why jim is no longer contributing to this thread
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50053526
Mainly because those who dare to disagree with the national discourse of the military operation face criminal charges.
Legal action has been taken against nearly 80 social media users who criticised the operation. They are accused of "inciting hatred and engaging in terror propaganda".
Many Twitter accounts belonging to Kurdish activists and journalists are blocked in Turkey.
Nah, most turkish officials dont understand turkish anyway. But I really support this operation because the turds are threatening the integrity of both Syria and Turkey now.
looks like not supporting would be a crime. so good job covering your ass
Is this your way of coping with me supporting it? I am behind it due to nationalism, not fear.
are these Kurds really terrorist? or is this just an excuse for a long tribal war?
The PKK is recognized as a terrorist group by the Turkey, U.S., and the EU.
Whether you agree with the designation is up to you.
U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization(FTO) Guidelines
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The YPG, who changed their name to SDF in in 2015, is overseen by the Kurdish Supreme Committee and Democratic Union Party which spun off the PKK in 2003.
The PKK has been very active since 2015 after tensions over the Siege of Kobani broke down negotiations.
Below is from crisesgroup (Fun fact: This organization got its initial seed funding from Soros)
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Human Rights Violations (if you care about that sorta thing)
Human Rights Watch:
Yekîneyên Parastina Gel (YPG) and Asayish
Human Rights Watch reported on human rights violations committed in Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria, including the recruitment and use of children, in June 2014. Since assuming power in 2012, the YPG and the Asayish, the police arm of the PYD, have deployed boys and girls at checkpoints and on bases in all three areas under their control: Jazira, Ain al-`Arab, and `Afrin.
In December 2013, YPG General Command issued an order that prohibited children under age 18 from participating in the YPG. The order stated that those in violation will be held “strictly accountable.”[101] This reiterated the prohibition on child recruitment in article 5.2 of the YPG’s internal regulations, which states that YPG members must be 18 or older.
YPG spokesman, Redul Xelil, told Human Rights Watch that the YPG had implemented the order by removing from military operations 17 people under age 18, instead assigning them tasks in media, education or political training centers. In a February 2014 meeting, Xelil said that no YPG members had been disciplined for having violated the regulations of the December order.[102]
Asayish internal regulations in article 7.2 also forbid individuals under 18 from joining the police force. Head of internal security in Jezira, Kanan Barakat, who supervises the Asayish there, said on February 9, 2014, that the force previously enlisted children but that practice changed “four or five months ago.” He said that currently all Asayish members had to be over 25 and there are no children in the force.[103]
However, during a visit to Jazira in February 2014, Human Rights Watch found continued evidence of child participation in both the YPG and Asayish. Researchers interviewed a 16-year-old boy who said he had been in the YPG since the previous year, the mother of a 13-year-old boy who joined in December 2013, and the brother of a 17-year-old who joined in January 2014.
The 16 year old, Arhat, told Human Rights Watch he joined at age 15 after going to YPG meetings at local youth centers, where YPG members spoke to him and other children. “They would talk to us about the Kurdish situation and explain the importance of defending the [Kurdish] nation,” he said. “It is our choice to join. … My mom and dad were against it and said no but I wanted to.”[104]
Arhat said he went to a YPG base to register with his real name and age, and the YPG allowed him to join. He received weapons training and has since worked at checkpoints, and been sent to places where there have been explosions to conduct investigations after the fact. “In the morning I go to school and then I go to serve,” he said.
A woman in Qamishli said her 13-year-old son had joined the YPG in December 2013 without her knowledge after spending time at a PYD youth center.[105] A Kurdish man from Amuda said his 17-year-old brother had joined the YPG in January 2014. The man said his brother had left home without informing the family of his intentions:
He disappeared and for three days my parents searched for him everywhere, including police stations and security branches, but they didn’t find him. On the fourth day a YPG official, not high ranking, came to my parent’s house and told them that he had joined the YPG.[106]
Human Rights Watch also spoke to two girls, both aged 17, who were armed and guarding Asayish checkpoints in Malikiyah and near the Semelka (Faysh Khabour)border crossing with KRG. The Faysh Khabour guard said she had worked with the Asayish for more than two years.
Child soldiers and the YPG
