Keyword: Turkey
National Security Council intended to arrest Fethullah Gülen in 1997
2 September 2012 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, ISTANBUL Meral Akşener, a Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy and vice president of Parliament, who was interior minister at the time of the Feb. 28 coup, claimed that The National Security Council (MGK) actually discussed a total of 24 decisions, which included the recitation of the call to prayer […]
Kurdish initiative should not be suspended by provocative acts
TUĞBA MEZARARKALI/MEHMET TAYANÇ, BINGÖL The final declaration of a recent symposium on Turkey’s Kurdish issue, attended by Turkish and international academics, authors, politicians and leading thinkers, says that Kurdish initiatives aiming to resolve Turkey’s long-standing Kurdish problem by meeting some of the Kurdish people’s demands should not be suspended due to provocative acts. Organized by […]
Gülen’s solution to Kurdish issue discussed at panel
A solution to the Kurdish issue proposed by Turkish religious figure Fethullah Gülen has been discussed at a symposium in the southeastern province of Bingöl. Prof. Cengiz Yıldız spoke at the “Kurds from Ottoman to Today” symposium and gave a presentation describing a solution to the Kurdish issue as put forward by Gülen, daily Zaman […]
AK Party, Hizmet movement and politics
İHSAN YILMAZ August 31, 2012 I have written repeatedly about the relationship between the Hizmet movement (aka Gulen movement) and politics here. Unfortunately, it still needs some more discussion. As is well known, Hizmet never associates itself with political parties. It is a volunteer movement that appeals to individuals from all sorts of social, cultural, […]
Kimse Yok Mu presents gifts to 8,000 children in Diyarbakır
İSMAIL AVCI, DIYARBAKIR Turkish humanitarian aid organization Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) has delivered gifts to 8,000 children from poor families in the province of Diyarbakır to help them enjoy Eid al-Fitr, the three-day religious festival that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. It is a tradition to buy new clothes […]
Hrant Topakiyan’s feelings about the Journalists and Writers Foundation
Hrant Topakiyan, Kentim Gazette, April 5, 2010 Journalists and Writers Foundation = Love For many years I have attended the love-filled Ramadan iftar dinners arranged by the Journalists and Writers Foundation. My Lord allowed me to meet very valuable people at these dinners. Since it is impossible to write all their names in this column, […]
GYV gathers politicians, diplomats at iftar dinner in Turkish capital
3 August 2012 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, ANKARA Many distinguished figures, including Cabinet members, politicians, diplomats, businessmen and journalists, came together at an iftar (fast-breaking dinner) table on Thursday night in an event held by the Ankara branch of the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) at Ankara’s Congresium hall. The Syrian crisis, which has claimed the […]
Businessmen, politicians, religious leaders come together at GYV iftar
26 July 2012 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL Many distinguished figures, including Turkey’s spiritual leaders, politicians, artists, diplomats, businessmen and journalists came together at the same iftar (fast-breaking dinner) table in İstanbul’s Conrad Hotel on Wednesday night at an event held by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV). GYV Honorary President Fethullah Gülen greeted the guests […]
Kurdish problem, PKK, AKP, Hizmet movement
Ihsan YILMAZ July 4, 2012 The Kurdish problem in Turkey has many domestic and international dimensions. It is, of course, impossible to touch upon all of these in a column. Thus, I will look at only a few of these aspects. It is obvious that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) wants to solve the […]
Kimse Yok Mu to distribute 90,000 food packages during Ramadan
The Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) charity foundation will be offering aid packages to 90,000 families in all the 81 provinces during the holy month of Ramadan. The fasting month of Ramadan, deemed the sultan of all the months by Muslims, is considered the most venerated, blessed and spiritually beneficial month of the Islamic […]
27th Abant Final Declaration on Democratization of Turkey
Democratization 1- Turkey’s culture is at present characterized by a susceptibility to in-group / out-group tension, the effects of which impede democratization. Authoritarianism and patriarchal hierarchy are aspects of group culture that are reflected at the family level and scaled up to the political level as majoritarian democracy and internally undemocratic institutions. Two basic institutions […]
Abant participants: Turkey needs EU support to improve its democracy
24 June 2012 / YONCA POYRAZ DOĞAN, ABANT No matter the problems related to the European Union’s historical financial crisis and Turkey’s loss of enthusiasm regarding membership in the EU; participants of the 27th Abant meeting, titled “Different Perspectives on Turkey,” have said that Turkey needs the EU in order to improve its fragile democracy. […]
Abant Platform: perspectives on Turkey
Ihsan YILMAZ June 22, 2012 The Abant Platform, being an innovative institution, has now initiated a new discussion forum which, as far as I am aware, is a first in Turkey. We will be discussing different perspectives on Turkey together with non-Turkish academics, diplomats and journalists working in the country. For three days, we will […]
Local, foreign participants debate Turkish democracy at Abant platform
22 June 2012 / YONCA POYRAZ DOĞAN, ABANT Even though Turkey has achieved great economic development in the past 10 years, it is still having trouble consolidating its democracy, according to both native and non-native participants of the 27th Abant Platform. In his introductory speech, Sabancı University’s Ersin Kalaycıoğlu said on Friday at the 27th […]
