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By Peace in Kurdistan Campaign: Open Letter to Christiane Taubira, French Justice Minister Women call for Justice for Sakine, Fidan and Leyla Dear Mme Christiane Taubira, We are writing to you because we are sure, like us, you were deeply shocked when you heard of the assassinations in Paris of three Kurdish women human rights…
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…
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…
By Thomas v. der Osten-Sacken: Last year, the honor killing of 28-year-old Sarkar led to an uproar by rights organisations against domestic violence in Iraqi Kurdistan. Strong evidence suggested that her own father had committed the crime. Nevertheless, the penal court in Suleymania has now decided to release the father. Members of WOLA and WADI held…
By Ramyar Hassani: Recently two men in Mariwan, a Kurdish city of Iran, were made to wear women’s clothing and paraded around the city. This brought rage from Kurdish people and the protests resulted in the formation of the ‘Being a woman is not a tool to humiliate or punish anyone’ Campaign. Activists spoke out forcefully and…
By Dr Kamal Mirawdeli: ‘Love and Existence: Analytical Study of Ahmadi Khani’s Tragedy of Mem û Zîn’ Part III, Chapter 2: Aristotle’s theory of tragedy Poetry and tragedy For Aristotle, a fundamental premise that defines what is being a human is that “All human beings by nature desire knowledge” (Metaphysics, (980a1). Therefore they do not only…
KT News: Following a controversial decision by a judge last week in the Sakar murder case, the Zhyan Group for Protecting Women is holding a protest outside the Suli court tomorrow at 8 am calling for ‘Laws to bring women’s killers to justice’. They are protesting at the judge’s decision to release Sakar’s father, the…
By Dr Kamal Mirawdeli: ‘Love and Existence: Analytical Study of Ahmadi Khani’s Tragedy of Mem û Zîn’ Part III: The genre of Mem û Zîn as Tragedy Chapter One: On defining literary genres As we showed in the first part of this study, Mem û Zîn is generally, though mostly arbitrarily, described as ‘epic’; while Chyat’s…
By Shwan Zulal: Kurdistan Region president, Massoud Barzani, has set the date for the next Kurdish general election at 21 September 2013. Both parliamentary and presidential elections will be held on that date. The candidates running for president have not put their names forward yet, apart from one independent. On the parliamentary front, it is…
By Kawa Rash: Deriving from ‘Suratal-Anfal’ in the Qur’an, ‘al Anfal’ literally means ‘the spoils’ (of war) and the term was used by Saddam’s Iraqi regime to describe the 1988 military campaign of extermination and looting commanded by Ali Hassan al-Majid. However, the ruling Ba’athists distorted what the Qur’an says. ‘Anfal’ in the Qur’an does…
KT News: Kurdistan Tribune columnist Kamal Chomani has been shortlisted in the 2013 International Media Awards. Kamal has been nominated for the Breakaway Award which “encourages new talent, in mainstream journalism as well as in the fields of internet news and citizen journalism”. Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Tweet about it…
By Dr. Goran Abdulla: The role of international actors in derailing the Kurdish transition to democracy: The case of the 400-bed hospital in Sulaimani The scandal of the 400-bed hospital in Sulaimani is an example of the deleterious role that international actors may play in derailing the transition of a developing country to democracy. In…
By Ava Homa: Kurds have respected powerful female leaders from Adele Khanum to Leyla Zana, yet the rate of Kurdish women’s immolation is shockingly high. How can this paradox be explained? Iraqi Kurdistan’s Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, called violence against women, “A terrible expression of inequality and injustice,” and started a 16-day campaign promoting women’s…
KT Comment: On the night of 5th February 2012, a 27 year old teacher known as Sakar was murdered in the town of Ranya in south Kurdistan. The next day the police arrested and charged her father who was convicted by a court, following written evidence provided against him by his wife, Sakar’s mother. He was…
KT News: Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed PKK leader, met two BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) leaders this weekend and told them that he will very soon issue a letter ‘to the people of Turkey’ about the peace process. At a press conference at the BDP Istanbul office, deputies Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan conveyed…
