Kurds
All topics-
Jihadists seize Iraqi city of Mosul
Wave of terror washes over Iraq
After the fall of Ramadi and Fallujah, the Islamist militants of ISIS have now seized Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. Some 500,000 civilians are now fleeing the insurgents. The deputy prime minister has called it a security disaster. By Birgit Svensson in Baghdad
-
Local election re-run in Turkey
"My strategy is honesty"
On 1 June 2014, some local elections in Turkey were re-run after the results of the original polls were contested. Re-runs were held in the provincial capitals of Agri and Yalova. For the citizens of the eastern Anatolian city of Agri, the outcome was a surprise: the candidate of the Kurdish BDP party, Sirri Sakik, clearly prevailed against the ruling AKP, taking 51 per cent of the vote. Observations from Agri by Ekrem Guzeldere
-
The Kurdish theatre company Teatra Si
Out of the cellars and onto the stage
The Kurdish-language theatre scene has been developing in Turkey since the 1990s. One group committed to promoting Kurdish language and art is Teatra Si, a theatre company from Istanbul. Ceyda Nurtsch met with its members in Berlin at the start of their European tour
-
Nowruz: Persian New Year
Dances, colourful carpets, fire jumps and the "seven S's": Nowruz (literally "new day") marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in the Persian calendar. The feast is celebrated by 300 million people around the world.
-
Interview with the Kurdish Singer Aynur Dogan
Resisting the Wind
Aynur Dogan sings in Turkish and Kurdish, the political tone of her songs is deliberately provocative. Her last album "Rewend" focuses on itinerancy and connection to the homeland. Marian Brehmer spoke to her
-
Kurdish Rebels Retreating from Turkey
Finding a Safe Haven in Iraq
After three decades of war, Turkey and the Kurdish separatist PKK outfit are close to implementing a ceasefire. The first PKK fighters have already begun leaving Turkey for safe havens in Iraq. Birgit Svensson reports
-
Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan
Erdogan's Kurdish Gambit
Turkey's prime minister Erdogan envisions a new regional order under Turkish leadership, based on a realignment between Turks and Kurds that underpins a strategic partnership for exploiting the region's last untapped energy resources. By Sinan Ulgen
-
Essay by Nawaf Obaid
The Collapsing Arab State
The Arab Spring has toppled some regimes, though not others. But, more important, everywhere in the Arab world – and beyond – it has called into question the viability of the nation-state. An essay by Nawaf Obaid
-
On-going Sectarian Tension in Kirkuk
Stranded in Legal Limbo
Claimed by Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen alike, the oil-rich province of Kirkuk remains one of Iraq's most disputed and politically flammable regions ten years after Saddam Hussein was toppled. Karlos Zurutuza spoke to the most senior representatives of the region's different communities about the province's diverse problems
-
Memorial to the Dersim Rebellion in Turkey
Apologies and Forgiveness
A major Kurdish uprising took place 75 years ago in what was the province of Dersim (now the Turkish-named Tunceli Province). It was brutally crushed and ended with the death or deportation of thousands of villagers. Today, cautious steps are being taken to address this painful chapter of history. By Ekrem Eddy Güzeldere
-
Öcalan Announces PKK Peace Plan
Too Good to Be True
The offer of a ceasefire made by Abdullah Öcalan, the incarcerated head of the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), has been welcomed by the Turkish government. But how can there be real peace when the conflicts of the past are glossed over instead of being openly discussed and addressed? A commentary by Ömer Erzeren
-
Syriac Orthodox Christians in Turkey
''This Is Simply Our Home''
In recent years, around 60-100 Syriac Orthodox families have returned from central Europe to Turkey. Encouraged by changes in the political atmosphere, the minority nonetheless faces a host of problems, from the expropriation of land belonging to a monastery, to a ban on special schools and kindergartens, and also a lack of places of worship in Istanbul. By Ekrem Eddy Güzeldere