Tag: turkey

Erdogan Wants a ‘Buffer Zone’ Along the Syria Border – but It’s Turkish Forces Killing Civilians
Turkish forces have killed 27 civilians in north-eastern Syria in cross-border attacks this year alone, with just one attack going the other way. Yet Turkey is using the narrative that it must protect itself from a “terror corridor” to move its troops into Rojava.
What to Do With International Isis Fighters? Rojava May Have a Solution
Nobody can agree on what to do with international Isis fighters, but the autonomous Rojava administration in north-eastern Syria is calling for an international tribunal to hold them accountable on the soil where their crimes were committed.
A Century After Turkey’s Genocide of Our People, Armenians Are Still Under Threat
104 years after the Ottoman government's systematic extermination of 1.5 million people, an Armenian soldier opposing Isis in Syria reflects on the imperative to keep resisting terror and oppression.   
4 Reasons to Support Kurdish Hunger Strikers
Since November 2018, thousands of Kurdish people across the world have joined an indefinite hunger strike to demand an end to the isolation of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. Elif Sarican and Iida Käyhkö lay out the reasons for supporting them.  
Airstrikes on Syria Show the Hypocrisy at the Heart of Britain’s Foreign Policy
Theresa May can’t claim that striking weapons facilities in Syria is tantamount to humanitarian intervention while cosying up to some of the world’s most oppressive autocracies, argues Aaron Bastani.
In Afrin, the UK Has Blood on Its Hands
In the days following the news of her friend Haukur Hilmarsson's death, Lotte Lewis spoke with many who questioned why someone from western Europe would travel to fight with the YPG. But Afrin–and the 7 year-long Civil War in Syria that has preceded it –has everything to do with the West.
Why Is Turkey Attacking Afrin?
The predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces have been the strongest force against Isis. So why is Turkey attacking Afrin, the westernmost canton of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (AKA Rojava)? And why is the UK supporting Turkey?
Why Is the Met Trying to Imprison an Ex-Squaddie Who Fought Isis?
Jim Matthews, a 43-year-old ex-soldier who fought Isis in northern Syria alongside the YPG, is being charged by the Met with attending a terrorist training camp. Why are the police nicking ex-squaddies for doing the right thing?
101 Years from the Armenian Genocide, the Turkish State is Still Pursuing ‘Turkification’
Sunday Long Read: As the international community vows to 'never forget' as it commemorates the 101st anniversary of the Armenian genocide, the ideology of 'Turkification' is still playing out in the Turkish state's treatment of Kurds.
The EU-Turkey Refugee Deal is Anything but Historic
Sunday Long Read: The recent EU-Turkey refugee deal was lauded as 'historic' by Donald Tusk. With refugees continuing to die and the Turkish state capitalising on the crisis, is it really anything but business as usual?
5 Ways the Turkish State is Attacking Kurds
Turkey's president has just launched a crackdown on supporters of the Kurds by proposing an inflation of terror charges to include perceived sympathisers. Here's a short guide to some of the main ways the Turkish state is attacking Kurds.
Political Repression in Turkey
On this week's show Ash Sarkar is joined by Kamran Matin, Ayse Zarakol and Aaron Bastani to discuss recent events in Turkey, examining specifically the relationship between the AKP and the Kurdish movement.
5 Reasons It’s Kicking Off in Turkey
While the civil war continues in neighbouring Syria, Turkey has seen worrying developments in recent weeks - from the Suruç bombing and fighting between the PKK and the Turkish state, to Erdoğan's latest bid for outright control.