Journalist-Writer
With “the crackdown” in the title, I’m referring to a series of judicial proceedings spanning from talent agent Ayşe Barım’s arrest in connection with the Gezi Park case to the latest investigation into Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu for exposing the identity of a common expert witness in cases against CHP municipalities, and extending to
The Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan claimed yesterday that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, under the helm of Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, is rushing to demolish the Grand Kartal Hotel where 78 people perished in the fire. This statement deeply pained me. The first person who came to my mind was journalist Uğur Mumcu, assassinated 32
On the evening of January 16, the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) Foreign Relations office made a brief but significant post on their X account. The English message was succinct: “United we stand, divided we fall. President Masoud Barzani met with SDF Commander Mazlum Abdi in Erbil.” The announcement came immediately after the meeting. The post
In light of recent developments, the CHP Central Headquarters is running out of options: as consecutive lawsuits mount against its mayors, the party is force to spent all its energy on defending them. The latest example was the detention of İstanbul’s Beşiktaş district Mayor Rıza Akpolat on corruption charges. CHP’s pledge to take to the
“Separatist terrorists will either bury their weapons immediately or be buried alongside them. There is no middle ground. The era of weapons, violence, and terrorism has come to an end.” President Tayyip Erdoğan didn’t utter these words for the first time at his ruling party AKP’s Provincial Congress in Samsun on January 4; he deliberately
When selecting the person and event of the year for 2024 in both domestic and foreign policy, establishing the criteria is the challenging part – everything else falls into place naturally. My criterion was simple: impact on the overall political trajectory. Specifically, how an individual shaped the course of political developments in 2024, and which
The first tangible outcome of the “Öcalan Initiative” – which MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli initiated by shaking hands with DEM Party members at the Parliament’s opening on October 1 – materialized on December 28. With President Tayyip Erdoğan’s approval, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç granted permission for two DEM Party heavyweights, Pervin Buldan and Sırrı Süreyya
When President Tayyip Erdoğan began reciting the opening verses of Surah Al-Fath in Arabic during his Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group meeting on December 25, amid chants of “Conqueror of Syria,” I wrote in my notebook “We’re going into Syria.” However, launching an operation against the PKK/YPG in Syria is one thing; conquest
Last weekend, journalist Nevşin Mengü faced investigation over an interview, leading to her detention and subsequent release under judicial supervision with a travel ban. This weekend, journalist Özlem Gürses was investigated for a verbal slip during a live broadcast, resulting in detention, handcuffing, house arrest, and a travel ban. Additionally, news outlet T-24 came under
The US Military once again defies Trump on Syria. The Pentagon is pushing back against Donald Trump, who is set to take office on January 20th, after he questioned America’s presence in Syria. In response to Trump’s statement “we have nothing to do (in Syria)” Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder revealed that U.S. troop numbers in