Abdulla HawezVerified account

@abdullahawez

Kurdish and regional politics. Rojava, KRG, PKK. Politics, MidEast , Alumnus. Former ; former senior editor

London - Erbil
Joined June 2009
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  1. Retweeted
    2 hours ago

    Turkey’s government used a Washington law firm to gather information about its critics, including residents of the U.S., who it believed were allied with a political movement that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regards as a central enemy, scoops.

    19 replies 258 retweets 244 likes
  2. Retweeted
    10 hours ago

    KRG PM Masrour Barzani who claims ‘fighting corruption is on top of his agenda’ has just spent $47 million on two Beverly Hills homes. He was already reported to have bought another gigantic mansion in McLean, Virginia. These are just drops in an ocean.

    11 replies 89 retweets 157 likes
  3. 4 hours ago

    The US frustration is largely with Erdogan, not with the Turkish state; once Erdogan is out, the US establishment will ditch Kurds everyday for a secular Turkey. And Erdogan will go in the few coming years. This will cause big problems for Kurds medium to long term.

    The president of Turkey has done nothing to warrant an invitation to the White House. We should be reducing our reliance on a Turkey that is an ally in name only, wait out Erdogan, and signal to Turks that the benefits of close ties with the US require acting like an ally.
    4 replies 9 retweets 25 likes
  4. Retweeted
    5 hours ago

    Ahmet Altan, key intellectual figure, was jailed for 3 years and only a week ago released from prison. When I read the news about his re-arrest yesterday, tweeting about it felt heavy. This travesty of justice is simply suffocating..

    2 replies 9 retweets 12 likes
  5. Retweeted
    22 hours ago

    court ruling to re-arrest journalist is outrageous. Altan was released only last week after 3 years in detention. IPI calls on Turkish authorities to stop this injustice and free Altan immediately.

    , , and 7 others
    4 replies 142 retweets 103 likes
  6. 11 hours ago

    I argued earlier that PYD abandoning their agreement with KRG-backed ENKS back in early 2014 and the US not pushing for reconciliation between the two factions since their intervention in September 2014 was a major mistake:

    7 retweets 13 likes
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  7. 11 hours ago

    The Arab support for Turkish operations isn’t a surprise but 23% of the Kurds interviewed support the military Ops and 33% Kurdish support for Trump’s withdrawal decision show the depth of Kurdish division & PYD failure to let other Kurdish factions inc ENKS operate in the area.

    3 replies 1 retweet 6 likes
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  8. 11 hours ago

    A Gallup survey interviewing 601 Arabs and Kurds in SDF-held Hasaka & Raqqa provinces including 100 Kurds who fled the Turkish Ops: 58% support Trump withdrawal decision 57% support Turkish operations (64% Arabs support; Kurds: 77% oppose, 23% support)

    7 replies 16 retweets 27 likes
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  9. Retweeted
    Nov 12

    Huge effort went into producing this new report on Saydnaya prison - Assad’s human slaughterhouse. Hope journalists pick it up and also diplomats who might be tempted to ‘normalize’ relations with Assad.

    10 replies 339 retweets 399 likes
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  10. Retweeted
    Nov 12

    Wow. NYT Dives into 's Erdogan son-in-law Relation with US Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and how it helped override Congress sanctions. One of those sanctions that Kushner-AlBayrak helped defer are over S-400. By &

    17 replies 299 retweets 291 likes
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  11. Nov 11

    Number of Syrian Kurdish refugees who have fled the recent Turkish attack on Northern Syria to Iraqi Kurdistan have passed 15000. There were already 230,000 Syrian Kurdish refugees in Kurdistan before the new wave.

    Today I was humbled to meet brave families fleeing conflict in Syria. My message was clear – this is your home and we welcome you with open arms. This is a global crisis and I call on our international partners to…
    3 replies 11 retweets 14 likes
  12. Retweeted
    Nov 10

    A lot happening in the world. Beyond the grisly death toll in Iraq, the sustained protests in Lebanon, HK, you have the likely end of Morales in Bolivia, the release of Lula in Brazil and now Spain election results that see a surge for the nationalist ultra right.

    8 replies 54 retweets 104 likes
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  13. Nov 10

    Another less discussed group that has been increasingly joining YPG are Iranian Kurds, in particular Shia Kurds, who weren’t historically joining traditional Kurdish parties. Here a Shia Iranian kurdish YPG fighter killed in the fights against TK forces:

    bo شاهان مەلیکشاهی شەهیدێکی تازەی نیشتمان…
    2 replies 6 retweets 16 likes
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  14. Nov 10

    Only since the start of the Turkish invasion of N Syria over 200 Iraqi Kurds have join YPG ranks, there was already a large number of Iraqi Kurds with YPG since 2014. Zana has been fighting with YPG for four years, he was killed in the Kobani front, according to pro-YPG media.

    1:39
    Thousands of people including school children and police officers come out in Sharazoor in Sulaymaniyah province to celebrate the life of YPG fighter Zana Jalal killed fighting Turkish army and its Islamist proxy forces in…
    4 replies 28 retweets 69 likes
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  15. Nov 10

    The biggest difference between the ideologies that drive each of KRG & Rojava is neither political nor economic but cultural: Ocalan ideology is very serious about gender equality and women empowerment; Barzani ideology on the other hand is strongly patriarchal (- PR campaigns).

    “Violence against women in Kurdistan is pandemic, but – I am told – there is little political will, even among senior women in the government, to address it.”—the good thing is it is being discussed. The rest is an embarrassm…
    6 replies 8 retweets 26 likes
  16. Nov 10

    I join Barzanis and Talabanis rejecting any constitutional amendment that attempt to change the parliamentary system (to presidential) or attempts to directly or indirectly weaken federal status of Kurdistan. Iraqi constitution, on paper, is one of the best in the region.

    1-Kurdish politicians reject constitutional amendments in Iraq. Worth noting this is the 2nd time the Barzanis and Talabanis play an instrumental role in cementing corruption and sectarian rule in Iraq. In 2011 they sided with Maliki.
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    5 replies 6 retweets 40 likes
  17. Nov 10

    A Syrian Kurdish aid worker said: “When the Turks are around, their Syrian mercenaries refrain from looting property or harming anyone. The Turks are aware of such human rights violations, and they try to limit them, but not hard enough.”

    1 reply 3 retweets 6 likes
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  18. Nov 10

    “We admit that we have soldiers who commit human rights violations. The Syrian National Army’s lack of homogeneity renders the task of disciplining everyone harder. It’s like we’re patching torn clothes” deputy defense minister in Syria’s opposition gov’t.

    2 replies 2 retweets 7 likes
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  19. Retweeted
    Nov 9

    Wow. Tonight in Barcelona. The city is protesting the arrest of independence leaders.

    218 replies 7,995 retweets 23,815 likes
  20. Nov 9

    The Turkish invasion - without any doubt - has increased support for SDF especially among Syrian Kurds.

    0:28
    Funeral for fallen of the SDF and Turkish left, & the civilian killed by a TSK patrol yesterday. I have never seen so many people in one place in…
    8 replies 18 retweets 51 likes
  21. Retweeted
    Nov 9

    Iraqi version of”Bella Ciao”: before becomig the anthem of anti-fascist resistance,the lyric was sung by Italian women working in extremely difficult conditions (bare feet with water up until their knees) in paddy rice fields of northern Italy in the 19th century.What a journey..

    2:14
    By the hidden Iraqi young generation that was out of accounts & surprised Middle East. From the spirit of , Iraqi version of & …
    1 reply 43 retweets 103 likes
  22. Retweeted
    Nov 9

    Death toll in Iraq has passed 300 as crackdown on mass protests continues.

    37 replies 934 retweets 722 likes
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  23. Nov 9

    A Persian painting depicting the Battle of Chaldiran (1514) between Safavid and Ottoman empires, one of the most consequential battles for Kurds and Kurdistan.

    1 reply 6 retweets 20 likes
  24. Nov 9

    This is not so dissimilar to Iraqi Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani appointing his 23-year-old son as chancellor of a leading university in Erbil.

    Türkmenistan Devlet Başkanı Berdimuhamedov ülkenin en prestijli ödüllerinden 'vatanseverlik ödülü'nü oğluna verdi
    5 likes
  25. Retweeted
    Nov 9

    Following criticisms of Turkey's plans to relocate refugees in Syria, I wrote about the history of forced relocations & other forms of demographic engineering in the region, especially in northern Syria. W. comment from &

    25 replies 72 retweets 101 likes
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  26. Nov 9

    SDF is increasingly playing Erdogan’s own games against Turkey: - warning of a wave of Jihadis if EU don’t tackle Turkey - similar to Turkey threats of a wave of refugees if EU opposes their N Syria invasion - SDF is pursuing both US and Russia partnership similar to Turkey’s.

    Kurds tell EU: Get tough with Turkey or face Islamic State fighters
    5 replies 8 retweets 33 likes
  27. Nov 8

    The unity among Arab and Kurdish components of the SDF against the Turkish incursion has been impressive; no defections has been reported. The incursion was a serious test: this is a solid proof that the multiethnic SDF project has largely been a success.

    2:19
    Today, 17 fighters who have lost their lives while defending Serekaniye against the Turkish army and it’s jihadists were honoured during a ceremony (ANHA)
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    12 replies 119 retweets 265 likes
  28. Retweeted
    Nov 8

    Look closely. Military-grade grenades are killing protesters in Iraq.

    88 replies 911 retweets 933 likes
  29. Nov 8

    Twitter accounts push propaganda photos of Turkish soldiers: “some of the photos weren’t of Turkish soldiers. None of them were recent and some had been taken in parts of Syria unconnected to the invasion - even in other parts of the world.”

    4 replies 6 retweets 13 likes
  30. Nov 8

    “YPG did not withdraw thirty kilometers from the Syrian-Turkish Border by October 29 as demanded in a deal between Russia and Turkey.” SDF is now playing Turkey’s game, pursuing partnerships with both the US and Russia.

    4 replies 12 retweets 22 likes
  31. Nov 8

    Turkish arms imports as a share of its military spending (1970-2019):

    6 retweets 9 likes
  32. Nov 7

    An important detail: SDF's Mazlum Abdi says the agreement between and Russia is military-only - withdrawal of 32km deep - but the civilian governing administration of North and East Syria region will remain and govern in these areas.

    4 replies 21 retweets 43 likes
  33. Retweeted
    Nov 7

    Macron is just formalising what Erdogan has already proven: in an era of rapid American imperial decline, the optimum route for a medium-tier power is playing Russia & the US against each other. Being a loyal NATO ally is a mug’s game

    10 replies 80 retweets 197 likes
  34. Retweeted
    Nov 7

    ساحة التحرير الان.. Tahrir square NOW ..

    158 replies 953 retweets 3,561 likes
  35. Retweeted
    Nov 7

    There are efforts by Turkey to achieve its demographic change goals in Northeast Syria through international organisations. UN head's willingness to form a team to study the proposal and engage in discussions with Turkish authorities on the issue is deeply worrying and dangerous.

    147 replies 1,626 retweets 4,349 likes
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  36. Nov 7

    This is a must read: “I am Turkish. I am a former government official. And I believe that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the PKK — described by President Trump as worse than the Islamic State — is not a terrorist organization.”

    14 replies 43 retweets 82 likes
  37. Nov 7

    That doesn’t mean there are no differences at the personal level between different leaders of KCK (PKK) or SDF, there might be because in Ocalan’s absence, KCK is not one man rule but there are no systematic deep differences at party level between SDF and KCK.

    2 replies 3 likes
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  38. Nov 7

    That SDF has autonomy at the local level doesn’t mean they have deep differences with KCK leadership in Qandil. This is just how KCK model works: autonomy at the local level, centrality in decision-making at critical junctures.

    3 replies 7 retweets 11 likes
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  39. Nov 7

    I do believe SDF has a considerable degree of autonomy, its mostly run by the local leadership but important decisions such as policy re Turkish invasion or talk with US or Russia is certainly made in consultation with Cemîl Bayik-led KCK leadership as PYD is openly part of KCK.

    For the people who talk about deep differences between SDF and PKK especially over Mazlum Abdi’s recent agreements with US and Russia-Assad over their deal with Turkey, perhaps you need to watch this new…
    8 replies 12 retweets 35 likes
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