Tracking Turkey for the month of January 2017

Tracking Turkey's downfall into a worse fate than the one Erdogan planned for Syria. 




2 injured after gunmen attack
restaurant in Istanbul – media
At least two people were injured in a gun attack on a restaurant in Istanbul’s Fatih district, local media reports. Police are looking for the suspects who fled the scene, Turkish news outlets say. ...

Turkey orders arrest of hundreds of businessmen in Gulenist purge
Warrants for 380 said to have backed imam who president claims was behind failed coup

From FT
Turkey orders arrest of hundreds of businessmen in Gulenist purge
Warrants for 380 said to have backed imam who president claims was behind failed coup

Al Nusra becomes PKK/PYD pawn
Experts say the west is distracting Turkey by throwing Al Nusra in front of them as a pawn to protect the PKK/PYD, and the recent assaults prove terrorists are working jointly against Turkey
Turkey launched the Euphrates Shield Operation on August 24 in Syria to ensure its border security and combat terrorist groups, such as Daesh and the PKK, lingering near its borders.

The Euphrates Shield Operation has yielded significant results in Al-Bab, pushing forward into the Daesh stronghold. Upon capturing Al-Bab from Daesh, Turkish officials announced that the next target would be Manbij and Afrin in order to clear the area of PKK and PYD terrorists.

The Democratic Union Party (PYD) is a faction of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) terrorist group, which has waged an armed war against Turkey for over 30 years.

Upon announcing the new direction of the Euphrates Shield Operation, Turkey has been encouraged by the U.S. to target Al Nusra instead....

From Yenisafak
Additional footage of gunman behind Istanbul attack released
New footage of the gunman responsible for Istanbul's New Year's Eve terror attack emerges
New footage of the gunman responsible for Istanbul's New Year's Eve terror attack at the Reina nightclub in Ortaköy has emerged.

In footage obtained by Yeni Safak daily, it has been revealed that the gunman left his house at 10:49 p.m.

The identity of the gunman has not been made known to the public. The gunman is allegedly Uyghur, and moved to Konya with his family in November 2016. His family has been taken into custody.....

Jan 12
Terror charges could get HDP leader life in prison
HDP Co-Chair Figen Yüksekdag accused of spreading terrorist propaganda and supporting separatism
Prosecutors are seeking life in prison for an opposition party co-leader on charges of disrupting the unity and territorial integrity of the state and spreading terrorist propaganda, according to judicial sources....

Turkey issues arrest warrants for 243 military members 
in post-coup probe: Anadolu
Turkish prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 243 members of the military in 54 provinces across the country, the state-run Anadolu news agency said on Wednesday, in a probe following July's failed coup.

Anadolu said the suspects were being sought on suspicion they were using Bylock, an encrypted smartphone messaging app that the government says was used by the network of Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based cleric accused by Ankara of orchestrating the attempted coup....

Turkey opposition fears 'dictatorship'
At President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's behest, the ruling AKP party wants to introduce a presidential system in Turkey. The country's political opposition is up in arms.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu doesn't mince his words. The head of the biggest Turkish opposition party, the CHP, believes that the introduction of a presidential system in the country would be tantamount to establishing a "dictatorship."

One thing seems clear: If Turkey were transformed from a parliamentary democracy to a presidential system under Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it would mean the strongman at the head of the country would become even more powerful.

A state of emergency has been in place in Turkey since the attempted coup last July, meaning that President Erdogan is able to rule by decree. At present, parliament has to approve these decrees retrospectively. Under the proposed presidential system, this parliamentary control would be dropped.

Added to this, the head of state would also be the head of government. In this position, Erdogan would be responsible for naming and removing all of his deputies and ministers. He would no longer be represented by the head of parliament but by his vice-presidents, and could decide for himself how many of these there would be.....

Turkey: 2 dead in explosion near courthouse in Izmir
Police killed two assailants, according to Izmir Gov. Erol Ayyildiz, who blamed the militant Kurdistan Worker's Party or PKK, for the attack.
So far, there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack.
On Thursday, police had stopped a suspicious vehicle at a checkpoint in front of the courthouse, which led to an armed clash between attackers and security forces, Ayyildiz said. During the clash, the attackers "detonated a car bomb as they tried to escape," he told reporters.
The attackers were armed with Kalashnikov rifles and grenades, Ayyildiz said. ....

Jan 27
Turkey threatens to cancel migrant deal after Greece ruling
Ankara considering scrapping deal to retake illegal migrants landing in Greece after Greek Supreme Court refuses to extradite eight soldiers suspected of involvement in July’s failed military coup.
ANKARA -Turkey on Friday threatened to abandon a key pillar of a deal with the EU to reduce the migrant flow after Greece blocked the extradition of alleged coup suspects.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara was considering scrapping a "readmission agreement" under which Turkey has been taking in migrants sent back across the Aegean after landing illegally in Greece.

His remarks followed Thursday's decision by the Greek Supreme Court not to hand over eight former military officers wanted in connection with last year's failed putsch in a move which angered Ankara.....

Jan 29
Education ministry suspends 11,285 personnel for PKK links

Thousands of teachers in southeastern Turkey, suspected of being connected to the PKK Terrorist Organization, become debarred
A total of 11,285 personnel of the Turkish Education Ministry have been suspended on Thursday for their alleged links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist organization.

The move comes days after the Turkish Prime Minister had announced some 14,000 teachers serving in the southeastern region were somehow associated with terrorism.

The figure is expected to escalate, as the PM had vowed that all teachers associated with the PKK terror group would be suspended....

UK's BAE Systems in deal with Turkey
to develop new Turkish fighter jets
Britain's BAE Systems on Saturday signed a deal with Turkey's national aerospace firm to develop a new generation of Turkish fighter jets, the British government said in a statement.

Under the deal signed in Ankara during a visit by British Prime Minister Theresa May, BAE Systems and state-owned Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) will establish a partnership for the development of the TF-X fighter jet.

Commenting on the agreement, May said it indicated that "Britain is a great, global, trading nation and that we are open for business", after the Brexit vote saw the country seeking new partners for trade....

Turkey jails HDP deputy co-chair Aysel Tugluk

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy co-chair Aysel Tugluk has been arrested tonight after appearing in court in Diyarbakir.

A twice former MP of the HDP's predecessor Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), Tugluk was detained on Monday in a house raid in Ankara.

According to reports Tugluk has been arrested on charges of being the "member of an illegal organisation", namely the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

12 HDP deputies are awaiting trial in custody on alleged terrorism related charges....