Latest Articles about Turkey
MILITARY LEADERS, ERDOGAN MEET TO DISCUSS PROMOTIONS AS TENSIONS MOUNT OVER PRESIDENCY
The three-day annual meeting of Turkey’s Supreme Military Council (YAS) opened in Ankara today (August 1). It marked the first time that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the high command of the Turkish General Staff (TGS) have come together on an official platform since... MORE
POORER, LESS EDUCATED VOTERS PREFER TURKEY’S AK PARTY
A close look at voting patterns in the July 22 Turkish general election suggests that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has broadened its electoral base while retaining its grassroots support among lower-income groups and the more conservative sections of society. Yesterday, July... MORE
PKK INSURGENCY GROWS AS AK PARTY RENEWS DEBATE ON CROSS-BORDER OPERATIONS
Fresh from its landslide victory in the Turkish elections of July 22, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has once again begun to increase pressure on the United States to move against elements of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) based in northern Iraq. On... MORE
DTP ELECTION SUCCESS SET TO CHALLENGE BOTH TURKISH STATE AND PARTY ITSELF
The election to the Turkish parliament of 24 members of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) looks set to challenge both the Turkish state’s commitment to freedom of expression and the DTP’s ability to establish itself as an independent political force, free of any links with... MORE
TURKISH CHIEF OF STAFF FACING DILEMMA OVER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
On July 26 the Turkish press quoted Devlet Bahceli, leader of the ultranationalist National Action Party (MHP), as stating that the party would not boycott the parliamentary vote to elect the country’s next president, thus effectively opening the way for the AKP to appoint any... MORE
TURKEY’S CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC PRESENCE GROWS IN KYRGYZSTAN
Like other Central Asian states, Kyrgyzstan’s relations with Turkey have considerably strengthened since the collapse of the Soviet Union. A July 23 conference held in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, on the role of political actors in state-building in Turkic countries in the 20th century showed... MORE
AKP SENDS MIXED SIGNALS OVER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Today, July 25, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul today refused to confirm that he would withdraw as a candidate for the country’s presidency when parliament meets in early August 2007 to elect a successor to the incumbent, Ahmet Necdet Sezer. “I cannot ignore the will... MORE
DIVERSITY OF OPINIONS EXPECTED IN NEW TURKISH PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES
For the first time in ten years, pro-Kurdish candidates have won seats in the Turkish parliament. Twenty-four independent candidates affiliated with the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) were elected on Sunday, July 22. An additional four non-affiliated independents also won seats. These new lawmakers will... MORE
PROSPECTS OF IMMINENT CIVIL-MILITARY CONFRONTATION RECEDE IN WAKE OF TURKISH ELECTIONS
Fears of another confrontation between the ruling AK Party and Turkey’s powerful military over the appointment of the country’s next president have receded in the wake of yesterday’s general election. The July 22 polls resulted in an increase in the AK Party’s vote but a... MORE