03.09.2021 10:24 Election threshold and the future of governing alliance President Erdoğan is no fool, and he his best known for his apt pragmatism. As long as he and his party can remain in charge, he can form an alliance with anyone, even with his enemies - except the CHP. And even if he sees he has lost everything, he has to strike a deal to ensure his immunity. 26.08.2021 10:50 Why Turkey fears an influx of Afghan refugees No matter what, people fear that Erdoğan will make another deal with the EU and the U.S., as he did during the Syrian crisis. Erdoğan’s comments on “having ties with Afghanistan”, openly declaring wanting to work with Taliban, adds up to all this. Secular Turks, in particular, are unnerved. 17.08.2021 12:12 The truth behind Turkey’s wildfire and flood crises Turkey has recently been struck by devastating wildfires and flash floods, making people question the government’s disaster management and unplanned urban sprawl. The Erdoğan regime has refused to take responsibility, pointing fingers at climate change and social media ‘traitors.’ 02.08.2021 12:26 Amidts fires, racist attacks Erdoğan throws out tea In the midst of the fires, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan went to Marmaris, his presidential convoy blocking traffic as well as firefighters, throwing tea and toys from the bus while passing. The public is polarized as ever, thanks to the government and the opposition, “the outsiders” or “the minorities” are the first to blame for any disaster. 22.07.2021 10:13 ‘Marmara is ablaze’ with crime This past week, Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum was jubilant on Twitter, showing pictures of the Marmara Sea, saying, “We have cleaned the sea snot! Marmara is ablaze!” While the surface looked cleaned, lurking just meters below the surface is even more intense mucilage, as well as government corruption. 09.07.2021 15:44 The AKP’s “Operation Truth” Last week President Erdoğan announced “Operation Truth” to combat “fake news”. It seems that the President will spend more on information wars. But will it help to build up the necessary 50% he needs to burnish the image of a corrupted state? 24.06.2021 11:07 Marmara's sea snot to pose an international problem Nowadays, the Turkish authorities are resorting to all kinds of techniques, including sewage trucks, bacteria and injecting oxygen into the sea, to clean the “sea snot” that is blighting almost all the shores of the Marmar Sea. Scientists say it has to cease at once if we really want to save Marmara, or the Black Sea will soon suffer a similar fate. Even the Aegean Sea is under threat, which could become an international issue. 11.06.2021 11:43 The collapse of the Marmara Sea Most people who live in Istanbul and the Marmara region - a total population of 24,5 million - were unaware that their sewage is pumped in the sea, using only a simple decontamination method to separate physical objects, such as plastic bags. Tons of excavations from big projects, such as the Eurasia Tunnel, Marmaray and Yassıada, were also dumped into the Sea of Marmara. 03.06.2021 10:24 Turkey’s seas are rotten News of sea saliva (mucilage) in the Marmara Sea, reaching up north inland streams and down north to the Aegean waters, have caused great concern. This mucilage serves as a fitting metaphor for Turkey’s current political situation. As mafia boss Sedat Peker’s videos uncovered the fact that Turkey is a mafia narco-state and is home to a vast money laundering system, what we see is probably just the tip of the iceberg. 20.05.2021 13:00 The revival of the Kobane case It is no coincidence that the Kobane case has been revived. It is being used to hold Demirtaş in prison and in the government’s case to shut down the HDP. The Kobane case is critical, because if the HDP is shut down, it will have major consequences for the next election. 14.05.2021 12:34 Yachts, dead bodies, the regime and Mr. Ağar While we keep binging on mafia boss Sedat Peker's allegations about former Interior Minister Mehmet Ağar, I can picture Mehmet Ağar with his signature sunglasses, sipping his drink at a yacht anchored at the Yalıkavak Marina with other shady figures. The recent set of events raises new questions on who really is in charge in Ankara today. 07.05.2021 10:37 Erdoğan's bureaucrats enjoy extra jobs, fat pay checks Once you get an executive title as a bureaucrat in Turkey, serve your leader – in this case, Erdoğan - job opportunities and privileges will follow. A very popular solution is to get a job as an executive. Erdoğan once said he would run the Turkish Republic like a firm, with the support of his pragmatic followers. Here is a glimpse of what he meant by that and how the wheel works. 30.04.2021 10:43 Alcohol ban during lockdown and Erdoğan's social engineering desire As Turkey enters its longest COVID-19 lockdown yet Istanbul’s markets and liquor stores have run out of alcohol. alcohol sales would be forbidden during the lockdown. This practice is illegal. President Erdoğan is once again using COVID-19 restrictions to implement his social engineering purposes. AKP's desire to impose conservative values Turkish society is leading us down a very dangerous path. 23.04.2021 14:10 Erdoğan’s take on the climate crisis President Erdogan’s speech at the recent White House climate summit was nothing short of embarassing. Rather than addressing the urgent crisis facing Turkey and the globe, he bragged about the ‘Nation’s Gardens’ and unsubstantiated data on the number of forests in the country. There was no mention of the rapidly growing coal industry or Kanal Istanbul, which will be a final blow to the city’s ecosystem. 09.04.2021 11:16 Istanbul is on sale Kanal Istanbul is a hot issue for the forthcoming elections, just like the Istanbul Convention. The Kanal Istanbul advertorials are running in Qatar and China for investors. Istanbul is on sale. The plan is to build more houses, create another “Istanbul”, and the canal is just a tool to that end. 02.04.2021 12:01 Sheep, umbrellas, and journalism on trial While the Turkish government’s way of handling crime, terror, and threat is laughable at times, with detained sheep and confiscated umbrellas, there is no humour in our country’s human rights violations, impunity, and non-existent rule of law. Today five journalists will stand trial, accused of spreading terror propaganda simply because of the subject matter of their journalistic endeavours. 25.03.2021 11:40 Turkey's banned vigil: Saturday mothers on trial After being banned from holding their weekly vigils, demanding answers to their loved ones’ disappearances, the Saturday Mothers have persisted. Recently, in a state suit filed against some members of the group, the prosecutor has asked for up to three years in prison. The Saturday Mothers symbolize every crime, injustice, and anti-democratic act the Erdoğan regime wants so desperately to hide. 21.03.2021 09:55 What happens next? What is clear is that the latest move against the HDP will result in more rights violations and more pressure on press freedoms and freedom of speech in Turkey. The regime will continue to criminalize and target opposition voices, while presenting fictitious “reform” and “rights-based proposals” to the West.  12.03.2021 11:49 The commissars, the terrorists and Mr. Soylu’s letter In response to EC Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatoviç’s letter, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu stated that “In Turkey, there is no impediment against the freedom of organization of civil society”. Soylu emphasized that in European countries, associations can be banned in the event of terror or racism-related charges. He forgot to mention that terror-related charges in Turkey are used arbitrarily to target civil groups. 06.03.2021 15:04 NYT coverage of Afrin is not only incomplete, but troubling A NYT article on Afrin caused quite an uproar, with some accusing them of whitewashing Turkey’s Afrin occupation. Because the Turkish government controls which journalists are allowed to visit Afrin, the stories published by the pro-AKP publications are very similar to what was being published in the NYT. It is striking that the NYT opted not to cover human rights abuses in Afrin and focus solely on Erdoğan and how happy and safe Afrin citizens are now after the military operation. 26.02.2021 09:19 The killing of captives in Garê and its aftermath The day after the tragic news broke out, the AKP media headlines promised revenge and held the US responsible for the event. The İHD, which has previously helped rescue hostages from PKK, said that their offer to negotiate had been rejected by Turkish government officials.  19.02.2021 11:14 Are restaurants and bars in Turkey hit by COVID-19 or the regime? While factories, hotels, shopping malls are open, airlines operate without seat restrictions, and President Erdoğan happily salutes the crowds at AKP congress meetings, why are restaurants and bars suffering? Is it because Erdoğan dislikes alcohol consumption and the entertainment sector? It is no secret that the regime has been using COVID-19 measures to impose their rule.   11.02.2021 10:44 Erdoğan’s new spectacle: Sending women into space And Erdoğan now wants to send a man or a “missus” to the moon! Recent talks with Elon Musk suggest that might actually happen. Not sure if Mr. Musk cares much about the fact that the Turkish President undermines basic democratic principles, the rule of law and discards science. 04.02.2021 10:55 Is Turkey’s opposition not as sexy as Navalny? Why is the Western media ignoring thousands of cases filed against Turkish opposition voices? Why doesn’t Selahattin Demirtaş - who has been imprisoned for more than 4 years against ECHR decisions - get half as much attention as Navalny does? 22.01.2021 11:19 Beyond the Turkish media crackdown If anyone thinks the media crackdown in Erdoğan's Turkey is over, recent examples demonstrate that surely isn’t the case. In fact, it goes beyond a mere crackdown. The attacks on journalists, politicians, human right activists and academicians will continue and multiply as the regime feels the need to consolidate its power. 11.01.2021 12:56 Why the Turkish government is coming after Boğaziçi University In the wake of the widespread backlash to President Erdoğan’s sudden appointment of an AKP member as the rector of Boğaziçi University, we must ask, why? The short answer is: Because he can. But what has made Boğaziçi so unique is not high scores or rankings, but that it has always managed to maintain a level of autonomy. This bold and undemocratic move by the government may not only be an attempt to suppress Boğaziçi’s social and academic freedoms, but to control its assets. 31.12.2020 10:55 AKP and CHP voters agree on one thing A recent survey by Turkuazlab revealed the divisions that prevail in Turkish society. It underlined the level of distrust between different party supporters. It also showed that amongst the few points that united those voters were the perception that the US poses a grave threat to Turkey and that of the West conspiring to divide the country. 22.12.2020 10:25 Who does the Turkish gov't consider a journalist? Turkish authorities often look confident when they are asked about imprisoned journalists. Because the authorities have the power to decide who is a journalist and who is not, based on the government’s list of press credential cardholders. However, becoming and remaining, a journalist is more complex than that, because said authorities are not even following their own rules. 10.12.2020 11:30 Judicial reform for whom? As President Erdoğan continues to feed expectations that new judiciary reforms are on the way in Turkey, we must pause and ask what problems this reform is meant to address, and who it will likely benefit. When looking at recent legal developments, it becomes clear that we are exceedingly unlikely to see any substantive reform addressing Turkey’s core problems of freedom of speech and implementation. 28.11.2020 13:29 How Alamos Gold and others are plundering Turkey Foreign as well as local capital is as guilty as the government for the deep social, ecological, economical crisis that is looming in Turkey.