KT Comment: Known as the White House of Erbil, this is the headquarters of the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) and special residence of its leader, Jalal Talabani. It is also a symbol of corruption and despotism. The White House was built for Talabani by the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) to compensate him for the…
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Category Archives: KRG
Hospital bed photos of Talabani won’t heal PUK divisions
By Mufid Abdulla: Six months after Jalal Talabani’s collapse in Baghdad with a stroke, the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) TV channel has shown photos of him in a German hospital bed (without any independent verification).There are rumours that he might be making a speech on TV but I don’t think that’s likely at this…
Karzan Karim kept in jail after serving his sentence
KT News and Comment: Karzan Karim, an independent journalist who was working as a security officer at Erbil airport, was charged last year with divulging sensitive information to a third party and sentenced to two years imprisonment. Karim was jailed after the Kurdistan Post published articles in which he accused security agency authorities of corruption….
Is it a trap? Playing political football with fuel subsidies in the Kurdistan Region
By Shwan Zulal: First published on Niqash High fuel prices and long gas station queues in Iraqi Kurdistan have led to calls for a government subsidy on fuel. But one industry analyst thinks that’s a terrible idea: And it seems as though not a day goes by when oil in the semi-autonomous state of Iraqi…
Erdoğan to brief Obama on Exxon’s latest play!
By Shwan Zulal: At the airport moment before boarding the plane bound to the US, the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, announced that Turkey has agreed a deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Exxonmobil for oil and gas exploration in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The PM only made a brief statement…
Why won’t Washington support Kurdish Independence?
By Michael Rubin: Not since the second decade of the twentieth century has the Kurdish dream of independence appeared so attainable. Saddam Hussein is gone, and Kurdish oil has earned billions of dollars. The Syrian civil war has enabled Salih Muslim’s Democratic Union Party to consolidate control over much of Syrian Kurdistan. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s…
Sardasht Osman remembered on the third anniversary of his murder
KT News and Comment: Journalists and human rights activists in Kurdistan and around the world are remembering Sardasht Osman who was murdered three years ago today. A group of writers and journalists are meeting in the Culture Cafe in Suli to launch a book that has been published to remember Sardasht’s life and his writing….
The 2010 murder of young journalist Sardasht Osman shocked the world
By Mufid Abdulla: This is an edited version of an article that first appeared on 11 May 2010, shortly after the brutal murder of Sardasht Osman. Three years on, journalists continue to be victimised in the south of Kurdistan and Sardasht’s killers still walk free. This is the shocking story of the young journalist, Sardasht…
Circle of Death: Water, land, food
By Mohammed Hussein: BARLOOT—Sitting on a plastic crate in his small wooden shop behind his vegetable stand of watermelons and tomatoes, Mohammed Osman Mamali lets out a deep sigh. Though he comes from five generations of farmers, none of the vegetables in his shop are his. They all come from Iran. Mamali was the last…
Kurds campaign to stop violence against women: Garmyan leads the way
KT News and Comment: Women activists in the district of Garmyan have set up a local committee to campaign against violence against woman. Garmyan belongs to the town of Chamchamal and there are plans to set up more committees in other areas such as Kalar, Kfri and Khanakin. Alongside the women activists, members of political parties…
Kurds honour brave Turkish writer Ismail Beshkchi
KT News and Comment: Ismail Beshkchi, the Turkish writer who has spent many years in Turkish jails, was honoured at a cultural evening in Erbil last night. “I am pleased to see the flag of Kurdistan and Peshmarga foces in free Kurdistan”, he told reporters. The renowned writer and sociology professor was given a medal…
The leadership crises in Kurdish political parties
By Kamal Chomani: Almost all Kurdish political parties in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are really in need of a change in their leadership: some because of their leaders’ health; but most because they have been leading their parties for ages, preventing other political figures from emerging. The main leaders are still the ones we…
Crisis in Iraq reaches boiling point
KT News and Comment: The crisis in the Sunni-majority areas of Iraq has escalated dramatically this week after troops opened fire on protestors, yesterday and on Monday, killing around 50 people and injuring hundreds. Today at least another 15 died in clashes between government forces and Sunni gunmen who have apparently launched revenge attacks. Bookmark…
The scenarios of the KRG Presidential Elections
By Butan Amedi: On April 18th, 2013, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Mr Masoud Barzani, announced that the presidential and parliamentary elections of the KRG will be held on September 21st, 2013. These elections will be the second competitive ones held in the region since the liberation of Iraq in 2003. The question…
