Journalist-Writer
On January 4, when the people of Kazakhstan took to the streets to protest against fuel and food hikes, President Tayyip Erdoğan was addressing the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) provincial leaders in Ankara. The opposition was at his target: “They say they take to the streets to fill the squares without feeling any
The political calculations in Ankara have become more or less clear: the opposition will delay announcing their presidential candidate unless the government will respond to their early election call positively. Last month, I had the opportunity to meet with the leaders of three opposition parties: main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, İYİ
In his New Year’s message published at 10:00 am on December 31 2021, President Tayyip Erdogan said: “We will continue our fight against the plots of excessive price that emerged after the increase in global commodity prices well as the unbalanced rise of the exchange rate. We are determined to reach our goals by placing
There is a strange equation here. President Tayyip Erdoğan, or those courting favor of him, think that they discredit opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu by obstructing his attempts to visit public institutions. Yet, oddly enough, it was Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) itself that rose to power by benefitting from
The Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) members filled the Ankara Atatürk Sports Hall for the party’s first Ankara congress, listening to the newly founded opposition party’s leader Ali Babacan. In his heated speech, the sections that he mentioned President Tayyip Erdoğan were the parts that the crowd reacted to the most as he often felt
The year 2021 was a bumpy road for US-Turkey relations. Remembering what has happened since the beginning of the year would allow us to understand what is happening more comprehensively and foresee what might happen in US-Turkey relations in 2022. What happened in 2021? First, US President Joe Biden recognized April 24 as the Armenian
At the Republican People’s Party (CHP) headquarters in Ankara, Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu defies Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, who announced that the ministry initiated a “special audit” against the municipality on the suspicion that they recruit “terrorists.” “If you have detected terrorists, then do what’s diligent,” İmamoğlu said, with eleven mayors of the opposition
Jeffrey Feltman, the US Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, was in Ankara on December 15. In those days, the out-of-control exchange rates were Turkey’s sole attention centre. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was preparing for the financial operation, to be declared on December 20, on the one hand, and the Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit scheduled
President Erdoğan hosted the members of the Turkish Jewish Community and the representatives of the Alliance of Rabbis in the Islamic States (ARIS) under the chairmanship of Izak Haleva, the Chief Rabbi of Turkey. He emphasized the importance of Turkey – Israel relations. “Turkey-Israel relations are vital for the stability and security of our region.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced ambitious “fiscal policy” moves on December 20 to curb the currency crisis wherein less than a month, the Turkish Lira had lost almost 20 percent of its value against foreign currencies. Could this new turn be a sign of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its alliance Nationalist