Erkan's field diary

Barroso urges Turkey to speed up reform

The president of the European Commission has called on Ankara to hasten changes on matters including free speech to show it is serious about joining the European Union

EU’s right to ‘meddle’ in Turkey’s internal affairs

Amid the political turmoil that was triggered by a closure cased filed against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) last month, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn paid a landmark visit to Turkey, where they met with President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and opposition party leaders.

Oktay Eksi: What I understood from Barroso

Yesterday, president of the European Commission, Jose-Manuel Barroso addressed members of the Turkish parliament. Our first impression of his speech is like this:

Barroso verbalized his thoughts while seemingly not alluding to the 'hearing process' in the AKP closure case that he had previously expressed to the public opinion. For instance, he repeated his opinion about the European Union's stance that 'does not judge non-violent opinions.'"

Secularism suggested by Barroso by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE

The visit of European Union Commission President José Manuel Barroso to Turkey coincided with a critical period of time.

Judicial intervention and Turkey’s EU road by SEVGİ AKARÇEŞME

The decision of the Constitutional Court to initiate a case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came as no surprise, especially considering last year's unprecedented and highly contentious "367 criteria" that was brought to the presidential elections by the very same court to hinder the AK Party by means of "law."


Turkish women react Barroso on headscarf

BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | Fighting for free speech in Turkey

U.S. calls Turkish court to rule free from politics

Which image of Istanbul is in Brussels? - Turkish Daily News Apr 12, 2008

EU must implement dual-deterrence in Turkey - Turkish Daily News Apr 11, 2008

EU winds blow through Ankara

By MUSTAFA ÜNAL, ZAMAN

European Union Commission President José Manuel Barroso, along with EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, came to Ankara this week for a visit.

Which road will the AK Party choose?

By MAHMUT ÖVÜR, SABAH

AK Party members, having recently shaken off the initial shock of the court case aimed at shutting them down, are now waking up every morning making calculations about exactly how it is they will emerge from this vicious cycle.

Not Islamist but conservative

By YASİN DOĞAN, YENİ ŞAFAK

Since the very first day his party was formed, Erdoğan has been reiterating that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is neither a religiously based movement nor the continuation of an Islamist profile.

The AK Party and the oligarchy's despotism

By HASAN CELAL GÜZEL, RADİKAL

Aside from those who laugh knowingly and say: "Well you know, there is a justice system. Let's just await the results of this system," the court case aimed at closing down the ruling AK Party is viewed across Turkey, in fact across the whole world, as being not a legal matter but in fact a struggle for administrative power. Turkey Is Well Ahead Of At Least 10 E.U. Member States, Erdogan

Lawfare and Wearfare in Turkey - Greece / Turkey / Cyprus Religion - Anarkismo

Redefining Turkishness - - Breaking News, Political News & National Security News - The Washington Times

Turkish PM chides European Union

The priorities of Turkey were in line with those set out in the EU’s accession requirements, Erdogan said.

After AKP, What?

By Jenny White

Graphs from Today’s Zaman

Turks are unhappy about the case before the Constitutional Court to close down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). If the party is closed down and new elections are held, none of the other parties will have enough votes to create a functioning government and at present there are no viable alternative centrist parties. Voting patterns will lose their moorings and the outcome is anyone’s guess.

Turkish secularism vs. European secularism

Debates on secularism had their peak in France, the motherland of secularism, three years ago. The imposition of a headscarf ban in public primary schools was one of the reasons why the debates heated up.

MAM cuts his finger

Divergent European Approaches to Combating PKK Terrorism

By Abdulkadir Onay
April 11, 2008

Earlier this month, Europol -- the European Union law enforcement agency that handles criminal intelligence -- released its annual Terrorism Situation and Trend Report, part of which addresses the European criminal activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The release comes on the heels of a March 29 German report outlining considerable details about PKK activities in Germany. Although these reports help illustrate the extent of the group's European infrastructure, many European governments have still not taken serious steps to counter the threat, despite the PKK's presence on the EU's terrorism list."

PARTY CALLS FOR A COMMITTEE ON SOUTHEAST TURKEY - Eurasia Daily Monitor

Ability to react to lawlessness

Turkey's agenda was abuzz last week as another military blacklist was leaked to the press. It has been revealed that the list, prepared in March 2006 for the Turkish General Staff, included civil society organizations, academics, businesspersons and journalists.

So there is democratic secularism as well

Conceptual ambiguity plays a dramatic role in Turkey's current situation where fundamental problems remain unresolved and become the source of polarization and tension.

Secularist community

Turkish modernity still remains committed to classical sociological assumptions of the 19th century. One of the reasons for the lawsuit demanding closure of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) was references by some party members to the notion of "community."

Who will stop the coup?

Turkey finally has the chance to openly discuss and name a coup process for the first time, following several successful coups and far more coup attempts.