For all of the latest Kurdish news, see these sources:

 

ANF English: https://anfenglishmobile.com/

Hawar News: https://www.hawarnews.com/en/

Rojava Information Center: https://rojavainformationcenter.com

https://twitter.com/RojavaIC

Women Defend Rojava: http://womendefendrojava.net/en/

Rojhelat: http://rojhelat.info/en/

Rojava Centre for Strategic Studies

http://nrlsrojava.com/en/

Komun Academy: 

https://komun-academy.com

 

 

NEWS

 

  1. Hatred against HDP: 1000 people detained in 10 days
  2. Kurds fight Kurds in northern Iraq, raising fears of full-blown conflict
  3. Composer Felix: Artists have responsibility towards social issues
  4. Peshmerga forces threaten to turn against KDP as uprising continues to spread
  5. Erdogan coalition partner calls for outlawing pro-Kurdish party
  6. Iraq, Turkey agree to cooperate on counterterrorism, trade
  7. 70 pct of Turkey’s Kurdish youth faced with discrimination  – survey
  8. Refugee deaths increasing in south-eastern Turkey, new report finds
  9. Leyla Güven: Turkey sentences Kurdish politician to 22 years in prison
  10. KRG asks US forces to deploy along Kurdish-controlled part of Iraqi-Syrian border
  11. Open letter to Raab demands release of HDP MP from Turkish prison
  12. Human rights court orders Turkey to free Kurdish politician
  13. Women across the world urged to support resistance in Turkish prisons
  14. Turkish high court endorses ECHR’s landmark decision on Demirtaş
  15. 20,000 HDP members taken into custody in 4 years, 10,000 jailed
  16. ‘30 million people below starvation line in Turkey’
  17. Court refuses to release Demirtaş despite ECtHR ruling, cites ‘translation’ issues
  18. Civilians flee Ain Issa, northeast Syria as clashes escalate

 

OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS

 

  1. Kurd vs Kurd: Fears of full-scale war rise in northern Iraq
  2. What exactly is Erdoganism?
  3. KCK: Masrour Barzani legitimizes Turkish occupation
  4. The Yazidis are still struggling to survive
  5. The Turkish Diaspora in Europe
  6. Inside the Kurdish guerrilla group that helped save the Yazidis – but faces annihilation by Turkey
  7. PKK -PAJK prisoners on hunger strike: Time for resistance
  8. Alevi communities in Turkey feel under increasing pressure, say leaders
  9. Syrian Kurds squeezed between Turkish threat, Russian pressure in Ain Issa
  10. KCK: KDP’s perception operation shatters Kurdish unity
  11. Washington on the spot as its Syrian Kurd allies are drawn into PKK-KDP fight
  12. Leaders of Turkey, Iraq Drift Closer Over Kurdish Concerns
  13. The Iraqi and Kurdish Regional Government’s Sinjar Agreement: Consequences for U.S., Turkish, and Iranian Influence and Rebel Rivalries
  14. Ambitious Isis rehabilitation programme initiated in Rojava
  15. Turkey’s Kurdish party target of tug of war between Islamists, ultra-nationalists
  16. KCK calls for increased struggle against fascism and isolation
  17. KCK issues statement to celebrate Christmas Day
  18. Biden will wage war on the Kurdish revolution
  19. European Security, Turkish Aggression and Article 5 of the NATO Treaty
  20. Turkey: the rise and fall of the Kurdish party that threatened Erdoğan

 

MULTIMEDIA

 

  1. US Hegemony and the Kurds – An interview with Giran Özcan
  2. ‘The power behind Barzani is Erdogan’ – Interview with Steve Sweeney

 

 

—————–

 

 

NEWS

 

1. Hatred against HDP: 1000 people detained in 10 days

02 Dec 2020 | ANF

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Democratic Local Governments Women’s Council spokesperson, Hediye Karaaslan made a written statement regarding the political genocide practices.

https://anfenglishmobile.com/women/hatred-against-hdp-1000-people-detained-in-10-days-48376

 

2. Kurds fight Kurds in northern Iraq, raising fears of full-blown conflict

03 Dec 2020 | Ahval

Skirmishes between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and forces from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have raised fears of a full-blown conflict in northern Iraq.

https://ahvalnews.com/kurdistan-workers-party/kurds-fight-kurds-northern-iraq-raising-fears-full-blown-conflict

 

3. Composer Felix: Artists have responsibility towards social issues

04 Dec 2020 | ANF

On October 15th 2020, Mexican-American composer, Nathan Felix released his new chamber opera, Öcalan, inspired by Kurdish Political Activist, Abdullah Öcalan.

https://anfenglishmobile.com/culture/composer-felix-artists-have-responsibility-towards-social-issues-48417

 

4. Peshmerga forces threaten to turn against KDP as uprising continues to spread

09 Dec 2020 | Morning Star

Kurdish Peshmerga forces threatened to turn against the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in northern Iraq today as anti-government protests continued across the autonomous region in an uprising against corruption.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/peshmerga-forces-threaten-turn-against-kdp-uprising-continues-spread

 

5. Erdogan coalition partner calls for outlawing pro-Kurdish party

17 Dec 2020 | Al-Monitor

Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli said Turkey’s Constitution should be changed to ban the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/12/turkey-erdogan-bahceli-hdp-kurds.html

 

6. Iraq, Turkey agree to cooperate on counterterrorism, trade

17 Dec 2020 | Al-Monitor

Turkey and Iraq pledged to cooperate against common terrorist threats and boost trade and energy ties Thursday during talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, on his first official visit to Turkey since taking office in May.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/12/turkey-iraq-cooperate-terror-energy.html

 

7. 70 pct of Turkey’s Kurdish youth faced with discrimination  – survey

19 Dec 2020 | Ahval

Seven out of 10 Kurdish youth in Turkey are subject to occasional or frequent discrimination, according to a new survey by Rawest, a polling firm that focuses on Turkey’s east and southeast.

https://ahvalnews.com/kurds/70-pct-turkeys-kurdish-youth-faced-discrimination-survey

 

8. Refugee deaths increasing in south-eastern Turkey, new report finds

21 Dec 2020 | Morning Star

Refugee deaths are increasing in Turkey’s south-eastern Van province, according to a new report, which has called for government action.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/refugee-deaths-increasing-in-south-eastern-turkey-new-report-finds

 

9. Leyla Güven: Turkey sentences Kurdish politician to 22 years in prison

21 Dec 2020 | BBC

A court in Turkey has sentenced a prominent Kurdish opposition figure to 22 years in prison on terror charges. Leyla Güven, of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), was convicted of membership of a terrorist group.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55407129

 

10. KRG asks US forces to deploy along Kurdish-controlled part of Iraqi-Syrian border

22 Dec 2020 | Al-Monitor

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s deputy chief of staff outlined why the Kurdish region’s government wants US forces stationed in and around the Fish Khabur border crossing.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/12/iraqi-kurdistan-krg-barzani-us-forces-deploy-syria-border.html

 

11. Open letter to Raab demands release of HDP MP from Turkish prison

22 Dec 2020 | Morning Star

Campaigners, trade unionists and MPs have signed an open letter to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to demand the release of a former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) MP from a Turkish prison.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/open-letter-raab-demands-release-hdp-mp-turkish-prison

 

12. Human rights court orders Turkey to free Kurdish politician

22 Dec 2020 | The Guardian

The European court of human rights has ordered the immediate release of the prominent Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş from prison in Turkey, finding that his detention goes against “the very core of the concept of a democratic society”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/22/human-rights-court-orders-turkey-to-free-kurdish-politician-selahattin-demirtas

 

13. Women across the world urged to support resistance in Turkish prisons

23 Dec 2020 | Morning Star

Women worldwide were urged by the Kongreya Star organisation today to support the resistance inside Turkish jails, as a rolling hunger-strike campaign entered its 27th day

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/women-across-world-urged-support-resistance-turkish-prisons

 

14. Turkish high court endorses ECHR’s landmark decision on Demirtaş

24 Dec 2020 | Ahval

Turkey’s Court of Cassation reiterated that rulings issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) are binding for Turkey, Deutsche Welle Turkish reported on Thursday.

https://ahvalnews.com/echr/turkish-high-court-endorses-echrs-landmark-decision-demirtas

 

15. 20,000 HDP members taken into custody in 4 years, 10,000 jailed

25 Dec 2020 | ANF

HDP co-deputy head for local governments Salim Kaplan said that “since 2016, 20,000 of our members have been taken into custody and more than 10,000 of our members and executives have been sent to jail.”

https://anfenglishmobile.com/human-rights/20-000-hdp-members-taken-into-custody-in-4-years-10-000-jailed-48896

 

16. ‘30 million people below starvation line in Turkey’

25 Dec 2020 | Bianet

According to a recent report prepared by the HDP’s Economy Commission, regional poverty has become more severe and women have got poorer in Turkey amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

https://bianet.org/english/politics/236615-30-million-people-below-starvation-line-in-turkey

 

17. Court refuses to release Demirtaş despite ECtHR ruling, cites ‘translation’ issues

26 Dec 2020 | Bianet

The court has stated that it was not able to obtain a Turkish translation of the ECtHR ruling and therefore a legal review could not be made.

https://bianet.org/english/politics/236653-court-refuses-to-release-demirtas-despite-ecthr-ruling-cites-translation-issues

 

18. Civilians flee Ain Issa, northeast Syria as clashes escalate

27 Dec 2020 | Al Jazeera

At least 9,500 people have fled their homes in Ain Issa, northeast Syria, following an escalation in clashes between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (TSNA) and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in mid-December.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/27/civilians-flee-ain-issa-ne-syria-as-clashes-escalate

 

OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS

 

1. Kurd vs Kurd: Fears of full-scale war rise in northern Iraq

02 Dec 2020 | Al Jazeera

Fears are growing of a full-fledged war between Turkey’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and forces of the ruling Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in this autonomous region of northern Iraq.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/2/kurd-vs-kurd-fears-of-full-scale-war-rise-in-northern-iraq

 

2. What exactly is Erdoganism?

07 Dec 2020 | Open Democracy

The spectacle of Erdoganism is much closer to a tribal state than to a state governed by the rule of law.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/what-exactly-erdoganism/

 

3. KCK: Masrour Barzani legitimizes Turkish occupation

10 Dec 2020 | ANF

The KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Foreign Affairs Committee made a statement responding to the remarks made yesterday by the South Kurdistan’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.

https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/kck-masrour-barzani-legitimizes-turkish-occupation-48558

 

4. The Yazidis are still struggling to survive

10 Dec 2020 | The Economist

Like a picture of purity in white robes, white shoes and a white turban, Ali Iliyas emerged from a candle-lit sanctum. He had just been inaugurated as the new Baba Sheikh, or spiritual leader of the Yazidis, on November 18th. Believers gathered at Lalish, a temple in Iraqi Kurdistan, banging drums and tootling flutes to celebrate.

https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/12/10/the-yazidis-are-still-struggling-to-survive

 

5. The Turkish Diaspora in Europe

10 Dec 2020 | Center for American Progress

More than 5 million people of Turkish descent live in Europe outside Turkey itself, a human connection that has bound Turkey and the wider European community together since large-scale migration began in the 1960s.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/reports/2020/12/10/491951/turkish-diaspora-europe/

 

6. Inside the Kurdish guerrilla group that helped save the Yazidis – but faces annihilation by Turkey

11 Dec 2020 | The Telegraph

It is a perfect outlaws’ refuge, a range of soaring peaks and plunging gorges cut off from the outside world.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/12/11/inside-kurdish-guerrilla-group-saved-yazidis-now-faces-annihilation/

 

7. PKK -PAJK prisoners on hunger strike: Time for resistance

13 Dec 2020 | ANF

In a detailed statement, political prisoners from PKK and PAJK trials in Turkey point out the untenable conditions in Turkish prisons and vow to resist.

https://anfenglishmobile.com/human-rights/pkk-pajk-prisoners-on-hunger-strike-time-for-resistance-48630

 

8. Alevi communities in Turkey feel under increasing pressure, say leaders

15 Dec 2020 | Stockholm Center for Freedom

Alevi leaders in Turkey say the current situation of Turkey’s Alevi population is becoming increasingly precarious as the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has failed to fulfill its promise of granting them more rights to enable free practice of their beliefs and has increasingly imposed its own version of Islam on various segments of society, Deutsche Welle (DW) Turkish service reported.

https://stockholmcf.org/alevi-communities-in-turkey-feel-under-increasing-pressure-say-leaders/

 

9. Syrian Kurds squeezed between Turkish threat, Russian pressure in Ain Issa

15 Dec 2020 | Al-Monitor

The Kurdish-controlled town of Ain Issa has become the focal point of fresh tensions in northeast Syria as Turkey appears to be exploring a new military operation to undo Kurdish gains before US President-elect Joe Biden assumes office.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/12/turkey-syria-russia-kurds-under-moscow-pressure-ain-issa.html

 

10. KCK: KDP’s perception operation shatters Kurdish unity

16 Dec 2020 | ANF

The KDP makes black propaganda in order to legitimize the attacks of the Turkish Republic against our movement and our people in the eyes of Kurdish public and abroad, trying to justify the AKP-MHP government, said the KCK Foreign Relations Committee.

https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/kck-kdp-s-perception-operation-shatters-kurdish-unity-48699

 

11. Washington on the spot as its Syrian Kurd allies are drawn into PKK-KDP fight

16 Dec 2020 | Al-Monitor

Reported border clash worsens conflict between Kurdish factions in triangle where US, Turkish and Syrian and Iraqi Kurdish forces come into play.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/12/washington-syrian-kurdish-allies-sdf-pkk-kdp-fight-iraq.html

 

12. Leaders of Turkey, Iraq Drift Closer Over Kurdish Concerns

17 Dec 2020 | Bloomberg

Turkey and Iraq agreed to resist mutual foes in talks Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, as concerns over the influence of Kurdish militants bring the neighbors closer.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-17/leaders-of-turkey-and-iraq-drift-closer-over-kurdish-concerns

 

13. The Iraqi and Kurdish Regional Government’s Sinjar Agreement: Consequences for U.S., Turkish, and Iranian Influence and Rebel Rivalries

17 Dec 2020 | The Jamestown Foundation

On October 9, the Iraqi government headed by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) signed the “Sinjar Agreement” to normalize the situation in the war-torn district of Sinjar in northern Iraq.

https://jamestown.org/program/the-iraqi-and-kurdish-regional-governments-sinjar-agreement-consequences-for-u-s-turkish-and-iranian-influence-and-rebel-rivalries/

 

14. Ambitious Isis rehabilitation programme initiated in Rojava

20 Dec 2020 | Morning Star

Members of the Isis death cult, which held vast swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq, are being rehabilitated under a wide-ranging and ambitious programme, a new report has revealed.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/ambitious-isis-rehabilitation-programme-initiated-in-rojava

 

15.Turkey’s Kurdish party target of tug of war between Islamists, ultra-nationalists

21 Dec 2020 | Al-Monitor

Picture this: You’re watching the evening news and you see a political party emblem — in this case, the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) emblem — on which, in place of leaves and stars, are images of hand grenades and bullets.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/12/turkey-ultra-nationalists-call-for-ban-on-pro-kurdish-hdp.html

 

16. KCK calls for increased struggle against fascism and isolation

23 Dec 2020 | ANF

Calling on all democratic forces, especially women and the Kurdish people, to stand up for Leyla Güven, KCK stressed that no problem in Turkey can be solved without an overthrow of this government.

https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/kck-calls-for-increased-struggle-against-fascism-and-isolation-48855

 

17. KCK issues statement to celebrate Christmas Day

25 Dec 2020 | ANF

The KCK Peoples and Beliefs Committee has issued a statement for Christmas wishing for wars and conflicts in all parts of the world to end and for humanity to lead a democratic and free life in peace and health.

https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/kck-issues-statement-to-celebrate-christmas-day-48891

 

18. Biden will wage war on the Kurdish revolution

26 Dec 2020 | Marcel Cartier, Green Left

In the aftermath of Joe Biden winning the United States presidential election, headlines across the western world began to make reference to a “resurgent” US that would return to its vacated throne on the global stage.

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/biden-will-wage-war-kurdish-revolution

 

19. European Security, Turkish Aggression and Article 5 of the NATO Treaty

26 Dec 2020 | Sallux

Do  NATO  member  states  have  a  duty  to  protect  Turkey  while  Turkey  at  the  same  time  threatens  NATO  and  European  security  and  stability?  This  publication  clarifies  that  NATO  members   can   withhold   (Article   5)   protection   without   changing   the   NATO Treaty or expelling Turkey from NATO.   European,   Canadian   and   American  citizens  can  be  informed  that  the  military  of  their  countries  will   not   protect   Turkey   and   the   Erdogan  government.  The  question  is  if  European,  Canadian  and  US  politicians have the courage to do so.

https://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sallux-European-security-Turkish-aggression-and-Article-5-NATO-WEB.pdf

 

20. Turkey: the rise and fall of the Kurdish party that threatened Erdoğan

27 Dec 2020 | The Guardian

It has been a lonely year for Adalet Fidan, the mayor of Silopi in Turkey’s Kurdish south-east – and not just because of the pandemic.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/27/as-erdogan-tightens-grip-on-power-last-opposition-politicians-resist-brutal-purge

 

MULTIMEDIA

 

1. US Hegemony and the Kurds – An interview with Giran Özcan

13 Dec 2020 | Peace in Kurdistan

Connor Hayes speaks with Giran Özcan, representative of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) to the United States, about the present situation in the US, the incoming Biden administration, and the role of the US in Kurdistan and the Middle East region.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItqyAT4IiWk

 

2. ‘The power behind Barzani is Erdogan’ – Interview with Steve Sweeney

20 Dec 2020 | Peace in Kurdistan

Morning Star International Editor Steve Sweeney comments on the latest developments of protests against KDP regime in Iraqi Kurdistan.

https://vimeo.com/493198147