A flash news was on the big billboard at the center of Tunali Hilmi Street, one of the most popular social locations of Ankara, when I was going home yesterday night. Written in capital letters, assassination of two journalists in Nigeria was being inculcated in minds. - Kidnapped by the Jihadist Boko Haram in May 2011, the journalists were executed by the militias upon the failed rescue operation organized by the British and Nigerian forces. Today on the other hand, the brutality of Boko Haram group was underlined one more time in Africa related news channels, besides the European columnists who condemn more the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs that did inform the Italian government …

- As a step to transform its Western oriented(dependent) foreign policy into a multilateral one by the end of Cold War,Turkey’s opening to Sub-Saharan Africa came up throughout an official plan that was declared in 1998 by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Majorly designed by state bound actors such as diplomats and ambassadors, views of state free actors such as businessmen and think tank managers were also taken into account while drawing its diplomatic, political, economic and cultural components. Speaking in general and according to the Plan, Turkey would increase its representation in Sub-Saharan Africa, pay more President and Prime Minister level visits to Sub-Saharan Africa, sign…

- On the 22nd of March 2012, Mali President Amadaou Toumani Touré was toppled by the military. As the third successful coup experienced in the postcolonial history of Mali, President Touré was not blamed of mismanaging the state, threatening the army, or leading to an ethnic conflict. According to the Al Jazeera new made by Hashem Ahelbarra, the coup leader Amadou Sanogo linked Touré’s failure of defending the country’s national interests with this coup. In Sanogo’s view, President Touré could not provide the Malian army with the necessary military equipment to fight against Touareg rebellions in the North. The 2012 coup in Mali could be regarded as the latest chronic si…

- Mr.Moustapha Sokhna Diop is the Counselor of the Embassy of Senegal in Turkey. On the 2nd of March 2012, we made a 45 minutes shot conversation on Turkey’s opening to Sub-Saharan Africa and to Senegal. Mr.Diop, how would you categorize relations between Turkey and Sub-Saharan Africa(S.S.A) in general? How would you locate the 1998 Opening Action Plan on current relations? It is true that the Turkish state declared a plan in 1998 which intensified Turkey’s interest in S.S.A. Political, economic and cultural levels are being very well taken until now. However, it would be wrong to situate the relations between Turkey and S.S.A merely on this plan. The interest of Turkey i…

- Republic of Turkey experienced her 15th general election on the 12nd of June 2011 where citizens voted in a calm and peaceful mood despite the general aggression the party leaders began to demonstrate against each other in the last days of campaign. Election results that this article is going to analyze both within statistical and social aspects started the 24th legislation period of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) which refreshed national hopes with a grown number of expectations. Statistical Analysis of June 12 Elections: The popular news channel ntvmsnbc.com prepared a well-drawn table about the statistical success of the competent political parties in the 2011 elections.…

- On the 3rd of July 2011, our African Innovation and Development Team with certain businessmen arrived to Abidjan after a long plane journey. As the editor of Afroturkeco at this time, being there was very important to me, for sure more important than the possible contracts our delegation would sign with the high authorities of Ivory Coast. The cultural exploring I would realize and the photographs I would take in the way to show Turkish people Here is Ivory Coast and Ghana were making me deeply excited. Abidjan: The city of fried bananas and fresh hopes If you ask a Sub-Sahara Africa expert “where is the most vulnerable African city these days? He/she would most probably respon…

- "South Africa is our pride and Rwanda is our shame”, say many Africans. whereas the struggle of equality given by the blacks against the whites in South Africa has been mythical in the Dark Continent, stories depicted about the Hutu genocide towards the Tutsis in Rwanda have been nightmarey. Nowadays Africa is trying to give a decision about calling a myth or a nightmare on what has been going on Ivory Coast since the November 2010 elections. Mr.Laurent Gbagbo who lost the presidency to Mr.Alassane Ouattara refused to leave his power, and the country got into a new conflict after the 2002 civil war. A polarization between rebel groups and government forces was created by Mr.H…

- The recent atmosphere in Libya has gained an international status by leaving the room of a regional matter that Muammar el Qaddafi’s administrative role is discussed and by entering into the room of an international phenomenon on the basis of NATO attacks. It was highly estimated by the authorities, that the 2011 public movements would alter the authoritarian regimes in North Africa, but no such rapid direct military Western intervention would be predicted. NATO as an international mechanism whose responsibilities for global stability was being highly discussed after the end of the Cold War now activates its body through assuring Qaddafi out of power in Libya. However, the limi…

- The first episode of the year 2011 has been witnessing political uprisings in North Africa where the countries are being rolled into a temporary chaos for the name of more democracy and liberal freedom. Whereas the first scintilla was fired in Tunisia by a quasi-revolution forcing Zinel Abidine Bin Ali to leave the country, the same scenario was seen in Egypt with the President Hosni Mobarak’s leaving his office by force. In the last three days, the Libyans have been showing similar reactions against the Muammar Qaddafi administration in addition to Morocco and Algeria where Abdelaziz Bouteflika and King Mohammed the 6th have been opposed. Before analyzing the to what extent these…

- The institutions working about Africa in Turkey could be categorized as the university units, the think tanks and the cultural centers. University Units: Ankara University Center of African Studies and Implementations (AÇAUM) AÇAUM that was founded on the 3rd of January 2008 in Ankara under the supervision of Ankara University aims informing the Turkish community about Africa. The institution that thinks of introducing Africa to Turkey in both scientific and cultural terms analyzes the developments in Africa in a strategic approach. AÇAUM pursues its goal through a library, a triple publication mechanism of bulletin- country reports - academic journals, a Master of Arts program, Afr…

- The Story of Afro-Turkish The Afro-Turkish is the one whose ancestors were deported from Kenya, Somalia, Algeria, Western Sudan, Egypt and Libya. They changed city through the rich families of the Ottoman Empire in addition to the ones who worked in the agricultural lands. The Afro-Turkish arrived firstly to Anatolia at the beginning of the 18th century. The second group, however, was settled to the farmeries in Dalaman that were managed by Abbas Pasha as the Egypt Khedive. They were treated nicely during the Ottoman time unlike the Africans enslaved by the colonial powers. Black Turkish in Anatolia could even marry to Turkish women; they were enjoying the same rights, and the same priv…

- Many African presidents paid diplomatic visits to Turkey on the basis of the post-1998 Turkey-Africa relations. Here is the list: 27.04.2000 30.04.2000 President of Chad Idriss Deby’s visit to Turkey 23.07.2000 25.07.2000 President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo’s visit to Turkey 13.10.2003 16.10.2003 Vice President of South Africa Jacob Zuma’s visit to Turkey as the Turkish Prime Minister’s guest 07.02.2007 08.02.2007 Prime Minister of Ethiopia Melese Zenawi’s visit to Turkey 21.01.2008 23.01.2008 President of Sudan Omar Hasan Ahmed Al Bashir’s visit to Turkey 18.02.2008 20.02.2008 President of Senegal Abdoulaye Wade’…

- Turkey declared its Republic in 1923, and suddenly began to deal with bureaucratic arrangements, consolidation of Atatürk reforms and rapid economical development until the beginning of the 2nd World War in 1939. In this period, Republican People’s Party became the absolute sovereign over the Turkish community and the country was administered in a statist way. The Turkish state gave her first serious foreign policy examination at the door of the Second World War . As a country being irritated by the German aggressiveness, Turkey wanted to be a UN member that would later be realized in 1945 . By the UN membership, Turkey faced with a diplomatic dimension covering the international…

Reminding that the concept of Africa as a whole has been something very new for Turkey, one could see how bilateral relations between the Turks and the Africans were shaped from 1453 where the Ottomans flourished as the new superpower of the Middle Age until 1919 where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk decided to realize a modern independent secular Turkish Republic by his Samsun journey to start the Turkish Independence War. - During history, it is noticed that African countries were touched by the Ottomans not only in terms of religious association but also of security, trade, geopolitics, political-economical benefits. One could give the example of 16th century’s Ottomans naval journeys to the …

- Economy based bilateral relations between Turkey and North-Sub Saharan Africa demonstrates themselves by the 2000-2010 import-export rates as follow. It could be effortlessly observed that North Africa has always been more important for Turkey rather than Sub Saharan Africa in terms of trade, but the ratio of import & export has been dramatically increasing towards the Sub Saharan Africa particularly after the year of 2003. Nevertheless, the import & export percentage Turkey has had for Africa in total does constitute a very small portion of its overall in a year. Imports: (…000 US Dollars) 2010: North Africa: 2,858,442 / Sub-Saharan Africa: 1,291,781 over 114,877…

- In 2010-2011 Turkish soccer season, the African players taking roles in Spor Toto Super League and Bank Asya First Division are numerous coming from a wide range of countries. Among 55 licensed players, Senegal,Nigeria,Ghana and Cameroon are where the most players are coming from,and South Africa,Zambia, Angola and Cape Verde are some examples whose players rarely play in Turkey. Karabukspor has the most African players in Spor Toto Super League with Samsunspor has the most in Bank Asya Division. The last Super League champion Bursaspor does not have any African players like Galatasaray,and Karsiyaka, Diyarbakirspor, Giresunspor ,Gaziantep Belediyespor squads do not contain any African…

- It is an undeniable fact that African players contribute a lot to the soccer level of the countries they are playing or they have just played. In given context, it is needless to remind what Didier Drogba has been doing for Chelsea F.C, what Kevin Prince Boateng has been doing for A.C Milan or what Mamadou Niang did for Olympique de Marseille. However, African players cannot anyhow show the same success in Turkey where they are coming to play here with great hopes. Except Nigerian Uche Okechucwu, Jay Jay Okocha and Daniel Amokachi from Nigeria who played in Fenerbahçe S.K and Besiktas ; and Ghanaian Samuel Johnson and Yaw Preko who played in Gaziantepspor, African players in Turkey have…

- Africa in Turkey is perceived as the dark continent on the basis of the Economist description "The Hopeless". There is no single institute elaborating on Africa in terms of culture, and it is so tragicomical to observe author ladies with heavy make ups, very polished fingers, mini squirts and high healed shoes who are writing on their chairs about the 1994 Hutu Tutsi conflict in Rwanda. No other Turkish citizen wanted to take some role in the Fıfa World Cup in South Africa, and doctorate students do not want to go to Africa for their research. Keeping in mind that Turkish- African relations are rooted on the 13th century where we know that the Ottoman Empire sent some de…