Two photos that were shared by the Turkish presidency’s X account this week, after a reception for the opening of the new legislative year, drew attention. There appears to be a reconfiguration or re-engineering in Turkish politics, as the CHP, the leading party in recent opinion polls, remains the legitimate main opposition, while the rest … Read more
Intentionally or not, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has publicly blamed US congressional restrictions for stalling the delivery of the necessary engines, threatening to delay serial production of the KAAN jet, which was promoted as another artifact of the Turkish sovereign defense industry. Although experts were already aware of the engine issue, many lay citizens … Read more
Turkey’s main opposition party faces police blockade as court appoints new leadership in İstanbul … and our internet connections are allegedly throttled (I cannot watch YouTube properly at the moment), so that citizens cannot be informed. There’s never peace of mind in this country. Here is background for tonight’s chaos: Turkey’s main opposition party, the … Read more
I have been hearing about this for a while from many Kurdish friends. Now I see it is on the news: Abdullah Öcalan stated that Selahattin Demirtaş’s famous 2015 slogan “Seni başkan yaptırmayacağız” (“We will not let you become president”) was a mistake.turkiyekhabar+3 Details of Öcalan’s Comments Öcalan criticized Demirtaş’s choice to use the slogan … Read more
Recent Friday sermons by the Diyanet (Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs) have faced significant criticism from various segments of Turkish society for several reasons that will be listed below. Besides, I quote an X user who analysed the last 30 Friday sermons at the end of this post. Main Criticisms Gender and Inheritance Rights Opposition … Read more
Unlike the previous attempts, the ceremony occurred after a long series of negotiations behind the doors so that no parties would be humiliated (remembering the Habur gate incident). This, of course, does not stop nationalists fuming. They may be right on some points, but peace is still better than not. Full text: PKK statement during … Read more
Öcalan released a 7-minute video. This is historic and provides food for thought for commentators on TV and YouTube. But I feel like people have already moved on to the other issues. There was much talk about the brand of the T-shirt Öcalan was wearing, rather than political debates on social media – of course, … Read more
After the last update, Grok’s answers became offensive and led to a restriction in Türkiye. Honestly, before the update, I was using Grok to get relatively objective information, but not now at all. On July 9, 2025, a Turkish court ordered a nationwide block on Grok, the AI chatbot developed by xAI (Elon Musk’s company), … Read more
President Erdoğan once again succeeded in creating chaos within the CHP, which has been experiencing its most successful electoral period. Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu is more than happy to take on the role of agent within the party. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu plays a central role in the current CHP trial as the potential beneficiary who could return to … Read more
Detained mayors were transferred to the hospital for inspection in a humiliating manner… Toll of Detained CHP Mayors in Turkey (as of June 5, 2025) Summary: As of June 5, 2025, Turkish authorities have detained and removed a total of 11 mayors from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), including Istanbul’s Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, … Read more
In early May 2025, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) held its 12th Congress in northern Iraq and announced it would dissolve its organizational structure and end its armed struggle. This unprecedented declaration – effectively disbanding the PKK after 40+ years of insurgency – ignited intense public reactions and debates across Turkeyreuters.comreuters.com. All segments of Turkish … Read more
The mood is calm, not much excitement, but this is historic in any case. The PKK’s decision to disband after four decades of conflict represents a potential turning point in Turkish-Kurdish relations and regional stability. While the announcement has been met with cautious optimism from various stakeholders, there is widespread acknowledgment that this is just … Read more
X (formerly Twitter) blocked Ekrem İmamoğlu’s account in Turkey following a legal demand and court order issued by Turkish authorities. The official reason given was that posts on his account, particularly one from April 24, allegedly incited people to commit crimes and amounted to “propaganda for a criminal organization.” Authorities cited concerns over public order … Read more
I did not have the honor of meeting Mr. Önder, who died after 18 days in intensive care. Despite a lifelong struggle, days of torture and imprisonment, he was not trapped in ressentiment. That’s how I will remember him. Both the Turkish and Kurdish opposition miss an irreplaceable person. This is a (deepl-translated) letter to … Read more
After 45 days in prison, Ekrem İmamoğlu’s first photo from the prison as his family visits him. The photo was first broadcasted by OdaTv. Allegations Against Ekrem İmamoğlu Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul and a leading opposition figure, was arrested on March 19, 2025, and formally detained on March 23, 2025, facing a series … Read more