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. Why is Erdoğan suddenly “flirting” with the EU?
  2. Two Kurdish politicians beheaded after being kidnapped by jihadists in northern Syria
  3. HDP announces campaign with four main themes
  4. Feryal Clark demands urgent action over socialist disappeared in Turkey
  5. Two female local politicians executed near Hesekê
  6. Turkish aggression kills 3 civilians, injures 6 others in Til Rifat – UPDATE
  7. Long March from Hanau to Strasbourg in February
  8. British parliamentary question on CPT Report on Imrali
  9. Massacre in Tal Rif’at, 3 martyrs and 6 injuries by Turkish Occupation
  10. Turkish defense chief’s Iraqi visit: What to expect?
  11. European Parliament: Release Selahattin Demirtaş, all prisoners of conscience
  12. Europe calls on Turkey to ‘release political prisoners’
  13. Turkey’s defense minister presses Baghdad, Erbil for cooperation against PKK
  14. Warrant against journalist Cengiz Çandar
  15. Feminist human rights center documents crimes in Afrin
  16. Ocalan’s nephew accuses human rights groups of ignoring jailed PKK leader’s plight
  17. Boğaziçi students remember Dink: ‘For Hrant, for justice’
  18. Chomsky: The Rojava Revolution is a miracle that the world must see
  19. Shocking new evidence in British supplies to Turkish killer drones
  20. PKK child abduction claims exposed as a smear by intelligence services
  21. British Airways stops exporting drone parts to Turkey
  22. HRW report on violations of rights in Turkey in 2020
  23. Law office: PKK leader not able to communicate with outside world since April 2020
  24. Hardworking Woman: Laila Guven’s arrest blatant legal breach
  25. 108 people face aggravated life sentence over 2014 protests in Kurdish-majority cities
  26. Idris Isso: isolation on Ocalan breach to international law
  27. For 3rd time, Turkey unleashes rabid dogs in northeastern Syria
  28. Germany seizes scientific book as photo of Öcalan is on cover

 

OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS

  1. 6 year anniversary of the liberation of Kobanê
  2. (VIDEO) Interview with Dr. Don Matthews about Blackcentricity and Freedom Struggles
  3. American entrepreneurs wade into murky Syrian oil business
  4. Jailed Kurdish leader Demirtaş stumped by Turkey’s ‘empty’ indictment – Demirtaş’s lawyer
  5. The crimes and violence of the Islamic Republic of Iran are a sign of the weakness of the regime!
  6. From Afrin to Kirkuk, Kurds suffered grievously under Trump – analysis
  7. Flashpoints in U.S.-Turkey Relations in 2021
  8. Democracy is finished – Erdogan now targets NGOs, renews threats against HDP
  9. Three Kurdish women activists transferred to IRGC detention center in Urmia: human rights organization
  10. What will Brett McGurk’s appointment mean for U.S.-Turkey relations?
  11. Exclusive: Longtime US Diplomat Weighs America’s Legacy in Syria
  12. New WhatsApp terms spark antitrust investigation, exodus from app in Turkey
  13. Turkey’s Frantic Gold Rush Points to a Financial Crisis Ahead
  14. A humanitarian disaster in Afrin
  15. (BOOK) Daughters of Smoke and Fire: A Novel Hardcover
  16. (BOOK REVIEW) “Daughters of Smoke and Fire” –A book review by Patrick Woodcock

PETITION

  1. Stop the Kurdophobia! Recognition of Kurd People Identity at the United Nations

 WEBINARS

  1. Kurdish women in Kurdistan and abroad: Past, Present, and Future
  2. “The Left and the Cyprus Problem”
  3. “Are We Losing the World as We Know It?”

 PODCAST

  1. Things are going to get tougher’ in US-Turkey relations, says Amberin Zaman

January 2021|Al-Monitor

 

——————————

 NEWS

  1. Why is Erdoğan suddenly “flirting” with the EU?

25 January 2021|Greek City Times

People have spoken about the sudden “flirtation” of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and with all the European ambassadors in his country in the shadow of the inauguration of the new U.S. President.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/01/23/erdogan-flirting-with-the-eu/

 

  1. Two Kurdish politicians beheaded after being kidnapped by jihadists in northern Syria

24 January 2021|Morning Star

Two female Kurdish politicians have been beheaded after being kidnapped by jihadists in Syria’s Heseke province in a blood-soaked weekend of violence in the semi-autonomous region.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/two-kurdish-politician-beheaded-after-being-kidnapped-jihadists-northern-syria

 

  1. HDP announces campaign with four main themes

24 January 2021|ANF English

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) is launching a multi-month campaign in February on four main issues: Isolation, hunger strike, Kobanê trial, and the recent European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruling in the Demirtaş trial. This was announced by HDP chairpersons Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar at an online meeting of their party’s Local Governments Committee.

https://anfenglish.com/news/hdp-announces-campaign-with-four-main-themes-49538

 

  1. Feryal Clark demands urgent action over socialist disappeared in Turkey

24 January 2021|Morning Star

Britain’s first-ever female Kurdish MP Feryal Clark has called for urgent action over the disappearance of Socialist Party of the Oppressed supporter Gokhan Gunes. Ms Clarke, who was elected as Labour MP for Enfield North in December 2019, is urging Amnesty International to investigate the whereabouts of Mr Gunes, who has been missing since Wednesday.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/feryal-clarke-demands-urgent-action-over-socialist-disappeared-turkey

 

  1. Two female local politicians executed near Hesekê

23 January 2021|ANF English

In northeastern Syria, two local politicians have been kidnapped and beheaded by unknown persons. The crime pattern points to ISIS sleeper cells. According to relatives, the two women had already been threatened several times in the name of the ISIS.

https://anfenglish.com/women/two-female-local-politicians-executed-near-heseke-49526

 

  1. Turkish aggression kills 3 civilians, injures 6 others in Til Rifat – UPDATE

23 January 2021|ANF English

The Turkish state continues its genocidal attacks against North-East Syria in an attempt to invade the entire region in violation of international law but enjoying a worldwide silence.

https://anfenglish.com/rojava-syria/turkish-aggression-kills-3-civilians-injures-6-others-in-til-rifat-49517

 

  1. Long March from Hanau to Strasbourg in February

23 January 2021|ANF English

In February, a long march to Strasbourg for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan will begin in Hanau. The international Öcalan action committee has published the latest state of preparations. There is a wide circle of supporters.

https://anfenglish.com/news/long-march-from-hanau-to-strasbourg-in-february-49516

 

  1. British parliamentary question on CPT Report on Imrali

23 January 2021|ANF English

MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle asked the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to support the conclusion from the CPT on the unacceptable circumstances for prisoners on Turkey’s Imrali prison.

https://anfenglish.com/news/british-minister-answers-parliamentary-question-on-Ocalan-s-isolation-49518

 

  1. Massacre in Tal Rif’at, 3 martyrs and 6 injuries by Turkish Occupation

23 January 2021|Hawar news Agency

identities of 3 martyrs and 6 injuries that were targeted in the shelling carried out by the Turkish Occupation Forces and the affiliated mercenary groups just a while ago were obtained by ANHA.

https://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/massacre-in-tal-rifat-3-martyrs-and-6-injuries-by-turkish-occupation-h22404.html

 

  1. Turkish defense chief’s Iraqi visit: What to expect?

22 January 2021|Arab News

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar’s recent visit to Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan has sparked speculation about an imminent joint military operation between Ankara, Baghdad and Irbil inside Iraqi territory against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). On Friday, Turkey’s President Erdogan hinted at the looming operation against PKK in Iraq’s Sinjar, saying, “We can come suddenly one night,” using the same sentence he used during previous Syria offensives.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1796801/middle-east

 

  1. European Parliament: Release Selahattin Demirtaş, all prisoners of conscience

22 January 2021|Bianet

Approving the resolution on the human rights situation in Turkey, notably the case of Selahattin Demirtaş and other prisoners of conscience, MEPs call on the country to follow the ECtHR orders to immediately release Demirtaş without any conditions.

https://bianet.org/english/world/237967-european-parliament-release-selahattin-demirtas-all-prisoners-of-conscience

 

  1. Europe calls on Turkey to ‘release political prisoners’

21 January 2021|Bianet

“We ask Turkey to follow the ECtHR orders to immediately release Demirtaş and Kavala, as well as all other political prisoners, including Cihan Erdal,” says Lagodinsky, the Chair of the EU-Turkey delegation of the European Parliament.

https://bianet.org/english/world/237925-europe-calls-on-turkey-to-release-political-prisoners

 

  1. Turkey’s defense minister presses Baghdad, Erbil for cooperation against PKK

21 January 2021|Bianet

After meeting senior Iraqi and KRG officials, Minister Akar has said they have agreed on many issues, including “removing the PKK from Shingal”. Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar has completed his two-day visit to Iraq, where he met the presidents and prime ministers of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government, as well as other senior officials.

https://bianet.org/english/world/237905-turkey-s-defense-minister-presses-baghdad-erbil-for-cooperation-against-pkk

 

  1. Warrant against journalist Cengiz Çandar

20 January 2021|Bianet

The court has issued a warrant against journalist Cengiz Çandar, who is standing trial over his social media posts about Ayşe Deniz Karacagil, known as “the girl with the red scarf” during the Gezi resistance of 2013 and killed by ISIS in Rojava, a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria

https://bianet.org/english/law/237849-warrant-against-journalist-cengiz-candar

 

  1. Feminist human rights center documents crimes in Afrin

20 January 2021|Hawar news Agency

The Research and Women’s Rights Protection Center in Syria documented the killing of 66 women in Afrin, and the kidnapping of more than 149 women at the hands of the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries, while the number of injuries reached 178 cases of injury and assault. The Turkish occupation state launched a surprise attack on Afrin canton in January 2018, which led to its occupation in March of the same yearresulting in  the most horrific violations against people in general and women in particular.

https://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/feminist-human-rights-center-documents-crimes-in-afrin-h22352.html

 

  1. Ocalan’s nephew accuses human rights groups of ignoring jailed PKK leader’s plight

20 January 2021|Monring Star

The nephew of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan accused international human rights organisations and the Committee for the Prevention of Torture today of ignoring his plight. The Kurdish leader was allowed to meet his lawyers for the first time in nearly eight years in 2019 and was also permitted a brief visit by his brother Mehmet.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/ocalans-nephew-accuses-human-rights-groups-ignoring-pkk-leaders-plight-hunger-strikes

 

  1. Boğaziçi students remember Dink: ‘For Hrant, for justice’

19 January 2021|Bianet

Protesting the appointment of Melih Bulu as their new university president since January 4, students of Boğaziçi have commemorated journalist Hrant Dink at their campus on the 14th anniversary of his assassination, in a racist murder in İstanbul on January 19, 2007.

https://bianet.org/english/human-rights/237829-bogazici-students-remember-dink-for-hrant-for-justice

 

  1. Chomsky: The Rojava Revolution is a miracle that the world must see

16 January 2021|ANF English

Noam Chomsky said that Rojava is going through a difficult process and that it is a miracle that it has survived until now. Noam Chomsky delivered the inaugural Rojava Freedom Lecture organised by the Department of Social Sciences of the Rojava University. “The main problem – Chomsky said – is how the attacks carried out by the Turkish state with the approval of the USA can be stopped”.

https://anfenglish.com/features/noam-chomsky-49368

 

  1. Shocking new evidence in British supplies to Turkish killer drones

15 January 2021|ANF English

Shocking new evidence reveals a six-year secret history of British supplied technology that has fuelled Turkey’s dirty drone wars. Brighton Against the Arms Trade (BAAT) claimed yesterday that multinational arms manufacturer EDO MBM has continued the clandestine sale of the Hornet micro-munition bomb rack to Turkey, despite a string of public denials.

https://anfenglish.com/features/ww-49345

 

  1. PKK child abduction claims exposed as a smear by intelligence services

15 January 2021|Morning Star

Investigative journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan have exposed reports of child abductions in the region as fake news created by intelligence services to smear the Kurdistan Workers Party. Proaktif Atolyle said that many of those who were allegedly kidnapped by the Kurdish freedom movement had been found at home with their families, the Firat News Agency reported today.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/pkk-child-abduction-claims-exposed-smear-intelligence-services-1

 

  1. British Airways stops exporting drone parts to Turkey

14 January 2021| Hawar news Agency

A British company has stopped supplying spare parts to the Turkish company, Baykar Makina, specializing in the manufacture of UAVs, exports to Turkey after discovering the use of its components in the Artsakh / Karabakh conflict, according to the Armenian survey site (hetq). The Armenian embassy contacted the British company (Andair Ltd) about the use of its parts in the recent Karabakh conflict, according to Armenian Public Radio.

https://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/british-airways-stops-exporting-drone-parts-to-turkey-h22205.html

 

  1. HRW report on violations of rights in Turkey in 2020

14 January 2021|Bianet

Human Rights Watch has released its World Report 2021. The Turkey chapter of the report has documented the violations of rights and the government’s pressure targeting the press and judiciary over the past year. “The president’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the allied far-right MHP enjoy a parliamentary majority enabling them to consolidate authoritarian rule by passing rushed legislation that contravenes international human rights obligations,” the report added.

https://bianet.org/english/human-rights/237533-hrw-report-on-violations-of-rights-in-turkey-in-2020

 

  1. Law office: PKK leader not able to communicate with outside world since April 2020

13 January 2021|Bianet

Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners at the İmralı High-Security Type-F Prison have not been able to communicate with the outside world since a phone call with their families on April 27, 2020, their attorneys have said. The four prisoners at the İmralı Prison had one meeting and one phone conversation with their family members, according to their attorneys.

https://bianet.org/english/law/237527-law-office-pkk-leader-not-able-to-communicate-with-outside-world-since-april-2020

  1. Hardworking Woman: Laila Guven’s arrest blatant legal breach

11 January 2021| Hawar news Agency

The Hardworking Woman Committee has called on the international community to take it’s responsibility in reference to arrest of parliamentarian Laila Guven, stressing that ” it is a breach against freedom and human rights”.

https://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/hardworking-woman-laila-guvens-arrest-blatant-legal-breach-h22133.html

 

  1. 108 people face aggravated life sentence over 2014 protests in Kurdish-majority cities

8 January 2021| Hawar news Agency

The court has accepted the indictment that was prepared more than six years after the incidents that claimed more than 40 lives in the eastern and southeastern provinces. The protests began in late September when ISIS launched an offensive to take over Kobanê, a Kurdish town in northern Syria. Incidents between different protesting groups and the police response to protesters turned violent from October 6.

https://bianet.org/english/law/237251-108-people-face-aggravated-life-sentence-over-2014-protests-in-kurdish-majority-cities

 

  1. Idris Isso: isolation on Ocalan breach to international law

7 January 2021| Hawar news Agency

Member of the Lawyers’ Union in the Jazira Canton Idris Isso denounced the isolation imposed on leader Abdullah Ocalan by the Turkish authorities, saying:” international laws are being violated by the Turkish State, as all political detainees are titled to a fair trial in accordance with the concerned laws”.

https://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/idris-isso-isolation-on-ocalan-breach-to-international-law-h22050.html

 

  1. For 3rd time, Turkey unleashes rabid dogs in northeastern Syria

5 January 2021| Hawar news Agency

The Turkish occupation state unleashed about 50 dogs this evening, from the Kharza border gate towards ed-Darbasiyah, and they are believed to be rabid dogs carrying dangerous diseases. This is the third time that the people have seen the Turkish occupation state unleashing fierce dogs believed to be rabid towards the villages of north and east Syria from the border areas adjacent to Amuda and ed-Dirbasiyah in al-Hasakah and Qamishlo cantons, causing a state of fear and panic among the people.

https://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/for-3rd-time-turkey-unleashes-rabid-dogs-in-northeastern-syria-h22008.html

 

  1. Germany seizes scientific book as photo of Öcalan is on cover

31 December 2020| |ANF News

The Düsseldorf Customs have confiscated 500 books because the photo of Abdullah Öcalan is depicted on the cover. The editors of the book on the Kurdish question are renown scientists Thomas Jeffrey Miles and Federico Venturini. This is not the first time such forms of state censorship have occurred, with raids being carried out in 2018 and 2019 against the Mezopotamien Verlag and the music distributor Mir Multimedia.

https://anfenglish.com/culture/germany-seizes-scientific-book-as-photo-of-Ocalan-is-on-cover-49015

 

OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS

  1. 6 year anniversary of the liberation of Kobanê

26 January 2021|Rise Up 4 Rojava

26 January 2015 is a date that the people of Kobanê, of Rojava, of the region and indeed of thewhole world will never forget. On this day, Kobanê has forever left its significant mark on ourcommon revolutionary landscape. It has become known all over the world as a symbol for ourcommon resistance, common struggle and common victory against fascism and for an alternativewomen-liberated, radical democratic and ecological life to be constantly defended in the midst of chaos, war and destruction, brought about by the crisis-ridden nation-state system of capitalistmodernity.

https://riseup4rojava.org/statement-6-year-anniversary-of-the-liberation-of-kobane-26th-january-2021/

 

  1. (VIDEO) Interview with Dr. Don Matthews about Blackcentricity and Freedom Struggles

26 January 2021| |Peace in Kurdistan

Dr. Thomas Jeffrey of Peace in Kurdistan interviews Dr. Don Matthews about his new book, Blackcentricity, about his life experiences, his theological perspective, and his commitment to freedom struggles.

https://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/video-interview-with-dr-don-matthews-about-blackcentricity-and-freedom-struggles/

 

  1. American entrepreneurs wade into murky Syrian oil business

24 January 2021| |FT via merketcap.com

Two years ago, three Americans — a former diplomat, a former special operative and an energy executive — walked across a flooded bridge into north-east Syria to talk about oil, a murky business in a complicated neighbourhood. While western oil majors have long been involved in pumping crude from the Middle East, including neighbouring Iraq, this unknown outfit’s mission was different — to explore, refine and export oil from a corner of war-torn Syria controlled by a US-backed Kurdish-dominated militia.

https://news.marketcap.com/american-entrepreneurs-wade-into-murky-syrian-oil-business/

 

  1. Jailed Kurdish leader Demirtaş stumped by Turkey’s ‘empty’ indictment – Demirtaş’s lawyer

24 January 2021|Ahal

Selahattin Demirtaş, the former leader of Turkey’s second-largest opposition party who has been in prison since 2016, is facing new charges related to a series of street protests in 2014, along with at least 108 members of his pro-Kurdish Democratic Peoples’ Party.

https://ahvalnews.com/selahattin-demirtas/jailed-kurdish-leader-demirtas-stumped-turkeys-empty-indictment-demirtass

 

  1. The crimes and violence of the Islamic Republic of Iran are a sign of the weakness of the regime!

23 January 2021|Kurdistan National Congress

Over 40 years after establishment of the Islamic regime, high unemployment, poverty, and destitution persist, while the regime continues to spend heavily on its military and other security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to quell internal dissent and coordinate the regime’s military interventions on various fronts beyond Iran’s borders including Iraq and Syria.

http://www.kongrakurdistan.net/en/the-crimes-and-violence-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-are-a-sign-of-the-weakness-of-the-regime/

 

  1. From Afrin to Kirkuk, Kurds suffered grievously under Trump – analysis

20 January 2021|The Jerusalem Post

Among the people in the world who have suffered the most under the Trump administration are Kurds in the Middle East. A vast nation of people stretching across Iran, Turkey, Syria and Iraq, the Kurds have historically suffered discrimination in the states they live in and have often been betrayed by Western countries that promised one set of values but often collaborated with authoritarian regimes in the region.

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/from-afrin-to-kirkuk-kurds-suffered-grievously-under-trump-analysis-656090

 

  1. Flashpoints in U.S.-Turkey Relations in 2021

19 January 2021|Center for American Progress

Relations between Turkey and its Western allies in the United States and Europe have been on a steady downward trajectory for some eight years. Turkey’s pursuit of strategic autonomy should be met with firm transactionalism by the Biden administration, and while this stance is unlikely to change President Erdoğan’s unilateral approach, it could help preserve certain institutional ties, the CAP report argues.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/reports/2021/01/19/494738/flashpoints-u-s-turkey-relations-2021/

 

  1. Democracy is finished – Erdogan now targets NGOs, renews threats against HDP

19 January 2021|Washington Kurdish Institute

It is no secret that Turkey was the main route for ISIS (Da’esh) terrorists across the globe who flocked to Syria in thousands to support the establishment of the terrorist group’s so-called “Caliphate”, capturing swathes of land in Syria and Iraq and committing mass rape and murder.

https://dckurd.org/2021/01/19/democracy-is-finished-erdogan-now-targets-ngos-renews-threats-against-hdp/

 

  1. Three Kurdish women activists transferred to IRGC detention center in Urmia: human rights organization

18 January 2021|Rudaw

Three Kurdish women activists arrested earlier in January have been transferred to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence detention center in Urmia, a Kurdish human rights monitor reported on Monday. Asrin Mohammadi, Darya Talabani, and Azima Naseri, who were among those detained in mass arrests in Buchan, Mahabad, and Tehran earlier in January were transferred to al-Mahdi detention center, the Paris-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported on Monday.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/180120211

 

  1. What will Brett McGurk’s appointment mean for U.S.-Turkey relations?

12 January 2021|Ahval

The appointment of Brett McGurk as the National Security Council’s Middle East and North Africa coordinator for the incoming Biden administration is a selection that won’t be welcomed by Ankara and could have significant ramifications for U.S.-Turkey relations.  McGurk was formerly the special presidential envoy to the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State in both the Obama and Trump administrations. In this capacity, he dealt with, and advocated for, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces

https://ahvalnews.com/brett-mcgurk/what-will-brett-mcgurks-appointment-mean-us-turkey-relations

 

  1. Exclusive: Longtime US Diplomat Weighs America’s Legacy in Syria

11 January 2021|Defense One

When the explosions started, Ambassador Bill Roebuck recalls, it wasn’t at all clear who was causing them. In October 2019 Turkish-backed militias were advancing on a makeshift military base in Syria about 40 miles from Kobani. Trump had effectively cleared the path for the invasion. The immediate damage of the Turkish invasion has been repaired, Bill Roebuck says, but warns ISIS could reemerge without more U.S. assistance.

https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2021/01/exclusive-longtime-us-diplomat-weighs-americas-legacy-syria/171318/

 

  1. New WhatsApp terms spark antitrust investigation, exodus from app in Turkey

11 January 2021|Al-Monitor

Turkey launched an antitrust investigation into Facebook and its popular messaging service WhatsApp Monday after the application’s new privacy terms raised concerns, prompting some users to seek alternatives. In a statement, the Competition Board ruled that WhatsApp’s new usage requirements, which will allow the app to share more data with Facebook starting Feb. 8, should be suspended until the investigation is completed.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/01/turkey-whatsapp-facebook-antitrust-investigation-terms.html

 

  1. Turkey’s Frantic Gold Rush Points to a Financial Crisis Ahead

8 January 2021|Foundation for Defense of Democracies

The Turkish economy is “a train wreck in slow motion,” in the words of one former central banker. The Turkish lira, which lost 20 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar last year, was one of the worst-performing currencies in the world in 2020. Foreign currency reserves nosedived deep into the red if one accounts for Ankara’s liabilities to local banks. And economy czar Berat Albayrak—son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—hasn’t been seen in public since he resigned via Instagram on Nov. 8.

https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2021/01/08/turkey-frantic-gold-rush-financial-crisis/

 

  1. A humanitarian disaster in Afrin

6 January 2021|Ahval

On the 20th of January 2018, Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies launched a massive military offensive  against the Syrian Kurdish province of Afrin, which is located in northwest Syria. Afrin province enjoyed a relatively calm environment compared to other Syrian cities; it was a haven for hundreds of thousands of Syrians who fled from the war.

https://ahvalnews.com/afrin/humanitarian-disaster-afrin

 

  1. (BOOK) Daughters of Smoke and Fire: A Novel Hardcover

12 May 2020|Harper Perennial

The unforgettable, haunting story of a young woman’s perilous fight for freedom and justice for her brother, the first novel published in English by a female Kurdish writer

https://www.amazon.com/Daughters-Smoke-Fire-Ava-Homa/dp/1419743090

 

  1. (BOOK REVIEW) “Daughters of Smoke and Fire” –A book review by Patrick Woodcock

9 July 2020|Peace in Kurdistan

https://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/daughters-of-smoke-and-fire-book-review-by-patrick-woodcock/

 

PETITION

  1. Stop the Kurdophobia! Recognition of Kurd People Identity at the United Nations

change.org/p/stop-the-kurdophobia-recognise-the-kurd-identity-petition4kurds

 

WEBINARS

  1. Kurdish women in Kurdistan and abroad: Past, Present, and Future

Watch: https://dckurd.org/2021/01/19/webinar-kurdish-women-in-kurdistan-and-abroad-past-present-and-future/

 

  1. “The Left and the Cyprus Problem”

29 January 2021| Bicommunal Zoom meeting

Cyprus 19.00 – 21.00 UK time 5 – 7 pm.

Cyprus MEP, Niyazi Kizilyurek  will address the subject: The informal 5-party meeting: the abandonment of BBF and the “new ideas” for the solution of the Cyprus Problem. Language: Turkish and Greek with translation.   Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81785438420?pwd=VE5FMm1PcGMyNk5rZ0VRMDNTSXc5dz09

Meeting ID: 817 8543 8420     Passcode: 764103

Shown live on https://www.facebook.com/the.left.and.the.cyprus.problem

 

  1. “Are We Losing the World as We Know It?”

3 February 2021 7pm UK |The Centre for Turkey Studies (CEFTUS

With Ece Temelkuran and Rachel Shabi.

Join the meeting here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0lfu-tqTkvE9VgpJ_CWS9wxKXl8-kIS8TO  and submit questions to: info@ceftus.org.

 

PODCAST

  1. Things are going to get tougher’ in US-Turkey relations, says Amberin Zaman

January 2021|Al-Monitor

Al-Monitor Senior Correspondent Amberin Zaman discusses why US-Turkey relations are unlikely to get better; the Kurdish question in Turkey, Iraq and Syria; why an Israel-Turkey rapprochement is not imminent; and her new role as the other host of ‘On the Middle East’….also Andrew’s take on Hamas and Egypt’s vital role in regional peace efforts.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/podcasts/2021/01/things-are-going-to-get-tougher-in-us-turkey-relations-says-ambe.html

 

Peace in Kurdistan

Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question

Email: estella24@tiscali.co.uk

www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com

Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Gingell – Tel: 020 7272 7890

Fax: 020 7263 0596

 

Patrons: John Austin, Christine Blower, NUT International Secretary, Prof Bill Bowring, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, Jeremy Corbyn MP,  Prof Mary Davis, Lord Dholakia, Simon Dubbins, UNITE International Director,  Jill Evans MEP, Lindsey German, Convenor STWC, Melanie Gingell, Rahila Gupta, Nick Hildyard, Dafydd Iwan, Former President Plaid Cymru, James Kelman, Bruce Kent, Jean Lambert MEP, Elfyn Llwyd, Aonghas MacNeacail, Scottish Gaelic poet, Mike Mansfield QC, Doug Nicholls, General Secretary, GFTU, Dr. Jessica Ayesha Northey, International Coordinator, Green Party of England and Wales; Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy, Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Kate Osamor MP, Margaret Owen OBE, Gareth Peirce, Maxine Peake, Lord Rea, Joe Ryan, Stephen Smellie, Steve Sweeney, Dr Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Dr Tom Wakeford, Dr Derek Wall, Julie Ward MEP, Hywel Williams MP.