AKR statement on recent events in Amudê
Alliance for Kurdish Rights (AKR) is deeply concerned about the events that recently unfolded in the city of Amudê in West Kurdistan (Northern part of Syria).
On June 27, hundreds of Kurds in the city of Amudê gathered to protest the detainment of activists by PYD security forces, Havidar, a citizen journalist, told AFP. The protesters were shouting anti-PYD slogans and “the Asaish (the PYD’s security police) opened fire… on the protesters,” Havidar said.
Activists say 3 protesters were killed.
The PYD issued a statement on July 3rd, saying:
The clashes in Amude occurred after an ambush was set up by an unknown armed group, in which a Popular Protection Unit (YPG) patrol was attacked upon returning from a reconnaissance mission. One YPG member was killed and several were injured. In the fighting that ensued from YPGs response, four members of the armed group were killed along with two civilians who regrettably fell victim to collateral damage. The Kurdish security forces (Asayîsh) detained a number of suspects of whom the majority were subsequently released, save those were proof of direct involvement could be presented. These security measures were taken in order to prevent further chaos in the city.
According to AKR contacts in Qamişlo near Amudê, residents in Amudê had been protesting PYD’s detainment of prominent activists by going on hungerstrike and having sit-ins in tents. The protests escalated on June 27; the contacts could not for sure say how many protesters died or got injured, nor could they find solid sources or reports on what triggered the clashes and who did what.
There have been conflicting reports on what happened in Amudê and the Alliance for Kurdish Rights encourages an independent committee to thoroughly investigate the incident.
We call on all Kurdish organisations in West Kurdistan to engage in dialogues and work to prevent intra-Kurdish fighting. We wish for all Kurds in West Kurdistan to stand united against anyone in Syria who do not consider the demands of the Kurdish people legitimate.
Comments
What a shameful piece by AKR. So; after being silent for 9 days, you come with this?
AKR proves that they are completely a Pro-PYD/PKK agency.
The article is completely biased in favor of the PYD, you published PYD side of the story but ignored the other side. You didn’t highlighted strong evidence that this operation was a clear Pre-Planned massacre. Moreover; publishing Wrong numbers of martyrs “7 Kurds were killed not three”
Detention of activists, assaults on NGOs and hunger-strike in Rojava are daily bases in West Kurdistan, Yet; AKR decides to ignore everything that could be against PYD.
Kadar, give us this “strong evidence” and we’ll be happy to write a piece about it. How can you accuse us of being pro-PYD/PKK when we are encouraging an immediate and thorough independent investigation of what happened as opposed to relying on word-of-mouth “evidence” on Twitter? Give us actual, solid sources, not baseless accusations of our stance on any issue. We contacted families in West Kurdistan to no avail in finding any more info regarding the events except the speculations that we noted in the piece.
Kadar, the first part of the statement says we are concerned about the events in Amudê – and it does not take sides.
Then, we post a statement by an activist in Amudê who is NOT pro-PYD. As you might have noticed, there is a link to the article with this guy and many others who are anti-PYD. We didn’t post it here because it’s very long but linked to it, so everyone can go and read it at the original site.
To balance it, we published a statement by the PYD.
The reason why it took us 9 days is because we (like anyone else) have been trying to contact people in the area to get solid sources and not people who “think” or “assume.”
If you have any credible sources, please send it to us and we will add it. We are still following the developments closely and we also encouraged an investigation into the matter.
Well, communications still work very well in Amude. You could call locals inside Amude instead of calling somewhere near the city. However relying on your “contacts” doesn’t make your piece more credible than word-of-mouth on Twitter!
Here are the evidences:
Full name + Age of the SEVEN martyrs http://www.welati.info/nuce.php?ziman=ar&id=8339&niviskar=1&cure=3&kijan= [Didn’t your source “who took 9 days” find that?]
The strong evidence is actually the knowledge of how the story started.
PYD claims “it was all about an attack by an armed group. member of YPG named “Issa gullo” was killed while we were responding to the attack”. Something you reported in the article.
What you didn’t report: Was this guy really killed in Amude? If he was not, then it is a “planned massacre”
[On June 27, according to the PYD’s official version of the events, the Martyr Serhad Brigade that reached Amuda was heading back to Qamishli, after it defeated an Arab “mercenary armed gang” in control of a dam located on the road between Tell Tamr and Hasakeh. The operation is said to have restored water supplies to Hasakeh, after the city remained dry for several days.
“If they were going directly to Qamishli, then they didn’t need to pass from Amuda,” objected Omar Uge, a 41-year-old pharmacist who witnessed the killings. “At first, several demonstrators mediated with those throwing stones at the YPG forces, to convince them that the armed men were not there to stifle the protest, but as soon as they were allowed to cross into the main street they took control of it, and we realized it was a planned crackdown,” Uge told Al-Monitor.
Read more http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/07/syria-kurds-pyd-amuda-protest.html ] <> https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=684858314866352&set=a.285805024771685.75703.284889871529867&type=1&relevant_count=1
Issa Gullo was killed after PYD-FSA clashes, on the road between Tell Tamr and Hasakeh. He is from Heliliye-Qamishlo. So; If they were going directly to Qamishlo, then they didn’t need to pass from Amude, Why did they come to Amude?
Check this link as well https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=500365356702395&set=a.471752146230383.1073741961.182513185154282&type=1
Because, you are missing many things about the story, you might also be interested to know that it was the day number 10 of youth protest against the detentions when the massacre happened. This actually makes one more reason for PYD to put an end to this “there were assaults on the protesters before though”
One more evidence, KDPP “Pê?verû” statement that they were not involved in the “Assaults” in Amude. And declared its withdrawal of PYD “security militia”.
For your info: Pê?verû is considered the closest Ally of PYD.
The Kurdish blood is not cheap.
PYD TV, Ronahi; failed to back their claims with any evidence, the last thing they did was publishing an Old video; ironically the video was including people who are actually in PYD prison until this moment. They couldn’t face all what i mentioned to you.
You failed to justify a crime.
For some reason, explanation of this link https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=684858314866352&set=a.285805024771685.75703.284889871529867&type is not appears Hoever, the post is by Pro-PYD figure (well-known), who knows the martyr and his family very well.
We published this statement as an encouragement to investigate the killings.
Regarding the number of deaths, we used these two articles: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/06/201362723251718913.html and http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/75155/World/Region/Kurd-militia-kills–protesters-in-Syria-town-Activ.aspx. We didn’t use the Welati article because we mainly rely on English articles.
We encourage you to send an article with your links and sources to us and we will publish it. We are a platform for all Kurds and non-Kurds who wants to share information about anything Kurd-related.
You can send it to us here: http://kurdishrights.org/join-us/
Ridiculous comments by Kadar Qamislo.
First of all, AKR is not pro-PYD, but your concept of “proves” might have led you to think so. AKR does not have a regional office or teams on the ground in Kurdistan, they depend on reports from individual activists, and contacts they have. Now you can claim that the report is not well-researched, but jumping to the conclusion that it’s pro-PYD is simply ridiculous. As stated by the author, she contacted her details and they failed to give her solid information; she honestly presented the information she received. However, unfortunately, it is a rather typical comment and conclusion, for political activists in the Middle East region, to view it as pro or anti…
Two narratives have been presented to explain the Amude attack. Both lack solid evidence and clarity. Yet, both sides reported causalities. The incident seems to be a highly politicised confrontation, that both sides seek to exploit for their political aims.
If you have a look at the questions you raised and the “evidence” you propose, it’s striking how little you know of legal aspects of identifying evidence, circumstances and violations. The questions you raised are at best food for thought in a living room, when one is among friends.
No legal body in the world would take such questions into serious consideration:
– The strong evidence is actually the knowledge of how the story started.
– What you didn’t report: Was this guy really killed in Amude? If he was not, then it is a “planned massacre”
– So; If they were going directly to Qamishlo, then they didn’t need to pass from Amude, Why did they come to Amude?
– This actually makes one more reason for PYD to put an end to this “there were assaults on the protesters before though”
– One more evidence, KDPP “Pê?verû” statement that they were not involved in the “Assaults” in Amude. And declared its withdrawal of PYD “security militia”.
– or finally, a post on Facebook by a pro-PYD figure.
If you think that any of these points can serve as evidence, or even arguments, in legal reasoning – you are slightly clueless. These points are evidence for political antagonists, for both sides to the conflict. If you want to discredit and shame your political opponent, then indeed, the points serve as undoubted evidence – and you can probably feed your own constituency with loads of it.
For human rights activists, there is only one thing to do; call for independent investigations, and remain seized on the matter and follow up if new evidence and information would appear. The rest ought to be left to you guys in the political field; and we appeal… don’t drag us into a new Kurdish civil war!
I agree with Baran. Kadar, that’s not evidence. Evidence is videos, photos, reputable reports. Not a Facebook post!!! If you don’t have these to present; stop bashing, start researching, because so far your own “research” consists of a google search and a facebook message. lol.