Spokesman Books

The Spokesman 119 Edited by Tony Simpson Ayse Berktay has been locked up in a Turkish prison since October 2011. She and some 200 others are, periodically, before Turkey’s Tribunal with Special Powers as part of the ‘KCK trials’. KCK stands for Kurdish Communities Union, which the Turkish government has labelled a ‘terrorist’ organisation, although the actual basis for this draconian claim is not at all clear. In December 2012, many Kurds, some Turks and various others gathered at the European Parliament in Brussels to consider ‘The Kurdish Question in Turkey’. The conference was sponsored by the United European Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) political group, with support from Greens and Socialists. It had the sub-title, ‘time to renew the dialogue and resume direct negotiations’. Notwithstanding attempts by the Turkish authorities to restrict Kurdish participation, the conference heard from many speakers of diverse backgrounds and nationalities. They included two prominent K...

The cover picture of The Spokesman (no.117) was entitled 'Jeju Moon' by its photographer, Bruce Gagnon . Jeju Island, in the Korea Strait, is something of a paradise, as Esther Koohan Paik describes in this new issue. Paradise is threatened by the construction of a huge new naval base to provide port facilities for US Navy ships which carry the AEGIS ballistic missile defence system, a substantial additon to US 'Star Wars' capacity. In this issue, Bruce describes how, after repeated test failures, the US missile defence architecture is becoming more effective; a development which pressures Russia and China greatly as they feel increasingly encircled by US military facilities. However, the residents of Jeju Island have different ideas for the future of their island, as this new seven-minute video makes clear. Bruce provides his own commentary: http://space4peace.blogspot.com/2012/08/grand-march-report-with-music.html   *** Copies of The Spokesman 117 can be bo...