Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has announced plans to amend the controversial Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, that provides for custodial sentences for anyone who insults “Turkishness.” The EU has repeatedly cited Article 301 as evidence of Turkey’s failure to... MORE

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is finally expected to announce details of a new Turkish constitution later this month. A provisional draft has been submitted to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his approval prior to it being made public. The current expectation... MORE

Although Ankara reduced its defense budget in recent years due to economic restraints, on December 11 Turkey’s parliament approved a 1.7% increase for the Ministry of Defense (MD) budget for fiscal year 2008. The budget, which includes the land, air, and naval commands, as well... MORE

On the night of December 16-17, Turkish F-16 warplanes, using U.S.-provided intelligence, bombed the headquarters of the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), deep inside northern Iraq, in the first large-scale cross-border offensive on the rebel hideouts (Today's Zaman, December 17). Turkey's military hailed the night... MORE

As the Turkish media continues to bask in the military strike against bases in northern Iraq belonging to the illegal Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Turkish authorities have stepped up their pressure on the legal pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). Yesterday (December 17), Turkish police... MORE

Turkey’s muted response to the EU’s refusal to include an explicit reference to the country’s accession in its recent statement on enlargement is yet another indication of the waning enthusiasm in Turkey for what was once the country’s overriding foreign policy goal. At the conclusion... MORE

Recent remarks by General Yasar Buyukanit, the chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) had become both politicized and legalized have triggered a furious reaction from some of the leading members of the ultranationalist Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and... MORE

The December 10 sinking of an overcrowded boat carrying illegal migrants from Turkey to Greece has highlighted Turkey’s increasing importance as a transit point for illegal migrants seeking to gain entry to the countries of the EU. The issue has begun to strain Turkey’s relations... MORE

General Yasar Buyukanit, the chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), yesterday (December 11) admitted that Turkey was losing the psychological war against Kurdish separatism. Buyukanit was speaking at a symposium in Ankara organized by the Strategic Research and Studies Center (SAREM), a think tank... MORE

Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s choice of a conservative as the new head of the Higher Education Council (YOK), which oversees university education in Turkey, has reinforced Turkish secularist fears and raised concerns about the possibility of renewed tensions over the role of Islam in public... MORE