Counterterrorism perspective in transformation by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE
Turkey has been accustomed to living with terror. This habit goes back many years.
Turkey in Europe
"EU laws being made scapegoat in fight against terror…
EU laws being made scapegoat in fight against terror
In the wake of what has occurred at the Aktütün border security station, we see a factor brought onto the agenda which we always see in these sorts of situations. What is being said is this, "EU laws are binding our hands and making the struggle against terror more difficult."
"Will the commander resign?
Turkey’s Chief of Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug, left, and Land Forces Commander Gen. Isik Kosaner, center, are seen amongst unidentified army officers, as they arrive for a security meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip. Turkey’s leaders met Thursday to discuss increasing the military’s powers to combat Kurdish rebels following a surge in attacks, some launched from rebel bases in northern Iraq.
(AP Photo)
Will the commander resign?
After the attack on the Aktütün military outpost on Oct. 3, killing 17 soldiers, something new has happened; for the first time people are openly starting to question the General Staff.
Nationalist imagery after PKK's Aktütün Military Station ambush
While Turkish press is critical of army’s security weaknesses, nationalist imagery is abound. 
Roberto Carlos of Fenerbahçe in the special uniform.
Fenerbahçe players before their their league game.
Some of the stuff is older but re-published in newspapers or in internet. There are at least two Facebook groups that protest PKK attack. and of course there is more than i could find immediately…
"The verdict on the DTP is in the wind, but…
Ethnic rift and my retirement
Although I was not surprised to hear that there was an ethnic clash in Altınova between Turks and Kurds, this news hurt me like a knife to the heart.
The verdict on the DTP is in the wind, but…
The Constitutional Court is about to submit its verdict on the closure case against the Democratic Society Party, or DTP.
Fulya Atacan: “In Turkey the military say the State should not use religion, but they did it first
Black, long, curly hair and an open smile that often turns ironic. I meet Fulya Atacan on a hot summer day, at the beginning of August, in the Cihangir branch of the famous Kaktüs Café. The music is quite loud, and her voice is not, but my dictaphone luckily succeeds in recording it without too much back noise."
"Austrian vote sends shockwaves through Brussels: Should Turkey worry?
Austrian vote sends shockwaves through Brussels: Should Turkey worry?
More than once I had the pleasure of meeting with former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer when we were both representing European youth movements in the mid to late ’80s.
Smooth transition to optimism on EU bid
Discriminatory, conservative, exploiter: These were the initial connotations of "Europe" for a group of university students that recently gathered in Turkey’s holiday resort in the Mediterranean —
15 soldiers
"Next week, Turkey’s Parliament is scheduled to vote on a proposal to extend for another year a mandate giving its military authorization for cross-border operations against Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq. The current authority which expires on Oct. 17.(Turkey: 15 soldiers killed by Kurd rebels) It is very timely. PKK is a sinister organization. … Read more
"2,459 newspapers, 258 TV stations in Turkey AND hundreds of websites are closed…
2,459 newspapers, 258 TV stations in Turkey
Statistics released by the Prime Ministry Directorate General of Press and Information (BYEGM) indicate that Turkey has 2,459 newspapers and that 258 television stations are based in the country, in addition to providing a wealth of other information on electronic communications and entertainment in the country."
When You Have A Hammer, Everything Looks Like A Nail
On Turkish web censorship, a Financial Times article from August 22:
A law passed in 2007 gave judges the power to ban websites for inciting suicide, drug use, paedophilia, immorality, illegal prostitution or insulting Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the architect of modern Turkey.
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.
"What ?common European values??
What ‘common European values’?
The German Marshall Fund of the US sponsors annual surveys on "Transatlantic Trends." The "Key Findings" of the 2008 survey conducted last June in the US and a number of European countries, including Turkey, was published this month. The report’s section titled "Turbulent Turkey" opens by pointing to the fact that "in recent years observers have expressed concerns about Turkey turning away from the Western alliance."
" The high cost of anti-democratic fantasies
Macroeconomic indicators, released one after another, show that Turkey’s economic growth has slowed and that there has been a sharp decline in inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Turkey.
Turkish singer Bulent Ersoy arrives at a court house in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. Ersoy, a popular transsexual Turkish singer, has showed up for the second hearing of her trial on charges of trying to turn the public against obligatory military service. Ersoy could face more than two years in prison for saying during a live television show that if she had children, she would not want them to join the army to fight Kurdish rebels. Military service is obligatory for men over the age of 20 in Turkey, and it is a crime to speak against it. Banners in Kurdish in the background read that:
‘Long live the diva’ (AP Photo/Ibrahim Usta)
Kılıçdaroğlu and Fırat remain unsatisfied
The ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, deputy leader defended himself against claims made by the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, parliamentary group deputy leader
allegations.
What happens when the military defines the concepts? by LÜTFÜ ÖZŞAHİN
Relations between the military and politics in Turkey have once again become the focal point of discussion following the recent press conferences held by the General Staff, additional arrests in connection with the Ergenekon case, a visit paid by the military to retired generals held in prison and the discharge of retired Gen. Şener Eruygur, who is also a prime suspect in the Ergenekon case.
"Neo-Ottomanism and Kemalist foreign policy
Neo-Ottomanism and Kemalist foreign policy
Davutoğlu argues that Turkish foreign policy had been unbalanced, with an overemphasis on ties with Western Europe and the United States to the neglect of Turkey’s interests with other countries, particularly in the Middle East. His vision displays familiar characteristics of "neo-Ottomanism," which builds on the approach of former President Turgut Özal. According to this view Turkey needs to rediscover its imperial legacy and seek a new national consensus where the multiple identities of Turkey can coexist. ………
Newsweek involved (again) in Turkish domestic politics….
After a series of hard defeats in the domestic front- in the last one, the new chief of staff seems to be taking easy for the moment and upsetting secularists for not immediately and directly acting against AKP- the dogmatically secularists are weaving their web abroad and working harder to discredit AKP in US and in Europe. Mr. Çağaptay is the embodiment of this situation- I have already criticized him several times- and now his ideas on the Erdoğan vs. Doğan Media Conglomeration are in Newsweek, a totally partisan piece. Mr. Çağaptay might be the most successful western-credited intellectual who managed to ignore any positive signs about AKP, which seems to have formed the most successful government and most powerful civilian rule since 1980 coup. Here is his piece at Newsweek:
Newsweek Turkey’s Media War The dispute is really a political matter—yet another attempt by Erdogan and the AKP to neuter a bastion of opposition. By Soner Cagaptay…….
"From'Lula' style to 'Chavez' model
although I do not agree with him totally, it has some relevance for sure:
From’Lula’ style to ‘Chavez’ model
SOLİ ÖZEL:
Six years ago Brazil held presidential elections as Turkey headed for general elections. Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party, deemed too radical, was the favorite candidate, and the Justice and Development Party, or AKP had a similar position in Turkey. International finance actors panicked. Lula tried to convince these actors that he would not make radical changes. AKP leaders, at the same time, were trying to convince international finance actors and the outside world that their party would stick to the market dogmatism and to the system……….
"Turkey fails to meet EU criteria in critical areas
Turkey fails to meet EU criteria in critical areas
The most critical norms that candidates for accession to the European Union must be committed to abiding by are the political criteria that address issues such as civil-military relations, human rights and the judiciary.