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Turkey Tag

Posted by Mandy Nagy on June 01, 2014 1 Comment
Saturday marked the one year anniversary of the Gezi Park protests that subsequently persisted for months in Turkey last year.  As many tried to gather to commemorate that anniversary, authorities responded on Saturday by blocking access to some locations and cracking down on some of the protesters. From Reuters:
Turkish police fired teargas and water cannon on Saturday to disperse protesters in central Istanbul who sought to mark the one-year anniversary of the country's biggest anti-government demonstrations in decades. Authorities closed roads and stopped public transport to deny access to Taksim Square and the adjoining Gezi Park where government plans to raze the green space and build a shopping mall sparked last year's unrest. Police lines kept back activists who had hoped to read a statement at Taksim Square and lay flowers at the park to commemorate the deaths of at least six people in the protests against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's rule. Another half-dozen people died in sporadic unrest in the ensuing months as anger at Erdogan and his AK Party simmered.
Turkish plainclothes police also harassed a CNN reporter Saturday as he was in the midst of a live broadcast. From CNN:

Posted by Mandy Nagy on April 03, 2014 2 Comments

The government of Turkey says it is lifting a recent ban on Twitter after a court ruling declared that the ban violated freedom of expression. From the Associated Press: Turkey's government said Thursday it is lifting its ban on Twitter, a day after the country's highest court...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 22, 2014 2 Comments
One of the memes hitting the blogosphere recently has been that the US just "gave up control of the internet". This week on Canto Talk, Legal Insurrection's Mandy Nagy explained why that wasn't the case. (Skip ahead to 14:50 for Mandy's appearance; she also gives us her regular Obamacare update).
Popular Politics Internet Radio with Silvio Canto Jr on BlogTalkRadio
As Mandy explained it, the US has been responsible for coordinating the Internet’s domain names (e.g. "legalinsurrection.com") and with the number-based IP address that computers use to bring order to the different devices and destinations on the Internet. The government has subcontracted this function out for years (probably why it works as well as it does). It essentially has done nothing more than send the work to another subcontractor. A Fox News piece provides further details:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 28, 2013 9 Comments
Christmas is a celebration of "peace on Earth, goodwill toward men", and Santa Claus is famed for spreading joy to children throughout the world. However, reports from Turkey and the Balkans show that the image of Saint Nick is taking a beating. Literally. From the Hurriyet Daily News, which covers Turkey and the region:
A Muslim youth group and a neighborhood authority led two separate anti-Santa campaigns on the eve of Christmas in Turkey. The Istanbul University branch of a group called Anatolia Youth Association (AGD) released an illustration of a Muslim youth punching Santa Claus in the face and announced that it would make a press statement against Christmas on Dec. 26 in Istanbul. The group announced the event with a statement titled “Muslim, return to yourself!” adding that “Christmas is a Christianity practice.” The group also criticized the celebration of New Year’s Day, saying that the two dates were “mixed” and “united.” It claimed that celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Day was “wrong” and constituted “a blow dealt to Muslimism.”
The Blaze reports the image has spread to the Balkans:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 03, 2013 2 Comments
In an interview airing now on Lebanese OTV television, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah discusses the Iranian nuclear deal (summary translation via NOW Lebanon):
The Iran nuclear deal has significant repercussions. The region’s peoples are the biggest winners from this deal because regional and international forces have been pushing for war with Iran which would have had dangerous repercussions in the region. The deal pushed off the [potential Israeli and US] war [against Iran]. Israel cannot possibly bomb nuclear facilities without the US’ green light. Monopoly of power is no longer present. All American wars have failed. John Kerry made it clear that the US does not want more wars. The US and Europe have failed in the region. It is unlikely that normalization will take place. Iranians wanted to reassure the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia. [interview in progress, check link for more]
More translation at Naharnet:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 14, 2013 23 Comments
While everyone has been focused on the Obamacare and Iranian-nuke debacles, the Kurdish region of Syria declared itself autonomous, which combined with the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq and the large Kurdish region in Turkey, may mark a significant step towards the establishment of a Kurdish state. Since the Kurds are not in conflict with Jews (and generally are quite friendly towards Israel), Kurdish national aspirations don't get much attention at the U.N. or elsewhere. No one much cares that Kurds, a truly distinctive cultural identity who number several times the "Palestinians," do not have a nation of their own. As reported by Al Arabiya:
Following a series of military gains, Syrian Kurds in the northeast of the country announced on Tuesday the formation of a transitional autonomous government. The latest declaration comes amid a general strengthening of Kurdish rights in neighboring Turkey, and increasing moves towards independence by Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region. Long oppressed under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his father before him, Kurds view the civil war as an opportunity to gain the kind of autonomy enjoyed by their ethnic kin in neighboring Iraq. The announcement was made after talks in the mostly-Kurdish town of Qamishli, and comes after Kurdish leaders announced plans to create the temporary government in July.
Intra-Kurdish rivalries pose a major danger to the autonomy holding. Turkey, which repeatedly has taken military action against Kurdish separatists (resulting in world silence, unlike when Israel defends itself against outside attack), is not pleased:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 02, 2013 2 Comments

But you knew that, because we have been following the antics of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for years. Erdogan blames the Jews for Egypt and he has video! (so do we) Turkish Deputy Prime Minister blames “Jewish Diaspora” for Gezi Park protests Turkish Prime Minister drops...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 20, 2013 17 Comments

Don't say we didn't warn you repeatedly about Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his administration: Turkish Deputy Prime Minister blames “Jewish Diaspora” for Gezi Park protests Turkish Prime Minister drops what little is left of his moderate mask Turkish Foreign Minister salutes “all those martyrs who were...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 11, 2013 23 Comments

Why not? The Kurds out number Palestinians several times over, and unlike Palestinians, have a real ethnic and cultural distinction from surrounding Arabs (and in Turkey, Turks). But for Europeans drawing lines on maps and Turkish national ambitions, there should have been an independent nation for...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on August 06, 2013 4 Comments

A former military chief in Turkey was sentenced to life in prison and more than a dozen others received lengthy prison sentences after a court handed down verdicts Monday in a long-standing case that has divided the country. From the New York Times: A Turkish court sentenced...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on July 06, 2013 4 Comments

Police in Turkey were cracking down Saturday on protesters who returned to Taksim Square, a site that has been the subject of protests for over a month.  Reports indicate that police are using water cannons and tear gas against the protesters. From the Associated Press: Police on...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on July 03, 2013 4 Comments

In a June decision that was just published Wednesday, a Turkish court ruled that plans to redevelop Istanbul’s Taksim Square and adjacent Gezi Park must be canceled.  The site was a trigger point for protests that grew into a larger anti-government movement, fueled by opposition to...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 02, 2013 9 Comments

We have noted time and again that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's hostility towards Israel seemed pathological, not political.  It's not just Erdogan.  The Turkish Foreign Minister has praised the martyrs against Israel. Now the Deputy Prime Minister has has suggested a Jewish conspiracy behind the protests centered...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 23, 2013 3 Comments

We covered the continuing protests in Turkey yesterday, Protests in Turkey reignite after relatively quiet week. Not so sure I want to visit right now. I hear that dinner in Istanbul may give you gas: https://twitter.com/YigalSchleifer/status/348567191702106112 https://twitter.com/YigalSchleifer/status/348567933267607552 At least it's better than Ankara, where you'll get hosed: https://twitter.com/Nivrep_Te/statuses/348540917218680834...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 22, 2013 2 Comments
The protests in Turkey continue, with police upping the use of force to break up even peaceful demonstrations. Via Reuters:
Turkish riot police fired water cannon to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators in central Istanbul on Saturday, as Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan castigated those behind protests he said had played into the hands of Turkey's enemies. The latest unrest in Taksim Square punctured six days of relative calm in Turkey's biggest city, although it was a long way from matching the ferocity of previous clashes there and in other cities that began more than three weeks ago. Demonstrators threw carnations at a phalanx of officers carrying shields who slowly advanced towards them, flanked by water cannon, to clear the square. "Police, don't betray your people!" activists shouted after they had been scattered into streets leading to Taksim. Witnesses said police later used teargas to disperse pockets of protesters on a main shopping street nearby. Hours earlier, Erdogan had told thousands of supporters in the Black Sea city of Samsun that the unrest had played into the hands of Turkey's enemies.
This comes on top of a crackdown on social media and intimidation of the media which appeared to have crushed the protests. The "standing man" silent protests became a symbol of passive resistence. https://twitter.com/Nivrep_Te/status/348540917218680834 https://twitter.com/arzugeybulla/status/348540565236879360 https://twitter.com/Sedat2aral/status/348535744442298369

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 17, 2013 2 Comments

Good thing such media bias in favor of a bullying leader could not happen here. From BBC: Demonstrators in Turkey are taking on the media over the protests surrounding Gezi Park. One of Turkey's biggest uprisings, the protests began over the government's plan to build a shopping mall in...

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