World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (April 7, 2011)

In the article headlined “Libyan rebels bide their time” published today by The Los Angeles Times the author underlines how important it is for the Libyan leaders to develop ties with other Mediterranean countries. The author pays special attention to the recent visit of the representative of the rebel forces to Turkey and Greece.

Today The Moscow Times published an article by Andrei Muchnik entitled “The Story Behind the Moscow Airport Attack”. The author is trying to find out how well-informed is Fareed Zakaria, an award-winning journalist who recently published an article in Time magazine devoted to the history of the Caucasian conflict. According to Muchik, Zakaria understand neither the past nor the present of Caucasian history and the relations between Caucasians and Russians. Muchnik criticizes Zakaria, who thinks that Russian policy in the Caucasus was colonial-like. “I honestly believe that articles like this, by misinforming international public opinion and decision-makers, can exacerbate the conflict in the North Caucasus,” Muchnik says.

The Jerusalem Post published an article by Isi Leibler, headlined “Candidly Speaking: Arab Spring – an illusion”. The author claims that it’s unwise to believe that recent uprisings in the Middle East can lead to the formation of new democratic regimes in the region. According to Leibler, everything shows quite the opposite. In Egypt, Islamist groups are as powerful as never before and in other countries of the region the establishment of fundamentalist regimes is also possible.

Turkey’s Hurriyet published an article devoted to Turkish democracy. The author admits that practically all Turks are certain that sufficient democracy is necessary for the successful development of the country. However, some still support the idea of secular democracy and others oppose Kemalist ideology. All things considered, the author admits that democratic institutions exist, but Turkey’s democracy is still far from ideal.

In an article headlined “Will Turkey follow the new CHP?”, also published by Hurriyet, the author is trying to find out whether Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) can make a real challenge to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Both parties are nationalistic, but the AKP is an Islamist party, while the CHP is a secular party formed by the “old Kemalists”. According to the author, even though the AKP is still popular in rural areas, the CHP can raise votes in Turkish cities.