Kurds Remember The 25th Anniversary Of The Halabja Massacre

Kurds Mark 25th Anniversary of Halabja Massacre -- Voice of America

Kurds across the globe are marking the 25th anniversary of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's deadly chemical attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja. The attack killed about 5,000 Iraqi Kurds and injured about 10,000 others.

The White House issued a statement Saturday honoring the families of those who died in the "horrific massacre" and pledging to ensure that perpetrators of such crimes are held accountable.

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More News On The Kurds Remembering The 25th Anniversary Of The Halabja Massacre

Iraqi Kurds In Halabja Mark 25th Anniversary Of Gas Attack -- Radio free Europe
Halabja massacre's 5,000 victims commemorated in 25th anniversary -- Hurriyet Daily News
Iraqi Kurds mark Halabja gas attacks 25th anniversary -- Digital Journal
Kurd town marks 25 years since deadly gas attack -- Gulf News
Hundreds gather to mark 25th anniversary of Halabja gas attack -- Al Bawaba News

Thousands Attend Funeral of Slain Kurdish Activists

Tens of Thousands Attend Funeral of Slain Kurdish Activists -- Voice of America

ISTANBUL — A funeral ceremony for the three Kurdish activists killed in Paris took place in Diyarbakir, Turkey Thursday. The ceremony turned into a powerful show of force for the Kurdish nationalist movement.

Tens of thousands of people filled the streets of Diyarbakir, the regional capital of Turkey's predominantly Kurdish region, to pay their last respects to the slain activists.

Sabahat Tuncel, a parliamentary deputy for the pro Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, sent a defiant message.

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More News On Today's Funeral of Slain Kurdish Activists

Thousands gather for funerals of Kurdish activists killed in Paris -- The Guardian
PKK shooting: Kurds mass for women's funerals -- BBC
Thousands rally for funeral of slain Kurdish activists -- Reuters
Mourners in Turkey protest killings of Kurdish activists -- CNN
Kurds out in force for activists’ funeral -- Euronews
Thousands greet plane of dead Kurdish activists -- Euronews

The 'Amazons' Of Kurdistan

This photo from 1992 shows PKK women fighters training in Lebanon

The Amazons of Kurdistan: Female Guerrillas Go To War For The PKK -- International Business Times

Of all the arenas where women’s equality might be an issue, the battlefield is not one that takes high priority.

Warfare is a man’s game by and large. Women are slowly making headway in national armies around the globe -- they make up about 20 percent of the U.S. armed forces, for instance. But even those serving in the world’s most powerful military are still officially barred from most combat roles.

If there is anything resembling a modern counterpart to the Amazons of Greek mythology, it exists not in the West, but in Turkey -- territory where the Amazon legend may in fact have its origins.

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Update: Turkey and the PKK: The Kurdish women who take up arms -- BBC

My Comment: I would not call them 'Amazons' .... they are primarily young girls who now find themselves on the front-lines fighting for a cause that they strongly believe in. After decades of conflict and war .... the issue of having women involved in combat (at least for the Kurds) has become moot when one realizes that most of these women have been witness to war for much of their lives.

The BBC analysis on why the PKK has so many women in their ranks is spot on, and is a must read on why the PKK .... unlike most guerrilla movements in the world .... has so many women in their ranks.

Kurdish PKK Co-Founder Assassinated

Kurdish PKK Co-Founder Sakine Cansiz Shot Dead In Paris -- BBC

Three Kurdish women activists - including a co-founder of the militant nationalist PKK - have been found dead with gunshot wounds in a Kurdish information centre in Paris.

The bodies of Sakine Cansiz and two others were found on Thursday.

France and Turkey both condemned the killings.

The motive for the shootings is unclear. Some 40,000 people have died in the 25-year conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK.

However, Turkey has recently begun talks with the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, with the aim of persuading the group to disarm.

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More News On Today's Assassination Of Kurdish PKK Co-Founder And Two Others

Top Kurdish Militant Is Among Three Slain in Paris -- New York Times
France says 3 Kurdish women ‘executed’ in Paris; Kurds call it a ‘political assassination’ -- Washington Post/AP
Three Kurdish Activists Shot Dead in Paris -- Wall Street Journal
Kurds Assasinated in Paris, France Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek
3 Kurdish women political activists shot dead in Paris -- CNN
PKK founder among three women ‘executed’ in Paris -- Al Arabiya
Theories Link Paris Murders to Kurdish Peace Moves -- Harvey Morris, Internatinal Herald Tribune
Kurdish leader's murder in Paris threatens tentative Turkish-PKK peace deal -- Ariel Zirulnick, Christian Science Monitor
Sakine Cansiz: 'a legend among PKK members' -- The Guardian
Profile: The PKK -- BBC

Syria's Kurds Are Now United Against Assad. Turkey Expresses Concerns And Issues A Warning

Turkey Sounds Warning Over Kurds in Syria -- Wall Street Journal

ANTAKYA, Turkey—Turkey warned Thursday that it might take action to stop the formation of a Kurdish-run region in Syria by groups it deemed "terrorists," underscoring growing concerns in Ankara that the creation of a Kurdish authority in Syria's north could provide sanctuary to militant fighters.

The warning, delivered by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, came after a series of reports that Kurdish rebels and a Syrian Kurdish political party linked to separatists fighting Ankara had taken control of five cities along the Syrian-Turkish border.

Turkish media have in recent days carried images of Kurdish flags flying over buildings allegedly controlled by the Democratic Union Party of Syria, or PYD, which Ankara claims is affiliated with the Kurdistan Worker's Party, or PKK, which took up arms against Turkey in 1984.

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More News On Syria's Kurdish Community

Turkey could act against Kurdish rebels in Syria -- Reuters
Turkey worries about Kurds in Syrian conflict -- AFP
Moves by Syrian Kurds Worry Turkey -- Voice of America
Turkey will not support Kurdish Syria -- SKY News
Turkey won't tolerate Kurdish entity in Syria -- Bloomberg Businessweek/AP
Syrian Kurds united against Assad – an interview with an insider -- Michael Weiss, The Telegraph
Kurds must feel included in the Syrian opposition -- Fazel Hawramy, The Guardian

Tensions Are Rising In Kurdish Iraq/Turkey

Turkey Offers Water For Iraqi Crackdown On Kurdish Rebels - -Christian Science Monitor

Seeking to expand its role on the Mideast stage, it promised Tuesday to send more water to drought-stricken Iraq, which faces its lowest harvest in a decade.

Baghdad - Turkey, which is seeking an expanded role on the Mideast stage, says it is a forging a new model of cooperation with Iraq.

After talks in Baghdad, Turkey pledged Tuesday to release more water from the Euphrates River to its drought-ravaged neighbor. Iraq, meanwhile, has announced plans to crack down on Kurdish rebels on the Turkish border.

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More News On The Kurds

Pentagon 'very nervous' about Arab-Kurdish feud -- Reuters
UPDATES 1-Turkish opposition rejects Kurdish reform talks -- Reuters
Opposition leaders blast Kurdish plans -- UPI
Interview: Will Turkey's 'Kurdish Initiative' Succeed? -- Radio Free Europe
In Iraq's Kurdistan, political pessimism clouds economic progress -- Kansas City

My Comment: Water is what built empires in the past (particularly in the Middle East) .... and it is water that can bring conflict today. Iraq is starving for water .... and it is all because of the dams that Turkey (and to a lesser degree Syria) have built.

The Other Iraq War

From Stars And Stripes:

In Kurdish Iraq, hostilities simmering with Iran, Turkey.

SURAGLA, Iraq – In this rough-hewn border hamlet in the jagged Qandil Mountains, where armed guerrillas are the law and the whistle of artillery is the soundtrack, most villagers no longer bother to seek shelter when the bombs start falling.

A ceaseless, nearly invisible war criss-crossing the borders between Turkey, Iran and Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Iraq has left thousands of impoverished Kurdish farmers resigned to their grim fate.

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More News On The "Other Iraq War"

Iraq says to help Turkey, U.S. drive out PKK rebels -- Reuters
Turkey works on plan regarding Kurdish conflict -- AP
Turkey, Iraq and US officials to discuss PKK rebels -- AFP
US, Turkish and Iraqi Officials Meet to Coordinate Strategy Against PKK -- Voice of America
Turkey to solve Kurdish issue with more democracy -- China View
After 25 years of conflict, Turkey makes overtures to Kurds -- Deutsche Welle
Is Turkey preparing for peace? -- Guardian opinion