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Democracy reinforced under Turkey’s Erdogan My column this week in the Arab News speaks to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, truly one of the few real Democratic leaders in the Middle East standing up to rising religious extremism from Muslims in the Arab World, Christians in the West and Jews in radical Israel. A referendum he…
Turkish fans twice in two months disrupted moments of silence for victims of Islamic State attacks in Ankara and Paris in a demonstration of the kind of intolerance bred by religiously-cloaked authoritarianism in countries like Turkey and Saudi Arabia
Professor Bayram Balci Analyzes Turkish elections Exclusive to The Arab Daily News: Q&A with Bayram Balçi Professor at l’Institut d’études politiques de Paris. By Abdennour Toumi Professor Bayram Balci is a non-resident scholar in Carnegie’s Russia and Eurasia Program, where his research focuses on Turkey and Turkish foreign policy in Central Asia and the…
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‘Sultan’ Erdoğan the Magnificent of Turkey By Abdennour Toumi Paris, France — Turkey has won, those who want political stability and economic prosperity have won, and those who are fighting for democracy in the region have won. In a stunning political season, the AK Party and President Erdoğan won a landslide victory in Sunday’s early…
By James M. Dorsey A condemned Turkish stadium harbours a dark warning of the long-term consequences of ethnic cleansing or what Turks euphemistically call the population exchange almost a century ago when Turkey and Greece expelled their respective Greek and Turkish minorities. It is a message that has not lost its urgency as Turkey fights…
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Syrian Refugees face White Hill Nightmare By Abdennour Toumi Akçakale, Turkey — Tel-Abyad, a strategically-placed town on the Syrian-Turkish border under the control of the ISO since 2013, was seized in a brief take-over operation by Kurdish brigades of Burkan el-Furat and the united forces of the YPG-YPJ. This success may well signal a decisive shift in…
Painful Refugee Day, Feverish Year for Ankara By Abdennour Toumi Ankara, Turkey — The Syrian conflict has produced the most compelling humanitarian challenge of the last fifty years. According to the UNHCR (U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees) office, there re 12.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance including 3.9 million who fled Syria and 7.6 million…
Turkey’s Democratic elections show that the HDP opposition can win support, but not enough to oust the AKParti, the party President Erdogan founded. But now the HDP is a more formidable voice in defining Turkey’s Democratic future. The vote suggests Turkish voters may want a multi-party coalition leadership By Abbdenour Toumi Ankara, Turkey — In order to…
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By Abdennour Toumi Ankara, Turkey — The countdown is underway as the Parliamentarian election campaign in Turkey heats up, and the question of a prospect for a presidential system has been foremost in every opposition leader’s rally speech. A constitutional amendment or a new constitution could be put in place for the presidential system dear to President Erdoğan….
Ustar Erdoğan, Stronger Than Ever By Abdennour Toumi Contrary to all expectations of the opposition and the media, even in light of the Taqsim Square protests, the charges of corruption, the national security leaks, and the bold decision to ban social media, nothing prevented the AK Party from achieving a landslide victory in Sunday’s municipal…