Mehmet Ali Birand

Articles de cet auteur (24)

Turkey: Basbuğ should not overstretch the issue
30 October 2009
MEHMET ALİ BİRAND Extremely interesting winds are blowing through the public opinion. When examining articles and speeches of writers who have supported the Turkish Armed Forces all their lives and believe that they are the best part in the struggle against the Islamic threat, you’ll notice that the winds are changing. The general impression is mainly along the lines of “destroying the AKP and the Fetullah Gülen community,” officially entitled “the plan for the struggle with the Islamic threat” (...)
Now the PKK needs to think
28 October 2009
MEHMET ALİ BİRAND I did not expect the “Returner Project” to encounter brisk reaction this fast. If, whoever prepared this scenario, either the PKK or DTP, would have perceived and evaluated messages coming from the public, especially on the second day, correctly, then this process would not have come to such a halt. The responsible ones are the DTP and the PKK. We might have been at a different point if they had not turned the event into a show and conducted a meeting on top of it. If you (...)
Sarkozy’s interesting message on Turkey
11 September 2007
France is not changing its basic point of view, but adopts a more flexible general attitude. It brings forward its relationships with Turkey and suggests a new formula. We were so involved in our own affairs last week that we paid no attention to external developments. We were busy discussing who was or wasn’t at which reception and which general didn’t salute whom. We almost became body language experts. Yet there were important developments in Turkish-French relations. French President (...)
Turkey: Erdoğan ostracizes MHP, protects CHP, winks at DTP
9 October 2009
MEHMET ALİ BİRAND The prime minister’s approach toward the opposition regarding the Kurdish initiative is slowly shaping. He moves away from the MHP at a fast pace. He protects the CHP. He winks at the DTP. We don’t know how long this attitude will last. For, the prime minister’s behavior is moody and his reactions incalculable. One day he gives a helping hand and the other day he slams one down. For this reason, I will try to reflect today’s appearance the way I see it. If you were to ask why (...)
Europe’s Turkey report is balanced and constructive
14 November 2007
The Iraq issue has invaded our daily life to such extent that we weren’t able to attach sufficient importance to the European Union Commission’s Progress Report. Yet this was the first balanced and constructive EU report with a pro-Turkey attitude. The negative points mentioned in this report only echo the criticisms voiced by several institutions and reported by the media within the country itself. In other words, there’s nothing negative that we haven’t heard before. The only novelty exists (...)
Happy bayram
30 November 2009
MEHMET ALİ BİRAND Tomorrow the Feast of the Sacrifice begins. We will embrace each other for four days. Those who are on bad terms will make peace and kiss the hand of the elders. I will be abroad for the whole time. But we’ll meet again next week. I already wish all my readers a happy and healthy bayram. The great change since Feb 28 I’m sure you have noticed already. Turkey really changes its shell and changes fast. I wrote this column to remind you of one thing. Think about the period of (...)
Tarir les ruisseaux du maquis kurde
9 juin 2008
Presque chaque jour, dans nos journaux et sur nos écrans de télévision, on nous raconte dans le menu détail les victoires de nos forces armées contre le PKK. Cependant nous oublions de dire que le plus important n’est pas de déloger ceux qui sont dans les montagnes mais de leur en empêcher l’accès. En agissant de cette manière, nous faisons naître un désenchantement dans l’opinion publique. Je vais vous parler aujourd’hui de certaines réalités qui ne vont peut-être pas vous plaire. Avant de vous mettre (...)
The monument’s execution was a sad scene
2 May 2011
I was very sad. The scene of desolation as the Monument to Humanity in Turkey’s eastern province of Kars waited for its head to be cut off made me very sad. I compared it to an inmate being sent to death knowing that first his head will be cut off and then his body torn to pieces. And what’s more is that this inmate had no guilt at all. You may or may not like this monument in Kars. You may, just like Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, call it a “freak.” But I am curious about the (...)
Affaire Pamuk : le point de vue du ministre de la Justice
24 décembre 2005
Editorialiste et homme de télévision, Mehmet Ali Birand revient sur le procès de l’écrivain Orhan Pamuk en livrant les réflexions que lui ont inspirées quelques échanges avec le ministre de la Justice. Quotidien Hürriyet, le 22-12-2005 J’ai eu hier l’opportunité de côtoyer assez longuement notre ministre de la Justice, Cemil Ciçek. Nos regards sur le procès d’Orhan Pamuk ne sont pas différents sur le fond. Pour ce qui est de la forme en revanche nous sommes en opposition complète. Mais à force d’écouter (...)
Darkening our future for the sake of the turban
4 April 2008
I felt sad as I read the prime minister’s speech addressed to the students in Bosnia Herzegovina. Drawing attention to the reluctance of European Union countries to include Turkey among them, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey would lose nothing by not joining the EU. What a pity… Our situation is tragic indeed if the prime minister really believes that. Let’s begin by assessing the EU situation. Only five of the EU countries (France, Germany, Netherlands, (...)