· January, 2009

Stories about Turkey from January, 2009

Turkey: School Textbook Changes

  25 January 2009

Armenia: Higher Education & Sciences comments on changes to 8th grade school textbooks in Turkey which will deal with the massacre and deportation of much of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire in a more neutral way. The blog says that while the changes might seem negligible at first...

Armenia-Turkey: Are We Hrant Dink?

  25 January 2009

Following the second anniversary of the murder of Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Unzipped comments on a recent piece by Glendal News Press’ Patrick Azadian on the ethnic Armenian journalist who stood for peace, democracy and human rights in Turkey. The blog despairs the fact that nationalists are attempting to hijack...

Armenia-Turkey: Genocide Historian Responds

  22 January 2009

My The Caucasian Knot details and comments on attempts by one group in the U.S.-Armenian Diaspora to silence a prominent Genocide historian. Coinciding with the second memorial of Hrant Dink's murder in Istanbul, Ara Sarafian was quoted by the Turkish media as saying it was ironic that many Armenians seeking...

Turkey: Obama Trepidation

  21 January 2009

Istanbul Calling says that the Turkish media has greeted the inauguration of Barack Obama as U.S. President with some trepidation. In particular, the blog says there are concerns that Obama will do what his predecessors have failed to follow through with in the past — fulfill campaign promises to recognize...

The Balkans: “Whose Is This Song?”

  20 January 2009

Recently several Macedonian bloggers published the documentary “Whose Is This Song” by a Bulgarian director Adela Peeva on their blogs and started discussing the story. The documentary was filmed as an idea that the director got during a dinner in Istanbul with several friends (a Macedonian, a Serb, a Greek and a Turk), when all of them said that the song playing in the background was from their country.

Turkey: Hrant Dink Memorial Video

  20 January 2009

mondoDesperado posts video of yesterday's memorial to commemorate the second anniversary of the murder of Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor and journalist, Hrant Dink, outside his office in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey: Hrant Dink Murder Unresolved

  20 January 2009

Journalist in Turkey comments on yesterday's anniversary of the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist and editor, Hrant Dink. The blog says that two years later there is no political will in Turkey to bring the masterminds of the killing to justice.

Turkey: Armenian “Martin Luther King Jr.” Commemorated

  20 January 2009

The second anniversary of a murdered journalist once again had the power to move mountains in strained relations between between Armenia and Turkey, two states separated by the biblical mount Ararat and an unholy history. Yesterday's commemoration might not have been on such a large scale, but newspaper articles, editorials, and reaction from bloggers show that the murder of a prominent member of Turkey’s dwindling Christian Armenian minority by a Turkish ultra-nationalist continues to shock the world.

Turkey: Gaza War?

  9 January 2009

Turkish Aylin Ece Cicek, writing at The Eastern Middle, discusses the “war” between Israel and Gaza, saying: “Let me elaborate because I am not comfortable with using the word war; but cannot find a more suitable phrase for the situation. The words “issue,” “problem,” or “struggle” just don't fit. It...

Turkey: Gaza and basketball game

  8 January 2009

As'ad AbuKhalil notes that the last basketball game between a Turkish and an Israeli team was suspended on Tuesday after Turkish fans erupted in protests against the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, chanting “Israel, killers!”

Global: Protesters in Full Force Against Gaza War

  5 January 2009

Millions of people around the world took to the streets in protest against the Israeli attack on Gaza over the previous few days. Here's a selection of videos posted on YouTube featuring demonstrations from Tel Aviv, London, Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul, where citizens from all walks of life raised their voices and chanted for peace in the region.

Turkey: Relations with Armenia

  3 January 2009

As the first post for 2009, The Eastern Middle offers its opinion on recent moves to normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey. Now studying in the U.S., the blogger says that she did not realize the magnitude of problems between the two estranged neighbors until she left the country of...

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Arzu Geybullayeva
Arzu Geybullayeva is the Turkey editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.