Global Voices Online

At Th!nk About It, Adela writes about International Black Sea Action Day.

After a news item in the local press reported that a British MP had been appointed as rapporteur on Armenia and Turkey, Unzipped says that it used Twitter to check the accuracy of the story. Tweeting a question to the MP in question, it turned out that the report was false.

Turkish Erkan's Field Dairy writes on Obama's Nobel Prize for Peace: “Mr. Obama gets the Nobel peace prize. I have no problem with Mr. Obama but i feel like there must be more deeds before getting that prize…”

Having obtained a press pass for the World Bank/IMF Meetings being held this week in Istanbul, Turkey; Erkan's Field Diary gives us a behind the scenes view of the proceedings.

For the next five days the Eiffel Tower will be lit up in red and white in honor of the Season of Turkey in France. According to The Istanbulian “This nice gesture is a sign of historical friendship between two countries, emphasizing the fact that not all the French people are prejudiced and hostile against Turks.”

Window on Eurasia reports that “there appears to be a chance that Turkey, despite denials by its officials, might break the embargo against recognition [of Abkhazia] because of Ankara’s desire to play a greater role in the Caucasus region, its own long-standing experience as the only country to recognize the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, and the influence of its own Abkhaz and Circassian communities.”

Syrian blogger Maysaloon comments on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Syria. “In light of everything that has been happening recently one wonders about the timing of the visit and whether the Israelis are trying to find out Syria's position on a possible strike against Iran,” he asks.

Talk Turkey commends Dr. Oz (of Oprah fame) for his ability to speak perfect Turkish while lecturing to Turkish medical students. “Sure he has an accent. Sure he sounds like a ‘foreigner' when he speaks Turkish. But the reality is; for a man born and raised in the U.S., he is to be commended. Let it be a lesson to transplanted Turks who insist on speaking English at all costs at home with their kids, and intentionally deprive them of growing up mastering a second language.”

Children of the Sun reports that the July 8th issue of the Kurdish newspaper Azadiya Welat was confiscated by authorities after it published allegations of a 23-year old woman who was raped by men claiming to the be the police. Reportedly, there have been more than 10 complaints of police rape in Diyarbakir, Turkey since the arrival of the new police chief. “Kurds not only are not allowed to defend themselves they also cannot talk about the crimes committed against them by the fascist state's security forces.”