Sunday marked 120th anniversary of first Kurdish newspaper
Sunday (April 22) marked the 120th anniversary milestone of the first Kurdish newspaper on 1898 printed by a renowned Kurdish literary figure.
On April 22, 1898 the first Kurdish newspaper “Kurdistan” was issued in Cairo, Egypt by Mikdad Midhad Badirhan, during the Ottoman Empire.
From 1898 to 1902 there were 31 different publications issued effectively to make Kurdish a widely spoken language and schools to provide education in Kurdish.
The first to fifth issue of “Kurdistan,” which was the name of the publication, was printed by Mikdad Midhad Badirhan in Cairo, who was exiled to Egypt in late 1890s.
Badirhan, a member of Kürdistan Teali Cemiyeti, persuaded his brother Abdurrahman Badirhan to print the rest of the newspaper’s issues, due to the pressure by the Ottoman Empire and his sickness.
Badirhan’s brother published the 6th to 19th issues in Geneva, the 20th to 23th in Cairo, the 24th in London, the 25th was issued twice (once in London and once in Folkestone), the 26th to 29th were issued in Folkestone, and the 30th and 31th in Geneva.
The US Consulate in Erbil celebrated Kurdish Press Day by tweeting: "On #Kurdish #Press Day, we honor Kurdish-language media on this day. Independent, free and pluralistic media are central to good governance. The U.S. marks its ongoing commitment to protecting essential liberties including press freedom."
Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, has been considered by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists to work.
In its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017, the US State Department on Friday accused the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of stifling media and individual exercise of free expression rights.
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