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EU MEMBERSHIP: FOOTNOTES
The Guardian - United Kingdom
Jun 12, 2006
Ataturk
Mustafa Kemal, known as Ataturk, was a junior army officer who became
the founder and first president of the Turkish republic after the
collapse of the Ottoman empire. He transformed Turkey into a modern
secular state
Sovereignty Day
Celebrated on April 23, Sovereignty Day commemorates the opening of
the first Turkish national assembly in 1920
AKP
The AKP (Justice and Development) movement was formed in 2001 from
ruins of previously banned Islamist parties, but leaders describe
themselves as moderates and "conservative democrats". Opponents have
accused it of hiding an Islamist agenda and plotting to undermine
Turkey's secular democracy
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
A former mayor of Istanbul, Erdogan led the AKP to victory in 2002
elections, but was barred from becoming prime minister because
of a conviction for inciting religious hatred. After his party
forced through a constitutional amendment allowing him to stand for
parliament, Mr Erdogan became PM in March 2003
Kurdish conflict
Turkey's war with its repressed minority of Kurds has lasted for
decades. The current conflict erupted in 1984, when Abdullah Ocalan,
guerrilla leader of the Kurdistan Workers' party, led the rebellion.
It has claimed 40,000 lives
First world war massacres
Turkey faces international pressure to recognise that more than 1
million Armenians were massacred during a 1915 campaign of ethnic
cleansing by Ottoman Turks. Turkish officials claim that most deaths
were caused by hunger and disease.
The Guardian - United Kingdom
Jun 12, 2006
Ataturk
Mustafa Kemal, known as Ataturk, was a junior army officer who became
the founder and first president of the Turkish republic after the
collapse of the Ottoman empire. He transformed Turkey into a modern
secular state
Sovereignty Day
Celebrated on April 23, Sovereignty Day commemorates the opening of
the first Turkish national assembly in 1920
AKP
The AKP (Justice and Development) movement was formed in 2001 from
ruins of previously banned Islamist parties, but leaders describe
themselves as moderates and "conservative democrats". Opponents have
accused it of hiding an Islamist agenda and plotting to undermine
Turkey's secular democracy
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
A former mayor of Istanbul, Erdogan led the AKP to victory in 2002
elections, but was barred from becoming prime minister because
of a conviction for inciting religious hatred. After his party
forced through a constitutional amendment allowing him to stand for
parliament, Mr Erdogan became PM in March 2003
Kurdish conflict
Turkey's war with its repressed minority of Kurds has lasted for
decades. The current conflict erupted in 1984, when Abdullah Ocalan,
guerrilla leader of the Kurdistan Workers' party, led the rebellion.
It has claimed 40,000 lives
First world war massacres
Turkey faces international pressure to recognise that more than 1
million Armenians were massacred during a 1915 campaign of ethnic
cleansing by Ottoman Turks. Turkish officials claim that most deaths
were caused by hunger and disease.