TWO FACES OF THE PROCESS: DISARMAMENT, YES. DEMOCRATIZATION, NOT YET
Two years into the PKK’s disarmament process, fears of stalling have resurfaced. DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan put it plainly: “The pace of the process has slowed.”
Analysis
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WITH VOTES SLIPPING, ERDOĞAN TURNS TO PENSIONERS EARLY
Losing votes over the fund scandal and shaken almost daily as new figures with party links are exposed, the AKP government launched its election campaign early.
YENİ PARTY GETS A BREATHER AS ÜSKÜDAR MAYOR GOES HOME
Sinem Dedetaş, the elected mayor of Istanbul’s Üsküdar district, was released to house arrest on Oct. 29, offering the Yeni Party a rare reprieve as prosecutors press ahead with operations against opposition-run municipalities.
EX-AMBASSADOR RETURNS TO AKP
Bursa lawmaker Cemalettin Kani Torun, who left the Yeni Yol Party group of conservative opposition lawmakers in August soon after the Gelecek Party dissolved itself, joined the AKP and will be an adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the Terror-Free Turkey process and on Africa policy.
AKP KEEPS THE CLOCK RUNNING ON OPPOSITION MAYORS THROUGH RAIDS, RULINGS AND DEFECTIONS
Muğla and Manisa mayors denied switching to the AKP as operations against CHP and Yeni Party municipalities continued and courts delivered a string of rulings.
NAME DISPUTE OVER, PROVINCIAL CONGRESSES WILL TEST YENİ PARTY’S PROMISES
The Constitutional Court ended discussions about the Yeni Party’s name, but headquarters-backed candidates keep winning in the districts and provinces despite the promises to end the old CHP habit of central control.
PEACE PROCESS STALLS AGAIN
The parliament has not established a commission to monitor progress on the surrender of weapons and personnel by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, and Kurdish groups are complaining the process is stalled.
FOUR PKK CAMPS VACATED, ALL EYES ON YEAR’S LAST SECURITY COUNCIL
Ankara confirmed the evacuation of four Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) camps, possibly clearing the way for the second phase of the “Terror-Free Turkey” process.
ACCESS BAN HITS TİP’S X ACCOUNTS AFTER FUND SCANDAL POSTS
Authorities have ordered an access ban on the X accounts of the left-wing TİP headquarters and its Istanbul branch, the party said on Oct. 14, following thousands of similar bans on the accounts of academics, journalists, websites and associations.
RULING AKP RACES TO CONTAIN FUND SCANDAL AS IT REACHES THE CABINET MEMBERS
The ruling party has rapidly rolled out compensation for some victims of the stock market scandal that is rocking the government, and cut ties with one former minister, while the main opposition Yeni Party links two sitting ministers to the affair.
KURDISH GROUPS INTENSIFY PRESSURE ON GOVERNMENT TO START THE RETURN PROCESS
The pro-Kurdish DEM Party has called for the peace process law to be freed from the “tutelage” of the National Security Council (MGK), as a delayed council decision holds up implementation.
JAILED ATALAY STARTS HUNGER STRIKE AS OPPOSITION PROTESTS ERDOĞAN AT PARLIAMENT'S OPENING
Can Atalay, stripped of his parliamentary seat and held in prison since 2022, began a hunger strike as parliament reconvened on Oct. 1, while the main opposition Yeni Party walked out when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took the floor during the opening speech.