Category: Regions

Dame Stella Rimington: MI5 and MI6 must convince public they are working for them and not against them

The British intelligence services must persuade public they are working on their behalf and not against them, revealing Julian Assange and Edward Snowden as the “self-seeking twerps” they are, Dame Stella Rimington has said.

Dame Stella, the former head of MI5, said openness about the role of the intelligence services would help public trust, after revelations about how information is gathered.

Speaking at the Henley Literary Festival, she added it may now be time for more “oversight” of the issue to reassure the public that the interception of communication was in their best interests, The Telegraph stated.

She said the “main issue” which now needed to be addressed is the “question of intrusion by our security services into everybody’s lives”, which the likes of Assange and Snowden use as an excuse to share secrets.

“It’s very important for our intelligence services to have a kind of oversight which people have confidence in,” she said.

“So that we can be quite sure that in giving them these powers we know they are being properly supervised in the way they are using them.

“I think that it may mean it is now the time to look again at the oversight. I have every confidence that the oversight is good and they’re not trying anything of the things they’re not supposed to.

“But it may be that we need something more complex to convince the nation our intelligence services are actually acting on their behalf and not acting against them.

“Assange and Snowden would be seen to be what I believe they are, which is self-seeking twerps.”

She added the service was now facing one of its most difficult periods ever, with “spreading extremism that is sucking in young people and providing them with some kind of ethic and ethos that is difficult for all of us to understand”.

Dame Stella, 78, also spoke of the difficulties of combining her former role with motherhood, disclosing she had feared for the safety of her daughters after her identity was revealed.

Speaking of the nature of state surveillance, she added: “My own opinion on this is that intelligence, in an increasingly complex and sophisticated world, has to be able to go where the threat is,” she said.

“In that the people who are seeking to harm us are increasingly sophisticated and are using more sophisticated ways of communicating in order to conceal their plans.

“Our intelligence services have to be given the tools to go there too in order to react.”

October 16, 2013
Turkey EU: Why It Will Never Happen
Turkey EU: Why It Will Never Happen
- Teklehaymanot Yilma
Turkey EU: Why It Will Never Happen

Turkey has been attempting to the join the European Union for years with no success. In fact, ever since it started applying, countries like Slovenia and Croatia have been accepted and Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Kosovo are being groomed to join. Mind you that Turkey first applied to join while those countries were still one country as Yugoslavia.

While the EU has virtually put Turkey’s application on what seems like a permanent “hold” status, a large number of the Turkish people are disappointed in the EU’s lack of response. “I guess that nobody wants to say that we are not going to continue with the accession process, neither the EU nor Turkey,” said Turkey’s ambassador to the EU, Selim Yenel.

Turkey will never be accepted into the EU for two major reasons.

1. Culture/Religion

Many influential EU leaders have rejected the idea of allowing a Muslim country be a part of the EU. Many fear that unlike the smaller European countries that had smooth accession, a largeMuslim country would stand out and integration with the rest of the European Union would not be easy.

2. Geography

Turkey is truly unique, at the cross roads of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Turkey both culturally and historically represents a linkage between the West and East and even though its location has so much historical significance, it also has some negatives. Ultimately, the European Union would never be willing to share a border with Syria, Iraq, Armenia and Iran. Should Turkey join the EU, these four countries would be the new neighbors of the European Union.

This is precisely why the European Union has implemented the Neighborhood Policy. Essentially, this policy uses the EU’s direct neighbors as a buffer zone, almost like an artificial border. Under the Neighborhood Policy, countries like Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Turkey, Maldova and others, receive various forms of economic aid and trade subsidies from the EU to integrate their markets under conditions that would force them to become more democratic. The EU says that it is an effort to democratize their neighbors and assist them with economic growth. However, it essentially boils down to these countries’ being used as a buffer zone to act as a border, separating the EU from countries like Mali, Chad, Syria, Iraq and Belarus. Turkey is a crucial Neighborhood Policy member that the EU wants to permanently use as a buffer.

Despite these two reasons, Turkey should be glad it is not joining the EU. Joining the EU may bring many benefits such as access to the world’s biggest trading zone, free mobilization throughout the 28 member states, funding for infrastructure and of course the elite title of being a European Union member. However, Turkey is the gateway to Asian and Middle Eastern markets and as a member of the Neighborhood Policy, Turkey is getting all sorts of funds from the EU without the risks of being a part of the European Union and dealing with the Euro zone.

Second, being a European Union member may actually draw some animosity from Turkey’s neighbors which are not too fond of the EU or the west. Joining the EU might actually become a national security concern as Turkey could become a bigger target, as the only Muslim country in the EU furthering relations with the west.

So as an independent nation, Turkey can enjoy economic growth and expanding trade with the Middle East and Asiafree from European elitism, the unstable Euro, and animosity from extremist groups.
October 14, 2013
Head Scarves in Turkey – NYTimes.com

To the Editor:

The Turkish government’s lifting of the ban on head scarves in government offices (news article, Oct. 9) should not be taken as a sign of democracy, despite what Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims.

Instead, it is another insidious step toward the Islamist state he desires and against the secular republic founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Don’t forget that Mr. Erdogan is the man who declared: “Democracy is like a streetcar. When you come to your stop, you get off.”

Furthermore, this step diminishes rather than promotes the equal rights of women in that country. The wearing of Islamic head scarves in Turkey is quite a different thing from what it is in the United States, and American citizens and politicians should not so easily be deceived.

CAROL DELANEY

Providence, R.I., Oct. 9, 2013

The writer, emerita professor of anthropology at Stanford University, has spent years doing research in Turkey.

A version of this letter appears in print on October 14, 2013, on page A24 of the New York edition with the headline: Head Scarves in Turkey.

via Head Scarves in Turkey – NYTimes.com.

October 14, 2013
Norwegian firm to design Istanbul’s new airport

Norwegian firm to design Istanbul’s new airport

Istanbul Ataturk Airport

The Oslo-based architecture firm Nordic Office of Architecture has won an international competition to design what’s expected to become the world’s largest airport, in Istanbul. Gudmund Stokke, partner and manager of the firm, called it “a bit of a dream to land in this position.”

The firm, formerly known as Narud Stokke Wiig Architects and Planners, joined with the British Grimshaw firm to beat out eight other contenders for the job. Nordic Office specializes in designing modern airports and was behind Oslo’s main airport at Gardermoen and its current expansion project, the Rajiv Gandhi Airport in Hyderabad, India, the Hanimaadhoo Airport in the Maldives and several in the Arctic areas of Norway.

The new airport in Istanbul will be designed to accommodate 90 million passengers a year, and 150 million within 10 years. Its first phase is due to open in 2019.

The project will also be the largest in Turkish history, opening with three runways and a terminal covering a million square meters. It aims to become a major hub, with Nordic Office in charge of the master plan and design. Stokke wouldn’t reveal the value of the contract.

newsinenglish.no staff

October 13, 2013
Flash News!!! Malta warns EU waters ‘a cemetery’ after fresh tragedy

According to BBC Malta’s prime minister has said European waters close to Africa are turning into a cemetery, after another boat laden with migrants capsized.

Joseph Muscat said Malta felt “abandoned” by the rest of Europe and urged the EU to take action.

Malta and Italy launched a rescue operation after a boat capsized on Friday, killing at least 50 people.

It happened 120km (70 miles) off Lampedusa, the Italian island where at least 300 migrants drowned last week.

The loss of life has renewed the debate within EU member states on migration rules.

Children among dead

In the latest incident, the vessel carrying more than 200 migrants is believed to have encountered difficulties in Maltese waters just before sunset on Friday.

I don’t know how many more people need to die at sea before something gets done”

Joseph MuscatMaltese prime minister

The migrants used a satellite phone to raise the alarm but the boat capsized when passengers crowded to one side as they tried to get the attention of a passing aircraft, the Maltese navy said.

The BBC’s Matthew Price, on Lampedusa, says the boat was carrying Syrians and Palestinians.

The Syrians already in the refugee centre on Lampedusa had spoken to friends and relatives who had boarded the vessel, he says.

One couple who had survived the journey with their nine-month-old daughter said they had spent an hour in the water.

The husband had held the child to his chest to keep her alive, but he had been unable to help his son, who had drowned in front of them.

“Helicopters rescued 120 people”

Earlier on Friday, at least 500 other migrants travelling in separate boats were rescued in coastguard operations near the Italian island of Sicily.

Also on Friday, a separate boat accident off the Egyptian port of Alexandria claimed the lives of at least 12 migrants.

Egyptian security officials said 116 people, mostly Palestinians and Syrians, were pulled from the water.

Budget cuts

Mr Muscat said prompt action between Malta and Italy had saved lives, but he complained that the rest of Europe had supplied only “empty talk”.

“I don’t know how many more people need to die at sea before something gets done,” he said.

“Rules need to change, whether they are tighter or looser is not the issue, the fact is that this thing is broken and it needs to be fixed.

“As things stand we are building a cemetery within our Mediterranean Sea.”

After last week’s tragedy off Lampedusa the European Commission called for the EU to launch Mediterranean-wide search and rescue patrols to intercept migrant boats.

The EU’s Frontex border agency, set up in 2004, has seen its budget cut from 118m euros (£100m; $160m) in 2011 to 85m euros in 2013.

Italy has previously appealed to EU states for help in coping with the thousands of illegal migrants who wash up on its shores every year.

Our correspondent says European leaders face a quandary as they struggle to balance political pressures to restrict migrant numbers with the need to assist those desperate enough to risk such a perilous journey.

‘Sadness and anxiety’

Lampedusa, 120km off the North African coast, is a key destination for migrant vessels bound for Europe.

Tens of thousands attempt the crossing to Lampedusa, Sicily and other Italian islands each year.

The latest rescue operation swung into action after the Maltese air force spotted the boat and alerted Italian naval vessels still in the area after last Thursday’s disaster.

Helicopters were used to lift many to safety but nightfall hampered the rescue operation.

At least 33 people were confirmed dead, with one report estimating the death toll at 50.

Mr Muscat’s office said 147 survivors had been picked up by a Maltese patrol boat and were being taken to Malta. Another 56 had been saved by Italian crews.

The prime minister said the dead included three small children.

Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, praised the swift Italian and Maltese rescue effort, which she said had helped reduce the potential death toll.

She said in a statement that she was following the operation with “sadness and anxiety”.

“These new horrible events are happening while we still have the shocking images of the tragedy in Lampedusa in our minds,” she added.

October 12, 2013
Turkey won’t join EU in near future

Column by Alex Shaner

The European Union (EU) has become one of the most prominent multilateral and regional governmental institutions of all time.

Citing collective defense, economic, social, political and environmental concerns, 28 states have banded together since the end of World War II to create a lasting forum for economic and political collaboration on a level not currently seen.

With the formation of a common currency, the Euro, the EU always has been looking for further interests and expansion of membership and ideals.

With this lucrative organization, many states are seeking membership and the benefits that come with such a membership.

One country in particular, Turkey, has been negotiating membership since the late 1960s.

Can Turkey complete the membership requirements and more importantly, will it be a “fit” within the EU?

I believe Turkey would make an excellent addition to shakeup the very “stuffy” EU.

However, with the current system of membership and the geo-political differences, Turkey will not be admitted for the foreseeable future for a variety of reasons.

Location, location, location. While several states including Cyprus lie beyond geographical Europe, Turkey’s geographic importance is not continental.

While it is true that Turkey is technically in Europe, only one-fourth of the country is located “in Europe.”

Geography does not always equate membership, however, in an “European” Union, it would make sense to actually be in Europe, or at least a majority.

Being on the same continent allows states to share common security concerns, environmental impacts and sense of a shared fate in collective decisions of the continent.

Second, there is a tremendous difference in culture between Turkey and the rest of the EU. An obvious difference, religion, can determine morals, political positions and cultural continuity between members.

The predominant religion in Europe, Christianity, allows for similar moral and ethical positions between the states.

While there are sizable Islam and Hindu populations within Europe, they are concentrated in urban areas and are not the majority of the population, as well as the governing beliefs as in the Church of England, for example.

This is not to say just because the majority of Turkey practices Islam, that it cannot be in the EU.

Several of the requirements within the “Chapters” of membership call for religious tolerance and freedom of expression, which currently is a problem within Turkey’s civil rights.

Besides the previous reasons, the membership process is quite lengthy, and the candidate’s status is defined into 35 chapters.

All of these areas must be completed and the guidelines met in order to be granted membership.

Out of the 35 chapters, Turkey has completed one.

Only 15 chapters are currently open, and most of them became open in 2007. The chapters range from science and technology, freedoms and liberties, free movement of capital and environmental sustainability.

These issues specifically with governing will take years for Turkey to make some effort.

While the EU can benefit from cultural diversity, the current political situation in Turkey and the lack of progress on the application process, the accession of Turkey to the EU will not happen for the foreseeable future if at all.

Shaner is a senior international relations and politics double major and can be reached at alexander.shaner@drake.edu

via Turkey won’t join EU in near future.

October 11, 2013