‘bi xêr hati | Welcome
Prime minister R. T. Erdogan’s welcoming remarks for the TRT 24 hour Kurdish language TV channel 6 "TRT 6 hayırlı olsun" in Kurdish made the headlines of Turkish dailies with a variety of transliterations. Almost all of them wrong. The funniest came from Aydin Dogan’s Hurriyet and Milliyet by completely reversing the message and not welcoming it by using the word Bê’ in the wrong order. They all should have said “TRT Şeş li ser xêrê be” and to this Mavi Boncuk says ‘bi xêr hati | Hosgeldiniz | Welcome"
Headlines from Turkish dailies:
[There might be a Freudian slip- Milliyet and Hürriyet’s real intention is probably not to welcome it…]
Can ‘TRT Şeş li ser xêrê be’ secure Diyarbakır for Erdoğan? by EMRE USLU & ÖNDER AYTAÇ
For the Kurds of Turkey, 2009 came with a surprise: a state-owned Kurdish TRT TV channel. The biggest surprise of all is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s congratulatory message to the new channel in Kurdish, saying, "TRT şeş li ser xêrê be" (May TRT six be beneficial).
Kurdish TV station to act as a social bridge in Turkey by MUTLU ÇİVİROĞLU
The long-awaited Kurdish TV station of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) finally started test broadcasting on Dec. 25, 2008, with the motto, "We live under the same sky."
A state affair, not a Kurdish problem
The process initiated by the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) and the prime minister for a Kurdish-language television station is positive, but what the prime minister needs to do now is transform it into a state policy.
Festival of the Kurdish language
Good things do not happen frequently in our lives. For this reason, it is important to enjoy the good things when they happen. Tomorrow is such a day. It is a turning point in our democratic history; it is the festival of the Kurdish language.
nyt: Newfound Riches Come With Spiritual Costs for Turkey’s Religious Merchants
Turkey’s opposition on rise as ruling AKP weakens, poll says
Was Kurdish TV necessary?
TRT 6 has started broadcasting as the first official station that broadcasts in Kurdish. The official launch of the station will take place on Jan. 1. Yes, watching TV in their native language is a basic right for the people of the southeastern region; besides, TRT 6 will reach out to the people in the region and protect them against the negative campaigns and attempts at disinformation by ROJ TV.
The military problem and example of Özkök Pasha
I was reading in the Radikal daily an interview with former Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Özkök conducted by Murat Yetkin.
Turkey top judge cornered over legal dispute on electoral districts
A war of words emerged between the members of Turkey’s top judicial body as the chairman of the constitutional court came under the spotlight when a number of court members challenged his view on a legal dispute regarding the country’s electoral districts.
Election mired in top courts’ snafu
ANKARA – Several hundred tiny municipalities find themselves at the center of a battle to decide which of Turkey’s top three courts has the authority to determine if 862 districts, which have less than 2,000 residents each, are eligible to participate in the upcoming local elections in March. One party leader says the row is proof that the judiciary system is inclined to descend into chaos
High tension returns to Turkish domestic affairs in 2008
Hürriyet, Turkey
Iraq’s Ergenekon And The PKK
"Iraq’s Ergenekon And The PKK
Published: 12/26/2008
BY SAMIL TAYYAR
STAR- A security agreement signed last month between the US and Iraq is a harbinger of things to come. As I`ve written before, it is an important agreement which will have a deep impact on Turkey, particularly on the concept of fighting terrorism and the Middle East policy. What made the agreement important was transferring control of the airspace from the US to the Iraqi government as of January 1 and setting a date for the withdrawal of US soldiers from Iraq by the end of 2011. This development created a historic opportunity for Turkey.
Court did not listen to me, says Garih murder convict
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Saçan given 5 months for concealing Ergenekon files
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Ergenekon detainee elected party leader
Today’s Zaman, Turkey –
Özkan, the former owner of the Kanaltürk TV station, was detained in İstanbul in late September as part of an investigation into Ergenekon,
Today’s Zaman, Turkey –
The court further issued to merge the cases, noting that the Ergenekon indictment makes references to the attack on the Council of State.
We were only joking, claims Ergenekon suspect
Today’s Zaman, Turkey –
Vatan Bölükbaşoğlu, a hit man for the Turkish Revenge Brigade (TİT) who currently stands before court as a suspect in the trial of Ergenekon, a criminal
Did ‘Deep State’ Create PKK Terror Incident To Scuttle Peace?
Retired Col. Fikri Karadag, currently jailed as a suspect in the Ergenekon trial, was the first person to arrive at the scene of a 1993 terrorist attack in which a large number of Turkish soldiers were killed in eastern Bingöl province, according to prosecutors assigned to the Ergenekon case. …[Ergenekon is] a clandestine network of individuals that appears to be nested within the state hierarchy and which is standing trial for committing murders and inciting public disorder with the ultimate aim of overthrowing the government….
Two trends in politics
There are two apparent trends in public opinion concerning the local elections. The first is the increasing number of undecided voters. The second is the confusion over the latest advances of political parties regarding their usual rhetoric and the political turf they have thus far defended. The latter phenomenon may also be a factor in the increase of the number of the undecided.
Turkey’s new Kurdish television channel | Television diplomacy | The Economist
Dec 30th 2008 | ANKARA AND DIYARBAKIR
From The Economist print edition
Hopes that a new channel may herald fresh reforms
ROJIN is a feisty, beautiful Kurdish bard who belts out nationalist ballads. As a result, private Kurdish television channels that showed her were long penalised or even taken off the air. But now she will be a regular on Turkey’s stultified TRT state television, which this week launched a 24-hour Kurdish channel in the main Kurdish dialect, Kurmanji."
SABAH Newspaper English Edition – National – ‘Armenian TV’ is on the way
The election strategy has become obvious; let us disclose it
One does not need to exert special efforts to predict the future when such frequent and contentious elections are held in this country. Please remember the incidents of past several years.
Turbulent years ahead for Turkish democracy
The last three years have been lost ones for Turkey vis-à-vis improving its democratic standards. Those years witnessed serious setbacks in moving ahead with military and political reforms to bring the country closer to European Union democratic standards both in economic and political areas.
Kurdish TRT
The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation’s (TRT) Kurdish-language TV station has begun transmission tests. TRT 6 will broadcast on a continuous basis starting Jan. 1, 2009. Of course, this channel will be discussed with reference to its benefits and disadvantages.
Is ‘neighborhood pressure’ really becoming severe?
A recent study by Professor Binnaz Toprak titled “Being Different in Turkey: Alienation on the Axis of Religion and Conservatism” has attracted a great deal of attention and has sparked extensive discussions.
Pro-Kurdish party leader apologizes to Armenians for 1915 incidents
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party leader apologized on Tuesday to Assyrian as well Armenians for the 1915 incidents.
State TV puts spotlight on Alevi religious ties
ISTANBUL – The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, until now, solely focused on the month of Ramadan, during which Sunni Muslims fast. The Alevi community in the past has criticized the TRT’s failure to take notice of its 12-day fast
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