Why was “Bakur: A Guerilla Documentary” not screened in the festival? Bakur, a feature-length documentary produced in 2015, was to be screened as part of the non-competing category in the Istanbul Film Festival organized annually by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV). However, neither this documentary nor many of the films and documentaries which were to participate in the film festival were able to be screened. The apparent reason was that Bakur: A Guerilla Documentary did not have the registration document required by the Ministry of Culture.1 The fact that the registration document was not demanded until the date of the documentary’s screening caused public indignation and 21 filmmakers whose films were to be screened in the festival withdrew their films from the festival to support the producer and directors of Bakur.2 By Esin Berktaş
A New era with Mustafa Akıncı in Northern Cyprus The election of Mustafa Akıncı as the new president of Northern Cyprus clearly marks the beginning a new era for Turkey-Northern Cyprus relations, as well as a new era for reconciliation in Cyprus. By Ahmet Sözen
Small-scale family farming and revitalized peasant agriculture in Turkey and the world First, let’s address some misconceptions, a few figures and a few claims such as: “Agriculture is a backward and primitive activity. If it has to be done, it should be done intensively and without manpower.” “Air, water and soil are infinite. They can be exploited unconditionally.” By Cengiz Aktar
Camp Armen in exile Camp Armen was founded in Üç Çınar in the province of Tuzla by the Gedikpaşa Armenian Church Foundation in 1962. Its purpose was to provide summer education to Armenian children; it educated 1500 children in the 21 years during which it was in service. Most of these children were orphans and nearly 95 percent of them live abroad today. The situation of the Camp is no different from its children who were raised here but could not live in their own country. By Gökhan Tan
June 7 Elections: We need alternatives to choose from Political parties have run their course as well; their representative function works in a roundabout way, with various mediators and subcontractors. People’s demands and representation are not able to be dealt with directly. People and NGOs went out on the street and cried out their demands but it stopped there. Ministries constitute the heart of the state; the bureaucracy has become so bloated that it is about to burst. The cumbersome state is collapsing. There is discontent and violence. By Büşra Ersanlı
TIKA: The story of an approach to “development” “Turkey did not hold back, waiting for stability before it invested in Somalia. Where others chose to plan their investments in safer places, Turkey put its people on the ground for the development of Somalia. Somalia is achieving significant developments, such as taking control of several areas that were in the grip of Al-Shabab. If it had not been for Turkey's generous support, along with the rest of the international community, we wouldn't have achieved such progress.” By Utku Güngör
Development as in-justice: An Evaluation of Justice and Development Party’s development strategies The 10th development plan (2014-2018), devised and approved by the former Justice and Democracy Party (AKP) government in June 2013, states the goal of development as the creation of a social environment that enables individuals to lead a free, healthy, and safe life, and ensures the happiness, prosperity and dignity of citizens (State Planning Organization, 2013). It also posits that participation, inclusion, transparency and accountability should be the founding principles of the development process. By Bengi Akbulut
The Crisis of development and the alternatives In response to the economic and ecological crises which are becoming more and more frequent, more serious questions have emerged about hegemonic notions of development, which are based on the assumption that economic growth, namely the increase in commodity production, may continue forever. By Ümit Akçay
Supporting conscientious people is a test for our conscience The conference entitled Conscience and Responsibility in the Armenian Genocide: New Research on Survivors organized by Hrant Dink Foundation was held at Cezayir Restaurant Meeting Hall on March 14, 2014.
Perspectives - Issue 12 The 12th issue of Perspectives "Analysis and Commentary from Turkey" is out now. The dossier "Global Governance and Gender" features articles which cover the "blindness" among international institutions as well as the international society in a wide range from economy to politics and law. As usual, Perpectives includes different articles which throw a glance at the current agenda of Turkey from within the angle of democracy, foreign policy, ecology, environment and culture: recent discriminatory developments in the education system, discussions about nuclear plants, the meaning of the presence of IS and the latest domestic security bill are only some of the issues dealt with. We hope that you will enjoy reading every single piece and appreciate any feedbacks and comments.
