Keyword: Turkey
Erdogan: Turkey’s man of mystery armed with extra powers
Erdogan’s Islamist supporters sometimes suggest that he is on his way to declaring himself caliph. As the 100th anniversary of the caliphate’s abolition approaches, he may find this tempting; depending on whether he uses the Islamic or Christian calendar, that could happen, respectively, on March 10, 2021 or March 4, 2024. You read it here first.
Third suspicious disappearance in a week: Teacher dismissed in post-coup crackdown not seen for 14 days
Cengiz Usta, a 44-year-old teacher who was dismissed from his post as part of the Turkish government’s post-coup purge of state-institutions, has been missing since Apr 4, joining two other education professionals who are claimed to have been abducted in the same week.
Teachers detained on coup charges while casting votes in referendum
A.A. and T.D., two teachers who were earlier dismissed from their posts as part of a post-coup crackdown on the Gülen movement, were taken into custody on Sunday at a school in Malatya where they stopped to cast their votes in a referendum on a switch to an executive presidency.
Turkey, The great purge – Four lives upturned by Erdogan’s ‘cleansing.’ Episode 4 – Betul
Every afternoon from January 23 to March 28, Ms. Celep arrived at the square wearing a white traffic waistcoat emblazoned with the words, “İşimi geri istiyorum” – Turkish for “I want my job back”. Through sunshine and the shivering Istanbul rain, she stood there as supporters — many of whom had also lost their jobs in Turkey’s great purges — arrived to cheer her on, encouraged by the young woman’s sheer guts and charisma.
As Turkey Gears Up to Vote, Its ‘Traitors’ Speak Out
In Turkey, a national trauma has turned into a never-ending nightmare for hundreds of thousands of citizens. Erdogan aimed to root out all Gulen sympathizers and turn them into what one local columnist called “socially dead people.” The government’s crackdown has extended well beyond the Gulenists. Leftist activists, Kurdish politicians, and dissenting academics have all been targeted.
Turkey, The great purge – Four lives upturned by Erdogan’s ‘cleansing.’ Episode 3 – Omer
It was a tweet that set it all off. An innocuous post that plunged Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu into a personal, administrative and political hell — and a private trauma that has publicly exposed a growing rift within Turkey’s Islamists.
Veteran out of social security coverage after being dismissed in post-coup purge
Being a veteran is no relief from Turkey’s government witch hunt as M.E.Ç., a former police officer who lost his one ear and eye to clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) says he cannot benefit from a state-backed social security coverage to undergo a surgery after dismissal.
Inside Turkey’s Purge
The police officers came to the doctor’s door in Istanbul at 6 a.m. and one of them said, “You are accused of attempting to kill President Erdogan.” The doctor couldn’t help it; he laughed. “Really? I did that?” The police officers smiled, too. “Yes. Also for attempting to destroy Turkey and for being a member of a terrorist organization.”
Turkey, The great purge – Four lives upturned by Erdogan’s ‘cleansing.’ Episode 2 – Mehmet
Following the July 15, 2016, coup attempt, Erdogan promised to “cleanse” Turkey of a “virus” that has plagued its state institutions. That cleansing has been primarily directed at two organisations: the PKK and the Gulen movement. But the crackdown on both organisations began long before the July coup attempt.
