Turkey towards a police state with the proposed security bill AS the government attempts to confiscate Bank Asya…

 Erdoğan’s security package will make Turkey a police state, opposition leader says A controversial domestic security package draft code, which is set to come to parliament this week, would turn Turkey in to a “police state,” according Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) head Devlet Bahçeli. Turkish government pushing for bill on security amid heated row The government has … Read more

Turkish justice today: Dutch journalist faces jail term for ‘PKK propaganda’ & Gezi activists as morally-problematic ‘others’ in Police’s eyes…

Turkish police saw Gezi activists as morally-problematic ‘others’ Police viewed the activists in the Gezi Park protests as ‘morally problematic outsiders’ Diyarbakır-based Dutch journalist faces jail term for ‘PKK propaganda’ A lawsuit has been opened against Frederike Geerdink on charges of making propaganda on behalf of PKK Indictment of Dutch journalist in Turkey heightens press freedom fears  World … Read more

Erdoğan likens himself to Britain’s Queen as Turkish government suspends metal workers’ strike in the name of NATIONAL SECURITY

Turkish President Erdoğan says UK is semi-presidency dominated by Queen In a bid to justify his support for a change to the political system in Turkey, President Erdoğan has suggested that the United Kingdom is run as a semi-presidential system in which the will of the Queen is dominant. Turkey’s Erdogan says he’s no sultan — but … Read more

As Facebook caves in, Turkey’s authoritarian march continues: “Specially authorized courts to be reintroduced

Zuckerberg’s free-speech rhetoric proves empty as Facebook censors Charlie … International Business Times UK “In comparison with Twitter and YouTube, Facebook cooperates with the Turkish authorities much better,” Yaman Akdeniz, a professor in cyberlaw at Bilgi University in Istambul, told the New York Times. “Therefore it’s not surprising that Facebook . Facebook Caves to Turkish Government … Read more

Another trace of Turkey’s pretensions in Europe gone: “Spain to suspend ‘Alliance of Civilizations’ activity

Spain to suspend ‘Alliance of Civilizations’ activity: Report Spain will reportedly suspend its activities in the ‘Alliance of Civilizations,’ jointly launched by Turkey and Spain in 2005 Spanish ambassador refutes reports that Spain suspended ‘Alliance of Civilizations’ activities Spain’s ambassador to Turkey has refuted media reports suggesting that his country has suspended its activities in the “Alliance … Read more

EFD Rights Watch: Journalists’ Twitter messages blocked.. Eren Keskin sentenced…

A Turkish court decides to block hundreds of specific messages mostly written by journalists. Here is the news in Turkish and here is the court decision.   Eren Keskin Sentenced to 10 Months Due to Article 301  Bianet :: English Human rights advocate Eren Keskin was sentenced to 10 months of prison due to Article 301, a … Read more

Cengiz Aktar (@AktarCengiz): Bölgede ademimerkezileşme Türkiye’de merkezileşme

Bölgede ademimerkezileşme Türkiye’de merkezileşme   Ademimerkezileşme konusunda iç ve dış dinamikler giderek daha belirgin hâle geliyor. İçerde Kürdistan’da (ve bütün Türkiye’de) özerklik talebi, iki yüzyılı aşkın bir zaman diliminde ilk kez kopuş olmadan, memleket toprakları dâhilinde iktidar paylaşımı anlamına gelen bir siyasa olarak gündemde. Bölgede ise yine Kürdistanî bir ivmeylefederalleşme, olabilecek en mâkul seçenek olarak … Read more

Literati roundup: R.I.P. Ulrich Beck…. “Smithsonian galleries release massive Asian art collection online for non-commercial use…

Ulrich Beck – an appreciation open Democracy News Analysis – by Robin Wilson   openSecurity editor Robin Wilson reflects on the work of German intellectual – and frequent openDemocracy contributor – Ulrich Beck, who sadly passed away on 1 January. Ulrich Beck (1944-2015). Wikimedia commons. Public domain. Huge trove of Smithsonian art digitized; over 40,000 works  kottke.org by Jason … Read more

3 years past. Roboski/ Uludere Massacre not forgotten.

Roboski airstrike – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roboski_airstrike Wikipedia The Roboski airstrike, also known as the Uludere massacre, Sirnak massacre, orRoboski massacre took place on December 28, 2011 at 9:37 pm local time Families ask Erdoğan to keep promise to find perpetrators of Roboski massacre on 3rd anniversary Families have demanded President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to … Read more

Turkish Media might be free for Erdoğan as He was Heard, Read and Watched 2.5M Times in 2014. Dispatches from Turkey…

Erdoğan Heard, Read and Watched 2.5M Times in 2014 Bianet :: English In 2014, the television, press and online media coverage of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan turned out in 2,052,748 different media pieces. Whereas opposition leader Kılıçdaroğlu remained at 482,669 and PM Davutoğlu at 268,604. Prominent scholar dismayed by Erdoğan’s ‘Turkish not suitable for philosophy’ claim ‘We … Read more

Turkish government continues to pursue to block internet access without legal order… Dispatches from Turkey…

Turkish gov’t in new bid to block Internet access without legal order Hurriyet Daily News The Turkish government has been preparing to make yet another move which would add insult to injury for those who have been concerned over plight of freedom of expression in the country Prosecutor Requests Arrest of Journalist After Release  Bianet :: English … Read more

Clear cut: “The End of Turkey in Europe”/ “New Turkey” deconstructed in Open Democracy series…

The End of Turkey in Europe Freedom House – Nate Schenkkan – On December 17, 2013, Turkey woke up to mass police raids across the country. The chief executive of state-owned HalkBank was detained, and television stations showed shoeboxes stuffed with millions of American dollars pulled out from under his… Turkey’s politicians should not be let … Read more

Protests on the 1st Anniversary of Corruption Probe as Turkey NOW Convicted of Torturing 19 y.o. Demonstrator

Protests on the 1st Anniversary of Corruption Probe  Bianet :: English Several protests have been held on the 1st Anniversary of Corruption Probe within which four minister resigned. While the hashtag #hırsızvar (#thereisathief) became a top tweet, 5 demonstrators were detained in Istanbul. Blame game continues in Dink murder case: Former Istanbul intelligence head accuses former Trabzon … Read more

New democratic networks emerge [in French, Erkan quoted too] as “Turkish novelists Orhan Pamuk and Elif Shafak accused of being Western stooges by pro-government press…

Turquie : les nouveaux réseaux démocratiques1   Un an et demi après la contestation de Gezi, où en est la démocratie en Turquie ? Et pour quelles nouvelles formes de mobilisations ? Journalisme citoyen, tweets et sites, mais aussi squatt-maison de quartier, face à un État de plus en plus autoritaire. Enquête multimédia interactive d’Eric … Read more

EFD Rights Watch: Majority of educated women victim of violence in Turkey…Hrant Dink murder case deepens…

Majority of educated women victim of violence in Turkey, survey reveals A large majority of Turkish women who work in white-collar jobs and have a university degrees say they have been exposed to violence at least once in their life Hrant Dink murder case deepens with new testimonies The list of suspects in the murder case of … Read more