December 23, 2014

An outcry by intellectuals

Bülent Keneş

"Every cloud has a silver lining." Sometimes we are so focused on the negative incidents in our lives that we might fail to see the good developments that may be ushered in by those incidents. Yet, the world and life consists of darkness and light, black and white, good and evil, each intertwined and the cause or the result of each other, aren't they?

On the high seas of non-precious loneliness

Ali Aslan

Those who seek prestige in luxury palaces rather than democracy have experienced great shame this week. The repressive circles which secured a decision for the arrest of Hidayet Karaca, head of Samanyolu Broadcast Group, and the detention of Ekrem Dumanlı, editor-in-chief of the Zaman daily, for five days, have disgraced themselves. They are now left lonely in the world; the international community and the media extend overwhelming support to the honorable and peaceful struggle by their targets.

Investigations of Gülen are like barometer for coup d’etat

Bülent Korucu

It has become clear with the arrest warrant issued by a court for Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Islamic scholar, that he is the real target of the coup operation against the media.

Gülen’s attorney: Media speculation about extradition not true

The lawyer of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen said in a statement on Monday that the speculation in the media regarding the extradition of his client is far from the truth and that the extradition request itself is unlawful.

Afghan education minister pledges to open more Turkish schools

The Afghan education minister pledged to increase the number of Turkish-Afghan schools in Afghanistan, opening at least a school in each province as an educational role model.

GYV President Yeşil: Judiciary under full control of executive is threat to freedom

Mustafa Yeşil, the president of the Journalists and Writers Foundation's (GYV), said in a TV interview on Monday evening that the reshuffling of prosecutors and judges after the Dec. 17 and 25, 2013 corruption operations created a judiciary under the full control of the executive power, which threatens freedoms.

Asharq al-Awsat: Turkey’s democracy on deathbed for two years

Asharq al-Awsat, one of the most influential papers in the Arab world, has featured the Dec. 14 police operations against independent media in Turkey with the headline “Democracy in Turkey on its deathbed for two years.”

Disputed report in Turkish media takes aim at both Egypt and Erdogan foe

The Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah reported Saturday that a Cairo school affiliated with the Gülenist movement was raided by Egyptian police. However a statement from the school’s director to Daily News Egypt refutes the accusations and the Turkish Embassy maintains they are not aware of the event.

Turkish foreign relations harmed by Erdogan's domestic moves

Before ending up as the victor of last August's presidential race, Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to increase the powers of the Turkish head of state. But the borderline between boosting authorities and maintaining an authoritarian leadership style is not fully clear. Erdogan spent more than ten years as a prime minister and head of the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Where is Turkey heading to?

Haluk Özdalga*

The Dec. 14 operation, where a number of police officers and media workers including the Zaman daily's Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı and STV Broadcasting Group Chair Hidayet Karaca were placed under detention was conducted under the supervision of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) administration. The current state of affairs represents a new stage for the regime, which has been in decline for a while. This stage reveals that the current regime has lost its democratic legitimacy. Elections, freedom of expression and supremacy of the law are the three main elements of a democratic order. A regime lacking one of these three main principles cannot properly be called a democracy.