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Watch Turkey's Youth in 2013

Tulin Daloglu writes that Turkey's youth is becoming increasingly politicized in opposition to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's policies.
Demonstrators hold a minute of silence during a protest against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in central Istanbul October 23, 2011. The Turkish military said on Saturday its forces had killed 49 Kurdish militants in the southeast over the last two days, during an offensive to avenge the killing of 24 soldiers by Kurdish fighters earlier this week. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEYPOLITICS CONFLICT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) CONFLICT)

The way a year ends usually determines how the next one starts, so Turkey's youth may be the best guide to the opportunities and challenges facing the country's political leadership as it enters 2013.

On Dec.18, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended a ceremony on the campus of the Middle East Technical University just outside Ankara to celebrate the launch of Turkey's first domestic high-resolution Earth observation satellite, Gokturk-2. The event's organizers didn't invite the president and opposition party leaders to mark this proud day for the nation, and they also excluded students. Instead, 3500 policemen were deployed to protect Erdogan from students.

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