Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
A report by journalist Ebru Çelik of BirGün, who followed the story in person based on a tip and witnessed the events firsthand, proved that extras were gathered to act as supporters for a CHP party meeting for 950 lira (roughly $20) each. The story laid bare a case of manipulation between media and politics.
My wicked editor and I have been on the phone constantly the last three days to exchange ideas on just what the word of the year should be. We toyed with “secret witness,” “active repentance” (read ratting out), “strategic autonomy,” “voice of the streets,” “angst,” and “normalization.” Finally, I used a columnist’s initiative and settled for meşruiyet, or legitimacy, over normalleşme/normalization.
Turkey’s Parliament witnessed a rare moment on Dec. 4 as a summary of notes from the recent meeting of three lawmakers with PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan was read aloud and recorded in the parliamentary minutes. In the summary, he was not referred to as “terrorist” despite the decades-long reputation shaped by the state, nor as a founding leader of the PKK, as MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli — the initiator of the recent process — had defined him.
Amid a sustained crackdown on opposition-run municipalities, CHP Chair Özgür Özel has begun unveiling alleged corruption within government-affiliated municipalities. Özel disclosed specific dates, figures, locations, names—and even codes linked to a secret witness—to support his claims. His announcement follows the release of the first indictment involving businessperson Aziz İhsan Aktaş, whose testimony led to the arrest of seven CHP mayors.
The withdrawal of a secret witness’ testimony — and the prosecution’s disregard for that fact — in the Istanbul probe is raising questions about the credibility of the indictment against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, CHP Chair Özgür Özel said. Newly released supplementary documents reveal serious contradictions in how secret witnesses were handled by prosecutors, although the government calls it “the largest corruption file of the century.”
The great poet Nâzım Hikmet begins his epic poem The Epic of the War of Independence with the line, “We have seen fire and betrayal.” Ahmet Türk has stood at the very heart of politics for fifty years—right in the midst of what could only be called a political firestorm. What he has witnessed is a story of Turkey and the painful fortune of these lands.
Turkey has witnessed dramatic days for the second time in the past twenty years. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s detention sparked outrage and led to one of the largest protests since the iconic 2013 Gezi protests. I spent my days covering rallies in front of the Istanbul Municipality building in Saraçhane, 12 years after staying for a month in Gezi Park. This experience has prompted me to compare the two.
Donald Trump won the presidential elections just as Turkey witnessed a new wave of elected mayors being replaced by trustees. A leader who threatens retribution against his political enemies will be ruling one of the world’s supposedly most democratic countries.