Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Media ID: 55312878
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In this July 13, 2013, file photo, Kurds hold a banner that reads “government, take steps” during a protest in Ankara, Turkey. Kurdish rebels on Friday gave Turkey a “final warning” to take steps that would move forward peace talks aimed at ending a 30-year old conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. The Kurdistan Workers Party, which is known as PKK and has been fighting Turkey for autonomy, declared a cease-fire in March and began withdrawing fighters from Turkey in May as part of peace efforts initiated last year.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)

Prospects for Kurdish Peace

by Nicholas Birch | Aug 8, 2013 | The Majalla Magazine

Things are looking good for the Kurds. In Iraq, the region they control is a relative haven of peace and prosperity. In Syria, they are building a semi-autonomous entity in the northeast of the country. Later this month, Kurdish leaders from Turkey, Syria, Iraq and...

Media ID: 55311587
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Turkish supporters of Egypt’s ousted President demonstrate to condemn the latest killings in Cairo, outside the Egyptian embassy in Ankara on July 27, 2013. Dozens of Mohamed Morsi’s supporters were shot dead early Saturday in the deadliest incident in a month as violence erupted after huge rallies for and against the ousted Islamist president. AFP […]

Debate: Erdoğan blundered by standing by Mursi

by Nicholas Birch | Jul 30, 2013 | Debate

Anybody watching Turkish TV over the last month could be forgiven for thinking that Mohamed Mursi was Turkish. News channels that broadcast wildlife documentaries during the recent Turkish protests aired long and impassioned debates about what was going on just across...

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Protesters chant as they pass by the entrance to the the Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center in Saylorsburg, Pa. on Saturday, July 13, 2013 to demonstrate against Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who rents a room at the center. Source: AP Photo/Pocono Record/Keith R. Stevenson

Ankara’s Creationists

by Nicholas Birch | Jul 15, 2013 | Majalla Blogs

In mid-June, the Turkish state body responsible for promoting science and scientific research, TÜBİTAK, told a group of top scientists that it would not be providing financial support for a postgraduate summer school they were organizing. Fair enough, you might think:...

Media ID: 55298184
Caption:

Demonstrators hold Kurdish flags and flags with portraits of the jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Source: REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Big Brother Erdoğan

by Nicholas Birch | Apr 8, 2013 | The Majalla Magazine

Five years ago in Diyarbakır, a Kurdish city built on a volcanic outcrop over a bend in the River Tigris in southeast Turkey, I met a man who was famous for ending blood feuds. Like many in that troubled region, Sait was a pragmatist: by day, he ran a funeral parlor...