Uludere investigation, or: the potholes in our minds
Intense days it have been, totally taken up by the news around the killing of 35 civilians by the Turkish air forces. Chilling details, like: 28 of the 35 deceased had the same last name, and 17 of 35 were under the age of 18. The group of smugglers always took the same route, one of the survivors told an …
‘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 …
This week a few important court cases were continuing in Turkey. In Istanbul there was a hearing in the case against the murderers of Hrant Dink (read some more here and here) and also the Balyoz case continued (read more here), in Diyarbakir the KCK trials continued (more info …
Cemevi, and the freedom of religion
Good news this weekend from south-eastern Diyarbakir. The municipality joined with an Alevi organisation in a ceremony for the opening of a cemevi, a prayer house for Alevis (a liberal path in Islam). A brand new, multipurpose building where the (small) Alevi community of Diyarbakir can come together to celebrate their religion. Still, I have some reservations too. Because in …
Ankara wants monument Algerian war of independence
ISTANBUL – The mayor of the Turkish capital Ankara is determined to erect a monument in his city to remember the atrocities committed by France during the Algerian war of independence. The monument will be placed right in front of the French embassy.
The mayor, Melih Gökcek, told daily Hürriyet: ‘The monument will have a button, and if you press …
French bill doesn’t help genocide debate in Turkey
ISTANBUL – In Turkey it is feared that the bill passed today in France making it illegal to deny the Armenian genocide of 1915 will damage the level of debate on the topic in Turkey. The debate had been slowly making progress over the last couple of years. Calling the Armenian genocide ‘genocide’ no longer leads to a conviction by …
ISTANBUL – Early Tuesday morning in several Turkish cities a total of at least eighteen journalists were detained. The raids are part of an investigation of people who are active in Kurdish political and public organisations, which has been going on for years. One of the detained journalists is Mustafa Özer, photographer for the international press agency AFP.
A total of
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Is President Gül going to step down next year, at the end of August, and will he be succeeded by a President chosen directly by the people? Keep dreaming, I would say to opposition leaders Kilicdaroglu and Bahceli, who ‘demand’ this scenario. The opposition has nothing to demand here, as they are too small in parliament and have no power. …
The bottom line is: Turkey and the Netherlands are friends. Officially since 400 years ago, but in practice even much longer. No temporary political wind can change that. According to Jan-Paul Dirkse, the Dutch ambassador to Turkey, all you need to do is look at the map: ‘Then you see that we are in the same sphere. It makes it …
Yesterday morning I was the guest in a talkshow on Turkish radio. The station is called Açık Radyo (Open Radio), and it’s community based. Community based radio stations are operated, owned, and driven by the communities they serve, and are not-for profit. Here’s more about Açık Radyo and what they believe in. Appeals to me, so …
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