"Why the Extreme Show of Force on May Day?
AKP Submits Its Defense in Closure Case
AKP’s Dengir Firat presenting the party’s defense to the Constitutional Court (photo from Today’s Zaman)
The ruling AK Party has submitted its defense to the Constitutional Court in answer to a case brought against it that seeks to close the party on grounds of antisecular activities, and to ban from politics 70 party members, including the prime minister, and the president (who is officially no longer an AKP member).
AK Party’s response by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE
The case brought by the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals requesting closure of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has entered a new phase.
A, B and C plans of AKP
GÖKSEL BOZKURTWhy the Extreme Show of Force on May Day?
Photo from RadikalOn May 1 an army of police in Istanbul closed off Taksim Square and surrounding streets to prevent a planned labor union rally.
Excerpt from a Turkish Daily News article (my comments are at the bottom):
Police break up Turkey marchers
Hundreds are arrested as riot police prevent marchers holding a May Day rally in Istanbul.Yusuf Kanlı: The Battle of Taksim
The most glorious, vigilant, courageous and gassy army of the police – operating under the directives of their supreme commander, benevolent bureaucrat, peace-loving hawk, absolute observant servant of the all-caring and most holy government in Ankara, Governor Muammer Güler – dispersed the approaching enemy Labor Force and defended Taksim Square to the last drop of blood in their veins.Congratulations.“The best defense is attack” commander Güler instructed the gassy police army, and they gassed not only the approaching Labor Force enemy, but also the shops and even a hospital to make sure that none of those evil elements penetrate the defense lines and make their way into the sacrosanct..May Day, a missed opportunity for the AK Party?
The government’s adoption of a prohibitive stance by rejecting demands by labor unions to hold May Day celebrations in İstanbul’s Taksim Square has led some to question its pro-freedom bid -- all this at a time when the governing party needs to back freedom and democracy the most, as it faces a case seeking its closure.How long will this fear of May 1 continue?
How much longer do we have to be afraid of May 1? This is supposed to be a day when laborers celebrate their lives and work.Erdoğan blames trade unions for tension in Taksim
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan placed all the blame on the trade unions yesterday for the eventful May 1 celebrations in Istanbul, saying that it was the imposition and insistence displayed byMedia reacts differently to May Day
The aftermath of May Day clashes between police and demonstrators were reported on with scarcely concealed passion and outrage by much of the Turkish media Friday, including aNational security state
The nation of Turkey is a nation of national security. To be a "national security state" means to weave the concept of "security" in and around all aspects of social life.[Aljazeera] Clashes mark May Day in Turkey
Riot police in Turkey have clashed with labor activists trying to gather in İstanbul's Taksim square to celebrate May Day. Police used clubs, tear gas and water cannons on Thursday to disperse workers in different areas of the city.The 'Ankara-ization' of the Islamo-liberal AKP?
Mustafa AKYOLYusuf Kanlı:State has done its duty, but...
While the second siege of DISK (Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions) was underway in Istanbul, the tall, tired man angered with the comments in the media condemning theexcessive use of brutal force against workers trying to celebrate May Day as a demonstration of the self-catering democracy understanding of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, thundered: “Why are you calling it ‘The defense of AKP'? Have we done anything wrong and required to make a defense? The document we presented to the court is not our defense, it is our replies to the charges made by the prosecutor (in the closure case indictment)… Don't call it defense.”The tall, tired andHow the AKP's 'protestant capitalism' chastises workers
Cengiz AKTARDemocracy alla Erdoğan?
Murat YETKİNBans and the AK Party
No doubt we are going through an important political crisis. In the contemporary world, closing down a political party that has assumed office by securing 47 percent of the national vote eight months ago is not a common thing.Gladio, Counter-guerrilla and Ergenekon
Prosecutor Felice Casson, who fought against the Gladio in Italy, says that there certainly is a similar organization in Turkey.Is it a first-head-then-body plan?
First cut off the head, then conquer the body. Is this what those who gave start to the coup process in order to fend off the AK Party are trying to achieve?May Day arrives amid debates
Just like every other year, there has been a long-lasting tug of words between the government and labor unions about the latter's demand to hold May Day celebrations in İstanbul's Taksim Square, a venue that has been closed to such demonstrations since 1977 due to the killings of dozens of demonstrators during Workers' Day celebrations that year.Was it worth all this tension?
Mehmet Ali BirandTurkish PM says authorities action necessary on May 1
SMEs, May Day celebrations and the middle classes
Societies, including the Turkish nation, need a strong middle class. Actually, they should become the backbone of both the economy and the society.Pragmatism and Turkey
Tomorrow's Asharq Al-Awsat has a clear and concise editorial defending Turkey's aspirations for EU membership. Noting that while Sarkozy spent last week's interview highlighting his pragmatism while still acting like an ideologue on the Turkish question, and then going throught the various reasons whyTurkish AKP not seeking extension in court case | World | Reuters
Istanbul's Economic Tension. - TIME
Thursday, May. 01, 2008 By ANDREW PURVIS/ISTANBULTurkey has attracted a lot of attention lately thanks to a series of political crises--from armed forays into neighboring Iraq in pursuit of autonomy-seeking Kurdish militants to an atavistic attempt by Turkish prosecutors to ban the country's own ruling party. The political intrigue has created a speed bump--or maybe a stop sign--for an economy that had been striding with determination toward inclusion in the European Union and recharging its ancient trade links with the Middle East."
Turkish politics | An ineffective opposition | Economist.com
EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Turkey: An Islamic Radical Group Resurfaces, Striving to Embrace Peaceful Change
Turkey's Uncertain Future - Middle East Forum
US expectations from Turkey on Iran
Murat YETKİNTurkey's march toward self-destruction (II)
Mehmet Ali BirandErgenekon, America and the AK Party
The closure case filed against the Justice and Development (AK Party) and the investigation regarding the Ergenekon terror organization constitute a process that closely concerns the fate of the country. Where is it heading?Whatever happened to left of center?
It was in 1965 when İsmet İnönü, former Turkish president and leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), defined the CHP's position in Turkish politics as the "left of center." This was a move to separate the CHP's political ground from that of rival right-wing parties.MHP transformation and complexity in Turkish far right by CENAP ÇAKMAK
Ever since the first free elections in which political parties were allowed to compete for governmental posts, the Turkish far right has for the most part been represented by conservative nationalist movements and the parties their adherents formed. 