Joost Lagendijk

Important thread

Opinion | Turkey’s People Are Resisting Autocracy. They Deserve More Than Silence. The world’s democracies can speak up to make Erdogan’s life less comfortable.

Erdoğan’s only real ideology is power. He wraps himself in whatever banner serves his autocratic aims — ‘conservative democracy’ early on, Islamism during the Arab Spring, and then Turkish nationalism. The label changes. The goal — absolute, unchecked power — never does. And that is THE problem.

I’m glad the New York Times is highlighting the Turkish people’s fight for democracy, but this editorial — like a few others lately — misses the mark: stop viewing Erdoğan through an outdated Islamist lens. It distorts Turkey’s reality and weakens the point you’re trying to make. ++

11 people, including TV actor Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, reportedly detained in Turkey for publicly supporting a student-led economic boycott yesterday to protest the arrests of their peers during political demonstrations.

It is also an effective way to keep the resistance mobilised and engaged without losing momentum or relying solely on mass protests!

Erdogan & co. are up in arms about the boycott, calling it treason and threatening legal action--a sign of panic.

Boycott is effective b/c pro-AKP businesses rely on urban middle class consumers whom the govt is busy beating up, jailing and alienating.

The logic is simple: hit'em where it hurts!

There's a countrywide boycott of government-aligned businesses in 🇹🇷 -- and it's working! Intense social media campaign for Muse to postpone its Istanbul concert, organised by an AKP-linked entertainment company, has just born fruit.

Muse postpones İstanbul concert amid anti-government boycott The organizer of the Muse concert scheduled for June came under fire after labeling the ongoing boycott campaign as "treason," which resulted in their inclusion in the campaign as well.

Muse postpones İstanbul concert amid anti-government boycott bianet.org/haber/muse-p...

CHP ends nightly protests outside İstanbul city hall: ‘We thwarted a coup’ Özel said the protests prevented the government from installing a trustee in the city administration following İmamoğlu’s arrest.

CHP ends nightly protests outside İstanbul city hall: ‘We thwarted a coup’ bianet.org/haber/chp-en...

Today, on the 6th day of protests, CHP leader took a step ahead from simply calling for protests night after night. He has just read out a boycott list of Turkish businesses, brands and medias, known to be close to president Erdogan's government. Many had been wondering, what could be the next move.

This morning's police raids targeted 106 suspects but the focus, of course, is on the man who is Turkey's most recognisable politician after Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Where now for Ekrem İmamoğlu, President Erdoğan and Turkey?

A thread after a tumultuous 24 hours.

What geopolitics? 1. Trump in power gives autocrats room for suppression without reprimand, 2. Knows Europe needs Turkey more than ever for security and won't speak up, 3. Syria strengthened his hand, forced Kurds into truce, effectively dividing & paralysing domestic opposition.

A self-coup happening in Turkey! Istanbul mayor and the man to beat Erdoğan--Ekrem İmamoğlu--is arrested. Social media restrictions and ban on demonstrations in place... Threatened by surging opposition, Erdoğan is taking advantage of geopolitics & going full authoritarian! 1/2

İstanbul's İmamoğlu detained in sweeping investigation İmamoğlu and dozens of municipal officials and CHP members have been taken into custody.

Follow our feed for live updates bianet.org/haber/istanb...

İstanbul's İmamoğlu detained in sweeping investigation İmamoğlu and dozens of CHP members have been taken into custody.

İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, others detained in sweeping investigation

İmamoğlu is accused of "leading a criminal group" and terrorism-related activities bianet.org/haber/istanb...

Armenia and Azerbaijan’s Major Step Forward After decades of conflict, the two moved closer to a peace deal. But outside support, especially from Ankara, is critical to maintain momentum.

Turkey is the key player in the Armenia-Azerbaijan issue, but Ankara has to overcome a contradiction : believing that normalisation with Armenia will make 🇹🇷a stronger player in the Caucasus, but not wanting to act without the backing of Baku, its major partner.
carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

Jailed Kurdish leader calls for PKK to disarm – in shift that could shake up region Abdullah Öcalan’s message, which follows four decades of guerrilla warfare, will have far-reaching implications

A call heard across Turkey, Syria and northern Iraq: Abdullah Öcalan, the Kurdish militant leader imprisoned on a remote island south of Istanbul called on the PKK to lay down arms and then dissolve, signalling a potential end to four decades of insurgency.

My piece for @theguardian.com

Brilliant read on Trump’s second coming: ‘From Comedy to Brutality’ by Fintan O’Toole @fotoole.bsky.social in the March 13 edition of the New York Review of Books

Turkey arrests dozens of politicians, journalists, public figures in broad crackdown Investigations target individuals from a wide range of the political spectrum, from the İstanbul mayor to pro-Kurdish and anti-immigrant politicians.

Turkey arrests dozens of politicians, journalists, public figures in broad crackdown

Investigations target individuals from a wide range of the political spectrum, from the İstanbul mayor to pro-Kurdish and anti-immigrant politicians. bianet.org/haber/turkey...

Negotiators zero in on potential deal to disarm Syria's last battleground They are looking to resolve one of the most explosive questions looming over Syria: the fate of Kurdish forces that the U.S. considers key allies against Islamic State and that Turkey regards as a national security threat.

Long Reuters piece on the negotiations over how to deal with the SDF’s reintegration in a new Syria, by Maya Gebeily, Jonathan Spicer, and Tuvan Gumrukcu.

@jonathanspicer.bsky.social
@tuvangumrukcu.bsky.social
@reuters.com

www.reuters.com/world/middle...

18 years ago Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was killed. Today, at the commemorative event in Istanbul, it was clear that he won’t be forgotten and the struggle for freedom and democracy in Turkey continues.