Opinions
The end of ‘unshakable’ AKP myth
For the last couple of days, the codes and rules, which have been turned upside-down by Turkey’s ruling AKP, have become hard to keep up with since the AKP was forced to fight a self-created “monster.” The option for a snap election call seems the wisest option for his party but stakes are high over there too if he fails in his traditional “victimization” rhetoric, which worked well in many previous crisis, to convince his electorate.
Saving the soul of Turkey [amid the graft probe]
In terms of fundamental rights, Erdoğan does not tolerate any dissent or critical media at all. He publicly bashes reporters, labeling them traitors or foreign agents just because these members of the press corps are exercising their right to freedom of expression. Civic groups like Hizmet are unable to avoid his wrath as well and are easily accused of running “parallel structures” or “gangs” within the state apparatus with no shred of evidence to back these claims.
Fethullah Gulen, the [Gulen] community, and the prep schools
It is no secret that my bonds of affection with the wise religious leader Fethullah Gulen and his movement go back more than twenty years. I trust that Hocaefendi, with his endless sense of fairness, is aware of this situation. He feels offended firstly because the government signed the National Security Council’s brief without hesitation, and secondly because it has profiled [both him and the movement]. In any case, resisting the closure of the movement’s prep schools is the same as resisting an authoritarian course of events!
Iran’s Turkish gold rush
While the gas-for-gold scheme may have been technically legal before Congress finally shut it down in July, it appears to have exposed the Turkish political elite to a vast Iranian underworld. According to Today’s Zaman, suspicious transactions between Iran and Turkey could exceed $119 billion — nine times the total of gas-for-gold transactions reported.
Why Erdoğan exploits anti-American sentiments
With dangerous and discriminatory language, PM Erdoğan exploits anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiment in Turkish society to demonize his opponents. Can Erdoğan win this game? If Erdoğan were confident enough about the corruption case, maybe he could. Instead of letting justice run its proper course, he used his political power to intervene in the judiciary and police forces. This must be considered the most important indicator of his fall.
Turkish PM Erdoğan’s chain of mistakes
“There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must be not be attacked, towns which must not be besieged, and positions which must not be contested.” Erdoğan’s most serious problem is this. Based on the fact that he has come out successful in every crisis he has encountered, he always uses the same strategy to overcome difficulties. I call this the “curse of winning every battle.”
Graft probe in Turkey: Path and passengers
The problem is not to side with the Hizmet movement or the AK Party. No one objects to the fight against corruption. But it is not possible to argue that what has been happening is all about corruption right now. Tensions should not be escalated or provoked further. I believe that promoting reconciliation is the best option. If you ask whether or not it possible, I would say, “Yes, it is still possible.”
Questions over corruption and paralysis of politics [in Turkey]
The corruption crisis, the related ongoing judicial process and PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s stance towards this process have led many people to have serious concerns over justice and the latest developments have made me pose the following questions. I think that we strongly need honestly speaking and honestly thinking politicians to answer these questions for the sake of liberal democracy and universal values such as rule of law.
Ex-soccer player’s resignation a turning point for the AKP
“Those who want to establish a parallel structure alongside the state, those who have infiltrated into the state institutions … We will come into your lairs, and we will lay out these organizations within the state,” PM Erdogan said on Dec. 21. Gulen responded in kind via a video message: “Those who don’t see the thief but go after those who chase the thief … May God bring fire to their homes.”
Turkey’s Corruption Probe, And One Question For Erdogan
Figures close to the leading Justice and Development Party (AKP), including sons of cabinet members, are facing serious allegations of bribery and money laundering. The government is denying all accusations and claims the charges are part of a conspiracy with roots both foreign and domestic.
Test of Turkish society
Over the past 11 years, Turkey has been undergoing an important transformation. While it seems to defend secular and modern-looking Western lifestyles, it is trying to come out of the tangle of Kemalism, which is a regime disregarding democratic values of the West. Even if Kemalism had at first dreamed of establishing a real Western democracy, it was later defiled and turned into a hegemony of the elite.
