"Conservative modernization and lifting the headscarf ban
Conservative modernization and lifting the headscarf ban by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's address before students who will carry on their graduate studies in foreign countries should be viewed as an example for the deep roots of conservative politics.
Turkey's Tugba Karademir performs during the women's Short Skating Programme at the European Figure Skating Championships in Zagreb, January 25, 2008.
REUTERS/Nikola Solic (CROATIA)
And more in headscarf ban, Ergenekon trial and even more:)
Crossing out the hand that banned the headscarf
Source: Islamist Turkish daily Milli Gazete, January 7, 2008 VIA
Turkish president backs lifting of headscarf ban - washingtonpost.com
Der Spiegel Angering the Secular Elite: Turkey to Lift University Head Scarf BanEDM AKP’S ISLAMISM ONE OF VALUES AND IDENTITY RATHER THAN SHARI’A
A democracy ‘above the parties’
We have all heard about the “press announcement” published last week by the offices of the chief prosecutor of the Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals.The visit
The visit to Ankara by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, including the uproar it created over protocol, was a source of embarrassment for the nation.So Ergenekon turns out to not just be a legend!
The bombs thrown at the Cumhuriyet newspaper buildings, the attack on the Council of State, the Hrant Dink murder, the massacre in Malatya and so on and so forth.The Turkish Leviathan under arrest?
Source: Cumhuriyet, Turkey, January 8, 2008 VIA
En Turquie, les « Loups » sont de retour
Le Figaro (France), 24 janvier 2008, p. 4Laure Marchand,Istanbul
Des officiers à la retraite, des avocats connus et des mafiosi ont été appréhendés par la police d’Istanbul. Dans l’ombre, ils activent des réseaux et fomenteraint des assassinats, notamment contre les minorités non musulmanes. Enquête au coeur d’un « État profond ».Elimination of gangs a must for consolidation of rule of law
The police crackdown on dozens of people who have suspicious links to Turkey’s deep state, which has masterminded a series of attacks in the country, found extensive coverage in almost all Turkish dailies yesterday, since the media have long been expecting the state to do away with these illegal formations.Turkey ‘ready to face global turmoil’
The fluctuations in the global markets may affect Turkey but the country is well prepared, said State Minister for the Economy Mehmet Şimşek, who attended the meetings of the World Economic Forum in Davos, launched Wednesday.
“Turkey is now standing on much healthier and stronger ground, compared to past. Therefore the effects of such shocks on Turkey would be limited and tolerable,” said Şimşek.Yusuf Kanli: Where is Turkey headed?
To put it straight, no one who believes in democracy, individual freedoms or the right to believe can defend the turban ban – that is the wearing of the Islamic head cover by female students at universities. It is definitely an anomaly in any democracy. The anomaly must be eradicated... The sooner we do it the better...What is the turban ban then? Is it a constitutional problem? A judicial one? A social one? A political one?Article 2 of the current Turkish constitution states that Turkey is a democratic, social, secular republic adhering to the principle of supremacy of law... This article of the constitution is among the first three articles which are listed in Article 4 as “articles tOperation takes 'deep state' under the spotlight
As the echoes of Tuesday's extensive police operation against a shadowy group, referred to by some as the “deep state” continues, Turkey is once again haunted with memories of assassinations,Either gangs or democracy
Gangs that make use of state power have dominated the national agenda once again following the "Ergenekon Operation," an operation so named by the prosecutor who conducted it.Cloak and dagger
As recent arrests ordered by Turkish authorities begin to shed light on the activities of underground organizations in Turkey, another cloak and dagger scandal that has Turkish ramifications is gathering momentum abroad.‘Taking charge of life’ operation
There can be little doubt that the most extraordinary development we saw this last week in Turkey has been the simultaneous arrest of 30 or so people whose names we had heard in connection with the phrase "nationalism" or "nationalists" in the recent past.ECONOMÍA: El laboratorio turco (1)
Sigue, a continuación, un interesante reportaje publicado por Ricardo Ginés hace pocos días, dedicado a la banca "halal" en Turquía. El autor es consciente de que éste es un asunto escasamente tratado en los medios de comunicación españoles (en realidad existe una amplia actividad en estudios y promoción de la banca islámica en Occidente, que incluso implica líneas de consumo completas y productos como MacDonalds, por ejemplo) y por ello y para que se entienda mejor la entidad del fenómeno no se limita a ofrecer datos sobre la banca de ese tipo en el país anatolio. Añade datos comparativos, convenientemente resaltados por unos gráficos y mapas que el mismo autor tuvo la gentileza de conseguir para este post. Resulta también muy interesante la incidencia que hace Ginés en el carácter de "laboratorio" que posee Turquía y que no se queda en cuestiones económicas o financieras, sino en otras muchas otras y trascendentales (religiosas, culturales, políticas, sociales) a lo largo de su historia.
Operation Gladio and the Turkish deep State: arrests made.
For years Turkish civil liberties groups, writers, journalists, left-wing and islamic political activists have demanded of various governments that they expose the ‘deep state’ that they claim operated within the government bureaucracy, the armed forces, the police and the judiciary. At various time in recent Turkish history, when ever governments have been about to introduce progressive legislation, for example by making concessions to the Kurdish minority which would enable their democratic rights, the country has been rocked by a wave of bombings and/or politically motivated violence and crises.
TESEV ‘Gov’t should support reformist wing within police’
Ergenekon, where are you?
We are living in a country that has passed through various periods of bloodiness and provocation, one that paid a serious price for the Cold War and which, because of its stance against Communism, allowed illegal inner-state structures and organizations to become legitimatized.To keep track of gangs
The Ergenekon gang operation is continuing, and here’s what I think: I wonder what the underground, hidden motivations are that drive people to the point of saying “I am the state,” or “I love this nation more than others.”Turkey to rid itself of embarrassing ban amid skepticism
After protracted and stormy debate in the wake of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statement that banning the Islamic headscarf at university campuses was unacceptable even if it was a political symbol as some claim, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have reached a consensus on amending two constitutional articles to allow covered girls to receive a higher education.SABAH Newspaper English Edition - World - Hillary is also after Armenian votes
