Two weeks to go, and the referendum on the constitutional changes as proposed by the AKP will be held. Even though it’s not an election, the campaigning is intense. So is the debate on the street, even going as far as physical fights between supporters and opponents of the changes. Whenever I join the debate, whether online or in real …
A blessing in polygamy disguise
So, is Prime Minister Erdogan against adultery and polygamy or not? As far as I know, Erdogan hasn’t reacted yet to the debate that is going on. The subject: an advisor he appointed earlier this year, Ali Yuksel, who has three wives and intends to marry a fourth. It’s not possible to officially marry more than …
No, I am most certainly not getting into the judicial details. The news is plainly that the Constitutional Court annulled parts of changes that the government made to the constitution, and that the remaining changes will be put to a referendum in September. This referendum will be a test case for governing party AKP: how much support will there be …
‘There are people’, I read in the statement by the organizers of a Twitter protest, ‘who are not afraid to say they don’t approve of the way the country is being managed by the Prime Minister.’ An intriguing sentence.
Let me tell you first what the protest was about. Yesterday during the day and even more so from 9pm on, many …
A new and strong Kurdish initiative
It’s getting out of hand again in Turkey’s south-east: this weekend a total of 12 soldiers died. That’s more than fifty soldiers killed since the end of April. Over the last four months, 130 PKK fighters have been killed – according to the Turkish army, so let’s call that ‘unconfirmed’.
Opposition leaders try to take advantage of the anger among Turks …
I admit it: since the attack on the aid flotilla heading for Gaza, I’ve been puzzled what to write about it. Usually, I have to let things sink in a little bit before I can formulate an opinion, a way of looking at things, an analysis of what’s going on. But this time, it’s hard.
Not only because of the complexity …
Thousands of Israelis are cancelling their holidays in Turkey after Israel attacked the aid convoy on its way to Gaza. Flights from Tel Aviv to tourist destinations on Turkey’s south and west coast have been cancelled, and the same goes for cruise ship stopovers and hotel bookings. Turkey has for long been a popular destination for Israelis, but that seems …
It was 50 years ago today, May 27th, that the first military coup took place in Turkey. President Celal Bayar, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and others were arrested, put on trial and sentenced to death. In September 1961 Menderes and two of his ministers were hanged. Bayar’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
The trials against the politicians took place in …
There is so much speculation going on about ‘the sex tapes’ of Deniz Baykal, that I eagerly add my own speculation: Baykal put the video online himself. It looks like the whole scandal will strengthen Baykal’s position as CHP leader.
The facts are: Deniz Baykal, CHP leader since 1992, stepped down as leader of his party after a compromising tape of …
‘The deputies exercised their free will’, said Prime Minister Erdogan yesterday. He said it after one of the most important constitutional reforms (about making it more difficult to close political parties) was not adopted by parliament. The reform needed 330 votes to be part of a referendum package later this year, but it got only 327 votes. Since Erdogan’s governing …
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