Tuesday 30 August 2016

Rhyl to Swansea - From North and South - Welsh Socialist Republican August Awareness builds momentum


SWANSEA







RHYL






  20 Welsh Towns were covered in August 2016 with our posters and stickers in our Welsh Socialist Republican Awareness Campaign - now we are moving up a gear.

 We continue the awareness campaign into September with target of reaching another 20 Welsh towns - however September is also moving from awareness to meetings .

Carmarthen pre Welsh Socialist Republican Congress meeting for West Wales on 17th September between 1pm and 4pm

Merthyr Tydfil  pre Welsh Socialist Republican Congress meeting on 24th September between 1pm and 4pm

Wrexham pre Welsh Socialist Republican Congress meeting on 1st October between 1pm and 4pm

If you wish to attend contact on us our secure e mail

info@greatunrest.org

Forward to our National Congress on 29th/30th October


Sosialaidd ac Annibyddiaeth

Socialism and Independence








Sunday 28 August 2016

Turkey's Syria Incursion Means Perpetual War on Kurds Hawzhin Azeez





In the last few hours reports have emerged that the Turkish army is bombing the Til-Emarne (al-Amarne) village of Jarablus with artillery fire and jets and also attacking YPG targets in Ain Diwar (eastern Rojava) and Afrin (western Rojava). Kurdish sources have reported dozens of civilian injuries and deaths.

Turkey's incursion into Syria has already confirmed what many thought it was, an act of aggression against Kurds.

Pro-Turkey propaganda is rife, stating that Jarablus was "liberated" by the Turkish army with no bloodshed as opposed to the "YPG"- implying that the YPG are an invading, brutal army that kills and murders innocent people unnecessarily as opposed to the more “legitimate” Turkish army. But the reality is that there was no “fighting” to liberate Jarablus because there was clearly an agreement between ISIS-Turkey.

The relative ease with which Turkey took over Jarablus has raised significant strategic and policy questions. Why did ISIS fight so hard to keep Kobane or Manbij but not Jarablus? Why did it dig itself in, plant hundreds and thousands of mines and booby traps across Kobane and Manbij, lost thousands of its fighters engaging in a guerrilla warfare and fight for territory house by house, street by street but no sign of its signature strategies in Jarablus? Why did it give in so easily and without any bloodshed in Jarablus?

Perhaps the response can be found in that ISIS fighters were witnessed simply exchanging their clothes for that of the Turkey supported al-Nusra 'uniforms'? Whatever the truth in this regard, the reality is, the crux of the ISIS-Turkey agreement was that following the spectacular loss in Manbij it was better strategically to allow Turkey to control Jarablus, effectively cutting off the possibility of unity between Kobane and Cezire cantons with the Afrin canton and effectively establishing the “buffer zone” that Turkey had long been seeking.

This process leaves ISIS to recoup and continue its attacks towards Afrin in the East and south of Kobane canton and Cezire in the southwestern area of Rojava-north Syria. This strategy also involves increasing suicide attacks and car bombs in Cezire, while the ongoing lack of a humanitarian corridor imposed by Turkey and supported by the Barzani government in KRG (northern Iraq) ensures a pressure cooker environment for the enclosed autonomous zones.

Now there are suggestions that Turkey and its co-conspirators are set to "liberate" Manbij using the YPG’s presence as a pretext for war -when it is well known that the YPG has left the city, with only the democratic local councils that they encouraged and supported and the Manbij Military Council, made up of local fighters left behind.

This process effectively derails the argument that the Kurds are 'land grabbing', not to mention that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) contains a large number of Arabs and other ethno-religious groups who have joined in the liberation of towns and cities under ISIS control, and which was responsible for the liberation of Manbij.

But history repeats itself again, Turkey's so called war on ISIS in Syria codenamed "Euphrates Shield", is simply another thinly disguised attempt to attack the Kurds, as was the case last year when instead of attacking ISIS it attacked the PKK in the Qandil Mountains in south Kurdistan.

Back then too the US had traded in the Kurds for access to the Incirlik (Adana) military base.

But now the geostrategic implications of this incursion into Syria are much bigger than just the Kurdish-Turkey conflict. Alluding to this, Turkey Prime Minister Binali Yildirim stated that the invasion of Syria is based on "defending Syria's territorial integrity"- but the Assad government has strongly condemned the incursion as a clear breach of its sovereignty; as it reflects Turkey's increasing aspirations for regional leadership and hegemony.

Turkey's rise to neo-Ottomoanism has been supported by Europe's utter failure in dealing with the flow of people into Europe, resulting paradoxically in Europe throwing billions of Euros towards Turkey to "stop the refugees". In turn, Turkey has responded by ferrying refugees back into Syrian territory, shooting, killing, and beating refugees across the Syrian border.

Even more paradoxically, the US has aided and abetted Turkey in its invasion and violation of the territorial integrity of Syria and entry into Jarablus with air-cover support, despite the fact that Turkey has been allied with al-Qaida affiliated Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (previously Al Nusra) and ISIS in both Syria and Turkey. Joe Biden’s recent visit and statement earlier this week in support of Turkey alluded to the presence of Turkey in Syria being a long term notion. The resulting consequence was a US backed invasion of Jarablus, when less than a week before the US were helping to provide air support for the SDF’s liberation of Manbij.

While this can be seen as a clear message from the US to the Kurds, this shift in alliance must also be viewed as a timely reminder for the Kurds to maintain ideological and military integrity and to remain unaligned with any particular side.

The invasion of Jarablus is also a reflection of the recently bolstered Erdogan's political power play and his control of the country following the recent failed military coup. The US has rewarded Erdogan for the massive military and civil servant purge that occurred and reaffirmed the iron-clad control over the country by providing it with air cover for its invasion of Syria.

The US is clearly aligning itself with the Erdogan’s autocracy, perhaps in a misguided effort to control the situation in Syria while avoiding "boots on the ground", a mistake it made during the 2003 Iraq invasion and which cost it dearly in a number of ways.

But the US is sorely mistaken if it believes that it can maintain a proxy war in Syria and control the increasingly unstable Erdogan regime. The visible involvement of Iran, Saudi Arabia and its smaller ally states complicates the geopolitical situation further.

Likewise, the EU remains completely paralysed in producing a coherent and concise approach towards Turkey, not only in light of the recent invasion, the ongoing treatment and abuses of refugees within Turkey, but also the ongoing human rights violations towards minorities such as the Kurds, Alevis and others, which are occurring internally inside Turkey.

Instead of Turkey’s containment and continued support for the Kurds and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SYD), a combination of Arab, Kurdish, Armenian, Assyrian and other ethno-religious groups, in fighting and pushing back ISIS- something which it has been doing successfully, the US and EU continue to remain weak willed, choosing what appears to be realpolitik over ethical and democratic politics.

However, this approach is questionable considering the large scale global public opinion and support for the Kurds and the incontestable fact that to date they have been the most successful forces in eliminating ISIS but also creating democratic, inclusive and peaceful regions.

What is clear is that the Kurds will be in a state of perpetual war for some time to come, whether the conflict involves Turkey, ISIS or its other offshoots, or Assad, or all at the same time. It appears that the state of peace for the Kurds has come to mean a perpetual state of resistance and self-defence. But if there is one thing that the last year or so has demonstrated is that the Kurds are very good at the art of war and self-defence.

Not to mention that the bygone years of state sponsored terror and abuses towards the Kurds can no longer be hidden, which has led to increased condemnation of Turkish state terrorism and US and EU’s support for the regime. This combined with the visible global support for the Kurdish forces and the SDF in their heroic resistance against ISIS ensures ongoing international interest and visibility of the issue.

What is clear is Turkey’s next move: to encroach into and destabilise Rojava with attacks on all three cantons and ‘retake’ territory for its Islamist allies.

The Kurds most difficult strategic and military play is yet to come.

SOURCE:

http://www.kurdishquestion.com/article/3393-turkey-039-s-syria-incursion-means-perpetual-war-on-kurds


JOIN OUR WELSH SUPPORTING KURDS FACEBOOK

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1543790405893752/

Monday 22 August 2016

Cardiff cannot resist the Welsh Socialist Republican Congress August Awareness Campaign







Our August Welsh Socialist Republican Congress awareness campaign after starting in Abergavenny in South Wales and Holywell and Shotton and Wrexham in North Wales and Carmarthen and Llanelli in West Wales  came via the Rhondda in South Wales to Cardiff.

Many more towns to visit before end of the month.



Wednesday 17 August 2016

The Rhondda in South Wales posters points the road to the Welsh Socialist Republican Congress : Llanelli and Carmarthen take the message West


GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT DURING THE MONTH OF AUGUST

THE WELSH  SOCIALIST REPUBLICAN CONGRESS
OCTOBER 29TH/30TH









CARMARTHEN






LLANELLI








WATCH OUT FOR SEPTEMBER PRE CONGRESS MEETINGS IN MERTHYR AND WREXHAM AND CARMARTHEN





Thursday 11 August 2016

"August 11th 1892: Birth of Scottish Poet Hugh MacDiarmid" Dylan Thomas on Hugh MacDiarmid


We remember the late Scottish Poet Hugh MacDairmid today on his birthday - we will always defend him against the  scurrilous attacks like those of George Galloway here.

http://greatunrest2012.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/george-galloways-shame-in-defence-of.html

We have the same feelings for our comrade Hugh MacDairmid that Dylan Thomas had expressed beautifully in the statement above and we remember him today on his birthday.

Yr Aflonyddwch Mawr shares the same socialist social vision has Dylan Thomas here.

http://greatunrest2012.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/red-dylan-social-vision-of-dylan-thomas.html

Hugh MacDiarmid began his writing career as a journalist in Wales contributing to the socialist newspaper The Merthyr Pioneer run by Labour party founder Keir Hardie which probably accounts for our close feeling of kinship with him.





See Also :



http://greatunrest2012.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/george-galloways-shame-in-defence-of.html

http://greatunrest2012.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/red-dylan-social-vision-of-dylan-thomas.html

Saturday 6 August 2016

Welsh Socialist Republican Congress August Promotion reaches Abergavenny in South Wales - Shotton and Holywell in North Wales

This is the first report on our August promotion  making the people of Wales aware of the Welsh Socialist Republican Congress in October 2016

ABERGAVENNY


With the Eisteddfod being held in Abergavenny it was a natural place to begin our August promotion of the Welsh Socialist Republican Congress in Abergavenny in South Wales.

North Wales at Shotton and Holywell started our Welsh Socialist Republican Congress promotion simultaneously with our South Wales promotion and many more Welsh towns will hear about us during August 2016







SHOTTON







                                                                HOLYWELL



We will be preparing the ground during August for pre Congress meetings in September in Carmarthen, Wrexham and Merthyr.

Support our activities and begin the process of the great transformation of Wales to Socialism and Independence to be initiated by the Welsh Socialist Republican Congress in October 2016

Contact : nickglais@yahoo.co.uk