The phrase “no vote for you” ended with the death of members of the Şenyaşar family when a Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy candidate visited a shop in Suruç before the June 24th elections. A close relative of the AKP deputy candidate was killed in the clash. Three members of the Şenyaşar family ― […]
12-year old Helin Şen was killed on October 12, 2015, in Sur district of Diyarbakır, the largest city in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast. At the time a curfew was declared in six neighborhoods of Sur, due to Turkish security forces’ military operations in southeast Turkey’s urban areas. Helin was shot from a police vehicle, when […]
Turkey’s Village Guards militia, recruited from pro-government Kurds to aid security forces in the fight against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels, played a significant part in helping President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his party win elections last month. One clue that the paramilitary group would play a pivotal role was the Supreme Electoral Council’s decision […]
The trauma stemming from state terror is still alive in the minds of those living in Turkey’s southeast, a region predominantly populated by Kurdish people. In July 2015, a two-and-a-half-year ceasefire between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) armed militant group broke down, leading to clashes in urban areas. Civilians were caught […]
Celebrations did not last long on election night in Diyarbakır, the biggest city in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast, when it became clear the pro-Kurdish opposition People’s Democratic Party (HDP) had passed the 10-percent vote threshold to take up seats in parliament. It also became apparent that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had been re-elected and that […]
It’s a hot day in Diyarbakır. I am heading into the city by the Urfa road. Every two meters, there are Turkish flags hung next to Erdoğan posters, even though the Bağlar District Elections Board ordered the flags taken down on 10 June. Diyarbakır is usually quiet, and in the city, there is no election […]