the developments on the ground. Bayik’s statement appears to support this thesis. While persistently denying any PKK link to the attack, he drew attention to youngsters who are capable of deciding by themselves and taking action in response to field developments. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71546
THE GERMAN KURDISH CHAPTER
MESOP : EIN FALL VON GEWOHNHEITSMÄSSIGER LINKS-ZENSUR – Wie Kritiker mundtot gemacht werden
„Daoud hat die Islamisierung seines Landes miterlebt und spürt in Oran täglich ihre Auswirkungen. Aber seit Jahren werden Intellektuelle wie er im Westen mit unfassbarer Arroganz moralisch mundtot gemacht, von genau jener Linken, der religiöse Gängelung und Patriarchat ein Graus sind.“ (Anne-Catherine Simon in der Presse über den algerischen Schrifsteller Kamel Daoud: „‚Mir graut vor den Religionen‘ – ein Fall für linke Zensur?“) Volltext http://www.mesop.de/?p=71534
MESOP : NICHTS KLAPPT MEHR, POOR MERKEL
Flüchtlinge: Türkei könnte Nato-Einsatz in Ägäis blockieren
t-online.de
Die Vereinbarungen zwischen der EU, der Nato und der Türkei in Sachen Flüchtlingskrise können wohl nicht wie geplant umgesetzt werden.
Widerstand gegen Nato-Pläne: Türkei verweigert Rücknahme von Bootsflüchtlingen – FOCUS Online
Flüchtlingskrise 2016: Scheitert der Nato-Einsatz gegen Schleuser an der Türkei? – news.de