By Arian Mufid: Turkish leaders have occasionally boasted about learning from their violent history of grave injustice towards indigenous minorities, however ‘Operation, Claw-lock’ (endorsed by the Kurdish KDP) has exposed how empty those claims are. On the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and following Turkey’s latest military operation in Kurdistan, it is worth reflecting on…
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Category Archives: Kurdistan
Remembering Professor Kamal Mazhar Ahmed
By Arian Mufid: We are re-publishing this obituary on the first anniversary of Professor Kamal Mazhar Ahmed’s death. Professor Kamal Mazhar Ahmed, born on the 14th of February 1937 in the town of Akjalar, which belongs to the city of Kirkuk He was born to a father who was a civil servant and born on Valentine’s…
South of Kurdistan: Looking Back on 2021
By Arian Mufid: As we have begun a new year, naturally, we look back on the year that has passed, and there was little to be excited about. The year opened with the public’s sour mood, which has shaped the most consequential events of 2021. The consequences of Covid 19 in Southern Kurdistan was economic…
PUK Internal Feud Weakens its Capacity to Lead
By Arian Mufid: Talabani had a heart attack in Baghdad in December 2012 and subsequently passed away on 3rd October 2017. Since then the PUK, having lost its captain, has been like a ship without direction. The passing of the PUK leader has left behind a dangerous vacuum of leadership. Mr Jalal Talabani’s departure was…
Turkey’s Imperialist Aggression Strategy is an Historical Blunder
By Arian Mufid: Much like the Ottoman Empire, the new Turkish military state is forcing itself on nations in the Middle East by way of bullying and intimidation. Western powers have failed to challenge this and have instead facilitated the Turkish military state’s aggression into countries such as Iraq, Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan. History offers…
Obituary: Professor Kamal Mazhar Ahmed
By Arian Mufid: Professor Kamal Mazhar Ahmed, born on the 14th of February 1937 in the town of Akjalar, which belongs to the city of Kirkuk He was born to a father who was a civil servant and born on Valentine’s day. This is the probable reason for his lifelong love and passion for his…
Joe Biden and the Kurds
By Ahmed Hawarami: Biden is the US President closest to and most knowledgeable of the Kurds. He is the most sympathetic political character to the cause of the Kurdish people. Eighteen years ago, when he was an American Senator, he visited Kurdistan in 2002, before the fall of Saddam and the US invasion. He stated…
PKK Should Realise Their Armed Struggle is Futile
By Arian Mufid: When Abdullah Ocalan the leader of the PKK was captured in Nairobi, Kenya with the help of all the international intelligence services including the CIA, Syrian Mukhabarat, Mossad, and the MIT, the Turkish military junta managed to jail him since February 1999. Since then, Ocalan has issued several books and diaries on…
KRG: Release the unlawfully detained journalists and human rights activists immediately
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) recent violations of fundamental human rights and freedom of expression is of grave concern to us, human rights defenders and activists. The KRG’s blatant disregards for the rule of law and violations of international treaties under PM Masrour Barzani leadership have reached a new level following the kidnapping of…
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 Endless Cycles of Betrayals and Killings of the Kurds
By Dr. M. Koohzad: After the defeat of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in WWI (1914 – 1918), European victors dissected the world’s most potent Muslim Empire. In the middle of the Great War, the Allies predicted the result of the conflict and planned to take over by signing the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement. The two, a…
Interview with Hisyar Ozsoy of the HDP on COVID-19 and its Consequences in Turkey
Dr. Jeff Miley interviews Dr. Hisyar Ozsoy, Member of Parliament and Co-Spokesperson of International Affairs for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), about the social and political consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in North Kurdistan and the rest of Turkey, and about the response of the Kurdish freedom movement. Jeff Miley is a Lecturer of…
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…
“Kurds Have No Friends But The Mountains”
By Muhammad Salah Balaky: Kurds with an estimated population of 35 to 40 million who have been living for centuries in the historical region of Mesepotamia, are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East, inhabiting a mountainous region dividing into Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran, stretching roughly from the northwestren Zagros in Iran…
