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FROM FIRE TO LEGAL FRAMEWORK: PARLIAMENT BEGINS PEACE PROCESS TALKS
Deep Dive May 29, 2026

FROM FIRE TO LEGAL FRAMEWORK: PARLIAMENT BEGINS PEACE PROCESS TALKS

In a symbolic act seen by many as the first step toward a “terror-free Turkey,” a 30-member group affiliated with the PKK ceremonially burned their weapons and gear in front of a fire sacred to Kurds, initiating a process expected to proceed through mutual steps. In response, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş invited political party representatives to a July 18 meeting to discuss forming a parliamentary commission tasked with drafting the legal framework for this new peace initiative.

Editorial Team
YANGIN
Word of the Week May 29, 2026

YANGIN

I had every intention of writing about düğün/wedding this week. Who could resist, after all, the cinematic absurdity of Jeff Bezos’s Venetian wedding extravaganza? It was the sort of wedding you'd rage over for its sheer insouciance over war, poverty, and environmental concerns: a three-day floating carnival of tuxedoed billionaires, Brazilian butts and a $2,000 bottle of tequila airlifted across continents because, apparently, Venice no longer has liquor stores. The bride wore archival Dolce & Gabbana; Ivanka looked pretty in pink and a German-Turkish Bezos lookalike desperately wanted to meet the couple and present a wedding gift. I was far too ready to bitch about arrogant extravagance and muse on Turkish weddings, those long, loud, gold-pinned affairs where uncles compete in folkloric footwork and everyone pretends the damat's family is not agonizing over the costs…

Editorial Team
A STORY OF POLITICAL ‘BROTHERHOOD’
Portrait of the Week May 29, 2026

A STORY OF POLITICAL ‘BROTHERHOOD’

Exactly 18 years ago — the summer of 2007. Then-Prime Minister Erdoğan raised Abdullah Gül’s hand in the air, and called him “my brother,” as he announced his candidacy for president. That summer, Gül was elected as Turkey’s 11th president — the first president to emerge from within the AKP. A new era was beginning, with the party’s two most powerful figures holding the posts of president and prime minister.

Anonymous
MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF AN OPPOSITION FIGURE
Inside Turkey May 29, 2026

MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF AN OPPOSITION FIGURE

Muhammed Yakut, a controversial figure known for his YouTube exposes targeting crime networks and political figures, died all of a sudden in Duisburg, Germany, just hours after contacting Turkish journalist İsmail Saymaz to say he was preparing to make “important statements.”

Editorial Team
FULL-FLEDGED CRACKDOWN ON CHP CONTINUES
Inside Turkey May 29, 2026

FULL-FLEDGED CRACKDOWN ON CHP CONTINUES

The financial crimes police raided Şile Municipality on July 10, detaining Mayor Özgür Kabadayı as part of the widening corruption investigations targeting CHP-run municipalities. It was yet another ordinary day for the main opposition, which has been facing near-daily legal turmoil since Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained on March 19. CHP Istanbul Chair Özgür Çelik said Kabadayı and several others were detained in house raids at 1:30 a.m. Arrest warrants were issued for at least six individuals, said the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Editorial Team
DEFECTIONS, CONFESSIONS AND NOW CLOSURE: THE CHP'S MOUNTING TROUBLES
Deep Dive May 29, 2026

DEFECTIONS, CONFESSIONS AND NOW CLOSURE: THE CHP'S MOUNTING TROUBLES

The CHP is facing an unprecedented convergence of crises one after the other. Afyonkarahisar Mayor Burcu Köksal has defected to the AKP. Jailed Uşak Mayor Özkan Yalım and Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek have applied for the effective remorse law, alleging they paid CHP Chair Özgür Özel and his close ally MP Veli Ağbaba in exchange for nomination in the municipal elections. The allegations have raised the spectre of closure proceedings against the party — with Özel increasingly in the crosshairs.

Editorial Team
RISING FORECASTS, OPPORTUNIST PRICING
Economy and Finance May 21, 2026

RISING FORECASTS, OPPORTUNIST PRICING

Turkey's inflation and high cost of living show no sign of easing. A new Central Bank survey points to rising price expectations — coming just days after the bank officially revised its own forecasts upward.

Editorial Team
TURKEY’S UNREQUITED LOVE WITH CHINA
Guest Voices May 21, 2026

TURKEY’S UNREQUITED LOVE WITH CHINA

The way Donald Trump was received in Beijing by Xi Jinping showed China’s increased power and confidence in its relations with the US. Trump’s flattery of his host was a clear indication that China will no longer be regarded as an underdog that Trump can push around with arbitrary tariff increases.

Guest Voices
DISARMAMENT DELAYS COULD DERAIL DEM PARTY CONGRESS PLANS
Capital Currents May 15, 2026

DISARMAMENT DELAYS COULD DERAIL DEM PARTY CONGRESS PLANS

The PKK’s disarmament, which has now stretched beyond a year and a half, has stalled at precisely the most critical stage — the point at which the state is expected to take action. Unless the government softens its precondition that “the disarmament process must first be fully completed,” the expected legal steps will likely be postponed until the new legislative year in October. The risks posed by delay are being discussed and meanwhile it also appears set to derail the transformation plans of the DEM Party, which has already started the countdown to a congress.

Nergis Demirkaya