İrfan Aktan

iaktan@gazeteduvar.com.tr
ALL ARTICLES
Unresolved panzer murders of Turkey A kid riding his bicycle around his house. A student walking to school with his backpack. An old man in his 90s trying to slowly cross the street. An old woman heading towards her neighbor’s house. Two little brothers put to sleep in their bedroom with lullabies. A group of teenagers wandering around the town’s market.
Erdoğan's attempt to reach out to Kurds President Erdoğan has been searching for a new non-MHP pillar to lean on. There have been rumors of a ‘state delegation’ holding talks with Kurdish political actors in order to find a new peace process solution. But the Kurdish movement probably did not trust the government, thinking this was an election investment. From what we learned from Karayılan’s statement, the response was negative. Forest fires, racism and Kurd-hunting The ruling AKP government does nothing to put out the fire, doesn’t deny the manipulative news stories that fuel racism and it doesn’t even prevent the groups who go “Kurd-hunting”, claiming they’re out “to catch terrorists.” While Turkey’s Interior Ministry and police department state that there was no evidence of sabotage in the forest fires, why are the pro-government media and social media trolls stating the contrary?
Davutoğlu must reveal the secrets of 2015 During those three dark months from Feb. 28, 2015 to June 7, 2015, Ahmet Davutoğlu, who looks as if he is leading an opposition party now, was the prime minister. Unless Davutoğlu explains those days in full, he should not consider a political career. For now, Davutoğlu’s biggest strength is the secrets from that period. Here’s to hoping Sedat Peker never gets caught The most important secret Sedat Peker is holding onto is information on the government’s organized attack against people, especially the Kurds, between June 7, 2015 when the AKP lost its majority via general elections and November 1, 2015 when it came back to power. Peker cannot be expected to disclose this information. We should instead look to Ahmet Davutoğlu who was prime minister at the time. The hegemon’s servant cannot ‘become nil' The government’s infatuation with being powerful and looking victimized simultaneously, presents a psychological case. The words of İbrahim Kalın’s folk song “I became nil” emphasize simplicity and empathy, but his performance begs for a diagnosis of a narcissistic personality disorder. At the end of the performance Kalın goes to the venue of the government that does everything to keep Selahattin Demirtaş behind bars. Let us look at what is being done at the palace where Kalın retreats. A new attempt for renewal of good old victimhood narrative Following the coup attempt of July 2016, those admirals led joint efforts with the government to uproot the Gülenist movement. The paths that crossed in 2016 are now parting their ways. We know how Erdoğan's AKP handles such breaks ups only too well. Still, as the government has few allies as the moment, it will come up with another victimhood narrative as it loses this ally. Hate festers within Turkish identity politics Based on a recent research from the German Marshall Fund and Bilgi University, which sampled 4,006 individuals representing a section of Turkey’s electorate, it is clear that Turkey’s societal relations have birthed political identities built on feelings of hostility, envy, and defamation. By sifting through the data, perhaps we can gain a better understanding of how such a politically-polarized chasm came to be. The new routine of execution in Turkey What was “out of the routine” in the 1990s in Turkey has now become the routine. There was some effort and struggle to try and shed light on these unresolved murders back then. However, in this decade, murders happen with perpetrators that are widely known. The evidence and ability to hold people response are there. Even official units do not deny it. Journalism is a crime! Four journalists have been arrested because they reported that villagers Servet Turgut and Osman Şiban from the eastern province of Van were thrown from a helicopter by soldiers. They were punished because they were doing their jobs. Claim that villagers were thrown from helicopter shakes Turkey! What do the blood-blistered eyes of Osman Şiban and the non-existent recollection of what happened to him even represent? To whom and what do they even mean? 'If you send everybody home the capitalist system ends' "A long term collective social isolation is beyond any political system, the most authoritarian state’s current capacity or even its imagination. It is also related to the continuation of the capitalist system. While those down the ladder demand quarantine, the ones up cannot do this. If you send everybody home, then the capitalist system based on consumption will end," tells Evren Balta, associate professor of international relations at Özyeğin University. Turkish professor at Boston College predicts Turkey headed in direction of Italy İrfan Aktan writes: Emrah Altındiş, an Assistant Professor at Boston College and an adjunct faculty at Harvard Medical School, warns that a “tsunami” is headed towards Turkey. Altındiş argues that Turkey was not taking the necessary precautions to slow its spread. According to Altındiş, the cities with high numbers of infected people should be on lockdown. Turkey’s women’s movement constitutes the main opposition On days such as the International Women’s Day on March 8, heavy attacks are inflicted on women in their numerous acts and activities. But despite all these sieges and attacks, the women’s movement in Turkey continues to constitute the biggest barrier in front of hegemony of both the main opposition and the government in the country. 'Mujahid' Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu The opposition in general and especially the CHP have to rethink the assumption that Islamism is the power that keeps AKP alive. If this is not examined wisely, then becoming conservative and Islamist will be the only option to reach out to the “conservative” segments. This in turn will make the CHP and the general opposition distance themselves from their roots, and eventually take on the mindset of the AKP. Suicide due to poverty refutes the government’s reality Suicide is probably the end of hope. While the government of the rich is engaged in all kinds of exploitation and violence to end all hope, unfortunately, it is beyond the depth of any political party, leftist organization or a “hero,” in the current landscape, to create much-needed hope for victims and those who resist. Who killed the poor villager, Fahriye Gürbüz? On December 5, employees of the electricity distribution company, with masked security forces accompanying them, raided the village of Dilekli in the Yüksekova district very early in the morning, HDP deputy Sait Dede went on to reference, quoting from the local press. According to Dede’s statement, “During this raid, 45-year-old Fahriye Gürbüz, mother of five, suffered a heart attack and died after witnessing masked people raid her house." Why should Kurds take part in elections? In order to make them look like they are part of the system, Kurds can go to the ballots, vote and even elect people. But those who they elect have a lifespan of a butterfly. The immunity of their members of parliament are valid until the police deems otherwise with tear gas. So, are elections still an area of contestation for Kurds? Maybe reversing the question can lead us to a better reply: If Kurds avoided elections or withdrew their elected representatives, would that create an area of contestation? Main opposition leader Kılıçdaroğlu has accepted Erdoğanism This means that Kılıçdaroğlu also perceives peace as a threat and actually has arrived in the Erdoğanist camp while pretending to criticize him. This is not a war This is the law now: either be a soldier or be a victim of our wrath. Those who don't fear the wrath suffer; those who fear suffer more.