Turkish Forum

Category: Turkey

  • A triumph for Turkey – and its allies

    A triumph for Turkey – and its allies

    By M K Bhadrakumar

    The Israelis are expected to know something extra about their tough neighborhood that we do not know. In all probability, the two Israeli officials – Shalom Turjeman and Yoram Turbowitz – knew when they set out for Ankara on Tuesday that Turkey’s government was far from dysfunctional or was going to be in any danger of extinction within the next 24 hours.

    The two advisors to (outgoing ) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert were on a sensitive mission to hold the fourth round of peace talks with Syria under Turkish mediation. The format of the talks is such that Turkish officials shuttle between the Israeli and Syrian diplomats, who do not come face to face. The Turks seem to have done a masterly job. On Monday, Syria’s ambassador to the United States, Imad Mustafa, speaking on a public platform in Washington, said, “We [Syria and Israel] desire to recognize each other and end the state of war.”

    “Here, then, is a grand thing on offer. Let us sit together, let us make peace, let us end once and for all the state of war,” Imad added, referring to the peace talks brokered by Turkey. Clearly, Turkey’s political stability is no longer just a national issue of 80 million Turks. It is a vital issue today for the international community. And Turkey’s role in the Israel-Syria peace talks is only the tip of the iceberg. In the highly volatile Middle East situation, Turkey also facilitated contacts between US National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. (The two adversaries visited Ankara recently.) Furthermore, Turkey has waded into the Iraq project.

    Besides, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is poised to spread to the northern shores of the Black Sea. The new cold war has arrived in Turkey. Moscow is determined not to repeat its historic mistake of driving Turkey into the NATO camp, as it did in the 1950s.

    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is scheduling a visit to Turkey. A Moscow analyst noted, “Atomstroyexport [Russia’s nuclear power equipment and service equipment monopoly] is ready to provide Turkey with a project for the construction of a nuclear power plant [NPP] that will be less expensive and more reliable than its American counterparts. Such NPPs will help Turkey to consolidate its position in the regional energy market, especially considering Iran’s nuclear energy problems. Moscow has long been hinting to Ankara that it is best to give priority to economic expediency, especially in the energy industry.”Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. His assignments included the Soviet Union, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey.

    (Copyright 2008 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

    Source: Asia Times, Aug 2, 2008

  • US apologizes for slavery

    US apologizes for slavery

    31.07.2008

    CNN: US House apologizes for slavery, Jim Crow injustices

    “The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a resolutionapologizing to African-Americans for slavery and the era of Jim Crow.The nonbinding resolution, which passed on a voice vote, wasintroduced by Rep. Steve Cohen, a white lawmaker who represents amajority black district in Memphis, Tennessee.” (07/29/08)

  • Turkey is 7th most terror hit country in the world

    Turkey is 7th most terror hit country in the world

    71 terror incidents in Turkey

    Turkey has been ranked seventh in the list of most hit countries by terror in the second quarter of 2008, according to a research released by the Center of Excellence – Defense Against Terrorism.
     
    Seventy-one separate terrorists incidents, which killed 38 people and injured 88 others, put the Turkey on the seventh place of the most-hit countries in the second quarter of 2008, the article titled “General Overview of the Terrorist Activities (April-June 2008)”, said.

    “The main suspect of these terrorist incidents was PKK/KONGRA-GEL terrorists. The most volatile city in this period was Sirnak in southeastern Turkey. Seventeen separate terrorist incidents killed 9 people and wounded 18 others in the city,” it said.

    According to the article, 2,396 terrorist incidents occurred worldwide in the period. A total 4,204 people were killed and 7,614 were injured in these incidents.

    Iraq topped the list of the most-hit countries with 857 separate attacks in which 1,575 people were killed and 3,247 others were injured.

    Thirty-five percent of total attacks in the world, 37 percent of total fatalities and 42 percent of total casualties sustained worldwide were recorded in Iraq, it added.

    First ten countries most hit by terrorism in the second quarter of the year are as follows:
                   
    Countries : Number of terror incidents
    ——————————
    Iraq : 857
    Afghanistan : 334
    Sri Lanka : 327
    Pakistan : 216
    India : 195
    Somalia : 112
    Turkey : 71
    Thailand : 55
    Nepal : 44
    Israel : 31

    Photo: DHA

  • Turkey eyes to turn Istanbul into a finance center

    Turkey eyes to turn Istanbul into a finance center

    Nazım Ekren

    Turkey discussed to turn Istanbul into a financial center on Thursday. Making Istanbul a financial center would contribute to development of not only this city, but also Turkey, Deputy PM Nazim Ekren said.
     
    “It will also help Turkey gain a global prestige,” Ekren also said in Istanbul Province Economic and Social Council Meeting. Ekren said that the timing of the project was right after the mortgage crisis in the United States.

    Ekren also said that the government was planning to establish a development agency in Istanbul within this year.

    Istanbul is a city where 20 percent of Turkey’s total population is living of which population has been up by 10-folds since 1950 and almost 15 million people are residing.

    Ekren said that Istanbul was providing one-fourth of the gross domestic product (GDP), 38 percent of overall industrial income, more than half of services, and 40 percent of tax revenues.

    “Istanbul can be a financial, cultural and logistic center of Turkey, thanks to its unique geographical location; rich historical, cultural and architectural heritage; giant infrastructural investments; economic links with Europe, Asia and the Balkans; and relatively cheap labor force,” the minister said.

  • Historic travel book to be exhibited at Istanbul Modern

    Historic travel book to be exhibited at Istanbul Modern

    ISTANBUL – Anatolian News Agency

    The “Seyahatname” exhibition of travel books will be on display at the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art in 2010. “Seyahatname” is a book reflecting the Ottoman Empire’s relations with other states and describing foreign cultures of cities that travelers visited.
     
    Curator of the exhibition Sinan Dirlik and art director Eray Makal say they see the exhibition as a lyric to Istanbul — the pearl of the Ottoman Empire, and are making their preparations on the grounds of this perception.

    The exhibition will be produced by Ece Seki and the 2Yaka Communication Company, as well as a research team of Ali Ay and Nihal Boztekin.

    The exhibition is planned go on display in January 2010 at the Istanbul Modern.

    While researchers and designers are preparing the project, contributions of other institutions and amateur researchers are expected to complete the project.

  • Country at a crossroads

    Country at a crossroads

    Turkey: The nation that straddles Europe and Asia is also torn between secular and Islamic views of government, between cultural stability and terrorist violence. The direction Turkey takes will say much about the future of both regions | Jill Nelson

    Turkey

    BODRUM and ISTANBUL, Turkey–It is 10:19 pm in the bustling resort town of Bodrum on the southwestern coast of Turkey, and the call to prayer sounds from a small mosque surrounded by several couture shops. Less than 10 men—summoned for the last of the five prayers said each day by devout Muslims—are praying inside its open doors, and those on the streets pay scant attention to the beckoning loudspeaker.

    A few blocks down the street, the Bodrum Marina Yacht Club begins a call of its own. Popular Turkish and American tunes draw more than a -hundred people to an outdoor stage to listen to a five-piece jazz band and a popular Turkish singer. Like other night clubs in Turkey, its music will pulse several hours past midnight. Although Bodrum lies in the Asian portion of Turkey, this town feels more a part of the West than the East.