Maintaining the positive process in N. Iraq

Posted by sercan in Turkey News on May 15 2008

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is no longer just a Kurdish problem. There is another point to think about here: The ball is in the courts of both the AK Party and the Democratic Society Party (DTP). Read More…

A new world order

Posted by sercan in Turkey News on May 15 2008

Those angered in the past by interventions in Turkey’s domestic matters will once again be furious because Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has said that he brings up the legal case seeking to shut down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in all of his foreign meetings and contacts. Read More…

Pulling back

Posted by sercan in Turkey News on May 15 2008

In a war, pulling back does not necessarily spell defeat, although it does carry negative implications for the side that has pulled back. Read More…

The ‘dissolved PKK’

Posted by sercan in Turkey News on May 15 2008

The main outline of what needs to be done to bring an end to terror is clear: bringing about a certain “closeness” with Barzani and the Iraqi Kurds, handing over some of their rights while at the same time forcing the door open that would pave the way before the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) dissolution in the Middle East, taking steps that would allow the PKK to lay down its weapons and, in particular, putting an “amnesty and confrontation” policy into fast effect. Read More…

Hürriyet and its false news

Posted by sercan in Turkey News on May 15 2008

The difference between news based on lies and news that is wrong can be found in the intent and information held by those reporting the news. Read More…

How the CHP became an enemy of the EU

Posted by sercan in Turkey News on May 15 2008

The very people and institutions that you would think would naturally be supporters of the European Union now spend much of their time expressing great anger toward this community of European nations. Read More…

Will the queen be aware?

Posted by sercan in Turkey on May 15 2008

I wonder whether the visiting queen of England will even be aware that as a result of the wife of Turkey’s president wearing the headscarf, certain high-ranking members of the state did not accept invitations to the dinner in her honor. Read More…

Secularism’s red line

Posted by sercan in Turkey News on May 15 2008

The fact that a court case aimed at closing down the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has even been opened despite the considerable support this party has received from the people of the nation inevitably brings this question to mind: I wonder if our chief prosecutor from the Supreme Court of Appeals has drawn the proverbial “red line” that determines whether or not secularism is actually threatened in the wrong place? Read More…

Media members are ‘in a fight’ with the EU

Posted by sercan in Turkey News on May 14 2008

A certain prominent Turkish columnist who has — thank goodness — recently emerged from his fixation with “Christian Europe,” warned one of the “spokespersons” from the EU, saying, “Don’t listen to the tales that the Justice and Development Party [AK Party] spin, their real desire is for Shariah!” Read More…

The danger of an authoritarian regime

Posted by sercan in Turkish Press Review on May 14 2008

The question of “What will happen if the AK Party is forced to close?” is being asked these days not just in Turkey but all over the world. Read More…

The average Turk’s party?

Posted by sercan in Turkey News on May 14 2008

We are hearing debates that take up the use of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an’s assessment of the ruling AK Party as being the “average Turk’s political party” in concert with arguments over EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn’s use of the term “democratic secularity.” Read More…

Feb. 28 rectors

Posted by kemalaltundag in Turkey News on February 29 2008

Feb. 28 rectors
The situation involving Turkish university rectors at this point is a clear indication of the sort of appointments made by the 10th Turkish president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, and the former Higher Education Board (YÖK) chairmen. Read More…

Whose hands really rose to vote in chaos

Posted by kemalaltundag in Turkey News on February 29 2008

Whose hands really rose to vote in chaos?
Tension continues between the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) over the headscarf question. Read More…

The Constitutional Court’s justice test

Posted by kemalaltundag in Turkey News on February 29 2008

The Constitutional Court’s justice test
The Constitutional Court in Turkey has turned into a hierarchical authority over legislation. All eyes are on the Constitutional Court to see what its decision will be. Read More…

Dark days

Posted by kemalaltundag in Turkey News on February 29 2008

Dark days!
The Feb. 28 period in Turkey did not resemble other coups Turkey had experienced in the past. It is often referred to as Turkey’s first post-modern coup. Read More…

Those resisting freedom

Posted by kemalaltundag in Turkey News on February 29 2008

Those resisting freedom
It is almost as if there were two wars going on in the country. One is against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, and the other is being waged between those in favor of the ban on headscarves at universities and those in favor of freedom at universities. Read More…

Would taking ‘service’ solve the Kurdish issue

Posted by kemalaltundag in Turkey News on February 29 2008

Would taking ‘service’ solve the Kurdish issue ?
The villager had no water or roads in the past, but today he has. There was no school, electricity or telephone line, but today they all are there; yet the improvement of such standards of living are of course not enough for him (the villager) to tolerate the pressures on his Kurdish identity. Read More…

What if it is not a religious conviction ?

Posted by kemalaltundag in Turkey News on February 29 2008

What if it is not a religious conviction?
Some secular columnists discuss whether or not covering the head with a headscarf is a religious requirement. Read More…

We should save the hearts from suffering!

Posted by kemalaltundag in Turkey News on February 29 2008

We should save the hearts from suffering!
The PKK should lay aside violence and bury their weapons. The state should seriously start implementing policies that are based on respect for the Kurds’ identity.

The government should use its political determination in this way. As it was stated in a letter signed by 100 intellectuals and submitted to President Gül, “The Kurdish problem is not only a problem of violence and security, but also a problem with social, political, cultural, psychological, humanitarian and economic sides.” Understanding how this problem emerged, why it has been continuing for years and why it cannot be solved despite all the military precautions put into effect is as equally important as Kurds and Turks understanding what they think and feel about each other. If we can empathize with the other side, then we can understand each other, get rid of our prejudgments and manage to see the truth as it is.

28.02.2008

HASAN CEMAL, M?LL?YET

Iranian body reinstates more hopefuls for March vote

Posted by kemalaltundag in Turkey News on February 21 2008

An Iranian hard-line watchdog body has reinstated another 200 candidates to run in a March parliamentary election, state television reported on Wednesday. Read More…