Turkey and Kurds Archives - Page 60 of 61

"Altan Tan: Kurds? love affair with AK Party ending

November 19, 2008 by erkan

Another brick in the wall… Mr. Aksu replaces Mr. Fırat

November 8, 2008 by erkan

In another upsetting news,powerful deputy chairman of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat resigns (or replaced by Abdülkadir Aksu).

Mr. Fırat was one of the top advisors who has been building AKP’s Kurdish policy. He is said to be disappointed with the latest AKP moves and resigned although the official reason is "personal health issues".

The replacement is symbolic: the new deputy Abdülkadir Aksu has a notarious record in political life. As I had noted here, he was the minister of Interior Affairs when Hrant Dink was assassinated! And guess what:

He happened to be in the same post in four different governments and he happened to be the Police Chief in 1977-78 in Kahraman Maraş when the Maraş massacre happened. During his ministries, Muammer Aksoy, Çetin Emeç, Bahriye Üçok, Turan Dursun, Hiram Abbas, Necip Hablemitoğlu were assassinated….

HürriyetUnexpected leave of deputy leader shakes Turkey’s ruling AKP
Hürriyet, Turkey – 33 minutes ago
The unexpected resignation of the powerful deputy chairman of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) could cause a change in the cabinet as

For a few more municipalities…

November 6, 2008 by erkan

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 Birand

PM 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 harassment

Oktay 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."

AKP uses the Establishment language against DTP

November 3, 2008 by erkan

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)

"New equation on the ?Kurdish Issue?….

November 1, 2008 by erkan

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).

"AKP?s Paternalism And Hierarchy, Not Conservatism, Is The Problem

October 30, 2008 by erkan

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

By Jenny White on Erik Zurcher

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.

"Turkish army defends response to PKK attack

October 28, 2008 by erkan

These white dots in this intelligence photo is a source of controversy. The army officials claim that these are villagers and Taraf daily claims these are PKK guerillas. I just wonder since when villagers in Turkey are able to walk in such an orderly manner. Even our educated citizens cannot organize themselves and I am glad to see that our peasants in that photo are such a self-disciplined folk on their way to work…

Turkish army defends response to PKK attack

In an investigation of the incident, no flaws were found in the Turkish military’s response to the bloody Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, attack on a military post in early October,

"I?m scared Ergenekon will turn out like Şemdinli

October 26, 2008 by erkan

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

By NURİYE AKMAN on Interviews

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.

"AFP: Turkish trial against 86 alleged plotters opens chaotically

October 21, 2008 by erkan

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

Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul (C) heads a National Security Council meeting in Ankara October 21, 2008. REUTERS/Mustafa Oztartan/President’s Press Office-Handout

Ergenekon trial starts!

October 20, 2008 by erkan

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

"Gen. Başbuğ?s threats are counterproductive

October 16, 2008 by erkan

Taraf: Stop threatening and explain what happened!

Gen. Başbuğ’s threats are counterproductive

Turks have increasingly begun using their democratic right to criticize in such taboo areas as the role of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in politics since the Helsinki Summit of 1999, the year Turkey gained candidate status for accession to the European Union.

the Minister apologizes!

October 14, 2008 by erkan

Minister of Justice apologizes because of the death of Engin Ceber. He said investigation continues in Metris Prison and 19 officials temporarily suspended….

Pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) deputies Emine Ayna (front L) and Ibrahim Binici (front R) hold Azadiya Welat newspapers, which is published in Turkey in Kurdish language, during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara October 14, 2008, as they are flanked by their colleagues (back). DTP deputies on Tuesday protested against a Turkish court’s decision to ban the publication of the Azadiya Welat newspaper for a month.

REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY)

Heavy criticism over torture allegations

Torture and mistreatment by the state have again come to the fore after the death of a leftist activist, allegedly due to injuries from a beating by police and prison guards. Opposition deputies criticized

"Counterterrorism perspective in transformation

October 11, 2008 by erkan

Counterterrorism perspective in transformation by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE

Turkey has been accustomed to living with terror. This habit goes back many years.

"Will the commander resign?

October 9, 2008 by erkan

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

October 7, 2008 by erkan

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…

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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…

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