Category: Regions

Do all Turks and Iranians want secularism, and why?

I can’t speak about Iran, because it’s mostly very closed society, at least when you look from outside. But when I have travelled over there, that I felt, that especially the cities in Iran are actually very liberal in comparison to their state. When you go more into rural areas, you’ll meet some more conservative people.

When we talk about Turkey, there was actually never a ‘’real discussion’’ about Secularism or Religious rule. It was over the years and decades an artificial debate between both intellectuals, liberals, and conservatives.

The fight was always about ‘’If you rule the country or me…’’

Over the last 50 years, the fight of the conservatives in Turkey was to become a ‘’face’’ inside of the society and reach the same privileges of the chosen white Turkish bureaucratic oligarchy. Since 2002 they became finally this face, even with loads of setbacks, but after 2013, for sure, they have also arrived at the top of the state and critical positions inside of the society.

And anything has changed? Well, not much. They have reached the same level of ‘’arrogance’’ that the previous secular oligarchy has shown to the rest of the population. So it turned out very clearly, that the problem of Turkey was never about secularism, or becoming a face, but it was about ‘’power for me or for you’’ and more structural and moral aspects of the society.

If I speak to most of the Turks, even though the divide is generally nowadays 50/50, around 80 % of the Turks are happy with Secularism. This includes readers of Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Sözcü newspapers.

The rest of the 15 % would love to see some more harsh penalties regarding horrible crimes and they think regarding this subject that if there are some more Islamic laws also incorporated into the secular system, that the crime rate would go down. You would land in that particular thought more by newspapers like Yeni Şafak etc. Similar to the conservatives in the US who debate about the death penalty etc. But that’s all about.

And people who advocate for a change from Secularism into Shariah law has never exceeded in Turkey 3–5 % at all. Those are mostly people who read the crap like Yeni Akit newspaper.

There is no real problem in Turkey regarding Secularism, they have other sociological and political things to solve. Secularism-Conservative divide generally has served over 50 years to distract the people from the real problems of the country. Sad, but this is the reality.

Thanks.

Alexei Yahontov

April 14, 2023
Will Turkey EVER Join the EU?

Turkey is the European Union’s oldest candidate member. Since 1999, the EU and Turkey have been in talks to allow the country to join and redefine the borders of Europe. 24 years on, and it still doesn’t look like their accession is likely. Why? In this video, we cover what’s stopping Turkey from joining the EU and whether anything is likely to change soon.

April 3, 2023
SWEDEN and PKK/YPG Terrorist Organization

Sweden harshly reacted to Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch which targeted the terrorist orga- nization in 2018. In this context, former Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström canceled an official visit to Turkey.

PKK/YPG supporters can freely conduct their activities and carry out terrorist propaganda in Sweden without encountering any restrictions. PKK/YPG sympathizers wave PKK/YPG flags ex- plicitly without any intervention by local security forces. Moreover, PKK/YPG members can even meet the country’s Foreign Minister.

The Swedish government provide massive state of the art technology arms to the terrorist group. These weapons are used in terrorist attacks against Turkish security forces.

Sweden, refusing to extradite PKK/YPG members, also safeguard members of Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) being harbored in the country.
Concrete Evidence Regarding the Relations Between the Swedish Government and the PKK/YPG Terrorist Organization

Concrete Evidence Regarding the Relations Between the Swedish Government and the PKK/YPG Terrorist Organization

SWEDISH DEFENSE MINISTER Peter Hultqvist met with Mazloum Kobani, one of the so-called commanders of the PKK/YPG. After the meeting, Kobani made a statement expressing that Sweden will closely cooperate with the terrorist organization.

SWEDISH FOREIGN MINISTER ANN LINDE met with PKK/YPG members many times and declared some of such meetings on social media explicitly. The Turkish Foreign Ministry reacted to these meetings repeatedly, yet the Swedish side refused to cooperate.

THE PKK/YPG RECEIVES MASSIVE ANTI-TANK weapon support from Sweden. Hence, the terrorist organization has a huge amount of AT4s, a Swedish Saab production anti-tank weapon, in its hands. During the operations conducted in rural Hakkari in southeastern Turkey in September 2021, and Operation Claw and Tiger which started on 17 June 2021, scores of AT4S were captured in caves and shelters of the terrorist organization by Turkish security forces.

ORSAM

As a region that shares deep-rooted historical, cultural and neighborhood ties with Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa region is going through a process of serious political and social changes. Therefore, it became necessary to follow these complex and dynamic developments as well as to interpret them. The Center for Middle Eastern Studies (ORSAM) was established in January 2009 to inform the general public and the foreign policy community on the Middle East. ORSAM is a nonpartisan and non-profit research center based in Ankara.

ORSAM provides information on Middle Eastern affairs and exposes the Turkish academia and political circles to the perspectives of researchers from the region. ORSAM, by facilitating the visits of Middle Eastern statesmen, bureaucrats, academics, strategists, businessmen, journalists, and NGO representatives to Turkey, seeks to ensure their knowledge and ideas are shared with the Turkish and international community. To that end, ORSAM carries out research on social, economic and political developments in the Middle East and shares these with the public. Striving for a healthier understanding and analysis of international politics and the Middle Eastern affairs, ORSAM produces stimulating and policy-relevant information for the general public and decision-makers.

For that purpose, ORSAM offers projections that suggest alternative perspective on regional issues as well as analyzing regional developments. In order to provide comprehensive and solution-oriented analyses, ORSAM takes advantage of geographical proximity to pressings issues and hands-on research by competent researchers and intellectuals from diverse disciplines. ORSAM has a strong publishing line that transmits meticulous analyses of regional developments and trends to relevant audiences. Our center that is also in the process of re-organization is expanding its cadre and areas of research focuses on publication and teaching activities such as seminars on Middle East affairs and Arabic courses.

February 24, 2023
Why is Turkey still in NATO?

It is obvious that the Erdogan’s Republic of Türkiye has always played a double game.

epa01389608 French soldiers of NATO\’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) patrol Arghandab district, Afghanistan after NATO and Afghan military forces have driven out hundreds of Taliban militants from around restive Kandahar, Afghanistan, 20 June 2008. At least 57 Taliban insurgents were killed and dozens more were wounded as NATO and Afghan forces drove out militants who had recently infiltrated several villages in the southern province of Kandahar, officials said 19 June 2008. EPA/HUMAYOUN SHIAB

A NATO presence but also special relations with Putin’s Russia. It seems that between dictators, we like to stick together …

On September 12, 2017, the Republic of Türkiye signed a contract with Russia for the purchase of S-400 systems for an amount of 2.5 billion dollars with delivery initially scheduled for 2020.

On this occasion, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared, “We alone make decisions that fall under our independence.”

However, NATO, and more particularly the United States, did not see it that way and believed that this decision greatly threatened the Republic of Türkiye’s ties with its Western partners as well as the security of NATO materials.

America then sanctioned the Republic of Türkiye and denied it access to the purchase of American military equipment. The Turks were thus unable to renew their aging F16s with F35s.

However, it is not possible to exclude Erdogan’s Republic of Türkiye because the Republic of Türkiye occupies a strategic position between Europe and Asia. To deprive oneself of Turkey would greatly weaken NATO.

Everyone knows this, and that is why despite all of Erdogan’s eccentricities and the fact that he plays a double game, Turkey will remain in NATO.

Sylvain Saurel’s Newsletter

February 17, 2023
Why didn’t Arabs revolt against Ottoman Empire over the course of Ottoman Rule?

There are several reasons why the Arabs did not revolt against the Ottoman Empire over the course of its rule. One reason is that the Ottomans maintained control over the Arab regions through a combination of military force and political manipulation. Additionally, the Ottomans were able to co-opt local leaders and elites, and maintain a system of patronage that helped to maintain loyalty among the population. Additionally, the Arab population was largely rural and dispersed, making it difficult to organize large-scale rebellion. Finally, the Ottomans also maintained a strong religious and cultural identity, which helped to bind the population together and discourage rebellion.

February 10, 2023
Why Belarus Might Invade Ukraine Too

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has supported its eastern neighbour in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before the start of the offensive, Belarus allowed the Russian Armed Forces to perform weeks-long military drills on its territory; however, the Russian troops did not exit the country after they were supposed to finish. Belarus allowed Russia to stage part of the invasion from its territory, giving Russia the shortest possible land route to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.

Belarus initially denied involvement with the conflict, but has since admitted to allowing Russian missile launchers stationed on its territory to shoot at Ukrainian targets. Several reports emerged among the Belarusian opposition and Ukrainian military that Belarusian troops were in Ukraine fighting together with Russians, but Belarus’s leader Aleksander Lukashenko dismissed them and said that the Belarusian Armed Forces would not participate directly in the conflict.

The involvement of Belarus was condemned in Western countries, with the European Union, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan imposing sanctions against Belarus. According to Chatham House, Belarus’s participation in the military conflict is unpopular among the general population; protests were held on 27 February, the day of the constitutional referendum which asked to revoke Belarus’s non-nuclear country status, but were quickly dispersed. Several hackers affiliated with the Belarusian opposition, the Ukrainian military or with Anonymous have targeted Belarusian government agencies as well as the country’s critical infrastructure, with the aim of disrupting the Russian war effort in Belarus.

January 20, 2023