Fréderike Geerdink reflects on the commemoration of the Suruç bombing, emphasising the way dreams and struggles for a better future continue to inspire resistance and hope, exemplified by the Suruç victims and the Rojava revolution.

What might a Trump presidency mean for North and East Syria; what are the prospects for the much talked about reconciliation between Erdoğan and Assad; what is the situation with Turkey’s invasion into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq? Plus, Turkey’s normalising of human rights violations, and their attempt to barter Öcalan’s human rights. 

Turkey is carrying out an invasion and “de facto annexation” in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and waging a low intensity war against the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. They also oppress Kurds within Turkey’s borders. So, how did destruction of Kurdish identity come to dominate Turkish politics?

Academic Amy Austin Holmes has published 'Statelet of Survivors', exploring the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). The book highlights regional minority collaborations against threats and urges the US to support AANES's democratic processes and postponed elections.

The Grey Wolves, founded in the 1960s, and the hand gesture that emerged in the early 1990s, could only become as influential as they did because there was a fertile soil in which the seed was planted. That fertile soil is Turkish fascism since the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923.

Sarah Glynn examines the context of the attacks on Syrian refugees in Turkey and of the unrest in Turkish-occupied Syria, and catches up with new developments in Turkey’s ongoing invasion of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

As Turkey and Syria contemplate renewed diplomatic ties, the Kurdish perspective remains conspicuously absent from media coverage. Fréderike Geerdink explores why the Kurdish quest for liberation and autonomy is crucial to understanding the region's future, challenging readers to consider the broader implications of excluding Kurdish voices from peace negotiations.

Turkish tanks and soldiers are pouring into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Turkey and Syria have moved a step closer to a rapprochement based on a joint attack against the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, and Turkey continues to oppress Kurdish politicians. Meanwhile the Council of Europe fails in its fundamental purpose of protecting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. 

A relatively quiet week in Kurdish politics is still full of many ongoing problems, but it also allows us time to step back and look at the broader geopolitical context, and the new alliances that are forming with the decline of US hegemony and with the catalysts of war in Ukraine and genocide in Gaza.

Fréderike Geerdink reflects on understanding the Kurdish issue, recalling a villager's remark that the state killed them "because we are Kurds" after the Roboskî massacre. This sentiment is paralleled with Palestinian experiences of Israeli aggression. Understanding suppression requires viewing from the perspective of the oppressed.

This week, the news from Diyarbakır serves as an illustration of the wider Kurdish condition. Here we find threats facing Kurdish co-mayors, the anger of those no longer getting perks from the government trustee system, state impunity in the deeply flawed trial of three police officers for the murder of Human Rights lawyer Tahir Elçi, the whipping up of religious hatred - and also many organisations of resistance. Other news this week includes the latest protests against the imprisonment of...

Burhan Sönmez: ‘the Kurdish language is my home’

As Turkey once again imprisons an elected Kurdish mayor and puts a government trustee in their place, there have been strong and persistent protests. The CHP has also condemned the government’s actions, but the international response has been shockingly weak, and there are fears that this is just the beginning of another purge. 

Another week brings another round of bellicose statements from the Turkish government. And in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the KDP is preparing to help Turkey continue their de facto occupation in the north. The KDP-dominated Kurdistan Regional Government has long since come to the end of its term and is now without official recognition, but the KDP has manoeuvred to get the elections delayed a fourth time, allowing them to hang onto what power they have. 

As American universities are taken over by riot police, this week’s review looks at questions about the nature of power and liberal democracy; and at how some issues create world-defining moments while others fail to get picked up by international radar. It looks at the silence over Turkey’s ongoing and relentless attacks on the Kurds; and it looks at the importance of Abdullah Öcalan’s critique of liberal democracy in favour of direct democracy, and at attempts to put this into practice in...

Turkey is preparing to invade northern Iraq and northern Syria, and the “international community” remains silent. This week’s review focuses on Turkish plans for Iraq, where the Development Road Project may be used as an excuse to destroy autonomous administration in Makhmour and Şengal; on fears of Turkish invasion and ISIS revival in North and East Syria; and on the growing criminalisation of Kurds in Europe, where international power games are trumping basic rights and freedoms.  

Fréderike Geerdink notes how recent protests in Turkey are influencing government actions, notably the reinstatement of Abdullah Zeydan as Van's mayor. However, scepticism arises over Turkey's claimed suspension of trade with Israel amid allegations of ongoing ties, highlighting transparency concerns and political manoeuvring. These events underscore broader issues of accountability and manipulation within Turkey's leadership.

Acclaimed journalist Fréderike Geerdink warns that the oppressive shroud cast over Kurdish politics in Turkey continues to suffocate democracy and minority representation despite shards of light breaking through in the southeast during the country's recent local elections. Discussing her experience of the liberated atmosphere in Kurdish-run municipalities in comparison to constrints under AKP rule, Geerdink says the Kurdish struggle is set to continue. 

In her weekly news review, Sarah Glynn takes a  dive into Turkey’s local elections, which took place last Sunday, exposing the undemocratic practices which took place as well as highlighting the hard-won victories of Pro-Kurdish Dem Party.

Since the 1940s, the KDP, led by the Barzani family, has prioritised its interests, leveraging power and wealth. Geerdink argues that the KDP's election withdrawal is intricately linked to these broader regional dynamics, indicating a continued alliance with Turkey against the PKK, and by extension, an alignment with Turkey's political and economic interests.

Turkey has announced that they will launch a new offensive against the Kurds in Iraq and that they still plan to take control of a 30-40 km corridor in Syria, but the world says nothing. Meanwhile, Turkish ministers have been trying to get wider support for these attacks. They have persuaded Iraq to define the PKK as a “banned organisation”, and they have got the United States to ignore reality and describe Turkey as a country committed to the fight against ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Meanwhile Turkey...

A press conference in Cologne on 1 March marked the launch of the second phase of the “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, A Political Solution to the Kurdish Question” campaign, expanding the movement’s scope and extending the call for international solidarity. German politician Jörg Detjen attended the conference, and spoke there, highlighting the urgent need to release Öcalan.

Fréderike Geerdink confronts the weaponization of rape accusations in conflict zones, particularly spotlighting a recent UN report implicating Hamas in alleged sexual violence during the 7 October attack in Israel. Geerdink scrutinises the broader context, drawing parallels between Israel's tactics and those employed by Turkey in Kurdistan, emphasising the need to dismantle patriarchal systems to truly liberate women from exploitation in propaganda wars.