TURKEY: A Municipaly Kills Animals & more – 15th Oct 2024

Merhaba from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 15th of October twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

Animal rights advocates found dozens of dead dogs and cats at a garbage dump near a municipal shelter in Gebze, in the Kocaeli province. The Kocaeli Animal Friends Association posted a video showing thirty dogs and thirteen cats stuffed into trash bags, alongside medicine bottles and syringes believed to contain anesthesia drugs. The Gebze Municipality initially denied responsibility, saying the staff found the animals dead on the streets, but later, footage of the staff injecting the animals before dumping them emerged.

The Kocaeli Governor’s Office launched an investigation into the issue. This incident follows a controversial July law allowing municipalities to round up stray dogs, and create a loophole for the mass murder, which has angered animal rights groups.

Next up, on Friday the 11th, a court arrested two more suspects in connection to violent posts shared on the recently banned messaging and broadcasting platform Discord. Authorities began looking into the platform after social media filled with screenshots of groups glorifying violence against women, children, and animals, as well as content involving sexual abuse.

According to Anadolu Agency, the state-run news agency, the police arrested one of the moderators from the group C31K on charges including blackmail, spreading misleading information, and illegally obtaining personal data. They also arrested another suspect, accused of asking a woman to set herself on fire during a Discord broadcast. This brings the total number of arrests in the investigation to five.

On to some economic news… On Friday the 11th, the ruling Justice and Development Party or AKP submitted a bill aimed at getting around two billion US Dollars annually for the defense industry fund. The party explained that the bill proposes additional contributions from companies and individuals based on their tax statements and credit card limits. Specifically, it aims to collect 750 liras, which is twenty dollars, annually from credit cards with limits exceeding 100 thousand liras, that is, 3,000 dollars.

In response, many people requested to lower their credit card limits below the specified amount. They argued that if the country required funds for the defense industry, it could consider cutting a portion of the budget from the religious affairs directorate, which is often criticized for its extravagant spending.

On Monday the 14th, the Justice Minister announced preparations to change the penal system. The ministry plans to introduce stricter measures for sentences under two years. Previously, anyone sentenced to three years or less often avoided prison entirely due to parole and supervised release. The Minister said that those with two-year sentences will now serve time. He also explained that the government plans to reevaluate the current system of parole and good behavior reductions, responding to public concerns about people getting off too easily.

In the political scene, on Sunday the 13th, Cengiz Çandar, a veteran journalist and deputy of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy or DEM Party, discussed recent political changes that may pave the way for a new peace process between the Kurds and the government. Earlier this month, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, made headlines by unexpectedly shaking hands with DEM Party deputies during the Parliament's opening session. This gesture was significant, considering Bahçeli’s previous calls to shut down the DEM Party over alleged links to the outlawed PKK. Following this, Bahçeli proposed a conditional reconciliation.

President Erdoğan supported Bahçeli’s stance, emphasizing the need for a new constitution as part of the peace efforts, and stated that the government is always ready to address issues through non-violent means. This was called into question as Erdoğan’s actions seem to be a strategic move to garner support for his constitutional changes.

On another note, on Monday the 14th, miners fired from Fernas Mining advanced their protest to a hunger strike after the company dismissed them for unionizing. Fernas Mining, owned by Ferhat Nasıroğlu, an AKP deputy, has faced protests for weeks, with workers demanding better conditions.

In late September, the miners began marching from Manisa to Ankara, the country’s capital, to press their case. Police blocked them at the city’s border, but opposition deputies intervened and helped them reach parliament to speak. After lawmakers failed to provide a solution, the miners started their hunger strike, vowing not to eat until their demands were met.

On to international news… On Thursday the 10th, Edi Rama, the Albanian President, announced that President Erdoğan would give Albania a significant number of kamikaze drones, which hover over targets before crashing and detonating. Rama didn’t say the exact type and number. However, he described the drones as a strong message from Turkey that Albania is "unhittable." He added that they won't be used for attacks, and that Albania, along with other Western Balkan countries, has been modernizing its military since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in twenty twenty-two.

On Monday the 14th, Daron Acemoğlu, a Turkish-American economist, won the twenty twenty-four Nobel Economics Prize alongside his team for their groundbreaking research on institutions and global inequality. Acemoğlu examined how the legacy of colonization has shaped today's global disparities. His research revealed that countries with strong institutions prosper, while those with extractive colonial systems struggle with corruption and dictatorship.

Acemoğlu also pointed out the weakening of institutions worldwide, cautioning against authoritarian growth. He currently works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and previously advised Turkey’s main opposition, the Republican People's Party, or CHP, on economic recovery strategies.

This week, reports of the meatloaf and meat restaurant chain Köfteci Yusuf having pork in its products emerged, prompting concern as pork is forbidden to Muslims. Samples from the restaurant showed the presence of pork.

In response, the company denied ever using pork. It attributed the problematic analysis results to technical errors during the product sampling process. It firmly rejected the allegations, suggesting they stemmed from malicious actions, as it had a falling out with the ruling AKP during the election campaigns, where one of its restaurants hung an opposition candidate poster.

They stated that test results were communicated much later than standard procedures dictated, so they couldn’t provide further clarity. The company said that all meat comes from a single production facility, and that those contaminated products were not produced in their branches. The company vowed to uncover the truth.

On Friday the 11the, the Üsküdar district municipality, run by the CHP, halted construction on a project owned by former Health Minister Fahrettin Koca for Medipol University’s Çamlıca Hospital after a court ruled it violated land use regulations. Originally, a man donated the land to the Ministry of Finance for a school in nineteen ninety-four, but it remained vacant for years and was later used as a parking lot for the hospital. The Ministry of Urbanization then changed the zoning status from school land to higher education land to allow the hospital’s construction. However, the son of the original donor filed a lawsuit, saying that the land wasn't used as intended and requesting its return. A court subsequently canceled the zoning plans that permitted the hospital's construction.

On Monday the 14th, during Turkey’s football match against Iceland, illegal betting ads of the site Meritking appeared on pitch-side screens at Laugardalsvöllur Stadium in Reykjavík. Turkey won 4-2, but much of the game featured these ads, sparking outrage on social media. The commentator for TV8, the game’s licensed broadcasting channel in Turkey, quickly clarified that the Icelandic Football Federation, not the Turkish side, controlled the advertisements. Acun Ilıcalı, TV8’s owner, also denied any involvement on his Twitter account, emphasizing that the billboards belonged to Iceland. Meritking had previously sponsored Galatasaray, one of the big three in Turkish football clubs, but the club cut ties after learning of its illegal status.

Turkey has a vibrant wedding culture, but it sometimes pushes the limits of safety. To address this, the Erzurum Governorship introduced new rules for events like weddings and military send-offs. Outdoor celebrations must end by eleven p.m., and indoor ones by midnight. Hosts have to display posters discouraging celebratory gunfire, a common but dangerous practice, with the use of firecrackers and other explosives strictly banned.

The hosts must register with the local authorities at least three days in advance, and they will be responsible for complying with noise limits.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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