Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is taking over independent media outlets in Turkey, in an effort to suppress growing dissent in Turkey among journalists who are attempting to report on Turkey’s support of ISIS.  On Friday this week, the leading opposition newspaper Zaman was hijacked by Turkish authorities, followed by the disabling of another newspaper, Cihan News Agency, the very next day. Erdogan is desperate to hide the fact that the Turkish government have allowed a transit route for the U.S. to supply weapons to ISIS in order to oust Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey and Israel are holding diplomatic talks in an effort to ‘normalise’ the relationship between the two countries, after relations deteriorated six years ago following the murder of 10 Turkish pro-Palestinian activists near the Gaza strip in 2010.  Turkish newspaper Hürriyet says that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has confirmed that “Israel and Turkey will publish a statement about this in the coming days.” Ejpress.org reports: Turkey has repeatedly insisted on three conditions for normalisation: the lifting of the Gaza blockade, compensation for the Mavi Marmara victims and an apol

Increasing its threat against Russia, Turkey is setting up a terrorist training camp in Ukraine. The deputy prime minister of Russia’s Republic of Crimea said on Saturday that Turkish military instructors, whose objective is to train mercenaries, have gathered in Ukraine’s southern region of Kherson, bordering Crimea. Sputnik news reports: “We have reliable information that a plenty of military instructors from Turkey have gathered in the Kherson Region of Ukraine.

Overnight both freedom of press and democracy officially died in Turkey, with time of death just before midnight, when Turkish authorities stormed the Zaman daily, a newspaper staunchly opposed to president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and after using tear gas and water cannon they seized its headquarters in a dramatic raid that raised fresh alarm over declining media freedoms.

The police used water cannon late on Friday at a hundreds-strong crowd that had formed outside the headquarters of the Zaman daily in Istanbul following a court order issued earlier in the day.

Experts are calling on NATO to eject Turkey from its membership over fears that Turkish authorities are deliberately trying to provoke a war with Russia.  New York Post writer Benny Anvi warns that NATO’s very existence is under threat due to Turkey’s continual provocations: “Can anyone envision America — or anyone else in the alliance — rushing to Turkey’s aid in a military confrontation with Russia?” Anvi asks.