Today’s Zaman offers condolences to families of mine victims
Date posted: May 15, 2014
ISTANBUL
Today’s Zaman offers its condolences to families of victims who were killed in Tuesday’s blast at the Soma coal mine.
Today’s Zaman also calls on Turkish officials to do their utmost to regulate privately owned and operated mines to ensure the safety of all workers and miners. The tragic incident in the Soma mine once again reveals the need for a stronger inspection of mines including the safety conditions of workers in line with international standards.
The steady rise of accidents, blasts and other disasters in mines and at construction sites raises concerns over the safety conditions of workers. The rising number of worker deaths should prompt the Turkish government to revisit its policies and develop a new strategy to deal with any shortcomings or problems that are the main sources of this unacceptably high number of casualties.
However, Erdogan has a problem: Whereas Ataturk came to power as a military general, Erdogan has a democratic mandate to govern. Ataturk’s Turkey was rural and only 10 percent of the country was literate at the time, with most educated people supporting his agenda. Erdogan’s Turkey is 80 percent urban and nearly 100 percent literate, and many well-educated Turks oppose his agenda.
Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen gives first TV interview in 16 years
Responding to widespread assumptions that he ordered his followers in senior positions in the police and judiciary to launch the investigations into alleged high-level government corruption, Gülen issued strong denials of such claims. He said the reactions of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which have included the sacking a number of police commissioners and the arrest of some of Erdoğan’s allies, were “anti-democratic.”
Democracy is vanishing in Turkey, specialist says
Zeynalov reminded the attendees that Erdogan also was arrested a couple of decades ago. That eventually helped him to become famous and won him the elections five years later. But it didn’t stop Erdogan to use the same law for justifying the arrest of Zeynalov in 2014.
If whoever touched Gülen was doomed, we would have been ashes by now
“If whoever touches him is screwed, it should have been me who would have gotten screwed first; I should have been in ashes by now because I have published the harshest material against Gülen. I have published the most derogatory books against him.”
Erdogan’s Maarif Foundation To Contribute Radicalism, Exacerbate Muslim-Christian Tension In African Countries
Turkey’s President Erdoğan has aimed at replacing the positive contributions of the schools opened by the Gülen movement in Africa to preventing clashes in countries, where there is Christian-Muslim tension, with radical Islamist rhetoric and thus will create conflict rather than dialogue in African countries, stated a report recently released.
Henri Barkey: Why Is Turkey Accusing Me of Plotting a Coup?
Soon after the coup was defeated, my colleagues and I became the targets of sensationalist conspiracy theories promulgated by Turkey’s pro-government press. The accusations ranged from organizing the coup on behalf of the C.I.A. to setting up communication links for the plotters and, most implausibly, bringing a convicted murderer from California into Turkey to engage in evil deeds.
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