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Welcome to  Vokradio.com

VOK Radio
is an independent Kurdish-American website and p
odcasting, dedicated to the political current issues and the  cultural heritage of Kurdistan

    
 KNCNA- Kurdish American Committee for Democracy in Iran


 
Kurdish National Congress of North America
 
 P.O. Box 1663                             P.O. Box 545
Lake Forest, CA 92609                          Millersville, MD 21108
                               Tel/Fax: 1-949-583-1417               knc@kurdishnationalcongress.org
 www.kncna.org       
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
Press Release
 
Turkey’s Hidden Agenda  -  October 20, 2007
 
 
Since Turkey’s establishment, its pseudo-democratic policy has been discriminatory and inhumane towards all non-Turkish populations in Anatolia, including the Kurds. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, the Turkish military has used every violent mean to suppress Kurdish rights. At times Kurds have been led down a path of violence that only has hurt the Kurdish cause. The violence had given Turkey the ammunition it needs to do its dirty deeds against the Kurds, who have tried to resolve their situation by political means.
 
For over a year Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has resisted pressure from the Turkish Generals and the ultra- nationalist MHP to enter Iraqi Kurdistan to attack Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) forces. What has changed that now makes Mr. Erdogan request such authorization from the Parliament?
 
On October 11 the US House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a resolution labeling the Turkish attacks on Armenians in the period 1915-1923 as genocide. The bill now moves on to the US Congress for a vote. This provoked immediate, angry reaction from the Turkish Government. Now the Turkish Government attempts to pressure the US to stop the vote on the resolution by approving authorization to invade Iraqi Kurdistan.
 
By threatening to destabilize the only safe area in Iraq, endangering the American army, and to cut the US supply routes to Iraq and Afghanistan by closing down the American airbase in Turkey, the Turkish Government hopes to stop the US Congress vote on the Armenian resolution. This is a test for the US Government. Will they protect the Kurds, their only allies in Iraq, or will they give in to Turkish demands? The US must bear in mind the Turkish
Parliament’s 2003 vote denying American troops access through Turkey for the invasion Iraqi.
 
What are the motivations behind the Turkish Parliament authorization to enter Kurdistan of Iraq? Their ultimate goals are to destroy the achievements of the Kurdistan Regional Government and to stop the referendum on Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution – the vote to determine the fate of Kirkuk.
 
The Kurdish National Congress condemns the vote by the Turkish Parliament authorizing Prime Minister Erdogan to send Turkish troops into Kurdistan of Iraq to pursue PKK fighters. We call on the Turkish government to solve the Kurdish problem in Turkey peacefully and democratically, not through military action. 
 
We call on the United States Government, the United Nations and the European Union to pressure the Turkish Government to solve the Kurdish problem in Turkey through political dialogue in order to avoid further bloodshed in the region.
 
We call on the Iraqi Government to stand firmly with the Kurdistan Regional Government to defend their land from any attack carried out by a neighboring country.
 
In case of an incursion to Southern Kurdistan we at KNC-NA invite all Kurds, friends of Kurds, and all human rights activists around the world to join us in counteracting the Turkish state terror with peaceful means including gathering in front of every consulate and embassy of the Turkish state around the world until they end their violence and negotiate a mutually agreeable solution.




 Dear All,

We heard the news of a plane crash in Ken County, CA. on September 1st on the news, but we never imagined that this plane carried members of our small Kurdish community, our friends. It came as a shock and a truly horrific realization that our dear friends Adam, Dara( David), Sibel, Mohteram(Mila), and the two beautiful girls Nesrin and Maryam were on that plane and are no longer with us. Their lives have been so untimely cut short and it reminds us of the overwhelming fragility of life. 
Our deepest condolences and sympathy goes out to all those who knew these amazing people. We feel a great sense of loss and grief at this moment but we want to offer all our strength and support to the survivors of the victims. Our dear friend Kani Xulam and his immediate family must be going through a horrific time right now and we want to share with him our compassion and understanding.
We know that at this moment our community will pull together and offer all they can and we thank Kak Nyma Ardalan in advance for taking the lead in finding out what the family needs to go through the process of grief smoothly.

With all due respect,

 

With the deepest and greatest sorrow we received the regretful news of Mr. Bahaldin Adab’s passing. We offer our most sincere condolences and want to express our sympathy for this untimely loss to survivors of Mr. Bahaldin Adab, the people of Kurdistan, And Iranian decent.
It is difficult to sum up an incredible human being and recognized him in a few sentences, however, if any man will be remembered and footnoted in Iranian and Kurdish history in our modern world, Mr. Adab will be one of them.
He was an extraordinary man on many dimensions, an earthly, empathetic human being, and a professional in the field of Civil engineer, a leader who bravely brought out the issues of the Kurdish people and represented their needs in the Iranian parliament.
We want to recognize his greatness and accomplishments through out his short-lived rich life.
Mr. Adab truly believed on friendship among Iranian decent, he believed that culture can play a major role in our growth and triumph and he worked devotedly to ensure that our culture remains established and alive.

We realize the road he has paved, as the one of the first leader within Iran to create a Kurdish front, a true politician and strategist, he courageously created unity and voiced the unheard needs of his people and we encourage all to follow in his lead.
We believe that his loss will create a vacuum in the political atmosphere of Iran and we hope others will pick up where he left off and strengthen the Kurdish front.

Azad Moradian
Chair of Kurdish American Committee for Democracy in Iran
Los Angeles, CA
818.434.9692
http://www.vokradio.com


July 19, 2007
KNCNA
Kurdish American Committee for Democracy In Iran
Press Release

Kurdish Journalist Mr. Adnan Hassanpour, and Kurdish activist Mr. Hiwa Butimar have been Sentenced To Death In Iran

On July 17th 2007 two Kurdish Journalists and social activists have been sentenced to death for their work with Kurdish human rights and Kurdish media.
The trial has been accompanied by unconfirmed suggestions in the Iranian media that the two men journalist Adnan Hassanpour and social activist Hiwa Butimar were working with “banned Iranian-Kurdish groups” that oppose the Islamic government.
Mr. Hassanpour’s lawyers, Dr. Saleh Nikbakhat, who was not allowed in the Islamic Revolutionary Court, told the media that he would appeal their death sentences.

Mr. Hassanpour was arrested in January 25th 2007 in front of his home in his hometown, Marivan, in Province of Kurdistan of Iran. Then he was taken to a detention facility run by the Ministry of Intelligence in the provincial capital, Sannandaj, where he has had been held incommunicado, which has put him at risk of torture or ill treatment. Since he has been taken to Sannandaj on Feb. 2007, he was not allowed to have access to a defending lawyer or his family.

Mr. Adnan Hassanpour is a former member of the editorial board of the Kurdish-Persian weekly journal Aso, which the Iranian authorities closed down in his journal on August 2005. His Journal has been suspended on the orders of the Culture and Islamic Orientation Ministry, because it carried articles about the very tense situation in Iranian Kurdistan.

The Islamic Regime of Iran continues to imprison the most number of journalists and human rights activists in the world. The situations of journalists in the Kurdish part of Iran have become worse and worse.
We believe that the execution sentence against Mr. Hassanpour and Mr. Boutimar is in contravention of the human rights convention and also is against all humankind. We strongly condemn their detention and trial at the hands of Iranian authorities.
We urgently ask all human rights defenders and pro- democracy people around the world to force the Islamic republic of Iran to stop execution, torturer, and imprisonment, toward Kurdish and non Kurdish Human rights defenders, and journalist, in Iran.

Azad Moradian
Chair of Kurdish American Committee for Democracy in Iran
Los Angeles, USA
818.434.9692
http://www.vokradio.com



 "Kurdish American Committee for Democracy in Iran" welcomed the Kurdish movie director Jay Jonroy, actress Shiva Rose, and actor David Moscow during the Gala Premiere and post-premiere celebration of "David and Layla" in Los Angeles, California USA
on July 16th, 2007



Azad Moradian, Soraya Fallah, And Jay Jonroy Director of  film "David & Layla"



David Moscow actor, Azad Moradian, Soraya Fallah, And Shiva Rose actrees
The Gala Premiere and post-premiere celebration of "David and Layla" in Los Angeles, California USA on July 16th , 2007
(More)



KNCNA/Kurdish-American Committee for Democracy in Iran
Press Release
On Sunday July 1st 2007, Iranian authorities once again arrested Kurdish human rights activist and journalist Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand.
Currently he is in Evin prison. He was taken from his home in Tehran along with many of his belongings in particular his work for the human rights' cause. No reason has been announced for his arrest and there are no indications of a trial or a release date. His lawyers as well as his family have been kept from contacting him.
In October 2005 Mr. Muhammad Sadiq Kaboudvand was sentenced to one year in prison, along with a five-year ban on his journalistic activity and a ban on the publication of the weekly “Payam-e Mardom-e Kurdistan by the Sannandaj Criminal Court ”
 
As a journalist, Kaboudvand staunchly defended cultural, social, and political rights of the Kurds in “Payam-e Mardom.” Laying the foundation for the first institution for the defense of human rights (the Organization for the Defense of Human Rights in Kurdistan) was a more serious step toward the establishment of civil society and the defense of the rights of Kurdish citizens in Iran.
 
 We are concerned with Kaboudvand’s health, particularly his lung condition. Certainly, his illness will be aggravated by the unhealthy and enclosed space of prison.
We urgently ask the Iranian government to release Mr. Kaboudvand and ensure his safe return to his family.

Azad Moradian
KNCNA/Chair of Kurdish-American Committee for Democracy in Iran
Los Angeles, California,USA
+1 818.434.9692


  Kurdish American Committee for Democracy in Iran
  By: Azad Moradian
   Chair of KNCNA-Kurdish American Committee for democracy in Iran

    
On November 2005 a group of Kurdish-Americans decided to organize a committee to work on Kurdish issues in Iran and to build a relationship among Iranian opposition groups toward democracy. The following points clarified a need for organizing and helping the Iranian political parties to come together and to start coordinating their efforts. 
We considered that:
1. Iran is not a homogeneous ethnic society and formidable Iranian opposition parties are aligned with separate ethnic groups.
2. Persians are a minority who has been the dominating power since the end of WWI and all other minority groups have revolted at some point during the 20th century and continue to do so in this century. (More)




Amnesty International USA


Iran: Ethnic minorities facing new wave of human rights violations
Amnesty International is greatly concerned by continuing violations of the rights of members of Iran's ethnic minorities, including Iranian Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Baluchis, and Arabs. Within the past two weeks, hundreds of Iranian Azerbaijani linguistic and cultural rights activists have been arrested in connection with demands that they should be allowed to be educated in their own language; Kurdish rights activists have been detained, and demonstrators killed or injured; and a Baluchi accused of responsibility for a bomb explosion on 14 February 2007 was executed just five days later.(more)






KNCNA- Kurdish Women's Rights Committee






KNC NA

Kurdish Women's Rights Committee
 PRESS RELEASE

    For years Kurdish women have been the victims of outrageous, intolerable, and inhuman acts of violence in the name of honor. Unfortunately these crimes against humanity have risen dramatically in the last few years due to the weakness of law enforcement agencies.
We are saddened and shocked to hear about the 17 year- old girl Du’a Khali Aswad from Mosel who is from a Yazidi family. Mrs. Aswad was killed in most barbaric manner in early April by eight men of her family in front of law enforcement officials, who reportedly made no move to stop this violent act. (More)http://www.vokradio.com





Resolution & Suggestions

for
The International Conference on Kurdish Women for Peace and Equality
03/21/2007

    On March 8th, 2007 the Kurdish National Congress of North America held its first International Women’s Conference in Southern Kurdistan in Yaki Shubat Hall of the KRG in Erbil to address issues relating to Kurdish women around the globe . The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), through the Minister of State for Women Affairs, sponsored the conference. The conference was held under the leadership of the President of the Kurdistan Region Mr. Masoud Barzani, and (more)


International Conference on Kurdish women for peace and equality
Arbil-Kurdistan March 8th 2007
Chairperson's remark



His Excellency KRG President Mr. Masoud Barzani

His Excellency KRG Parliament President Mr. Adnan Mufti

His Excellency KRG Prime Minister Nechrivan Barzani

KNC President Dr. Saman Shali

Distinguished guests and honorable delegates


Ladies and gentlemen,
I am privileged to speak today as the Chairperson of this historic conference, as it is indeed the first International Conference on Kurdish women and I am honored that so many incredible people have dedicated their amazing attributes to help bring about this moment. First and foremost, I would like to congratulate all the women in the world on March 8th and wish them continuous success on the road to gender equality. I welcome each and every one of you to this conference and hope that we can achieve what we set out here to do and to each take with ourselves treasonable memories and accomplishments beyond description....(more)


To translate click on the flag:        germany spain_flag.gif Iran_flag.jpg    Turkey_flag.gif









Kurdish Communities in the US organize Nation-wide demonstrations

For More information Click here


====================================================================


For Immediate release


Kurdish Community of Southern California

DEMONSTRATION 

Contact Person:  Nyma Ardalan

Phone Number:  +1 (818)633-1390

Email:   nyma@ardalan.org

Date:  Friday, November 2, 2007

Time:  12:00 PM – 3:00 PM 

Location:


Turkish Consulate

6300 Wilshair Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048





For Immediate release


East Coast Kurdish-American Community 

DEMONSTRATION 

Contact Person:  Newroz Samo

Phone Number:  +1 (800) 716-9619

Email:   NoTurkishInvasionNYC@gmail.com 

Date:  Monday, November 5, 2007

Time:  2:30 PM – 5:00 PM 

Location:

Ralph Bunche Park at 42 nd Street and 1 st Avenue

Across the Street from the United Nations

New York, NY





Ako Production:
Classical Kurdish & Iranian Music
Rojan and shams ensemble live in Concert



Pictured from left to right are Sohrab Pournazeri, Shahab Paranj, Rojan, Hamid Reza Tahghavi, Tahmoures Pournazeri and Hajar Zahawy

   

  • Official website
  • Phone (415)487-8777
  • San Diego, Friday Sept 14, 2007 8pm: The Neuroscience Institute, 10640John J Hopkins Dr., San Diego, CA 92121
  • Los Angeles, Saturday. Sept. 15, 2007, 8pm, Wilshire Ebell Theater, 4401 West 8th Streeet, Los Angeles, CA
  • Dallas: 9-21-07              
  • Chicago: 9-22-07            
  •  Atlanta: 9-23-07
  • New York City: 9-29-07                     
  • San Jose: 10-5-07                              
  • Boston: 10-12-07
  • Washington DC: 10-13-07
                                          

 
Adam Pasori.jpgMila and friend.JPGSibel and Layla.jpg
 Adam         Mila and friend   
Sibel and Layla  
        
Dear All,
 
With the  deepest condolences , sympathy  and sorrow to all those who knew the Pasori family, the Kurdish Community in California murn the tragic's loss . The following is information on Burial and Memorial services :
Burial services are scheduled for Thursday at 1 PM
at Goleta Cemetery North of Santa Barbara and the exit is Turnpike RD.
44 S San Antonio Rd, Santa Barbara, CA
(805) 967-3608
Memorial Services are scheduled for Saturday Sep 8th at 11 AM to 2 PM
Iman center in LA near the 10 and 405 fwys (doors will open at 10 AM)
Los Angeles California 90034 
Telephone: 310.202.8181 Fax: 310.202.0878 
Please contact Nyma Ardalan if you have any questions at:
818-633-1390
310-279-6398
or Call Azad Moradian at 818.434.9692
With all due respect
Azad Moradian
 
If anyone has a special image and would like to share with all of us please visit




Kurdish American Youth Celebrates the Summer with Two Upcoming Events

Kurdish American Youth Organization (KAYO) Press Release
 
The Kurdish American Youth Organization (KAYO) would like to invite the Kurdish Youth of North America to come and celebrate the summer at two separate events, meet new friends and talk about what you would like to see and do in our youth organization for the upcoming year. Two events will be held to celebrate the summer and a successful year for the organization and all are invited to attend.
(More)



July 20, 2007

Director Jalal Jonroy's, a clever, humorous, and modern thinker, visits Southern California to introduce his romantic comedy before it's released to theaters around the country.

More Information


Half Moon (Niwemang) , Bahman Ghobadi in Los Angeles Film Festival

Half Moon

half moon

VOKRADIO.COM
Film Independent's 2007 LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL runs from Thursday, June 21 – Sunday, July 1  in Westwood Village .  Festival-goers will experience the best of American and international cinema, enjoying over 250 feature films and shorts.
For event information and tickets, call 866.FILM.FEST (866.345.6337) or visit LAFilmFest.com
.  Passes are available beginning May 17.  Individual tickets go on sale June 8.
  For more info go to www.lafilmfest.com

 MIDDLE EASTERN FILMS at LAFF 2007

 Half Moon (Niwemang) - Iran/Austria/France/Iraq
A legendary musician assembles his many instrument-wielding sons for a dangerous road trip to Iraq in Bahman Ghobadi's stirring tribute to the long-suppressed cultural traditions of Kurdistan .

DIRECTOR/WRITER: Bahman Ghobadi (mijfilm.com)



Kurdish Music with Nasir Razazi
Saturday, June 2nd 2007 , Los Angeles, Wilshire Ebell Theater


On June 2nd 2007 at 8pm Nasir Razazi, one of the most renowned and dedicated Kurdish singers, will have a unique concert at Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angles, California . Often Nasir�s energizing Kurdish melodies stimulates the audience to stand up and dance during his shows, and so many people miss the opportunity to listen to his live voice, the rhythm of his songs, and the poetry behind them.
 
While the participation and improvisation of the audience is understandable and at times encouraged, the uniqueness and purpose of this concert is to calmly listen to the music and watch the movement of the accompanying skilled dancers on the scene. If this is what you have been looking for in a concert by Razazi and some of his great accompanying musicians and dancers, please let us know, so we can make a reservation for you. You may email admin@art-in-mind.net for special group tickets, or call any of the locations that have individual tickets available. It is safer not to wait till the night of the show, since by then tickets might have gone. The detail information on this and similar events can be found at: www.art-in-mind.net/events



Fundraising event in Southern California

Please help bring KurdishMedia.com back!


Dr. Rebwar Fatah, Ph.D.


        For years, KurdishMedia.com has been the leading Kurdish news source for Kurds and others following the situation of the Kurdish nation. It has maintained its independence and consistently provided its readers with breaking news reports, political analysis, cultural insight, and information on Kurdish events worldwide. The KurdishMedia.com team, a group of volunteers, has dedicated countless hours to maintain the site without ever receiving any monetary compensation. (More)


Article
Authors and respective publishers are responsible for the content of this article



Adnan Hassanpour must be free unconditionally.
    The new unproven evidence against him can not be
 admissible so late, hence he is not guilty based on the
          universal "Double Jeopardy" legal clause 



By: Steve Tataii
November 13, 2007
New York, Steve Tataii, (eKurd.net), -- The news of upholding Kak Adnan Hassanpour's execution,
and annulling Kak Hiwa Botimar's death sentence: News Published on www.eKurd.net - Source: AFP at the following LINK (below my comment):

I LIKE TO ADD THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS, WHICH I HOPE YOU'LL READ AFTER READING THE NEWS:
MY COMMENTS ARE: (More) 


Turkey's military role in stopping the Kurdistan's Peoples Party (PKK), who have been fighting for self-rule in southeastern Turkey since 1984.


Najmaldin Karim, Washington Kurdish Institute, Founder & President



Voice of America: Iran's Fifth Column

PJM LA

Are American taxpayers unwittingly funding the Iranian regime’s own propaganda? Ali Ghaderi and Karim Abdian contend that US government-funded Voice of America Persia and Radio Farda are ultimately damaging to American interests. Not only do these broadcasting services have sympathy for the ruling theocracy, but their inherent Persian bias alienates Iranian ethnic and religious minorities. (More)


Iran Confirms Two Kurdish Reporters Sentenced To Death
Iran - Adnan Hassanpour (L) and Abdolvahed
Adnan Hassanpur and Hiwa Butimar (file photo)(Courtesy Photo)

July 31, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Iran's judiciary today confirmed that two Iranian Kurdish journalists have been sentenced to death for being "enemies of God."
Judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi said they have 20 days to appeal their verdicts. Adnan Hassanpur and Hiwa Butimar were reportedly sentenced on July 16 in the northwestern province of Kurdistan. 

Hassanpur’s sister today told Radio Farda that her family is deeply concerned about his fate. (More)



Turkish Elections; Kurdish Woes
 

Kani Xulam


July 22, 2007
 
I am in New York, but New York ain’t in me , says Mary to the “Invisible Man”, the protagonist of Ralph Ellison’s novel of the same name She was a Southerner who had moved to the North thinking that New York could perhaps free her of the unrelenting shadow of Jim Crow.  Notwithstanding hours
 of keyboard efforts that pass as news and commentary about the upcoming free and fair elections in Turkey, they will be nothing of the sort.  To be sure, voting has made it to the lands administered by the Turks, but the ruling circles in Ankara have stymied its results since the inception
 of the republic.  This latest exercise, like the other exercises before it, will not bring forth anything new. Like Mary, Turkey is unable, so far, to overcome its legacy of authoritarianism.  But unlike Mary, it will not have the honesty to proclaim, the elections ain’t in me. (More)



The Kurdish Question

Can Turkey learn to live with an increasingly powerful Iraqi Kurdistan     across the border?





    The phantom nation of Kurdistan has as long and bloody and proud a history as any Middle Eastern nation -- longer, bloodier, and even prouder, one might say, for it has never had the chance to fail its citizens. It has led its existence as a shadow country hovering over the mountainous region now occupied by Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Armenia. It has had leaders who fought for it, and enemies who tried to destroy it, and millions of would-be citizens, but it has never appeared on official maps of the region.

Instead, throughout the twentieth century the idea of Kurdistan has been used as both a carrot and a stick to manipulate the balance of power in the Middle East, leading to developments that rarely benefited the Kurds themselves. "No friends but the mountains," the Kurdish saying goes.

..........Turkey's first priority, understandably, is to "contain" Kurdistan and keep separatism from seeping across its borders. But in Xulam's words, the "revolution of rising expectations" is already underway, and Turkey would be foolish not to try and meet them. Whether they like it or not, geography has thrown Turks and Kurds together for the long haul. It's time for them to start using the same map. (More)




Turkey's Suicide amass may lead to a possible mess in a stone age war culture
By: Steve Tataii
July 16, 2006
 
The 200 thousands or so Turkish troops amassed behind Kurdistan borders may
Cause an all out war in the North, not only killing themselves sparked by a shot, but
also get a lot of other civilians, and Kurdish Security forces killed, not mentioning
possible US Forces added to the arena. The tensions are at all time high.  
 
Now, this could become one of the most stupid battles fought in the history of warfare.
On one side you'd have 200 thousands Turkish troops or several thousands in each charge
killed Where they stand by the brave Peshmarga, and American Forces, and on the other
side you'd have some civilians, Security forces, and US troops accidentally shot by the clumsy
Turkish troops, forced to fight in any given war for the first time against their wishes. (More)
 

Kurds: U.S. a 'Positive Force' in Middle East

NewsMax Kenneth R. Timmerman، Wednesday, June 20, 2007
PARIS -- As Democrats continue to seek ways to force a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, a group of influential Iranian Kurds are urging the Bush administration to maintain military forces in the region and to stay engaged in regional politics.

"People in the region are happy to have the American presence," said Hassan Sharafi, deputy secretary general of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI).
In a wide-ranging interview with NewsMax in Paris, Sharafi said that Iranian Kurds and others in the region see the American military presence in Iraq as a "positive force."
"Before the U.S. liberation of Iraq, only the regimes were happy to have the Americans in the region," Sharafi said.
When Saddam Hussein was still in power, the rulers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the smaller Gulf monarchies saw the Americans as the protectors of their privileges. "Now it's the people in the region who support the American presence," he explained.
The KDPI is the largest, oldest, and best organized party of the Iranian democratic opposition. They maintain training camps and logistical bases in northern Iraq, and have an underground army of peshmerga guerilla fighters inside Iran, although they are not currently engaged in armed conflict against the regime.
If the United States decides to begin working with Iranian opposition groups, Sharafi had a word of advice. "Please pay better attention to who is who, and who has what capabilities," he said. "The United States should better discern which groups have real assets" than they did in Iraq.
The United States over-estimated the capabilities and influence of Iraqi opposition leader Ahmed Chalabi, he said, while underestimating the power and the danger of Iranian-backed Shiite groups led by Muqtada Sadr and by Ayatollah Mohammad Bakr al-Hakim.
"Chalabi exaggerated his influence inside Iraq, and in particular within the Iraqi army," Sharafi said. "He is not a hero. But neither is he an Iranian spy."
Sharafi said that Iran's four million Kurds, who control the northern border with Iraq, would support America in the event the United States takes more aggressive steps against Iran.
"The current regime in Tehran is a threat to the region, a threat to the world, and a threat to Iranians even without nuclear weapons. They will be far more dangerous if they can produce them," he said. "Only democracy can produce a peaceful tomorrow."
Since 2004, Sharafi's KDPI has expanded its horizons as other ethnic groups in Iran have started to organize themselves politically. "Before, our goal was autonomy" for the Kurdish region of northwestern Iran. "Now, we are in favor of federalism, since this is the only system that provides an answer for all of Iran's nationalities."
The identity of Iran's diverse ethnic groups is a hot-button topic among Iranians. Persian nationalists fear that regional autonomy is the first step toward the disintegration of Iran. But groups such as the KDPI argue that Iran is a mosaic compromised of many different nationalities, each with their own cultural identity and language. "Together, we make up the Iranian people," Sharafi said.
Figures compiled by Ethnologue.com suggest that ethnic Persians are in fact a minority in Iran, with other peoples making up 60% of the total population of 70 million.
"We don't want to split up Iran, to destroy Iran," said Sharafi. "We want to be part of the framework of Iran."
He compared the situation of Iran's Kurds to the Kurds in Iraq, who have chosen to be part of a single, unified Iraqi state.
"The Iraqi Kurds have far less in common with the Arabs than we do with other Iranians," said Sharafi. "Their language is completely different, whereas Kurdish is very close to Persian. We are Iranian nationalists. We want our rights within a federal Iran. Splitting apart Iran is to nobody's benefit."

Ramin Parham, a prominent intellectual and supporter of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former shah, said the monarchist camp had to come to grips with the realities inside today's Iran, including the demands of the Kurds and other nationalities for regional autonomy.
"Persians are actually a minority. So we should be speaking of the ethnic components of Iran," he told NewsMax in Paris.
Throughout history, Kurds and other Sunni minorities had formed a belt around the high plateau, which was dominated by Persians. "For centuries, they have protected us from invaders.," Parham said.

"These people have not been treated with respect or fairness."
Parham's understanding of Iran's ethnic minorities was not just intellectual, but personal.
"The Kurds protected me for three months when I escaped from Iran. They called me âEURO~Kak Ramin,' a term of respect. They protected all the Iranian opposition. We need to recognize this and give them the respect they deserve."
The Kurds are not the only minority to have suffered under the current regime. Sistan and Balouchestan, on Iran's eastern border with Pakistan, is Iran's biggest province âEURO" and the poorest. Arabs in Khouzestan, the oil-rich area bordering Iraq to the south, are regularly brutalized and murdered by regime thugs.
"Despite all the oil in Khouzestan, the regime has never rebuilt Ahwaz," Parham said. The city was destroyed during the Iraqi occupation in 1982.
Parham is confident that Iran's ethnic leaders understand the unity of Iran. "We need to build trust with them, a shared vocabulary, confident that they are mature enough not to go for disintegration," he said.
Should the United States get more involved in Iran, Parham believes the work of rebuilding Iran after the fall of the Islamic Republic will be easier than it has been elsewhere.
"You don't need to do nation building in Iran," he said. "You need to do state building, to build the institutions of a modern democratic state."






Open Letter To U.S. President George Walker Bush


Five Peshmerga forces were just killed getting caught unguarded in Baghdad  


By Steve Tataii


Vokradio.com : I blame it on arming some Sunnis as the new strategy to fight the terrorists. Sir, Thank you for the war of Liberation, but we have accomplished our main mission In removing Saddam’s regime from power, we must secure the two nations of Kurds, and Arabs, and bring back our soldiers as soon as that’s done. Please read the entire of this vital article as a fresh look at what we're not doing, and we must begin doing right. (More)



Don't delay democracy in Kirkuk

Postponing a vote on making the city part of Kurdistan could imperil the U.S. mission in Iraq.

By Najmaldin O. Karim, NAJMALDIN O. KARIM is the president of the Washington Kurdish Institute.
June 7, 2007

EVEN AS THE battle for Baghdad continues to rage, the United States must begin considering the future of another Iraqi city: Kirkuk.

Here are two critical things to know about Kirkuk: First, it is surrounded by Kurdish towns and villages and has a population that is majority Kurdish — yet it lies just outside the boundaries of the autonomous region of Kurdistan to the north. Second, although it is a poor city, Kirkuk is built close to one of Iraq's largest oil fields. (More)


Kurdish Iranian Opposition Leader Seeks Clear Strategy From U.S. By; ELI LAKE
  The questions from Mr. Mohtadi, whose Komala Party is one of four major Kurdish parties now organizing in Iran, would likely surprise the Bush administration's spokesmen — and its critics. The president himself touted a decision in 2006 to set aside tens of millions of dollars for Iranian opposition groups and the opening of a special office in Dubai to monitor the Iranian regime's activities.
More...
Iran 's New Regime: Hostile to Its People, Incompatible with the World Abdullah Mohtadi




Please Sign the Petition
Free Ali Shakeri
We the undersigned, while protesting the deplorable action of those in charge of Mr. Shakeri's unwarranted arrest, request his immediate and unconditional release. Ali Shakeri is an Iranian patriot who has never done anything to endanger his native country, and has always advocated peace and tolerance between Iran and the West. We also stress that Mr. Shakeri's continued imprisonment will not in any way benefit Iran's national security.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

View Current Signatures



Killing in the name of honour: patriarchal community, power and politics in Kurdistan

 By Dr. Choman Hardi

The devices of patriarchy

Kurdishaspect.com

Honour Killing is a tribal practice which has its roots in patriarchy. Some anthropologists believe that the patriarchal system started with the agrarian era. When men, in order to survive, had to make a piece of land their own and plant it, women too became one of the things they claimed ownership over. Later, through the creation of norms and rules they managed to control women’s body, freedom and volitions. In patriarchal societies it is men who decide on the values and norms which need to be observed by everyone. They decide on what is right and wrong and whether or not an action deserves punishment. These norms are usually to the advantage of men. In the tribal Kurdish society, for example, common practices such as ‘exchange of brides’, forced marriage, dowry, polygamy and ‘exchanging a young one for an old one’ benefit men and treat women as commodity. (More)


After Do’a, another woman beaten and murdered
24/05/2007   KWRW
Shawbu Ali, a young woman of nineteen, was killed by her husband and his relatives on the evening of 12th May 2007. Her body was found near Bestana village, Koye city. Her body was marked by beating, her hand was broken in two places, and there were seven bullets in her body. (More)


Pulitzer winner honored 27 years later

By MARCUS FRANKLIN
Associated Press Writer
Jahangir Razmi, right, an Iranian photographer who was anonymously awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for capturing a chilling image of men before a firing squad, poses with Wall Street Journal reporter Joshua Prager and his award after ceremonies at New York's Columbia University Monday May 21, 2007. His identity was initially kept secret out of concern for his safety but revealed in December by Prager with the photographer's permission. The photo depicted a line of 11 blindfolded men executed by a firing squad in 1979, winning the Pulitzer for Spot News Photography--the only time in Pulitzer history that the board gave an anonymous award.
Richard Drew
Jahangir Razmi, right, an Iranian photographer who was anonymously awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for capturing a chilling image of men before a firing squad, poses with Wall Street Journal reporter Joshua Prager and his award after ceremonies at New York's Columbia University Monday May 21, 2007. His identity was initially kept secret out of concern for his safety but revealed in December by Prager with the photographer's permission.
The photo depicted a line of 11 blindfolded men executed by a firing squad in 1979, winning the Pulitzer for Spot News Photography--the only time in Pulitzer history that the board gave an anonymous award.

  NEW YORK

An Iranian photographer who was anonymously awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for capturing a chilling image of men before a firing squad was honored Monday at a ceremony for this year's winners.
The identity of Jahangir Razmi had been kept secret out of concern for his safety but was revealed in December by The Wall Street Journal with the photographer's permission.
"It's a very nice feeling. I've waited for 27 years, and I've always been longing for this day," Razmi said through an interpreter just before the ceremony at Columbia University.
The photo depicted a line of 11 blindfolded men executed by a firing squad in 1979, winning the Pulitzer for Spot News Photography - the only time in Pulitzer history that the board gave an anonymous award.

Razmi was presented with a certificate and $10,000 in award money. The slender, salt and pepper-haired man did not address the gathering but received a standing ovation, the only one during the program.

Monir_xanem_01.jpg
                                Photo:vokradio

The mother and sister of two of the men in the photo were present. Joshua Prager, the Journal reporter who revealed Razmi's identity, also attended. (More)



Do You Have to Be a Kurd to Report Kurdish Tragedies?

A letter to Emily Lenzner at npr (National Public Radio) dated: May 20, 2007


By: Steve Tataii

     I'm shocked, and quite disturbed by how we continue to hop over some of the most horrific attacks on Kurdish civilians, which has again restarted in the past two weeks, and while our Politicians continue to hold up the Recognition of an Independent State for the Kurds of South Kurdistan at least since 2004, when finally the two major Kurdish parties united. I have kept telling some of our lawmakers to please hurry up, and let the Kurds have their officially recognized state, but no one listens except a few with there voices silenced after they present their piece before the Senate Foreign Relation committee or elsewhere. (More)


All Eyes on Kirkuk
by Goran Sadjadi; May 05, 2007


http://www.zmag.org: While the city of Kirkuk has been spared much of the violence engulfing regions further south in Iraq, the threats coming from different groups regarding the city have only been increasing and explicit demands remain uncompromising.  Major tension between Iraqi Kurds and neighboring Turkey has been the most worrisome as both sides threaten armed conflict if their demands are not met. (more




Asuda Condemns the Murder of Du'aa


                                                   4/29/2007 11:46:14 AM

While Human Rights and Civil Society Groups and Activists have been striving for years to put and end to abuses and violence against women, inhuman and outrageous killings in the name of honor continue to be a serious social problem and perpetrators of such crimes escape from justice.

In early April 2007, Duâa Khalil Aswad a Yezidi girl of about 17 of age was stoned to death accused of so-called honour crime in Bashika. As appeared in video footages apparently captured by mobile phones, Duâa was stoned to death by a group of about eight men and in the presence of a large crowd around the crime scene. (More)



Tragedy in Virginia

 
By: Cklara Moradian

On April 16th 2007, the deadliest school shooting in modern day history took place at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg Virginia, US. 32 people were shot to death and 25 people were injured followed by the suicide of the perpetrator. This event brought out political, moral, psychological, and social issues regarding race, mental health, gun control, journalism ethics, and campus safety for people around the world. The media coverage as well as the international response was immense and the implications of this act, as well as how America responded to it was somewhat problematic. (More)



Mr. Erdogan bring down your Ottoman emoiree ego , act democratic and free north Kurdistan

By: Steve Tataii

87 years have passed since the plot against the Kurds by the Colonial allies, namely at the Time, Great Britain-France selfish ventures into the region, when for unknown reasons, but greedy motives allowed the remainder of Ottoman Empire live on through Ankara, attaching another expectedly Liberated state of Kurdistan to the artificially created “Turkey”, in the same fashion they created “Iraq”, (More) 


Three Books- series from Steve Tataii’s about Kurds and Kurdistan
Author Steve Tataii’s

 


 
 
Book 1- Iraq Wars : Iraq Wars: The consequences of 22 Independent Arab States, 3 Persian States, and 6 Turkic States, but not even one official Independent Kurdish State out of the 4 unjustly partitioned and invaded since the failed 1920’s Treaty of Serves! By Steve Tataii
The Book may be obtained through Amazon online shop
Amazon.com
 
 
Book 2- Independent South Kurdistan : North of the Liberated Iraq after 15 years of Democratic Self-Rule. This war and all other wars in Southern and Northern Kurdistan have been caused by Turkey’s barbaric and senseless prevention of forming an Independent Kurdistan in 1920, keeping the 5-7 million Kurds in Southern Kurdistan and more tan 25 million Kurds in North Kurdistan... By Steve Tataii
The Book may be obtained through Amazon online shop
Amazon.com
 
 
Book 3- Kirkuk Kurdistan: Kirkuk Kurdistan has been the heart of south Kurdistan from time immemorial. Kirkuk has been and must be recognized as a part of South Kurdistan to assure the safety and national security of the 5 million Kurds living there and other areas of its inseparable body of S.. Kurdistan homeland territory from time immemorial...By Steve Tataii
The Book may be obtained through Amazon online shop
Amazon.com
For more information about Mr. Steve Tataii please visit;  http://www.tataiiforcongress.com

Summary of the 19th Annual Conference of the KNC N.A.

The Kurdish National Congress of North America concluded its 19th Annual Conference on Saturday March 24, 2007. Under the Conference theme "From Struggle to Statehood", the goal was to encourage in-depth discussions on all four parts of Kurdistan and to bring political leaders, intellectuals and independent activists from East, West, North and South together. As in the past 18 years, the 19th Annual Conference got under way with the raising of the Kurdish flag and singing of the national anthem Ay-Raqeeb.

The Mayor of Irvine, Mrs. Beth Krom, opened the conference by welcoming all attendees and indicated that Irvine is a place for all cultures and peoples, and that she was delighted to have the conference in Irvine. 

The first panel focused on Kurdish organizations and their activities in the United State and Canada. (More)


The following speech is Dr. Saman Shali, KNC President for the KNC 19th Annual conference at Hotel Hilton in Irvine, California on March 24, 2007

Mr. Chairman
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

I am honored to welcome you on behalf of the Kurdish National Congress of North America. I want to thank and welcome each and every one of you, especially those who have come from Kurdistan, Europe, and Canada and from out of state.

The Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said as the war in Iraq entered its fifth year, "I would ask the American people to be patient...We have invested a lot. It is worth the sacrifice." And I agree with her because the sacrifices by our men and women in the military to free the Iraqis will be remembered as a victory for human rights, freedom and democracy.
(More)



KNC NA , Newroz Banquet  03/24/ 2007     7pm-Midnight
Hotel Hilton Irvine/Orange County Airport


 


 "From Struggle to Statehood"
  Date: March 23 & 24, 2007
The 19th Annual Conference of Kurdish National Congress of North America was held March 23-24, 2007 in Irvine, California. Under the theme: FROM STRUGGLE TO STATEHOOD the Conference brought together guest speakers and panelists from various academic, political, cultural, and human rights organizations from around the world.



Panel: Dynamic of the region



Mr. Azad Moradian from “Kurdish American Committee for democracy in Irandiscussed “ Dynamic of the region and the role of Kurds in building federalism and democracy in Iran”.
He explained that the U.N. Security Council seems intent on moving the international viewpoint towards a confrontational stand against Islamic republic of Iran. The facts that the Islamic government has lost an opportunity to contact UN and US directly, on nuclear issues, gives the Iranian opposition groups an incredible opportunity to take advantage of this new situation. It seems that US policy for  “ changing behavioral policy “ in Iran is moved toward changing Islamic regime. Mr. Moradian considered that any political opposition to the Islamic regime without the involvement of Kurds, Turkmans, Baluches, Azeri’s, and Arabs would fail.
He stated that the reality is that Kurds, exceptionally and potentially, are well prepared for liberal democracy in Iran and in the Middle East. Kurdish political parties and Kurds in Diaspora have been instrumental in leading positive changes in Iraq and this leadership role manifested itself again in formation of a united opposition front for Syria in 2007. He believes that democracy and federalism in Iran could help all Kurds in other countries to move towards freedom and independence in the future. “Kurdish American Committee for democracy in Iran” has a sense of obligation to take an active role in organizing the Iranian opposition, by first and foremost creating a unified Kurdish front, and by later bringing other minority opposition groups towards democracy in Iran, with freedom for all ethnic groups and legal protection for their human rights. (More)



 The second panel was devoted to the International Conference on Kurdish Women for Peace and Equality held in Hawler, Southern Kurdistan on March 8, 2007.

Mrs. Soraya Fallah gave an update regarding the International Conference on Kurdish Women for Peace and Equality. In her opening statement she stated that the conference was an historic event and it was indeed the first International Conference on Kurdish Women in the Middle East. She focused on the input, aims and goals of the conference and followed with the conference outcome and resolutions. (More)


 

Happy Newrooz 2707
     
cejni  Sar sali tazetan le piroz bet


Special thanks to our friend at parstimes.com for the beautiful pictures



Never Forget Halabja
click on the picture


» 19th Annual Conference of the Kurdish National Congress of North America
 "From Struggle to Statehood"
  Date: March 23 & 24, 2007
  Time: March 23: 1-6 pm - March 24: 9am-6pm with Newroz Banquet 7-Midnight
  Location: Hilton Irvine/Orange County Airport
 18800 MacArthur Boulevard, Irvine, CA 92612
 For hotel reservations and special room rate please contact the Hilton at tel 949-833-9999
For further information find updates on the KNC website, www.kncna.org,
On Saturday, January 27th 2007,The Kurdish Community of Southern California held a tribute ceremony in the memory of the 61st eremony began at 7:00pm with a welcome message by Mr.Azad Moradian and the master of ceremony.(more..)


61st anniversary of the Republic of Kurdistan, Mahabad1946
By: Hiwa Nezhadian
 Ladies and gentlemen, it’s not common to have a gathering like this one and talk to the academia and American audience about the plight of the Kurdish people, their history and how the ruling (more...)

Is Saddam and his trial over?
By: Soraya Fallah
Not knowing the truth is ignorance; closing ones eyes over the truth is a crime,denying it is a disaster. Abandoning the truth is all of the above. more.

 
 My City Saqqez


After spending two grueling years in prison, Nazanin Fatehi was spared from her original death sentence, released from prison and reunited with her family on Janurary 31st 2007 (more..)


KAYO and Kurt-KAV help Kurdish flood victims

From NetKurd Report | 20-Jan-07
Amed – Last month, a flood relief project was initiated by the Kurdish American Youth Organization (KAYO) in coordination with the Kurdish Cultural Search Foundation (Kurt-KAV) in Istanbul to help the Kurdish victims of the floods (more..)

News


Thursday, July 19, 2007

Kurdish Journalist, Activist Sentenced To Death In Iran

Iran -- Map, undated

(RFE/RL)
July 19, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Authorities in Iran's northwestern Kurdistan Province have condemned two ethnic Kurds to death for acting against the country's national security.



Their lawyers told Radio Farda that they will appeal their death sentences.

The trial has been accompanied by unconfirmed suggestions in the Iranian media that the two men -- journalist Adnan Hassanpur and social activist Hiwa Butimar -- were working with banned groups that oppose the government.

Iran's heavily Kurdish northwest is the scene of sporadic tensions between locals and the central authorities.

Hassanpur and Butimar were reportedly convicted of acting against Iran's national security.

The men are currently being held at an unknown location or locations.

Some Iranian news websites have suggested that both men are members of Kurdish groups that oppose the central government.

Hassanpur's sister today rejected such suggestions in comments to Radio Farda:

"I think his only [offense] is his pen and the articles he has written," she said. "As Adnan's sister, I know all about him -- he didn't have any relation to any political party inside or outside Iran. All our relatives and friends know that Adnan was not related to any [opposition] parties and he's been a totally independent journalist."

Hassanpur was a member of the editorial board of the weekly "Assu," which covered the situation in Iran's Kurdistan Province -- including unrest in 2005 over the death of a youth activist.

The weekly was shut down by authorities in August 2005.

Reports say Hassanpur has been in jail since late January.

Butimar was reportedly jailed in early January.

The news of the death sentences against the two Kurds came as four Iranian-Americans, three of whom are in detention, are also facing charges of acting against Iran's nationality security.



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