48
votes
Why does Sweden support Kurdish separatists in Turkey?
There is a significant Kurdish minority in Sweden, about 100,000 people. In the 1960s Sweden was suffering a labour shortage and had an open immigration policy, which encouraged numbers of Near and ...
- 115k
41
votes
What is this "very, very powerful article" that Trump is referring to vis à vis the Kurds?
Apparently the press was curious too... After a hint that it was a Townhall article, it didn't take long to locate it. It's penned by Kurt Schlichter, and it does say pretty much what Trump said:
I ...
- 146k
20
votes
Accepted
To what extent do Scandinavian countries support the Kurds (PKK and YPG)?
Several points come together.
The Kurds are a distinct ethnic group without their own nation-state. By the standards which "the West" applied during the breakup of Austria-Hungary or the ...
- 106k
16
votes
Why does Sweden support Kurdish separatists in Turkey?
I believe that Sweden supports Kurdish separatism because that's the proper thing to do for any humanitarian democracy.
In my perception, other European countries do just the same as Sweden. Turkey ...
- 277
11
votes
To what extent do Scandinavian countries support the Kurds (PKK and YPG)?
It is worth noting that Erdogan has suppressed oppostion from political parties with Kurdish support (e.g HDP) who oppose violence. Apparently party members have been detained in large numbers "...
- 2,194
8
votes
Has Pence essentially granted Kurdish Syrian territory to Turkey, subject to Russian approval?
Pence and Pompeo haven’t achieved anything that wasn’t already in the making. Erdogan knew he had a limited number of days to complete his military action as, at least on paper, he was making himself ...
- 568
8
votes
Accepted
How does Germany justify banning the YPG flag?
Germany considers the PKK to be a terrorist organization. This goes back to some violence in 1993. At the same time, some Kurdish activists are organized in the "Democratic Kurdish Civic Center ...
- 106k
7
votes
Accepted
Why are US, EU and human-rights NGOs silent against the killing of innocent kurdish people in Turkey?
Turkey is a member of NATO, and thus is an ally of the Western "democracies".
Sometimes when an ally crosses the line, it may be chided, but in private. If it crosses the line too often, then the ...
- 287
6
votes
Are Kurds hostile to the west?
It really depends. You have to remember that politically the Kurdish people are divided between the states of Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey, and each segment of the Kurdish population has diverged ...
6
votes
How can Iraqi Kurdistan become a sovereign state?
A state is souvereign when other states accept it as such. Whether or not one accepts a state is usually a question of what's in ones political interest. You might want to look at Wikipedia's list of ...
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6
votes
What is Trump's plan to end or reduce US involvement in Syria?
Trump has withdrawn some US troops in Syria to avoid interaction with the Turkish incursion into Northeastern Syria, an area the US and Kurds had control of.
Turkey began a planned military offensive ...
- 46.1k
5
votes
Were Kurds Fascist?
The 1943 Barzani revolt was one of several attempts by Kurdish groups to gain self-determination and their own state. Its roots were in the 1931 revolt and it was triggered by economic issues in Iraq, ...
- 9,829
5
votes
How do Russians view the Kurds?
It's unlikely. If "no opinion" were an option, I would expect that to be the dominant answer. As far as I can tell, no major poll along these lines has been taken in the US either. If ...
- 15.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Are Kurds hostile to the west?
It is all relative, but Kurds are probably less anti-Western than many other groups in the region.
This is despite the fact that their hopes and dreams for a sovereign Kurdish nation (Kurds are ...
- 73.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Kurds in World War 2
Trump is just saying that the Kurds are rather irrelevant to US interests, in his view. Or perhaps that they are only relatively recent allies, so the US shouldn't feel too attached to them. He is not ...
- 146k
5
votes
Iran rebukes Turkey on Syria incursion - Why?
As you noted, there are now three players in the Syrian civil war: Assad forces, Syrian rebels (FSA, Ansar Al Cham, ...) and the Kurds. You seem to think that according to the "divide and conquer" ...
- 3,361
4
votes
Accepted
Why has Macron offered to mediate between the Turkish government and YPG force of Syria?
The Kurdish YPG is a core part of the SDF, the Syrian Democratic Force; and the French and the USA are supporting this militia with weapons and training in the fight against IS - it's this that's the ...
- 8,265
3
votes
Accepted
What is President Trump's first public reaction to Turkey's invasion into Northern Syria against his stark warning?
According to news.com.au:
Mr Trump issued a brief statement overnight saying that America “does not endorse this attack”.
The Independent has that in more detail:
The comment was made in a ...
- 146k
3
votes
Is the PKK [still] a terrorist group?
Are there any instances of the PKK targeting civilians during the insurgency of 2015-present?
Mostly no, not by themselves. On the other hand, there's a big debate whether the newly sprung TAK (...
- 146k
3
votes
Are Kurds hostile to the west?
I can answer this using Wikipedia, as I've seen in the past that there are articles on relationships between countries.
Currently United States has official policy towards the Kurdistan
Regional ...
- 1,937
3
votes
Accepted
How are relationships between Russia and progressive Kurdish groups?
This is an old question, but by now it is very clear that Russia is supporting the YPG. In February 2016 the Rojava administration opened a kind of diplomatic office in Moscow, their first anywhere. ...
- 15.1k
3
votes
To what extent do Scandinavian countries support the Kurds (PKK and YPG)?
Here are a few points to represent the view or Erdogan (to complement the other answers):
Scandinavian left wing helped arm the Kurds in Rojava (Northern Syria) to fight ISIS. Turkey would have ...
- 2,924
2
votes
Why US is supportive of YPG despite their links with PKK
Because there are no links between PKK and YPG.
The question as posed is non-sensical. It uses suggestive term "links" which isn't the actual reality (at least not reality based on the data you ...
- 91.9k
2
votes
What Kurdish Syrian parties does the CIA and/or the US consider terrorist [affiliates] and which ones it doesn't?
The US State Department actually keeps a list, although to make the list an organization has to not only be terrorist in nature, but has to threaten US citizens or interests (so theoretically, WWII ...
- 14.1k
2
votes
Why did the Syrian army recently place the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood under siege?
This answer is going to be a bit speculative, since no official reason has been given, as far as I can tell. Obviously, the embargo is a form of pressure on the Kurdish-controlled areas.
First, as a ...
- 146k
1
vote
Accepted
Are (or were) US companies involved in exploiting the Kurdish-controlled oil fields in Syria?
Mention of US companies is conspicuously absent from the Wikipedia article on Syria's oil industry. The few European companies that were previously operating in Syria have stopped due to sanctions. ...
- 15.1k
1
vote
Has the US clarified where they (rather than Turkey) expect the SDF to withdraw from?
Apparently the answer is that the US is happy with however the SDF interpreted that:
“Today the Vice President received a letter from General Mazloum (Kobani) notifying him that all SDF forces have ...
- 146k
1
vote
What is Trump's plan to end or reduce US involvement in Syria?
Some more Reuters news on Oct 13:
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday the United States was poised to evacuate about 1,000 U.S. troops from northern Syria after learning that Turkey ...
- 146k
1
vote
Has Pence essentially granted Kurdish Syrian territory to Turkey, subject to Russian approval?
Has Pence essentially granted Kurdish Syrian territory to Turkey, subject to Russian approval?
How can the USA grant something that isn't theirs to give?
It's Syrian territory - Syria and Russia ...
- 5,359
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible