2017 in Turkey explained

The following lists events that happened during 2017 in Turkey.

Parliament

• 26th Parliament of Turkey

Incumbents

• President

• Prime Minister

Binali Yıldırım

• Speaker

İsmail Kahraman

Events

Ongoing

• Purges in Turkey (2016–present)

January

• 1 January – A terrorist attack on the Reina nightclub in Istanbul leaves 39 people dead.^[1]
• 2 January - The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attack on the nightclub yesterday.^[2]
• 3 January - The Grand National Assembly of Turkey votes to extend the state of emergency by 3 months after the attempted coup last year.^[3]
• 5 January – A car bomb explodes in İzmir perpetrated by TAK, killing 2 people.^[4]
• 13 January - President Erdogan vows that Turkish troops will remain in Cyprus in perpetuity and describes proposed terms of a rotating presidency to be unacceptable.^[5]
• 14 January - The Parliament of Turkey approves two constitutional amendments to expand the president's power to appoint new legislation and select the cabinet.
• 26 January - Greece refuses to extradite eight soldiers accused of playing a role in the coup attempt last year.^[6]
• 28 January - President Erdogan signs a 100 million pound deal with British Prime Minister Theresa May over the construction of fighter jets.^[7]
• 30 January - In the capital of Ankara, 269 people are put on trial after being charged for their roles in the coup attempt last year.^[8]
• 31 January – The Eurasia Tunnel, which combines the Asian and European continents with a black tunnel, has started uninterruptedly.^[9]

February

• 5 February - Over 800 suspected ISIL members are arrested by the Turkish police.^[10]
• 8 February - 4400 public servants are dismissed in another purge following the attempted coup last year.^[11]
• 9 February – A Russian airstrike accidentally killed 3 Turkish troops in al-Bab, Syria.^[12]
• 11 February - Abdulgadir Masharipov is charged with murder in relation to the night club shooting at the start of the year and remains incarcerated.^[13]
• 14 February - Over 800 people are detained by police due to allegations of them being members of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).^[14]
• 17 February – 2017 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival was held in Erzurum.
• 22 February - Turkey lifts the ban on female army soldiers wearing the hijab.^[15]
• 28 February - A trial of 330 suspects in last year's attempted coup opens as the largest trial to date.^[16]

March

• 4 March - A Syrian fighter jet crashed in Hatay Province near the Syria–Turkey border.^[17]
• 11 March - Dutch authorities withdrew landing permissions for a Turkish minister following his support for the referendum in April. President Erdogan calls the Dutch authorities "Nazi remnants".^[18] In response, Dutch authorities expel another minister from Rotterdam to the border with Germany.^[19]
• 13 March - Dutch ambassador to Turkey, Cornelis Van Rij, was expelled from Ankara following a Dutch ban on Turkish ministers speaking at pro-Erdogan rallies.^[20]
• 29 March - Prime Minister Yildirim declares an end to Operation Euphrates Shield in Syria but says an operation will follow under a different name.^[21]

April

• 16 April – The 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum occurred.
• 17 April - President Erdoğan makes favorable statements on the reinstatement of capital punishment, announcing he would discuss the possibility with Devlet Bahçeli of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the then-Turkish prime minister Binali Yıldırım.^[22]
• 19 April – The 2017 Turkvision Song Contest was held in Ankara.
• 29 April - The 2017 block of Wikipedia in Turkey

May

• 19–21 May - 2017 EuroLeague Final Four

June

• 23 June - It is reported that the Turkish education ministry announced the removal of evolution from the secondary school curriculum.^{[23] [24] [25] [26]}

July

• 4 July - "Önce Vatan" Party was shut down by the Constitutional Court of Turkey.^[27]

September

• 22 September - Kadir Topbaş resigned from his position as the Mayor of Istanbul^[28]

October

• 10–15 October - 2017 Presidential Tour of Turkey

Deaths

• 20 January – Vahit Melih Halefoğlu, diplomat and politician (born 1919)
• 28 January – Engin Cezzar, director and actor (born 1935)
• 30 March – Halit Akçatepe, actor (born 1938)
• 1 May – Ahmet İsvan, politician and agronomist (born 1923)
• 6 September – Şerif Mardin, social scientist (born 1927)

See also

• List of Turkish films of 2017

Notes and References

1. Web site: Istanbul new year Reina nightclub attack 'leaves 39 dead'.
2. News: Islamic State claims responsibility for Istanbul nightclub attack. .
3. Web site: TURKEY TO EXTEND STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED AFTER COUP.
4. Web site: Car bomb kills two outside courthouse in Turkish city of İzmir. . 5 January 2017 .
5. Web site: Cyprus talks: Turkish troops will remain on island, vows Erdoğan. . 13 January 2017 .
6. News: Turkish anger as Greece rejects extradition of eight soldiers. BBC News . 26 January 2017 .
7. Web site: Theresa May signs £100m fighter jet deal with Turkey's Erdoğan. . 28 January 2017 .
8. Web site: Turkey puts Gulen, 269 others on trial over coup bid.
9. News: Avrasya Tüneli 24 saat açık oluyor. 30 January 2017. Milliyet. https://web.archive.org/web/20170130085830/http://www.milliyet.com.tr/avrasya-tuneli-24-saat-acik-oluyor-ekonomi-2387302/. 30 January 2017. 30 January 2017. Turkish.
10. Web site: Turkey says over 800 detained in anti-ISIL operations.
11. Web site: Turkey dismisses 4,400 public servants in latest post-coup attempt purge. . 8 February 2017 .
12. Web site: Russian Air Strike Kills Turkish Soldiers In Syria.
13. News: Accused Istanbul nightclub gunman Abdulgadir Masharipov formally charged, reports say. ABC News . 11 February 2017 .
14. Web site: Turkey: Hundreds detained over alleged links to PKK.
15. News: Turkey reverses female army officers' headscarf ban. BBC News . 22 February 2017 .
16. Web site: Largest post-coup bid trial opens with 330 suspects.
17. News: Turkey says warplane, probably Syrian, crashed near border. Reuters . 4 March 2017 .
18. News: Turkey's Erdogan calls Dutch authorities 'Nazi remnants'. BBC News . 11 March 2017 .
19. News: Turkey referendum: Clashes as Dutch expel minister. BBC News . 12 March 2017 .
20. Web site: Turkey threatens to pull out of migrant deal as Dutch row intensifies. . 13 March 2017 .
21. Web site: Turkey ends 'Euphrates Shield' operation in Syria.
22. Web site: Gaffey. Connor. 2017-04-17. Turkey could hold a referendum on reintroducing the death penalty, Erdogan says. live. 2021-07-11. Newsweek. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20170418090601/http://www.newsweek.com/turkey-referendum-death-penalty-erdogan-eu-membership-585065 . 2017-04-18 .
23. News: Kingsley. Patrick. Turkey Drops Evolution From Curriculum, Angering Secularists. The New York Times. 23 June 2017.
24. Web site: Evolution theory to be scrapped from Turkish schoolbooks | DW | 23.06.2017 . .
25. Web site: Turkish schools to stop teaching evolution, official says . . 23 June 2017 .
26. News: Turkey to stop teaching evolution theory in high schools: Education board . Reuters . 23 June 2017 .
27. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-top-court-shuts-down-once-vatan-party-due-to-missing-leader.aspx?pageID=238&nID=115088&NewsCatID=338 Turkey’s top court shuts down Önce Vatan Party after leader goes missing
28. http://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/son-dakika-haberi-ibb-baskani-kadir-topbas-istifa-etti,Gn6RtBZbEESfM1mSHUst_A İBB Başkanı Kadir Topbaş istifa etti