The Istanbul court ruled for the continuation of the imprisonment of civil rights activists Osman Kavala, who has been in prison for more than 4 years without conviction, in Gezi Park Trial where 17 defendants tried for attempting or aiding to overthrow the government. In the fourth hearing expected to be the final one, Istanbul
Russia caused a seismic shock throughout the World by invading Ukraine. Nothing will be the same again and the Ukraine crisis will be recorded in history as a milestone in international relations. A new generation cold war we all knew had started before the Russian attack on Ukraine, once again dividing East and West, will
The first government official to utter that the Third World War had actually begun was Ukrainian Presidential Spokesman Mihaylo Podolyak. “You sit in cafes in Brussels, Amsterdam, watch Netflix and think that the war will not touch you,” Podolyak was reproaching on March 4, on the 9th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A few
The facilitating policy adopted by Turkey in the Ukraine Crisis may also make the approval of the F-16 modernization demanded from the USA easier. Ankara’s diplomacy to ensure a ceasefire in Ukraine and start the political solution process as soon as possible soon begin to yield results, which may result in mending ties the West
“Do you want to protect your seat by naturalizing asylum seekers and enabling them to vote?” This grave accusation was uttered by main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu; its subject was President Tayyip Erdoğan. The CHP leader also called for a referendum to ask the public about making refugees citizens and allowing
The Monetary Policy Committee will convene on March 17 and announce its decision. You might smirk when you read the word “decision.” As a former Central Banker, I cannot stand to write otherwise. In fact, I had had no intention to write an article for today. This morning, I sat in front of my computer
As Turkey gained diplomatic momentum from Russia’s war on Ukraine, President Tayyip Erdoğan is fully aware of his political and economic priorities. He can take two basic steps to leverage Turkey’s diplomatic prominence to its economic advantage and even translate it into votes in upcoming elections. For instance, he may allow the CBRT committee to
The global recession in 2008 and the refugee crisis in 2015 resulted in a series of cataclysmic transformation questioning the fundamentals of the post-Cold War era and the future prospects of the rules-based global system underpinned by liberal democracies and the principles of the free market economy. Populism, protectionism, and the appeasement policies towards autocracies
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was in Ankara for his first visit to Turkey as the chancellor on March 14. He and President Tayyip Erdoğan discussed complex relations between the two countries, but the real issue was the Ukraine crisis. The day before that, on March 13, Erdoğan met with Greek Prime Minister Kriyakos Mitsotakis in
“Peace at home, peace in the world” said Atatürk, the founder of Modern Turkey. Having fought in North Africa, Middle East, Balkans, Gallipoli during the collapse of Ottomans and in Anatolia where he founded Turkey, he had seen the disastrous destruction of international hostilities that war brings to humanity and civilisations. This is what we