Archives Kurds - Page 3 of 3 - New Eastern Outlook

Sweden, like Germany and Great Britain, has a large Kurdish community (about 100-150 thousand people). As is known, the formation of the Kurdish diaspora in this Scandinavian country began in the 1970s and further migration flows intensified in the 1980s-1990s and 2000s due to the fighting and repression in Turkey, as well as the occupation of Iraq. The Kurdish diaspora is quite politically active and well-integrated in Sweden, and is represented by six members in the local parliament…

Turkey considers the Kurdish issue among the priority threats to its national security. In this regard, the formation of a Kurdish autonomy in the territory of south-east Turkey is perceived by Ankara as an existential threat to internal security, as well as the possibility of such autonomies (and especially an independent Kurdistan) in the territory of neighboring countries (in particular, in Syria, Iraq and Iran) threatens to the Turkey’s external security. Actually, it is also not clear where tens of millions of Kurds should move to from the territories they have inhabited for many centuries…

The Kurdish issue remains a key threat to Turkey’s internal and external security. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), banned and recognised as a terrorist organisation in Turkey, somehow continues its actions against Turkish forces in northern Syria and Iraq, which is used by Ankara to conduct local military operations in neighbouring countries to suppress the resistance of Kurdish forces and destroy their military facilities. As it became known from mass media, on 22 and 23 December this year, 12 Turkish servicemen were killed as a result of attacks of PKK militants on a Turkish…