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
Women Defend Rojava: http://womendefendrojava.net/en/
Rojhelat: http://rojhelat.info/en/
Rojava Centre for Strategic Studies
Komun Academy:
NEWS
- Hatred against HDP: 1000 people detained in 10 days
- Kurds fight Kurds in northern Iraq, raising fears of full-blown conflict
- Composer Felix: Artists have responsibility towards social issues
- Peshmerga forces threaten to turn against KDP as uprising continues to spread
- Erdogan coalition partner calls for outlawing pro-Kurdish party
- Iraq, Turkey agree to cooperate on counterterrorism, trade
- 70 pct of Turkey’s Kurdish youth faced with discrimination – survey
- Refugee deaths increasing in south-eastern Turkey, new report finds
- Leyla Güven: Turkey sentences Kurdish politician to 22 years in prison
- KRG asks US forces to deploy along Kurdish-controlled part of Iraqi-Syrian border
- Open letter to Raab demands release of HDP MP from Turkish prison
- Human rights court orders Turkey to free Kurdish politician
- Women across the world urged to support resistance in Turkish prisons
- Turkish high court endorses ECHR’s landmark decision on Demirtaş
- 20,000 HDP members taken into custody in 4 years, 10,000 jailed
- ‘30 million people below starvation line in Turkey’
- Court refuses to release Demirtaş despite ECtHR ruling, cites ‘translation’ issues
- Civilians flee Ain Issa, northeast Syria as clashes escalate
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- Kurd vs Kurd: Fears of full-scale war rise in northern Iraq
- What exactly is Erdoganism?
- KCK: Masrour Barzani legitimizes Turkish occupation
- The Yazidis are still struggling to survive
- The Turkish Diaspora in Europe
- Inside the Kurdish guerrilla group that helped save the Yazidis – but faces annihilation by Turkey
- PKK -PAJK prisoners on hunger strike: Time for resistance
- Alevi communities in Turkey feel under increasing pressure, say leaders
- Syrian Kurds squeezed between Turkish threat, Russian pressure in Ain Issa
- KCK: KDP’s perception operation shatters Kurdish unity
- Washington on the spot as its Syrian Kurd allies are drawn into PKK-KDP fight
- Leaders of Turkey, Iraq Drift Closer Over Kurdish Concerns
- The Iraqi and Kurdish Regional Government’s Sinjar Agreement: Consequences for U.S., Turkish, and Iranian Influence and Rebel Rivalries
- Ambitious Isis rehabilitation programme initiated in Rojava
- Turkey’s Kurdish party target of tug of war between Islamists, ultra-nationalists
- KCK calls for increased struggle against fascism and isolation
- KCK issues statement to celebrate Christmas Day
- Biden will wage war on the Kurdish revolution
- European Security, Turkish Aggression and Article 5 of the NATO Treaty
- Turkey: the rise and fall of the Kurdish party that threatened Erdoğan
MULTIMEDIA
- US Hegemony and the Kurds – An interview with Giran Özcan
- ‘The power behind Barzani is Erdogan’ – Interview with Steve Sweeney
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.