10/10/19 10/10/19 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, ththis is democracy now! >> we send a message to the whole world again. we will not target turkey, but they insist on attacking us and we will defend oururselveses ino the last drop of blood. we are ready t to face any kindf attack. amy:y: is turkey lodge is a grod and air assault onon northern syria, the kururdish populatiois vowing to o resist the offensiv.

thousands of civilians are fleeing. turkey's attack comes just days after president trump ordered u.s. troops to fall back from their positions in northern syria and abandoned support other critters allies. trump is defending his decision despite bipartisan criticism in washington. pres. trump: the kurds are fighting for their land, jususto you understand. and a summit he wrote in a very powerful article today, they did not help us in the second world war. they did not help us with normandy come as an example. they mentioned names of different battles. amy: then we look at the disturbing death of kaysera stops pretty places, a native american teenager who was found dead in montana in august just two weeks after her 18th birthday. she is among at least 27 indigenous girls and women reported missing or murdered over the last years in big horn county.

all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. turkey launched an aerial and ground assault wednesday on northern syria targeting kurdish-controlled areas just days after president trump ordered u.s. troops to fall back from their positioions on ththe tuturkish-syrian border. the syrianan observatory for hun rirights reports at leasast 16 s have been killed so far.r. turkey claims the death toll is over 100. fear is also growing the turkish assault could lead to the escape of isis fighters imprisoned in northern syria. "the new york times" is reporting the u.s. military has moved several dozen islamic state prisoners to more secure locations. the european union has warned turkey's hostilities would "further undermine the stability of the whole region." the u.n. security council is

expected to meet later today. on wednesday, president trump described turkey's assault as a bad idea but defended his decision by saying the kurds did not help us with normandy. pres. trump: the kurds are fighting for their land, just a you understand. they are fighting for their land. and as s somebody wrote in a vey powerful article today, they did not help us in the second world war, they did not help us with normandy, as an example. they mentioned names of different battles. amy: when asked what would happen with isis prisoners who were freed, he responded "they will go to europe." we will have more on the turkish offensive after headlines. in washington, the white house budget office said wednenesday t will not comply with a congressional subpoena for documents relating to ukraine. this comes one day after the white house said it would refuse to cooperate with the impeachment probe. the state department has also blocked the u.s. ambassador to the european union from speaking to the three congressional

committees. this is house intelligence commitittee chair adam schiff speaking wednesday. >> the failure to produce this witness, the failure to produce these documents,, we consider yt additional strong evidence of obstruction of the constitututional functions of congress. a coequal branch of government. meanwhile, joe biden called for president trump's impeachment for the first time wednesday. hisonald trump has violated oath of office, betrayed this impeachableommitted acts. he should be impeached. amy: former vice president joe biden is among the last of the major 2020 democratic presidential contenders to call for trump's impeachment.

president trump is facing dozens of new allegations of sexual assault and other inappropriate sexual behavior. that's according to a new book "all the president's women: called donald trump and the making of a predator." the book includes 43 new allegations. that's on top of the already two dozen accusations of attempted rape, sexual assault, and forced groping president trump is already facing. in a newly released excerpt of the book, a woman named karen johnson says trump hid behind a tapestry at mar-o-lago and then grabbed her and forcibly kissed her without her consent at a new year's eve party in the early 2000's. she said -- "i was so scared because of who he was. i don't even know where it came from. i didn't have a say in the matter." meanwhile, former nbc "today show" host matt lauer has denied accusationss he raped nbc producer brooke nevels in a

hotel room in sochi, russia, in 2014 as they cover the winter olympics. the accusations are detailil in ronan farrow'w's new book "catch and kill.l." in germany, a heavily-armed anti-semitic gunman killed two people outsiside a synagogue in the eastern city of halle on wednesday as congregants observed yom kippur, the holiest day in judaism. the gunman livestreamed the attack, spewing misogynistic, racist, and anti-semitic language before he tried to force his way into the synagogue. the door was locked. he shot a woman outside, and thenen drove to a a nearby kebab shop and opened fire. leaders of the jewish community say there were no police stationed outside the synagogue at t the time of the attttack, despite the synagogue's repeated requests for security. anti-semitic crimes and xenophobic hate crimes have

increased by almost 20% in germany over the past year. the united nations has accused the u.s. military of killing at least 30 afghan civilians in airstrikes targeting drug laboratories in western afghanistan in may. the pentagon disputes the united nations findings, claiming the drug lab workers were members of the taliban. the laboratories were mostly producing methamphetamine. the united states has spent over $8 billion on anti-drug operations during the ongoing u.s. w war in afghanisistan, the longest war in u.s.s. history. in iraq, prime minister adel abdul mahdi has announced he will reshuffle his cabinet in an effort to quell massive nationwide protests over government corruption and lack of jobs. amnesty international says more than 150 people have been killed in the government's brutal crackdown. activists report protesters being shot and killed by snipers and arrested at hospitals. journalists have also reported being harassed and intimidated.

protests have also erupted in algeria in recent weeks ahead of elections in december. over 100 student protesters were arrested tuesday as the government intensified its crackdown. the activists are protesting corruption, the jailing of opposition leaders, and the army's powerful role in national politics. in egypt, the family of prominent egyptian dissident alaa abd el-fattah says he has been beaten, threatened, and abused in custody since being arrested late last month amid an anti-government protest. the egyptian authorities have arrested more than 2000 people since the protests began. to see our discussion about what has happened in erect, can go to democracynow.org as we spoke to democracacy now! correspondent sharif abdel kouddous. in ecuador, a national strike paralyzed parts of the country wednesday as indigenous groups, students, labor unions and others continue their massive

anti-austerity protests. >> we do not want president moreno's economic measures. we do not want him as president. all of those in favor of those measures are against the people. amy: the protests began after ecuador and president lenin moreno ended a decades-old fuel subsidy program last week as part of a so-called reform plan imposed by the international monetary fund after ecuador took a $4.2 billion loan from the imf earlier this year. to see our coverage on ecuador, go to democracynow.org. in argentina, dozens of indigenous women locked themselves inside the ministry of the interior in buenos aires wednesday night demanding the argentine government respect the rights andnd autonomy ofof indigenous communities. the acacvists also denounced what thehey referred t to as the ecocide of their land at t hands of capitalism, racis a and patriarchy.

in honduras, hundreds of people protested wednesday can's president orlando hernandez and accused him of having ties to drug traffickers. the hundred president's brother on stations of trafficking cocaine bound for the united states. hehe is also accccused of having personally accepted a $1 million bribe meant for president hernandez from the notorious mexican drug lord known as el chapo. back in the united states, t the fbi has carried out thousands of unconstitutional, warrantless searches of the national security agency's vast computer archives, including the protected personal data of u.s. citizens and residents. that's according to a ruling last october by the secretive foreign intelligence surveillance act couourt that ts declassified this week. in the partially redacted rulili, judge jajames boasbergrg determined the fbi failed toto meet minimum legal standards to

protect people's fourth a rights to privacy. on one day alone, in december 2017, the fbi illegally queried the nsa's database nearly 7000 times using people's social security numbers. the united states has blacklisted 28 chinese compmpanies, goverernment ofcec, and security bureaus over their alleged role in china's mass imprisonmement of muslim uyghurs ananother minority groups s in e fafar western reregion of xinjn. the u.s. commerce department said -- "these entities have been implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of china's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance." the moveve comes days before tre talks between the u.s. and china. and extinction rebellion protests are continuing around the globe with non-violent

actions demanding urgent action on the climate crisis. this morning, protesters blocked roads leading to london city airport and held a city in protest inside a terminal, disrupting flights. in central london, hundreds of mothers with babies blocked traffic and held a peaceful "nurse-in" on wednesday. this is sally davies, one of the protesters. >> what kind of planet are they going to inhabit? i cannot forgive myself, i would not be able to look her into the ifi did not come out and do something. amy: to see all of our coverage, go to democracynow.org. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. nermeen: and i'm nermeen shaikh. welcomome to all of f our listes and viewers from around the country and around the world. turkey has launched an aerial and ground assault on northern syria targeting kurdish-controlled areas. the offensive began wednesday just days after president trump

ordered u.s. troops to fall back from their positions on the turkish-syrian border. the syrian observatory for human rights reports at least 16 kurds have been killeded so far.r. turkey i is clmiming the deaeath toll is far higher. some of the heaviest fighting has been in the e syrian town nf tel abyad. turkish jets and artillery have reportedly hitit at leleast 81 targets east of the euphrates river. the trump administrationon has faced d widespread criticism frm both republican and democratic lawmakers for abanandoning the stateless kurds who had helped the u.s. f fight isis. turkey is claimingng the assault is neededed to estabablish a "se zone" inin northern syria whe turkey could relocate syrian refugees who fled over the past eight years of fighting. but the kurds see the offensive as part of a decades-long attack by turkey to crush their attempts at greater autonomy. amy: fear is also growing the turkish assault could lead to the mass release of isis fighters.

up until now, the kurds has been responsible for holding over 10,000 isis fighters and their families in detention. while president trump has claimed turkey will take control of the makeshift jails, there is growing concern many former isis fighters will be able to escape during the turkish assault. at least one kurdish prison has already been shelled. "the new york times" is reporting the u.s. military has moved as many as several dozen islamic state prisoners to more secure locations. this includes two british members of isis who are accused of beheading w western hostages including the journalists james foley and steven sotloff. the turkey assault is facing international condemnation. the u.n. security cocouncil is expected to meet later tododay. the europepean union has warnend turkey's hostilities would "further underermine the stabily of the whole region." earlier today, turkish president erdogan threatened to send

millions of syrian refugees to europe if turkey's assault is criticized. hey, european union, pull yourself together. i say it again. if you try to label this operation as an invasion, it is very simple. we will open the gates and send 3.6 million refugees your way. nermeen: on wednesday, president trump described turkey's assault as a bad idea but defended his decision to shift u.s. troops away from the syrian-turkish border. here in new york, protesters demonstrated on wednesday in front of the offices of democratic senators chuck schumer and kirsten gillibrand in new york city, demanding the u.s. defend the kurdish autonomous region known as rojava. this is ozlem goner, an assistant professor of sociology and anthropology at cuny. >> kurds have lost tens of thousands of lives, their homes, their land, their agricultural

production. so all of their defeatood, in order to isis oh european and u.s. citizens are comfortable in their homes. and now they are once again paying with their lives for having protected our lives. amy: we are starting right now with two guests. in london, we're joined by elif sarican an anthropologist at the , london school of economics. in belgium, we are joined by ertugrul kurkcu, honorary chair of the pro-kurdish peoples' democratic party, known as the hdp, former member of parliament in turkey. we welcome you both to democracy now! elif sarican, let't's start at e beginning, what we understand and what you understand is happening on the ground now. you had this conversation last sunday between president trump

and the turkish president trumpn, and apparently, tells him the u.s. will pull troops back in northern syria. and erdogan makes very clear he is going to attack this area with turkish troops. explain what has happened since. >> just to give it context, this is not a new development. erdogan has been trying to push for this for many months, if not years all stop and finally, somehow, through unclear phone conversations, trump agreed to withdraw the few u.s. soldiers that were positioned there. and just to make clear, the u.s. army, the u.s. trump himself, the steering democratic forces, and turkey were well aware these troops still remained posted there, essentially, to act as human shields to stop the turkish invasion. what we saw yesterday was the beginning of this invasion come

the long promised invasion by president erdogan. , theny people have said consensus all around the world, is the consequences of this can be grave and will be grave. it is not only that it is essentially threatening a kurdish genocide, it will. it is not even just a possibility, it will create and cause a resurgence of isis. international the refugee crisis. it also, equally as important, it will crush the democratic ecological and women's liberation's experiment thahat s been happening there asas wellls the kurds fighting against isis. nermeen: the situauation is quee extraordinary. a u.s. nato ally, turkey, is relentlessly attacking with u.s.-made arms and ammunition a u.s. ally, the sdf commissary democratic forces, who were also trained and armed by the u.s.

what you understand is happening today in these last two days? what do we know about casualties, both civilian, a kurdish civilian casualties, as well as casualties among the sdf? because the situation is unfolding so quickly, it is quite difficult to get any precise figures at this moment, but some of the official figures we have had in the last 24 hours is that it is over 10 civilians that have been killed. there is at least 15 injured civilians, and also cnn reported as they were going through part of the region yesterday reported quite horrific scenes of civilians killed but left on the street because people can't get to them because the shelling is so intense. again, wef the sdf,

don't know the exact figures. we know there are clashes with six coordinated attacks in six border areas of northern syria, and the turkish army with its allied jihadi forces don't seem to want to stop by anyny means. amy: i i want to bring ertugrul kurkcu into the conversation to get your response to what president trump is now saying. kurdish forces have fought alongsidide the u.s. against iss nearlyrly half a decade, 11,000 fighters dad. on wednesday, trump criticized the kurds saying they did not help the united states during the battle of normandy in world war ii. this is trump speaking to reporters at the white house during an event the roosevelt room. pres. trump: the kurds are fighting for their l land, justo you understand. they are fighting for theirir land. a summit he wrote in a very, very powerful article today, they did not help us in the

second world war. they did not help us with normandy, as an example. they mentioned names of different battle. amy: and he also said "the washington post reporting the u.s. military has no plans to intervene if syrian kurdish forces leave their posts regarding isis prisons, raising the question of what will happen to the 11,000 isis militants and their families currently detained and some 20 prisons and camps under kurdish control. so the president trump was asked about this wednesday. pres. trump: isis fighters escape and pose a threat elsewhere. pres. trump: well, they're going to be escaping to europe. they want to go back to their homes, but europe did not t want them for months. amy: ertugrul kurkcu, your honorary chair of the pro-kurdish peoples democratic party. if you could respond to both of these points that the kurds did not help the u.s. at normandy in world war ii and if the isis prisoners get freed, they will go to europe. this is horrific.

not only for the kurds but for all the world and the american selves that they are governed by the most ignorant person in the world as a statesman. he doesn't even know that the kurds did not have a stake, they were not a party to the second world war. by differentlaved countries in the middle east. the warw speaking about in normandy and why the kurds were not there. he is totally ignorant of the realities of the world order, which was based on the outcome of the second world war. secondly, he has no understanding of isis and what it means for the civilized world

and middle east and europe, why isis is a problem not only united states or europe, but for the united nations. isis is one of the two groups -- one is al qaeda and the second pinpointedwhich is by the united nations as the terrorist organizations which could -- whom should be stopped by international cooperation. and that is why the united states is having a function in the middle east. this was not trump's idea. but what i would like to say, it was the reversed idea also by the obama administration to intervene in the middle east, to

syria,regime change in which deeply changed all the current -- things in the middle east. at the middle-of-the-road, the obama administration changed asir course and took isis enemy number one. this was a better understanding of the course of things. understand why this was an immense problem for the american interests as well as the syrian interest in the kurdish interest. in t the world iss now witithine a and andthe inner

reckless person ---- ignorant ad reckless person who is a leader of the united states, the number one coununtry in the world, whih assumes huge responsibilities for peace in the world, for the stability in the region, and people will have to live in reconciliation. himself may bep the biggest problem for the middle east peace. amy: and his response, what will happen to isis prisoners that escape from prisons, that europe?l go to thanen more problematic donald trump believes to be, they are not only going to

escape to europe, they are going to operate in turkey. and until this day, during isis massacres, around 200 turkish arele -- 99% of whom government dissidents -- have been killed. today, for interesting statement, -- very interesting statement, turkish minister of domestic affairs, or the interior minister, in response to a question says isis does not have any other opportunity then --cooperate with us because with us. now we have a country led by a ministert, in interior

who believes isis will be there ally. so we have two problems. one is the turkish official approach to isis, a kind of ally against the kurds, and the second onene is donald trump tht isis is a european problem. so europeans should tackle the problem. it doesn't mean anything for donald trump, but he forgets 9/11, i think. they were in the uniteted states and caused -- cost the lives of 3000 americans. that this guy is intong the united states an abyss. amy: we are going to break and come back to this discussion. ertugrul kurkcu, honorary chair of the pro-kurdish peoples'

democratic party speaking to us from brussels, belgium. and elif sarican is a kurdish women's movement activist speaking to us from london. we will also be joined by debbie bookchin, cofounder of the emergency committee for rojava. back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman. ,ur guests are ertugrul kurkcu honorary chair of the pro-kurdish people's democratic party, joining us from belgium, brussels. and elif sarican, a kurdish women's movement activist. also, debbie bookchin is with us, cofounder of emergency committee for rojava. nermeen: i would like to ask elif, you said earlier that there is a real risk of a kurdish genocide even what is happenining. and it is important i think to remind people that over 10,000

sdf fighters have died in the fight against isis. and the question is now, given this overwhelming turkish assault in northeast syria, are the kurds likely to receive any support from anybody? some have said they are likely inbe forced to turn to assad an attempt to defend themselves against this assault. could you talk about whether you think that is true and what the implications of that would be for the kurds? say, there's been 11,000 people martyred in the fight against isis. 22,000 wounded in this fight, including many international volunteers from the u.s., from the u.k. as well, and other countries included. w, to see what the consequences of a turkish invasion will be -- we don't

have to look toooo far. in january 2018, the turkish army again allied with grand jihadi forces and invaded, causing and a couple of months 1000 -- killing 1000 people, mostly civilians, causing the displacement of 300,000 people out of a population of 800,000. mostly kurdish people. even at that time, and now it continues, the syrian democratic council, the umbrella formation that also includes the syrian democratic forces, have said they will negotiate and they will sit at tables -- at a table with any act in the region to bring about a peaceful solution to the conflict and the situation of the region and the effects on them and the world. this does bring the question of the ultimate aim of all of this needs to be, as we saiaid, the u.s. soldiers were actiti as

human shields, essentially, but that was always going to be a solution that expired. -- theution must be recognition is this is in some ways less about the u.s., but more about the turkish invasion, if that makes sense. therefore, the solution must be whether it is including syria and russia and the u.s. a and other actors including turkey to be able to come to a political diplomatic and peaceful solution to the future of the people of syria in general, which means the syrian democratic council being included in the rewriting of the syrian constitution and being included in political to the elements of the region as well. this is one of the reasons why the situation has got to wherere it has got to today because there was a tactical alliance between the u.s. in this era democratic forces in the fight against isis. but strategically, it was never any political alliance.

this is what needs to be developed right now. the question -- i don't think the question should be whether u.s. soldiers should return or not. they were a short-term solution. that would s sve or push back the invasion and therefore save the lives of millions of people. but ultimately, there needs to be a political solution and that is what the people in northern syria in the syrian democratic council have been continued to call for. nermeen: as you know, one of the principal objectives that erdogan has said for the military invasion, it is creating a safe zone to which millions of syrian refugees can be returned. but there have been numerous reports of turkey recently violently deporting thousands of syrian refugee men and boys back to syria. turkish border guards have reportedly shot and killed syrians when they tried returning to turkey to reunite with their families. you have spent time talking to

syrian refugees who have attempted to flee through turkey. what did the syrian refugees tell you about how they have been treated by turkey? >> i was in a refugee camp increase in 2016. -- in greece in 2016. i spent a short time talking with them. most of them happened to be kurdish, but there was also. arab and other people at this camp as well. almost every single person we spoke to spoke about the brutality of the turkish authorities of when they were .rying to cross confiscating their belongings, their goods if they had any gold or money on them to live. a lot of times these were confiscated. the reported things like during work -- working at some of these -- trying to work at local

places and because there was no protection, their wages not being paid. refugees, shooting trying to flee into turkey in the first place is not a new thing. now the forcing of syrian refugees back into syria -- again, almost entirely is not a voluntary move. erdogan declaring at the general assembly of the united nations on the 24th of september with a map essentially declaring he was going after the demographic this region and "settle" his syrian brothers and sisters in this region is absolutely unprecedented because often world leaders do not declare beforehand they are about to commit war crimes. firstly, an unprovoked attack is by definition i the u.n. in your book principle of work on, -- nuremberg principal, but to

worse people to move involuntarily and alter the demographic of a region is by definition ethnic cleansing. erdogan declare this publicly at the united nations a few weeks ago but for some reason he can do it and get away with it, which to us on the receiving end seems bizarre, but i it also ses like he is verery, very good as you already mentioned today at blackmailing europe with a 3.5 million syrian refugugees that e holdlds in tuturkey. unfortunately, in very bad conditions. but nonetheless, they are there and he is somehehow preveventing them frorom getting dear. amy: i also want to bring in to this conversation debbie bookchin, cofounder of the emergency committee for rojava. bookchin,, murray helped to inspire the kurdish movement in rojava. she just returned from their and wrote a piece titled "what the

west owes its best ally against isis." there are many who have not heard of rojava. if you can explain what it is and it's significance today. >> thank you. one of the things we focus on is isis, which is always the been a critically important part of the united states relationship with the kurds. but in addition to discussing what the kurds have been fighting against, it is incredibly and critically important, especially to the progressive community and the american left, to talk about what they are fighting for. and that is a society that is right now in the 21st century. it is a society that is focused on the ideals of grassroots democracy, feminism, and ecology. amy: explain exactly where rojava is. >> it is along the northern third of syria. it is -- the kurds are helping

-- basically, one third of syria, another reason why it is absurd that they are not being included as part of the negotiations on the future of syria. i think what is critically important, and i am proud of the fact a lot of my father's ideas have influence the rojavan society, what is critically important as they are saying we have to create a society that truly empowers people at the local level. and that means especially in the middle east, feminist society. and i was just there and i had the opportunity to talk to many people. if you look at what they are doing and you look at, for example, the social contract which is their equivalent of our constitution, it enshrines the rights of women in a way that puts our constitution to shame, frankly. really, we are talking about a very progressive society. i think anybody in the united states, anywhere in the world, who considers themselves a

progressive or feminist, should be very strongly behind the rojava project. that is one very, very important aspect of it. i think the other thing that i just want to emphasize is t that ththere arare not only 10,000 or 12,000 isis prisoners, but also 100,000 families that are now being held in camps. in many of these women, many children of course as well, but many of them, especially the ones who streamed out near the end of the so-called caliphate, the defeat of the caliphate, are very hard-core serious jihadists. for trump to say this is not going g to be a proboblem for us an absurd and to sasay. you cacan imagine they are jumpg for joy right now. but i think it is very important -- i would actually like to say i think, in a certain sins, to the enduring shame of the progressive community in

america, there has not been more support for rojava over the years. we have not heard our democratic candidates really talk about syria. this is part of the reason this can be happening, especially after what we saw in efrin where the kurdish army, and mostly a jihadi militia that the kurds have employed because as you know, after the coup attempt, erdogan got rid of a good chunk of his army. so you have essentially thugs who have come in and taken this once peaceful region of rojava called efrin and turn it into basically an extension of a turkish islamic state in which they have taken away people's rights, in which they have robbed,d, -- looted, kidnapped people. this is what is going to happen in the rest of rojava. it is truly incumbent on all of us who claim to care for progressive values to stand up

to demand no-fly zone for rojava , to go to our representatives and saying tweeting or crocodile tears is not enough. we have to become active in the progressive left to play a huge role in this. it is not something we should cede to the republicans. amy: i want to bring ertugrul kurkcu back into the conversation in brussels and ask you to read on to what the and but also to talk about the significance of the military that is now invading syria. we are talking about the second largest army in nato? >> actually, this iss the exact example of what an unjust war is. it has no legal basis. it has no legitimate basasis for turkey's security. it has no name for bringing --

aim for bringing peace to any part of the world, but it is just designed for erdogan's domesticic a ambitions of crowng his presidency with a a military a people which therises only one of eth of turkey's population which does not have an army as such, but armed citizens. and turkey i is now seeeeking to suppppss their gains from the syrian administration for self governments. which is a must in any modern against -- against -- in the ud

states, even the middle east. now kurds are being punishshed because they are becoming that example for the northern kurds, which are turkish citizens. they have come off this war looking at the balance of weapons, the armament balance. that position. but when looking at the matter from the legitimacy of the calls, it is obvious turkey has the war from the start and not even international syria'stion, not governmement across the globe, s for sure turkeys crackdown on kurds in syria.

and d all the peoples of thehe d , the kurds right to determine their future. maybe theg term, kurds in the short term may b be inflicted casualties, , but in e long term they're g going to gan not only the hearts, but the minds of the peoples of the present thee they of syriane outcome war. a democratic country with self-governance for everyntity inin syria. and this will be understood whatevever the turkish governmet propaganda machine would say. they are called terrorists.

imagine in turkey there are at least 50,000 terrorists in prison. aerybody against erdogan is terrorist, even the main opposition party is it terrorist party. tragically, , said yes to turkih incursion into syria. they are both crying for the thesses, but also supporting war efforts of the turkish government. the germant like parliament, which started the first world war in 1914. that even like to say thisat the beginning of turkish incursion in the kurdish betrolled areas, there will

theupport, no empathy with turkish government for occupying this land. and if the international tomunity understands, comes the support of a nation which has the right to rule themselves anywhere in the world, then the outcome of the war may change. all and just force have been lost by the pererpetrators.s. and this is going to be lost also, but this is going to cost -- turkish people nermeen: we would like to go back for a second to elif sarican. elif, about talk,

what you expect to happen now. how long do you expect this turkish offensive to continue? >> if turkey gets its way, if the turks and erdogan its its way, it will continue until they have generally achieved the genocide of the people of northern syria, northeast syria. but of course, a lot of this is dependent on the international even moreas well, a and importantly, the international community. we have seen the public opinion is deeply and quite aggressively opposed to this invasion. we have seen a lot of people -- very, very close aides of trump have come out strongly to this, including the sanctions bill that has been put together. we have seen a lot of important academics like david harvey pulled from conferences in turkey and celebrities likecher who have come out. this kind of solidarity and this

kind of public outrage is genuinely important. the lives of 5 billion people are in question, including almost 3 million kurds but also not just kurds. it is arabs, syrians, turkman, christian groups. there are many people, many marginalized -- historically marginalized groups that are at risk here because the turkish army are not making distinctions. they say an armenian village e was also bombed, including other christian neighborhoods as well. so this is an all out w war against the peoplele of nortrthn syri as debbie mentioned as well, tos is against and aims crcrush the beacon of hopope ths the system based on direct democracy, ecology, and women's liberation. i think what is important is

that people -- a lot of people want to o do thingngs, but theyy don't know exactly how to. itit is importatant to encourage academically, culturally, touristically boycott. and make sure if there is an international power or a state that is not willing to stop this turkish invasion, that the people of the world that will come together and make sure they definitely pay for it. amy: we want to thank all of our guest and and what "the washington post" report. "the washington popost" ran a piece earlier this week had led "trump's decision on syria crystallizes questions about his business and his presidency." the conflict noted with turkey, even after he became president, trump towers is temple remain part of the trump organization and continued orgenerate revenue from -- trump himself. we will leave it there, elif sarican speaking to us from

london, ertugrul kurkcu, speaking to us from brussels, belgium, and debbie bookchin. when we come back, we turn to the crisis of murdered missing indigenous women and girls after native teen kaysera stops pretty places was found dead in montana in august. her family demanding justice. back in 30 seconds. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: we end today's show with the devastating story of kaysera stops pretty places, a native american teenager whose family is demanding justice after she was found dead in hardin, montana, in late august, just two weeks after her 18th birthday. kaysera was a member of the crow and northern cheyenne tribal communities in montana. she lived with her grandmother. according to her family, kaysera never came home on the night of august 24.

she was reported missing two days later. on august 29, the body of a young woman was found in the town of hardin. it wasn't until two weeks later that local law enforcement confirmed it was kaysera. the circumstances surrounding her death and disappearance remain a mystery. her family believes she was murdered but says local law enforcement is not treating her sudden disappearance and death as foul play. -- ataysera is among many least 27 indigenous girls and women in the past decade. since 2010 there have been at least 134 cases of missing or murdered indigenous girls and women in the state of montana. for more, we are joined by grace bulltail, , kaysera's aunt and n assistant professor in the nelson institute for environmental studies at the university of wisconsin-madison. and in phoenix, we're joined by mary kathryn nagle, a citizen of cherokee nation and a partner at pipestem law, p.c., a law firm dedicated to the restoration of tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction. she cucurrently represents kaysera's family. startathryn nagle, let's

with you. explain what you understand happened in august. havingk you so much for us on the show. let me be clear, the family is certainly the expert on the facts surrounding her disappearance and her death and what they know, but speaking as a lawyer and looking at the legal framework, , it is s clear what happened in august was a complete disregard for not only the rights of kaysera, but the rights of all native women, would local law enforcement failed to investigate her death and to take all steps necessary to look for her for finding her on august 29. of course, her family was not notified until september. at the first 24, 48 hours that a native woman goes missing are the most critical in terms of finding her and locating her. in this instance, i think we abdicationty severere of duties when it comes to local law enforcement and the search

for her come the lack of search that took place. , ourgrace bulltail condolences to your family. can you walalk us through what u understand to place in august? thisank you for covering story, amy. our family understands that kaysera went missing, my sister reported her missing. she went to big horn county official several times and went in person and our family has not been told any details. we were finally notified that her body was identified on septemberr 11, several weeks -- it is was found been an ongoing struggle in terms of getting information from anyone in big horn county. nermeen: mary, can you talk about how her case for into the larger pattern of how law enforcement has been responding

to murdered and missing indigenous girls and women? >> absolutely. kaysera, like so many of our native women, sisters, daughters, caught in this jurisdictional loophole. in 1978, the u.s. supreme court took away tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-indians. as the u.s. to partner of justice has reported, the majority of violent crime against our natitive womenen are committed by non-i-indians. that means quite often our tribal governmenents, their hans are tied because of the legal frameworkk the federal governmet has put in place. in this instance, because kaysera's was found five miles wasthe reservation, it different jurisdiction. at the local law enforcement of big horn county, for a long time ever since this was first reported to them at the end of august, has failed to just take very basic steps to conduduct an investstigation looking intoto e

causes surrounding her death. at thehe same time, the federall government has failed to step in. notfbi said they would get involved because her body was found five miles off the reservation. there is no evidence to indicate the crime that led to her death did not occur on the reservation. but this is what happens because we have three different sovereigns and a very complicated legal framework. the state and federal government, which under this legal framework usually has jurisdiction, often displaced their responsibility and tried to push it off on to other sovereigns, whereas our tribal governments, their jurisdiction has been taken away. what happens at the end of the day, input the burden on our families, which is why kaysera's family members are having to come up with lists of witnesses to interview, come up with ideas of evidence to look at. they are spoon feeding to the big horn sheriff county o offic, things they should be looking into. evenheriffs office is not

responding with confirmation they will or will not do simple things like look at her social media accounts or what is on her cell phone. this is the sort of legal loophole that our native women and sisters fall into. amy: talk about the legislation that has been introduced at the state and federal level. everything from savanna's a actn the not invisible act of 2019 introduced to the house and senate. hanna's act signed into law in montana. what are these measures? >> many measures are on the table right now. savanna's act would require every single united states attorney to implement a protocol come a guideline to follow when a native woman is reported murdered or missing. that would root our collaboration with tribal law enforcement, tribal government, and state law enforcement. in this instance, you can see how it would be incredibly useful. we have three separate governments were not necessarily speaking to each other. the federal government is

abdicating their duty to even be involved. the not invisible act, likewise savanna's act, does not restore resources that governments can investigate their own citizens to go missing, but the not invisible act would create the committee of folks from the federal, tribal, state level, advocates, family members to come together and discuss this crisis. it is a crisis. we know big horn county is ground zero for the crisis. there been somebody native women who have gone murdered and missing in montana. this could no longer be overlooked. nermeen: what is the family calling for now? senators in the state elected officials stepped in and hold big horn county accountatable. our tribal communities elect these officials. we put them into office. we deserve justice for our children. amy: we thank you both so much for being with us. we will continue to follow this

case. grace bulltail, maternal aunt of kaysera stops pretty places. mary kathryn nagle, thank you for joining us. that does it for our broadcast. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]