[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
Peace Process: AKP-HDP Joint Public Statement & Ten-Point Plan
As the Period of Armed Conflict Ends Etyen Mahcupyan reports that the Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister came together with the representatives of the People`s Democracy Party (HDP) at Dolmabahçe Palace, and made a joint public statement that both sides had agreed on a ten-point plan for the future of the peace and reconciliation process.
What Point Have We Reached in the Resolution Process? Ali Bayramoğlu emphasizes that the ten-point proposal had been shaped essentially over the road map prepared by Abdullah Öcalan.
Ending Armed Struggle Is a Strategic Decision Mahmur Övür writes that Öcalan’s decision to end the Kurdish armed struggle is a strategic decision and a milestone in Turkey’s history.
So Is It the PKK or the Government We See Squeezed into a Corner? Mümtazer Türköne argues that the ten-article solution proposed by Abdullah Öcalan forces both the PKK and the Turkish government to make a decision.
Do Not Expect Miracles from the Government or the Kurds (1) - (2) According to İlnur Çevik, the ten-article plan was announced to appease both Kurdish and Turkish sides’ electorate, and, in fact, the peace process will gain real momentum only after the June elections.
Solution Process at Sharp Turning Point… Cafer Solgun suggests that disarmament of the Kurdish armed forces cannot be viewed as the main goal of the process, because disarmament alone cannot bring peace.
AKP & Authoritarianism
Journalist in Jail for Revealing Alleged Coup Plot Plans Criticizing the government’s growing authoritarianism, Lale Kemal reports that the journalist Mehmet Baransu was arrested early this week for leaking state security secrets—that is, a planned coup.
Davutoğlu Relies on Tired Tactics before the CFR Emre Uslu suggests that Davutoğlu’s difficulty responding to questions at the Council on Foreign Relations will galvanize the West against the AKP regime.
Turkish Twitter User: Erdoğan to Target CHP-Linked Bank Barın Kayaoğlu analyzes Fuat Avni’s speculations about Erdoğan and the AKP government’s potential takeover of the CHP-affiliated İş Bankası.
Does Erdoğan Hope to Use Gül against Davutoğlu? Murat Yetkin argues that Erdoğan’s invitations to Abdullah Gül to re-enter active politics indicates that tensions are rising within the ranks of the AKP.
June Elections
The Race in June Elections Will Be between the AKP and the HDP Barçın Yinanç argues that economic instability and the developments in the peace process will make the election a competition between the AKP and the HDP.
Turkey`s Grand March, New Generation Statesmen İbrahim Karagül contends that the election will serve as a “third attempt” for the domestic and international forces trying to damage Turkey, following the Gezi protests and the 17 December corruption investigations.
Security Bill
Partisan Political Police Force Abdullah Bozkurt argues that the security bill, which will create the police force necessary to sustain the AKP’s authoritarianism, shows how desperate the regime is to hold onto power.
Democratic Right to Protest Mahmut Övür argues that opponents of the security bill are using the notion of "civil disobedience" as a pretext for anti-democratic, violent demonstrations.
Peace Requires Will, Not Tougher Laws Is it possible to negotiate with the Kurds on the conditions of co-existence in peace, while at the same time introducing police state rules with a new security bill? asks Yusuf Kanlı.
Foreign Relations
Won`t You Ever Visit Washington, Mr. Prime Minister? According to Ali H. Aslan, Turkish politicians who want the chance to go to Washington will not get the chance because of the government’s declining reputation and prestige abroad.
Saudi Arabia`s Anti-Iran Front: A Bad Idea for Turkey Murat Yetkin speculates about the value of building alliances across Sunni-dominant regimes in the Middle East against Shi’ite-dominant regimes such as Iran.
A New Page in Turkish-Saudi Relations İbrahim Kalın argues that the new bilateral developments between Turkey and Saudi Arabia will go a long way in fighting terrorism and instability in the Middle East at large.
Turkey`s Stance on ISIL Seems to Be Changing Suat Kınıklıoğlu suggests that the Turkish government has stepped up its efforts to fight ISIL’s presence in the region.
Turkey`s Dilemmas with ISIL Yaşar Yakış attempts to explain why the Turkish government’s approach to ISIL in the past several months has been ambivalent.
Erdoğan Tests Waters in Riyadh Semih İdiz argues that Erdoğan is trying to recuperate Turkey’s declining regional influence through its recent meeting in Saudi Arabia.
Are Turkey, Saudi Arabia Working Together against Iran? According to Fehim Taştekin, Turkey’s alliance with Saudi Arabia is a strategic miscalculation in its attempts to build influence in the region.
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Syria Kılıç Buğra Kanat claims that the growing collaboration between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar will provide a strategic approach to the conflict in Syria.
Turkey`s Growing Irrelevance Ömer Taşpınar argues that Prime Minister Davutoğlu’s North American trip is an attempt to seek regional support as a result of Turkey’s declining influence.
Turkish PM Has a Hard Job in the US Murat Yetkin suggests that Davutoğlu’s US visit is fraught by the economic and political struggles the Turkish government is facing.
Economy
Erdoğan`s Trouble with the Good-Old AKP According to Mustafa Akyol, Erdoğan’s interventions into the Central Bank are damaging the party’s internal politics and destabilizing the lira.
Proven Economic Policies in Jeopardy Erdal Sağlam claims that Erdoğan’s strong-handed approach to the Central Bank’s interest rates is undermining the successes of Central Bank President Erdem Başçı.
Checkmate İbrahim Türkmen argues that the political elites want to use Erdem Başçı as a “whipping boy” for impending economic problems.
Expectable Consequences of the Frenzy Seyfettin Gürsel suggests that the Central Bank is out of control and no longer functioning through rational economic policies.
Turkey Will Continue to Surprise Sadık Ünay asserts that critical comments from Western governments regarding the status of the Turkish economy are misdirected and that Turkey’s economy will bounce back quickly.
"Delicate" Relationship between Erdoğan and PM Hits Economy İsmet Berkan claims that President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Davutoğlu have different perspectives on the current Central Bank controversies.
Depreciation of Turkish Lira Distresses Government According to Murat Yetkin, the decline in the lira’s value is damaging the popular legitimacy of the AKP, which came into power after a similar crisis in 2001.
Other Pertinent Pieces
Turkey is Becoming More Secular, Not Less Mustafa Akyol examines evidence about Turkey’s increasing secularism as posited in a new book by Volkan Erit.
Starbucks Becomes Flashpoint between Turks, Armenians Pınar Tremblay examines recent controversies surrounding advertisements in Los Angeles area Starbucks stores that included images of traditional Armenian costumes alongside Turkish flags.
[Yaşar Kemal (1923-2015). Image by Fatih Pinar.]
Turkish
Peace Process: AKP-HDP Joint Public Statement & Ten-Point Plan
Ortak Müzakere Açıklaması ve BHH’nin Seçim Tavrı Fatih Polat suggests that the ten-article program is in fact open to negotiation regarding important issues like “equal citizenship” and “a new constitution.”
10 madde ile barış Neşe Yavuz lists and explains the ten items in Öcalan’s draft proposal.
Sırrı Süreyya Önder: 10 madde ön koşul, bu haliyle İç Güvenlik Paketi kırmızı çizgi Mete Çubukçu relays that the HDP is struggling for a revision of the government’s Domestic Security Bill as a part of the ten-point peace process proposal.
Diyarbakır’da ne `tarihi` bir hava, ne de bir coşku var! Nurcan Baysal suggests that among Kurds in Diyarbakır the ten-point plan did not create excitement, nor was it viewed as a “historical milestone” for the future of the peace and reconciliation process.
Tarihsel bir dönemeç ve kalıcı bir çözüm Bese Hozat calls the government to take concrete steps in order to satisfy demands proposed by Abdullah Öcalan in the ten-point peace process program.
On madde… Bringing the “disarmament” clause under scrutiny, Fuat Kav argues that what is meant in the ten-clause proposal is not the PKK’s stopping its armed struggle altogether, but its stopping the armed struggle only within Turkey’s national borders.
Müzakere, HDP Nazan Üstündağ points out that there is a set of preconditions (like the revision of the Security Bill) that the government has to fulfill in order to create the conditions for the negotiation of disarmament.
Demokrasimizin güvencesi: Kürtler Baskın Oran names the Kurds as “the guarantor of our democracy,” and suggests that the government should create democratic conditions for the disarmament of PKK.
AKP & Authoritarianism
Tayyip Erdoğan ve Mehmet Baransu Commenting on the arrest of the journalist Mehmet Baransu for leaking state security secrets—that is, a planned coup—Ahmet İnsel criticizes the AKP’s control over freedom of speech and the press.
Yeni Erdoğan, yeni AKP… Mustafa Ünal points out that ex-President Abdullah Gül is no longer an influential name in the AKP.
O zaman birileri çıkar, ‘Biz de sizi tanımıyoruz’ der! Murat Sevinç criticizes the government’s going against the constitution and breaching the rule of law.
Spiegel dergisi ‘Erdoğan’ın Almanya’daki ajanı’nı yazdı Elmas Topçu reports that the German journal Der Spiegel wrote that President Erdoğan’s ex-advisor Taha Gergerlioğlu was in fact leading an “agent net” who fight against Kurds and the Gülen community.
Gerilim ve gerçekleri anlatma görevi According to İhsan Çaralan, the AKP is reducing the “joint statement” to an “electoral strategy” rather than viewing it as an important step for peace.
June Elections
HDP `Türkiye Özgürlük Hareketi`ne dönüşür mü? Ahmet İnsel suggests that the HDP has the capacity to democratize Turkey.
Oylar CHP’den HDP’ye kayabilir Lale Kemal finds notes that some of the CHP’s electorate might vote for the HDP in this election, because the HDP is viewed as the only party that can stop the AKP’s electoral victory.
7 Haziran’da oyum HDP’ye! Hasan Cemal announces that he will vote for the HDP, and argues that the HDP has become Tayyip Erdoğan’s biggest nightmare.
Demirtaş’ı yıpratma projesine dikkat! Oya Baydar points out that the AKP has been carrying out an attrition campaign against Selahattin Demirtaş, HDP deputy, since his name threatens the AKP in the elections.
HDP, seçim barajı ve metropollerdeki Kürtler Onur Günay writes about the AKP, the HDP, the electoral threshold, and the Kurds in metropolises.
Demirtaş`ın yabancı dil hakimiyeti ve HDP`nin hamlesi Ezgi Başaran praises Selahattin Demirtaş for being articulate, clever, and truehearted, and having natural leadership and charisma.
Türkiye’nin Kürtlerle sınavı Amberin Zaman argues that it is time for Turkey to prove its will to live with Kurds in peace and harmony.
Yan yana yürüyememek Yüksel Taşkın argues that a fair amount of the CHP electorate began to show their sympathy and support for the HDP, especially for Selahattin Demirtaş, whereas the HDP continues to discredit the CHP.
`Kadın devrimi`, Türkiye demokrasisinin `belkemiği`… The HDP would able to pass the ten percent electoral threshold only with the support of women, and a “women’s revolution” is the backbone of the democratization process in Turkey, Cengiz Çandar argues.
Halk hata yapar mı? “The public does not make a mistake and you will see it in the June elections,” Mümtaz’er Türköne writes.
Other Pertinent Pieces
Dink soruşturmasına 17 Aralık perdesi Bülent Korucu criticizes the fact that the Hrant Dink trial has been reduced to an apparatus for the revenge between the AKP and the Gülen movement that became crystallized with the 17 December corruption and bribery investigation.
İnsanın ne kadar sefilleşebileceğine dair bu kepaze gösteriye bir son verin artık Hürrem Sönmez argues that the Kabatas debates (where a female AKP supporter and her baby was said to be beaten up by a militant crowd during Gezi Park protests) is the biggest lie of history, and that the AKP continues to manipulate it although it has now been proven to be a lie.
Yerli dizilerin ürettiği şiddet, cinsiyetçilik ve kadın cinayetleri Aydan Özsoy writes about sexism, sexual violence, and femicide produced and circulated in Turkey’s national television series.
Türkiye edebiyatının son doğuşçu yazarı: Yaşar Kemal Ahmet Güneştekin reports that one of Turkey’s best-known writers, Yaşar Kemal, who was Turkey’s first Nobel Prize nominee for literature, has died.
Published on Jadaliyya
In Memory of Ozgecan Aslan: Sexual Violence and the Juridical System in Turkey
Becoming a `Media Intellectual`: The Platitudes and Partisanships of Etyen Mahçupyan
Bio-Istanbul: A Speculative, Segregationist, and Sustainable Urbanism
Justice: An Uncertain Question in Turkey