New Turkey: Toward an Authoritarian and Sectarian Police State
What it's like to be a foreign journalist in Turkey Read
On March 17, German journalist Hasnain Kazim, Der Spiegels correspondent based in Istanbul, had to leave the country as his press card was not renewed. Kazim reportedly waited three months for the renewal. While the grim situation of the Turkish media is well-documented and frequently discussed, foreign journalists sustain heavy blows as well. Foreign journalists who do not have Turkish citizenship must obtain a residency permit and a press card to report from Turkey. Both have to be renewed periodically. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/03/turkey-foreign-journalists-renew-residency-becomes-difficult.html
Strafanzeige gegen Böhmermann mit schrillen Begleittönen
Die Bundesregierung betritt wieder Neuland, dank Böhmermann. "Mit den rechtlichen Fragen, die jetzt zu prüfen sind, waren wir in den letzten Jahren nicht befasst", gab Regierungssprecher Seibert gestern Bescheid. Es werde doch ein paar Tage dauern, nicht Wochen, bis die Regierung über die Verbalnote, das förmliche Verlangen der Türkei nach Strafverfolgung entscheide (Hallervorden: "Erdogan, zeig mich an!"). http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/47/47929/1.html
Erdogans wrath against satire expands into Europe
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not known to be humorous or sympathetic toward those who lampoon him. His anger toward the most innocuous of caricatures surfaced shortly after he became prime minister in 2003. In one of his first acts, which set the tone of his relationship with the press, Erdogan took the daily Cumhuriyet to court for depicting him as a cat entangled in yarn in a cartoon. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/04/turkey-european-union-erdogan-wrath-against-satirists.html#
AKP will eine islamische Verfassung einführen
Parlamentspräsident Ismail Kahraman von der AKP machte den Vorstoß, Erdogan strebt eine Verfassungsänderung an, um seine Macht als Präsident auszubauen http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/48/48074/1.html
Erdogan urges vote on Turkish presidential powers day after PM quits
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday urged a rapid switch to a presidential system, a day after his prime minister announced he was quitting.
Erdogan said a referendum should be held as soon as possible to change the constitution to make Turkey stronger and more stable.
His comments came a day after Ahmet Davutoglu announced he was stepping down as prime minister, amid a reported rift with the president over a range of issues including a presidential system.
Critics fear that the reforms would concentrate too much power in Erdogan's hands.
The president meanwhile said Turkey would not change its anti-terrorism legislation for the sake of visa-free travel to Europe for its citizens.
Erdogan said: "We'll go our way, you go yours."
Davutoglu had negotiated the deal.
The EU wants Turkey to revise its terrorism laws, which carry a broad definition of "terrorism", as a condition for allowing Turks to travel to Europe without visas on short stays. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/erdogan-urges-vote-turkish-presidential-powers-day-after-pm-quits-747805073
Turkish journalists sentenced to five years after controversial trial
An Istanbul court on Friday sentenced two opposition journalists on controversial charges of revealing state secrets in a trial that has become a lightning rod for concerns about eroding media freedoms inTurkey.
Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of leading opposition daily Cumhuriyet, was sentenced to five years and 10 months, while his Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul was given five years in prison, television stations said.
The two men were acquitted of espionage, but found guilty of revealing state secrets in a story accusing Turkey's government of seeking to illicitly deliver arms bound for Syria. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/two-opposition-journalists-jailed-turkey-press-freedom-trial-219244224
'It was directly against me': Gunman shoots at Turkish journalist outside court
A gunman shot at Turkish journalist Can Dundar on Friday as he awaited a verdict in his espionage trial, Turkish media reported.
The Cumhuriyet's editor was shot at outside the court in Istanbul. He was reportedly unharmed and the attacker was arrested.
The attacker apparently shouted "traitor" and fired at least two rounds, possibly three. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/assassination-attempt-turkish-journalist-can-dundar-foiled-202835232
Resentment over Sykes-Picot deal still drives Turkey foreign policy
Resentment remains over the Sykes-Picot Agreement between Britain and France that carved up the Middle East from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire 100 years ago and continues to be a major factor in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's foreign policy.
The May 1916 accord was signed 100 years ago on Monday by two British and French diplomats and drafted as defeat began to loom in World War I for Germany and its allies. They sought to create spheres of influence in the Ottoman-ruled Middle East which to a large extent helped define the borders of modern states including Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Israel.
After the founding of the Turkish Republic by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, the state stepped back from Ottoman imperialism, focusing on building a strong nation within its own borders. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/resentment-over-sykes-picot-deal-still-drives-turkey-foreign-policy-1388324353f
Erdoğan und sein Clan
Zur Person: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ist ein Mann von ganz unten. "Er ist einer von ihnen. Er spricht ihre Sprache." Er hat sich durch Fleiß und Ehrgeiz hochgearbeitet. Er hat es den elitären Reichen gezeigt. Er bietet einfache Lösungen für ihre Probleme an. Er verspricht, dass sie etwas vom großen Kuchen abbekommen. Dass sie, wenn sie ihm folgen und loyale Türken sind, ein gutes Leben haben werden. Dass er sie als Vaterfigur gegen "Feinde" im Innern und Außen beschützt. Er, der Mann aus dem Volk, wird den Kampf gegen die "Feinde der Türkei" für sie aufnehmen. Das kommt an. Vor allem in Zeiten, wo die Geschäfte schlecht stehen. http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/48/48238/1.html
CCTV footage shows former Turkish minister punching security guard http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/vcctv-footage-shows-former-turkish-minister-punching-security-guard-616624897
Will Turkey let UN officials snoop in the southeast?
Turkeys US and European allies continue to maintain a near silence over the countrys steady descent into a human rights nightmare, even as respected global watchdogs chronicle the abuses taking place there on an almost daily basis. Whether it is silencing the media, torture during detention or mass violence against civilians in the mainly Kurdish southeast, according to rights defenders, Turkey is beginning to resemble the Middle East dictatorships that it was once touted as a model for them to follow.
Koran, Kommerz und Korruption - Die Türkei im Umbruch
Staatspräsident Tayyip Recep Erdogan, hat in den letzten Jahren tatkräftig die Weichen gestellt für eine "neue Türkei", in der die Macht weitgehend in seinen eigenen Händen konzentriert ist. (Von letzte Jahr..) http://www.3sat.de/mediathek/?mode=play&obj=51606
um zu Download https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDabk1bckyA
"Neben Al-Assad ist Erdogan der Hauptverursacher des schmutzigen Krieges in Syrien"
Kommendes Wochenende wird die deutsche Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel in der Türkei eintreffen. Offiziell heißt es, Frau Merkel wolle die türkische Regierung, insbesondere den Staatspräsidenten Recep Tayyip Erdogan, dazu auffordern, den EU-Türkei-Deal umzusetzen.
Nach Abschluss dieses Deals müsste die Türkei dafür sorgen, dass keine Flüchtlinge mehr über die Türkei nach Griechenland bzw. in EU-Länder kommen. Als eine der wichtigsten Gegenleistungen und Zugeständnisse seitens der EU an die Türkei gilt die Aufhebung der Visapflicht für die etwa 80 Millionen Staatsbürger der Türkei. Dies wäre ein bedeutender Schritt auf dem langen Weg der Türkei in die EU. Da die Visafreiheit für türkische Staatsbürger aber ein weitreichendes Zugeständnis wäre, verlangt Brüssel von der Regierung in Ankara die Umsetzung von 72 Bedingungen. http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/48/48270/1.html
How a Turkish opposition party turned pro-Erdogan
On May 15, four prominent politicians of Turkey's third-largest party, the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), headed to a hotel in Ankara. They had invited thousands of supporters, including hundreds of party delegates, and they were planning to have a "snap party congress," as announced beforehand. But they found the hotel blocked by a squadron of policemen, who were ready to use tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. After a few hours of people shouting and several brief press statements, the politicians and the crowd dispersed; the MHP snap congress did not take place at least for now. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/05/turkey-police-banned-a-party-congress-ankara.html#
Boris Johnson wins most offensive Erdogan poem contest
Former London Mayor Boris Johnson has won the President Erdogan Offensive Poetry competition held by the Spectator. The flamboyant Brexiteer, a former editor of the magazine, is to be awarded £1,000 for a limerick which alleges that Erdogan had sex with a goat. https://www.rt.com/uk/343531-boris-johnson-erdogan-offensive-poem/
Turkey introduces bill to grant soldiers fighting 'terrorists' immunity
Turkeys parliament has introduced a bill to grant immunity to soldiers involved in operations against designated terrorist groups.
Also according to the draft bill produced by the defence ministry, an offence committed by the security services will be deemed a military crime and will be tried in a military court.
The bill, introduced on Friday, will cover Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) personnel and civil servants tasked within the battle against terrorism, according to the Turkish Minute website. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-introduces-bill-grant-soldiers-fighting-terrorists-immunity-2061111469
Erdogan vows to complete park project, despite deadly protests
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that a controversial redevelopment of an Istanbul park that sparked major anti-government protests in 2013 would go ahead, despite opposition from secular Turks.
"A project that we need to address in a courageous manner is Gezi park in Taksim. We will build this historic structure," he said in a speech in Istanbul. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/erdogan-vows-complete-park-project-despite-deadly-protests-621086840