Latest news with #RecepErdogan
Kuwait Times
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
As birthrate falls, Erdogan declares ‘decade of the family'
Turkish President Recep Erdogan ISTANBUL: In a bid to tackle Turkey's falling birthrate, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday announced the 'decade of the family', and again lashed out at the LGBT community as 'deviant'. 'The period between 2026 and 2035 has been identified as the decade of family and population,' said Erdogan in opening the International Family Forum in Istanbul. 'Our country is facing a great danger: Turkey's birthrate for the first time in our history dropped to 1.48' children per woman, he said, citing figures from the Turkish statistical institute (TUIK). 'This is a disaster, this figure is way below the critical threshold of 2.1,' he said. 'What we are facing right now is not only a statistic, but a warning pushing us to act. That's why in recent years, we have taken important steps to encourage ... all families to have at least three children.' Back in 2001, Turkish women had an average of 2.38 children, TUIK statistics show. It is not the first time Erdogan — a pious Muslim and father of four — has raised the alarm over Turkey's declining population, warning last month it was 'a threat much more significant than war'. In January, he declared 2025 would be the 'year of the family'. He also used his speech to lash out at the LGBT community, which had been a repeated target of his 2023 election campaign. 'This deviant movement, called LGBT... has turned into a (form of) fascism and oppression which rejects any other different ideology,' he said, saying opposing the LGBT agenda was 'fighting for human dignity and honor'. He also warned against moves to blur the distinction between traditional genders. 'Although some opposition parties and some women organizations advocate this deviant movement, de-gendering projects threaten our national security,' he said, vowing his government would 'fight against them with great commitment'. — AFP
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Ask Pakistan to end terror export: India to Turkiye
NEW DELHI: Amid the outrage in India over Turkiye's support to Pakistan during the recent military conflict, govt on Thursday warned Ankara that not being mindful of each other's concerns may not be in the interest of the ties with Turkiye. India also asked Turkiye to urge Pakistan to end its support for cross-border terrorism and dismantle the terror infrastructure it has created. Asked about China's support for Pakistan, Indian govt said that the Chinese side is aware that mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity remain the basis of India-China relations. "We expect Turkiye to strongly urge Pakistan to end its support to cross-border terrorism and take credible and verifiable action against the terror ecosystem that it has harboured for decades. As you know, relationships are built on the basis of sensitivities to each other's concerns," said foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. The statement by the ministry reflects the anger against Turkiye, a long-time ally of Islamabad, for standing with Pakistan after India launched Operation Sindoor to take out terrorist camps in Pakistan. Turkish President Recep Erdogan later doubled down on his support for Pakistan saying the brotherhood between Turkiye and Pakistan is one of the best examples of true friendship.
Al Binaa
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Binaa
The Turkish Explosion
• It is difficult for any observer of the Turkish situation to accept the Turkish government's shallow narrative that the legal pursuit of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoglu on corruption and bribery charges was merely a technical judicial matter. • The eruption in Turkish streets in response to these legal and security developments reveals a deeper political divide – one that had long been simmering and merely awaited a spark. It also underscores the pivotal role that the Syrian crisis and its repercussions play in this division. • At the heart of this divide is the split within Turkey's traditional Islamist movement. On one side, the New Welfare Party champions support for Gaza and accuses President Recep Erdogan's government of secretly aiding the occupying entity economically. It questions why Turkey has not followed the example of non-Islamic nations like Bolivia and Colombia in severing ties with the entity, despite their geographical and political distance from Palestine. On the other side, Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) pursues a neo-Ottoman agenda, using Syria as an entry point within international and regional frameworks that do not provoke the United States or Israel – an approach reinforced by the post-war dynamics in Syria. • For weeks, it seemed that the AKP's bet on this strategy was paying off. However, complications emerged as major Turkish corporations realised that the promised economic boom, driven by grand reconstruction projects in Syria, had evaporated. There was no Arab or European funding, no genuine lifting of sanctions, and the financial bubble that had formed around these expectations quickly collapsed. With Turkey's economy already suffocating, Syria had appeared to be the last viable escape route – one that has now closed. • Meanwhile, events on Syria's coast have deepened Turkey's internal divisions. The Turkish Alevi community, expressing solidarity with the victims of massacres in Syria's coastal region, has been vocally calling for Turkish intervention in a manner befitting a secular state. In stark contrast, the neo-Ottoman fascist faction within Turkey insists on shielding the Damascus government from any criticism, seeing its survival as crucial to legitimising their broader neo-Ottoman ambitions. • It is clear that the opposing forces within Turkey are mobilising all their strengths for a decisive confrontation at this critical historical moment. A growing alignment appears to be forming between Islamist factions supporting Gaza, opponents of neo-Ottoman fascism, and Kurdish, Alevi, and secular groups – an alliance poised for a defining battle that will not only shape Turkey's future but also determine the course of its regional interventions, starting with Syria.
Al Binaa
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Binaa
U.S.-Israeli Escalation Against Yemen and Gaza Met With Resilience, Mobilises Global Support / Turkish Unrest Erupts After Istanbul Mayor's Arrest, Protests Sweep Cities
The political editor wrote The U.S. assaults on Yemen continued, targeting its cities and residential areas, while Yemeni forces responded by launching ballistic missiles and drones at the U.S. aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman. Meanwhile, the war on Gaza entered its second day, with relentless airstrikes claiming the lives of women and children. As both Yemenis and Palestinians stood firm in resisting aggression, pro-Gaza demonstrations once again flooded the streets of major cities worldwide. Protests erupted across Europe, the U.S., and several Arab capitals, while Western governments faced growing calls to halt the war and restore the ceasefire agreement. The U.S. and Israeli media and diplomatic efforts failed to generate public support for the war or rally political backing for the governments that had sided with Israel after al-Aqsa Flood. The most unexpected development in the region, however, was the eruption of unrest in Turkey following President Recep Erdogan's government crackdown on the opposition, particularly the Republican People's Party and its presidential candidate, Ekrem Imamoglu. His arrest on charges of bribery, corruption, and terrorism, along with 100 of his supporters, sparked mass protests that quickly filled the streets of Turkey's major cities. A curfew was declared in Istanbul, along with a ban on social media, as opposition parties began coordinating large-scale demonstrations expected to take place today. The Republican People's Party has called on its members to gather at party offices across Turkey at 10 AM to organise protests. These events unfold against a backdrop of deep divisions stretching back to the start of the war on Gaza, with Erdoğan facing accusations of deception, providing economic support to Benjamin Netanyahu's government while refusing to shut down the occupying entity's embassy in Ankara. Tensions escalated further with developments in Syria, where Ankara-backed armed groups entered Damascus and assumed control, bolstering the rhetoric of extreme Ottomanism, labeled by the opposition as 'neo-fascism'. The situation exploded after massacres on Syria's coast, where Turkey's Alevi community was outraged by the Erdogan government's inaction. This has put Alevis in direct confrontation with the government, which they accuse of enabling sectarian cleansing. The international community is closely monitoring the situation, with the European Union issuing statements describing the developments as alarming and dangerous. In Lebanon, optimism spread across the Bekaa Valley after the army entered the northeastern town of Housh al-Sayyid Ali, successfully repelling attacks by militant groups from across the border. The Bekaa operation had immediate reverberations in the south, where the occupying entity continues its daily assaults and maintains its hold on Lebanese territory exceeding the area of the so-called Five Hills. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to shield the occupation and push Lebanon toward political negotiations. In the south, many hope the Lebanese army will adopt a similarly firm stance, affirming its exclusive authority over armed operations south of the Litani River and exercising its right to self-defense under the ceasefire agreement.
Voice of America
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
VOA Kurdish: Experts say Kurds should remain cautiously hopeful in Turkey's new peace process
Following the declaration of Kurdistan Workers Party leader Abdullah Ocalan on Feb. 27 for the party to lay down arms and disband, the Turkish political process is said to be entering a new phase. Turkish experts tell VOA the process is mixed with Turkish President Recep Erdogan's ambitions to remain in power after 2028 elections, despite the constitution barring him from running again. Experts charge that Erdogan might give Kurds some cultural rights in exchange for their support to amend Turkey's constitution. Click here for the full story in Kurdish.
