An independent platform for Kurdish news and opinion.

Why Does ISIS Fight the Kurdistan Region?

Written on March 4, 2015 by Editor in Iraq, ISIS, KRG, Kurdistan

By Nawzad Jamal:

ISIS war criminals

Answering a simple question like this can cause us a headache because there is not only one convincing response. I keep myself away from arguments like the one that a Kurdish political party is suspected of having dealings with ISIS at the time of the first attack on Mosul. Those kind of theories are very hard if impossible to verify.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Kurdish Writer Yaşar Kemal Dies at Age 92

Written on March 2, 2015 by Editor in History, Kurd news, Kurdistan, Obituaries, Turkey

By Dr. Amy L. Beam: On February 28, 2015, Kurdish writer Yaşar Kemal, died in Istanbul at the age of 92. He was born in Osmaniye Gökçeda in southeast Turkey on October 6, 1923. One of the most famous writers in Turkey, Kemal was awarded 19 literary prizes during his lifetime and nominated for the Nobel…

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Media Has a Responsibility to Not Encourage Terrorism or Islamophobia

Written on March 1, 2015 by Editor in Islamaphobia, KRG, Kurd news, Kurdistan, Norway, Terrorism

By Ramyar Hassani: Here is why the excessive media coverage given to Mullah Krekar is damaging. During the past few weeks, media outlets, especially Kurdish and Norwegian ones, have paid a lot of attention to Mullah Krekar. His quotes have been repeated over and over in all kinds of media outlets, both local and international.…

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Appeal to the French Government to Renew Funding to the Kurdish Institute of Paris

Written on February 28, 2015 by Editor in France, Kurd news, Kurdistan

By Dr.Amir Sharifi: Consul general of France in Los Angeles February 26, 2015 10390 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 410 Los Angeles, CA 90025-6915 Dear Mr. Axel Acruau: We members of the Kurdish American Education Society and the larger Kurdish community in Southern California are saddened that the Kurdish Institute of Paris, an academic and cultural…

1 Comment - Leave a comment!

Sorry the West, Kurds’ Fight is Not Your Fight

Written on February 27, 2015 by Editor in Independence, International, ISIS, KRG, Kurdistan, Rojava, USA

By Dilshad Hama: Since the ISIS assault on Syria, Iraq and Kurdistan and the bulwark role played by brave men and women Kurdish fighters, we have been hearing loads of romantic expressions from journalists and some intellectuals from the West. It seems that they have fallen in love with Kurds again. They all have something…

2 Comments - Leave a comment!

Tourism in Southeast Turkey: Is It Really Safe?

Written on February 26, 2015 by Editor in Culture, Kurdistan, Tourism, Turkey

Special Report by Dr. Amy L. Beam: It is safe, legal, beautiful, and remarkable to travel now in southeast Turkey. Outsiders are so rare that visitors are treated like celebrity stars. The democratic, secular Kurds have dominated world news recently in their heroic fight against the Islamic State or ISIS in Iraq and Syria. North…

2 Comments - Leave a comment!

Liberating Mosul: Why Should the Kurds Care?

Written on February 25, 2015 by Editor in Independence, Iraq, ISIS, KRG, Kurdistan

By Goran Abdulla: The fall of Mosul to the barbaric Islamic State of Iraq and The Levant (ISIL) was seen by many Kurds as a golden opportunity to finally achieve our ancient dream of statehood. The embarrassing collapse of the US armed and trained Iraqi army in Mosul, they argued, heralded the dismantling of the Iraqi…

1 Comment - Leave a comment!

Is NATO behind the creation of ISIS?

Written on February 24, 2015 by Editor in EU, International, ISIS, Kurdistan, UK, USA

By Freeyad Ibrahim: I believe the fact of the matter is that NATO forces, the United States, Britain and France are very much behind the creation of ISIS or ISIL. The general idea is that these were fighters that were initially trained in NATO camps in Jordan. The US and EU, especially the UK, have…

1 Comment - Leave a comment!

Regulating the Media in Kurdistan: Mission Impossible or Ignorable?

Written on February 21, 2015 by Editor in Corruption, Democracy, Human rights, Journalism, KRG, Kurdistan

By Harem Karem & Kamal Chomani: In 1898 Miqdad Medhet Bedirxan launched the first Kurdish media outlet, a newspaper called Kurdistan. More than a century later the Kurdistan Region’s (KR) media is in chaos, lacking a clear structure, identity or mission while also being too parochial, politicised and subject to manipulation by political parties and businessmen. The…

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Turkey Was Run by Mafias: Why Gulen’s Religious Mafia Fears Erdogan’s Presidency

Written on February 20, 2015 by Editor in Erdogan, Gülen, Turkey

By Aland Mizell: Citizens of Turkey are being increasingly and inescapably entangled in the tentacles of mafia rule. In the past, the secular military mafia in the name of patriotism and protection of Turkey’s secular system against the religion groups took tax money to become rich. The military mafia wrote the Turkish Constitution and appointed…

3 Comments - Leave a comment!

Kurdistan: Why International Support is Crucial – SOAS Debate, London, 27 Feb

Written on February 17, 2015 by Editor in Events, Gorran, Independence, ISIS, KDP, Kurd news, Kurdistan, PUK, PYD

By Kurdistan WISC at SOAS Kurdish Society: Following the success of our first event in November, we are holding a follow-up debate entitled "Kurdistan: Why International Support is Crucial". SOAS, University of London, Lecture Theatre G2 Friday 27th November, 5:30pm - 7:30pm The guest panellists are: Dr Alan Semo– UK Representative, Democratic Union Party (PYD) Farhad Marf-…

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

ISIS (with Turkey’s help) MUST free ALL Kurdish hostages or face Peshmerga in Mosul+ and likely PKK in Ankara

Written on February 16, 2015 by Editor in International, ISIS, KRG, Kurd news, Kurdistan, Peshmerga, Turkey, YPG, YPJ

By Steve Tataii: Kurdish people have run out of patience, when none of the captive Yezidis numbering in 10,000 Kurdish hostages taken from Sinjar (Shengal) held captive in Mosul, Talafar, Raqqa, and other locations, nor some 50 Pehsmerga, of which 17 or more recently shown in cages in Hawija, have been freed as apparent so…

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

In the Kurdish Diaspora

Written on February 15, 2015 by Editor in Europe, Kurdistan, Peshmerga, USA

By Dr Jan Best de Vries: Motorclub Median Empire has its headquarters in Cologne, Germany, but counts divisions in several other German cities and is also represented in my home village Baarn, The Netherlands. It is an open club, that is to say that its members are not all Kurds living in Germany, their trainer in…

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Beytüşşebap Was Our Shingal

Written on February 14, 2015 by Editor in History, ISIS, Kurd news, Kurdistan, PKK, Turkey, Yazidis

By Dr. Amy L. Beam: A year has passed since I went to a wedding in Beytüşşebap and promised to return with an interpreter. Now there's a new baby and Denize is getting married to her cousin in Van. Only four months ago she had dressed up in her khaki guerilla clothes and Kurdish neck…

2 Comments - Leave a comment!

10.3 Million Signatures for Peace and Freedom for Öcalan

Written on February 13, 2015 by Editor in International, Kurd news, Kurdistan, Ocalan, Turkey

KNK Press Statement: Today, thousands of people have gathered in Strasbourg for the culmination of a huge international campaign calling for the release of Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the PKK, on the 16th anniversary of his abduction. An incredible 10.3 million people from across the world signed a petition demanding freedom for Ocalan. Peace in…

0 Comments - Leave a comment!