Check out the blog of Necati Özkan, a political consultant, for more of these campaign posters. If they were women, they would probably be housewives, not politicians…
by Cengiz Çandar
Freedom of speech is part of the daily routine in Turkey. Western attacks on the Turkish government smack of a dubious agenda
Lately, there has been a flood of articles in the western media arguing that Turkey is turning into a police state.
Here is an excerpt from one of those so-called western “experts”:
“While former American ambassadors continue to shill for Turkey as some sort of enlightened democracy, the country is backsliding into dictatorship. Last week, prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Brownshirts staged middle-of-the-night raids on the homes of independent and critical journalists, taking several into custody ? When President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton speak of Turkey as a model, someone might want to ask for what is Turkey a model? How to transform a democracy into a police state?”
In Turkey, we are used to analogies comparing Erdogan to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, but comparing the Turkish leader to Hitler is a first. The author of that excerpt is Michael Rubin and it’s from the most hawkish publication of the neoconservative movement, Commentary.
by FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK
The Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen?s Association (TÜSİAD), which refrained from supporting a constitutional reform package prepared by the government that was then approved in a referendum last year, surprised many with its draft constitution that includes radical proposals.
by YAVUZ BAYDAR
?Was there anyone who didn?t know?? asked President Abdullah Gül, before responding, ?Everybody in Ankara knew at the time.? After a brief pause, he added, ?No one should bury their head in the sand.?
by NICOLE POPE
All that was needed to bring the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the opposition closer together, it appears, was a bold blueprint for a more democratic constitution that they could all oppose and criticize.
Islam ‘used’ for political gain in Turkey, leaked cables say
Hurriyet Daily News
The June 27, 2003, diplomatic cable, released Wednesday by WikiLeaks‘ Turkish partner, daily Taraf, also claimed the country’s Religious Affairs Directorate is suppressing Islamic beliefs that do not fit the official version.
Main Turkish opposition receives more than 3000 candidate applications
Hurriyet Daily News
Among the candidates are arrested Ergenekon suspect journalist Mustafa Balbay and former Republican People’s Party, or CHP, chief Deniz Baykal. Balbay submitted his nomination for the Aegean province of Aydın on Tuesday while Baykal plans to run from
by FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK
Many parts of society have begun to loudly voice their demand for the election of a headscarf-wearing deputy or deputies to Parliament in the June 12 general elections. Since Turkey?s first headscarf-wearing deputy, Merve Kavakçı, was thrown out of Parliament amid protests against her headscarf in 1999, no headscarf-wearing candidates have run in the elections.
by MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE
The draft constitution proposed by Turkey?s elite business club the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen?s Association (TÜSİAD) is one of the major moves that will transform the election slated for June 12 into one specifically held for drafting a constitution afterwards.
by Okan Müderrisoğlu
The photos of BPD deputies that cast a shadow over Nevruz celebrations were recorded in social memory. I wonder why Tuncel and Bengi Yıldız acted so violently, with the former slapping a police officer and the latter taking a stone in his hand during a demonstration.
by ANKARA Hürriyet Daily News
The headscarf issue has caused friction within the main opposition party, with the party leader and deputy leader voicing different opinions on it in Parliament.
by HDN
This was the very first invite I was receiving from the CHP, and it seemed to signal the change the party is going through.
by HDN
Considering that 60 percent of the country?s 36 million women wear a headscarf, we are talking about the power to bury any political party in sight.
by Richard Peres
According to Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan, authors of ?Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation,? transitioning to democracy will not occur until the government ?de facto? has the authority to generate new policies and does not have to share power ?de jure? with any other group. In the case of headscarved women candidates for Parliament, there is still nothing in the law that prevents a covered woman from running for office or taking her oath of office. The real issue is who ?de facto? has the power in Turkey?
by M.A.M
by ŞULE KULU YILMAZ
Various issues are dominating the country?s political agenda ahead of the upcoming elections, slated for June 12.
by İHSAN DAĞI
As we get closer to the general elections to be held in June, it seems there is no serious challenge to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
by HASAN KANBOLAT
The beginning of March was one of the snowiest times for Ankara in recent years. While the weather still remains cold in Ankara, the political climate has started to warm up.
by EMRE USLU
Now that the country is preparing for elections, the center of political discourse has shifted from Justice and Development Party (AKP)-dominated political debates to Republican People?s Party (CHP)-oriented political projects.
by Hilmi Yavuz
It is not my duty to give advice, but I have to say as an observer that the Republican People?s Party (CHP) should pull itself together ahead of the approaching June 12 elections, starting from the very top.
by Ahmet Turan Alkan
Turkey is heading toward an important election. The members of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) who have launched protests of civil disobedience are blackmailing the state, calling on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers? Party (PKK) to re-launch its attacks because its unilateral cease-fire has ended.
by HDN
Why does a civilian attempt to stir up disorder? Howard Zinn offers a definition and makes a determination.
by FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK
In a move that surprised and disappointed many, the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen?s Association (TÜSİAD), which revealed its draft constitution last week that included radical proposals, made a U-turn, distancing itself from what was known as its draft constitution.
by YAVUZ BAYDAR
When two professors a week ago in a well-attended meeting were through with their presentation of a rough draft constitution, which they had prepared together with some 20 experts and opinion leaders for the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen?s Association (TÜSİAD), Cem Boyner — a charismatic liberal businessman and the husband of the organization?s president — took the floor.
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