Impasse overcome as CHP takes oath

se times
12/07/2011

The AKP and CHP agree to work together in resolving a controversy over disqualified parliamentary deputies.
By Alakbar Raufoglu for Southeast European Times – 12/07/11
Ending a nearly two-week deadlock, lawmakers from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) agreed to take their parliamentary oath on Monday (July 11th).

The agreement came after three hours of negotiations with leaders of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)....more....
read more: se times
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2011/07/12/feature-01

Turkey: Deal Breaks Deadlock

telegraph
By SEBNEM ARSU

Published: July 11, 2011
Turkey’s main opposition party ended a two-week parliamentary deadlock on Monday, when the deputies agreed to be sworn in after reaching a deal with the ruling party to show common effort in bringing imprisoned politicians who had been elected back to Parliament....more....
 read more: telegraph
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/world/europe/12briefs-DEALBREAKSDE_BRF.html?ref=europe

Turkish opposition says ending parliament boycott

reuters
ANKARA

Mon Jul 11, 2011 12:42pm BST
(Reuters) - Turkey's main opposition CHP Party said on Monday its deputies will be sworn in, ending a boycott of parliament after reaching an agreement with the ruling AK Party over bans on elected candidates, news channels reported....more....
read more: reuters
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/11/uk-turkey-opposition-idUKTRE76A2EA20110711

Business as usual

the economist
Turkey after the elections
It has not taken long for rancour to return to Turkish politics

Jun 30th 2011

ISTANBUL
from the print edition
RIDING on pledges of continued stability and more democracy, on June 12th Turkey’s conservative Justice and Development (AK) party was returned to an unprecedented third term of office. In his victory speech the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, declared that he would work with the opposition to write a new constitution. Yet a fortnight later the country seems on the verge of political deadlock. At the opening session of the new parliament almost one-third of the deputies refused to be sworn in....more...
read more: the economist
http://www.economist.com/node/18898268

Understanding Turkey’s 2011 General Election Results – Analysis

eurasia review
Written by: FPRI

July 1, 2011

By Gerald Robbins
Now that the results are known from Turkey’s June 12 general election, it is an appropriate time to discern this strategically important nation’s state of affairs. Turkey-watching is never an easy matter, especially given the current government’s fluctuating ways which confound many analysts. Nearly a decade has passed since the Justice and Development came to power with its heavily-inspired Islamist thinking. Detractors see the AKP’s methodology as a stealth jihad that’s gradually eroding the country’s secularist bearings. Conversely, AKP’s proponents applaud the various reforms which the party has enacted, ostensibly projecting it as a “bridge” between Western and Muslim civilizations. Whatever the case may be, the Turkish post-electoral environment is at a critical crossroad with far-reaching implications for its society and beyond....more...
read more: eurasia review
http://www.eurasiareview.com/understanding-turkeys-2011-general-election-results-analysis-01072011/

Une crise politique pour inaugurer le Parlement turc

le monde.fr
28 juin 2011

La politique turque réserve toujours des surprises et des crises inattendues. La victoire en demi-teinte de l'AKP, le 12 juin, qui a échoué à 4 sièges de la majorité qualifiée, et la poussée des Kurdes du BDP, sortis de ce scrutin gonflés à bloc avec 36 élus, ont légèrement modifié la donne. Le gouvernement de Recep Tayyip Erdogan est sous pression et doit montrer sa volonté de résoudre démocratiquement la question kurde, entreprise dans laquelle il a échoué au cours du dernier mandat....more...
read more: le monde.fr
http://istanbul.blog.lemonde.fr/2011/06/28/une-crise-politique-pour-inaugurer-le-parlement-turc/

In Turkey, Lawmakers Refuse Oath in Protest

ny times
By SEBNEM ARSU

Published: June 28, 2011
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s newly elected Parliament convened on Tuesday, but 169 deputies refused to take their oaths of office in response to court rulings that barred 8 of their colleagues, currently in jail on terrorism-related charges, from joining the assembly....more....
read more: ny times
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/world/europe/29turkey.html?_r=1&ref=europe

How to read the outcome of the Turkish elections

euractiv.com
Home › Enlargement & East › analysis

Published 10 June 2011

Turkey's upcoming parliamentary elections signal an opportunity for positive reform of the Turkish constitution and better relations with the European Union, argues Sinan Ülgen in an exclusive commentary for EurActiv.


This commentary was sent exclusively to EurActiv by Sinan Ülgen, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe in Brussels, a founding partner of the consultancy firm Istanbul Economics, and chairman of the Istanbul-based Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM).
"Turks will be going to the polls this Sunday to choose their next government. There is little uncertainty about the outcome. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its charismatic leader, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, are set to gain the backing of the Turkish population for a third consecutive term in power. The real uncertainty lies in the margin of victory the AKP will obtain. It is this that will ultimately shape the near-term political climate of the country.....more....
read more: euractiv.com
http://www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/read-outcome-turkish-elections-analysis-505544

A question that divides Turkey: What is Ergenekon?

se times
13/06/2011

Is it a shadowy organisation within the Turkish state or a fraud to silence the opposition?
By Ozgur Ogret for Southeast European Times in Istanbul – 13/06/11
Now in its fourth year, Ergenekon has moved beyond the judicial and political arena, and expanded to the street, where it has divided people into camps. Thousands of pages of indictments, weapons and ammunition confiscated at secret locations alongside unending waves of arrests -- including military officers, politicians, journalists, academicians -- has created an ideal battleground for a war of conspiracy theories.....more...
read more: se times
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/articles/2011/06/13/reportage-01

Dernières heures de campagne en Turquie

le monde.fr
11 juin 2011

La campagne électorale pour les législatives de dimanche prend fin samedi à 18h. Après cette heure, toute propagande électorale sera interdite. Dimanche, 50 millions d'électeurs seront appelés aux urnes, dans près de 200.000 bureaux de vote. La participation est, en théorie, obligatoire en Turquie.

Les trois principaux leaders politiques, Tayyip Erdogan (AKP), Kemal Kiliçdaroglu (CHP) et Devlet Bahçeli (MHP), ont achevé leur marathon électoral: une succession de meetings à travers le pays. 90 meetings pour Erdogan, 99 pour Kiliçdaroglu. Le candidat du CHP est le seul à avoir visité les 81 provinces du pays au cours de sa campagne, comme l'indique la carte publiée par Radikal ce matin.....more...
read more: le monde.fr
http://istanbul.blog.lemonde.fr/2011/06/11/dernieres-heures-de-campagne-en-turquie/

One for the opposition

the economist
Turkey's election

The best way for Turks to promote democracy would be to vote against the ruling party

Jun 2nd 2011 | from the print edition

MOST Turks are understandably grateful to the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party, and especially to their prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (pictured). Since AK first came into single-party government in November 2002, the economy has done exceptionally well. Turkey has reformed itself enough to secure the opening of membership negotiations with the European Union. It has pursued a more vigorous foreign policy in its neighbourhood. And a politically intrusive army has been firmly returned to its barracks.....more....

read more: the economist
http://www.economist.com/node/18774786

Gandhi's rise

the economist
The Turkish opposition
The main opposition party will lose in June, but it is looking more coherent

Apr 28th 2011

TUNCELI
from the print edition
IN 1938 Turkey’s army crushed a rebellion in the south-eastern province of Tunceli. Villagers were burned alive or gassed. The government admitted that around 15,000 mainly Alevi Kurds, who practise a liberal version of Islam, had died, though survivors spoke of at least twice as many. The tragedy is one of the darkest pages in modern Turkish history and remains taboo because it took place when Ataturk was alive and the secular Republican People’s Party (CHP) that he founded was running the country. Locals say this makes it a miracle that their own Kemal Kilicdaroglu, whose father was then among thousands of exiled Alevis, is now the CHP’s leader....more...
read more: the economist
http://www.economist.com/node/18621453