The Kurdish Question in Syria addressed by a presidential decree

Recommendable! Good news! It appears Ahmed al-Sharaa is making good progress reforming Syria after so many decades of dictatorship.

The Kurdish question, one of the enduring legacies of the post WW I era.

"Days later [1/30/2026], al-Sharaa signed a presidential decree that fundamentally altered the Kurdish question in Syria:

• restoring Syrian citizenship to Kurds stripped of it after the 1962 census and to their descendants;
• legalizing Kurdish-language education in Kurdish-majority areas;
• guaranteeing cultural and political rights;
• repealing discriminatory laws;
• recognizing Nevruz as a national holiday;
• and affirming Kurds as “an integral part of the nation.”

These guarantees were framed as constitutional and non-negotiable, marking the formal end of the century-long Syrian Kurdish struggle for recognition.

..."

The Kurdish Question in Syria - by Ammar Abdulhamid "Long-standing Kurdish grievances in Syria are real and well documented. What they ultimately produced was not sovereignty, but something more modest and durable: legal belonging."

DHS Withdraws Request to Deport Chinese Man Guan Heng Who Filmed Chinese Concentration Camps were Uighurs are held

Good news! I was betting with myself that this deportation was a mistake and will be corrected.

Can Thailand Beat Its Southern Insurgency? with James Ker-Lindsay

Recommendable!

Rajnath Singh Suggests Pakistan's Sindh Could "Return to India" with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Maybe one day the whole Indian subcontinent will be one federal country.

Eight Years Later, Kurdistan Continues to Work Toward Independence in Iraq

Recommendable! The Kurdish struggle for independence continuous on. I first became aware of it some 50 years ago in my hometown Frankfurt am Main, Germany thanks to meeting Kurds in exile living in my hometown, pamphlets, street protests for an independent Kurdistan etc.

Let's not forget the Kurdish minority living in Turkey or 18-20% of its population!

Eight Years Later, Kurdistan Continues to Work Toward Independence "Kurdistan has shifted from chasing statehood to fortifying its economy and governance, positioning itself as one of the Middle East’s rare zones of stability."

China’s Unrelenting Ethnic Cleansing Campaign agains the Uyghurs

Serious stuff!

Canada orders Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer Hikvision to cease operations

Good news! Sometimes the West takes human rights violations seriously!

"Industry Minister Melanie Joly said the Canadian government issued an order against Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer Hikvision to close for national security reasons.

"The government has determined that Hikvision Canada Inc's continued operations in Canada would be injurious to Canada's national security," Joly wrote on X.

The U.S. has expressed concerns with Hikvision over its use of equipment from China's Xinjiang region, which is the basis of reports of abuses against the Uyghur population, according to Reuters.  ..."

"

Summary

• Canada says order a result of multi-step review
• Hikvision has faced US sanctions over ties to Xinjiang, where rights groups have documented abuse
• Company said last year it had exited 5 Xinjiang contracts

...

Hikvision, also known as Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co, has faced numerous sanctions and restrictions by ... the United States, over the past five and a half years for the firm's dealings and the use of its equipment in China's Xinjiang region, where rights groups have documented abuses against the Uyghur population and other Muslim communities. ..."

Canada orders Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer Hikvision to suspend 

operations | Just The News "A Hikvision spokesperson said the company "strongly" disagrees with the decision, arguing it "lacks a factual basis, procedural fairness, and transparency.""

Canada orders China's Hikvision to close Canadian operations

Tough looking woman! 😊 Industry Minister Melanie Joly (age 49)

Could Iran's Azeris Break Away? with James Ker-Lindsay

Very recommendable! There are quite a few, but significant ethnic minorities living in Iran. The Azeris are just one of them.

Fearing Deportation to China, Uyghurs Held in Thailand Go on Hunger Strike

Persecution of minorities by China goes beyond its borders! Were these Uyghurs really criminals?

"Dozens of Uyghur men who fled persecution in their native China only to find themselves detained in Thailand have entered the second week of a hunger strike in Bangkok. Their fast is a last-ditch effort to pressure the Thai government to halt what the detainees fear is imminent deportation to China, where they face the risk of torture and imprisonment.

The men, who have been in Thai detention centers for more than a decade, started their hunger strike on Jan. 10, two days after they were given “voluntary return” forms to sign, according to accounts from two of the detainees. ..."

Fearing Deportation, Uyghurs Held in Thailand Go on Hunger Strike - The New York Times "Dozens of men from the ethnic minority sought escape from repression in China a decade ago, but have been detained in Thailand ever since."

‘Northern frontier culture’: How China is erasing the Mongolian ethnic minority

Bad news! Horrible!

"Chinese authorities have launched a campaign to change the term that people use to refer to Mongolian culture and to the cultural and historical heritage of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR) in a move aimed at eroding Mongolian identity and sense of homeland.

The Chinese Communist Party’s new official term, bei jiang wenhua, meaning ‘northern frontier culture’, eliminates reference to Mongolians, one of China’s 56 officially recognised ethnic groups. Since July 2023, Inner Mongolia state media articles, official websites, party statements, party-organised children’s activities, and official social media posts have widely promoted the phrase. ...
The adoption of the term appears to be part of the CCP’s growing campaign to weaken Mongolian ethnic identity and instead push a Han-centric national identity through the elimination of Mongolian language education and other measures. ..."

‘Northern frontier culture’: How China is erasing ‘Mongolia’ from Mongolian culture | The Strategist

The Hazaras of Afghanistan, and their Pursuit for Peace, Justice and Coexistence in the Face of Ongoing Hatred and Bigotry

The Taliban are Barbarians like the Hamas! Remember the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in 2001!

"... the Hazaras, an ethnic group in Afghanistan that is marginalized/minoritized. The Hazaras are the third largest minority group in Afghanistan that extend from Shia Muslims. ... However, the unspeakable persecution and trauma perpetrated by the Taliban continue to date ..."

Arizona Jewish Historical Society — The Hazaras of Afghanistan

A Worldwide Perspective on Chinese People | Insights into Chinese Society | Thomas Sowell

Very recommendable! This video is about the globally widespread Chinese diaspora. Unfortunately, a bit outdated as it stops around mid 1990s.

Don’t Play the Ethnic Card in Iran by Michael Rubin

Recommendable! This article is about the multi-ethnicity within Iran and its unity. It discusses a breakup of Iran along ethnic lines like former Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia versus more federalism. In the author's well argued opinion more federalism is more realistic in the case of Iran.

The available statistics about ethnic minorities in Iran are very unreliable and/or outdated.

Don’t Play the Ethnic Card in Iran | American Enterprise Institute - AEI

Source

Spain's 'Frankenstein Coalition' Puts Democracy at Risk. Really!

The ghost of the Caudillo Francisco Franco resurrected?

Why do ethnic minorities like the Basques or Catalans pose a serious threat to Spain's democracy? Were these minorities not brutally suppressed for decades by Franco. What is the situation of these minorities in Spain after Franco? 

How does federalism work in contemporary Spain? Maybe not so well!

"... The problem lies in what type of coalition Sanchez put together.

There are three main objections to Sanchez’s government. First, let’s deal with the criticism of his coalition partners.

Sanchez crossed all manner of red lines by bringing into the coalition parties that openly advocate for the liquidation of constitutional Spain. ...

But the development that most troubled Spanish society was the pact with Bildu, the party that took the reins from the Basque terrorist group ETA. For Americans acquainted with the Irish situation, Bildu is the Spanish equivalent Sinn Fein. ...
So, in order to keep the power he craves, Sanchez this year incorporated a new partner: Junts Per Catalunya (Junts), or Together for Catalonia.

It’s yet another secessionist party, whose leader is a fugitive from Spanish justice and lives in Belgium, and whose support for Sanchez is based on a key precondition; namely, the dismantling of the rule of law in Spain.  ..."

Spain's 'Frankenstein Coalition' Puts Democracy at Risk

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez

Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed Arrests Critic for "Plotting Coup" with Palki Sharma

Recommendable!

Arab-Americans to Biden: No Ceasefire, No Vote with Palki Sharma

What a joke of a report! Not once were the Jewish votes mentioned. Much more important than the tiny minority of Arab Americans! What a joke of a report! Not once were the Jewish votes mentioned. Sometimes Palki Sharma totally fails like in this case!

Between Tradition and Tyranny: Inner Mongolia's Battle for Cultural Survival in China

Bad news! How the Communist Party of China treats ethnic minorities like Tibetans, Mongols, and Uyghurs is a huge scandal and a crime against humanity!

"On September 1st, an official ban on the teaching of the Mongolian language in schools went into full effect in the province of Inner Mongolia, a so-called autonomous region in the northeast of China bordering the independent nation of Mongolia. All classes from then on must be conducted in Mandarin Chinese, and parents report being scared or unable to teach their kids at home. On August 25th, a well-regarded history book collection titled A General History of the Mongols by the scholar Mansang Taichuud was banned by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Book and Periodical Distribution Industry Association because it represents “historical nihilism” (that is to say, it doesn’t quite jive with the Chinese Communist Party’s official narrative). ..."

Between Tradition and Tyranny: Mongolia's Battle for Cultural Survival China is intensifying its cultural censorship of Mongolian language and history by banning, and burning, books.

China sentences Uyghur scholar to life in jail

Beware of the Communist Party of China! It was a secret trial!

Professor Rahile Dawut (age 57)

Bugis society in Indonesia recognizes five different genders

Non-binary or trans gender is so boring! 😊 See also Wikipedia entry about this minority!