[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
Kurdish Politics and Peace Process
The Kurdish Movement's Tragedy Etyen Mahçupyan argues that the HDP and the PKK are the primary obstacles to the peace and reconciliation process in Turkey.
‘All Our Young People Have Gone to the Mountains’ Lauren Bohn examines the conditions of the Turkish government’s war against ISIS, which is increasing participation in the PKK.
Ankara: the New Capital of Jihad According to Mike Whitney, President Erdoğan is “the madman who is now Washington’s number one ally in its bloody war against Assad.”
The PKK and the Reconciliation Process Kılıç Buğra Kanat claims that the discrepancies between the different factions of the Kurdish political movement are the primary cause of the disruption of the peace process in Turkey.
Violence in Turkey Could Push US to Pick Sides in Turkey, PKK Battle Cengiz Çandar discusses the United States’ quandary in choosing allies in its battle against ISIS.
Turkey Gets Out of Control (1) - (2) Lale Kemal writes that “the power vacuum in Ankara has the potential to worsen the security situation as a whole in the country.”
Early Election Talks
The AK Party, CHP and Failed Negotiations (1) - (2) Etyen Mahçupyan asserts that the “natural” differences between the AKP and the CHP are proof that the two parties could never form a coalition government.
Turkey Is Now Heading to the Polls, But How? (1) - (2) According to İlnur Çevik, the most important element of the November elections is who will be ministers in the cabinet until then.
Early Elections: What Needs to Be Done Emre Uslu argues that the most important dimension of the early elections is for the opposition parties to emphasize that the AKP has already collapsed.
Trying to Make the HDP Weaker is a Dangerous Game (1) - (2) Cafer Solgun claims that “the marginalization of the HDP will jeopardize the opportunities for a peaceful and democratic settlement.”
Faking Politics in Turkey According to Nuray Mert, the “governing ideology” in Turkey posits the Turkish government as the leader of an Islamic umma as a project of “faking politics.”
Turkey: The Land of Permanent Elections (1) - (2) Mustafa Akyol suggests that the early elections may lead voters to further punish the AKP for its authoritarian tendencies, and subsequently vote for one of the opposition parties.
MHP's Proposal, Davutoğlu's Stance (1) - (2) Abdülkadir Selvi claims that Erdoğan is the only one who can resolve the impasse developed by the opposition leaders.
Votes and Funerals Ahmet Hakan wonders why Erdoğan is able to drum up public support over soldiers’ deaths when his prior political successes relied upon the fact that soldiers weren’t dying.
The Economy Stuttering Seyfettin Gürsel writes that the upcoming election will not yield the AKP’s desired results and will only continue to damage the Turkish economy.
Ballot Box Ahoy! Burak Bekdil claims that Erdoğan’s desire for early elections is disrespectful to the wishes of nearly fifty million people as expressed in the June election.
Fight for Nationalist Votes Gets Bigger and NastierÖzgür Korkmaz discusses the tensions rising between the AKP and the MHP vying for nationalist votes as the early election becomes a more likely scenario.
Erdoğan as De Facto President
Erdoğan's Dream Is Turkey's Nightmare Amanda Paul claims that Erdoğan’s rise to power has been accompanied by a polarization of Turkish politics.
Erdoğan's Expectations, and the Coming Elections Mümtazer Türköne argues that Erdoğan will once again make the elections into a personal campaign.
Turkey May Start to See Erdoğan's Extra Powers Murat Yetkin asserts that, as the elections approach, Erdoğan’s “extra powers” offered by the constitution’s emergency clauses may become more apparent.
President Erdoğan Imposes Nothing but Early Elections Serkan Demirtaş examines Erdoğan’s repeated interventions into coalition talks between the AKP and opposition parties and shows that the early elections are only going to lead to more instability.
Foreign Policy
Critical Codes of the İncirlik Deal Verda Özer interviews US presidential envoy to the anti-ISIL coalition and the deputy assistant secretary of state Brett McGurk regarding the deal between Turkey and the US to reopen the İncirlik Air Base.
Why Are the Patriots Being Pulled Back? According to Semih İdiz, “the US and Germany don’t want to appear complicit in the AKP’s plans,” so they are withdrawing Patriot missiles from Turkey.
US Plays Politics with Patriot Missile Removal Metin Gürcan interviews Turkish and US government officials about the various motives behind the German and American withdrawal of Patriot missile units in Turkey.
Other Pertinent Pieces
Turkey 'Created a Monster and Doesn't Know How to Deal with It’ Michael B. Kelley claims that Turkey’s lax border policies and tacit support for Islamic State fighters has engendered an enemy that is now causing trouble for the Turkish government.
As ISIL Puts Turkey on Enemy List and Targets Istanbul Murat Yetkin appraises a recent video released by ISIS in which a militant speaking fluent Turkish calls upon the organization’s followers to reconquer Turkey.
Have Sexism, Attacking Women Become Part of Turkish Right's Political Strategy? Pınar Tremblay examines the rise of a very forceful chauvinist, anti-women language among government officials and in pro-government media since the election.
Turkish
Kurdish Politics and Peace Process
Saray’daki Sultan’ın korkusu barış! (1) - (2) Hasan Cemal argues that Erdoğan stopped the peace process to avoid losing power and being accountable for his crimes; and appeals to the PKK to announce a unilateral ceasefire.
Vicdansızlıkta son aşama: Tabuta dayanarak oy istemek Hakan Aksay states that Erdoğan’s use of nationalistic discourse surrounding the death of soldiers is aimed at gaining support for AKP and his presidential ambitions, but will not succeed in attaining these aims.
Vatan sizin olsun, oğlumu geri verin bana! Yusuf Nazım rejects the glorification of death in the name of the country, voicing the outcry of families of the soldiers dying in combat.
Şehit cenazelerinde boy gösterenler! Varto sokaklarında sürüklenen çıplak bedeni gördünüz mü? Oya Baydar decries politicians who glorify fallen soldiers for political gain and condemns them for killing the hope for peace.
Çıkış yolu, savaş=kriz=Erdoğan diyen CHP-HDP’dir According to Erdem Yörük, the way to end the Erdogan regime is the CHP and HDP declaring plans to construct an country where there is no discrimination, war, or crises in their election campaigns.
“Üzülüyoruz ama ümitsiz değiliz” Ayşe Yırcalı and Etyen Mahçupyan report from different segments of Diyarbakır about perceptions towards the AKP and PKK following the armistice.
Kapat televizyonu Anne, seni de kandırıyorlar Hürrem Sönmez argues that propagandist media portrayal will not be effective in convincing people to maintain war conditions.
PKK tuzağa mı düştü? Amberin Zaman thinks that the PKK might be increasing the scale of insurrection to provide the AKP a glimpse of what might happen if it continues to implement its anti-Kurd policies.
‘Kürtler Gezi’de yoktu’ diyordun, sormazlar mı adama, ‘sen neredesin?’ Murat Sevinç calls out to Gezi protesters who blamed Kurds for not being present to criticize their silence when the state attacks Kurdish cities and organizations.
Ben çıplakken sen giyinik değilsin Nuray Sancar states that the public is increasingly more aware that the soldiers are fighting and dying for a fight with an imagined enemy.
Gültan Kışanak: Sivillerin başına çok kötü şeylerin gelmesinden korkuyorum Ezgi Başaran narrates the HDP deputy Gültan Kışanak’s observations in Silvan and Diyarbakir where the KCK announced self-government and has been involved in a heavy armed conflict with the government security forces.
"Yeni Türkiye"de "katliam" korkuları... Cengiz Çandar thinks Erdoğan’s strategic actions to void the June elections, the subsequent assaults in Kurdish cities, and the KCK’s democratic autonomy announcement in return rendered an atmosphere in the region where people are facing the threat of a massacre.
"Çatışmasızlık nasıl sona erdi?" Tarhan Erdem challenges the one-sided portrayal of the peace process by pro-government columnists.
Kürdistan'i harabeye çevirmek Mücahit Bilici of John Jay College at the City University of New York, calls out to the PKK to stop the clashes in the cities and create space for civil and democratic mobilization towards peace and a resolution of the Kurdish issue.
Kürt cephesinde olanları anlamlandırmak Murat Belge thinks that the actions of the Kurdish side are driven by an internal conflict within the Kurdish movement, and that the HDP should be supported as the only alternative to conventional politics with or without arms.
Barış mücadelesi Nazan Üstündağ writes that Kurds and Turks must work together to oppose the war, as women’s lives and bodies have always most affected by wars and violence.
Asker ve polis aileleri haklı Hüseyin Ali finds Erdoğan responsible for the deaths of soldiers and policemen, arguing that he finished the peace process just for his own interests and ambitions and for punishing the public who voted for the HDP.
Ölen asker ve polis ailelerinin Erdoğan’a öfkesi!.. Baki Gül writes about the growing unrest and anger against President Erdoğan among the families and relatives of fallen soldiers and police.
HDP’yi tasfiye planıŞaban İba reports that citizens living in the predominantly Kurdish southeast of Turkey are deciding on self-government in the face of war and the AKP’s political and military attacks.
Ülkemde yargısız infaz Var; Mazlum Kaynak ve .. Yüksel Genç writes of the extrajudicial execution of three Kurdish teenagers, one in İstanbul and two in Ağrı, by the Turkish police under the disguise of combating terrorism.
Edep Sevda Karaca talks about the link between the “mannerisms, morality, and Islamic sciences” courses offered at state dormitories, and the exposure of the naked body of a Kurdish guerilla by members of the Turkish Armed Forces.
Early Election Talks
Bir seçime el koymak Murat Yetkin argues that ending the coalition talks before the forty-five-day period and starting the early election process simply means hijacking the outcome of the June elections.
Tayyip Erdoğan düşmanlığı, öyle mi? Levent Gültekin describes pro-Erdoğan columnists and commentators as having “such loyalty that is worthy of a dog that approves of each and every act that Erdoğan does.”
Kenan Evren, başkanlık sistemi önerisini ‘diktatörlük’ endişesiyle reddetmişti! Murat Sevinç argues that ambitions for a presidential system, an idea that was rejected by Kenan Evren, the leader of 1980 de coup, show the political right’s lack of democratic understanding that spans decades.
AKP seçimden ne bekliyor? Murat Birdal thinks that the pressures on the HDP will be increased, election campaigns will be prevented, and candidates will face constraints in an early election context.
Seçimlerin hükmü According to Hüsnü Öndül, people want a broadening of rights and freedoms, not the continuation of the authoritarian/totalitarian tendency, unlike what AKP politicians think.
Bahçeli ve MHP'yi anlamak Writing from his prison cell, Mehmet Baransu argues that Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the MHP, rejected all coalition plans in order not to fall prey to Erdoğan’s plans for the early elections he himself formed right after the election defeat.
Erdoğan as De Facto President
Hayır, halk size o yetkiyi vermedi Sayın Cumhurbaşkanı Commenting on Erdoğan’s rationale for a presidential system, Ezgi Başaran reminds us that the public has not given consent to such a change in the political system.
Bakın Erdoğan istese neler yapabilir? Murat Yetkin talks about the relatively unknown constitutional rights of the president,by which Erdoğan has the authority to announce a state of emergency in any region of Turkey, and drag the country into war in the absence of a government.
Sistem değişti mi? Yüksel Taşkın states that Erdoğan’s insistence on turning the parliamentary system to a presidential one, despite lack of public consent, is eroding the AKP’s credibility in the eyes of the electorate.
Syria Politics
Tiran'ın savaş politikası ve Ortadoğu sarmalındaki Türkiye (1) - (2) Cihan Soylu gives a detailed account of the motivations behind Erdoğan’s war plans and contextualizes the current state with regional dynamics.
Patriotların çekilmesi Batı'nın Türkiye algısını gözler önüne seriyor Gönül Tol argues that the West does not trust Turkey’s foreign threat perception, as it is seen to be unrealistic and only serving Erdoğan’s domestic policy interests.
Patriot selamı ve tamponu düşen tampon! Fehim Taştekin talks about why the US and Germany have pulled out their Patriot missiles from Turkey in relation to Turkey’s Syria policy.
Other Pertinent Pieces
Devletin karanlık yüzü: JİTEM Ayşe Hür inquires into the revived involvement of JİTEM—Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism, which was involved in covert and illegal activities in the Kurdish conflict throughout the 1990s—in some of the recent armed attacks for which no organization claims responsibility.
Adıyaman'ın Alevileri Ali Kenanoğlu reports from Adıyaman, a city in the east of Turkey where ISIS is known to be powerful, about the sectarian tensions between Alevis and Sunnis.
Published on Jadaliyya
'What Does the State Want from Dead Bodies?': Suruç and the History of Unmournability
Ekin Wan’ın bedeninde ifşa olan devlet ya da kadınlar sıra bizde
Catismalar arasinda bir akil sagligi denemesi
Ottomanism with a Greek Face: An Interview with Vangelis Kechriotis
Press Release: Women's Freedom Assembly (Turkey) Calls for Meeting in Varto