A group of unarmed PKK members are entering Turkey borders now. It could be a giant step; it depends how the group will be met…
photos from Milliyet
PKK ‘surrender’ tests Turkey plan
“Peace Groups” Come to Turkey
26 refugees from the UN Mahmur Camp and 8 PKK members from Kandil will come to Turkey to talk to DTP delegations today (19 October). According to one of the leading PKK members Kalkan, the aim of the groups is to create a dialogue and open the way for negotiations. President Gül appreciates the initiative.
Kurd group seeks peace in Turkey (AP via Yahoo! News)
Guerillas to surrender to Turkey for Kurdish rights (Gulf Times)
Elle picks up the story of the Kurdish girl
French fashion magazine Elle picks up the story of the Kurdish girl Medya Örmek as one of ten news makers of the week.Young French-language rap artist of French and Greek Cypriot Diam (Mélanie Georgiades, born July 25, 1980 in Cyprus)who has converted to Islam, received another spot.
“Medya Ormek. Parce que cette petite Kurde de 10 ans joue les rebelles en apprenant sa langue maternelle à 27 enfants… dans sa chambre ! En Turquie, l’apprentissage du kurde n’est toujours pas autorisé à l’école. La justice turque a eu vent de l’affaire mais le procureur a finalement décidé de ne pas poursuivre Medya.” ELLE
Why lifting ?Atatürk Law’ is needed
Now the European Union is saying the ?Atatürk Protection Law? must be lifted. This in turn has caused a great ruckus among Kemalists and all other anti-EU factions in Turkey.
Interview with Ihsan Bal, Head of USAK’s Center for Security Studies, on the Kurdish Initiative
Interview conducted by Kaitlin MacKenzie, a researcher at the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK).
‘A real solution of the conflict would require the DTP to dissociate herself from the PKK’
Strasbourg, 15.10.2009 – Opening a debate on the situation of local authorities in Southeast Anatolia during the Plenary Session on 14 October, acting Congress President Ian Micallef welcomed positive signs in respect of a democratic opening up of the Turkish government. The recent agreement to restore diplomatic relations with Armenia as well as the democratic initiative of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle the Kurdish question were encouraging new developments, said Micallef. He added: ?One should give credit where credit is due. I encourage Turkey to pursue this reform course?. With the aim to widen the scope of the Congress Monitoring Report and in order to better reflect this progress, Micallef proposed to postpone the debate on the Report and to discuss it during the Congress Spring Session in March 2010.
‘Min Dit’ makes waves at Antalya film fest
Source: Hurriyet Daily News The Golden Orange Film Festival sparked controversy Thursday with its screening of ?Min Dit? (The Children of Diyarbakır), the first Kurdish-language movie to be part of the national competition in Antalya. The debut feature film by Miraz Bezar, a filmmaker of Kurdish origin who was born in Ankara and moved to Germany when he was six years old, drew a large audience. ?Min Dit? had previously been screened at international film festivals abroad, winning the Gaztea Youth Award at the 57th San Sebastian International Film Festival held in Spain last month. Set in the 1990s in the eastern part of Turkey, the movie tells the story of 10-year-old Gülistan (Şenay Orak) and her younger brother Fırat (Muhammed Al), whose lives take a tragic turn on the road that connects the cities of Diyarbakır and Batman. After witnessing their parents? death at the hands of a secret service paramilitary officer on the way home from a wedding, the siblings try to stay alive, first selling the family furniture, and later living in the streets when they can no long afford to pay the rent. Because Bezar grew up in Germany, all he knew about the Kurdish issue and the situation in eastern Turkey was what he saw on TV and read in the newspapers.
[CROSS READER] What does Öcalan?s call mean for the initiative process?
Akyürek Deposed from Office – Severe Neglect in Dink Case
The media’s secret Ergenekon-ists
I’ve been quite focused lately on how one faction of the Turkish media has decided to ?ignore? the European Union’s Progress Report’s analysis on the whole Ergenekon case.
Neither democracy nor EU membership with Ergenekon
Discover more from Erkan's Field Diary
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.