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!

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 …

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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PKK founder buried in Turkey

TUNCELI – PKK founder Sakine Cansiz has been buried in the eastern Turkish city of Tunceli. At least five thousand people from Turkey and Europe attended the ceremony, along with members of her family who live in Rotterdam.

The ceremony was Alevi, an Islamic path that is important in the province. An Alevi leader called on Alevi organisations to support early …

UN condemns mortar strike on Turkish town

Russia blocked a draft version of the resolution that would have justified greater international involvement by the Security Council in Syria. The UN Security Council unanimously condemned this week’s mortar strike by Syria that killed five civilians in Akcakale.

The statement on Thursday (October 4th) called on Syria to “fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbours” and said that …

Big anti war demonstration in Istanbul

ISTANBUL – At least some 8,000 people demonstrated in Istanbul Thursday night against a possible war with Syria. Several NGO’s joined hands to express their disapproval of a law that the Turkish parliament passed today. The law authorises military operations outside Turkey’s borders.

The law was approved today after a mortar coming from Syria killed five people in a town at …

Gaziantep keeps calm after bomb blast

Nearly two weeks after the car bomb in Gaziantep, locals share mixed views of the “city of peace” and tolerance.

The shattered pavement, local shop owners say, was repaired the day after a car bomb exploded on Koruturk Street in central Gaziantep on August 20th, leaving 10 dead and nearly 70 wounded. But not everything could be fixed so quickly: some …

‘New tactic PKK against Turkish army’

ISTANBUL – ‘A new tactic’, says Murat Karayilan, commander of the Kurdish armed movement the PKK via a Kurdish news agency. No, says the Turkish army, it’s a big anti PKK operation. Fact is that in the South-east of Turkey an unusually long battle is being fought between the army and the PKK. The fighting has been going on now …

Casualties at demonstration for PKK leader Öcalan

DIYARBAKIR – An unknown number of people were wounded during riots in the South-eastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, among them a Kurdish parliamentarian and the Mayor of Diyarbakir, Osman Baydemir.

The riots …

Turkey prosecutes Israeli military personnel

ISTANBUL – A Turkish court has decided to prosecute three high-ranking Israeli military officers for the death of nine Turkish activists on board the aid ship Mavi Marmara almost two years ago, according to Turkish media reports on Monday.

At the time the ship was heading for Gaza to deliver aid supplies and try to break the Israeli blockade of …