PKK
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Öcalan's call for disarmamentWhy the PKK failed
The Kurdistan Workers' Party has pursued multiple goals over the decades and failed to achieve any of them. Now the communist-nationalist movement is facing a turning point, and possibly its end
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Öcalan and the PKKFrom terrorist to peacemaker
On Saturday, the PKK declared a ceasefire in response to jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan's call to disarm. The collapse of the last Turkey-PKK ceasefire in 2015 triggered an eruption of violence. Will Öcalan succeed in ending the 47-year-old conflict this time?
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Turkey at 100What will become of Ataturk's legacy?
A century ago, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the Turkish Republic based on secular values. Today, many fear his vision is under threat by conservative President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
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The deserted villages of the soulYavuz Ekinci's new novel
Armenian genocide denial is a great and enduring lie by the Turkish state, characterised by ongoing violence and racism. Yavuz Ekinci takes up the subject in an unsparing and powerful novel: "Das ferne Dorf meiner Kindheit" – 'the distant village of my childhood'. Gerrit Wustmann read the book
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Turkey election falloutErdogan no winner, despite opposition defeat
The Turkish opposition was defeated in the run-off, with candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu failing to unseat long-time ruler Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will rule the country for another five years. But the president is hardly the winner. Ayse Karabat reports from Istanbul
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Yazidis in Sinjar, IraqThe deep scars left by IS terror
For centuries, the Yazidis lived in the northern Iraqi region of Sinjar. In 2014, the region was overrun by the so-called "Islamic State", which committed genocide against the Yazidi population. This brutal chapter in Yazidi history has left deep and lasting scars. To this day, the community in Sinjar is still picking up the pieces. By Birgit Svensson
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Turkey, Iran – and Iraq's KurdsDays of reckoning
The Kurds are under attack from two sides: from Turkey, and from Iran. The situation in their territories in northern Iraq is becoming increasingly desperate. Birgit Svensson reports from Erbil
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Turkey’s new media lawCensorship by any other name
According to Turkey’s revised media legislation, spreading "fake news" now carries a prison sentence. The definition of what this entails has been kept intentionally vague. Opposition leaders, journalists and human rights observers call foul. Leyla Egeli reports
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Russia, Ankara and DamascusWho decides Turkey's foreign policy?
Following months spent considering a military incursion into northern Syria, Turkey now appears to want talks with Syria to ensure security and the return of refugees. From Istanbul Ayse Karabat analyses what caused the about-turn for Qantara.de
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Baggage of despairIraqi Kurd plans new escape to Europe
Iraqi Kurd Haresh Talib says he struggles to get paid and his children's schooling is disrupted in his conflict-riddled country, so he wants to try to flee with his family to Europe – again. "There is no future here," says the 36-year-old from the autonomous Kurdistan region in Iraq's north
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The Turkish state and the Kurdish questionTurkey – a battle of narratives
For a century, the Kurds and other minorities in Turkey have been subject to state repression. With his dissertation "The Kurdish Question in Turkey", political analyst Ismail Kupeli presents a new research paper on the topic. Interview by Gerrit Wustmann
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Putin’s new world orderWhat does the war in Ukraine mean?
Despite what heads of state may claim, the Russian attack on Ukraine is not a wake-up call for a self-confident Europe that defends its values. The war is accelerating the decline of the old continent and rousing familiar spectres from the past that never really went away. Meanwhile, the Middle East is reprising its not unfamiliar role as an under-reported fringe region. Essay by Stefan Buchen