Latest Articles about Turkey
TURKISH MILITARY RALLIES BEHIND JUDICIARY IN HEADSCARF CASE
The Turkish military has been quick to endorse the June 5 ruling of the country’s Constitutional Court annulling the attempts by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to create a legal framework for lifting the ban that currently prevents women wearing headscarves from attending... MORE
TURKISH PUBLIC PROSECUTOR CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGED COUP PLOT
Public Prosecutor Suleyman Aydin has called for an investigation into allegations of a 2004 plot to topple Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), according to a report in the Islamist daily Zaman (June 4). In March 2007 the weekly news magazine Nokta published what... MORE
COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE EMBODIES TURKEY’S GROWING TECHNOLOGICAL SOPHISTICATION
According to Turkey's Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim, if all goes well, Turkey’s new generation communication satellite Turksat 3A will be launched on June 12 from French Guiana into geosynchronous orbit. The launch, originally scheduled for January, was repeatedly postponed due to unexpected technical difficulties with... MORE
WILL AEGEAN DISPUTES CONTINUE TO BLOCK TURKISH-GREEK RECONCILIATION?
On May 31 the Turkish General Staff (TGS) posted a statement on its website claiming that a boat belonging to the Greek coastguard had violated Turkish territorial waters close to the disputed island of Kardak/Imia off Turkey’s Aegean coast (Turkish General Staff website, www.tsk.gov.tr). The... MORE
TURKEY’S PUBLIC PROSECUTOR LAMBASTS EU, U.S. OVER AKP CLOSURE CASE
On May 30 Public Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya presented his response to the initial defense of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) against the application for the party’s closure which he originally he filed with the Constitutional Court on March 14 (see EDM, March 17).... MORE
BABACAN DISMISSES CLAIMS THAT TURKEY OFFERED SYRIA WATER FOR PEACE WITH ISRAEL
On May 29 Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan publicly denied newspaper reports that Ankara had offered water to Syria in return for engaging in indirect peace negotiations with Israel (CNNTurk, May 30). In recent months, Turkey has been acting as an intermediary between Syria and... MORE
TURKEY PREPARES TO PAY THE PRICE FOR DROUGHT, POOR PLANNING AND ECONOMIC POPULISM
Turkey is likely to face power cuts again this summer as a combination of drought, poor planning and economic populism result in electricity production failing to keep pace with demand. According to official projections by the Turkish Energy Ministry, Turkey will produce 191 billion kilowatt... MORE
AKKUYU AND TURKISH NUCLEAR POWER
In an era of record-high oil prices, Turkey, which imports 90 percent of its energy needs, is considering any and all options, including nuclear. The country’s energy requirements are pitting the government against the country’s environmentalist lobby, one of the strongest in the Middle East.... MORE
HEROIN TRADE BEING USED TO FINANCE THE PKK, A TURKISH REPORT CLAIMS
Turkey remains a major transit route for heroin trafficking with a substantial proportion of the revenue being used to finance radical organizations, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), according to a recent report by the Department for Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime (KOM) in the... MORE
NATIONAL PRIDE HAMPERS TURKISH BORDER SECURITY
National pride remains an obstacle to improved security at Turkey’s notoriously porous borders, according to a recent report by the Turkish Dogan News Agency (DHA). On May 21 DHA reported that Customs officials in Ankara were opposed to a proposal by the United States to... MORE