[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
Soma Mine Disaster
Deadly Fire Roars Through Coal Mine in Turkey (1)-(2) “Public’s outrage over mine disaster casts harsh light on Turkey’s premier,” Tim Arango, Kareem Fahim, and Şebnem Arsu report.
Turkey’s Neoliberal Death Toll: Hundreds of Miners Died in Great Soma Massacre Sendika’s report on the Soma mine disaster.
Over-Production Invited the Disaster An interview with Mehmet Utkan, a mining engineer in Soma, who specializes in safety.
Productivity Murder Caught in the wheels of the magical word “productivity,” workers in Turkey die in hundreds under an excessive workload and timed pressure, writes Jale Özgentürk.
Turkey Coalmine Disaster: Accident or Murder? Pieter Verstraete argues that the mine disaster “was not a random accident; it was the direct consequence of a decade of neoliberalization.”
Is This Fate? “Branding whatever bad happens as ‘fate’ while ripping benefits from whatever good develops cannot be compatible with any religious teaching,” Yusuf Kanlı points out.
Death, Grief, and Anger Mustafa Akyol reminds that “‘worker deaths’ has been a recurrent theme in Turkish politics since the AKP came to power and hastened Turkey’s industrial progress.”
Why Are More Turks Dying for a Ton of Coal? Güven Sak points that “the human cost of coal production is rather high in Turkey.”
The Tragedy of the Soma Mine-Workers: A Crime of Peripheral Capitalism Unleashed Erinç Yeldan’s analysis of the Soma mine disaster.
Turkey’s Coal Problem Jenna Krajeski argues that the government seems to take measures to help businesses develop Turkey, even at the expense of Turkish citizens.
Is Worker Safety a Luxury in Turkey? Cengiz Aktar points out that “ordinary workers are paying the price for Turkey`s `Think Big` developmentalist motto.”
Do Not Ever Go into İllegal Mines! Melis Alphan points that Turkey has another bleeding wound, such as illegal mines.
16 Tons A movie about conscience and the free market, by Ümit Kıvanç.
Will Prayers Wash the Miners’ Blood from our Hands? Özgür Korkmaz writes that “We are all murderers. As of yesterday, we have the blood of hundreds of coal miners on our hands.”
Mine Workers Forced to Salute Prime Minister Erdoğan Barçın Yinanç dedicates her column to the speech delivered by Özgür Özel, from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Erdoğan Says Mining Accidents "Nature of the Business" Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said mine accidents are "ordinary developments," reports Tülin Daloğlu.
In Turkey`s Mine Disaster, Erdoğan Turns Tragedy Into Farce “Why does the officially elected premier of a country of nearly eighty million feel he can display such open lunacy?” asks Melik Kaylan.
Turkey`s Tragedy and Erdoğan`s Thoughtlessness Bloomberg, in its editorial, contends that “Erdoğan may have his facts right, but he has his century wrong—and his timing is crass.”
Turkey Coal Mine Explosion: Turkish PM Accused of "Slapping Protester" Erdoğan is accused of hitting a protester during demonstrations over mine disaster, the Independent reports.
Dispatches: Turkey Kicking Them While They’re Down “Turkey is a country where a government aide can kick a citizen while they’re down and remain in his job,” Emma Sinclair-Webb writes.
Turkey: Politics of Disaster “On terrible occasions, leaders must not only be physically present, they must say the right words, and mean them,” the Guardian, in its editorial, points out.
The Problem With the Turkish Government in a Nutshell “The damage comes in the government’s response to events outside of its control and makes a bad situation that much worse,” Michael Koplow argues.
Miners Paid for the Government’s Ignorance with their Lives (1)-(2)-(3) Murat Yetkin points that “miners are still down there but the government is after protesters.”
Kicking, Punching, and Denial of Soma Disaster (1)-(2) Orhan Kemal Cengiz writes that “Alleged incidents of kicking and punching from the government indicate that they do not feel any guilt for what happened in Soma.”
Massacre in the Mine: Symptom of a One-Man Regime İhsan Yılmaz argues that “such terrible things do not happen in a democracy.”
Turkey Mourns İbrahim Kalin claims that the AKP government did what it had to.
Soma Disaster Threatens Turkey`s Fragile Social Contract Karabekir Akkoyunla argues that Turkey has become a grim twenty-first-century Dickensian dystopia.
Turkey Is Not a "Banana Republic" Recalling Erdoğan’s frequent remark, “Turkey is not a banana republic,” Cafer Solgun says the Soma mine disaster is a test of whether Turkey is a banana republic or not.
Can Erdoğan Survive Soma Mine Tragedy? Cengiz Çandar argues that “the Soma mine disaster might be the incident to finally damage the prime minister`s presidential aspirations.”
The Mine Killed the People of Soma Like the Planes Killed the People of Roboski Fréderike Geerdink compares the Soma mine disaster to the Roboski (Uludere) massacre.
Other Pertinent Pieces
Key Witness’ Testimony Sends Gezi Victim’s Family to Tears A report on the second hearing into the murder of Gezi protester Ali İsmail Korkmaz.
Why Is Turkey’s Media Environment Ranked "Not Free"? Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Project Director of "Freedom of the Press," explains why Turkey is ranked "not free" by Freedom House.
Turkey Increases Military Spending In recent years, Turkey has concluded many contracts to purchase military equipment, raising questions about Ankara`s motives, Güngör Uras points out.
Does Erdoğan Need Öcalan to Be Elected President? Cengiz Çandar comments on the Democratic Islam Congress held by the Kurdish Movement last week in Diyarbakır.
Kurdish Voices Grow Stronger Through Film “Kurdish filmmakers are using cinema to broach sensitive topics in Turkey, but major challenges persist,” Jillian Kestler-D`Amours writes.
The Real Curse of "Imperialism" Mustafa Akyol comments on the kidnapping of school girls by Boko Haram and responses to it in Turkey.
Syrians in Turkey Face Growing Discrimination As the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey continues to grow, these refugees experience increasing discrimination and ill-treatment, Işıl Cinmen writes.
Turkish
Soma Mine Disaster
Soma’da tam teşekküllü cinayet (1)-(2)-(3) Aziz Çelik notes that the mine disaster in Soma is a full-fledged murder and that the state authorities are trying to hide the exact number of deaths.
Soma katliamı…Katiller aramızda (1)-(2) Nuray Mert argues that the mine massacre was not fate nor an accident; it was the result of the “barbarity of capitalism.”
H...S...! Fıtratınız batsın, birbirinize müstahaksınız! (1)-(2) Oya Baydar argues that the Soma massacre and afterwards reveal the cruel and brutal nature of the state.
Vicdan koalisyonu genişliyor (1)-(2)-(3) According to Ruşen Çakır, the AKP government will suffer from the Soma disaster more than it suffered from the Gezi uprisings and the graft crisis.
Üniversite’den Soma tepkisi: Taşeronlaşma işçilerin hayatına mal oluyor Academics from Labor Economics and and Industrial Relations departments declare that subcontracting costs workers’ lives.
21. yüzyılın vahşi kapitalizmi Aydin Ergin points out that worker deaths are not “fate,” but the result of capitalism.
Soma katliaminin sebebini madde madde acikliyorum (1)-(2) Ezgi Başaran argues that privatization, subcontracting, lack of unionization, and unlawfulness are the causes of the Soma massacre.
Türkiye’nin Çernobil’i Sezin Öney notes that Soma is a mine city, but it does not have any hospital, security team, and infrastructure built for work-related accidents.
Soma kazasında öğrenebildiklerimiz (1)-(2) Ümit Kıvanç writes about the reasons that lead to brutal deaths of hundreds of workers.
Alın terine selam! Ahmet Taşgetiren contends that the discourse of “development” aims to maximize the profit by minimizing the value of the labor of workers.
Türkiye`de kömür madenciliği ve enerjideki rolü Mustafa Aktaş, the head of the General Directorate of Turkish Coal, writes about the importance of coal mining in energy production in Turkey.
Madenlerde yaşanan iş kazaları ve sonuçları üzerine bir değerlendirme TEPAV’s report on the reasons and results of mine accidents.
Aslı Odman: kol 10 bin, can 100 bin lira An interview with Aslı Odaman on work safety and health in Turkey.
Soma faciası ve temel bir sorun olarak `İş Güvenliği` Burhan Edim reveals the problems in the mining industry: the lack of work safety.
Oraya gitmeseydiniz keşke! Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan’s piece on the Soma massacre.
Bu kara kimin karası? Yetvart Danzikyan holds whole society responsible for the deaths in Soma.
Yuh çekersen tokadı yersin! Cüneyt Özdemir criticizes the attitude of the prime minister after the Soma massacre.
AKP’nin ‘yeraltı’ prensi Gürkan (1)-(2) Hüseyin Özay examines Soma Holding’s ties with the government.
Maden ocağına gömülen imaj Akif Emre problematizes the assumed relationship between approval of neoliberal politics and religious values.
Takdir-i ilahi Ali Bulaç argues that the Soma massacre is neither an accident nor destiny.
O yumruk, o tekmeler kime atıldı? Gültekin questions the silence following the footage that showed Erdoğan physically attacking a protestor in Soma.
Bir mega proje: Soma Katliamı Zeynep Kurtuluş Korkman and Salih Can Açıksöz argue that the potential obscuring of the massacre could be engineered as an incentive for foreign capital.
Milletin efendileri According to Utku Balan, the Soma disaster crystallized the power differentials between the rulers and the ruled.
Erdoğan, Kurds, and the Presidential Elections
Halk ihtilali ve meşruiyet “Yes, a revolution took place in Türkye with and during the AKP rule, but it ceased to exist long ago,” writes Mücahit Bilici.
Olağanüstüyü olağanla aşmak According to Şükrü Hanioğlu, the only way out of the country’s extraordinary situation is to get rid of extraordinary situations.
Olağanüstülüğü nasıl aşacağız? In response to Şükrü Hanioğlu, Bekir Ağırdır offers ways out of the extraordinary circumstances.
Gülen soruşturmasının muhtemel etkileri Ruşen Çakır discusses the potential effects of the Gülen community investigation.
‘Age of’ pişkinlik, pervasızlık Yetvart Danzikyan defines the post-December 17 period as “the age of recklessness,” referring to politicians’ apathy in regard to the political criticism targeting them.
Cumhurbaşkanı Aranıyor A civil initiative to find a representative candidate for the Turkish Presidency.
Eril bir başarı öyküsü olarak Erdoğan Muktedir`de H. Bahadır Türk’s new book Muktedir provides a profile of Erdoğan as a politician of Turkish right-wing politics.
Muhteşem açmaz ve Kürt meselesi (1)-(2) Mehmet Altan questions Kurdish leaders’ politics in the light of the authoritarianism of the AKP government.
Mecburiyet Adil Bayram’s response to Mehmet Altan’s criticisms.
Kürtler Türk demokrasisini satıyor efsanesi Oral Çalışlar scrutinizes the claim that Kurds are selling out the Turkish democracy.
Demokratik İslam Kongresi
Referansımız Medine Sözleşmesi The final declaration of the Democratic Islam Congress held in Diyarbakır.
Öcalan’ın Demokratik İslam Kongresi için mesajı PKK jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan’s message to the Democratic Islam Congress.
Öcalan’ın İslamiyet ile ilgisi (1)-(2) Ruşen Çakır interprets Öcalan’s message.
Bir meydan okuma: Demokratik İslam Kongresi Aydın Engin points out the challenging nature of the Congress.
‘Demokratik İslam Kongresi’ Ali Bulaç’s reflections on the Congress.
Balibar in Turkey
Gezi gibi barışçıl isyan hareketleri neden devrimcidir? Barış Yıldırım interviews Etienne Balibar on the possibility of doing politics in the face of violence.
Etienne Balibar’ın şiddet ve medenilik düşüncesine feminist bir yaklaşım Zeynep Direk offers a feminist perspective of Balibar’s “Violence and Civility.”
Balibar kolokyumunun ardından Reflections on the Balibar colloquium by Ertan Kardeş.
Published on Jadaliyya
On Erdoğan’s "Ordinary Things": The Soma Massacre, the Spine Tower, and the Corporate-State’s Fitrat in Turkey
Stillbirth: The New Liberal-Conservative Mobilization in Turkey
Quick Thoughts: Cihan Tugal on the Soma Mining Disaster
Soma Katliami Tanikliklari (Interview with Selcuk Kozagacli with English Subtitles)