[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

Turkey's Syria Policy

The impact of Syria strikes on Turkey Fikret Bila writes that as long as the US maintains a friendly policy towards the YPG, relations between the US and Turkey are unlikely to improve, despite Erodgan's support for airstrikes in Syria.

Can Turkey really be ally with both Russia and USA? Ihsan Caralan writes that in the American and Russian power struggle in Syria, Turkey is increasingly being pushed towards the side of the US, which is limiting Turkey's prior abilities to manoeuvre between the two.

Erdoğan ‘right to address use of conventional weapons’ in Syria: UK envoy The British ambassador to Ankara welcomed Erdogan's support for strikes in Syria, and agreed with his criticism of the West's only focusing on deaths caused by chemical weapons, rather than the many more being caused by conventional weapons.

Kılıçdaroğlu comments on Syria strike In his statement, CHP head Kılıçdaroğlu said that Turkey should have adopted a more cautious policy in Syria, and criticized dominant powers such as Russia and the US for aggravating the conflict in order to control oil and gas routes.

Turkey’s best bet in Syria is to take advantage of controlled tensions Burhanettin Duran writes that the US policy of "controlled tension" in Syria could work to Turkey's advantage due to Turkey's ability to cooperate with all sides in the Syrian conflict.

Early Elections

Turkey to go to polls for snap election on June 24 In his announcement that snap elections would be held on June, 24, 2018 instead of November 2019, Erdogan said "Ongoing military operations in Syria, regional developments and macroeconomic necessities create an “urgency” for Turkey to immediately start the implementation of the executive presidential model instead of waiting for November 2019". However, the below articles may still be of interest in examining the reasons behind this decision.

Erdogan ally calls for early elections Amberin Zaman writes on the possibility of Erdoğan calling early elections, after calls from Devlet Bahceli to do so. This will leave opposition parties scrambling to pick a viable presidential candidate- one potential option is Abdullah Gül, a moderate conservative who may be able to attract a wide range of voters.

Why has Turkey started debating an early election? Murat Yetkin cites some possible reasons as being a fear of a coming economic crisis, and a desire to call elections before the "Afrin effect" fades,

Migration

Iranian sculptor's desire for artistic freedom takes him across region Seywan Saeedian, an Iranian-Kurdish sculptor who fled Iran after criticizing the government at an awards ceremony, spoke with Mahmut Bozarslan about his new life in Diyarbakir, the state of the arts in Turkey, and his hopes for a cultural and artistic revolution in the Middle East.

Turkey shows the way in how to deal with the reality of refugees Sinem Cengiz writes that one aspect of Turkish policy in Syria is constructing safe-zones to accomodate the return of Syrians from Turkey. Turkey's open door approach to Syrian refugees also helps create a population of "friends to Turkey" that will participate in the Syria's reconstruction.

Growing number of Syrian refugees in Germany making 'reverse escape' to Turkey Syrian refugees who have received refugee status in Germany are increasingly crossing into Turkey, often with the help of smugglers, as they require a visa to reenter Turkey legally. Family reunification is the main reason.

Domestic Politics

Soccer mirrors politics in polarized Turkey A soccer match between Basaksehir, a football team favored by Erdogan for its conservative Islamic values, and Galatasaray, a top three team largely favored by secular liberals and Kurds, reflects the polarized political landscape in Turkey.

Why Recep Erdogan is calling Turkish students ‘terrorists’ Lisel Hintz writes that Erdogan's "rhetorical villification" of domestic opposition paired with an aggressive foreign policy is meant to secure a win in the upcoming elections by appealing to a broad base of conservative and nationalist voters.

Soylu under police surveillance! Following information that Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu's phone had been monitored by police officers under his command, this report documents the minister's troubled history within the AKP.

CHP’s FETO report: FETOist rectors being appointed Part three of a series of articles by Aykut Küçükkaya outlining the CHP's report on the AKP's relationship with the Gulenist movement, including allegations that followers of Gulen were still being appointed as university rectors after the July 15th coup attempt. For more information see Part One and Part Two.

Where is my baby to crawl in prison? An interview with Ayşe Çelik, the teacher who was sentenced to one year and three months in prison, along with her 6 month old daughter, for phoning in to a television show to say "Let children not die". She expresses her worries about how to feed her daughter, who has a milk allergy, while in prison.

Diyarbakır Bar Association Calls for Effective Investigation into ‘Armored Vehicle Hits’ Noting an increase in civilians in Turkey's Southeast being hit by armored vehicles, with 23 people killed by such incidents in 2017, the Diyarbakır Bar Association has announced that it will continue its fight for effective prosecution of those responsible.

Yes, we still drink coffee! Nurcan Baysal writes that, after almost 40 years of war, people in Turkey's Southeast have learned to continue on with their lives despite being surrounded by violence, and says that those from outside the region should be wary of criticizing them for "indifference".

Turkey’s Energetic Moves to Diversify its Energy Resources In order to decrease its dependence on fossil fuels, Turkey is moving towards both nuclear and renewable energy sources.

Turkey to extend state of emergency for 3 more months "Turkey’s Cabinet on Tuesday sent parliament a motion to extend the country's state of emergency for three more months, said Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bekir Bozdag."

Demirci Kawa and other Kurdish heroes Ali Abaday writes about the Kurdish heros populating Japanese anime, including Setsuna F. Seiei, one of the heros of Mobil Suit Gundam.

Turkey expects 40 million tourists from abroad in 2018: Experts The Association of Turkish Travel Agencies has said that the number of tourists, primarily from Germany and Russia, will increase from 32.4 million in 2017 to 40 million in 2018.

21 life sentences given in Turkish ‘post-modern coup’ case 21 former military members involved in the memorandum that led to the resignation of the Refah party from government in 1997 have received life sentences, however, due to their old age, they will be allowed to remain outside prison under judicial control.

International Politics

Jailed US pastor finally appears in Turkish court During his first appearence in court, Andrew Craig Brunson told the judge “I don’t accept any of the allegations...I have never done anything against Turkey. On the contrary, I love Turkey. I have been praying for Turkey for 25 years.”

Key findings of the 2018 Report on Turkey While praising Turkey's progress in its migration policy and the fight against organized crime, the EU progress report was largely critical in other domains, such as the state of emergency, respect for human rights, and regional cooperation.

Turkey slams EU for progess report, having 'negativity' against Turkey In its statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that "it is inconsistent for the EU to allege that Turkey is distancing itself from the EU while it continues to obstruct Turkey’s accession process with artificial and political blockages."

Turkish Soldiers Held in Greece ‘to be Released in May’ The Greek Justice Minister announced that, since the maximum detention period prior to a trial in Greece is 18 months, the eight Turkish soldiers who sought asylum following the July 15th coup attempt will be released in May.

Albanian nationalism a bulwark against Erdogan's Balkan ambitions Stavros Tzimas writes that while Albanians might welcome Turkish investments in their country, most of them reject Erdogan's brand of neo-Ottomanism.

Turkish

Early Elections

Erken seçim Yılmaz Özdil reminds readers of all the times, from 2004 until the present, that Erdogan qualified early elections as "betraying the nation". He tells readers that he absolutely agrees with the president: those who betray the nation should not receive votes.

Yarın seçim olsa: Anketler ne diyor? According to a recent SONAR poll, if elections were held tomorrow, the vote would be approximately 40% AKP, 25% CHP, 14% IYI Party, and 10% HDP, with the MHP failing to meet the electoral threshold. However, according to Konsensus poll done in January, the proportion of votes would be 44% AKP, 23% CHP, 10% MHP, 9% HDP and 2.7% for the IYI Party.

Akşener: Seçime giriyoruz, ben Cumhurbaşkanı adayıyım In response to the announcement that snap elections would be held on June 24th, Meral Akşener said that the IYI Party would be able to gather the 100,000 signatures needed to enter the election, and declared herself as a presidential candidate.

Turkey's Syria Policy

Suriye'de kazanan kim, dünyanın cephaneliği neresi? Mühdan Sağlam writes that the real winners of the war in Syria are arms dealers, pointing out that 32% of the world's arms production has been exported to the Middle East, and that the two biggest actors in Syria, America and Russia, also happen to be the world's first and second biggest arms exporters.

Toplumsal muhalefetten Suriye açıklamaları: Emperyalist savaşa hayır! Several prominent leftwing opposition groups in Turkey, including the Turkish Communist Party and the HDP, have declared their opposition to intervention in Syrian following American, French, and British strikes.

Domestic Politics

Türkiye'den kimler, neden göç ediyor? Alisait Yılkın writes on the increasing number of people emigrating from Turkey, dividing them into a number of categories: millionaires, signatories of the "We Will Not Be Party to This Crime" petition who are supported by German universities, people with ties to the Gulenist movement, graduate students who pose as "academics in danger" in order to get easy admission to European universities, non-Muslims who have gone in large numbers to France and Spain, and moderate conservatives.

Kars'taki son Estonyalı: Türkiye'yi çok seviyorum Avgust Albuk is the last Estonian left in Kars. He is the descendent of one of the 60 Estonian families who were setttled in Kars by Russia in 1877 during the Russian-Ottoman War. Albuk says that, although he is ethnically Estonian, Turkey is his true home.

AKP Ziraat Bankası kredisi araştırılsın istemedi A request to investigate state-owned Ziraat Bank's financing of Demirören's purchasing of Doğan Media Group was shot down in parliament by an AKP vote.

Kulis: Erdoğan, Şimşek’in yerine getireceği iyi bir isim arıyor Accourding to a source close to Ankara, Erdogan is looking for a replacement for Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek.

Üniversitedeki Katliamı Protesto Eden Öğrenciler Gözaltına Alındı Three students were arrested in Eskisehir during campus protests that erupted over the Osmangazi university shootings. The university's rector has resigned, but many staff and protestors have said this is not enough.

DİSK, İŞKUR önünde: İşsizlikte mızrak çuvala sığmıyor, kayıtdışı istihdam patladı DISK, Turkey's left-leaning trade union confederation, has reported that unemployment has been steadily rising in Turkey since 2011, and with it, an increase in unreported employment.

Ovacık: Türkiye'nin tek komünist belediyesi A short video report by DW Türkçe on collective life in Ovacık, Tunceli, which is Turkey's only communist municipality.