Motorail train services started between Villach city of Austria and the northwestern province of Edirne, Türkiye. According to Hurriyet newspaper, the train carrying 80 cars and 150 passengers departed from Villach on April 19 and expected to arrive in Edirne soon. The journey is 1450 km and takes 28 hours.
The cost is around 395 euro one-way for a car plus one person in a shared 6-berth couchette compartment.
Tolga Çakır
ISTANBUL – Anatolia News Agency
DO&CO Restaurants and Catering, one of the world’s leading companies in airline and international events catering, has received a record demand to be traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange, or ISE.
The company received demand worth 1.14 billion Turkish Liras from domestic and foreign markets last Thursday and Friday, according to a statement Tuesday from the company.
A total of 26.1 million demands from 1,084 investors have been collected for a total of 2.7 million shares.
Shares of the company are expected to start being traded on the ISE with DOCO code this Thursday.
The company, which was established by Attila Doğu, a Turkish businessman in Vienna in 1981, first began trading on the stock exchange of the Austrian capital.
DO&CO’s 47.05 percent shares will be opened to public. The company will publicly offer shares totaling 28.9 percent of the company on the ISE and 18.15 percent on the Vienna exchange.
Austria today faced a bout of soul-searching about its treatment of foreigners and immigrants when the Turkish ambassador in Vienna accused the country of treating Turks “like a virus”.
The government – and most of the main political parties – reacted with outrage to the comments made by Kadri Ecved Tezcan, who was summoned to the foreign ministry for a dressing down.
Official protests were lodged with Ankara following the extraordinary exercise in straight talking. The Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, said the ambassador had insulted all Austrians.
The extreme right called for Austria’s diplomatic relations with Turkey to be severed.
Tezcan’s attack came in an interview with Die Presse newspaper yesterday.
He said the 250,000 people of Turkish origin in the country were forced to live in ghettos amid an ignorant and hostile host population whose political leaders pandered to xenophobia and competed for the anti-immigrant vote.
“Apart from on holiday, Austrians are not interested in other cultures,” Tezcan said.
“Austria was an empire with various ethnic groups. It should be used to living with foreigners. What’s going on here?
“Why have you given citizenship to 110,000 Turks? The Turks are happy, they want nothing from you. They just don’t want to be treated like a virus.”
Tezcan directed his anger specifically at leading politicians. The Christian democratic interior minister, Maria Fekter of the Austrian People’s party, was in the “wrong party”, he said, suggesting she was an extremist.
The hard-right Freedom party leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, had “no idea of how the world is developing”, Tezcan said.
Faymann’s Social Democrats were charged with running scared of the far right.
“I’ve never seen a social democratic party like in this country,” he said. “Usually, social democrats defend the rights of people wherever they are from. But do you know what the social democrats here have told me? ‘If we say anything about this, Strache gets more votes.’ It’s incredible.”
Faymann said he was “outraged”, adding that Tezcan had “insulted people in his host country, democratic institutions [and] international organisations in Vienna.
Green leaders, migration experts, and media pundits said Tezcan’s outburst had performed a valuable service.
But the political reaction was withering. “This behaviour is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Fritz Kaltenegger, the general secretary of the centre-right Austrian People’s party, said. “Ambassador Tezcan is obviously not aware of his role as a guest in our country.”
In the interview, Tezcan complained that, in his year as the representative of apowerful country of more than 70 million people, the Austrian foreign minister, Michael Spindelegger, had refused to see him.
“When I sought a meeting with the foreign minister, I was told he does not receive ambassadors,” he said. “Can you believe that? What kind of dialogue are we talking about here?”
He said he and his four predecessors had never been asked by the Austrian authorities to play any role in integrating Turks in the country.
But he reserved his most bitter remarks for Vienna, saying: “Almost 30% voted for an extreme rightwing party in this city that claims to be a cultural centre of Europe.
“If you don’t want foreigners here, chase them away. What is Austria’s problem? The Turks in Vienna help each other. They know they are not welcome.”
The eruption of tensions in Austria about immigration and Turkey’s position in Europe follow a series of incidents that have inflamed the issues in recent weeks.
In the Netherlands, the anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders achieved a pivotal position propping up a new rightwing government in return for a clampdown on Muslim immigration.
In Germany, a leading social democrat published a bestseller denouncing the impact of the large Turkish minority on life in the country, the Bavarian prime minister, Horst Seehofer, called for a halt to “alien” immigration from Turkey, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel declared that two generations of multiculturalism in Germany had “utterly failed”.
Tezcan also turned his fire on Merkel, saying: “I was so surprised when she said that multiculturalism has failed, that Germany is a Christian society.
“What kind of mentality is that? I can’t believe that I need to listen to this in the year 2010 in a Europe that is supposed to be the centre of tolerance and human rights. Others learned these values from you and now you’re turning your backs on these values.”
Austria is viscerally opposed to Turkey joining the EU, with the far right prospering on anti-Muslim campaigning and raising ancient historical traumas such as the Ottoman Turkish sieges of Vienna in 1529 and 1683.
Faymann has promised a referendum on the issue should Ankara complete negotiations, which opened five years ago but are at a standstill because of Greek Cypriot vetoes and Franco-German hostility.
The European commission’s annual report on the negotiations this week was highly critical. Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s chief negotiator, accused the EU of Islamophobia and “myopia”.
via Austria treats Turks ‘like a virus’, ambassador claims | World news | The Guardian.
Both Turkey and Austria play down any tension in their bilateral ties after the Turkish ambassador’s critical comments regarding integration problems. Diplomatic sources say withdrawing the ambassador is out of the question, and Austria has not asked Ankara to do so
Turkey has no intention of withdrawing its ambassador to Vienna after his controversial but personal remarks about Austrian attitudes toward immigrants caused a stir in the country, diplomatic sources said Thursday.
“The removal of the ambassador is out of the question,” sources who wished to remain anonymous told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “This is not on the agenda.”
Austria was disappointed by comments from Turkish Ambassador Kadri Ecved Tezcan but did not ask Turkey to withdraw the Turkish envoy, Austria’s Ambassador to Ankara Heidemaria Gurer told the Daily News. “Our foreign minister yesterday night [Wednesday] stated this clearly on TV,” she said.
The Turkish envoy was summoned to the Austrian Foreign Ministry early Wednesday to explain his remarks, while Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu spoke twice on the phone with his Austrian counterpart.
Diplomats, however, played down any tension in Turkish-Austrian ties due to the controversy created by the ambassador’s remarks and said it was too early to judge the current state of relations as a “diplomatic crisis.”
In Strasbourg, Davutoğlu said the ambassador had expressed his personal opinion.
“From the very beginning of the interview, our ambassador declared that the views expressed were his personal views and he was trying to reflect his own experiences with the Turkish community,” said the foreign minister.
“The Turkish-Austrian relationship is deep-rooted and based on mutual respect with an established tradition.”
Before the beginning of the interview with Austrian daily Die Presse, Ambassador Tezcan asked the journalist if he preferred that he reply to the questions as a diplomat – which he said would be boring – or as someone who has been living in Vienna for a year and with contacts with the 250,000 Turks living in Austria.
The journalist said he would prefer the second. Tezcan said in the interview that Austria was pushing people of Turkish origin into ghettos instead of learning to live with them and benefiting from their skills, media reports noted.
Turkish diplomatic sources told the Daily News that Ankara was bringing the issue of integration to the attention of Austrians, something that was also discussed when Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger visited Ankara last month.
“The ambassador was expressing the feelings of the Turkish community and giving messages by engaging in self-criticism,” sources said.
Austria ‘disappointed’ by critical comments
The ambassador’s critical comments caused a stir in Austria.
“First of all we are disappointed by the fact that the ambassador suggested that international organizations in Vienna should withdraw their headquarters from Vienna,” said Ambassador Gurer.
“Then the ambassador made a personal attack on the Austrian ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs. He also made derogatory remarks concerning the Social Democratic Party in Austria. We also did not like his generalizing statement on the hostile attitude of Austria toward foreigners,” she said.
Austria’s displeasure was conveyed to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Austria to hold integration conference next year
Integration issues are frequently discussed in countries such as Austria and Germany, which both have sizeable Turkish populations. Turkey complains that the immigrant Turkish community, which came to Germany and Austria as guest workers in the 1960s and the 1970s, is not provided with the opportunity to fully integrate and instead faces discrimination.
In Ankara, Spindelegger told a joint news conference with Davutoğlu that the way Turks generally lived in Austria was affecting the image of Turkey in his country. The governments and publics of Austria, Germany and France are not very favorable to Turkey’s accession to the European Union.
Turkey says a distinction between assimilation and integration should be clearly made.
“Integration is a social responsibility that helps multi-cultural societies live in respect and in a legal system,” Davutoğlu told the same conference. “But assimilation means destroying a culture, something that cannot be accepted.”
Austria has plans to hold an integration conference in early 2011.
Excerpts from Tezcan’s interview
In the interview, Tezcan criticized Interior Minister Maria Fekter for her tough stance on illegal immigrants. “What she stands for doesn’t conform to a liberal, open mindset,” Tezcan said, adding the same was true for German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“Turks are happy, they don’t want anything from you,” he said. “They just don’t want to be treated like a virus.”
Tezcan also said that if he were the head of a Vienna-based international organization he would not stay in the city. He added that Austria had no business telling women whether or not to wear headscarves. “If there’s the liberty here to swim in the nude, then there also should be the liberty to wear a headscarf.”
Hürriyet
Diplomatic tensions have flared up between Austria and Turkey after the Turkish ambassador in Vienna publically criticized Austria’s stance towards integrating Muslims. The Austrian chancellor is said to be “outraged.”
Austria has protested to Turkey after the Turkish ambassador suggested Turks living in Austria were treated “like a virus” and were denied the chance to integrate.
Ambassdor Kadri Ecved Tezcan also told Die Presse daily newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday that Austrian politicians were not doing enough to counter the rise of the far-right movement.
The row erupted in the wake of elections in the Austrian capital Vienna in October, when the far-right Freedom Party won 26 percent of the vote on a xenophobic and anti-Muslim platform.
The Austrian chancellor called the remarks ‘unprofessional’
The remarks have sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries. Austria’s foreign ministry summoned Tezcan over his comments, whilst the foreign minister Michael Spindelegger called his Turkish counterpart to complain about Tezcan’s remarks.
Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said in a statement that he was outraged by Tezcan’s “unacceptable and unprofessional” comments.
Integration issues
Tezcan claimed in the interview that Austrians were only interested in other cultures when they went on holiday. He said they should do more to integrate the Muslim community in Austria, which is largely made up of Turks.
“Turkish people… just don’t want to be treated like a virus,” Tezcan told Die Presse. “Society should integrate them and profit from them.”
In the interview, Tezcan said it was “incredible” that the Austrian Interior Ministry was responsible for integration, and that they should concentrate on visas and security.
He also criticized the hard-line immigration policies of interior minister, Maria Fekter, saying she was “in the wrong party” because she did not represent the values of her center-right party.
“Unacceptable” for a diplomat
Austria is skeptical about Turkey joining the EU
A spokesman for the Austrian foreign ministry said they did not think that Tezcan represented Ankara’s views.
“[Tezcan] crossed many red lines,” said spokesman Alexander Schallenberg. “His remarks were unacceptable.”
Schallenberg said Austria wanted to keep up good bilateral relations with Turkey.
The Turkish community numbers some 180,000 people in Austria. It is the third largest migrant community after Serbs and Germans.
Austria is one of several EU countries, including Germany, which are skeptical about the prospect of Turkey joining the European Union.
Author: Joanna Impey (AP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Michael Lawton
via Turkish ambassador in Vienna sparks diplomatic row | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 10.11.2010.
“COURIER” comment by Margaretha Kopeinig: “A shot across the bow”
The Turkish tactic is clear: a provocation, because Vienna against the
EU accession.
Vienna (OTS) – It would be naive to assume that the Austria-critical
Statements of the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey were his personal
Opinion. It is part of the raison d’être of a diplomat, to represent
the interests of his country. In addition, the
Turkish Foreign Ministry considered very well whom to send to Vienna
The Ambassadors are statements in the of EU-wide context
To understand the debate on the accession of Turkey and the negative
attitude of the government of Turkey is a shot across the bow.
Turkey wants after years of stalling by the EU and clarity
from those countries that stand on the front line against membership.
These are France, Germany and Austria. To begin with, against the
economically strong and strategically well oriented Turkey, the
smallest and weakest country politically
was Austria, at the 2005 launch of the accession negotiations that
wanted to stop it but could not prevail.
The wisdom is it is not that Turkey needs EU but vice versa. For the
competition on the global stage, the EU and its economy – hence the
Austrian – need for new resources.
Contact:
COURIER, European Editor
Tel: (01) 52 100 / 2752
==============================================
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2009) |
A Coast Guard painting depicts a warning shot fired across the bow of a suspicious vessel bearing the State of Vietnam flag.
A United States Coast Guard helicopter firing warning shots at a non-compliant boat during training.
A warning shot (in nautical terms, often called a shot across the bow) is a harmless artillery shot or gunshot intended to call attention and demand some action.
During the 18th Century, a warning shot could be fired towards any ship whose colours (nationality) had to be ascertained. According to the law of the sea, a ship thus hailed had to fly her flag and confirm it with a gunshot. Warning shots may still be used in modern times to signal a vessel to stop or keep off and may be fired from other ships, boats, or aircraft. [1] [2]
Warning shots are also used in military aviation, to demand some action of an “enemy” aircraft; the most common demand would be for the aircraft to change course. The ostensible justification for firing shots is that tracer rounds are very bright and would immediately gain the attention of a crew whose radio is non-functioning, or who might not have noticed radio transmissions. The objective of warning shots is to demonstrate the ability to shoot, and cause fear in the aircraft’s crew that they will be shot down if they do not comply with combatant’s demands.[citation needed]
On the ground, a warning shot from a pistol, rifle, or shotgun is fired into the air or a nearby object, or aimed so that the shot passes the one being warned harmlessly. This is a sufficiently aggressive act to demand attention, and alert onlookers that they might be shot if directions are not followed.
By analogy, “warning shot” can be said of any action of declaration, especially a demonstration of power, intended or perceived as a last warning before hostile measures.
