Monday, October 15, 2007
Mehmed Uzun, a Kurdish novelist who was prosecuted for criticizing Turkey's former ban on the Kurdish language, was commemorated by thousands Saturday at his funeral in Diyarbakır.
Turkish Kurd teenagers turn to the PKK after enduring years of brutality
Ian Traynor in Diyarbakir, Turkey - Monday June 5, 2006
Guardian
Sevder is seething. Growing up in poverty and squalor, he has seen schoolmates shot dead by Turkish security forces and had to put up with the vulgar taunts of Turkish policemen towards his mother and sisters. His grudges have been nourished by endless tales of family and friends burnt out of their villages in the hills and decanted into the slums of Diyarbakir.
Summary: In a departure from its traditional foreign policy, Turkey is now becoming an important player in the Middle East. Turkey's growing concern over Kurdish nationalism has brought Ankara closer to the governments of Iran and Syria, which also contend with restive Kurds at home. Although troubling, this shift could be an opportunity for Washington and its allies to use Turkey as a bridge to the Middle East.
The Turkish Patent Institute (TPE) has not approved applications for beverage brand name “Cola Kurda” because it found resemblances to the emblem of the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the product’s name and colors.
February 28, 2008 | By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and MARK MAZZETTI
BAGHDAD —" Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates urged Turkish leaders on Wednesday to abandon their invasion of guerrilla-controlled lands in the northernmost reaches of Iraq by mid-March.
ARBIL, Iraq, Oct 23 (AFP) - 16h28 - Arab League chief Amr Mussa called for a new Iraq Sunday as he addressed the Kurdish parliament during a landmark visit aimed at drumming up support for a national reconciliation conference.
