TURKEY: Hamas & more – 23rd Apr 2024

Merhaba from BA! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 23rd of April twenty twenty-four A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

On Saturday the 20th, President Erdoğan and Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, which the president considers a liberation group in Palestine, met in Istanbul to discuss humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza and the pursuit of a fair and lasting peace in the region. This marked their first meeting since the war in Gaza began. In the gathering, Erdoğan emphasized that Israel shouldn’t exploit the growing tension in the region with the reported military action in Iran, and refocus its attention on resolving the issues in Gaza. This meeting also raised questions about the country’s place in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with many thinking Turkey would be the mediator between the two nations.

The meeting received global attention. Israeli media outlets focused on Erdogan urging Palestinian unity against Israel, while The Telegraph pointed out that many countries deemed Hamas a terrorist group. It added that the meeting followed a report by The Wall Street Journal on Hamas potentially relocating from Qatar, raising eyebrows about Turkey possibly housing the group's new headquarters.

Speaking of Israel… During a marble fair in İzmir, the Deputy Chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, addressed Turkey's trade relations with Israel, condemning Israel's actions but, at the same time, suggesting that certain trades are harmless. Recall that Turkey banned the export of certain goods to Israel following public outrage. However, the deputy proposed a different approach, proposing closely monitoring which companies buy which goods for what purpose rather than banning products altogether. He defended the trade agreement, stating that Palestinians can also benefit from purchasing Turkish goods.

However, his remarks faced criticism, with the opposition figures labeling him a hypocrite. Still, the deputy defended his stance, advocating for a registration method to monitor exports to Israel effectively, aiming to prevent the victimization of Turkish companies and Palestinian businesses. He said that this approach would ensure better control over trade while averting financial losses for Turkish firms and mitigating harm to Palestinian companies.

On a different note… Starting from Saturday the 20th, the Culture and Tourism Ministry will allow cemevis, a place Alevis go to worship, to request payment for lighting expenses. Back in twenty twenty-two, the ministry established the Presidency of Alevi-Bektashi Culture and Cemevi, aiming to provide governmental support to the Alevi community. Despite this, the government has yet to officially recognize cemevis as places of worship or provide them equal financial support as mosques. It considers them cultural rather than religious institutions.

Thus, the government covering the lighting costs is an important step. However, they still haven’t received the place of worship status. This was called into question as the executive is feeding the Alevis breadcrumbs only to deny them the house of worship status. In the end, they’ll have all the perks and responsibilities of a house of worship without that status. The government believes in only one branch of Islam and reject the others . Since it can’t keep up with the demands of the others, it’s feeding these breadcrumbs to keep them happy but also denying the place of worship status altogether.

On Saturday the 20th, President Erdoğan filed a lawsuit against Şaban Vatan, the father of Rabia Naz Vatan who died under suspicious circumstances six years ago, for publicly insulting the president. The lawsuit included some tweets Vatan made targetting the president, accusing him of sheltering murderers and rapists in his party and demanding that he hands them over to justice.

Back in twenty eighteen, her father found her severely injured near her home in the city of Giresun. Despite efforts to save her, she died shortly after. Authorities initially ruled her death as a suicide. However, the father says that she was struck by a car, implicating the nephew of a former AKP mayor and a former AKP deputy in a cover-up. Her family has been relentlessly seeking justice and answers surrounding her death since then. This lawsuit is just one piece of the larger puzzle of threats and defamation that Vatan has endured while pressing authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the case.

In some diplomatic news… On Monday the 22nd, German President Steinmeier went to Turkey to commemorate 100 years of diplomatic ties between the countries in a three-day visit. Stepnmeier’s trip began in Istanbul. He visited Sirkeci Train Station, where the first Turkish migrant caravan departed for Germany, followed by a tour of the Railway Museum. However, while leaving the museum, a group of Pro-Palestinian demonstrators shouted slogans against Steinmeier, protesting against Germany’s support for Israel.

His trip includes meetings with representatives from various sectors and a visit to earthquake victims and a school in Gaziantep. He is also set to meet President Erdoğan and lay a wreath at Atatürk's mausoleum in Ankara.

Speaking of quakes, on Thursday the 18th, at around six pm, an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale hit the Tokat province, causing damage to hundreds of buildings. The aftershocks in the region continued well into the night leading to the closure of schools in three districts on Friday the 19th. The city Governor said that teams are assessing damages in the area but fortunately reported no fatalities.

After the backlash the AKP faced for its deputy posting a photo of a lobster dish amidst the economic situation, you’d think the party learned its lesson. Well, guess not, as this time, the AKP’s Parliamentary Group Deputy Chair stirred controversy by sharing a photo on social media posing with visitors in parliament while sporting a Rolex watch valued at half a million Turkish liras, around sixteen thousand US Dollars. What’s ironic is that he captioned the photo "We are the people themselves." Critics highlighted that a minimum wage earner, making seventeen thousand liras, around 500 US Dollars, would need to work for nearly thirty-three months to afford that watch. After facing backlash with dozens of negative comments, he removed the post.

Gamze Taşçıer, the Vice President of Turkey’s main opposition, the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, urged all workers to mark Labor Day on the 1st of May at Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square, challenging the government's restrictions on staging protests there since twenty thirteen. She emphasized the country's challenging economic circumstances and the inadequate compensation for their labor. Taşçıer underscored the 1st of May as a symbolic day of struggle and called on workers to unite against oppression and exploitation in city squares all over the country.

However, Istanbul’s governor stated that, despite calls from unions and the CHP, Taksim Square will remain off-limits. The unions asserted that it’s their constitutional right to hold a peaceful assembly wherever they want without a prior permit. They also pointed out that the Constitutional Court previously ruled that the ban violated assembly rights.

On to some employment news… On Wednesday the 17th, the Justice Minister addressed allegations concerning public servant interviews in the ministry, refuting remarks saying that the government asked candidates how many children President Erdoğan or Prophet Mohammed had during job interviews. The minister denounced the allegations as false and stated that such questions were never part of the ministry's interview process.

A deputy from the CHP raised concerns on the matter in parliament on Monday the 15th, calling for the removal of interviews from the selection and promotion processes due to reported unfair practices. Many candidates who performed well on written tests complained about brief or unfair interviews, prompting further scrutiny. The CHP submitted a parliamentary question regarding the Justice Ministry's exam processes, denouncing nepotism and inappropriate interview practices.

And to close this edition, on Wednesday the 17th, the Labor and Social Security Minister confirmed that there would be no second hike in the minimum wage this year. The decision came after the government's previous increases in twenty twenty-two and twenty twenty-three amid economic challenges and ahead of the twenty twenty-three elections. The government made two hikes each year to combat high inflation.

However, President Erdoğan stated last year that there wouldn’t be a second hike in twenty twenty-four. He and the Finance Minister had emphasized that they’d keep a tight monetary policy this year and avoid using the economy as election propaganda or populist measures. They said they would focus on sustaining economic stability instead of constantly raising the minimum wage to match the cost of living.

However, since January when they first announced the hiked-up minimum wage at seventeen thousand liras(around 500 US dollars) up from eleven thousand, or 300 dollars, it has faced significant erosion. The depreciation of the lira lowered the minimum wage from 550 to 500 dollars.

And, that’s it for this week! Hey listeners, we have an unusual question for you. Have you ever had to choose a restaurant to go to or a movie or something with a group of friends or family? And it was not so easy to choose? Took a long time, and was just difficult and maybe a bit unpleasant? Rorshok is working on a way to make that much easier. If you are interested we could use your help. If you want to help out or try it out, let us know at info@rorshok.com and thanks!

Hoşça kalın!