[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
Kurdish Politics and End of Armistice
Erdoğan’s Bloody Gambit Max Zirngast argues that the Turkish government is using the massacre in Suruç to wage war—not on ISIS, but on the Kurdish liberation movement.
So Who Should the Turkish State Negotiate With? According to İlnur Çevik, although the PKK is inevitably an indirect party in the peace process, the direct addressees are PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, and the Kurdish politicians together with those who do not support the PKK and those who have Islamic sensitivities.
Which Resolution Process, Which War Markar Esayan, an Armenian journalist and an AKP member, thinks the HDP missed a historical change of being the agent of peace by destabilizing the political field and the streets, and starting to utilize “Erdoğan hatred” in its discourse.
Lebanonization in Turkey Abdullah Bozkurt states that in order to maintain the AKP’s electoral power, President Erdogan’s has utilized a ruling style that has led to divisive sociological consequences for the nation, similar to pre-war conditions of Lebanon.
The PKK Is Committing Suicide According to Nagehan Alçı, the PKK wants to continue warfare to maintain its influence despite the fact that calming messages are anticipated to come from Öcalan—the now-isolated captive PKK leader who has not been allowed by the state to speak to Kurdish politicians for more than four months.
Why Demirtaş Is Chosen as the Target (1) - (2) Murat Yetkin talks about why Selahattin Demirtaş, co-chair of the HDP, is being targeted by government officials and pro-government media outlets, and the HDP’s attempts to mediate the restart of the negotiation talks between the PKK and the AKP.
Questions on Combating Terror Cafer Solgun questions the government’s “combating terror” discourse by contrasting the staunch opposition to ISIS emerging only after the Suruç massacre, and insufficient investigation into pre-election suicide attacks in HDP meetings and armed assaults to election offices and HDP members (a chronology of events mentioned in this article in Turkish: İşte 7 Haziran seçimi öncesinde Türkiye çapında HDP`ye yapılan saldırıların kronolojisi.)
Who Killed Turkey-PKK Peace Process? According to Mustafa Akyol, the peace process between Turkey and the Kurdish group is now on hold, thanks to a perfect storm blown by the Kurdistan Workers Party`s militancy, the toxic impact of the Syrian civil war, and grand political ambitions in Ankara.
Turkey Riles Kurds Over Bodies of Dead Fighters Mahmut Bozarslan describes how Turkey’s refusal to allow entry to the bodies of Kurdish fighters killed in Syria and Iraq has added to already simmering tensions between Ankara and the Kurds.
Germany Likes Secular Form of Terror in the Middle East Melih Altınok criticizes the German Left’s and Green Party-affiliated German politicians` sympathy for the PKK as, according to him, “the difference between ISIS and PKK militants [is] that the former have long beards.”
Is Ankara Headed Toward All-Out War With Turkey’s Kurds? Cengiz Çandar thinks that unless a deus ex machina like the United States enters into the equation between the Turkish government and the PKK, the clashes between the sides will continue.
Iran`s Dangerous Game Yahya Bostan argues that Iran continues to make secret alliances with terrorist organizations to strengthen its hand in regional politics, supporting the PKK and the PYD for the time being due to overlapping interests.
Rejecting ISIS and PKK Terrorism İbrahim Kalın, deputy secretary to Prime Minister Davutoğlu, purports that Turkey will continue fighting PKK militants in an act of self-defense against the PKK’s attacks on military targets and personnel in the same way as it does with ISIS, inviting no double-standard in its fight against terrorism.
Why Is Turkey Bombing the Kurds? Kamran Matin contextualizes Turkey’s current attacks on the PKK with recent regional, international, and domestic developments, listing the objectives of the ongoing assaults.
Turkey`s Culture of Fear Pınar Tremblay describes how the panic-stricken media generates public insecurity in Turkey’s now conflict-ridden political atmosphere.
Military’s Upper Hand in Politics? Lale Kemal asks whether the Turkish military will comply with President Erdoğan’s will to initiate a purge of officers claimed to be members of the Hizmet movement at this year’s Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting.
What`s Gone Wrong With the Turkey-Kurdish Peace Process? “[T]he Turkish government could not institutionalize the peace process beyond the short-sighted political gains. A more systematic, organized and multilateral establishment of this process under the supervision of the Turkish parliament is a must,” writes Serhun Al.
The Mastery of Non-Mastery In his report and reflections from Kobane, Michael Taussig read the Kurdish Movement through Benjamin, Mauss, Clastres, Hegel, Marx, and Foucault.
The PKK`s Grand Error According to İhsan Aktaş, gaining victories against ISIS and the HDP’s thirteen percent electoral success has led the PKK to overestimate its capabilities, and imagine that “it could easily launch a revolutionary people`s movement in the region as a whole.”
`There Will Be a Civil War in Turkey`: Welcome to Cizre, the `Center of Kurdish Resistance` John Beck from Vice News reports from Cizre, the Kurdish enclave in southeastern Turkey, renowned for its history of unrest and resistance to the state, interviewing Kurdish youth and the locals about ongoing clashes with security forces.
Murray Bookchin and the Kurdish Resistance Joris Leverink discusses how Bookchin’s ideas, rejected by the communists and anarchists of the day, are incorporated into the PKK’s ideology in the form of Democratic Confederalism.
Coalition Debates
The Formula in the President`s Mind (1) - (2) Abdülkadir Selvi discusses the different scenarios regarding the “now-certain” re-elections, and argues that the MHP will allow for the kind of government that President Erdoğan configures while the HDP will be prevented from becoming a government partner in the minority government that will be formed to lead the country to re-elections.
AKP’s Plan B: MHP-Backed Minority Government Murat Yetkin talks about what is most likely to happen if an AKP-CHP coalition is not formed: a minority government that the MHP supports, formed with the aim of leading the country to re-elections.
Is There Anything Wrong With Going to the Polls Again? İlnur Çevik argues that holding new elections should be perceived as normal, since the prerequisites for a coalition to be formed are mutual trust and will for collaboration, which political parties in Turkey currently lack.
Snap Elections Loom Amid Concerns Over Escalated Violence Serkan Demirtaş thinks the reason why the MHP and the AKP do not form a coalition, although they agree on most issues, is a tacit agreement to go to early elections and keep the HDP below the ten percent threshold.
Davutoğlu’s Multi-Dimensional Quandary Semih İdiz purports that Davutoğlu’s coalition talks are colored by trying to keep Erdogan and hardline AKP members happy by not forming a coalition with the CHP while intending to pursue the peace process by avoiding a coalition with the MHP.
Clinging to Power, AKP Points to Early Election According to Yavuz Baydar, the AKP will lose even more votes in a potential early elections scenario as it no longer upholds the principle that has characterized the discourse of the party for a decade, a party that speaks for the aspirations of the people.
The $55 Billion Cost of Abandoning the Kurdish Peace Process Zülfikar Doğan argues that the economic burden of the Kurdish conflict was one of the government’s key arguments when it launched the Kurdish peace process in 2013, but today, Ankara seems to be braving a hefty economic bill for the sake of its political interests.
Other Pertinent Pieces
Loss of Faith in Erdoğanism İhsan Yılmaz argues that Erdoğan’s supporters’ staunch belief in his honesty and his mission for leading the country to a bright future has been altered by the outcome of 7 June elections, revealing the cracks in the AKP electorate’s unshakable trust.
Erdoğan and the High Price Turkey Must Pay Cafer Solgun states that according to Erdoğan and his supporters, criticizing Erdoğan’s political choices has to be aimed at nurturing hostility against him, and therefore people who voice these criticisms are “traitors,” making it difficult to criticize Erdoğan’s recent “counterterrorism” approach.
Is It Too Late to Stop Turkey`s Coal Rush? Damian Carrington writes about the effects of coal plants supported by the state’s economic policies on local residents’ health, and growing dissent among even coal miners in areas where new plants will be built.
Turkey’s New Chief of General Staff Lale Kemal presents a profile of the new Turkish Land Forces Commander General Hulusi Akar, and narrates speculations about how President Erdoğan chose to work with him.
What`s the US Really Doing at Turkey`s Incirlik Air Base? Metin Gürcan inquires into the Turkey-US Incirlik Base deal, since it is still not clear what agreement has been reached on the use of the Incirlik Air Base by anti-IS coalition planes.
The AKP’s Half-Truths According to Semih İdiz, Davutoğlu presents only half truths to the public and international community with regards to both domestic and regional agendas.
Turkish
Kurdish Politics and End of Armistice
Sen inanmazsan savaşamazlar “The AKP will enlarge the circle and pass the ‘laws of war’ more sharply once it believes it created the legitimate ground for war. War in fact has not started yet. Real war will start when the majority of society is made to believe in the necessity of war,” writes İrfan Aktan.
Dağlara attığınız her bomba şehirlerde PKK’ya destek olarak döner! (1)-(2)-(3) Hasan Cemal suggests that it was the Turkish state’s denial and annihilation policies towards the Kurds that paved the way for the foundation of the PKK, and argues that ongoing military operations against the PKK will not solve the “terror problem” but, on the contrary, will bring more support for the PKK among urban population.
Bu ormanlar neden yanıyor? Pınar Öğünç writes about the serial forest fires in the Kurdish provinces, and argues that forest burning alongside with other forms of ecological destruction is used by the military as a “war strategy” and a “security policy.”
Türkiye 90’lara dönmüyor: Bu zihniyetin bizi taşıdığı yer çok daha karanlık! Cenk Sidar argues that Turkey is not turning back to the 1990s but leading to a “darker” space with potentially more serious conflicts and chaos, and devastating economic consequences.
Gidişat… (1)-(2) Cengiz Çandar points out that the Turkish Armed Forces bombed Zergele, a Kurdish village in northern Iraq, instead of fighting with ISIS, and argues that the main aim of military operations against Kurds is to “demonize” the HPD and leave it under the ten percent election threshold in the re-elections.
Buralarda savaş nasıl yaşanıyor biliyor musunuz? Yüksel Genç mourns for the Zergele village in Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq bombed by the Turkish Armed Forces and the killing of ten civilian villagers under the pretext of fighting with the PKK.
Altı milyon oyun sorumluluğu Vahap Coşkun argues that the HPD should cut ties with the PKK in order not to be a total fiasco for the six million people who voted for the HDP.
DAİŞ (IŞİD) Türkiye’den ne istedi? Cengiz Tomar writes that ISIS aimed to cause a Turk-Kurd conflict and weaken state security in order to open up space for its own power.
AKP, Kürtleri kalıcı olarak kaybetti (1)-(2) Commenting on Hasan Cemal’s article series from last week, Şahin Alpay argues that the AKP lost the support of Kurds, and calls on the HDP to put pressure on the PKK for disarmament.
PKK silahı bırakır mı? Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu argues that neither the Turkish military nor the PKK will declare armistice first, and in order to put an end to soldier and guerilla deaths, the negotiations between the PKK and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) should start as soon as possible.
Apo`nun çağrısına uymak... PKK sınır dışına çıkması… (1)-(2)-(3) According to Oral Çalışlar, the state should put an end to the solitary confinement of Abdullah Öcalan, and the PKK should turn back to unconditional armistice.
Türkiye`de yaşayanlar tekadam yönetimine izin vermez Tarhan Erdem argues that recent armed conflicts between the PKK forces and the Turkish Armed Forces are a part of President Erdoğan’s plans in order to lead Turkey into reelections, make the HDP lose votes because of its alleged links with the PKK, and come to power again.
Askerin ne düşündüğünü yeniden sorarken… Ümit Kıvanç argues that the state in Turkey has always needed an internal enemy, preferably an armed one, in order to continue and legitimate its existence, and even if the PKK abolishes itself the state would create a new armed enemy of its own.
Asker- sivil koalisyonu According to Sezin Öney, while AKP-CHP coalition meetings are going on, the real coalition took shape between the Turkish Armed Forces and the President Erdoğan, as can be seen from the military operations against Kurds.
Sadece katliam değil Beyaz Toros cumhuriyetine dönüş operasyonu (1)-(2) Commenting on the Suruç Massacre, Murat Utkucu argues that if there is a massacre in Turkey, from Madımak to Roboski to Suruç, it is within the knowledge and permission of the state.
Silopi`de katledilenler önemli değil, biri `terör`dür, ama diğeri `kamu düzeni`dir! Nurcan Baysal mourns for the police’s brutal attacks in Silopi, which ended up in the death of three civilians and fifteen injuries, under the pretext of fighting with “terror.”
Devlet ‘failleri’ terfi ededursun, biz barış içinde yaşama hakkından vazgeçmeyeceğiz Hurrem Sonmez criticizes the promotion of Musa Çitil, a Turkish army officer, to major general despite the fact that he became notorious in the Kurdish region for the killings, disappearances, and rapes that occurred under his command in the 1990s.
Kürt sorunu ve çözümü Ali Bulaç presents a solution to the Kurdish question from an Islamic perspective and argues that Kurds should be given recognition and right to the use of their mother tongue.
Terörist yönetim siyaseti ve halkın `nabzı` Cihan Soylu writes that the AKP under President Erdoğan’s power and its supporter the MHP are sending the sons of the poor and the workers to war under the discourse of “we are ready to sacrifice our children.”
Bende yalı yok, viski yok, HDP’ye oy verdim; ben neyim? Oya Baydar emphasizes that before asking the HPD to cut off ties with the PKK, the MHP should face its own bloody history.
Kürtler ve Aleviler Erdoğan’ın ‘seçim çerezi’ mi? Metin Münir argues that operations against the PKK are aiming to reanimate terror in order to increase the AKP’s votes.
Çatışmasızlığa kim, niye son verdi? “Who did end the armistice, and why?” asks Mesut Yeğen.
Kürt halkını bölme planı: Demirtaş iyi, Kandil kötü According to Ahmet Saymadı, the Turkish state and the mainstream media activated a “Demirtaş is good, Qandil is bad” plan in order to separate the Kurdish nation.
Coalition Debates
Halk savaşa karşı; ya AKP ve MHP? (1)-(2) According to İhsan Çaralan, people in Turkey do not want to go to war, whereas a potential AKP-MHP coalition, which also contains “early election” as a secret agenda, is trying to lead Turkey into war both at home and abroad.
Koalisyon mu, erken seçim mi? According to Mustafa Ünal, “coalition or early election” is an absurd question, since forming a coalition government seems very unlikely.
AKP`nin B-Planı: MHP`nin HDP alerjisi Murat Yetkin argues that the AKP’s Plan B, if it cannot form a coalition government with the CHP, is to use the MHP’s anti-HDP attitude and form an AKP minority government.
Seçime giden yol çetrefilli Seyfettin Gürsel writes about the potential complications that would pop up in the case of an early election.
Hazmedememek Yüksel Taşkın suggests that AKP members and supporters could not digest the idea of “coalition.”
Other Pertinent Pieces
Hakikatin ortaya cıkarılmasında toplumsal mücadele alanı: toplu mezarlar Güneş Daşlı’s essay on the history and politics of “mass graves” in Turkey.
Published on Jadaliyya
`What Does the State Want from Dead Bodies?`: Suruç and the History of Unmournability
Catismalar arasinda bir akil sagligi denemesi
Ottomanism with a Greek Face: An Interview with Vangelis Kechriotis
A Call from the Women’s Freedom Assembly
Attacks against Solidarity with Kobane: The Suruç Massacre of Young Revolutionaries
A Shift in Turkey`s Foreign Policy? An Interview with Osman Shahin