Fréderike Geerdink - independent journalist

Er bestaat een kans dat je olijfolie gestolen is van de Koerden

04/02/2019/in Other /by Belgian radio

(Interview on Belgian public radio about ‘Turkish’ olive oil from Afrin.)

Een Zwitsers parlementslid beweert dat er olijfolie op de Europese markt te koop is, die afkomstig is van geplunderde olijfgaarden in Syrië. Klopt dat?
“Dat kan zeker kloppen” zegt Fréderike Geerdink, journaliste in Koerdistan. “Het is een kwestie die ik al een paar maanden aan het volgen ben. Het gaat om olijfolie, gemaakt van olijven uit Afrin, een gebied in het noordwesten van Syrië waar Turkije vorig jaar is binnengevallen.”

Lees meer en luister het item terug op de site van VRT’s Nieuwe Feiten.

Muslims systematically framed negatively in Dutch newspapers

30/01/2019/in Other /by Index on Censorship

In just a few days, Dutch historian Tayfun Balcik, programme coordinator at The Hague Peace Project, a non-governmental organisation, will count articles by or about Muslims in four mainstream Dutch media for the last time. Since 1 November, he has counted and registered on a daily basis, building a database showing how often the word ‘terrorism’ is used in combination with ‘Muslim’, and how Muslim women are represented.

“One group is systematically framed negatively in Dutch media, and that’s problematic”, Balcik said.

Continue reading at Index on Censhorship.

Despite brother’s visit, Öcalan remains in isolation

14/01/2019/in Other /by Ahval

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wants to attack the predominantly Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia in Syria, but he also wants his Justice and Development Party (AKP) to perform well in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast in March 31 local elections. The latter goal would not be enhanced if Leyla Güven, a member of parliament for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), dies while on hunger strike in prison.

Continue reading at Ahval.