Tag Archives: Turkey

Nationality + Migration

Turkey News | Korean & Chinese

Turkish nationalists attack group of Korean tourists in Istanbul, believing them to be Chinese
  • Members of the Istanbul chapter of Ülkü Ocaklari, a far-right Turkish nationalist group, broke off from demonstrations in solidarity against China’s treatment of its Muslim Uyghur minority to attack the tourists at the Topkapi Palace.
  • The Koreans had been at the popular tourist attraction as part of a tour group, and police quickly dispersed the attackers using tear gas.
  • Turkey has summoned its Chinese ambassador to discuss concerns over China’s constraint of Uyghur’s religious freedom, which has led to tension and violence in Xinjiang in the northwest of China.

Read the full story at the Hurriyet Daily News.

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Turkey News | Chinese & Associates

Istanbul Chinese restaurant attacked during demonstrations against China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims
  • Despite being owned by a Turkish man and employing a Uyghur cook, Happy China became a target of protesters’ anger.
  • The owner said that he will be closing the restaurant, which he opened after saving money for 25 years as a tour guide.

“Our customers are Indonesian Muslims in general. We work with Far East Asian people. Only a tiny portion of our customers are made up of Chinese customers. We do not serve alcoholic drinks. Although we work with Muslims, an attack like this has occurred.”

Read the full story at the Hurriyet Daily News.

(Image Credit: DHA photo, via the Hurriyet Daily News)

Nationality + Migration

Turkey News | Syrian Youth

Syrian university student population in Turkey experiences nearly eight-fold increase over four-year period
  • The total number of Syrian students in Turkish higher education has increased from 608 to 4,597 since 2011, according to Turkey’s Higher Education Board (YÖK).
  • The board has allowed for seven Turkish universities to accept Syrian students as “special students,” waiving the need for the documentation usually necessary for admission, and later allowing for students with full documentation to transfer as undergraduates.
  • Education Minister Nabi Avci announced in May the creation of a university in the Gaziantep province that would primarily accept Syrian students.

Read the full story at Sunday’s Zaman.

(Image Credit: Cihan/Sunday’s Zaman)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Turkey News | LGBT

Istanbul Pride attendees dispersed by police with water cannon and rubber bullets as governor calls off event
  • Plans to march along Istanbul’s Istikal Avenue near Taksim Square quickly evaporated as police swarmed the marchers preparing for the Sunday evening parade, leading to several detentions.
  • The governor denied permission for the event citing Ramadan, despite the parade having taken place in the past.
  • The event has grown from 30 participants in 2003 to around 50,000 in 2013, considered to be the largest of its kind in the Muslim world.

“These people do not hurl stones and they never would. They do not throw petrol bombs. They just ask for a legal recognition. … This summarizes what has been happening in Turkey. Any request for rights is met like this.”

Read the full stories at Hurriyet News Daily and Reuters.

(Image Credit: Kemal Aslan/Reuters)

Religion + Belief
Turkish Jewish community hosts 700 for fast-breaking dinner during Ramadan
  • The iftar was held in appreciation for community support in the rebuilding and restoration of the historic Edirne synagogue, which reopened in late March.
  • Originally built in 1907 following a fire that wiped out 13 of the city’s synagogues, the Great Synagogue has become one of Europe’s landmark synagogues.
  • There had been controversy surrounding the reopening following the provincial governor’s announcement that it would be turned into a museum following a military raid on an Israeli mosque, but he later retracted those remarks.

“We thought that the most convenient way to thank people in Edirne was to share an iftar meal with them. We thank them all very much. We returned to Edirne and found a more beautiful home than our own.”

Read the full story at the Hurriyet Daily News.

(Image Credit: via the Hurriyet Daily News)

Nationality + Migration
Thousands of refugees return to Syria from Turkey after Syrian Kurds oust the Islamic State from border town
  • Tight border security at Turkey’s border with Syria has limited crossings, but the victory in Tel Abyad allowed for a gate reopening permitting more than 2,000 refugees to return.
  • More than 23,000 Syrians had entered Turkey earlier in the month, according to Turkish officials.
  • The Kurdish YPG militia has encouraged the returns, guaranteeing safety in the towns they have recaptured.

Read the full story at Reuters.

Nationality + Migration
The NY Times has published a graphically enhanced look at the global migration crisis that is being called the worst since World War II
  • 38 million have been displaced within their own countries, while 16.7 million refugees have fled internationally.
  • Roughly 11 million Syrians and 3 million Iraqis have been internally displaced, while 4 million Syrians have left the country, straining the intake abilities of neighboring countries like Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey.
  • Approximately 25,000 Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants have been trafficked via sea in Southeast Asia, some finding conditional acceptance in Indonesia and Malaysia and others being repatriated.
  • To date, around 78,000 have traveled across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa and Turkey, fleeing violence, persecution, and poor economic prospects in North, West, and East Africa.
  • Finally, the conflict in Ukraine has displaced 1.3 million inside the country and sent 867,000 abroad, mostly to Russia with few European countries willing to accept them.

More on this story at The New York Times.

Gender, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief, Sexual + Gender Minorities
Turkey’s parliamentary elections sees AKP lose majority, pro-minority Kurdish HDP win representation for the first time, and numerous victories for minority candidates.
  • While the AKP won the largest parliamentary share with 41%, HDP crossed the threshold of representation with around 13% of the vote, winning 80 seats in the parliament.
  • While the HDP has largely been defined by the Kurds it represents, it also opened up to all those marginalized by the party in power, including women, religious minorities, LGBT citizens, and other ethnic minorities.
  • The new parliament will see a record 96 women and its first Yazidi and Roma MPs, and the HDP also put forth the first openly gay candidate for office.
  • The momentum for the HDP grew out of 2013’s Gezi Park demonstrations, where protesters rallied against the government’s perceived encroachment on the country’s secularism.

“Turks and Kurds are well ahead of the political leaders of the country, and they have a lot of expectations of the democratic process that they have well bought into…This is a very impressive outcome. It shows that Turkey is going through an important political maturing process, and that an increasing number of people are interested in a pluralistic society.”

More on this story at The Guardian.

(Image Credit: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images, via The Guardian)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Turkey sees its first openly gay candidate run for political office as provincial candidate for the pro-Kurdish, minority-friendly HDP (People’s Democratic Party).  More from PinkNews.

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

In a country where “Israel” and “Jew” are often conflated, Turkish Jews grow increasingly concerned by official anti-Semitic statements. More from The Times of Israel.

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

A branch of the Armenian Apostolic Church sues the Turkish government to reclaim a major religious center seized during the WWI-era anti-Armenian pogroms. More from EurasiaNet.

The Rounds

The Mid-week Rounds

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Protests in Saudi Arabia following the anti-Shiite suicide bombing, assisted suicide debates in the U.K., Myanmar’s anti-Rohingya protests, Russia’s community for parents and their gay children, immigration reform’s stumble in the U.S., Dubai’s motorcycle women, and 45 other stories in this week’s news rounds… Continue reading The Mid-week Rounds →

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The Monday Rounds

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Two thousand migrants found abandoned by traffickers in Indonesia and Malaysia, the difficulties of Indonesia’s religious minorities, music and cultural history for Japan’s Okinawans, recognizing the choice of childlessness for women, a rainbow crosswalk in Chile, and more in today’s news rounds… Continue reading The Monday Rounds →

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The Friday Rounds

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Charges in Freddie Gray’s case, the “godfather of African music” in Canada, male-only social clubs in London, and more in today’s Rounds… Continue reading The Friday Rounds →

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The Thursday Rounds

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International protests against police violence, Afro-Iranians in Iran, the Indian government’s recognition of major Buddhist holiday, a mentally ill man’s execution in Brazil, and more in today’s Rounds… Continue reading The Thursday Rounds →