Reproduced from the editorial of “The Socialist”, newspaper of the Socialist Party in England and Wales

As more details emerge and the death toll rises, it becomes clearer and clearer what a terrible disaster this is. The fire spread with horrifying speed and witnesses describe heart-breaking scenes as people desperately tried to escape.

It is a huge tragedy for the immediate community. Children have died; three generations of the same family have died. But rather than being torn apart, the community has come together in a remarkable display of human solidarity, supporting each other, collecting donations of goods and money, organising emergency accommodation, coordinating relief.

The heroism, the courage, the self-sacrifice of the emergency services and of local residents is incredible. Who can fail to be moved by the scenes of the firefighters being applauded as they drove away from the scene?

And there has naturally been a much wider outpouring of sympathy with the residents and families affected, with overwhelming donations of money, clothes, bedding, toys, nappies, etc. The true face of humanity has been shown in this solidarity. read full story / add a comment

June, 2017: Firat News Agency (Ajansa Nûçeyan a Firatê) covered one of the first legal cases to result from the Turkish military’s sieges of Kurdish Cizre in September 2015 and December 2015-February 2016. read full story / add a comment

Figen Yüksekdağ, recently replaced co-chairperson of the Turkish HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party), whose 10 month prison sentence for “spreading terror propaganda” was approved by the Supreme Court of Appeals on September 22, 2016 has now (6 June 2017) been given another 14 months in prison for a 2015 interview with German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle where she made the statement that the “PKK is a people’s liberation movement." read full story / add a comment

On 24 May 2017, two peace activists Dave Donnellan and Colm Roddy were sent for jury trial because the District Court judge finally refused to accept jurisdiction. The judge said the alleged criminal damage newly set at €3,500 was so large as to make it a serious charge. read full story / add a comment

Originally appeared on June 8th
Today marks World Ocean Day 2017, a global day of celebration honouring the world’s oceans and an opportunity to appreciate, conserve and protect our marine life and habitats.

This year’s conservation focus is on preventing plastic pollution and marine litter, encouraging solutions for healthier seas.

And rightly so. A widely cited study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation for the World Economic Forum warns that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

A separate report in the journal Science estimates that 8 million tonnes of plastic enter the oceans each year – the equivalent of one truckload per minute. One researcher for the study likens this amount to lining up 5 grocery bags of rubbish on every foot of coastline around the globe. read full story / add a comment

A number of voices, it appears, are now attempting to navigate the stormy and dangerous waters of ‘public opinion’ in Turkey in an attempt to invest energy in a renewed peace initiative since the collapse of the original Solution Process in July 2015, followed by the war that has displaced over half a million Kurds from their towns and cities... read full story / add a comment

“Build that wall. BUILD THAT WALL! Build that wall!” Donald John Trump chants after Major Endorsement, Anaheim, CA. read full story / add a comment

As minister-for-poverty in one of the richest countries in the World (or at least one of the most indebted) Minister Varadkar achieved fame in the run up to the Leadership context with his April 2017 Campaign against welfare recipients and the unemployed: ‘Welfare cheats cheat us all“. read full story / add a comment

Statements on the imposition of martial law in Mindanao
read full story / add a comment

“It is a hate campaign. Never was there a campaign like it coming after a period of austerity.”
— Bernadette Gorman, former social welfare inspector, (Irish Times, May 2017)

read full story / add a comment

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has just released its 67 page report on pain management in Guatemala: 'Punishing the Patient - Ensuring Access to Pain Treatment in Guatemala.' read full story / add a comment

Abdullah Öcalan, imprisoned head of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has been nominated for the Sydney Peace Prize. read full story / add a comment

"Dozens of Saudi women have told Human Rights Watch that the male guardianship system is the most significant impediment to realizing women’s rights in the country, effectively leaving adult women legal minors who cannot make key decisions for themselves." (Human Rights Watch) read full story / add a comment

"Horrific cruelty endured by Irish cattle in Turkey", Gabriel Paun, Animals International, Australia. read full story / add a comment

"3 May is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession." (UNESCO) read full story / add a comment

Saturday, 29th April, early morning, Wikipedia "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit" is blocked in Turkey. The block affects all language editions of the site. Try to access it from downtown Istanbul and all you will get is a "timeout" error message. read full story / add a comment

The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), has requested prisoners to come off hunger strike as the conditions within the prisons have been brought to international attention and they are able to continue this struggle through other means. read full story / add a comment

April 15 saw the launch of Abdullah Öcalan's new book: The Political Thought of Abdullah Öcalan - Kurdistan, Women's Revolution And Democratic Confederalism’ published by the British-based progressive publisher, Pluto Press. read full story / add a comment

Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF)'s report “Turkey’s descent into arbitrariness: The end of rule of law”, released on 14 April last, slammed the Turkish state for its abuse of human rights, its own citizens and in particular, its assault on an independent judiciary, vital for a country to maintain the rule of law with any notion of justice – instead arbitrariness in the application of the law in Turkey has now become the norm, SCF says. read full story / add a comment

What is Latin America Week?

Latin America Week is a range of conferences, meetings, workshops and cultural events around Ireland, focusing on different issues each year in April. An annual programme of educational, cultural and campaigning events on issues relating to human, social and economic rights in Latin America. LAW began as Central America Week in 1986 in order to increase the impact of many separate campaigns and events being organised by a variety of groups. It became Latin America Week after its tenth anniversary in 1996. The overall aim of LAW is to concentrate the attention of the public on Latin America for one week, so as to highlight the justice issues at stake in the region and thus to facilitate campaigning and solidarity actions between Ireland and Latin America. read full story / add a comment