Riots broke out in several Turkish cities on Tuesday night after the authorities invalidated the victory of Kurdish politician Abdullah Zeydan in a mayoral election.
On Sunday, Zeydan won the ballot to serve as mayor of the eastern city of Van. Two days later, the local electoral board disqualified him, citing his past criminal conviction on charges of supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Türkiye considers a terrorist group. In 2016, Zeydan was sent to prison for “abetting” and “propagandizing” the PKK. He was released in 2022. According to the prosecutors, his three-year ban to run for office has not yet expired, which makes him ineligible to serve as mayor. Zeydan’s pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) slammed the disqualification as “a political coup.” The politician’s supporters took to the streets, with some launching fireworks and throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at police officers, who responded with tear gas and water cannons. Some rioters erected barricades and set them on fire. Disturbances were reported in Van and other eastern cities, as well as in Adana in the south and Izmir on the Aegean coast. A total of 89 people have been detained in the cities of Van, Hakkari, Batman, Siirt, Sirnak and Izmir, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X (formerly Twitter). The March 31 municipal elections delivered several major blows to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party. Challengers from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) have retained the mayorships in the largest city, Istanbul, and the capital, Ankara.
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The Hungarian government is in favor of Sweden joining NATO and will soon schedule a ratification vote in the parliament, Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Wednesday.
The move will allow Stockholm to become a member of the US-led military bloc after almost two years of delays. Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022, citing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but ran into opposition from Türkiye and Hungary due to ongoing disputes with the two states. The bloc’s rules require unanimous consent before it can accept new member states. “Just finished a phone call with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg,” Orban said on X (formerly Twitter). “I reaffirmed that the Hungarian government supports the NATO membership of Sweden. I also stressed that we will continue to urge the Hungarian National Assembly to vote in favor of Sweden’s accession and conclude the ratification at the first possible opportunity.” Budapest has accused Stockholm of telling “blatant lies” about Hungarian democracy as part of an ongoing dispute within the EU. As of Wednesday, the Hungarian parliament has not put up the ratification vote on its docket. Turkish lawmakers voted to approve Sweden’s membership on Tuesday, sending the ratification bill to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s desk. Ankara had serious differences with Stockholm over human rights, terrorism, and arms trade, which interfered with NATO plans to have Sweden and Finland join the bloc together. Both Scandinavian countries abandoned their longstanding policy of non-alignment after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine, citing it as a threat to their security. When Finland officially joined the bloc in April 2023, NATO doubled the length of its border with Russia. Moscow stated that it had no issue with either country until then, but would have to react if they join NATO. Russia has insisted that the bloc’s expansion eastward, which began in 1999, is a threat to Russian national security and one of the root causes of the Ukraine conflict. Orban has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine and said he would block any attempts by Kiev to join NATO or the EU, as that would mean “bringing the war” into both blocs. The country’s accession will now need to be approved in a parliamentary vote. Fuat Oktay, the head of the foreign affairs commission, has told reporters that the parliament’s speaker would only decide on timing. Following the committee's approval, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said Sweden welcomed the decision in a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter), writing that he was “looking forward to joining NATO.” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also welcomed the move, and called on Türkiye and Hungary to “complete their ratifications as soon as possible. Sweden’s membership will make NATO stronger.”
NATO requires that all of its members must agree unanimously on expansion, and Türkiye and Hungary are the only countries that have been standing in Stockholm's way. Hungary claims that Swedish politicians have told “blatant lies” about the condition of Hungary’s democracy. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said last week that there was “no great willingness” to approve Sweden’s bid; however, Türkiye has been seen as the main NATO member preventing the Nordic country’s inclusion in the military alliance. In May 2022, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan objected to both Swedish and Finnish requests to join the military bloc, complaining that the Nordic nations were embracing terrorists. Türkiye later ratified Finland's bid in April, but kept Sweden waiting, demanding more security concessions. Ankara said the Nordic country needed to take more steps to crack down on Kurdish militants. Stockholm penned a new anti-terrorism bill in response and said that it had upheld its part of a deal signed last year. Sweden and NATO members Finland, Canada and the Netherlands also took steps to lift arms embargoes imposed on Türkiye. Earlier this month, Erdogan openly linked the ratification of Sweden’s membership to the US Congress’ approval of a Turkish request to purchase 40 F-16 fighter jets. The White House has backed the Turkish request but there has been opposition in Congress to military sales to Türkiye. Türkiye’s heel-dragging has baffled some of the country’s fellow NATO members, who were swift to accept Sweden and Finland into the bloc. Unlike its allies, Ankara seeks to maintain a neutral position towards the conflict in Ukraine, calling on the parties to end the hostilities, but also criticizing Western sanctions on Russia. In September Erdogan told PBS, a US broadcaster, that in his opinion, Russia and the West are “equally” reliable and trustworthy. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk to pick Türkiye as the location for his electric vehicle company’s next gigafactory, according to state-owned Turkish news agency Anadolu.
During the meeting on Sunday, Erdogan described Ankara’s “technological breakthroughs as well as the ‘Digital Türkiye’ vision and the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy,” the country’s communications directorate said in a statement cited by Anadolu. Besides urging Musk to establish Tesla’s next factory in Türkiye, Erdogan also described other “opportunities for collaboration with SpaceX may arise through the steps taken and to be taken as part of Türkiye’s space program.” The US entrepreneur has yet to comment on the results of the talks. He was seen entering the Turkish House skyscraper across the street of the UN headquarters on Sunday, carrying his son on Sunday.Tesla currently has six ‘gigafactories’ in the US, Germany, and China, and is building a seventh in Mexico. The automaker could pick a location for its next major production facility by the end of 2023, Musk indicated earlier this year. Last month, the company expressed interest in building a factory in India to produce a low-cost EV model, after Musk pledged significant investment in India following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US in June. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on winning a third term in office on Sunday. Putin thanked Erdogan for his “personal contribution” to strengthening relations between Russia and Türkiye.
“Your victory in the elections was a natural result of your selfless work as head of the Republic of Türkiye, and is clear evidence of the Turkish people's support for your efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and pursue an independent foreign policy,” Putin wrote in a message to Erdogan. “We highly appreciate your personal contribution to the strengthening of friendly Russian-Turkish relations and mutually beneficial cooperation,” Putin continued, noting the construction of Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant and the creation of a new gas hub as two significant joint projects. “From the bottom of my heart I wish you new successes…as well as good health and well-being” Putin concluded. Erdogan declared victory on Sunday night after beating challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in a runoff election for the presidency. With more than 99% of ballots counted, Erdogan led Kilicdaroglu by 55.12% of the vote to 47.88%, according to the latest tally from Türkiye’s Anadolu Agency. The Turkish president’s foreign policy – described by Putin as “independent” and Erdogan himself as “balanced” – has seen Türkiye strengthen ties with Russia and China while pushing its NATO allies for concessions, as Erdogan did when he demanded Sweden and Finland lift arms embargoes on his country and deport terror suspects before he would sign off on their accession to the alliance. Türkiye is the sole NATO member that has not imposed sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine, and Erdogan has taken a neutral stance on the conflict. Under his leadership, Türkiye hosted peace talks between Moscow and Kiev last year, and brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The relationship has not been without its difficulties. Despite Erdogan’s declaration that Türkiye wants a peace deal in Ukraine “as soon as possible,” Ankara has sold Bayraktar TB2 strike and reconnaissance drones and Kipri mine-resistant armored vehicles to Kiev, prompting a rebuke from Moscow this week. The world is not doing enough to end the conflict in Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told journalists in New York on Thursday. International leaders should focus on diplomacy and talk more with both Moscow and Kiev to put an end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in a peaceful way, he said. Ankara has always “believed in the power of dialogue and diplomacy,” Erdogan said, pointing to Turkey’s mediating efforts in both the Istanbul grain deal between Moscow and Kiev, and the recent prisoner exchange between the two sides. He added that individual efforts of world leaders are not enough.
“The UN could not end the war, could not stop the bloodshed and it could not find a solution to the energy and food crisis,” he said, calling on other world leaders to join Turkey in its diplomatic efforts. Erdogan noted that he would call Putin and Zelensky and continue his “telephone diplomacy.” There must be a “joint effort of all world leaders,” and “everyone” should be talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, to “open the door” for diplomacy, he said. Any “negative approaches” to the two leaders will “not bring the result we expect,” but will only bring more death and destruction, Erdogan warned. Since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the US and its allies in Europe and elsewhere have supported Kiev through financial and military aid. Moscow has repeatedly warned that arms deliveries to Kiev will only prolong the conflict. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are among the few Western leaders who have remained in contact with Putin since the start of the operation, though their efforts so far have not brought about any diplomatic breakthroughs. Turkey has maintained contact with both Moscow and Kiev throughout the hostilities. It condemned the use of force by Russia, but refused to take part in the international sanctions on Moscow. Ankara was also involved in the UN-brokered deal to allow the export of grain from Ukrainian ports, which was agreed on between Russia and Ukraine in July. Earlier this week, Erdogan told US news program PBS NewsHour that Moscow seeks to end the conflict as soon as possible. He also said that Russia cannot be allowed to keep the territories it has gained since February. When Turkish finance minister Nureddin Nebati this week announced plans to encourage households to convert their gold holdings into Turkish liras in a bid to shore up Turkish central bank reserves, he was targeting people like Esra G. Ms. G., whose last name has been abbreviated to preserve her anonymity, has had a life-long troubled relationship with gold. When she was barely three years old, her distaste for it as an adornment was already so strong that she dumped all her gold rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings into the Bosporus.
Nonetheless, Ms. G. grew up to be an avid collector of gold, including an assortment of five- and 10-gram Credit Suisse coins. As a young woman, Ms. G. preferred antique silver jewelry and wouldn’t wear gold but kept her gold collection under her pillow. Turkey's yearly inflation climbed by the fastest pace in 19 years, jumping to 36.08% in December, official data showed on Monday. The Turkish Statistical Institute said the consumer price index increased by 13.58% in December from the previous month, further eroding peoples' purchasing power. The yearly increase in food prices was 43.8%, the data showed.
The yearly inflation rate was the highest since September 2002. Inflation has been rising in the country while the Turkish lira has been slumping to record lows after the country's central bank _ under pressure from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan _ cut a key interest rate by 5 percentage points in September. The weakened lira has made imports, fuel and everyday items more expensive and has left many in the country of some 84 million struggling to buy food and other basic goods. Many have been purchasing foreign currencies and gold to protect their savings. Last month, Erdogan announced measures to safeguard lira deposits against volatility after the Turkish currency hit an all-time low of 18.36 against the dollar. The lira rebounded following the announcement but has since lost some of those gains. The lira depreciated by around 44% against the dollar last year. Erdogan insists on lowering borrowing costs to boost growth, even though economists argue that higher interest rates is the way to tame soaring prices. Also on Monday, Erdogan announced that Turkey's exports increased by 32.9% in 2021, to reach ''a record'' $225.4 billion. Addressing a group of exporters in a televised speech, Erdogan said the figure amounted to a 7.8% narrowing of Turkey's trade deficit. Turkey would revise its export target for 2022 to $250 billion, he added. Meanwhile, the independent Inflation Research Group, made up of academics and former government officials, put the yearly inflation rate at a much higher 83%. It said consumer prices rose by 19.35% in December compared with November. One hundred trillion dollars—that’s 100,000,000,000,000—is the largest denomination of currency ever issued. 1 The Zimbabwean government issued the Z$100 trillion bill in early 2009, among the last in a series of ever higher denominations distributed as inflation eroded purchasing power. When Zimbabwe attained independence in 1980, Z$2, Z$5, Z$10 and Z$20 denominations circulated, replaced three decades later by bills in the thousands and ultimately in the millions and trillions as the government sought to prop up a weakening economy amid spiralling inflation. Shortly after the Z$100 trillion note began circulating, the Zimbabwean dollar was officially abandoned in favour of foreign currencies. From 2007 to 2008, the local legal tender lost more than 99.9 percent of its value (Hanke 2008). This marked a reversal of fortune from independence, when the value of one Zimbabwe dollar equalled US$1.54. Zimbabwe’s extreme and uncontrollable inflation made it the first—and so far only—country in the 21st century to experience a hyperinflationary episode. Hyperinflation devastates people and countries. Zimbabwe, once considered the breadbasket of Africa, was reduced to the continent’s beggar within a few years; its citizens were pushed into poverty and often forced to emigrate. The country’s experience shows how a relatively self-sustaining nation at independence fell victim to out-of-control inflation and the severe erosion of wealth. The causes of Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation, its effects and how it was stopped are particularly instructive. In his seminal work, Phillip Cagan defined hyperinflation as beginning when monthly inflation rates initially exceed 50 percent. It ends in the month before the rate declines below 50 percent, where it must remain for at least a year (Cagan 1956). Zimbabwe entered the hyperinflationary era in March 2007; the period ended when the nation abandoned its currency in 2009 (Chart 1). Bouts of hyperinflation are mostly accompanied by rapidly increasing money supply needed to finance large fiscal deficits arising from war, revolution, the end of empires and the establishment of new states. Hyperinflation, as Cagan defined it, initially appeared during the French Revolution, when the monthly rate peaked at 143 percent in December 1795. More than a century elapsed before hyperinflation appeared again. During the 20th century, hyperinflation occurred 28 times, often associated with the monetary chaos involving two world wars and the collapse of communism (Bernholz 2003). Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation of 2007–09 represents the world’s 30th occurrence as well as the continent’s second bout (after a 1991–94 episode in the Congo).
It is widely expected that a further cut of 100 basis points to 14 percent will follow this week. The policy differs from all economic textbooks. Normally, policymakers try to curb inflation with interest rate hikes. The inflation rate in Turkey is already above 20 percent. Turks took to the streets last weekend to protest the rising cost of living.
Lora Smith ANKARA, August 12 -- The Turkish state can’t tolerate the gains by people of North and East Syria, or the democratic system they built, so they aim to invade the area under the guise of a “safe zone”. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu continued to issue threats of invasion against North and East Syria. Cavuşoğlu said: “What we say about the east of the Euphrates is this: We will either clear the area together, or Turkey will enter and clear away the terrorists. Like they were cleared from Afrin, like ISIS was cleared from Jarablus, we will clear the east of the Euphrates from YPG and PKK. Whatever the price may be. There is no change in our resolve here. We won’t let the US delay things like Manbij. We say this clearly, and we told them the same.” The Turkish state can’t tolerate the gains by people of North and East Syria, or the democratic system they built, so they aim to invade the area under the guise of a “safe zone”. North and East Syrian officials see Turkey’s insistence on a 32 km deep safe zone as an attempt to massacre the peoples of the region and to invade the area as a whole, and counter-propose patrols along the border under supervision by the international coalition, outside residential areas. North and East Syrian officials warn that a possible Turkish state attack will make the control of thousands of ISIS members in prisons difficult and risk subjecting the region and the world to terrorist attacks. They also say they will resist to the end. Linda Kim NEW YORK, August 8 -- Islamic State is reinvesting in its ability to carry out sophisticated operations from Europe to South Asia by the end of 2019, a United Nations report has found. “The ISIS covert network in the Syrian Arab Republic is spreading, and cells are being established at the provincial level, mirroring that which has been happening since 2017 in Iraq,” the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team said. In the near term, the Islamic State will rely on locally-planned attacks in “unexpected locations,” similar to the Easter bombings carried out in Sri Lanka, they assessed. But the report, presented to the Security Council in July, warns that externally-planned attacks in high profile locations could ramp up as early as four months from now. “ISIS will reinvest in the capacity to direct and facilitate complex international attacks when it has the secure space and time to do so. The current abatement of such attacks, therefore, may not last long, possibly not even until the end of 2019,” it said. Tens of thousands of Islamic State loyalists and their children are now corralled in desert camps in northeastern Syria, where they were detained by US-backed Kurdish forces following the surrender of the last pocket of the caliphate in March. Neighboring Turkey has now threatened to seize the area from the Kurds – raising the possibility that some of Islamic State’s most hardcore members could escape. Get out of jail The UN report estimates that up to 30,000 foreign nationals who traveled to Syria and Iraq to join the caliphate are still alive, whether at large in the region, detained or relocated to Europe. These caliphate veterans now pose a radicalization threat, whether in prison or out. “The radicalization of criminals within the prison system remains a critical concern in Europe, where prisons provide a venue for inmates afflicted by poverty, marginalization, frustration, low self-esteem and violence to be influenced by radical ideologies,” it said. “In addition, some of the first wave of returnees from the ‘caliphate’ to be imprisoned are expected to be released in the coming year.” The monitoring team which carried out the report emphasized that data on the exact number of repatriations of foreign fighters to Europe and other regions remains sketchy. Approximately 2,000 nationals from the former Soviet states are now detained in northeastern Syria. Central Asian nations including Tajikistan and Uzbekistan cite their own citizens returning from the battlefields of Syria and Iraq are currently their primary terrorist threat. Central Asian migrant laborer communities in Russia and Turkey are also seen as particularly vulnerable to recruitment. The report also flags South and Southeast Asia as prime targets for Islamic State returnees, as evidenced by both successful and thwarted attacks. “Two troubling trends observed are the targeting of places of worship and the continued prominence of women in operational activities,” it said. Both returnees and attempted jihadists have been linked to attacks in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. ‘Start-up’ jihad Islamic State has been resourceful in financing its activities post-caliphate, the report found, using small and medium-sized business to generate revenue, offering “seed money” to new affiliates and stashing valuable antiquities for a rainy day. “One Member State described ISIS affiliates being treated in a manner similar to start-up businesses, receiving ‘seed money’ and advice from head office,” it said. The group is estimated to have anywhere from US$50-300 million at its disposal to carry out its activities. However, “the group is adapting to its insurgency role with far fewer demands on its financial holdings.” The UN investigators learned that monetary transfers persist, with family members of active militants using personal or small business bank accounts in countries neighboring a given conflict zone – the cash then passed on by courier. Mobile payment applications and crypto currencies are cited as ripe for exploitation. A special ISIS unit – the ministry of “natural resources” – is believed to be responsible for the sale of antiquities which the group had excavated in Iraq and Syria. “Details of traded antiquities, as well as the current location of any stored antiquities, are assessed to be known only by ISIS leaders.” Preserving that leadership, at the top of which is self-proclaimed caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remains the primary concern of the group. Lora Smith BRUSSELS, July 16 -- European Union foreign ministers agreed to freeze most high-level contacts with Turkey and cut the flow of funds to the country. While holding back for now on sanctions that could target Turkish companies involved in offshore drilling in the eastern Mediterranean. The decision, signed off at a meeting of EU foreign policy chiefs in Brussels, calls for suspending negotiations on an aviation agreement with Ankara, halting scheduled ministerial meetings, reducing financial aid and inviting the European Investment Bank to review sovereign-backed lending to Turkey. ANKARA, July 12 -- Turkey’s Defense Ministry has posted photos of the first batch of the Russian-made S-400 missile system’s equipment delivered to the country. Official photos of the Turkish Defense Ministry show several prime movers and a transporter-loader of the S-400 surface-to-air missile system. Turkey’s Defense Ministry announced on Friday that the first batch of components has been delivered to the Murted Air Base near Ankara under the S-400 deal. Activities to deliver Russia’s S-400 air defense systems to Turkey scheduled for Friday are over, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said. "According to the plan, the third [Russian] plane has landed, the activities scheduled for today are over. The process will continue in the coming days," Anadolu Agency quotes him as saying. The minister noted that "in parallel with S-400 supplies, work to train personnel to install and operate these systems will continue in Turkey and Russia." He added that Ankara "continued to look into the feasibility of purchasing US Patriot missile systems." According to the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, the remaining components will be delivered in the near future. S-400 deal The first reports about the talks between Russia and Turkey on the deliveries of S-400 air defense missile systems came in November 2016. In September 2017, Russia confirmed that that the relevant contract had been signed. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar earlier said that the deployment of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems could begin in October 2019. In December 2017, CEO of Russia’s state hi-tech corporation Rostec Sergei Chemezov noted that the S-400 deal was worth $2.5 bln. The United States has been making attempts to prevent Turkey from purchasing Russia's S-400 missile systems. Washington earlier warned that it might deny Turkey the purchase of F-35 fighter-bombers, if Ankara pressed ahead with the S-400 deal. The S-400 ‘Triumf’ is the most advanced long-range air defense missile system that went into service in Russia in 2007. It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range missiles, and can also be used against ground installations. The S-400 can engage targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km. Author: Lora Smith ANKARA, July 1 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Russia’s S-400 air defense systems will be delivered to Turkey within the next ten days, Turkey’s NTV television reported on Monday. According to the TV channel, Erdogan was speaking on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan, answering reporters’ questions after negotiations with his US counterpart Donald Trump. Erdogan was also certain that Turkey would be able to resolve disagreements with the US caused by the S-400 deal. Speaking at the final news conference at the G20 summit on Saturday, the Turkish president said that Washington would not impose sanctions on Ankara over the purchase of Russia’s S-400 systems. He also recalled that Ankara was awaiting the delivery of 100 fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets. Relations between Turkey and the United States have deteriorated in recent months because of Ankara’s S-400 deal with Moscow. Washington earlier warned Ankara that the US could refuse to sell F-35 jets to Turkey, if it purchased Russia’s air defense systems. Author: Lora Smith |
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