What will happen in Turkey in 2014

BELGİN AKALTAN - belgin.akaltan@hdn.com.tr

Male crowd celebrating the New Year at Istanbul’s Taksim Square. DHA photo

Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the far right Nationalistic Movement Party (MHP) will finally get married.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will speak angrily and use the language of hatred every other day in his public speeches. He will raise his voice twice a day and yell three times a week.

Many women will die of domestic violence. They will be beaten by their husbands, fathers or brothers, or collectively by male members of the family. Or they will be killed by their husbands, ex-husbands, boyfriends or ex-boyfriends. A couple of them will kill their batterers and receive heavier sentences than the killer-husbands.

There will be a railroad accident. Dozens will die but the cause of the accident will not be determined.

The train conductor will be sentenced to life imprisonment, but will be free in two years.

There will be a tragedy resulting in the death of groups of Kurds. They will either be shot or bombed.

Turkish police will beat a number of people to death. The offenders will not be punished.

AKP, the ruling Justice and Development Party, will win the elections.

A Turkish film will win an international award. An international film will win a Turkish award.

Gezi Park protestors will join shoe box manufacturers for new demonstrations.

One or two earthquakes will happen. Many will die.

We will start building the fourth bridge for Istanbul, as well as the fourth airport, and a second tunnel under the Bosphorus. The fourth bridge will be named Nazım Hikmet.

The Turkish love affair with cement will continue… We will build the 355th shopping mall in Istanbul. Trees will be planted inside malls.

Another American teenager will become a billionaire because of software he or she developed at age 7.

Two identical hurricanes will hit the United States and the Philippines; 10 will die in the U.S., 110 will die in the Philippines.

Andre Rieu will give his second concert in Istanbul. His agents will send me free tickets and a limo. I will interview him. By email - they will not allow me into his hotel.

Many people will die of a cold front in Europe.

Istanbul will lose another competition to host the Olympic Games.

Greece will not recover from the economic crisis. Civil war in Syria will continue.

Turkey’s foreign policy will experience another successful year. After the zero problem policy with neighbors, another foreign policy formula will be introduced: “10 problems with each European country.” Experts predict Turkey will excel in this and will finally become a leader country.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will declare Turkey the champion of human rights violations. It will continue to issue verdicts in favor of Turkey.

The EU will start accepting members from Asia and Africa; Turkey will still be waiting.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will create another enemy that we cannot even imagine from today…

Penguins will be bred at Gezi Park.

No writer or artist will die this year. Politicians will also have a healthy year.

The Istanbul biennial will be terminated because girls and boys watch it side by side.

The main opposition’s suggestion of “three cats for each family” will be popular.

The Golden Horn (Haliç) will be filled up to build a giant shopping mall.

One Turkish Lira will worth 2.14 dollars.

Retired generals and colonels will be released from prison.

Emine Erdoğan will change the color of her headscarf.

The next AKP Congress will be held at Divan Hotel, Istanbul.

This is becoming so distasteful and so dull, maybe I should give it up. I wish we could live in a country somehow less predictable than Turkey – one which would require another level of depth in expectations and predictions.


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