In headscarf debate, out mounting economic crisis
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Gül Demir-Niki Gamm
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 31, 2008 00:00
ISTANBUL-The ruling Justice andDevelopmentParty survived a closure case while the Ergenekon case, seen by some circles as the reprisal of the ruling party against secularists, became one of the most controversial court cases. Diplomatic traffic continued despite internal turbulences with the visits of British Queen Elizabeth II, Iranian and Syrian presidents
One could say that 2008 was a quiet year for Turkey with few bumps in the road.
Ergenekon, however, burst onto the Turkish scene in 2008, practically driving everything else out of newspapers and TV news reports. On July 14, 2008, 86 people were taken into custody and some were charged with being part of an illegal organization with connections to the security service and the military. Many well-known names were included among those rounded up, including prominent journalists, military officers, politicians, political party leaders and business.
The charges included treason, fomenting unrest in the country and plotting to overthrow the current government. The accused had previously been seen as champions of secularism and the country’s sovereignty. The government, by contrast, was portrayed as religious, Islamist, aiming to eliminate secularism, pro-Western and keen to join the European Union at the expense of Turkey’s independence.
The court case against 46 of those arrested began Oct. 20, although the charges against some of them were not complete. It took three days to read the entire list of accusations that showed a connection among the people named dating back to the 1980s, if not before. It also showed the possibility that the military would stage a coup in 2009 following the fomenting of unrest, such as that which occurred prior to the 1980 military coup.
AKP survives closure case
Prior to the Ergenekon revelations in March, the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Yargıtay, opened a case in the Constitutional Court to close the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP. Seventy-one members of the AKP, including President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, were to be banned from engaging in politics. The court chose, however, to levy a fine against the party.
In general though, there were few changes to the political order as it was neither a general nor local election year. Three of the major players in the AKP resigned from their positions, and in the case of Abdüllatif Şener, also resigned from the party. Deniz Baykal was once again elected general chairman of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP. Ahmet Türk was chosen to replace the general chairman of the Democratic Society Party, or DTP, and forced to perform his obligatory military service.
Local elections will be held in March 2009 and currently have been thrown into doubt due to a decision by the government to reclassify areas that contain 2,000 people or fewer, as non-municipalities. Since then, the Supreme Election Board, or YSK, the Constitutional Court and the government have been at odds. Although the YSK announced the exact dates for the election on Dec. 28, it seems unlikely protests will die down for the time being.
The problem regarding the wearing of a headscarf or some sort of headgear in universities continued during the year. The Clothing Law, passed in 1934 prohibited the wearing of religious symbols, such as robes and turbans, outside of the place where they were part of a person’s duty. A change was proposed for the Constitution that would allow headscarves to be worn, and it was passed and approved by the president. Others appealed the change to the law and the Constitutional Court canceled it, leaving the situation as it was prior to the new law being enacted.
The military carried out an incursion in northern Iraq, using air and land power in an attempt to destroy the infrastructure of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and render the terrorist organization helpless. The air attacks continued throughout the year. There were also two important terrorist attacks in Istanbul. One was an assault on the American Consulate General during which the attackers shot up the guard post at the front entrance to the complex. A second attack was the explosion of bombs in Güngören that left 17 dead and 154 injured. It was a very quiet year in diplomatic affairs with no serious crises or scandals. The high point of the year on the diplomatic social calendar was the visit of British Queen Elizabeth II in May for the first time in 37 years. Other high level visits attracted a different type of attention.
Diplomatic affairs
Recently Turkey has been improving relations with some of the countries in the Middle East, such as Syria and Iran, despite U.S. concern. This approach appears to be aimed at the Kurds, who seem to be slowly moving toward an independent state in northern Iraq that might include sizable Kurdish populations in Syria and Iran.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assam was in Turkey for three days in October while Ahmedinejad, the president of Iran, paid a working visit to Turkey and took advantage of media interest to stress the benefits of good Turkish-Iranian relations. Their visits were the tip of the iceberg in Turkey’s interest in establishing better connections with both countries. Syria, on the other hand, has an interest in Turkey assisting in negotiations with Israel over the disputes between the two. Given the outbreak of "war" between the Hamas faction of the Palestinians and the Israelis this past week, it will be interesting to see what happens next. In fact, over the last two or three years Turkey has made a point of improving relations with the Arab world as a counter balance to its interest in the European Union and its traditional attachment to the United States.
Diplomatic relations between the EU and Turkey have basically remained the same and the December meeting of the European Council produced a document expressing the EU’s dismay at the slowness of the Turkish government in implementing necessary legal changes. Along those lines there was also some criticism of Turkish Foreign Affairs Secretary Ali Babacan for his perceived slowness in advancing relations with the EU.
Outside the norm
Developments in general in Turkey were affected to some extent by the global economic crisis toward the end of the year, leaving people to recalculate their budgets. The ban on cigarette smoking was widened, much to the distress of smokers. From May 19 onward, people in Turkey could no longer smoke in shops, public places, restaurants and cars. In general, people seem to be taking the ban seriously and there are fines for non-compliance.
Health care was eased for those who belong to the Social Insurance for the Self-Employed, or BAĞ-KUR, retirees and those burdened by nursing care. They are no longer required to have a health card and their identity card can be used in its place.
Third generation mobile phones hit the Turkish market in 2008. People with mobile phones who wanted to use a different service provider are now allowed to keep the same number when they switch. This allows people to take advantage of the bargains offered by the various competing mobile telephone operators.
An important change occurred in Turkey’s journalism sector when the Turkish Daily News changed its name to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. At the same time the format underwent a startling, unconventional change Ğ to read the financial section you have to turn it around and upside down and start from the second front page.
Turkey lost some of its illustrious citizens this past year. The world famous opera singer Leyla Gencer, "La diva turca," died, as did others from the world of arts, such as theater performer Suna Pekuysal; poets Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca, İlhan Berk and Erdem Bayazıt; writer and cultural historian Metin And; journalist Cüneyt Koryürek; Turkish Football Federation Chairman Hasan Doğan; and businessman Abidin Cevher Özden, who was better known as "Banker Kastelli." The last two soldiers who participated in the War of Liberation also died.
Ergenekon, however, burst onto the Turkish scene in 2008, practically driving everything else out of newspapers and TV news reports. On July 14, 2008, 86 people were taken into custody and some were charged with being part of an illegal organization with connections to the security service and the military. Many well-known names were included among those rounded up, including prominent journalists, military officers, politicians, political party leaders and business.
The charges included treason, fomenting unrest in the country and plotting to overthrow the current government. The accused had previously been seen as champions of secularism and the country’s sovereignty. The government, by contrast, was portrayed as religious, Islamist, aiming to eliminate secularism, pro-Western and keen to join the European Union at the expense of Turkey’s independence.
The court case against 46 of those arrested began Oct. 20, although the charges against some of them were not complete. It took three days to read the entire list of accusations that showed a connection among the people named dating back to the 1980s, if not before. It also showed the possibility that the military would stage a coup in 2009 following the fomenting of unrest, such as that which occurred prior to the 1980 military coup.
AKP survives closure case
Prior to the Ergenekon revelations in March, the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Yargıtay, opened a case in the Constitutional Court to close the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP. Seventy-one members of the AKP, including President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, were to be banned from engaging in politics. The court chose, however, to levy a fine against the party.
In general though, there were few changes to the political order as it was neither a general nor local election year. Three of the major players in the AKP resigned from their positions, and in the case of Abdüllatif Şener, also resigned from the party. Deniz Baykal was once again elected general chairman of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP. Ahmet Türk was chosen to replace the general chairman of the Democratic Society Party, or DTP, and forced to perform his obligatory military service.
Local elections will be held in March 2009 and currently have been thrown into doubt due to a decision by the government to reclassify areas that contain 2,000 people or fewer, as non-municipalities. Since then, the Supreme Election Board, or YSK, the Constitutional Court and the government have been at odds. Although the YSK announced the exact dates for the election on Dec. 28, it seems unlikely protests will die down for the time being.
The problem regarding the wearing of a headscarf or some sort of headgear in universities continued during the year. The Clothing Law, passed in 1934 prohibited the wearing of religious symbols, such as robes and turbans, outside of the place where they were part of a person’s duty. A change was proposed for the Constitution that would allow headscarves to be worn, and it was passed and approved by the president. Others appealed the change to the law and the Constitutional Court canceled it, leaving the situation as it was prior to the new law being enacted.
The military carried out an incursion in northern Iraq, using air and land power in an attempt to destroy the infrastructure of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and render the terrorist organization helpless. The air attacks continued throughout the year. There were also two important terrorist attacks in Istanbul. One was an assault on the American Consulate General during which the attackers shot up the guard post at the front entrance to the complex. A second attack was the explosion of bombs in Güngören that left 17 dead and 154 injured. It was a very quiet year in diplomatic affairs with no serious crises or scandals. The high point of the year on the diplomatic social calendar was the visit of British Queen Elizabeth II in May for the first time in 37 years. Other high level visits attracted a different type of attention.
Diplomatic affairs
Recently Turkey has been improving relations with some of the countries in the Middle East, such as Syria and Iran, despite U.S. concern. This approach appears to be aimed at the Kurds, who seem to be slowly moving toward an independent state in northern Iraq that might include sizable Kurdish populations in Syria and Iran.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assam was in Turkey for three days in October while Ahmedinejad, the president of Iran, paid a working visit to Turkey and took advantage of media interest to stress the benefits of good Turkish-Iranian relations. Their visits were the tip of the iceberg in Turkey’s interest in establishing better connections with both countries. Syria, on the other hand, has an interest in Turkey assisting in negotiations with Israel over the disputes between the two. Given the outbreak of "war" between the Hamas faction of the Palestinians and the Israelis this past week, it will be interesting to see what happens next. In fact, over the last two or three years Turkey has made a point of improving relations with the Arab world as a counter balance to its interest in the European Union and its traditional attachment to the United States.
Diplomatic relations between the EU and Turkey have basically remained the same and the December meeting of the European Council produced a document expressing the EU’s dismay at the slowness of the Turkish government in implementing necessary legal changes. Along those lines there was also some criticism of Turkish Foreign Affairs Secretary Ali Babacan for his perceived slowness in advancing relations with the EU.
Outside the norm
Developments in general in Turkey were affected to some extent by the global economic crisis toward the end of the year, leaving people to recalculate their budgets. The ban on cigarette smoking was widened, much to the distress of smokers. From May 19 onward, people in Turkey could no longer smoke in shops, public places, restaurants and cars. In general, people seem to be taking the ban seriously and there are fines for non-compliance.
Health care was eased for those who belong to the Social Insurance for the Self-Employed, or BAĞ-KUR, retirees and those burdened by nursing care. They are no longer required to have a health card and their identity card can be used in its place.
Third generation mobile phones hit the Turkish market in 2008. People with mobile phones who wanted to use a different service provider are now allowed to keep the same number when they switch. This allows people to take advantage of the bargains offered by the various competing mobile telephone operators.
An important change occurred in Turkey’s journalism sector when the Turkish Daily News changed its name to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. At the same time the format underwent a startling, unconventional change Ğ to read the financial section you have to turn it around and upside down and start from the second front page.
Turkey lost some of its illustrious citizens this past year. The world famous opera singer Leyla Gencer, "La diva turca," died, as did others from the world of arts, such as theater performer Suna Pekuysal; poets Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca, İlhan Berk and Erdem Bayazıt; writer and cultural historian Metin And; journalist Cüneyt Koryürek; Turkish Football Federation Chairman Hasan Doğan; and businessman Abidin Cevher Özden, who was better known as "Banker Kastelli." The last two soldiers who participated in the War of Liberation also died.