The crisis in Afghanistan has already preoccupied the global diplomatic agenda as the world witnessed how a state with 40 million people and the 20-year long nation-building efforts by prominent countries collapsed so quickly.
One of the most important topics Turkish politics and the political parties have long been discussing is the world’s highest election threshold Turkey has been imposing since early 1980. The military rule in the aftermath of the 1980 coup d’état had introduced the 10 percent election barrier in a bid to maintain political stability. Although all the governments in the past 40 years had promised to reduce the barrier, none did it because they were, in fact, benefiting from it.
The deadly twin bombings near the international airport in Kabul that killed scores of people, including 13 American service members, marks another historical turning point in Afghanistan-centered international relations.
A week has passed since the Taliban’s lightning takeover of Afghanistan whose aftershocks are still dominating the international media and diplomacy. There are more questions than answers about the course of the developments in the central Asian country with nearly 40 million population.
At a time when all eyes were on Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover of power, Ankara hosted a senior official from the United Arab Emirates that came as a surprise to many due to long-term row in the bilateral ties.
Taliban’s lightning advance and takeover of Afghanistan over the weekend and the escape of President Ashraf Ghani marks the beginning of a new era in the war-torn Central Asian country. The past three days since the takeover, have observed that prominent Western and NATO countries and other regional powers are trying to shape their policies in line with their interests. When the evacuations of the foreigners from Afghanistan will be complete and the Taliban decide the composition of the new government, then these efforts will intensify and materialize.
The Taliban’s entrance and taking control of Kabul happened smoother and quicker than many thought, including the intelligence of the United States. Yesterday marked the beginning of a new era in Afghanistan with the Taliban coming to power after 20 years. The transition will be peaceful, and the Taliban will not attack Kabul and allow the continued operation of the international airport, Afghan officials have said.
Unfortunately, Turkey’s problem in handling millions of refugees on its soil has reached a new alarming level. The past 10 days have shown how different political approaches and rhetoric over refugees were reflected most negatively first on social media and then on the streets.
Amid sound and fury over the two-week-long destructive forest fires, a statement by the main opposition leader over the upcoming presidential elections went almost unnoticed. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), signaled his opposition to the potential nominations of Ekrem İmamoğlu and Mansur Yavaş, mayors of Istanbul and Ankara respectively, as the oppositional bloc’s presidential candidate.
