Latest news with #Bakhtiar
The National
31-03-2025
- Politics
- The National
UK summit targets Kurdish people-smuggler bosses
Britain and Iraq will directly target people-smuggling gang bosses, it has been announced at the first international summit on migration. Illegal immigration was a 'global security threat similar to terrorism', UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared at the London meeting where money was pledged to help take down criminal kingpins, such as mastermind smuggler 'Bakhtiar', exposed in a special investigation by The National this month. His base in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region will likely be one of many examined at the Organised Immigration Crime Summit of 44 countries holding their inaugural meeting in London on Monday. The UK Home Office confirmed to The National that an extra £1 million ($1.3 million) will be used to help British investigators track down gang kingpins in Iraq. Such plans have already proved successful, with Mr Starmer citing a 'major operation' by French, German and British law enforcement that 'smashed an Iraqi smuggling network, with multiple arrests and the seizure of dozens of boats and engines'. Opening the conference on Monday, he said resources must be combined to tackle the problem 'at every step of the smuggling journey' from North Africa and the Middle East. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, who has previously visited Iraq to discuss people smuggling, said the international task force would go to 'source countries' to root out the problem. The National named Bakhtiar as the mastermind of an international people-smuggling network who had gone into hiding after a crackdown on the trade in the Kurdistan region. His operation was centred on a web of money-exchange outlets in the lakeside town of Ranya, 130km from Sulaymaniyah, that are used to arrange illegal journeys from Iraq to the far side of Europe. Mr Starmer told ministers, including some from Iraq, the Kurdish regional government, the US, China and Albania, that illegal migration was a 'massive driver of global insecurity' in which the vulnerable are exploited by 'vile gangs'. 'It pits nations against one another and profits from our inability at the political level to come together,' he added. But now there was the gathering of countries to build a 'truly international effort to defeat organised immigration crime', he said. He also announced that Britain will pay foreign prosecutors to track down smugglers across the world. With a £33 million fund, he will set up an international squad from the Crown Prosecution Service to go after criminal gangs that send thousands of migrants across Europe into Britain each year. The migration issue has played a significant role in recent British politics, with many voters turning to hard-right parties such as Nigel Farage's Reform after an increase in asylum seekers from around the world in some British towns and cities. While Mr Starmer admitted there was no 'silver bullet' to stop people smuggling, 'multiple levers' would be used to combat the trend, such as a new law to seize immigrants' phones when they arrive to gather intelligence on smugglers, as well as taking down thousands of social media accounts that facilitate the business. Senior figures from social media companies including X, Meta and TikTok are attending the two-day summit to help tackle the problem. The Home Office announced that new National Crime Agency investigators will go after smugglers' finances, supply chains and trafficking routes across Europe, the western Balkans, Asia and Africa. Mr Starmer promised to take the same approach to smugglers as he did when he was head of the Crown Prosecution Service between 2008 and 2013 when he prosecuted Al Qaeda terrorists. 'We need to treat people smuggling as a global security threat, similar to terrorism,' he said. 'We've got to bring to bear all the powers we have at our disposal in much the same way that we do against terrorism.' Mr Starmer will hope international co-operation will have more success than his predecessor Rishi Sunak's £700 million 'Stop the Boats' campaign to deport illegal asylum seekers to Rwanda. Only four were taken to the African country under the scheme, all of them voluntarily. Investigation: Hunting trafficking's big boss inside Kurdistan's smuggling hotspot Underground: Kurdish trafficker sending migrants to Europe in hiding after crackdown Podcast: Are UK crackdowns deterring Iraqi Kurdish smugglers?
The National
20-03-2025
- The National
Kurdish smugglers bringing death to shores of Europe
An investigation by The National has uncovered an Iraqi-Kurdish town which is a hub for people smuggling, where gang leaders make a fortune from the misery of people desperate for a new life in Europe. Deals are carried out in plain sight in Ranya, where the hawala money exchanges are used to grease the criminal enterprise. Our reporters took just a few minutes to track down smugglers willing to arrange for families to be transported across borders, using fake IDs, to reach northern France where they would risk their lives crossing the English Channel in flimsy dinghies. At least 77 people died making the crossing last year alone. Using court records, interviews with experts and speaking to victims, we were able to find the headquarters of a mastermind smuggler called Bakhtiar, known as 'the boss' by his henchmen and those who rely on him to secure a spot on the deathtrap boats. But Bakhtiar has gone into hiding, spooked by a recent crackdown by UK and Iraqi Kurdistan authorities who are belatedly trying to get a grip of the situation which has seen tens of thousands reach the UK illegally. The crackdown has also seen success in Britain, where two Kurds were jailed after they were caught operating a car wash in South Wales that was a front for a people smuggling business. We also heard the plight of a 15-year-old girl from Kurdistan who has spent months trying to reach her cousins in England. She has tried six times to make the crossing, foiled each time by police, violent gangs and even by a panic attack brought on by almost drowning during her journey. She reveals how the people smuggling system works, what life is like for a migrant living in makeshift camps in France, and why she is willing to risk it all to get to Britain. Investigation: Hunting trafficking's big boss inside Kurdistan's smuggling hotspot Underground: Kurdish trafficker sending migrants to Europe in hiding after crackdown Podcast: Are UK crackdowns deterring Iraqi Kurdish smugglers?
The National
19-03-2025
- The National
Exposed: Kurdish smugglers bringing death to shores of Europe
An investigation by The National has uncovered an Iraqi-Kurdish town which is a hub for people smuggling, where gang leaders make a fortune from the misery of people desperate for a new life in Europe. Deals are carried out in plain sight in Ranya, where the hawala money exchanges are used to grease the criminal enterprise. Our reporters took just a few minutes to track down smugglers willing to arrange for families to be transported across borders, using fake IDs, to reach northern France where they would risk their lives crossing the English Channel in flimsy dinghies. At least 77 people died making the crossing last year alone. Using court records, interviews with experts and speaking to victims, we were able to find the headquarters of a mastermind smuggler called Bakhtiar, known as 'the boss' by his henchmen and those who rely on him to secure a spot on the deathtrap boats. But Bahtiar has gone into hiding, spooked by a recent crackdown by UK and Iraqi Kurdistan authorities who are belatedly trying to get a grip of the situation which has seen tens of thousands reach the UK illegally. The crackdown has also seen success in Britain, where two Kurds were jailed after they were caught operating a carwash in South Wales that was actually a front for a people smuggling business. We also heard the plight of a 15-year-old girl who comes from Kurdistan and has spent months trying to reach her cousins in England. She has tried six times to make the crossing, foiled each time by police, violent gangs and even by a panic attack brought on by almost drowning during her journey. She reveals how the system works, what life is like for a migrant living in makeshift camps in France, and why she is willing to risk it all to get to retain. Investigation: Hunting trafficking's big boss inside Kurdistan's smuggling hotspot Underground: Kurdish trafficker sending migrants to Europe in hiding after crackdown Podcast: Are UK crackdowns deterring Iraqi Kurdish smugglers?
Rudaw Net
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Turkey, PKK conflict must end through negotiations: Veteran Kurdish politician
Also in Kurdistan Erbil ramps up efforts to collect stray dogs Kurdistan Region protests increased 13 percent in February: Watchdog Nearly 3,000 Yazidis still missing: Official More than 25 pharmacies shut down in Soran over 4 days A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The prolonged conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has reached a point where negotiations are unavoidable, stated veteran Kurdish politician Mala Bakhtiar, describing Abdullah Ocalan's recent call for the PKK to abandon armed struggle as a rare opportunity for peace. 'Very favorable conditions' have arisen for peace between Turkey and the PKK, Bakhtiar said during a program aired on Rudaw and presented by Ranj Sangawi and Dilbixwin Dara, attributing Ocalan's message to his understanding of 'the essence of democracy.' Ocalan's message - delivered by Turkey's main pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) on Thursday - urged the PKK to disarm and disband. The move sparked hope for an end to the four-decade-old conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives Bakhtiar, a former senior member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), noted that despite Turkey using the full power of its military, 'it has not been able to defeat the PKK.' Meanwhile, the PKK 'has mobilized the Kurdish people's capabilities, both in the north [southeastern Turkey] and across other parts of [Greater] Kurdistan as well,' he explained. Kurds believe Greater Kurdistan refers to the historical region traditionally inhabited by the Kurdish people, spanning parts of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. According to Bakhtiar, the PKK has managed to 'transform [members of the Kurdish community] into guerrilla fighters' and was 'heroic and fought hard,' but failed to 'secure a political strategy to ensure the future of Kurdistan.' The PKK on Sunday declared a unilateral sanction, effectively committing to a halt in fighting with Turkey. Bakhtiar described the PKK's 'commitment to Ocalan's message' as 'worthy of respect,' adding that the current situation 'is generally favorable' and has potential 'positive impacts on west Kurdistan [northeast Syria's Rojava] as well.' Touching on past interactions with Ocalan, Bakhtiar recalled a 1993 meeting with the PKK leader in Damascus, where he advised Ocalan to shift focus toward civil efforts instead of armed struggle, believing that Turkey would respond by 'kindly engaging in a democratic process.' However, Bakhtiar noted that the PKK leadership at that time had a different view. On Monday, the DEM Party reported that Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Turkey's ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), contacted the former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas, who has been jailed in Turkey since 2016. He is currently serving a 42-year sentence on terror-related charges. Bakhtiar welcomed Bahceli's outreach, seeing it as a shift in attitude towards Kurds, especially as it followed the prominent Turkish politician's suggestion last year, that Ocalan 'addresses the Turkish parliament and resolve the armed group's [PKK's] issue.' For his part, Demirtas on Friday commended all of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, PKK leader Ocalan, and MHP leader Bahceli for their roles in advancing peace efforts between Ankara and the PKK. Kurdish grievances Pointing to the historic plight of Kurds who have historically 'been oppressed in negotiations,' Bakhtiar said that Demirtas and another veteran Kurdish politician, Ahmet Turk, were only given two choices. They were told, 'You either enter the government or you go to prison, you do not have a third option,' said Bakhtiar. Turk, who was elected as a co-mayor for Mardin in southeast Turkey in March 2024, was sentenced to ten years in prison over his alleged involvement in 2014 protests in Turkey against government policies, corruption, and democratic backsliding. Khalil Ataj, a former PKK leadership member who was close to Ocalan, was a co-guest with Bakhtiar on the same program. He revealed that while Ocalan's Thursday message has been praised as historic, it is not the first of its kind. "Long before [this message], the PKK was ready for peace. Since 1993, Ocalan has been sending messages to Turkey that he is ready for peace," Ataj said. The former PKK leadership member additionally confirmed that Ocalan had signalled openness to peace in 1997, when he received a letter from then-Turkish prime minister Necmettin Erbakan, who reached out to Ocalan in an attempt to de-escalate the conflict and open channels for negotiations with the PKK. Describing Ocalan's latest message as a 'historic turning point,' Ataj stressed the importance of having an international and social climate that is conducive to peace between Turkey and the PKK, especially since the latter was only formed due to the denial of the Kurdish identity in Turkey, he elaborated. The analysts' take The program additionally featured analysts who shared their perspectives on the latest developments on the Kurdish arena. Director of Rudaw Research Center, Ziryan Rojhelati, described Ocalan's message as a landmark and emphasized that 'the prevalent international and social circumstances are suitable for establishing peace in northern Kurdistan [Bakur, southeastern Turkey].' He added that the Kurdish community in Turkey is deeply integrated into Turkish society and that Ocalan's proposals align with their needs. Rojhelati predicted that the PKK would begin to disarm following an upcoming congress, and that some PKK members who were not involved in fighting could be released in coming months, pending amendments to Turkey's anti-terror law and penal code. 'Some laws may be amended to allow the release of certain PKK members from prison, while others may be relocated to the Kurdistan Region or Scandinavian countries," he explained. The senior researcher additionally anticipated that Ocalan might monitor the upcoming PKK congress from his secluded prison on Imrali Island, northwest of Turkey, and that Demirtas might be released amid the peace process. Of note, the PKK on Saturday stated that it is ready to hold a congress, as demanded by Ocalan in his Thursday letter, but said that Ocalan has to lead the meeting in person. The latter is a precondition that PKK commanders on the ground had set weeks earlier. Meanwhile, writer and political analyst Sardar Aziz suggested that Turkey's constitution be amended to better address the Kurdish issue, noting that "Ocalan's letter is not just for the PKK, but part of a broader message to Turkey." DEM Party representative in the Kurdistan Region, Sitki Vakar, emphasized that the PKK is open to any peace effort in northern Kurdistan (Bakur, southeastern Turkey). "We also call for peace' and urge 'changing some laws' to solve 'most of the problems' faced by Kurds in Turkey, Vakar noted, stressing that 'our demand is that Mr. Ocalan be released.. for the peace process to succeed.' However, writer and analyst Mustafa Shafiq expressed doubt over the content of Ocalan's letter stating, "I think only parts of Ocalan's letter were selected and combined together.' He criticized Turkey for its unclear stance, stating, "Turkey has not yet decided to stop the fighting, although Erdogan himself is overseeing the Kurdish issue.'
