Category Archives: Human rights

UK Must Oppose Erdogan’s Creeping Dictatorship

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign Statement: British Prime Minister Theresa May is embarking on an official visit to Turkey to talk about trade, defence and security with President Erdogan. There are many more urgent issues that need to be addressed not least of which is the massive crackdown and repression unleashed by Erdogan that shows little…

Free Balochistan Movement’s Long March Reaches Berlin

By Perak Baloch: Hyrbyair Marri, an exiled pro-freedom Baloch leader announced his new political platform, Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) to highlight Pakistan’s atrocities and human rights violations in Balochistan. He announced the platform by initiating a long march campaign in Germany on July 16. He said in a public statement that the long march in…

You Should Not Abuse Democracy in Kurdistan

By Abdul-Qahar Mustafa: In democracy, every individual has a single vote but in a country where decision-making is controlled by a group of rich men who came together in the form of a political party, people have very little say in the actions and decisions of government. The rich privileged families, who receive special education…

Will the USA and EU Punish Turkey If It Doesn’t Commit To Democracy?

By Abdul-Qahar Mustafa: Most people including me know that Turkey has a bad history in dealing with minorities and has never had any true approach to democracy. It started from the time when their ancestors took the land by force from Kurds, Assyrians, Armenians, and Greeks in the 11th century. They have subjected and murdered…

Turkey’s Detention of Journalists Who Showed Solidarity With Kurdish Newspaper Widely Condemned

KT Report: There has been widespread condemnation of the Turkish authorities following the arrests yesterday of two journalists and a human rights activist who had supported a campaign of solidarity with the pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem. An Istanbul court ordered the pre-trial detention of Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Turkey representative Erol Önderoğlu, Human Rights…

Solution to Iran Regime’s Nuclear Ambitions Linked to Human Rights

By Jamal Ekhtiar: Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been a headache for the world for the last two decades, and so far there is no reassurance and distrust endures. The current deal and lifting of sanctions will not halt the ruling clergy’s appetite for nuclear weapons. There is no change in Iran’s domestic situation, the world…

Kaboudvand Ends his Month Long Hunger Strike in Iran

By Dr. Amir Sharifi: Thank you for your expressions of solidarity with Mr. Kaboudvand and participating in the campaign to save his life. Your efforts have been consequential and successful. According to Mr. Kaboudvand’s family members and human rights organizations, Mr. Kaboudvand has ended his hunger strike after receiving assurances that his prison sentence would…

Stand Up For Mohammad Sadigh Kaboudvand, On Hunger Strike In Iran

By Dr. Amir Sharifi: Letter to  UN Special Rapporteur Dear Dr. Shaheed I am writing to you with great urgency to call your attention to the tragic case of Mr. Mohammad Sadigh Kaboudvand, a prominent Kurdish human rights activist and journalist, who has been on protest hunger strike since May 8 and his declining heath…

International Appeal: Forced Disappearance of DBP Executive in Police Custody

By HDP Foreign Affairs Commission: Not a single day seems to pass without the war which the AKP government has launched against the Kurdish people in its drive to further entrench its hold on power acquiring new dimensions. Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Şırnak Provincial Executive Mr. Hurşit Güler has been forcibly disappeared after being taken into police custody…

Kurdish PEN Writers Meet, Watched By Police

By Berivan Dosky, Co-Chair, Kurdish PEN: This is to inform you that on 20-21 May 2016 under difficult circumstances we held our 9th Congress in Amed/Diyarbakir as there was a heavy police presence and tense atmosphere. The Congress coincided with a few events: 1. A book fair in Amed 18th – 21st May where there was…

‘My daughter’s name was Cizir’ …The Purging of a People: Kurds in Turkey and How to Support Them

By Z.S.: ‘Kurds have no friends but the mountains’ says the old Kurdish proverb. History and current events in Turkey serve as testimony to this sad conviction. Since 6 August 2015, there have been 58 officially confirmed, open­ended and round­the­clock curfews in cities that have a Kurdish majority in Turkey. These have taken place across seven…

Preliminary Report By Jurists Based On Visit To Cizre

Report by members of the Mesopotamia Lawyers Association, Libertarian Lawyers Association, Asrin Law Firm & Foundation For Society And Legal Studies: This study has been prepared as a report to present an updated and general perspective for the public on the human rights violations that occurred in Cizre, Turkey beginning on December 14, 2015. Reporting and documentation…

Peace in Kurdistan Says: Join our Supporters Network

By Peace in Kurdistan Campaign: Peace in Kurdistan was launched in 1994 in order to support the Kurdish people in their struggle to achieve justice through peaceful and democratic solutions to the persecutions the live under. This includes seeking international recognition of the fundamental right of the Kurdish people to self-determination and achieving their ability to exercise…

The World’s Silence on Turkish Atrocities

By Arian Mufid: In 1988 when the Halabja massacre and chemical attack took place during the Iraq-Iran war, almost 5000 people were gassed and killed, including many women and children. The reaction of the world was patchy and vague. The UK’s Foreign Minister at the time, Geoffrey Howe, stated that his government had grave concerns…

Free Abdullah Ocalan

Peace in Kurdistan Statement: Peace in Kurdistan Campaign statement on the occasion of the 17th anniversary of his abduction on 15th February 2016 Abdullah Ocalan was captured in Kenya in 1999 and flown to Turkey where he has been imprisoned ever since. For millions of Kurdish people in Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq and across the…