[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
Siege on Cizre
Turkey and Its Kurds at War: Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan’s Personal Quest for Survival Sungur Savran, chair of the Revolutionary Workers’ Party, contextualizes the state violence in Cizre within a longer history of Turkish state repression and violence against Kurdish people.
Kurds Demand Answers after Battles in Cizre (1) - (2) Mahmut Bozarslan examines the impact of the siege on Cizre and the human rights violations that took place on the Kurdish political movement.
Kurdish Politics and the Peace Process
`This is What Being a Kurd Is about` Nick Ashdown explores the breakdown and failure of the peace process in Turkey, along with the longstanding dissatisfaction about the government’s approach to the Kurdish population.
The PKK`s Plan Nagehan Alçı argues that the PKK attempted to instrumentalize the suicide bombing in Suruç in order to relaunch armed conflict with the Turkish government.
Turkey, PKK Clashes Continue, But Will There Be a Winner? Calling Cizre a “laboratory of clashes,” Metin Gürcan examines the escalation of violence and disintegration of the peace process since the suicide bombing in Suruç.
Turkey`s New War Paul Iddon attempts to problematize the use of the term “separatist organization” to characterize the PKK on the basis that Kurds in Turkey “have attained the rights the PKK claimed to be fighting for.”
Tensions within the AKP
The AK Party: One Year Ago and Today Akif Beki contrasts President Erdoğan’s promises at the AKP congress one year ago with the state of his rule and of the AKP today.
Pros and Cons Introduced by AK Party Congress (1) - (2) According to Etyen Mahçupyan, “the AK Party`s inner politics directly interest the future of the country” as long as the opposition parties are unable to relate to the people.
A Convention Geared to Put AK Party in Power İlnur Çevik claims that the AKP is no longer hoping to come into power alone, as evidenced by the conversations held at and outcomes of the AKP congress.
Is AKP Heading for a Split? Cengiz Çandar writes that the AKP congress functioned as a way of purging those who are not loyal to President Erdoğan’s vision for the party.
AKP to Its Moderates: Don`t Let the Door Hit You on Your Way Out Mustafa Akyol claims that the liberalizing AKP that made such strides in the 2000s toward European Union accession is long gone and the parties moderates are “withering away, one by one.”
Kremlinology Alla Turca, or Understanding In-House AKP Politics Murat Yetkin explores reasons why the AKP has changed forty percent of its parliamentary candidates between the 7 June election and the current snap election.
Erdoğan Will (Again) Lead the AKP against the ‘Evil Front’ Özgür Korkmaz writes that the party congress “proved that President Erdoğan, whose post requires impartiality and being above all political parties according to the constitution, is still pulling the strings in the AKP.”
Other Pertinent Pieces
The AK Party and CHP on the Rise Mahmut Övür suggests that the upcoming elections will pave the way for a two-party system between the AKP and the CHP.
If You’re Using iMessage, Here’s Why the Turkish Government Might Think You’re a Spy Pınar Tremblay examines how common misconceptions about data encryption have given way to crackdowns on journalists and suspected terrorists.
Turkey`s Shameful Press Freedom Record Examining Turkey’s declining rating in the Freedom House press freedom index, Serkan Demirtaş connects the issue of press freedom to other democratic values.
Syria`s New Capital...Istanbul Mehmet Çetingüleç examines the influx of Syrian refugees to Istanbul, which houses more refugees alone than the entirety of the European Union.
Turkish
Siege on Cizre
Gazze ile Cizre`yi birlikte düşünmek Showing the parallels between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speeches justifying Israel`s deadly attacks on Gaza under the name of fighting with Hamas, and Turkey’s Prime Minister Davutoğlu’s speeches justifying the Turkish military’s attacks on civilians In Cizre under the name of “fighting PKK terrorism,” Mukadder Okuyan suggests that we “think Gaza and Cizre together.”
Yüreğiniz kanayacak..Cizre’de kim, nasıl öldü…İlk kez ortaya çıktı! Radikal’s İdris Ermen lists the names of people who had died or been killed during the eight-day curfew in Cizre and relays eyewitnesses’ accounts of these deaths.
Cizre`yi bir simge kabul edersek… The KCK declared Cizre as a “symbol” because, according to Oral Çalışlar, it sought to use Cizre as a “laboratory” in order to launch a self-government model.
Barışta ısrar etme borcumuz var halklara Hürrem Sönmez calls all lawyers and prosecutors to stand in solidarity with Kurdish civilians in Cizre, who are unlawfully killed and attacked.
Cizre’de Eylül Balca Celener emphasizes that Ministry of Interior’s discharge of the elected HPD mayor of Cizre, Leyla Imret, is a legacy of the 12 September military coup constitution, which allows the appointed or assigned ones, such as the Minister of Interior, to discharge the elected ones, such as Leyla Imret and a lot of Kurdish mayors.
Kurdish Politics and the Peace Process
‘HDP, PKK ile ilişkisini kesmeli’ diyenler bize ne demiş oluyor? Levent Gültekin criticizes those who argue that “the HDP must cut off its ties with the PKK,” because, he argues, they are reproducing the state’s rhetoric that in fact aims to discredit HDP if it doesn’t renounce the PKK, or want the HDP to lose its Kurdish voter base if it renounces the PKK.
Sömürgeci devletin aydını ve muhalifi olmak Criticizing the Turkish leftists and intellectuals who accuse the PKK of being an obstacle to peace, Deniz Yönücü asks what made it possible that Turkish intellectuals know what is best for Kurds better than Kurds themselves, and argues that Turkish intellectuals, although positioning themselves in opposition to the state, do not question their own power and privilege vis-a-vis the Kurds.
İki oğul iki acı Pınar Öğünç writes about two cousins, Recep and Ridvan, who died in armed conflict between the PKK and Turkish army, Ridvan as a PKK militant and Recep as a soldier in the Turkish military.
Kürtleri anlamak Criticizing those who declared their opposition the PKK’s militarism while still supporting the HPD, Güneş Duru argues that the peace will come to Turkey only when Turks understands why and how Kurds use violence, and that trying to understand how they survived the brutal curfew in Cizre and what they felt seeing their beloved ones killed is a good starting point.
Şiddet ve devlet zoru arasında diyalektik bir ilişki oluşabilir Hamit Bozarslan states in an interview that Kurds are using violence as a way to reject the state’s legitimacy.
"Terör" ve "kanı durdurmak": Ama nasıl? Cengiz Çandar criticizes the AKP’s use of “anti-terror” demonstrations for its own election campaign.
6 milyon `terör destekçisi` mi var? Ülkeyi kapatıp gidelim o halde (1)-(2) Criticizing the AKP’s labeling everyone who supports the HDP as “terrorist,” Ezgi Başaran asks as to whether six million people across Turkey who voted for the HDP are all “terrorists.”
Batı nasıl bakıyor: Terör, seçim, siyaset… Fuat Keyman analyzes how the Western powers evaluate escalating violence and upcoming elections in Turkey, and argues that the West is criticizing the PKK’s terror attacks while also criticizing the AKP’s delegitimization of the HDP.
Abdullah Demirbaş`tan (cezaevinden) mektup Oral Calışlar shares the letter of Diyarbakır Sur Mayor Abdullah Demirbaş, who was kept imprisoned despite his deteriorating health conditions.
PKK`nın alanı genişleyince HDP`ninki daralıyor… Oral Calışlar argues that although there are deep emotional, political, and psychological attachments between the HDP and the PKK, the more PKK enlarges its scope, the less HDP becomes influential.
Tensions within the AKP
AK Parti ne zaman kaybetmeye başladı? One of AKP’s founders, Ayşe Böhürler, explains in an interview AKP’s internal conflicts and fractures, and argues that “We started to lose when we started to recruit someone into a position only because we saw in his resume that he graduated from ‘religious vocational high school’ (imam hatip lisesi). ”
1 Kasım`a doğru: AKP`de "tasfiye" ve "bitiş"... Cengiz çandar argues that with his strong influence on the ruling AKP, Turkey’s President Erdoğan has made decisions in the AKP’s recent Congress that could cause a split in the ranks after the 1 November elections.
Erdoğan`ın son umudu Davutoğlu`nun listesinde Murat Yetkin points out that Erdoğan and Davutoğlu are appealing to every possible opportunity to retain power, and that their decision to leave a lot of important names out of AKP’s candidate list for the 1 November election is a clear example of this “last hope.”
1 November Election
1 Kasım ölüm kalım seçimi: Ölmeyi emredenlerin iktidarından kurtulmalıyız Mustafa Alp Dağıstanlı argues that 1 November is an election over life and death, criticizing the AKP’s attacks on civilians Kurds and the Prime Minister Davutoğlu’s statement after Cizre that “Kurds can mourn to their deaths in their own language now.”
CHP`nin kilit konumu, önemi ve gerekliliği giderek artıyor According to Fuat Keyman, as the violence in Turkey is escalating, the importance of the CHP as positive, unifying, constructive party is increasing.
İş dünyasının tercihi koalisyona dönüyor Murat Yetkin relays that the business world has started to support the idea of a coalition government.
1 Kasım`da hangi tablo çıkarsa çıksın… Oral Calışlar points out that regardless of the results of Nov. 1 election, all political parties, the AKP being in the first place, will have to lean towards a coalition government.
Published on Jadaliyya
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On Post-Election State Violence in Turkey
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Two Figures on a Bench, in a Park, Tiflis, 1914
Turkey`s Night of the Firebombs
`What Does the State Want from Dead Bodies?`: Suruç and the History of Unmournability