Kurdish Institute of Paris

1 March 2008

European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn voiced renewed concern on Monday after the Constitutional Court agreed to hear a case to shut down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) for alleged Islamist activities.

April 1, 2008 | By SABRINA TAVERNISE

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s highest court said Monday that it had decided to hear a case on shutting down the governing party and banning its political leaders, moving the country closer to a final confrontation between religious and secular Turks about who will rule the nation.

31 March 2008 | IHSAN DAGI

It is certainly interesting to note the coincidence between the emergence of the current crisis in Turkish politics and high hopes for a final solution to the Kurdish question.

March 31, 2008  | From the Associated Press

DAMASCUS, SYRIA -- Iraq refused to endorse the final declaration of the Arab summit Sunday because it did not condemn terrorism in the country, a divisive end to a gathering marred by disputes and boycotts.

March 31, 2008 | Author:  Greg Bruno

The recent explosion of intra-sect violence (NYT) in Baghdad, Basra, and other Iraqi Shiite strongholds has ominous implications for the U.S. and Iraqi governments. The reemergence of fighters loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatens to reverse security gains since an additional thirty thousand U.S. soldiers flooded Baghdad in 2007.

March 28, 2008 | The Associated Press

WASHINGTON: The United States condemned on Thursday an attack by Syrian security forces on Syrian Kurds celebrating the Kurdish new year. Three Kurds were reported killed and five wounded in the March 20 incident.

March-April 2008 | By Ted Galen Carpenter

SITTING AT the edge of international attention are states in all but name. Although existing as highly functioning nations, they rest also on the edge of extinction. Taiwan. Kurdistan. Somaliland. Kosovo. With little meaningful international diplomatic recognition, each still often exercises effective self-rule, frequently possessing a vibrant economy and a unified body politic.

March 26, 2008 | Istanbul | By MUSTAFA AKYOL

Who would you expect to be zealous enemies of "moderate Islam"? Islamic fundamentalists? You bet. From Osama bin Laden & Co. to less violent but equally fanatic groups, Islamist militants abhor their co-religionists who reject tyranny and violence in the name of God. But they are not alone. In this part of the world, there is another group that holds a totally opposite worldview but shares a similar hatred of moderate Islam: Turkey's secular fundamentalists.

Tuesday, 25 March 2008 | By AFP

Several people were injured as fresh violence erupted in Turkey's Kurdish cities.

March 24, 2008 | By Michael Marcous

An international panel of experts discussed the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq and its implications for the broader Middle East, the United States and U.S. allies during a public forum Thursday at UCF’s Student Union.