On December 28, 2011 at around 9:30 p.m., a group of 37 villagers from Roboskî were hit by an aerial bombardment by the Turkish air force as they crossed back into Turkey from Iraqi Kurdistan. Thirty-four were killed. Seventeen of them …
Posted in Human Rights Watch, Protests, Turkey, Violence | Comments Off on Remembering Roboskî: What has Turkey learned?Tomorrow marks the 1 year anniversary of the Turkish military operation that resulted in a massacre in Roboskî (Uludere) which killed 34 civilian Kurds. To this day no one has been tried for this crime nor has there been a …
Posted in Discrimination, Human Rights Watch, Reports, Turkey | Comments Off on Interview with Ferhat Encü: “We must raise our voice,” never forgetting RoboskiA young Turkish man once asked me why Kurds resort to violence instead of peaceful dialogue to solve the Kurdish question in Turkey. I told him: ”You imprison our politicians and do not give them a chance to speak. You …
Posted in Discrimination, Iraq, Kurdistan, Media, Turkey | 5 CommentsThe number of political prisoners in Turkey is increasing on a daily basis. Despite Turkey being criticised for its crackdowns on mostly Kurdish but also Turkish journalists, lawyers, politicians and activists, there hasn’t been sufficient pressure on Turkey to end …
Posted in Activism, BDP, Censorship, Free speech, Hunger Strikes, Journalists, Media, Political Prisoners, Trials, Turkey | 1 CommentIt is common knowledge among Kurdish communities that Turkey’s shining reputation as a moderate Middle Eastern democracy is false, and that Turkey’s suppression of its Kurdish population is accompanied by censorship, unfair detainment, and brutality. The United States also has …
Posted in Reports, Turkey | 4 CommentsUrmia Prison, West Azerbaijan Province of Iran: On Friday 15 December three Kurds were summarily executed in Urmia prison, among them Gafur Mirza, who’s father was executed last year. Part of Gafur’s last words were allegedly: “My only fault is …
Posted in Executions, Iran, Prisoners of Conscience | 2 CommentsOn December 5th, 2012, in a Kurdish inhabited village called Shinawa near Piranshaar in Iran, on a cold morning while all 37 students of the class, all girls in the age between 6 to 10, were in the class room with …
Posted in General, Iran | Comments Off on School fire in Iran kills Kurdish girlSerêkaniyê, Rojava Syria- In the battle for the overthrow of the Assad government, Kurds in Rojava are struggling against more than just Assad’s forces. In an intense period of shelling from Assad’s government last month, six Kurdish civilians were killed in Serêkaniyê, …
Posted in Protests, Syria, Torture | 1 Comment