“The main reason Turkey is changing its name is to sever ties with the bird,” said Sinan Ulgen, chairman of the Istanbul-based EDAM think tank. “But the term is also used in colloquial language to denote failure.”
International organizations are already obliged to use the new name, but it will not happen overnight for the general public, Ulgen told CNN. “It will probably take many years for the general international community to move from Turkey to Turkey.”
This is not the first time the nation has tried to change its name, he said. A similar attempt was made in the mid-1980s under Prime Minister Turgut Ozal, but it has never been so popular, he said.
There may be political motives behind the move, as Turks return to the June elections next June amid a severe economic crisis. This is “another strategy used by the Turkish government to reach nationalist voters in a crucial year for Turkish politics,” said Francesco Sicardi, senior program manager at the Carnegie Europe think tank.
The timing of the name change is “crucial” for next year’s elections, he said. “The decision to change the name was announced last December, when President Erdogan was lagging behind in all opinion polls and the country was in one of the worst economic crises in 20 years.
Erdogan’s position in research has declined significantly over the years. Surveys from the end of last year show support for the ruling AK party at around 31-33%, according to Reuters, down 42.6% in the 2018 parliamentary elections.
However, Ulgen said the name change was more of a rebranding strategy to boost the country’s international standing than a pre-election ploy.
Turkey’s foreign trade deficit rose 98.5 percent year-on-year to $ 6.11 billion in April, Reuters reported, citing the Turkish Statistical Institute. Annual inflation jumped to 73.5% last month, a 22-year high. Analysts say that during the crisis, the president is inclined to resort to populist actions to divert attention from problems at home. The economic turmoil that has already taken people to the streets has been a headache for the government.
“The new name will both distract the local public from more specific, pressing issues and offer President Erdogan another argument in support of his position for a stronger, more traditional Turkey,” Sicardi said.
In another populist move, in 2020 Erdogan issued a decree to turn the historic Byzantine Hagia Sophia Museum in Istanbul into a mosque.
“In the absence of a concrete policy to deal with the country’s economic and political problems, Erdogan is looking for salvation in populist identity politics,” political analyst Seren Korkmaz wrote of the move at the time. “He promotes Turkish nationalism and Islamism and targets opposition figures.”
The new name also has symbolic value, being adopted in 1923 after the new nation emerged from the ashes of World War I. Adopting it worldwide will “cement Erdogan’s place in Turkish history to the founding father of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,” Sikardi said.
The digest
White House says Biden’s view of Saudi Arabia as “pariah” unchanged before possible trip
White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that US President Joe Biden’s position on Saudi Arabia “is still in force”, answering a reporter’s question about whether the president considers the kingdom a “pariah” because of his alleged complicity in the assassination. Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Kashoghi in 2018
- Background: As a presidential candidate, Biden has promised to turn the kingdom into a “pariah” and make him “pay the price” for Kashoggi’s assassination. After taking office, he refrained from direct contact with the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), and instead chose to associate with his father, King Salman.
- Why it matters: Biden’s repetition of the position comes amid reports that the president is planning a trip to the kingdom. MBS, which manages the day-to-day business of the kingdom, rejected US calls to increase oil production to curb inflation. Jean-Pierre said she had not had a presidential preview trip. However, the White House on Thursday took the rare step of recognizing the role played by MBS in prolonging the ceasefire in Yemen.
The Lebanese spy is planning a visit to Syria because of the missing American reporter
Lebanon’s intelligence chief, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, has said he will visit Syria to resume talks on the release of US journalist Austin Thais, who went missing a decade ago. The start of negotiations comes at the request of US officials.
- Background: Austin Theiss was a freelance journalist and former U.S. Marine. He disappeared during a report in Syria in 2012. Ibrahim said that in previous talks with Damascus on Tice, Syria had raised demands for the withdrawal of US forces, the resumption of diplomatic relations and the lifting of some US sanctions. Negotiations stalled at the end of the term of former President Donald Trump.
- Why it matters: Washington said last year that it would not normalize or improve relations with Syria because of what it describes as atrocities it has inflicted on its people. Biden, who met with Thais’ parents last month, needs a foreign policy victory, especially after his failed withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden’s overall approval rating was 41% last month, according to a CNN study.
Israel tells UN nuclear watchdog it will take action against Iran if diplomacy fails
Israel will take action to block Iran’s nuclear program if diplomacy fails, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on Friday. “Prime Minister Bennett has made it clear that while Israel prefers diplomacy to deny Iran the possibility of developing nuclear weapons, it reserves the right to defend itself and act against Iran to block its nuclear program if the international community fails. . in the relevant period of time, “a statement from Bennett’s office said.
- Background: Iran has increased its enriched uranium reserves and has yet to provide answers to unexplained nuclear activities at three undeclared sites, according to two May 30 IAEA reports from CNN. The only additional explanation offered by Iran to one of the alleged nuclear sites is “the possibility of an act of sabotage by a third country to pollute the area. However, Iran has not provided any evidence to support this explanation,” the report said.
- Why it matters: Grossi’s quick visit to Tel Aviv comes ahead of Monday’s IAEA board meeting in Vienna, where the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany must seek a resolution focused on Iran’s need to cooperate fully with the nuclear watchdog. of the United Nations. The draft resolution will be in response to two reports received from CNN and submitted to IAEA member states on May 30, stating that Iran has not yet responded to unexplained nuclear activities at three undeclared sites.
Around the region
When Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi fled her country in 2006 because of a leaked tape, she thought her career was over. But on Saturday, she became the first Iranian to win the Best Actress award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
Ebrahimi gained fame in her native Iran, but the highlight of her career in Cannes came while she was in exile for a film shot in Jordan.
Directed by Iran-born Ali Abbasi, The Holy Spider is based on the true story of a serial killer in the holy city of Mashad, Iran. Next is journalist Rahimi, who covers the hunt for a construction worker suspected of killing 16 prostitutes.
Winning the award was “just a dream,” she told CNN’s Becky Anderson on Thursday.
The film touches on the theme of patriarchy, which Rahimi hopes to send “a message of courage, a message of hope not only to women but also to men and women around the world.”
The victory threw her back into the spotlight in Iran and provoked a negative reaction. The actress told CNN that she received about 200 threats. “The problem is that they haven’t even seen this film and are judging the film, only from a trailer,” she said, attributing the reaction to Iran’s lack of freedom of expression.
Ebrahimi fled Iran to France in 2006 after her “private video” leaked, fearing arrest and harassment by the judiciary, she said. She had to start her career “in a country where I didn’t know anyone.”
“I had to flee my country, my home. I left my friends and family,” she told CNN. But she refused to let the scandal stand in the way of her career. And you know, I’m going to be alive because I have a movie, because I love my job, because I love life. ”
Ebrahimi said her next film will be shot in Australia. She does not intend to return to her homeland.
By Mohamed Abdelbari
What’s on trend
Kuwait: #American_Embassy
A tweet to mark the month of pride from the US Embassy in Kuwait sparked a firestorm on social media, prompting the Gulf nation to call a US diplomat.
“All human beings must be treated with respect and dignity and must be able to live without fear, no matter who they are or who they love,” the English and Arabic embassies tweeted on Thursday with a flag of pride. “@POTUS is the human rights champion for #LGBTQI individuals. # Pride2022 #YouAreIncluded,” it said, referring to the US president.
The US embassies in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE have published similar tweets.
Late Thursday, the Kuwaiti embassy summoned a U.S. attorney to the embassy’s “homosexual rights post,” the Kuwaiti state news agency said. He called on the embassy to “respect the laws and regulations of the country in force in the state of Kuwait and the obligation not to publish such tweets.”
Homosexuality is illegal in Kuwait, and sexual activity of the same sex is criminalized under …
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