MEZOPOTAMIA KURDISTAN DAILY INDEPENDENT NEWSSERVICE
Mezopotamian Development Society (Registered) GERMANY
THE MOST REQUESTED DAILY & ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWSSERVICE ON KURDISTAN FOR THE HIGHLY INVOLVED PEOPLE – email : mesop@online.de – Watch our website : www.mesop.de
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MESOP INTEL FLASH
Turkey runs risk of losing control of southern border http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/turkey-runs-risk-of-losing-control-of-southern-border …
WATCH DOCUMENT SPEECH WITH PKK COMMANDER BOTAN DERSIM http://www.mesop.de/?p=72819
MESOP : OBAMA ! – THE ISIS SAVIOR !
Intel Analysts: We Were Forced Out for Telling the Truth About Obama’s ISIS War
4 April 2016 – THE DAILY BEAST – The growing scandal over cooked ISIS intelligence just got much worse. Now, analysts are saying they’re being forced out for not toeing the Obama administration’s line on the war. – Two senior intelligence analysts at U.S. Central Command say the military has forced them out of their jobs because of their skeptical reporting on U.S.-backed rebel groups in Syria, three sources with knowledge of their claim told The Daily Beast. It’s the first known instance of possible reprisals against CENTCOM personnel after analysts accused their bosses of manipulating intelligence reports about the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS in order to paint a rosier picture of progress in the war. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=72832
MESOP SPECIAL : JAW-DROPPING – Putin’s Panama Papers Caper
4 April 2016 – Years of rumors about the Russian ruler’s incredible fortune moved a step closer to fact over the weekend with a leak that far eclipses WikiLeaks’ cables or Snowden’s revelations.
“The person who bought the land, scared the local residents, burning down their little houses if they refused to sell them, was a St. Petersburg officer who turned out to be none other than Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.” — So spoke Lt. Col. Andrey Zykov, of Russia’s Investigative Committee, in a YouTube testimonial in 2012. Zykov was referring to the Ozero (“Lake”) Cooperative, a strip of properties lining Lake Komsomolskoye in St. Petersburg, where, in the mid-’90s, Russia’s future president was implicated in financial crimes relating to his work in the administration of the city’s mayor, Anatoly Sobchak. Putin, according to Zykov, built himself a $500,000 house on the lake, situated on two adjacent plots—“as well as a villa in Spain.” The house actually burned down, owing to a stove poorly installed inside the sauna. So Putin persuaded the contractors to rebuild the entire home all over again—for free. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=72835
MESOP TODAYS COMMENTARY BY GALLIA LINDENSTRAUSS (INSS) & ODED ERAN
The New EU-Turkey Agreement: Shortsighted Considerations vs. Long-Term Perspectives
INSS Insight No. 811, April 4, 2016 – Oded Eran , Gallia Lindenstrauss – On March 18, 2016, a new agreement on the Syrian refugee crisis in Europe was concluded by the European Union and Turkey, similar to a previous deal formulated four months earlier. According to the latest agreement, Greece will return “irregular migrants” to Turkey (mainly those who were smuggled into Greece), and beginning April 4, for every refugee returned from Greece to Turkey, Turkey can send one Syrian refugee to Europe if s/he entered Turkey legally. The latest deal with Turkey highlights the EU’s distress regarding the flow of refugees fleeing the Middle East and North Africa, especially those from Syria. Through its two deals with Turkey, which reflect the classic conflict between values and interests now confronted by Europe, the EU made it clear that it was willing to pay Turkey a high price for playing the role of a barrier state. In effect, Turkey has consented to an arrangement in which it is to absorb an unstipulated number of Syrian refugees. In return, the EU is liable to find itself obliged to pay a high price, while it is unclear whether the benefit it receives matches the expectations, particularly while losing its main levers of influence over events in the domestic Turkish sphere. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=72828
MESOP TODAYS QUOTATION BY JOSHUA LANDIS
.@joshua_landis cont’d: “[The #Assad] family hasn’t been a terribly dysfunctional family, because it listens to the people around them.”
.@joshua_landis: #Assad family comes from “good stock… Saddam family didn’t use soft touch as much as #Assads did” http://www.c-span.org/video/?407546-1/discussion-bashar-alassads-role-syria …
MESOP TODAYS RELEVANT TWEETS & SHORT CUTS
MESOP : JASH !
.@SarkawtShams identified #Kurdish IS member that threatened #Pesh forces, Iranian Kurd http://www.nrttv.com/en/Details.aspx?Jimare=6167 …
President @masoud_barzani received POTUS Special Envoy @brett_mcgurk to discuss #Mosul op and post-ISIL plans.
Kurdistan’s top level domain, KRD becomes available to public http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/030420161 … via @RudawEnglish
Kurdistan’s top level domain, .KRD launches into general availability http://dit.gov.krd/en/news/dotkrd-live/ … #Kurdistan
SSNP Nusur al-Zawba’a says it’s clearing out last areas of Qaryatayn from IS in coordination w/Syrian army & allies
MESOP : US COLONEL WARREN
US-led coalition wants to stay out of the ‘timeline business’ http://www.inherentresolve.mil/News/Article/711921/department-of-defense-press-briefing-by-colonel-warren-via-teleconference-from …
Turkey has two demands from US for support in Manbij operation: Sources – MIDEAST http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=517&nID=97246&NewsCatID=352 … via @HDNER
Russia prominent backer of federalism for Syrian Kurds http://rudaw.net/english/world/020420161 … via @RudawEnglish
Turkish-backed Opposition fighters expel ISIS from key town near Syria-Turkey border http://aranews.net/2016/04/opposition-fighters-expel-isis-key-town-near-syria-turkey-border/ … via @twitterapi
Interesting insights: #Iraq Situation Report, Part III: #Kurdistan http://brook.gs/231BxNV via @BrookingsInst by Kenneth M. Pollack.
Charles Lister @Charles_Lister 2h2 hours ago – Charles Lister Retweeted Hassan Hassan
I wonder if #Russia’s apparent indifference is a facet of pressure upon #Assad to reposition in line with ISSG plan?
Hassan Hassan @hxhassan – #Syria rebels fought in Aleppp for seven hours, and yet 1) no Russian airstrikes 2) U.S. had no objection http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment — my take
WEST KURDISTAN (SYRIA)
Syria Analysis: Rebel-Nusra Gains Show Assad Relies on Russia-Iran-Hezbollah
MESOP Syria Analysis: Rebel-Nusra Gains Show Assad Relies on Russia-Iran-Hezbollah
April 04 – Scott Luvas – eaworldview – Even as the Syrian military was announcing a further advance in Homs Province against the Islamic State, taking the town of Quraytayn, pro-Assad forces were being pushed out of positions in southern Aleppo Province by rebels and Jabhat al-Nusra. The rebel-Nusra advance erased some of the gains from last autumn’s regime-Iran-Hezbollah ground offensive, enabled by intense Russian airstrikes.Hassan Hassan assesses for The National: Over the weekend, the Syrian rebels went back to fighting. Around 40 days into a relative lull after the rebels agreed to a cessation of hostilities deal with the regime, battles erupted in at least five different regions throughout the country. Their development can help us understand the extent to which the Russian intervention in Syria has helped prop up Bashar al-Assad’s army, especially in light of the regime’s hyped seizure of Palmyra last week. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=72824
MESOP : TODAYS SYRIA REPORT / UP TO DATE
Fighting in Syria Endangers Ceasefire as Islamic State Loses Ground
The partial ceasefire in Syria grew shakier over the weekend, with fighting between Syrian rebel groups (including Jabhat al-Nusra, which is not party to the ceasefire) and the Assad regime escalating in Aleppo province and the cities of Latakia and Hama. Nusra fighters have seized five villages in Aleppo province since Friday, but have also been met with strong resistance. A Syrian or Russian airstrike killed Abu Firas, a founding member and senior Nusra official, in Idlib province on Sunday, along with approximately 20 other militants.
The Islamic State is also under concerted pressure in Syria. Assad regime forces continued their offensive against Islamic State-occupied towns near Palmyra, retaking al-Qaryatain yesterday. Regime forces are working to remove thousands of landmines laid by the Islamic State in Palmyra and have uncovered a mass grave containing at least 40 bodies, some beheaded or showing signs of torture. In Iraq, a U.S. airstrike killed a rocket expert working for the Islamic State, Jasim Khadijah, who is believed to have been partly responsible for the rocket attack that killed a U.S. Marine last month. Five other Islamic State militants were killed in the strike and an improvised drone was destroyed. Facing growing strain, the Islamic State arrested 35 people in Raqqa on Saturday and the next day executed 15 members of its security services. The executions are reportedly a reaction to the death of senior Islamic State official Abu Hija al-Tunisi in an airstrike last Wednesday. www.mesop.de
NORTH KURDISTAN (TURKEY)
MESOP : US AMBASSADOR’S WRITE OPEN LETTER TO ERDOGAN
In an open letter, former Ambassadors to Turkey Mort Abramowitz and Eric Edelman and more than 40 others, including POMED’s Stephen McInerney, urged President Erdogan to allow for greater freedoms of expression and to stop involving Syrian Kurdish groups and the PKK in “regional destabilizing dynamics.” www.mesop.de
MESOP NEWS : Syrian Kurds proceed with federal structures despite Turkish threats – Erdogan not backing down on US support for Syrian Kurds
AL MONITOR 4 April 2016 – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the Obama administration’s support for Syrian Kurdish rebels battling the Islamic State during a visit to Washington last week.Erdogan met with US President Barack Obama on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit on March 31, after having been previously rebuffed in his request for a private meeting. US Vice President Joe Biden, in a separate meeting with Erdogan, “reiterated that the United States considers the PKK [Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers Party] a designated foreign terrorist organization, and the two leaders pledged to deepen cooperation in the fight against all forms of terrorism, including the PKK.” Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=72826
MESOP “THE “ECPAT”-REPORT TURKEY – The Business of Refugee Smuggling, Sex Trafficking
By Uzay Bulut – Gatestone Institute – 2016-04-03 18:30 GMT
On International Women’s Day, March 8, Turkish news outlets covered the tragic life and early death of a Syrian child bride. Last August, in Aleppo, Mafe Zafur, 15, married her cousin Ibrahim Zafur in an Islamic marriage. The couple moved to Turkey, but the marriage ended after six months, when her husband abruptly threw out of their home. With nowhere to sleep, Mafe found shelter with her brother, 19, and another cousin, 14, in an abandoned truck.On 8 March, Mafe killed herself, reportedly with a shotgun. Her only possession, found in her pocket, was her handwritten marriage certificate.Mafe Zafur is only one of many young Syrians who have been victims of child marriage. Human rights groups report even greater abuse that gangs are perpetrating against the approximately three million Syrians who have fled to Turkey.A detailed report on Syrian women refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants in Turkey, issued as far back as 2014 by the Association for Human Rights and Solidarity with the Oppressed (known in Turkish as Mazlumder), tells of early and forced marriages, polygamy, sexual harassment, human trafficking, prostitution, and rape that criminals inflicted upon Syrians in Turkey. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=72830
MESOP SPECIAL : WITH COMPLIMENTS FOR “PRO ASYL”
ISIS in Europe: How Deep is the “Gray Zone”? / PEW POLL
Among young European Muslims, support for suicide bombings range from 22% in Germany to 29% in Spain, 35% in Britain and 42% in France, according to a Pew poll. In the UK, one in five Muslims have sympathy for the Caliphate. Today more British Muslims join ISIS than the British army. In the Netherlands, a survey shows that the 80% of Dutch Turks see “nothing wrong” in ISIS.
Even if these polls and surveys must be taken with some caution, they all indicate a deep and vibrant “gray zone,” which is feeding the Islamic jihad in Europe and the Middle East. We are talking about millions of Muslims who show sympathy, understanding and affinity with the ideology and goals of ISIS. www.mesop.de
THE GERMAN KURDISH CHAPTER
DIE LETZTEN TAGE VON EUROPA : Fass!Mich!Nicht!An! Kein Händchen für die Lehrerin
An der Sekundarschule Therwil BL (Schweiz) wurde eine Vereinbarung mit muslimischen Schülern abgeschlossen, die es ihnen erlaubt, den Lehrerinnen die Hand nicht zu schütteln. Dies, nachdem sich zwei Schüler geweigert hatten, ihrer Klassenlehrerin die Hand zu geben. Die Schulleitung hat diesen Entscheid bislang nicht kommuniziert und teilte auf Anfrage der Zeitung mit, sie könne erst am Montag dazu Stellung beziehen. www.mesop.de
MESOP Erbil: Linken-Mitarbeiterin & bekannte PKK AKTIVISTIN in irakischem Gefängnis
Sie soll illegal die Grenze nach Syrien überquert haben: Eine Mitarbeiterin der Hamburger Linken-Fraktion sitzt im Norden Iraks in Untersuchungshaft.
Laut einem Bericht des Radiosenders NDR 90,3 wird eine Mitarbeiterin der Hamburger Linksfraktion im Norden des Irak festgehalten. Ihr werde vorgeworfen, die Grenze nach Syrien illegal überquert zu haben, sagte der Linken-Abgeordnete Martin Dolzer, ebenfalls eine Vertrauensperson der PKK, dem Sender. Sie befinde sich nun im Frauengefängnis in Erbil, wo ein Vertreter des Deutschen Generalkonsulats sie bald besuchen soll. Volltext http://www.mesop.de/?p=72822
MESOP : MOSSACK’S LISTEN – Von der Waffen-SS zu Giftgas für Assad / Eine typisch deutsche Erfolgsgeschichte. (PANAMA-PAPERS)
“Als Jürgen Mossack in Panama zum erfolgreichen Geschäftsmann avanciert, ist seine Familie längst wieder in Deutschland. Die Eltern kehrten offenbar Anfang der Siebzigerjahre zurück, ebenso seine Schwester und sein Bruder, der inzwischen Honorarkonsul der Republik Panama in Wiesbaden ist. Die Eltern zogen wieder nach München, wo der Vater, Erhard Mossack, direkt nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg von US-Truppen festgesetzt worden war. Mossack, ein Waffen-SS-Mann, der im Krieg als Rottenführer in einem Totenkopf-Regiment gedient hatte, soll eine Liste von NS-Widerstandskämpfern gehabt haben. Und damit nicht genug: Eine SZ-Anfrage zu Erhard Mossack kommt vom Bundesnachrichtendienst ohne Auskunft zurück. Dort lägen zwar Dokumente vor, diese könnten jedoch ‘das Wohl der Bundesrepublik Deutschland oder eines ihrer Länder’ gefährden.
Und welche Ironie, dass auch der Sohn dieses Mannes mit allen Seiten Geschäfte macht: Die geleakten Dokumente zeigen CIA-Leute ebenso wie BND-Mitarbeiter, Waffenschmuggler, Drogenhändler oder Helfer des nordkoreanischen oder des iranischen Regimes: Rami Makhlouf, den Cousin des syrischen Diktators Baschar Al-Assad. Makhlouf gilt als Finanzier des Regimes, deswegen steht er seit Jahren auf so gut wie allen Sanktionslisten. Er bringt den Panama Papers zufolge – auch über Offshore-Firmen von Mossfon – Geld heran, mit dem Assad dann Giftgas herstellen, Foltergefängnisse unterhalten kann.” http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/articles/56f2c00da1bb8d3c3495aa0a/