Turkey News

As a follow-up to the article I recommended above this article summarises something of the history of ethnic classifications and their political interpretation, misuse and dangers in the light of more recent internal repression by the Turkish government;
www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/2010s/2018/no-1365-may-20...

We should add to these internal dimensions of the conflict in Turkey the growing near-military skirmishes over energy resources in the Mediterranean and migration border clashes between Turkey and Greece, both NATO countries.

There hasn't been much interest in following up on my earlier linked material dealing with the growing repression in Turkey but maybe Erdogan's current state visit to the UK and the desperation of the UK government for commercial and military deals in the light of 'Brexit' and the USA/Iran confrontations as mentioned here, might reignite some interest and contributions from others;
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/13/theresa-may-under-fire-...

In today's world I'm not sure how much value there is in a competition for ''the most dangerous man in the world'' but certainly Trump and Erdogan would qualify for inclusion on a very long list of the current ultra-nationalist leaders around the world dragging us into an increasing number of dangerous regional wars. I have posted a number of links to articles about Turkey from my post No91 on recently without getting much interest on this site so maybe this contribution from someone I've had my disagreements with on other texts might engender a bit more interest now:
https://libcom.org/library/president-erdogan-dangerous-president-trump

Erdogan was sworn in as the new 'all-powerful' President of Turkey yesterday (amidst the continuation of mass sackings of public employees and media shut downs) with 22 heads of state scheduled to attend the ceremony but none it seems from leading western and Nato powers such as the USA, Germany France or the UK - a sign of the slowly shifting alliances from the fallout of recent middle-eastern wars?

So now that Trump has increased tariffs on Turkeys steel production amidst continuing diplomatic rows between the two leaders on top of Turkeys ailing economy things are deteriorating fast and God wont help Erdogan out with this one. More details here:
https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2018/08/11/turkey-total-meltdown/
and more along these lines from a liberal Guardian economist here;
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/12/turkey-crisis-widen-and-op...

I don't share the politics of the 'Weekly Worker' but this short article was quite useful in providing some historical background to the relationship between the state and private business interests in terms of private and public debt issues prior to the current crisis with the Turkish currency;
https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1216/nurtured-by-the-state/

I've provided a number of earlier linked articles under the Turkey news heading which others might find of interest.

Erdogan's pleas over the threat to Idlib fall on the deaf ears of his recent international 'friends'. See here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/erdogan-calls-idlib-ceasefire-teh...

So keeping this particular news line connected see also;
https://libcom.org/news/no-more-fake-charges-20092018

Seems the strained relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia just got another twist with the disappearance of Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul. Despite accusations of Saudi 'human rights' abuse in this respect, rather laughably in the case of the AKP and friends, Erdogan is in no position just now to make any permanent break with the Saudis.
Latest here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/jamal-khashoggi-case-latest-updat...

This ongoing tale of regional rivalries in the 'middle-east' is very relevant to more recent developments in Turkey itself. See here:
https://libcom.org/blog/imperialist-manoeuvring-behind-khashoggi-affair-...

Turkey's recent maneuvers in the inter-imperialist wars of the middle east and the use of 'proxies' gets extended further east across the Mediterranean and more complex still as this report suggests:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/15/exclusive-2000-syrian-troo...
and also laughably the Turkish government has complained to the Egyptian government about it's suppression of press freedom after Egyptian security forces raided the Cairo based Turkish news agency!

There is some more useful detail following my posted link above relating to the complex issues around exploration of the gas supplies in the Eastern Mediterranean and other historic conflicts and ideological factors here:
https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1282/a-new-adventure/

And the Guardian now reports that France has agreed to lend Greece a war ship as tensions between Greece, Cyprus and Turkey hot up again over these issues.

Another useful short summary of some of the issues mentioned in my post #104 above here;
https://worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/2020/2020s/no-1387-ma...
Can now add the further manipulation of the Syrian refugee crisis between Turkey and the EU.

Thus now the latest foray of the Turkish state military to Iraqi Kurdistan alongside their ongoing military war in Libya, KAF statement here:
https://libcom.org/forums/middle-east/we-condemn-turkish-state-attack-in...
I've tried to keep this thread going as there is a useful trail of linked texts charting the twists and turns of Turkey's regional imperialist aims and adventures not unrelated to it's internal struggles.

Following up post#104 tensions increase over rival naval military exercises between Greece and Turkey and their associated allies in the Mediterranean region as reported here:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53892896

More here analysing the Greek/Turkey conflict from a broadly international anti-capitalist perspective:
https://allianceofmesocialists.org/the-greek-turkey-imperialist-conflict...
Turkeys ambitions in the wider middle-east and near east also now involved the the recent flare-up of old ethno-nationalist state conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan (see latest news on Aljazeera online) and this news story here:
https://freedomnews.org.uk/azerbaijan-anarchist-detained-for-making-anti...
Plus this news story connecting the possible use by Turkey (as previously elsewhere by Russia) of state contracted private armies in the same conflicts:
https://theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/28/syrian-rebel-fighters-prepare-...
Edit: Adding this as well in an effort to keep these various items related to the Turkish states regional imperialist ambitions together.
https://libcom.org/news/anti-war-statement-azerbaijani-leftist-youth-021...
Also this article on the Armenian 'diaspora':
https://theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/03/armenian-diaspora-feels-pull-o...

Not a bad summary of the tightrope that the Turkish state is walking in it's various foreign 'adventures' here:
https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1318/more-blood-and-tears

Also there is this very useful background text highlighting the overlap with Iranian interests in the region and the complexities of other competing interests between Russia, Turkey, Iran etc in the region;
https://dw.com/en/iran-fears-spillover-from-nagorno-karabakh/a-55250556
Thanks to ajj for that.

A very useful longer article here adding material to that in my post #110 above:
http://www.leftcom.org/articles/2020-10-15/nagorno-karabakh-war-for-work...

A longer article which summarises recent developments and draws together the links between internal political/economic crisis and risky imperialist ambitions by the Turkish state here:
https://www.leftcom.org/en/artcles/2020-11-09/turkey-s-imperialist-aggre...

Further clashes between the PKK and KDP forces in the north of Iraq against a background of Turkish state military involvement reported here:
https://al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/12/peshmerga-krg-kdp-kurdist...

Can Dundarn, not a radical but a journalist sentenced to jail whilst in exile for exposing the truth about the Turkish state's early involvement in the Syrian War. Not the first and probably not the last. reported here:
https://aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/23/turkey-sentences-exiled-journalist...

State crimes and criminals past and present:
https://theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/25/turkeys-mobsters-step-out-of-s...

A short critical left communist comment on the recent university student protests sparked off by the political appointment of a new Rector here:
http://www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2021-02-26/student-protests-in-turkey...
I suppose essentially correct in it's democratic reformist classification but in it's style heavy on the denunciation and thin or weak in supporting analysis about the role of the university, the class relation of students there and the divisions between the conservative and liberal bourgeoise in relation to the oppression of minorities. Doesn't really pose any alternative communist practice in relation to oppressed minorities within the everyday class struggle. Too short for that but then not sure who it was aimed at - doubt it would get much feedback as a leaflet distributed to the university students but who knows! There is better stuff elsewhere on the CWO website.