Kids in southeast Turkey: smuggling to survive

SMUGGLING – At the end of December 35 people lost their lives in a bombardment by the Turkish army. Seventeen of them were less than 18 years old. They were smugglers, who brought diesel and sugar from Iraq to Turkey. There is a war going on in the area between Turkey and the PKK, a forbidden Kurdish movement. That makes …

Ilker Basbug last ‘old fashioned’ Turkish army leader

DIYARBAKIR – Ilker Basbug was the last Turkish army leader who belonged to the ‘old guard’ of Turkish army leaders. He commanded the second biggest army in NATO from 2008 to 2010, and clashed several times with the AKP government of Prime Minister Erdogan. 

Basbug (68) was detained on Friday as a suspect in a coup plot against the government. He …

‘Turkish TV can’t cover the news’

ISTANBUL – Turkish journalists are getting more frustrated about the increasing censorship in their country. Whenever there is big news concerning the fight against the Kurdish PKK, immediately the phone calls from the government in Ankara start coming in with instructions. And so it was this morning, after the news that dozens of civilians were killed in an air strike …

Turkey: from one dictatorship to the other

The AKP government of Prime Minister Erdoğan has effectively decreased the once unlimited power of the army. The power of the judiciary was strengthened. But now that power has too strong a grip on society.

Why did you visit wounded demonstrators in hospital? Why did you give interviews to so many TV and radio stations? Why did you attend that press …

‘Aid to Kurdish municipalities delayed’

ISTANBUL – Although the earthquake in the east of Turkey intensifies brotherhood between Turks and Kurds, on the other hand ethnic tensions are rising. Saban Isiktas, working for the Istanbul office of pro-Kurdish party BDP: ‘There are rumours that the aid to Van is being delayed because Van is governed by the BDP and not by governing party AKP. I …

PKK attack hampers work on new Turkish constitution

ISTANBUL (ANP) – “Our revenge will be great”, stated the Turkish president Abdullah Gül after PKK attacks in the country’s south east. The attacks on several police and army posts left 24 soldiers dead and 22 wounded.

Turkish ground troops crossed the border with Northern Iraq for the first time since 2008 in pursuit of the PKK fighters.

The increasing violence …

‘Deep state’ costs former Turkish minister 5 years in jail

ISTANBUL – The former Turkish Minister of Internal Affairs, Mehmet Agar, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment by a Turkish court for involvement in the ‘Susurluk scandal’. In this scandal of the mid-nineties, the connections between the government, armed forces and organized crime, also known as the ‘deep state’, first became evident.

Agar was convicted for ‘establishing an armed organisation …

Stop labelling PKK-fighters as terrorists

Turkey is bombing PKK camps in Northern-Iraq in retaliation for the killing of soldiers by the PKK. The first civilian deaths have been reported. The EU doesn’t protest the violence, because the PKK is on the EU list of terrorist organizations. But the label ‘terrorist’ contributes to maintaining the crux of the problem, which is the still unsolved Kurdish issue. …

Violence hampers solution to Kurdish question

ISTANBUL – Amid increasing PKK violence and Turkish bombings of PKK camps in Northern Iraq last night, a solution to the Kurdish question seems further away than ever. It is not only increasing violence that hampers a solution, but also legal action against Kurdish politicians adding to the rising tensions.

PKK violence started increasing last month, when thirteen Turkish soldiers were …

Turkey continues fight after loss of 13 soldiers

ANKARA – The Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said he is determined to continue the fight against the PKK. He said this after an emergency meeting with the army after thirteen Turkish soldiers died in an attack by Kurdish seperatist movement PKK. Also seven PKK-fighters died.

It was the biggest PKK attack in about a year time. The soldiers prepared an …