Turkish Domestic Politics: Analysis and forecast on all relevant developments and insight about Turkish politics with its repercussions in its neighboring countries
A total of 54 members of the U.S. Senate penned on Feb. 9 a vitriolic letter about Turkey to new President Joe Biden. At first glance, the letter looks like the “respect for human rights” letters previously written by senators to former U.S. presidents. In the letter, the senators ask the president of the United
Human rights issues have always been a difficult subject for Turkish diplomats. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the field of human rights is not considered as an area of expertise like NATO/arms control questions or matters pertaining to Cyprus/Greece. The reason for this is that one would often come across human rights questions at
Turkish main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has responded to the “new constitution” suggestion by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, saying that Turkey really needs a new charter but the new offer raises concerns about “strengthening authoritarianism in the country, not democracy.” “Dictators do not want a democratic constitution based on human rights,”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent remarks to the ambassadors of the European Union members that “Turkey’s future is in Europe” led to the optimism of revision in foreign politics. The president had opened the debate on Nov. 21, 2020, when he said “We project Turkey’s future in Europe.” He promised a rapprochement process that ranges
Former journalist and lawmaker Enis Berberoğlu was accused of both “terrorism” and “espionage.” The Constitutional Court says for a second time that he should return to parliament. The Presidential Government System is opposing. Both the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Constitutional Court say former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş should
All 30 Boğaziçi University students, who were detained at a protest against Rector Melih Bulu inside the campus and referred to the court with arrest demand, were released in the early hours of Feb. 4. The students have been protesting the rector appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan since the start of the year on
Police played hard on Bogaziçi University students on Feb. 1 who were peacefully protesting the appointment of Melih Bulut as that rector, and raided the campus in the evening, contradicting with the new charter pledges in Ankara on the same day. According to the Istanbul Governor’s Office, police detained 159 protesters, 51 of them being
The 61st round of exploratory talks initiated to solve the Aegean issues between Turkey and Greece were held in Istanbul at the start of last week. The previous meeting had taken place in 2016 in Athens. Since then, Greece has not responded positively to Turkey’s calls for the resumption of exploratory talks. Greece has also
The Jan. 28 press briefing of Central Bank Gov. Naci Ağbal marked the agenda of politics in Ankara and the economy in Istanbul. The meeting was interpreted as complementary to the Jan. 26 written support by four major business organizations to the price stability policy announced by Ağbal. The press conference was interesting in two
Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), the terror organization which claimed the lives of dozens of Turkish diplomats has threatened to revive its activities following Yerevan’s recent defeat in Karabakh. ASALA is invited to review its stance on the “tactical halt” of its activities, said a written statement published on Jan. 20.