Amid Turkey’s “Operation Olive Branch” and political debates over the alliance between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a strong debate on a financial crisis slowly brewing in Turkey’s towns is emerging. In rural Anatolia, it is all about sugar factories and sugar beet production, while in Istanbul, there is feud between taxi drivers and Uber. The former is still largely peaceful and low-key, but the latter is getting ugly.
It did not come as a surprise, but even Felicity (Saadet) Party head Temel Karamollaoğlu did not expect this kind of attention.
Turkey’s domestic politics are getting stranger with every step the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) take together.
Syria’s “Operation Olive Branch” has shown us a different side to Turkish society. Whether the Justice and Development Party’s (Ak Party) trolls that take their seats every Tuesday in parliament to cheer for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan like it or not, Turkish society still adores its military might.
The Turkish Armed Forces sustained the most casualties last weekend since the beginning of “Operation Olive Branch.” Whether it was the initial downing of an ATAK helicopter or the follow-up surge of a group of Turkish soldiers that led to the fight, the result was a dramatic loss of 11 soldiers. The nature of combat had apparently changed dramatically.
“I know every time I leave the house to go grocery shopping, he secretly wears his uniform. His boots are still up in his closet with their year old mud. He is waiting for the day he will be called for duty again.”
The much awaited military operation into Syria’s Afrin region started on the night of Jan. 19 and was fully announced by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the next day, during one of his party chapter elections in the Central Anatolian Aegean town of Uşak.
Turkish domestic politics is never a dull place. It is sometimes depressing and harsh in terms of language, but never short of interesting get-togethers.
Halfway into January and there are towns and cities in Turkey that have not seen a single inch or drop of snow this year. Having a mild winter may be good news for city dwellers but it is indeed a horrible beginning in terms of climate change.
