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July 14, 2008

A most preposterous idea of recent times in Turkish journalism

Hürriyet's 'Freedom Train' A most preposterous idea of recent times in Turkish journalism:

A peace train touring Turkey to spread message of human rights

As part of daily Hürriyet's 60th anniversary celebrations, a special train called “Hürriyet,” which in English means “freedom,” set off Tuesday, July 1 for a trans-Anatolian tour, in an effort to convey the need for democratic consolidation and to spread a message of respect for human rights in Turkey.

  The project, whose motto is “Right to Hürriyet, Train is Freedom,” is a part of daily Hürriyet's broader mission to raise consciousness about human rights among Turkish youth and women.

  The theme of human rights for this year's celebrations was chosen by Hürriyet to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights....................


My main objection is why the newspaper needs such a campaign. It is a mainstream newspaper that always allied with deep state structures. There is a not single case of investigative journalism found in it. But why they try for such a prepostereous act? I have been meaning to write about it but an agitatively prolific blogger acted before me. Here are some shots from his posts:

Continue reading "A most preposterous idea of recent times in Turkish journalism" »

July 07, 2008

Taraf daily at the center of political tension

Some people are buying extra copies of Taraf in order to support the circulation while some are distancing themselves from it as they believe it has become a tool in the battle between AKP and Secularist front. It is hard to have a third position as the political polarization increases regularly. Still, it is also hard to be at an equal distance to these poles. There seems to be some violations in the way people are detained and the prosecutor seems to be too slow. However, not a single person who was arrested in the course of Ergenekon seems 'clean' politically. Even if they weren't involved in a concrete gang, they were vocal hate mongerers. They are all responsible for the creation of anti-liberal, coup smelling, anti-EU happenings. Some liberals are already getting soft on some journalists such as Mustafa Balbay, and I am quite certain that he did not do anything more than his job but could anyone hear any good from him, one single positive idea? He had been working incessantly against an elected government in an environment of coup preparations...

As the polarization intenses, pseudo-liberals are changing sides. Some columnists, such as Can Dündar has begun to question Ergenekon case.  His whiny style makes romantic cases for especially women readers, but democratic struggle needs more...

 

Turkey: Recently launched paper at the forefront of political controversy

By Liam Berkowitz

Thanks to its precocious reporting, Taraf, a small, Turkish daily paper launched last November, has found itself at the center of a brewing political storm.
In its inaugural year, Taraf published a chain of stories divulging the army's efforts to overthrow the government's ruling party.

General Staff asked for confidential documents from daily Taraf

The General Staff has asked a newspaper to hand over confidential military documents it received, claiming the documents were illegally leaked to the press and published, reported daily Taraf Friday.

Demonstrators hold banners during the trial of suspects charged ...

Demonstrators hold banners during the trial of suspects charged with the killing of Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink at a Turkish court in Istanbul July 7, 2008. Banner reads "We all are witnesses. We want justice.

" REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY)

Protests as open hearing in Dink case begins in Turkey

A Turkish court in Istanbul began on Monday the first open hearing of the assassination case of a Turkish-Armenian journalist. Protesters held demonstrations near the court during the trial of suspects."

Continue reading "Taraf daily at the center of political tension" »

June 27, 2008

"Gülen tops intellectuals list

With all due respect, Mr. Gülen cannot be the top in that list. It looks like Muslims mobilized themselves to occupy the top 10. As if there is a grand intellectual revolution going on in the Islamic world. I was never impressed with his religious thought, he is much more duller than Said Nursi whom Mr. Gülen follows. I never felt any closeness to the promoted idea of tolerance, his followers declare. But of course who can deny the network he creatively built and i am not also scared with it as some secularists are. Whatever the intention was, his educational initiatives worked for good for many poor kids. I believe the most innovative part of Mr. Gülen's movement is the creative use of educational institutions all over the world. His religious thought is a lightly nationalistic and highly Sunni. There is nothing new there. No religious innovation.

But of course, I have to admit, I find it very exciting to see that in the last 2-3 years Mr. Gülen's movement is involved directly in intelligence battles in Turkey. This is at least what the claim is and i find it quite substantive.  The Gülen group had always chosen to be behind the scenes and never acted publicly. But things changed and there are rumors that most of the leaked documents (i.e. the coup preparation diaries or generals' phone talks) come thru their channel. One may never prove this, but this is already commen-sense around here. Gülen group now dares to counter-act. I find this as a balancing act in power relations and I look forward to seeing more of leaked documents:)

Turkish cleric Gülen tops intellectuals list

By Joshua Keating

Western readers are likely to learn a few new names by checking out the final results of the Foreign Policy/Prospect poll of the World's Top Public Intellectuals. In an unprecedented development, all of the top 10 are Muslims, some of whom are barely known in the United States. No result was more surprising than our winner-by-a-landslide, Fethullah Gülen.

The Western media has never known quite what to make of this Turkish religious leader, who lives in exile near Philadelphia. He is described alternately as a leading voice for moderation and education in the Muslim world or the second coming of Ayatollah Khomeini. But, as we've learned here at FP, the passion and dedication of of his supporters is impressive, to say the least. After an article on the poll appeared in Turkey's Zaman newspaper, the avalanche of votes for Gülen began...

Continue reading ""Gülen tops intellectuals list" »

June 06, 2008

"Veiled tensions

Nobody is surprised any more and thus visible tension may not be as much as expected. This does not mean peace, of course. The chief of the Court talks of living together etc many anchormen in TV news teasingly smile when they report the news (Mehmet Ali Birand spotted), even some 'left-liberals' seem to be happy but long term divisions consolidate.... Now some say this is the law we have to respect but would they obey if the decision were different. I wonder some generals who declared trust to the Law, would do the same otherwise.. Anyway what the heck. I have some personal news to declare soon!

Veiled tensions

Turkey faces difficult times after headscarf ruling

Fears for Turkish ruling party as court overturns headscarf law | World news | The Guardian

cilalitasdevri.jpg


via

No problem with religious freedom for the majority?

By MUSTAFA ERDOĞAN, STAR

Despite the fierce reaction shown by secularist factions to recent statements made by Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, the truth is that in our nation, whether you are talking about the Sunnis or the Alevis, there are some quite serious problems where religious freedoms are concerned.

Continue reading ""Veiled tensions" »

June 04, 2008

"Jürgen Habermas spotted in santralistanbul!

Jürgen Habermas spotted in santralistanbul!

(From L to R) David Rasmussen, Murat Borovalı, Benjamin Barber. And Jürgen Habermas is circled by Erkan.

ResetDoc meeting continue in santralistanbul. Here are some fragments of ideas from the panels I have attended...

Monday, June 2, 2008
3.30 p.m. – 6.00 p.m                Lectures 1 and 2
Seyla Benhabib  The Return of Political Theology under Conditions of Globalization
Abdou Filali-Ansary  Playing Politics on the Field of Religion
Chair: Ferda Keskin 


I don't remember by who or how but some reliable intellectuals take the "hidden agenda" idea seriously. As Göle says as a perception this is to be taken seriously though one doesn't believe believe in it. the perception itself is sociological...



Tuesday, June 3, 2008
11.30 a.m. – 1.00  p.m.            Panel 2     
David Rasmussen:   Islam and Democracy
Benjamin Barber:   Can Islam accommodate Democracy, can Democracy accommodate Islam?
Chair: Murat Borovalı

ideas triggered...by no means these are quotations from the speakers. as a notarious conference participant, i take these events for their triggering impact. i have real difficulty to listen to the speakers concentrated so misunderstandings are always possible..

Continue reading ""Jürgen Habermas spotted in santralistanbul!" »

May 30, 2008

Why bother listening CHP?

There are certainly some domestic intelligence battles going on. These are not available to this humble blogger and academician. So from what I can only observe: why someone bothers CHP who is in shambles anyway?

One big conspiratorial statement: Some officials inside the party could be fantasizing for a coup. Well, they are notarious about it. They did it before anyway. They happily served the coup in 1960. 

Hmmm i have to think about it more. Less conspiratorial statement could be CHP is bitching just after a huge government proposal on Southeast. There must be more discussion if this proposal will really work but CHP cannot cope with it anyway. So they play the victim.

How can CHP claim that this was ordered by AKP? What if this cannot be proven. Our glorious law official will sue CHP for the libel?  

Rethinking the CHP’s bugging allegations

Allegations made by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) that the telephone of its secretary-general had been wiretapped by the state’s secret service and the content of conversations disclosed to the daily Vakit have been the subject of much discussion in Turkey. A number of writers have suggested approaching the issue from a different angle.


By M.A.M

Earlier on Wednesday, CHP leader Deniz Baykal claimed that security forces bugged Sav's office and serviced excepts of his conversations to Daily Vakit, a Turkish newspaper. The dialogue that took place between Sav and a governor last Friday, was published word by word in the headlines of a newspaper on Monday. But Serdar Arseven, the journalist of Daily Vakit, who prepared the news, said he reached the records of the talks from a source who he calls "a friend" from opposition CHP, also "thanked" the friend. CHP leader Baykal said they would carry the issue to the Parliament floor in their speeches and also give a censure motion about PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the General Assembly on the issue. MP Sav had angered many people in Turkey by saying "unfit remarks" about Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) to a person who wants to go to pilgrimage in Mecca, and requests his help.


Gov't proposes joint committee to investigate bugging incident

The government yesterday offered the Republican People's Party, or CHP, to establish a joint parliamentary commission to investigate the incident over the alleged tapping of the main

Continue reading "Why bother listening CHP?" »

May 28, 2008

"Turkey PM unveils rural boost" and Erkan mumbles on issues related to Turkish society...youth, smoking ban, state of women, the Tuzla affair and more...

 Great initiative. I hope it works. In addition to already existing tons of problems, Southeastern towns are having the draught problem this year (This post will end up with a provocative note on the Tuzla affair):  

Turkey PM unveils rural boost

Turkey launches a $14.5bn plan aiming to ease the poverty that feeds Kurdish separatism in the south-east.

Turkey's £6bn package to woo Kurdish region

Turkey's government unveiled a £6bn investment package yesterday for the country's south-eastern provinces, taking a tentative step to counter separatist sentiment...

In the mean time for the sake of opposition,

CHP blames AKP for delay in GAP

The main opposition party cautiously welcomed the government's action plan for the development of southeastern Anatolia yesterday. “The government took a step in this direction [for

 and the pessimist:

Promises no longer work for the Kurds

Mehmet Ali Birand

 

Certainly the case but lost in other major social problems at the moment...

Facing hate crime in Turkey

As the gay and transgender community demands recognition, Turkey's conservative society is reacting with hostility, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford.

 In the mean time:

A bleak picture of Turkish youth

Turkey has one of the youngest populations in the world, with about 20 million people between the ages 15 and 30. According to the 2007 census, about 60 percent of the total population of Turkey is under the age of 30.

 Some of the people I now has just published an excellent book on [the lack?] youth policies in Turkey:

  Edited by:
Nurhan Yentürk - Yörük Kurtaran - Gülesin Nemutlu

It is in Turkish but for those who can read, one should have a look.  

Check out the publisher's site.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Youth in Turkey Report

By Jenny White

Results of the United Nations Development Program 2008 “Youth in Turkey” Report:

From an interview with one of the authors:
Only about 4 percent [of Turkish youth participate in civil society activities], and most of these are university students.Despite the perception of young people in Turkey as dynamic, middle-class students, the reality is quite different. Only 30 percent of young people are students. The remaining 30 percent are working and 40 percent are idle — they neither study, nor work. So 40 percent of the young population does not participate in work life, school life and, of course, in social life. One can call these people the “invisible youth.”…

 

Continue reading ""Turkey PM unveils rural boost" and Erkan mumbles on issues related to Turkish society...youth, smoking ban, state of women, the Tuzla affair and more..." »

May 07, 2008

Another political group, really?

 

By Daniel Steinvorth in Political Tremors in Istanbul: The Rise of Turkey's New Left - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News says:

In the wake of the May riots in Turkey, another group has now entered the power struggle in Istanbul. In addition to pro-secularism Kemalists and conservative Muslims, workers and the left are now making their voices heard.

 Although there is much truth in Mr. Steinvort's article, I am not sure if we can speak of an emerging politically active group. Trade Unions are notariously politicaly savvy - not necessarily for the benefits of workers- and they know when to act. Two major labor confederations, particularly DISK, knew well that their act would be reported intensively. In a feud between the major media organizations and the government, media would become suddenly become pro-labor and cover the story in an anti-government fashion.

Unproportional use of police force has been a notorious tradition in May 1 anniversaries, and one wonders why the mainstream media becomes labor friendly in the last two years. In other times, our media would probably emphasize the "illegal leftist" groups or PKK sympathizers among the demonstrators and would justify the police force...

Continue reading "Another political group, really?" »

April 10, 2008

Special Barroso coverage - I

The introduction of the amended version of the infamous Article 301 of the penal code will have to wait a few more days more due to obstacles created by Güldal Mumcu, acting Parliament chair. 
 

It seems like Güldal Mumcu continues to protect the 'state'. the Senior journalist-hitman Oktay Ekşi supports Ms. Mumcu. As the new heroine of secularist front, she also rejects a demand for a temporary room for Mr. Barroso in the parliament ... Hürriyet describes the situation as "Barroso stirred up Ankara even before his arrival". In the mean time, CHP vice president Onur Öymen declares that the move on Article 301 is a result of foreign pressure. And another examplary column from Ertuğrul Özkök. The latest sum up of the nature of secularist subject and its relation to the EU in Turkey...

 
EU commission chief Jose Manuel Baroso (C), Turkish Foreign ...

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 ...
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

As the repercussions of the closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spread beyond the country's borders, the president of the European Commission will find himself at the

The EU's message: More democracy

Mehmet Ali Birand

Continue reading "Special Barroso coverage - I" »

April 01, 2008

"EU slams Turkish Court's decision to hear AKP ban

EU slams Turkish Court's decision to hear AKP ban

The EU's Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has denounced a decision by the Turkish Constitutional Court to formally hear demands to ban the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for adopting Islam as its reference.

The composition of Constitutional Court shows that AKP will probably be closed. Turkish judiciary proves itself as the guardian of political status quo. I would argue, in the long run, this leads to a really dangerous process in which struggling parties will attempt to take justice in their own hands, since the judiciary itself is a political side, explicitly...

 

İlnur Çevik Turkey's ruling party to stand trial for being 'too religious' - The Independent

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Turkey court considers party ban

Turkey faces months of political stalemate

The country faces a fresh bout of political and economic uncertainty after its highest court agrees to hear a case to shut down the ruling AKP party

Continue reading ""EU slams Turkish Court's decision to hear AKP ban" »

March 21, 2008

An all-out legal battle begins!

The way they were arrested seems like a revenge operation. I don't like these personalities a bit, and they are at least discursive participants of a nationalist-secularist fear propaganda machine. However, I believe they are not directly involved in my criminal activities. A contrary finding would really shock me. In the mean time, no significant actors in this political game believe there is a "purely" legal angle in recent cases. AKP people had implied that they are attacked because of the Ergenekon case, and now the friends of these detained claim the reason is all political: They were all harsh critics of anti-AKP...

 

AFP: Arrests in Turkey over plot to kill Nobel laureate Pamuk: report

ANKARA (AFP) — A Turkish nationalist party leader, a veteran journalist and an academic have been arrested over an alleged plan to kill author Orhan Pamuk, the country's first Nobel laureate, media reported Friday.

A prominent Turkish columnist taken into custody

 CHECK OUT THIS:

TURKISH SECURITY OFFICIALS ADMIT COVER-UP IN DINK MURDER CASE - Eurasia Daily Monitor

By Gareth Jenkins

Friday, March 21, 2008

On March 20, two members of the Turkish Gendarmerie admitted receiving detailed intelligence regarding a plot to assassinate Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and then, after Dink’s murder, trying to cover up their knowledge by lying to investigators."

March 14, 2008

Notes from March 12

Boy, it is very hectic. the conference schedule is tight, and i intend to attend as much as possible.I still could not get the local nedwspapers. stores close early.  Now i have to go to dinner, but here are some quick notes from March 12. Still to come. Good encounters i am having...

And of course, Brussels is busy with the EU summit. Unfortunately roundups will appear here only when I arrive Istanbul.I don't think i will have time and opportunity for a close reading of my Bloglines... 

damn uploading problems. photos will appear later... 

Continue reading "Notes from March 12" »

March 10, 2008

Youtube becomes a site of mysterious intelligence battles!

Hürriyet notes that a fourth video is released in Youtube which reveals some off the record talks of senior officials. We are into some intelligence battles whose details may never be known....

Key general asks for discharge

A top general in the Office of the Chief of Staff has asked for his discharge following the release of critical comments made by him on the recent military incursion in northern Iraq on



Secular demonstrators chant slogans during a rally marking International ...

Secular demonstrators chant slogans during a rally marking International Women's Day in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 8, 2008. A demonstrator wearing a head band with a slogan reads that: 'We are following your path. We are guards of the republic' and waves a Turkish flag with a poster of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk on it.

(AP Photo/Ibrahim Usta)

WOMEN IN TURKEY; Violence and Lack of Education

Continue reading "Youtube becomes a site of mysterious intelligence battles!" »

February 12, 2008

Three manifestoes in Turkish universities

While I am in the middle of probably the busiest week in Bilgi University, that is course registration week, I hear that another headscarf related statement signed by a group of scholars is issued. There have been two so far. One that supports the ban, the other that supports the AKP+MHP (and supported by DTP) move to lift the ban and here comes the third one whose context is to go beyond the polarization witnessed in the first two ones. This statement cries for both freedom and secularism and although it seems to be against the ban, it does not support the manner AKP and MHP initiated. Fuat Keyman (Koç Üniversitesi) Cengiz Aktar (Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi) started the third statement.

Although I don't like the way he presents the issue, Vistilef is a might be a good source to follow the development of the third statement, here, here and here. I am not sure if the second statement is too pro-AKP as some of the names in the undersigned list are quite secular and intellectual personalities but the second statement was constantly under attack by the secularist mainstream media and labelled as an extreme point, so the third one as a moderate voices comes to rescue. There are also constant happy cries by the secularists that the alliance of AKP and liberal intellectuals are coming apart as many prominent liberals did not sign the second one. This might be true to a large extent but still more observation and analyses necessary...

News

Four Impressionist Paintings Stolen From The Buehrle Foundation Museum in Zurich, Vincent van Gogh, Blossoming Chestnut Branches

 Notariously anti AKP Milliyet portrays "the third view".

January 30, 2008

Turkish press teaches how to wear a legally approved headscarf...Illustrated one day course:)

Although I got irritated by Radikal's too pro-CHP politics in recent years, the newspaper now seems to be retreating to its "marginal" and"critical" position. This first page well redescribes positions on the headscarf debate. "A republic of fear" Secularists fear that more veiled women to come and Islamists fear that with the new definition of 'turban', parts of women bodies will be exposed. Well, being part of a small partner of mainstream press, Radikal still plays a trick. Who really produces a climate of fear? We don't know much what Islamists are up to publicly, but mainstream TV channels and press are broadcasting scenarios of ultrasecularists' ultra nightmares everyday...But another level, Radikal headline signifies a social/political habitus. A constant need to produce fears...

Posta: 

 

Continue reading "Turkish press teaches how to wear a legally approved headscarf...Illustrated one day course:)" »

January 19, 2008

YouTube banned again

I suppose our judges do not take new media as serious as traditional media. It is not easy to ban a newspaper or a TV channel any more. It produces more noise. At least this is what they believe,  I guess.  Now YouTube is banned again. Since there is Google behind, it will at least be heard. In the mean time, Wordpress remains banned. If not ill-intentioned, the ban-ners are ill-informed about the nature of new media. How come my and millions' right to access is prevented because of a single user? In new media, Turkish judiciary is back into old punishment rituals: Instead of punishing the one who committed the crime, it punishes all and they don't imagine how much noise/hate they are harboring...

 

YouTube banned - again.

By Idil

youtubelogo.jpg

This is like a never ending joke.

 

 

Media forum in Istanbul

Representatives of the world's media giants and leading figures of Turkey's media and business sectors will gather today and tomorrow for the annual meeting of the Doğan Media Group

Content still 'the king' in media

The world's leading media figures convened in Istanbul during a two-day Doğan Media Group (DMG) meeting to discuss “new media” and the future that awaits it.

Continue reading "YouTube banned again" »

January 05, 2008

"Reading İlber Ortaylı's 'Avrupa ve Biz'

 

 As I am more into the writing process, I focus on reading books on Turkey and Europe relations. Unlike the relative unexcitement in mainstream media, there have been a flood of books and I will try to do my best in reading/skimming most of them. A well-known historian Prof. İlber Ortaylı republished his book entitled as "Europe and Us". Here are some quick notes.


christian club / stereotypes
An expert in Ottoman-Russian relations Ortaylı quotes an old drawing of European stereotypes (14-7) in which Ottomans and Greeks are used interchangeably. This 18th century drawing that is found in the Ethnography Museum of Vieanna is a good example of historical constructedness of ethnical identities. Ortaylı states that Orthodoxy was always excluded in western European politican and cultural alliances. (11) "Christian club" metaphor is wrong in both angles then. (9) 

Continue reading ""Reading İlber Ortaylı's 'Avrupa ve Biz'" »

January 02, 2008

Abbas Güçlü: An Enemy of the open society

Abbas Güçlü is columnist in Milliyet who has carved up a good place in education issues. He also has a program focusing on youth and education in one of the mainstream TV channels. It is not usual to specialize in a particular topic among the Turkish columnists. And I would certainly appreciate a columnist who specializes in education. However, he has such a crude nationalist view point and an anti-democratic attitude that his ideas on educational reform and his column entitled as 'dialogue' rarely points a progressive direction. Guess who might be his enemies?

Well, he has just published a column (here and here) that targets Istanbul Bilgi University. This is not the first time; if one cares to look at his style, one will feel the grudge there. Although we are never satisified with what we achive, we strive to be a truly progressive educational institute. Instead of praising the intellectual enviroment created- just to remind you the Armenian and Kurdish question as the most politically charged ones-, Mr. Güçlü bothers to use some rumors- yes rumors- to launch a new attack. This is exactly this man of status quo would do. Similar dogmatic people in charge curbed the progress when they had found out that the students graduating were not the types they wanted to create. Now, in his narrow-band imaginary world, he imagines a world of students that are stripped of any fragments of critical thought.

He is also paranoid with the funding sources of Bilgi University. Well, if they are really illegal or something, the judicial process would have already started. Some funding from Soros does not make one be a traitor but it seems that someone specialized in education can believe that.

In the mean time, in another column he says that the new YÖK chair's credits are running out fast. He hasn't been in the chair for more than a month and apart from some unfortunate statements we haven't seen him in action yet. How come one can be so pessimistic? Because the chair's one of the first statements was "Freedom for all". Well, this annoys some...

December 27, 2007

In defense of Orhan Pamuk- once again. Ms. Berlinski's hostility against Orhan Pamuk



CLAIRE BERLINSKI's Pamuk: prophet or poseur? is an unfortunate piece. I wouldn't think about it but as it made into Turkish press and was immediately incorporated into the arguments of Pamuk haters, and as it generated some comments in a previous post, I take it my duty to launch the counter-attack as a die-hard Pamuk fan. I know very well that Mr. Pamuk does not need me at all but as a fan I have to perform my duty anyway:)

First of all, let me make sure that Orhan Pamuk has never been liked and accepted by many of the gatekeepers of Turkish literature. He has been "popular" -but in the sense of being known- but he has been rarely appreciated by the lay public of readers. In the small world of Ms. Berlinski's Cihangir, this may not be apparent but this is a fact to all of us breathing outside the Cihangir gates. Cihangir has become a safe haven for happy expats and mostly pseudo and would be intellectuals after a wave of gentrification that ended up driving ordinary lower class people away.

Continue reading "In defense of Orhan Pamuk- once again. Ms. Berlinski's hostility against Orhan Pamuk" »

December 20, 2007

Fazıl Say controversy...

 Our "internationally acclaimed" pianist Fazıl Say made himself a tool in the ongoing cultural war between the secularists and others. Personally, I always found his manners a bit showy and he also demonstrated now that he is quite phoney when it comes to politics. Although he now rejects part of what is attributed to him, I am not too suprised of what he had said. Unlike Orhan Pamuk, who triggered a backlash after which he decided to live in US, Mr. Say did not talk of the injustices or did not really question the status quo. In his childish level of politics he embodied a crude "white Turkish" position and voiced the angst of losing social privileges. Well, if he really said he will leave the country because "Islamists" won, then he can just fkfoff.

 p.s. a pattern: well-known cultural producers talk to European press and this shapes the domestic agenda.

p.s. 2: for a more balanced coverage of Fazıl Say controversy here is a roundup:

Continue reading "Fazıl Say controversy..." »

December 18, 2007

"Turkish soldiers cross into Iraq" What can EU do about it?

 

Gareth Jenkins points out a good point in TR-EU relations. TR does not respond vocally any more to Sarkozy-led EU hesitance. She cares little than anytime before. So I don't believe TR is concerned with "EU concerns" or Spiegel's claim that "it is bad timing". In the mean time, there seems to be a new sort of rapprochement between the US and TR. A quick note should be that US is now securing the northern Iraq at the expense of PKK. Maybe a de facto peace between the Northern Iraq regime and TR will be established with the conciliation of disappearing PKK if that can be done, of course... We will see... In the mean time, there is of course too much articulation goin' on on the relations between TR and EU. You will find a huge round-up as usual:)

Turkish soldiers cross into Iraq

Some 300 Turkish troops enter northern Iraq, local officials say, stepping up pressure on Kurdish rebels.

EU concern at Turkish air strikes

The EU urges Ankara to exercise restraint and respect Iraq's territorial integrity after jets bomb Kurdish areas.
EU calls on Turkey to halt strikes in northern Iraq | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited
U.S. Pentagon giving Turkey intelligence on PKK | Reuters
Turkey vows to join EU as it renews air strikes in Iraq
Bad Timing: Turkish Troops Cross Into Iraq on Eve of EU Talks - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News

 

Nurettin Demirtas, the head of pro-Kurdish Democratic Society ...

Nurettin Demirtas, the head of pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, speaks to the media in Ankara, Turkey, in this Nov. 14, 2007 file Photo. A local court arrested Demirtas, who is charged with forging documents to avoid military service, in Ankara, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2007


TURKEY SPEAKS VOLUMES WITH A MUTED RESPONSE TO EU SNUB - Eurasia Daily Monitor
By Gareth Jenkins

Turkey’s muted response to the EU’s refusal to include an explicit reference to the country’s accession in its recent statement on enlargement is yet another indication of the waning enthusiasm in Turkey for what was once the country’s overriding foreign policy goal."

Scholars say regional stability depends on Turkey’s EU membership

Continue reading ""Turkish soldiers cross into Iraq" What can EU do about it?" »

December 15, 2007

"Turkish Exceptionalism: Asharq Al-Awsat Interview with Serif Mardin

 

 Turkish Exceptionalism: Q&A with Serif Mardin

 

 

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.

December 06, 2007

Reading Fikret Bila's Komutanlar Cephesi

 

I have just finished Fikret Bila's Komutanlar Cephesi (Generals' Front). It is a collection of interviews with high levels generals, some of them used to be Chief of Staff, and a former President, Süleyman Demirel. The main topic is the struggle with the PKK. The interview starts with Kenan Evren, the head of the coup d'etat in 1980) who had witnessed the first PKK armed activities in his reign. The inteviews with the the Generals are mostly related to the Kurdish question and the way they handled the armed rebellion of PKK. However, I was more concerned with how generals approached the EU process...but nothing surprising really.

In the mean time, Fikret Bila is a columnist and journalist for Milliyet and he is known to be at good relations with military. I guess he could be one of the rare journalists who could interview so many high level soldiers.  Here are my quick notes:

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November 19, 2007

Serkan now has a weekly column!

 

One of my dearest friends, Serkan Arman, who has been working in the economy department in Milliyet now has a weekly column. Check out his latest column. His place in my dissertation acknowledgments is ready as he was the first one in my interview list and he later fixed my interview with Sedat Ergin who would turn out to be one of the most helpful journalists.... Congratulations Serkan!

November 18, 2007

Retired generals are told to shut up...

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...

October 27, 2007

Towards the end....Erkan's growing anger with the "oriental shrewdness"....

Pro-Goverment Kurdish villagers chant slogans and wave Turkish flags during a demonstration in Gorumlu village of Sirnak, at the Turkish-Iraqi border, south-eastern Turkey. Turkey is not satisfied with the proposals Baghdad submitted at crisis talks here Friday to tackle Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and wants more urgent measures, the foreign ministry said.(AFP/Mustafa Ozer)

Turkey demanded PKK extraditions which would not happen and so Turkey rejected Iraq's PKK offer which was indeed nothing- basically and literally nothing.

 In the mean time, US delays Armenia vote. A pending crisis. Ms Pelosi will wait for the killing time.

 

Iraq's Defence Minister Abdel Qader Mohammed Jassim (C) leaves a hotel to meet Turkish Foreign Affairs officials in Ankara. Iraqi ministers have held crisis talks in Ankara seeking to persuade an increasingly impatient Turkey against launching military strikes against rebel Kurd bases in northern Iraq.(AFP/Adem Altan)

Northern Iraqi leaders, especially Barzani, are not helpful. He continues to increase the regional tension. It seems that US won't offer any tangible help, then comes the  war....

There are threats from the Iraqi side:  Iraq To Turkey: If You Impose Economic Embargo We Will Respond By Shutting Down Oil Pipe To Turkey and there are Massive Anti-PKK Rallies in Turkey, As Tension And Anger Grow. Rice continues to bully Turkey: Turkey Should Not Intervene In Northern Iraq; U.S. Will Do Whatever necessary and of course the US government won't care for PM Erdogan's Response. Turkey has lost her charm to win it back, she will have to use force. Despite all the human heritage, some things can only be resolved by force. A gang of murderers, PKK - only the naive romantic Western activists can believe that it is a national liberation movement- are harbored, and basically nothing is done about it. ...

Well then, unfortunately it is time to move.... 

Cartoon In Saudi Paper On Turkey's Cross-Border Operations In Northern Iraq

Source: Al-Watan, Saudi Arabia, October 26, 2007

 

Cartoon In UAE Paper On Turkey-Northern Iraq Situation

On sign pointing right: "Iraq." On sign pointing left: "Turkey."

Source: Al-Bayan, UAE, October 24, 2007 VIA

 

PKK and the Armenian Genocide Resolution: U.S.-Turkish Relations at a Critical Juncture

By Soner Cagaptay October 23, 2007 On October 21, Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) operatives carried out an attack from northern Iraq into Turkey, killing twelve Turkish soldiers. This incident followed the killing of more than thirty people in recent weeks, including an incident in which the PKK pulled a dozen civilians off a public bus and shot them. The Turkish public has responded to the attacks by calling for incursion into northern Iraq to eliminate PKK camps there."....

Beyond suspicion: rethinking U.S.-Turkish relations

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (USA), October 19, 2007

Ian Lesser

 

 

Interview with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in full

The Times (UK)

October 21, 2007

The Prime Minister of Turkey discusses the Kurdish separatist crisis with Martin Fletcher and Suna Erdem of The Times (more…)

New 'strategic partner' outside; familiar power struggle inside…

Cengiz ÇANDAR

Best not to underestimate Turkey

Semih İDİZ

International atmosphere changing in favor of Turkey

Murat YETKİN

PKK is using al-Qaeda's strategy

Mustafa AKYOL

 

University students holding posters with pictures of the slain 12 Turkish chant nationalist slogans in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 26, 2007, during a protest against the separatist Kurdish rebel group of PKK. A high-level Iraqi delegation met with Turkish officials in Ankara to try to defuse tensions over Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq. 'Martyrs never die! The nation will never be divided! You are in our hearts' read on the posters. (AP Photo / Murad Sezer)

Amerikan Turk: Turkish Protesters: "We are all soldiers. We are enough for the U.S."

Strong words! Are we on a path towards "Metal Firtina? (Metal Storm)? Highly doubtful, but I see that coordination and joint training between Turkish and Iranian counter-insurgency commandos has caught the attention of the US and Israel. It's hard to fathom that one of the "Axis of Evil" is also fighting Kurdish terrorism, and also losing many soldiers in the fight. Nobody cares. No one reports on Iranian casualties, especially since the Iranian Guard has been labeled as a terrorist group recently. That would mean that Turkish forces are terrorists too, if they are working together.. What's next?

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