[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

June 24 Elections

Turkey’s opposition battles media banishment ahead of polls Turkish opposition parties are turning to social media for coverage of their campaigns, as mainstream media largely avoids them. Some now call the use of social media to broadcast the oppositions message's “the penguin repellent”, in reference to a major Turkish media channel airing a documentary about penguins instead of covering the Gezi protests.

2 HDP Members Arrested for Writing on Wall ‘There is A Message Coming From Kettle’ Two highschool students were arrested in Istanbul after drawing a kettle (in reference to a tweet from Salahattin Demirtaş) and pro-HDP slogans on walls. They have been charged with “propagandizing for a terrorist organization”.

Jailed HDP candidate Demirtaş allowed to campaign on state-run TRT The Supreme Electoral Board has granted Salahattin Demirtaş the right to conduct audio-visual campaigning on state-run television, allowing him (as well as the 5 other presidential candidates) to make two 10-minute speeches prior to June 24, as well as the same amount of airtime if runoff elections are called.

Three Scenarios for Turkey's Elections Writing for Carnegie Europe, Marc Pierini predicts that if Erdoğan and his "People's Alliance" win, the constitutional changes will be applied in full, Erdoğan will tighten his grip on the economy, and tensions with the West will increase (with the exception of the UK, with whom relations could improve); if the opposition's "National Alliance" wins, the state of emergency and presidential decrees will be overturned, there will be an attempt to normalize interest rate policies, and an attempt to return to the EU ascession process.

Manbij

US, Turkey agree on Manbij road map, but when will they get there? The "Manbij road map" agreed upon by the US and Turkey entails "entails the expulsion of the YPG from Manbij, the clearing of YPG and PYD elements from local administrations and the establishment of joint security and administrative structures for the city by Turkey and the United States."

Syrian Kurdish officials say group ready to talk to Damascus A political group close to Damascus visited the Kurdish-led administration in Syria to discuss the opening of a dialogue. Senior Kurdish officials have expressed a desire for "a Syrian-Syrian solution", an end to the war, and a continuation of their self-administration project.

Turkish officials credit Trump for Manbij road map Following phone calls with Erdoğan, Trump's personal interventions are credited with convincing the US's diplomatic and military bureaucracy to agree to a joint road-map for Manbij.

Operations in Northern Iraq

What's behind Turkish threats to invade PKK stronghold in Iraq? Mahmut Bozarslan writes that giving the AKP a headwind prior to the elections could be a main motivation behind Turkish threats to invade Qandil.

Turkey intensifies military operations in Northern Iraq Turkish commandoes have reportedly moved over 20 kilometres further into Iraqi Kurdistan's Erbil and Duhok provinces. However, the success of an operation targeting the PKK's bases in the Qandil mountains would also require cooperation from Iran, as the PKK has invested heavily in their bases along the Iran-Iraq border.

Turkey eyes ‘four-way deal’ against PKK in northern Iraq Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu cited this cooperation as being between Turkey, the United States, Baghdad and Erbil.

Domestic Politics

Turkish rap artist Ezhel faces 10 years in jail for inciting use of cannabis Prosecutors are asking for 5-10 years in prison for Turkish rapper Ezhel, who was arrested on May 24 for "inciting drug use".

All Boğaziçi University Students Released The remaining 14 Boğaziçi University students have been released pending their trial for protesting the Afrin operation.

Working as a journalist for the pro-government press: When this is all over I will stand up and cry my heart out Many journalists in Turkey have a choice between working for the pro-government media and unemployment. In this article, several of these journalists recount their experiences.

Who represents Ottomanism in Turkish politics? Gökhan Bacık writes that the Ottoman periphery's resentment of the 1839 Tanzimat reform's drive towards Westernization is important to understanding Turkey's contemporary Islamic movement. However, he also adds that Kemalism's radical nation-building policies were also instrumental in shaping this movement, as they "resulted in the complete Turkification and Islamisation of Anatolian demography".

Turkish public decries life sentences for young cadets 116 Air Force Academy cadets were accused of participating in the 2016 coup attempt and sentenced to life in prison. Those opposed to this type of harsh sentencing say that owing to their young age and the culture of strict obedience in the Turkish Armed Forces, many of these cadets would not have been able to defy the orders of their superiors, and many did not know that a coup attempt was underway.

International Politics

Senate bill to block F-35s to Turkey revealed The US Senate is expected to vote on a bill banning the sale of F-35 fighter aircraft to Turkey before the July 4th holiday.

Turkish jets violate Greek air space amid spike in aggressive rhetoric from Ankara Greek defense authorities recorded seven violations of Greek airspace by four Turkish fighter jets within the space of less than 30 minutes, following an increase in aggressive rhetoric from Ankara following release of the last four Turkish soldiers who had been detained after seeking asylum in Greece following the 2016 coup attempt.

Netanyahu Blocks Armenian Genocide Recognition Netanyahu, acting as Foreign Minister, decided to postpone the debate on Israeli recognition of the Armenian genocide until after the June 24th elections, claiming that the discussion would help Erdoğan attract votes. Opposition MPs called this explanation "false and ridiculous".

Turkish

June 24 Elections

Bu seçimin farkları Servet Avcı lists some features that will make this election different than prior ones: the fact that most parties are fielding their own presidential candidate may lead to a record turnout, which could be beneficial for the opposition; the weakness of the AKP's rhetoric; increased distrust in polling companies; the introduction of the IYI Party, and the CHP fielding a presidential candidate who actually knows how to excite the crowds.

Meral Akşener bilmecesi Regarding allegations that in the case of a runoff election with Muharrem Ince as the opposition candidate, Erdoğan and Bahçeli will cooperate with the IYI party in order to win the presidential elections, Amberin Zaman spoke to sources within the IYI Party who said that this could be possible considering Akşener's ambitions and the fact that the IYI Party is the party most likely to help the AKP easily maneuver in parliament if it loses its majority.

YüzdeOn Yazdı: Baraj Yıkılmazsa Ne Olacak? yuzdeon.com, a website campaigning for the HDP to gain at least 10% in the parliamentary elections, writes that if the HDP doesn't pass the electoral threshold, the AKP will be able to take at least 60 more seats, and easily obtain a majority.

İYİ Partililer'den Kanal D ve CNN Türk önünde protesto IYI Party members protested outside of Kanal D and CNN Turk's offices, decrying the fact that despite Meral Akşener's election meetings not being broadcasted despite drawing tens of thousands of people.

HÜDA-PAR: Anlaşamadık, Cumhur İttifakı'na rakibiz Despite announcing last week that they would be supporting Erdoğan in the presidential elections, HÜDA-PAR now says that they will be competing with the AKP-led alliance in the parliamentary elections, as they could not reach an agreement on the use of party logos.

Operations in Northern Iraq

Kandil ile sandık arasında Contrasting Erdoğan's coining of the term "Kurdish problem" in a 2005 meeting in Diyarbakir to address the peace process with his statement in Diyakbakir this week that "there is no Kurdish problem", Fatih Polat writes that although Turkey's Kurdish question has never been solved through military means, Ankara is making this mistake once again with its moves in Qandil and Manbij.

Kandil’e farklı bir konsept uygulanacak Abdulkadir Selvi writes that although Turkey has carried out operatinos in Qandil before, this operation will be different. He writes that the operation will be carried out with coordination from the US, will cut off supply routes between Turkey and Qandil, and like the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations, will be carried out in two phases.

Domestic Politics

Fenerbahçe Cumhuriyeti "TAMAM" dedi The soccer team Fenerbahçe's club has elected Ali Koç to replace Aziz Yıldırım as its president after the latter's 20-year term. The vote saw a record breaking level of participation, with 21,350 votes being used out of 25,650 possible votes.

Enflasyon Üretici Fiyatlarında 15 Yılın Zirvesinde The Turkish Statistical Institute has released the inflation statistics for the month of May; compared to 12 months averages, consumer prices rose 11.10%, while producer prices rose by 15.8%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices have risen by 1.62% while producer prices have risen by 3.79%.

Gözaltında işkence fotoğrafı Photos have emerged of four men who who were handcuffed to a heater and severely beaten after being arrested in Istanbul. When brought to a hospital the following day, doctors were seemingly close to the police and refused to file a report. An investigatiom has been opened, with the Turkish Human Rights Association representing the vicitms.

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu'na suikast davasında 3 tahliye Three suspects have been released in the case over a plot to assasinate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu during the "March for Justice".

Flormar’da direniş sürüyor, dayanışma büyüyor! Women workers' ongoing protest against cosmetic company Flormar's treatment of its employees is growing in size and attracting widespread solidarity. The company has fired 118 workers for joining a union and withdrawn vacation time from those who supported their colleagues in the protest; workers also say that the pay and working conditions at the company are subpar.