Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
On Aug. 10, Turkey’s parliament passed what many will call an amnesty for PKK members, on the strict condition that no one call it that. The word appears nowhere in the law, which is titled, in Turkish, the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration.
Two parties that once stood as rivals, both claiming the legacy of Necmettin Erbakan — the founding leader of political Islam in Turkey under the name of National View— are continuing merger talks.
The İYİ Party was the only party to vote as a bloc against the framework law on the Kurdish peace process. Its instincts on the nationalist right are already well known. But before turning to the party, it is worth dwelling for a moment on its chair. Let us begin with his name: Müsavat.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Sheibani held separate talks in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Chief İbrahim Kalın, focusing heavily on regional security and the integration of Kurdish armed groups into Damascus’ central authority.
Despite the support in parliament for the bill, there was criticism from nationalist parties.
Turkey's nationalist opposition parties escalated their criticism of the framework law that is expected to regulate the return of PKK members, rebuking the government for showing the draft to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan before parliament or the public.
Ten years after tanks rolled onto the Bosphorus Bridge and F-16s bombed parliament, Turkey marks the anniversary of the failed July 15 coup attempt with a holiday named 'Democracy and National Unity Day' — in a country more polarized, less democratic and no closer to answering the fundamental questions of that night than it was a decade ago.
Foreign investors' confidence in Turkish equities is under mounting pressure as two of the world's leading index providers signaled Istanbul's stock market could face a downgrade. Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) issued another warning regarding investment accessibility and shareholder transparency, announcing it may re-evaluate free-float structures on a company-by-company basis and reclassify certain shareholders as 'non-free float' to address distorted calculations driven by coordinated fund actions.
Education Minister Yusuf Tekin, no stranger to controversy, has provoked a backlash after announcing a change to the newly updated national school curriculum that renames the War of Independence.
Turkey's political agenda is expected to pivot sharply from diplomacy to domestic maneuvering as post-NATO scenarios dominate the discussion from July 9 onward. The conclusion of the NATO Ankara Summit, widely seen as an international success for Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan personally, has triggered intense political speculation amid increasing pressure on dissidents.
Turkey made simultaneous overtures to Iraq and Syria at a critical moment for the peace process, as the government prepares to submit the bill to parliament before the summer recess. National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın completed a three-day tour of Iraq while Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi held security talks in Damascus.
International financial giant Freedom Holding Corp., founded by Kazakh billionaire Timur Turlov, has completed the regulatory approvals to acquire a majority stake in Turkish Bank A.Ş.