Learn Turkish: Diplomat, mülteciye amacını açıklamasını tavsiye etti. - The diplomat advised the refugee to explain his purpose.

In English, we advise someone directly, but in Turkish, the verb tavsiye etmek (to advise or recommend) requires the dative case for the person receiving the advice. You are literally giving advice to the refugee (mülteciye).

Can you break down the suffixes on the word amacını?

The root is amaç (purpose). When we add a vowel, the hard ç softens to c. First, we add the possessive suffix -ı to get amacı (his/her purpose). Because "his purpose" is the specific direct object being explained, it needs the accusative case suffix -ı. The -n- is simply a buffer letter inserted between the two vowels.

Why is the verb "to explain" written as açıklamasını instead of the standard dictionary infinitive, açıklamak?

When you advise someone to do an action in Turkish, you don't use the full infinitive. Instead, you use a "verbal noun" (adding -ma or -me to the root) plus a possessive suffix to show who is doing the action. Here, açıkla + -ma + -sı translates literally to "his explaining". Finally, we add the accusative suffix (-nı) because "his explaining" is the direct object of what the diplomat advised (tavsiye etti).

Could we have just used the general object form, açıklamayı tavsiye etti?