November 25, 2008
November 19, 2008
"Altan Tan: Kurds’ love affair with AK Party ending
November 15, 2008
If only there were more Greeks and Armenians...
... Turkey would be a better country to live. Maybe we wouldn't have to put up with some rulers whose only skill in life is to be born as a Turk...
Murdered journalist’s son condemns minister
ISTANBUL - Arat Dink and the defense minister both agree that the population exchanges involving thousands of Turks, Greeks and Armenians are what made the country what it is today. The disagreement is on the nature of the consequences."Gönül blunders in remark on history
ANKARA - With remarks in honor of Atatürk, the ruling AKP’s defense minister recalls the population exchanges between Greece and Turkey after World War I, attracting criticism for his nationalist language and the drift toward pro-state stances."
In the mean time,
Ara Kocunyan, chief editor of the Armenian daily newspaper Jamanak, poses for a photo at a printing house in Istanbul, in October. Jamanak, the oldest Armenian newspaper in operation in Turkey, celebrates this fall a hundred years of existence beaten by the undertow of an often tragic history.(AFP/File/Mustafa Ozer)
Continue reading "If only there were more Greeks and Armenians..." »
November 06, 2008
For a few more municipalities...
PM Erdoğan gone crazy. His latest statements are unbelievable. He has explicitly supported citizens' use of weapons against protesters. He is riding on the nationalistic discourse even MHP does not use any more: Love or Leave... We will see what this will lead to. I am afraid that AKP now alienates most of Kurds. Mr. Erdoğan believes he has already secured more pious, traditional Kurds but he seems to ignore that religious Kurds are not like religious Turks. Every Kurd I know that does not support PKK still have a nationalistic consciousness. They voted for AKP because they thought this party was the only one that could embrace them. Now it seems this may not be the case. AKP might witness a big time disappointment in the region...
Prime Minister along with some other ministers...
In the mean time, militaristic propaganda knows no boundaries in major Turkish TV channels. Those respected anchormen/journalists like Uğur Dündar and Mehmet Ali Birand have spent considerable amount of prime time coverage from commando education centers this week! Just watch the prime time news, you will see what I mean. This week most of the members of Turkish government got briefed at the commando center!
No, the Prime Minister would not have said such a thing
Mehmet Ali BirandPM accuses intellectuals of cultural erosion, forgets about Üzmez
The prime minister yesterday accused the country's intellectuals for the erosion of the concept of family in society, but remained tight-lipped on the much-criticized sexual harassmentOktay Eksi: Quo vadis Turkey?
Where are we heading towards? We need to confess that we feel a sense of fear when we look at the prime minister's recent remarks and attitudes that support our previous concerns which have been raised in this column on related issue."
November 03, 2008
AKP uses the Establishment language against DTP
and pro-AKP columnists act accordingly... Many of the columns I quote shape their writings according to AKP's new policy against Kurds. As PM Erdoğan feels he has the support of establishment, he doesn't bother himself finding a new political language in approaching Kurds. In the old times, his party would have relied on more sophisticated and concerned election strategies....
Turkish riot police use tear gas to disperse Kurdish protesters during an unauthorized demonstration in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008. Protests and violence erupted across southeastern Turkey on Saturday as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the area, a hotbed of Kurdish rebel sentiment. An explosion at offices of Erdogan's party in the area injured six people, authorities said.
(AP Photo/Ibrahim Usta)Continue reading "AKP uses the Establishment language against DTP" »
November 01, 2008
"New equation on the ‘Kurdish Issue’....
New equation on the ‘Kurdish Issue’ by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE
The Kurdish issue -- the country’s biggest problem -- is now entering a very different stage. Both sides of the issue have come to the fore. On one side is the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Democratic Society Party (DTP).Continue reading ""New equation on the ‘Kurdish Issue’...." »
October 30, 2008
"AKP’s Paternalism And Hierarchy, Not Conservatism, Is The Problem
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) is accompanied by top military officials as he attends an official ceremony to mark the 85th anniversary of Republic Day at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of secular Turkey, in Ankara October 29, 2008. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY)
AKP’s Paternalism And Hierarchy, Not Conservatism, Is The Problem
Turkey needs an urban, secular and liberal political movement that can successfully utilize the inherent potential of society to complete the modernization process while addressing the Kurdish and secularist-anti-secularist clash, according to Dutch historian and Turkey expert Erik Jan Zürcher.
Continue reading ""AKP’s Paternalism And Hierarchy, Not Conservatism, Is The Problem" »
October 26, 2008
"I’m scared Ergenekon will turn out like Şemdinli
Ergenekon trial will continue tomorrow. Not much expected from tomorrow's session. There is a round up on Ergenekon trial here. Then there is another set of round up on Constitutional Court's decisions that were released last week. Finally another set of round up on DTP leader's last week statements and Kurdish issue in general...
I’m scared Ergenekon will turn out like Şemdinli
The Ergenekon trial began last week. There is an expectation that some circles will try to sabotage the trial and dilute the facts. Propounding the views of those who oppose the trial prosecutors is also being seen as part of this plan.
Continue reading ""I’m scared Ergenekon will turn out like Şemdinli" »
October 24, 2008
2nd day in the Ergenekon trial
October 21, 2008
"AFP: Turkish trial against 86 alleged plotters opens chaotically
It has been three months and they could not even prepare a room to start a proper trial. Like the indictment itself, the court process starts in mess...
AFP: Turkish trial against 86 alleged plotters opens chaotically
Continue reading ""AFP: Turkish trial against 86 alleged plotters opens chaotically" »
October 20, 2008
Ergenekon trial starts!
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I have been hearing in the news that the Prison is being prepared for this big trial for a month now. As a consequence of special Turkish planning mentality, the trial stopped short after it started because the room was not nig enough!
The judge adjourned for half an hour after he stated that was the biggest room they could find.
The list of accused.
Ergenekon trial becomes one of the 7 big trials in Turkish judiciary history:
MSP DAVASI: Necmettin Erbakan’ın Genel Başkanlığı’nı yaptığı ve 1981 yılında kapatılan Milli Selamet Partisi ile ilgili davada ise 1985 yılında sonuçlanırken tüm sanıklar beraat etti.
DEV SOL DAVASI: Dev-Sol davasında yargılanan sanık sayısında ise rekora ulaşıldı. Bin 243 kişinin yargılandığı dava henüz kesin olarak sonuçlanmadı.
YASSIADA DAVALARI: 1950-1960 döneminde Başbakanlık yapan Demokrat Parti Genel Başkanı Adnan Menderes’in idam edilmesi ile sonuçlandı. Yassıada’da yapılan yargılama sonrasında Menderes’le birlikte Menderes ve Dışişleri Bakanı Fatin Rüştü Zorlu ile Maliye Bakanı Hasan Polatkan da idam edildi.
12 EYLÜL DAVALARI: 12 Eylül 1980 tarihinden sonra da çok sanıklı davalar ardarda geldi. Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi davası ile ilgili olarak o dönemde genel başkanlık görevini yürüten Alpaslan Türkeş’le birlikte 392 kişi yargılandı. Yargılama yıllarca devam etti.
DİSK DAVASI: Barış Davası’nda aydınlar, DİSK Davası’nda da yüzlerce sendikacı hakkında dava açıldı. Aylarca süren bu davalarda da sanıkların çoğu beraat ederken, bazı sanıklar hakkındakı suçlamalar zaman aşımına uğradı.
DENİZ GEZMİŞ DAVASI: Deniz Gezmiş ve arkadaşları Ankara 1 Numaralı Sıkıyönetim Mahkemesi’nde yargılandılar. Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan ve Hüseyin İnan’ın cezaları 6 Mayıs 1972 tarihinde infaz edildi.
Under normal conditions it will take 10 days to finish reading the Indictment...
Kemal Alemdaroğlu. One of the accuseds. A big time provocateur. As a former rector of Istanbul University, he is personally responsible for spreading the headscarf ban and inciting the last decade's row on headscarf. He may escape from arrest in the end but i would not mind if he did rot in prison...
Ergenekon trial begins in Turkey 20/10 07:44 CET euronews
Ergenekon case: Trial of the century starts today Today's Zaman
Turkey puts 86 on trial over planned coup Times Online
Independent - Aljazeera.net
October 01, 2008
Sağlar: ‘If Susurluk had been solved, we would not be facing Ergenekon’
‘If Susurluk had been solved, we would not be facing Ergenekon’
Former Culture and Tourism Minister Fikri Sağlar, one of the most active members of the parliamentary commission set up to investigate a 1996 car accident that led to the discovery of links between the state and criminal elements, has said if a journal kept by former Naval Commander retired Adm.The ‘YouTube effect’ in Turkish politics by EMRE USLU & ÖNDER AYTAÇ
It’s no secret that widely used technological innovations fundamentally change people’s political behaviors. The Internet is one of the technological innovations that dramatically changed the behaviors of politicians, constituencies and political parties. Continue reading "Sağlar: ‘If Susurluk had been solved, we would not be facing Ergenekon’" »
September 14, 2008
"Memories of Sept. 12 coup still haunt Turkey
Erdal Eren, a high school kid, was one of the executeds...
Never without confronting Sept. 12
Sept. 12: Military coup, violence, torture, executions and lost generations.Memories of Sept. 12 coup still haunt Turkey
Yesterday was the 28th anniversary of a bloody military coup that took place on Sept. 12, 1980, the effects and vestiges of which still cast a dark cloud over Turkish politics.Continue reading ""Memories of Sept. 12 coup still haunt Turkey" »
September 11, 2008
"Yet Another Threat to The Turkish Republic: Postmodernism
Yet Another Threat to The Turkish Republic: Postmodernism
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News] Did you know that the Turkish military sees postmodernism as a “threat” that should be fought against? We all learned that about a week ago when the new Commander of Land Forces, Gen. Işık Koşaner, made a speech which summarized all the enemies that the Turkish Armed Forces despise. These included the usual groups: “Separatists,” religious orders, and “unpatriotic” circles. But the latter included a new cadre of treacherous citizens: “the post-modernists.” The high-brow general openly stated: “The propaganda network that consists of a postmodern clique of some media, academics, finance circles and NGOs are working in order to weaken and disintegrate national unity and national values.” He also added that these “postmodern” traitors are “manipulated by global powers.”Continue reading ""Yet Another Threat to The Turkish Republic: Postmodernism" »
September 06, 2008
"What does the military’s surprise visit mean?
What does the military’s surprise visit mean? by İRFAN YILDIRIM
The Ergenekon case is still shaking Turkey. Most recently, the visit paid on behalf of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) by Kocaeli Garrison Commander Lt. Gen. Galip Mendi to retired generals Şener Eruygur and Hurşit Tolon, who are being held in Kandıra Prison in connection with the case, has added a new dimension to the issue.
Continue reading ""What does the military’s surprise visit mean?" »
September 01, 2008
"Our generals’ selectivity of security threats
Turkey's new Chief of Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug, center, is flanked by President Abdullah Gul, right, and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, during the Victory Day reception in Ankara, Turkey, late Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008. The celebrations marking an 86-year-old victory over Greece which was considered crucial in Turkish Independence War which led to the foundation of modern Turkish republic.
(AP Photo)Our generals used an updated terminology in which even Habermas was quoted but continued to maintain 1930s rhetoric. What I feel is that those anti-postmodernist, pro-status quo Turkish scholars might now be providing service to our generals. Better than nothing (!)
Some journalists like Ruşen Çakır read between the lines and provide a more positive outlook. But of course Mr. Çakır has shown signs of anti-Ergenekon case during summer. So it is your choice. I still liked some of his commentaries in NTV and I believe at the least the Chief of Staff- though classified as an hawk- will prefer not to explicitly intervene in politics.
As I noted before, I believe, as long as civil political authority is powerful, whatever rhetoric the military has, politics will be not be interfered...
Our generals’ selectivity of security threats
Today, telecommunications technology, globalization and increased education have transformed Turkey and provided it a level of transparency, leading many people to not be convinced by demagogic rhetoric.Continue reading ""Our generals’ selectivity of security threats" »
August 27, 2008
JITEM Linked To Human and Arms Trafficking...
Ergenekon divides Kurdish politicans, too.
Ergenekon Investigation: Military Unit Linked To Human and Arms Trafficking
Documents seized in a police raid on the house of an executive of a TV station as part of the ongoing Ergenekon operation have revealed that a secret and illicit military intelligence unit known as JITEM was engaged in several illegal acts, including drug and human smuggling and arms trade with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)….Continue reading "JITEM Linked To Human and Arms Trafficking..." »