[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. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to turkey@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.]
English
The Evacuation of the Tomb of Suleiman Shah
The Story of a Successful Operation Nagehan Alçı reports that Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu together with the Defense Minister and Chief of General Staff planned an overnight operation, in which Turkey evacuated the Tomb of Süleiman Shah in Syria and relocated it a hundred meters from the Turkish border.
Turkish Military Mission Becomes Media Circus Cengiz Çandar points out that while the ruling AKP framed its cross-border mission to evacuate the Tomb of Suleiman Shah as a victory for the nation, political opposition and social media commenters saw much to mock about the operation.
The Defeat of Ottomanism Yavuz Baydar explains why Turkey chose to act for Suleiman Shah's Tomb, examining the rationale behind Turkey’s military evacuation operation in relation to its wider foreign policy in the region.
The AKP’s Public Relations Disaster Semiz İdiz points out that it would not be possible for the relocation of the tomb to have been achieved without cooperation from the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Unit (YPG), the armed wing of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which Turkey officially sees as a terrorist organization allied with the PKK.
Süleyman Shah, ISIS and the Syrian warİbrahim Kalın asserts that the relocation of the tomb and the military post that protects it preempts any possible attack by ISIS on a Turkish target in Syrian territory.
The Opposition Could Only Claim Turkey Lost Land in Syria (1)-(2)İlnur Çevik criticizes the fact that the opposition does not share the government’s pride in relocating the Suleiman Shah Tomb, and argues that this operation showed Turkey’s diplomatic and political strength to “friends and foes.”
Operation Decision Made in a ‘Secure Room’ (1)-(2) Examining the military and administrative details of the operation, Abdülkadir Selvi gives credit to the government for its access while at the same time implicitly acknowledging that the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) contributed to the operation.
Perhaps We Should Have Waited for Images of Executions from Süleyman Şah!İbrahim Karagül argues that Turkey faced the threat of an open attack, which was camouflaged in the guise of ISIL.
War or Retreat? Yusuf Kanlı approves the government’s decision to relocate the Tomb at the expense of losing some of Turkey’s land in Syria instead of engaging in a war.
Operation Shah Euphrates and Its Aftermath Yahya Bostan argues that the Suleiman Shah Operation was not conducted as a political maneuver to court votes or change the domestic agenda, but to prevent the impending dangers coming from ISIS and Assad.
Turkey's Military Operation in Syria According to Tulu Gümüştekin, the speed of the operation was a message sent to all fighting factions, that Turkey remains the only real military power in the region to have such maneuvering capabilities.
Ankara Averts Pre-Election Crisis over Tomb in Syria Turkey’s evacuation of the Tomb of Suleiman Shah in Syria was meant to remove the risk of an Islamic State attack that would have cost the government dearly in upcoming general elections, writes Kadri Gürsel.
Relocating Süleyman Shah Tomb Makes Sense In the aftermath of military operation, Joost Lagendijk draws attention to Turkey’s policy towards ISIS and Turkey’s relations with Kurdish military forces.
First We Take the Tomb (Then We Take Damascus) Burak Bekdil points out that the operation is portrayed as an example of Turkey’s military and political might, although in reality the tomb was removed from ISIS-controlled land to Kurdish-controlled land.
Domestic Security Package
What Does the Domestic Security Reform Package Entail? Osman Can seeks to refute the opposition’s criticism towards the new domestic security bill, arguing that the bill would bring necessary and effective measures in order to ensure public order.
Security Bill Will Bring neither Security nor Peace Cengiz Aktar draws attention to the fact that the right of assembly and demonstration is undermined and that law enforcement authorities are vested with unrestricted powers by the security bill.
The ‘Enabling Act’ Suat Kınıklıoğlu draws parallels between the security bill and the passage of the Enabling Act, which brought power to Hitler.
When a Kurd Becomes Nostalgic about Past Governments Barçın Yinanç comments on Kurdish politician Hasip Kaplan’s interview where he said: “If this package passes, emergency rule will come to all of Turkey. It will bring back what we had to live through in the 1990s.”
AKP & Authoritarianism
Erdoğan’s Dominance Starts Weakening AKP Murat Yetkin argues that Erdoğan’s wish to dominate every aspect of political life and his “grandiose” projects undermine Prime Minister Davutoglu’s authority and weaken the AKP.
Erdoğan; an Organic Leader, Not a Cult Leader… Refuting criticism against Erdoğan’s monopoly over power, Markar Esayan argues that Erdoğan wants to hand over public willpower, which has been accumulated over him, to a permanent system via a presidential model.
President Erdoğan Slams Miniskirt-Wearing Parallel OppositionÖzgür Korkmaz argues that Erdogan continues with his “tactic of polarization,” creating an “enemy” for AKP supporters that they can blame any failure on.
Tomorrow is Approaching Orhan Oğuz Gürbüz reports that according to the Gezici Research Company—which has released a report that the AKP’s votes may fall below forty percent in the coming elections—has been ordered by the government to be placed under inspection by the Ministry of Finance and the Social Security Institution (SGK).
Male Violence
Have AKP's Policies Caused Rise in Violence against Women? Pınar Tremblay argues that although President Erdoğan showed solidarity with the family of Özgecan Aslan, who was brutally raped and murdered, the AKP insists on useless populist policies on women’s issues.
Erdoğan Targets Feminists to Prevent Unity of Conservative and Liberal Women Barçın Yinanç emphasizes that even after Özgecan’s murder, Erdoğan continues to target feminists.
No Justice for Turkish Women who Kill in Self-Defense Turkish courts rarely offer leniency to women who have killed their husbands in self-defense, mostly because the women are too ashamed to recount tales of their abuse, writes Sibel Hürtaş.
Foreign Relations
From 'Zero Problems' to Zero Trade Ankara’s support of the Islamist-controlled National General Congress instead of the government in Tobruk has had dire consequences for Turkish business interests in Libya, writes Fehim Taştekin.
Turkey’s Deteriorating Political Ties Spill over to Economic Side Commenting on Turkey’s deteriorating foreign relations and their impact on the economy, Güneş Kömürcüler reports that the latest reaction to Turkey has come from the interim Libyan government, which decided to exclude Turkish companies from contracts.
Turkey Loses Libya Abdullah Bozkurt argues that “latest causality of the wrong choices in foreign policy” by the AKP, as part of a “long list of failures stemming from ideological blindness and an adversarial anti-Arab establishment policy,” is the rupture in ties with the Libyan interim government.
Turkey Seeks to Realign Policies with Saudi Arabia“Erdoğan’s visit to Saudi Arabia could well turn into an opportunity for Turkey and Saudi Arabia to review their differing policies in the region and seek a new realignment. However, the two countries’ most important disagreement is over Egypt, and therefore the Muslim Brotherhood,” writes Serkan Demirtaş.
Economy
A New Global Trading System Is Needed Commenting on the free trade agreements recently signed between Turkey and various countries, Cemil Ertem foresees a fundamental change in the politics of energy and defense technologies in the near future.
Why Does Erdoğan Fiddle with Başçı?İbrahim Türkmen questions Erdoğan’s frequent criticisms of Erdem Basci, the Governor of the Central Bank, worrying over the consequences of the intervention of politics in the economy.
Should Everyone But Erdoğan Shut Up? Murat Yetkin argues that as was manifest in the recent Central Bank polemic AKP deputies, including Prime Minister Davutoğlu, are silenced by the dominant influence of Erdoğan.
Central Bank Governor Erdem Başçı Very Uncomfortable According to Uğur Gürses, the resignation of Erdem Basci over the rate cuts polemic, if it ever happens, would create more tension and instability for the country.
Why Rate Cuts Won’t Help Emre Deliveli reports on indications that the economy would improve if the threat of Babacan and Başçı’s resignation was warded off, partly through decreasing political intervention.
Other Pertinent Pieces
It is not True that Nuclear is Cheaper Gila Benmayor finds it strange that Turkey is engaged in developing nuclear energy at a time when the world is giving up on nuclear energy.
Turkey’s Jailed University Students“Hundreds of Turkish university students have landed behind bars on such dubious grounds as making press statements, demanding free transport and health care, celebrating Women’s Day and even reading Marx,” writes Tülay Çetingüleç.
Turkish
The Evacuation of the Tomb of Suleiman Shah
180 metrelik "stratejik derinlik"... Cengiz Çandar argues that the reason why the Tomb of Suleiman Shah was relocated a hundred and eighty meters from the Turkish border, not within the borders, could be motivated by attempts in preventing a future unification of Kurdish cantons.
Eşme'ye bayrak dikerek aslında ne yaptık Yarabbim? Ezgi Başaran states that the relocation of the Tomb of Suleiman Shah violates all ınternational conventions of borders and sovereignty.
Başkomutanlık Türbe Zaferi! Abdülhamit Bilici thinks the exit strategy out of the “failed” Middle East politics would be to eject Syrian rebels residing in the country, and eliminate any plans of training Syrians for the fight against Assad.
IŞİD’den türbe kaçırma opereti: Hamaset, heyecan, yalan… Oya Baydar accuses the government of using the operation as a propaganda tool, and the opposition parties as showing nationalistic reflexes and holding a more reactionary attitude than the ruling party.
Süleyman Şah ve gerçekler… According to Saruhan Oluç, the Suleiman Shah operation should be discussed in regards to the necessity of a change in the government’s approach to Rojava and Kobane.
Şah Fırat ve Kobanê M. Ali Çelebi reports that the Turkish army’s passage to Suleiman Shah was made possible under the control and with the knowledge of Kurdish fighters.
Seçim öncesi Şah zaferi Hüseyin Ali argues that the timing of the operation might point to changes in the government’s policies regarding both Kobane and IS.
Süleyman Şah hamlesinin AKP’nin iç ve dış politikaları açısından anlamıÖmer Gül analyzes the meaning of the Suleiman Shah operation in relation to the regional isolation of Turkey, the general elections, the alleged tension between Davutoğlu and Erdoğan, and the YPG.
Uyanın, "PKK ve paydaşları terör örgütüdür" bitti Ezgi Başaran thinks the operation rendered Turkey’s labeling of the PKK as "terrorists" unnecessary and no longer valid.
Fidan'ın dediği oldu ama tersten! Reminding us of the content of the leaked recordings between Davutoğlu and Fidan, Fehim Taştekin states that Hakan Fidan’s plans for the Suleiman Shah Tomb have been realized in the opposite direction.
Süleyman- Şah masalları Murat Belge talks about the history of the Tomb, criticizing the meaning attributed to it by the government and the opposition.
Domestic Security Package
Saray’daki Sultan’ın korkulu rüyası... Hasan Cemal frames Hakan Fidan’s resignation and Abdullah Gül’s cautionary remarks regarding the Security Bill as fractures which could be cracked by the HDP’s election success.
Halkın zekasına operasyon! According to İhsan Caralan, the Suleiman Shah operation worked as a distraction from the public rage against the Domestic Security Bill.
Male Violence
Dr. Serap Altekin: Şiddet rastgele yaşanmaz, planlı, sistematik ve politiktir An interview with Serap Altekin, chairperson of the İstanbul office the Turkish Psychologist Association, who talks about the psychological and societal impact of the murder of Özgecan Aslan, and the systematic workings of violence in the society.
Şiddet ve kadınlar According to Herkül Milas, current regulations are important yet not enough to prevent male violence, as the more fundamental problem is men’s perceptions of women, which also shapes the implementation of law.
Cezasızlık algısı kadına şiddeti artırıyor Fatma Benli argues the most impactful action against male violence would be to erase the understanding that violence against women is ordinary, and would go without punishment.
İç savaş ve nefret cinayetleri Nazan Üstündağ points out the changing of form and intensity in male violence, tracing it to women’s increasing autonomy and empowerment in society.
Hepimiz buradaydık; bu toplum, bu hayat biçimi yoğrulurken hepimiz buradaydık! Hürrem Sönmez points out that the social segments who seem to have been shocked by the revelation of the pervasiveness of male violence are in denial of their complicity in allowing violent culture to take root.
Elections & Regime Debates
Erdoğan, CHP’yi kapattırmak mı istiyor? Bülent Korucu claims that the AKP may have started to lay the grounds for a closure case against the CHP.
Kılıçdaroğlu milliyetçilikte Bahçeli ile yarışıyor Ruşen Çakır criticizes the shift in the CHP’s politics towards right-wing politics, and claims that the strategy proved unsuccessful in the last two elections.
Erdoğan partisi ve sultanizm Ahmet İnsel thinks the system that Erdoğan advocates for is sultanism, where the ruler of the country has all the power over all levels and spheres of governance.
Kurdish Politics
Demokratikleşme için Kürt barışı şart ama tersi doğru olmayabilir Nuray Mert suspects that the peace process might not require democratization as much as democracy necessitates the peace process.
Demirtaş: CHP akıllı davransaydı bu sene AKP'ye karşı halk iktidarı kurabilirdik Hakan Aksay’s interview with Selahattin Demirtaş, who states that if the CHP had ıntended to build a coalition, the general elections would have resulted in the victory of the opposition.
Economy
Prof. Gürkaynak: Marifet doların kaç lira olacağını tahmin etmek değil, Cumhurbaşkanı'nın söyleyeceğini tahmin etmek Commenting on the ongoing accusations by the President against Erdem Basçı, Governor of the Central Bank, Professor of Economics Refet Gürkaynak argues that the Central Bank faces being charged with treason for doing its job.
Başçı'dan yeni bir 'tavşana kaç, tazıya tut' taktiği Uğur Gürses thinks that the Central Bank report conveys contradictions (i.e. decreased rate cuts while estimating increased inflation) due to the accommodation of political pressure.
Erdoğan’ın ekonomiyi kontrol saplantısı Pelin Cengiz points out that Erdoğan’s obsession in controlling and manipulating economic development renders the economy vulnerable and unstable in the international arena.
Other Pertinent Pieces
Suriyeli sığınmacılar: Kar altında göçebe hayatlarÖykü Altuntaş interviews Syrian refugees in İstanbul experiencing grave difficulties under winter conditions.
Published on Jadaliyya
In Memory of Ozgecan Aslan: Sexual Violence and the Juridical System in Turkey
Becoming a 'Media Intellectual': The Platitudes and Partisanships of Etyen Mahçupyan
Bio-Istanbul: A Speculative, Segregationist, and Sustainable Urbanism
Justice: An Uncertain Question in Turkey