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Quite some interesting information and news from the Kurdish regions – Bakur (Turkey), Başȗr (Iraq), Rojava (Syria) and Rojhilat (Iran) – is rarely, if ever, reported by the mainstream media.
The Kurdish Institute tries to fill this gap by reporting on a regular basis through its own news page recent facts and events, both from the Kurdish regions and from the rest of the world.
Who gassed Damascus?
The London Review of Books carries an article by American journalist Seymour Hersh arguing that last August’s chemical weapons attack on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta was carried out not by the Assad regime but by al Nusra Front terrorists backed by the Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
New report on Kurds: The Kurds in the spotlight: local and regional challenges
Ana Villellas, 9 April 2014 – The Kurds in Syria, Turkey and Iraq face complex challenges. Among the current Kurdish realities, the emergence of Kurdish self-governing areas in northern Syria controlled by what is considered to be the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) generates considerable uncertainty.
Turkey seeks wider spy agency powers amid Erdogan power struggle
By Gulsen Solaker and Jonny Hogg
(Reuters) – Turkey's government sought parliamentary approval to boost the powers of the secret service on Thursday, a move seen by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's critics as a bid to tighten his grip on the apparatus of state as he wages a bitter power struggle.
KDP Strengthens Embargo On Rojava, Opens Fire On Protesters
(ANF/DERİK) The KDP, the ruling party in South Kurdistan, has removed the the flag of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) from the Sêmalka border crossing with Rojava and raised its party’s flag in its place.
TO OUR PEOPLES AND THE PUBLIC OPINION
Despite all the inequitable and unbalanced conditions, the people of Kurdistan achieved a very important success in the local elections. Due to the newly-ratified metropolitan law they had already lost 22 towns won in the 2009 elections; but they secured a big increase in the number of municipalities by gaining 27 towns more in recent elections.
Davutoglu’s Syria defense – Tulin Daloglu (Turkey Pulse)
Retired Brig. Gen. Haldun Solmazturk, who spent many years serving with NATO, tells Al-Monitor, “If there was really a threat to Turkey from Syria, and if there was really concrete intelligence about it, it would go without saying that Turkey would propose putting this on the agenda for the [NATO] foreign ministers meeting.” Yet, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says that Turkey did not put any potential threat to Turkey from Syria on the official agenda when NATO foreign ministers held their regularly scheduled meeting in Brussels on April 1-2.
BDP To Take Ceylanpınar Election Fraud To European Court of Human Rights
(ANF – April 2) Speaking in front of the BDP building in Ceylanpınar, which is currently under police blockade, a number of BDP and HDP officials have pledged to take the case of election fraud in Ceylanpınar to the European Court of Human Rights as well as to the Turkish Constitutional Court. The statement follows more than three days of unrest in the district following a disputed election on Sunday and widespread allegations of voting irregularities, threats and intimidation on the part of the ruling AKP.
Post-Election Struggle Continues In Ceylanpınar, As BDP Celebrates Victory In Viranşehir
(ANF) A vote recount in Viranşehir, a district in Urfa Province, has confirmed that the BDP has won the election and victory celebrations are underway.The recount took place after an official complaint from the AKP. The local election commission agreed to a recount and votes which had previously been invalidated were recounted at 200 polling stations.
BDP wins 11 cities, 68 districts and 23 sub-districts
31 March 2014 – DIYARBAKIR-AMED, Turkey's Kurdish region,— According to unofficial results the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) has won 11 cities, including 3 metropolitan municipalities, 68 districts and 23 sub-districts at the local elections.
