The Kurdish press laid its foundations 128 years ago in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Despite being outside Ottoman territories, it still faced state repression. Later, Kurdish newspapers and journals published in Istanbul continued, despite all pressures, to defend Kurdish rights, raise awareness, and play a leading role in the development of Kurdish language and literature.
With the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, it became nearly impossible to speak of a Kurdish press in Northern Kurdistan (Bakurê Kurdistan). With the emergence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Kurdish journalists inherited the legacy of the Kurdistan newspaper first published in 1898, as well as Istanbul-based publications, and carried the Kurdish press to the present day despite bans and heavy costs.
On the anniversary of Kurdish Journalists’ Day, Afrin (Efrîn)-born journalist Mihemed Ebdo spoke to ANF.
Mihemed Ebdo commemorated the martyrs of the Free Press and congratulated all journalists on the occasion. Ebdo said: “Kurdish journalism was established in 1898 and has gone through many phases throughout history. The Kurdish press has played a major role in preserving language and culture. As is known, language and culture also preserve identity. At a time when Kurdish identity has been subjected to genocide, violations and massacres, it has played a crucial role in protecting that identity.”
In Rojava, Kurdish media has made major progress despite violations
Mihemed Ebdo spoke about the Kurdish press in Rojava and continued: “Since the July 19 Revolution declared in 2012, the Rojava media has closely followed numerous wars and has always been on the front lines to report on the conflicts taking place in the region. Despite the wars, the challenges and the violations committed both against society and journalists, significant progress has been achieved.
The Kurdish press has become a shield against the special war waged against society in Rojava and other parts of Kurdistan. At the same time, by closely following developments and conflicts in the region, it has gained important experience in Rojava.”
Our main aim was to make our people’s voice heard
Mihemed Ebdo, who also worked in the Sheikh Maqsoud (Şêxmeqsûd) and Ashrafieh (Eşrefiyê) neighborhoods, emphasized that their main goal was to make the voices of the people heard and said: “As a journalist, I was working in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, and I was also a resident of that area. When we began our press activities, our main objective was to make our people’s voice heard by the public. The responsibility and mission on our shoulders were historic.
Our society has always been subjected to lies and manipulation; our reality, our ancient culture, our language and our history were denied. Through enemy propaganda, this society was distanced from these truths and left without culture and identity. For this reason, revealing these realities was our most important duty.”
We were on the front lines with our cameras
Mihemed Ebdo spoke about the resistance in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods and he said: “The Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods have been subjected to heavy attacks since 2012 and until recently endured a long and intense siege. As media workers, we faced many difficulties, especially due to the lack of basic communication needs such as the internet and electricity as a result of the siege imposed on the neighborhoods. We experienced serious hardships in this regard. The resistance shown by the community was, to some extent, suppressed.”
Mihemed Ebdo also recalled that a psychological war was waged against the population in these neighborhoods and added: “In the latest war targeting the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, it can be said that a psychological and special war was initially carried out against the population. This war was conducted by spreading lies, creating fear and using many different methods. Media institutions were also specifically targeted in order to prevent society from learning the truth.
During this process, journalists who acted as shields in these two neighborhoods carried out their duties with their cameras, just as a fighter goes to the front line to protect their people. Despite this, although the inhumane violations committed against our people were exposed, everyone remained silent about these violations.”
It was our press that brought the Rojava Revolution to the public
Mihemed Ebdo also drew attention to the work carried out and said: “It was our media that brought the Rojava Revolution, an example of the democratic nation project, and the women’s revolution that emerged in Rojava to the public. Although we have made significant progress, we still have many needs in terms of improving ourselves.
For this reason, we need to establish research centers through which we can work in line with the interests of our people, based on the needs of our society and our institutions. We must also create unity in the language of the press so that we can better serve our society by standing alongside our people.”
On the occasion of Kurdish Journalists’ Day, Mihemed Ebdo shared the following message: “Our message is this: we must achieve greater success in promoting the Kurdish language and give a very special place to our history, because until now we have not been able to present the richness of our revolutionary history as it deserves. We must properly introduce this dimension of our revolution and the richness of our culture to the people.”
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