Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Who is back? Ümit Kocasakal. He won the election for president of the Istanbul Bar Association on Oct. 25, returning to the post he held from 2010 to 2016. And which slogan did he bring back with him? “We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal.” He and his supporters chanted it together after his victory.
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.
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.
Nasreddin Hoca, the wise and witty Turkish folk hero, once arrived at a dinner in his ordinary clothes and discovered that nobody thought him worth much attention. He went home, put on his finest fur coat and returned. This time he was welcomed warmly, seated at the table and offered the best food. So Hoca began dipping the sleeve of his coat into the dishes.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released its 5th Round Mutual Evaluation Report for Turkey, confirming that the country faces no risk of returning to the grey list, the Finance Ministry said.
With the framework law in force and mechanisms in place to allow the return of PKK militants, the peace process has moved into a new phase — not without controversy.
A new legislative proposal submitted by ruling party AKP lawmakers aims to allow foreign online travel agencies, including Booking.com, to return to the Turkish market under a structured legal framework after nearly nine years of suspension.
The long-awaited and kept-under-wraps framework bill that will start the return and release of PKK members was finally submitted to parliament, two years after the process was announced.
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.
This summer, Turkey’s coast mostly held. A fire near Fethiye, a scare in Antalya’s Kepez district, a few homes emptied as a precaution and their residents returned to within a day. After last year, it has the feel of a reprieve, which is the most dangerous weather the region knows. Because we have all seen what the season can do.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi signaled a new way to accelerate the voluntary return of Syrians from Turkey, saying the government is considering lifting their temporary protection status and easing visa rules instead.
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.