Turkey
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Interview with Turkish writer Aslı Erdoğan
"It's my country too"
Celebrated Turkish novelist Aslı Erdoğan was imprisoned for four months in Turkey last year. Despite the awful experience and the pressure being exerted on her, she refuses to be cowed. Writing, she says, is a responsibility. Interview conducted by Ceyda Nurtsch
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Freedom of speech in Turkey
Journalists under siege
A tragedy is slowly unfolding in Turkey. Since the failed coup attempt in 2016, more than 120 journalists have been arrested. "It's time we speak out for them," say the journalists from Al Jazeera who were imprisoned in Egypt. By Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed
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Rebetiko between East and West
Melancholy makes a comeback
The music traces its origins back to a refugee tragedy and is a melange of Orient and Occident. The Greek blues known as rebetiko has experienced a comeback since the country's economic crisis. Mey Dudin reports from Athens
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Kemal Kiliçdaroğlu's "Justice March"
Turkey's emboldened opposition
In Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government has been working to centralise political power, opposition parties have lately had few reasons to be optimistic. This month's massive rally in Istanbul was a rare exception. By Sinan Ülgen
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The Kurdish football club Amedspor
"Disciplinary measures are unfortunately part of our team identity"
Despite fielding a succession of repressive measures, the Third-League club Amedspor from Diyarbakir is clocking up the sporting victories. For Kurdish fans from Istanbul to Hakkari, the team represents a beacon of hope in difficult times. By Sonja Galler
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Turkey one year after the attempted coup
In a mental state of emergency
The recent ″March for Justice″ organised by CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu proved a wake-up call, even for secular, politically reticent Turks. Finally people have realised that, without a voice in politics, they will slowly but surely forfeit their identity. By Yavuz Baydar
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Interview with German Turkish author Deniz Utlu
Beyond a binary identity
The German-speaking author Deniz Utlu writes about migration and identity in a way that is at once to the point and poetical. In interview with Canan Topcu, he explains why his Turkish roots seem more important to others than they do to him and how he himself defines his identity
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Battle for Syria
Trump's constructive ignorance
The U.S. war on terror is creating more terrorists and will further destabilise the Middle East. Only in Syria could Trump's military determination potentially contribute to a negotiated solution, says Kristin Helberg
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"Stranded. Refugees between Syria and Europe"
Forever in transit
For his reportage "Stranded. Refugees Between Syria and Europe" the writer Tayfun Guttstadt travelled to the cities of Turkey and along the Turkish-Syrian border. In conversation with Sonja Galler, he talks about the precarious situation faced by Syrian refugees, their legal status and Turkey′s lack of any kind of integration concept
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Profile: German-Turkish film director Fatih Akin
The cutting edge of reality
Fatih Akin′s latest film – ″Aus dem Nichts″ (In The Fade) – recently celebrated its world premiere at the International Film Festival in Cannes. The German-Turkish film director′s work revolves around the clash of different cultures, transcending borders to achieve a great truthfulness. By Anke Sterneborg
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Erdogan′s Turkey
The repression goes on
Turkey’s government is hounding opponents. Shortly after its narrow – and disputed – referendum victory in April, it extended the state of emergency and ran yet another purge of the police. The media had been silenced before the referendum and cannot hold the authorities accountable anymore. By Hans Dembowski
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Album review: Neotolia′s ″Neotolian Song″
Once upon a life
While many albums have explored the space where American jazz meets Eastern music, the latest recording from Boston-based Neotolia on Interrobang Records, ″Neotolian Song″, has achieved a fusion that expands to encompass the rest of the world. Review by Richard Marcus