"Introducing the Kemalist Revolutionary Tribunal (aka the Consitutional Court)

Introducing the Kemalist Revolutionary Tribunal (aka the Consitutional Court)

Mustafa AKYOL

Welcome to Juristocracy

The task of covering the cost of the disaster the Constitutional Court has triggered by annulling constitutional amendments approved by 411 deputies, who represent 80 percent of the Turkish nation, will not be easy at all.

Court ruling is contrary to the law itself

By TAHA AKYOL, MİLLİYET

The decision rendered Thursday afternoon by the Constitutional Court canceling constitutional amendments that would have given women who wear the headscarf the opportunity to receive a modern education at Turkish universities applies to everyone, but it is a decision that runs contrary to the law.

Continue reading ""Introducing the Kemalist Revolutionary Tribunal (aka the Consitutional Court)" »

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"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

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.

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Today, anytime now: "Eyes turn toward top court's decision on headscarf

Eyes turn toward top court's decision on headscarf

While the country remains focused on the top court's final decision on the headscarf amendment, a top EU court rejected Tuesday the appeal of two headscarf-wearing Turkish teachers who were

Head scarf ruling looms in Turkey - International Herald Tribune

ANKARA: The Turkish Constitutional Court is expected to deliver its verdict Thursday on an opposition move to keep head scarves off campuses, in a ruling that could have serious implications for the future of the government."

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"You have to hand it to the Turks

You have to hand it to the Turks

By Patricia H. Kushlis

At least the Turkish Government is trying to bring about a negotiated settlement between Israelis and Syrians – or at least prevent another hot war from breaking out to its south on some not-to-distant broiling summer’s day.

Sure, it’s in the Turkish interest to see that neighborhood quarrels are patched up – or the protagonists, at minimum, kept under wraps. The Ottomans, the ancestors of today’s Turks, controlled this region until less than a century ago and understood its fractious peoples and their needs all too well.

In the case of the Israelis and the Syrians, the Turks retain good enough relationships and leverage with both to bring them to the negotiating table – or more accurately to mediate between them indirectly after eight years of a void. And to do so secretly out of the media’s glaring eye. This is all to the good.

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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

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"AK Party and YouTube share the same fate

AK Party and YouTube share the same fate

By HAKAN AYGÜN, BUGÜN

How interesting it is that this wave of bans on the Internet emerging from the Turkish courts comes at the same time that the court case aimed at seeing the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) shut down is on the agenda. It appears that it is the same mindset involved in both of these arenas!

What is happening in Turkey?

Turkish politics is on the brink of a new era as whatever the outcome of the Constitutional Court's ruling on the Justice and Development Party (AKP), a new political landscape will emerge after the changes enforced, argues Senem Aydin Düzgit in a 22 May commentary for the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).

Conceptualizing Turkey right: Post-Islamism vs. neo-secularism

Pinar K. TREMBLAY

Does the West care?

Does the West care about democracy in Turkey? The answer is, surely, yes. Both the EU and the US would certainly like to see democracy consolidated in Turkey.

The new ‘reactionaries’ of modern Turkey

It has become clear that some representatives of state institutions are the new reactionaries of modern Turkey. They resist change at the expense of not only democracy and rule of law but also of their own legitimacy. A judiciary that loses its impartiality is suicidal.

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"Judiciary’s political war

Judiciary’s political war by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE

Professor Sami Selçuk is a former chairman the Supreme Court of Appeals, which has become a party to current discussions.

Did top court’s statement aim to influence closure case?

Reactions are mounting in opposition to a statement released by the Supreme Court of Appeals Board of Chairmen. The statement, released on Wednesday, contained severe criticism of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, including accusations of bringing the judiciary under its control.

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"Turkey: Not a country for old men

My blogger friend Hans' last column in Turkish Daily News:

Turkey: Not a country for old men

Hans A.H.C. de WIT

Politics is all about business and spin; all about negotiation and bargaining. Until, that is, you get what you want. And then you must communicate with other groups, like people who didn't vote for you. So, you act on a fine line of ethics: You are the leader of a political party which won the elections but not the heart, souls and minds of all Turks.

Mindset of judge not fond of parties

Party closure has become a general custom of Turkish politics, with 24 political parties having been closed down so far. Two parties are currently facing closure cases: the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which received 47 percent (16.5 million votes) of the vote in the July 22, 2007 elections, and the Democratic Society Party (DTP), which received 4 percent (2 million votes) of the vote in the same elections. The choices of 18.5 million voters are now subject to a political ban.

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Rapporteur favors rejecting Turk headscarf case

Rapporteur favors rejecting Turk headscarf case: TV | International | Reuters

Headscarves and Lawsuits

Spencer Boyer at The Root insists that “Turkey is vital to our national and international security interests,” and suggests that when the courts agreed to hear a case to ban ruling AK Party , it “set in motion a dangerous chain of events that could undo years of political and economic progress in Turkey. “"

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"Five scenarios over the AKP's closure case

Five scenarios over the AKP's closure case

Ruşen ÇAKIR

Turkish businessmen urge gov't to focus on economy

Mehmet Yilmaz: Research on the "Average Turk"

I received the results of research conducted by Associate Professor Dr Hakan Yilmaz from Bosporus University from the editor-in-chief of Capital magazine, Sedef Seckin Buyuk."

Britain's Queen Elizabeth (front 2nd L) and Turkey's First Lady Hayrunnisa Gul (front L) listen to a verse of the Koran at the Green Mosque in Bursa May 14, 2008.

REUTERS/Riza Ozel/Pool (TURKEY)

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"Queen makes official visit to Turkey

Queen makes official visit to Turkey

Queen Elizabeth II, who pays only one official visit to a foreign country each year, has decided to come to Turkey this year.

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the 301 reform...

Turkey reforms controversial law

Turkey's parliament approves the softening of a law criticised by the EU for limiting free speech, reports say.

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"Demagogues in EU and Turkey are playing with fire

Kaleağasi: Demagogues in EU and Turkey are playing with fire

By YONCA DOĞAN POYRAZ

Bahadır Kaleağası, the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (TÜSİAD) permanent representative to the EU, has said anti-Turkey demagogues in Europe and the anti-European camp in Turkey create a lot of resentment in both communities with the manipulation and the aggressive behavior they generate.

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"Babacan outlines Turkey's EU path

Turkish army poster to celebrate the incoming 23 April National Sovereignity and Children's Day.

Babacan outlines Turkey's EU path

The New Anatolian / Ankara
21 April 2008

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on Monday the country's EU membership is a win-win procedure for Turkey and EU.

Babacan spoke to guests at opening of Turkish-Austrian Neighborhood Workshop in Ankara."

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"Turkish Democracy at the Crossroads

Coup techniques by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE

Italian writer Curzio Malaparte's book titled "Tecnica del Colpo di Stato" (Coup d'État, the Technique of Revolution), originally published in 1931, was translated into Turkish in 1963.

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"Foreign investments in Turkey plunge

Foreign investments in Turkey plunge

ANKARA - Direct foreign investments in Turkey have plunged dramatically in the first two months of the year, down by more than 80 percent according to figures released by the Treasury Undersecretariat on Wednesday."

Double jeopardy in 301

A lawyer and human rights campaigner charged with insulting the military under Article 301 of the penal code was found guilty and not guilty by two separate courts that heard the same case by

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FT interview with Ali Babacan

Transcript: FT interview with Ali Babacan

Ali Babacan, Turkey's foreign minister, gave an interview to Martin Wolf, the FT's chief economics commentator, David Gardner, chief leader writer, and Leyla Boulton, Assistant World News Editor, on Monday 14 April at the Dorchester Hotel in London.

These warnings are vitally important

On the way to London, we had the chance to have a long conversation with Foreign Minister Ali Babacan. Mustafa Karaalioğlu, the editor-in-chief of Star newspaper, Murat Yetkin, Ankara representative of Radikal newspaper, and I asked him some questions. Babacan did not want to give us detailed information about the essence of the issue of party closure, and he was right not to do so.

Continue reading "FT interview with Ali Babacan" »

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"Barroso pushes Turkey on reforms

Barroso's talk was calculated, sympathetic and diplomatic. He was determined not to talk on the current AKP trial but he could not resist to tease Turkish secularists at one particular moment. When he was talking about political miracles he had witnessed, he said "I hope secularists won't accuse me being religious when I use the word miracle" :)

Barroso pushes Turkey on reforms

On his first visit to Turkey as Commission President, José Manuel Barroso said he was confident that two more chapters in the accession talks with the country could be opened by July, while stressing that Turkey still has "a long way to go" before fulfilling EU membership conditions.

Oh well, AKP is lazy for sure. 19 of 114 promised promised laws since 18 April 2007 has been created.

Continue reading ""Barroso pushes Turkey on reforms" »

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Special Barroso coverage - II; Barroso welcomed as Google Groups banned now...

Although I have access right now, it is widely reported that Google Groups subdomain is banned (see ie. Google banned in Turkey!).

In the mean time, Hürriyet reports that Turkish military sends messages (through special Turkish political sign language) to Barroso that it was upset with Barroso's statement before his visit.

EU commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (R) and Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan review a guard of honour during a welcoming ceremony in Ankara April 10, 2008. Barroso is in the Turkish capital for talks with top Turkish officials.

REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY)

EU commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (C) is welcomed by Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan (L) at the entrance of Erdogan's office in Ankara April 10, 2008. Barroso is in the Turkish capital for talks with top Turkish officials.

REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY)

EU's Barroso Urges Turkey to Press Ahead With Reforms | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 10.04.2008

Top EU officials meet Turkish PM amid renewed reform efforts

rpp is worse than a rotting political carcass

By Galip

just a short note for anybody anywhere who had hopes about the repuıblican peoples party of ever serving some use in turkey's future:

the supposedly left wing party that did absolutely nothing to liberate any sector of the society, including labor, from the restraints of the military constitution of the 1982 coup d'etat, now reached the point where it prides itself on stopping the debates on the article 301 of the penal code that is universally recognized as a stumbling block before freedom of expression in the country.

Turkey’s turmoil, the EU’s reaction

By Centre for European Reform

by Katinka Barysch

Political turmoil is nothing new in Turkey. After six years of unusual stability, tensions have mounted since early 2007. The army threatened to topple the AKP government in case it made Abdullah Gul president. Gul did become president, and the AKP emerged strengthened from an early election. Now the chief prosecutor has pushed a case in front of the constitutional court that threatens to ban the AKP because of its alleged anti-secular activities, most notably ending the ban on women wearing headscarves in universities.

Some more items related to Turkish politics....

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Barroso and Rehn head for Ankara BUT gov't's article 301 attempt curbed by CHP....how surprising...

Parliament chair is in an official visit to China, and vice-chair CHP MP Güldal Mumcu does not start the process....according to Hürriyet.

Barroso and Rehn head for Ankara

In the coming days European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn will pay a three-day visit to Turkey.

How US, EU, and 'Jews' conspire with Turkish civil society

Orhan Kemal Cengiz

Continue reading "Barroso and Rehn head for Ankara BUT gov't's article 301 attempt curbed by CHP....how surprising..." »

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"Upturning Turkey

Upturning Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdogan should stop stalling and resume the constitutional revolution over which he has presided

Report: Turkish police detain 11 in probe against shadowy network - International Herald Tribune

newroz celebrations (!)

A Kurdish boy walks away during a demonstration in the southeastern Turkish city of Van. Dozens were injured and 300 detained Saturday as police used truncheons and tear gas to break up violent Kurdish protests in several Turkish cities, police and media reports said. (AFP)

Turkish riot police disperse pro-Kurdish demonstrators in Van, eastern Turkey, Saturday, March 22, 2008. Kurdish protesters chanting their support for separatist Kurdish guerillas have clashed with police during the spring festival of Nowruz in eastern Turkey. Dozens have been injured. (AP Photo)

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Turkish status quo fights back - II

Turkey blocks YouTube access - CNN.com

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey blocked access to the popular video-sharing Web site YouTube on Thursday in response to a video clip deemed insulting to the country's revered founding father, state-run media said."

EU says move to ban ruling Turkish party 'undemocratic'

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn criticised a request from Turkey's chief prosecutor to ban the country's governing Justice and Development Party (AKP), saying it is not in line with the democratic standards expected of potential EU member states.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul greets his supporters as he attends a ceremony marking the 93rd anniversary of the end of Gallipoli campaign in Gallipoli, March 18, 2008.

REUTERS/Umit Bektas

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"Turkish PM to reveal Kurdish Package on April 6

VOA News - New Obstacle to Headscarves in Turkish Universities

Turkey's top administrative court Tuesday ruled that the body that supervises Turkish education overstepped its boundaries when it ordered universities to permit students to wear headscarves....

Another low point for Turkish law:

Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Tansel Çölaşan said she had no regrets over the execution of three politicians following a coup in 1960... Government spokesperson Cemil Çiçek replied.

Continue reading ""Turkish PM to reveal Kurdish Package on April 6" »

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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 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

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Some civilians seem to be wanting more military action...

Main opposition parties, MHP and CHP, immediately questioned the troop withdrawals from Northern Iraq. With a blend of anti-americanism and AKP, the opposition declared that this withdrawal happened because of US orders. While Turkish political sphere has turned to be a haven for free floating conspiracies and speculations, opposition received an unexpected rebuke. Their discourse implies that the Turkish army is in fact not independent. I don't believe the opposition intended to mean that. Their obvious target was the ruling party, AKP. But this led an unlikely confrontation: the army vs. MHP and CHP. The latters were not supposed to be seen against military and ironically the army and AKP are seen to be on the same side, at least for a short moment of political exchanges....

Continue reading "Some civilians seem to be wanting more military action..." »

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Turkish troops back home

Turkish intervention in Northern Iraq stopped unexpectedly and troops returned home. The office of Chief of Staff states that the invervention reached its goals, hence the end of operation. I am very glad about that. I mean i am glad that the land operation ended up quickly. There is of course the rumor that intense US pressure led a sudden end. Honestly I don't mind. Turkish parliament showed before that they could oppose US goals (in the beginning of Gulf War). Here, whatever the motives, an operation ending quickly is good. It dispels the claims that Turkey was there to invade northern Iraq. It demonstrates that Turkish army can operate any time of the year- at least a good way to save face. Of course, this means fewer people to die and less spending of funds.

Finally, i would like to point out that Turkish Army began to use internet very effectively. Most of the news sources directly came from the army website. In fact the army stopped usual press releases and conferences and asked journalists to look at their websites. Interesting...

Anyway, here is an article on Kurdish question and here is an older roundup:

EDAM Discussion Paper Series– 2008/Issue 1

EDAM (Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies) has just published the first issue of EDAM Discussion Paper Series 2008. EDAM aims to contribute to the discussion on Turkey’s Kurdish problem with the article “Revisiting Turkey’s Kurdish Problem” by Prof. Kemal Kirisci, Executive Board Member of EDAM, Director of European Studies Center and Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, Bogazici University.

To download the article please click here.

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"1957 US - 2008 Turkey

US 1957

The idea is not mine, these juxtaposed photos spreading thru forwarded emails. Good idea though:)

Turkey 2008

What if it is not a religious conviction?

By EMRE AKÖZ, SABAH

Some secular columnists discuss whether or not covering the head with a headscarf is a religious requirement.

In the mean time, US now asks Turkey to stop in Northern Iraq. A new wave of tension comin'. Here is a huge round up in Turkey's top two issues in her political agenda.

Continue reading ""1957 US - 2008 Turkey" »

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Independent's romance with PKK

Independent's Patrick Cockburn seems to have gone native, if i use our anthro talk. He writes like the mouthpiece of PKK. From the start of Turkish Armed Forces' land operation, this newspaper uses a very strong language against the operation mostly signed by Mr. Cockburn. "Turkish invasion" of Iraq that will destabilize Iraq bullshit. There is a general understanding among the western governments and media for Turkish right to intervene. So far, Turkey goes for a limited and strict to the point approach. Only Independent seems to have a problem with this...

23 February 2008

Continue reading "Independent's romance with PKK" »

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Here comes the land offensive!

Reuters AlertNet - EU: Turkey must avoid disproportionate Iraq action

Turkey launches offensive in N Iraq

Turkey's military said it had launched a cross-border land offensive backed by fighter jets into northern Iraq to hunt down Kurdish PKK guerrillas, an apparent escalation described by a senior US official as 'a whole new level'

Turkish troops enter north Iraq

Turkish forces say they have gone into north Iraq to target Kurdish rebels said to be sheltering there.

PKK Criminal Networks and Fronts in Europe

www.washingtoninstitute.org:

"PKK Criminal Networks and Fronts in Europe
By Abdulkadir Onay

MGK's package on the Kurdish issue

Murat YETKİN

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"What happened to Article 301?

Hens are pictured in Telceker village of Dogubeyazit, eastern Turkey in 2006. Turkish authorities said Tuesday that bird flu has been detected in poultry in a village in the northwest of the country, the Anatolia news agency reported.

(AFP/File/Mustafa Ozer )

What happened to Article 301?

By ERDAL ŞAFAK, SABAH

As you may recall, in the first days of last month, Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin said work on proposals to alter Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) had been completed and that these proposals were to be presented within one week at the latest to the Turkish Parliament.

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Fascist hordes on the streets!

Using Atatürk and secularism as pretext, fascist hordes all over Turkey were on the streets. Let me remind you the fact that these people are against the new civil constitution which will replace the army-led constitution and which will provide more freedom for Turkish citizens that will include access to universities for headscarfed citizens....

Thousands of Turks visit Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's mausoleum to protest against a government plan to lift a ban on the Islamic headscarf in universities in Ankara.

(AFP/Adem Altan)

Headscarves, generals, and Turkish democracy

By Niels Kadritzke

The Turkish government's move to lift the ban on headscarves in universities is part of an ongoing discussion on a new constitution that has the potential to decide the country's future. It could dramatically increase Turkey's chances of becoming a member of the EU.

AFP: Huge pro-secular protest in Turkey

A woman shouts pro-secular slogans as she waves a national flag with a poster of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, in front of his mausoleum in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008. Some 125,000 flag-waving Turks denounced the Islamic-rooted government over its plan to lift a decades-old ban on Islamic head scarves in universities, a move the foreign minister said would expand Turkish freedoms.

(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

June 08, 2008

"Introducing the Kemalist Revolutionary Tribunal (aka the Consitutional Court)

June 06, 2008

"Veiled tensions

June 05, 2008

Today, anytime now: "Eyes turn toward top court's decision on headscarf

June 02, 2008

"You have to hand it to the Turks

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?

May 28, 2008

"AK Party and YouTube share the same fate

May 24, 2008

"Judiciary’s political war

May 20, 2008

"Turkey: Not a country for old men

My blogger friend Hans' last column in Turkish Daily News:

May 17, 2008

Rapporteur favors rejecting Turk headscarf case

May 15, 2008

"Five scenarios over the AKP's closure case

May 13, 2008

"Queen makes official visit to Turkey

April 30, 2008

the 301 reform...

April 28, 2008

"Demagogues in EU and Turkey are playing with fire

April 22, 2008

"Babacan outlines Turkey's EU path

April 19, 2008

"Turkish Democracy at the Crossroads

April 17, 2008

"Foreign investments in Turkey plunge

April 15, 2008

FT interview with Ali Babacan

April 12, 2008

"Barroso pushes Turkey on reforms

April 10, 2008

Special Barroso coverage - II; Barroso welcomed as Google Groups banned now...

Although I have access right now, it is widely reported that Google Groups subdomain is banned (see ie. Google banned in Turkey!).

In the mean time, Hürriyet reports that Turkish military sends messages (through special Turkish political sign language) to Barroso that it was upset with Barroso's statement before his visit.

Some more items related to Turkish politics....

April 09, 2008

Barroso and Rehn head for Ankara BUT gov't's article 301 attempt curbed by CHP....how surprising...

Parliament chair is in an official visit to China, and vice-chair CHP MP Güldal Mumcu does not start the process....according to Hürriyet.

March 23, 2008

"Upturning Turkey

newroz celebrations (!)

March 19, 2008

Turkish status quo fights back - II

March 12, 2008

"Turkish PM to reveal Kurdish Package on April 6

Turkey's top administrative court Tuesday ruled that the body that supervises Turkish education overstepped its boundaries when it ordered universities to permit students to wear headscarves....

Another low point for Turkish law:

Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Tansel Çölaşan said she had no regrets over the execution of three politicians following a coup in 1960... Government spokesperson Cemil Çiçek replied.

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....

March 06, 2008

Some civilians seem to be wanting more military action...

March 02, 2008

Turkish troops back home

February 29, 2008

"1957 US - 2008 Turkey

The idea is not mine, these juxtaposed photos spreading thru forwarded emails. Good idea though:)

In the mean time, US now asks Turkey to stop in Northern Iraq. A new wave of tension comin'. Here is a huge round up in Turkey's top two issues in her political agenda.

February 27, 2008

Independent's romance with PKK

February 22, 2008

Here comes the land offensive!

February 06, 2008

"What happened to Article 301?

February 03, 2008

Fascist hordes on the streets!