NEWS, OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Reality Check: The numbers behind the crackdown in Turkey
2. Why Erdogan is entering key elections with a far-right ally
3. Can Erdogan’s economic record help him keep seat amid challenges?
4. Ahead of Turkey’s ‘biggest opinion poll’
5. Turkey elections 2018: everything you need to know
6. Jailed Kurdish leader may hold key in Turkish elections
7. The impact of Turkey’s state of emergency
8. The Turkish government has issued an arrest warrant for the father of an NBA basketball player from Turkey.
9. Former PM, accused of having ties with Turkish mafia, campaigns for Erdogan
10. Demirtaş’ TV speech from prison
11. Turkey’s jailed pro-Kurdish candidate in first TV appearance for 20 months
12. HDP’s preliminary report on the attack in Suruç
13. Turkey’s elections according to the experts: a primer
14. Turkey election: Four dead in clash as pre-poll tension rises
15. How My Father’s Ideas Helped the Kurds Create a New Democracy
16. Turkey’s Erdogan says will lift state of emergency if re-elected
17. The BBC just insulted democracy with its video about Turkey’s upcoming elections
18. Turkish Presidential Challenger Seeks Kurdish Vote as Erdogan Courts Nationalists
19. Is Erdogan losing his grip on Turkey?
20. Turkish President Erdoğan calls pro-Kurdish HDP’s candidate Demirtaş ‘top terrorist’
21. President Erdogan is as dangerous as President Trump
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NEWS, OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Reality Check: The numbers behind the crackdown in Turkey
18 June 2018/BBC
Almost two years after a failed military coup in Turkey, the country remains under a state of emergency. What has happened during the crackdown? Turkey is holding presidential and parliamentary elections on 24 June. There will be a second-round run-off for the presidency on 8 July if no candidate wins more than half the vote in the first round.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-44519112?intlink_from_url=&link_location=live-reporting-story
2. Why Erdogan is entering key elections with a far-right ally
18 June 2018/Al Jazeera
The unconventional alliance between Erdogan’s AK Party and MHP seeks to make him Turkey’s first executive president.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/06/180618120558235.html
3. Can Erdogan’s economic record help him keep seat amid challenges?
18 June 2018/Al Jazeera
The economy will be a decisive factor as Turkish voters head to parliamentary and presidential polls on June 24.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/06/erdogan-economic-record-seat-challenges-180616112854184.html
4. Ahead of Turkey’s ‘biggest opinion poll’
18 June 2018/Hurriyet Daily News
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently declared that there is “no Kurdish issue” in Turkey but Kurds have a “PKK problem.” Last week, Erdoğan announced that he would approve capital punishment for the HDP’s presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş if parliament makes such a decision
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/opinion/nuray-mert/ahead-of-turkeys-biggest-opinion-poll-133416
5. Turkey elections 2018: everything you need to know
18 June 2018/The Guardian
Erdoğan is running for president, of course, but who else is in the running for control?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/18/turkey-elections-2018-everything-you-need-to-know
6. Jailed Kurdish leader may hold key in Turkish elections
18 June 2018/Reuters
The outcome of Turkey’s elections on Sunday could depend on a jailed presidential candidate’s sway over voters more than 1,200 km (750 miles) away in the country’s largely Kurdish southeast.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-turkey-election-kurds/jailed-kurdish-leader-may-hold-key-in-turkish-elections-idUKKBN1JE0LX
7. The impact of Turkey’s state of emergency
18 June 2018/BBC News (VIDEO)
Presidential and parliamentary elections are being held under a national state of emergency.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-44516042/who-s-been-affected-by-turkey-s-state-of-emergency
8. The Turkish government has issued an arrest warrant for the father of an NBA basketball player from Turkey.
18 June 2018/BBC News
Turkey wants to imprison the father of Enes Kanter, a basketball player, on terrorism charges. They say he has been in touch with members of a banned organisation.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c6gzmx3zld1t/turkey-election-2018
9. Former PM, accused of having ties with Turkish mafia, campaigns for Erdogan
18 June 2018/The Region
Less than a week prior to the presidential election the Justice and Development party (AKP) held an election rally in Yenikapi square, Istanbul. Former prime Minister Tansu Ciller, only female Prime Minister of Turkey who was notorious to her militaristic approach to the Kurdish Question, took to the stage to express her support for Erdogan.
http://theregion.org/article/13667-former-pm-accused-of-having-ties-with-turkish-mafia-campaigns-for-erdogan
10. Demirtaş’ TV speech from prison
17 June 2018/People’s Democratic Party (HDP)
The election speech of our Presidential candidate Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş was aired on the TRT News channel. The English translation of the speech is available below.
http://www.hdp.org.tr/en/english/news/news-from-hdp/demirtas-tv-speech-from-prison/12166
11. Turkey’s jailed pro-Kurdish candidate in first TV appearance for 20 months
17 June 2018/Reuters
The jailed presidential candidate for Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition made his first television appearance in over a year and a half on Sunday, giving a campaign speech ahead of next week’s elections.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-election-kurds/turkeys-jailed-pro-kurdish-candidate-in-first-tv-appearance-for-20-months-idUSKBN1JD0VT
12. HDP’s preliminary report on the attack in Suruç
16 June 2018/People’s Democratic Party (HDP)
While the information provided to our delegation by eyewitnesses is appalling, the hate speech used by the pro-government media and the discourse of the government is just as troubling. We call upon all bar associations and human rights organizations, especially the Human Rights Foundation, to conduct an investigation and to continue to follow the incident.
http://www.hdp.org.tr/en/english/news/news-from-hdp/hdps-preliminary-report-on-the-attack-in-suruc/12167
13. Turkey’s elections according to the experts: a primer
16 June 2018/The Region
The Region has gathered the positions of experts in some of the worlds leading think-tanks to provide you with a primer demonstrating the crucial importance of Turkey’s elections.
http://theregion.org/article/13657-turkey-039-s-elections-according-to-experts-primer
14. Turkey election: Four dead in clash as pre-poll tension rises
15 June 2018/BBC News
Four people are dead and eight wounded in southern Turkey, after election campaigning descended into violence.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44486003?intlink_from_url=&link_location=live-reporting-story
15. How My Father’s Ideas Helped the Kurds Create a New Democracy
15 June 2018/The New York Review of Books
One mild spring day in Vermont in April 2004, my father, the historian and philosopher Murray Bookchin, was chatting with me…He paused, and out of the blue disclosed what seemed an odd piece of news: “Apparently,” he said, “the Kurds have been reading my work and are trying to implement my ideas.” He said it so casually and off-handedly that it was as if he didn’t quite believe it himself.
https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/06/15/how-my-fathers-ideas-helped-the-kurds-create-a-new-democracy/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NYR%20Tzaddiks%20superbugs%20artists%20and%20heroes&utm_content=NYR%20Tzaddiks%20superbugs%20artists%20and%20heroes+CID_e972800d30653bf23d21e89a96588a3c&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_term=My%20Father%20and%20the%20Kurds
16. Turkey’s Erdogan says will lift state of emergency if re-elected
14 June 2018/Middle East Eye
Ten days before voters head to the polls, Turkish president promises to end measure repeatedly extended since 2016 coup attempt
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkeys-erdogan-says-lift-state-emergency-if-re-elected-1874624172
17. The BBC just insulted democracy with its video about Turkey’s upcoming elections
13 June 2018/ The Canary
In a recent video about Turkey’s 24 June elections, the BBC left out any sense of meaningful context. And in doing so, it insulted millions of people who’ve been fighting against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s consistent attacks on peace and democracy.
https://www.thecanary.co/trending/2018/06/13/the-bbc-just-insulted-democracy-with-its-video-about-turkeys-upcoming-elections/
18. Turkish Presidential Challenger Seeks Kurdish Vote as Erdogan Courts Nationalists
12 June 2018/Voice of America
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a military offensive against Kurdish separatist headquarters in Iraq. The action comes as Erdogan targets nationalist voters in elections later this month. “We will drain the terror swamp in Qandil” Erdogan said on Monday.
https://www.voanews.com/a/turkish-presidential-challenger-seeks-kurdish-vote-as-erdogan-courts-nationalists/4435904.html
19. Is Erdogan losing his grip on Turkey?
12 June 2018/The Washington Post
Demonstrations and political protests are banned under a state of emergency, and members of the pro-Kurdish opposition party are in jail. The new election law also allows members of the security forces to be stationed at polling stations or move ballots for “security reasons.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/06/12/is-erdogan-losing-his-grip-on-turkey/?noredirect=on&__twitter_impression=true
20. Turkish President Erdoğan calls pro-Kurdish HDP’s candidate Demirtaş ‘top terrorist’
12 June 2018/Stockholm Center for Freedom
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who on Monday said pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş was deserving of the death penalty for his role in 2014 protest deaths, on Tuesday called Demirtaş the “top terrorist,” the Cumhuriyet daily reported.
https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-president-erdogan-calls-pro-kurdish-hdps-candidate-demirtas-top-terrorist/
21. President Erdogan is as dangerous as President Trump
30 May 2018/ZaherBaher.com
http://zaherbaher.com/2018/05/30/president-erdogan-is-as-dangerous-as-president-trump/
Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
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