Turkey: what is going on?
Moderator's Note
This thread has been renamed from 'WTF News Network : Turkish Senior Ranks' mass resignation/retirement' to 'Turkey: politicians and generals - what is going on?' In October 2015 the thread was renamed from Turkey: politicians and generals - what is going on? - to Turkey: what is going on? A small number of older threads and SWJ pieces were merged in.
A thread 2008-2009 called 'Secularism and Foreign Policy in Turkey', which contains background to the latest issues has now been merged into this thread.
In mid-2016 there was a separate thread on the attempted military coup, with 21,7k views and this has now (February 2017) been merged into this thread.(Ends).
WINEP Policy Focus, Apr 07:
Secularism and Foreign Policy in Turkey: New Elections, Troubling Trends
Quote:
Turkey is often said to offer a counter-example to every cliché regarding Muslim majority countries and the Middle East. For starters, the country has been westernizing since the days of the Ottoman Empire. Second, Turkey has been staunchly secular since the interwar-era reforms initiated by its founding president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Third, Turkey has been a multiparty democracy since 1950. And last but not least, Turkey has maintained a pro-Western political orientation since the end of the World War II...
...The United States should be concerned about the AKP domination of Turkish politics because the AKP’s erosion of the secular Turkish weltanschauung is weakening the country’s pro-Western foreign policy orientation. Is the Turkish democracy strong enough to face the AKP beyond 2007? Will Turkey’s secularism and Western orientation prove resilient under this party’s leadership? What are the AKP’s stakes in the 2007 elections, and who are likely challengers to the party? Last but not least, what are the implications of this fateful period for U.S. policy, and what should the United States do to maintain Turkey’s pro-Western foreign policy orientation?....
Turkey's Parliamentary Elections
taken from: adkronosinternational: 6/8/08:
"TURKEY: CENTRE RIGHT MOTHERLAND PARTY QUITS ELECTIONS
Istanbul, 8 June (AKI) -
......
Also on Friday, Turkey's Electorate Council, the body which regulates the elections, vetoed the candidature of thee ethnic Kurdish candidates - Orhan Dogan, Selim Sadak and Hatip Dicle - accusing them of of extremism. The three, all former members of the defunct Kurdish-rights Democracy Party (DEP) - banned by the authorities for its perceived extremism - had planned to run as independents."
Turkey's Parliamentary Elections
23 July LA Times - Turkey's Ruling Party Wins Big in Parliamentary Elections by Laura King.
Quote:
Voters Sunday handed Turkey's Islamist-influenced ruling party a decisive victory in parliamentary elections, rewarding it for stewardship of the country's robust economy but raising the specter of bitter new quarrels over the feared erosion of Turkey's secular traditions.
With 99% of the votes counted, the Justice and Development Party, known by its Turkish initials AKP, garnered about 47% of the vote, according to unofficial results — a substantial increase over the 34% it received in elections five years ago when it came to power.
The vote could have far-reaching consequences for Turkey's engagement with the West, including its drive to become the first Muslim-dominated country to join the European Union. Though secularist parties have been cool to that idea, the AKP has vowed to press ahead with the bid despite early rebuffs...
19 July BBC - Two Faces of Modern Turkey.
I can't seem to find the quote at the linked editorial.
Thanks. Read the whole thread and saw Goesh's comment
but I was obviously operating in the disconnected mode... :o
Turkey in Radical Revision of Islamic Texts
While not exactly an Islamic Reformation the BBC is reporting that Turkey is preparing to publish a document that represents a revolutionary reinterpretation of Islam - and a controversial and radical modernisation of the religion.
Quote:
The country's powerful Department of Religious Affairs has commissioned a team of theologians at Ankara University to carry out a fundamental revision of the Hadith, the second most sacred text in Islam after the Koran.
The Hadith is a collection of thousands of sayings reputed to come from the Prophet Muhammad.
As such, it is the principal guide for Muslims in interpreting the Koran and the source of the vast majority of Islamic law, or Sharia...
Turkey Seeks Bigger Pipeline Role, Roils Europe It Aims to Join
From today's Bloomberg news
Quote:
Turkey is playing hardball in the geopolitical struggle over an $8 billion pipeline at the center of Europe's efforts to cut dependence on Russian natural gas.
The nation, which bridges Europe and Central Asia, is trying to profit from its strategic location and become a key part of Europe's energy plan. This might bolster its push to join the European Union -- if its negotiating tactics don't exhaust Europe's patience.
Europe wants Turkey to be a transit corridor along the Nabucco pipeline's 3,300-kilometer (2,062-mile) route from the Caspian Sea region to Austria. Turkey wants more control: acting as a regional energy hub, collecting gas from the east, buying some domestically at below-market prices and passing on the rest to Europe for a variable fee.
Quote:
In January 2006, Nabucco catapulted to the top of the EU's agenda after Russia briefly cut gas deliveries to Ukraine over a price dispute, blocking flows to Europe. Although Nabucco's capacity of 31 billion cubic meters would account for only 5 percent of the EU's 2020 gas needs, it would provide competition and may help lower prices, the EU says.
``The Nabucco pipeline is a clear economic and political necessity,'' said EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs in a March 2006 interview.
Gas-Rich Regions
Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and an EU candidate since 2005, has long aspired to link the oil-and gas-rich regions of Central Asia with Europe. Its port city of Ceyhan receives 1 million barrels daily of Azerbaijani oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
Looking at Turkey's historic bartering record
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Surferbeetle
I would hope this one is looked at long and hard before being jumped into.
You know like the difference between the different vendors in a flea market selling the same thing and the guy standing in between you and the very same product he's selling but for much less somewhere behind him. Sure I'll let you pass but you have to buy this first:eek:
Hurriyet on the July 1 Arrests
Here's a link to the English story from Hurriyet. This story suggest the arrests are directly part of the Ergenekon investigation.
And here's the link to the Turkish Daily News story as well.
a very important ruling...
Turkey’s Governing Party Avoids Ban
By SEBNEM ARSU and SABRINA TAVERNISE
New York Times
Published: July 31, 2008
Quote:
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s governing party narrowly missed being banned in a court ruling on Wednesday that released months of pressure in the country and handed a victory to the party’s leader, a former Islamist.
The party, Justice and Development, or AKP, as it is know in Turkish, was kept alive by just one vote — six members of Turkey’s Constitutional Court voted to close it, but seven were required. A ban would have brought down the government, forcing national elections for the second time in a year and pitching the country into chaos.
Turkey: politicians and generals - what is going on?
Reading music
Quote:
Hours after the country’s entire military echelon, including the Chief of the General Staff, resigned from their posts in a reaction to civilian rulers, the government appointed Gendarmerie Forces Commander Gen. Necdet Özel late Friday as the land forces commander, in a move to end the crisis as swiftly as possible.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.p...ign-2011-07-29
One explanation what is going on?
I am still trying to follow this developing situation, with the current Islamic government pursuing via the criminal justice route the leadership of the army and other critics.
Hat tip to FP Blog for offering a background explanation, 'Behind Bars in the Deep State' which is sub-titled:
Quote:
Does a shadowy mullah in Pennsylvania really hold the reins of power in Turkey? If not, then why are the country’s leaders so intent on silencing a single investigative journalist?
The article points the finger at a shadowy Muslim group.
Oddly the article has been pulled and is not cached. Will try to link another day.
A Different War on Terrorism: The U.S., Turkey and the PKK
A Different War on Terrorism: The U.S., Turkey and the PKK
Entry Excerpt:
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Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.
This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.
Book Review: Democracy, Islam and Secularism in Turkey
Book Review: Democracy, Islam and Secularism in Turkey
Entry Excerpt:
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Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.
This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.
Turkey, the end of Islamism with a human face
An interesting analysis of what is going on:
Quote:
Turkey's AKP government has over a decade promised a new model of governance: progressive and reformist, Islamist and democratic. But a series of developments, including the expanding power of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is now exposing the party and its policies to ever-deeper scrutiny....
Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/kerem-o...ith-human-face
The Fetullah Gulen movement in Azerbaijan
Hat tip to a "lurker" for this article, published by the Hudson Institute, 'The Gulen Movement in Azerbaijan' by Fuad Aliyev:http://www.currenttrends.org/researc...-in-azerbaijan
The conclusion starts with:
Quote:
The Glen movement has arguably emerged as the most successful movement in Azerbaijans unfolding Islamic revival. No other Islamic movement in Azerbaijan can claim such an extensive organization or level of influence in business, charity, lobbying and, above all, in the field of education. Moreover, the movement has managed to acquire this influence without revealing its ideological mission. This has, not surprisingly, generated considerable suspicion of its motives. And despite its reputation as a post- Islamist movement that seeks integration with society, it is nonetheless still widely perceived as having a religious-political agenda.
Not sure if there is an Azerbaijan thread, so placed here.