As Erdogan manoeuvres to retain power, Turkey faces an uncertain future

[July 7, 2015]

One month after Turkey's June 7 parliamentary elections, the country still does not have a new government. Ahmet Davutoglu of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) remains as caretaker prime minister. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains the dominant figure in the AKP and is actively manoeuvring to retain his party's leading position. The president is supposed to be an impartial figure above party politics but Erdogan pays scant regard to such constitutional niceties.

Turkey & Rojava

[These slides were used for a talk to the Socialist Alliance Geelong  branch, July 1, 2015. For a PDF of slideshow see here.]

Turkish elections: HDP's bold move puts party centre stage

[Green Left Weekly, #1054, May 26, 2015]

The June 7 elections to Turkey's Grand National Assembly are clearly the most important in a long time. The bold decision of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) to run as a party and strive to exceed the grossly undemocratic 10% threshold has put the organisation at the political centre stage.

Call to de-list PKK gathers support

[Green Left Weekly, #1053, May 19, 2015]

An open letter to the Australian government calling for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to be removed from the list of proscribed terrorist organisations is gathering support. Initiated by the Melbourne-based Australians for Kurdistan campaign committee, the open letter has attracted some notable endorsements. The letter and endorsements can be viewed at the website Lift the ban on the PKK.