[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
Are Protests on the Rise Again in Turkey? Orhan Kemal Cengiz analyzes the new wave of Gezi protests and compares it to the first wave. Cengiz also makes some predictions about the direction the government will observe in Fascism or Democracy: Which Direction?
Is Syria War Additional Spark To Alevi Protests in Turkey? Cengiz Çandar draws attention to signals that show the Alevis are heading to the streets.
Turkey’s Sunni-Alevi Fault Line Semih İdiz examines the major demands of the Alevis, suggesting they have to be taken seriously if the government is sincere about solving the problem.
Women Protesters in Turkey Brave Sexual Harassment Pınar Tremblay tells a story of a female student taken into custody at one of the most prestigious universities of Turkey, Middle East Technical University (METU).
The Dangers of Setting the Bar Too High Cenk Sidar argues that “Turkey won`t be able to achieve a healthy democracy unless it allows for a greater diversity of political representation.”
Civility and Deliberation Doğu Ergil contends that “most of the common problems we face originate not from the reality as is but our official position regarding what they ought to be.”
Can Ankara Learn From The “Painted Stairs” Incident? Mustafa Akyol compares the two governmental responses towards distinct but similar incidents: the painted stairs and the Gezi Park Protests.
Conspiracies and Sociology Ali Bulaç suggests that conspiracy theories are not enough to explain sociological events such as Tahrir and Gezi.
Art Goes Indoors at Istanbul Biennial As Yasemin Çongar remarks, the uprisings in Gezi and Tahrir will be represented in the Istanbul Biennial through the works of over a hundred contemporary artists from all around the world.
AK Party, Islamism, Terror Yalçın Akdoğan, PM Erdoğan’s chief advisor, points to “the ‘radical Islamist’ tag that is being attempted to be pasted, domestically and internationally.”
Turkey’s AKP Mobilizes Twitter Army for Elections “Twitter opening,” Barın Kayaoğlu underlines, “means that political battles in Turkey will now be fought on social media as fiercely as in the real world.”
Kurdish Question
Democracy Key to Resuming Stalled Process Cafer Solgun analyses the Kurdish rebels’ decision to halt the withdrawal.
Withdrawal and Rojava Etyen Mahçupyan argues that “by halting the withdrawal, the PKK is inviting Turkey to take steps” in Rojava.
Öcalan Raises the Bar in Turkey’s Kurdish Bid According to Murat Yetkin, “now the content of the Turkish government’s ‘democratization package’ is more important than, say, three months before.”
Turkey’s Syria Border on Edge Amberin Zaman shares her impressions from her recent visit to the PYD-controlled town of Ras al-Ain, or Serekaniye in Kurdish.
Is PKK Planning to Resume Military Operations? Huseyin Ozay and Onder Celik reveal a security report that government members discussed following the PKK’s decision.
Öcalan`s Photo Mümtazer Türköne writes about Selahattin Demirtaş and Pervin Buldan’s visit to İmralı, following the PKK’s halting of the withdrawal.
Use of “Kurdistan” in Turkey (1) “The word ‘Kurd’ has been a taboo up until recently in Turkey. Now we avoid using the notion ‘Kurdistan,’” Hasan Kanbolat points out.
PKK`s Kurdish Education Demands Spark Debate in Turkey Giving examples, Fehim Taştekin emphasizes that education in the mother tongues does not divide countries.
Hrant Dink Case
Family Boycotts Retrial for Murder of Turkish-Armenian Journalist Yavuz Baydar says that the Hrant Dink case returned to ground zero six years after the murder, drawing attention to the victim’s family’s open letter.
The “Friends of Hrant” and the “Friends of his Murderer” “The Dink trial is very important for observing what happened to the so-called ‘deep state’ after the AKP altered the status quo ante,” suggests Nuray Mert.
Foreign Policy
Syria`s Cost for Turkey İhsan Dağ contends that “the Syria crisis is turning into a nightmare for Turkey.”
Turkey’s Syria Nightmare Goes From Bad to Worse Semih İdiz shares the same opinion as İhsan Dağ and says that the situation went from bad to worse.
The Syrian Quagmire and Erdoğan’s Coalition of the Willing: More Difficult Times Ahead for Turkey-EU relations? Gerben K. Wedekind reveals the implications of the Syrian civil war for Turkey.
Syria: Turkey`s Passive Importance and its Foreign Policy Trauma “Cases like the Syrian one show that Turkey`s importance to the West is a passive, not an active, importance,” argues Gökhan Bacık.
Security at Borders, Democracy Inside Should Be Reinforced Bülent Keneş comments on the shooting down of a Syrian helicopter by Turkish warplanes.
Davutoglu: Shooting Down of Helicopter "Punishment" for Syria In his analysis, Kadri Gürsel underlines Davutoglu’s remark that Turkey was punishing the Syrian helicopter.
Press Freedom
Turkey’s Increasing Dilemmas: Old Routines, Gezi Park, Ergenekon and the Rule of Self-Censorship Eugene Schoulgin, the Vice President of PEN International, elaborates on the recent developments in Turkey.
CPJ Calls on Erdoğan to Embrace Press Freedom The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the relevant authorities in Turkey to take steps in order to ensure press freedom.
Economy
Signs of a Fall in Turkey’s Potential Growth Rate? Fatih Özatay draws attention to the unpleasant possibilities following a short-term drop in foreign finance opportunities.
Will Turkish Economy Benefit From Reopening Halki Seminary? Süleyman Yaşar says that keeping the Halki Seminary closed deprives the Turkish economy of an alternative source of revenue.
Mexico and Turkey: Unlikely Similarities in their Geopolitical Situation with Powerful Northern Neighbors Eric R. Eissler compares Turkey and Mexico. According to him, they have much in common.
Turkish
Bir zamanlar “laiklik” sorunumuz vardı Murat Aksoy argues that secularism is still a prevailing question in Turkey.
Düşüş Similar to Shakespeare`s tragic character Macbeth, Erdoğan`s inevitable fate is to fail, Meltem Gürle writes.
Toplumsal çatışma mı iktidar savaşı mı; uzlaşma mı birlikte yaşama mı Mehmet Bekaroğlu discusses the modern nation state’s approaches to differences, and offers a road map to coexistence.
İki "iki Turkiye" (I): Birincisi çatışır ama bölünmez Dismissing the official rhetoric that Turkey is a homogenous society, Şükrü Hanioğlu argues that there are “two Turkeys” produced as a consequence of identity politics.
Kurgu ile gerçeklik arasında Gezi eylemleri An extensive pro-governmental report on the Gezi uprising based on in-depth interviews with protesters from four cities.
Kenti (yoksullarından) "temizlemek" Sibel Özbudun analyzes how urban transformation and gentrifications projects in Istanbul are realized through the dispossession of the city`s poor inhabitants.
Hrant Dink Case
Siz katilleri iyi bilirsiniz Agos newspaper declares it will not give up demanding the murderers of their former Editor-in-Chief, Hrant Dink.
Fethiye Çetin: Genelkurmay`da Dink cinayeti belgesi olmalı, Büyükanıt yargılanmalı Fethiye Çetin, Hrant Dink’s close friend and attorney, presents evidence that has been ignored and hushed up throughout the Dink trial.
Devlet ayağa kalk; Hrant Dink davası yeniden başlıyor! Doğan Akin introduces Fethiye Cetin`s new book, Utanc Duyuyorum: Hrant Dink Cinayetinin Yargisi.
Bir “yüzleşme metni”... Introducing Fethiye Cetin`s newly published book, Utanc Duyuyorum, Ali Bayramoglu comments on the Hrant Dink trial.
Hrant Dink Cinayeti: Bu dava böyle yürümez! Elaborating on Dink family`s withdrawal from the Hrant Dink trial, Cengiz Candar criticizes the malfunctioning of jurisdiction.
Alevi Question
Muhafazakar devlette Alevi olmak According to Ihsan Dagi, Turkey`s relation to “other identities” has always been problematic. He says Alevi people demand equality, recognition, representation, and participation: Peki, Aleviler ne olacak?
Alevi, Nuseyri ve siyaset… Ali Bayramoglu argues that Turkey`s foreign policy towards Syria, the language of the AKP government, and some Alevi groups participating in the Gezi movement have stirred up Alevis in general, and the Nuseyri population in particular.
Melezleşmenin başlangıcı mı? Murat Coskuner analyzes the protests of Alevis following the recently launched cami-cemevi (mosque-cemevi) project.
Alevi barışı ya da cami-cemevi Hasan Bulent Kahraman comments on the newly launched cami-cemevi (mosque-cemevi) project by pointing out the questions of privacy, identity, and recognition of difference.
Cami avlusundaki cemevi Criticizing the AKP`s “Alevi opening,” Vedat Ilbeyoğlu argues that the cami-cemevi project has an assimilationist character.
Alevilik testi Ekrem Dumanlı criticizes the critical reactions around the “Mosque-Cemevi Projects” by those who regard it as yet another attempt to assimilate Alevis into Sunni belief.
Cami ve cemevi Ali Bulaç addresses the Gulen Movement’s affirmative position on the legal status of the Cemevis to support the “Mosque-Cemevi Project,” developed by Fethullah Gulen himself.
Kurdish Question
Başbakan’ın etrafındaki karargah değişti Serpil Ergün interviews Sırrı Süreyya Önder, a BDP deputy, about the PKK’s decision to halt the withdrawal and the current political dynamics in Turkey.
Amed Gezi`si A program on the Gezi protesters’ attempt to gain insight into the Kurdish issue by making a trip to Amed (Diyarbakır) in hopes of exchanging subjectivities and strengthening solidarity.
Tabii ki kardeşlik, ama özgürlük ve eşitlikle birlikte Ruşen Çakır presents “education in the mother tongue” and “legal status for Cemevis” as sine qua non for the government’s expected democratic reform package.
Süreç Öcalan olmadan ilerleyebilir mi? In another article, Ruşen Çakır speculates on the current state of the “peace process,” claiming that Öcalan’s involvement in the negotiations is indispensable.
Öcalan ne diyor? Kandil ne yapıyor? Analyzing the conflicts and contradictions among different actors of the Kurdish movement in response to the PKK`s withdrawal, Oral Çalışlar argues that Ocalan plays a crucial role as a mediator between the Turkish state and the PKK.
Ezberler bozuluyor, tabular yıkılıyor… Despite the AKP`s peace and democratization promises, human rights violations increasingly continue, as Eren Keskin points out.
Sürecin bir ayaği Rojava`da Mete Çubukçu points out that Rojava is becoming one of the main pillars of the “peace process.”
Müzakere için! An interview with Selahattin Demirtas about three suggestions proposed by Öcalan in their last meeting. The second part of the interview is about Syria, Rojava, and the Gezi uprising: Paralel devlete dikkat!
Çözüm sürecine asıl zararı kullanılan tetikçi takımı veriyor Despite all difficulties and obstacles, insisting on the “process” is vital to peace and democracy, Hasan Cemal says.
Nereye? Reflecting on PKK`s decision to halt the withdrawal, Doğu Ergil speculates about the future of the “peace process.”
İlk kez çift taraflı ateşkesin olması çok önemli An interview with Hakan Tahmaz, a member the executive committee of the Peace Assembly.
Güneydoğuda`ki `iti ite kirdirmak` zihniyeti Suriye`de tekrarlanıyor mu? Hasan Cemal makes a comparative analysis on the unidentified murders that the Kurds in Turkey experienced in the 1990s, and what is happening in Rojava now.
Kürt siyaseti ve yeni dengeler Following the PKK’s halting of the withdrawal, Ali Bayramoglu argues that the peace process went into a period of stagnation.
Müzakeresiz süreçten ve çözümden söz edilemez Following the PKK’s halting of the withdrawal, Huseyin Ali writes about the leadership of Öcalan and the importance of his role in the peace process.
Statüsüzlük bitecek An interview with Fatma Adir, member of the executive council of KCK, on the eleventh congress of the PKK, Rojava, and the AKP’s policies.
Demokratikleşme, Kürtler ve anadilde eğitim Umut Özkırımlı criticizes the AKP’s democratization package, since it does not include education in the mother tongue.
Kürtler zımmi midir? Mucahit Bilici argues that Kurds have been subjected to Turks, and never seen as political equals.
Foreign Policy
Bugün bir Ortadoğu uzmanına haddini bildirelim Mehmet Efe condemns the so-called Middle East experts for presenting the official discourse as the only valid interpretation of politics in the Middle East.
Suriye, Aleviler, Gezi: Yeni faylar, yeni direnişler How does the Turkish government’s Syria policy relate to the conditions of the Alevis in Turkey and the Gezi Park protests?
Nerede kalmıştık Temel Iskit explores the contemporary foreign policy of Turkey.
Rol modeli ve bölgesel güç Murat Belge argues that AKP`s desire to be a “regional power” instead of a “role model” will eventually lead to political isolation.
AK Parti`yi artık İslamcı biliyorlar Koray Çalışkan points out that the AKP`s international image as a conservative democrat government is no longer sustained.
Yüklü gündem, hafif tartışmalar Doğu Ergil examines the current situation in Syria, and speculates on how a possible intervention in Syria could change international power relations.
Economy
Fazi lobisi, insaat furyasi, cari açık: Turkiye ekonomisi nereye? An interview with Refet Gurkaynak about the political economy of Turkey after the Gezi movements.
Published on Jadaliyya
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Akademisyenlerin cozum sureci ile ilgili imza metni uzerine
Talk Turkey: Re-Thinking Life Since Gezi (New School University, 4-5 October)