Author Archives: Editor

Erdogan’s Internal Wars: The Power Struggle That Will Break the AKP

By Arian Mufid: Internal conflict within any family, party, or government inevitably leads to destruction and cripples the organisation. After the expulsions of Ahmet Davutoğlu, Abdullah Gül, and hundreds of others, the party is now facing more internal conflict than ever before. Today, Selçuk Bayraktar—the chairman of Baykar, Turkey’s leading defence contractor—has his eyes on…

PKK Needs a Vision, Not Just a Leader

By Arian Mufid: For four decades, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has waged an armed struggle against the Turkish state. However, the PKK has not achieved the independent Kurdish state it originally set out to fight for when the group was founded in 1978. Despite this, its long-running insurgency eventually led the Turkish government to…

Solidarity with the Kurds of Aleppo!

A statement by Emergency Committee for Rojava: The attack this week on Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh by Damascus-backed forces represents an act of aggression, and a dangerous escalation which threatens to jeopardize prospects for lasting peace and democracy in Syria. On October 6th, following growing protests by local residents against the Syrian…

Britain’s Moral Obligation to Uphold Sevres Promise of a Kurdish Homeland

By Arian Mufid: When Allied forces expelled Iraq from Kuwait in January 1991, President George H. W. Bush called for regime change and encouraged the Iraqi people from the North and South of the country to rise up against Saddam Hussein. In response, uprisings erupted in the south and north of Iraq. However, these uprisings…

Silent Deals: The Geopolitics Behind Trump, Erdogan, and Al-Sharaa

By Dr. Muhamad Sabir Kareem: Amid Trump’s trip to the Arab Co-operation Council (ACC) which includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE – on May 13th, the groundwork was prepared for Trump’s Al-Sharaa meeting in Riyadh. A meeting which came under the impact of an offering by Prince Mohammed bin Salman through the signing of…

History Offers No Roadmap For Action, But It’s a Masterclass in What to Avoid

By Suare B:  Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s political career is a clear example of this idea—a story of smart partnerships, betrayed partners, and a brilliant for blindsiding opponents with predatory precision. Like a leopard in the wild, Erdoğan thrives on the element of surprise, turning friends into foes and foes into scapegoats, all while navigating Turkey’s…

Why Do Kurds Lack a Free Kurdistan?

By Suare B: Internal Fragmentation and KDP’s Complicity with Regional Powers Undermine Kurdish Aspirations The dream of a free and independent Kurdistan remains elusive, despite the Kurds’ enduring struggle across generations and borders. While external forces—particularly the hostility of regional powers like Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria—have undeniably suppressed Kurdish aspirations, internal dynamics within the Kurdish…

Syria’s New Authority and Jihadist Extremist Groups

By Dr. Muhammad Sabir Kareem: There is no doubt that the current transitional authority in Syria, along with its affiliated organization, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, represent jihadist ideologies. It is clear that these jihadist forces do not believe in the rights of other groups, particularly those with differing ideologies, doctrines, or ethnic identities. Based on this,…

Trump’s Imposed Tariffs is not a Panacea for the Ailing American Economy

By Rauf Naqishbendi: A trade war is an economic confrontation between two countries. It can occur when one country retaliates against another, citing unfair trading practices with restrictions, such as tariffs, on imports. Trade wars have been going on for as long as nations have conducted trade with one another. Starting his second term presidency,…

Kurds Need Filmmakers Like Halime Aktürk

By Nick Kossovan: “Despite our suffering, nobody cares about us. We have shared our stories, but even then, they have not done anything for us.” – Leyla Telo, a survivor of the Yazidi genocide. Some films make you “realize.” Ezda, a short documentary film by emerging Kurdish-Canadian filmmaker Halime Aktürk, in which Ezda, a survivor of…

The Peace Concept and Ocalan’s Peace Message – Part 2

By Dr. Muhamad Sabir Kareem: If we begin with the truth that one of the basic elements in defining the concept of peace includes the maintenance of justice and the reduction of violence, as well as identifying the factors behind war, violence, and organized oppression, then we can say that the peace process between the…

Hopes and Concerns: Syria’s New Government Strikes Deal with Syrian Kurds

By Rauf Naqishbendi: After the revolt against the Assad government began in 2011, the Kurds took advantage of the opportunity created by the withdrawal of government forces from vast areas of Syria’s northeast. The main Kurdish-led force now controls about 25% of Syria. An autonomous authority runs the day-to-day affairs of the region.  Kurds had…

Opinions Regarding Ocalan’s Peace Announcement

By Dr. Muhamad Sabir Kareem: Part 1 History suggests that any peace process must include basic rules and conditions that are essential for the process to succeed. In studying the message delivered by Abdullah Öcalan, the Kurdish leader of North Kurdistan, in the final days of February 2025, we found significant shortcomings and incompatible elements…

The Kurdish-Turkish Peace Process: A Historic Turning Point or Another Cycle of Deception?

By Arian Mufid: On October 2024, Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), shocked the Turkish Parliament by declaring that Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), should be freed. Bahçeli also took an unprecedented step by shaking hands with members of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, many of…

Defend Rojava: Too Great to Fail

By Arian Mufid: Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria in 2011, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) had a chance to use their influence in the North of Syria, in Kurdistan. In that respect they sent out their senior members to strengthen an organisation akin to PKK. In 2011, the PYD – a…