Troubles In Turkey

[Roman Alymov]

 

Del

That's evil, first class evil.

 

It was supposed to be post with Turkish expats share of pro-Erdogan vote by country of residence, but it appeared TN is not showing this table with flags so I removed it.

Interesting as far as I remember in Europe ~75% of votes were pro-Erdogan, while among Turks living in Russia and US it was only ~25%.

[Stuart Galbraith]

 

 

In 20 years Turkey will reign over Europe!!

Centuries of Americans genociding turkeys under the guise of Thanksgiving and this is the expected result. Again, it's Bush's USA's fault.

 

Does this mean that Yurrup will get a new Old Sick Man?

 

We must not have, a bioengineered PsychoTurkey Gap!

 

Gobble. Gobble.

[Stuart Galbraith]

Well for starters the US needs to get its nukes out of Incirlik. Whether or not Turkey should remain in NATO is a less pressing matter. Is there even a mechanism for kicking a country out? I've never read up on it.

 

I cant say ive heard of an exit clause. In fact if there was, it might call into question the mutual defence aspect, ie, NATO potentially voting to push out West Germany when WW3 starts.

 

Turkey offers NATO nothing but guardianship of the Bosporus. And whilst that is still significant, one has to question how relevant that guardianship is if it came to a crisis. Its not like they seemed to be fully on board with US objectives as far back as 1973, when they were offering overflight for the USSR to Syria.

[mnm]

 

 

Del

That's evil, first class evil.

 

It was supposed to be post with Turkish expats share of pro-Erdogan vote by country of residence, but it appeared TN is not showing this table with flags so I removed it.

Interesting as far as I remember in Europe ~75% of votes were pro-Erdogan, while among Turks living in Russia and US it was only ~25%.

 

 

Oh, I thought that 'Del' made direct reference to post #194 immediately above yours.

[Markus Becker]

In Germany it was 63% yes, in the USA only 15%.

 

But there is some good news too. Not only the CHP but also the 2/3 of the MHP voters and even some AKP voters have voted NO.

[Josh]

In Germany it was 63% yes, in the USA only 15%.

 

But there is some good news too. Not only the CHP but also the 2/3 of the MHP voters and even some AKP voters have voted NO.

And after the vote, their names will be taken down for future incarceration.

[Simon Tan]

I am handing out candies to everyone! This is such a great thing. Turks get the governmenty they want.

[BansheeOne]

March 13, 2018 / 11:22 AM / Updated 29 minutes ago

Turkey seeks life term for U.S. pastor over failed coup: Dogan

Ece Toksabay

ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish prosecutor on Tuesday sought a life sentence for a U.S. pastor over alleged links to a failed coup attempt in 2016, Dogan news agency reported, a move that threatens to undermine efforts to mend bilateral ties.

 

Washington believes Andrew Brunson, who has been in jail since December 2016, is one of several Americans unjustly detained in Turkey. During a visit to Ankara last month, former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for him to be freed.

 

The Christian pastor from North Carolina has been living in Turkey for 23 years and running a church, according to an online petition seeking his release.

 

The prosecutor charged him with being an“executive” of the group that Ankara holds responsible for the failed coup, the news agency said. Turkey blames the network of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Muslim cleric who denies all involvement.

 

In September, President Tayyip Erdogan suggested Turkey could free Brunson if the United States handed over Gulen.

 

[...]

 

The U.S. and Turkey have been at odds over several issues, notably Washington’s support in Syria for the YPG, a Kurdish militant group deemed terrorist by Turkey, and the status of Gulen.

 

Tillerson said during his official visit that Washington had “serious concerns” about cases against U.S. citizens arrested under the state of emergency in place in Turkey since the coup attempt, and said Brunson and others should be freed.

 

Following Tillerson’s visit, the two countries formed joint working groups to mend their relations.

 

[...]

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-usa/turkey-seeks-life-term-for-u-s-pastor-over-failed-coup-dogan-idUSKCN1GP17P

[BansheeOne]

Surprise, surprise!

 

Turkey election: Erdogan wins re-election as president

22 minutes ago

Turkey's long-standing leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won a new five-year term after securing outright victory in the first round of a presidential poll.

 

State media reports put Mr Erdogan on 53% with 99% of votes counted, and his closest rival Muharrem Ince on 31%.

 

He will now assume sweeping new powers, won in a controversial referendum last year. The post of PM will be abolished.

 

The opposition is yet to officially concede but said it would continue its democratic fight "whatever the result".

 

It had earlier cast doubt on results being broadcast by state media. Final results will be announced on Friday.

 

The polls were the most fiercely fought in many years.

 

Mr Erdogan has presided over a strong economy and built up a solid support base by investing in healthcare, education and infrastructure.

 

But the 64-year-old has also polarised opinion, cracking down on opponents and putting some 160,000 people in jail.

 

Mr Erdogan gave a triumphant victory speech from the balcony of his party's headquarters in the capital Ankara at 03:00 (00:00 GMT), declaring: "The winner of this election is each and every individual among my 81 million citizens."

 

There are reports that Republican People's Party (CHP) presidential candidate Mr Ince has admitted defeat in a message to a journalist, though this has not been confirmed.

 

Earlier on Sunday he accused state-run news agency Anadolu of "manipulation" over its reporting of vote-share figures.

 

[...]

 

Who won seats in Turkey's parliament?

Mr Erdogan said the governing alliance led by his AK Party (AKP) had secured a majority, in a separate vote for the 600-member chamber.

 

State news agency Anadolu said the AKP itself had 42% of the votes for parliament with 99% counted, giving it a projected 293 seats. Its partner, the MHP, had 11% and 50 seats.

 

The opposition CHP won only 23% (146 seats) despite Mr Ince's popularity in the presidential vote, while its nationalist ally the Iyi (Good) party won 10% (44 seats).

 

In a development that will please Kurdish voters, the pro-Kurdish HDP has exceeded the 10% threshold needed to enter parliament. With 67 seats, it will form the chamber's second-largest opposition faction.

 

Fireworks lit up the sky in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir as results came in.

 

The party's success comes despite the fact its presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas is in a high-security prison on terror charges, which he firmly denies.

 

Was the voting free and fair?

Security was tight at polling stations. Ahead of the vote, concerns had been raised about potential voter intimidation and electoral fraud.

 

Turkey's election commission has already said it will investigate alleged irregularities in Urfa province, on the southern border with Syria.

 

Voter turnout was high at almost 87%, the state broadcaster reported.

 

Rights activists have said the press is not free to report on all sides in Turkey. It has become the world's biggest jailer of journalists under Mr Erdogan's rule, according to monitoring groups.

 

Mr Erdogan has already cautioned his rivals against claiming foul play, saying: "I hope nobody will try to cast a shadow on the results and harm democracy in order to hide their own failure."

 

What were the election issues?

The biggest was the economy. The Turkish lira has tanked and inflation stands at about 11%, though the economy has grown substantially in recent years.

 

The currency has suffered as Mr Erdogan has pressed the central bank not to raise interest rates and suggested before the poll that he might restrict its independence.

 

Terrorism was another key issue, as Turkey faces attacks from Kurdish militants and the jihadists of the Islamic State group.

 

Mr Erdogan's rivals accused him of damaging civil liberties in Turkey and spearheading a slide into authoritarian rule.

 

Turkey has been under a state of emergency since a failed coup in July 2016, with 107,000 public servants and soldiers dismissed from their jobs. More than 50,000 people have been imprisoned pending trial since the uprising.

 

CHP candidate Mr Ince's fiery campaigning helped to revitalise Turkey's downtrodden opposition - but ultimately he lacked the numbers to end Mr Erdogan's dominance.

 

[...]

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44596072

[Jeff]

Dictators don't lose elections. See, Joseph Stalin.

[Stuart Galbraith]

There's never a Grassy Knoll when you want one, is there?

[Panzermann]

53%? Amateur!

[Stuart Galbraith]

If its anything less than 110 percent of the popular vote, it doesnt count.

[Panzermann]

On a more serious note, it shows that about half the population stands behind him. Because he plays the devout muslim, makes Trukey great again and the AKP is a progress party. Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi most often translated as Justice and Development Party and they have an Edison bulb as logo:

 

 

(the irony in the age of LED is lost on them)

 

 

The rural population are muslims, they have had some serous improvements to their lives in the last decades and Erdogan provided that in their minds. And any good turk is being raised as a patriot since Atatürk. As long as the economy runs well enough, people will like Erdogan. What was it with soviet communism means electricity? Well AKP brought electricity to the remote villages. Oh and Erdogan plays the "one of us" pretends to be a commonere like them.

 

 

The turkish eople abroad are also a good source of votes, because mostly those still identifying with Turkey bother to go cast their vote and of course vote for the dear leader.

[Markus Becker]

The purges continue. The day after the election another 130 or so cops and soldiers were arrested.

[BansheeOne]

 

March 13, 2018 / 11:22 AM / Updated 29 minutes ago

Turkey seeks life term for U.S. pastor over failed coup: Dogan

Ece Toksabay

 

ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish prosecutor on Tuesday sought a life sentence for a U.S. pastor over alleged links to a failed coup attempt in 2016, Dogan news agency reported, a move that threatens to undermine efforts to mend bilateral ties.

 

Washington believes Andrew Brunson, who has been in jail since December 2016, is one of several Americans unjustly detained in Turkey. During a visit to Ankara last month, former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for him to be freed.

 

The Christian pastor from North Carolina has been living in Turkey for 23 years and running a church, according to an online petition seeking his release.

 

The prosecutor charged him with being an“executive” of the group that Ankara holds responsible for the failed coup, the news agency said. Turkey blames the network of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Muslim cleric who denies all involvement.

 

In September, President Tayyip Erdogan suggested Turkey could free Brunson if the United States handed over Gulen.

 

[...]

 

The U.S. and Turkey have been at odds over several issues, notably Washington’s support in Syria for the YPG, a Kurdish militant group deemed terrorist by Turkey, and the status of Gulen.

 

Tillerson said during his official visit that Washington had “serious concerns” about cases against U.S. citizens arrested under the state of emergency in place in Turkey since the coup attempt, and said Brunson and others should be freed.

 

Following Tillerson’s visit, the two countries formed joint working groups to mend their relations.

 

[...]

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-usa/turkey-seeks-life-term-for-u-s-pastor-over-failed-coup-dogan-idUSKCN1GP17P

 

U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Turkish Officials Over Detained American Pastor

 

By Adam Goldman and Gardiner Harris

 

Aug. 1, 2018

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Wednesday against two top Turkish government officials over the detention of an American pastor being held on espionage charges, threatening to plunge already-fraught relations with a vital NATO ally into crisis.

The move was an extraordinary use of financial sanctions against an allied government. It is sure to inflame tensions that were already simmering over a litany of disagreements, including Washington’s refusal to extradite a cleric suspected of leading a failed 2016 coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and his country’s growing use of what many Western analysts have described as hostage diplomacy.

“The relationship is now officially in crisis, and the only way out is for Erdogan to do what he hates the most: back down,” said Julianne Smith, the deputy national security adviser to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

The sanctions target Abdulhamit Gul, Turkey’s justice minister, and Suleyman Soylu, the interior minister. They were issued just days after President Trump warned the Turkish government to immediately release the pastor, Andrew Brunson — a demand he made directly last week in a telephone call with Mr. Erdogan.

The sanctions mark a rare public break between Mr. Trump and Mr. Erdogan, two combative leaders and allies in the ongoing military campaign against the Islamic State.

A senior Trump administration official said the American president’s ire resulted in part because he thought he had struck a deal with Mr. Erdogan to free Mr. Brunson if Israeli authorities released a Turkish woman being held on charges of funding Hamas.

The Turkish woman went free, but Mr. Brunson remained on house arrest. Mr. Erdogan has denied such a deal, and the senior administration official spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Pastor Brunson’s unjust detention and continued prosecution by Turkish officials is simply unacceptable,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement announcing the sanctions. “President Trump has made it abundantly clear that the United States expects Turkey to release him immediately.”

At the White House, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the press secretary, said that Mr. Gul and Mr. Soylu both played “leading roles” in the pastor’s arrest and detention, and that Mr. Trump had personally ordered the sanctions be imposed.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, vowed on Twitter that “sanctions against our two ministers will not be left unanswered.” The Turkish Foreign Ministry also said the sanctions “will gravely harm the constructive efforts to solve the issues between our two countries.”

[...]

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/01/world/europe/us-sanctions-turkey-pastor.html

[Markus Becker]

 

Eric S. Edelman, a former American ambassador to Turkey, praised the Trump administration for finally getting tough with Turkey. He said the United States had new leverage amid the deeply troubled economy in Turkey, where the currency, the lira, recently plunged in value.

 

And again when the sanctions were announced!

 

 

In other news:

 

A certain Turkish politician who is constantly hurling insults at anybody will be the most honored guest in the Failing Republic of Germany, a country he insults much more than others. Unlike the USA HM's government doesn't understand that appeasing agressive rulers only incites them.

[glenn239]

What, they're still mad about that coup attempt? That was so 2016.

[Markus Becker]

They aren't mad about it at all. Quite the contrary. It's still the perfect pretext for political purges. You can't really stick the PKK-label on government officials because the PKK is further away from state institutions than the earth is from the sun. Gülen OTOH is perfect, he and the current ruler used to be best buddies and many Gülen followers thus made it into the Turkish bureaucracy.

[BansheeOne]

A certain Turkish politician who is constantly hurling insults at anybody will be the most honored guest in the Failing Republic of Germany, a country he insults much more than others. Unlike the USA HM's government doesn't understand that appeasing agressive rulers only incites them.

 

You mean the current US government which invited Erdogan to the White House half a year after Brunson's arrest, so he could watch protestors outside the Turkish embassy in DC being beaten up by his bodyguards, charges against which were quietly dropped prior to then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meeting with Erdogan in Turkey this February?

[Tim the Tank Nut]

and Tillerson got fired for it...

Wait and see if AsSultan gets another invite

[Markus Becker]

 

https://www.thelocal.de/20180721/germany-drops-sanctions-on-turkey-relaxes-travel-advice

 

Appeasement at its finest. The state of emergency hasn't actually ended. New laws give the regime the emergency powers without having to declare one and Germany races to give in.

[Josh]

Hopefully the administration actually follows through on sanctions against the country at large. One hard shove would break the Turkish economy right now.

[glenn239]

Like how one hard sanctions shove in 2014, coupled with oil prices falling, was supposed to break the Russian economy, right?

[Mistral]

Current account deficit vs surplus. Only economic illiterates or idiots believed that about Russia.