… 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)
The Associated Press: Ataturk film draws Turkish crowds, and controversy
Ergenekon Network Exacerbates Anti-Americanism In Turkey – Eurasia Daily Monitor
Ergenekon: Turkey’s conspiracy to end them all | Features | The First Post
Change, Ankara criteria and Erdoğan’s self-isolation
There is a well-known cliché that is quite useful, even though it is frequently used these days: "Everything changes except change itself."
What lies beneath? ‘It’s the mentality, stupid!’
For the commemoration of Atatürk’s death, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül gave a speech at the Turkish Embassy in Brussels while he was there for a NATO meeting.
[CROSS READER] Is the AK Party changing its Kurdish policy?
The recent resignation of Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat, a deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and one of its most senior members, has been interpreted by many as a significant blow for the party, as it was the second resignation in the party since September.
Can Dündar and ‘Mustafa’
I was finally able to watch the film "Mustafa." Let me just say this much: I did not like the film. I would like to write a few different columns analyzing it.
Prime Minister Erdoğan’s dangerous game
At the end of March there will be regional elections. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wants to bring the 47 percent his party took in the general elections up to somewhere in the 50 percent range, maybe even hitting the 60 percent mark.
The deep Kurdish divide between Turkey’s PM and president
Alevis make requests heard in Ankara
Alevis held a rally in Ankara [on Sunday]. And for once, I would like to take note of some of the Alevis’ expectations:
Were Ataturk Alive Today | A lecture by Heath Lowry
CHP spinning its cocoon by NACİ BOSTANCI*
It is necessary to recall results of the 2007 elections when talking about the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) present.
Reading of indictment finally over
ISTANBUL – Prosecutors completed reading all 2,455 pages of the Ergenekon indictment yesterday afternoon, the Anatolia news agency reported."
Resignation
So, he steps out, too. Rather unexpectedly, one of the remaining “heavyweights” in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat, announced his exit from the key post of vice chairman.
Repercussions of Dengir Fırat’s resignation
A statement released after a meeting of the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) Central Executive Board (MYK) last Friday announced that Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat had resigned from his position as a deputy chairman of the party.
Dengir Fırat’s resignation
My impressions suggest that AK Party delegates attribute Fırat’s resignation to the "Kılıçdaroğlu impact" rather than the "Kurdish issue."
Giving up on Erdoğan
The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has been pursuing a promise-breaking policy vis-à-vis the Kurdish issue. It is not all about the grave errors Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made in his recent remarks.
Erdoğan fails to be crowned ‘Ultimate Viking’ by EMRE USLU & ÖNDER AYTAÇ
Japan’s Fuji TV produces an endurance game show called "Viking: The Ultimate Obstacle Course." The object of the show is to complete a giant obstacle course that tests the body and minds of contestants. Round by round, the contestants that do not get eliminated advance to the next round.
Who assesses the threats to Turkey?
If we try and find an answer to the question of who decides in assessing the threats to Turkey, it would be fair to say that the answer can be found in the existence of two centers of power in Turkey; one is the military-led establishment and the other is
the political leadership.
The dark side of an Alevi rally
Sometimes you are so obviously wronged that you cannot find the words to defend yourself. At that point, you may consider keeping your silence and refer the matter at hand to pure hearts.
A question remains unanswered…
Communicating with these two mothers was difficult because they spoke broken Turkish and I knew no Kurdish. I had the opportunity to meet them last weekend while in Diyarbakır to cover a 48-hour sit-in accompanied by dancing and organized by the Democratic Society Party (DTP) as a protest of the government.
[MONDAY TALK] Sayarı: Obama realizes US cannot sit on fence over PKK
Sabri Sayarı, professor of political science at Sabancı University, has said US President-elect Barack Obama realizes that to maintain good relations with Ankara, the US needs to support Turkey’s fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). "He is likely to place more emphasis on relations with Turkey because of the critical nature of American policies in the region regarding, for example, Iran. And, in the context of the Georgian crisis and Russia’s growing assertiveness, Turkey is an important neighboring country," he said.
Change of court members, change of precedent
I recently wrote an article about the problem of equal treatment in Turkey and tried to shed some light on the fact that with the country having no background on doing anything in standard form, it is really difficult to obtain equal treatment in Turkey.
Crisis management in Turkey and Lighthouse ev case
Crisis Management in Turkey and the Real Victims of Lighthouse
While crisis management these days must be handled well by the ruling government, crisis communication must be performed fine by the media as well. It seems that both crisis communication and crisis management are brand new words in the Turkish society when I read what’s going on regarding the Lighthouse scheme.
Although crisis communication and crisis management both include the word crisis, don’t use it interchangeably! Crisis Management deals with the reality of the crisis. Crisis Communications deals with the perception of the reality.
Radicals in Turkey are not Islamists but Secularists
Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates –
The ongoing trial of ‘Ergenekon’, a clandestine Kemalist ultra secular radical group that has close ties with Turkey’s military and security apparatus,
Is Turkey reassessing Ataturk’s legacy? | Blogs | Reuters.com
The following piece is written by Turkey correspondent Ibon Villelabeitia:
A new and intimate documentary on Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the
venerated soldier-statesman who founded modern Turkey after
World War One, has sparked controversy in this European Union
candidate country at a time of national self-absorption."