WorldcrunchDiken is an independent online Turkish news site, founded in 2014. Erdal Güven serves as the editor-in-chief, and the founder is Harun Simavi.
As protests continue against the arrest of Istanbul’s opposition mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, there’s no doubt that Turkey is in a dark chapter of its history — and a common story in authoritarian and populist regimes. But the protests also show that the will for democracy is alive.
The numbers are troubling but also still unclear. Are more people dying in the quest for cheaper medical services — often plastic surgery — that Turkey has become a magnet for. It’s time to check more closely.
After its defeat in municipal elections in March, the ruling party of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reopened a dialogue with the main opposition party after years of ruling by sheer political power. This has been touted as normalization of the Turkish political system. But there’s still much work to be done, and trust to be regained.
As Israel ramps up its attacks on Gaza, and support from the West continues, ordinary people in Turkey are falling into the trap of seeing the world as an inevitable showdown between East and West.
Before the outbreak of the Hamas-Israel war, a social media campaign in Turkey aimed to take on anti-Arab and anti-refugee sentiment. But the campaign ultimately just swapped one type of discrimination for another.
Palestinians are suffering under the Israeli regime and relentless bombardment of Gaza, yet the Western world, also known to be the “civilized” world, continues to support Israel. Turkey’s complex relationship with Islamic and Middle Eastern countries as well as with the West brings back the most fundamental questions about the past and future.
The Oct. 7 Hamas attacks are as devastating on Israel as the Sep. 11 were on the U.S. But like it did 20 years ago, such an attack also has the power to reshape politics inside Israel and around the region in a way that risks making everything worse.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent tour of Gulf states is proof that the Turkish president aims to repair his country’s diplomatic ties in the region, all the while looking for investment for Ankara’s floundering economy. Quite the reversal of fortunes considering that not so long ago Gulf countries faced accusations of sponsoring the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was received warmly in the U.S. and in France — visits which must have provoked some jealousy in Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who faces many of the same anti-democratic criticisms as Modi, can’t expect the same kind of red-carpet welcome in Washington.
After 60 years waiting for EU membership, Turkey seems no closer to being brought into the fold. The Cypriot question and the countries’ declining democracy are just a few of the points brought up in ongoing discussions.
The 74-year-old veteran politician has a solid chance of unseating Erdogan from power after 20 years. Kilicdaroglu has displayed the kind of calm and open attitude to save Turkish democracy.
President Erdogan and his allies have spent the final weeks of the campaign questioning the political legitimacy of their opponents’ eventual victory ahead of the May 14 election. When the vote does come, the risk of setting off a veritable civil war is real.
After Turkey’s devastating earthquakes, rescue workers continue to work in increasingly hopeless circumstances. Turkish news outlet Diken reports from the scene as survivors wait anxiously for news of loved ones. It’s rarely good news.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing a tough re-election battle in May made tougher by criticism linked to the devastating earthquake. Rumors are swirling that he might delay the election, even though it’s simply not in his Constitutional powers.
The government in Ankara doesn’t want to question the cause of the high death toll in the earthquake that struck along the Turkey-Syria border. But one Turkish writer says it’s time to assign responsibility right now.
On the diplomatic and political level, no world leader speaks more regularly with Vladimir Putin than his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. But the growing closeness of Russia and Turkey can also be measured in the economic data. And the 2022 numbers are stunning.
The six-hectare gardens in the center of Istanbul, which are more than 1,500 years old, have helped feed the city’s residents over the centuries and are connected with its religious history. But current city management has a restoration project that could disrupt a unique urban ecosystem.