Medya News Audio Articles

In Lavrio camp, near Athens, Kurdish refugees had established a system of autonomous organisation inspired by the ideas of Abdullah Öcalan. Beginning with the final clearance of the camp, under Turkish pressure, Sarah Glynn’s weekly news review looks at the many ways Kurds are being oppressed in different parts of Kurdistan, often – but by no means only – by the Turkish government.

As journalist Merdan Yanardağ is imprisoned for criticising the illegal isolation of Abdullah Öcalan, Sarah Glynn examines the human rights issues concerning Öcalan’s incarceration, and how the brutal regime of his İmralı Island prison has been used as a model for an increasingly punitive and sadistic Turkish Legal system. Every opportunity is also being taken to try and force other countries to shape their judiciary according to Turkish government wishes, notably in Sweden.

In a world plagued by conflicts and political unrest, the choices made by individuals to join armed movements often spark curiosity and controversy. Fréderike Geerdink delves into the lives and motivations of German individuals who have become members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), shedding light on their stories and challenging the common narrative that portrays them as deceived. Instead, Geerdink presents these individuals as conscious decision-makers driven by their ideological beliefs and a desire to challenge the status quo.

Turkey carries out targeted assassinations and promotes the revival of ISIS. In Russian-sponsored talks, the misrepresentation of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria allows regional powers to bond over calls for its destruction. Turkey’s citizens face a bleak economic future. Disputes over oil exports and party rivalry impact the Kurdistan Regional Government’s autonomy. And Iran’s war against the Kurds sees intra-opposition violence and a government scorched earth policy. Sarah Glynn looks at another busy week of Kurdish politics.

Several Kurds have told me that it’s not really a choice. It’s a necessity to fight against oppression, to defend the life of yourself, your family, your people. Self-defence is, you could say, a reflex inextricably tied to being alive. Kurds, and other oppressed nations, know from a very young age on that their lives are constantly threatened, and resistance has become part of their existence. Berxwedan jiyanê, the slogan of the Kurdish movement meaning ‘Resistance is life’, has this very deep meaning.

A general problem is undoubtedly to win voters for left-of-centre politics in a society with a conservative basic attitude. This actually requires very long-term strategies. Jumping on conservative issues in the short term, as the CHP [Republican People's Party] candidate did before the run-off election, is risky. On the one hand, it reinforces and confirms conservative positions. On the other hand, one must then also make a corresponding policy in the event of an election victory.

We are currently in the worst situation since ISIS attacked, facing the biggest danger since then. Since then, more than ten Turkish airstrikes have hit the camp. And yet neither Iraqi government, nor KRG, nor the UN condemned these attacks. They say nothing about this. The Iraqi government approaches this place as though there is a danger from the PKK, but the real danger is from Turkish airstrikes.

Medya News columnist Fréderike Geerdink uses the youths in Istanbul who recently got in trouble for dancing to Kurdish music as a starting point for looking at the stage of Turkish politics and the various "dancers".

Erdoğan boasts of his independence from the United States and portrays his rival as in America’s pocket, but it is America’s world-wide fight against communism and socialism and their readiness to resort to any means in order to make the world safe for US capitalism that has made space for the growth of neo-fascism and intolerant religious extremism. Erdoğan owes his position to America and her allies who have systematically attacked Turkey’s left movements for decades.

Turkey has experienced all kinds of rule in its hundred-year history. The only thing that has not been tried is a consistent democracy. Now and in coming years, Turkey must overcome its fears and dare to be democratic.