Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
On Oct. 24, journalists marched simultaneously in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Eskişehir, Antalya, Adana, Kocaeli, Diyarbakır and Van, answering a call from press unions and professional organizations including the Diplomatic Correspondents Association under the slogan “No to censorship, freedom for news.”
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.
Journalists will take to the streets on Oct. 24 to urge the government to end the detentions, arrests, blockages, access bans and all kinds of pressure on media members as the crackdown escalated after the liquidation of investment funds.
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.
Electronics and home appliances exporter Vestel Elektronik faces growing financial pressure as Moody’s cut its long-term rating and warned of a very high risk of default.
The government is seeking to create the impression that it is cutting ties with those involved in the stock market scandal and has launched an investigation, announcing that up to a million liras of losses will be repaid to investors soon. But the opposition calls it the 'corruption of the century' and is seeking a parliamentary inquiry.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on Oct. 1 condemning what it called a coordinated campaign against LGBTQ+ people and rights defenders in Turkey.
In football, the transfer window closed Sept. 4. But in politics, it remains wide open as the AKP presses on with a campaign of seduction and coercion unprecedented in Turkish political history.
Turkey's central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady on Sept. 10, matching market expectations as energy cost pressures continue to pose risks to the inflation outlook.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan welcomed the dissolution of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), expressing satisfaction while emphasizing the need to verify implementation on the ground.
Unwilling to risk the Republicans losing their representative power, Ankara has accelerated its efforts to push the US to lift its arms embargo.
The DEM Party is intensifying pressure on the AKP/MHP ruling alliance to pass the framework law underpinning Turkey's Kurdish peace process before parliament enters for its summer recess — even as the party struggles to extract details of the draft from the AKP. The push has produced a flurry of contacts. İmralı Delegation members Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, together with Faik Özgür Erol, met AKP Deputy Chair Efkan Ala and AKP Group Chair Abdullah Güler on July 15, and MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli at his office in parliament the following day. Asked about the talks, Buldan declined to elaborate: 'We will not give information on the content.'