MESOPOTAMIA LATEST NEWS : Turkey arrests over 150 Kurdish politicians, journalists, and activists

NORTH KURDISTAN (TURKEY) – Ari Khalidi Ari Khalidi |Kurdistan24 – An hour ago – 9 Okt 2018 – ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish authorities on Tuesday arrested at least 151 people, among them activists, members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), and six journalists across eight provinces. The sweeping new wave of an ongoing two-year-long crackdown came after operations last week saw 140 taken into custody, as Turkey prepares to go to the ballot box in less than six months for local elections.Kurdistan 24’s bureau in Diyarbakir reported that the detentions were part of an investigation into the Kurdish civic organizations in the city which the Turkish government ties to “terrorism.”

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : BAD TIMES AHEAD FOR PKK INSTITUTIONS IN DEUTSCHLAND

Turkey, Germany try to turn new page in name of mutual interests

Semih Idiz September 26, 2018 – AL MONITOR – The atmosphere is positive going into the Turkish president’s visit to Berlin, though the path to fully normalized Turkish-German ties remains strewn with pitfalls. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will travel to Berlin this week as the guest of his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier and will also hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, aimed at turning a new page in bilateral ties after a prolonged period of tension. The visit stands in marked contrast to only a year ago, when Turkey and Germany appeared to be heading for a historic breakup as insults and accusations were being hurled back and forth. A furious Erdogan taunted German officials as “Nazis,” for example, after he and members of his administration were prevented from canvassing expatriate Turks in Germany for the constitutional referendum in April 2017 that made Erdogan Turkey’s first executive president.

Today, all of that seems to have been left in the past. Before leaving for New York for the UN General Assembly meeting, from where he will go on to Berlin, Erdogan said Sept. 23 that Turkey was seeking a new chapter with Germany.

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : Will the PKK use drones very soon ? – By Michael Rubin September 20, 2018 | Washington Examiner

Get ready: The Kurds might soon use drones against TurkeyIn 2013, after months of secret negotiations between imprisoned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s representatives, Turkey and the PKK agreed to a cease-fire, one condition of which was the departure of PKK fighters from Turkey. As part of that agreement, many entered Syria where they augmented the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the most successful indigenous force first in the fight against the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front and then in the battle against the Islamic State.

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