Turkish Forum

Category: EU Members

European Council decided to open accession negotiations with Turkey on 17 Dec. 2004

  • Flights between TÜRKİYE and UK are cancelled

    Flights between TÜRKİYE and UK are cancelled

    Flights across the north of Europe and  UK have been grounded for a second day as volcanic ash from Iceland drifts across Europe, posing a potential threat to aircraft. Flights between Turkey and UK are also grounded due to the potential threat to aircraft safety.

    Volcanic eruption

    Airports remain closed to passengers and air traffic control company NATS has warned restrictions are due to remain in place until 7pm at the earliest.

    In a statement, NATS said: “The cloud of volcanic ash continues to cover much of the UK and the eruption in Iceland continues.The statement continued: “In general, the situation cannot be said to be improving with any certainty as the forecast affected area appears to be closing in from east to west.
    “We continue to work closely with airports, airlines, and the rest of Europe to understand and mitigate the implications of the volcanic eruption.”

    These reports clearly indicate that volcanic eruption will continue to effect thousands of passengers around the world.

    Tolga Cakir

    email: [email protected]

  • Izmir (Symrna) arsons, Greeks and Turks

    Izmir (Symrna) arsons, Greeks and Turks

    Denis O’Callaghan’s letter (April 9th) condemning President McAleese’s laying of a wreath at the tomb of Ataturk because he was “responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Smyrna in Asia Minor” is a very partial view of history.The Turkish capture of Smyrna occurred as the culmination of a Greek attempt to conquer Anatolia, which led to large scale ethnic cleansing of Muslims, starting in Smyrna itself and reaching to where it was stopped by Ataturk, at the gates of Ankara.The Greeks were victims of their own irredentist dreams of a new Byzantium and their misplaced faith in Lloyd George, in attempting to impose the punitive Treaty of Sèvres on Turkey.In any other context, such as that applied to the second World War, the recapture of Smyrna would be seen as an act of liberation and the blame for the unfortunate events of September 1922 placed at the hands of the original aggressors. – Yours, etc,Dr PAT WALSH,Leyland Crescent,Ballycastle, Co Antrim.
    From The Author of
    Forgotten Aspects Of Ireland’s Great War on Turkey1919–1924(Unutulan Yönleriyle İrlanda’nın Türkiye’ye Karşı Büyük Savaşı: 1914–1924) Dr. Pat Walsh.  ATHOL BOOKS, Belfast 2009

    Contributed by Mr Yusuf Cinar, Mr Nizam Bulut, Galway, Ireland

  • Greek sues over photo on ‘Turkish’ yoghurt in Sweden

    Greek sues over photo on ‘Turkish’ yoghurt in Sweden

    A Greek man is suing a dairy in Sweden for 50 million kronor ($6.9m; £4.5m) for using his image on pots of Turkish-style yoghurt, Swedish media report.

    Turkish Yogurt

    The man only found out his moustachioed face featured on the containers of Turkisk Yoghurt made by Lindahls when a friend living in Stockholm told him.

    Athanasios Varzanakos told Swedish Radio his friend “was annoyed and asked how it was possible” when informed.

    The dairy said it bought the photograph in good faith from an image library.

    Chief executive Anders Lindahl said it had come as a shock when the Greek man lodged a 40-page legal complaint saying that the company had used a misleading image because he had no links with Turkey.

    “We bought it from a photo agency so we assumed that everything was in order,” Mr Lindahl told the AFP news agency.

    The image remains on the Lindahls website despite the legal action.

    Relations between Greece and Turkey have long been strained and at times have turned into outright hostility.

    BBC

  • Leeds football coach has been suspended after head butting a referee

    Leeds football coach has been suspended after head butting a referee

    A junior football coach has been suspended after being accused of head butting a referee at an under 12s match in Leeds.And police and the Football Association both launched inquiries into the incident.
    Jonathan Rimmington, 44, says he is fighting to clear his name after what he describes as a stand-off with the match official.
    The dad-of-two was quizzed by police over the allegations but has been cleared by them of any wrong-doing.
    However the FA has banned him from taking charge of his Rothwell Juniors under 12s team since the incident on February 14.
    Mr Rimmington has now appointed a solicitor ahead of an FA disciplinary hearing in a bid to get the ban overturned and clear his name.
    He denies the attack, instead claiming he was left injured in the clash.
    Mr Rimmington, from Birstall, told the YEP: “The whole affair is an absolutely disgraceful advertisement for junior football in this city.
    “I have been cleared by the police but it still feels like a case of me being guilty until proved innocent because of this FA ban.”
    Trouble flared after Mr Rimmington was ordered to leave the pitch after he went on to help one of his injured players.
    The game, played at Springbank Primary School, Farsley, between Farsley Celtic and Rothwell was abandoned six minutes into the match because of the injury.
    The later incident is alleged to have happened when Mr Rimmington approached the referee on the road next to pitch as he went to his car.
    Mr Rimmington added that problems started earlier: “The grass was six inches long on the pitch and there were holes all over the place.
    “I felt it wasn’t safe and told the referee but he just told me to go away and I think we got off on the wrong footing from the start.
    “We are in charge of growing lads and have to look after them properly, they are always my main concern.
    “This has really upset them. They are getting a lot of stick because of what has happened.”
    A West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed the matter had been investigated and a file was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service but no further action was taken. John Riorden, governance manger for the West Riding County FA, said: “A disciplinary hearing was set up but Mr Rimmington was not available to attend. Another hearing will be arranged at a more convenient time so the matter can be dealt with.
    The YEP reported two years ago how Mr Rimmington’s team, then an under 10s said, were dubbed the ‘mini Arsenal’ because of their success in the Garforth and District junior football league.
    They were unbeaten and won the league with eight games to spare.
    More than half the team trained with the Leeds United academy and scouts from professional clubs were regularly spotted watching from the touchlines at their home games.
    Professional clubs including Manchester City, Oldham and Sheffield United have already expressed an interest in the several of the talented crop of youngsters.

    Yorkshire Evening Post

  • Bomb explodes near N Ireland MI5 base

    Bomb explodes near N Ireland MI5 base

    The Real IRA has admitted it was behind a car bomb which exploded outside MI5’s Northern Ireland headquarters.

    Palace

    The blast seems to have been timed to coincide with the precise moment that policing and justice powers devolved from Westminster to Stormont.

    It happened at about 0020 BST outside Palace Barracks, in Holywood, County Down. Police said no warning was given.

    The bomb went off as the surrounding area was being evacuated. An elderly man was treated for minor injuries.

    The bomb was placed in a taxi, which had been hijacked in the Ligoniel area of north Belfast, about seven miles from Holywood, at about 2150 BST.

    The driver was held hostage by three men for about two hours before being told to drive his taxi to the barracks.

    The vehicle was abandoned at the base just before midnight prompting police and security staff to evacuate the area. The bomb exploded about 20 minutes later as the evacuation was still taking place.

    An elderly man walking near the barracks at the time of the explosion was treated in hospital for minor injuries.

    There were two explosions – first the bomb and then the petrol tank, destroying the car and damaging other property.

    Chief Superintendent Nigel Grimshaw said the police had not received a telephoned warning about the attack.

    He said the taxi used was destroyed in the “significant explosion”.

    The senior officer visited the scene on Sunday night.

    “I saw young children in the arms of mothers and fathers, where we had moved people from the community into a local community centre – that’s the type of people who were affected by this totally callous act.

    “There is no question in my mind that it was designed to kill or seriously injure and that’s exactly what would have happened, were it not for the actions of my officers, military colleagues and indeed the community themselves who co-operated fully with us.”

    Up to 60 people were moved from their homes and spent the night in a community centre.

    The attack appears to have been timed to coincide with the transfer of policing and justice powers from London to Belfast.

    Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward said this “democratic transition stands in stark contrast to the activity of a criminal few who will not accept the will of the majority of people of Northern Ireland”.

    “They have no support anywhere,” he added.

    BBC

  • Turkey is an enormous present on Europe’s doorstep (Video)

    Turkey is an enormous present on Europe’s doorstep (Video)

    Turkey is an enormous present on Europe’s doorstep. Speaker: Professor Norman Stone

    Arguing against the motion ‘Let’s keep Turkey out of Europe’, Norman Stone asserts that Turkey’s history mirrors that of Spain, now one of Europe’s greatest success stories. The EU has a crucial opportunity to influence Turkey, to shape it, and create an entirely new civilisation. Europe should mean something for Turkey the way it held promise for post-Second World War populations. Turkey is an enormous present on Europe’s doorstep.

    Contribution by Mr Yusuf Cinar and Mr Nizam Bulut, Ireland