Jalal Talabani

We are face-to-face with a brand new crisis, as if there was a shortage of tension in the region. Kurds in the Kirkuk Provincial Council have voted to raise the flag of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) along with Iraq's flag over state buildings in the province. Now - as expected - all hell is let loose.

I have known Safeen Dizayee for almost 18 years, since his days as the Ankara representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Back then, Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani were treated as little more than tribal leaders by Turkish generals.

It seems that Kurdish-origin voters are going to play an important role in Turkey's upcoming referendum for a shift to an executive presidential system, while the Kurdish problem is also gaining importance in efforts to find a lasting peace in Syria. The latter concerns not only Turkey's internal balances but also the overall political equation in the Middle East.

A delegation from Turkey's Kurdish-issued focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) will travel to northern Iraq to hold talks with prominent Iraqi Kurdish leaders, including Massoud Barzani, between Sept. 21 and 24, the party has stated. 

The delegation will be led by HDP co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş and will include a number of lawmakers and other party officials, it added. 

It was an idea from the head of the Diyarbak?r Bar Association, Tahir Elçi. Just an idea? 

The president of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has said during a visit to Peshmerga forces operating in Arbil and Mosul that the autonomous region is insistent about its independence, while also calling for unity against a recent call for dual management in the Kurdish region. 

Prominent journalist, researcher and writer U?ur Mumcu was killed in Ankara 22 years ago on Jan. 24, 1993. A bomb was planted under his car, which was parked in front of his house, and exploded when he started the engine.

Independent Diyarbakır deputy Leyla Zana and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder have met with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani as part of their a week-long visit to northern Iraq.

Independent Diyarbakır deputy Leyla Zana and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder have travelled to northern Iraq for a week-long visit, during which they will hold talks with the leaders of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

Independent Diyarbakır deputy Leyla Zana and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder have travelled to northern Iraq for a week-long visit, during which they will hold talks with the leaders of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.