Recent Articles
Şub 22, 2013
When Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan slams the Turkish media, which is quite often, the world listens. Therefore, there is no reason to be surprised about either Bahman Hosseinpour, Iran’s ambassador to Ankara, blaming the Turkish media for the rocky state of relations with Turkey, or the silence of Turkey’s ruling party in return.
When Erdogan portrays the Turkish media as an obstacle to his success in domestic and foreign affairs, it prompts others to see the Turkish media under an unfavorable light.
To recap, Hosseinpour attended a farewell reception in his honor on Feb. 19. According to Hurriyet, the ambassador said, “There are some who want to damage ties between the two countries [Iran and Turkey]. Be careful that your writing should not damage ties.”
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/iran-ambassador-attacks-turkish-media-bahman-hosseinpour.html#ixzz2MUrqPwyI
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Şub 21, 2013
The state-controlled Anatolian News Agency reported on Tuesday, Feb. 19, after Hamas’ political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal left Turkey that he had met with Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan the day before, at the prime minister’s office in Ankara, to discuss the Palestinian reconciliation efforts.
“It was learned that Meshaal informed Erdogan about the efforts and the substance of the reconciliation talks between the Palestinian factions,” the news report said. “It was also stated that Prime Minister Erdogan told Meshaal, ‘It is of great importance that the process to reconcile the Palestinian factions continues without interruption, and that it will also impact the peace process positively.’”
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/hamas-leader-khaled-meshaal-secret-turkey-visit.html#ixzz2MUrN7nTg
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Şub 20, 2013
Tuesdays are “Bashing Day” for the leaders of the political parties in the Turkish parliament. Every Tuesday at their party gatherings, they go on the attack, fiercely accusing one or the other of working against the best interests of Turkey, selling it off to foreign interests or paving the way for an independent Kurdistan. The regularly scheduled speeches by party leaders can sometimes border on hate speech. One should therefore not be deluded into thinking — or even hoping — that any of these leaders can speak the language of helping or healing needed to promote the resolution of issues by consensus. The parliamentary party meetings on Tuesday, Feb. 19, are prime examples.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/turkish-politics-parliament.html#ixzz2MUqvxDbh
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Şub 18, 2013
With the discovery of hydrocarbon reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean bringing Turkey’s old and new rivalries together, the Ankara government is taking slow but steady steps toward a comeuppance for them. Only time will tell whether the effort will yield productive results.
On Feb. 17, Turkey launched the Tubitak Marmara, its first domestically produced oil-exploration vessel, some two weeks after the Barbaros Hayrettin, a newly purchased 3-D seismic exploration vessel, docked at Istanbul, on Feb. 1.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/turkey-israel-oil-gas-exploration.html#ixzz2LLC0eR6O
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Şub 15, 2013
“If it is going to end the bloodshed, if it is going to stop the tears, we are ready to pay the price for it,” said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Feb.15. He was personally delivering the message at Justice and Development Party (AKP) headquarters that to find a solution to Turkey’s Kurdish issue, he intends to move ahead with the latest initiative engaging Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) imprisoned in Imrali since 1999. Turks are confused and distrustful of the initiative, with many doubting that it will finally lead to the PKK disarming.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/pkk-kurdish-settlement-erdogan.html#ixzz2LHM03pLO
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Şub 14, 2013
Delivering the opening remarks at the Turkey-European Union Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting [Feb. 14] in Ankara, Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek said: “Our goal is full membership to the EU. We will never accept any other status, or an alternative. If in fact there is any other preference, there is no need to keep Turkey waiting.” Turkey’s chief negotiator with EU, Egemen Bagis, also gave the same message with a strong emphasis. In return though, Ria Oomen-Ruijten, the European Parliament rapporteur on Turkey, asked for calm in rhetoric. “Bashing the EU, European Parliament and member states is not the way for constructive dialog,” she said.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/erdogan-akp-impede-turkey-eu-membership.html#ixzz2LHO35IAU
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Şub 13, 2013
As a rising star, Turkey has two popular brand names. The first is the country’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the other is Turkish Airlines. Whether or not one is critical of the ruling party’s policies, Erdogan’s name has worldwide recognition, and he sets the image for present day Turkey — a conservative family man, a pious Muslim and married to a woman dressed under Islamic code and covered from head to toe. In fact, since the Erdogan government came to power over a decade ago, the spouses of nearly all cabinet members follow Emine Erdogan’s dress code, as does the first lady, President Abdullah Gul’s wife.
But Turks reacted fiercely last week when they suddenly learned that Turkish Airlines planned to change its flight attendants’ uniforms. Although it’s unclear how the airline decided to give the job to Dilek Hanif, a well-known haute couture designer, Turks active on social media, including Facebook and Twitter, first focused their criticism on the selection process of the designer. She was publicly slandered by other famous Turkish designers and ordinary people on the street, but it remains unclear what expectations Turkish Airlines set for her. Turkish media reported that Hanif says the uniforms are not yet finalized, and that she has no clue how pictures were leaked to the social media.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/turkish-airlines-conservative-uniform-change-erdogan.html#ixzz2LHNXExfG
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Şub 12, 2013
How far can goodwill get you? If it is supported by facts and grounded in actions, perhaps as far as you want it to. If not, remain alert. Take for instance, the trouble caused for Turkey by the “zero problems with neighbors” policy of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. This duo had become so confident in their mutual self-righteousness that they constantly slammed their predecessor governments for supposedly turning their backs on the Middle East and instead partnering with the West and Israel, as if this preference constituted racism toward Arabs and Muslims.
Hearing about modern Turkey’s history from Erdogan representatives, one wonders whether they approve of anything in Turkey’s past. The fact is that previous Turkish governments did, of course, have relations with the Arab states, including Syria, even when its regime was harboring Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party and Turkey’s most wanted man for more than a decade. Cherry-picking and manipulating facts for political gain plays well in Turkey, but the fact is that the old Turkey, while certainly not without its faults, had a more balanced and objective approach to dealings in the Middle East because past governments recognized that Ankara alone could not fix the region’s acute and age-old problems. Thus, while maintaining its own identity, Turkey also strengthened its position with allies in the West.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/turkey-akp-erdogan-syria-policy.html#ixzz2LHN2wNg3
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Şub 11, 2013
Ten days after the U.S. Embassy in Ankara was attacked by a suicide bomber, allegedly in protest against Turkey’s Syria policies, a car bomb exploded today [Feb. 11] on the Syrian side of the Turkish border, at the Cilvegozu crossing point, about 3 p.m. local time.
According to Turkish officials, 13 people are dead, 10 Syrians and three Turkish citizens. More than 30 people are reported injured, and 15 cars were burned.
“There was an explosion at the American Embassy last week, which is one of the best protected places in Turkey,” Adnan Korkmaz of the Eastern Mediterranean regional customs directorate said on CNN Turk. “It’s not even clear how this bomb came so close to the border. We will have more details in the coming days as to how this incident occurred, and only then we can talk about as to whether there was any security vacuum at the border.”
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/terrorist-attack-turkey-syria-border-car-explosion.html#ixzz2LHMSLAkF
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Şub 8, 2013
The particulars of Turkish democracy sometimes test the relationship between the United States and Turkey. Without a doubt, among government institutions the judiciary has always had the weakest bond with the Turkish people, who question its independence and thus its legitimacy. Many wonder if equal treatment and fair trials are possible in Turkey. Given the track record of the Turkish judiciary, U.S. ambassadors to Ankara have occasionally been moved to comment on issues concerning the machinations of this branch of government. As everything starts with a point of view, their remarks are sometimes welcomed, but as one might expect, are also sometimes slammed. What makes the difference? Whether they side with or against the ruling party.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/turkish-judiciary-akp-us-relations.html#ixzz2KXK4Dq1p
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