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“Everything is by the Power of the Weapon”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has identified serious abuses and potential war crimes committed by both the Turkish Armed Forces and their proxies in Syria, warning that Turkish officials appear directly involved in apparent war crimes. Turkey is directly implicated in serious abuses and potential war crimes committed by both members …

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Turkey signals tougher response to PUK over PKK links amid Kurdish unity over Kirkuk

If the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) does not distance itself from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Turkey may take “further steps” in response, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in an interview on Sunday. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has threatened the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) for not …

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US diplomat says his country’s troops not to leave Syria 

The US will not stay in Syria indefinitely, but for now, “I expect our troops to stay,” the diplomat said. On Dec. 8, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted down a bill proposed by Paul to withdraw the U.S. forces from Syria. Attacks by Iran’s proxies on U.S. bases in Syria …

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Calls for recognition for Dersim massacre continue 86 years after Seyid Rıza’s execution

Calls for recognition, apology and compensation continue on the 86th anniversary of the execution of Alevi Kurdish political leader Seyid Rıza by the Turkish authorities after he led an uprising in Dersim (now officially Tunceli) that resulted in the deaths of at least 13,000 Kurdish Alevi people and became known …

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Olive trees production in Syria’s Afrin falls in hands of Turkey, SNA

The Turkish-occupied city of Afrin in northwestern Syria was known for its amazing green nature and fruitful trees, especially olive lands that used to be the center of the residents’ livelihood before occupation. The Monitoring and Documentation Department of North Press recorded the logging of 10,059 trees, 3,664 of which …

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South Tyrol’s autonomists win but lose ground as right-wing independentists double votes

The SVP, the main autonomist party in South Tyrol, won the Provincial Council election once again, although the most notable development was the growth of the pro-independence right-wing forces, which share an anti-immigration viewpoint. Seventeen elections since 1948, seventeen wins. The SVP, the main autonomist party in South Tyrol, won …

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Hamas assault echoes 1973 Arab-Israeli war – a shock attack and questions of political, intelligence culpability

The 1973 Yom Kippur War proved a watershed moment in Middle East conflict and Israel’s politics. Daniel Rosenblum/Keystone/Getty Images Dov Waxman, University of California, Los Angeles The parallels were striking – and surely not coincidental. Exactly 50 years and a day after being taken completely off guard by a coordinated …

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Turkey bombs Kurdish city Kobani, renowned for resistance to ISIS

Turkish jets carried out a new series of airstrikes on Friday night, targeting various sites and infrastructure facilities in Kobani (Kobanê) city in northern Syria. On Friday, the airstrikes completely destroyed all the power stations and most of the region’s oil production facilities, leaving some two million people without electricity …

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How Kurdish language divisions hinder access to information

The scarcity of online resources points to an endangered language Although the Kurdish languages possess a rich history, celebrated for their expansive vocabulary and expressive abilities, they face a shortage of online resources. The different writing scripts, along with the absence of standardization and ongoing power struggles among Kurdish communities, …

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Protecting endangered languages feels right, but does it really help people?

Simply adding your ancestral language as a new school subject isn’t very helpful if your school is falling down, you’re not eating well, your people are disproportionately incarcerated, or you don’t have adequate political representation. Headlines abound with the plight of endangered minority languages around the world. Read a few …

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Turkish airstrikes escalate ahead of Erdoğan’s visit to Iraq

Turkey has conducted more than 665 airstrikes and drone strikes in Syria and Iraq by June this year, in an escalation emboldened by Turkey’s international leverage. Turkish forces have carried out more than 665 airstrikes and drone strikes in Syria and Iraq in the first six months of 2023, London-based …

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“There’s not even 1% chance that Kurdistan will have a national army”

Surkew Mohammed The two partisan forces claim that they support the Coalition-supported reform effort, but in reality show no interest in building up the ministry and ceding power to it, according to an investigation by Peregraf. In the face of continued pressure by the International Coalition to reform and unify …

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Centenary of Treaty of Lausanne and Kurds: A deepening crisis

“The Westerners, especially the British, were bargaining over Mesopotamia and Kurdistan; the Turkish delegation was almost sacrificing the Kurds to save the Anatolian lands. As can be seen, there is a scenario written and implemented against the Kurds without the Kurds. Because the Kemalist administration had already made secret negotiations …

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Dysfunctional Federalism in Iraq: Looking to the Canadian Example

Since the 1922 revolts in British-mandate Iraq, Kurdish leaders have been advocating for autonomy for the part of Kurdistan that was incorporated into Iraq. The pursuit of autonomy for Iraqi Kurds has been a struggle spanning a century. Following the initial Iraqi-Kurdish autonomy agreement in 1970, the Iraqi government launched …

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Elin Anna Labba: We rebuild Sámi society

Sápmi, the country of the Sámi people, is divided between the states of Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia. The main reason for the forced relocations in Sápmi was the fact that our people lived on many sides of what was to become borders and in nationalistic times they weren’t permitted …

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Resistance of Maxmur opens door to negotiation

The resistance of the Maxmur people for 3 days opened the door to negotiation. Iraqi army stopped digging trenches. The people have been resisting for three days against the Iraqi army’s attempt to besiege the Refugee Camp in Maxmur. The resistance of the Maxmur people for 3 days opened the …

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Interview with a Diasporan Armenian Writer

C.K. Garabed (a.k.a. Charles Garabed Kasbarian) has been active in Diasporan Armenian community organizations all his life. As a writer and editor, he has been a keen observer of, and outspoken commentator on, political and social matters affecting Armenians. For more than 40 years, his writings have appeared in the Armenian press in the …

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Former Belgian minister takes Turkish regime to the International Court

The complaint speaks of 200,000 victims of torture, disappearances, incarceration and convictions without due process. The alleged crimes took place in Turkey, a country that doesn’t recognise the ICC, but also in 45 other countries including Belgium. Former Belgian minister takes Turkish regime to the International Court Former Belgian cabinet …

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66 journalists killed in 2022 amid decline in press safety

2022 witnessed a devastating decline in journalists’ safety, as 66 journalists and media workers worldwide were killed in connection with their profession, according to International Press Institute (IPI) data. This figure marks a steep increase from the total of 45 journalists killed in 2021. Spiraling attacks against journalists in Mexico …

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AANES report death toll at 25 in Turkey’s Syria air strikes

The death toll in Turkey’s air strikes on north and east Syria now totals 25, including 11 civilians and 14 fighters from the Syrian regime forces, according a report released by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) reported that …

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Journalists killed in defence of the truth in Rojava

23 male and female journalists were martyred in NE Syria in order to reveal the truth. ANHA agency’s correspondent Issam Abdullah was killed during the bombing of Derik on the 20th of November, while he was covering the air strikes launched by the Turkish occupation state on NE Syria. Here …

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