Tweet
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Sept 18 2011
Erdoğan visits Arab nations amid tension with Israel
18 September 2011, Sunday / ,
The much expected visit from the Turkish prime minister to the
rebuilding nations of the Arab Spring -- Egypt, Libya and Tunisia --
took place last week, a time that was particularly significant as it
followed recent crises between Israel and its last remaining friends
in the region, Turkey and Egypt.
Erdoğan's first stop was Egypt, where he received a hero's welcome on
Monday. At least 20,000 Egyptians holding posters of Erdoğan and
chanting slogans welcomed Erdoğan at Cairo International Airport. On
Tuesday, Erdoğan delivered a speech at a meeting of the Arab League in
Cairo, where he called on Arab countries and Turkey to close their
ranks so tightly that "even daylight could not pass between [us]." His
speech was interrupted by storms of applause from Arab foreign
ministers supporting Turkey's call for solidarity in the region. "It
is time for us to take responsibility for our common future," Erdoğan
said, and added, "we are entitled to meet the righteous demands of our
people using any legitimate means." Erdoğan also reiterated criticism
of Israel and called on Arab countries to support a Palestinian bid
for statehood recognition at the UN General Assembly later this month.
Erdoğan moved to Tunisia on Thursday. In Tunisia, he reiterated his
criticism of Israel, saying Turkish frigates and gunboats might be
sent to the eastern Mediterranean at any time to ensure freedom of
navigation. "Israel will not be able to move in the eastern
Mediterranean as it wishes," he said at a joint press conference with
Tunisian interim Prime Minister Beji Caid el Sebsi on Thursday.
Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador earlier this month in a row
over an Israeli raid last year that killed nine Turks on a flotilla
bound for Gaza, the Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas and under
blockade by Israel.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept. 11 Sunday
A religious ceremony was held at the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross
on the island of Akdamar in the eastern province of Van. This was the
first such ceremony since the historic one of Sept. 19, 2010, which
was the first on the site since 1915.
Representatives from various nongovernmental organizations and
political parties gathered in the Kadıköy district of İstanbul to
condemn the Sept. 12 military coup on the coup's 31st anniversary.
A policeman, Nadir Özgen, was kidnapped in the Çatak district of Van
province by three members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK).
Five people, including a policeman, a gendarme and three civilians
were killed, and 10 people, including seven gendarmes, were injured in
PKK attacks against a gendarmerie command building and the Şemdinli
Police Department building in Hakkari.
Sept. 12 Monday
Turkey was the world's fastest-growing economy in the first six months
of this year, driven by intensive investment from the private sector,
data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) revealed.
Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) saw 8.8 percent growth in the
second quarter of this year compared to the same period a year ago.
The 2011-2012 school year started for kindergarteners and first
graders. During their first week at school, the children will take
part in an orientation program designed to help them adapt to school.
An İstanbul court began hearing the trial of 22 suspects in a case
regarding the establishment of several websites that allegedly ran
propaganda campaigns against civilian groups and the government on
behalf of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The case was merged with the
ongoing case of a separate military plot targeting the government last
month at the request of İstanbul Public Prosecutor Cihan Kansız, after
arrest warrants were issued for 14 suspects, including seven senior
generals, in the website investigation.
Gürsel Tekin, deputy chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP),
said Aziz Yıldırım, the chairman of the Fenerbahçe sports club, who is
currently jailed over alleged involvement in match-fixing, asked the
CHP for support in changing the laws dealing with sports crimes when
he (Tekin) visited Yıldırım at Metris Prison. Tekin said he
consciously chose Sept. 12 for the date of the visit, as a reminder of
the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup. "I have great respect for those who
lost their lives and paid heavy costs in the fight for democracy. I
condemn the people responsible for Sept. 12. Metris Prison is a
notorious place in which many suffered," Tekin said.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was greeted by tens of thousands
of Egyptians who flocked to Cairo airport to welcome the Turkish prime
minister, while Cairo's streets were decorated with posters of
Erdoğan. At least 20,000 Egyptians holding posters of Erdoğan and
chanting slogans welcomed the prime minister at Cairo airport.
Sept. 13 Tuesday
Turkey said that its military may launch a ground offensive against
terrorist PKK targets in northern Iraq at any time, in accordance with
ongoing talks with Iraqi Kurdish officials, as part of a plan to
cooperate against the PKK. Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin said in
response to questions from reporters as to whether Turkey is pondering
a ground operation in northern Iraq that talks with the Kurdish
regional administration in northern Iraq are still under way and that
a cross-border ground offensive could be launched at any time, as
could aerial strikes.
Minister of Family and Social Policy Fatma Şahin met with the
presidents of bar associations from 16 metropolitan provinces in
Turkey to exchange views on a draft law that aims to reduce violence
against women. The meeting took place at the conference hall of the
Ministry of the Family and Social Policy in Ankara.
The İstanbul Police Department's financial crimes unit detained dozens
of people as part of an investigation into alleged corruption
involving the municipal government of Avcılar Municipality.
Kırıkkale Mayor Veli Korkmaz, who stands accused of warning suspects
in a fraud investigation about a possible police search of their
offices prior to the raid, testified to prosecutors carrying out the
Deniz Feneri probe.
At an Arab League meeting in Cairo Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan
called for the Arab countries and Turkey to close their ranks so
tightly that "even daylight shall not pass between." The Turkish
leader's speech was interrupted by applause from Arab foreign
ministers supporting Turkey's call for solidarity in the region. "We
are living through a turning point in history, and we are called upon
to cooperate more closely than ever," Erdoğan said.
Terrorists from the PKK killed two police officers when they attacked
a police car in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş.
Sept. 14 Wednesday
The Constitutional Court re-elected Haşim Kılıç as its president, with
13 of the 17 justices voting in favor of the current president. The
top court held the vote to elect its president as Kılıç's four-year
term had come to an end.
A court arrested four active duty army officers and released a staff
colonel as part of the widening Sledgehammer probe. The 13th İstanbul
High Criminal Court arrested Adm. Abdullah Can Erenoğlu, Gen. Mustafa
İlhan and staff colonels Ender Kahya and Önder Çelebi on charges of
coup plot.
Turkey and US officials signed a memorandum on the deployment of US
radar as part of a NATO-backed missile defense system designed to
protect European members of the alliance from missile threats.
According to the memorandum, the X-band radar system will be deployed
at a military base in the eastern province of Malatya.
Prime Minister Erdoğan met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in
Cairo where the Turkish leader declared that it was time to raise the
Palestinian flag at the UN.
President Abdullah Gül warned against Islamophobia in Europe and said
he considers a modern state a multicultural one. Gül said in a joint
interview with Turkey's Zaman daily and Germany's Die Zeit, prior to
his scheduled visit to Germany, that it was Europe where the modern
state developed, characterized by democratic principles and the rule
of law, and that he finds it contradictory to see Islamophobia on the
continent.
Kayseri's First High Criminal Court rejected a request from the
lawyers of former military prosecutor Ahmet Zeki Üçok, who stands
accused of using torture on three noncommissioned officers in the
province of Kayseri, to have his case transferred to a military court.
The court ruled that only military crimes can be referred to military
courts and that engaging in torture is not a military crime.
Trabzonspor's Ondrej Celustka struck 14 minutes from time to stun 2010
winners Inter Milan and clinch a 1-0 away win in the Turkish side's
Champions League group stage debut.
Sept. 15 Thursday
Ankara's Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation
into a recently published voice recording that allegedly reveals
secret talks between representatives of the Turkish government and the
outlawed PKK in Oslo.
Former police chief and politician Mehmet Ağar was sentenced to five
years in prison on charges of establishing a criminal organization, in
a trial concerning a car accident in 1996 that exposed links between
the Turkish state, the criminal underworld and Turkish security
forces. Ağar, who served as a police chief shortly before the
incident, was standing trial for his role in an unlikely arrangement
between a famous mafia boss, a member of the security forces and a
politician. The prosecutor argued that Ağar had established an
organization with the purpose of committing crimes.
Prime Minister Erdoğan, visiting Tunisia on the second stop of his
North African tour, reiterated his criticism of Israel, saying Turkish
frigates and assault boats might be sent to the Eastern Mediterranean
at any time to ensure freedom of navigation. "Israel will not be able
to move in the Eastern Mediterranean in any way that it wishes. It
will see our determination in this regard," he said at a joint press
conference with Tunisian interim Prime Minister Beji Caid el Sebsi.
Turkey's unemployment rate continued to fall with the country's
unemployment rate at 9.2 percent in June 2011, according to data
released by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat). TurkStat said
the unemployment rate fell from 10.5 percent in the same period of
last year. According to TurkStat's data, the number of people
unemployed in the country now stands at 2.53 million and the number of
those employed at 24.90 million.
Five police were injured when a member of the terrorist Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) attacked a minibus carrying police from a police
academy in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır
In a celebration featuring the unlikely trio of a pop singer, an
actress and the German minister of state, the German Embassy
commemorated 50 years of Turkish immigration to Germany at the Pera
Museum.
Sept. 16 Friday
Three individuals believed to be foreigners were killed in an armed
attack in broad daylight in İstanbul's Zeytinburnu neighborhood.
The trial of seven defendants, including former Kayseri Gendarmerie
Commander Col. Cemal Temizöz, who is charged with killing Ramazan Elçi
in 1994 along with dozens of others while he was the commander of the
gendarmerie in the southeastern district of Cizre between 1993 and
1995, and former Cizre Mayor Kamil Atağ, suspected of at least 20
unsolved murders in the Southeast during the 1990s, continued at
Diyarbakır's 6th High Criminal Court.
Speaking in Libya, Prime Minister Erdoğan declared that "the time for
autocracies is over," and the autocratic regime in Syria will collapse
just like those in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.
The International Hrant Dink Award was presented for the third time
on Hrant Dink's birthday, Sept. 15, to Taraf's Editor-in-Chief Ahmet
Altan and Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho.
Sept 18 2011
Erdoğan visits Arab nations amid tension with Israel
18 September 2011, Sunday / ,
The much expected visit from the Turkish prime minister to the
rebuilding nations of the Arab Spring -- Egypt, Libya and Tunisia --
took place last week, a time that was particularly significant as it
followed recent crises between Israel and its last remaining friends
in the region, Turkey and Egypt.
Erdoğan's first stop was Egypt, where he received a hero's welcome on
Monday. At least 20,000 Egyptians holding posters of Erdoğan and
chanting slogans welcomed Erdoğan at Cairo International Airport. On
Tuesday, Erdoğan delivered a speech at a meeting of the Arab League in
Cairo, where he called on Arab countries and Turkey to close their
ranks so tightly that "even daylight could not pass between [us]." His
speech was interrupted by storms of applause from Arab foreign
ministers supporting Turkey's call for solidarity in the region. "It
is time for us to take responsibility for our common future," Erdoğan
said, and added, "we are entitled to meet the righteous demands of our
people using any legitimate means." Erdoğan also reiterated criticism
of Israel and called on Arab countries to support a Palestinian bid
for statehood recognition at the UN General Assembly later this month.
Erdoğan moved to Tunisia on Thursday. In Tunisia, he reiterated his
criticism of Israel, saying Turkish frigates and gunboats might be
sent to the eastern Mediterranean at any time to ensure freedom of
navigation. "Israel will not be able to move in the eastern
Mediterranean as it wishes," he said at a joint press conference with
Tunisian interim Prime Minister Beji Caid el Sebsi on Thursday.
Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador earlier this month in a row
over an Israeli raid last year that killed nine Turks on a flotilla
bound for Gaza, the Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas and under
blockade by Israel.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept. 11 Sunday
A religious ceremony was held at the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross
on the island of Akdamar in the eastern province of Van. This was the
first such ceremony since the historic one of Sept. 19, 2010, which
was the first on the site since 1915.
Representatives from various nongovernmental organizations and
political parties gathered in the Kadıköy district of İstanbul to
condemn the Sept. 12 military coup on the coup's 31st anniversary.
A policeman, Nadir Özgen, was kidnapped in the Çatak district of Van
province by three members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK).
Five people, including a policeman, a gendarme and three civilians
were killed, and 10 people, including seven gendarmes, were injured in
PKK attacks against a gendarmerie command building and the Şemdinli
Police Department building in Hakkari.
Sept. 12 Monday
Turkey was the world's fastest-growing economy in the first six months
of this year, driven by intensive investment from the private sector,
data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) revealed.
Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) saw 8.8 percent growth in the
second quarter of this year compared to the same period a year ago.
The 2011-2012 school year started for kindergarteners and first
graders. During their first week at school, the children will take
part in an orientation program designed to help them adapt to school.
An İstanbul court began hearing the trial of 22 suspects in a case
regarding the establishment of several websites that allegedly ran
propaganda campaigns against civilian groups and the government on
behalf of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The case was merged with the
ongoing case of a separate military plot targeting the government last
month at the request of İstanbul Public Prosecutor Cihan Kansız, after
arrest warrants were issued for 14 suspects, including seven senior
generals, in the website investigation.
Gürsel Tekin, deputy chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP),
said Aziz Yıldırım, the chairman of the Fenerbahçe sports club, who is
currently jailed over alleged involvement in match-fixing, asked the
CHP for support in changing the laws dealing with sports crimes when
he (Tekin) visited Yıldırım at Metris Prison. Tekin said he
consciously chose Sept. 12 for the date of the visit, as a reminder of
the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup. "I have great respect for those who
lost their lives and paid heavy costs in the fight for democracy. I
condemn the people responsible for Sept. 12. Metris Prison is a
notorious place in which many suffered," Tekin said.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was greeted by tens of thousands
of Egyptians who flocked to Cairo airport to welcome the Turkish prime
minister, while Cairo's streets were decorated with posters of
Erdoğan. At least 20,000 Egyptians holding posters of Erdoğan and
chanting slogans welcomed the prime minister at Cairo airport.
Sept. 13 Tuesday
Turkey said that its military may launch a ground offensive against
terrorist PKK targets in northern Iraq at any time, in accordance with
ongoing talks with Iraqi Kurdish officials, as part of a plan to
cooperate against the PKK. Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin said in
response to questions from reporters as to whether Turkey is pondering
a ground operation in northern Iraq that talks with the Kurdish
regional administration in northern Iraq are still under way and that
a cross-border ground offensive could be launched at any time, as
could aerial strikes.
Minister of Family and Social Policy Fatma Şahin met with the
presidents of bar associations from 16 metropolitan provinces in
Turkey to exchange views on a draft law that aims to reduce violence
against women. The meeting took place at the conference hall of the
Ministry of the Family and Social Policy in Ankara.
The İstanbul Police Department's financial crimes unit detained dozens
of people as part of an investigation into alleged corruption
involving the municipal government of Avcılar Municipality.
Kırıkkale Mayor Veli Korkmaz, who stands accused of warning suspects
in a fraud investigation about a possible police search of their
offices prior to the raid, testified to prosecutors carrying out the
Deniz Feneri probe.
At an Arab League meeting in Cairo Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan
called for the Arab countries and Turkey to close their ranks so
tightly that "even daylight shall not pass between." The Turkish
leader's speech was interrupted by applause from Arab foreign
ministers supporting Turkey's call for solidarity in the region. "We
are living through a turning point in history, and we are called upon
to cooperate more closely than ever," Erdoğan said.
Terrorists from the PKK killed two police officers when they attacked
a police car in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş.
Sept. 14 Wednesday
The Constitutional Court re-elected Haşim Kılıç as its president, with
13 of the 17 justices voting in favor of the current president. The
top court held the vote to elect its president as Kılıç's four-year
term had come to an end.
A court arrested four active duty army officers and released a staff
colonel as part of the widening Sledgehammer probe. The 13th İstanbul
High Criminal Court arrested Adm. Abdullah Can Erenoğlu, Gen. Mustafa
İlhan and staff colonels Ender Kahya and Önder Çelebi on charges of
coup plot.
Turkey and US officials signed a memorandum on the deployment of US
radar as part of a NATO-backed missile defense system designed to
protect European members of the alliance from missile threats.
According to the memorandum, the X-band radar system will be deployed
at a military base in the eastern province of Malatya.
Prime Minister Erdoğan met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in
Cairo where the Turkish leader declared that it was time to raise the
Palestinian flag at the UN.
President Abdullah Gül warned against Islamophobia in Europe and said
he considers a modern state a multicultural one. Gül said in a joint
interview with Turkey's Zaman daily and Germany's Die Zeit, prior to
his scheduled visit to Germany, that it was Europe where the modern
state developed, characterized by democratic principles and the rule
of law, and that he finds it contradictory to see Islamophobia on the
continent.
Kayseri's First High Criminal Court rejected a request from the
lawyers of former military prosecutor Ahmet Zeki Üçok, who stands
accused of using torture on three noncommissioned officers in the
province of Kayseri, to have his case transferred to a military court.
The court ruled that only military crimes can be referred to military
courts and that engaging in torture is not a military crime.
Trabzonspor's Ondrej Celustka struck 14 minutes from time to stun 2010
winners Inter Milan and clinch a 1-0 away win in the Turkish side's
Champions League group stage debut.
Sept. 15 Thursday
Ankara's Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation
into a recently published voice recording that allegedly reveals
secret talks between representatives of the Turkish government and the
outlawed PKK in Oslo.
Former police chief and politician Mehmet Ağar was sentenced to five
years in prison on charges of establishing a criminal organization, in
a trial concerning a car accident in 1996 that exposed links between
the Turkish state, the criminal underworld and Turkish security
forces. Ağar, who served as a police chief shortly before the
incident, was standing trial for his role in an unlikely arrangement
between a famous mafia boss, a member of the security forces and a
politician. The prosecutor argued that Ağar had established an
organization with the purpose of committing crimes.
Prime Minister Erdoğan, visiting Tunisia on the second stop of his
North African tour, reiterated his criticism of Israel, saying Turkish
frigates and assault boats might be sent to the Eastern Mediterranean
at any time to ensure freedom of navigation. "Israel will not be able
to move in the Eastern Mediterranean in any way that it wishes. It
will see our determination in this regard," he said at a joint press
conference with Tunisian interim Prime Minister Beji Caid el Sebsi.
Turkey's unemployment rate continued to fall with the country's
unemployment rate at 9.2 percent in June 2011, according to data
released by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat). TurkStat said
the unemployment rate fell from 10.5 percent in the same period of
last year. According to TurkStat's data, the number of people
unemployed in the country now stands at 2.53 million and the number of
those employed at 24.90 million.
Five police were injured when a member of the terrorist Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) attacked a minibus carrying police from a police
academy in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır
In a celebration featuring the unlikely trio of a pop singer, an
actress and the German minister of state, the German Embassy
commemorated 50 years of Turkish immigration to Germany at the Pera
Museum.
Sept. 16 Friday
Three individuals believed to be foreigners were killed in an armed
attack in broad daylight in İstanbul's Zeytinburnu neighborhood.
The trial of seven defendants, including former Kayseri Gendarmerie
Commander Col. Cemal Temizöz, who is charged with killing Ramazan Elçi
in 1994 along with dozens of others while he was the commander of the
gendarmerie in the southeastern district of Cizre between 1993 and
1995, and former Cizre Mayor Kamil Atağ, suspected of at least 20
unsolved murders in the Southeast during the 1990s, continued at
Diyarbakır's 6th High Criminal Court.
Speaking in Libya, Prime Minister Erdoğan declared that "the time for
autocracies is over," and the autocratic regime in Syria will collapse
just like those in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.
The International Hrant Dink Award was presented for the third time
on Hrant Dink's birthday, Sept. 15, to Taraf's Editor-in-Chief Ahmet
Altan and Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho.