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Stating that there have been 130,000 girls who married under the age of 18 over the last three years in the country, Dr. Burcu Donmez of Yaşar University´s law faculty notes that forced marriage must absolutely be covered as a part of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). She says: "It is definitely inhuman to force anyone under the age of 15 to marry. In fact, the United Nations defines forced marriage as a kind of modern slavery.”

Data provided in June 2013 from the Interior Ministry illuminates the situation of child brides in Turkey. While there have been a total of 134,629 marriages involving persons under the age of 18 over the past three years, the number of males under the age of 18 married was just 5,763, while the number of girls under the age of 18 married off was 128,866. In other words, the number of underage girls married off in the past three years is 21 times the number of underage males marrying.

Should be counted as a crime

Dr. Dönmez, who stresses that marrying off children under the age of 15 needs to be seen and defined as a violation of children´s rights, says: "For anyone to be forced into marriage -- whether they are under the age of 15 or not -- is an inhuman and a terrible thing. In fact, the European Union produced 11 directives between the years of 2002 and 2006 aimed at preventing forced marriages. Turkey must also move to make forced marriage an injustice that calls for punishment and define it as its own category of crime. Forced marriage must be defined as a solid crime. This is why not only forcing someone into marriage, but forcing someone to continue a marriage, must be made a crime.”

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-336829-130000-girls-under-18-married-in-turkey-in-last-3-years.html

Mr Erdogan has positioned himself as a potential presidential candidate

He has called the corruption investigation a "smear campaign" and urged his supporters to vote for his AK Party in upcoming local elections.

Turkey´s lira has fallen to a new low against the dollar.

The European Union - which Turkey hopes to join - has urged Ankara to address the corruption allegations in an "impartial manner".

This summer, Turkey will vote for a new president.

Over the past year, Mr Erdogan has positioned himself as a potential candidate but analysts say he now faces an organised opponent within the system he has dominated for a decade.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25634542

I have changed my mind about going to a country that is run by a dictatorship.

From what I have read in the past couple of months on internet about the way Turkey is rapidly changing, I have decided to take my holiday elsewhere. I feel sorry for those who have to live and endure this lifestyle. It looks like freedom has been taken away. Now this guy wants to be president. Looks like an assassination is in order!

SERKAN DEMİRTAŞ

serkan.demirtas@hurriyet.com.tr

Is PM Erdoğan corrupt?

One of the major problems with regard to what’s going on nowadays in Turkey stems from the definition of corruption by the head of the powerful Turkish government, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “What I understand about corruption is this: Are the state’s coffers being robbed or not?” he said in an interview with Al-Jazeera on Feb. 11. He gave this definition upon a question about the $4.5 million in cash found in shoeboxes in the house of the former general manager of the state-run Halkbank.

According to Erdoğan, the money found in the general manager’s house was not the bank’s money, so accusing the general manager of corruption or fraud was baseless.

Former Interior Minister Muammer Güler’s $10 million bribe (plus his son’s 1 trillion Turkish Liras, found in his house; the $1.5 million transferred to former EU Minister Egemen Bağış, and the $52 million Zafer Çağlayan bribed, are not considered corruption in the eyes of Erdoğan because that money was not robbed from the state. (All these amounts are documented in the summary of proceedings prepared for these ministers, although these proceedings have yet to be introduced to Parliament due to the government’s blockage.)

Opposition parties have long criticized Erdoğan for his inaction over corruption claims. They even argued that he was personally involved in corruption, by asking about the millions of dollars from businessmen who are making huge profits from lucrative tenders distributed by the government. The opposition suggests that Erdoğan created a well-functioning network for pro-government businessmen, who then found ways to show their gratefulness to the government. Transferring a few million dollars to designated foundations or directly to the houses of government members was just a part of this understanding, the opposition claimed.

A recent leaked voice recording between the prime minister and his son shows that Erdoğan should stick to his very original definition of corruption, as it could be the only way for him to explain the millions of euros or dollars allegedly in his family’s house. He denied the recordings and said they were fabricated, while an Ankara prosecutor has launched a probe into the leaked tape.

However, defining corruption as being solely made up of money stolen from state coffers is obviously a non-starter for ethical governance, which is something Turkey needs more than ever. Because today’s picture depicts a country where some very key notions that have vital importance for the protection of social order in a country - such as ethics, justice, conscience, and so on - are under threat.

In the absence of ethical governance, it will be extremely difficult to keep economic, political and social stability. That’s why Erdoğan should immediately adopt a more universal definition of corruption and then do his best to fight against corruption and graft claims. He should start his job with his own ministers by allowing an effective investigation of corruption and graft claims, without discrimination.

This is the only way for Erdoğan to convince his country and the world that he is not corrupt and is fully clean. Otherwise, we have every right to be suspicious of him.