{"id":24606,"date":"2017-02-12T23:52:14","date_gmt":"2017-02-13T04:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=24606"},"modified":"2017-02-13T00:12:59","modified_gmt":"2017-02-13T05:12:59","slug":"yes-syrian-kurds-committed-war-crimes-roy-gutman-responds-aymenn-tamimi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/yes-syrian-kurds-committed-war-crimes-roy-gutman-responds-aymenn-tamimi\/","title":{"rendered":"Yes, Syrian Kurds Have Committed War Crimes – Roy Gutman Responds to Aymenn Tamimi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roy Gutman Responds to Aymenn al-Tamimi on “Have the Syrian Kurds Committed War Crimes?”<\/strong>
\nBy Roy Gutman –\u00a0@Roy_Gutman<\/span><\/a>
\nFor Syria Comment<\/em> – February 12, 2017<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Any journalist covering a controversial topic like alleged war crimes can expect a hostile response from the subject of the story, but it\u2019s extremely rare in my experience for a specialist in the field to respond to a major journalistic investigation by challenging the reporter\u2019s professional integrity.<\/p>\n

The report I wrote for the Nation<\/a> on Feb. 7, the first of two parts, details the pattern of mass expulsions and political suppression by the ruling People\u2019s Protection Units or YPG that has led to the flight of an enormous number of Arabs and Kurds from the region.<\/p>\n

Mr Tamimi\u2019s statements<\/a> that the \u201cauthor\u2019s bias for the Syrian opposition and Turkey has been evident for years\u201d and that he \u201cuncritically relays dubious testimony that a far-minded journalist would have subjected to appropriate scrutiny\u201d reads like an attempt to discredit the entire content of my story.<\/p>\n

It calls for evidence.<\/p>\n

The only previous article Mr Tamimi cites is my report from October 2012 about a defector from the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK and his debriefing by Turkish security services. The story reveals where the volunteer had served and why he defected, and provides a first person account of the rigors of life in the PKK.<\/p>\n

I was the only foreign journalist to report from Semdinli the previous summer. I first heard about the defection from the governor, so I had no reason to doubt that it had occurred. Obtaining the debriefing was an example of journalistic enterprise. I am sure the PKK was embarrassed. But that doesn\u2019t discredit the 2012 story. It certainly doesn\u2019t discredit this latest one.
\nLikewise, in May 2013, at the start of a cease-fire with the PKK, I trekked into the no-man\u2019s-land in southern Turkey and interviewed PKK fighters who were withdrawing from Turkey, but very slowly. I was once again the only reporter who ventured into the wilderness area to find the departing forces.<\/p>\n

Of the 50 plus articles I wrote for McClatchy about the PKK, why does Mr Tamimi pick one from 2012, that anyone else would say is good journalism?<\/p>\n

Mr Tamimi also lumps my reportage together with that of Sy Hersh, whose April 2014 report on the chemical weapons attack outside Damascus was based on unnamed former intelligence officials. Yet my sources are named, their statements can be verified and they can be checked out. This disparaging reference by Mr Tamimi also reads like is an attempt to discredit the entire story in The Nation.<\/p>\n

My biggest single objection to his posting is that while Mr Tamimi says my article \u201cdoes raise some valid points for discussion,\u201d he doesn\u2019t discuss them.<\/p>\n

So here they are:<\/p>\n