Kurd rebel leader calls ceasefire

I contributed to an article in the English paper The Independent about PKK leader Öcalan calling a ceasefire. Here’s a PDF!

Turks divided about Yunus’ faith

ISTANBUL – Turks don’t seem to be unanimous in their opinion about the faith of 9 year old Yunus, who was placed in the foster care of a Dutch lesbian couple after Dutch authorities took him away from his abusive Dutch-Turkish parents. The matter already overshadows a visit of the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to the Netherlands this week. Erdogan …

Doubts about report on Uludere massacre

ISTANBUL – A commission in the Turkish parliament has finalized its report on the Uludere massacre, in which 34 civilians were killed at the end of 2011. According to the report the bombing of civilians was unintentional, and it was caused by communication flaws between civilian and military authorities. Nobody is guilty, according to the report.

Three of the four parties …

Court case on use of Kurdish in politics draws varied reactions

Analysts see ruling as a positive symbolic step, but its practical impact is unclear. The Constitutional Court decision easing restrictions on use of Kurdish in political activities has received mixed interpretations, with observers offering cautious praise amid lingering uncertainty over the ruling’s legal ramifications.

The decision, which went into effect last week after being issued in July 2012, overturned article …

Goodbye to an idol in Dersim

DERSIM/TUNCELI – ‘Our heart cries blood’, laments Kurdish politician Aysel Tugluk into the microphone. With long sustained tones she speaks to the thousands of people attending the funeral of Sakine Cansiz, one of the founders of the armed Kurdish movement, the PKK. Cansiz was murdered in Paris two weeks ago.

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Sneijder to Galatasaray ‘transfer of the century’

ISTANBUL – It’s the ‘transfer of the century’, according to the big Turkish sports paper Fanatik. Competitor FotoMac brings the news too and adds that ‘it’s not a joke but reality’ and that Sneijder is ‘very excited’.

Many normal newspapers also report the transfer of the Dutch …

Tens of thousands say goodbye to PKK founder

DIYARBAKIR – In the Turkish city of Diyarbakir tens of thousands of people said goodbye to PKKfounder Sakine Cansiz and two other Kurdish female activists, who were murdered in Paris last week. Her family members who live in Rotterdam were also present. The ceremony was emotional and passed without any incidents.

On Wednesday night the bodies arrived at the airport of …

The wounds can not heal

It is not just the families of the victims of the Uludere massacre who still feel the pain of their loss. The whole village is affected by the bombings, which occurred just over a year ago, on December 28, 2011. But the pain of the entire community can be seen in each of their stories.

‘It has been a year of …

Former Turkish army chief in custody

ISTANBUL – On Thursday morning the former chief of general staff Ismail Hakki Karadayi was taken into custody in Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul. He is suspected of involvement in the so-called ‘post-modern coup’ of February 1997, in which the army forced the government to step down.

Karadayi was chief of general staff between 1994 and 1998. During his term, in 1996, …

Hamlet advances Kurdish language revival

A tour of the Kurdish production of a classic play opens a new frontier for the language.

Eager spectators squeezed into whatever standing or sitting room they could find — aisles, stairs — because the theater’s 1,500 seats were all taken. Thunderous applause marked the end of the show as some viewers succumbed to tears.

Theater producer Celil Toksoz still gets goosebumps …