Article 301 Strikes Again: Jail Term for Writer

Writer Murat Coskun is in prison for “provoking hostility among people” with his book titled “Acinin Dili Kadin” (Woman, Language of Pain), which was published by Peri Publishing in January 2002. He was sentenced to one year fifteen days…
Coskun and representative of the publishing company Ahmet Önal have… been sued under article 301 of the […]

New Chance for Cyprus to Reunite

Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders will today launch talks to reunite the divided island in what diplomats say is the best chance in decades to end a conflict threatening Turkey’s European Union aspirations.
Mediators are pinning hopes on two moderates — newly elected Greek Cypriot Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot Mehmet Ali Talat — for a […]

Must Turkey Choose Between Russia And The West?

In her article, “Will Turkey Abandon NATO?” in the Wall Street Journal, Zeyno Baran of the Hudson Institute argues, yes, Turkey must choose:
Will Turkey side with the United States, its NATO ally, and let more U.S. military ships into the Black Sea to assist Georgia? Or will it choose Russia?
A Turkish refusal would seriously impair […]

New Army Commander: Globalization Is A Threat

Gen. Ilker Basbug took over as chief of general staff from Gen. Yasar Büyükanit in a handover ceremony at the General Staff headquarters in Ankara. In his speech he warned about the threats Turkey faces due to its strategic geographical location. (click for article)
Basbug also stated that the military has the right to have its […]

Ergenekon Investigation: Military Unit Linked To Human and Arms Trafficking

Documents seized in a police raid on the house of an executive of a TV station as part of the ongoing Ergenekon operation have revealed that a secret and illicit military intelligence unit known as JITEM was engaged in several illegal acts, including drug and human smuggling and arms trade with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ […]

Turkey’s Relations With Georgia, Russia and Iran

Excerpts from an article by Ihsan Dagi (click here for full text):
The war in the Caucasus is the number-one challenge. The conflict involves two indispensable partners for Turkey. Georgia is the only land corridor linking Turkey with the Caspian region and Central Asia, the center of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. Maintaining cooperation with Georgia is […]

Ergenekon Timeline

Today’s Zaman has provided a useful timeline for tracking the twists and turns in the Ergenekon case, beginning in July 2008: click here.

“Turkish Woman Master Plan”

[The investigation is continuing into] Ergenenekon, a shadowy network whose suspected members are accused of having planned and staged attacks and assassinations for the ultimate aim of toppling the government…
One of the most curious documents seized during the Ergenekon operation is a file titled the “Turkish Woman Master Plan,” depicting the ideal Turkish […]

Ergenekon Ate My Homework

From Andrew Finkel’s insightful column (for the full text, click here):
…Those defendants in what has become popularly known as the Ergenekon affair are accused of some pretty terrible things. On the other hand it is an absurdity to think that they are responsible for every unhappy swerve in Turkey’s post-war history.
Many of the things now […]

But Who’s The “Partridge In The Pear Tree”?

A prosecutor conducting a probe into the Ergenekon terrorist organization, a crime network accused of plotting to overthrow the government, has submitted an organizational chart of the group; however, the name of the suspected leader of Ergenekon has not yet been made public….
The prosecutor, who on Wednesday turned in a chart showing the hierarchical structure […]