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Tag: Recep Tayyip Erdogan

12th president of Turkey

  • Turkey and Russia Conclude Energy Deals

    Turkey and Russia Conclude Energy Deals

    By SEBNEM ARSU
    a1Published: August 6, 2009

    ISTANBUL — Russia and Turkey concluded energy agreements on Thursday that will support Turkey’s drive to become a regional hub for fuel transshipments while helping Moscow maintain its monopoly on natural gas shipments from Asia to Europe.

    Turkey granted the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom use of its territorial waters in the Black Sea, under which the company wants to route its so-called South Stream pipeline to gas markets in Eastern and Southern Europe.

    In return, a Russian oil pipeline operator agreed to join a consortium to build a pipeline across the Anatolian Peninsula, from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, and Gazprom affirmed a commitment to expand an existing Black Sea gas pipeline for possible transshipment across Turkey to Cyprus or Israel.

    Energy companies in both countries agreed to a joint venture to build conventional electric power plants, and the Interfax news agency in Russia reported that Prime MinisterVladimir V. Putin offered to reopen talks on Russian assistance to Turkey in building nuclear power reactors.

    The agreements were signed in Ankara, the Turkish capital, in meetings between Mr. Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who has joined Mr. Putin on several energy projects, attended the ceremony. The Italian company Eni broke ground on the trans-Anatolian oil pipeline this year.

    While the offer of specific pipeline deals and nuclear cooperation represented a new tactic by Mr. Putin, the wider struggle for dominance of the Eurasian pipelines is a long-running chess match in which he has often excelled.

    As he has in the past, Mr. Putin traveled to Turkey with his basket of tempting strategic and economic benefits immediately after a similar mission by his opponents. A month ago, European governments signed an agreement in Turkey to support the Western-backed Nabucco pipeline, which would compete directly with the South Stream project.

    By skirting Russian territory, the Nabucco pipeline would undercut Moscow’s monopoly on European natural gas shipments and the pricing power and political clout that come with it. That may explain why Nabucco, which cannot go forward without Turkey’s support, has encountered a variety of obstacles thrown up by the Russian government, including efforts to deny it vital gas supplies in the East and a customer base in the West.

    Turkey and other countries in the path of Nabucco have been eager players in this geopolitical drama, entertaining offers from both sides. Turkish authorities have even tried, without much success, to leverage the pipeline negotiations to further Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, while keeping options with Russia open, too.

    “These countries are more than happy to sign agreements with both parties,” Ana Jelenkovic, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy, said in a telephone interview from London. “There’s no political benefit to shutting out or ceasing energy relations with Russia.”

    Under the deal Mr. Putin obtained Thursday, Gazprom will be allowed to proceed with seismic and environmental tests in Turkey’s exclusive economic zone, necessary preliminary steps for laying the South Stream pipe, Prime Minister Erdogan said at a news conference.

    After the meeting, Mr. Putin said, “We agreed on every issue.”

    The trans-Anatolian oil pipeline also marginally improves Russia’s position in the region. The pipeline is one of two so-called Bosporus bypass systems circumventing the straits between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, which are operating at capacity in tanker traffic.

    The preferred Western route is the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which allows companies to ship Caspian Basin crude oil to the West without crossing Russian territory; the pipeline instead crosses the former Soviet republic of Georgia and avoids the crowded straits by cutting across Turkey to the Mediterranean.

    Russia prefers northbound pipelines out of the Caspian region that terminate at tanker terminals on the Black Sea. The success of this plan depends, in turn, on creating additional capacity in the Bosporus bypass routes. Russia is backing two such pipelines.

    Mr. Putin’s offer to move ahead with a Russian-built nuclear power plant in Turkey suggests a sweetening of the overall Russian offer on energy deals with Turkey, while both Western and Russian proposals are on the table.

    The nuclear aspect of the deal drew protests. About a dozen Greenpeace protesters were surrounded by at least 200 armored police officers in central Ankara on Thursday.

    Andrew E. Kramer contributed reporting from Moscow.

    The New York Times
  • Is Turkey preparing for peace?

    Is Turkey preparing for peace?

    Simon Tisdall

    Simon Tisdall guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 July 2009 16.30 BST

    There is much speculation about the government’s ‘Kurdish initiative’ and if it will be enough to end the long-running conflicT

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan may be about to deliver the biggest blow yet to the fraying ultra-nationalist legacy of Turkey’s founding father and first president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. But ironically given recent controversies, the prime minister’s anticipated demarche is not about advancing his supposed Islamist agenda. Instead it concerns the rights of Turkey’s 12 million-strong ethnic Kurd minority, which Ataturk did more than most to suppress.

    Erdogan’s confirmation last week that his government was working on a “Kurdish initiative” to finally resolve a conflict that has claimed 40,000 lives since 1984 has prompted furious speculation about what is in store. It followed similar comments earlier this year by Erdogan’s ally, President Abdullah Gul, who spoke of a “historic opportunity”, and by army chief Ilker Basbug, who characterised the Kurdish problem as a test of Turkey’s modernisation.

    Reports in Hurriyet and other Turkish media suggest the plan could include a general amnesty for Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) fighters, enhanced political, economic, language and educational rights, and the reinstatement of banned Kurdish names in south-eastern Anatolian towns. Article 5 of the anti-terror law, which has been used to imprison children for stone-throwing, is also said to be under review.

    Erdogan did not say when he would unveil his new strategy. But it is likely to come before 15 August, the date on which the jailed PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, has promised to launch his own “road map” for peace. The PKK has renounced its former aim of of an independent Kurdish state and recently extended a unilateral ceasefire until September. Ocalan, held in solitary confinement for the past 10 years on Imrali island in the sea of Marmara, is expected to offer suggestions on disarmament, political reintegration of PKK members, increased local government autonomy and the creation of a national “dialogue period”.

    Ocalan’s road map would present “a solid solution”, Hasip Kaplan of the Kurdish Democratic Society party (DTP) told Hurriyet. “The dialogue period should be initiated … The DTP is ready to contribute to the resolution of this problem,” he said. For his part, Erdogan has an uneven, stop-start record on the Kurdish issue. Although he appears committed, it remains unclear just how far he is prepared to go.

    Erdogan’s hesitancy is undoubtedly due in part to the fierce resistance emanating from the same conservative, secular opponents, civilian and military, who accuse him and his Islam-based Justice and Development party of secretly pursuing a religious agenda. “The prime minister has become a very serious risk for Turkey … as he prepares to divide Turkey under the guidance of the butcher of Imrali [Ocalan],” said Devlet Bahceli of the far-right Nationalist Movement party. Deniz Baykal of the Republican People’s party said Erdogan was bowing to EU and US pressure arising from human rights concerns and the stability of northern Iraq.

    These persistent internal tensions, illustrated by this month’s trial of two army generals allegedly linked to the “Ergenekon” coup ring and by last year’s uproar over lifting a university headscarf ban, have potential to derail Erdogan’s Kurdish initiative. Equally, if a peace process does take root, it will be seen in some quarters as undermining Ataturk’s ideal of a common people with a common language under a common flag.

    But times are changing and even Turkish statist diehards may have to change, too. As historian Andrew Mango points out in a new book published by Haus Publishing, From the Sultan to Ataturk, Ataturk was an authoritarian radical, wedded to a contemporary concept of the nation state and determined to raise his vision of a modern, secular Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman empire. “His objective was to fashion a united Turkish nation out of the disparate Muslim groups inhabiting the country … until they joined the mainstream of the one existing human civilisation which happened to have its centre in the west.” Ataturk had no time for religion, Mango said, nor for separatists and minorities in any shape or form. In 1925, a Kurdish rebellion was brutally crushed and Ataturk’s cultural revolution accelerated.

    Eighty-six years after the Treaty of Lausanne, which brought Turkey into being, pressure grows inexorably for a loosening of the Ataturk straitjacket. “There is no doubt that identity policies adopted in the founding period of the Republic of Turkey reflect a notion of modernity that has caused much conflict and suffering and is today entirely out of touch with the spirit of the times,” said Sahin Alpay, writing in Today’s Zaman. “It is high time that Turkey adapt its identity policies to the age of human rights, democracy and respect for diversity.”

  • Turkey Puts Generals on Trial as Erdogan Curbs Army (Update2)

    Turkey Puts Generals on Trial as Erdogan Curbs Army (Update2)

    By Ben Holland

    July 20 (Bloomberg) — Two of Turkey’s most senior retired generals went on trial today in a case that may determine whether Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan succeeds in reining in the political power of his country’s military.

    Sener Eruygur and Hursit Tolon, along with 54 other suspects including journalists, academics and business leaders, are accused of belonging to a group prosecutors say tried to undermine Erdogan by destabilizing the country with armed attacks. Tolon appeared at the court outside Istanbul while Eruygur didn’t attend, the official Anatolia News Agency said. The court set a date of Aug. 6 for the next hearing.

    The case is a sign that Erdogan is gaining the upper hand in a six-year power struggle with an army suspicious of his Islamist background. It may strengthen the prime minister’s push to get Turkey into the European Union, which requires civilian control over the military.

    “Turkey is coming to a historic crossroads and there’s a determination to confront the army,” said Akin Birdal, an opposition lawmaker and human-rights activist who was jailed by the military when it seized power in a 1980 coup. “Other NATO countries cleaned up their security forces after the Cold War, and Turkey needs to follow this through.”

    The first Islamic country President Barack Obama visited, Turkey is NATO’s only Muslim member and a contributor to the alliance’s force in Afghanistan battling the Taliban.

    New Law

    The trial is a turnaround from two years ago, when the army initially blocked Erdogan’s presidential nominee, Abdullah Gul, 58, roiling markets. It also comes two weeks after Gul approved legislation allowing civil courts to try active military officers. While that law may not affect the case against Ergenekon, the group at the center of the trial, it could mean more civil scrutiny of the military in the future.

    Birdal, of the Democratic Society Party, was one of the first people to make use of the new law. He filed charges on July 14 against Cevik Bir, a former deputy chief of general staff, accusing him of inciting nationalist gunmen who shot and severely injured Birdal in his office at the rights association in 1998. Bir hasn’t yet responded to the charges.

    At stake, says Erdogan, is who runs a country that in the past half-century has suffered three coups by an army that sees itself as the guardian of Turkey’s secular system.

    “Turkey isn’t a police state, it’s not an army state, it’s a democratic and secular state under the rule of law,” the prime minister said at a police graduation ceremony on July 7.

    More Arrests

    Not everyone accepts Erdogan’s interpretation of the case. Main opposition leader Deniz Baykal of the Republican People’s Party accuses the government of using the investigation to intimidate critics rather than to strengthen Turkey’s democracy.

    “The more arrests we’ve seen, the more people whose only crime was opposition to the government were targeted,” said Soner Cagaptay, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “And they’re not reforming in other EU areas: press freedom, gender equality, religious freedoms.”

    Erdogan, 55, has chipped away at the military’s powers since coming to power in 2003. He ended army control over the National Security Council in 2003 and ignored objections that same year from the generals to his plan for pursuing the reunification of Cyprus.

    The premier refused to back down when the army opposed Gul’s presidential nomination. He called an election and won with 47 percent of the vote, then successfully named Gul again for the post.

    Markets Plunge

    The dispute caused the benchmark ISE-100 stock index to plunge 7 percent in two days. Since Erdogan’s re-election, the index has lost 56 percent of its value, matching the 57 percent decline of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. After average annual gross domestic product growth of about 7 percent in Erdogan’s first term of office, the economy expanded 1.1 percent in 2008. It will probably contract 5.1 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

    Erdogan has been negotiating with the fund since May 2008 over lending for the country of 72 million. Foreign direct investment in the first five months of the year fell 52 percent from a year earlier to $3.6 billion, central bank data show.

    “Differences between the army and government remain the major political risk” for investors in Turkey, said Nurhan Toguc, chief economist at Ata Invest in Istanbul.

    The probe of Ergenekon began in 2007 and culminated 12 months ago with the arrest of Tolon and Eruygur, who were initially jailed and then released pending trial. All suspects deny the charges. Prosecutors filed an indictment against another 52 people today, the Anatolia agency said, without identifying any of them.

    Suicide Threat

    Opposition parties say Erdogan should change the army- designed 1982 constitution to allow trial of the generals who seized power in 1980. The 92-year-old Kenan Evren, the coup’s leader, told reporters he would commit suicide if brought to trial.

    Though the Ergenekon case has been under way since last year, Tolon and Eruygur were indicted later and hadn’t been included in the trial until today. The hearing is taking place in a custom-built courtroom, the country’s largest, at Silivri in the outskirts of Istanbul.

    It was constructed after judges were forced to delay the first trial session in October, because the hundreds of suspects, witnesses, lawyers and reporters couldn’t fit into the court.

    To contact the reporter on this story; Ben Holland in Istanbul at bholland1@bloomberg.net.

    Last Updated: July 20, 2009 11:43 EDT
    https://www.bloomberg.com/politics?pid=newsarchive&sid=a9Sle48If4.U

  • Anger China or defend Uighurs? Turkey walks fine line.

    Anger China or defend Uighurs? Turkey walks fine line.

    Beijing urged Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to retract his statement that China is committing “genocide” against its Muslim minority.

    c2Istanbul – Developments in China’s restive Xinjiang Province and the attacks against the minority Muslim Uighurs there may not have led to vocal protests in most of the Muslim world. But in Turkey, the events in western China have led to large protests in the streets and strong words from Turkish officials.

    The comment raising the loudest outcry has been Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s accusation last week that China is committing “genocide” against the Uighurs, a statement that Beijing is now pressuring him to retract.

    Experts say that taking its criticism of China too far could backfire on Ankara, which has been working to improve both its diplomatic and trade relations with Beijing.

    An estimated 184 people have died in the recent violent clashes between Uighurs and ethnic Han Chinese in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang. Chinese officials have claimed that most of those killed have been Han.

    Turkey’s minister of industry and trade, Nihat Ergun, last week called for a boycott of Chinese goods, while Mr. Erdogan, speaking on television last Friday, said: “The incidents in China are, simply put, tantamount to genocide. There’s no point in interpreting this otherwise.”

    Uighurs as ‘brothers’

    “There is a lot of sensitivity among the Turkish public about the Uighurs. They consider them as real brothers,” says Sami Kohen, a political affairs columnist for Milliyet, a Turkish daily.

    “Turks originally came from that part of Asia to Anatolia, and the language that Uighurs use is much closer to the language that Turkey speaks than others in Central Asia,” he continues.

    The Turkish president’s official flag, for example, has 16 stars on it, representing “Turkish states” established throughout history. One of the stars commemorates the Uighur state that existed around the 8th century.

    Adds Mr. Kohen: “There is quite a large Uighur community in Turkey, and they are quite strong. They have a lobby and they have been quite strong in defending their cause.”

    Turkey raises its global profile

    Turkey has, in recent years, been working to raise its foreign policy profile and establish itself as a regional political and economic power. Turkey’s president, Abdullah Gul, actually visited Urumqi as part of a recent state visit shortly before the violence broke out there. Turkey signed a reported $1.5 billion worth of trade deals during the visit.

    But analysts say Ankara’s criticism could lead to a rupture with Beijing.

    “The Turks really have a tough decision to make, whether they keep this going or back off. This is a major test for Turkey’s new foreign policy,” says Bulent Aliriza, director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “This is a serious problem for the Turks from every angle.”

    Ankara now also needs to decide if it will grant a possible request to visit Turkey by Rebiya Kadeer, a Uighur diaspora activist based in the United States whom China has accused of being behind the violence in Xinjiang.

    “All hell is going to break loose if she shows up in Turkey, especially after the comment that Erdogan made,” Mr. Aliriza says.

    Take it back, China says

    The Chinese government now appears to be pushing back against Turkey. A Tuesday editorial in the government-controlled English-language China Daily urged Erdogan to “take back his remarks … which constitute interference in China’s internal affairs.”

    Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, in a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, blamed the violence in Xinjiang on “three evil forces,” state news agency Xinhua said, referring to “extremism, separatism, and terrorism.”

    For Turkey, which has had its share of domestic violence and terrorism, both from Islamic extremists and Kurdish separatists, these are not meaningless words.

    The Christian Science Monitor

  • Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “Brutality against Uighurs must be prevented”

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “Brutality against Uighurs must be prevented”

    b2Baku – APA. Turkish Prime Minister Racab Tayyib Erdogan took stance on bloody events taking place in Xinjiang-Uighur autonomous region of China, APA reports quoting Haberturk.

    Turkey is closely following the developments there: “Our Uighur brothers living in Turkey and Turkish people feeling this pain in their hearts hold protest actions condemning these events. We have always seen our Uighur brothers as a bridge between Turkey and China, the country we have always had normal relations with throughout the history. Necessary measures must be taken to prevent this brutality. We are temporary member of the UN Security Council for 2009-2010. We will also take these events into consideration there”.

     08 Jul 2009

    APA

  • Can Erdogan Break the Stalemate in Turkish-E.U. Relations?

    Can Erdogan Break the Stalemate in Turkish-E.U. Relations?

    Can Erdogan Break the Stalemate in Turkish-E.U. Relations?

    Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 124
    June 29, 2009
    By: Saban Kardas
    On June 25-26, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Brussels where he was presented an award for his contribution to peace. Reflecting on his efforts to revitalize Turkey’s European Union membership project, Erdogan delivered a speech on the issue and met E.U officials. He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the chief negotiator for E.U. talks Egemen Bagis. The statements from both sides reflected the fundamental differences between Ankara and Brussels, in terms of their approaches to the causes of the stalemate in Turkish-E.U. relations and how to proceed.

    The Turkish government was severely criticized for backtracking on E.U-related domestic reforms after Brussels decided to launch the negotiations with Turkey in 2005. Last year, concerns grew that unless Ankara took drastic steps, Turkish-E.U. relations might reach deadlock. Amidst speculation that 2009 will be the “make or break” year, Erdogan sent strong signals that he was determined to accelerate the membership process. To this end, he appointed Bagis as the new chief negotiator (EDM, January 12), and visited Brussels (EDM, January 20).

    Despite various declarations of intent and high level contacts between Turkish and E.U. officials, so far, no major progress has been accomplished. On the contrary, the prospects of Turkey joining the E.U. appear to be diminishing, while the discussion is gaining ground on giving the country a special status that falls short of full membership.

    This stalemate has several related causes. On the European front, the leaders of France and Germany adopted a clear stand against Turkey’s full membership, and instead argued that it should be offered a more realistic alternative, such as a “privileged partnership” (EDM, May 13). Furthermore, during the recent European elections, representatives were elected to the European Parliament from the conservative and center-right parties. Many observers believe that, given these parties’ opposition to Turkey, the political environment in Europe has further turned against Turkey (EDM, June 10).

    In Ankara, however, the government has been preoccupied with domestic politics, as well as by pursuing controversial foreign policy initiatives. In the first quarter of the year the municipal elections and the discussions on how to tackle the global financial crisis diverted attention from the European agenda. Although the government has strived to refocus on constitutional change and accelerate the E.U. membership process, it failed largely as a result of its inability to build consensus with the opposition parties (EDM, April 1). The latest discussions on an alleged military document concerning plans to illegally change the government had significant repercussions for the E.U. membership process. It demonstrated the shortcomings of Turkish democracy, and generated an added impetus for the AKP to revitalize the E.U. reform agenda to normalize civil-military relations (EDM, June 23).

    Nonetheless, Erdogan’s statements during his recent trip show that his views on Europe remain unchanged. In that sense, the overall dynamics of this visit followed the pattern set in January. He preferred to criticize the Europeans for their mishandling of the accession process, while the latter reiterated their argument that Turkey had to reform its political system in order to comply with European norms.

    Erdogan openly criticized some member states’ efforts to stall the accession talks and questioned the sincerity of the Greek Cypriots over finding a lasting solution on the island. Commenting on the European elections, he raised his concerns about the growing populism within Europe. He expressed uneasiness with European politicians’ questioning Turkey’s future membership for short-term political gains. “We want Europeans to resist such inconsistent policies [i.e., openly questioning Turkey’s full membership]. These fluctuating [views] curb Turkey’s enthusiasm to join the E.U. We expect Europe to fulfill its promises to us. The rules cannot be changed in the middle of the game.” Erdogan also maintained that “Europe cannot keep pace with Turkey’s reform performance. We expect the E.U. to accelerate the process [i.e., more chapters should opened be for negotiation]” (Cihan, June 26).

    After his meeting with the E.U. Commissioner for Enlargement Oli Rehn, Davutoglu emphasized that the growing number of high-level visits reflected Ankara’s eagerness for membership, and that Turkey will accelerate the process. “We are aware of our responsibilities and requirements in terms of the reforms,” Davutoglu added. Rehn, however, ruled out any delay in membership talks being caused by the E.U.’s own shortcomings, and stressed that Turkey has to take “concrete” steps and maintain its commitment to reform (Hurriyet, June 26).

    The fate of the Turkish-E.U. process appears to hinge on whether the two sides can allay each other’s concerns. For Brussels two issues remain of vital importance: whether the Turkish government will implement constitution reforms and if Ankara will change its attitude toward the Greek Cypriots. Ankara’s major concerns are its perceptions that it is being treated unfairly due to some E.U. member states’ overtly anti-Turkish position, and that its achievements are unacknowledged as a result. Moreover, the slow pace of the accession talks and the growing salience of the “privileged partnership” discussions undermine Turkey’s trust in the E.U.

    However justified he might be in his criticism of the Europeans, eventually it will be up to Erdogan to break this stalemate. If he is serious about revitalizing the E.U. membership process, he needs to acknowledge that its current impasse is his own making, whether knowingly or not. He must abandon his complacency and act decisively on the Cyprus issue, similar to his revisionist foreign policy vision prior to 2005. Erdogan has to “talk to” the opposition parties and build domestic consensus to facilitate political reform. Then, he might satisfy both the E.U.’s expectations and strengthen the hands of pro-Turkey groups within the E.U, thus mitigating the intra-E.U. opposition to Turkey.

    https://jamestown.org/program/can-erdogan-break-the-stalemate-in-turkish-e-u-relations/