Today’s interviews are produced by Mehmet Bayram,
Sureya Sayadi and Susan Galleymore. Our interviews
are with three different scholars covering various
aspects of Kurdish issues, these guests will be
speakers among many others at the Kurdish Human Rights
Conference on September 4th and 5th in San Francisco.
First we start with Dr. Nicole Watts an assistant
professor in the political science department at San
Francisco State University. Her research focuses on
Kurdish politics in Turkey. She is discussing the
slow changes in Turkey and suggests a further need for
internal and external pressure on Turkish government
to improve the Kurdish human rights in Turkey and
towards democracy.
The 2nd guest is Dr. Michael Gunter a professor of
political science at Tennessee Technological
University at Cookeville, TN. He has published 11
books and more than 75 articles many on Kurdish
issues, also various publications including the
Middle East Journal, Middle East Quarterly and Orbis.
Dr. Gunter gives his views on lack of Kurdish National
Unity, and discusses the distrust of the Kurds in Iraq
regarding the new Iraq, and Kirkuk being the Flash
Point for the Kurds in Iraq. He also discusses the
Involvement of Israel in Kurdistan of Iraq and it’s
bad effects "Trouble" for the Kurds.
The last guest is Dr. Rashid Karadaghi an educator and
a writer who lives in California. The author of a
forthcoming English-Kurdish dictionary. Dr. Karadaghi
discusses the causes for the divergence of Sorani and
Kermanjee dialects of Kurdish language. Dr. Karadaghi
feels that Turkey allowing the Kurds recently to speak
few hours of Kurdish on the Radio only to be cosmetic
and not honest on Turkish government’s side.
We also present a Kurdish Poem by Abdul Khader Ameen
which is read in Kurdish Sorani by the title "Baba Gur
Gur" which is the original and sacred name for Kirkuk
in Kurdish meaning the "Father which flames or
lights".
The Kurdish music is from CD "Awat" meaning "Hope".
Music by Saed Faraj Pouri. We played track 6 Seyran,
"a day out in the mountains and festival" and track 8
Awati, "My Hope".
Visit our website at www.me-radio.org where you can
listen to these interviews and read the related sites.
You also can find the poem, translation, music,
articles and further information about the Kurdish
politics and scholars who debate the Kurdish issues.