Worldcrunch
Note: This article was originally published on July 13, before the failed coup attempt -Analysis- ISTANBUL — This newspaper (Turkish daily Hürriyet) published the following report last month: “Syrians who want to spend the Ramadan Bayram (Eid al-Fitr) holiday with the relatives they left behind in their country where a horrible civil war is still […]
A developmental psychologist in Turkey offers some answers.
-OpEd- ISTANBUL — Having survived the coup attempt is not enough to put our minds at ease in Turkey. Turkey is on a road that doesn’t lead to a pluralistic and democratic system. We wake up to a new nightmare every day about our nation’s direction. What’s happening on Turkish soil is worrisome. But it’s […]
SPOTLIGHT: STATE OF EMERGENCY, THE OBVIOUS ANSWER? If the whole world is always in a state of emergency, does that mean there’s no emergency? We’re not quite there yet, but an official “state of emergency” decree, with additional regulations and the granting of special police powers, is increasingly how governments react in times of crisis. […]
ISTANBUL — Turkish society was on the verge of a major disaster last Friday. If the attempted coup d’etat had achieved its purpose, we would probably already be facing a large-scale civil war today. During the coup attempt, which lasted about 12 hours, we lived through a miniature version of this civil war with all […]
SPOTLIGHT: ISTANBUL, STUDIES IN CONTRAST Taksim Square is both symbolic and convenient: Flat in the middle of the bustle of Istanbul, it can serve as a meeting point for locals and tourists — and protesters. It is where many of the most ardent supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gathered after tanks took control […]
Recounting and reflections of the failed Friday night coup, and the mob mentality left in its wake.
-OpEd- ISTANBUL — Years ago I told myself: “If there is another coup in this country, I will quit this profession…” Last night reminded me of that promise. My conscience, my sense of self, my education… My faith in democracy… They were all saying the same thing. Once again I realized, democracy is the only […]
The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is enforcing a crackdown of those believed linked to the failed coup attempt that began Friday night. Turkey officials report that some 265 people were killed in the attempted military overthrow of the Erdogan government. Follow the latest updates in real-time on BBC.
Following attacks in Paris, Brussels, Istanbul, and now Nice, Europe must unite to combat the Islamist terror campaign.
Since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, more than 2.7 million Syrians have registered as refugees in neighboring Turkey, making it the largest host country for Syrian asylum seekers. The influx, combined with a rise in terrorist attacks in the country, have become pressing issues in Turkish politics. -OpEd- ISTANBUL — Refugees… They […]
Can practitioners of Islam also believe in the ideals of a secular state and democracy? A Turkish academic poses the question and finds some interesting answers.
ISTANBUL — Since Turkey made conciliatory moves towards Russia and Israel last week, critics have pointed to the inconsistencies between what has been said before and what is being said now. But that is not the real issue here: The real issue is about the roots, the true nature and the costs of these changes […]
One expert warns of a new “wolf pack” tactics for sowing terror with small, coordinated attacks like those seen this past week in Istanbul and Dhaka.
ISTANBUL — When it was time to make a victory speech, all the cities of the Muslim world were being cited, “Not just Turkey, but also Baghdad, Islamabad, Kabul, Beirut, Sarajevo, and Skopje won today,” declared Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after being elected the Republic of Turkey“s 12th president back in August 2014. “Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, […]
Exclusive details on how three terrorists launched their bloody attack that killed more than 40 people — and how two police officers helped avert an even higher death toll.
SPOTLIGHT: WHAT DOES ISTANBUL ATTACK SAY ABOUT ISIS? After Tuesday night’s gruesome attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, where the toll now stands at 42 people dead and 239 wounded, Turkish police launched a vast operation that led to the arrest of 13 suspects, AFP reports. Perhaps surprisingly, no organization has so far claimed responsibility for […]
SPOTLIGHT: AIRPORT TERROR, BRUSSELS TO ISTANBUL After a week of Brexit uncertainty and anxiety, outright horror has returned to the top of the news. The wail of sirens and scenes of panic are back on our screens after last night’s terrorist attack at Istanbul’s airport killed dozens of people. Yet it is not too much […]
Hürriyet, June 29 “We Curse You,” read Wednesday morning’s front-page headline of Turkish daily Hürriyet, after a terrorist attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport killed dozens. The latest toll stood at 36 people killed and 147 wounded after the Tuesday night attack, reportedly carried out by three suicide bombers. Hürriyet reports that one of the […]
Inflammatory speech, whether you’re the Republican candidate for the White House or a Turkish professor of theology, should be held directly responsible for ensuing violence.
ISTANBUL — Pride Week traces its roots back 47 years to a New York bar called the Stonewall Inn. On June 28, 1969 in response to a sudden police raid, gays who no longer wanted to cope in silence with the social pressure, violence and discrimination trapped the police officers that assaulted them in the […]
TALISH — For some, this is a forgotten war. For others, it’s a frozen conflict. There are also those who consider it a proxy war between Turkey and Russia, with Moscow on the side of the Armenians, and Ankara supporting the Aliyev family, which has ruled Azerbaijan for the past half-century. But before all else, […]
-OpEd- Turkey has never been a stranger to terror attacks. But it seems that the spiral of violence we have entered since the June 7, 2015, general election is so severe that it cannot be compared to anything that came before. Worse: There’s no resolution in sight, no sign of an end to this violent […]
SPOTLIGHT: EURO 2016 ON EDGE The Euro 2016 soccer tournament starts Friday in France. By some accounts, it is the world’s third biggest sporting event, after the World Cup and Summer Olympics. This year’s contest will last for a month around the country’s biggest stadiums and is expecting to bring 2.5 millions fans to attend […]
Will the Turkish President’s discarded former allies ever dare to form a new party to challenge him?
Why was President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s supposed ally forced out of the Prime Minister post? The answer lies in the particular ambitions of this Turkish leader.
The Turkish editor and a lonely press critic of President Erdogan was the target of a gunman who screamed “traitor” before firing outside an Istanbul courthouse. Dundar tells of his wife’s courage and his own determination to speak truth
SPOTLIGHT: ANKARA INTRIGUE, GLOBAL IMPACT Turkish politics comes with no shortage of intrigue. Before Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced his resignation yesterday, the first word of the depths of his rift with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came via an anonymous blog post succulently entitled The Pelican File. Meanwhile main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu described Davutoglu’s […]
Already swamped by refugees from across the Syrian border, Kilis is now also having to contend with constant rocket attacks.
Milliyet, May 5, 2016 Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu looks set to be replaced, after months of growing tension with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Davutoglu, who is head of the governing AKP, met Erdogan on Wednesday night, in a move that fueled reports that the power struggle between the two men had reached its apex. […]
-OpEd- ISTANBUL — Parliament leader Ismail Kahraman said Turkey’s new constitution should be based on religion, not ideals of secularism. Needless to say, this created a fuss. And yet, it is no secret what Mr. Kahraman thinks. The Unity Foundation, of which the parliament head is a founder, had a committee that proposed a draft […]
Following the plan by the EU and Turkey to turn back refugees, many are looking for alternative ways to reach Europe. A new path to the continent starts on the other side of the Atlantic — in South America — and continues through far-flung French terr
A recently inaugurated mega-mosque near Washington D.C. is one of many the Turkish government has built in an effort to extend its influence and tout a moderate model of Islam.
Who is behind the smuggling of refugees from Turkey to the Greek islands? How are these potentially deadly trips planned and organized? Syria Deeply speaks with a human smuggler in Izmir, himself a Syrian refugee.
Near the western coast of Turkey, a humble imam recites too many lonely prayers in a cemetery that is filling with nameless victims of the perilous migrant route to Europe.
ISTANBUL — The country is at a dead end, and everything is a mess. The main Turkish opposition, if such a thing really exists, is still unable to clearly express where it stands on the Middle East, foreign policy in general, a new constitution and the debates about the presidential system. Certain opposition groups still […]