Kurds
All topics-
Kurdish film-maker Ali Kemal Cinar
The power of tenacity
The Kurdish filmmaker Ali Kemal Cinar from Diyarbakir caused a small sensation when his zero-budget production "Vesarti (Hidden)" won him the 2016 Most Inspiring Director of the Year award at the !f Independent Film Festival in Istanbul. With his experimental, absurdly comic films, Cinar represents a new way of thinking in Kurdish filmmaking. By Sonja Galler
-
Turkey post-coup
In times of paranoia
Many observers believe that Erdogan can now live out his omnipotence fantasies without impediment. But the deep split through the state apparatus will not make it easy for him to govern. And the paranoia of the Turkish President is resulting in irrational decisions, says Omer Erzeren
-
Kurdish defence
Peshmerga help families flee from IS
Civilians who are fleeing from the "Islamic State" group near Mosul in Iraq are actively helped by Kurdish peshmerga forces during their escape. Judit Neurink reports from Bashiqa
-
Syrian conflict
Everyone against everyone
Rather than being concerned with the fate of the Syrian people, the Geneva peace talks mainly focus on the interests of the two superpowers Russia and the US, writes Islam scholar and sociologist Huda Zein
-
The Turkish-Kurdish conflict
Friend and foe
The Kurdish PKK and the Turkish government are both relying on a number of local and regional allies – in a conflict, inextricably linked to the war in Syria, which is likely to rumble on for years to come. An analysis by Cengiz Candar
-
Book review: Bachtyar Ali′s ″Der letzte Granatapfel″
Buried treasure
The first German translation of a Kurdish-Iraqi novel has been published – and what a novel! Bachtyar Ali′s ″Der letzte Granatapfel″ is a bombshell. Stefan Weidner read the book
-
Sykes-Picot and the role of Gertrude Bell
Midwife of the Middle East
The order of nation states in the Middle East has been disintegrating since Islamic State fighters overran the Syrian border in 2014 – a border that dates back to 1916 and a secret agreement between the diplomats Sir Mark Sykes and Francois Georges-Picot. Yet one woman also played a key role: the British national Gertrude Bell. Birgit Svensson visited her grave in Baghdad
-
100 years of Sykes-Picot
"A tapestry of plans and promises"
One hundred years ago, the Middle East was divvied up between the French and the British. The historian Maurus Reinkowski talks about the long-term effects of the colonialist powers' splitting up of the spoils. Interview by Andreas Noll
-
Diyarbakir and the Turkish military offensive
The spoils of urban warfare
The Turkish military operation brought death and destruction to the historic heart of Diyarbakir. Now, there has been a sudden decision to nationalise the neighbourhood – sounding alarm bells for its historic legacy. By Sonja Galler
-
Women′s writing workshop in Basra, Iraq
Writing to survive
A writing workshop in the southern Iraqi city of Basra is encouraging women to use words to process their often traumatic experiences of a country scarred by destruction and conflict. But the future of the project now hangs in the balance due to funding problems. By Birgit Svensson
-
Turkey and the Kurdish conflict
The desolation of Cizre
Residents of Cizre, in Turkey's volatile southeast, have slowly been returning to the city which has been laid waste by a protracted military campaign targeting Kurdish militants. Tom Stevenson and Murat Bayram report
-
Iraqi Kurdistan in political and economic crisis
Barzani′s sinking ship
The ongoing political and economic crisis in northern Iraq is forcing many Kurds to flee. Instead of fighting the causes of the exodus from Iraqi Kurdistan, however, the Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani is relying on patriotism and empty promises. Birgit Svensson reports from Erbil