[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

Varna Summit

EU-Turkey leaders' meeting in Varna (Bulgaria) Some key topics at the Varna Summit were migration management, combating terrorism, rule of law in Turkey, the Afrin operation, and Turkey's actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean Sea.

Europe Fakes Turkish Delight Matthew Karnitschnig writes that despite an array of disagreements, the EU and Turkey are bound together by mutual dependence: the EU needs Turkey to stem migration flows, while trade with the EU keeps the Turkish economy afloat.

It’s raining petitions to Erdoğan, ahead of Varna summit Prior to the Varna Summit, 75 Members of the European Parliament sent a letter to Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker urging them to pressure Erdoğan on human rights issues in Turkey. Reporters Without Borders and the Green/EFA group of the European Parliament also lobbied EU leaders to make human rights a priority at the summit.

Erdogan: EU expansion without Turkey 'grave mistake' During the Varna Summit, Erdoğan emphasized the need for Turkey to be included in any EU expansion policy.

Press Freedom

Doğan Media Informs Public Disclosure Platform About Sale to Demirören Doğan Media, the only large media group making (semi) critical broadcasting and publishing in Turkey, will be sold to the pro-government Demirören Media Group for $890 million.

Turkish media mogul had to choose between jail and selling up - journalist Journalist Ayşenur Arslan says that Turkish media mogul Aydın Doğan risked going to prison in the Feb 28 case if he didn't sell Doğan Media Group.

Sinjar

IS and Erdogan ‘two sides of the same coin,’ says Iraqi MP, urging action against Turkey An Iraqi Shi'a MP from the majority State of Law Coalition has urged the government to give up on dealing with Turkey diplomatically regarding its military activity in and around Iraq.

No cross-border operations without Iraq’s consent: Turkish PM tells Abadi Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has assured his Iraqi counterpart that Turkey will launch no military operations over the country’s border without the Iraqi government's consent.

Erdogan keeps finger on trigger as PKK exits Sinjar The PKK has withdrawn from the Sinjar mountain area after Erdoğan's threats to launch an Afrin-style offensive there.

Domestic Politics

People do not sell dollars even when exchange rate hits 3.95 Erdal Sağlam writes that the fact that most institutional investors and average citizens were unwilling to sell their dollars even when the dollar/lira exchange rate hit 3.95 signals an expectation that the exchange rate will rise even higher.

124 Thousand More People Unemployed in 2017 The Turkish Statistical Institute has announced that unemployment increased by 124,000 in Turkey, with a decrease of 0.2% for men, an increase of 0.4% for women, and an increase of 1.2% for youth.

Court Overlooks Sexual Assault, Sentences Yıldırım to Lifetime Imprisonment Nevin Yıldırım received a life sentence for killing the man who raped her. Her lawyer will appeal to the higher court, and if domestic methods fail, the European Court of Human Rights.

The Identity Crisis of the Iyi Party Hazal Duran writes that in attempting to be a "catch all" party for disaffected MHP members, right-wing voters and moderate leftists, the IYI Party risks suffering an identity crisis that could lead to an intra-party split before the 2019 elections.

International Politics

Qatar, Turkey hold joint military drills A joint Qatari-Turkish military drill dubbed "Lion's Den" was aimed at activating command and air defense systems, to manage operations, to plan joint operations, to strengthen cooperation and planning between military forces, to fight against psychological warfare and to activate the role of the press.

Syria reiterates demand for immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Turkish occupation forces from Syrian territory A Syrian government official has said that “If we take seriously for once the statements of the Turkish regime’s officials....if the alleged security threat is gone, what is the Justice and Development Party government waiting for to withdraw its invading forces from Syria”

US spending bill drops Turkey sanctions As part of State Department efforts to assuage Turkey, sanctions against Turkish officials involved in the detention of US nationals has been dropped from the draft federal spending bill.

Turkey’s Influence Peddling David L. Phillips argues that think-tanks who accept money from the Turkish government should not act as witnesses before Congressional committees, as doing so increases Turkish influence over US policy.

Turkey’s ad hoc ECHR judge says state tops individual rights Turkey's ad hoc appointment to the ECHR issued the only dissenting opinion on the ruling that Mehmet Altan and Şahin Alpay rights were violated following their imprisonment, saying that the state's survival trumps individual rights.

Scepticism, anger at U.S. decision to drop Erdoğan bodyguard charges Charges against 11 out of 15 members of President Erdoğan's security team for beating protestors outside of Turkey's Embassy in Washington last May have been dropped.

Turkey to send drill ship to contested gas field off Cyprus After the dispatch of ExxonMobil survey vessels off the coast of Cyprus, Turkey has announced it will send its own newly acquired drillship, with Erdoğan warning that Turkey was prepared to take military action to stop unilateral drilling if necessary.

Greek PM urges Turkey to respect international law On the anniversary of Greek war of independence against Turkey, Alex Tsipras called for Turkey to stop its illegal activities in the Aegean and to respect international law.

Other Pertinent Pieces

Back to the land: urban Turks tackle rural life "Urban transformation" projects, political repression, and economic troubles are some of the factors pushing urbanites to move to the country to try their hand at small-scale agricultural projects.

Turkish

Nevin Yıldırım Case

Nevin Yıldırım ve Çilem Doğan davalarında suç ve ceza Istanbul Bar Association lawyer Feyzi Çelik explains the dynamics separating Nevin Yıldırım's sentence of life imprisonment from the decision to release Çilem Doğan, who killed her abusive husband; one difference was the fact that Yıldırım was not married to her rapist, and seen as being more capable of escape than Doğan, another was Yıldırım's decapitating the body. However, Çelik stresses that the appeals process is not over, and Yıldırım still could receive a lesser sentence.

Erkek adalet değil gerçek adalet istiyoruz Citing the example of a man who received a reduced sentence for murder last summer because his wife cheated on him, Melis Alphan laments the ease by which men can get reduced sentences for good conduct or reacting to "unjust provocation", while women do not receive the same lenience.

Afrin

Afrin dersleri Mehmet Yılmazer elaborates on the reasons behind Washington and Moscow allowing Turkey to enter Afrin: Russia chose to let Turkey enter Afrin after the YPG refused the conditions of the Syrian government for help, while Washington preferred Ankara's influence to increase rather than Assad's.

Press Freedom

RedHack’ten Doğan Medya’yı satın alan Dermirören’e ‘hayırlı olsun’ The leftist hacker group "RedHack" sent a congratulatory message to Demirören Holding for its acquisition of Doğan Media by hacking several of its websites and posting news stories about Gezi Park, Afrin, imprisoned HDP members, and Nevin Yıldırım.

HDP'den Doğan Medya Grubu'nun satışına ilişkin açıklama HDP parliamentarian Garo Paylan spoke out against the sale of Doğan Media Group, as well as the decision to bring the internet under the authority of the state's broadcasting regulator, saying that now anyone wishing to broadcast via the internet will have to get a license, and warning that the law would open the door for a media landscape that resembles North Korea's.

Tek adam, tek ses... Gözyaşlarıyla medya devi oldu The president of the Turkish Journalist's Union, Gökhan Durmuş, has warned that the sale of Doğan Media, whose main media outlets are Posta, Fanatik, Hürriyet Daily News, Kanal D, and CNN Türk, means that from now on, Turkish media will speak with one voice.

Yuvarlak Masa Buluşmaları: LGBTİ+ The LGBTI+ community in Turkey is one of the groups most affected by censorship and the state of emergency. This roundtable discussion between four LGBTI+ artists and activists discuss issues such as the increase of manifest homophobia in Turkey, the uncertainty of living under the State of Emergency, and the influence of the LGBTI+ community on the June 7th elections.

Hürriyet'ten ilk istifa Melis Alphan is the first journalist to resign from the Hürriyet after its sale to Demirören Holding.

Domestic Politics

Türkiye İşçi Partisi geliyor! The Turkish Workers Party, Turkey's first successful socialist party, is returning to Turkey's political scene after a 37 year absence.

Çalışma cehenneminin ateşi torba yasalarla nasıl harlandı? Sevda Karaca writes that omnibus bills and memorandums regarding working conditions and equal oppurtunities for women have done nothing to improve their situation, and it is time for women's movements to create a common platform by which to tackle these issues.

İkinci Çiftlik Bank vakası! Bu da ‘Anadolu Farm’ vurgunu Amidst the 120 virtual farming games with operations similar to that of Çiftlik Bank, one called "Anadolu Farms" has managed to amass 200 million TL in one year.

Migration

Suriyeli mülteci çocukların Türkiye’deki geleceği: Dr. Doğuş Şimşek ile söyleşi Dr. Doğuş Şimşek speaks on Syrian children's future in Turkey, raising points such as the fact that Syrian babies born in Turkey do not receive Turkish citizenship, and 41% of Syrian children in Turkey do not attend school.

Askeri savaş biter, sosyo-ekonomik savaş sürer Dr. Sedat Benek was interviewed on tensions between locals and the 451,000 Syrians living in Urfa, such as perceptions that Syrians are crowding out locals in the unskilled labor market, and fears over Syrian's voting strength in local elections if they gain citizenship.