"Is Turkey Headed for a Coup?...
Is Turkey Headed for a Coup?
by
Grenville Byford
............So far, the Turks are not headed for the streets. What they really want is peace and quiet, and economic opportunity for themselves and their children, a prospect AK Party's successful stewardship of the Turkish economy has finally started to offer. They will not thank anyone for upsetting the apple cart. This, I suspect, is why we have yet to see the normally pugnacious Erdogan breathing fire and defiance. Reflecting his supporters' views, he would rather not put the last five years of progress at risk. The question is whether Turkey's secular establishment—its courts, bureaucracy, and generals—will cede at least some power gracefully, or decline to give an inch and chance the people's reaction.
The EU has made clear that the removal of a duly elected government, and therefore any constitution permitting it, is unacceptable in a nation seeking membership. The Bush administration is sitting on the fence. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, standing beside Turkey's AK Party Foreign Minister Ali Babacan earlier this month, said: "Turkey will, of course, resolve its issues through its democratic process." Sadly, there is nothing inevitable about it. Someone should ask Rice whether she supports Turkey having a "democratic process" at all...........
Turkey's judicial-political crisis , Kirsty Hughes
Turkey's political and democratic troubles are deepening. The country's domestic problems are grave enough, but an additional complicating factor is that few of its putative friends and partners abroad are able or wish to exert a positive influence on the direction of events.
Rand corporation designs four scenarios for Turkey's future
Faced with a difficult dilemma due to the ongoing closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, the United States should underscore its strong support for TurkishRAND scenarios
Scenario 1: The AKP pursues a moderate, EU-oriented path The AKP keeps its power and bars Islamic impulses in its domestic and foreignThe judge and the general
Anger and indignation probably best describe the recent reaction by the chiefs of general staff to the less than favorable treatment they have been receiving in even the mainstream press.Second AK Parti Defence for Download / Turkish
Hearings in July on Turkey's ruling party | International | Reuters
Media trivialization of secret meeting draws criticism
A secret meeting between Constitutional Court Justice Osman Paksüt and Land Forces Commander Gen. İlker Başbuğ at a critical time for Turkey has found extensive and varied coverage in the Turkish media.Power struggle turns into psychological war
There is enough evidence that the enduring political crisis in the capital has now turned into a “psychological war,” in which the “sides” involved are trying to gain an advantage over each otherThe probable consequences of the Ergenekon indictment by MURAT YILMAZ
Once more Turkey is seeking a way out of obstacles designed to trap it. AKP submits closure case defense
The ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, submitted its final written defense in the closure case to the Constitutional Court yesterday, basing its advocacy on previous decisions of the EuropeanSeizure of authority
The Constitutional Court has engaged in "seizure of authority," not "exceeding its authority," by canceling the amendments that would lift the headscarf ban at universities.We pose these questions to Paksüt
The credibility of Constitutional Court Deputy Chairman Osman Paksüt has been remarkably damaged.EU enlargement not threatened by Irish
Ireland's rejection of the European Union's reform treaty does not diminish the bloc's commitment to admitting new members from the Balkans and Turkey, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli RehnTurkish governing party challenges 'anti-secular' charge - International Herald Tribune
Turkish AK Party said about to submit defence | World | Reuters
Turkey seeks an exit strategy from headscarf crisis (SETimes.com)
Time Of The Tough Guys | Newsweek International Edition | Newsweek.com
A global leadership poll finds a crisis of confidence—and real support for strongmen.[TD Editor's note: See results from Turkey(Page 17)
Turkey's A La Carte Liberalism
By Soner CagaptayNewsweek, June 23, 2008
Turkey's ruling Justice And Development Party (AKP) faces a battle for survival as the country's constitutional court reviews a case to ban the party for its allegedly antisecular activities in violation of the Turkish Constitution. But the AKP can save itself if it can prove it is a liberal party and not an Islamist one.
