![[Turkish metal workers on strike. Image by Fatih Pinar.]](https://kms.jadaliyya.com/Images/357x383xo/TMR_May26_2015.jpg)
[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 Elections
Erdoğan’s Chance of Becoming a Super-President is Diminishing Serkan Demirtaş reports that sixty percent of the Turkish public is against the adoption of a presidential system.
Political Tension Rising Ahead of Turkey’s Election Commenting on the rising tension before the elections, Murat Yetkin relays that both President Erdoğan Prime Minister Davutoğlu have started to hit out at the Doğan Media Group due to its coverage of opposition parties, and the HDP’s election offices in Adana and Mersin were bombed.
Turkey as ‘the Land of Islam’ against ‘the Land of Infidels’ Nuray Mert criticizes the “extreme use and abuse of religion” by the governing AKP and President Erdoğan as their main political weapon against the opposition during the election campaign.
Platform Calls for Solidarity among Women Deputies While it was expected that four political parties would participate in the “Rightful Women Platform” in order to increase gender equality during elections, Gila Benyamor writes that there was no participation from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Erdoğan’s Dwindling Presidential Hopes Semih İdiz notes that the latest opinion polls indicate that rather than increase its vote, the AKP is likely to lose support in these elections, and it may even end up forming a coalition government.
The Race of Future Dreams Etyen Mahçupyan argues that the AKP will get most of the votes because its future vision goes beyond identity politics, and its dream is both more realistic and more authentic.
65 Percent Favor Single-Party Gov`t According to İhsan Aktaş, sixty-five percent of the electorate wants a one-party government instead of a coalition one; second, the overwhelming majority of the electorate believes that the opposition parties cannot administer the economy well; and third, due to the promises made by those political parties concerning retirement pensions and the like, the electorate also leans toward the opposition.
Will the HDP Ne Able to Pass the Election Threshold? Examining the result of different opinion polls, Yahya Bostan tries to understand whether the HDP will pass the ten percent threshold.
Metal Workers’ Strike
Thousands of Renault Metal Workers Strike in Turkey Thousands of metal workers stopped production at the Renault factory to demand better wages and a union that represents the needs of the workers, and workers from various factories have joined in the strike.
The Real Labor Starts Here Celebrating the labor uprising in Turkey’s auto industry hub, Bursa, Ahu Özyurt reports that factory workers in the automotive and parts industry demanded their fair share in the glowing balance sheets of the car industry, and Türk Metal, the union in charge of negotiations, has failed to meet the needs of workers in the other factories.
Turkish
June Elections
Sensiz olmuyor, yerin dolmuyor Levent Gültekin calls on everyone to participate in the independent “Oy ve Ötesi” (Vote and Beyond) platform in order to monitor votes, given that there is an increasing unrest in society about the possibility of the AKP rigging the elections.
Ya HDP’ye barajı geçirtmezlerse? Berxwedan Yaruk reports that with three weeks to go until the 7 June general elections, three hundred HDP members were detained, seventy-eight of them were arrested, sixty-two HDP election offices were attacked, shot, set on fire, and finally, two of them were bombed.
Provokasyon siyasetinin de bir sınırı var Fatih Polat writes that the ruling AKP and President Erdoğan are implicated in the attacks against and bombing of the HDP’s election offices, because they have provoked the society against the HDP by pointing to it as a target during their election campaigns.
Seçimler, şiddet ve umut Esra Arsan suggests that many people who have never voted for a pro-Kurdish party before will consider voting for the HDP in this election because the HDP does not appeal to violence, “dirty propaganda,” and extortion like other parties.
HDP’ye saldırının arkasında ne var? Fehim Işık argues that President Erdoğan himself lies behind the violent attacks and aggressive language against the HDP.
HDP’ye saldırılar geri tepecektir Joost Lagendjik suggests that the AKP’s tactics to threaten and intimidate the opposition will not work this time.
CHP yaşama, AKP ölüme odaklı Osman Ulugay argues that the AKP is doomed to die, whereas the CHP’s new “mega project” presents a futuristic vision.
HDP korkusu, AKP`yi dinden imandan çıkardı! Celal Başlangıç points out that the AKP has been increasingly relying on religious discourse and symbols in order to attract more voters.
İzmir performansı sandığa yansırsa HDP barajı rahat aşar (1)-(2)-(3) Rusen Çakır argues that if the success of the HDP’s election meeting in Izmir translates into votes, then the HDP is very likely to pass the election threshold.
Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan`ın başı sağ olsun Baskın Oran discusses the similarities between Erdoğan and his “spiritual father” Kenan Evren, the head of the 1980 military coup in Turkey.
Demirtaş`a suikast mı? Mapping the attacks against the HDP’s election offices, Emrah Altındiş highlights the state and security officials’ neglect of their duty to investigate the attacks and punish assailants.
Kürt bölgesindeki seçmenle ilgili müthiş araştırma (1) Ezgi Başaran presents the results of recent research on the electoral behavior and demographic profile of the electorate in the Kurdish regions.
Bombaların patladığı, `Türk askeriyle polisinin çatıştığı` bir seçim! Pointing to the alleged clashes between police and military in Yuksekova, which resulted in the death of five sergeants and three police officers, Ezgi Başaran criticizes the government-supported violent provocations before the June elections.
Metal Workers’ Strike
Metal fırtınası sarsıyor: Deniz bitti, sendikalar için ders alma zamanı Aziz Çelik points out that metal workers are resisting not against employers but also against Türk Metal Union, which fails to meet their needs and demands.
Metal Işçileri Ayakta – Bir Tofaş Işçisi Anlatıyor: “Şu An Türkiye’de Işçinin Sigortası, Birlikten Doğurabildiği Güçmüş. Ben Bunu Anladım.” Emek and Adalet (Labor and Justice) Platform interviews a Tofaş worker who has been participating in the strike.
Diren Tofaş The metal workers’ strike can be followed from the “Resist Tofaş” Facebook page.
Haydi kadınlar, Bursa’ya dayanışmaya! Feminist labor activist Necla Akgökçe calls on all women`s groups to show solidarity with metal workers.
TOFAŞ: Kolay zafer beklentisi, moral bozukluğu, tatlısu solculuğu A detailed analysis of metal workers’ strike.
Devrimci İşçi Partisi’nden metal grevi için uluslararası dayanışma kampanyası The Revolutionary Workers Party’s international call for solidarity with the metal workers` strike.
Metalciler öğretiyor ve çağırıyor Ahmet Yaşaroğlu emphasizes that the metal workers’ strike is one of the most significant labor movement of the last twenty-five years and that it can open up new possibilities for future workers’ movements.
Metal direnişinin gösterdikleri Erkan Aydoğanoğlu suggests that the metal workers’ strike presents the struggle of fifteen thousand metal workers against employer-labor union collaboration in the metal sector.
Renault işçisi ne öğretiyor? According to Nuray Sancar, the metal workers’ strike is threatening labor unions such as Türk Metal, which favor employers and the government over the rights and demands of workers.
Metal direnişi sınıfa emanet Nilgün Tunçcan Ongan notes that metal workers are still struggling despite the AKP’s unlawful ban on labor strikes, as well as Turk Metal Union’s labeling of the metal workers who went on strike as “terrorists.”
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