Despite growing protests, the Turkish state continue to arrest political opponents and suppress criticism of military operations against Kurdish communities. As with previous attacks on democracy, many of these repressive measures have targeted the pro-Kurdish rights HDP party. In the province of Batman, 7 people were arrested during raids by Turkish gendarmes. Those arrested in … Read more
A New Wave of Repression The Turkish state’s campaign of oppression against the HDP opposition part and of other political activists has seen increasing escalation with more arrests of democratically elected politicians especially in majority-Kurdish regions of Turkey. This new wave of repression began on Tuesday the 9th in Amed with raids against prisoner solidarity … Read more
In an interview with Kurdish journalist Erem Kansoy, UK academic Dr Thomas Phillips – lecturer in law and supporter of the London-based Peace in Kurdistan Campaign explained the key role of the imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan for peace negotiations in Turkey. He also touched about the ruling AKP party’s approach to political prisoners and the importance … Read more
This coming Tuesday, Boycott Turkey UK will be hosting a talk about the campaign as part of Scottish Solidarity with Kurdistan‘s Kurdish Tuesday events. The event will be at 7pm (UK time) on Tuesday the 16th of June. Speakers include Nilüfer Koç from the KNK (Kurdistan National Congress) who will discuss why the Kurdish Freedom Movement … Read more
On Friday the 22nd Turkish police raided the homes of several activists involved in Women’s associations and activist groups in the majority Kurdish city of Amed. 18 activists were detained by the state, and 12 of theses detainees have now been jailed relating to terrorism charges. Four activists have now been released on bail. The … Read more
Despite opposition from civil society, local residents and environmentalists the Turkish governments Ilisu dam project and its flooding of the 12,000 year old town of Hasankeyf have continued unabated. As predicted by many, the devastating impacts of the flooding have greatly affected the area both on an ecological and human level. At least 80,000 people … Read more
According to a report by the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, the Turkish Border Guard (Jandarma) have shot dead a Kurdish farmer. The farmer was working on his land near Dirna Aghi in the Jal Agha/Al-Jawadiyah district of Al-Qamishli (Qamişlo), when the Jandarma shot him. The shooting of civilians by the Turkish border guards is … Read more
The foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, France and the United Arab Emirates denounced the “illegal Turkish activities in progress” in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Cyprus and its territorial waters, during a teleconference on Monday to discuss the latest developments in the eastern Mediterranean, as well as a number of regional crises that … Read more
The undemocratic seizure of five more HDP municipalities by the Turkish state has provoked protests across Europe and Turkey. With activists demonstrating against the dictatorial actions in several cities and civil society groups condemning the seizures. Europe: In France, socially distanced protests took place in various cities. Kurdish Youth Movement activists in Drancy, Toulouse and … Read more
Five more municipalities in Turkey, held by opposition parties, have been undemocratically seized by the AKP-MHP government. The municaplities’ democratically elected representatives have been replaced by unelected ‘trustees’ chosen by the regime. All five municipalities had originally been won by the HDP party in 2019 local elections. The seized municiaplites include; the cities of Siirt … Read more