Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Some thousands of supporters demonstrate waving various PKK flags and posters of jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, in southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, Thursday, March 21, 2013, as Ocalan called Thursday for an immediate cease-fire and for thousands of his fighters to withdraw from Turkish territory. (AP Photo)

Opinion: What next for Turkey’s Kurds?

by Samir Salha | Apr 23, 2014 | Opinion

The results of the local elections and its repercussions on the political scene continue to reverberate throughout Turkey. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) was the biggest winner in the elections and is now preparing itself for the presidential race in August....

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Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara February 18, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY – Tags: POLITICS)

Opinion: Erdoğan’s Next Move

by Samir Salha | Mar 21, 2014 | Opinion

According to opinion polls, the most likely outcome in the local elections in Turkey in less than two weeks’ time is that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his party will deal a heavy blow to the opposition and disappoint those who hope to oust him from politics. The...

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Crimean Tatars shout slogans and hold banner which reads: “No War” during the pro-Ukraine rally in Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine, Monday, March 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Opinion: Turkey’s Options in Crimea

by Samir Salha | Mar 11, 2014 | Opinion

The Crimean peninsula’s intrusion into a crisis of Russian creation after losing a political ally in Ukraine is not new to the Russians, nor to other countries in the region. Russia now appears to be maneuvering to mobilize backers in Crimea to carry out an...

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TOPSHOTS People throw up fake euro notes during a demonstration against Turkey’s prime minister in Ankara March 1, 2014. Close to 600 protesters took to the streets in the Turkish capital to protest against the corruption and bribery allegations roiling Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. Some demonstrators were seen handing out fake euros in […]

Opinion: Turkey’s local elections are an important barometer

by Samir Salha | Mar 2, 2014 | Opinion

Turkey is facing three successive elections: municipal, presidential and parliamentary. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) will fight to keep hold of power, while opposition parties will fight to dislodge the ruling party, even at the cost of a minority...

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, left, shakes hands with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, right, at Tehran’s Saadabad palace on January 29, 2014, during the latter’s visit to the Islamic Republic. (AFP Photo/Behrouz Mehri)

Opinion: Why Erdoğan is visiting Tehran

by Samir Salha | Jan 29, 2014 | Opinion

The “sectarian confrontation” between Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif at Davos—“sectarian” because of their respective readings of the Syrian crisis—did not reach the level of Erdoğan’s infamous appearance at...