A cult of personality dashes Turkey’s democratic dreams
LITTLE MORE than a decade ago, Turkey appeared to be an emerging democracy with vibrant civil society and somewhat independent media. No longer. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has abandoned democracy and is building a strongman cult of personality.
More:A cult of personality dashes Turkey’s democratic dreams - The Washington Post
Monday, October 31, 2016
October 2016: U.S. Claims Ability to Prosecute Foreign Actors Acting Abroad for Violating U.S. Sanctions Laws | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP - JDSupra
October 2016: U.S. Claims Ability to Prosecute Foreign Actors Acting Abroad for Violating U.S. Sanctions Laws
On March 19, 2016, FBI agents arrested Turkish citizen and resident Reza Zarrab at Miami International Airport, soon after he landed with his wife and young child to visit Disney World. The principal charge, brought by the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, was violating the Iran Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (“ITSR”).
More:October 2016: U.S. Claims Ability to Prosecute Foreign Actors Acting Abroad for Violating U.S. Sanctions Laws | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP - JDSupra
On March 19, 2016, FBI agents arrested Turkish citizen and resident Reza Zarrab at Miami International Airport, soon after he landed with his wife and young child to visit Disney World. The principal charge, brought by the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, was violating the Iran Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (“ITSR”).
More:October 2016: U.S. Claims Ability to Prosecute Foreign Actors Acting Abroad for Violating U.S. Sanctions Laws | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP - JDSupra
A Turkish Basiji in the making? - NEVŞİN MENGÜ
A Turkish Basiji in the making?
According to OECD data, nearly 19 percent of Turkish youth are unemployed. Some 13.3 percent of men aged 15-19, 18.3 percent of men aged 20-24 and 47.6 percent of women aged 20-24 are unemployed, not getting training and not getting an education.
More:A Turkish Basiji in the making? - NEVŞİN MENGÜ
According to OECD data, nearly 19 percent of Turkish youth are unemployed. Some 13.3 percent of men aged 15-19, 18.3 percent of men aged 20-24 and 47.6 percent of women aged 20-24 are unemployed, not getting training and not getting an education.
More:A Turkish Basiji in the making? - NEVŞİN MENGÜ
Visible facts and real facts in Turkish-US relations - TOLGA TANIŞ
Visible facts and real facts in Turkish-US relations
When Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ visited Washington, he made a very good comment on the Gülen community in a meeting at SETA.
More:Visible facts and real facts in Turkish-US relations - TOLGA TANIŞ
When Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ visited Washington, he made a very good comment on the Gülen community in a meeting at SETA.
More:Visible facts and real facts in Turkish-US relations - TOLGA TANIŞ
Turkey's case against Muslim cleric has merit: US official | Political News | US News
Turkey's case against Muslim cleric has merit: US official
A senior U.S. official says Turkey's contention that a Pennsylvania-based Muslim cleric was involved in the failed July coup attempt is not without grounds
More:Turkey's case against Muslim cleric has merit: US official | Political News | US News
A senior U.S. official says Turkey's contention that a Pennsylvania-based Muslim cleric was involved in the failed July coup attempt is not without grounds
More:Turkey's case against Muslim cleric has merit: US official | Political News | US News
Turkey to issue biometric passports for EU visa deal | Planet Biometrics News
Turkey to issue biometric passports for EU visa deal
31 October 2016 15:46 GMT
Turkey will begin issuing biometric passports next month as part of a visa deal it has reached with the European Union.
More:Turkey to issue biometric passports for EU visa deal | Planet Biometrics News
31 October 2016 15:46 GMT
Turkey will begin issuing biometric passports next month as part of a visa deal it has reached with the European Union.
More:Turkey to issue biometric passports for EU visa deal | Planet Biometrics News
How Ataturk rescued the Jews
How Ataturk rescued the Jews
Highlighting a chapter of German-Turkish history that has largely been forgotten, Eren Onsoz′ ″Haymatloz″ tells the stories of five German Jewish academics who emigrated to Turkey in the 1930s, to be welcomed with open arms. By Heike Mund
More:How Ataturk rescued the Jews
Highlighting a chapter of German-Turkish history that has largely been forgotten, Eren Onsoz′ ″Haymatloz″ tells the stories of five German Jewish academics who emigrated to Turkey in the 1930s, to be welcomed with open arms. By Heike Mund
More:How Ataturk rescued the Jews
Turkey needs better education, innovation: World Bank
Turkey needs better education, innovation: World Bank
Turkey needs to address inefficiencies in education system, create higher value-added economy, vice president says
More:Turkey needs better education, innovation: World Bank
Turkey needs to address inefficiencies in education system, create higher value-added economy, vice president says
More:Turkey needs better education, innovation: World Bank
Turkey detains opposition newspaper staff in ‘cleansing’ measure
Turkey detains opposition newspaper staff in ‘cleansing’ measure
Continued crackdown since failed coup in July alarms western allies and rights groups
More:Turkey detains opposition newspaper staff in ‘cleansing’ measure
Continued crackdown since failed coup in July alarms western allies and rights groups
More:Turkey detains opposition newspaper staff in ‘cleansing’ measure
Journalists protest after Turkey takes on Cumhuriyet | Europe | DW.COM | 31.10.2016
Journalists protest after Turkey takes on Cumhuriyet
Journalists say Turkey's raid on the newspaper Cumhuriyet is the latest step in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's drive to crush critical voices. The government claims the raids are in response to the July 15 coup.
More:Journalists protest after Turkey takes on Cumhuriyet | Europe | DW.COM | 31.10.2016
Journalists say Turkey's raid on the newspaper Cumhuriyet is the latest step in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's drive to crush critical voices. The government claims the raids are in response to the July 15 coup.
More:Journalists protest after Turkey takes on Cumhuriyet | Europe | DW.COM | 31.10.2016
Sunday, October 30, 2016
LETTER FROM ISTANBUL: Why Are Turks Sold On Trump? | Lost Coast Outpost | Humboldt County
LETTER FROM ISTANBUL: Why Are Turks Sold On Trump?
My Turkish students and I have been following the U.S. presidential debates. Actually we’ve been following since the primaries.
“It’s like a reality TV show,” more than a few have remarked, somewhat breathlessly. “It just goes on and on!”
More:LETTER FROM ISTANBUL: Why Are Turks Sold On Trump? | Lost Coast Outpost | Humboldt County
My Turkish students and I have been following the U.S. presidential debates. Actually we’ve been following since the primaries.
“It’s like a reality TV show,” more than a few have remarked, somewhat breathlessly. “It just goes on and on!”
More:LETTER FROM ISTANBUL: Why Are Turks Sold On Trump? | Lost Coast Outpost | Humboldt County
′Turks in Germany still lack a sense of belonging′ | Germany | DW.COM | 29.10.2016
'Turks in Germany still lack a sense of belonging'
It's been 55 years since Germany's recruitment agreement with Turkey. But many Turks still don't feel well integrated, says Gökay Sofuoglu, chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany (TGD).
More:′Turks in Germany still lack a sense of belonging′ | Germany | DW.COM | 29.10.2016
It's been 55 years since Germany's recruitment agreement with Turkey. But many Turks still don't feel well integrated, says Gökay Sofuoglu, chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany (TGD).
More:′Turks in Germany still lack a sense of belonging′ | Germany | DW.COM | 29.10.2016
Taking Turkey Seriously | EuBulletin.Com
Taking Turkey Seriously
Written by European Values | Sunday, October 30th, 2016
erdogan_trt_0
Carl Bildt (European Council on Foreign Relations)
Throughout its entire existence, Istanbul, a city on the banks of the Bosphorus Strait separating Europe from Asia, has been the focus point of the relations between the West and the East. It will very likely retain this role as the relationship between the Christian Europe and the vast Muslim world is gaining significance. The Turkish political life has always been stormy and marked by conflicting visions or aspirations, achievements and obstacles. Nonetheless, during the last two centuries, Turkish reformers have looked up to Europe as the main source of inspiration.
More:Taking Turkey Seriously | EuBulletin.Com
Turkey fires 10,000 workers for alleged ties to July coup attempt - UPI.com
Turkey fires 10,000 workers for alleged ties to July coup attempt
By Yvette C. Hammett | Oct. 30, 2016 at 9:36 AM
ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- More than 10,000 civil servants were fired from their jobs and 15 media outlets shut down for alleged ties to a deadly July coup attempt in Turkey.
Turkish authorities said all those dismissed, including academics, health workers and teachers, were among those with links to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of orchestrating the failed coup attempt, Yenisafak reported.
More:Turkey fires 10,000 workers for alleged ties to July coup attempt - UPI.com
By Yvette C. Hammett | Oct. 30, 2016 at 9:36 AM
ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- More than 10,000 civil servants were fired from their jobs and 15 media outlets shut down for alleged ties to a deadly July coup attempt in Turkey.
Turkish authorities said all those dismissed, including academics, health workers and teachers, were among those with links to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of orchestrating the failed coup attempt, Yenisafak reported.
More:Turkey fires 10,000 workers for alleged ties to July coup attempt - UPI.com
President given power to directly appoint rectors to universities in Turkey - POLITICS
President given power to directly appoint rectors to universities in Turkey
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be able to appoint rectors to universities directly without having to consider the preferences of academics following the imposition of the latest state of emergency decree on Oct. 29.
More:President given power to directly appoint rectors to universities in Turkey - POLITICS
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be able to appoint rectors to universities directly without having to consider the preferences of academics following the imposition of the latest state of emergency decree on Oct. 29.
More:President given power to directly appoint rectors to universities in Turkey - POLITICS
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Tornos News | Turkish tourism has lost $15 billion already in 2016
Turkish tourism has lost $15 billion already in 2016
So far this year Turkish tourism has lost $15 billion due to the significant drop in the number of visitors to the country, according to Turizm Data Bank as quoted by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia.
More:Tornos News | Turkish tourism has lost $15 billion already in 2016
So far this year Turkish tourism has lost $15 billion due to the significant drop in the number of visitors to the country, according to Turizm Data Bank as quoted by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia.
More:Tornos News | Turkish tourism has lost $15 billion already in 2016
The brewing battle over coffee in Turkey
The brewing battle over coffee in Turkey
Turkish coffee is one of Turkey’s best-known hallmarks abroad. The coffee beans are not homegrown, but the slow brewing technique, taste, aroma and a history of about 500 years make Turkish coffee special on the world coffee scene. While it is served in small cups of only several sips, Turkish coffee opens the door to conversations stretching over hours. It is also a central element in a premarital ceremony, in which the family of the groom-to-be visits the family of the bride-to-be to ask for her hand. The bride-to-be makes Turkish coffee for the occasion as a first treat for her future in-laws. To pass the test with flying colors, the coffee has to be brewed on a low flame and have plenty of foam. Yet if the girl is reluctant to marry her suitor, her coffee may not taste that good, and even salt could replace sugar in the brew!
More:The brewing battle over coffee in Turkey
Turkish coffee is one of Turkey’s best-known hallmarks abroad. The coffee beans are not homegrown, but the slow brewing technique, taste, aroma and a history of about 500 years make Turkish coffee special on the world coffee scene. While it is served in small cups of only several sips, Turkish coffee opens the door to conversations stretching over hours. It is also a central element in a premarital ceremony, in which the family of the groom-to-be visits the family of the bride-to-be to ask for her hand. The bride-to-be makes Turkish coffee for the occasion as a first treat for her future in-laws. To pass the test with flying colors, the coffee has to be brewed on a low flame and have plenty of foam. Yet if the girl is reluctant to marry her suitor, her coffee may not taste that good, and even salt could replace sugar in the brew!
More:The brewing battle over coffee in Turkey
Friday, October 28, 2016
Erdogan’s war game | The Economist
Erdogan’s war game
The Turkish president is pushing into both his southern neighbours
More:Erdogan’s war game | The Economist
The Turkish president is pushing into both his southern neighbours
More:Erdogan’s war game | The Economist
Once Bulwark of Currency, Ordinary Turks Done Buying Liras - Bloomberg
Once Bulwark of Currency, Ordinary Turks Done Buying Liras
Constantine Courcoulas
Turkey’s lira is on the cusp of losing the backing of one of its most loyal groups of investors: the people of Turkey.
The country’s citizens and businesses swooped in to buy liras this year amid political upheaval, a botched military coup and a spate of debt downgrades. While the currency fell more than any other emerging market outside of Latin America, Turks bought enough to help it rebound each time it dropped toward 3.10 per dollar.
More:Once Bulwark of Currency, Ordinary Turks Done Buying Liras - Bloomberg
Constantine Courcoulas
Turkey’s lira is on the cusp of losing the backing of one of its most loyal groups of investors: the people of Turkey.
The country’s citizens and businesses swooped in to buy liras this year amid political upheaval, a botched military coup and a spate of debt downgrades. While the currency fell more than any other emerging market outside of Latin America, Turks bought enough to help it rebound each time it dropped toward 3.10 per dollar.
More:Once Bulwark of Currency, Ordinary Turks Done Buying Liras - Bloomberg
Inside Europe: Fears over fate of Turkish prisoners | All media content | DW.COM | 28.10.2016
Inside Europe: Fears over fate of Turkish prisoners
Human Rights Watch says the Turkish police have been ill treating and torturing detainees since the July failed coup attempt. The NGO has released a report detailing cases of abuse under the ongoing state of emergency in Turkey. Ankara has denied prisoners are ill-treated. But there are growing fears for the fate of those accused of being involved in the failed coup.
More:Inside Europe: Fears over fate of Turkish prisoners | All media content | DW.COM | 28.10.2016
Human Rights Watch says the Turkish police have been ill treating and torturing detainees since the July failed coup attempt. The NGO has released a report detailing cases of abuse under the ongoing state of emergency in Turkey. Ankara has denied prisoners are ill-treated. But there are growing fears for the fate of those accused of being involved in the failed coup.
More:Inside Europe: Fears over fate of Turkish prisoners | All media content | DW.COM | 28.10.2016
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Dailytimes | Death of modern Turkey?
Death of modern Turkey?
By: By Shahzad Raza
ISTANBUL: Despite vertical development across Turkey, the ordinary Turks are pessimistic about what Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised, especially after incarcerating thousands of his political rivals.
More:Dailytimes | Death of modern Turkey?
By: By Shahzad Raza
ISTANBUL: Despite vertical development across Turkey, the ordinary Turks are pessimistic about what Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised, especially after incarcerating thousands of his political rivals.
More:Dailytimes | Death of modern Turkey?
Turkey detains dozens of air force pilots in coup probe | GulfNews.com
Turkey detains dozens of air force pilots in coup probe
Arrests bring to more than 300 the number of pilots dismissed or arrested in the coup investigation
More:Turkey detains dozens of air force pilots in coup probe | GulfNews.com
Arrests bring to more than 300 the number of pilots dismissed or arrested in the coup investigation
More:Turkey detains dozens of air force pilots in coup probe | GulfNews.com
After Kurds, IS, now FETO: How Turkey survives threats - Thu, October 27 2016 - The Jakarta Post
After Kurds, IS, now FETO: How Turkey survives threats
Rendi A. Witular
As Turkey seems to have had its plate full with a barrage of terrorist attacks perpetrated by the Islamic State (IS) movement and a Kurdish separatist group in the past couple of years, the recent rise of what the Turkish government named the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which it then blamed for launching the recent failed putsch, has authorities scrambling to fend off the new threat.
More:After Kurds, IS, now FETO: How Turkey survives threats - Thu, October 27 2016 - The Jakarta Post
Rendi A. Witular
As Turkey seems to have had its plate full with a barrage of terrorist attacks perpetrated by the Islamic State (IS) movement and a Kurdish separatist group in the past couple of years, the recent rise of what the Turkish government named the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which it then blamed for launching the recent failed putsch, has authorities scrambling to fend off the new threat.
More:After Kurds, IS, now FETO: How Turkey survives threats - Thu, October 27 2016 - The Jakarta Post
Turkey asked U.S. not to allow Kurdish militia into Raqqa, minister tells TRT Haber | Reuters
Turkey asked U.S. not to allow Kurdish militia into Raqqa, minister tells TRT Haber
Turkey asked the United States to keep the Kurdish YPG militia from entering the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, adding it was ready to provide military support to take over the Syrian town, Defence Minister Fikri Isik told TRT Haber on Thursday.
More:Turkey asked U.S. not to allow Kurdish militia into Raqqa, minister tells TRT Haber | Reuters
Turkey asked the United States to keep the Kurdish YPG militia from entering the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, adding it was ready to provide military support to take over the Syrian town, Defence Minister Fikri Isik told TRT Haber on Thursday.
More:Turkey asked U.S. not to allow Kurdish militia into Raqqa, minister tells TRT Haber | Reuters
Why ‘time’ is the enemy of Turkey’s foreign policy calculus - BURAK BEKDİL
Why ‘time’ is the enemy of Turkey’s foreign policy calculus
It is not a secret that Turkey’s own narrative of “Turkish affairs” is probably Turkey’s worst enemy. Its inconsistency, unrealism and inflammatory rhetoric-based policy actions are the other suicidal features of Turkish policy calculus. Turkish leadership and diplomacy, inevitably, suffers from a serious problem about being convincing.
More:Why ‘time’ is the enemy of Turkey’s foreign policy calculus - BURAK BEKDİL
It is not a secret that Turkey’s own narrative of “Turkish affairs” is probably Turkey’s worst enemy. Its inconsistency, unrealism and inflammatory rhetoric-based policy actions are the other suicidal features of Turkish policy calculus. Turkish leadership and diplomacy, inevitably, suffers from a serious problem about being convincing.
More:Why ‘time’ is the enemy of Turkey’s foreign policy calculus - BURAK BEKDİL
No True Democracy in Turkey Without Peace - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
No True Democracy in Turkey Without Peace
Posted by: Roy Karadag
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Turkey is going through turbulent times. In the wake of the attempted coup on July 15, 2016—fortunately unsuccessful, thereby averting the formation of a new military dictatorship—the country is heading toward an uncertain future.
More:No True Democracy in Turkey Without Peace - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Posted by: Roy Karadag
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Turkey is going through turbulent times. In the wake of the attempted coup on July 15, 2016—fortunately unsuccessful, thereby averting the formation of a new military dictatorship—the country is heading toward an uncertain future.
More:No True Democracy in Turkey Without Peace - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
World’s Largest Solar Plant to Be Developed in Turkey
World’s Largest Solar Plant to Be Developed in Turkey
by Anca Gagiuc
Konya, Turkey—The Turkish minister of energy and natural resources Berat Albayrak announced the tender for a 1-gigawatt photovoltaic solar power plant in Karapinar, Konya, which will be held in December. The announcement described it as “world’s largest photovoltaic solar plant will mark the new era for the renewable energy in Turkey”.
More:World’s Largest Solar Plant to Be Developed in Turkey
by Anca Gagiuc
Konya, Turkey—The Turkish minister of energy and natural resources Berat Albayrak announced the tender for a 1-gigawatt photovoltaic solar power plant in Karapinar, Konya, which will be held in December. The announcement described it as “world’s largest photovoltaic solar plant will mark the new era for the renewable energy in Turkey”.
More:World’s Largest Solar Plant to Be Developed in Turkey
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Who Suffers From Russia, Turkey Pipeline Deal?
Who Suffers From Russia, Turkey Pipeline Deal?
Kenneth Rapoza ,
After kissing and making up from a downed Sukhoi fighter jet over Syria, Russia and Turkey are back to being business partners again. Gazprom and Botas Petroleum agreed on Oct. 10 to push ahead with the so-called Turkish Stream pipeline. This is going to hurt a few countries.
More:Who Suffers From Russia, Turkey Pipeline Deal?
Kenneth Rapoza ,
After kissing and making up from a downed Sukhoi fighter jet over Syria, Russia and Turkey are back to being business partners again. Gazprom and Botas Petroleum agreed on Oct. 10 to push ahead with the so-called Turkish Stream pipeline. This is going to hurt a few countries.
More:Who Suffers From Russia, Turkey Pipeline Deal?
Turkish authorities arrest mayor of Diyarbakir | EUROPE ONLINE
Turkish authorities arrest mayor of Diyarbakir
Europe
25.10.2016
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online auf Facebook posten Auf Twitter posten
Istanbul (dpa) - The mayor of Diyarbakir, a major city in Turkey‘s predominantly Kurdish south-east, has been detained on suspicion of terrorist support, according to state news agency Anadolu.
More:Turkish authorities arrest mayor of Diyarbakir | EUROPE ONLINE
Europe
25.10.2016
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online auf Facebook posten Auf Twitter posten
Istanbul (dpa) - The mayor of Diyarbakir, a major city in Turkey‘s predominantly Kurdish south-east, has been detained on suspicion of terrorist support, according to state news agency Anadolu.
More:Turkish authorities arrest mayor of Diyarbakir | EUROPE ONLINE
How likely is secular democracy in the Middle East? - SEMİH İDİZ
How likely is secular democracy in the Middle East?
Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioğlu, a former Undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry who is Turkey’s new “point man” at the U.N., believes the Middle East has to move toward a secular and democratic future.
More:How likely is secular democracy in the Middle East? - SEMİH İDİZ
Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioğlu, a former Undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry who is Turkey’s new “point man” at the U.N., believes the Middle East has to move toward a secular and democratic future.
More:How likely is secular democracy in the Middle East? - SEMİH İDİZ
Why US Changed Position On Turkey’s Participation In Mosul Liberation Operation – OpEd – Eurasia Review
Why US Changed Position On Turkey’s Participation In Mosul Liberation Operation –
By Iran Review October 25, 2016
By Alireza Rahimi*
It was last December when Turkey deployed its military forces to Bashiqa military base north of the Iraqi city of Mosul after which the war of words and diplomatic tensions escalated between governments in Baghdad and Ankara over violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by Turkey. The tensions reached their peak as the time came for launching liberation operation of Mosul when the government of Turkey indicated its resolve to take part in that operation, prompting political and parliamentary officials as well as leaders of political parties in the two countries to take position on this issue.
More:Why US Changed Position On Turkey’s Participation In Mosul Liberation Operation – OpEd – Eurasia Review
By Iran Review October 25, 2016
By Alireza Rahimi*
It was last December when Turkey deployed its military forces to Bashiqa military base north of the Iraqi city of Mosul after which the war of words and diplomatic tensions escalated between governments in Baghdad and Ankara over violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by Turkey. The tensions reached their peak as the time came for launching liberation operation of Mosul when the government of Turkey indicated its resolve to take part in that operation, prompting political and parliamentary officials as well as leaders of political parties in the two countries to take position on this issue.
More:Why US Changed Position On Turkey’s Participation In Mosul Liberation Operation – OpEd – Eurasia Review
An honest road map with the US - AHU ÖZYURT
An honest road map with the US
Turkey has started debating the presidential system in an awkward way. The Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) proposal has very few similarities with democratic presidential systems like those of the United States or France. It is almost an à la carte democracy for beginners with immense powers given to the “president” to dissolve the parliament, appoint judges to high-level courts and the like, but no control over the president him/herself. As long as the Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) red lines are limited to the first four articles, the AK Party’s top brass will be able to sell their idea as a “Unitarian Presidential System” that will be similar to those in fragile Central American democracies. But this article is not really about Turkey’s ongoing discussion.
More:An honest road map with the US - AHU ÖZYURT
Turkey has started debating the presidential system in an awkward way. The Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) proposal has very few similarities with democratic presidential systems like those of the United States or France. It is almost an à la carte democracy for beginners with immense powers given to the “president” to dissolve the parliament, appoint judges to high-level courts and the like, but no control over the president him/herself. As long as the Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) red lines are limited to the first four articles, the AK Party’s top brass will be able to sell their idea as a “Unitarian Presidential System” that will be similar to those in fragile Central American democracies. But this article is not really about Turkey’s ongoing discussion.
More:An honest road map with the US - AHU ÖZYURT
Turkey asks US to isolate Gülen from his network - MURAT YETKİN
Turkey asks US to isolate Gülen from his network
Murat Yetkin
Ankara is set to ask Washington to arrest the U.S.-resident Islamist preacher Fethullah Gülen, accused of masterminding the bloody July 15 coup attempt, in order to “isolate” him from his network, while legal proceedings on the demand to extradite Gülen continue, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş has told the Hürriyet Daily News.
More:Turkey asks US to isolate Gülen from his network - MURAT YETKİN
Murat Yetkin
Ankara is set to ask Washington to arrest the U.S.-resident Islamist preacher Fethullah Gülen, accused of masterminding the bloody July 15 coup attempt, in order to “isolate” him from his network, while legal proceedings on the demand to extradite Gülen continue, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş has told the Hürriyet Daily News.
More:Turkey asks US to isolate Gülen from his network - MURAT YETKİN
Fashion brands ignore 'endemic' abuse of Syrian refugees in Turkey - watchdog | Reuters
Fashion brands ignore 'endemic' abuse of Syrian refugees in Turkey - watchdog
By Timothy Large
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Big fashion brands are failing to protect Syrian refugees from "endemic" abuse in Turkish clothing factories supplying European retailers, a monitoring group said on Tuesday.
More:Fashion brands ignore 'endemic' abuse of Syrian refugees in Turkey - watchdog | Reuters
By Timothy Large
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Big fashion brands are failing to protect Syrian refugees from "endemic" abuse in Turkish clothing factories supplying European retailers, a monitoring group said on Tuesday.
More:Fashion brands ignore 'endemic' abuse of Syrian refugees in Turkey - watchdog | Reuters
ANALYSIS: Turkey's press freedom, and the hypocrisy of Gulen supporters | Middle East Eye
ANALYSIS: Turkey's press freedom, and the hypocrisy of Gulen supporters
#TurkeyCoup
Many of the same Gulen journalists who targeted investigative reporters are now presenting themselves as staunch defenders of press freedom
More:ANALYSIS: Turkey's press freedom, and the hypocrisy of Gulen supporters | Middle East Eye
#TurkeyCoup
Many of the same Gulen journalists who targeted investigative reporters are now presenting themselves as staunch defenders of press freedom
More:ANALYSIS: Turkey's press freedom, and the hypocrisy of Gulen supporters | Middle East Eye
How Turkey is becoming a snitching paradise
How Turkey is becoming a snitching paradise
Turkey's intelligence network seems to be expanding. Having reached neighborhood headmen, the state's intelligence tentacles are now spreading to ordinary citizens.
More:How Turkey is becoming a snitching paradise
Turkey's intelligence network seems to be expanding. Having reached neighborhood headmen, the state's intelligence tentacles are now spreading to ordinary citizens.
More:How Turkey is becoming a snitching paradise
Idyllic Mediterranean coasts fall victim to energy - GİLA BENMAYOR
Idyllic Mediterranean coasts fall victim to energy
The city of Mersin on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey and the tourism hub of the country, Antalya, the destination for sun- and sea-loving tourists on the same coastline, are 500 kilometers apart. Antalya is in the ancient Pamphylia and Mersin is in the ancient Cilicia region.
More:Idyllic Mediterranean coasts fall victim to energy - GİLA BENMAYOR
The city of Mersin on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey and the tourism hub of the country, Antalya, the destination for sun- and sea-loving tourists on the same coastline, are 500 kilometers apart. Antalya is in the ancient Pamphylia and Mersin is in the ancient Cilicia region.
More:Idyllic Mediterranean coasts fall victim to energy - GİLA BENMAYOR
Turkey, US to discuss Muslim cleric wanted by Ankara - The Washington Post
Turkey, US to discuss Muslim cleric wanted by Ankara
By Associated Press October 25 at 7:38 AM
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s justice minister says the country has provided “more than sufficient” evidence to the United States for the extradition of a U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused by Turkey of orchestrating the July 15 failed coup attempt.
More:Turkey, US to discuss Muslim cleric wanted by Ankara - The Washington Post
By Associated Press October 25 at 7:38 AM
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s justice minister says the country has provided “more than sufficient” evidence to the United States for the extradition of a U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused by Turkey of orchestrating the July 15 failed coup attempt.
More:Turkey, US to discuss Muslim cleric wanted by Ankara - The Washington Post
Turkey's battles in Syria, Iraq - CNN.com
Turkey's complex reasons for fighting in Syria and Iraq
By Ivan Watson, Isil Sariyuce, and Mohammed Eyad Kourdi, CNN
Updated 4:14 PM ET, Mon October 24, 2016
Istanbul (CNN)For months, the US has been building up an alliance in the Middle East aimed at dislodging ISIS from its strongholds in both Iraq and Syria.
More:Turkey's battles in Syria, Iraq - CNN.com
By Ivan Watson, Isil Sariyuce, and Mohammed Eyad Kourdi, CNN
Updated 4:14 PM ET, Mon October 24, 2016
Istanbul (CNN)For months, the US has been building up an alliance in the Middle East aimed at dislodging ISIS from its strongholds in both Iraq and Syria.
More:Turkey's battles in Syria, Iraq - CNN.com
Antalya explosion: Turkey tourist resort hit by car blast 'injuring several' | The Independent
Antalya explosion: Turkey tourist resort hit by car blast 'injuring several'
Eyewitness says blast smashed windows and left people bloodied
Around a dozen people have been injured in an explosion in the tourist resort of Antalya in southern Turkey.
More:Antalya explosion: Turkey tourist resort hit by car blast 'injuring several' | The Independent
Eyewitness says blast smashed windows and left people bloodied
Around a dozen people have been injured in an explosion in the tourist resort of Antalya in southern Turkey.
More:Antalya explosion: Turkey tourist resort hit by car blast 'injuring several' | The Independent
Tourism Slumps in Turkey as US Advises Citizens to Stay Away - The Media Line
Tourism Slumps in Turkey as US Advises Citizens to Stay Away
By Katie Beiter | The Media Line
October 25, 2016
Amidst political turmoil and attacks by Islamic State and the PKK (the Kurdish Worker’s Party) the U.S Department of State has updated its travel warning for Turkey. The surge in violence over the past 16 months by Kurdish rebels and ISIS has seriously rocked the once-booming tourist industry, cutting tourism by almost 80%, some tourism agencies say.
More:Tourism Slumps in Turkey as US Advises Citizens to Stay Away - The Media Line
By Katie Beiter | The Media Line
October 25, 2016
Amidst political turmoil and attacks by Islamic State and the PKK (the Kurdish Worker’s Party) the U.S Department of State has updated its travel warning for Turkey. The surge in violence over the past 16 months by Kurdish rebels and ISIS has seriously rocked the once-booming tourist industry, cutting tourism by almost 80%, some tourism agencies say.
More:Tourism Slumps in Turkey as US Advises Citizens to Stay Away - The Media Line
Is An American Company's Technology Helping Turkey Spy On Its Citizens?
Is An American Company's Technology Helping Turkey Spy On Its Citizens?
Thomas Fox-Brewster ,
“I do not wish to spend the rest of my life with the regret of having been a part of Erdoğan’s insanity, so I’m out.” The company-wide email on April 4 from Kriss Andsten, a senior technical engineer for Fremont, California-based Procera Networks, landed with a thud and marked the beginning of an internal revolt that has rattled the telecom technology provider. Andsten went on to explain his grievance: the sale of Procera’s deep packet inspection product for alleged surveillance by a totalitarian regime. “We are … heading down the rabbit hole where we’re not using it for good anymore, in the name of chasing the next buck. A recent request from Turkey… seals the deal for me. The Cliff’s Notes version is that we’re selling a solution for extracting usernames and passwords from unencrypted traffic.” After nine years at the company’s offices in Malmo, Sweden, he resigned.
More:Is An American Company's Technology Helping Turkey Spy On Its Citizens?
Thomas Fox-Brewster ,
“I do not wish to spend the rest of my life with the regret of having been a part of Erdoğan’s insanity, so I’m out.” The company-wide email on April 4 from Kriss Andsten, a senior technical engineer for Fremont, California-based Procera Networks, landed with a thud and marked the beginning of an internal revolt that has rattled the telecom technology provider. Andsten went on to explain his grievance: the sale of Procera’s deep packet inspection product for alleged surveillance by a totalitarian regime. “We are … heading down the rabbit hole where we’re not using it for good anymore, in the name of chasing the next buck. A recent request from Turkey… seals the deal for me. The Cliff’s Notes version is that we’re selling a solution for extracting usernames and passwords from unencrypted traffic.” After nine years at the company’s offices in Malmo, Sweden, he resigned.
More:Is An American Company's Technology Helping Turkey Spy On Its Citizens?
Fed up with volatile prices, Turkish government steps in to help Central Bank - FINANCE
Fed up with volatile prices, Turkish government steps in to help Central Bank
ANKARA - Reuters
The Turkish government plans to take a more active role in fighting inflation and will attempt to tame volatile food prices, senior economic officials said, moves designed to give the Central Bank more leeway for monetary easing.
More:Fed up with volatile prices, Turkish government steps in to help Central Bank - FINANCE
ANKARA - Reuters
The Turkish government plans to take a more active role in fighting inflation and will attempt to tame volatile food prices, senior economic officials said, moves designed to give the Central Bank more leeway for monetary easing.
More:Fed up with volatile prices, Turkish government steps in to help Central Bank - FINANCE
Monday, October 24, 2016
Refugee children 'making Marks and Spencer clothes' in Turkish factories, BBC claims | The Independent
Refugee children 'making Marks and Spencer clothes' in Turkish factories, BBC claims
Panorama documentary alleges Syrian refugees are working in Turkish factories to make clothes for British shoppers
More:Refugee children 'making Marks and Spencer clothes' in Turkish factories, BBC claims | The Independent
Panorama documentary alleges Syrian refugees are working in Turkish factories to make clothes for British shoppers
More:Refugee children 'making Marks and Spencer clothes' in Turkish factories, BBC claims | The Independent
Sunday, October 23, 2016
How Ataturk became a model for Erdogan
How Ataturk became a model for Erdogan
Since he was elected as Turkey’s president in August 2014, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been hoping to redesign the Turkish Constitution to introduce an executive presidential system. The July 15 failed coup put that discussion aside for a moment, but not for long. Last week, the leader of the opposition Nationalist Action Party, Devlet Bahceli, who has lately emerged as a political ally of Erdogan, announced that his party could help the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) take the presidential system to a referendum. As a result, political observers began to expect a referendum in early 2017. In fact, government spokesman Hayati Yazici made the plan clear by noting that a constitutional amendment may come to the parliament in January and that a referendum could be held in April.
More:How Ataturk became a model for Erdogan
Since he was elected as Turkey’s president in August 2014, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been hoping to redesign the Turkish Constitution to introduce an executive presidential system. The July 15 failed coup put that discussion aside for a moment, but not for long. Last week, the leader of the opposition Nationalist Action Party, Devlet Bahceli, who has lately emerged as a political ally of Erdogan, announced that his party could help the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) take the presidential system to a referendum. As a result, political observers began to expect a referendum in early 2017. In fact, government spokesman Hayati Yazici made the plan clear by noting that a constitutional amendment may come to the parliament in January and that a referendum could be held in April.
More:How Ataturk became a model for Erdogan
At least for now, Turkey's economy weathers downgrades, political turmoil
At least for now, Turkey's economy weathers downgrades, political turmoil
In the wake of an abortive coup in July, ratings agencies have not been kind to Turkey's sovereign credit. Nevertheless, some global investors still see opportunity in the middle of a country riven by political unrest.
More:At least for now, Turkey's economy weathers downgrades, political turmoil
In the wake of an abortive coup in July, ratings agencies have not been kind to Turkey's sovereign credit. Nevertheless, some global investors still see opportunity in the middle of a country riven by political unrest.
More:At least for now, Turkey's economy weathers downgrades, political turmoil
Turkey reports more than 35,000 in detention after coup attempt | EUROPE ONLINE
Turkey reports more than 35,000 in detention after coup attempt
Europe
23.10.2016
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online auf Facebook posten Auf Twitter posten
Istanbul (dpa) - There are more than 35,000 people in detention in Turkey more than three months after this year‘s attempted coup, says Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, noting that a further 4,000 remain under investigation.
More:Turkey reports more than 35,000 in detention after coup attempt | EUROPE ONLINE
Europe
23.10.2016
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online auf Facebook posten Auf Twitter posten
Istanbul (dpa) - There are more than 35,000 people in detention in Turkey more than three months after this year‘s attempted coup, says Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, noting that a further 4,000 remain under investigation.
More:Turkey reports more than 35,000 in detention after coup attempt | EUROPE ONLINE
Mosul: Turkey insists its forces 'cannot remain idle' - BBC News
Mosul: Turkey insists its forces 'cannot remain idle'
Turkey has insisted that its forces cannot remain idle during the fight to drive so-called Islamic State militants from the Iraqi city of Mosul.
More:Mosul: Turkey insists its forces 'cannot remain idle' - BBC News
Turkey has insisted that its forces cannot remain idle during the fight to drive so-called Islamic State militants from the Iraqi city of Mosul.
More:Mosul: Turkey insists its forces 'cannot remain idle' - BBC News
Mosul: Opening a Pandora’s box | Pakistan Observer
Mosul: Opening a Pandora’s box
By Webmaster -
October 23, 2016
Sinem Cengiz
AS is known to all, in mythology “Pandora’s box” refers to a large jar that contained all the evils of the world and when it was opened, all the evils (hatred, pain, poverty, war and death) flew out. Once it was closed again, the last thing left in the box was “hope.” Long story short: It refers to an action that may be done with good intention, but leads to serious adverse consequences and becomes the “beginning of something.” After months of intensive preparations, the long-awaited operation in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul started last week after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi pushed the button. The aim of the operation is to clear Mosul, which is Iraq’s second largest city with a population of 1.5 million, from Daesh’s occupation.
More:Mosul: Opening a Pandora’s box | Pakistan Observer
By Webmaster -
October 23, 2016
Sinem Cengiz
AS is known to all, in mythology “Pandora’s box” refers to a large jar that contained all the evils of the world and when it was opened, all the evils (hatred, pain, poverty, war and death) flew out. Once it was closed again, the last thing left in the box was “hope.” Long story short: It refers to an action that may be done with good intention, but leads to serious adverse consequences and becomes the “beginning of something.” After months of intensive preparations, the long-awaited operation in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul started last week after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi pushed the button. The aim of the operation is to clear Mosul, which is Iraq’s second largest city with a population of 1.5 million, from Daesh’s occupation.
More:Mosul: Opening a Pandora’s box | Pakistan Observer
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Turkish Airlines names new chief executive
Turkish Airlines names new chief executive
ISTANBUL, 10 hours, 31 minutes ago
Turkish Airlines has appointed Bilal Ekşi, 48, the head of the country's civil aviation authority, as the new general manager replacing chief executive officer Temel Kotil.
More:Turkish Airlines names new chief executive
ISTANBUL, 10 hours, 31 minutes ago
Turkish Airlines has appointed Bilal Ekşi, 48, the head of the country's civil aviation authority, as the new general manager replacing chief executive officer Temel Kotil.
More:Turkish Airlines names new chief executive
Turkey will not be spectator on issues concerning its security: Erdoğan - MIDEAST
Turkey will not be spectator on issues concerning its security: Erdoğan
Turkey will not remain as a spectator on issues that threaten its security, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Oct. 22, emphasizing Ankara's drive to sweep Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Syrian Kurdish militants from territory near its border.
More:Turkey will not be spectator on issues concerning its security: Erdoğan - MIDEAST
Turkey will not remain as a spectator on issues that threaten its security, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Oct. 22, emphasizing Ankara's drive to sweep Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Syrian Kurdish militants from territory near its border.
More:Turkey will not be spectator on issues concerning its security: Erdoğan - MIDEAST
Turkey’s misguided policies now haunt it at Mosul
Turkey’s misguided policies now haunt it at Mosul
In March 2011, when then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Baghdad, he was met with an avalanche of cheers and affection from supporters of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Thousands of greeters lining his route carried placards welcoming him. Five years later, there is not the slightest trace of that affection. On Oct. 18, Sadr’s supporters demonstrated in front of the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad, shouting “Occupier, get out!”
More:Turkey’s misguided policies now haunt it at Mosul
In March 2011, when then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Baghdad, he was met with an avalanche of cheers and affection from supporters of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Thousands of greeters lining his route carried placards welcoming him. Five years later, there is not the slightest trace of that affection. On Oct. 18, Sadr’s supporters demonstrated in front of the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad, shouting “Occupier, get out!”
More:Turkey’s misguided policies now haunt it at Mosul
A small but decisive step towards rule of law in Turkey? - GÜVEN SAK
A small but decisive step towards rule of law in Turkey?
“The power to become habituated to his surroundings is a marked characteristic of mankind,” writes John Maynard Keynes in the opening sentence of The Economic Consequences of the Peace. “Very few of us realize with conviction the intensely unusual, unstable, complicated, unreliable, temporary nature of the … organization by which Western Europe has lived for the last half century.”
More:A small but decisive step towards rule of law in Turkey? - GÜVEN SAK
“The power to become habituated to his surroundings is a marked characteristic of mankind,” writes John Maynard Keynes in the opening sentence of The Economic Consequences of the Peace. “Very few of us realize with conviction the intensely unusual, unstable, complicated, unreliable, temporary nature of the … organization by which Western Europe has lived for the last half century.”
More:A small but decisive step towards rule of law in Turkey? - GÜVEN SAK
Friday, October 21, 2016
U.S. defense secretary says Turkey should have a role in Mosul operation - The Washington Post
U.S. defense secretary says Turkey should have a role in Mosul operation
ANKARA, Turkey — Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said during a visit here Friday that Turkey should have a role in the campaign to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State, a move that could put the United States at odds with Iraq as officials in Baghdad become increasingly hostile to any Turkish presence in their country.
More:U.S. defense secretary says Turkey should have a role in Mosul operation - The Washington Post
ANKARA, Turkey — Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said during a visit here Friday that Turkey should have a role in the campaign to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State, a move that could put the United States at odds with Iraq as officials in Baghdad become increasingly hostile to any Turkish presence in their country.
More:U.S. defense secretary says Turkey should have a role in Mosul operation - The Washington Post
Turkey’s Kurds are caught between an insurgency and a crackdown | The Economist
Turkey’s Kurds are caught between an insurgency and a crackdown
Since July’s coup, the war between the government and the PKK has grown more bitter
More:Turkey’s Kurds are caught between an insurgency and a crackdown | The Economist
Since July’s coup, the war between the government and the PKK has grown more bitter
More:Turkey’s Kurds are caught between an insurgency and a crackdown | The Economist
Pay bump available for airmen in Turkey - News - Stripes
Pay bump available for airmen in Turkey
By ALEX HORTON | STARS AND STRIPES Published: October 21, 2016
SAN ANTONIO -- The Air Force is looking for a few good airmen to serve in Turkey, offering $300 per month in incentives to bulk up its presence there, the service announced.
More:Pay bump available for airmen in Turkey - News - Stripes
By ALEX HORTON | STARS AND STRIPES Published: October 21, 2016
SAN ANTONIO -- The Air Force is looking for a few good airmen to serve in Turkey, offering $300 per month in incentives to bulk up its presence there, the service announced.
More:Pay bump available for airmen in Turkey - News - Stripes
Author Elif Shafak: ′What happens in Turkey has repercussions beyond′ | Books | DW.COM | 21.10.2016
Author Elif Shafak: 'What happens in Turkey has repercussions beyond'
Once charged with "insulting Turkishness," bestselling author Elif Shafak doesn't mince words. She tells DW why Turkey must stay close to the EU and why she is a linguistic "commuter."
More:Author Elif Shafak: ′What happens in Turkey has repercussions beyond′ | Books | DW.COM | 21.10.2016
Once charged with "insulting Turkishness," bestselling author Elif Shafak doesn't mince words. She tells DW why Turkey must stay close to the EU and why she is a linguistic "commuter."
More:Author Elif Shafak: ′What happens in Turkey has repercussions beyond′ | Books | DW.COM | 21.10.2016
Turkey’s Erdogan struggles to realise his Middle East ambitions
Turkey’s Erdogan struggles to realise his Middle East ambitions
President’s frustrated policy goals play out in reclaimed Syrian town of Jarablus
More:Turkey’s Erdogan struggles to realise his Middle East ambitions
President’s frustrated policy goals play out in reclaimed Syrian town of Jarablus
More:Turkey’s Erdogan struggles to realise his Middle East ambitions
World designers gather for Istanbul's 1st design week - CCTV News - CCTV.com English
World designers gather for Istanbul's 1st design week
From multi-sensory lighting to 3D printed clothing, tech-inspired designs are the focus of Design Week Turkey. The four day event is a first for Istanbul and is already attracting international designers.
More:World designers gather for Istanbul's 1st design week - CCTV News - CCTV.com English
From multi-sensory lighting to 3D printed clothing, tech-inspired designs are the focus of Design Week Turkey. The four day event is a first for Istanbul and is already attracting international designers.
More:World designers gather for Istanbul's 1st design week - CCTV News - CCTV.com English
Turkey to build 1,000-megawatt photovoltaic solar plant - Global Times
Turkey to build 1,000-megawatt photovoltaic solar plant
Source:Xinhua Published: 2016/10/21 8:43:36
The bid for a 1,000-megawatt photovoltaic solar power plant, poised to be the largest of its kind in the world, in central Turkish province of Konya will be held in December, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak announced Thursday.
More:Turkey to build 1,000-megawatt photovoltaic solar plant - Global Times
Source:Xinhua Published: 2016/10/21 8:43:36
The bid for a 1,000-megawatt photovoltaic solar power plant, poised to be the largest of its kind in the world, in central Turkish province of Konya will be held in December, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak announced Thursday.
More:Turkey to build 1,000-megawatt photovoltaic solar plant - Global Times
Byzantine games over Turkey’s new charter - MURAT YETKİN
Byzantine games over Turkey’s new charter
The efforts by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) to effect a constitutional shift from Turkey’s parliamentary system to an executive-presidential one have stepped up with support from Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
More:Byzantine games over Turkey’s new charter - MURAT YETKİN
The efforts by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) to effect a constitutional shift from Turkey’s parliamentary system to an executive-presidential one have stepped up with support from Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
More:Byzantine games over Turkey’s new charter - MURAT YETKİN
Thursday, October 20, 2016
I hit the presidential palace on purpose as part of coup, says Gülen follower pilot - CRIME
I hit the presidential palace on purpose as part of coup, says Gülen follower pilot
The pilot who hit the Presidential Palace in Ankara during the July 15 failed coup has said that he hit the building on purpose as part of the coup, making him one of the first soldiers to admit that he acted knowing that there was a putsch against the country’s elected government.
More:I hit the presidential palace on purpose as part of coup, says Gülen follower pilot - CRIME
The pilot who hit the Presidential Palace in Ankara during the July 15 failed coup has said that he hit the building on purpose as part of the coup, making him one of the first soldiers to admit that he acted knowing that there was a putsch against the country’s elected government.
More:I hit the presidential palace on purpose as part of coup, says Gülen follower pilot - CRIME
Turkish woman beaten for ‘not walking properly’ in Istanbul - RIGHTS
Turkish woman beaten for ‘not walking properly’ in Istanbul
A Turkish woman was physically attacked after she was verbally assaulted for allegedly “not walking properly” at a supermarket in Istanbul, private broadcaster Show TV has reported.
More:Turkish woman beaten for ‘not walking properly’ in Istanbul - RIGHTS
A Turkish woman was physically attacked after she was verbally assaulted for allegedly “not walking properly” at a supermarket in Istanbul, private broadcaster Show TV has reported.
More:Turkish woman beaten for ‘not walking properly’ in Istanbul - RIGHTS
UPDATE 2-As lira falls, Turkey's central bank takes rare pause in rate cuts | Reuters
UPDATE 2-As lira falls, Turkey's central bank takes rare pause in rate cuts
* Rates kept on hold after seven months of cuts
* Most economists had expected another cut
* Central bank cites lira volatility in its move (Recasts, adds comment and context)
By Daren Butler
ISTANBUL, Oct 20 Turkey's central bank kept interest rates on hold on Thursday, citing weakness in the lira currency, pausing after seven straight months of cuts and repeated calls by President Tayyip Erdogan for cheaper credit.
More:UPDATE 2-As lira falls, Turkey's central bank takes rare pause in rate cuts | Reuters
* Rates kept on hold after seven months of cuts
* Most economists had expected another cut
* Central bank cites lira volatility in its move (Recasts, adds comment and context)
By Daren Butler
ISTANBUL, Oct 20 Turkey's central bank kept interest rates on hold on Thursday, citing weakness in the lira currency, pausing after seven straight months of cuts and repeated calls by President Tayyip Erdogan for cheaper credit.
More:UPDATE 2-As lira falls, Turkey's central bank takes rare pause in rate cuts | Reuters
A cradle of early Christianity, Turkey is often unwelcoming to today’s Christians | Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views
A cradle of early Christianity, Turkey is often unwelcoming to today’s Christians
October 19, 2016
How a land that still hosts hundreds of ancient churches became a country where less than 0.5 percent of the population is Christian.
More:A cradle of early Christianity, Turkey is often unwelcoming to today’s Christians | Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views
October 19, 2016
How a land that still hosts hundreds of ancient churches became a country where less than 0.5 percent of the population is Christian.
More:A cradle of early Christianity, Turkey is often unwelcoming to today’s Christians | Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Turkey’s Lira Jumps as Erdogan Aide Hints at Pause in Rate Cuts - Bloomberg
Turkey’s Lira Jumps as Erdogan Aide Hints at Pause in Rate Cuts
Constantine Courcoulas
Turkey’s lira strengthened the most in a month after comments from an adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fueled bets the central bank will keep rates unchanged in October.
More:Turkey’s Lira Jumps as Erdogan Aide Hints at Pause in Rate Cuts - Bloomberg
Constantine Courcoulas
Turkey’s lira strengthened the most in a month after comments from an adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fueled bets the central bank will keep rates unchanged in October.
More:Turkey’s Lira Jumps as Erdogan Aide Hints at Pause in Rate Cuts - Bloomberg
Tough questions on Turkey - MURAT YETKİN
Tough questions on Turkey
In the last two days, I have attended a number of meetings in Brussels concerning the state of Turkey after the bloody coup attempt on July 15.
More:Tough questions on Turkey - MURAT YETKİN
In the last two days, I have attended a number of meetings in Brussels concerning the state of Turkey after the bloody coup attempt on July 15.
More:Tough questions on Turkey - MURAT YETKİN
What's Turkey's Strategy in the Mosul Offensive? | The National Interest
What's Turkey's Strategy in the Mosul Offensive?
Seth J. Frantzman
In mid-April of 2003, two weeks after the U.S. 173rd paratroop division had taken Kirkuk, eleven Turkish men were detained by American forces near the city. They were Turkish special forces dressed as civilians but carrying AK-47s and body-armor. “They did not come here with a pure heart,” U.S. commander Col. Bill Mayville told reporters. “Their objective is to create an environment that can be used by Turkey to send a large peacekeeping force into Kirkuk.” The headline in Time magazine described the event as “The Turks Enter Iraq.” Thirteen years later, the Turkish presence is as robust as ever and seeks to influence post-ISIS Iraq.
More:What's Turkey's Strategy in the Mosul Offensive? | The National Interest
Seth J. Frantzman
In mid-April of 2003, two weeks after the U.S. 173rd paratroop division had taken Kirkuk, eleven Turkish men were detained by American forces near the city. They were Turkish special forces dressed as civilians but carrying AK-47s and body-armor. “They did not come here with a pure heart,” U.S. commander Col. Bill Mayville told reporters. “Their objective is to create an environment that can be used by Turkey to send a large peacekeeping force into Kirkuk.” The headline in Time magazine described the event as “The Turks Enter Iraq.” Thirteen years later, the Turkish presence is as robust as ever and seeks to influence post-ISIS Iraq.
More:What's Turkey's Strategy in the Mosul Offensive? | The National Interest
Suicide bomber shot, killed by anti-terror forces in Ankara - CNN.com
Suicide bomber killed by anti-terror forces in Turkish capital Ankara
By Euan McKirdy and Isil Sariyuce, CNN
Istanbul (CNN)A would-be suicide bomber, suspected of being a member of ISIS, was shot and killed by anti-terror forces during a shootout in the Turkish capital of Ankara, state-run Anadolu agency reported.
More:Suicide bomber shot, killed by anti-terror forces in Ankara - CNN.com
By Euan McKirdy and Isil Sariyuce, CNN
Istanbul (CNN)A would-be suicide bomber, suspected of being a member of ISIS, was shot and killed by anti-terror forces during a shootout in the Turkish capital of Ankara, state-run Anadolu agency reported.
More:Suicide bomber shot, killed by anti-terror forces in Ankara - CNN.com
Turkey’s Biggest Unpaid Loan Tells the Story of Lira’s Weakness - Bloomberg
Loan Tells the Story of Lira’s Weakness
Constantine Courcoulas
When the owner of Turkey’s biggest phone company received the nation’s largest-ever loan in 2013, it trumpeted the deal as so "hugely oversubscribed" that banks had to lend less than they wanted. Three years later, a missed payment may leave those banks grateful they were cut off.
More:Turkey’s Biggest Unpaid Loan Tells the Story of Lira’s Weakness - Bloomberg
Constantine Courcoulas
When the owner of Turkey’s biggest phone company received the nation’s largest-ever loan in 2013, it trumpeted the deal as so "hugely oversubscribed" that banks had to lend less than they wanted. Three years later, a missed payment may leave those banks grateful they were cut off.
More:Turkey’s Biggest Unpaid Loan Tells the Story of Lira’s Weakness - Bloomberg
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Why US-educated Turkish officers could face extinction
Why US-educated Turkish officers could face extinction
Three months after the July 15 failed coup, dismissals of military personnel and a flood of investigations about the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) continue. And on Oct. 12, in the fifth wave of purges, 201 ranking officers from the Turkish air force and 32 from the navy were discharged.
More:Why US-educated Turkish officers could face extinction
Three months after the July 15 failed coup, dismissals of military personnel and a flood of investigations about the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) continue. And on Oct. 12, in the fifth wave of purges, 201 ranking officers from the Turkish air force and 32 from the navy were discharged.
More:Why US-educated Turkish officers could face extinction
Erdogan: We have a historical responsibility in Iraq - News from Al Jazeera
Erdogan: We have a historical responsibility in Iraq
Turkish president says Ankara will join Mosul battle, voicing concern for future of Sunni Arab and Turkmens in the city.
More:Erdogan: We have a historical responsibility in Iraq - News from Al Jazeera
Turkish president says Ankara will join Mosul battle, voicing concern for future of Sunni Arab and Turkmens in the city.
More:Erdogan: We have a historical responsibility in Iraq - News from Al Jazeera
Turkey's Democracy Is Currently Losing Its Way
Turkey's Democracy Is Currently Losing Its Way
The government must form its own democratic model, balancing religion and secularism.
More:Turkey's Democracy Is Currently Losing Its Way
The government must form its own democratic model, balancing religion and secularism.
More:Turkey's Democracy Is Currently Losing Its Way
Turkey: Culture and Tourism Ministry suspends 317 staff
Turkey: Culture and Tourism Ministry suspends 317 staff
Minister Nabi Avci says his ministry probed 490 personnel following the July 15 coup
More:Turkey: Culture and Tourism Ministry suspends 317 staff
Minister Nabi Avci says his ministry probed 490 personnel following the July 15 coup
More:Turkey: Culture and Tourism Ministry suspends 317 staff
If only the international media didn’t exist… - SEMİH İDİZ
If only the international media didn’t exist…
It’s the same old story over and over again. If things are not going well in Turkey, then it must be outside forces who are behind this and who are also orchestrating an evil campaign against the country in the international media.
More:If only the international media didn’t exist… - SEMİH İDİZ
It’s the same old story over and over again. If things are not going well in Turkey, then it must be outside forces who are behind this and who are also orchestrating an evil campaign against the country in the international media.
More:If only the international media didn’t exist… - SEMİH İDİZ
How low will Turkey’s currency go? - AEI | Foreign and Defense Policy Blog » AEIdeas
How low will Turkey’s currency go?
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief achievement in his first years as Turkey’s prime minister was to stabilize the economy. He was elected against the backdrop of deep malaise in Turkey and a financial crisis which had decimated the savings of ordinary Turks. In the run up to the November 2002 elections in which Erdoğan’s party won a plurality, the Turkish Lira had lost 30% of its value in a single day.
More:How low will Turkey’s currency go? - AEI | Foreign and Defense Policy Blog » AEIdeas
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief achievement in his first years as Turkey’s prime minister was to stabilize the economy. He was elected against the backdrop of deep malaise in Turkey and a financial crisis which had decimated the savings of ordinary Turks. In the run up to the November 2002 elections in which Erdoğan’s party won a plurality, the Turkish Lira had lost 30% of its value in a single day.
More:How low will Turkey’s currency go? - AEI | Foreign and Defense Policy Blog » AEIdeas
US Navy's tweet seen as call to battle in Turkey
US Navy's tweet seen as call to battle in Turkey
The US Navy celebrated its 241st birthday on Oct. 13 and sent a few tweets to celebrate. However, one was deleted in less than 24 hours. The deleted tweet contained three images of historical navy moments, with the words “America’s Sailor. For 241 Years: Tough. Bold. Ready.” One of the images was a painting, “Decatur Boarding a Tripolitan Gunboat,” done in 1858 by the artist Dennis Malone Carter. The titular event had taken place 54 years before, and the artist had not been present. The historical accuracy of the painting is a topic of debate, but it is of great artistic and patriotic value for the US Navy, which comes from humble origins.
More:US Navy's tweet seen as call to battle in Turkey
The US Navy celebrated its 241st birthday on Oct. 13 and sent a few tweets to celebrate. However, one was deleted in less than 24 hours. The deleted tweet contained three images of historical navy moments, with the words “America’s Sailor. For 241 Years: Tough. Bold. Ready.” One of the images was a painting, “Decatur Boarding a Tripolitan Gunboat,” done in 1858 by the artist Dennis Malone Carter. The titular event had taken place 54 years before, and the artist had not been present. The historical accuracy of the painting is a topic of debate, but it is of great artistic and patriotic value for the US Navy, which comes from humble origins.
More:US Navy's tweet seen as call to battle in Turkey
How Turkey’s government became the country’s top tycoon
How Turkey’s government became the country’s top tycoon
The Turkish government’s crackdown after the July 15 coup attempt has been expanding rapidly in the business sector, targeting companies accused of financing the so-called Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization, as Ankara has designated the Gulen community, which it accuses of planning and executing the putsch. Under a Sept. 1 legislative decree, scores of companies placed under trusteeship by the courts were handed over to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), that is, to direct government control.
More:How Turkey’s government became the country’s top tycoon
The Turkish government’s crackdown after the July 15 coup attempt has been expanding rapidly in the business sector, targeting companies accused of financing the so-called Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization, as Ankara has designated the Gulen community, which it accuses of planning and executing the putsch. Under a Sept. 1 legislative decree, scores of companies placed under trusteeship by the courts were handed over to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), that is, to direct government control.
More:How Turkey’s government became the country’s top tycoon
Monday, October 17, 2016
Ankara bans public gatherings due to 'terror alert' - News from Al Jazeera
Ankara bans public gatherings due to 'terror alert'
Public meetings in Turkish capital banned until November 30 due to alert over "potential terror attacks", officials say.
More:Ankara bans public gatherings due to 'terror alert' - News from Al Jazeera
Public meetings in Turkish capital banned until November 30 due to alert over "potential terror attacks", officials say.
More:Ankara bans public gatherings due to 'terror alert' - News from Al Jazeera
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Turkey, the game changer | Jordan Times
Turkey, the game changer
Oct 16,2016 - Last updated at Oct 16,2016
More than six years into the Syrian crisis, it appears that neither a political nor a military solution is unattainable.
Still, the military situation is not completely against the Syrian army and its Russian ally.
More:Turkey, the game changer | Jordan Times
Oct 16,2016 - Last updated at Oct 16,2016
More than six years into the Syrian crisis, it appears that neither a political nor a military solution is unattainable.
Still, the military situation is not completely against the Syrian army and its Russian ally.
More:Turkey, the game changer | Jordan Times
Suicide bomb hits Turkey’s Gaziantep during raid on Daesh safehouse | Al Bawaba
Suicide bomb hits Turkey’s Gaziantep during raid on Daesh safehouse
An explosion wounded at least seven people on Sunday in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, Reuters reported.
The blast is believed to have been caused by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives during a police raid on a suspected Daesh safehouse.
More:Suicide bomb hits Turkey’s Gaziantep during raid on Daesh safehouse | Al Bawaba
An explosion wounded at least seven people on Sunday in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, Reuters reported.
The blast is believed to have been caused by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives during a police raid on a suspected Daesh safehouse.
More:Suicide bomb hits Turkey’s Gaziantep during raid on Daesh safehouse | Al Bawaba
Turkish troops in Iraq Not invaders: Pentagon
Turkish troops in Iraq Not invaders: Pentagon
Author: Leroy Wright
Oct 16, 2016, 11:46
Baghdad has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting over the presence of Turkish troops on its territory.
More:Turkish troops in Iraq Not invaders: Pentagon
Author: Leroy Wright
Oct 16, 2016, 11:46
Baghdad has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting over the presence of Turkish troops on its territory.
More:Turkish troops in Iraq Not invaders: Pentagon
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Erdogan says Turkey determined to join Mosul operation | Miami Herald
Erdogan says Turkey determined to join Mosul operation
The Associated Press
ANKARA, Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country is determined to take part in a possible operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group, despite calls from Iraq for Turkey to withdraw its troops.
More:Erdogan says Turkey determined to join Mosul operation | Miami Herald
The Associated Press
ANKARA, Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country is determined to take part in a possible operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group, despite calls from Iraq for Turkey to withdraw its troops.
More:Erdogan says Turkey determined to join Mosul operation | Miami Herald
Writer Pamuk chides Erdogan and West over failed Turkey coup - BBC News
Writer Pamuk chides Erdogan and West over failed Turkey coup
14 October 2016 Last updated at 14:28 BST
Turkey's most famous writer - Orhan Pamuk - has criticised both the West and the Turkish authorities in connection with the failed July coup.
More:Writer Pamuk chides Erdogan and West over failed Turkey coup - BBC News
14 October 2016 Last updated at 14:28 BST
Turkey's most famous writer - Orhan Pamuk - has criticised both the West and the Turkish authorities in connection with the failed July coup.
More:Writer Pamuk chides Erdogan and West over failed Turkey coup - BBC News
Friday, October 14, 2016
Why is the Turkish Lira rapidly depreciating? - GÜVEN SAK
Why is the Turkish Lira rapidly depreciating?
According to the latest round of the World Values Survey, only 11 percent of Turks believe that “most people can be trusted.” In Germany, that number is 45 percent. When it comes to trusting others, Turks are at the bottom of the list. Yet in comparison to others, Turks save less and borrow more. The current account deficit stands testimony to that. So Turks are surrounded by people they don’t trust, but don’t build up financial security around them. Sounds like a recipe for anxiety to me.
More:Why is the Turkish Lira rapidly depreciating? - GÜVEN SAK
According to the latest round of the World Values Survey, only 11 percent of Turks believe that “most people can be trusted.” In Germany, that number is 45 percent. When it comes to trusting others, Turks are at the bottom of the list. Yet in comparison to others, Turks save less and borrow more. The current account deficit stands testimony to that. So Turks are surrounded by people they don’t trust, but don’t build up financial security around them. Sounds like a recipe for anxiety to me.
More:Why is the Turkish Lira rapidly depreciating? - GÜVEN SAK
Rockets aimed at fuel tanker hit Turkish fish store near tourist town: Reports | The Indian Express
Rockets aimed at fuel tanker hit Turkish fish store near tourist town: Reports
It said the rockets were fired from a mountainous area near the road between the city of Antalya and the resort town of Kemer.
More:Rockets aimed at fuel tanker hit Turkish fish store near tourist town: Reports | The Indian Express
It said the rockets were fired from a mountainous area near the road between the city of Antalya and the resort town of Kemer.
More:Rockets aimed at fuel tanker hit Turkish fish store near tourist town: Reports | The Indian Express
How Gulenists played the Kurd card to gain academic influence
How Gulenists played the Kurd card to gain academic influence
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — As the Turkish government continues its purge of alleged coup plotters in the Fethullah Gulen movement, many people are asking: How did Dicle University become a sanctuary for the movement?
More:How Gulenists played the Kurd card to gain academic influence
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — As the Turkish government continues its purge of alleged coup plotters in the Fethullah Gulen movement, many people are asking: How did Dicle University become a sanctuary for the movement?
More:How Gulenists played the Kurd card to gain academic influence
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Turkey’s bid to join the EU is a bad joke; but don’t kill it | The Economist
Turkey’s bid to join the EU is a bad joke; but don’t kill it
Two cheers for hypocrisy
Oct 15th 2016 | From the print edition
THE two young women glance at each other before confiding their secret. Turkey has become such a fearful place, they say, that they have formed a pact never to have children. Amid official reprisals and purges after a failed coup in July, the lights of democracy are dimming. Each week brings a fresh wave of detentions or sackings, and no one is immune. The women have a friend who was stripped of a degree because of her university’s links to Fethullah Gulen, a Pennsylvania-based preacher whom the government accuses of plotting the coup. Official paranoia scales heights of absurdity: last week a textbook was banned for using the letters “f” and “g”, Mr Gulen’s initials, in a geometry puzzle. “Everybody’s scared shitless,” says one prominent academic.
More:Turkey’s bid to join the EU is a bad joke; but don’t kill it | The Economist
Two cheers for hypocrisy
Oct 15th 2016 | From the print edition
THE two young women glance at each other before confiding their secret. Turkey has become such a fearful place, they say, that they have formed a pact never to have children. Amid official reprisals and purges after a failed coup in July, the lights of democracy are dimming. Each week brings a fresh wave of detentions or sackings, and no one is immune. The women have a friend who was stripped of a degree because of her university’s links to Fethullah Gulen, a Pennsylvania-based preacher whom the government accuses of plotting the coup. Official paranoia scales heights of absurdity: last week a textbook was banned for using the letters “f” and “g”, Mr Gulen’s initials, in a geometry puzzle. “Everybody’s scared shitless,” says one prominent academic.
More:Turkey’s bid to join the EU is a bad joke; but don’t kill it | The Economist
Presidential Rule in Turkey Could Be Fast Tracked, Official Says - Bloomberg
Presidential Rule in Turkey Could Be Fast Tracked, Official Says
Firat Kozok
October 13, 2016 — 12:40 PM CEST
Turkey could move to an executive presidency with the swift amendment of only about a dozen articles of the constitution, according to a senior member of the ruling party.
More:Presidential Rule in Turkey Could Be Fast Tracked, Official Says - Bloomberg
Firat Kozok
October 13, 2016 — 12:40 PM CEST
Turkey could move to an executive presidency with the swift amendment of only about a dozen articles of the constitution, according to a senior member of the ruling party.
More:Presidential Rule in Turkey Could Be Fast Tracked, Official Says - Bloomberg
Power Struggle Erupts in Turkey’s Security Structure | Best Countries | US News
Power Struggle Erupts in Turkey’s Security Structure
Two very different groups are vying to fill all the personnel holes Turkey's purge punched into its military and intelligence agencies.
More:Power Struggle Erupts in Turkey’s Security Structure | Best Countries | US News
Two very different groups are vying to fill all the personnel holes Turkey's purge punched into its military and intelligence agencies.
More:Power Struggle Erupts in Turkey’s Security Structure | Best Countries | US News
Turkish Lira hits record low against dollar on political worries, Fed’s rate hike signals - FINANCE
Turkish Lira hits record low against dollar on political worries, Fed’s rate hike signals
ISTANBUL
The Turkish Lira hit a record low against the dollar on Oct. 13 over fears that political uncertainty could be triggered by a fresh government move to push through legislation introducing an executive presidential system, as well as U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) signals about a possible interest rate hike.
More:Turkish Lira hits record low against dollar on political worries, Fed’s rate hike signals - FINANCE
ISTANBUL
The Turkish Lira hit a record low against the dollar on Oct. 13 over fears that political uncertainty could be triggered by a fresh government move to push through legislation introducing an executive presidential system, as well as U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) signals about a possible interest rate hike.
More:Turkish Lira hits record low against dollar on political worries, Fed’s rate hike signals - FINANCE
Turkey Is At War With Itself: In Latest Coup News, NATO Military Envoys With Secular Backgrounds Fired In 'Witch Hunt'
Turkey Is At War With Itself: In Latest Coup News, NATO Military Envoys With Secular Backgrounds Fired In 'Witch Hunt'
By Tom O'Connor @Shaolintom On 10/13/16 AT 9:51 AM
Turkey sacked nearly 150 NATO military envoys last month, adding to a large list of officials being disciplined for a failed coup attempt in July, Reuters reported Wednesday.
More:Turkey Is At War With Itself: In Latest Coup News, NATO Military Envoys With Secular Backgrounds Fired In 'Witch Hunt'
By Tom O'Connor @Shaolintom On 10/13/16 AT 9:51 AM
Turkey sacked nearly 150 NATO military envoys last month, adding to a large list of officials being disciplined for a failed coup attempt in July, Reuters reported Wednesday.
More:Turkey Is At War With Itself: In Latest Coup News, NATO Military Envoys With Secular Backgrounds Fired In 'Witch Hunt'
Turkey's great challenge: integrating 2.7 million Syrian refugees - EconoTimes
Turkey's great challenge: integrating 2.7 million Syrian refugees
By Gökay Özerim
Thursday, October 13, 2016 8:08 AM UTC
Since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria, millions have fled across the border to Turkey. Turkey’s open-door migration policy has seen the number of registered Syrians in Turkey reach 2,730,000.
More:Turkey's great challenge: integrating 2.7 million Syrian refugees - EconoTimes
By Gökay Özerim
Thursday, October 13, 2016 8:08 AM UTC
Since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria, millions have fled across the border to Turkey. Turkey’s open-door migration policy has seen the number of registered Syrians in Turkey reach 2,730,000.
More:Turkey's great challenge: integrating 2.7 million Syrian refugees - EconoTimes
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Turkey revives plans to strengthen Erdogan's office, lira falls | Daily Mail Online
Turkey revives plans to strengthen Erdogan's office, lira falls
By Reuters
By Ercan Gurses and Gulsen Solaker
ANKARA, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Turkey's government said on Wednesday it would revive efforts to change the constitution and expand the powers of the presidency, helping send the lira currency to a record low as investors fretted about renewed political uncertainty.
More:Turkey revives plans to strengthen Erdogan's office, lira falls | Daily Mail Online
By Reuters
By Ercan Gurses and Gulsen Solaker
ANKARA, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Turkey's government said on Wednesday it would revive efforts to change the constitution and expand the powers of the presidency, helping send the lira currency to a record low as investors fretted about renewed political uncertainty.
More:Turkey revives plans to strengthen Erdogan's office, lira falls | Daily Mail Online
Erdogan’s Turkey looks more like its Arab neighbours
Erdogan’s Turkey looks more like its Arab neighbours
Insecure rulers in nearby countries have developed a well-armed guard to protect the regime
More:Erdogan’s Turkey looks more like its Arab neighbours
Insecure rulers in nearby countries have developed a well-armed guard to protect the regime
More:Erdogan’s Turkey looks more like its Arab neighbours
Who's Who in the Fight Against ISIS? | Confronting ISIS | FRONTLINE | PBS
Who’s Who in the Fight Against ISIS?
October 11, 2016 /
by Priyanka Boghani Digital Reporter •
Anjali Tsui Abrams Journalism Fellow, FRONTLINE/Columbia Journalism School Fellowships
The global fight against ISIS has been halting and complex since it began in late 2014.
More:Who's Who in the Fight Against ISIS? | Confronting ISIS | FRONTLINE | PBS
October 11, 2016 /
by Priyanka Boghani Digital Reporter •
Anjali Tsui Abrams Journalism Fellow, FRONTLINE/Columbia Journalism School Fellowships
The global fight against ISIS has been halting and complex since it began in late 2014.
More:Who's Who in the Fight Against ISIS? | Confronting ISIS | FRONTLINE | PBS
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Holland: Immigrant-Muslim Party Wants “Racism Police” to go after Free Speech
Holland: Immigrant-Muslim Party Wants “Racism Police” to go after Free Speech
Posted by Vijeta Uniyal Tuesday, October 11, 2016 at 1:00pm
Dutch Party wants 1,000-men strong political police, list offenders in nationwide “Racism Register”
More:Holland: Immigrant-Muslim Party Wants “Racism Police” to go after Free Speech
Posted by Vijeta Uniyal Tuesday, October 11, 2016 at 1:00pm
Dutch Party wants 1,000-men strong political police, list offenders in nationwide “Racism Register”
More:Holland: Immigrant-Muslim Party Wants “Racism Police” to go after Free Speech
The terror spiral that has embroiled Turkey - KANAT ATKAYA
The terror spiral that has embroiled Turkey
It was not centuries ago. It was not years ago. It was only 16 months ago that this society managed to open the door for a possible coalition government. The results of the June 7, 2015 general election reflected the need for reconciliation in the seat distribution at the Turkish Parliament.
More:The terror spiral that has embroiled Turkey - KANAT ATKAYA
It was not centuries ago. It was not years ago. It was only 16 months ago that this society managed to open the door for a possible coalition government. The results of the June 7, 2015 general election reflected the need for reconciliation in the seat distribution at the Turkish Parliament.
More:The terror spiral that has embroiled Turkey - KANAT ATKAYA
Exiled Turkish journalist shortlisted for top EU rights prize | EUROPE ONLINE
Exiled Turkish journalist shortlisted for top EU rights prize
Brussels (dpa) - Can Dundar, an exiled Turkish journalist who was sentenced to jail for publishing information about arms shipments to Syria, was shortlisted Tuesday for the European Parliament‘s 2016 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
More:CORRECTION Exiled Turkish journalist shortlisted for top EU rights prize | EUROPE ONLINE
Brussels (dpa) - Can Dundar, an exiled Turkish journalist who was sentenced to jail for publishing information about arms shipments to Syria, was shortlisted Tuesday for the European Parliament‘s 2016 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
More:CORRECTION Exiled Turkish journalist shortlisted for top EU rights prize | EUROPE ONLINE
After failed coup, what sort of Turkey does Erdogan want? | Reuters
After failed coup, what sort of Turkey does Erdogan want?
By Luke Baker | ISTANBUL
Looking across Istanbul's skyline, it is impossible not to be struck by the array of red-and-white, star-and-crescent flags fluttering from buildings, monuments, bridges and flagpoles.
More:After failed coup, what sort of Turkey does Erdogan want? | Reuters
By Luke Baker | ISTANBUL
Looking across Istanbul's skyline, it is impossible not to be struck by the array of red-and-white, star-and-crescent flags fluttering from buildings, monuments, bridges and flagpoles.
More:After failed coup, what sort of Turkey does Erdogan want? | Reuters
Post debate, Trump and Clinton are both pretty unpopular in Turkey | Public Radio International
Post debate, Trump and Clinton are both pretty unpopular in Turkey
PRI's The World
October 10, 2016 · 8:00 PM EDT
By Lidia Jean Kott
The moment? When Hillary Clinton said that, if she were president, she would consider arming the Kurds.
“The Kurds have been our best partners in Syria, as well as Iraq,” Clinton explained, saying she thinks they could help the US win the fight against ISIS. It’s a view she’s expressed before.
But people in Turkey feel differently.
More:Post debate, Trump and Clinton are both pretty unpopular in Turkey | Public Radio International
PRI's The World
October 10, 2016 · 8:00 PM EDT
By Lidia Jean Kott
The moment? When Hillary Clinton said that, if she were president, she would consider arming the Kurds.
“The Kurds have been our best partners in Syria, as well as Iraq,” Clinton explained, saying she thinks they could help the US win the fight against ISIS. It’s a view she’s expressed before.
But people in Turkey feel differently.
More:Post debate, Trump and Clinton are both pretty unpopular in Turkey | Public Radio International
Turkey risks missing historic EU opportunity - BARÇIN YİNANÇ
Turkey risks missing historic EU opportunity
“Brexit means more Germanification of the European Union, and you know that this is not good for us,” a Spanish participant told an Italian participant at a two-day conference I attended last week. One Dutch participant, on the other hand, underlined the lack of French leadership within the EU as a key concern for the Netherlands. Ironically, the event that brought them together was organized by a German think tank!
At a time when many European capitals are struggling with economic and political problems, (for instance Spain, where the conference took place, still has no government even after the Spaniards went to the ballot box for a second time), German Chancellor Angela Merkel has had to assume leadership of the EU.
More:Turkey risks missing historic EU opportunity - BARÇIN YİNANÇ
“Brexit means more Germanification of the European Union, and you know that this is not good for us,” a Spanish participant told an Italian participant at a two-day conference I attended last week. One Dutch participant, on the other hand, underlined the lack of French leadership within the EU as a key concern for the Netherlands. Ironically, the event that brought them together was organized by a German think tank!
At a time when many European capitals are struggling with economic and political problems, (for instance Spain, where the conference took place, still has no government even after the Spaniards went to the ballot box for a second time), German Chancellor Angela Merkel has had to assume leadership of the EU.
More:Turkey risks missing historic EU opportunity - BARÇIN YİNANÇ
Turkey's Erdogan, Russia's Putin say agree on need for aid to Aleppo
Turkey's Erdogan, Russia's Putin say agree on need for aid to Aleppo
[Reuters]
October 10, 2016
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the war in Syria with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday, including Turkey's military operations there and the need to cooperate on aid to Aleppo.
More:Turkey's Erdogan, Russia's Putin say agree on need for aid to Aleppo
[Reuters]
October 10, 2016
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the war in Syria with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday, including Turkey's military operations there and the need to cooperate on aid to Aleppo.
More:Turkey's Erdogan, Russia's Putin say agree on need for aid to Aleppo
Dozens of Boeing and Airbus deliveries put back by Turkish Airlines | The National
Dozens of Boeing and Airbus deliveries put back by Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines said it plans to postpone dozens of Airbus and Boeing narrow-body jets as it contends with a turbulent travel market following terror attacks in Istanbul and Europe.
More:Dozens of Boeing and Airbus deliveries put back by Turkish Airlines | The National
Turkish Airlines said it plans to postpone dozens of Airbus and Boeing narrow-body jets as it contends with a turbulent travel market following terror attacks in Istanbul and Europe.
More:Dozens of Boeing and Airbus deliveries put back by Turkish Airlines | The National
Monday, October 10, 2016
US Presidential Debates: The Lowest Moment in the History of Debates?
Everyone expected Sunday night’s town hall debate to get
ugly. It capped off one of the most explosive weekends in American
political history. The Republican nominee had been caught on tape making
vulgar comments about women, which caused an avalanche of GOP lawmakers
to rescind their support. The Democratic nominee was handling a mess of
her own—the leaked transcripts of speeches she had kept secret during
the primaries.
Nonetheless, the raw tension on the debate stage Sunday night still shocked.
There was Donald Trump calling Hillary Clinton the “devil,” a
person filled with “tremendous hatred” whom he would jail if he were
president. There was Clinton’s icy nod at Trump upon their greeting—no
handshake—and her almost immediately declaring Trump “unfit to serve.”
Discussions about policy frequently vacillated into personal attacks.
And at the end of the night, when an audience member asked each
candidate to say something nice about the other, they hardly hid their
reluctance.
So: Was this the nastiest, lowest moment in presidential
debate history. And what does it matter to the state of the race? We
asked some of the savviest political watchers and operatives to talk us
through what we just witnessed—“incomprehensibly demoralizing,” “a grim,
tawdry affair,” and “surreal, bizarre and often entertaining” were some
of their responses—and game out what it means for this highly unusual
election.
Read more: The Lowest Moment in the History of Debates? - POLITICO Magazine
ugly. It capped off one of the most explosive weekends in American
political history. The Republican nominee had been caught on tape making
vulgar comments about women, which caused an avalanche of GOP lawmakers
to rescind their support. The Democratic nominee was handling a mess of
her own—the leaked transcripts of speeches she had kept secret during
the primaries.
Nonetheless, the raw tension on the debate stage Sunday night still shocked.
There was Donald Trump calling Hillary Clinton the “devil,” a
person filled with “tremendous hatred” whom he would jail if he were
president. There was Clinton’s icy nod at Trump upon their greeting—no
handshake—and her almost immediately declaring Trump “unfit to serve.”
Discussions about policy frequently vacillated into personal attacks.
And at the end of the night, when an audience member asked each
candidate to say something nice about the other, they hardly hid their
reluctance.
So: Was this the nastiest, lowest moment in presidential
debate history. And what does it matter to the state of the race? We
asked some of the savviest political watchers and operatives to talk us
through what we just witnessed—“incomprehensibly demoralizing,” “a grim,
tawdry affair,” and “surreal, bizarre and often entertaining” were some
of their responses—and game out what it means for this highly unusual
election.
Read more: The Lowest Moment in the History of Debates? - POLITICO Magazine
Turkey's Erdogan launches fresh legal action against German satirist | EUROPE ONLINE
Turkey's Erdogan launches fresh legal action against German satirist
Europe
10.10.2016
Berlin (dpa) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday launched fresh legal action against a German satirist he believes insulted him.
More:Turkey's Erdogan launches fresh legal action against German satirist | EUROPE ONLINE
Europe
10.10.2016
Berlin (dpa) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday launched fresh legal action against a German satirist he believes insulted him.
More:Turkey's Erdogan launches fresh legal action against German satirist | EUROPE ONLINE
Drugs worth 25 million Turkish Liras seized in Istanbul - CRIME
Drugs worth 25 million Turkish Liras seized in Istanbul
Drugs worth 25 million Turkish Liras were seized in an Oct. 7 operation in Istanbul, with police confiscating 1.1 tons of the chemically modified cannabis-based drug “skunk.”
The raid on the basement of a building in the Bayrampaşa district of Istanbul marked the largest single amount of skunk ever confiscated in Turkey, according to police.
More:Drugs worth 25 million Turkish Liras seized in Istanbul - CRIME
Drugs worth 25 million Turkish Liras were seized in an Oct. 7 operation in Istanbul, with police confiscating 1.1 tons of the chemically modified cannabis-based drug “skunk.”
The raid on the basement of a building in the Bayrampaşa district of Istanbul marked the largest single amount of skunk ever confiscated in Turkey, according to police.
More:Drugs worth 25 million Turkish Liras seized in Istanbul - CRIME
The rocky relations of Russia and Turkey
The rocky relations of Russia and Turkey
Less than a year ago relations between Moscow and Ankara soured after a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian Su-24M bomber over the Turkish-Syrian border last November.
More:The rocky relations of Russia and Turkey
Less than a year ago relations between Moscow and Ankara soured after a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian Su-24M bomber over the Turkish-Syrian border last November.
More:The rocky relations of Russia and Turkey
Putin, Erdogan to Meet at Energy Summit in Istanbul - ABC News
Putin, Erdogan to Meet at Energy Summit in Istanbul
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul as the two leaders push toward normalizing ties that were strained by Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane near the border with Syria last year.
More:Putin, Erdogan to Meet at Energy Summit in Istanbul - ABC News
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul as the two leaders push toward normalizing ties that were strained by Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane near the border with Syria last year.
More:Putin, Erdogan to Meet at Energy Summit in Istanbul - ABC News
‘Patria non grata’ - NURAY MERT
‘Patria non grata’
In just the past decade, Turkey has turned from being lauded as a “model country” to being termed a “patria non grata” (unwanted country) by its Western allies and neighbors.
More:‘Patria non grata’ - NURAY MERT
In just the past decade, Turkey has turned from being lauded as a “model country” to being termed a “patria non grata” (unwanted country) by its Western allies and neighbors.
More:‘Patria non grata’ - NURAY MERT
Putin and Erdogan in ‘the city of the heart’s desire’ | Asia Times
Putin and Erdogan in ‘the city of the heart’s desire’
M.K. Bhadrakumar
Three summits in as many months between two countries would be possible, in principle, but exceptionally rare. That is what Russia and Turkey are doing when President Vladimir Putin arrives in Istanbul on October 10 to hold his third meeting since August with his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan.
More:Putin and Erdogan in ‘the city of the heart’s desire’ | Asia Times
M.K. Bhadrakumar
Three summits in as many months between two countries would be possible, in principle, but exceptionally rare. That is what Russia and Turkey are doing when President Vladimir Putin arrives in Istanbul on October 10 to hold his third meeting since August with his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan.
More:Putin and Erdogan in ‘the city of the heart’s desire’ | Asia Times
Erdogan’s rampage - The Nation Nigeria
Erdogan’s rampage
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not easily pacified over the July 15, 2016, failed putsch in his country. He is on a manic hunt for Fethullah Gulen, an Islamist cleric and former ally-turned foe of the president who presently lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, United States. The government in Ankara apparently has foreclosed any controversion of its suspicion that Gulen is the mastermind of the failed coup in which some 240 persons died and more than 2,000 got injured, even though no conclusive evidence has yet been adduced to prove that indictment. Gulen himself has openly condemned the coup and fiercely denied any connection with its executors. But proof be damned! Erdogan has picked his battle and is determined to exert vengeance; a remote hint, even of some vicarious link with the Gulen cosmos, is sufficient to bring anyone into the line of his fire.
At the last count, Turkish authorities have suspended nearly 13,000 police officers, detained dozens of military chiefs, and only last week shut down a television station in a widening clampdown against perceived enemies of the government and Gulen associates. The police headquarters confirmed that 12,801 officers – 2,523 of whom were of very senior cadre – got booted because of their suspected links to the cleric. Turkish news sources reported that besides suspending five percent of the entire police force, the authorities also detained 33 air force officers in random raids across the country, while broadcast transmission by the IMC television station was cut following accusations that it was spreading “terrorist propaganda.” State-run news agency, Anadolu, also said 37 people working at the Interior Ministry had been removed from their posts and offered no explanation for the measure.
More:Erdogan’s rampage - The Nation Nigeria
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not easily pacified over the July 15, 2016, failed putsch in his country. He is on a manic hunt for Fethullah Gulen, an Islamist cleric and former ally-turned foe of the president who presently lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, United States. The government in Ankara apparently has foreclosed any controversion of its suspicion that Gulen is the mastermind of the failed coup in which some 240 persons died and more than 2,000 got injured, even though no conclusive evidence has yet been adduced to prove that indictment. Gulen himself has openly condemned the coup and fiercely denied any connection with its executors. But proof be damned! Erdogan has picked his battle and is determined to exert vengeance; a remote hint, even of some vicarious link with the Gulen cosmos, is sufficient to bring anyone into the line of his fire.
At the last count, Turkish authorities have suspended nearly 13,000 police officers, detained dozens of military chiefs, and only last week shut down a television station in a widening clampdown against perceived enemies of the government and Gulen associates. The police headquarters confirmed that 12,801 officers – 2,523 of whom were of very senior cadre – got booted because of their suspected links to the cleric. Turkish news sources reported that besides suspending five percent of the entire police force, the authorities also detained 33 air force officers in random raids across the country, while broadcast transmission by the IMC television station was cut following accusations that it was spreading “terrorist propaganda.” State-run news agency, Anadolu, also said 37 people working at the Interior Ministry had been removed from their posts and offered no explanation for the measure.
More:Erdogan’s rampage - The Nation Nigeria
Turkish government emails leak, GitHub and Dropbox blocked | ITProPortal
Turkish government emails leak, GitHub and Dropbox blocked
OneDrive was also blocked, but the block was eased after Microsoft removed links to the email cache.
More:Turkish government emails leak, GitHub and Dropbox blocked | ITProPortal
OneDrive was also blocked, but the block was eased after Microsoft removed links to the email cache.
More:Turkish government emails leak, GitHub and Dropbox blocked | ITProPortal
Sunday, October 09, 2016
The Turkish Media’s Role During the Attempted Coup: an Interview with Bilge Yesil
The Turkish Media’s Role During the Attempted Coup: an Interview with Bilge Yesil
Claire Sadar
October 9th, 2016
In this interview, Bilge Yesil, assistant professor of Media Culture at the City University of New York and author of the new book, Media in New Turkey, speaks with Muftah about the role played by the Turkish media the night of the attempted coup, on July 15, 2016, the role of populism in justifying media censorship in Turkey, and how “Western values” have been appropriated by the AKP for its own ends.*
More:The Turkish Media’s Role During the Attempted Coup: an Interview with Bilge Yesil
Claire Sadar
October 9th, 2016
In this interview, Bilge Yesil, assistant professor of Media Culture at the City University of New York and author of the new book, Media in New Turkey, speaks with Muftah about the role played by the Turkish media the night of the attempted coup, on July 15, 2016, the role of populism in justifying media censorship in Turkey, and how “Western values” have been appropriated by the AKP for its own ends.*
More:The Turkish Media’s Role During the Attempted Coup: an Interview with Bilge Yesil
Saturday, October 08, 2016
How One Immigrant Adapted To Germany, And Why So Many Don’t
How One Immigrant Adapted To Germany, And Why So Many Don’t
Nuray Çeşme arrived from Turkey as an infant, and yet still struggled to integrate. She worries that today's refugees will have an even harder time making into the mainstream.
More:How One Immigrant Adapted To Germany, And Why So Many Don’t
Nuray Çeşme arrived from Turkey as an infant, and yet still struggled to integrate. She worries that today's refugees will have an even harder time making into the mainstream.
More:How One Immigrant Adapted To Germany, And Why So Many Don’t
Turks uneasy about Islamized schools in wake of foiled coup | Asia Times
Turks uneasy about Islamized schools in wake of foiled coup
Schools to train imams and religious officials are supplanting secular schools in the state system, even in Istanbul and Ankara
More:Turks uneasy about Islamized schools in wake of foiled coup | Asia Times
Schools to train imams and religious officials are supplanting secular schools in the state system, even in Istanbul and Ankara
More:Turks uneasy about Islamized schools in wake of foiled coup | Asia Times
Two suspects blow themselves up during Ankara police operation | Bangkok Post: news
Two suspects blow themselves up during Ankara police operation
8 Oct 2016 at 13:45 388 viewed0 comments
WRITER: AFP
ANKARA - Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives during a police operation in the Turkish capital Ankara after officers called on the suspects to surrender, state media reported on Saturday.
More:Two suspects blow themselves up during Ankara police operation | Bangkok Post: news
8 Oct 2016 at 13:45 388 viewed0 comments
WRITER: AFP
ANKARA - Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives during a police operation in the Turkish capital Ankara after officers called on the suspects to surrender, state media reported on Saturday.
More:Two suspects blow themselves up during Ankara police operation | Bangkok Post: news
Friday, October 07, 2016
Three Turkish diplomats seeking asylum in Germany after coup...
Three Turkish diplomats seeking asylum in Germany after coup - media
by Reuters
BERLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) - At least three Turkish diplomats, reportedly including one military attache, are seeking asylum in Germany in the wake of the failed military coup in Turkey, German media cited government sources as saying.
More:Three Turkish diplomats seeking asylum in Germany after coup...
by Reuters
BERLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) - At least three Turkish diplomats, reportedly including one military attache, are seeking asylum in Germany in the wake of the failed military coup in Turkey, German media cited government sources as saying.
More:Three Turkish diplomats seeking asylum in Germany after coup...
Ottoman Ghosts | Foreign Affairs
Ottoman Ghosts
Imperial Memories in Turkey and Syria
By Ryan Gingeras
Ankara’s late-August military intervention into northern Syria, official dubbed Operation Euphrates Shield, was a moment of revelry for many in the Turkish press. A great majority of editors, columnists, and television presenters saw the Turkish army’s advance as a decisive statement of the nation’s resolve. The invasion and creation of a security buffer in Syria fulfilled two objectives vital to the country’s security. First, they forced the Islamic State (ISIS) to retreat after years of occupying towns and villages along Turkey’s southern border. Second, and perhaps most important, they were an effort to contain Syria’s most powerful Kurdish faction, the Party of Democratic Union (PYD), to areas east of the Euphrates river. From Ankara’s perspective, such moves would not only improve Turkish security, but were a natural extension of Ankara’s ongoing campaign against the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), a separatist organization based in Turkey. Although the PKK and PYD identify themselves as different organizations, the Turkish government and most Turkish commentators consider them a single terrorist group. The establishment of a Syrian front, in the words of one Turkish analyst, thus opened a new phase in the country’s war on terrorism, one that equally condemns the “racist projects” of ISIS, the PKK, and the PYD to “the trash bin of history.”
More:Ottoman Ghosts | Foreign Affairs
Imperial Memories in Turkey and Syria
By Ryan Gingeras
Ankara’s late-August military intervention into northern Syria, official dubbed Operation Euphrates Shield, was a moment of revelry for many in the Turkish press. A great majority of editors, columnists, and television presenters saw the Turkish army’s advance as a decisive statement of the nation’s resolve. The invasion and creation of a security buffer in Syria fulfilled two objectives vital to the country’s security. First, they forced the Islamic State (ISIS) to retreat after years of occupying towns and villages along Turkey’s southern border. Second, and perhaps most important, they were an effort to contain Syria’s most powerful Kurdish faction, the Party of Democratic Union (PYD), to areas east of the Euphrates river. From Ankara’s perspective, such moves would not only improve Turkish security, but were a natural extension of Ankara’s ongoing campaign against the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), a separatist organization based in Turkey. Although the PKK and PYD identify themselves as different organizations, the Turkish government and most Turkish commentators consider them a single terrorist group. The establishment of a Syrian front, in the words of one Turkish analyst, thus opened a new phase in the country’s war on terrorism, one that equally condemns the “racist projects” of ISIS, the PKK, and the PYD to “the trash bin of history.”
More:Ottoman Ghosts | Foreign Affairs
Thursday, October 06, 2016
Doğan Chairwoman calls for unity behind Turkey's common values - LOCAL
Doğan Chairwoman calls for unity behind Turkey's common values
Doğan Holding Chairwoman Begümhan Doğan Faralyalı has called for unity behind Turkey’s common values, emphasizing the significance of widening an environment of “trust and good intentions” based on “commonalities and shared values."
More:Doğan Chairwoman calls for unity behind Turkey's common values - LOCAL
Doğan Holding Chairwoman Begümhan Doğan Faralyalı has called for unity behind Turkey’s common values, emphasizing the significance of widening an environment of “trust and good intentions” based on “commonalities and shared values."
More:Doğan Chairwoman calls for unity behind Turkey's common values - LOCAL
Several tools to promote Turkey - MELİS ALPHAN
Several tools to promote Turkey
Turkey should distance itself from “all inclusive” tourism and focus on faith and nature tourism in order to draw tourists who will spend money in the country.
More:Several tools to promote Turkey - MELİS ALPHAN
Turkey should distance itself from “all inclusive” tourism and focus on faith and nature tourism in order to draw tourists who will spend money in the country.
More:Several tools to promote Turkey - MELİS ALPHAN
Turkey's Military Is Down Over One Hundred Thousand Troops
Turkey’s Military Is Down over 100 Thousand Troops After Failed Coup
The purge of suspected supporters of the July 15 failed coup against Recep Tayyip Erdogan has left Turkey’s military down hundreds of thousands of men, including nearly 200 generals, just as Erdogan seeks an expanded role in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria.
More:Turkey's Military Is Down Over One Hundred Thousand Troops
The purge of suspected supporters of the July 15 failed coup against Recep Tayyip Erdogan has left Turkey’s military down hundreds of thousands of men, including nearly 200 generals, just as Erdogan seeks an expanded role in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria.
More:Turkey's Military Is Down Over One Hundred Thousand Troops
Post-coup harmony over as Turkish parties resume battle | Middle East Eye
Post-coup harmony over as Turkish parties resume battle
#TurkishPolitics
Turkish political peace proves short-lived as post-coup shock recedes and CHP responds furiously to Erdogan's attack on state's founders
More:Post-coup harmony over as Turkish parties resume battle | Middle East Eye
#TurkishPolitics
Turkish political peace proves short-lived as post-coup shock recedes and CHP responds furiously to Erdogan's attack on state's founders
More:Post-coup harmony over as Turkish parties resume battle | Middle East Eye
OPEC and non-OPEC members to meet in Istanbul - MarketPulseMarketPulse
OPEC and non-OPEC members to meet in Istanbul
October 5, 2016 Share Print 0
OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers plan an informal meeting in Istanbul Oct. 8-13 to discuss how to implement a production deal OPEC members reached in Algiers last month, Algerian Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa has told local Ennahar TV.
More:OPEC and non-OPEC members to meet in Istanbul - MarketPulseMarketPulse
October 5, 2016 Share Print 0
OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers plan an informal meeting in Istanbul Oct. 8-13 to discuss how to implement a production deal OPEC members reached in Algiers last month, Algerian Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa has told local Ennahar TV.
More:OPEC and non-OPEC members to meet in Istanbul - MarketPulseMarketPulse
The war against ISIL gets real for Turkey - SEMİH İDİZ
The war against ISIL gets real for Turkey
Turkish forces and FSA fighters advanced fast toward the west after capturing Jarablus, a town just across from the Turkish border. Military analysts like retired Brig. Gen. Naim Babüroğlu say the reason for this is that ISIL withdrew its heavy weapons before the Turkish advance in order to regroup in the towns of al-Bab and Dabiq near it, which is said to have legendary significance for ISIL.
More:The war against ISIL gets real for Turkey - SEMİH İDİZ
Turkish forces and FSA fighters advanced fast toward the west after capturing Jarablus, a town just across from the Turkish border. Military analysts like retired Brig. Gen. Naim Babüroğlu say the reason for this is that ISIL withdrew its heavy weapons before the Turkish advance in order to regroup in the towns of al-Bab and Dabiq near it, which is said to have legendary significance for ISIL.
More:The war against ISIL gets real for Turkey - SEMİH İDİZ
Turkey can no longer conceal its deep cracks - CNN.com
Turkey can no longer conceal its deep cracks - CNN.com
(CNN)Turkey's newspapers this week documented the deep cracks appearing inside the treasury room of Istanbul's Topkapi Palace -- one of the country's top tourism destinations and once the home of Ottoman sultans. While older cracks had been covered with concrete, "Hurriyet" reported that parts of this iconic structure risk total collapse as a "result of years of neglect of historical heritage."
More:Turkey can no longer conceal its deep cracks - CNN.com
(CNN)Turkey's newspapers this week documented the deep cracks appearing inside the treasury room of Istanbul's Topkapi Palace -- one of the country's top tourism destinations and once the home of Ottoman sultans. While older cracks had been covered with concrete, "Hurriyet" reported that parts of this iconic structure risk total collapse as a "result of years of neglect of historical heritage."
More:Turkey can no longer conceal its deep cracks - CNN.com
Wednesday, October 05, 2016
Turks love their language, but also fight over it
Turks love their language, but also fight over it
Each year on Sept. 26, Turkey proudly celebrates its annual Turkish Language Day with conferences and festive ceremonies around the country. This year was no exception, with many leading politicians issuing statements calling on the Turkish people to continue their efforts to cherish the Turkish sensibility of language for future generations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish is an “assurance of our people’s unity and solidarity.” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim hailed Turkish as a language that is among the most important and prevalent ones in the world, in terms of its geographical spread, the number of people who speak it and its richness. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party, extensively praised the heritage Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s reforms produced for the Turkish language.
More:Turks love their language, but also fight over it
Each year on Sept. 26, Turkey proudly celebrates its annual Turkish Language Day with conferences and festive ceremonies around the country. This year was no exception, with many leading politicians issuing statements calling on the Turkish people to continue their efforts to cherish the Turkish sensibility of language for future generations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish is an “assurance of our people’s unity and solidarity.” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim hailed Turkish as a language that is among the most important and prevalent ones in the world, in terms of its geographical spread, the number of people who speak it and its richness. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party, extensively praised the heritage Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s reforms produced for the Turkish language.
More:Turks love their language, but also fight over it
Turkey urged to focus on economic reforms, not ratings
Turkey urged to focus on economic reforms, not ratings
Rating agencies are never very popular, London-based strategist Timothy Ash at the Nomura International says
More:Turkey urged to focus on economic reforms, not ratings
Rating agencies are never very popular, London-based strategist Timothy Ash at the Nomura International says
More:Turkey urged to focus on economic reforms, not ratings
Erdogan’s motives | Comment | ekathimerini.com
Erdogan’s motives
Recent comments by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said that the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne was a defeat for Turkey, are open to different interpretations. Most certainly they marked a negative development for Greek-Turkish relations – at least for as long as Turkey’s helm remains in the hands of a leader animated by a quest to build a neo-Ottoman or neo-Islamic regime. Recent developments have demonstrated that, first, Erdogan is Turkey’s unrivaled strongman and, second, the campaign to transform Turkey’s state apparatus is successfully moving ahead.
More:Erdogan’s motives | Comment | ekathimerini.com
Recent comments by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said that the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne was a defeat for Turkey, are open to different interpretations. Most certainly they marked a negative development for Greek-Turkish relations – at least for as long as Turkey’s helm remains in the hands of a leader animated by a quest to build a neo-Ottoman or neo-Islamic regime. Recent developments have demonstrated that, first, Erdogan is Turkey’s unrivaled strongman and, second, the campaign to transform Turkey’s state apparatus is successfully moving ahead.
More:Erdogan’s motives | Comment | ekathimerini.com
bne IntelliNews - Turkish government cuts growth forecasts sharply
Turkish government cuts growth forecasts sharply
By bne IntelliNews October 4, 2016
Turkey’s government has cut the growth forecast for this year and next sharply after the economy was hit by a string of terrorist attacks and a failed coup attempt.
More:bne IntelliNews - Turkish government cuts growth forecasts sharply
By bne IntelliNews October 4, 2016
Turkey’s government has cut the growth forecast for this year and next sharply after the economy was hit by a string of terrorist attacks and a failed coup attempt.
More:bne IntelliNews - Turkish government cuts growth forecasts sharply
Tuesday, October 04, 2016
AKP fingers obscure professor for coup mastermind
AKP fingers obscure professor for coup mastermind
As Turkey continues to reel in fugitive disciples of Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based Sunni cleric accused of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt, a key suspect remains on the run: Adil Oksuz, an obscure theology professor who is now being touted by the ruling pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) media as the top civilian organizer of the putsch inside Turkey.
More:AKP fingers obscure professor for coup mastermind
As Turkey continues to reel in fugitive disciples of Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based Sunni cleric accused of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt, a key suspect remains on the run: Adil Oksuz, an obscure theology professor who is now being touted by the ruling pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) media as the top civilian organizer of the putsch inside Turkey.
More:AKP fingers obscure professor for coup mastermind
Putin to meet with Erdogan in Turkey on Monday | EUROPE ONLINE
Putin to meet with Erdogan in Turkey on Monday
Europe
04.10.2016
Moscow (dpa) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit Turkey on Monday to meet with his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a Russian presidential aide announced.
More:Putin to meet with Erdogan in Turkey on Monday | EUROPE ONLINE
Europe
04.10.2016
Moscow (dpa) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit Turkey on Monday to meet with his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a Russian presidential aide announced.
More:Putin to meet with Erdogan in Turkey on Monday | EUROPE ONLINE
Turkey's love affair with rating agencies faces Fitch test | Reuters
Turkey's "love affair" with rating agencies faces Fitch test
By Asli Kandemir
ISTANBUL, Oct 4 Turkey's love affair with international credit agencies - if it ever existed - is already over and its banks may rein in lending yet more if the last of the big firms, Fitch, downgrades the country's rating to "junk".
More:Turkey's love affair with rating agencies faces Fitch test | Reuters
By Asli Kandemir
ISTANBUL, Oct 4 Turkey's love affair with international credit agencies - if it ever existed - is already over and its banks may rein in lending yet more if the last of the big firms, Fitch, downgrades the country's rating to "junk".
More:Turkey's love affair with rating agencies faces Fitch test | Reuters
Pegasus Airlines says Turkish tourism is reviving — FT.com
Pegasus Airlines says Turkish tourism is reviving
Airline’s chief says president’s crackdown after failed coup has reassured travellers
More:Pegasus Airlines says Turkish tourism is reviving — FT.com
Airline’s chief says president’s crackdown after failed coup has reassured travellers
More:Pegasus Airlines says Turkish tourism is reviving — FT.com
Why is Erdoğan hitting at Turkey’s founding generation? - SEMİH İDİZ
Why is Erdoğan hitting at Turkey’s founding generation?
Turkey today is in desperate need of unity and calm. The failed coup attempt on July 15 came at a time when political tension was already high. There was a moment of hope after the coup was foiled that wisdom would prevail, especially since parliament stood against the coup in a unified manner.
More:Why is Erdoğan hitting at Turkey’s founding generation? - SEMİH İDİZ
Turkey today is in desperate need of unity and calm. The failed coup attempt on July 15 came at a time when political tension was already high. There was a moment of hope after the coup was foiled that wisdom would prevail, especially since parliament stood against the coup in a unified manner.
More:Why is Erdoğan hitting at Turkey’s founding generation? - SEMİH İDİZ
The EU’s role in averting the coup in Turkey - BARÇIN YİNANÇ
The EU’s role in averting the coup in Turkey
In the 1990s, all the journalists and therefore the public in general knew the name of the General Chief of Staff and the secretary-general of the National Security Council (MGK).
More:The EU’s role in averting the coup in Turkey - BARÇIN YİNANÇ
In the 1990s, all the journalists and therefore the public in general knew the name of the General Chief of Staff and the secretary-general of the National Security Council (MGK).
More:The EU’s role in averting the coup in Turkey - BARÇIN YİNANÇ
Erdogan′s suspension of teachers has consequences | World | DW.COM | 03.10.2016
Erdogan's suspension of teachers has consequences
Turkey's education system is suffering since the attempted coup, with huge numbers of teachers suspended as a result.
More:Erdogan′s suspension of teachers has consequences | World | DW.COM | 03.10.2016
Turkey's education system is suffering since the attempted coup, with huge numbers of teachers suspended as a result.
More:Erdogan′s suspension of teachers has consequences | World | DW.COM | 03.10.2016
Why is the Turkish government now targeting cartoons?
Why is the Turkish government now targeting cartoons?
ANKARA, Turkey — Late Sept. 28, the Turkish prime minister’s office issued orders for the closure of 23 TV and radio channels on the grounds they backed separatist and subversive activities. The decision was based on a legislative decree issued immediately after the July 20 declaration of the state of emergency over the failed coup attempt five days earlier.
More:Why is the Turkish government now targeting cartoons?
ANKARA, Turkey — Late Sept. 28, the Turkish prime minister’s office issued orders for the closure of 23 TV and radio channels on the grounds they backed separatist and subversive activities. The decision was based on a legislative decree issued immediately after the July 20 declaration of the state of emergency over the failed coup attempt five days earlier.
More:Why is the Turkish government now targeting cartoons?
Monday, October 03, 2016
Victims Of Turkey's Post-Coup Purge Invited To Prove Their Innocence : Parallels : NPR
Victims Of Turkey's Post-Coup Purge Invited To Prove Their Innocence
October 3, 20166:22 AM ET
Peter Kenyon
Just up the hill from Istanbul's Old City, lines are forming outside the district governor's office. This is where Turks can find a new "crisis management center," where those caught up in the post-coup purge can finally be heard in their own defense – or in defense of a relative now behind bars. At a desk, people can submit their written defenses.
More:Victims Of Turkey's Post-Coup Purge Invited To Prove Their Innocence : Parallels : NPR
October 3, 20166:22 AM ET
Peter Kenyon
Just up the hill from Istanbul's Old City, lines are forming outside the district governor's office. This is where Turks can find a new "crisis management center," where those caught up in the post-coup purge can finally be heard in their own defense – or in defense of a relative now behind bars. At a desk, people can submit their written defenses.
More:Victims Of Turkey's Post-Coup Purge Invited To Prove Their Innocence : Parallels : NPR
The Lausanne debate: ‘Away with dreams and shadows’ - NURAY MERT
The Lausanne debate: ‘Away with dreams and shadows’
“Neither sentiment nor illusion must influence our policy. Away with dreams and shadows! …They cost us dear in the past” (Mustafa Kemal’s 36.5-hour 1927 speech, “Nutuk,” Vol. 2) is a celebrated quote which most recently inspired the title of Robin Wright’s 2008 book, “Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East” and the title of the second chapter of Stephen Kinzer’s 2010 book, “Reset: Iran, Turkey and America’s Future.”
More:The Lausanne debate: ‘Away with dreams and shadows’ - NURAY MERT
“Neither sentiment nor illusion must influence our policy. Away with dreams and shadows! …They cost us dear in the past” (Mustafa Kemal’s 36.5-hour 1927 speech, “Nutuk,” Vol. 2) is a celebrated quote which most recently inspired the title of Robin Wright’s 2008 book, “Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East” and the title of the second chapter of Stephen Kinzer’s 2010 book, “Reset: Iran, Turkey and America’s Future.”
More:The Lausanne debate: ‘Away with dreams and shadows’ - NURAY MERT
Sunday, October 02, 2016
Turkey detains brother of Fethullah Gulen in coup crackdown - BBC News
Turkey detains brother of Fethullah Gulen in coup crackdown
A brother of US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen has been detained by police in western Turkey, the state-run Anadolu news agency reports.
More:Turkey detains brother of Fethullah Gulen in coup crackdown - BBC News
A brother of US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen has been detained by police in western Turkey, the state-run Anadolu news agency reports.
More:Turkey detains brother of Fethullah Gulen in coup crackdown - BBC News
Turkey-backed rebels could push further south in Syria
Turkey-backed rebels could push further south in Syria
Author: Leroy Wright
Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis told reporters that USA commandos, at Turkey's request, had joined the Turkish military and "vetted Syrian opposition forces" fighting the Islamic State group near Jarabulus and Al Rai.
More:Turkey-backed rebels could push further south in Syria
Author: Leroy Wright
Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis told reporters that USA commandos, at Turkey's request, had joined the Turkish military and "vetted Syrian opposition forces" fighting the Islamic State group near Jarabulus and Al Rai.
More:Turkey-backed rebels could push further south in Syria
Turkish parliament extends cross-border military operation mandate - Xinhua | English.news.cn
Turkish parliament extends cross-border military operation mandate
ANKARA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish parliament extended the mandate to send military troops abroad for one year during its first convention of the new legislative year on Saturday, Dogan News Agency reported.
More:Turkish parliament extends cross-border military operation mandate - Xinhua | English.news.cn
ANKARA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish parliament extended the mandate to send military troops abroad for one year during its first convention of the new legislative year on Saturday, Dogan News Agency reported.
More:Turkish parliament extends cross-border military operation mandate - Xinhua | English.news.cn
Turkey: "A Great Muslim Democracy"?
Turkey: "A Great Muslim Democracy"?
by Burak Bekdil
October 2, 2016 at 4:00 am
Can there be democracies and democracies with religious prefixes? Is the United States a democracy or a Christian democracy? Is Israel a democracy or a Jewish democracy? Is Japan a democracy or a Shinto democracy?
More:Turkey: "A Great Muslim Democracy"?
by Burak Bekdil
October 2, 2016 at 4:00 am
Can there be democracies and democracies with religious prefixes? Is the United States a democracy or a Christian democracy? Is Israel a democracy or a Jewish democracy? Is Japan a democracy or a Shinto democracy?
More:Turkey: "A Great Muslim Democracy"?
Saturday, October 01, 2016
Turkey’s Gulen crackdown hits Canada - The Globe and Mail
Turkey’s Gulen crackdown hits Canada
Patrick Martin
A crackdown on Gulen followers in Turkey has spilled into Canada, creating a deep divide in the Turkish community in this country.
More:Turkey’s Gulen crackdown hits Canada - The Globe and Mail
Patrick Martin
A crackdown on Gulen followers in Turkey has spilled into Canada, creating a deep divide in the Turkish community in this country.
More:Turkey’s Gulen crackdown hits Canada - The Globe and Mail
Turkish gold trader loses bid to recuse U.S. judge | Reuters
Turkish gold trader loses bid to recuse U.S. judge
By Nate Raymond
A U.S. judge has rejected a request to recuse himself from overseeing the case of a Turkish gold trader accused of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions against Iran, calling it untimely and without merit.
More:Turkish gold trader loses bid to recuse U.S. judge | Reuters
By Nate Raymond
A U.S. judge has rejected a request to recuse himself from overseeing the case of a Turkish gold trader accused of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions against Iran, calling it untimely and without merit.
More:Turkish gold trader loses bid to recuse U.S. judge | Reuters
Turkish media boss quits after email 'scam' fuels press freedom fears | Reuters
Turkish media boss quits after email 'scam' fuels press freedom fears
By Tuvan Gumrukcu | ANKARA
The head of one of Turkey's largest media groups, Dogan Media, quit on Friday after hackers released what they said were emails showing him yielding to editorial pressure from members of President Tayyip Erdogan's inner circle.
More:Turkish media boss quits after email 'scam' fuels press freedom fears | Reuters
By Tuvan Gumrukcu | ANKARA
The head of one of Turkey's largest media groups, Dogan Media, quit on Friday after hackers released what they said were emails showing him yielding to editorial pressure from members of President Tayyip Erdogan's inner circle.
More:Turkish media boss quits after email 'scam' fuels press freedom fears | Reuters
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