The Norwegian Council for the Rights of the Kurds (RKR) has released another issue of its magazine ´Tema Kurdistan ,´ this time focussing on the dual pressure for democratization and increased respect for human rights that Turkey is subjected to these days, both from within, most notably over the Kurdish issue, and from outside, where the EU question remains the most dofficult to answer. In this issue, says its editor Liv Kjølseth, right, the authors of many of the articles argue in favour of a stronger emphasis on the Kurdish issue within the EU. (09-NOV-06)
This article has been written by HRH-F / Niels Jacob Harbitz. Photo of Liv Kjølseth: Baard Brinchmann Løvvig. Photo from Kurdistan: Veronica Melå.
Among the contributors to the current issue of ´Tema: Kurdistan´ are the famous Kurdish rights activist Kurdo Baksi, who has been living in Sweden since 1980 and carried out his work for Kurdistan from there. For his struggle for human rights and democracy, Baksi was awarded the Olf Palme Peace Prize in year 2000. His contribution is an historical overview of the Kurdish turks.
Left: The parts of Kurdistan that fall within the borders of Turkey are heavily militarized. Here, children learn the trade, parading in army uniforms from an early age.
-Can we possibly let Turkey join the EU? Or can we dare not to?
Following Baksi´s introductory piece, the Norwegian human rights lawyer Jon Rud discusses possible ways towards Turkish membership in the EU. Shedding light on Rud´s article, the political scientist and freelance journalist Abdollah Hejab discusses the implications of a possible Turkish EU membership for the recognition of Kurdish identity. Next are two articles on human rights in Turkey, the first written by Rachel Bernu, Rebecca Sammut and Rosanna Italiano, all three working for the Kurdish Human Rights Project in Lonon, the second by Dina Abu Samra, a researcher at the Norwegian Refugee Council´s international centre for monitoring of the situation for internally displaced in Geneva.
-Is there hope for Kurdistan?
Next is an article by RKR´s own board member, the economist Thomas Frantsvold, entitled ´Is there hope for North Kurdistan,´ followed by M. Phil Leila Erdis´s deep concern for the archaeologically unique town Hasankeyf, that is threatened with flooding by the building of the so-called Ilisu dam. The two final articles, by Kariane Westrheim, researcher at the University of Bergen and Beate Slydal, political adviser at Amnesty International´s Norwegian section, until last year also the Chair of RKR´s board, draw attention respectively to the PKK movement, and terorism, as a phenomenon and in a Turkish setting.
 has released another issue of its magazine ´Tema Kurdistan ,´ this time focussing on the dual pressure for democratization and increased respect for human rights that Republic of Turkey is subjected to these days, both from within, most notably over the Kurdish issue, and from outside, where the EU question remains the most dofficult to answer. In this issue, says its editor Liv Kjølseth, right, the authors of many of the articles argue in favour of a stronger emphasis on the Kurdish issue within the EU. (09-NOV-06)
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