One can only conclude that the Turkish Government’s heavy-handed reaction to petitions supporting arrested academics is the continuation of a wider trend of restricting civil liberties and freedom of speech.
It is not a “choice” in the proper sense, it is rather an instinct to reach the surface in order to breathe. It offers them a home in which the restlessness of “to be” can be resolved.
That the AKP election victory comes in the aftermath of a tumultuous summer is disconcerting, for it makes fear and violence not only an acceptable, but also a rewarding tactic.
Now is the time to speak up, even if our words can be found wanting in the face of complex realities and the merciless world of politics.
An AKP guy brings sandwiches to his colleagues sitting at the long table, and in the day’s only display of bipartisanship is rebuked by another AKPer: go and get sandwiches for everyone.
Unfortunately, the peace process has not produced trust regarding the longterm intentions of each side; on the contrary it has generated actions and attitudes that have contributed to greater distrust.
Turkey's president is confirmed once more as the master of Turkish politics. Now he faces his greatest challenge.
If a diverse - but united - Turkey is to survive in its current borders, a constitution based on consensus is desperately needed.
The Turkish HDP's egalitarian gender ideology played a key role in the election of a record number of women to parliament in June's election. Can these gains be sustained in the political turmoil ahead?
“Human rights and the rule of law in Turkey are at the worst level I’ve seen in the 12 years I’ve worked on Turkey’s human rights.”
A different kind of reality is both constructed and deployed, which effects a huge gulf in understanding between the pro-AKP and non-AKP masses.
