Russia favors trade with all countries using national currencies not US dollar

Russia said last Monday that it favors bilateral trade with all countries using their national currencies rather than the US dollar. However, Russian authorities say the idea needed more work before it could be implemented

There has already been several moves by Russia to use currencies other than the dollar in international trade. Back in June Russia and China came to an agreement: "Moscow and Beijing have agreed to raise the share of ruble-yuan trade settlements, in a joint agreement signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping..The document envisages “further strengthening of the Russian-Chinese cooperation in the financial sector, promoting increase of the share of national currencies in trade payments, investments and financing, expanding collaboration in such fields as payment systems and insurance.” " The move is partly in response to US sanctions.

Turkey also to use national currencies in trade

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also announced just recently that the country was preparing to conduct trade through national currencies with China, Russia, and Ukraine. The move comes amid increasing tariffs and sanctions by the US against Turkey. The moves have resulted in a huge drop in the value of the Turkish lira.

The Turkish lira sank to a fresh to low of 7.24 to the dollar in early Asia Pacific trade last Monday. Investors are worried over the state of the Turkish economy and deteriorating ties with the United States. The lira has dropped over 40 percent against the US dollar so far this year. There is a deepening diplomatic row over a jailed American pastor. President Erdogan has described the lira's fall as the consequence of a plot not economic fundamentals. He also described spreading false news about the economy as treason and recent U.S. actions as a stab in the back against Turkey.

Spokesperson for the Russian government Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was pushing for this type of arrangement with all countries and that the issue had been raised on several occasions during bilateral talks with Turkey and Russia.

For decades the world's currency of record has been the US dollar. Even countries that don't use the dollar as their currency nevertheless conduct business in the US dollar in a roundabout way. Increasing sanctions against Russia make the use of local currencies much more convenient as access to US dollars becomes more difficult or in the case of trade with countries such as Iran almost impossible.

Previously published in Digital Journal

Diverse sources are critical of Kurdish declaration of autonomy in Syria

The Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Syria have voted to seek autonomy. The vote was to unite three Kurdish-controlled provinces into a federal system. The move could complicate UN-backed peace talks, in which Kurds are not included.

The Kurds in Syria have had an autonomous area in northern Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The vote has brought criticism from diverse sources including the Assad regime, Turkey, and the United States.

US State Department spokesperson, John Kirby, said: "We don't support self-ruled, semi-autonomous zones inside Syria. We just don't. What we want to see is a unified, whole Syria that has in place a government that is not led by (President) Bashar al-Assad that is responsive to the Syrian people. Whole, unified, nonsectarian Syria, that's the goal."While the U.S. has given strong support to the Kurdish PYD party they nevertheless hope for a unified Syria. Turkey considers the PYD terrorists and is angry at American support for them. The Kurds, with American help, have wrested considerable territory from the control of the Islamic State. The Kurds seem less concerned with replacing Assad than with consolidating power over areas they control.

The Kurds will establish what they call the "federal democratic system of Rojava- Northern Syria." Rojava is the Kurdish name for northern Syria. Officials said preparations were being made to elect a joint leadership and a 21 member committee which would prepare a "legal and political vision" for Rojava within the span of six months.

A document at a recent meeting detailed the areas of autonomy: "... the aim was to "establish democratic self-administered regions which run and organize themselves ... in the fields of economy, society, security, healthcare, education, defense and culture." The Kurds insist that the federation is not an attempt to secede from Syria but simply to gain autonomy.

Syrian rebels also criticized the Kurdish move, insisting they oppose all forms of federalism and want a powerful national government. Russia may not oppose the move — Russia has suggested that a federal system is one possible way of resolving the civil war.

The Syria state news agency, SANA, reported that a foreign ministry source said: "Any such announcement has no legal value and will not have any legal, political, social or economic impact as long as it does not reflect the will of the entire Syrian people."

Turkey worries that an autonomous Kurdish zone in neighboring Syria could fuel separatist sentiments among its own Kurdish minority. It considers the PYD to be an ally of the PKK which is fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey. A Turkish official said: : "Syria must remain as one without being weakened and the Syrian people must decide on its future in agreement and with a constitution. Every unilateral initiative will harm Syria's unity." The UN envoy, Staffan de Mistura, said:"All Syrians have rejected division (of Syria) and federalism can be discussed at the negotiations,"

The Kurds control an area stretching about 400 km or 250 miles along the northern Syrian-Turkish border. However, they also control a separate area that is separated from the main territories by about 100 kilometres or 60 miles most of it controlled by the Islamic State.

Turkey arranges meeting with president of GNC and prime minister designate of new Libyan GNA

The UN-brokered Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) will actually be in power only after a vote of confidence by the internationally-recognized House of Representatives (HoR) Libyan government based in Tobruk in the east of Libya.

A rival government is based in Tripoli in the west, the General National Congress (GNC). While the GNA still is in the process of formation, nevertheless officials designated in the UN's last draft of the Libya Political Agreement(LPA), that sets the parameters for the government, regularly meet with important officials from other countries. The officials have been acting as if the GNA exists and their positions confirmed long before the LPA was even signed. The agreement was never approved by either rival government and still has not been. The LPA requires it be approved by the HoR and the deadline for signing of January 27 is fast approaching. Recent meetings of the HoR have failed to reach a quorum and so have failed to vote on the GNA.

On Monday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with Faiez Serraj, the prime minister designate of the GNA government. The meeting was intended to indicate the strong support of Turkey for the GNA government. The two leaders were reported to have discussed ways to increase stability, fight terrorism, and provide support for the Libyan people, including how to build up institutions. Libya has had two main rival governments for some time but many areas are in fact ruled by local militias who are often a law unto themselves. The Islamic State has also established a firm foothold in the coastal city of Sirte, ironically Gadaffi's home town. The group has launched attacks in several areas including on nearby oil ports. Once the GNA has a vote of confidence from the HoR, it will be the sole recognized government, replacing the HoR. However the HoR remains as the legislature in the new government.

Aawsat reports that Nouri Abusahmain, the president of the General National Congress, is to travel to Istanbul to meet with Serraj. Up until now Abusahmain has rejected the GNA and promoted a dialogue among Libyans without foreign interference to come up with a solution to the political crisis. This project has been weakened since the president of the HoR, Ageela Salah, abandoned the project and is now said to support the GNA.

The Turkish mediation is apparently being aided by the designated representative from Cyrenaica for the GNA , Mohammed Zayed, who is said to have played a key role in convincing Abusahmain to come to Instabul for the meeting. Turkey is seen as more supportive of the GNC, which has a strong Islamist component, than other countries such as Egypt and the Arab League, who support Haftar and the HoR.

However, the GNC president sees the GNA as imposed by foreign interests and is concerned about the role of General Haftar and other former Gadaffi military officials in the Libya National Army(LNA). Serraj will need to convince Abusahmain that Haftar will not be commander in chief of the LNA once the GNA is formed. According to the LPA, this role will immediately go to senior officials of the GNA and Haftar will be relieved of his position, but many of the pro-Haftar members of the GNA think otherwise. As I wrote in a recent article, the status of Haftar in the new government is far from clear even though it is crucial to the success of the GNA that he be sidelined.

Islamic State oil goes to many different places

While the Islamic State finances itself in a number of different ways, it has long generated revenue from oil it produces in fields it has captured in both Iraq and Syria.

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The issue has become more topical as Russian defense minister Anatoly Antonov showed satellite images he claims showed tanker trucks freely crossing the Syrian border into Turkey: "Mr Antonov also said Russia had seen evidence that Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family are linked to ISIS oil." More details of the alleged relationship of the Erdogan family to ISIS oil exports can be found here. Bilal Erdogan, a son of president Erdogan, is said to be involved in trading ISIS oil through his shipping business. The appended video also discusses the issue. Zero Hedge wrote an interesting article after the Paris attacks but before the Turkish downing of the Russian jet:"The Most Important Question About ISIS That Nobody Is Asking" in which we asked who is the one "breaching every known law of funding terrorism when buying ISIS crude, almost certainly with the tacit approval by various "western alliance" governments, and why is it that these governments have allowed said middleman to continue funding ISIS for as long as it has?"

The West could easily simply bomb the oil wells but the wells would be a great benefit to any future government. Attacking the oil wells often run by locals and providing jobs could generate more support for ISIS. Some refineries have been put out of commission but there are still many small units operating. According to an AP account from Iraqi officials:IS sells the crude to smugglers for discounted prices, sometimes $35 per barrel but as low as $10 a barrel in some cases, compared to just under $50 a barrel on international markets, four Iraqi intelligence officials told the AP in separate interviews. The smugglers in turn sell to middlemen in Turkey, they said. The oil used to be smuggled in fleets of giant tankers but, fearing airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition, smaller tankers are being used now. The Iraqi officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the press.

The Guardian provides a map of ISIS oil in Iraq and where it goes. Much of it goes to Turkey through Syria but some goes to Iraqi Kurdistan or through that area to Syria and on to Turkey. Apparently the oil is bought right at the fields. Many of the smugglers want to sell the crude as close to where they are as they can so they can return quickly for more oil, Some however ship longer distances. A smuggler who was a former intelligence officer under Saddam Hussein said that he bought an oil tanker carrying 26 to 28 tonnes of oil for $4,200 and sold it in Jordan for $15,000. He lives in the Jordanian capital Amman. It cost about $650 dollars to bribe corrupt border officials.

The Financial Times has a map that covers ISIS controlled fields in Syria as well as Iraq and also describes the process by which the oil is sold, refined, and marketed in different areas. The map shows smuggling routes into Turkey. One is in an ISIS-controlled area but there are a number of others in areas controlled by rebels. The article claims most of the oil is actually used to satisfy the demand in ISIS-controlled areas but is also smuggled into rebel areas. Some may also be bought in government controlled areas. Little is said in the article about exporting the oil except to say that this has declined because the price of oil is so cheap on the international market.

The U.S. State Department rejected the Russian suggestion that Turkey was cooperating with ISIS to smuggle oil. Yet Toner, the department spokesperson, admitted there was smuggling of oil into Turkey: State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing that U.S. information was that ISIS was selling oil at the wellheads to middlemen who in turn were involved in smuggling the oil across the frontier into Turkey.But how is it that Turkey manages to allow a stream of oil tankers to cross the border as appears to be the case in the satellite photos? The oil still came from ISIS and they profited from the original sale,

The allies could have stopped the flow earlier by bombing the tankers. The U.S. only started to bomb the tankers in mid-November after Russia announced Russian planes would begin bombing them, as they called them a "living pipeline." The U.S. noted that the drivers of the trucks were not ISIS fighters but Syrians trying to make a living. The Russians appear not to be concerned about that. Now the Americans are bombing the tankers too.

Kurds applaud Russian airstrikes in Syria want weapons from them

Russia in its latest strikes in Syria has targeted several Islamic State positions after earlier being accused of hitting other targets including rebels supported by the United States.

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The United States itself targets other groups than the Islamic State. It considers the Al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front a terrorist group to be targeted, angering rebel groups who regard it as a key player against Assad in many areas. However, Russia tends to accept the Assad view that all rebels are terrorists and legitimate targets.

The United States has itself created a sharp contrast between its own priorities and those of the rebels and its allies such as Turkey and many Gulf States. The rebels together with these supporters have as their first priority defeating Assad and regime change. The U.S. and its Kurdish allies have a different agenda. The U.S. wants first and foremost to defeat the Islamic State. In order to do this it has supported the Kurds. The Kurds, however, want to extend the territory they hold, consolidate their power and eventually carve out an autonomous or even independent area in northern Syria. They are not interested in fighting Assad unless he attacks them and tries to take back territory they hold. The Kurds publicly welcomed the latest Russian air strikes and asked for weapons. Salih Muslim, co-president of the Democratic Union Party, whose militia the YPG have closely co-ordinated their operations with the United States, said the YPG would fight alongside whoever fights the Islamic State. The fact that the Russians are supporting Assad does not concern the Kurds as it does the U.S. The Kurdish interests are first and foremost consolidating their power and extending their territory rather than fighting Assad. This strategy has been in place since early in the civil war as this article points out: The Syrian Kurds tried to play a neutral role to control as much as territory as possible and benefited from the ongoing civil war in the rest of the country. The Democratic Union Party (PYD) affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) managed to become the dominant actor on the ground due to the influx of experienced PKK fighters that trained Syrian Kurds, grassroots supporters, and organizational networks. Moreover, while Assad and his opponents fought each other for power in the rest of Syria, the PYD managed to cement its control over three Kurdish enclaves in the country’s north.

Syrian security forces withdrew from parts of northern Syria back in the summer of 2012 allowing the Kurds to become the main power and military force in some regions.

Obama made it clear that he is not intending to increase US intervention in Syria even though Russian air strikes show increasing Russian support to prop up Assad:“We’re not going to make Syria into a proxy war between the United States and Russia. That would be bad strategy on our part.This is not some, you know, superpower chess board contest, and anybody who frames it in that way isn’t paying very close attention to what’s been happening on the chess board,”

Insofar as the US supported moderate rebels and encouraged its allies to support other rebels while Russia supports Assad it is a proxy war. What has changed is that the US now has a priority of defeating the Islamic State. The US now has some interests that converge with those of Russia which supports Assad and the Kurds whose priority is certainly not attacking Assad.

The Syrian situation is to a considerable degree a super-power chess board. The Kurds have been paying close attention to what is happening. The Kurds YPG and the US coordinated air strikes with ground action to break the siege of the city of Kobani. With the help of the US air cover the Kurds are estimated to have seized 6,800 square miles of territory in northern Syria in recent months.

Turkey has noticed what is happening on the chessboard as well. Under US pressure it finally joined the battle against the Islamic State but also at the same time attacked the Kurdish PKK in northern Iraq, violating a peace treaty and starting a campaign that threatens to create a civil war in parts of Turkey where the Kurds are a majority. Turkish president Erdogan is hoping to lead his party to a majority in upcoming elections. He is doing so by attacking the Kurds and fanning nationalist sentiment. While nationalist sentiment is rising so is the level of violence in Turkey and there is no guarantee that his strategy will even work. Obama may be right in that the conflict in Syria is not just a super-power chess game. It is a much more complicated conflict with many different external and internal players with vastly different agendas.

Turkey attacks the Islamic State but also Kurds in northern Iraq

Washington has long urged Turkey to intervene against the Islamic State in Syria. After a suicide bombing that killed 32 people in Turkey, Turkish planes have targeted IS locations in Syria for two consecutive days now.

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If the Turks had simply bombed IS positions the US would no doubt have been quite pleased but Turkish planes also targeted shelters and storage sites belonging to the Kurdistan Worker's Party in seven different locations in northern Iraq. While the US has yet to make a statement on the Iraq attacks the PKK has said that conditions for peace talks with the Turkish government are no longer in place. Turkey had embarked on peace talks with the PKK in 2012, and the PKK had declared a cease fire in 2013. The Kurds in northern Iraq including the PKK units have been instrumental in defending the area against the Islamic State and even retaking some territory. In attacking the PKK, Turkey is attacking an ally in the fight against the Islamic State as far as the US is concerned. Turkey is very concerned about Kurdish gains both in Iraq and in Syria. It worries that an independent Kurdistan might be formed in northern Syria and that the Kurdish area of Iraq also becomes independent. There would be pressure within Turkey to join these other Kurdish areas.

In recent elections in Turkey the Kurds gained considerable ground politically. While there is conflict between the PKK and less radical Kurdish groups, an attack on the PKK may actually help promote a unified position against President Erdogan. Turkish actions may result in many more attacks by the Islamic State and perhaps also attacks by the PKK within Turkey. While bombing Islamic State positions helps in the battle against IS, bombing the PKK in iraq does exactly the opposite.

Washington may have agreed not to object to Turkish bombing of the PKK in return for Turkey joining the war against the Islamic State. However, Turkey made another important concession to the US. For months, the Obama administration has been negotiating an agreement to use bombers and drones to operate from air bases at Incirlik and Diyarbakir. An administration official said that the deal was sealed by a phone call between Turkish president Recep Erdogan and US president Obama. No official announcement has yet been made but, John Kirby, a State Department spokesperson, said simply that the US and Turkey had "decided to further deepen our cooperation in the fight against ISIL". Fadi Hakura, a Turkey analyst in London said: "The use of the Turkish air base is extremely important. Before, the U.S. had to traverse 1,000 miles to target IS in Syria. Now it will be much less, so naturally the air campaign will be far more intense and far more effective."

Turkey is in the process of clamping down on IS suspects and PKK militants. Erdogan will use increased attacks in Turkey to impose even more draconian anti-terror measures. He may very well tar any significant opposition to his rule as related to terror threats as has been done In Egypt and elsewhere. President Assad of Syria has made no statement about the Turkish bombings inside Syria.

Turkey and Saudis backing extremist rebels in Syria including Al-Qaeda-linked group

Turkey and Saudi Arabia are now openly backing Islamic extremists including the Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, part of the new coalition called the "Conquest Army."

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The leader of another radical group in the coalition Ahrar al-Sham claimed previously that his group was the "real Al-Qaeda." The U.S. is said to be concerned that the new alliance between Turkey and Saudi Arabia will end up replacing Assad with a militant Islamic government, precisely the type of result the U.S. wants to avoid. The U.S. focus is on degrading the Islamic State but it has also attacked the Nusra Front in Syria angering rebels of all stripes since the group has been forcefully attacking the Assad regime. While the U.S. is planning to train and arm moderate rebels that it has vetted, the Pentagon wants them to concentrate on attacking the Islamic State. Most rebels together with Turkey and Saudi Arabia and many other Arab states think the first order of business should be defeating the Assad regime forces.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia have often been at odds as to whom they should support among the rebels. Turkey favours groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, which Saudi Arabia opposes. Saudi Arabia has not officially supported radical groups at the urging of the U.S. However, both countries and others are fed up with the lack of U.S. action against Assad. Now the two countries are joined in support for radical groups that have already gained ground in Idlib province.

The present pact dates back to March, when Recep Erdogan, the Turkish president, flew to Saudi Arabia to meet the newly-crowned King Salman. In spite of differences over the Muslim Brotherhood, the Saudi king saw Turkey as an ally in his war against Iran and Shias in general that is evident in his leading in the bombing of the Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen as well. In Syria, Saudi money together with Turkish logistical support can be used to defeat the Assad forces. Assad's government is dominated by members of a Shia sect although a majority in Syria are Sunni. Joshua Landis, who directs the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma said:"It's a different world now in Syria, because the Saudi pocketbook has opened and the Americans can't tell them not to do it. It's quite clear that Salman has prioritized efforts against Iran over those against the Muslim Brotherhood."

The agreement has led to a new joint command center in the province of Idlib in northeast Syria. President Obama has not commented on the new Saudi-Turkish agreement. This is surprising since the alliance includes the Al Nusra Front, which is a target of the U.S. war on terror and has been bombed in Syria by the US. It is almost as if the US has accepted that there will be a dual fight in Syria. The U.S. will concentrate on aiding moderate rebels to tackle the Islamic State while the Saudis and Turks allied with radical Islamists will take on Assad's forces. Some in the media claim that Obama is taking a hands off approach and is disengaged. Yet he is arming and training moderate rebels and he is bombing the Islamic State constantly. What we are seeing is a dual thrust in Syria. and a division of tasks.

Some reports on the new alliance suggest even more involvement in Syria by Turkey and Saudi Arabia: "Turkey would provide ground troops supported by Saudi Arabian air strikes, to assist moderate Syrian opposition against the regime forces." The "moderate rebels" in this case involve Al-Qaeda linked Jabhat al-Nusra. The main Turkish opposition party also claims that Turkey is poised to send troops into Syria as soon as this weekend. The Turkish president has denied the claim as shown on the appended video. Conflict in Syria appears about to escalate and the tide could turn against Assad. Escalation is a dangerous move in an area that is already very unstable and filled with conflict. If Assad is overthrown, Syria may end up with numerous competing militias and a situation worse than Libya.

Turkish cargo ship bombed by internationally recognized Libyan government off Tobruk

The internationally-recognized Libyan government in Tobruk has warned countries not to enter its territorial waters without authorisation.

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The warning comes after Libya bombed a Turkish-owned ship last weekend, killing the third captain and wounding several crew members. The ship flew the flag of the Cook Islands but is Turkish-owned and many of the crew were Turks. The government claimed in a statement: "The Turkish boat tried to enter Libyan territorial waters by force... ignoring international norms and maritime regulations." The rival Tripoli government called the Tobruk government's action "violent aggression" and claimed that the ship was in international waters, 13 nautical miles off Tobruk when the attack happened.

The UN Support Mission in Libya(UNSML) also condemned the attack . In a statement it said it regretted the loss of life and also called for a thorough investigation of the incident. The statement went on to urge that all military actions in Libya by either side be undertaken in a manner that does not target or harm civilians or civilian property.

The Libyan government claims the Tuna-1 was attacked about 10 miles from the coast and after it had been warned not to approach the city of Derna which is under control of a group linked to the Islamic State. The Turkish foreign ministry claims that it was attacked 13 miles from Tobruk and was actually bound for that port with plasterboard from Spain. The second captain, Zafer Kalayci, who was on board the ship when it was attacked denied that there was any warning about approaching Derna:“In no way did they warn us, What they may mean by a warning was probably a bomb. They warned us with bombs.”Kalayci also said that there was a second attack when they were about 18 miles off the coast almost an hour after the first attack.

This is not the first time the Tobruk government has been condemned for attacking a ship as it approached Derna. In January, its aircraft bombed a Greek-operated oil tanker off Derna. The attack killed two crewmen. One was Greek and one Romanian. The US condemned that attack.

Battle for Syrian border town Kobani heats up

While the Islamic State appears to have suffered significant casualties in the long conflict over the Syrian town Kobani( or Kobane) on the border with Turkey the Kurdish troops in the town appear to be at a disadvantage at present.

Kurdish officials now claim that Kobani is totally surrounded by Islamic State forces. While most Islamic State forces are to the south and east there have now been smaller raids from the west and even worse from the north which is quite close to the Turkish border. Kurdish officials even claimed that Islamic State fighters were crossing over from the Turkish side of the border. Turkey denies that this is happening but did admit that the border crossing was bombed. The Kurds are suspicious that Turkey may be cooperating with IS on the siege. However, another explanation of the events is that IS decided to send troops to the north of Kobani to prevent reinforcements arriving from Turkey or even to promote the Kurd's suspicions that Turkey is working with them.
  Al Jazeera reports that according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that at least 50 IS fighters have been killed during the last 24 hours in the fight for Kobani. The deaths were due to clashes, suicide bombings, and U.S. air strikes. This is said to be the largest number of casualties since the IS assault began on September 16. Eleven Kurdish fighters were also reported killed along with a Syrian supporter. ABC news reports that the attack said to be from Turkey began with a suicide bomber who drove an armored vehicle into the border crossing with Turkey where he detonated his explosives. A spokesperson for the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, Nawaf Khalli said that with the attack the IS were now attacking from all four sides. While the Turkish government also acknowledged the attack on the border crossing a government statement claimed the vehicle had not come from the Turkish side of the border: "Claims that the vehicle reached the border gate by crossing through Turkish soil are a lie. Contrary to certain claims, no Turkish official has made any statement claiming that the bomb-loaded vehicle had crossed in from Turkey.The security forces who are on alert in the border region have ... taken all necessary measures." On the other side Mustafa Bali, an activist in Kobani claimed that IS (Daesh) fighters were in grain silos on the Turkish side of the border and are launching attacks from there: "It is now clear that Turkey is openly cooperating with Daesh,"
A Kurdish source also complained that Turkish bombardment of Kobani had wounded a number of civilians and fighters. Anwar Muslim co-chair of the Kohane canton said: “Under the pretense of stopping an ISIS attack on Turkey the Turkish army bombarded the center of Kobane with tanks and artillery. A number of civilians and fighters have been wounded.” The Turkish government is worried that the Kurds will set up an independent area in Syria and that this could encourage Kurdish demands for more autonomy within Turkey. Turkey as with other rebel groups sees the first priority as getting rid of Assad, whereas the Kurds have been reluctant to fight against Assad as long as his forces do not attack them.
The Kurds have concentrated on protecting areas they control and building government and infrastructure in those areas.The standoff with Assad has been in place for a long time complicating Kurdish relationships to other rebels but at the same time making Kurdish controlled areas some of the most secure in Syria. The Turkish government has shown considerable reluctance to provide much in the way of aid for the Kurds even though many western powers have been urging them to do so.

Turkey bombs Kurdish PKK fighters near Iraq border

Kurds in Turkey are already outraged that Turkey has done nothing to stop the Islamic State advance into the Kurdish border town of Kobane. Kurds wanting to cross over to join the battle have also been prevented from doing so.

Turkish warplanes today bombed Kurdistan Worker's Party(PKK) fighters near the border with Iraq. Turkish authorities claim that the attacks were in retaliation for a PKK shelling of a military base nearby. The PKK claims the bombing was a violation of the ceasefire between the group and the Turkish military. There has been conflict between the Turkish military and the PKK for decades. The PKK leader, who has been in jail for some time, warned that the peace process between the group and the Turkish military was already coming apart due to the Turkish inaction against the Islamic State advances into Kurdish-held Syrian territory.
 The BBC reports that F-16 and F-4 warplanes were used in the raid. This is the first major raid on the PKK since March 2013. PKK fighters have been aiding the Kurdish YPG militia against the Islamic State. Turkey refuses to supply the fighters with weapons or even let them cross the border to join the fray.
 The U.S. has been launching air strikes against the Islamic State positions in Kobane. The Turks also arrested a total of 260 YPG fighters when they crossed into Turkey last week but allowed 60 to return over the border. The French president pleaded with Turkey to open its borders.
 Last week there were huge Kurdish protests in the south-eastern provinces of Turkey where Kurds are a majority. There were at least 31 people killed as Kurds vented their anger at Turkish inaction against the IS advance in Syria. The PKK is regarded by the US, the EU and Turkey as a terrorist organization.
 However, Abdullah Ocalan the jailed leader of the PKK has changed his position on armed struggle and has cooperated with the authorities in negotiating a cease fire and dialogue to end the long conflict. With Turkey's recent inaction against the Islamic State to protect Kurds violent conflict could easily break out again. The conflict has lasted about 30 years and resulted in more than 40,000 deaths. Kurdish unrest spread to at least six cities recently with at least nine more deaths according to the BBC.
In three weeks of fighting around Kobane 400 are reported killed. 160,000 Syrians have fled the area. Sustained US air strikes on Tuesday appear to have halted the Islamic State advance. Defenders inside Kobane are calling for even more US air strikes. They do not want the Turkish military to intervene but they do want Turkey to allow Kurdish fighters to cross from Turkey into Syria to help win the battle but so far there is no sign that Turkey will allow this.

Kurds in Syria inspired by US anarchist Murray Bookchin

You would never know from most mainstream news reports that the Kurds defending the Syrian border city of Kobane from the Islamic Front advance are part of the Kurdistan Worker's party or PKK widely regarded as a terrorist organization.


The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by NATO, the United States and the European Union among others.Until recently the PKK carried out a Maoist type people's struggle against the Turkish government. It had guerrilla bases in northern Iraq. The conflict between the PKK and Turkey resulted in over 40,000 deaths.
On 21 March 2013, Abdullah Öcalan, the PKK leader, from his jail in Turkey declared a ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish state. Ocalan's statement read:"Let guns be silenced and politics dominate... a new door is being opened from the process of armed conflict to democratization and democratic politics. It's not the end. It's the start of a new era." Murat Karayilan the functional leader of the PKK promised to implement the ceasefire and claimed that the PKK was as ready for peace as war. Turkish president Recep Erdogan welcomed the statement. Ocalan had been arrested in 1999 in Nairobi, Kenya, by the CIA and Turkish authorities and taken to Turkey where he was sentenced to death. The sentence was later changed to life imprisonment. For years he was held as the sole prisoner on an island. After international observers complained about the conditions of his incarceration, several other PKK prisoners were sent to the island and he is allowed to visit them from time to time.
His trial and conviction have been the subject of controversy: In 2005, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkey had violated articles 3, 5 and 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights by granting Öcalan no effective remedy to appeal his arrest and sentencing him to death without a fair trial.[56] Öcalan's request for a retrial was refused by Turkish court.[57] While in jail Ocalan read widely and wrote several books. He radically changed his ideology after reading several western social theorists.
His earlier ideology was a version of Marxism and the PKK had adopted a Maoist-type people's struggle for some time. Murray Bookchin the US libertarian anarchist and environmentalist was one of the strongest influences upon Ocalan causing him to reject Marxism altogether as Bookchin had also done:Bookchin was an anti-capitalist and vocal advocate of the decentralisation of society along ecological and democratic lines. His writings on libertarian municipalism, a theory of face-to-face, assembly democracy, had an influence on the Green movement and anti-capitalist direct action groups such as Reclaim the Streets.
 As an article in the Guardian points out, the Kurds are attempting to apply Bookchin's model of libertarian municipalism. There are to be numerous self-governing municipalities based upon principles of direct democracy: ".. the Kurdish struggle could become a model for a wordwide movement towards genuine democracy, co-operative economy, and the gradual dissolution of the bureaucratic nation-state." The author, David Graeber, notes that throughout Rojava popular assemblies have been created. These groups are chosen so as to reflect ethnic balance and thus lessen tension between varied religious and ethnic groups: Popular assemblies have been created as the ultimate decision-making bodies, councils selected with careful ethnic balance (in each municipality, for instance, the top three officers have to include one Kurd, one Arab and one Assyrian or Armenian Christian, and at least one of the three has to be a woman), there are women’s and youth councils,
 Western media howl that Turkish tanks are right there on the border and could easily cross over into Kobane and help rout the Islamic State. Yet, they do not move. This should hardly be surprising. The Turks do not want to empower the PKK a group they battled with for ages. Nor do they want to provoke the Islamic State to launch reprisal attacks into Turkish territory. Not only that but the Kurds have more or less an undeclared truce with Assad. They are interested in the security and development of the territory they occupy and in which they are the majority. They are not particularly interested in overthrowing Assad. This view is anathema both to Turkey and other Syrian rebels. Ironically, the Kurds also do not want Turkey to intervene. What they want is help in the way of arms. They protest because Turkey is preventing Kurds from crossing into Syria to help their compatriots. The last thing they want is to have their territory invaded by the Turkish military.

US and some allies considering buffer zone between Syria and Turkey

The U.S. and the UK say they are willing to look at the possibility of creating a "buffer zone" between Syria and Turkey. Meanwhile the Islamic State is continuing its assault on the border town of Kobane with fighting now taking place within the town .

John Kerry, US Secretary of State said: "The buffer zone... is an idea that's out there, it's worth examining, it's worth looking at very, very closely," He said that the millions of refugees who had fled Syria "should not be a problem which is thrust onto Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, where they bear an incredible burden." Kerry's remarks suggest not just a buffer zone between Turkey and Syria but between Lebanon and Syria, and Jordan and Syria as well. Kerry continued: "If Syrian citizens can return to Syria and be protected in an area across the border, there's a lot that would commend that. You'd have to guarantee safety, that there wouldn't be attacks by the government... so it needs a thorough examination. We're all in favour of looking at this very closely."
 The White House and also the US Department of Defense both claimed that a buffer zone was not a military option being considered at present. However, they did admit that the possibility was being discussed with Turkey:President Barack Obama's spokesman, Josh Earnest, said "it's not something that is under consideration right now", while Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said the buffer zone is "a topic of continued discussions". The idea of a buffer zone was first suggested by the the Turkish president Recep Erdogan and is also supported by France. The US has consistently refused to consider establishing a safe haven or buffer zone for Syrians fleeing the conflict. The US argues that it would be too difficult to set up and even more problematic to patrol, particularly since the US is unwilling to commit ground troops to the conflict.
 Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that US air strikes on Kobane have killed at least 45 Islamic State fighters since this Monday and forced them to partially withdraw from several streets they had occupied. The continuing onslaught is reported to have already killed more than 400 people. About 200,000 Syrians fled to shelter in Turkey exacerbating the humanitarian situation there.
 US officials travelled to Turkey to discuss the role of Turkey in the international coalition fighting the Islamic State. The issue of a buffer zone will be discussed at those meetings. The Turks have argued in favor of such a zone for several years already as they believe such a zone would help them deal with their huge refugee problems. Kerry's recent statements may indicate that the US may be considering changing their position on the issue which up to now has rejected a buffer zone. UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond also said of the buffer zone idea that he "certainly wouldn't want to rule it out." No details of such a zone were discussed by the UK or US. Turkey has requested a "no-fly zone" that would keep some of the territory bordering on Turkey from being attacked or bombed by the Assad regime's air force. This plan has zero relevance to the issue of the Islamic State attacks near the border, actions that at present are the prime source of the huge flow of refugees into Turkey.
Retired Marine General John Allen, who is the US special envoy in the fight against the Islamic State is to travel to Turkey on Thursday to see if Turkey will now take part in the fight against the Islamic State. The buffer zone idea will be part of his discussions with Turkish officials. Rear Admiral John Kirby press secretary at the Pentagon said that the US and Turkey have discussed the buffer zone proposal many times already but said: “It is now not on the table as a military option we are considering. That said, it is a topic of continuing discussion.”
 The US administration appears to be of two minds on the issue with Kerry appearing to support the idea but others noting that it is not now being considered as a military option. Kerry also seems to be lining up allies such as the UK and France to support the idea along with Turkey. The French President Francois Hollande issued a statement indicating his support for a buffer zone between Syria and Turkey to take in and protect refugees. Both Kerry and Hammond said that any buffer zone proposal would need to be carefully examined especially with other nations. They did not mention the Syrian regime ruled by Assad. As the appended video from two years ago shows, rebels themselves have tried to set up buffer zones to protect refugees.

Egypt, Turkey, and other countries increase food exports to Russia

As Russia bans many food imports from the west in response to sanctions by the EU, the US, Australia and Canada, other countries are coming forward to take advantage of the situation for their own producers.

Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said: “Turkey is a major supplier of food and agricultural produce to Russia. It is ready to increase its food exports to Russia if necessary,” Russia and Turkey have agreed to increase the number of Turkish food suppliers to Russia. The new food ban is quite extensive:".. on August 6 Russia introduced a full ban for imports of beef and pork (fresh, chilled, refrigerated, pickled, dried or smoked meat), poultry and any poultry edible products, fish, cheese, milk, dairy products, vegetables, including root vegetables and tuber crops, and fruit from Australia, Canada, the EU, the US and Norway. " Apparently wine and baby foods are to be excluded. The full list can be found here.

  China is also expected to increase its exports to Russia as a result of the ban. Egypt is another country that will profit from Russia's ban as it will also import more wheat from Russia while exporting more food products. After meeting with Egyptian president Abdel al-Sisi, President Putin said: "Egypt has already increased (agricultural) supplies to our market by 30 percent (and) is ready to increase (supplies) by yet another 30 percent in the near future," Russian Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov claimed that increased shipment of potatoes, onions, garlic, and oranges would compensate for almost half the shortfall resulting from the ban. Western countries impacted by the ban are also seeking new markets.

 Poland expects to ship more food and produce to Belarus. Belarus is the third most significant economic trading partner for Poland after Russia and the Ukraine: Belarus imported Polish products worth $1.581 billion in 2013, which accounts for 8.9% of the total Belarusian import. In 2013, Poland accounted for 5.5%, or $781.8 million of Belarusian export. At the same time Belarus expects to provide more food and produce to Russia after the ban. 

 Russia is also boosting trade with Latin American countries. The EU is attempting to put pressure on countries not to increase trade with Russia a move that is likely to simply cause tension with the EU: The European Union plans to lobby countries that could benefit from Russia's bans on Western food imports, such as Brazil and Chile, to refrain from bumping up their exports and stick to the international party line on Russia's conduct in Ukraine, the Financial Times reported. 

There is even division within Europe on the wisdom of bans against Russia. The Hungarian Prime Minister Orban said that the EU had "shot itself in the foot" with the sanctions and that the sanctions hurt the EU more than the Russians. He also said that the EU should compensate producers who are losing from the Russian ban and that the EU should rethink their entire policy.

Turkish sociologist sentenced to life for bombing that experts say was a gas leak accident

Sociologist Pinar Selek has been sentenced to life imprisonment for a 1998 bombing in Istanbul, even though she had been acquitted three times previously and experts say that there was no bombing but the explosion was an accident caused by a gas leak.

Selek said she was shocked by the verdict when the court convicted her of a supposed bombing in Istanbul's Spice Bazaar in 1998, after being found not guilty of the crime 3 times already:

“I am shocked by the verdict; it is the first time the court found me guilty. I have been acquitted three times before. This is a first, tomorrow I will have a press meeting.I know that people won't let me be sacrificed.I want my acquittal back. It is so hard to express what I feel about this scandalous legal situation. It is like asking a woman how she feels after she was subjected to violence but I can tell you how I remain standing after 15 years. There is incredible solidarity with me."

Selek has been living in Strasbourg, France, where she is studying. Along with 30 NGOs and political party representatives from France, human rights activists from Germany, Italy, and Austria attended the court hearing in Istanbul yesterday.

Nearly 150 people held a protest before the trial. Another suspect was also sentenced to life imprisonment. Selek's problems began in 1998 when she was detained while studying the Kurdish issue in Turkey. She refused to name people she had interviewed during her research. She claims to have been tortured while in prison and her research material was confiscated. She was only released after two and a half years in prison.

The chief judge this time ruled that Selek should be released but all other judges found her guilty and imposed the life sentence. From the very first, explosives experts have claimed that there was no bombing at all but that the explosion was caused by a gas leak. A June 2000 report by experts at Istanbul University said:

“The prosecutor’s report is not scientific, it is written with an intention to mislead the court. Nitrocellulose can be found in several substances, but it is not proof of the presence of a bomb.”

Another report by a medical faculty also ruled out a bomb explosion saying that the prosecutors' report was unscientific:

“None of the evidence matches with injuries inflicted by the explosion of a bomb.”

Three experts assigned by the court also declared the explosion was definitely due to a gas leak, not because of a bomb. You would think that would be an end to the matter.

However, after two further acquittals Selek's case was brought before the court again. The judges included a judge who had earlier resisted the acquittal verdict and another who had appealed that verdict. The court was obviously stacked against Selek. Defense objections to the judges on the grounds they were not objective were dismissed.

This trial was a travesty of justice. There should be more publicity to help this brave woman escape the fate rigged up for her by Turkish authorities. The enclosed video was posted in 2011. The noise on the video stops a minute or so from the start. There are many more videos on You Tube but they seem to be all in Turkish.

Kurds in northern Syria fight off jihadist attacks across Turkish border

In the city of Ras al-Ain in the Kurdish area of northern Syria, fighting rages between several radical groups who crossed the border from Turkey and joined battle against Kurdish militia defending the city.

In order to conserve his military power, Assad withdrew his troops from Kurdish areas of Syria allowing the Kurds to be more or less autonomous. The Kurds themselves are divided on whether to support or fight against the Assad regime and are staying more or less neutral while defending control of the area they occupy.

Attacks on Ras al-Ain have caused many residents to flee the city. The jihadists were from the Al-Nusra Front and Ghuraba al-Sham. A resident said that:

"the fighting became more intense in the evening after Kurdish fighters received reinforcements to try to stop the fiercest rebel assault ever since insurgents first arrived in the city"

Al-Nusra Front is listed by the US as a terrorist organization a designation that is opposed by Syrian rebels since the group are active and effective fighters against Assad.

A Kurdish activist, living in Ras al-Kain said that the jihadists crossed the nearby Turkish border with three tanks and entered the city. He claimed the Kurdish militia seized one tank.The activist noted:

“The advancing rebels did not use the tanks to fight the regime. Instead, they used them to shell Ras al-Ain."

One wonders how jihadists are able to get tanks in Turkey without the Turkish government being aware of what is happening.

Kurdish analysts suspect that Turkey may be using the jihadists to wage their own battle against Kurds. Many worry about the consequences of a continuing battle between Kurds and jihadists. Prominent Kurdish journalist and activist Massoud Akko said:

“Should the fight morph into a struggle between Kurds and Arabs... Syria and the revolt [against Assad] are both in real danger.”

Record number of journalists jailed in 2012

The Committee to Protect Journalists survey for 2012 shows that the number of imprisoned journalists worldwide reached a record high. The CPJ has identified 232 journalists imprisoned in 2012. This is 53 more than in 2011.

CPJ began surveys of journalists in jail around the world in 1990. Governments often use charges of terrorism or other offenses against the state to silence any voices critical of the government.

Turkey is at the top of the CPJ list for jailing journalists There are at least 49 journalists in jail in Turkey. Along with Iran and China, the second and third worst jailers of journalists, Turkey makes use of vague anti-state laws to silence dissenting voices. Both in China and in Turkey, as well as Iran, the laws are used against dissenting minorities.

Anti-state charges such as terrorism, treason, and subversion were the most common charges against journalists. In 2012 at least 132 journalists are being held around the world on these types of charges.

After China, the fourth and fifth worst countries for jailing the press were Eritrea, the small African country, and Syria. Many journalists have been jailed without either charges being brought or any due process. A number are detained in secret prisons. During the period of U.S. renditions, Syria was often used as a place where terror suspects were interrogated and tortured There are 63 journalists being held throughout the world with no charges publicly disclosed against them.

The final five nations in the top ten nations jailing journalists are, in order: Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia. In the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, authorities often use charges such as hooliganism and drug possession unrelated to journalism to jail those critical of the regime. In many cases, CJP found these charges to be fabricated.

In Turkey many of the journalists held are Kurdish reporters and editors often charged with terrorism or anti-government plots. CJP found that Turkish statutes are broadly worded so that reporters covering banned groups or investigating sensitive topics can themselves face charges. Mehmet Birand of Kanal D TV in Istanbul said that the statutes make no distinction between journalists who are simply expressing their views and those who aid terrorism. Among those imprisoned in Turkey is Tayip Temel who edited the sole Kurdish language daily who is charged with belonging to a banned organization.

China, too, uses anti-state charges to jail those expressing dissident views or even providing coverage of protests by ethnic minorities. 32 of the journalists held in China are either Tibetans or Uighurs jailed for covering the ethnic tensions that escalated in 2008. Included is Dhondup Wangchen , a documentary film producer. Wangchen filmed a documentary about Tibetans living under Chinese rule.

CPJ claims that Eritrea iis the worst at abusing due process. The country holds 28 journalists, the fourth largest number in the world, even though Eritrea is a small African nation. None of these journalists have even been charged with a crime. The President Isaias Afwerki refuses to reveal anything about the jailed journalists. As many as five are believed to have died in custody, but the government refuses to confirm anything.

The complete CPJ report has many more detailed descriptions of the situation of jailed journalists. Crushing dissent takes priority over press freedom in many areas of the world.

Militant Kurds taking control in Kurdish areas of northern Syria

Kurdish areas in Northern Syria seek to establish autonomy and to defend their own interests rather than joining the rebel cause. Kurds in the area are being provided weapons and training by the Peshmerga Kurdish militia in neighboring northern Iraq.

The Assad regime is pulling its armed forces out of Kurdish dominated areas in northern Iraq. Turkey is now not only facing a huge influx of refugees along its border with Syria but also the possibility of a virtually autonomous Kurdiish area contiguous with Kurdish areas of Turkey and also northern Iraq. This will give the Kurds hopes of eventually establishing an independent Kurdistan. Kurds inhabit parts of Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey.
The move by Assad to cease operations against the Kurds will enable the outlawed PKK to use northern Syria as another base for operations into Turkey. The PKK already operates out of bases in northern Iraq. While some reports say that Assad's forces were driven out by Kurdish fighters others indicate that Assad decided to cede control to those areas so that he could concentrate his forces in attacks on Aleppo. The move also creates problems for Turkey. Turkey has been supporting the rebels, allowing rebels to train in some areas and also allowing the transfer of weapons to the rebels through its borders with U.S. aid and blessings it would seem. Othman Ali who heads a Turkish-Kurdish Studies Center inside Iraq writes:
“Turkey cannot afford to see the PKK roam freely in Syria and use it as a base from which to launch armed attacks on the country...The Syrian president had decided it was time to play the PKK card against Turkey once again as was its policy in the 1990s,”These developments may lead to Turkish military incursions into Syria. Indications are that Turkish troops are being moved towards the Syrian border.
Ilnoor Shafiq a Turkish analyst said that Turkey would not launch any large scale operation into Syria without international support. Shafiq claimed
:“If there are any incursions by Kurdish fighters across the border, Turkey might respond with by pursuing them, but we will not see any large scale operation taking place,”
Turkish prime minister Erdogan had warned about developments in Northern Syria saying:
“We will not let the terrorist group [PKK] … set up camps [in northern Syria] and pose a threat to us..No one should attempt to provoke us. We will not bow to provocation but rather take whatever steps are necessary against terrorism.”
Erdogan claimed that the rebel Syrian National Council (SNC) is the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. The group is headed by a Kurd. Erdogan continued:
“Any such state there [in northern Syria] could not be seen as the Kurdish people’s own state. It would rather be a state of the terrorist PKK and the PYD.”

Leaders of the Kurds in Northern Syria have a quite different view. A senior but anonymous figure in the Kurdish Syrian opposition said to the Jewish newspaper Haaretz:
"We cannot depend on the fact that the Syrian National Council will be willing or able to ensure Kurdish rights in Syria after the fall of Assad,...We will take care of ourselves just as the Kurds in Iraq took care of themselves when they decided to set up an autonomous region, which is independent of the Iraqi government."The Kurds are not united. Many support the rebels and the Syrian National Council.The head of the Council, a Kurd himself, has been attempting to convince Kurds to join with the opposition and support a multi-ethnic Syria rather than an autonomous or independent state. However militant Kurds in northern Syria obviously have quite different ideas and are pressing for autonomy and ultimately no doubt a greater Kurdistan encompassing areas in several countries.

Tunisia predicts growth of 4.5 per cent in 2013

The Tunisian Planning and Regional Development Minister predicts GDP growth of 4.5% in 2013. This would be up from the 3.5% growth predicted for 2012.

The Tunisian economy has only gradually recovered from the turmoil during the overthrow of President Ben Ali in January 2011. The slow pace of economic growth has led to many being disappointed with the results of the revolution.
Back in March of this year the government cut its growth forecast from 4.5% to 3.5%. There were declines in tourism and also foreign investment. Tunisian exports are also suffering from the lack of demand from Europe as the debt crisis there continues. In December of 2011 the Tunisian government foresaw growth of 4.5% in 2012.
The moderate Islamists elected to run the country are business friendly but there have been clashes between them and leftist secular opponents.There are also more radical Islamists challenging the moderates. During 2011 the economy actually shrank by 1.8%. The situation is improving considerably in 2012 even though progress is slow and unemployment high.
Tunisia has been helped by Qatar a strong backer of the revolution. Qatar has loaned Tunisia $500 million U.S. The moderate Islamist Ennahda party coalition government has excellent relations with Qatar. Turkey has also extended Tunisia a 500 million dollar line of credit.
Jamel Charbi the Planning and Regional Development Minister claims that the 4.5% growth predicted for next year can be met by boosting consumption and investment as well as consolidating exports. His statement was intended to counter some observers' pessimistic forecasts about the economic future of the country.
Charbi said that 22.7 per cent of GDP would be allocated to public investment next year to help manufacturing and mining to recover. He said this would create 90,000 jobs. The government has managed to keep interest rates low and inflation in check. On the other hand the government has been hit by resignations including that of the finance minister and the governor of the central bank.
Even under Ben Ali Tunisia had the highest GDP per capita in the area. The population of ten million revolted in part because of economic conditions and hence is impatient for better times to come soon. However given the problems in Europe economic growth will probably remain relatively modest at most. Even at that, they are doing much better than many countries in southern Europe.


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