March 22, 2024
On Sunday, March 31st, Türkiye will hold municipal elections. People will not be going to the polls to express their preference for a new parliament, a new government, or a new leadership. Nonetheless, this election would allow them to express their judgment on our quasi-democracy and their expectations for the future, perhaps a desire for change in their lives.
Okumaya devam etMarch 18, 2024
On March 15, the Governments of France, Germany, the UK, and the US issued a statement on the occasion of the 13th anniversary of the Syrian uprising.[i]
They said that on this day 13 years ago, “the Syrian people took to the streets in peaceful protest to demand their freedom and respect for human rights. The Assad regime met these protests with a ruthless campaign of oppression and atrocities that continues to this day. Since March 2011, the Syrian conflict has led to the deaths of more than 500,000 people and the forced displacement of more than half of the Syrian population. The coordinated efforts of the United Kingdom, United States of America, France, and Germany are focused on ending the suffering of the Syrian people.”
Okumaya devam etMarch 11, 2024
Despite optimistic remarks by President Biden, the ceasefire and hostage release talks in Cairo failed to make any progress. The release of all hostages was never in the cards, unfortunately, since they happen to be Hamas’s principal bargaining chip until the end of the war. But even the freeing of some, alongside a temporary ceasefire, would have been an achievement. Washington now says that the ball is now in Hamas’s court.
Okumaya devam etMarch 4, 2024
The anxiety reflected in the major headlines of the past week has confirmed that 2024 is going to be a critical year for the West.
It seems that a growing number of Americans are not happy with the looming Biden-Trump rematch. The latter’s threatening remarks to European allies about their inadequate defense spending have added to worries in European capitals on the future of their relations with Washington.
Okumaya devam etFebruary 26, 2024
On February 17, Chancellor Scholz addressed the Munich Security Conference. Mentioning the tragic death of Alexei Navalny, he declared that to all intents and purposes, President Putin has brought the economy, education, science, and culture in Russia under his control, and anyone who actively works for freedom and democracy has to fear for their life. He said:
Okumaya devam etFebruary 21, 2024
The following are two posts from nearly three years ago. Both draw attention to the pattern of regional conflict. Where the war in Gaza might lead remains to be seen.
Okumaya devam etFebruary 19, 2024
On February 16, 2023, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died at a penal colony above the Arctic Circle, marking a dark day for Russia. A Le Monde article was titled “Navalny’s death buries the last hope for a free Russia”. In 2020, Navalny was poisoned in Siberia by what German laboratories later confirmed to be the nerve agent Novichok. His return to Moscow on January 17, 2021, knowing that he would immediately be detained, was a remarkable display of courage and patriotism. Someday, in Moscow, Russians will pay him their respects before his statue.
Okumaya devam etFebruary 12, 2024
US State Department’s Office of the Historian says that Secretary of State Warren Christopher “eschewed confrontation in favor of negotiation with friend and foe alike”. Indeed, during his tenure as Secretary of State, from January 1993 to January 1997, he paid 200 visits to different countries including those in which he accompanied President Clinton. A hundred of those visits were to the Middle East: 5 to Saudi Arabia, 8 to Jordan, 8 to the Palestinian National Authority, 15 to Egypt, 29 to Syria, and 34 to Israel.
Okumaya devam etFebruary 5, 2024
On January 3, twin blasts near the burial site of Qasem Soleimani, the former head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, killed a hundred people and injured scores in the southern Iranian city of Kerman adding to concerns about a widening regional conflict. President Raisi’s political deputy, Mohammad Jamshidi, blamed Israel and the US for the attack. Later, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei vowed a “harsh response” to the attack but did not mention either Israel or the US.
Okumaya devam etJanuary 29, 2024
Türkiye’s governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power following the general election on November 2, 2002. This marked the end of the coalition government led by Prime Minister Ecevit, the prominent leader of Türkiye’s democratic left. The change of government came at a critical time for Türkiye-US relations because the Bush administration had already declared its intention to invade Iraq. Vice President Cheney had visited Ankara to secure the Turkish government’s “full cooperation” in the project, but Mr. Ecevit had resisted.
Okumaya devam et
Diplomatik Yorum - Ali Tuygan 