Peace activist and sociologist Yeğen says the electorate will also vote to define an approach to the Kurdish issue. "DTP-PKK line hopes to establish themselves as the legitimate address of solution while the government wants conservative Kurds to strengthen."

A Minority Rights Group reports calls on the Turkish government to introduce necessary amendments in law to allow education in mother tongues as well as clearing curriculum of nationalistic and discriminatory approaches.

Police uses force against activists protesting the Forum which begins in Istanbul today. NGOs and rights activists demand an end to the comodification of water and introduction of social policies.

The Istanbul Water Tribunal has demanded that the government fufill its obligations under national and international agreements and legislation. All projects should be evaluated in terms of environmental effects.

The findings of the second project of monitoring Turkish school books for human rights violations, run by the History Foundation and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, have been published as a book.

In 2008, 82 people were tried under Article 301, 44 under the Anti-Terrorist Law. Freedoms of press and expression have been damaged by political polarisation, the lack of a solution to the Kurdish issue and the intolerance of criticism.

Following the detention of fifty people in six different cities on 10 March, eight of them have been arrested. One of them is Çobanoğlu, an independent socialist candidate for mayor in Antakya.

58-year-old Şaziye Saygın has decided to stand as a muhtar, a neighbourhood official, after the current muhtar made her angry.

bianet is keeping a count of the stream of male violence that is reported in Turkey every day. Since 1 March, 12 women have been killed.

Retired Colonel Ülger, who was previously named as an instigator of the murder of three men in Malatya in 2007, has now been taken into custody in the Ergenekon investigation.

After the find of bones and flannel on 9 March in one well, the opening of another well has revealed bones, hair and clothing.

Parties and organisations have protested against the arrests of members and employees of BEKSAV, ESP, Atılım newspaper and the Güneş Agency.

The Global Peace and Justice Coalition is marking the 60th anniversary of NATO with a protest fair in Kadıköy, Istanbul on 13 and 14 March. There will be debates, music and games.

State minister Ekren has announced that the government will probable implement a package of relief measures prior to the local elections on 29 March.

The International Press Institute (IPI), based in Vienna, has released a press statement urging European Commission leaders to consider press freedom a priority when negotiating with Turkey.

A water tribunal, bringing together activists and experts from around the world begins in Istanbul. Turkey's Greens co-chair Dr. Şahin explains the threat of an ecological disaster in Tunceli, in case planned dam projects realize.

LGBT Rights Platform condemns the killing and protests the government, which refuses to acknowledge demands for constitutional equality based on sexual orientation.

In a second attempt, an alleged site of burial utilized by the illegal JİTEM is excavated. Human bones were found on March 9. Investigation could shed light on extra-judicial killings in 1990s.

22 people were killed when several gunmen open fire on cafes in Gazi district, where Alevites make up most of the population. "Despite high hopes, Ergenekon case failed to taken on Gazi's initiators," says ÇGD.

After the Science and Technology magazine took Darwin of its March issue cover, biologist Murat Gülsaçan reacts in the following article.