[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Turkey and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Turkey Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to turkey@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.]

English

Afrin

Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ statement on ceasefire in Syria Turkey's ministry of foreign affairs realeased a statement welcoming a 30-day ceasefire and voicing concern for the situation in East Ghouta, however, they reiterated that the Afrin operation would continue.

Syria: More than 90 civilians killed and hundreds at risk as Afrin offensive escalates Shelling of residential areas by Turkish forces has reportedly caused 93 civilian deaths in Afrin, including 24 children, while YPG shelling has reportedly caused the death of four civilians in Azaz, including one child, and seven within Turkey.

Turkey takes full control of Afrin borders: monitor Turkish forces have taken control of the entire Turkey-Afrin border area, approximately 22% of the canton, and now plan to move towards the populated centers.

Notes from the Border: What Operation Olive Branch means for the Border Towns of Turkey İpek Coşkun writes that, in comparison to the Euphrates Shield Operation, there is more public solidarity and governmental support for Turkey's border regions during Operation Olive Branch.

Arab media: Afrin op. as an opportunity to boost Erdogan's domestic popularity Writing for the Saudi daily Okaz, Jamil al-Dhiyebi speculates that Turkey's motivations for Operation Olive Branch are establishing a strong post-war presence in Syria, creating a space north of the Euphrates where it can send back many of its current population of Syrian refugees, and boosting Erdoğan's domestic popularity.

Domestic Politics

First rulings in academics for peace declaration trial Three signatories of the "Academics for Peace" petition have received deferred prison sentences of one year and three months. One can read Dr. Yasemin Gülsüm Acar and Dr. Ayşe Erzan's statements in court here and here.

Courts Approve Bans of LGBTI Events In Ankara Ankara’s 4th adminstrative court has refused a lawsuit brought by two LGBTI groups against the decision to indefinitely ban LGBTI events in the capital, effectively ensuring the continuation of the ban.

Signs point to early Turkish elections Observers raise the possibility of early presidential and parliamentary votes in order for the AKP to profit from a post-coup economic recovery, fractured opposition, and high public support for the Afrin operation.

'No debate anymore in Turkey' says opposition leader Aksener In an interview with Euronews, Meral Akşener voices her approval for the Afrin operation, while lamenting the fact that there is no room for debate regarding Turkey's foreign policy.

Turkey: UN expert says deeply concerned by rise in torture allegations The UN Special Rapporteur on torture voiced concerns over rising allegations of torture in Turkish police custody, and Turkish authorities' refusal to publicly condemn or investigate allegations of torture.

Munzur Springs Face Threat of Construction The Governor's Office in Tunceli has announced plans for a construction project in Munzur Springs. Locals and activists say that Munzur Springs is a grade one natural site on which construction is prohibited, and claim it would damage the historical and religious value of the area.

Turkey continues to slide in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index Turkey fell to 81st out of 180 countries on the Corruption Perceptions Index 2017. Transparency International's Turkey branch cited violations in rule of law, press freedom, and nepotism and clientelism in public appointments and promotions as reasons for this fall.

International Politics

Commonwealth for Africa Cemil Ertem writes that Erdoğan's visit to four African countries (Algeria, Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania) could mark the start of a new commonwealth in the East that moves away from Western ideological and political dominance.

Is Turkey Using Infrastructure Projects to Stifle European Criticism? Dorian Jones writes that, rather than focusing on its relationships with the EU, Turkey is pursuing a policy of "new realism" with individual European states revolving around bilateral trade, arms deals, and construction contracts.

U.S. lobbyists register under FARA over Turkey links Mercury Public Affairs, one of the groups implicated in Paul Manafort's lobbying efforts on behalf of the pro-Russian government in Ukraine, has registered under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act due to activities carried out on behalf of the Turkey-US Business Council.

16 Turkish women sentenced to death over ISIS links 16 Turkish women have been sentenced to death in Iraq for ties to ISIS. Human Rights Watch has condemned the sentences as unfair, and the possibility has been raised that some of the women had been coerced into joining the group.

Dutch Parliament Passes Motion Recognizing Armenian Genocide In a move condemned by Turkey's foreign ministry, the lower house of the Dutch Parliament passed a motion recognizing the events of 1915 as a genocide.

Czechs release Syrian Kurdish leader, won't extradite to Turkey After being detained at Turkey's request, former PYD co-chair Salih Muslim has been released. Turkish officials have qualified the move as support for terrorism, and have said relations between the two countries would suffer.

Energy, geopolitics in Eastern Mediterranean: Turkey's vital position for Western interests British, Russian, and European energy interests place Turkey in a valuable geostrategic position due to the use of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to transport oil from the KRG, as well the planned Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline, which will pump natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

History and Culture

Turkish genealogy database fascinates, frightens Turks Turkey's newly opened geneology database could be a mixed blessing: while some say it may help to eradicate racism, others raised concerns over retaliation against those found to have Armenian, Greek, or Jewish ancestry, fearing that historical stigma surrounding forced conversions extends to the descendents of converts as well.

Turkish

Afrin

Afrin’e dair birkaç anekdot Doğan Ertuğrul writes of his past experiences in Syria as a journalist, recounting how the YPG escorted him around the Aleppo region after briefly taking him into custody, and the irony of feeling relief in places marked by Kurdish flags, as they were signs of a "secure" area.

Afrin notları ve emperyalizm kıskacında Şam-Rojava uzlaşması Onur Emre Yağan writes that while there is a strong possibility of a temporary accord between the YPG and the Syrian government, lasting cooperation will depend on an agreement over what will happen to SDF controlled areas in Raqqa and Dar ez-Zor, and more importantly, an end to American, Russian, Iranian, and Turkish interference in Syria.

Domestic Politics

Binali Yıldırım: Devletin mutlaka ekonomiden çekilmesi lazım Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has stated that the state must withdraw from the economy in order to make way for the private sector, stating that the government's role is in security and law, not trade.

DİTAM Başkanı Kaya: Türkiye Kürt sorununda yeni bir sayfa açmak zorunda After completing a two year long series of workshops with academics and civil society organizations across Turkey, DITAM President Mehmet Kaya said that the Turkish government, civil society organizations, and the international community must work together to solve the Kurdish issue.

Barış Akademisyenlerine verilen ceza iptal edildi In Izmir, four Academics for Peace were released without punishment, leading to hopes that this would pave the way for rulings in favor of freedom of speech, as well as for an appeal against the sentencing of three other academics in Istanbul.

Melda Onur: Aladağ yangını politik bir davadır Melda Onur states the poltical importance of a case against managers of a religious school for neglect leading to a fire that killed 11 children in the school's female dorm, and underlines the fact that many families are forced to send their children to religious schools due to poverty or a lack of schools in rural areas.

International Politics

Münih’ten yansıyanlar Ceyda Karan writes on Turkey's place amidst the international squabbling going on between powers at the Munich Security Conference.

Irak: Kerkük petrolü yeniden Türkiye üzerinden ihraç edilecek Iraq has announced that it will again be exporting petrol from Kirkuk through Turkey. There is still no comment from the KRG.

ABD kulisi: Türkiye’ye karşı Sarraf davası üzerinden yeni hamle yolda There are concerns that allegations over Mahan Air, the company which Reza Zarrab used to carry out his activities, being used by Iran to transport weapons to Hezbollah and militias in Syria could open routes for new US legal action against Turkey.

History and Culture

Gezmania Dergisi Üzerine Through covering places such as Kars and Diyarbakir, the posh travel magazine Gezmania emphasizes these cities' rich cultural heritage, which is often overshadowed by the conflict and political rhetoric surrounding the region.

Tür kiye'de 15 dil tehlike altında UNESCO has announced that three languages found in Turkey; Cappadocian Greek, Mlahso, and Ubykh, have gone extinct. 15 other languages are considered endangered.