Iraq

Daesh driven out of Raqqa

The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have scored remarkable victories over the last three years against Daesh in northern Syria. The YPG was created five years ago. Assad withdrew from Kurdish areas in north west Syria to concentrate his offensive in more central areas. The YPG became the army of the cantons formed in what Kurds call Rojava, “the West” of Kurdish territory. It made its female units (YPJ) every bit as prominent and effective as the male units. It rejected religious sectarianism and nationalism. It armed those it liberated like the Yazidis, and helped them organise in...

Recognise Kurdish referendum result!

On 25 September, 3.5 million people (97.7%) voted for independence for Iraqi Kurdistan. Aso Kamal of the Worker-Communist Party of Kurdistan and a Coordinator for the Centre for independence of Kurdistan spoke to Solidarity . We have been campaigning for a referendum since 1999. We have had conferences in Kurdistan and across Europe, Canada and Australia and we have lobbied for support for a referendum. The issue has come to the fore since federalism has been in collapse across Iraq since the rise of Daesh. The Baghdad Government is Shia Islamist and they have opposed Kurdish rights...

A fair referendum for Kurdistan

A referendum is going to be held on 25 September within the Kurdish region of Iraq and the Kurdish populated areas outside the administrative authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Conducting a referendum for the “right of nations to self-determination” is one of the Articles of the UN 1948 Treaty. Thus, every group of people facing social injustice, discrimination, national oppression have the right to organise and hold a referendum to politically solve these problems. The people of Kurdistan in Iraq have confronted persecution, discrimination, war instability, oppression...

Letter: PYD democracy lacking

Riki Lane writes about PYD rule in Rojava ( Solidarity 444), “Overall this is essentially standard bourgeois democracy, but with a strong emphasis on bottom-up democratic development of a social economy.” I think Riki is the victim of a PKK public relations operation. The PYD is an off-shoot of the Turkish Kurdish PKK, which remains a militarised Stalinist-nationalist party. The PKK/PYD is dissembling for an international audience because they want support against Turkey and currently they are listed as a banned, terrorist group. They aim to present themselves as unthreatening. A better...

Iraq takes back Mosul

After 10 months of fighting the Iraqi government has officially declared victory against Daesh in Mosul. The defeat of Daesh should be welcomed, but there are serious questions about the military advance in Mosul, how civilians will now be treated, and how the city will be rebuilt. Amnesty International has called for an immediate investigation into the loss of civilian life to Daesh, the army and militias. The group have produced a report detailing 45 attacks that killed 426 civilians. Despite Daesh using human shields, neither the Iraqi army nor the coalition bombing campaign considered how...

US coalition moves on Raqqa

After several months of deadlock, the US-led operation with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to take Raqqa has begun. Lama Fakih the Middle East director at Human Rights rightly points out, “The battle for Raqqa is not just about defeating ISIS, but also about protecting and assisting the civilians who have suffered under ISIS rule for three and a half years.” However the largest force on the ground in the Syrian Democratic Forces is the People’s Protection Units (YPG). As Raqqa is a predominantly Sunni Arab city, there are legitimate concerns about a non-Arab force helping to take the city...

Saudi Arabia tries to push Qatar into line

A simmering conflict between the Gulf State of Qatar and its larger neighbour, Saudi Arabia, has abruptly flared into an open, serious stand-off. Beginning on 5 June, a Saudi-led grouping of states including Egypt, Bahrain and UAE broke off diplomatic relations, and implemented travel and trade bans against Qatar. Qatar has said it will not retaliate.Saudi Arabia has closed Qatar’s only land border and ordered its citizens to leave Qatar. UAE, Egyptian and Saudi ports have refused to allow Qatari ships to dock.80% of Qatar’s food comes from its Gulf neighbours and 40% comes across the land...

Is Corbyn right on terrorism?

“Jeremy Corbyn has said that terror attacks in Britain are our own fault,” claimed Theresa May on Friday. “I want to make something clear… there can never be an excuse for terrorism, there can be no excuse for what happened in Manchester.” It is a measure of the cynicism — and desperation — of the Tories and their press that Corbyn’s speech this week has been attacked in this way. Corbyn did refer to British foreign policy as a factor in any explanation of terrorism, but only in similar terms to many commentators, and indeed some Tories. What Corbyn actually said was: “Many experts, including...

Manning finally free

Chelsea Manning was released from Fort Leavenworth, the maximum security prison on 18 May, after seven years of harassment, brutality and enforced solitary confinement. Manning was sentenced in August 2013 for leaking classified wire cables and military records to WikiLeaks. At the time she was a military intelligence analyst and for slightly bizarre reasons will remain classified as a member of the military for a period after her release. Soon after she was sentenced she went public with the fact she was a transgender woman. The US military continued to hold her in an all-male prison...

Is the slogan "Troops Out" a matter of principle? The case of Iraq

Edited version of an article from a debate with Barry Finger about slogans in relation to Iraq. Before, during, and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, we, the AWL, said what needed to be said. AWL was against the USA's war in Iraq. We preached “no political trust or confidence” in the American, British, or any ruling class, in their states, their politicians, or their armies. We analysed the motives of the American, British and other ruling classes in their dealings with Iraq; solidarised with the new Iraqi labour movement wherever it clashed with the occupiers; indicted US/UK misdeeds...

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