Thursday, November 1, 2007
For Kurds In N. Iraq , A Familiar Foreboding
November 1, 2007
Shelling by Turkey Leads Many to Flee DESHTETEK -- The last three women left this tiny hamlet on Monday, carrying no more than their clothes and prayers. They joined 250 villagers who fled in the past two weeks, locking their homes and their yellow church and driving away on a desolate road scarred by war. Only 11 men remain, their lands separated from Turkey by a thin, emerald river winding through a fertile valley. For several months now, Turkish forces have been shelling this rugged terrain from mountain bases, including a massive one perched above Deshtetek, in an effort to root out Kurdish guerrillas. An immense Turkish flag, its white crescent and star gleaming in the sun, is painted on the mountainside.
Ban Ki-moon heads to Turkey this week for meeting on Iraq
October 30, 2007
30 October 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will attend a high-level diplomatic meeting on Iraq to be held later this week in Turkey , his spokesperson announced today.
The Istanbul Expanded Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Neighbouring Countries of Iraq will focus on ways to promote greater regional dialogue, Marie Okabe told reporters in New York . Full Text
Turkey Crisis Could Threaten Meeting on Iraq
By Amit R. Paley
November 1, 2007
Nation's Broader Security Issues Should Be Priority, Officials Say BAGHDAD, Oct. 31 -- Senior Iraqi officials expressed concern Wednesday that the escalating crisis in northern Iraq between Turkey and Kurdish guerrillas could undermine an important regional conference this week on the future of Iraq. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari warned that the tensions should not distract from the main focus of the meeting, set to begin this week in Istanbul, on the far broader security problems of Iraq . Full Text
Iraq Asks for Iran ’s Help in Calming Kurdish Crisis
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By Alissa J. Rubin
November 1, 2007
Iraqi officials asked for Iran’s help on Wednesday in negotiating a diplomatic solution to the standoff with Turkey over Kurdish guerrillas who have been using northern Iraq as a base to stage raids on Turkish troops across the border.
Tensions between Iraq and Turkey over the issue threaten to overshadow other topics at a regional meeting that starts Thursday in Istanbul , which Iraq hoped would focus on its internal security. Full Text
Kurds in Turkey Who Backed Erdogan Now Fear Civil War
By Ayla Jean Yackley
November 1, 2007
Kurds in southeast Turkey voted this summer in record numbers for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his promise to bring peace to their region. Now, with Turkish troops massed for a possible invasion of Iraq , the talk is of curtailed political rights and ethnic strife. Full Text
Lost and Found in Kurdistan
Ottawa Citizen
By Susan Mohammad
October 26, 2007
It has been 18 years, but the anger I felt toward my father is still fresh.
It was Remembrance Day, 1989. To mark the occasion at Queen Elizabeth Public School in Kitchener, Ont., a few children with very ethnic names were invited to give a speech. Although only seven, I was chosen to speak at the school assembly. But as the ceremony drew near, I couldn't think of anything to say. I asked my father, an Iraqi-Kurd, for help. He was the smartest person I knew. Full Text
