Letter From A Turkish Prison
Turkey’s decision to arrest hundreds of Kurdish public officials and activists over the course of 2009, and the recent Supreme Court ruling to dissolve the leading Kurdish Democratic Society Party, DTP, has left the Kurdish people stunned and angry. The High Court’s verdict ends DTP activities on charges of links to the PKK, the Kurdish [...]
Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party Issues Open Letter
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Turkey decided to close down the pro-Kurdish party, DTP, for alleged ties with the PKK, the armed Kurdish rebels who have been engaged in fighting with the Turkish state since 1984. The decision stands at odds with the “National Unity” campaign launched by the ruling AKP party to [...]
Ilısu Dam Activist Arrested
While I was in SE Turkey, I befriended a young activist, Ipek Tasli, pictured above, who is working against the Ilisu Dam project. Below is a press release from the Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP) about her recent arrest.
KHRP is deeply concerned about the arrest of Ipek Tasli, a joint coordinator with the Keep Hasankeyf [...]
Turkish Forces Continue Siege on Northern Iraq
Turkish forces continued to pound Northern Iraq today in a grand show of force against Kurdish forces after yesterday’s scandalous revelations by the Turkish daily Taraf that the army had apparently ignored intelligence reports that the October 3 PKK attacks were imminent. The breaking news supports a commonly held theory that the PKK and Turkish [...]
Turkish Forces Bomb Northern Iraq
I take back what I said in my previous post, as the Turkish army has announced it bombed 31 targets inside northern Iraq since October 4. I guess I was too busy packing to check the news properly. The seventh air raid took place yesterday, although, as a caveat, I must note that many believe [...]
