[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

Newroz

Newroz in Diyarbakir: People in their thousands support Afrin Politicians from all four regions of Kurdistan attended Newroz celebrations in Diyarbakir; many of them called for solidarity with the people of Afrin.

Newroz in Turkey from Nusaybin to İzmir Photos and reports of Newroz celebrations across Turkey.

Newroz in İstanbul Celebrated in Bakırköy Photos and reports of Istanbul's Newroz celebration.

Afrin

Turkey takes control of Afrin in Syria After taking control of Afrin, Turkey says it will extend the operation to other Kurdish regions.

Syria Crisis: Afrin Update The World Health Organization has issued a report stating that the number of people displaced from Afrin may rise to 100,000, and also warns that humanitarian conditions within the city are dire.

What Happened in Afrin: Photos Tell Despite the Turkish Armed Forces posting photos that were meant to prove the lack of massive destruction in Afrin, photos from other news agencies tell a different story.

Kurdish forces claim they evacuated Afrin to avoid a humanitarian disaster The PYD has stated it withdrew from Afrin to prevent civilian deaths, however, it says that it will continue to fight against Turkish and FSA forces.

Why the destruction of Kawa’s statue in Afrin matters Dr. Vahid Nick Pay writes that the 1,000 year old legend of Blacksmith Kawa's revolt against the tyrant Zahak is one of the oldest endorsements of popular action against despotism.

Turkey vows to investigate reports of Afrin looting Turkish officials have reacted to reports of looting in Afrin, saying that they will investigate and take any necessary measures.

Syrian Rebels, Backed by Turkey, Seize Control of Afrin FSA members celebrate the capture of Afrin.

Çiftlik Bank

Even the Cows Were Seized: Turkish Game Fails Amid Fraud Charges An article outlining how Çiftlik Bank's ponzi scheme functioned through convincing people to pay money for virtual animals which was supposed to be directly to real life agricultural investments.

Turkey begins legal action against Ponzi scheme creator An extradition proceeding has been issued for Çiftlik Bank founder Mehmet Aydın, who fled to Uruguay with over $100 million in cash and crypotocurrency.

Why are Turks so easily conned? Ersu Ablak writes that education that teaches critical thinking skills, technology, and financial literacy is necessary to decrease the prevalence of mass conning in Turkey.

Domestic Politics

Threshold distinction damages the constitution’s principle of equality Sedat Ergin argues that the ability to use alliances to bypass Turkey's electoral threshold violates the constitutional principle of equality.

Turkish MP asks why 500 million voting envelopes printed for 55 million voters CHP MP Haluk Pekşen has asked why 500 voting envelopes have been printed despite a required amount of 130 million, saying this excess paired with an amendment allowing unstamped ballots to be counted would raise suspicions of election fraud.

Concrete Poured on World’s Oldest Temple Göbeklitepe Çiğdem Köksal Schmidt, the wife of the archaeologist who had been excavating the 12,000 year old site, took photos to document its destruction.

European court: Altan and Alpay’s rights violated The European Court of Human Rights announced that Şahin Alpay and Mehmet Altan's rights to personal liberty, security, and freedom of expression were violated after their imprisonment. Although the court called for Alpay's release, it was unable to do the same for Altan due to his having been already sentenced.

Journalist Şahin Alpay released from jail Zaman journalist Şahin Alpay was released on house arrest for the duration of his trial.

International Politics

Bridging the population gap in Cyprus Some believe that the Turkish Cypriot diaspora is larger than the current population of Northern Cyprus. Yusuf Kanlı writes that incentivizing the return of the diaspora population in order to increase the population in Northern Cyprus could aid economic progress, and encourage a settlement with Greek Cyprus.

Germany arms sales to Turkey up since Afrin op Since the beginning of Turkey's Afrin operation, Germany has issued 20 licenses for the sale of €4.4 million worth of arms to Turkey. In comparison, in the whole of 2017, 14 licenses for €3.6 million worth of arms were issued.

Lavrov: Russia risks nothing by selling S-400 to Turkey Sergey Lavrov has stated that the S-400 export deal between Russia and Turkey, alongside other long-term projects such as Turkish Stream and a nuclear power plant project, are meant to ensure a stable relationship between the two countries for decades to come.

Occupation of consulate sends message to Erdogan on Afrin Greek protestors occupied the German consulate in Crete to protest Turkey's Afrin operation, and used the consulate's communications system to send emails and faxes to the Turkish embassy in Athens.

FMs of Iran, Russia, Turkey Meet in Astana The Astana meeting was held one day after European Parliament’s call for Turkey to withdraw from Afrin, and three weeks after the UN called for a ceasefire in Syria.

Arab TV Ban on Turkish dramas hurts “neo-Ottoman” dream The decision of a Saudi-owned pan-Arab television network to stop broadcasting Turkish dramas is a blow to Turkey's cultural influence in the Arab world.

Culture and History

Express breakfast in the eastern village of Boğatepe An article on the rise of "breakfast tourism" and the construction of a sustainable local economy in the village of Boğatepe in Kars.

Alla franca versus alla turca An article on the history on the use of the terms "Alla Franca" and "Alla Turca" during the late Ottoman period to demarcate the modern from the traditional, and the interplay between French and Turkish names and flavors in Ottoman court cuisine.

Turkish

Newroz

'Newroz pîroz be' deme bilinciyle… Ihsan Çaralan writes that celebrating Newroz is a celebration of freedom, peace, and brotherhood, and a rejection of all recent negative developments in Turkey.

Van ekonomisine Newroz dopingi Thousands of Iranian tourists flocked to Van to celebrate Newroz, providing a major boost to the province's hospitality and retail sectors.

Diyarbakır’da kitlesel ve coşkulu Newroz Videos of the Newroz celebrations in Diyarbakir, during which Kurdish politicians read statements calling for solidarity, peace, and official recognition of Kurdish culture and language.

Bahçeli: Nevruz Türk'tür, Turan'dır In his Newroz message, the leader of the MHP, Turkey's nationalist party, stated that Newroz is a Turkic spring festival.

Cizre’den İstanbul’a Newroz: “Onlar Dehak’sa bizler Kawa’yız Photos of Newroz celebrations from across Turkey.

Çiftlik Bank

Çiftlik Bank’ın öncesi var: İşte Türkiye tarihinin en ünlü dolandırıcıları An overview of some of Turkey's most famous conmen: Sülün Osman, who sold passersby fake deeds to public works such as city ferries or the Galata Tower during the 50s and 60s; Selçuk Parsadan, who used a false identity to swindle many big names during the 1970s, including President Süleyman Demirel and Prime Minister Tansu Çiller; and Fadıl Akgündüz, who collected millions of lira in startup money for ventures that never materialized, such as Siirt's first locally produced automobile.

Bütün ülke Çiftlikbank! Arslan Bulut cites Turkey's being beholden to IMF and World Bank policies, its decreasing domestic production, and the election of Erdoğan as examples of how Turkey's administration mirrors that of Çiftlik Bank.

Afrin

Sessizlik... Hediye Levent writes on the uneasy silence of the Russia, America, and the Syrian government during Turkey's Afrin operation , and says that as Turkish forces advance, the risk of them coming into conflict with the Syrian Army or American troops increases.

Avrupa, Ankara’nın kararlılığını anlamazsa... Burhanettin Duran writes that instead of criticizing Turkey's operations against the PKK and YPG, Europe should cooperate with Turkey before extreme leftists create a new wave of radicalization and violence in European capitals.

Domestic Politics

Bu da oldu: Erişim engelini aşan VPN hizmetlerine de erişim engeli getirildi Internet service providers have been ordered to block access to 20 VPN services, including Tor, Hotspot Shield, and TunnelBear, as well as the password protected email service Protonmail.

Sivil yurttaşların yıllık 200 olan mermi hakkı 1000 mermiye çıkarıldı The Turkish Ministry of the Interior has increased the amount of bullets a civilians can buy from 200 to 1,000 per year.

Taksiciler anlatıyor: Bizi hırsız yapan plaka sahipleri ve Otocenter! During the debate between taxi drivers and UBER, many passengers have accused traditional taxis of intentionally lengthening their routes. Taxi drivers accept that this is true, but as justificaton, point to the exorbitant prices they are charged for a taxi plaque, while vendors benefit from certain tax breaks.

TÜİK açıkladı... İşte Türkiye'nin en 'pahalı' ve en 'ucuz' illeri The Turkish Statistical Institute has listed Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir as Turkey's most expensive provinces, while Ağrı, Kars, Iğdır, and Ardahan were named as the cheapest.

Culture and History

İstanbul Modern taşınmadan görmeniz gereken dokuz yapıt A list of the Istanbul Modern's must see pieces before the closure of the museum, which will be moved to a new location. Its temporary location for the duration of the move will be open to the public in May.

Dönüşen İstanbul’un öncü kadın sinemacısı Sabahat Filmer An essay on the life of Sebahat Filmer, a pioneering woman in Turkish film history who directed and wrote films alongside being active in the resistance during the Occupation of Constantinople and the Turkish War of Independence.

16 Mart 1978 Beyazıt: Bir Katliamın Anatomisi On the 16th March, 1978 seven leftist Istanbul University students were killed in an attack by a far-right group. One officer who was present at the scene, Reşat Altay, is alleged to have prevented other officers from pursuing the attackers. Reşat Altay went on to be involved in a number of other scandals, including being Trabzon's chief of police at the time of Hrant Dink's murder.

Bizarre

Kokaine niyet ‘FETÖ’ye kısmet: ‘O dolar kokain çekmek için’ deyince serbest kaldı A lawyer who was accused of being a Gulenist after a one dollar bill was found in his house has been cleared of all charges after proving that he used the bill to snort cocaine. However, he now faces narcotic charges.