Posts Tagged ‘ Kurd ’

Two weeks ago, Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani signed into law a landmark legislation passed by parliament that guarantees the right to information. According to the legislation, failure by public institutions and officials to provide information is punishable by the law. Although the penalties are inadequate, the legislation itself provides strong incentive for institutions...
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The hysterical reaction against NRT television reminded me of the Muslim outrage to cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. For those who don’t know what happened: During a live call-in show on NRT, a caller tried to insult the late Mustafa Barzani, regarded by many Kurds as the father of the Kurdish nation in modern...
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For the younger generation of readers, whose history books may not have been very tempting, 67 years ago the first Kurdish republic was established in Mahabad in eastern Kurdistan under the leadership of Qazi Muhammad. On December 15th of the same year, Iranian forces entered Mahabad. They closed down the printing press, banned the...
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After decades of regarding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization, Turkey is finally ready to accept that its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan is the key to disarming the rebels. While this is a step in the right direction, Ankara should go the extra mile and recognize the PKK leader as...
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The events of the last week were a testament to the fragility of Iraq, the instability of its government and the immaturity of its political process. When Mam Jalal (Iraqi President Jalal Talabani) brokered the initial steps of the settlement process between Erbil and Baghdad by stopping the media war, everyone breathed a sigh...
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The events of the past few days and possible armed clashes between the Peshmerga and Prime Minister Maliki’s Dijla forces south of Kirkuk, reminded everyone that there are certain red lines that Kurds cannot afford to be divided on. Meanwhile, the Kurds should seize this opportunity and translate the results into a framework that...
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