Sarko's Interview Fallout

By Boz

Sarkozy attempts to regain initiative

Commission goes audiovisual to communicate Europe

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The great Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded the Turkish Parliament to give the Turkish people a legitimate forum for discussing the future and for transforming Turkey into a modern republic.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (L) welcomes European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at the entrance of his office in Ankara April 10, 2008. Barroso is in the Turkish capital for talks with top Turkish officials. REUTERS/Presidential Press Office/Mustafa Demirel/

Continue reading " Special Barroso coverage - IV; "Turkey: master of the straits, master of its destiny" »

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EU commission chief Jose Manuel Baroso (C), Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan (L) and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn (R) pose in front of the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of secular Turkey, in Ankara April 10, 2008, as they are flanked by delegates.

REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY)

EU commission President Jose Manuel Barroso attends a wreath laying ceremony at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of secular Turkey, in Ankara April 10, 2008.

REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY)

EU chiefs to drop in amid political turmoil

The EU's message: More democracy

Continue reading "Special Barroso coverage - I" »

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Blair and Merkel top EU-wide poll

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 Turkish Exceptionalism: Q&A with Serif Mardin

 By Manal Lotfi

Istanbul, Asharq Al-Awsat -

Turkish thinker Serif Mardin is considered a star in Turkey; his books fly off the shelves and he enjoys a wide renown among the Turks. He was the man who coined the concept of ‘Turkish Exceptionalism’ in his attempt to analyze and elaborate upon the reasons behind the different manner by which the Turks dealt with Islam and their vision of the state.

For Mardin, the separation between religion and the state in Turkey was not born out of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s movement to found a Turkish republic following the end of the First World War and the war for independence; in fact, Mardin maintains that this secularism and separation between the state and religion began with the Ottoman Empire......

And also check out Mustafa Akyol's piece how Prof. Mardin is approached by some circles of higher education:  

The Scandal of The Kemalist Mind

[Originally published in Turkish Daily News] I, unluckily, made a lot of people upset with my piece in last weekend's edition of the Turkish Daily News, “The gospel according to Atatürk.” A few dozen readers sent fuming emails, which rebuked me for daring to criticize the level of veneration shown in Turkey to its founder. If you have been reading the “Letters to the editor” section, you might have come across two of these reactions, which came from two Turkish readers living in the United States. The one from New Jersey noted that he was “shocked” by my piece, and added, “someone should tell Akyol that he is dead wrong.” The other one, a lady, expressed “anguish” at me and my “very naive look.” I, she also argued, “cannot be a Turk.” In response, I am sincerely thankful to such critics, because they present nice case studies of what I have been talking about. I said that there is a popular “cult of Atatürk” in Turkey, whose followers have a “strict mental blueprint” that leads them to “detachment from reality.” And that's precisely what you can find in these annoyed comments.

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Sarkozy's last minute attempts to produce more obstacles for Turkey's membership before the 14 December European Council summit angers the top business association in Turkey (TÜSİAD).

TUSIAD: "The French Government Should Cease Its Hostility Against Turkey’s EU Process"

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His CV here

the Turkish press was caught helpless as nobody expected the appointment of Prof.Dr. ÖZCAN YUSUF ZİYA as the head of Higher Education Council (YÖK). They did not even have his photo. They all got his photo from his CV at METU site.

Some obsessive Kemalists immediately claimed he has some Islamic roots but hey this man has a real academic substance. I don't know him much but his CV looks fine to me and he is known to be very popular among his student at METU. Still I don't know much about him but i feel sort of happy. And his one of first statements according to Hürriyet is that he will work to annul all bans in universities and make Turkish universities be more scientific....

I have to talk to mum. What she thinks? A Sociologist at the top:) My parents were so pissed off when I became a Sociology student... 

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TDN Reports:

Europe can play the role of a catalyst for Turkey's civil society as it matures, said an analysis on the country published in the Financial Times yesterday.

The analysis by the daily includes a list of 10 important names in Turkey as well, including Ertuğrul Özkök, the editor-in-chief of daily Hürriyet; Erdoğan Teziç, the head of Higher Education Board; Oya Eczacıbaşı, chair of Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Suzan Sabancı Dinçer, managing director of Akbank, Yaşar Büyükanıt, the head of the General Staff and Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu, the president of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges. The Financial Times writer Vincent Boland prepared the list.............

"You are not kings" 

According to a Hürriyet story, the Islamist daily, Vakit published the puzzle above the other day. By displaying the highest ranking Turkish generals in the puzzle, the daily "implied" something as the key phrase to be found at the bottom of the page was "you are not the kings"...

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Osman Pamukoğlu, Rıza Küçükoğlu, Hasan Kundakçı, Osman Özbek ve Altay Tokat (from L to Right) VIA

A very ironic case. Both Prime Ministry and the Office of General Staff are anxious with the retired generals some of whom are very vocal in mass media. One of the possible reprimands will be that they won't be allowed military buildings any more. Well, at first sight this is an act of censorship but in a more deeper sense I am not sure. These guys are talking for more democracy but they sort of organize the public for a more militarized society and in the mean time some of their speeches causes uneasiness with the current military command...

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A day in the life of Commission President Barroso

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Abdullah Gul confirming he will stand as a candidate for president in a vote by parliament this month.

 The man splitting Turkish society - CNN.com

FT.com / Comment & analysis / Editorial comment - Turkish democracy

Do not betray!

By HASAN CEMAL, MİLLİYET

Do not betray democracy again. Abdullah Gül’s candidacy prompted the resurgence of the literature on military respect....

Continue reading "Abdullah Gül's candidacy; splits everywhere..." »

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 Reconstructing Europe: Two Alternative Proposals for a European Constitution

ZEI A 106-page German discussion paper offering a 'visionary' constitutional project and a 'realistic' one, relying on the current draft of the Constitutional Treaty

Racisms, Migration & Citizenship in Europe

1. Seminar I: Etienne Balibar and Sandro Mezzadra in Conversation [Audio-English] - 25 May 2007 With Chetan Bhatt and Manuela Bojadzijev (Goldsmiths, London University) Hosted by Centre for the Study of Invention and Social Process (CSISP), Dept of Sociology, Goldsmiths.......

Libya sales deal fuels French row

News of a huge Franco-Libyan arms deal reignites a controversy in France about how the release of medics by Tripoli was secured.

DOSSIER: Were the Bulgarian medics freed in exchange for arms? | 03/08/2007

On Thursday, August 2nd, a number of Libyan sources announced that a major arms deal had been signed with France, fuelling the controversy about compensation payments to Tripoli in exchange for the liberation of the Bulgarian medics. The French state is meanwhile claiming that no contract was signed during the negotiations. The press regrets the lack of transparency in this thorny affair...

Financial Times: Transatlantic travellers on 48-hours notice Western European business travellers will be forced to give 48 hours’ notice of their plans to visit the US under legislation signed by President George W. Bush

Call Her Angie von Bismarck - by Josef Joffe

Most of the headlines about Europe in U.S. newspapers these days have been going to Britain's doughty new prime minister, Gordon Brown of Labor, or France's hard-charging new president, the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy. But the most influential European leader, at least for now, is Angela Merkel. The first female chancellor in German history has been having a very nice run as the uncrowned queen of Europe. She is a staggering 40 points ahead of her Social Democratic rival for the chancellorship. So why has Angie, as so many of her 82 million subjects fondly call her, been doing so well?

From the washingtonpost.com

 A look at how rightwing Nicolas Sarzoky is pursuing a political strategy learned from Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci.

Forbes: Who Paid for Sarkozy's Vacation in US? - Estate owned by former Microsoft Executive

By A-News

Chicago Tribune : Europe's top ten tourist attractions (as published by TripAdvisor.com) by Phil Marty

By A-News

Continue reading "Reconstructing Europe: Two Alternative Proposals for a European Constitution" »

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 DOSSIER: Portugal takes over the EU presidency | 29/06/2007

Portugal is preparing to takeover as head of the EU for its third time. The European press explores the issues that it will face over the next six months, and evaluates the performance of outgoing Germany, whose mandate comes to a close July 1st....

Major EU events under the Portuguese presidency

Continue reading "Portugal takes over the EU presidency" »

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Continue reading ""All eyes on Sarkozy during first Brussels visit" »

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Charles Grant in CER blog says:

Most EU governments wanted Nicolas Sarkozy to win the presidential election. They think his liberalising economic agenda stands a fair chance of boosting France’s lacklustre economic performance. And they believe that his support for a ‘mini-treaty’ will make it easier for Chancellor Angela Merkel to get the whole EU behind her plans for an ‘amending treaty’ that would save parts of constitutional treaty. Furthermore, several governments – including that in London – are particularly happy that Sarkozy says he will not hold a referendum on any new EU treaty, since that diminishes the pressure on them to hold referendums of their own. click to continue.

What Turkey’s crisis means for the EU by Katinka Barysch

and more on French elections:

BBC's Your reaction

Kiki on Sarko, Ségo, and me

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Vincent Boland, the FT’s Turkey correspondent, interviewed Abdullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister and his party’s candidate for president, at the foreign minister’s office on May 4 2007.

The interview ended up abruptly due to Mr. Boland's insistence on a particular question. Have a look...

Turkey's Gul: President Or Polarizer? by Elisabeth Eaves of Forbes...

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BBC:

Turkey's ruling party has sharply criticised an army threat to intervene in politics, saying the military must remain under civilian control.

Cemil Cicek, spokesman for the Islamist-rooted party, was commenting after an unusual statement by the army vowing to defend the secular system.

...

Mr Cicek said any army intervention was "inconceivable in a democratic state". "The chief of the general staff is answerable to the prime minister," said Mr Cicek, who is also justice minister.

The European Union earlier warned the army not to interfere in politics, saying the controversy was a test case for the military to respect democracy. The BBC's Sarah Rainsford says the army is sending a signal that it will not accept the candidate of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK), Abdullah Gul, as the country's next president. Mr Gul narrowly lost in the first round of the presidential election, which is held by parliament, on Friday.

'Productive talks'

...

According to Mr Cicek, the prime minister spoke to army chief Gen Yasar Buyukanit on Saturday afternoon and they had a "useful and productive" conversation.

Turkey is an EU candidate but entry negotiations have been partially frozen because of a dispute over Cyprus, and the EU is also concerned that Turkey's commitment to political reform is weakening. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the row was "a clear test case whether the Turkish armed forces respect democratic secularization and democratic values".

In the mean time, U.S. urges Turkey to heed constitution, democracy but was not emphatic on democracy as the EU was.

Mr. Çiçek actively condemned army threat to intervene in poll.....

 

Defending the secular 'faith'

By Stephanie Irvine

The army sees itself as the guardian of Ataturk's legacy

Why is the Turkish army so determined to defend secularism, the separation of religion and state?

Secularism is fundamental to Turkey's identity as a nation.

Turkey was founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a military general, in what had been the Ottoman Sultanate.

Ataturk was determined that this mainly Muslim nation would be a modern, secular country, and he introduced wide-ranging reforms, including the emancipation of women, the introduction of western dress, legal code and alphabet, and the abolition of Islamic institutions......

 

 

 

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I am still sick and weak after the Friday night game. I wasn't humiliated in the game, I was surely not the worst player and in a 9-9 draw, I had even scored a goal and assisted another  but  i am exhausted after that 60 minutes. But all my body in pain now and plus I got cold. And adding my exhaustion, Beşiktaş won yesterday but with a specially terrible play that after such a bad play, i could not be happy for the result...

All together: Turkey's President Ahmet Necdet Sezer (2nd R), Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R), Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc (2nd L) and Chief of Staff General Yasar Buyukanit (L) attend the opening ceremony of the Ataturk Museum Palace in Ankara April 19, 2007. POOL REUTERS/Cem Oksuz (TURKEY)

In the mean time; Mourners console one another after the funeral of Tilmann Geske, who was killed in an attack on a publishing house in Turkey's southeastern province of Malatya, at the cemetery in Malatya April 20 2007.Turkish police have detained 10 people in connection with the killing of three people, including a German, at a Bible publishing house in the mainly Muslim country, authorities said on Thursday. The three were found on Wednesday with their throats slit at the Zirve publishing house in Malatya. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY)

American Missionaries in Anatolia and Ottoman Syria in the Nineteenth Century

 offered by Mavi Boncuk

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BBC says "The Turkish parliament has begun the process of electing a new president, in what is already proving a highly controversial contest...."

In the mean time, Semih İdiz wrote an article with which I had parallel ideas: Democracy In Essence Is Also Important

Candidacy applications started today. The presidential calendar:

April 16: Candidacy applications begin.

April 17: PM Erdoğan meets political party leaders, convenes his cabinet.

April 18: AKP's Central Executive Board (MKYK) convenes.

April 25: deadline for candidacy applications.

April 26: Parliament Speaker Arınç proposes two alternative dates for election tours. According to the first alternative the first tour will start on April 26. According to the constitution the second tour is scheduled for May 1, third tour May 8 and final tour May 15.

May 3:  The second alternative is to start on May 3 followed by the second tour on May 7, third tour on May 11 and the final tour on May 15. In these first two rounds of voting, in order to be elected president a candidate must receive support of at least three-fifths of the total 550 seats of the unicameral legislation, 367 votes.

May 16: Presiden Sezer completes his seven year term. The hand over ceremony takes place.

Galip Hoca also intervenes today:

....while thousands were demonstrating in ankara, a tragedy of catastrophic proportions was lived only 150 miles away in aksaray, where more than 30 schoolchildren and their parents on their way to visit cappadocia were killed when their bus collided with a truck.

the bodies of the casualties were laid to rest with a doleful ceremony in izmir, their point of origin. hundreds, maybe thousands attended. the coffins were draped in turkish flags, too.

question one: if we had spent half the mental effort we do over such high matters as contemplating and arguing how our holy and hallowed state must be run as on such mundane matters like why turkish drivers are world-record breakers in deadly accidents or on why norms supposed to order social life along rational principles, are worth less than the bureaucratic paper they are written on especially in traffic (though not much better in any other area either); could it be possible that neither the rally nor the ceremony might be necessary?....

SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH TURKISH PRIME MINISTER TAYYIP RECEP ERDOGAN

'If the EU Doesn't Want Us, They Should Say it Now'

In an interview with DER SPIEGEL, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discusses Iran's nuclear program, Turkey's geopolitical role, its ties with the European Union and his difficult relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

REUTERS

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel: "As political leaders we will leave our offices one day, but our people will remain and have to get along with each other. So we shouldn't give them negative messages."

 But in sum:

Turkey frustrated over EU-accession talks

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EU's Term President Germany's Ambassador to Turkey Eckart Cuntz said on Thursday that presidential election and general elections to be held in this year will show the path of Turkey, adding that these elections also concern Turkey's EU perspective.

Erdogan opponents to hold rally in Turkey’s capital

Continue reading ""Elections show Turkey's following path' while Erdogan opponents to hold rally in Turkey's capital" »

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Successful Turkish correspondent in Brussels Gülderen Sonumut writes on the elections: Elections in Turkey... What does the EU think about it?

...........As far as EU is concerned, the most important issue is to see Turkish government able to carry on important reform in order to harmonies Turkish law with EU acquis. And for Brussels, the only way to carry reforms in line with the negotiation process is to have a strong government. For Brussels the institution which is able to carry reform is not the presidential seat but the government. ..........

As Tensions Rise in Turkey in Advance of Presidential Election (as stated by R. Krespin), PM Erdoğan started to take pulse of deputies for presidency

AND Turkey academics oppose PM's run according to BBC. The Higher Education Council (YÖK) gathered rectors and issued a declaration last week. It was reported later that at least Bilgi and Sabancı University were not represented in that gathering. I don't know what kind of excuse they have offered but I am glad that they were not in. YÖK is one of longest lasting and ever powerful institution produced by the 12 September Junta. This should be highlighted before anything else... We talk about universities where are supposed to be the safe havens of enlightenment and no Turkish university makes it to the global university academic success rankings... One should also note that in identifying this social agent.

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Nicholas Birch of the Guardian writes: Speaking out in the shadow of death: why Turkish intellectuals need armed guards
· 20 offered protection after murder of editor [Hrant Dink]
· Activists urge end of ban on insulting Turkishness....

The concept of minority and its application in Turkey by Baskın Oran

And after these critical readings, here are some links to boost morales of Turkishness: A new blog of a nationalist nature, The Turkophile, discusses Anti-Turkism and states that "Anti-Turkism has been used everywhere, and it's shocking to find it being used in many ways. Here is a list of those ways... These are of course offensive and one cannot escape the victim of it from time to time. In my personal life, I only remember one particular case in which a drunk Alaskan graduate student used offensive anti-Turkish stereotyping in Houston but before I understood what he was up to, my American and other international friends were counter-attacking him. Of course, though I haven't had much, especially Turks in Europe complain about these anti-Turkish stuff a lot. My only issue, as a self-reflexive Turkish citizen, is that instead of a blind-counter attack and label all those prejudices as "nonsense", one should be a bit self-reflexive and contemplate about their sources...
One more in favor of Turks (!): The Midday Express: Repairing the Turkish image via movies
And "a western girl" observes Turks here....

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"Turkey’s Savings Deposits Insurance Fund (TMSF) has taken control of the management of a number of Turkey’s best known media companies, after irregularities in their sale were uncovered. Among the outlets seized were the national daily newspaper Sabah and television stations ATV and Kanal 1. In total, 63 companies were taken over by TMSF. The seizures stemmed from secret protocols signed in 2002 by the former owner of the companies, Dinc Bilgin, which transferred the outlets to Turgay Ciner."It is documented that Dinc Bilgin and Turgay Ciner acted collectively in the media sector, made fictitious transactions and mislead the TMSF," the TMSF said in a statement issued late Sunday. "In such a case, the protocols that they sign with us are invalid."

(Source: NTVMSNBC, Turkey, April 2, 2007)

I am having difficulties to analyse the situation. The first thing that comes to mind is that this is a blow to Turkish press just before the elections and it looks like a governmental intervention. But TMSF is an autonomous institution. And according to the interview linked below, Dinç Bilgin himself offered some of the documents that started the process. And one should also think about the nature of business transactions. Media critics always criticize the agreements that take place behind the closed-doors. State officials are always criticised that they ignore corruption etc. Here they take action. BUT whatever the intentions, the moment of intervention causes suspicions that cannot be easily overlooked...in the mean time, we have one media conglomeration, Doğan Group, left in the field in addition to minor (in comparison) media operations...

TMSF speaks on the recent Sabah, ATV scandal here

And here are some of the pieces in Turkish that focus on TMSF's move....

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The European Union's -competition commissioner yesterday expressed her "shock" at the protectionist rhetoric of Nicolas Sarkozy, the leading challenger for the French presidency, saying it was in France's interests to promote the European single market and cross-border investment.

Dossier of Friday, March 30, 2007; The French call into question their 'national identity"

Nicolas Sarkozy, the right-wing Presidential candidate has provoked a heated debate in France by proposing the creation of a 'ministry of immigration and national identity'. What is national identity and how can it be defined in relation to European identity currently evolving ?.........

A Cafe Babel piece: "69, French style"

 

Continue reading "Brussels shocked by Sarkozy rhetoric" »

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Burst of commentaries due to the critical visit!!

Turkey, Europe And Islam
9/7/2004
BY TAHA AKYOL

MILLIYET- EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen arrived in Turkey and the report prepared by the Independent Commission on Turkey was announced. Positive signals are increasing and a satisfactory decision is expected in December. Are the reforms made by Turkey the only reason for this optimism?

Continue reading "Verheugen's visit triggers a burst of commentaries..." »

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