TURKEY LIVE ABOUT turkish-Turchia

According to some observers, this was President Bush’s “farewell” visit to the Middle East. As others see it, this was his “final attempt” to take care of the Palestinian problems before leaving the White House. (more…)

What we have before us is a society which has given itself up to mass popular culture. It is very clear that any ties that this society forms with reality after this point are going to be laden with problems. (more…)

The fact that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has so far followed a set of policies in which the party’s own future and Turkey’s future overlap has become even more meaningful these days. (more…)

The British queen is in Turkey for the second time. As its own name — the United Kingdom — makes clear, England, of course, has a monarchy. But do they not have a democracy? (more…)

The main outline of what needs to be done to bring an end to terror is clear: bringing about a certain “closeness” with Barzani and the Iraqi Kurds, handing over some of their rights while at the same time forcing the door open that would pave the way before the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) dissolution in the Middle East, taking steps that would allow the PKK to lay down its weapons and, in particular, putting an “amnesty and confrontation” policy into fast effect. (more…)

It is completely normal that during this EU process almost everyone has certain expectations and everyone also has certain complaints because the EU accession process of course will not bring about an atmosphere in which all parties can be completely satisfied. (more…)

I want to respond to a few questions that might be on people’s minds these days: Does [Prime Minister] Recep Tayyip Erdo?an really believe his party will be forced to close? (more…)

The headline run by the Hürriyet daily the other day was not actually about alcoholic drinks. (more…)

It is not possible to attach real meaning to the peaceful change of power that took place in Turkey on May 14, 1950, and that was based on the will of the people of this nation without thinking about the quarter-century of bureaucratic domination that followed on the heels of this date. (more…)

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is no longer just a Kurdish problem. There is another point to think about here: The ball is in the courts of both the AK Party and the Democratic Society Party (DTP). (more…)

Those angered in the past by interventions in Turkey’s domestic matters will once again be furious because Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has said that he brings up the legal case seeking to shut down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in all of his foreign meetings and contacts. (more…)

In a war, pulling back does not necessarily spell defeat, although it does carry negative implications for the side that has pulled back. (more…)

The main outline of what needs to be done to bring an end to PKK is clear: bringing about a certain “closeness” with Barzani and the Iraqi Kurds, handing over some of their rights while at the same time forcing the door open that would pave the way before the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) dissolution in the Middle East, taking steps that would allow the PKK to lay down its weapons and, in particular, putting an “amnesty and confrontation” policy into fast effect. (more…)

The difference between news based on lies and news that is wrong can be found in the intent and information held by those reporting the news. (more…)

The very people and institutions that you would think would naturally be supporters of the European Union now spend much of their time expressing great anger toward this community of European nations. (more…)

I wonder whether the visiting queen of England will even be aware that as a result of the wife of Turkey’s president wearing the headscarf, certain high-ranking members of the state did not accept invitations to the dinner in her honor. (more…)

The fact that a court case aimed at closing down the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has even been opened despite the considerable support this party has received from the people of the nation inevitably brings this question to mind: I wonder if our chief prosecutor from the Supreme Court of Appeals has drawn the proverbial “red line” that determines whether or not secularism is actually threatened in the wrong place? (more…)

A certain prominent Turkish columnist who has — thank goodness — recently emerged from his fixation with “Christian Europe,” warned one of the “spokespersons” from the EU, saying, “Don’t listen to the tales that the Justice and Development Party [AK Party] spin, their real desire is for Shariah!” (more…)

The question of “What will happen if the AK Party is forced to close?” is being asked these days not just in Turkey but all over the world. (more…)

We are hearing debates that take up the use of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an’s assessment of the ruling AK Party as being the “average Turk’s political party” in concert with arguments over EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn’s use of the term “democratic secularity.” (more…)