TURKEY-WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE

TURKEY-WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE
5 –11 MARCH 2010
POLITICAL NEWS
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will hold a series of meetings with artists from Turkey’s cinema and theater world to seek support for the government’s democratic initiative. The Abant Platform is meeting again this week at Ankara’s Rixos Hotel to discuss Democratization for a New Societal Consensus. The Abant Platform regularly arranges meetings to discuss some of the most vital issues of Turkey and the world. The individuals from every segment of society are taking participation in these meetings. Sledgehammer coup plan is consisted of 5,000-pages. This Plan contains the names of about 200 senior policemen. The policemen were classified into the execution group those which could be used in interrogations and possible administrators. These policemen were assigned code names. When the plans were made in 2003,the policemen were on active duty in cities including İstanbul, Kocaeli, Bursa, Balıkesir, Edirne, Tekirdağ and Kırklareli.
According to the Sledgehammer documents, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) had a systematic plan to create chaos in society by bombing mosques and attacking popular museums with Molotov cocktails. The purpose of the attacks was to increase pressure on the government for failing to provide security to its citizens, eventually leading to a military coup. A Turkish court arrested three more soldiers in an investigation over an alleged Sledgehammer plot.
A recent report by the National Police Department’s Anti-smuggling and Organized Crime Bureau (KOM) has shown that a significant number of the bureau’s operations in 2009 in Turkey were launched in the field of health. Among a total of 154 operations, 61 were launched in the health sector, resulting in the detention of 1,238 people. More than 230 of them were later arrested on corruption charges. Others held the Corruption in the purchase of medicine and medical equipment due to the use of individuals’ health cards. According to human rights activists, Turkey’s flourishing and ever-growing civil society, with its expanding focus on fundamental rights and liberties, has become a significant agent of social change.
A middle school student, Sebiha Alaş, was removed from her school in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır because she was wearing a headscarf. According to a statement issued by the Presidential Press Center , President Abdullah Gül approved a bill seeking to reduce the waiting period before a proposed referendum is held from 120 days to 60 days. Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) President Rızanur Meral expressed support for efforts by the government and Parliament to reform the judiciary by arguing that the Ergenekon, Sledgehammer and Erzincan cases must be used as an opportunity to turn Turkey into a country governed by the rule of law.
In Edirne 3.16 kilograms of heroin discovered in electric oven which was to be smuggled out of the country. Turkish narcotic police seized 747 kg of hashish and 175 kg of heroin in three operations. Gender inequality and sexual violence were on Turkey's agenda this March 8, International Women's Day. A United Nations Turkey report released yesterday put forward that almost half of the country's female population has been subject to sexual and physical violence at the hands of their husbands. It also noted that there are only 52 women's shelters in Turkey despite a female population of 35 million.
The number of women holding seats in Parliament also low while the numbers are even lower in terms of municipal seats. The 2007 general elections saw women win 9.1 percent of seats in Parliament, and only 27 of 2,948 mayoral posts -- 0.9 percent -- are held by women.
Turkey came in 101st on a list of 109 countries on the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), which is calculated according to women's participation in economic and political life in their countries.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his government holds all doors open to women by supporting their right to pursue a political career, during a speech addressing women delivered on International Women’s Day. He recalled that his government amended Article 10 of the Constitution by adding to the article the sentences: "Men and women have equal rights. Stating that the government enabled the schooling of nearly 350,000 girls through programs led by his party .The Prime Minister was speaking at the International Women’s Rights Summit held at his Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) headquarters. Turkish security forces detained a total of 77 illegal migrants in separate operations.
The illegal migrants were of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Palestinian, Somali, Afghan and Georgian origin. The detained migrants would be deported following legal proceedings, officials said. The Turkish frigate "Gemlik" has encountered a small skiff in the Gulf of Aden, and captured seven alleged pirates. This naval vessel, which is serving under an international mission to fight off piracy in the Gulf of Aden.Pirates are reported to have hijacked a Norwegian chemical tanker, the "UBT Ocean" along with her crew of 21. On Monday, March 1, a Saudi-owned tanker was captured, with a crew of 14 aboard.
GEO-STRTEGIC NEWS
An agreement on civil aviation cooperation was signed by Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım and New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully in Ankara.Under the agreement,both the states will launch direct flights.Both will cooperate with eachother in technical , engineering and air traffic issues, which could boost economic relations and tourism.First mobile hospital produced by Turkey was opened in Darfur, Sudan.The mobile hospitals have dental unit, X-ray, pharmacy, blood bank, morgue, reverse osmosis water purification, laundry, generator and kitchen, and they cover 1,500 square meters.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will travel to Saudi Arabia on a formal visit on March 8 to receive the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam, popularly known as the "Arab Nobel Prize."
Turkey's Prime Minister said that Israel had accepted that his country again mediate talks with Syria but the Israeli Prime Minister said no decision had been made. While A senior official in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied news reports suggesting that Israel had accepted Turkey’s offer to resume its role as mediator in peace negotiations with Syria.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had talks with senior Syrian officials on Sunday that focused on the Middle East peace process as well as tensions escalating from time to time between Lebanon and Syria.
Israel's military has been forced to significantly reduce its exercises along the boders with Lebanon and Syria amid pressure by the United States, the World Tribune reported. It quoted Israeli officials as saying that the administration of President Barack Obama has warned Israel that its exercises were escalating regional tension.They said Israel's government has responded by canceling or reducing exercises meant to prepare for a war with Syria.Earlier in March, Israel reduced the scope of a major command exercise, Firestones-12, at the request of the United States. "The exercises were planned on the assessment that Syria is likely to join Hizbullah in the next war," the official told the World Tribune. "We are very much aware of Syrian preparations and coordination with Iran and Hizbullah."
A US resolution that branded as "genocide" the World War One incidents will seriously damage US-Turkish relations, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan said on Saturday. NATO member Turkey, an ally crucial to US interests in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and the Middle East, has expressed its outrage at Thursday's non-binding vote in the Foreign Affairs committee of the US House of Representatives and recalled its envoy to the United States for consultations.
The senior official of a Turkish-American association said on Sunday that leading US TV channel CNN should be protested for its recent broadcast on the incidents of 1915.
CNN, which broadcasted a program titled "Scream Bloody Murder" in December 2008, has recently re-run the production which assesses incidents such as the Holocaust, deceased Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's chemical attack against Iraqi Kurds, as well as the incidents that had taken place in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfour.The program, presented by US journalist Christian Amanpour, briefly points to the incidents of 1915 as well, and alleges that "Christian Armenian citizens were killed and forced to migrate, and consequently, 1 million Armenian people died at the time".
Relations between Spain and Turkey have flourished in the past decade; nevertheless, as Spain is currently chairing the EU’s term presidency, it is of the utmost importance for Turkey to work closely with Spain to open as many EU negotiation chapters as possible.
Operations have been carried out in several European countries against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) over the last two weeks, with a wide-ranging operation conducted in Belgium on Thursday following anti-PKK operations in France, Germany and Italy.
Turkey may contribute police force to the United Nations' mission in quake-hit Haiti, said a chief aide to the UN secretary-general on Monday. Turkey has already sent a 52-member police team, consisting of inspectors, chief inspectors and heads of police departments to serve as part of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the UN peacekeeping department's civilian police management coordinator from Turkey, Ata Yenigün, said and added that Turkey was now planning to send up to 160 police officers.
Erdogan called for more South Korean investments in Turkey. Speaking at the Turkey-South Korea Business Forum in Istanbul, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey had been one of the least affected countries by the global economic crisis thanks to the economic reforms and policies implemented by the government. Erdogan called for more South Korean investments in Turkey, saying that the current level of 500 million USD was far from being satisfactory. Turkey and South Korea signed on Wednesday a cooperation protocol to establish a nuclear energy power plant in the northern Turkish province of Sinop.
Turkey and South Korea would sign a memorandum on launching negotiations on a free trade agreement. Two countries could cooperate in contracting, ship construction, defense industry and banking.
After the rubble is cleared in Turkey's Quake-hit Region, Turkey's state housing authority promises, new homes will be built for residents in the affected area. Three more Turkish provinces such as Bursa, İzmir and Antakya at risk of quakes.
Turkey has welcomed Israel’s willingness to help in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in eastern Anatolia, but warned the issue should not become part of a political agenda.Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Parliament Speaker Fehmida Mirza of Pakistan and the accompanying lawmakers. The closed-door meeting lasted for about 45 minutes.
ECONOMIC NEWS
Turkey’s prime minister also thanked the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists TUSKON for its supportive stance on the government’s "national unity project," a name for the AK Party’s Kurdish initiative, a plan to extend cultural rights and freedoms of Kurdish citizens to end separatism.He also highlighted the importance of TUSKON in making Turkey’s name well-known globally, bringing together businessmen from the East and the West.
International investors see Turkish political climate as deterrent, survey shows International investors in Turkey are looking forward to a mostly stable first half of the year but are see domestic political turmoil as one of the most adverse developments to affect foreign direct investment (FDI). The Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) has worked hard over the last four years to bring more than 8,500 foreign businessmen to Turkey from more than 135 different nations, resulting in more than $14 billion in trade for the nation, but is still looking for opportunities in places like Indonesia.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the biggest purchaser of Turkey’s gold jewelry last year, at $348.9 million, while the US followed with $120 million in Turkish gold jewelry imports.
Turkey exported $57.3 million in gold jewelry to Germany, its third-largest market, in 2009, data from the Export Promotion Center (İGEME) released Monday showed. According to the data, Turkey’s total gold jewelry exports amounted to $1.1 billion last year.
According to a research note from the Bahçeşehir University Center for Economic and Social Research (BETAM), female labor force participation in Turkey is a dismally low 26.9 percent, much lower than comparable economies in Latin America, the Middle East and current European Union members.
The strategically crucial Nabucco pipeline got a thumbs up from the Turkish Parliament on Wednesday, breaking legal ground in Turkey for the pipeline connecting the country’s eastern neighbors to Austria. Parliament passed a bill approving the Nabucco project and the establishment of a national Nabucco company dealing with issues regarding the new pipeline. The bill, titled "The Acceptance Agreement Regarding the Nabucco Project between Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey," was passed after debate on the floor of Parliament.
Turkish State Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said on Wednesday that there would not be any negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the program till May. Turkey owes nearly eight billion USD of debt to IMF. Turkey's debt to International Monetary Fund (IMF) will completely end in 2013.Turkish State Minister Cevdet Yilmaz departed for Algeria on Tuesday to attend the Turkey-Algeria Joint Economic Committe meeting. Trade volume between the two countries increased to $5 billion in 2008 from $1.6 billion in 2003. However, in 2009, it dropped to $3.8 billion after a fall in Turkey's natural gas and iron products imports. Turkey's exports to Algeria was up 10 percent in 2009 to reach $1.7 billion.
Turkish people have spent $27.5 billion for 135 million mobile phone handsets sold in Turkey since 1994, either registered or unregistered, a study showed. Dubai-based developer Emaar Properties plans to launch a $1.5 billion real estate project in Istanbul, company's CEO in Turkey said on Monday.
Turkish Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergun said on Monday country's economy has seen moderate recovery since the second quarter of 2009 after a stagnation caused by the global economic downturn.Turkey's industrial production was up 12.1 percent year-on-year in January 2010. However, industrial production was down 15.3 percent when compared to previous month.
SOCIAL NEWS
A strong, pre-dawn earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6 struck eastern Turkey on Monday, killing 51 people as it knocked down stone and mud-brick houses and minarets in at least six villages. The government initially put the death toll at 57 but later lowered it to 51.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned people in the eastern province of Elazığ to stay away from the damaged buildings since aftershocks were continuing to shake the region.
Prime Minister Erdoğan expressed profound sorrow over loss of lives in the quake. The Mediterranean city of Antalya, the capital of Turkish tourism, has also become popular for theater events, including the 1st International Theater Festival, which will take place in the city from May 10 to 26.