[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.]
English
Turkey and the World
Turkey-US cooperation in Libya. In assessing U.S. foreign policy in light of recent developments, Kılıç Buğra Kanat argues that “Libya can be a bright spot for Turkish-American relations, but it is important for the U.S. to take this first step to build trust with Turkey.”
War with Egypt? “Even though Sisi always said they would not just watch Turkey increase its involvement, it was believed that he would avoid a military adventure,” writes Fehim Taştekin. “The major fear of Sisi is that in the event that Islamist forces win in Libya, there is a possibility that the Muslim Brotherhood may have the chance to take revenge.”
Bolton memoir paints Erdogan, Trump as kindred spirits. “In his new memoir, former national security adviser John Bolton reveals just how tangled Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's foreign policies are with US President Donald Trump,” writes Cengiz Çandar.
Society
Sexual threat against HDP leader’s wife backfires as Turks rally around women. “A threatening tweet against a jailed Kurdish opposition leader’s wife,” writes Pınar Tremblay, “has Turkey up in arms against the patriarchal mindset that threatens women with sexual violence.”
Afro-Turks join global outcry over George Floyd killing. “The little-known community that largely traces its roots to the Ottoman slave trade is speaking out about police brutality in America,” reports Ayla Jean Yackley, “saying their own example of coexistence is an example for the West.”
Bar associations march to Ankara; issues run deeper. “The public needs to know,” Mehmet Gün argues, “that the main problem overlooked by AKP members and President Erdoğan is that justice in representation has severely failed in all institutions that need democratic management.”
İlhan Çomak: When in prison, poetry, too, is confined. Ayşen Güven spoke to jailed Kurdish poet İlhan Sami Çomak. “Many times,” he says “I have encountered reviews expressing surprise at how such poetry can be written from a prison. Creativity cracks walls; it penetrates at any cost, renews its determination to flow freely! But what is essential is the poetry itself, not where it is written.”
Domestic Politics
Who is Erdoğan afraid of? “Since Erdoğan’s AKP is not able to open an umbrella that would cover everyone,” writes Bahadır Özgür, “it reinforces the point where it can give a ‘wheel alignment adjustment’ to everyone. However, they know that the magnificent election results are a thing of the past.”
Turkish opposition mayors outshine Erdogan with ‘kindness’ campaigns. “Mr Erdogan remains Turkey’s most popular politician and a shrewd operator who has dominated national politics for almost 18 years. But opposition mayors such as Mr Yavas have created a new headache for the president.“ Laura Pitel and Funja Guler report for the Financial Times.
Economy
The last rabbit out of Turkish banking agency’s hat. “While the possibility of a second wave in the COVID-19 crisis is the hot topic of discussion, the markets are curious about the next rabbit that central banks might pull out of their hats if the crisis extends, given that they have put most of their cards on the table,” argues Selva Demiralp.
Turkish
Turkey and the World
Macron’un hastalığına koyulan teşhis “Akıl tutulmasıdır.” Turkey and France recently traded words over the two countries’ diverging policies on Libya. Mehmet Barlas argues that “this Macron has a reputation for falling in love with his teacher, who is older and has two children. Understanding Macron's mindset is of course not easy.”
Sisi ve arkasındakiler. According to columnist Hande Fırat, President Sisi is trying to keep together the Libyan tribes, some of which have switched sides after the gains of the Government of National Accord, backed by Turkey.
“Peki ama biz bu işten ne kazandık, bilen var mı!” Emin Çölaşan argues that Turkey, since the beginning of the Coronavirus crisis, has forgotten about Syria. According to the columnist, not only the intervention has brought nothing positive to Turkey, but “worst of all, we have lost our reputation all over the world.”
Erdoğan, Amerikan yargısını şekillendiriyor mu? US federal prosecutor Geoffrey Berman, whose office indicted the Turkish bank Halkbank for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, was recently ousted by the Trump administration. Hilal Kaplan argues that “after Coronavirus, US-Turkey relations will be critical to the world. Trump sees this and does what is necessary.”
Yunanistan, Türkiye’ye karşı kimlerle ittifak yapıyor? Barış Doster accuses Greece of ignoring Turkey’s sovereign rights in the Aegean Sea. Relations between the two countries got tense once again in recent days, over the question of the status of Hagia Sophia.
Society
Avukata yeşil pasaport... Baroya kırmızı kart! Police stopped the members of 58 bar associations marching to Ankara in protest, over a ban by the governorate of the capital. “Yesterday was a historical day,” writes Mustafa Balbay. “Yesterday was the day when the party-state administration did not let the most important institution of the judiciary to enter the capital.”
Baro. Looking at several cases recently opened by local bar associations in Turkey, Yılmaz Özdil claimed that they “are the only ones protecting our country.”
Domestic Politics
İmamoğlu nasıl başardı? Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu recently spoke on the occasion of the first anniversary of the local elections in Turkey. According to Akif Beki, the governing party should have taken notes on many of the issues touched by İmamoğlu. “But did they listen?”
İstanbul’un taksileri… Plans to introduce 5,000 new taxis, announced by the Istanbul municipality earlier this year, faced strong criticism. Acknowledging that taxi drivers have their own reasons “for being unhappy and nervous,” Oral Çalışlar argues that the proposal is a first step in the right direction. Taxis “are far below world standards in terms of cleaning, maintenance, and safety.”
Economics
Yerli, milli ve İslami. Looking at the state of the Turkish economy, İbrahim Kiras argues that values such as religion and nation, for which in Turkey “even water stops to flow,” are “unfortunately sometimes used to cover many problems.”
On Jadaliyya
CAF Letter on Recent Amendments Made to Turkey’s Higher Education Law
The Role of Diasporic Structures in Crisis Governance During the COVID-19 Global Pandemic
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of New Turkey and the Fate of the Muslim Democrats