July 20, 2014

Turkish charity calls for increased aid to Gaza

Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) has launched an aid campaign for the people of the Gaza Strip and called for more humanitarian aid to the region, where 342 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's massive attack on Gaza.

Kimse Yok Mu purchases houses for 11 Soma families

The Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) has financed the purchase of houses for the families of 11 miners who were among 301 killed in a mining disaster in the district of Soma in western Manisa province in May.

Kimse Yok Mu reaches out to orphan children in Lesotho

International charity organization Kimse Yok Mu arrived in one of the world’s poorest countries, Lesotho to help orphan children and provide food packages to needy families in the holy month of Ramadan.

Concerns on rule of law and erosion of checks and balances*

Hakan Taşçı

Two severe economic crises since the collapse of the banking system in 2001 have led to an economic and political transformation in Turkey.

Erdoğan gov't transforms Turkey into land of oppression, bans

An upward trend of democratic achievements and efforts to make Turkey a more civilized and democratic country have been reversed recently -- particularly after the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) grew more authoritarian and intolerant toward criticism starting from the Gezi Park protests of last summer.

Interior minister fails to answer questions on plot against Hizmet

Interior Minister Efkan Ala has failed to respond to parliamentary questions concerning a plot against the Hizmet movement within 15 days, as required by the internal regulations of Parliament.

Former minister: They're committing a crime by fabricating evidence

Former Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Türk, who is a law professor and former Cabinet minister, says that the government created a myth of a parallel state to cover up massive corruption allegations. In an interview with Sunday's Zaman, Türk also criticized the presidential system proposal that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) wants to implement, stating that the model would weaken the separation of powers in the country since it aims to give the president the power to create and implement laws.

Gov't using TÜRGEV to form religious community alternative to Hizmet

The Foundation of Youth and Education in Turkey (TÜRGEV), on whose executive board Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son Bilal sits and which was involved in a corruption scandal that became public on Dec. 17, is going to be used as a means to create an alternative religious community to the faith-based Hizmet movement, some politicians and analysts have argued.