Turkey: Let's Close the Chapter of Coups: New Age Islam's Selection, 20 August 2016
New Age Islam Edit Bureau
20 August 2016
• Turkey: Let's Close the Chapter of Coups
By Galip Dalay
• Knesset Plans Lobby for Return of Palestinians to Their Villages
By Daoud Kuttab
• Turkey’s Improved Ties with Russia
By Harun Yahya
• In Syria, Russia and the United States Fight For the Middle East
By Peter Apps
• The Hidden Danger of Big Data
Carlo Ratti, Dirk Helbing
• Gentrification Glitter Fades into Dust in Istanbul’s Heart
By Pinar Tremblay
Compiled By New Age Islam Edit Bureau
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Turkey: Let's Close the Chapter Of Coups
By Galip Dalay
19 Aug 2016
Since the failed coup attempt, Turkey has been struggling to deal with the aftershock, grieving for the loss of more than 250 lives and caring for more than 2,000 who have been injured.
The country, however, has emerged more cohesive, with shows of unity across almost the entire spectrum of political and social classes.
Political classes of all stripes have rejected the coup attempt by the rogue Gulenist network, which has been designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey since 2014, and celebrated the nation's sense of ownership of Turkey's democracy, which contributed to the failure of the attempted coup.
All these are encouraging. The nation's sense of ownership and the maturity of the political classes underpin Turkey's democracy.
Erdogan calls on US to extradite Gulen
Overcentralisation
These are necessary but not sufficient conditions for permanently closing the door on the age of coups, and terminating the shady and illegal activities of rogue elements within the state. More is needed.
Three measures in particular are vital to achieving a coup-free political future for the country and disincentivising any rogue group seeking first to dominate state institutions, and then to abuse the power that it acquires through this domination for its own parochial group agenda.
Structurally, the over centralised nature of the Turkish state makes it easier for the would-be coup plotters to achieve their goals and for a well-organised rogue element to exercise a disproportionate level of power.
Ideologically, Turkey's over centralised and ideologically proactive state creates incentives for socio-political or religious groups to seek a presence within it and influence it through public institutions and state machinery in order to fulfil their socio-political designs for the state and society at large.
Politically - or in terms of political culture - the lack of proper political interaction, dialogue and problem-solving mechanisms between the ruling parties and other opposition groups has paved the way for actors to gain a non-democratic foothold in the political sphere and acquire political power, which they have invariably abused.
Whether out of necessity or by choice, whenever Turkey's current and previous governments have opted for a partner to deal with major challenges or impending crises, they have chosen their partner from outside the parliament and political sphere.
Turkey's over centralised administrative system creates an incentive for groups first to increase their presence within the state apparatus and then to dominate it.
In most indicators of centralisation, Turkey is far above the OECD average. For instance, the central government collects almost 70 percent of total revenues, far more than the OECD average of 58 percent (PDF).
Even more strikingly, 85 percent of public servants work for the central government in Turkey, while only 15 percent work in local government. This is the highest ratio among OECD countries.
Disproportionate power
In an overcentralised system, it is relatively easier for certain groups to wield disproportionate power over the system.
Once you control key positions in some of the key institutions, you can project influence incommensurate with your actual size or support. The case of the Gulenist network and its actions within the state machinery confirm this point.
As a corollary, decentralisation will by default tame the ambition of groups seeking to infiltrate and dominate the system, as the number of institutions, and the geographic and administrative distribution of these institutions, will be more numerous and wider. The state's power will not be concentrated in the centre. Instead, it will be more defuse.
Moreover, this over centralised state is also extremely proactive in attempting to influence the identity and ideology of its society through social engineering.
For a long time, the Turkish state encouraged a preferred identity of secular, Western-oriented nationalism, while securitising the Kurdish and Islamist identities.
Those whose identity was securitised believed that the only way to change this was through gaining access to the levers of power within the state structure.
Such a belief - coupled with the nature of the state - gave the state apparatus a strong pull factor for any group that aspired to make its imprint on public life.
In this respect, the Gulenist network was partially the product of Turkey's authoritarian, overly centralised Kemalist state. The government should take a lesson from this experience, and strive to make the state blind to identities and remain ideologically neutral.
Lessons To Be Learned
The interaction and cooperation between political parties and elites has proven critical in defeating the coup attempt, showing us the way forward for sorting out the other major challenges that Turkey is facing.
Whether out of necessity or by choice, whenever Turkey's current and previous governments have opted for a partner to deal with major challenges or impending crises, they have chosen their partner from outside the parliament and political sphere.
For instance, in taming the politically meddlesome, threatening and coup-prone military, the Justice and Development Party felt obliged to cooperate with the Gulenists - particularly between 2007 and 2010, when the power struggle within the military was at its peak.
As a result, the Gulenists greatly expanded their presence within the state structure, laying the ground for their future shady and illegal activities.
Likewise, the conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) since July 2015 has seen the military eating into some of the power of civilian governors.
Therefore, the cooperation of the civilian government with non-political forces has ended up empowering the latter.
If history is a precedent, whenever these non-political forces have acquired too much power, they have abused it. The latest coup attempt is a clear testament to this.
This picture also reveals that the non-settlement of major political issues has provided fertile ground for groups to acquire large amounts of power through undemocratic means.
Moreover, the absence of a functioning political dialogue and cooperation between the governing party and opposition parties has paved the way for alternative, unaccountable groups to emerge to fill the void.
The lesson that needs to be taken from this is that the government should have a well-developed plan for dealing with the country's major issues.
Finally, in its endeavours, the government should seek the assistance of the opposition. Such engagement between the government and opposition will not leave loopholes or voids in the political system for rogue elements to fill and abuse.
Source: aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/08/turkey-close-chapter-coups-160818100149381.html
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Knesset Plans Lobby for Return of Palestinians to Their Villages
By Daoud Kuttab
August 19, 2016
The most unusual group of Knesset members met July 26 to support the rights of the residents of two Palestinian villages who have been denied to return to their villages for 68 years now. The group included members of the governing coalition Kulanu Party and the opposition Zionist Camp, as well as former Minister of Defense Moshe Arens.
Upon the invitation of Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint List of predominantly Arab parties, Eli Alaluf from the governing coalition Kulanu Party and Ofer Shelah from the Yesh Atid opposition bloc, 30 Knesset members met to publicly declare their support for the rights of the villagers from Iqrit and Kufr Birim.
Six months after the creation of the State of Israel, the residents of the villages in the north of Israel and close to the Lebanese borders were asked on Nov. 4, 1948, by the Israeli army to vacate the villages for two weeks for military operational reasons. They have not been allowed to return since, even though they are Israeli citizens and have continued to live in nearby villages and towns while constantly demanding the right to return.
Appeals by the residents of those villages to the Israeli Supreme Court led in July 1951 to a ruling that Iqrit and Kufr Birim’s residents living in Israel must be allowed to return, but the ruling was ignored. Israeli soldiers forced several of the residents to watch as all of their homes were blown up with dynamite and other explosives on Christmas Day 1953.
The only remaining building in the village of Iqrit is a small church and a cemetery. No Israelis have moved into the town, but the original residents are not allowed by the government of Israel to return.
Kufr Birim’s residents were also told in 1953 by Israel’s Supreme Court, two years after the 1951 ruling, that they would be allowed to return to their villages unless the military provides a reason to the contrary — but nothing changed.
At present, most of the land of Kufr Birim and nearby Iqrit has been converted into a state park, and much of the remaining land was divided among surrounding Jewish Israeli communities established after 1948.
Speaking at the Knesset meeting, Odeh reiterated the facts about the two villages. “In Israel, there are different versions and narratives on most cases, except the case of Iqrit and Kufr Birim. All in Israel agree that the villages were evacuated under false pretenses and that the Supreme Court has ruled that the villagers — who have not stopped their fight to return — have a right to build and live in their village.”
Speaking to Al-Monitor by phone, Odeh said that the efforts for the return of the villagers will continue and be fierce. “We are planning to deploy efforts over the course of one year, aimed at bringing onboard the Israeli public opinion and encouraging legislative action; the peak of these efforts will culminate in a meeting between the Israeli prime minister and a delegation representing every single party in Israel,” he said.
Odeh added that a petition will be signed by a vast majority of Israeli leaders, which will be published in major newspapers; a march from Iqrit and Kufr Birim to Jerusalem will be organized as part of this campaign.
In addition to the Supreme Court ruling, a ministerial committee established by late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1994 recommended the villagers’ return and stated that “there is no reason to prevent the displaced villagers” from returning and that “it is the government’s duty to assist them in doing so.” Rabin was assassinated in 1995, and the recommendations have never been implemented by the successive Israeli governments.
Nimeh Ashqar, the chairman of the Iqrit Community Association, said in a TV interview July 29 that serious efforts are being made to create a lobby of 61 members of the Knesset (out of 120) that support the right of the villagers to return to their villages.
In addition to the legal and political efforts, villagers have continued to use the remaining church to hold their weddings and they are burying their dead in the cemetery.
Summer camps for descendants of the original residents and supporters of the villagers’ rights have taken place in Iqrit every year since 1995; the adults have organized Roots Camp — an educational and entertainment event on the village grounds for the younger generation.
Israeli governments have been opposing the return of Palestinians who have Israeli citizenship, for fear that this will create a precedent for all Palestinians in terms of the right of return, Ashqar said in the TV interview.
Al-Monitor has learned from several village activists that efforts are being made by supporters and Knesset allies to get former heads of the Israeli intelligence service and Supreme Court judges to state that the return of the original residents to their villages will not necessarily be a precedent.
While unique in many ways, the story of Iqrit and Kufr Birim reflects the catastrophe that has fallen on Palestinians since 1948. The Nakba, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of refugees who now are in the millions, continues to be the living symbol of the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The fact that villagers in Iqrit and Kufr Birim were Israeli citizens when they were asked to leave and received a ruling in their favour from the Israeli Supreme Court and a ministerial committee is a reflection on the clear discrimination and racism that Palestinians in Israel face.
Source: al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/08/israel-knesset-lobby-return-palestinians-iqrit-birim.html
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Turkey’s Improved Ties with Russia
By Harun Yahya
20 August 2016
The Turkish Republic is unique in various ways. Its strategic geographical location makes it a bridge between the East and the West. It is perhaps the only country that is situated at the intersection of the East and the West. When it gravitated toward the West, it felt the threatening force of the East on its doorstep, and when it turned its face to East, the same threat appeared from the West.
In 1923, when the Lausanne negotiations – aimed at authenticating the birth of a new Turkey – were interrupted, Turkey was exposed to the pressure from Britain while it got closer to Russia. While for Turkey, which was still in the process of negotiating at Lausanne, this entente not only strengthened its hand toward Europe, it also signified a threat to the West. However, the West, which was spearheaded by Britain, was thinking that strategically important Turkey should not be “lost.”
In 1946, after the multi-party period in Turkey, befriending the East carried substantial risks. Every Turkish government that fixed its attention on treaties of friendship with the East and strengthened its military and trade relations with the countries in that part of the world , met with external threats and eventually coup attempts with external support. The Cold War period affected Turkey the most. Moscow thought that acquiring the control of the straits would be an effective way to fight against western threat, and it integrated Turkey into the line of attack. Washington, on the other hand, was terrified of a possible Russia-Turkey alliance and believed that if Russia controlled the straits, it could pose a great danger. The admittance of Turkey into NATO helped clarify Turkey’s position to a great extent but it resulted into some other problems in the already polarized world.
The 20th century was a time when countries that came out of the world wars were out of control and they were buried deep into the calamity of violence under the effect of deviant ideologies. In the current century, maybe we are experiencing this terror in a different way. However, almost everyone in the world is now aware that we are not better off with a polarized world.
Turkey is one of the countries that understand this fact. Right now there is no Cold War; therefore Turkey is not obligated to side against a country on another’s request. Most people might be interpreting Turkey’s membership in NATO as a western pact membership. NATO was established to maintain peace. In the current situation, it would be better for it to include the East too, and designate a goal in this direction. We stated this fact years ago: If Russia was admitted as a member of NATO, the world could become more peaceful. However for some reasons, the realpolitik interests of some still necessitate the world to be divided into two different fronts. Hence, this is always a cause for trouble.
If we are to return to Turkey, undoubtedly, NATO membership is an important factor. However today, there is no doubt that NATO needs Turkey, more than Turkey needs NATO. In the current circumstances, no side is in a situation to coerce Turkey into taking a side. If we are to evaluate the subject in terms of Turkey-Russia ties, we will reach the following conclusion: While Turkey was improving its long-lasting friendship with Russia, it never turned its back on NATO or its western allies. The relationship with Russia, which was the first country to call Turkey during the coup attempt, will undoubtedly improve in future.
Turkey, however, value its western allies and wishes to further strengthen its ties with them because it is a country, which understands that the true solution for world’s problems can only be achieved through forging alliances and that polarization is not the right approach. In Turkey, where political polarization makes itself evident from time to time, the fact that in only one night such a great sense of unity is achieved is the most important proof of this fact. Turkey will maintain this unity with its neighbours and allies in the future. It may be that Turkey’s allies comprise of countries which can’t get along with each other or see each other as threats. But this fact never constitutes an obstacle for Turkey’s separate friendship with these countries.
The pleasant sight of two leaders, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin, shaking hands in St. Petersburg should not lead to unnecessary speculations. Turkey is a country that wants to be and can be friends with both the West and the East.
We should also take into consideration the importance of Turkey-Russia ties for the resolution of the Syrian conflict. During the last week’s meeting a consensus was reached, both sides specifically laid emphasis on the importance of “territorial integrity” in Syria. Acting in accordance with this common ground will allow important decisions to be made regarding Syria. At this point, Turkey’s NATO membership constitutes a great importance. As a bridge between the West and the East, Turkey can act as a negotiator in the Syrian crisis. The support from key Middle Eastern countries will also play an important role in this regard.
Source: arabnews.com/node/972571/columns
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In Syria, Russia and the United States Fight For the Middle East
By Peter Apps
Aug 20, 2016
Two years into Washington’s war against Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS), it may finally be winning. At the same time, however, its influence over events in the broader Middle East seems perhaps terminally in decline.
What happens in the coming months and years in Syria will be key to the future shape of the region. No country has challenged US policymakers more – and the Obama administration has faced heavy criticism.
This month, however, has seen what feels like the first good news for the United States from Syria since the uprising began.
In early August, US-backed Syrian forces seized back the town of Manbij. Footage of jubilant locals embracing those they see as liberators has been flashed around the globe, providing exactly the kind of propaganda victory Washington needed.
Manbij could open the door for an offensive against the true militant heartlands. Daesh is losing ground, money and support. It may soon be stripped of remaining strongholds in Raqqa, Syria, and Mosul, Iraq.
But the battle for the future of Syria – and, indeed, the Middle East – is much more complex than the fight against Daesh. And there are powerful forces – particularly Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Iran and what remains of Bashar Al-Assad’s government – that also want to call the shots.
The United States and Europe long struggled to find an approach to Syria, undecided on how hard to push against Assad and how much to back – or trust – the opposition. Moscow, in contrast, has always known which side it was on.
This week, Russia shocked US analysts by moving long-range bombers to Iran, flying through Iraq airspace to strike targets in Syria. It was the first time Iran’s rulers had allowed their military bases to be used by a foreign power at least since the 1979 revolution, a dramatic sign of the growing Russia-Iran axis.
The strikes came against the backdrop of a much broader escalation by the Syrian government and its allies that some reports suggest has included a handful of chemical strikes. In Aleppo, the UN says an upsurge in fighting in recent weeks has killed hundreds and markedly worsened the already catastrophic humanitarian situation.
In many respects, the relatively small town of Manbij is a sideshow compared to some of the larger, longer running battles and sieges. But for the United States, it was a major achievement. The victors were, on paper at least, the “moderate Syrian opposition,” an entity the United States has been desperately hoping would come into existence for years. Given its unsuccessful and wasteful early attempts at building that opposition, this victory is no small deal.
The reality was always somewhat more complex – according to some accounts, up to 60 percent of Syrian Democratic Fighters are Kurdish. While the group also includes Sunni and Assyrian fighters, it’s not the kind of pan-Syrian force the West would really like to see. It is, critics say, essentially dominated by the Syrian Kurdish YPD – which means its successes are viewed with suspicion by neighbouring Turkey – no fan of Kurdish separatism – and Iraq.
Whether the United States can grow enough moderate local forces to significantly alter the larger conflict remains unclear. Eventual peace will likely come down to a negotiated deal that must involve both local Syrian actors and their international backers.
The broader geopolitics now seem clear. Moscow has put itself firmly on the side of the Shi’ite-run Tehran-Damascus axis. At the same time, however, the United States is drifting further from its key Sunni regional partners.
That’s not necessarily a criticism of President Barack Obama – history handed him a nightmarish situation. The more robust interventionist approach of the George W. Bush administration was no more effective – and in many respects a lot more costly. Obama has had his share of successes, in particular, avoiding war with Iran. Most importantly, the kind of military operation the United States is currently pursuing in the region is much more sustainable.
Broadening US military and diplomatic focus beyond the Middle East was, after all, one of Obama’s earliest ambitions. The United States is much less dependent on Middle Eastern energy. It also has growing responsibilities and worries elsewhere, not least in confronting a rising China and resurgent Russia.
It is in its growing confrontation with Moscow, however, that things get complicated.
In Russia, the United States now faces a rival great power that is willing to take the kind of decisive action to alter the course of events in the Middle East that had previously been limited to Western states.
Neither Moscow nor Washington, it’s clear, have any enthusiasm for the kind of troop-heavy missions the West tried in Iraq and Afghanistan. These are very different conflicts, fought largely by local forces with support and advice from powerful outside sponsors.
Despite what some in the United States might want, there is little appetite in Washington for expanding strikes to deliberately weaken Assad’s forces. Such action might, in any case, merely prolong Syria’s nightmare. Attacking anything belonging to nuclear-capable Russia, of course, is not on the table at all. It would just be too risky.
There’s clearly a significant moral gap between the unrestrained brutality of Putin and Assad and Washington’s more limited approach, moderated as it is by a desire to keep down unnecessary casualties and collateral damage. Still, the West doesn’t have nearly as much moral high ground as it might like to believe. Washington is seen still turning a blind eye to the actions of its allies.
Whoever wins the US presidency in November will want to put their own mark on America’s role in the Middle East. Where things stand in Syria when they take office, however, will hugely influence their options.
That means plenty for all sides to fight for in the weeks and months to come. Don’t expect things to get any simpler anytime soon.
Source: saudigazette.com.sa/opinion/syria-russia-united-states-fight-middle-east/
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The Hidden Danger Of Big Data
Carlo Ratti, Dirk Helbing
19 Aug 2016
In game theory, the "price of anarchy" describes how individuals acting in their own self-interest within a larger system tend to reduce that larger system's efficiency. It is a ubiquitous phenomenon, one that almost all of us confront, in some form, on a regular basis.
For example, if you are a city planner in charge of traffic management, there are two ways you can address traffic flows in your city. Generally, a centralised, top-down approach - one that comprehends the entire system, identifies choke points, and makes changes to eliminate them - will be more efficient than simply letting individual drivers make their own choices on the road, with the assumption that these choices, on aggregate, will lead to an acceptable outcome.
The first approach reduces the cost of anarchy and makes better use of all available information.
The Price Of Anarchy
The world today is awash in data. In 2015, humankind produced as much information as was created in all previous years of human civilisation.
Every time we send a message, make a call or complete a transaction, we leave digital traces. We are quickly approaching what Italian writer Italo Calvino presciently called the "memory of the world": a full digital copy of our physical universe.
As the internet expands into new realms of physical space through the internet of things, the price of anarchy will become a crucial metric in our society, and the temptation to eliminate it with the power of big data analytics will grow stronger.
Examples of this abound. Consider the familiar act of buying a book online through Amazon. Amazon has a mountain of information about all of its users - from their profiles to their search histories to the sentences they highlight in e-books - which it uses to predict what they might want to buy next.
As in all forms of centralised artificial intelligence, past patterns are used to forecast future ones. Amazon can look at the last 10 books you purchased and, with increasing accuracy, suggest what you might want to read next.
A certain amount of randomness in our lives allows for new ideas or modes of thinking that would otherwise be missed.
But here we should consider what is lost when we reduce the level of anarchy. The most meaningful book you should read after those previous 10 is not one that fits neatly into an established pattern, but rather one that surprises or challenges you to look at the world in a different way.
Contrary to the traffic-flow scenario described above, optimised suggestions - which often amount to a self-fulfilling prophecy of your next purchase - might not be the best paradigm for online book browsing.
Big data can multiply our options while filtering out things we don't want to see, but there is something to be said for discovering that 11th book through pure serendipity.
Threat To Innovation And Democracy
What is true of book buying is also true for many other systems that are being digitised, such as our cities and societies.
Centralised municipal systems now use algorithms to monitor urban infrastructure, from traffic lights and subway use to waste disposal and energy delivery.
Many mayors worldwide are fascinated by the idea of a central control room, such as Rio de Janeiro's IBM-designed operations centre, where city managers can respond to new information in real time.
But with centralised algorithms coming to manage every facet of society, data-driven technocracy is threatening to overwhelm innovation and democracy.
This outcome should be avoided at all costs. Decentralised decision-making is crucial for the enrichment of society.
Data-driven optimisation, conversely, derives solutions from a predetermined paradigm, which, in its current form, often excludes the transformational or counterintuitive ideas that propel humanity forward.
A certain amount of randomness in our lives allows for new ideas or modes of thinking that would otherwise be missed.
And, on a macro scale, it is necessary for life itself. If nature had used predictive algorithms that prevented random mutation in the replication of DNA, our planet would probably still be at the stage of a very optimised single-cell organism.
Decentralised decision-making can create synergies between human and machine intelligence through processes of natural and artificial co-evolution.
Distributed intelligence might sometimes reduce efficiency in the short term, but it will ultimately lead to a more creative, diverse and resilient society.
The price of anarchy is a price well worth paying if we want to preserve innovation through serendipity.
Source; aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/08/hidden-danger-big-data-160816140935829.html
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Gentrification Glitter Fades into Dust in Istanbul’s Heart
By Pinar Tremblay
August 19, 2016
Istiklal Avenue is one of the most photographed streets in Istanbul. Situated in the heart of the Beyoglu entertainment district, Istiklal (formerly known as Grand Rue de Pera and Cadde-i Kebir) is a wide avenue adjoining several historic streets from Karakoy Port, Galata Tower and Taksim Square. The red streetcar from the Ottoman days is probably the best-known image of the avenue, which has long become the symbol of Istanbul.
Istiklal Avenue has been viewed as a relatively successful gentrification example of the Beyoglu beautification effort compared to other areas. With political gatherings of all sorts, popular cultural events, countless shops and an active nightlife, it was the place to be seen.
Fancy cafes, international chains and upscale restaurants replaced the seedy underground lifestyles of the back alleys for which Beyoglu was notorious in the 1980s and 1990s. At one time, no trip to Istanbul would be complete without strolling down Istiklal Avenue, enjoying the different scents of foods, watching the bustle and diversity of a cosmopolitan city, and viewing street musicians from all over the world. Almost all are gone now.
The glitter of Istiklal Avenue is fading, and the deterioration is acknowledged in the graffiti-decorated shutters of abandoned businesses. Erdem Dilbaz, a resident of Beyoglu for 15 years, has been taking pictures of all the businesses shut down in Istiklal this summer. His photo archive has generated a preliminary report by the 140 Journos network. Several international brands left Istiklal Avenue in the last three months, and almost none of the emptied lots have been rented. Starbucks, Columbia Sportswear, Pizza Hut, Teknosa, Media Markt, Otto, House Cafe, MidPoint and Mama Shelter along with prominent Turkish establishments such as Pasabahce have shut their doors. Several of the vendors in Istiklal told Al-Monitor that the first flight of major businesses was in September 2015, when telecommunication giant Turkcell, with its 2,000 employees and thousands of daily customers, took off from the neighborhood.
Why have the upscale stores fled from Istiklal? Indeed, the incompetent city planning and greedy regulations of Beyoglu municipality should be held responsible for the current situation. With the slogan of gentrification, Ahmet Misbah Demircan, the district’s mayor from the Justice and Development Party (AKP), repeatedly told the press that in his vision Istiklal Avenue was just a big shopping mall. Gradually, yet diligently, Demircan and his party altered the identity of Beyoglu.
To make room for modern shopping malls, several historic theaters (Emek Cinema, Muammer Karaca Theater, Alcazar Theater) have been shut down along with one-of-a-kind historic establishments, including patisseries, lingerie stores and reggae and jazz clubs.
Despite diligent resistance from the district’s businessmen, the AKP established a city ordinance where all street tables were banned in July 2011. It is crucial to understand that life in Istanbul and especially in Beyoglu happens on the street. Establishments have been paying the municipality for each table regularly, but it was not sufficient. Cafes, small taverns and pubs were all negatively affected. In addition, rigid alcohol regulations also made it difficult for small establishments to survive. In the meantime, the Beyoglu municipality added 2,200 new business licenses for entertainment places, increasing competition to an unprecedented level. Making the survival of old and unique businesses against big chains impossible, consumption taxes and entertainment taxes were increased. Overnight, the entertainment tax was increased 6,600%, which butchered the struggling arts and entertainment industry to its core. Changing the sidewalks every season with loud and disturbing machines did not help the businesses in the neighborhood, either. The municipality had also declared a war on the trees, so much so that now only a few trees remain at the Huseyin Aga Mosque’s entrance.
As historic businesses left Beyoglu one by one, mega shopping malls and upscale chain restaurants replaced them. These upscale businesses could have lasted longer had it not been for a series of unrelenting terror attacks and disastrous foreign policy adventures dramatically curbing tourism.
Banking on an increasing number of visitors, Demircan bragged about the increasing number of beds since 2006 from 6,000 to 21,000 in 2014 and finally to 45,000 in 2016. Yet in the summer of 2016, he also had to accept that 80% of those beds were empty, as the tourism sector collapsed. Demircan acknowledged the reality of Beyoglu falling into disrepair and decrepitude. Declaring global forces to be the culprit of these difficulties, he promised that Istiklal will soon go back to its days of glamour because the municipality is launching a smart Beyoglu portal. Although he would not explain what the portal would do, there are a handful of YouTube videos available in Turkish where small Beyoglu establishments introduce themselves under the banner of smart Beyoglu.
Yet strolling up and down Istiklal Avenue one cannot help but realize the loss of vibrancy. The regular crowds — families, tourists from all over the world, college-aged youth, young lovers and street entertainers — are no longer there. There are quite a few young, idle-looking men and a few tourists.
Al-Monitor spoke with several establishments struggling to survive in Beyoglu. The famous confectionery Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir, established in 1777 and operating from Beyoglu since the early 1900s, and the 100-year-old Cumhuriyet Tavern and Cumhuriyet Soup Restaurant concurred that in the last 36 months they have been just barely breaking even and praying the tide will turn. However, it has been getting worse. When reminded of the crowds, a senior member of the Haci Bekir confectionary told Al-Monitor, “Look around, these are not your regular tourists. They come here for either a nose job or hair implants from poor Arab countries. No longer Iranians or Gulf tourists. We used to play a guessing game of where the customers are from among the staff here. There has not been a single American or European visitor in months.” At the Cumhuriyet Soup Restaurant, one customer chimed in, “They forced out all beer serving places promising champagne for glamorous Beyoglu. Now we have none.”
The remaining places try to stay in business by posting signs in Arabic, while middle- and upper-middle-class Turks are further turned off Istiklal Avenue, as hookah shops and decadent nightclubs replace taverns. In the back alleys, drug pushers and prostitutes are visible before dusk, and the police seem to look the other way while petty crime is on the rise. Even the remaining bookstores no longer sell Istanbul memorabilia. When Al-Monitor asked why, one storekeeper replied, “No one buys it.”
While the current news in Turkey report only the recent flight of popular chains from Istiklal Avenue, the neighbouring streets are not doing any better. Bagdat Avenue, Karakoy and other popular areas where housing prices have skyrocketed are facing tough times. The property values declined more than 20%, and the owners no longer demand payment in US dollars.
Beyoglu’s gentrification has become a victim of “hedonistic neoliberalism,” a term used by Vasif Kortun, director of SALT Art Centre. SALT Beyoglu shut its doors in January 2016.
If streets leading to Istiklal Avenue tell the story of Istanbul, then we must brace for approaching hard times. To understand what I mean, leave Beyoglu behind, take a stroll from the Egyptian Spice Market into the meandering streets of the Mahmutpasa businesses, and finish at the Grand Bazaar. You will quickly observe the jostling crowds are long gone. Ask Grand Bazaar shopkeepers how their businesses are and they will tell you in unison they have not sold even half of their inventory from last year.
Overall, Beyoglu is likely to remain animated by its continuous creative restlessness and survive the rough tides; however, if the economic hardship is prolonged, how long can Turkey ride the tide of recession?
Source: al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/08/turkey-gentrification-glitter-fades-into-dust-istanbul.html
URL: https://newageislam.com/middle-east-press/turkey-let-close-chapter-coups/d/108309