The Forest

06/06/22: 27 years later Kazakhstan, to start a period which would be called "the new Kazakhstan", held a constitutional referrendum, second since their national history. Question was "Do you accept amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan set forth in the draft Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Amendments and Additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan", published in the media on 6 May 2022?". Referrendum resulted in "Yes" with 77.18%.

The new constitution will clearly state that Kazakh soil, along with natural sources under the earth, belongs to the nation (previously state owned). Death penalty will be abolished. President and many other authorities will not be able to become member of political parties as long as they are in charge.

14/06/22: Crimean Tatars on the occupied peninsula are experiencing the greatest repression. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky during a video address to the participants of the American Jewish Committee Global Forum. "The Russian army has destroyed the communities, in which the Greek community has lived for centuries. The Crimean Tatars on the occupied peninsula are experiencing the greatest repressions. Russian rockets hit Babyn Yar in Kyiv, a Russian missile damaged the Menorah in Drobitsky Yar near Kharkiv”, Zelensky said.

20/06/22: Composer and artist Iraqi Turk Muhammed Ahmed Erbilli passed away at 89. His compostions went beyond Iraq and were heard in Istanbul, Kirkuk, Azerbaijan and more. 12 songs that were popularized by Ibrahim Tatlıses are compositions of Erbilli, like "Yallah şoför", "Almağa gelin", "Yandım televizyonun elinden" and "Kızlar el ele verin". (Editor's Note: Iraq Turks/Turkmens are of a different ethnicity than Turkmens)

Kurdistan Regional Government authorities opposed Muhammed Ahmed Erbilli's coffin being covered by Turkmeneli flag. Kurd authorities' claim was that the Turkmeneli flag symbolizes a political party. Minutes later the flag was removed. Iraqi Turkish journalist Mustafa Kemal Yılmaz reports.

24/06/22: China's Australia embassador Xiao Qian was interrupted by protestors during speech. Demonstrators shouted to "stop the genocide" in Xinjiang and "Tibet remains colonised". One asked: "How about freedom of speech in China?". The Guardian

29/06/22: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Department of Culture opened “Resmin Türkçesi: Türk Dünyasının Tuvalde Buluşması” exhibition, which features works by artists from the Turkic world and Turkey, spanning seven countries on two continents. (Editor's Note: Exhibition's name translates to "The Turkish of Painting: Meeting of the Turkic World on Canvas". The word "Turkish" in this context means language and not nationality.)

The exhibition can be visited in "Tophane-i Amire Kültür Merkezi" for free from 28 June to 3 July. Includes works of Akmal Nuridonov and Alisher Alikulov from Uzbekistan, Arif Aziz, Refik Aziz and Sakit Mammadov from Azerbaijan, Eldar Aitmatov, Yuristanbek Shygaev and Musakeev Temirbek from Kyrgyzstan, Sembigali Smagulov from Kazakhstan, Hüssein Husseinov from Turkmenistan, Devrim Erbil, Ergin İnan, Kadir Ablak, Mahir Güven, Süleyman Saim Tekcan and Yalçın Gökçebağ from Türkiye. kültür.istanbul

30/06/22: Chinese ultra-nationalists violently assault Hong Kong human rights protestors at the China vs Australia basketball match. Activist Max Mok (莫熾韜) was holding a sign by Badiucao (巴丢草) supporting Australian Uyghur political prisoner Mirzat Taher - imprisoned for 25 years. "Security didn’t take any action against this violent attacker but they did drag me backwards down a flight of stairs for holding signs supporting Australian political prisoners in China and calling for an end to Uyghur Genocide" Drew Pavlou says and reports.