Despite the summer heat, the agenda in Türkiye remains intense.
The last week was marked by the decisions of the Supreme Military Council meeting.
Pursuit for foreign investment from the West midst the escalating economic problems, was another important issue of the week.
The decision by the Disney television platform to refrain from airing a series depicting the life of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk due to pressure from the Armenian diaspora has sparked considerable backlash.
Decisions of Supreme Military Council
Last week, the Supreme Military Council meeting has taken place, where promotions and appointments within the Turkish Armed Forces are determined.
Metin Gürak, Commander of the Second Army, was appointed Chief of General Staff.
The commander of the land forces, Musa Avsever has been retired due to age limit, and the commander of the air force Atilla Gülan due to reduction in-force.
The commander of the naval forces Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, was decided to continue in office.
According to the decisions, General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu was appointed as the commander of the air Force and lieutenant general Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu as the new commander of the land forces.
With the decisions, a woman was appointed as general for the first time in the history of the Turkish Armed Forces.
Along with the appointments, there was also a remarkable promotion: In the Naval Forces Command, Staff Colonel Gökçen Fırat was promoted to brigadmiral. Gökçen Fırat had previously served as the commander of Türkiye’s first warship.
With the decisions of the Supreme Military Council;
32 generals and admirals were promoted to the next rank and 63 colonels were promoted to general and admiral.
The terms of 24 generals and admirals were extended by one year and the terms of 365 colonels by two years.
2 generals were retired effective from September 1, 2023 due to age limit, and 41 generals and admirals were retired effective from August 30, 2023 due to reduction in-force.
The number of generals and admirals, which is currently 266, will be 286 as of August 30, 2023.
Pursuit for foreign investment from the West
As the economic problems deepen, Mehmet Şimşek, who took office as the Minister of Treasury and Finance after the elections and Hafize Gaye Erkan as the Central Bank Governor continue their pursuit of foreign investment from Western financial centers.
In the Economic Forum in Türkiye organized by JP Morgan, one of the leading investment banks in the West, Mehmet Şimşek had in talks with international investors.
Press organizations close to the government shared that during the meeting, Şimşek and Erkan explained the new economic model they are implementing in Türkiye to the investors. According to news in press, Hafize Gaye Erkan delivered a presentation on “Monetary Policy and Macroeconomic Outlook” while Mehmet Şimşek discussed the “Fiscal Policy Outlook”.
Additionally, Deputy President Cevdet Yılmaz, the CEO of Ziraat Bank Alpaslan Çakar, the heads of the Türkiye Wealth Fund and the Presidency Investment Office participated in the Forum speakers.
The press writes that Mehmet Şimşek shared with the attendees the intention to continue a gradual tightening in the Turkish economy. Simsek also pledged to Western financial centers that the Maastricht criteria would be met by the Turkish economy administration.
Alongside with representatives from JP Morgan, those of investment firms like Black Rock, Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund, and Franklin Templeton attended the Forum.
Mehmet Şimşek is known for advocating strong ties with Western nations, particularly the US and the UK.
Backlash against Disney
The US-based television platform Disney Plus has decided to refrain from broadcasting a series depicting the life of Türkiye’s founding leader, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, following pressures from the Armenian lobby.
Disney’s decision has sparked backlash in Türkiye, leading numerous citizens to cancel their memberships in the platform.
Describing the events as disgraceful, AK Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik stated, “This network in the US is exploiting historical events for their politics of lies. … The sole purpose of this lobby is to hinder the normalization of Türkiye-Armenia relations, as has been witnessed many times. The activities of these networks hold no significance against Atatürk and the Republic of Türkiye. Those who succumb to these networks should be ashamed.”
Radio and Television Supreme Council of Türkiye has initiated an investigation on the issue. The President of Council made the following statement:
“Based on the information that has come to the public’s attention that the digital media service provider ‘Disney+’ has decided not to broadcast the the series ‘Atatürk’ on its platform, it was decided to request the organization’s defense and initiate an investigation.”