Category Archives: Democracy

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…

The Ramifications of Latest KRG Voter Fraud Go Beyond the Election

By Michael Rubin: On September 30, 2018, Iraqi Kurds once again went to the polls to choose a regional parliament. Because citizens and officials lodged more than 1,000 complaints with regard to fraud, the Independent High Elections and Referendum Commission took three weeks to certify the results. Neither the results nor their certification surprised observers….

Absence of Evidence at Trial of Gultan Kisanak and Sebahat Tuncel

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign Report: The sixth hearing in the trial of Gultan Kisanak, co-mayor of Dyarbakir, and Sebahat Tuncel, co-leader of the HDP-affiliated DBP, took place on 3 November. It was attended by freelance journalist and editor John Hunt, as a UK observer. The hearing was held in Malatya, 150 miles from Dyarbakir, and…

In the KRG: Accountable or Unaccountable President? That is the Question

By Sardar Aziz: The history of the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament dates back to the early 1990s. It emerged after the central government’s withdrawal from the region and the emergence of a de facto Kurdish state. For most of its history the parliament has been a vehicle for ‘strong men’ to rule the region – without…

Massoud Barzani’s Controversial Presidency

By Harem Karem and Kamal Chomani: President Barzani’s two terms in office ended in 2013, although he has managed to cling on for two more years after striking a shady deal, exploiting a loophole in the system, with his so-called strategic partner, the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan). Barzani’s presidency was revived by Hero Ibrahim…

South of Kurdistan Needs Strong Parliamentary System, Not Presidential Rule

By Arian Mufid: In August it will be time to elect the President of Kurdistan. Back in 2013 all the parties in the Kurdistan parliament passed a vote of confidence in Masud Barzani, re-electing him as President. The issue of whether Barzani should once again be re-elected, after his term expires, is hot topic of…

International Support for Kurdistan: Hard versus Soft Assistance

By Goran Abdulla: The offensive by the barbaric Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) might have provided what is going to probably be a missed window of opportunity for Kurdistan region of Iraq (Kurdistan) to establish the seeds of a state with clearly defined borders. A host of economic, political and military factors…

Turkey Bans American Writer

Press Release, March 9 2015, Ankara: According to Reporters Without Borders, Turkey has dropped to number 154 out of 180 countries in its 2014 Press Freedom Index. Foreign journalists in Turkey have been silenced through fear of losing their residence permit or actual deportation and banning.   These bans often come without explanation. Dr. Amy L….

Türkiye, Amerikalı Yazar Ülkeye Girişini Yasakladı

Basın Bildirisi, 9 Mart 2015, Ankara: Sınır Tanımayan Gazeteciler örgütüne göre Türkiye, 2014 Basın Özgürlüğü Endeksi’nde 180 ülke arasında 154. sıraya düştü. Türkiye’de bulunan yabancı gazeteciler, oturma izinlerinin iptaliyle, fiili sınır dışı edilmeyle ve girişlerinin yasaklanmasıyla korkutulup susturulmakta. Bu yasaklar çoğunlukla hiçbir açıklama yapılmadan konulmakta. Ülkeye girişi yasaklanan son gazeteci, Mount Ararat Trek turizm şirketinin…

Amerikalı Yazar Türkiye’ye Girişi Yasaklandı

Dr. Amy L. Beam: Amerika’da bir söz vardır: “Vereceğin ceza, suça uygun olsun”. Türkiye’de çok uzun süredir bu özdeyişin tam tersi geçerli: Önce ceza geliyor, ardından suçlama. Son yıllarda Türkiye’de gerçekleri söylemek en büyük suçlardan biri haline geldi. Ama cezalandırma her zaman gizli bir şekilde gerçekleştiriliyor: Ya “oturma izninizin süresi doldu” gibi sıradan bir nedene…

American Writer Banned from Turkey

By Dr. Amy L. Beam: In America they have a saying: “Let the punishment fit the crime.” In Turkey, for too many years, this adage has been reversed: first comes the punishment, then comes the accusation. Truth-telling has become the leading crime in Turkey, but it is always disguised, either as something mundane like “overstaying…

Regulating the Media in Kurdistan: Mission Impossible or Ignorable?

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…

Returning to Dictatorship

By Rizgar Anwar Abdullah: After the end of direct European imperialism, a kind of autonomy was given to various tribal groups within the new Independent states, and the power in each of those states, including economic power, was controlled by a family or a tribe with absolute force. And that’s without any regard for the indigenous…

Democracies or Islamic States in West Asia?

Dr. Jan Best de Vries: Democracy is neither a guarantee for individual happiness nor is it perfect. However, as a polity it may bring political stability, long-lasting peace and economical prosperity to a country, because all its inhabitants have equal rights and, being certain of their constitutional rights, can freely choose their own representatives in…

Kurdish independence dream might turn against free press and democracy

By Kamal Chomani: This is the text of a speech today by independent journalist Kamal Chomani to a meeting held at the Swedish Parliament about human rights and press freedom, organised by Swedish MP Amine Kakabaveh, the 17th February Group and the NINA center: Thank you so much for this honor. I feel terribly humbled to address…