March 2, 2014

Hüseyin Çelik: No witch hunt will happen

Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairman Hüseyin Çelik has said they are not targeting the entire Fethullah Gülen movement and they will not launch a “witch hunt” against the group.

'State of rule of law suspended in Turkey, if not completely eliminated'

In the wake of new allegations regarding widespread corruption in regards to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, this week's guest for Monday Talk says that, more importantly, the governing party has suspended the rule of law in the country, if not totally eliminated it.

Hizmet unmasks 'undemocratic' Erdogan

Sevgi Akarçeşme*

As a prominent preacher, Fethullah Gulen has to express his opinion on politics, argues the author.

Trying to understand what has been going on in Turkey over the last couple of months is impossible without taking into account the corruption scandal that broke out on December 17, 2013. Yet an article which appeared on Al Jazeera succeeded in doing just that. It made no reference to the biggest graft probe that the country has ever seen.

President Gül's fraying impartiality

The impartiality of President Abdullah Gül was strengthening his hand for his re-election. He was expected to preserve his impartiality and defuse the ongoing tension. Indeed, he once said, "I cannot take a side with respect to this issue."

TUSKON challenges Erdoğan to enter business, defies threats

In the strongest civil society reaction yet to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's month-long offensive tone and threats against Turkey's largest Islamic group, the Hizmet movement, a leading business confederation affiliated with Hizmet on Saturday called on Erdoğan to quit politics and join the business world to make money.

Turkey's Koç: I met with Gülen; there is nothing wrong with that

The CEO of one of Turkey's largest conglomerates confirmed on Sunday that he met with prominent Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen in May, but dismissed government claims of conspiracy plots.

“…that’s why we are called brothers”

Muhammed Çetin is a Turkish parliamentarian who recently resigned from the ruling AK Party in protest against what he calls Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s policy of protecting the corrupt and reshuffling judges and police chiefs investigating corruption cases.

Embattled PM's way of evading allegations, protests: inventing lobbies

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seems to have a peculiar way of handling -- or circumventing, to be more precise -- allegations, protests against him, the government: to accuse those who utter allegations against him, as in an ongoing graft probe, of being part of a lobby group or plot against the government, usually with backers abroad.

Erdoğan's dream: Seizing Gülen's network

Emre Uslu

The upcoming election is going to be one of the most critical turning points for the future of Turkish politics. The election results will tell us whether or not Erdoğan will continue to lead the country as he wishes.

Turkish Olympiad held in Philippines enchants audience

Turkish Olympiad and a culture festival, held jointly by Philippian Tourism Ministry and Turkish schools in Philippines, impressed the audience a lot with performances of the students.

Threats and fear used to intimidate business world

Turkey has seen a number of coups. The rule of law was suspended and political institutions were unable to perform their role.

Kimse Yok Mu distributes aid to Syrian refugees

As Turkey is trying to meet the needs of the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who have taken shelter in Turkey from the war in Syria, charity organizations have scrambled to launch massive aid campaigns to lend a hand to the embattled refugees, with Kimse Yok Mu providing food and aid for 2,500 Syrians in İstanbul every week.