How others see us

On the eve of Britain’s “Brexit” vote, Turkish President Erdogan snagged a bit of the Euroskeptic spotlight for himself, suggesting that Turkey should have its own referendum to decide whether to continue its decades-long bid to join the E.U. Erdogan told the state-run Anadolu news agency, “We can stand up and ask the people just like the British are doing.” Last week, the question of Turkey’s potential accession to the bloc became an unexpected talking point in the run-up to the U.K. vote, as “Leave” campaigners warned against Turks flooding Britain’s shores.  (Politico, International Business Times, Express)

—

On Sunday, Istanbul’s Trans Pride march was marred by tear gas and rubber bullets, as police enforced a ban on the LGBT event amid security concerns. Earlier in the week, ultra-nationalist groups such as the Alperin Hearths had vowed to disrupt the rally, and three suspected members of the Islamic State were detained for an alleged plot to attack the march. Still, smaller events took place across Istanbul throughout the week, despite another ban on the larger upcoming pride rally Sunday. (VICE, Reuters, NBC News, BBC)

—

Back to Europe—another diplomatic row was sparked this week as a senior German defense official was denied permission to tour Turkey’s Incirlik airbase, where 250 German troops are stationed. Turkey offered no official reason for the denial, but tensions between the two countries have been high since Germany’s lower house of parliament passed a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide several weeks ago. Mevlut Cavusoğlu, Turkey’s foreign minister, only offered that the official’s visit would be “seen as inappropriate.” German troops and aircraft are at the base as partners in the coalition against the Islamic State. (Deutsche Welle, Reuters, BBC, RT)

—

Progress has been made, however, on one diplomatic front: Repairing relations with Israel. A draft agreement on normalizing relations will be reviewed in Europe on Sunday by delegations from Turkey and Israel. The rapprochement comes six years after Israeli commandos killed Turks aboard an aid ship en-route to Gaza, which prompted a severing of diplomatic ties. While the details of the final document aren’t yet public, reports suggest that Israel has agreed to apologize for the raid and partially lift the economic blockade against Gaza, a core condition for Turkey’s cooperation. (New York Times, Haaretz, Times of Israel, Reuters)

—

Other Turkish stories that captured English-language press this week:
 

– Two journalists and an academic sit in pre-trial detention after being arrested for supporting the pro-Kurdish publication Ozgur Gundem. 

– A British lecturer at Bilgi University was acquitted of terrorism charges three months after being deported for possessing pro-Kurdish leaflets.

– A Turkish court sentenced a man to a year of prison for Facebook post depicting President Erdogan as Gollum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. 

– Turkish parliament passes law giving immunity to security forces fighting in southeast against Kurdish militants.

– Pope Francis visits Armenia Friday, exacerbating tension between Vatican and Turkey.

– Turkish government reshuffles judges, playing with “independent” court system.

– Turkic regions of Tartarstan suffer from Russia-Turkey impasse.

– Turkey’s football side defeats Czech Republic, but is still eliminated from Euro 2016.

Opinion & Commentary on Turkish News

P24’s own Yavuz Baydar, in the Huffington Post, on Erol Onderoglu’s detention: “Journalism gagged means not only an end to its democratic transition, but also all bridges of communication with its allies collapsing into darkness.”

Elif Shafak, in The Guardian, on Turkey’s LGBT Community: “Istanbul Pride is not only important for Turkey’s LGBT community, but is also a beacon of hope across the Middle East with its message of overcoming homophobia, sexism and misogyny.”

Zvi Bar’el, in Haaretz, on Israel and Turkey’s Rapprochement: “Erdogan and the current Israeli government are in harmony over the need to subordinate democracy to the service of the regime.”