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November 25, 2009
Tearing Down the Ankara Wall (In Slow-Motion)
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
Twenty years ago, in November 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. It took just a few weeks to tear it into pieces. It took only a little more than that to disestablish the East German state apparatus. In January 1990, the infamous Stasi, "The Ministry for State Security," was stormed by people who demanded the destruction of their "personal files," and, ultimately, the end of communism.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 1:14 AM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2009
How the Turkish Military Conspires Against Turkish Society
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
As most tourists discover in just a few days, Turkey is an amazing country with great history, beautiful nature, and delicious food. But one needs to spend a little more time to discover that its powerful military is pretty amazing as well.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 2:14 AM | Comments (1)
November 18, 2009
How Turkey Massacred the Kurds of Dersim
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
After five months on book leave, it is nice to be back in the Daily News.
I hope all has been well for everybody since June. As for Turkey, many new events and debates seem to have unfolded, but the scene is pretty much the same. Once again, one of the taboos of our not-so-democratic Republic is being hotly debated. (This time it is the "Kurdish question.") Once again, our incumbent "Islamist" party, despite the reckless machismo of its leader, proves to be more liberal and reformist than its secularist opponents.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 2:14 PM | Comments (8)
