Lisel Hintz

Este archivo solo abarca los artículos del autor incorporados a este sitio a partir del 1 de diciembre de 2006. Para fechas anteriores realice una búsqueda entrecomillando su nombre.

Supporters of Canan Kaftancioglu, the Istanbul provincial chairwoman of the main opposition Republican People's Party, gather for a rally in Istanbul on Sept. 6. (Serpil Gedik/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Europa

Around midnight Thursday evening, two politically charged Turkish rap music videos dropped and quickly went viral. In what one Turkey expert aptly labeled a “political earthquake”, videos of Ezhel’s “Olay” (“Event”) and Saniser’s “Susamam” (“I can’t stay silent”) seemed to galvanize Turkey’s beleaguered opposition overnight. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power 17 years, and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) are employing arrests, purges and removals of elected officials to quell dissent. The trending of two videos virulently critical of Turkey’s status quo on Twitter, however, suggests that dissent is alive and well in nontraditional forms. As a case in point, Istanbul opposition lawmaker Canan Kaftancioglu tweeted the “Susamam” video with the message “Youth, today and for always, I, too, can’t stay silent” on the day she was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison — for her tweets.…  Seguir leyendo »

Turkish protesters shout anti-government slogans during a demonstration in Istanbul in 2013. (Georgi Licovski/European Pressphoto Agency)

Europa,

On Tuesday, Twitter erupted with tweets using the hashtag #tamam. The Turkish word, in this case meaning “enough is enough,” quickly became the rallying cry of those opposed to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his increasingly authoritarian control over politics and society.

Nearly 1.5 million tweets in less than 12 hours made #tamam the top worldwide trending topic, deftly beating out competition from Trump’s #IranDeal announcement. Much of the shared content displayed the witty spirit of resistance seen in Turkey’s 2013 Gezi Park protests, in which hashtags like #OccupyGezi tagged clever memes and catchy pop culture references, simultaneously making fun of the government and attracting supporters to the cause.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa

On March 19, a student club at Turkey’s prestigious Bogazici University distributed Turkish delight to celebrate the Turkish military’s victory against Syrian Kurdish (YPG) forces in Afrin. Students opposed to the campaign protested, holding up a sign declaring “No delight in occupation and massacre.” A brief struggle between the groups not only upset boxes of the sweets, but would escalate into a political crisis provoking international outcry.

In days following the skirmish, police forces swept through campus to round up more than 20 students suspected of protesting, raids that state media broadcast live as the detaining of “provocateurs.” On March 24, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the group of antiwar demonstrators “terrorists” at a meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AKP).…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa

After years of wrangling for constitutional reform to consolidate his political power, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may finally get his wish. On Sunday, Turkey will vote on a referendum that seeks to formally switch the governing system from a parliamentary to presidential regime.

Nearly all in Turkey agree the current constitution, drafted by the military in 1982, needs to be updated. However, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) previous use of constitutional reform packages to reconfigure domestic politics is hotly contested. And this time around, opposition actors believe the stakes are higher than ever.

The AKP-backed referendum unsurprisingly seeks to further reduce the role of the military in politics.…  Seguir leyendo »