The Kurds in the Changing Middle East Conference
The Kurds in the Changing Middle East Conference
The Kurdish Academic Forum, SOAS and Kurdish Society have organized the conference "The Kurds in the Changing Middle East". The conference will open tomorrow at SOAS and will continue on Sunday.
The conference will be available on streaming at www.kurdishacademicforum.com
We spoke with the organizers of the Kurdish Academic Forum about the meaning of this conference at this time.
Why this conference ? What is the aim?
The recent surge in upheaval in the Middle East – together with the ongoing process of change and transformation particularly in Iraq in the past decade – has made the Kurds a significant political actor in the region. Our aim is to explore this process of change and transformation from the viewpoint of the Kurds and that is why we are organising this conference in London. The Kurds are often ignored by the media and the academic circles and by organising this conference we are hoping to discuss: What is happening in the Kurdish regions? What do these changes mean for the Kurds? What opportunities do they create for the realisation of Kurdish aspirations? Etc. We have managed to bring together an impressive number of speakers from various academic backgrounds who will explore these questions in greater detail. In addition, numerous political representatives, such as Mr Salih Muslim of PYD and Mr Ertugrul Kukcu of BDP will also talk about the experiences of Kurdish movements in Syria and Turkey respectively. We have speakers from other parts of the world, such as Northern Ireland and South Africa, and they will talk about the peace and conflict resolution processes in the context of ethno-nationalist conflicts elsewhere.
By bringing together these diverse group of speakers we aim to discuss and reflect on the Kurdish question in the Middle East and how the ongoing changes are likely to affect it and the ongoing difficulties that prevent the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question.
What is the British policy towards the Kurds in Syria?
British policy towards the Kurds in Syria is not very clearly articulated; however, the Foreign Secretary has in numerous speeches re-iterated the need to fully recognise the rights of the ethnic minorities in Syria. So we can say that the British position is framed rather generally and of course the removal of Assad’s regime is their main objective at the moment.
And finally could you tell us what is the Kurdish Academic Forum?
Kurdish Academic Forum is a new initiative by students from London universities and their aim is to generate and lead a debate on the Kurds and the Kurdish question. The fact that in many places carrying out research on the Kurds and the Kurdish question is still very much suppressed and this has created a situation whereby very little research on the Kurds is carried out. Their aim is to promote the study of the Kurds and provide a platform where the research on the Kurds can be publicly disseminated.
The conference will be available on streaming at www.kurdishacademicforum.com
We spoke with the organizers of the Kurdish Academic Forum about the meaning of this conference at this time.
Why this conference ? What is the aim?
The recent surge in upheaval in the Middle East – together with the ongoing process of change and transformation particularly in Iraq in the past decade – has made the Kurds a significant political actor in the region. Our aim is to explore this process of change and transformation from the viewpoint of the Kurds and that is why we are organising this conference in London. The Kurds are often ignored by the media and the academic circles and by organising this conference we are hoping to discuss: What is happening in the Kurdish regions? What do these changes mean for the Kurds? What opportunities do they create for the realisation of Kurdish aspirations? Etc. We have managed to bring together an impressive number of speakers from various academic backgrounds who will explore these questions in greater detail. In addition, numerous political representatives, such as Mr Salih Muslim of PYD and Mr Ertugrul Kukcu of BDP will also talk about the experiences of Kurdish movements in Syria and Turkey respectively. We have speakers from other parts of the world, such as Northern Ireland and South Africa, and they will talk about the peace and conflict resolution processes in the context of ethno-nationalist conflicts elsewhere.
By bringing together these diverse group of speakers we aim to discuss and reflect on the Kurdish question in the Middle East and how the ongoing changes are likely to affect it and the ongoing difficulties that prevent the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question.
What is the British policy towards the Kurds in Syria?
British policy towards the Kurds in Syria is not very clearly articulated; however, the Foreign Secretary has in numerous speeches re-iterated the need to fully recognise the rights of the ethnic minorities in Syria. So we can say that the British position is framed rather generally and of course the removal of Assad’s regime is their main objective at the moment.
And finally could you tell us what is the Kurdish Academic Forum?
Kurdish Academic Forum is a new initiative by students from London universities and their aim is to generate and lead a debate on the Kurds and the Kurdish question. The fact that in many places carrying out research on the Kurds and the Kurdish question is still very much suppressed and this has created a situation whereby very little research on the Kurds is carried out. Their aim is to promote the study of the Kurds and provide a platform where the research on the Kurds can be publicly disseminated.
