MORFOZ ON STAGE
Turkish defense industry companies continued testing its newly developed products, such as Morfoz and Gökalp.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
VİBRATÖR /VIBRATOR
The word of the week is vibratör (vibrator), because Turkey has reached that stage of public life where even a small vibrating object of adult pleasure may require a prosecutor’s attention. Here, a vibrator is not merely a device; it is a small object with the bad manners to expose the size of the state.
A THIRD-STAGE IMMUNITY OPERATION?
There's a Turkish saying for describing one misfortune piling on another: 'What happened to us didn't even happen to the boiled chicken'. The last three years for opposition leaders Özgür Özel and Ekrem İmamoğlu, and the 'Change Movement' they lead, bring that saying to mind.
PEACE PROCESS LEGISLATION KEPT SECRET UNTIL LAST MINUTE
The framework bill that will advance the Kurdish peace process through the return of militants has reached its final stage, but its content was withheld from all parties, including the DEM Party, until the last moment.
RAPPER DETAINED ON STAGE OVER LYRICS
Rapper Erol Can Güncü, known by his stage name UZ4Y, was detained on stage while performing in İzmir's Çeşme district and later formally arrested over his lyrics.
PEACE PROCESS AWAITS THE LAW, THE LAW AWAITS ANSWERS
The peace process, dubbed the Terror-Free Turkey, now awaits the 'framework law,' expected to be submitted before parliament goes into its summer recess. There appears to be no consensus, however, on the bill's exact timing, scope and the conditions on the ground. While the process remains in the waiting room, the Interior Ministry took a concrete step, lifting thousands of search points and checkpoints in the terror-affected region. The pro-Kurdish DEM Party, through all its spokespeople, is asking 'what the law is waiting for.' But reading between the lines of AKP and DEM Party statements reveals disagreements at the draft stage.
NEW TARGET FOR FIRST AIRCRAFT CARRIER: 2032
Turkey's first full-scale aircraft carrier, which is currently in the preliminary design stage, will have a capacity for 52 aircraft.
TESTIMONIES TAKE CENTER STAGE IN IMAMOĞLU TRIAL
On March 26, the 11th hearing in the trial of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and his co-defendants on corruption charges was concluded, with proceedings shifting away from procedural debates toward the substance of testimonies. Discussions centered on statements by defendants and individuals who later withdrew their testimonies after invoking the remorse provisions, reviving debate over the strength of the indictment.
ORHAN PAMUK: THE LINE BETWEEN CRITICISM AND LYNCHING
Adapted from the novel of the same name by Orhan Pamuk. “The Museum of Innocence.” A television series. With its release, months later, the public agenda shifted. Justice, legal troubles, and the deepening, ever more painful economic crisis were suddenly pushed aside. This series — along with the book of the same name and its author, Orhan Pamuk — took center stage, especially on social media.
ŞİDDET/VIOLENCE
For me, this year, Nov. 26, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, arrived as a photograph. A staged one in which the woman’s face was hidden, but the hair defied all attempts at concealment. Sümeyye Akyol’s Domination, shown this week at young artists’ platform BASE at the Ritz-Carlton Residences, is built on fictional photographs using real women; mostly her friends and family.
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.
MÜJDAT GEZEN COULD DIE ON STAGE
'Trees die standing.' That is the title of a play that has been staged in our theaters for many years. Müjdat Gezen is 83 years old and has been a performer for more than 60 years. Not just on stage — also a film actor and television personality. He has spent most of his life, in a sense, broadcasting live. His life is, in fact, a summary of Turkey's most turbulent era.