Keyword: Turkey
Indonesian Sultan at Meliksah University in Kayseri
The Indonesian Sultan Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono was granted an honorary doctorate by Meliksah University in Kayseri. In attendance of the ceremony were the chairman of Boydak Group Board Haci Boydak, the president of Kayseri Young Industrialists and Businessmen Association Hamdi Kinas and numerous academics and businessmen. The deputy-rector Prof. Tankut Yalcinoz delivered the opening […]
Finally, an awakening… press freedom in Turkey
Yavuz Baydar “…notes with concern that most media are owned by and concentrated in large conglomerates with a wide range of business interests ; reiterates its call for the adoption of a new media law addressing, inter alia, the issues of independence, ownership and administrative control…” The excerpt is from the European Parliament Resolution on […]
Why is the Gulen movement’s statement on press freedom significant?
BÜLENT KENEŞ As Turkey slows down its democratization and liberalization reforms, and occasionally backpedals on certain reforms, it runs into more serious problems. In particular, the slowdown in the democratization reforms Turkey is supposed to implement within the context of its European Union membership bid results in the deterioration of existing rights and freedoms. The […]
GYV urges government to accelerate reforms in favor of media freedoms
The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) has called on the Turkish government to speed up pro-freedom reforms and to bring its laws in line with European Union standards in order to do away with problems caused by limits on freedom of expression and freedom of the press. The foundation released a statement on Wednesday regarding […]
A solid step in Gulen movement Alevite community dialogue: Mosque-cemevi-soup kitchen project
The Gulen movement and Cem Foundation of the Alevite community have agreed to launch an important project. They will build a mosque, a cemevi (Alevite house of gathering) and a soup kitchen side by side in the capital of Turkey, Ankara. Gulen (Hizmet) movement takes a concrete step forward to extend common shared values with Alevite […]
Irmak TV starts broadcast
New television channel Irmak TV began broadcasting on Thursday night in a magnificent ceremony with blessings from senior Turkish officials, journalists and public figures. The TV channel, along with Today’s Zaman, is part of the Feza Media Group, and will mostly broadcast programs with moral, spiritual, cultural and religious content. Irmak, meaning “river” in Turkish, […]
Ergenekon opinion lists subversive plans for coup d’état
A lead prosecutor involved in the trial of the Ergenekon terrorist organization listed in his final opinion of the case several plots by the terrorist group to spark chaos in society so as to lay the groundwork for a military coup. One such plan was the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism, which detailed a military campaign to destroy the image of the ruling AK Party and the faith-based Gulen movement in the eyes of the public.
GYV rejects claims that Hizmet movement dominates Turkey’s judiciary
The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) has strongly criticized and denied news reports suggesting that the Hizmet movement, which is inspired by well-respected Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, dominates the judiciary and bureaucratic positions within the Turkish state, calling the claims groundless. The claims appeared at a time when prosecutors summed up their case in […]
Terrorist Bahoz Erdal calls on families to protect their children from the Gulen Movement!
“Bahoz Erdal” code-named Fehman Hussein, who represents the most bloody wing of the PKK terrorist organization and the organization’s Syrian wing, directs preposterous accusations to the Gulen movement and the police. He claims that the movement entraps Kurdish children and brings up them as spies. Bahoz argues, “They [the movement] recruit Kurdish kids at their […]
The İmralı peace process and defaming the Hizmet movement
İHSAN YILMAZ After the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan’s comments to the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputies visiting him on İmralı Island were leaked to the press, almost everybody asked who was behind the leak. The main suspicion was that it was leaked by one who did not want the peace negotiations […]
Ergun Poyraz to pay compensation for slandering Fethullah Gulen in his book
AYŞENUR PARILDAK Ergun Poyraz, defendant detainee of Ergenekon Trial, was fined for violating the rights of Fethullah Gulen, in his book “The Imam in America”. With the lawsuit that is filed by Orhan Erdemli, Gulen’s lawyer, Poyraz Publishing and Bizim Avrasya Publishing were sentenced to a total of 5 thousand Turkish Liras compensation. In Ergun […]
Minister Şahin praises Journalists and Writers Foundation for courageous coverage
SEZAİ KALAYCI, NEW YORK Family and Social Policy Minister Fatma Şahin has praised the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) for its members’ courageous coverage of important issues at a time when the country is taking steps for democratization. Şahin’s remarks came during a panel discussion on women’s issues held by the GYV and Peace Islands […]
Turkish, Armenian students foster coexistence with exemplary project
FATMA DIŞLI ZIBAK Putting aside all their prejudices and what their course books taught them, a group of students from a Turkish high school and an Armenian high school have joined hands to get to know each other and develop bonds of brotherhood among different religious and ethnic groups in the country with a joint […]
Scholars at Abant Meeting call for EU negotiations, domestic reform
Menekse Tokyay for Southeast European Times As Turkey’s EU bid has stalled, a group of prominent scholars agree that negotiations can only proceed if Turkey advances democracy, drafts a new civilian constitution and resolves of the Kurdish issue. The Abant Platform has long been a progressive force in Turkey, bringing together intellectuals to debate and […]
