An intense weekend it was. I went to Diyarbakir, biggest city in the southeast of Turkey, to visit a sit-in protest by pro-Kurdish party DTP. They were protesting not only the (lack of) policies to deal with the problems of the Kurdish southeast of Turkey, but also the (alleged) mistreatment of Öcalan. The PKK-leader is serving a life sentence on …
I was the guest of a Turkish family for a few days. The mother of the family sometimes likes to watch Roj TV, the Kurdish channel that broadcasts from Denmark and has for ages been a pain in the ass for Turkish citizens and the government, which labels it as a PKK propaganda channel. The mother watches …
Yesterday, there was a trial in Ankara concerning article 301, the infamous Penal Code Article on ‘insulting Turkishness’. Thursday there’s one in Istanbul, Friday in Iskenderun. I get an update on trials that concern ‘freedom of expression’ every week. The trials are not only about 301, but also about other articles that are misused to limit the freedom of expression. …
You could have seen it coming: Turkey’s highest prosecutor will start a procedure to close down the pro-Kurdish DTP (Democratic Society Party). They are accused of taking orders from the PKK and promoting its aims and therefore being a threat to national unity. The DTP denies having ties with the PKK and says its aim in politics is to …
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