Turkey

According to Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut, Erdogan throws around charges of being a Gulenist or associated with Jews or a member of a terror group in the framework of spreading “conspiracy theories” against his opponents.  According to Turkish journalist Rafael Sadi, “Erdogan’s government is very scared and is looking everywhere for Gulenists.  They are suspicious […]

On July 15th, the world saw the consequences of the struggle between religious forces and the secular military contending for control of the Turkish state.

Immediate speculation following the coup attempt says that Turkey is likely to move further away from the West. But Ankara has deep ties with Europe and is an important member of NATO.

In an interview, the former Turkish President said, “What happened [the coup attempt] was a crime that will ultimately fail because Turkey is not an African country and is not located in Latin America.”

The Kremlin keeps accusing the West of meddling in Russian politics but embraces Turkey that openly claims large swaths of its territory.

The recent attack on the Istanbul Ataturk airport by ISIS will only exacerbate Turkey’s serious tourism and economic woes.

The current arrangement is not a long-term solution. More work is needed to develop a system to accommodate those fleeing violence in hopes of a better life.

Ankara has manifested a habit of eagerly seeking concessions and funding from the EU, but being notably less keen on keeping its own side of the bargains.

In dealing with this immediate threat, it behooves the Turkish government to put politicking on the back-burner, separate the non-violent opposition from the violent, and mend fences with the former. Swallowing that bitter pill is necessary for terrorism to be brought “to its knees.”

The indiscriminate killing of civilians in order to fight terrorism is unlawful. Moreover, the state’s brutal response has actually led to an increase in the number of terrorist attacks.

Turkey, long hailed as a bastion of secular democracy in the Muslim world, could be spiraling toward an all-out civil war as conflicts between Turkish security forces and Kurds as well as other ethnic minorities continue to escalate.

In April 2014 I touched on attempts to expose corruption among government leaders in Turkey. It is sad to hear that this struggle continues, and those in power are taking increasingly aggressive measures to stay there.