The foreign and domestic policies of Turkey have changed dramatically with the coming of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to power in Turkey. Although the opposition forces in Turkey (nationalist and conservative Islamist) didn't very highly value AKP's successes, eventually they had to put up with the party's victory.
After strengthening in power, the AKP made policy changes, which were differently valued in Turkish society, and this strengthened the Turkish society's polarization.
There is no doubt that the AKP had conducted many reforms for Turkey to become a full member of the EU. Since the start of official negotiations in 2005, until now Ankara has conducted 160 reforms.
But Turkey's accession to the EU has been always postponed. The EU has repeatedly stated that the main reasons for this are the Kurdish problem, Turkey's non-compliance with the demand to open its border with Armenia, and its non-recognition of the "Armenian genocide".
The EU has repeatedly not stated that they, particularly the French and Germans, simply don't want the Turks in the EU. They've repeatedly not said it but everyone understands that's the real reason. The rest is just excuse making.
But despite this, Ankara continued carrying out reforms. It was believed that in spite of all the obstacles of the EU, Ankara's reforms in different areas are aimed at making the country a full member of the EU.
Although the reforms continued and Europe extended negotiations on Turkey's accession to the EU, the Turkish authorities made it clear that EU membership has lost significance for Ankara.
"If the EU decides not to accept Turkey, this will not cause the country's concern," Minister for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkır said. "This statement shows that Ankara has not been interested in joining the EU for a long time."
Moreover, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus made a statement December 21 testifying to the revival of ambitions of the Ottoman Empire.
"Turkey has woken up from a 150-year sleep," Kurtulmus said. "The collapse of the Ottoman Empire is associated with the loss of ambitions and culture, rather than with loss of territory."
"Turkey has woken up from a deep sleep and it will revive its culture and power," Kurtulmus said.
The Turkish authorities are well aware that no matter how Ankara would try to become an EU full member, these efforts will not bring significant results.
The reason is that even if Turkey fulfills all obligations, the EU will call it for recognizing the so-called "Armenian genocide", which is the red line for Ankara. Taking into account that the Armenian lobby intends to mark the anniversary of the so-called "Armenian genocide" in 2015, which is a long-standing lie, and that the West will use this against Turkey, one can say that Turkey's relations with the EU will be greatly changed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/24/2014 00:00 ||
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#3
That explains why the honourable prime minister recently lectured a pair of newlyweds at their wedding about the need to have a multiplicity of children.
#5
Need not read anything more than this to know its typical bigoted (racist) Turkish bullshit:
the anniversary of the so-called "Armenian genocide" in 2015, which is a long-standing lie,
That's why I say: Kick Turkey out of NATO, cut off their arms and supplies and economic aid and trade. Then arm the Kurds, let them carve a free Kurdistan out of Turkey. Freedom from Turks and their systemic racist actions against the Kurds.
#10
Just rename Turkey on the map to Kurdistan, remove turkey from Nato and then only deal with the kurds. Course, this requires having a human being for a president instead of a collectivist butt sponge.
While supporters — and a compliant press — like to highlight the size of Bill de Blasio’s election victory in New York’s mayoral race in 2013 (at 73%), they often forget that turnout was a record low of 24%. De Blasio was elected with the support of about 18% of the city’s registered voters — less than 10% of the total population of the city.
It’s with this kind of background that you should keep in mind when parsing pieces like this one in Politico, which tries to puzzle out “what went wrong”.
If de Blasio ever had a mandate, it was a mandate for caution, not a mandate for sweeping change. It was a mandate to build your support through some incremental changes so that you’ll have a more solid backing in a second term. But de Blasio and the excited progressives around him read it differently.
A lot of the media wants to frame this police slaying as a story of a white minority vs. a non-white majority. Given that one of the two slain cops was hispanic and the other was Asian-American, it isn’t at all clear that the “color coalition” is as solid or as deep as progressives would like it to be. And law and order remains a serious concern in many of the city’s immigrant communities.
De Blasio is probably in deeper trouble than much of the mainstream media realizes. His mandate is weaker and his coalition more fissile than progressive journalists enchanted with the new progressive/majority-minority mantra can grasp. If law and order grows as an issue in New York, de Blasio will have more to worry about than the hostility of the police union.
#4
Does it have anything to do with him being a part of the radical Progressive street rabble; an apparatchik like Obama, Holder, Sharpton, and Jackson?
#5
Another thing that people commented about at the time was if the racial composition of the electorate had been the same as under Guliani, the Republican would have won.
Very simply, White voters stayed home in both 2012 and 2013. These same voters now realize there are very real consequences to not voting.
This is going to be what Washington Heights was for Dinkins.
Al
Posted by: frozen al ||
12/24/2014 12:35 Comments ||
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#6
This says more about the self absorbed New Yorkers than De Blasio. They are living their payback for not caring enough to exercise their democratic responsibility.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/24/2014 13:18 Comments ||
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#7
World class jackass for a world class city.
Posted by: regular joe ||
12/24/2014 14:03 Comments ||
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#8
This is going to be what Washington Heights was for Dinkins.
[DAWN] Have we done enough to stop this slide into the abyss of religiosity, superstition, bigotry, extremism and ignorance? Aren't these qualities needed to make our society a fertile breeding ground for monsters like the Taliban?
Isn't it now widely accepted that guerrilla fighters can only sustain themselves and fight in surroundings where they enjoy the support -- even if tacit -- and sympathy of the population? Haven't the Taliban received the sympathy of a large section of public opinion and also the powers-that-be?
When we allow the holy mans in mosques to praise the Taliban and their ilk without so much as challenging them or when we condone these prayer leaders' failure to condemn the Taliban by name, don't we become a party to the crime? True, as individuals we may not personally subscribe to this religious fervour, but allowing fear to determine our response makes us equally culpable.
Hence it was a relief when counter voices began to speak up. First came a text message on early Thursday morning from Anwer Rashid, chief of the OPP-RTI. He wrote, "Meray bachon humay tum mu'aaf kar do. Hum hain qatil. Humay mu'aaf kar do. Hum ney un istalahon ko zinda kia jin ko hum nay bachpan mein suna hee na tha. Al fasad; al qataal, al jihad." (Dear children forgive us. We are your killers. We allowed such terms to be revived that we had never heard in our own youth such as mischief, slaughter and holy war).
Then came the call from a band of civil society youth led by Jibran Nasir for a peaceful candlelight vigil before the Lal Masjid ...literally the Red Mosque, located in Islamabad and frequented by all sorts of high govt officials. The proprietors, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi, unleashed their Islamic storm troopers on the city, shutting down whorehouses and beating people up who weren't devout enough. The Musharraf govt put an end to the nonsense by besieging the place. Abdul Aziz Ghazi was nabbed while he was trying to escape dressed up like a girl. BBC reported that the corpse count at 173, but other claims, usually hysterical, say there were up to 1000 titzup. Among their number was Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Everyone then said tut-tut and what a nice guy he had been... in Islamabad to "reclaim the mosque" as he put it.
In a video uploaded on Facebook, Nasir expressed remorse at the public's inaction in the face of the Talibanisation of the institution of the mosque which plays such a central part in people's lives. He minced no words in condemning the holy mans for their role in corrupting and misguiding the youth, and demanded the faceless myrmidons known to the establishment be publicly identified. He did not spare the media either for disseminating the bigotry of the mullahs. Bravo Jibran Nasir!
Not everyone will admit that his own silence on such occasions has helped the bigot. If the fear has really been broken will the silent majority now speak up? Don't forget they have been lulled into complacency on matters of faith. The electronic media has helped fan the fires of obscurantism. Above all, we still have to learn to move away from making religion our yardstick for measuring right and wrong in public life. This approach has its pitfalls because of the diversity in the interpretation of Islamic precepts with each school of thought claiming to be the correct one. What right do any of us have to decide who is correct?
A secular approach based on a social contract can alone resolve the contradictions that complicate life under a theocratic state while allowing the civilian government and the military to get away with so much casuistry.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] PRIME Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... has vowed to take the fight against faceless myrmidons to cities and villages across the country, pledging to stamp out terrorism wherever it exists.
In clear and unequivocal words, Mr Sharif has not only accepted that urban Pakistain has a significant bully boy problem, his statement is a vast improvement on the old formulation that whatever the terrorist and bully boy presence in urban Pakistain, it is a function of individuals and small splinter groups, and not a systematic, organised presence across the provinces.
Yet, there is much more clarity that the government needs to bring to the issue publicly. In condemning specific atrocities and vowing that those responsible will not be allowed to repeat their crimes, the prime minister left out a significant part of the explanation: identifying the groups involved.
Without identities revealed, groups named, organizations described and methods exposed, the prime minister's vow will amount to little more than a seemingly firm but in reality nebulous promise to stamp out terrorism wherever it is found.
Terrorism has a face. It has an identity. The bully boy groups that organise in the cities have physical networks and infrastructure. It is not just nameless men killed in alleged encounters with the police, as happened in the Sohrab Goth area of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... again this week.
If terrorism is to be defeated, it has to first be identified. Names have to be named, networks have to be publicly declared and the full spectrum of extremism and militancy laid bare.
But none of that has occurred so far. Why, for example, does the government not state which groups are active in Punjab, name the leadership, explain the connection between bad boy religious centres and terrorist recruiting, and, more to the point, make clear the measures the state is taking to progressively shut down the terrorist and bully boy organizations that have been identified?
The same applies to the other provinces. Is the federal government able to do more than simply talk about cooperating with the province in counterterrorism efforts? As ever, few details were given by the prime minister.
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the state's, particularly the political government's, approach to counterterrorism is to co-opt certain sections of the police and civilian-run intelligence to fight a dirty, clandestine war against unnamed terrorists.
All that the public is ever told is that faceless myrmidons and gunnies are killed in encounters where independent witnesses are nearly never present. But that has not and cannot prove to be a successful strategy -- let alone a remotely ethical or legal one -- because it is simply about cracking down on visible sides of militancy, not the roots that help grow new cells, more fighters and fresh ideologues.
The prime minister needed to speak firmly and a worried nation needed to hear of the government's resolve. But what is the plan?
Posted by: Fred ||
12/24/2014 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
