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Category: Southern Caucasus

Foreigners leave Turkey amid new residence law

A high number of Armenian and Georgian people working in Turkey are leaving the country in the wake of a recent law implementation that complicates working permits for foreign people. While workers complain of extreme financial difficulties, Labor Ministry announces that there will be exceptions for house workers

Armenians and Georgians are rushing to exit Turkey before a new law complicating residence procedures comes into effect Feb 1. Many workers from the countries have implored PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to quash the law, saying it will make it impossible for them to continue living in Turkey.

Armenians and Georgians are rushing to exit Turkey before a new law complicating residence procedures comes into effect Feb 1. Many workers from the countries have implored PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to quash the law, saying it will make it impossible for them to continue living in Turkey.

Vercihan Ziflioğlu Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr

A new law that will make it more difficult for foreigners to continue living in Turkey without a residence permit has prompted an exodus of Georgians and Armenians who want to leave the country before new regulations go into effect Feb. 1.

“I am pleading to Turkish Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan [to prevent] this law from going into effect. I am feeding and educating my kids with money that I earn here,” said Sofiya, a 47-year-old Georgian citizen, as she was getting ready to travel back to Tbilisi.

“The Law of Foreigners’ Residence and Travel in Turkey” has also put the Emniyet Bus Terminal in Istanbul’s Aksaray district into a frenzy, as Georgians and Armenians who are mainly employed in house labor, babysitting and patient care are rushing to leave Turkey to avoid incurring any penalties.

“Bread has no country. Wherever there is bread, we, the economically vulnerable people, go there. We have to live and support our families. We have no other chance,” Hayganuş, an Armenian citizen, said in reference to the tough rhetoric employed by Erdoğan in response to a draft bill on Armenian genocide allegations that came before the House of Representatives in the United States in 2010.

Regulations

Until now, many foreigners have done “visa runs” to neighboring countries, exiting Turkey after their 90-day visa ends and then immediately re-entering with a new 90-day visa. However, the new law prepared by the Labor and Social Security Ministry will only allow foreign citizens entering the country with a tourist visa to stay in Turkey for three months, after which time they will be obliged to wait for another three months abroad before they can return.

Authorities have provided one convenience for foreign workers, however, in recognition of Armenian, Kyrgyz and Gagauz home laborers. Such house workers will pay the same premiums as a Turkish citizen and will be allowed to continue working even if a Turkish citizen demands the same job.

“Those employed in house labor will continue working by paying premiums like a Turkish citizen,” Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Çelik said.

As many Armenian, Kyrgyz and Gagauz residents in Turkey work in such services as home labor and patient care, they will also be able to take advantage of this provision.

Foreign citizens who arrive in Turkey by means of a tourist visa and later obtain a work permit will be allowed to extend their stay in the country for a year or more, Çelik added.

Foreign workers, however, will then be obliged to pay a hefty premium of 400 Turkish Liras as well, while they will also be barred from obtaining employment in a sector where Turkish citizens demand work.

Prime Minister Tayyip Eroğan last year expressed that some 170,000 Armenians live in Turkey.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry, however, said only 15,000 Armenian citizens currently reside in Turkey.

Armenians in Turkey on the other hand, seem worried.

“As Armenian [citizens], we always lived in fear of being sent back. Such a return would mean chaos for my family. I can neither find food nor take a leave for three months and return back, or find a job,” said Hayganuş, who has been taking care of an elderly woman in Istanbul.

January/27/2012

via RIGHTS – Foreigners leave Turkey amid new residence law.

January 27, 2012
Important: Khojaly e-petition

Dear Friend of Azerbaijan,

The 26th of February marks the 20th anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy.

On that dark day 613 unarmed civilians – men, women and children – were killed by the invading Armenian militia.

We hope to gather at least 613 signatures – one for each victim – to commemorate this tragic event.

If you have not signed this petition, please spend 30 seconds adding your name.

Many thanks,

Ulviyya Allahverdiyeva

Political Liaison

The European Azerbaijan Society

2 Queen Anne’s Gate

London, SW1H 9AA

Tel: +44 (0)207 808 1906

Email: ulviyya@teas.eu

January 23, 2012
Can Bonomo looks forward to see Baku’s rich culture

Turkish participant at “Eurovision-2012” song contest Can Bonomo hopes that this contest will give him a lot of friends and experience. “I have never been to Baku yet. That’s why I am doubly excited. I’m looking forward to see its rich culture and meet some new friend,” he said.

Semifinal rounds of the contest will be held in Baku on May 22 and May 24, Final will be held on May 26.
TRT’s decision was a surprise for me, too. Maybe they wanted something different than Turkish POP music this year, something alternative. However, the list of Turkey’s representatives included Hande Yener, Atiye, Murat Boz.

It’s too soon to think about choreography or the stage performance for now. We are still focusing on the song that we are going to present. We all have ideas in our minds but it will be fully shaped after the song is finished, he said.
“Our song will have our ethnic instruments, a healthy dosage of POP and a good beat to make people dance,” he said.

The honor and pride of being selected to represent my country is good enough.

“I trust my work,” he said. “I don’t think that anything will go wrong.”
Can Bonomo is Turkish jazz singer of Jewish origin. He was born in Izmir in 1987. He began singing from 8 years old. At the age of 17 he moved to Istanbul. His first performances were heard on the radio during his college career. Later, he began appearing on television.

Today.Az

January 23, 2012
Sign the petition for Khojaly Massacre

Responsible department: Foreign and Commonwealth Office

On the 26th February Azerbaijan mourns the 20th Anniversary of one of the darkest days in its history. On this day in 1992 Armenian military forces brutally murdered 613 civilian inhabitants of the town of Khojaly in the illegally occupied region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Twenty years after this fateful day we remember those who died during events which led up to the illegal occupation of around 18% of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory, which still continues to this day in direct contravention of four UN Security Council Resolutions. We the undersigned urge the Prime Minister to condemn this shocking act and the continuing Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories which prevents the survivors from returning to their homes.

Sign the petition: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/27069

January 21, 2012
‘Turkey will be near Azerbaijan in case of war in Karabakh’

Military option might be applied if the Karabakh issue is not solved in a peaceful way.

The statement came from Turkish MP from Istanbul Ali Ozgunduz while explaining his opinion that Turkey will be near Azerbaijan if the war is unleashed in Karabakh, Gun.Az reports.

‘When Azerbaijan launches military operation to liberate the occupied territories, Turkey will be near Azerbaijan and no one should doubt it. I would like to add that the Karabakh issue cannot be deferred for too long and it will find its settlement sooner or later. As long as the conflict is protracted, many other problems can occur in the region’, Ozgunduz said.

The MP said that Turkey will always support Azerbaijan and never leave it alone in the battlefield.

‘Today Armenia should duly analyze the situation in the region and understant that in case of war, Armenia’s economy and the whole infrastructure may perish. Armenian politicians should perceive it well’, the MP stressed.

News.Az

January 8, 2012
Turkey Reiterates Commitment to Southern Corridor with Trans-Anatolia Pipeline

Turkey Reiterates Commitment to Southern Corridor with Trans-Anatolia Pipeline

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 9 Issue: 1

January 3, 2012

By: Saban Kardas

Turkey and Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of understanding that will facilitate the transit of Azerbaijani natural gas to Europe, changing the calculations over the EU-backed Southern Corridor concept. In October 2011, the two countries signed numerous agreements regulating the volume and price for Turkey’s gas imports from Azerbaijan as well as the transit terms for Azerbaijani gas exports to Europe through Turkish territory (EDM, November 1, 2011). Among these documents they agreed to work on a dedicated pipeline that will transport gas from the second phase of the Shah Deniz gas field through a pipeline from Turkey’s eastern frontier to its western border, in addition to using the existing Turkish grid for transiting Azerbaijani gas.

On December 26, 2011, Turkey’s Energy Minister Taner Yildiz and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Natig Aliyev, signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of the Trans-Anadolu natural gas pipeline. The Trans-Anadolu consortium will be formed by the State Oil and Gas Company (SOCAR) and Turkey’s BOTAS and TPAO. While the Azerbaijani side will hold 80 percent of the shares, the Turkish participants will control the remaining 20 percent, but the stakes might change over time, as the consortium will be open to participation by other international energy companies. The construction work is scheduled to start in 2012 and be completed in 2017, when the Shah Deniz-II is also expected to become operational. The pipeline will have an initial annual capacity of 16 billion cubic meters (bcm), which could be increased to 24 bcm. The 6 bcm capacity will be used for consumption in Turkey’s western regions, while the rest of the throughput will constitute Azerbaijan’s exports to Europe. Since Turkey will retain the re-export rights for its imports from Azerbaijan, the total volume of gas available for European markets could increase depending on the market conditions. Though the construction costs will be determined after feasibility studies, Yildiz estimated these costs at around $5 billion (Anadolu Ajansi, December 26, 2011).

This development raises many interrelated issues about the future of bilateral relations, as well as the EU’s Southern Corridor project seeking to diversify European natural gas supplies tapping into Caspian basin reserves.

With this decision, Turkey and Azerbaijan took another step to cement their evolving strategic partnership, while Ankara also reconfirmed its Baku-centered South Caucasus policy. Energy occupies a major place in both countries’ ambitious foreign policy agendas. While Azerbaijan is eager to capitalize on its developing hydrocarbon reserves to emerge as a major regional actor in the South Caucasus, Turkey has sought to use its geographic location as an asset to establish itself as a major transportation corridor for oil and gas from the Caspian basin and Central Asia as well as the Middle East.

Given Azerbaijan’s need for a reliable export route and Turkey’s interest in sustainable throughput to feed its ambitions to become an energy hub, there are economic and strategic imperatives forcing the two countries to forge a closer partnership in the energy sector, which is further strengthened by overlapping perspectives on regional issues. Such a shared vision led to the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline marketing Azerbaijani oil globally and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline exporting Azerbaijani gas to Turkey, part of which is re-exported to Greece by using the Turkish grid. With the successive energy deals signed in recent years, including a rising volume of Azerbaijani investments in Turkey’s energy sector, and deepening political dialogue such as the establishment of a high level strategic cooperation council, the two countries are healing the frictions caused by Turkey’s thwarted normalization efforts with Armenia.

Currently, there seems to be a strong determination to develop joint energy projects and turn this partnership into a solid axis in the South Caucasus and beyond. Natig Aliyev’s remarks that with the trans-Anatolia project the two countries will work in European energy markets together reflected this shared vision (www.ntvmsnbc.com, December 26, 2011).

Moreover, the implications of this development for the EU-backed Southern corridor remain a matter of controversy. The competing projects including Nabucco, Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI) and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) submitted their bids to the BP-led consortium operating the Shah Deniz field in October 2011. While Azerbaijan and the consortium were expected to make their decision, the trans-Anatolian project has altered the equation in the ongoing competition to secure access to Azerbaijan’s export volumes.

To complicate these calculations even further, Turkey also moved to sign an accord with Russia by the end of 2011. An agreement finalizing Turkey’s approval for the construction of South Stream in its territorial waters in the Black Sea was signed in Moscow by the heads of BOTAS and Gazprom, overseen by Yildiz and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. With this decision, which Russia had been expecting for over one year, Turkey removed its objections to the South Stream project, which Russian sources expect to be completed by 2015. In return, Yildiz claimed that he secured guarantees from the Russian side to resolve the dispute over the western pipeline in terms favorable to Turkey, especially including a reduction in the price for gas imports from Russia (Anadolu Ajansi, December 29, 2011).

The Turkish government has faced the criticism that by taking these controversial steps it is effectively killing the Nabucco project, which it claimed to have deemed as a strategic priority (Hurriyet, December 31, 2011). For its part, the Turkish government has been arguing that the trans-Anatolian project was in fact complementary to Nabucco and Southern corridor projects, as it will reduce the costs of the other projects (Anadolu Ajansi, December 26, 2011; Yeni Safak, November 19, 2011).

Ankara considers that it has fulfilled its responsibilities towards the Nabucco project by granting the necessary permissions earlier for its construction on its territory. The recent deal on the trans-Anatolian project in that context reiterates that Turkey would not be the deal-breaker in Southern corridor projects, as it effectively resolves issues pertaining to the transit of Azerbaijani gas. More importantly, the willingness of the BP-led Shah Deniz consortium, for Azerbaijan and Turkey to undertake a major portion of the transportation corridor might allow Nabucco and other projects to redesign themselves on scalable terms. Now it will be up to other Nabucco partners to do their part, readjust to the new conditions, and find a supply source, which remains the main obstacle before the project.

https://jamestown.org/program/turkey-reiterates-commitment-to-southern-corridor-with-trans-anatolia-pipeline/

January 4, 2012