Islam and politics

There is not a "very pessimistic picture" of the differences between Turkey and the United States, however, Ankara believes that the two NATO allies can solve these issues through a "constructive dialogue and by speaking very transparently and sincerely," Turkey's Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın has told Bloomberg.

A defamation campaign advertisement by members of the FETÖ against Turkey has been removed in New York City after backlash from the Turkish community. 

The anti-Turkey ad, broadcast on a screen in Times Square, prompted the Turkish-American National Steering Committee (TASC) and members of the Turkish-American community to protest.

Turkish security forces detained more than 140 soldiers on Feb. 23 in operations centered in the western Izmir province over alleged links to the FETÖ, the group behind the 2016 defeated coup.

Operations were held across 47 provinces in the country, with the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Izmir issuing detention warrants for a total of 148 suspects, 103 of whom were on-duty.

Turkey has criticized the United States for issuing a statement that demands the release of businessman and activist Osman Kavala and called on everyone to respect the ongoing judicial process.

A customer at a cafe in Istanbul, July 2020. Archive photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

It said that a total of 575 offenders have been detected and that detentions continue.

"Debates and developments on social media platforms as well as the social media accounts of illegal groups and structures are being followed closely," the ministry said in a written statement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference, March 18 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/STR

It says human rights activists, dissidents and their families face a pattern of violence and intimidation perpetrated by the same authoritarian regimes they hoped to avoid by fleeing abroad, referring to this phenomenon as "transnational repression".

Turkish gendarmerie on Jan. 30 arrested a senior operative of FETÖ, the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, in the capital Ankara.

Identified by the initials A.Y., the former teacher was wanted with an arrest warrant for four years over "establishing and membership to an armed terrorist organization", according to statement by security forces.

A Turkish flag in the city of Istanbul, May 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

The arrests came after prosecutors in the city of Izmir on Tuesday ordered the detention of 238 serving and former military officers including high-ranking soldiers.

A total of 218 of the suspects are still serving in various branches of the Turkish Armed Forces and Gendarmerie.

Hrant Dink, a prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist, was remembered on Jan. 19 14 years after he was assassinated. 

Born in Turkey's eastern Malatya province in 1954, in 1996 Dink established the Agos newspaper in Istanbul, a publication that since has been published in both Armenian and Turkish. He also acted as the paper's editor-in-chief.

Incoming Democratic President-elect Joe Biden wants to turn the page in Washington's relations with Ankara, Turkey's presidential spokesman has said according to reports.