The Kurdish Conflict

By Benjamin Hiller

As a freelance photojournalist, born 1982 in Germany, I have always thought it more important to concentrate on long-term projects than to “jump” from one war zone to the next. This idea of focusing on long-term projects was bolstered by my studies of social anthropology in Heidelberg, Germany.

In 2008, I decided to focus entirely on the Kurdish conflict in the Middle East – a serious matter often forgotten in the current news and media environment. For example, there is almost no in depth reporting on the Kurdish population in Syria and Kurds’ participation in protests against the Assad regime. Similarly neglected are the chronic and often violent conflicts between the Kurdish populations of Turkey, Iraq and Iran and the respective governments as Kurds seek autonomy, space to embrace their cultural heritage and basic human rights.  

I have been visiting Eastern Turkey on a regular basis since 2009, witnessing the collapse of the so-called peace process initiated by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK); mass-arrests directed against the Kurdish civil society; and violence against Kurdish demonstrators. As I got more seriously involved in investigating the conflict and my reportage appeared on the web and in newspapers, I was detained by the police/army during a visit in 2011. Such intimidation (far worse for Kurdish journalists) only encouraged me to further cover Kurdish uprisings, their impact on the population and the reasons for the new escalation.

I visited Northern Iraq in 2012, currently the most stable and autonomous Kurdish region. The Qandil Mountains are a stronghold for both PKK guerillas and the Iranian Kurdish guerilla group Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK). The region is often bombed by the Turkish air force and shelled by Iranian ground forces, both of which refer to the conflict as a “terrorist problem.” The PKK and PJAK gave me permission to visit in March to explain their views on the conflict and why they persist in armed struggle. I left with the impression that the potential for wider violence is extreme.  

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