Turkey's election

AK all over again

It was an impressive victory for Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) party. What will he do with it?

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Readers' comments




which drag are u on!!! "Imperialist forces are using the P.K.K" if it was not for imperialist forces of NATO turkey would not have been able to remain in Kurdistan for 1 day.. Kurds see the red flag as a occuping flag under which thousands of villages destroyed and millions of Kurds killed..so we have no respect for this flag..we only raise our beloved flag of Kurdistan, the green, red, while and yellow sun in the middle!


BEKS & .Fahrettin Tahir are here to spread Turkish institutions propaganda..no one belive them.

They economist readers are like turks and believe that a Turk can talk on behalf of Kurds!!!! this is like asking Gadafi to speak on behalf of rebeled people of Bin gazi .

guys no one take u seriously..


Turks still think they live in their ancestors’ barbarian time when they came to Mesopotamia some 800 years ago and destroyed the Islamic civilisation and turned the region into dark ages.

Turkish republic was based on barbarism and massacre of minorities. To see how brutal the Turkey’s founding father murderer Ataturk was see the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dersim_Massacre

Turkey is a rough country just like Libya and Yemen if not worse, the Turks vicious circles are controlling judicial, election and Army. They appoint and remove whoever they like ..Kurds tried to abandon weapon and choose a democratic path this time, despite Turkish institution’s intimidation, the Kurdish party BDP managed to double its seat in Turkish parliament however 7 of its elected MPS were not allowed to enter parliament under excuse of being a member of PKK. Something European commission disapproved and asked Turkey to rectify. Because all these Kurdish candidates said was that Turkey is treating Kurds as second class citizens and this should change.

By banning Kurdish MPs, Turkey has chosen a path of war instead of reconciliation with Kurds. In which case Kurds should change their demands too from autonomy to two state solution like Israel and Palestine. Kurds will fight injustice until they kick out all the occupier Turks from our beloved land Kurdistan. Death to oppressors and viva Kurdistan.


Every day Turkey is approaching a physical division fast. Turkey has been divided economically, socially, culturally, religiously, and racially by Mr Erdogan and AKP's policies since 2003.

Turkey now is at the brink of physical division and this is real.

One of the reasons that Turkey approaching physical separation is Mr Erdogan and AKP driven policies and the totalitarian and autocratic pressure on the elements of the state such as Judiciary, Policing etc.

A Turkish court today rejected two newly elected MPs Mr Haberal and Balbay's relase from custody in which so many people have been waiting their ends. The court justifies its decision by claiming that the evidences have not been gathered so far and Mr Haberal and Mr Balbay's release may jeopardize the investigation, hence they cannot be take their seats in the parliament.

Mr Balbay and Mr Haberal have been elected as MPs with the Republic Peoples Party CHP and Mr Erdogan and AKP have hinted that even if they are elected as MPs they will not be given any seats in the parliament. Mr Erdoagan and AKP's wishes becoming to be true. Is is surprise? Of course not!

Now CHP is considering boycotting the parliament and Peace and Democracy Party is also considering boycotting the parliament due to Mr Hatip Dicle's case.

Mr Erdoagan and AKP seem to be hiding behind the Judiciary's decison about the decisions but the in Turkey everyone believes the decision of the court now is the wishes of Mr Erdogan and AKP.

The current situation is jeopardizing Turkey's stability and trust-ability and existing chaos is precursor of a major disaster.

It seems that Mr Erdoagna and AKP taking Turkey down into chaos, darkness and backwardness faster and very intense velocity.

It is very sad to see all these happening in Turkey!

But, hey, 50 % of the people wanted to see and live through this.

Do they not?

Heart Of a Lion

I totally agree with you in that Pkk is "of the worst terror organization"
But compared to the terror and horror created by the turkish government it is literarily nothing.

And have you ever considered where the "world full of hate, violence and ignorance" comes from??? Please consider the 'ignorance' in your fallacious reasoning before you reply to a "terrorist"

Heart Of a Lion

It seems like there are a great number of ignorant people posting emotional bullshits who appear to be so easily touched by the reappearing prejudices in turkish media


''He was not trying to scare people he was trying to reduce the number of people he hated.''

I disagree, Fahrettin.

He was ALSO trying to scare people into leaving, with his terrorist snipers for example, indiscriminately picking off civilians who didn't do so.

In this, he was of course, encouraged and inspired by centuries of W.E. Gladstone-type attitudes.

This so-called 'great' and 'liberal', religious bigot of a British Prime Minister advocated ethnic cleansing throughout the 19th century in the Balkans, with his famous ''bag and baggage'' messages of direct, open support for Bulgarian terrorists, or as he might have termed them ''freedom fighters'' with ''freedom'' defined, Mladic-like in his own, allegedly ''Christian'' terms.

Nowadays, were William Ewart around publically advocating such policy with such words, he would (?) (should) find himself in courts on trial for inciting religious hatreds, racisms and actions of criminal, terroristic violence.

Exactly the policy of the Mladics who wish to see anyone they label as ''Turk'' either eliminated, ethnically cleansed, or otherwise driven away, if not picked off by sniper bullets.

Fahrettin Tahir


Terrorist does not mean an evil person you dislike.

Terrorist is a technique of murdering non combatants to scare people into doing what you want them to do.

This the PKK does for example when they throw Molotov cocktails to burn a 6 year old child.

Mladic was mass murdering Moslems to reduce the Moslem population. He was not trying to scare people he was trying to reduce the number of people he hated.

That is genocide, an entirely different crime.


''Those kinds of people never get the urge to wrap themselves in the national flag.''

Sorry, Corduene, you generalise too far.
My dad was - oh absurdities of absurdities - a hyper-Kiwi globe-trottingt nationalist and went to his grave wrapped in an NZ flag, complete with 'Union Jack' in its quarter, as he would have wished.
But why bother with national identity, even more so in a country stolen from its people and claimed for 'Europe' by those not much beyond his grandfather's generation?

Something for you to ponder in the UK's gloriously advanced, 'national' history perhaps?

A Kiwi-Pakeha 'identity'?

Yes, and a fabulous concoction of delusion, self-delusion and folkloric pap.

Good in its place (for tourism?), and perhaps as he would have it, on a rugby pitch, but not serious as a defining concept of the way life 'feels' from within, not at all in my book.

I'm afraid I haven't a clue of what gene in my body is provoking the NZ-bondy-touchy-feelings passed on at my conception, linking me emotionally in immutable biological bonds with all others who hold NZ passports - and that whether I like them or not, want to communicate with them or not.

(Am I not to be allowed to feel more strongly for a 'Kurd', if I want to?)



''Definitely a political solution is most welcome when possible.''

Corduene, the route is clear and the answer is simple.
Large numbers of voters need to vote this way.

Unfortunately on democracy and 'expatriotism', although I continue to pay taxes as due in more than one 'nation' with tax-requiring regulations, I get no vote and have not had one since ancient UK elections - that's just how democratic countries like the UK (one of my nationalities) is, and despite UK taxpayers having paid a small fortune for very much of my education, much to my benefit and pleasure, as well as my acute embarrassment at my 'privilege' and the appalling bum deal today's adolescents get in this respect.
I'd love to be able to vote, but am not allowed to, because most countries have a thing about voting and nationality (sometimes called 'citizenship') but with no consideration whatsoever for voting and tax-paying, as if 18th century Bostonians had never existed or had a victorious political point.

But still, Corduene, to get back to your Kurdish issue, I'd say that there's a huge amount of evidence that the most acute propaganda - as with Armenian nationalists and fascists - based perhaps in some verifiable and justifiable (half-)truths - is unsoundly made shrillest by diasporas.

At least Kurds in Turkey get to vote on the government they want, whether they pay their taxes or not. (And guess what, they get the government that the majority of voters vote for!)

I'm 'diaspora' if you like, but don't give a damn about 'national' labellings - so perhaps 'ex-pat' is better, even if there is little change in reversing to 'pat!.

Just shows how much ludicrous absurdity is accepted by some people as foundational, concrete reality to be measured as immutable identity-obsessed 'fact', rather than the existential reality that 'nationality', besides being bureacratic legalese as a construct (for bureacratic, pigeon-holing minds) is really nothing more than a freely-changeable, abandonable delusion that has no immutable basis. All it needs is emotion and imagination and there you go, you have an identity.

But on your further point, I part company. 'Freedom fighting' that promotes, requires, makes use of indiscriminate violence against anyone deemed in the way by being in the 'wrong' place, is wholly indefensible TERRORISM and deserves the fullest condemnation as such, by anyone human, whether tax-payer or not.

It is in short, 100% CRIMINAL.

Of course, if you remain stereotypically adolescent, this could form something critical for you and perhaps, as in France, need public debate to help you stay within the required delusions of fixed, delineated identity.

In the end, I don't care if anyone else is Kurd, Turk, French, Brit, whatever. What is important for me is their status as other human and my relationship with that. All the better if it is constructive for both in the interchanges that take place.

Great then.

(Hence participation in these sorts of discussion fora).


Definitely a political solution is most welcome when possible. Kurds are tired of violence and they want this conflict to come to an end. Mr Erdogan has shown to be a decent person and he has done some good deeds and I hope he will continue with his good intentions. His biggest test as the economist has pointed out will be re-drafting of the new constitution. There are different people living in turkey and I hope the new constitution will reflect that. If the new constitution fails the structure of turkey then it is possible that things will continue as they are. I hope the priority for Mr Erdogan will be to bring peace and justice to every citizen of his country.

You ought to bear in mind that people who have been living in different coutnries and travelled extensively are the least of people to have nationalistic views. Those kinds of people never get the urge to wrap themselves in the national flag. I can promise you that majority of the time that's the case. But what one may find intolerable and unjust is unnecessary suffering of people. Kurds have had a tough time and for some reason people never take that into account. They all blame pkk for the conflict. Pkk is not the cause but the consequence of this conflict. I hope everyone understands that and most importantly I hope mr erdogan understands that. He is in the position to change things and make them better.


S. Duplessis, I agree with your thinking.

The Economist should place France in the Americas section.
France is clearly an American country with territory in St. Pierre, Miquelon, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Guyane. It also has nationalist fifth columnists elsewhere, of course, like Canada and the USA istelf and potential claims to more like the French discovered 'Malouines', no?

(Back to 6th Grade geography redoublage, as for the President?)

Fahrettin Bey, for many Mladic IS a 'terrorist' (as well as a criminal). He struck terror into them, which was precisely one of his objectives, therefore he is a terrorist (sic).

S. Duplessis

It is disingenuous of the Economist to place this article in the Europe section, particularly since it highlights the increasing political influence of Turkey's Anatolian heartland.


"what was illuminating about the article, for me at least, was that the former military party that was a result of the time of Ataturk, has now switched to Sunni muslim. And this is resulting in Erodogan's popular support.
Erodogan's popular support is coming from Sunni muslims, and Syria's popular revolt is coming from Sunni muslims. What about a Turkish/Syrian Sunni alliance which would rival Iran/Iraq shia alliance?
Where do the kurds fit in?"

You open your eyes and look through the south east part of anatolia via you will see that not only Turkey but also Iraq an Syria can not fit that part without Kurds.You can say no but examine the Akp policy about this part that's why we gave our votes to the Akp...
You see where Kurds fit ot without their permisson who fits where?


(sorry made a mistake in my previous comment)
All people of Anatolia are not Turks I was just using that statement because Turks are a people of Anatolia as well. Thankyou.


Dear EVerybody who is arguing about Kurds-Turks and who is a terrorist or not.

I believe Turkey is the land of all the people who live their. From the war of independence (which was an honour to all of the people of Anatolia). The red on the flag of Turkey represents the blood of all the Anatolian people who died saving this nation.

Napolean said You can kill Turks (in this case all anatolian peoples) but you can never defeat them. That's why now Imperialist forces are using the P.K.K , Kurds and other Anatolian people against the government, which doesn't even provide enough social services to Turks living in Turkey.
Long live the revolutionary path and fully independent turkey.


Dear Corduene

First of all Kurds never had any lands for their own.
PKK is one of the worst terrorist organizations in the world, with no mercy and hate for all humanity, even for their own people. Not to mention the millions of young people they are poisoning in Europe through their drug dealing.

Lastly, Im not going to argue with a terrorist like you, so our discussion ends here. Im not going to sink down to your low world full of hate, violence and ignorance.


Where do the kurds fit in?



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