Kurdish MattersNieuwe site! Volg me tijdens mijn werk aan mijn boek over de Koerdische kwestie: www.KurdishMatters.com
feb 18 2013

Court case on use of Kurdish in politics draws varied reactions

(Geschreven voor een Engelstalige site, sorry, geen tijd om naar het Nederlands te vertalen.)

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 …

dec 14 2012

Hamlet advances Kurdish language revival

(Geschreven voor een Engelstalige site, geen tijd naar het Nederlands te vertalen, sorry.)

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 …

dec 03 2012

Parliamentary immunity crisis seen as setback

(Voor Engelstalige website, sorry, geen tijd om naar het Nederlands te vertalen.)

A move to lift BDP deputies’ immunity hurts prospects for a negotiated settlement of the Kurdish conflict, observers say.

A government proposal to strip immunity from several deputies with ties to the BDP opposition party could force the Kurdish representatives from Turkey’s political process, observers said.

The prime minister office’s recently …

nov 22 2012

Death penalty remarks find little support

(Geschreven voor een Engelstalige website, geen tijd om te vertalen, sorry.)

Observers see statements on restoring capital punishment as a political move by Turkey’s leadership and not a serious effort to impose executions.

When Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a public debate on reinstating the death penalty recently, few people took it as a sign he plans to bring the …

nov 19 2012

Prison hunger strikes end without agreements

(Geschreven voor een Engelstalige website, sorry, geen tijd om naar het Nederlands te vertalen.)

At least 1,700 people, including more than 680 prisoners, joined the strike before it ended on Sunday.

The brother of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan told SES Türkiye that a two-month hunger strike by hundreds of Kurdish prisoners ended to save the lives of the weakening prisoners, many …

nov 02 2012

Hunger strikes in Turkish prisons reach critical phase

(geschreven voor Engelstalige site, geen tijd om te vertalen, sorry!)

Kurdish prisoners’ hunger strike grips Turkey as their health conditions deteriorate.

Hundreds of mostly Kurdish prisoners are nearing the 50th day of what they call an “indefinite and irreversible hunger strike,” launched to draw attention to political demands.

About 680 prisoners in 58 prisons across the country have joined the strike since …

okt 23 2012

Van: One year after massive earthquake

(Geschreven voor Engelstalige site, sorry, geen tijd om naar het Nederlands te vertalen.)

Residents, including local officials, continue to rebuild their lives after the October 23rd 2011 quake that killed hundreds and left an estimated 60,000 people homeless.

One year after the earth shook Van and destroyed their home, Namet Isnas and his family has finished building a new house. The construction …

okt 05 2012

UN condemns mortar strike on Turkish town

(Geschreven voor een Engels/Turks-talige site, geen tijd om naar het Nederlands te vertalen, sorry.)

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 …

sep 27 2012

Hamlet in Kurdish: to exist or not to exist

(Dit verhaal schreef ik voor de Engelstalige site SES Türkiye, ik heb geen tijd het naar het Nederlands te vertalen, sorry.)

Rehearsals are under way for the world premiere of the Kurdish version of Hamlet, which will be performed in eight cities across Turkey at the end of the year to celebrate Kurdish language and promote a message of peace.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet …

sep 06 2012

Gaziantep keeps calm after bomb blast

(Dit verhaal schreef ik voor een Engelstalige site. Ik heb geen tijd het in het Nederlands te vertalen, sorry.)

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 …

Snel