Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
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Armenian Opposition Backs Away from Further Confrontation with Government
Armenia has marked the first anniversary of its worst political violence ever amid signs of easing tension between its leadership and the main opposition forces. The top opposition leader, former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, has made it clear that he will no longer seek to topple... MORE
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Religious Freedom Still Tenuous in Turkey
A Turkish court ruled in favor of an Alevi family requesting exemption for their daughter from attending religious lessons in primary school. The ruling highlights the state of religious freedom, as well as the demands of the Alevi community, in Turkey (Anadolu Ajansi, February 24).... MORE
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Turkey’s Kurdish Question: Irony Within Irony
In November 2008 Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan made one of his most disconcerting statements toward the Kurds in Turkey: "We have said, ‘One nation, one flag, one motherland, and one state.'...Those who oppose this should leave" (See EDM November 4, 2008). In January 2009 the... MORE
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Putin’s “Power Vertical” Doesn’t Leave Other Ties to Keep Russia Together
"As a scholar, I establish the fact that the Russian Federation is developing signs of the initial stage of a breakup," Professor Alexei Malashenko, Scholar-in-Residence of the Carnegie Moscow Center, told Jamestown on February 12. "Not unlike the case of the USSR, the current economic... MORE
A New Episode in the AKP’s Confrontation with the Dogan Group
Dogan media group (DMG), a conglomerate of various media companies owned by Dogan Holding, was fined on February 18 for tax evasion and accounting irregularities for the period from 2003 through 2006. DMG has been ordered to pay a total of TL 826.2 million ($484.3... MORE
Yushchenko Criticizes Tymoshenko for Gas Accords and Plea for Loan from Moscow
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has accused Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of betraying national interests in the gas agreements concluded in Moscow on January 19 and 20 and by turning to Russia for a loan. Yushchenko used the February 10 meeting of the National Security and... MORE
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Bakiyev Will “Acquiesce” If Constitutional Court Calls for Early Elections
Despite low popularity ratings at home but with assured support from the Kremlin, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has declared his willingness to run for a second term. He added that he would not mind moving elections up to this year, since several political leaders have... MORE
Gongadze Murder Still Casts a Shadow over Yushchenko Presidency
On January 27 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued another damning report about the poor state of Ukraine's investigation into the murder of opposition journalist Georgi Gongadze in the fall of 2000 (www.assembly.coe.int). The involvement of senior Ukrainian leaders in the... MORE
Speculation Mounts over Protection for Retired Generals in “Deep State” Trial
The release from jail of the former Aegean Army commander, retired General Hursit Tolon, on February 7 on grounds of lack of evidence has sparked speculation that he and other four-star generals are being protected by the country's politically powerful Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). He... MORE
To Maintain its Power the AKP Must Decisively Win March 29 Election
Turkey has entered into an election atmosphere ahead of its provincial elections on March 29. The strongest party in the election is the Justice and Development Party (AKP). The opposition party, secularist Republican People's Party (CHP) does not want to lose its stronghold in cities... MORE