tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81436748906778570552024-03-05T22:31:36.179-08:00Kurdistan FocusTrying to pull the latest news about Kurdistan and Kurds into one easy to follow place, if you know any more rss feeds and news sources please let me know. Linked sites and feeds are for information not in anyway a political endorsement of their contentsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-74331100609461256032012-09-19T22:51:00.000-07:002012-09-19T22:51:02.650-07:00‘Echo Gods and Silent Mountains’ by Patrick Woodcock – a reviewSource: Kurdistan Tribune<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://kurdistantribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Echo-Gods-and-Other-Mountains-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="166" width="107" src="http://kurdistantribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Echo-Gods-and-Other-Mountains-cover.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
"Echo Gods and Silent Mountains, in this reader’s opinion, is the best book ever written on Kurds: unique in both form and content. The book is a proof of Woodcock’s exceptional ability to commiserate with a nation invisible to the rest of the world; he becomes a Kurd, feels the plight, and carries the weight of a century of massacre, of endless pain. Woodcock is a genuine voice." writes <a href="http://www.avahoma.com/">Ava Homa</a><br />
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Read the full review <a href="http://kurdistantribune.com/2012/echo-gods-silent-mountains-by-patrick-woodcock-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=echo-gods-silent-mountains-by-patrick-woodcock-review">‘Echo Gods and Silent Mountains’ by Patrick Woodcock – a review</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-11407923168888240592012-09-19T22:44:00.001-07:002012-09-19T22:44:40.147-07:00New Statistics Reveal the Size of Turkey's Kurdish PopulationSource: Rudaw in English<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rudaw.net/english/thumbnail.php?file=Kurdish_women_in_Diyarbak_007_289924369.jpeg&size=article_medium" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="318" width="531" src="http://www.rudaw.net/english/thumbnail.php?file=Kurdish_women_in_Diyarbak_007_289924369.jpeg&size=article_medium" /></a></div><br />
key<br />
The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) recently published the birth records of Kurdish citizens in Turkey.<br />
<br />
According to these records, there are 22,691,824 Kurds in Turkey, mostly born in Kurdish cities in the southeast of the country. Therefore, out of Turkey’s 74.7 million citizens, more than 30 percent are Kurds. These records only include people who have been registered at official government institutions.<br />
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<b>Read the full article <a href="http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/5220.html">New Statistics Reveal the Size of Turkey's Kurdish Population</a></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-36113175969260857422012-09-15T10:39:00.000-07:002012-09-15T10:39:09.108-07:00Ultra Left critique of the PKKSource CPGB<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cpgb.org.uk/assets/images/wwimages/ww929/SM_PKK5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="250" width="440" src="http://www.cpgb.org.uk/assets/images/wwimages/ww929/SM_PKK5.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Northern Kurdistan, <br />
<b>Rejection of Marxism</b><br />
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Continuing his examination of the various programmes of the Turkish and Kurdish left, Esen Uslu looks at the new-found ‘democratic confederalism’ of the Workers’ Party of Kurdistan<br />
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After perusing the programmes of the legal TKP and ÖDP, we will now take a look at the programme of the Workers’ Party of Kurdistan (PKK).<br />
<br />
Contrary to the view of many, who regard the PKK as a nationalist guerrilla movement, at its inception the founding members of the PKK were not Kurdish nationalists - at least not in the sense that the term could be applied to several remarkable Kurdish organisations in Iraq and Turkey, first and foremost among them the Kurdistan Democratic Party.<br />
<br />
The initial bunch of PKK leaders, including comrade Abdullah Öcalan, had their roots in the revolutionary Marxist organisations of the late 60s and early 70s. However, since its foundation the PKK has passed through several political and ideological bottlenecks resulting in a change of programme - among the Turkish left there is a tendency to despise such programme changes.<br />
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We must bear in mind that the PKK has been engaged in open warfare since 1985, and despite suffering heavy losses it has still maintained substantial support among the population of Kurdistan. Considering the frozen nature of the Turkish left’s positions on the national question, the PKK’s attempts to understand the rapidly changing realities of the region and adjust its programme accordingly is actually commendable.<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://www.cpgb.org.uk/home/weekly-worker/929/rejection-of-marxism">Rejection of Marxism</a><br />
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Note. THE CPGB area minute ultra left sect in the UK, previously The Leninist tendency in the Communist Party, they have been linked to Trotskyist facts in Turkey. I decided to poublish it because it is quite an interesting take on the PKKAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-251143431051364402012-09-11T06:46:00.000-07:002012-09-11T06:46:17.144-07:00Turkey should resist urge for war with Kurdish militants -ICGSource: Chicago Tribune News<br />
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More than 700 people have been killed since parliamentary elections in June last year, making this the deadliest period since the capture of the PKK's leader, Abdullah Ocalan, in 1999, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report.<br />
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"Stepping up the struggle to wipe out the insurgency by physical frontal assault, even if understandable, will never be enough to solve the conflict and will bring thousands of deaths that will push more Kurdish youths to take up arms," it said.<br />
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"The government and mainstream media should resist the impulse to call for all-out anti-terrorist war and focus instead, together with Kurds, on long-term conflict resolution."<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-turkey-pkkbre88a0lp-20120911,0,6042010.story">Turkey should resist urge for war with Kurdish militants -ICG</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-77438564457801879442012-09-11T06:44:00.000-07:002012-09-11T06:44:22.995-07:00Party Insiders Warn of Divisions Inside PUKSource Rudaw in English<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rudaw.net/english/thumbnail.php?file=puk_806835372.jpeg&size=article_medium" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="318" width="531" src="http://www.rudaw.net/english/thumbnail.php?file=puk_806835372.jpeg&size=article_medium" /></a></div><br />
Gorran<br />
After the dramatic split of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which led to the formation of the Change Movement (Gorran), many people thought the PUK would adjust its lines and become more unified to prevent further splits in the party.<br />
However, senior officials in the party are warning about an ongoing "struggle and polarization within."<br />
<br />
Mala Bakhtiyar, chairman of the executive committee of the PUK political bureau, admits, "Unfortunately, there is a struggle within the PUK,” he said.<br />
PUK spokesperson Azad Jundiyan agrees that there are signs that polarization exists within his party. “This is a contest within the PUK over winning the trust of Jalal Talabani. Talabani has intervened twice now between the struggling groups. Only he can deal with this problem."<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/5179.html">Party Insiders Warn of Divisions Inside PUK</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-65059256825495785402012-09-11T06:39:00.000-07:002012-09-11T06:39:25.250-07:00Bashar al-Assad’s other problem: Peter Fragiskatos on Syrian Kurds Source National Post via eKurd<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/9/syriakurd615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="255" width="340" src="http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/9/syriakurd615.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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"In 1962, an estimated 120,000 Kurds suspected of crossing into Syria illegally from Turkey and Iraq had their citizenship revoked. This group, along with their descendants, was given the status of “ajanib” or “foreigner.” While many did enter from outside — they were anxious to flee unrest in their own communities — Kurds who had been born and raised in Syria and whose families had resided in the country for hundreds of years also lost their citizenship.<br />
<br />
The results for the ajanib were devastating. They could not purchase property, businesses or land and were excluded from a range of professions including engineering, medicine and law. They were even prevented from accessing state hospitals. Leaving was not an option since they were not permitted a passport. In a cynical move designed to quell unrest, Bashar promised to reverse the situation and restore citizenship shortly after mass protests began in March 2011, but most are still classified as ajanib — a number hovering around 300,000." writes Peter Fragiskatos<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/9/syriakurd615.htm">Bashar al-Assad’s other problem: Peter Fragiskatos on Syrian Kurds </a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-18630745697886403912012-09-10T11:01:00.000-07:002012-09-10T11:01:25.760-07:00Gulenists’ KurdishphobiaSource Kurdistan Tribune<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://kurdistantribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/fethullah_gulen-300x245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="245" width="300" src="http://kurdistantribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/fethullah_gulen-300x245.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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"A phobia is defined as the unrelenting and irrational fear of a situation, activity or thing that causes one to want to avoid it. Today the Gulenists’ media is bombarding audiences with a series of flatly untrue stories that render the Kurdish elected BDP party and the Kurdish rebel PKK within a framework of hostility, if not terror. The Gulenists’ mediascape arguably does not represent the Kurdish cause in a fair and true light; stereotypes that deem the BDP as a dangerous and disruptive force pervade the media" writes Dr Aland Mizell<br />
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Dr. Aland Mizell is with the University of Mindanao School of Social Science, President of the MCI and a regular contributor to The <a href="http://kurdistantribune.com/">Kurdistan Tribune</a>, <a href="http://www.kurdishaspect.com/">Kurdishaspect.com,</a> <a href="http://www.mindanaotimes.net/">Mindanao Times</a> and <a href="http://www.kurdmedia.com/">Kurdish Media</a>.You may email the author at:aland_mizell2@hotmail.com <br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://kurdistantribune.com/2012/gulenists-kurdishphobia/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gulenists-kurdishphobia">Gulenists’ Kurdishphobia</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-50797039005047240772012-09-10T10:54:00.001-07:002012-09-14T08:30:58.025-07:0044 journalists before a Turkish tribunal: A shameful press trial – for Europe as well as for Turkey!Source: <a href="http://kurdistantribune.com/2012/journalists-before-turkish-tribunal-shameful-press-trial-for-europe-as-well-as-for-turkey/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=journalists-before-turkish-tribunal-shameful-press-trial-for-europe-as-well-as-for-turkey">Kurdistan Tribune</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://kurdistantribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Do%C4%9Fan-%C3%96zg%C3%BCden-218x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="218" src="http://kurdistantribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Do%C4%9Fan-%C3%96zg%C3%BCden-218x300.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<i>Doğan Özgüden, <a href="http://www.info-turk.be/">Info-Türk</a> Chief Editor, issued the following declaration on September 9, 2012, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the beginning of his journalistic career in Turkey:</i><br />
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I began journalism in the Republic of Turkey at the age of 16 years in Izmir on September 9, 1952. It was the first years of the Democrat Party’s power having promised a real democratization in the country. However, at that date, 184 personalities, of whom many were writers or artists of the country, were already behind iron bars on charges of belonging to a communist organization. It was followed by the arrest of many journalists or writers whatsoever be their political opinion.<br />
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A group of Turkish Army’s officers overthrew the DP on May 27, 1960, by a military coup with the promise to establish a democratic regime. However they refused to release Kurdish intellectuals already in prison. Moreover, they did not delay to deport many distinguished Kurdish intellectuals and to put in jail our internationally known writer Aziz Nesin and courageous journalist Ihsan Ada.<br />
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The main target of the repression during the period of coalitions, military coups of 1971 and 1980 as well as during post-modern coups of the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century was always journalists, writers, artists and the defenders of the rights of the working people, the Kurdish people and the national minorities.<br />
<br />
During my 60-year career as a journalist, including years of exile, I have only known repression, legal proceedings, trials, condemnations, exile and menaces of death.<br />
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The details and proofs of this disrespect of the freedom of expression can be found in my 1000-page memoirs, published in two volumes under the title of “Stateless” Journalist.<br />
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At this 60th anniversary of my career as a journalist, I do not wish to talk about my problems and fights. I solely wish to put emphasis on the deplorable situation of the freedom of expression and the press in a country that is always a member of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and NATO, and a candidate to the European Union.<br />
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In three days’ time, it will be the anniversary of the bloodiest putsch of the last century: the September 12, 1980 Coup.<br />
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In spite of all claims of democratization, the constitution of the putschists always remains in force and the repressive practices against the Kurdish people and national and confessional minorities continue with the same atrocity.<br />
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As for the numbers:<br />
<br />
So many journalists, currently about a hundred, had never been behind iron bars before the AKP came to power.<br />
So many political men or women, currently several thousands, had never been behind iron bars before the AKP came to power.<br />
On September 10, 2012, 44 journalists will be tried at a Turkish tribunal on charge of “terrorism”.<br />
<br />
The people of Turkey, with Turks, Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, Jews and more than 50 ethnical groups, do not deserve it.<br />
The European peoples who consider the European Union as a project of cohabiting in peace and social justice do not deserve it.<br />
Shame on Turkey’s political leaders who consider themselves as heirs of 16 “Turkish States” founded during centuries, who have the ambition to see Turkey as the second strongest state in the European Union after Germany, who use all means for establishing a neo-Ottoman hegemony in Middle East as a regional superpower.<br />
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Shame on European leaders who carry on bargaining with Turkey by considering it as a reliable partner for the European Union, who remain silent before the permanent violation of the freedom of expression, and who give Ankara whatever concession to obtain the votes of the citizens of Turkish origin.<br />
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Brussels, September 9, 2012<br />
<br />
Doğan Özgüden, Chief Editor of <a href="http://www.info-turk.be/">Info-Türk</a><br />
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INFO-TURK: 53, rue de Pavie, 1000 BRUXELLES, Tel: (32-2) 215 35 76, Fax: (32-2) 215 58 60Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-45172764085086414422012-09-10T10:49:00.003-07:002012-09-10T10:49:27.376-07:00Iraq Ranks As One Of The Worst Countries To Invest In For Oil And Gas Source AK News<br />
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In June 2012, the Fraser Institute issued its latest report on investment in oil and gas around the world. The paper was based upon a survey of several hundred executives from the hydrocarbon industry. Iraq ranked near the bottom in almost every category. This souring of opinion on Iraq is quite a change as previously energy companies were eager to get into Iraq’s petroleum market since it had been cut off for over a decade by international sanctions. Now that some businesses have gotten a taste of working there they have found it difficult, and concerns about security and political instability are also pressing issues. For those reasons, Iraq ranked in the bottom ten in the opinion poll, which could limit future investment in the country’s oil and gas sector.<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/8/325705/">Iraq Ranks As One Of The Worst Countries To Invest In For Oil And Gas </a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-62807396801757634382012-09-07T22:40:00.000-07:002012-09-07T22:40:01.768-07:00On trial for writing newsSource: Firat in English<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.firatnews.com/photos/headline/journalist-arrest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="351" width="600" src="http://en.firatnews.com/photos/headline/journalist-arrest.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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The first hearing of the trial against members of the Kurdish press will take place at Istanbul 15th High Criminal Court on 10 September. It seems the trial will head towards dangerous waters as journalists are being tried on the basis of the news they wrote or reported. <br />
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44 journalists have been tried since December 2011 in the context of the so called Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) operation. 36 among them have been remanded in custody despite the lack of any confirmed criminal evidence. Journalists are standing trial for alleged “membership and leadership of an illegal organization”. Their news on environment, labor, politics, women, life, culture, art and daily developments were defined as criminal evidences in the indictment which was prepared by Public Prosecutor Bilal Bayraktar and accepted by Istanbul 15th High Criminal Court on 11 May. <br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=5108">On trial for writing news</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-73201741219665712702012-09-07T22:28:00.004-07:002012-09-07T22:28:43.885-07:00Baghdad threatens Kurds with budget cut over oil rowSource: Reuters<br />
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Iraq's central government is considering cutting federal budget payments to the country's Kurdistan by more than $3 billion (1.9 billion pounds) to cover losses it says came from the autonomous region's oil exports, a government spokesman said on Tuesday.<br />
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Ali al-Moussawi, advisor to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said a committee found losses of more than $3 billion resulting from Kurdistan's failure to pump the amount of oil agreed in the budget, and from its recent halting of oil exports.<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/09/04/uk-energy-iraq-kurdistan-idUKBRE8830FP20120904">Baghdad threatens Kurds with budget cut over oil row</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-70685938561052296442012-09-07T22:17:00.000-07:002012-09-07T22:17:21.010-07:00Hands off Hasankeyf!Source: Kurdistan Tribune<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://kurdistantribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/KT_hasankeyf6_0-300x200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="300" src="http://kurdistantribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/KT_hasankeyf6_0-300x200.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Despite opposition from local Kurds and conservationists across the world, the Turkish government looks set to press ahead with its Ilisu dam project. This will flood the historic town of Hasankeyf – one of the oldest continually inhabited places in the world – and forcibly displace around 55,000 people from dozens of villages in Batman and adjacent provinces of Turkey/north Kurdistan.<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://kurdistantribune.com/2012/hands-off-hasankeyf/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hands-off-hasankeyf">Hands off Hasankeyf!</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-35271783316370704562012-09-07T09:10:00.001-07:002012-09-07T21:46:17.372-07:00Saif Badrakhan - Representative of KNK speaks to Swana RadioStreaming at <a href="http://archive.kpfk.org/index.php?shokey=rintifada">http://archive.kpfk.org/index.php?shokey=rintifada</a> and available on audio archive for 90 days<br />
<br />
Originally Broadcast Wednesday, September, 5th 2012, 2:30-3:00 PM KPFK/Pacifica Radio 90.7 fm, Los Angeles<br />
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Produced by Nyma Ardalan - SWANA (South and West Asia and North Africa) Collective, KPFK<br />
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Note. Kongra Netewia Kurdistan (KNK)- Kurdistan National Congress is the largest Kurdish congress in Exile it includes 32 Kurdish political parties and organisationsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-74833319342524157212012-09-07T08:24:00.001-07:002012-09-07T08:24:23.864-07:00Syrian Kurds will not fight each other: Kurdish KNC leaderSource: AK News via eKurd<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/9/syriakurd612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="340" src="http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/9/syriakurd612.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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ERBIL-Hewlêr, Kurdistan region 'Iraq',— Deputy for head of the umbrella organization of Kurdish National Congress (KNC) said there is no possibility of fratricide war among the Kurdish parties in Syria. <br />
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"Those who bet that Kurds will face fratricide war in the Syria after the [fall of Bashar al] Assad are just dreaming," said Bengi Haco.<br />
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Haco added Kurds in Syria are faced with no threats of fratricide war "at all… All the political parties and forces are united over the patriotic and national issues, especially after singing Erbil agreement."<br />
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The agreement, signed under the supervision of Kurdistan Region's President Massoud Barzani, united two major Kurdish alliances in Syria: The People's Council of Western Kurdistan and the Kurdish National Council of Syria. <br />
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KNC official said Kurds have always preferred holding dialogue to exercise of violence for settling any issue and will maintain this policy for resolving the Kurdish issue in Syria.<br />
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Haco urged the Syrian National Council (the Arabic opposition front) to admit to the ethnic rights of Kurds in the phase after the fall of Assad's regime.<br />
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He said " Kurds will not be content with a centralized authority in the current or the future Syria because they demand a decentralized government be created,www.ekurd.net the rights of Kurds and other nations be protected and democracy be established.<br />
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"Kurds in Syria live on their own land… Their soil has been divided [among Iran, Turkey, Syria and Iraq] by force and against their wish.<br />
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"Therefore, those who say they will give Kurds [their] rights are wrong because they are [living] on the Kurdish land and have to admit to their rights…" <br />
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Syrian Kurds will stay away from the "sectarian" war in Syria and will maintain their unity until their rights as a distinct nation in Syria are granted, said Haco. <br />
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The statement by Bengi Haco was made on Tuesday during a press conference in Ciwarcira Hotel in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Region.<br />
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Haco said "our purpose behind the visit to Southern Kurdistan [Iraqi Kurdistan Region] is to support the Erbil agreement which was signed by the Kurdish forces and political parties of Syria under the supervision of Kurdistan Region's President Massoud Barzani."<br />
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The agreement united the People's Council of Western Kurdistan (PCWK) and the Kurdish National Council of Syria (KNCS). PYK (Democratic Union Party), as the major component of the PCWK, has strong links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey. <br />
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The KNC official described the agreement "an important stride" for keeping the Kurds away from any dangers to the high interests of Kurds and "a means for uniting Kurds' position in Syria."<br />
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Commenting on the violence in the Middle East, Haco said "what is done today in the Middle Eastern countries is a sectarian war and Kurds will not engage themselves in this war.<br />
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"Kurds in Syria are trying to stay away from this war and bloodshed …. and to hold talks for obtaining their rights."<br />
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Haco described the position of the Arab opposition front in Syria "worrying.<br />
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"They are not unified among themselves, 60% of the[Arab] Syrian opposition believes in the centralized authority…. They have always opposed democracy and human rights."<br />
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However, for Kurds of Syria, Haco thought "90% of Kurds of Syria are united against any different position among Kurdish ranks.<br />
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By Fryad Mohammed, AK NewsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-42615458074858045282012-09-07T08:21:00.001-07:002012-09-07T08:21:28.996-07:00JOURNALIST INTERROGATED IN IRAQI KURDISTANSource: Reporters Without Borders<br />
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Reporters Without Borders expresses its concern over an official investigation of journalist Mohamed Abdu Hamu, better known as Biradost Azizi, who was summoned to a police interrogation concerning reporting of his that angered major political forces in the Kurdish autonomous region of Iraq.<br />
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Azizi was summoned to the Siwan police station in Sulaymaniyah on 5 September for questioning. The order to appear followed a complaint concerning Azizi’s reporting involving the Syrian civil war filed by two members of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). The party is the Syrian offshoot of Turkey’s armed separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). He was released after several hours, but the investigation is ongoing.<br />
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“This interrogation of a journalist following a simple complaint, without formal charges being filed, raises deep concern over the functioning of the Iraqi Kurdish justice system,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The apparent aim is to muzzle a journalist who has reported critically on the PKK’s use of the Syrian conflict for the organization’s own regional ends.”<br />
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Azizi is a native of Qamlishli in northeastern Syria who took refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan after Syria expelled him. The complaints against him followed publication on the website of Nawa radio of his reporting on a confrontation between supporters of the Syrian uprising and PYD members in Amuda, in the Kurdish region of northeastern Syria, near the Turkish border. “This case is about politics,” Bazizi said when contacted by Reporters Without Borders.<br />
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Last June, the press freedom organization expressed its concern over Azizi’s safety, following threats against him by the PKK and its Syrian affiliate, as well as a murder attempt. At the time, Reporters Without Borders demanded that authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan investigate the matter and take all steps necessary to protect Azizi’s safety.<br />
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Likewise, the organization called on the PKK to openly condemn the threats against Azizi. In an email, the party responded: “We have never and will not threaten anyone because of his opinion and attitudes, as we stand solid in the face of violence and the policy of threat and intimidation, whether it is physically or verbally, and we believe in constructive dialogue approach as the only way for the convergence of political views”.<br />
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Nevertheless the PKK and PYD have never publicly condemned the threats that Azizi faces because of his professional activities.<br />
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Read the original article on the <a href="http://en.rsf.org/iraq-journalist-interrogated-in-iraqi-05-09-2012,43337.html">Reporters without Frontiers site</a><br />
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<a href="http://fr.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/120905_azizi_ar.odt_-_neooffice_writer.pdf">Read in Arabic (بالعربية)</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-68652813070117822422012-09-07T08:10:00.000-07:002012-09-07T08:10:15.708-07:00Corruption and cronyism hinder Iraq's Kurdistan regionSource: Financial Times via eKurd<br />
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Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — The Kurdish city of Erbil in the north of Iraq is often described as “the new Dubai” because of its booming development since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003.<br />
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But beyond the gleaming new suburbs, five-star hotels and flashy cars lies an ancient city in which critics say corruption remains a problem and the lines dividing government and business are unhealthily blurred.<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/9/state6476.htm">Corruption and cronyism hinder Iraq's Kurdistan region</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-2006961836410194642012-09-07T08:00:00.000-07:002012-09-07T08:00:14.422-07:00In Iraqi Kurdistan, Satisfaction With Infrastructure CrumblesSource: Gallup<br />
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Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region has long been lauded for its safety and thriving business environment relative to the rest of the country. However, even while its economy experienced a steady 8% growth last year, driven by its oil and gas sectors, residents of the three northern provinces governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government are becoming less satisfied with their infrastructure.<br />
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Whereas residents of Iraqi Kurdistan have generally been less likely to say government corruption is widespread than their counterparts in the rest of Iraq, the opposite is now true. In 2012, 81% of residents in Iraqi Kurdistan report corruption as widespread in government, compared with 67% of respondents in the rest of Iraq.<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/157298/iraqi-kurdistan-satisfaction-infrastructure-crumbles.aspx">In Iraqi Kurdistan, Satisfaction With Infrastructure Crumbles</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-74781853600654858912012-08-29T08:52:00.000-07:002012-08-29T08:52:34.931-07:00Syria: The Kurdish Wild CardSource: Truth Dig<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.truthdig.com/images/eartothegrounduploads/AP120615033657-syria-kurds-320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="207" width="320" src="http://www.truthdig.com/images/eartothegrounduploads/AP120615033657-syria-kurds-320.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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"That incident symbolizes the complexities facing Kurds, an ethnic minority making up an estimated 10 to 15 percent of Syria’s population of 22 million. Kurds face discrimination and repression under Assad. But when they took up arms against the Syrian regime, both Turkey and the United States became wary."- Reese Erlich<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/syria_the_kurdish_wildcard_20120828/">Syria: The Kurdish Wild Card</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-21901730111016131122012-08-29T08:45:00.000-07:002012-08-29T08:45:02.063-07:00In Kurdistan, real estate market goes beyond expectationsSource: Rudaw in English<br />
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pnGBLZCq35w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-7705887510665463652012-08-29T08:43:00.001-07:002012-08-29T08:43:24.728-07:00Shia Leader: The Awaited Imam Mahdi Will Fight the KurdsSource: Rudaw in English<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rudaw.net/english/thumbnail.php?file=show_501893538.jpeg&size=article_medium" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="310" width="535" src="http://www.rudaw.net/english/thumbnail.php?file=show_501893538.jpeg&size=article_medium" /></a></div><br />
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Professor Nawzad Khoshnaw, an expert of the Arabic language and lecturer at Salahaddin University in Erbil, explained the meaning of mariqa in the context of Sagheer’s lecture. "It means the Kurds are deserting the laws and the rules of the Iraqi government, and therefore Imam Mahdi will appear and fight the Kurds," he said.<br />
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Khosnaw added, "Sagheer compares the Kurds to the khawarige (renegades) who Imam Ali ordered to be killed during his time."<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/5143.html">Shia Leader: The Awaited Imam Mahdi Will Fight the Kurds</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-38569941735621299542012-08-29T08:36:00.000-07:002012-08-29T08:36:54.443-07:00Who is the biggest obstacle to the Kurdish peace process in Turkey?Source: Kurdistan Tribune<br />
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The war on the Kurds has been going on for a long time, but what we see today is the intensification of the war: psychological warfare, media propaganda, threats and assassinations, kidnapping, and bombings. What other sorts of evidence does an observer need to believe that the Turkish government and their allies have already started their war against the Kurds? All of these acts of aggression and belligerence are taking place while an intensive media operation against Kurds is on track, and the Gulenists media moguls affiliated with the hawkish, pro-Gulenists think-tanks in the United States are malevolently portraying a biased and distorted image of the Kurds to their people with the aim of laying the groundwork to get rid of the democratically elected BDP political party, the sole defender of Kurdish rights.- Dr. Aland Mizell<br />
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<b>Read the full article<a href="http://kurdistantribune.com/2012/who-biggest-obstacle-kurdish-peace-process-turkey/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=who-biggest-obstacle-kurdish-peace-process-turkey"> Who is the biggest obstacle to the Kurdish peace process in Turkey?</a></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-8604301135977245082012-08-27T06:02:00.001-07:002012-08-27T06:02:12.610-07:00Opposition Leader: Kurds Won't Support Iran in Case of Western AttackSource: Rudaw in English<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rudaw.net/english/thumbnail.php?file=israel_iran_120203_620x350_988002675.jpeg&size=article_medium" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="318" width="531" src="http://www.rudaw.net/english/thumbnail.php?file=israel_iran_120203_620x350_988002675.jpeg&size=article_medium" /></a></div><br />
Speaking to the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV, Abdullah Mohtadi said, “We do not support a military attack on Iran, but if western countries entered into a war with Iran, Kurds will in no way back the regime in Tehran.”<br />
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Mohtadi is the leader of the Revolutionary Association of Iranian Kurdistan’s Toilers (Komala), a Marxist organization that has fought the Islamic regime for years.<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/iran/5130.html">Opposition Leader: Kurds Won't Support Iran in Case of Western Attack</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-73197520292026410602012-08-25T10:01:00.000-07:002012-08-25T10:01:07.548-07:00Syria Between Scylla and CharybdisSource: Palestine Chronicle<br />
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It is useful to put the Kurdish issue in context. The most famous Kurd is Saladin, who captured Jerusalem in 1187 during the Crusades. When the Ottoman Empire fell, the Kurds sought independence. The Treaty of Sevres of 1920, that ended the war between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies, specifically contained a provision for the creation of an autonomous Kurdistan. But it was never implemented. The Kurds found themselves in Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq. None of these states want an independent Kurdistan. They have used Kurds as pawns from time to time in their games against each other. In this regard, Turkey is particularly vulnerable. It is a sad commentary on Turkey’s search for modernity that it has so far failed to come to a Modus Vivendi with the Kurds – a failure that casts a shadow over its ambitions to join the European Union.<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=19513">Syria Between Scylla and Charybdis</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-91428106007405889602012-08-25T09:58:00.001-07:002012-08-25T09:58:24.359-07:00Vacuum of uprising gives Syria Kurds rare freedomSource: Business Recorder (Pakistan)<br />
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"The Syrian revolution complements our fight for our legitimate rights, but even if the uprising stops - and I don't believe it will - our revolution will continue," he says. Since the regime pulled back, the area's 365 towns and villages have all formed their own local councils, with a regional committee of 400 members available to consider matters that affect the area as a whole. <br />
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"Forty percent of the committee is women," Sheiku says proudly. "Women in our society have full freedom. They can do whatever men can do, they can wear what they want, do what they want, be what they want." Despite his pride in the autonomous system set up in the region, and his unabashed admiration for Ocalan, Sheiku is careful to make clear that Syria's Kurds are not seeking independence or a state. <br />
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"We are first and foremost Syrians," he says. "We want a self-administered system for Syrian Kurds, and democracy for the whole of Syria." "We look at the Iraqi Kurdish model as outdated. All states are a form of oppression," he adds. At 60, Sheiku has spent decades waiting for Kurdish autonomy, but he says he always believed it would come one day. "It didn't come as a surprise. It took blood, fighting, organisation and many years. But now that we have it, we will protect it very carefully." <br />
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Read the full article<a href="http://www.brecorder.com/articles-a-letters/187/1230318/"> Vacuum of uprising gives Syria Kurds rare freedom</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8143674890677857055.post-63266151464959168202012-08-25T09:38:00.000-07:002012-08-25T09:38:55.111-07:00Will Turkey intervene in Syria’s Kurdish areas?Source: Kurdistan Tribune<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://kurdistantribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Kurdish-flag-carried-in-Amude-300x179.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="179" width="300" src="http://kurdistantribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Kurdish-flag-carried-in-Amude-300x179.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
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"Turkey’s ‘Kurdish complex’ has remarkably influenced its wobbling position towards developments in Syria, and its attitude is basically seen as part of a floundering policy concerning a democratic change in Syria. In other words, there is a psychological ‘complex’ which was a constituent factor in the establishment of the Ataturk republic, based on the policy of eliminating religious minorities and the Turkification of the Kurds, and the tools of this policy were persecution, suppression, and exclusion. However, the policy of Turkification has failed and left unforgettable suffering." Adib Abdulmajid<br />
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Read the full article <a href="http://kurdistantribune.com/2012/will-turkey-intervene-syrias-kurdish-areas/">Will Turkey intervene in Syria’s Kurdish areas?</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143383379007986952noreply@blogger.com0