Latest Articles about Turkey
TURKISH MILITARY LAUNCHES MAJOR ANTI-PKK OPERATION
Around 10,000 members of the Turkish security forces have been deployed in a major military operation against units of the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in eastern and southeastern Anatolia. The operation is concentrated in mountainous areas of the provinces of Sirnak,... MORE
TURKISH POLICE NO NEARER TO SOLVING ATTEMPTED ANKARA BOMBING
One week after foiling a massive bomb attack in the center of Ankara, the Turkish police appear no closer to identifying either the perpetrators or the bomb’s intended target. On September 11, police sniffer dogs found a 580 kilogram improvised explosive device (IED) in a... MORE
ERDOGAN TO RULE ON FINAL DRAFT OF TURKEY’S NEW CONSTITUTION
Members of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have completed a three-day retreat to discuss a draft of the country’s new constitution, but they have left the decision on the final text to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On September 12, AKP Deputy Chairman... MORE
POLITICAL TENSIONS HIT TURKISH ECONOMIC TIES WITH NORTHERN IRAQ
Turkish companies active in northern Iraq say that political tensions between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurdish authorities have severely damaged their ability to do business in the region. Many are now preparing to wind up their operations in northern Iraq and return to Turkey (Milliyet,... MORE
NEW DRAFT TURKISH CONSTITUTION FORESEES EASING RESTRICTIONS ON RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC IDENTITY
A draft of the planned new Turkish constitution has been leaked to the media, and it suggests that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) is planning to ease restrictions on the expression of religious and non-Turkish ethnic identities while reducing the political influence of the... MORE
TURKISH POLICE FOIL MASSIVE BOMB ATTACK IN ANKARA
The discovery of a vehicle packed with explosives in the center of Ankara has once again raised questions about Turkey’s vulnerability to a mass-casualty terrorist attack. On the morning of September 11, two police sniffer dogs identified explosives in a Mercedes panel van in a... MORE
TURKEY LINES UP ALONGSIDE SYRIA TO CONDEMN ISRAELI INCURSIONS
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan’s blunt condemnation of an alleged violation of the Turkey’s airspace by Israeli warplanes has dealt another blow to already deteriorating relations between the two countries. In 1996 a military training agreement between Israel and Turkey was hailed by many as... MORE
EU, BUSINESS GROUPS PRESS AKP GOVERNMENT TO RESTART REFORM PROCESS
The European Commission has issued what is expected to be the first in a series of warnings to Turkey’s moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) to restart the stalled EU reform process. AKP has not implemented any substantive new reforms since formally opening accession... MORE
ANKARA MOVES TO REDUCE DEPENDENCE ON ENERGY IMPORTS
The good news in Ankara is that Turkey has one of the most dynamic economies of the Middle East, with an extraordinary GNP growth rate estimated at 6.7% for the first quarter of 2007. The bad news is that the rapid rise in oil prices... MORE
THE END OF “TAK”?
For the first time in four years, the summer is drawing to a close without a major attack by Kurdish militants on the Turkish tourism industry. Since the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) resumed violent attacks in June 2004 it has pursued a two-front strategy: a... MORE