We discussed the multi-front war, multilateral diplomacy, quickly-changing power balances, policies pursued by the world powers in Syria and the background for those issues, with the Middle East expert Hamit Bozarslan.

A few days earlier, Turkey had expressed its worry over the ongoing developments in the Kurdish regions of Syria, and once more stated that it would not remain a mere spectator of the activities of the YPG (People’s Protection Units) in the Damascus region (The YPG is the military wing of the PYD, Democratic Union Party). However, these mutual showdowns did not go beyond non-functional actions and statements which occurred sporadically.

Alevism is one of the most ancient belief systems of Anatolia and Mesopotamia, being practiced today by populations in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Macedonia. After years of migration, Alevi societies now exist in many countries of the world, with the highest numbers being in Europe. The overall Alevi population is thought to be around 50 million.

Air pollution is the most important problem concerning the environment and public health in Turkey. While the first quarter of the 21st century is ending, our cities are witnessing a return of the air pollution problem similar to that of the beginning of the 1990’s. There are economic and social reasons for the return of the problem and it is becoming critical despite the increasing use of natural gas.

On  January 12, 2016, at 10.15 a.m., a suicide bomber carried out a deadly attack in İstanbul. But significantly, this happened near the Obelisk of Theodosius (Dikilitaş) located at the Sultanahmet Square, which is regarded as the heart of tourism in Turkey. When I heard about this attack, whose target was a group of German tourists, I first thought of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), or TAK (Teyrêbazên Azadiya Kurdistan – Kurdistan Freedom Falcons), an organization following in the footsteps of PKK and coming to the fore solely with actions of “blind terror:”

The common understanding of space tends to portray particular locations and social events that take place in these locations as stage-play relationships. Locations at different scales, such as the city, square, street or private households are understood as platforms through which social relations like political conflict, work or leisure time take place. This perception anchors the social and the spatial in separate instances that exclude one another; consequently, it brings us to the conclusion that space has no definitive influence over social relations and that events and the social shapes the spatial in a unidirectional fashion.

A participant and moderator at the Kurdish Conference held in European Parliament during January 26-27, 2016, Nurcan Baysal is a first-hand witness to what has been happening regarding the relentless violation of rights following the curfew that was declared in Diyarbakır’s Sur district.  We would like to bring Baysal’s testimony to your attention. 

How did the peace processes between armed organizations and goverments in different places around the globe proceed in 2015?  In Turkey the peace negotiations between PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and the so-called Imralı committee have been terminated by President Erdoğan, even though they had been authorized by Erdoğan and the AKP goverment. We bring to your attention a compilation of the 2015 Peace Processes Report, prepared by Vicenç Fisas, Director of the School for a Culture of Peace.

After the AKP won the elections on November 1, taking almost half the total votes and coming to power alone,  President Erdoğan has been more on the country’s agenda more than the government. We interviewed Tarhan Erdem, Radikal newspaper columnist and the founder of KONDA Research on what the current period of conflicts and curfews declared in Kurdish provinces is likely to bring about, and also on the undiscussed proposal of “the democratic autonomy.”

Currently, up to 4 million trees are cleared in connection to the construction of the 3rd Bosphorus bridge and a new airport, and this might just be the beginning. Against the background of this threat, Turkish environmentalists have organized protests and taken up the fight against deforestation. Due to problems with democratic decision-making and the rule of law, civil society efforts have so far shown very limited results. One of the pressing questions of the future, therefore, will be which other options are available to civil society to respond to the threat of deforestation.