Category: World

Turkey to EU: Call us when you’re ready

By Clayton Swisher

It’s a great time to be in lovely Istanbul, taking in the Bosphorus and all the historic sites by foot. The scenery on Turkey’s political landscape is every bit as dramatic.

Consider Turkey’s statesmanship today in Tehran (along with Brazil) to try and resolve the ongoing Iranian nuclear standoff.

Or the Turkish parliament’s vote over constitutional amendments.

In the backdrop lies the increasingly inconsequential issue that used to dominate news on Turkey – its long stalled bid for EU accession.

Just last week I was concentrating on this subject at a majestic retreat in Austria courtesy of the Salzburg Global Seminar.

For five days I deliberated with a group of distinguished Turkish and European diplomats, politicians, business people and scholars, all eager to explore how the Turkish accession project might conclude.

I suppose I showed my own hand when I enquired out loud, with news of Greece’s financial crisis and the puzzling EU response, why Turkey should anyhow want to join?

Chatham House rules applied, so I can’t say what others felt (though my hypothesis was shared). I did get an interesting “on record” insight from Turkish parliamentarian and AK party executive committee member Suat Kiniklioglu.

Until we met in Austria’s verdant hills last week I was pleased to learn we had stomped the same grounds when were living “la vida think tank” in Washington DC’s Dupont Circle, circa 2005.

With all of Turkey’s economic successes, I asked Suat why the ruling AK party should want to continuing pursuing a membership that will mean inheriting the liabilities of 27 deeply divided countries with unequally performing economies.

Given the strength of Turkish foreign policy, its growing nexus to the global energy supply, its youthful population (etc, I could go on), why would Ankara now want to subordinate itself to a group that more resembles an aging diplomatic country club?

One important impression I gathered from the Salzburg discussions: Germany, France, and especially Austria, will never, repeat never, allow Turkey to join.

Too much bad blood, “enlargement fatigue,” the excuse of domestic politics, and probably even a degree of not-so-latent ethnic discrimination.

So what’s wrong with Turkey turning from its position of strength to say, ‘Thanks, but no thanks!?’ I can’t find a compelling answer against it.

Meanwhile, I notice there are many Germans, French, and Austrians walking around the same touristic sites as me.

Too bad for them that the euro is so weak, although it will still buy you some killer street food.

About Clayton Swisher

Clayton Swisher, based in Doha, covers stories across the Middle East and further afield.

, May 17th, 2010

May 20, 2010
Plans for Turkish Cultural Centre

News Release 19^th May 2010

Turkish NGOs joined to discuss plans for Turkish Cultural Centre

Turkish NGO’s attended a meeting which was held in London’s Pasha Hotel on Sunday 9^th May 2010 to discuss the plans for Turkish Cultural Centre. Many Turkish NGOs attended the meeting which was organised by Filiz Kirim to brainstorm a plan for Turkish Cultural Centre where Turkish arts, music and culture can be performed and promoted.

The organiser of the meeting Filiz Kirim, highlighted that their intentions are non political and solely to unite Turkish NGOs to conceptualize a plan for pulchritudinous Turkish Cultural Centre, located centrally in London, a centre that Turkish Community really deserves.

The meeting developed into general discussion points on the mission and the structure of The Turkish Cultural Centre. The Representatives of the Turkish NGOs highlighted that they have organised a Turkish Day which many British people attended to discover Turkish Culture. The Turkish NGOs declared that they will do all they can, including sharing their past experiences so that past failures do not occur in the future.

At the meeting it was unanimously agreed that the proposed Turkish Cultural Centre should be named as “Turkish World Arts and Cultural Centre” so that this could enable artists from all around the Turkish World to participate, perform and promote their art, pictures, music, cinema, and theatre. It was also agreed that the organisation should be a Non-Profit organisation. Furthermore at the meeting it was agreed by participants that The Yunus Emre Charity and Goethe Institute organisations examples should be looked into detail and used as an example case for the proposal.

Londra Türk sivil toplum örgütleri temsilcileri Türk Kültür Merkezi hazırlık çalışmaları amacı ile toplandı

Londra sivil toplum örgütleri, İngilteredeki yabancılara Türk sanatını, müziğini ve kültürünü tanıtacak, bir Türk Kültür Merkezi kurmak amacı ile 16 Mayıs 2010 Pasha Hotelde toplandı. Toplatıya birçok Türk sivil toplum örgütleri temsilcisi katıldı.

Toplantıda, daveti düzenleyen Filiz Kırım, amaçlarının siyasi olmadığını, tek amaçlarının İngilterede bireylerimizi ve sivil toplum kuruluşlarımızı bir araya toplayarak, Türkiye’nin adına yaraşacak, Londra’nın merkezinde ve güzel bir binada bir Türk Kültür Merkezi kurmak olduğunu ifade etti.

Toplantının ana temasını, kurulacak Kültür Merkezi için öncelikle misyonunun ne olacağı ve bununla birlikte nasıl bir yapılanma içerisinde olacağı oldu.

Toplantıda söz alan sivil toplum örgütleri temsilcileri, yakın geçmişte Türk günü düzenlendiğinin, bunun İngiliz toplumunda büyük bir ilgi uyandırdığını ifade ettiler. Sivil toplum örgütleri ayrıca bu konuda, senelere dayanan tecrübelerini paylaşacaklarını ifade edip, “böylece geçmişte yaşanan aksilikler yaşanmaz” diyerek görüşlerini bildirdiler.

Toplantıda kurulması düşünülen,Türk Kültür merkezinin, tüm Türk Dünyasına hitap etmesi açısından, isminin Turkish World Arts and Cultural Centre olmasına oy birliği ile karar verildi. Beş kıtaya yayılmış Türk dünyasıdan gelen sanatçıların, resim, fotoğraf sergilerinin, müzik, sinema ve tiyatro yapılacağı Kültür merkezinin, ileride, kar gütmeyen Non-Profit bir kurum olarak kurumsallaşmasına karar verildi. Sonuç itibari ile Yunus Emre Vakfının ve Goethe Institute gibi kültür merkezlerinin örnek olarak incelenmesine, gerekli gördüğü takdirde örnek alınmasına karar verildi.

Ends/

Notes to editors

If you want more information on Turkish Cultural Centre please contact Filiz Kirim.

Contact : Ms. Filiz Kırım T:+44 (0) 7986851828 E:fkirim@hotmail.com

May 19, 2010
Pakistan bans Facebook website

A court in Pakistan has ordered the authorities temporarily to block the Facebook social networking site.

The order came when a petition was filed following reports that the site was holding a competition featuring caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

The petition, filed by a lawyers’ group called the Islamic Lawyers’ Movement, said the contest was “blasphemous”.

Internet is free in Pakistan but the government monitors content by routing all traffic through a central exchange.

Justice Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court ordered the department of communications to block the website until 31 May, and to submit a written reply to the petition by that date.

An official told the court that parts of the website that were holding the competition had been blocked, reports the BBC Urdu service’s Abdul Haq in Lahore.

But the petitioner said a partial blockade of a website was not possible and that the entire link had to be blocked.

The lawyers’ group says Pakistan is an Islamic country and its laws do not allow activities that are “un-Islamic” or “blasphemous”.

The judge also directed Pakistan’s foreign ministry to raise the issue at international level.

In the past, Pakistan has often blocked access to pornographic sites and sites with anti-Islamic content.

It has deemed such material as offensive to the political and security establishment of the country, says the BBC’s M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad.

In 2007, the government banned the YouTube site, allegedly to block material offensive to the government of Pervez Musharraf.

The action led to widespread disruption of access to the site for several hours. The ban was later lifted.

BBC

May 19, 2010
British Holiday Mother “kills 2 children”

A British mother has been arrested on suspicion of murdering her two young children who were found dead in a Spanish hotel.

The woman has confessed to killing her one-year-old son and daughter aged five at the four-star Hotel Miramar in the Costa Brava resort of Lloret de Mar, police sources said.

Her children may have been suffocated, investigators believe. Emergency services were called but paramedics could do nothing to save the lives of the children who reportedly showed no outward signs of injury.

The woman, who is in her 30s, was said to have driven to the resort – about 72km (45 miles) north-east of Barcelona – with her children on Monday evening for a few days’ holiday.

Shortly before 2pm yesterday, she called police herself to the modern, beachfront hotel, where officers found the dead youngsters.

Police said the cause of death was not known and postmortem examinations are due to be carried out tomorrow.

The mother reconstructed the tragic events in front of a judge and officers in the room before being taken to a police station this evening.

The Metro

May 19, 2010
UN envoy De Soto urges EU to end KKTC’s isolation

Former UN envoy De Soto urges EU to end KKTC’s isolation;

Alvaro de Soto, the UN secretary-general’s former special adviser on Cyprus, has said the European Union should, as promised, end the isolation of Turkish Cypriots to help find a lasting solution to the problems on the long-divided island.
Mr de Soto stated that it would only be fair for the EU live up to its promises to the Turkish inhabitants of northern Cyprus. Noting that he believes that the EU should comply with its commitments to the Turkish Cypriots, he said this would drive Turkey to open its ports to traffic from Greek Cyprus. Turkey refuses to do so as long as theTurkish Cypriots continue to be subjected to isolation, which the EU had promised to end following the Greek Cypriot rejection of the Annan plan in 2004 while the Turkish side overwhelmingly approved it.
The former UN envoy argued that one reason that prompted the Greek Cypriots to reject the Annan plan aimed at reunifying the island six years ago could be that they felt they were in an advantageous position because they were going to join the EU. He added that another reason was that the Greek Cypriots did not study the plan as carefully as the Turkish Cypriots and were therefore not completely aware of what it would have meant for them.
De Soto also assessed the prospects of resolving the issue through the bilateral talks initiated by Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and former Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) President Mehmet Ali Talat on Sept. 3, 2008. Talat was unseated by Dervis Eroglu at the presidential elections held a month ago.
He said both sides have agreed to a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal state solution as a compromise, though it was not either side’s preference. Stating that the parties have agreed to terms of reference for the talks, he said:“There is a new basis. I see that even Mr. Eroglu has agreed to continue on the same basis. They are pursuing a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal solution, the results of which would have to be a state of single international legal personality and sovereignty, and that is in conformity with the Annan plan as far as I can tell.” He added that it is a “good thing” to see Eroglu pledge to continue the talks from where they left off. Christofias and Eroglu are scheduled to hold the 72nd meeting of the reunification talks on May 26.
De Soto lastly discussed the reason for his resignation from his last post at the UN in 2007 as the special coordinator for the Middle East peace process. He said he resigned because the UN refused to talk with Hamas.“In the Quartet, the UN decided not to deal with Hamas even though Hamas had been democratically elected in an election that has been praised by the observers, including the EU observers. Even though this was the case, the UN stopped dealing with the government of the Palestinian authority, and that was a mistake. I tried to get things changed, and when I was not successful, I left the UN,” he said.
17 May 2010, Monday

Topix

May 18, 2010
Russia says plans full visa-free travel with Turkey in long-term

Medvedev said that they targeted to apply a whole visa-free regulation with Turkey in long-term.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday that they targeted to apply a whole visa-free regulation with Turkey in long-term.

Earlier in the day, Turkish and Russian officials signed an agreement putting an end to visa procedures between the two countries. The agreement was signed between Turkish and Russian governments in capital Ankara, removing visa requirements for Turkish and Russian citizens to travel to each other’s countries.

Speaking at Turkey-Russia Business Forum in Ankara, Medvedev said that there was a high-level economic cooperation between Turkey and Russia.

Medvedev said that Turkey and Russia signed many agreements today, and the amount of investments was expected to exceed 25 million USD thanks to these agreements.

We can reach the figures of pre-economic crisis period, he added.

We target to reach 100 billion USD of trade volume between Turkey and Russia within the next few years, said Medvedev.

He noted that it was important to make investments in textile, food industries, chemical industry and agriculture too.

Medvedev said that visa requirement for tourists and businessmen was ended between Turkey and Russia today, adding that this was just a beginning. Medvedev said that they targeted to apply a whole visa-free regulation in long-term.

Noting that construction sector was on very good level in Russia, Medvedev said that many Turkish companies were operating in Russia in this sector. He added that the business volume of Turkish construction companies in Russia was nearly 30 billion USD.

Medvedev said that the investments were mutual, adding that the amount of Russian businessmen’s investments in Turkey reached billions of USD, and they were on technology and metal industry areas.

AA

May 13, 2010