Category Archives: Kurd news

Congress of Opposition Voices in the South of Kurdistan Issues New Statement

KT News: The Congress of Opposition Voices movement in the South of Kurdistan has issued a statement addressed to the President of Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Parliament and the Iraqi Parliament and to all foreign embassies in Erbil, calling on them to intervene to stop the brutal repression by KDP and PUK forces of peaceful demonstrations…

Kurdistan Region: The Scope of Electoral Reforms and its Implications – Report

  By the Kurdish Institute for Elections (KIE): The scope of electoral reforms and its implications: Kurdistan Region political parties’ share in the upcoming elections (2021) Aram Jamal, Executive Director of KIE Dana Jamil, Elections Expert Review – Dr Harem Karem, Researcher in Democracy Executive summary This report examines the Kurdistan Region’s 2018 parliamentary elections…

KRG Compliance with Turkish Invasion

By Arian Mufid: It is under Erdogan’s rule that Turkey is at risk of MSCI downgrade to ‘frontier’ market status, despite ranking as the world’s 20th largest economy, due to the devaluation of the lira and overall bad economic situation. This means that the MSCI index is registering increasingly large outflows of capital and Turkey…

We Mourn the Loss of Lord Rea, an Exceptional Friend of the Kurds

By Peace in Kurdistan Campaign: We salute the memory of Lord Rea, who died on 1st June age 91. Lord Rea was a staunch friend of the Kurds, patron of Peace in Kurdistan since it was founded in 1994 and respected around the world as a human rights defender. He will be much missed. Human…

Unity Talks Among Syrian Kurds; A Way Forward

By Junaid Jamali: Over the course of the nine-year Syrian civil war, the Kurds in Syria have paid exorbitant prices in military and social terms. In 2018 and 2019, they lost the regions of Afrin, Ras al-Ain/Sari Kani and Gire Spi/Tell Abyad to Turkey and Turkish-backed militias, resulting in the displacement of most Kurdish residents…

Open Letter From Women To Kurdish Leaders

Open Letter from Women to: – Mr. Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) – Ms. Bese Hozat and Mr. Cemil Bayik, Co-Chairs of the Executive Council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) – Mr. Lahur Talabani and Mr. Bafel Talabani, Co-Presidents of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) “Kurdistan should not become a battleground…

Kamaran Said Majeed, The Veteran Kurdish Fighter

By Friends of Kamaran: Kamaran Said Majeed, who died of Coronavirus complications on 9th April, was a Kurdish activist, humanist and dedicated family man. He held British citizenship, but he remained at heart a Kurd, through and through. He was born to a large family of 9 in 1959, in Sulemani (officially called Al-Sulaymaniyah) in…

Prevention of Spread of Covid 19 in North East Syria: Open Letter to UK Foreign Secretary

By Margaret Owen OBE, on behalf of Patrons of Peace in Kurdistan: Rt. Hon. Dominic Raab MP Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Foreign and Commonwealth Office 15 April 2020 Dear Foreign Secretary Ref. Prevention of the Spread of Covid 19 in North East Syria We are writing to you in extreme urgency…

Coronavirus: South of Kurdistan Upbeat While UK Scrambles to Respond

By Arian Mufid: When I look at the latest coronavirus statistics in the south of Kurdistan, I cannot help but feel proud. Since the 11th of March 2020 the whole region of KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) is locked down and people only go to the local mini-market to get their basic food. KRG are banning and…

Why is the World Silent about the Imprisoned Kurdish Leader Ocalan?

By Arian Mufid: 15th February marked the 21st anniversary of the leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan’s imprisonment. Abdullah Ocalan was kidnapped by the Kenyan state who were paid and motivated by a joint operation involving several state intelligence services such as MIT, CIA and Mossad. Abdullah Ocalan is nicknamed ‘APO’ (meaning uncle in Kurdish),…

After 21 Years,Time to Free Ocalan and Grasp the Peace

By Peace in Kurdistan Campaign: Statement marking the 21st anniversary since Ocalan’s abduction in Nairobi, 15th February 1999, by Turkish MIT agents supported by the CIA. It is difficult to believe that it is now more than two decades since Abdullah Ocalan, the leader and founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, lost his freedom. It…

In memory of Sakine, Fidan and Leyla

Statement by Peace in Kurdistan campaign: Today, 9 January 2020, we mark the seventh anniversary of the brutal assassinations of Sakine Cansiz and her colleagues Fidan Dogan and Leyla Saylemez in their office at the Kurdish Information Centre in Paris on 9 January 2013. We remember them in love, respect and gratitude and pay tribute to…

PUK: Party of Division and Disunity

By Arian Mufid: The time is ticking for the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) to hold its fourth conference. This will be the fourth conference since the organisation was founded in 1975 and the first in the absence of its founder, Jalal Talabani. When Talabani passed away, it was like when a father dies without…

Open Letter to UK Foreign Secretary: on NATO, Turkish Invasion of North-East Syria, Human Rights Violations & War Crimes

By Peace in Kurdistan: Rt. Hon. Dominic Raab MP Foreign Secretary Foreign and Commonwealth Office Dear Foreign Secretary Ref. Turkish invasion of North-East Syria – human rights violations and war crimes As NATO heads meet in Downing Street today to discuss the Turkish invasion of North-East Syria among other matters, we write to emphasise the…

Turkish State Relations with the Terrorist Organization ‘Daesh’

Introduction to document issued by Department of Foreign Relations, Self-Administration of North-East Syria: The policies of Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan and his interventions in the Syrian and Iraqi affairs, raised many questions in the region, as well, several European media and the Turkish opposition have published about the relationship between Turkish President Erdogan and the…