MIDDLE EAST

Chair of American Mesopotamia Organisation David William Lazar actively worked in Donald Trump's presidential campaign and was on the advisory committee for the American MidEast Coalition for Trump. Lazar answered our questions concerning the situation of Christian minorities in Iraq and Syria and US policies for Middle East and migration that changed with Trump administration.

“Fade to Black” video of “Maajooneh” released online 2 weeks ago and shared over and over. We talked to Farah and Amer from “Maajooneh” about their lives under the pressure of Asad regime and ISIS, their journey to Istanbul and plans for future.

Working on the Christians in Turkey and Middle East, journalist and historian Sebastien de Courtois was in İstanbul to attend “Minorities in Middle East: A Tough Future” conference that was held in French Cultural Center on October 9. We talked to Courtois about the Shingal exile, refugees’ condition in France and the ancient minorities of Middle East.

In a recent article, Robert Fisk, the senior Middle East correspondent of the Independent compared Turkey to Pakistan in the 1980s and said that the recent air bombardment was no surprise given that all powers in the region have betrayed the Kurds. We spoke to Fisk both about the details of the matters he touches on in his article, and whether power balances have changed in the Middle East. Fisk comments that Turkey has become a market place and when seen from this perspective there are more important issues at stake besides whether or not Turkey will enter the war in Syria: “I believe that Syria has started penetrating Turkey. Suruç is an example of this. From this view, the Syrian War but not the Syrians have occupied Turkey. It is not the reverse.”