SOZ GALLERY

picture in the Soz serie

For Turkey, 2016 was marked by ongoing operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Islamic State (IS), the coup attempt on July 15 and the launch of Operation Euphrates Shield in Syria later in the summer. In domestic politics, this resulted in populist bombast and bravado further fueling the clamor over the planned shift to a presidential system, which, in turn, has proven a key dynamic behind the emerging “National Front” between the country’s conservative and nationalist quarters.

As a result, stories about the heroism of Turkish soldiers and police, be it at home or in northern Syria, have taken the Turkish public by storm. A daily fixture in the media, they are boosting the people’s morale and their confidence in the state and the army, while at the same time covering up the failures incurred from poor political and strategic judgments.

To give credit where credit is due, the Turkish security forces have done and continue to do their best to achieve the targets set by decision-makers, putting their lives on the line despite all the demoralizing events of 2016. Their bravery on the ground is something that both the political establishment and the public desperately need.