Turkey

Buoyed by its recent antiterrorism successes in facing down Syria and capturing Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Turkey now turns its sights on Iran. A series of Turkish-Iranian security meetings tomorrow through Friday will focus on Tehran's allegedly growing support to anti-Turkish organizations. In trying to

Pleased with his decision to throw in Turkey's lot with the winning U.S.-led coalition against Saddam Hussein, Turkish President Turgut Ozal declared at a 1991 post-Gulf War press conference that Turkey "should leave its former passive and hesitant policies and engage in an active foreign policy."1 Ozal's decision to back

On April 27, 1999, Turkish president Suleyman Demirel addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Following is the full text of his opening remarks, as prepared for delivery. Read excerpts from his comments during the forum's question-and-answer session. Distinguished guests, It is a great pleasure for me to address such

In making two strongly nationalist parties the top vote-getters in this weekend's elections, Turks showed the assertiveness of a nation that feels itself emerging as a regional power and the defensiveness of one still embittered by Western Europe's rejection. The secular establishment can take only slight solace in the decline

On April 18, Turkish voters will choose a new national government and new municipal governments. These early elections for the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) are unlikely to bring order to a political scene that has been unstable since 1995, when the Republican People's Party (RPP) withdrew support for its

The arrest of Abdullah Ocalan is a U.S. victory in the global war against terrorism; for elated Turks, it is the equivalent of Israel's 1976 Entebbe rescue operation or the United Kingdom's 1982 Falklands victory -- a thrilling national triumph after a long period of frustration. Now, having supplied crucial

Twenty years after his last stint as prime minister, 73-year-old Bulent Ecevit once again became Turkey's prime minister yesterday. His minority government is unlikely to accomplish much, other than to take the nation to early (but long planned) elections scheduled for April 18. Given traditional difficulties in government formation --

Despite unconfirmed reports of Syrian willingness to expel PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and close PKK bases, Turkish-Syrian tensions are likely to persist; Syria's track record of reneging on pledges to cease supporting the PKK will make Ankara skeptical about the durability of any agreement. For this reason, Turkish military action

Turkey's weekend decision to boost diplomatic ties with Saddam Hussein to ambassadorial level highlights widespread regional opposition to an agreement between two long-feuding Iraqi Kurdish leaders signed in Washington earlier this month. The agreement affirms the Iraqi Kurds' desire to avoid further inter-factional fighting and to prevent Saddam's return to