Turkey’s prime minister has for the first time officially apologized for the mass killing of Kurds in an uprising 80 years ago. The statement is seen by some as groundbreaking and the first step in the country facing up to its difficult past, but others see it as more to do with politics. Prime Minister [...]
Tag: Kurdish
November 24, 2011
November 16, 2011
BP gulf spill has not dimmed Tony Hayward’s ambition
The same clear and easy speech patterns, the same smart but conservative suits and that same funny smile – or smirk as his US critics saw it – are all there. This is Tony Hayward, the former boss of BP, who is keen to promote a new oil venture in Iraqi Kurdistan, but also eager [...]
November 12, 2011
Kurdish Rebel Killed After Hijacking Turkish Ferry
Authorities say Turkish commandos stormed a hijacked ferry early Saturday and killed a Kurdish rebel who was carrying explosives. Hostages say the special forces slipped aboard the ferry Kartepe before dawn as it was anchored off the coast of Silivry – a town west of Istanbul – and shot the hijacker dead within minutes. The [...]
October 29, 2011
Suicide Bomber Strikes Turkey’s Southeast
Turkish officials are blaming a female suicide bomber for a blast in the country’s mainly Kurdish southeast. VOA’s Kurdish service reports the explosion killed three people and wounded 20 others. Governor Mustafa Hakan Guvencer said the woman blew herself up near the headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), in the town of [...]
October 27, 2011
Earthquake Adds Even More Pressure to Relations Between Turks, Kurds
Sunday’s powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast has put the spotlight on relations between Turks and Kurds. Tragedy and grief The quake happened a few days after the killing of 24 Turkish soldiers by the Kurdish rebel group, the PKK. The response to the quake, which killed more than 500 people, injured [...]