Archive for the ‘Erdogan’ Category

Erdogan faces weak economy in path to greater power – Yahoo Singapore News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is closer to getting a power boost after parliament's first approval of a bill to change the constitution, but the flagging economy could present an unexpected roadblock.

The Turkish parliament approved late Sunday, on first reading, a bill to create an executive presidency like in France or the United States, but which critics fear will lead to one-man rule.

However, after a bloody 2016 during which hundreds of people were killed in multiple terror attacks and a failed coup last summer, the Turkish economy is losing momentum.

Unemployment is increasing, inflation is rising, economic growth is slowing down and the Turkish lira is reaching record lows against the US dollar.

Investor confidence has fallen while tourism has dramatically dropped with holidaymakers avoiding the country last year because of the violence and political instability.

This is in stark contrast to the booming Turkish economy under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), co-founded by Erdogan, since 2002.

One of the main reasons for Erdogan and the AKP's continued electoral success was this boom that followed the 2001 financial crisis. It even made itself known with a new lira that no longer had six extra zeros introduced in 2005.

From fast trains connecting big cities to new bridges, large hospitals to the development of long-neglected central Turkish cities, the AKP ploughed money into areas that had not seen such rapid development.

The constitution plan has now gone to a second reading in the parliament on Wednesday where the 18 articles will again be debated one by one.

If approved again with 330 votes from the 550-seat parliament, it will go to a referendum, expected this spring, for the people to decide.

- 'A vote on Erdogan's leadership' -

Questions were raised this week over whether the worsening economy would affect Erdogan's chances of winning the public vote for constitutional changes.

Jean Marcou, professor at Sciences Po Grenoble and associate researcher at the French Institute of Anatolian Studies, said the current state of the economy could affect the AKP's voters.

But he noted that the government played the "security card" to create fear among the Turkish public, suggesting safety and peace could play a bigger role in people's decision.

Marcou said Erdogan presented himself as the leader to tackle the security troubles in the southeast where the state is fighting against Kurdish rebels, to rid the Islamic State group and battle against his former ally-turned-foe Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen whose movement is blamed for the July 15 attempted putsch.

Erdogan has also repeatedly urged Turks to change their foreign currency into lira to stimulate the currency which was at 3.78 against the greenback on Wednesday afternoon. Less than a month ago, it was 3.52 against the dollar.

The president attributed the dizzying fall of the lira to interference in the markets with elements he called "terrorists" aimed at "putting Turkey on its knees".

For Murat Yetkin, editor-in-chief of Hurriyet Daily News, it would be unlikely that the "economic difficulties of today will dramatically affect the result of the referendum" because the vote is about Erdogan.

"If the country goes to a referendum, it will not be about the government or its economic programme. Many people will not even consider it as a radical shift in Turkey's administrative system, but 'Yes' or 'No' to Erdogan's leadership."

- 'Relative prosperity' -

According to Ilter Turan, emeritus professor of political science at Istanbul's Bilgi University, when the people decide on the changes, their motivations will be varied.

"Concerning the change of constitution, liking or not the government is not the only factor. In these times, the problems that Turkey has can end up in the rejection of the people," Turan told AFP.

The proposed changes, which would create an executive presidency for the first time in modern Turkey, are controversial and far-reaching.

The president would have the power to appoint and fire ministers, while the post of prime minister will be abolished for the first time in Turkey's history.

Instead, there would be a vice president, or possibly several.

According to Jean-Francois Perouse, director of the French Institute of Anatolian Studies in Istanbul, there still remained the belief that if the electorate does not support Erdogan, this would "jeopardise relative prosperity".

"It remains to be seen whether explanations provided by Erdogan (on the economy) will convince people, and given the public's state of mind, they can convince," Perouse said.

More here:

Erdogan faces weak economy in path to greater power - Yahoo Singapore News

Under Erdogan, Turkey Is Going the Way Pakistan Did With Zia-Ul-Haq – The Wire

Featured Turkeys is ina downward spiral. The sweeping crackdowns and increased religious polarisation will feed resentment and hatred, which in turn will tolead to more violence and subsequently further crackdowns.

Turkeys Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Credit: Reuters

Less than a decade ago, Turkey represented a model of what the West would call a modern Muslim republic a booming economy, a well-established secular polity and a steadily maturing democracy with a decidedly Western orientation. The long aspired EU membership seemed on the anvil, which, along with its NATO membership,would fulfil the Kemalist dream of winning a secure place for Turkey in the Western constellation.

At the other end of the pole, another Muslim country, Pakistan, represented just the opposite atavistic, paranoid, torn apart by terror and sectarian conflict, relegated to the position of a global pariah and fast approaching the status of a failed state. The state of Pakistan was a direct outcome of the disastrous policies followed by GeneralZia-ul-Haq in the 1980s. A triad of policy patronage and export of terror, top-down Islamisation of society and fierce authoritarianism continues to have an impact on every problem tearing apart Pakistan from sectarian violence and terrorism to human rights violations.

Facing economic slowdown at home, and a devastating civil war in its neighbourhood, Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pursued the Zia triad of policy-patronage of terror, Islamisation, and authoritarianism, with catastrophic consequences. The blowback has been immediate and increasingly bloody. Today, Turkey is marred by routine terrorist attacks. Its democracy is at the precipice of being upended, its society is violently polarised, its secularism frayed, fundamental rights and liberties cast by the wayside,and the general atmosphere marked by gloom, fear and uncertainty.

Although comparisons between Zia and Erdogan seem absurd, given that Zia was a military dictator and Erdogan holds power democratically, they should not be dismissed as out of hand. Military dictators in Pakistan hold on to power by cultivating popular legitimacy, which Zia courted using a combination of Islam and aggressive nationalism, not unlike Erdogan. Moreover, while Erdogan might be a democrat, his fidelity seems to be with an illiberal form of democracy, ready to forsake rule of law and fundamental liberties in the exercise of raw power.

Patronising terror

An Islamist strongman, with dreams of regional dominance with active backing from the US aids, arms and provides safe passage to foreign jihadists in order to overthrow the neighbouring regime in favour of a more pliable one it all sounds so familiar. Erdogans Turkey has played the role in Syria that Zias Pakistan had pioneered in Afghanistan.

If Afghanistan was the playground for the first generation of global jihadists, who went on to form the al Qaeda, the next generation bred and thrived in the bloody battlefields of Syria. Syria became the magnet that drew idealistic, martyrdom-aspiring radical youth from North Africa, Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East to wage their apocalyptic jihad against the enemies of Sunni Islam.

The earlier generation of global jihadists used to assemble in Peshawar, where they would be trained, armed and funded by the ISI before streaming into the battlefields of Afghanistan. The new generation of global jihadists, attracted to the ideology of ISIS, flewinto Istanbul or Adana airport, were often armed and trained at military bases by Turkish security agencies, before heading to the southern cities of Hatay and Gaziantep, staging points for their entry into the Syrian battlefields.

Apart from aiding foreign fighters, Turkey under Erdogan also followed a policy of benign neglect towards ISIS recruitment centres in various Turkish cities, which operated with the full knowledge of the police and security agencies. This is a toned-down version of the Zia scheme of state patronage to radical seminaries and terrorist networks which would provide a constant supply of manpower to hotspots of jihad in India and Afghanistan.

One such cell in the south-eastern city of Adiyaman is linked to five ISIS attacks inside Turkey since mid-2015. Relations between Turkey and ISIS turned hostile after Turkey, at the urging of US President Barack Obama, allowed the US to useits Incirlik air base for operations against ISIS. Meanwhile, the peace process with the Kurds (PKK) was also scuppered in mid-2015 owing largely to Turkish air-strikes in northern Iraq against the PKKsKurdish affiliates in that country. The strikes reflected growing concerns in the Turkish establishment about Kurdish expansionism in the power vacuum in Iraq and Syria and its implications for Turkey. Thus, on the domestic front, Turkey got embroiled against two powerful militant groups.

General Zia-ul-Haq. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Islamisation

The second partof Zias policies was Islamisation of state and society. He established the federal shariat court to examine substantial parts of the legal system on the basis of Islam. He promulgated the so-called Hudood ordinances, which decreed punishments such as amputation of limbs, public lashings and stoning to death. Pakistansmuch-abused blasphemy laws, which have often been misused to whip up public frenzy and target minorities, were introduced by Zia.

Erdogan, and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), are programmatically disposed to reverse the secularisation imposed by Kemal Ataturk. Patrick Cockburn, writing for the Independent, notes that, As the AKP has tightened its grip on power, it has chipped away at the secular institutions of the state and encouraged the Islamisation of education and social behaviour as well as seeking to cull non-Islamist officials and officers. The attack on the Istanbul nightclub on New Years eve occurred amidst a shrill debate on whether celebrating New Years eve is consistent with Islam. Government-appointed clerics and newspapers loyal to Erdogan contended that New Years eve celebrationsbelonged to other cultures and other worlds.

Growing authoritarianism

The last pole of the triad tying Zia and Erdogan together is their authoritarian impulse. Zia banned political parties, student and trade unions,jailed journalists and political opponents, and amended the constitution to weaken parliament and give himself greater executive powers. Like Zia, Erdogan has also indicated that he will push through his long-desired overhaul of the constitution to move from a parliamentary system towards an executive presidency based on Islamic values, having already far out-stepped the largely ceremonial role of his office.

The failed coup in July 2016, allegedly perpetrated by the followers of the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, provided Erdogan with the perfect pretext to let loose his authoritarian impulse and launch sweeping crackdowns on his political opponents. In the ensuing purges of Turkish society, many thousands of soldiers, police officers, bureaucrats and university professors have been removed from their jobs and often also arrested. Close to a hundred journalists have been arrested and scores of newspapers forced to shut shop. The fear and uncertainty caused by the successive terrorist attacks has further legitimised these authoritarian crackdowns, with the public willing to overlook the blatant undermining of the rule of law and disregard for basic liberties in favour of the allure of the strongman whocan guarantee them security.

Turkish democracy and society have entered a downward spiral. The sweeping crackdowns and increased religious polarisation will further feed resentment and hatred, which will lead to more violence and subsequently further crackdowns. George Santayana wrote that those who dont learn from history are condemned to repeat it. The state of Pakistan provides a cautionary tale for Turkey on how following the Zia triad of policy-patronage can devastate a country and lead it into an irreversible spiral of doom.

Asim Ali is a masters student of development studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Categories: Featured, World

Tagged as: al-Qaida, Federal Shariat Court, George Santayana, Incirlik, ISIS, Kemal Ataturk, Pakistan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey, Zia Ul Haq

Read more from the original source:

Under Erdogan, Turkey Is Going the Way Pakistan Did With Zia-Ul-Haq - The Wire

Turkey pursues a balanced foreign policy: Erdogan aide – Anadolu Agency

By Enes Kaplan

ANKARA

Turkey has been pursuing a balanced foreign policy between the East and the West, presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said Wednesday.

Speaking at a meeting with the representatives of international media organizations in the Turkish capital, Kalin said Turkeys NATO membership did not prevent Ankara from establishing close relations with Russia, China or other countries.

"Foreign police is not a zero sum game to us. Getting closer to Russia does not need to have a negative impact on our relations with the U.S. and Europe.

"In the same manner, being a NATO ally does not mean that we will completely cut off our relations with Russia, China, African countries or Latin America," he said, adding Turkeys geopolitical position necessitated a multifaceted foreign policy.

Kalin said Turkey shared closer views with Russia in some issues, while sharing similar views with the U.S. and E.U in some others.

"It is impossible to reduce foreign policy to a single bloc under the current circumstances. Instead, we are pursuing a balanced policy between the East and West.

"Moreover the developments in economy and security force us to adopt a wider perspective," Kaln said.

Erdogan's aide also commented on the future of Turkey-EU relations, associating the lack of "desired momentum" in the accession process with the anti-EU, anti-Turkey and anti-refugee sentiment across the continent.

"If the EU is suffering from 'enlargement fatigue', they should know that Turkey is also feeling tired and indignant because the membership process is not moving forward".

Kaln reiterated that the EU had yet to fulfil its commitment to Turkey over a refugee deal signed in March 2016, and went on to say that issues with the visa-free travel agreement could be resolved if the European Commission presented a "reasonable" offer.

Signed on March 18, 2016, the agreement aims to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving conditions for nearly 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

The deal included a 6 billion euro ($6.8 billion) aid package to help Turkey care for millions of refugees hosted in the country. However, Turkey has so far received only 677 million euros ($716 million).

Turkey is hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees in the world, and has so far spent around $25 billion on the refugees.

Ankara is also criticizing the EU for not honoring its promises to relocate some of the Syrian refugees from Turkey.

As of Dec. 5, 2016, 2,761 Syrian refugees have been resettled from Turkey to Europe while 1,187 irregular migrants have been returned from the Greek islands to Turkey, according to the European Commission. Europe had agreed to take 72,000.

The deal also allows for the acceleration of Turkeys EU membership bid and visa-free travel for Turkish nationals within the Schengen area, on the condition that Ankara meets 72 requirements set by the EU.

While Turkey has fulfilled most of the criteria, differences between Brussels and Ankara on anti-terror legislation have forestalled the visa liberalization deal.

Changing counter-terrorism legislation is a key condition of the visa-free travel agreement between the 28-member bloc and Turkey.

Read more:

Turkey pursues a balanced foreign policy: Erdogan aide - Anadolu Agency

President Erdogan urges reformed judicial system – Anadolu Agency

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday urged a reformed judicial system with a harmonious separation of powers.

Addressing members of the judiciary at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara, Erdogan decried the Fetullah Terror Organizations (FETO) infiltration of judicial bodies and the trouble they have caused.

Erdogan urged a new democratic judicial system, saying, Redefining the relations between the legislative and executive powers in a democratic way is not a loss but a gain for Turkey.

He reassured that the pluralistic, broad-based structure of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) would be protected, saying, There is no possibility of returning to [old systems] from the pluralistic system which has benefited us greatly."

Referring to FETO, he said the terrorist group had abused the support given to judicial bodies to fight the coup plotters. This abuse led them to not only dominate positions but also damaged our fight against the putschists.

Constitutional changes to Turkeys system of government are now going through parliament.

Constitutional reform and the change to a presidential system has been on the political agenda since Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a former prime minister and Justice and Development (AK) Party leader, was elected president in August 2014. This marked the first time a Turkish president had been directly chosen by popular vote.

The July 15 defeated coup left at least 248 people martyred, and around 2,200 others wounded.

Turkey's government accuses the FETO terror network of staging the coup attempt as well as being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Since the failed coup attempt, operations have been ongoing in the military, police, and judiciary, as well as in state institutions across the country, to arrest suspects with alleged links to FETO.

*Reporting by Enes Kaplan; Writing by Ahmet Sait Akcay

The rest is here:

President Erdogan urges reformed judicial system - Anadolu Agency