Ece Temelkuran, who has been a renowned Turkish author and journalist came to London to speak with the Turkish community as a part of her latest book promo: “Turkey: the Melancholy and the Insane”.
On 12 September 2016 Monday evening, to celebrate the launch of her new book Turkey: The Insane and the Melancholy, the Centre for Turkey Studies (CEFTUS) invited Ece Temelkuran for a discussion about her work and the political crisis unfolding in Turkey. Kindly hosted by John Woodcock MP for Barrow and Furness, the discussion comprised many topics from Turkey to the EU-UK relations and concerns on a global scheme. Talking about her new book, Ms Temelkuran said that this new book examines the historical roots of Turkey’s current authoritarian malaise. Through personal stories, cultural objects and historical moments, with providing a survey of the nation, this historic bridge between east and west.
Answering questions on her thoughts and perceptions about the current Turkish political agenda, Ms Temelkuran first tackled the coup attempt in Turkey which changed many political dynamics in Turkey. Acknowledging that it was a real coup attempt, in opposition to conspiracy theorists with different allegations. Referring to the past 2 military coups happened in Turkey in 60s and 80s, Temelkuran said neither of them had intentions of “bombing the Parliament”.
“IT ISN’T ONLY TURKEY, WORLD IS ALSO UNDERGOING SOMETHING”
Tackling the political agenda in a wider way, Ms Temelkuran gave examples on the global layer. She mentioned that the current dilemma between the EU and the UK relations due to Brexit, US’s upcoming presidential elections and therefore Donald Trump, Temelkuran said there may be a future with more surprises and political ambiguity.
Who is Ece Temelkuran?
Ece Temelkuran (born 22 July 1973, Izmir is a Turkish journalist and author. She was a columnist for Milliyet (2000 – 2009) and Habertürk (2009 – January 2012), and a presenter on Habertürk TV (2010 – 2011).[1] She was fired from Habertürk after writing articles critical of the government’s handling of the December 2011 Uludere massacre and others critical of the government. She was twice named Turkey’s “most read political columnist”. Her columns have also been published in international media such as The Guardian and Le Monde Diplomatique.
A graduate of Ankara University’s Faculty of Law, she has published 12 books, including two published in English (Deep Mountain, Across the Turkish-Armenian Divide, Verso 2010, and Book of the Edge, BOA Editions 2010). In 2008 she was a visiting fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, during which time she wrote Deep Mountain, Across the Turkish-Armenian Divide. Her books include Ne Anlatayım Ben Sana! (“What am I Going to Tell You!”) (Everest, 2006) on hunger strikes by Turkish political prisoners. She was awarded the Human Rights Association of Turkey’s Ayşe Zarakolu Freedom of Thought Award in 2008.
Her first novel, Muz Sesleri (“Banana Sounds”) was published in 2010 and has been translated into Arabic
