Turkish nationalism

Lyutvi Mestan, the ousted leader of Bulgaria's Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) will formally exit the parliamentary group of the opposition centrist party to become an independent member of Parliament on Monday.

A meeting between Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader, Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu, and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on Jan. 4 ended with a consensus to work on a new constitution, while the latter clearly voiced his party's firm objection to a transition into a presidential system.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov complained about having been pressured by both the President and the PM of Turkey to intervene in the conflict that broke in the DPS party in end-December.

Turkey is not one of those banana republics or any of the one-man-rule sheikhdoms of the Middle Eastern political geography and most of the criticisms directed at President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and his Justice and Development Party aim to divert Turkey from walking down such an anti-democratic, indeed dictatorial, road. 

Mariyana Georgieva, a lawmaker with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), has declared she will "follow" Lyutvi Mestan who was removed from the office of party leader last week.

Turkey's Press Council has filed a complaint against a penal court judge who assigned a caretaker panel to the management of Koza ?pek Group's media outlets.

More than 50 employees of several opposition media outlets that were recently placed under the management of a trustee panel have been relieved of their duties, daily Hürriyet has reported.

Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu has expressed his desire to form a single-party government through the votes of Turkish citizens, regardless of President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an's initiative to give the mandate if the CHP does not gain a majority of the vote in the upcoming Nov. 1 election.

No, Turkey is not going through the same election and campaign days that U.S. President Barack Obama went through. 

And no, even his presidency would have been a joke had he ran for office in Turkey. But yes, unfortunately President Obama will be coming to a country that has physically shut down a TV station by force. Live. On TV. And that is a shame.

A day after caretakers shut down two television channels belonging to the Koza-?pek Group, control of the dailies Bugün and Millet were taken over on Oct. 29, hours after their printing were halted in the late hours of Oct. 28.