Interview with Mr . Garo Paylan, a lawmaker of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). Mr. Paylan is from the Armenian community in Turkey. He is the founding member of the HDP. However, alongside tens of his colleagues, Mr. Paylan faces prosecution by the Turkish government as part of an extensive crackdown of the opposition.
Turkey has cruelly persecuted the Armenians and the Kurds for decades. The HDP was able to unite all the minorities in Turkey under its umbrella but is currently facing closure by the Turkish government and its authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The HDP has had thousands of its members jailed since 2015, including its former co-leaders. Additionally, under President Erdogan, Turkey has become the world's largest prison for journalists, academics, and political activists. Erdogan’s recent move to shut down the HDP is a classic tactic by the Turkish state against democracy since the former governments have banned many political parties, including five major Kurdish parties, since 1990.

Mr. Paylan spoke about many issues facing Turkey and the HDP, including the indictment against the party and HDP’s struggle to remain a political entity.

Host: Yousif Ismael 
www.dckurd.org

The HDP Closure Case- Interview with Garo Paylan

By Giulia Anderson August 24, 2021
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the Washington Kurdish Institute’s podcast.

Today we have a special guest: the founder and director of the New York Kurdish Film and Cultural Festival, Xeyal Qertel. 

She’s and extraordinary activist and educator who founded the festival in 2017 to raise awareness on the Kurds, giving a voice to the 40 million Kurds around the world by promoting their culture. 

This year, the event will take place starting the 10th of September until the 12th at Village East by Angelika in New York City. 

Three days where you can all have a full immersion in the beauties of Kurdish culture, and specifically on Kurdish Women. In fact, this 5th edition focuses on women and their contribution to the human rights discourse, feminism, literature, and egalitarian social organizing. 
Together with Xeyal, we’re going to talk about this event starting from the beginning. 

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-york-kurdish-film-cultural-festival-5th-edition-tickets-167335656453

New York Kurdish Film and Cultural Festival- Interview with Xeyal Qertel

Washington Kurdish Institute Podcast: Author Dr. Gumustekin on Kurds Under Threat: the Role of Kurdish Transnational Networks During Peace and Conflict 
Dominic Brunaccioni October 29, 2021 
I had  the distinguished honor to have an interview with Dr. Gumustekin on their newly published book, Kurds Under Threat: the Role of Kurdish Transnational Networks During Peace and Conflict. Dr. Gumustekin had much to say about how the research involved for their novel has shed light on how different Kurdish groups interact with each other, how peace and conflict change the dynamics of Kurdish interaction, as well as how current foreign politics have shifted the strength of Kurdish identities.
https://www.amazon.com/Kurds-Under-Threat-Transnational-International/dp/1793643334

New Publication: Kurds Under Threat— Interview with Dr. Deniz Gumustekin

The Presidency Race and the Kurdish Rights in the New Iraqi Government: A conversation between Giulia Anderson of the WKI & life-long activist Dr. Saman Shali

The Presidency Race and the Kurdish Rights in the New Iraqi Government

Arianna Cerea is currently a Crisis Scenario Designer.  She is also a contributor at the Washington Kurdish Institute (WKI). Cerea holds a MLitt in Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia Security Studies and a Bachelor in Arabic for International Relations. She is a journalist and has been working as a Junior Analyst, writing daily update on political violence and terrorism in Iraq. She loves climbing, skiing, hiking and travelling in remote and unknown areas of the world.

Music: Abdullah Jamal Sagirma https://www.youtube.com/user/AbdullahSagirma

The Kurds: My Friends in the North- Interview with John Cookson

Washington Kurdish Institute 
By: Jean-Philippe Beaudet
January 30, 2023
The Washington Kurdish Institute (WKI) hosted Dr. Ozum Yesiltas, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University, and she's researched and written on international relations theory, American foreign policy, international human rights, peace and conflict studies, and gender and identity politics in the Middle East. Her most recent book, Rethinking State-Non-State Alliances, Change and Continuity in the US-Kurdish Relationship, investigates anti-statist discourse and the dynamics of how best to treat non-state actors in international relations theory. The case study that she uses to structure her argument is the Kurdish struggle. We had the opportunity to pick her brain and discuss her research here today.

New Publication: Rethinking State-Non-State Alliances

Washington Kurdish Institute 

By: Matthiew Margala March 5, 2021 

The Washington Kurdish Institute (WKI) interviewed Houzan Mahmoud. During the interview, she discussed her newly published book, Kurdish women’s stories, the stories of women who lived, worked, and struggled in Kurdistan.
Ms. Mahmoud is a Kurdish feminist, writer, public lecture, and anti-war activist. She is the co-founder of Culture Project, an online and print magazine that gives a platform to Kurdish voices. She has written for the Guardian, Open Democracy, Independent, and New Statesman.
Host: Matthiew Margala 
Music:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg0HJMiPpIYprvjtBEl2qbQ

Kurdish Women's Stories- Interview with Houzan Mahmoud

The Washington Kurdish Institute (WKI) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, research and educational organization that was established in September 1996.
WKI is committed to the following objectives:
*Increasing public awareness of Kurd-related issues
*Protecting human, cultural, and political rights throughout Kurdistan
*Supporting and developing Kurdistan’s civil society
*Improving and increasing access to Kurdish cultural and educational resources
*Advocating for effective solutions to Kurd-related issues
WKI’s work also includes the following areas:
*Educating the public on Kurdish culture, history, and news (e.g. providing Kurdish language classes, producing Kurd-related news, and disseminating other Kurd-related information)
*Engaging in humanitarian activities (e.g. providing medical treatment, research, and training)
*Campaigning against the possession, proliferation, and use of chemical weapons
*Monitoring and improving Kurdistan’s environmental health
*Building and improving capacity for NGOs, civic organizations, and community organizations in Kurdistan.

Washington Kurdish Institute

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