ISTANBUL – The Turkish parliament has adopted a law on Wednesday that allows Turks living abroad to vote from their country of residence. About 2.5 million voters are affected, according to Turkish media reports.
The law was handled as a ‘fundamental law’, which made speedy adoption by parliament possible. No opposition party opposed the law – an exception in Turkish politics. …
The Netherlands go where Turkey is coming from
“Abdullah Gül has no right to speak”, I hear all the time as a reaction to President Gül resisting the ideology of Dutch politician Geert Wilders, which discriminates against people and marginalises them. That’s because Gül has a problem handling minorities in his own country, the argument goes. Kurds and Christians in general and Armenians in particular are mentioned as …
Arrest warrent for coup participants
ISTANBUL – In Turkey on Thursday morning arrest warrants were issued for the perpetrators of the ‘post-modern coup’ that ended the government of Prime Minister Erbakan in 1997. House searches were carried out at more than 31 addresses, according to Turkish media reports.
The arrest warrants concern 31 high, now retired, military officials, among them one of the leaders of …
Hate crime of the month: Kurd lynched
An alliance of 46 organisations in Turkey has started a campaign against hate crimes. ‘Victims hardly ever lodge a complaint, if they live to tell their story.’
Istanbul – The woman who was abused by a taxi driver, punched in the face and kicked out of the taxi, just because she was Armenian: that is not just an attack on that …
Turkish intelligence service no longer suspect
Istanbul (ANP) – The public prosecutor in Turkey has withdrawn the arrest warrant for four highly placed members of the national intelligence service, MIT. The highest-ranked MIT boss, Hakan Fidan, doesn’t have to testify anymore either. This was announced on Turkish media on Monday morning. A week ago the arrest warrants and the call to testify caused a huge uproar …
‘Dink murder impossible in present-day Turkey’
ISTANBUL – Almost five years on there is still a lot that is not clear about the shadowy network that ordered the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. However a start has been made in dealing with the ‘deep state’, the ‘state within the state’ that is widely held responsible for the killing. Thursday marks five years since Dink was …
‘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 …
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 …
Erdogan apologizes for Dersim massacres
ISTANBUL – The Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has apologized on behalf of the state for the massacres in the eastern province of Dersim, in 1937 and 1938. Around 13,000 men, women and children died in the massacres. Goal of the operation was to bring the rebellious province under the control of the republic.
The discussion about Dersim, which is called Tunceli …
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