Ankara maintains ban on German visit to Incirlik base

June 5, 2017 By administrator

Ankara maintains ban on German visit to Incirlik base Ankara, June 5, 2017 (AFP) – Turkish foreign ministers said on Monday that German deputies were still not allowed to visit the incirlik military base in southern Turkey where German soldiers are deployed .

“At present, it is possible (to the Germans) to visit the NATO base in Konya (center), but not Incirlik,” Mevlüt Cavusoglu told a joint press conference with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel in Ankara.

The latter said “regret” this decision, reiterating that Germany could, if necessary, “transfer its soldiers” elsewhere. However, “there is not yet a decision or concrete plan” in this sense, added Mr. Gabriel.

This issue has caused a renewed tension between Ankara and Berlin, two partners within NATO whose relations have deteriorated in recent months, notably since the missed putsch of July 15.

Ankara banned German parliamentarians in mid-May from traveling to Incirlik to meet German soldiers deployed there. Turkey justified its ban by accusing Berlin of granting political asylum to Turkish nationals, including soldiers accused by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being linked to the July coup attempt. The Incirlik base, located in southern Turkey, is used in particular for the operations of the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke last month about possible “alternative solutions to Incirlik”, such as Jordan. Another subject of tension between Ankara and Berlin is the case of Deniz Yücel, a binational journalist imprisoned since February in Turkey where he is accused of “espionage” and “terrorist” activities.

“The accusation is not related to journalistic activities, but with terrorist activities,” said Mr. Cavusoglu on Monday, adding, before Gabriel, that “European intelligence agencies use journalists as spies “.

After his Turkish counterpart, Mr. Gabriel was to be received in the afternoon by President Erdogan.

On the other hand, a planned meeting with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim was canceled by the Turkish side because of an “overloaded agenda”, a Turkish official told AFP.

Turkey: Protests have been staged in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Antalya & Eskişehir.while #Trump Congratulate #Erdogan

April 20, 2017 By administrator

People protesting referendum result

Protests have been staged in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Antalya and Eskişehir.

People claiming that there had been irregularities in the referendum staged protested in different cities of Turkey.

In Kadıköy district of Istanbul, people carrying posters that read “No, we will win” marched to the office of Supreme Board of Election of Turkey.

People shouted slogans like, “We are calling SBE to account”, “No to one-man regime, dependent judiciary, party-state and presidential system”.

Police intervention and detention in Antalya and İzmir

Police attacked the people protesting in Antalya and İzmir, and some protesters are detained.

In Ankara, students of Middle East Technical University marched. They shouted, “No, it is not over, we have just started”, “We won’t surrender to the dictator”. People also staged protests in different districts of Ankara, objecting the last minute decision of SBE.

In Eskişehir, university students staged protests.

Swiss open probe into Ankara’s spying on Turkish community

March 25, 2017 By administrator

A criminal investigation has been opened into allegations that the Ankara government has spied on expatriate Turks. Several academic events in Switzerland were reportedly filmed and photographed by unspecified agents, Deutsche Welle reports.

Swiss prosecutors said on Friday, March 24 they had “concrete suspicions [of espionage] against the Turkish community in Switzerland [by] a political intelligence service.”

The Office of the Attorney General confirmed it had opened a criminal investigation on March 16, after receiving a green light from the Swiss government.

Prosecutors, however, refused to provide details on which specific people or organizations the investigation was targeting.

The investigation follows reports that in January, two men took photos of the participants at a University of Zurich seminar discussing the 1915 Armenian Genocide by Ottoman Turks, a term which the Ankara government vehemently rejects.

Local media reported that other events at the University in late 2016 and early 2017 were filmed or photographed, including one where the editor in chief of the Turkish newspaper “Cumhuriyet” was honored.

On Thursday, March 23, the Swiss foreign minister told his Turkish counterpart that his country would “rigorously investigate” any illegal spying by Ankara on expatriate Turks and urged Turkey to comply with Swiss law.

Close to 70,000 Turkish citizens live in Switzerland, according to Swiss government statistics, while the Turkish embassy’s website refers to 130,000 Turkish nationals.

Deutsche Welle. Swiss open probe into spying on its Turkish community

No joke: Ankara Mayor Blames Gulenists for Shaking Turkey With an Earthquake

February 7, 2017 By administrator

Mayor of the Turkish capital of Ankara Melih Gokcek

No joke: Ankara’s mayor suggests that an earthquake that has recently hit Turkey’s northwest might have been caused by the followers of cleric Fethulah Gulen, blamed for masterminding the July coup.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — The earthquake, which has recently hit the northwestern Turkish province of Canakkale could have been caused by the supporters of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, Mayor of the Turkish capital of Ankara Melih Gokcek said Tuesday.

“They [Gulenists] are trying to strike Turkey by causing an earthquake near Istanbul. Some people could laugh at me, but I am worried about it. All submarines and ships with serious equipment in Marmara and Dardanelles, close to Istanbul should be put under control,” Gokcek said on Twitter.

He added that a ship near Canakkale was reportedly conducting seismological researches and it was necessary to determine which ship it was and to which country it belonged. Gokcek expressed concerns about a potential earthquake that could be caused artificially and urged public investigation into the matter.

More than 100 houses were destroyed on Monday in a 5.2-magnitude earthquake that hit the northwestern Turkish province of Canakkale. At least five people were reportedly injured as a result of the natural disaster. Earlier in the day, an earthquake with the same magnitude hit the Turkish western coast again.

In July 2016, the military attempted to overthrow government, but the coup was suppressed by the state forces on the next day. The authorities accused Gulen and his followers of masterminding the attempt.

Turkey: Another Two kurdish HDP deputies detained over alleged terror links

December 13, 2016 By administrator

AA photo

Ankara police detained two lawmakers from the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) as part of an anti-terror probe on Dec. 13. One of the suspects was later released.

The HDP’s Diyarbakır deputy and parliamentary group deputy chair, Çağlar Demirel, and its Siirt deputy, Besime Konca, were detained in relation to an ongoing probe in Diyarbakır and Batman. Konca was later released under judicial control.

Konca has been probed for her participation in the March 2016 funeral of an outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant and for her speech delivered at the event.

Demirel has been probed for delivering a speech in the Dicle district of the southeastern province of Diyarbakır in the aftermath of military operations against PKK militants.

In her summary of proceedings, Demirel reportedly likened killed PKK militants to “martyrs” and described army operations as “massacres.”

Meanwhile, on the same day, a Diyarbakır court hearing part of the long-running Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) case issued a second order to forcibly bring to court eight suspects in the case, who are all HDP deputies.

Osman Baydemir, Dirayet Taşdemir, Çağlar Demirel, Selma Irmak, Ahmet Yıldırım, Besime Konca, Alican Önlü and Nadir Yıldırım were ruled to be brought forcibly to court after not showing up during their trials.

The detention of Demirel and Konca came amid major operations conducted against a large number of suspects, including local HDP executives, over terror links in 28 Turkish provinces.

The Interior Ministry announced on Dec. 13 that in the operations carried out over two days 568 people, including individuals suspected of conducting propaganda on behalf of terrorist organizations on social media, had been detained.

Source: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/two-hdp-deputies-detained-over-alleged-terror-links.aspx?pageID=238&nID=107227&NewsCatID=338

Iraqi PM Abadi urges Ankara, Riyadh to avoid meddling in Iraq affairs

October 22, 2016 By administrator

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has called on Turkey and Saudi Arabia to stop interfering in the domestic affairs of his country, which is engaged in a campaign against the Daesh terrorist group.

“We want the good of Saudi Arabia and Turkey provided that they do not interfere in the domestic affairs of our country,” he told a forum of Muslim scholars and politicians in Baghdad Saturday.

The opening of the 9th session of the Supreme Council of the World Assembly of Islamic Awakening in the Iraqi capital coincided with the country’s ongoing push to retake its second city of Mosul from Daesh terrorists.

Turkey is adamantly insisting that it wants to play a military role in the Mosul recapture despite Iraq’s opposition, triggering a serious diplomatic row between the two neighbors.

Ankara has deployed troops to a base near Mosul, claiming that they were there to train Kurdish militants for the battle against Daesh.

Abadi said Turkey had sent troops without the Iraqi government’s request, adding Ankara is not battling Daesh but is trying to expand its outreach. Ankara, he said, did not help Baghdad when it was requested.

In the run-up to the Mosul operation, Saudi Arabia replaced its ambassador to Baghdad, who had repeatedly drawn the ire of Iraqi leaders for his meddling remarks. The kingdom downgraded its representation to the charge d’affaires level.

Without naming any country, Prime Minister Abadi said there are countries that support terrorism for their own benefits while others are seeking to sow sectarian discord.

“Daesh did not come to existence overnight. Certain sides used to support the group,” he said.

Takfiri terrorists, he said, do not distinguish between Shia and Sunni Muslims or abide by any principles, adding they are trying to sow sectarian divisions.

Abadi said Iraq is capable enough to counter Daesh and terrorism, calling on the country to remain united. “We will hopefully fight and defeat the Takfiri terrorism,” the prime minister added.

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri, who is a Sunni Muslim, accused terrorists of attempting to spread their radical ideas in the name of religion.

He called for a meeting with the participation of Iraq, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to address their disputes, saying Muslim countries must take measures to counter terrorism.

Islamic Awakening alive despite hurdles

Speaking at the summit, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said that the Islamic Awakening movement enjoys public support and continues to thrive despite obstacles and challenges in its way.

“Today, abundant opportunities have arisen in the region and Muslims are obligated to continue down their path with Islamic Awakening against the Takfiri ideology,” Velayati said.

Five years since the beginning of the wave of Islamic Awakening, enemies and opponents have practically failed to stop the movement even through creating Takfiri groups and hatching plots for partitioning countries, the Iranian official said.

He further slammed the Saudi regime for its covert role in all crises in the region, from Syria and Iraq to those in Yemen, Libya and elsewhere.

Saudi Wahhabism is using its petrodollars to sow discord in the Muslim world, he added.

Under an enemy plot, Muslim countries in the region have today been occupied with issues such as Daesh and Takfiri terrorism so the occupation of Palestinian territories by the Israeli regime would no longer be their priority, the official pointed out.

Velayati called for a return to true principles and values of the holy religion of Islam as the sole way out of regional problems.

Ankara decided to break its cultural ties with Europe because of the Armenian Genocide

October 15, 2016 By administrator

ankara-break Turkey, following a unilateral decision, came out of the “Creative Europe” program, which supports the areas of culture and media in Europe. Negotiations began with the European Commission officials to arrange the release of the Turkey program to June 1, 2017. This decision was taken by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The department decided to withdraw from Creative Europe, because the program supported the musical project “Aghet” in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide during his centenary. This program has contributed to the culture and arts in Turkey.

Creative Europe is a framework program that the European Commission launched in 2014 with the objective of supporting the sectors of culture and media. It is expected that this program runs until 2020; it is to the financial support of 2500 artists and workers in this sector, 2,000 cinemas, 800 films and 4,500 translations of books, with a budget of 1.46 billion euros. For 2016, it is expected that an insurance system for small sector activities is in place.

While all cultural creation initiatives of EU member countries may join this program, the EU non-member countries can also benefit if they meet certain criteria. Thanks to an agreement between Turkey and the European Commission, Turkey has provided financial support of the program and the culture and arts initiatives in Turkey had benefited from the program’s financial resources.

In 2015, Turkey was to pay about 2.4 million euros to the program. Leaving the program, Turkey will not give any money and initiatives of culture and arts in Turkey will no longer be able to benefit.

“Ask them yourselves”

In an interview with Agos, the spokesman for the European Commission for Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, Nathalie Vandystadt said that negotiations on the release of the program began: “Although this creates a situation deplorable, the Commission respects the decision of Turkey. You should speak with Turkey officials to get more information about the reasons for their output. “ And the delegation to Turkey from the European Commission, for its part, made no statement. The agreement between Turkey and the European Commission was signed by the Ministries of the European Union and the Ministry of Culture. The withdrawal request is however after the Foreign Ministry. Officials of the department “Creative Europe” at the Ministry of Culture said it is the Foreign Ministry following the case and that it was their decision.

According to sources who have spoken at the Agos newspaper, the “concern” of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs began a year ago. After the program has announced that the musical project “Aghet” would be supported to the tune of 200,000 euros, the ministry has begun to address the situation. The sources said the ministry was very concerned about the concerts and the way the project was announced on the website of the European Commission.

Nothing new

Before the concert in which the Dresden Symphony Orchestra interpret “Aghet”, officials from the interior ministry had contested the chapeau of the concert and they strove to make changes. In response to Turkish pressures, the spokesman of the European Commission said in a statement: “The European Commission temporarily suspends, because of the reactions that the words used in the text have caused. In the following days, a new blurb will be issued. “

In the suspended text [in effect, censored, ndt], the focus was on the genocide and other massacres and violations of human rights in Turkey. In the second version, the word “genocide” was also used, the European Commission had put a footnote on page reads: “the Commission is not responsible for any textual content downloaded or proposed. Such content expresses the author’s views (or authors). “ Still, this was enough point for the ministry decided to simply withdraw from the program. While this decision has begun circulating recently, sources in Brussels and Ankara said it was not a recent event.

Markus Rindt, the head of the Dresden Symphony Orchestra fat a statement before the concert saying that Turkey demanded the withdrawal of financial support given to the orchestra. The Commission has not responded to this request and it was after this that the foreign ministry has accelerated the withdrawal process. “Aghet” consists of symphony concerts planned in Dresden, Istanbul, Yerevan, Belgrade and Madrid in collaboration with various orchestras. In addition to artistic performances, discussion sessions and workshops are planned. Composers Cow Sharafyan, Zeynep and Helmut Oehring Gedizlioglu contributed to this program. 14 musicians from Europe, 6 soloists and vocal group of Armenia and Turkey are included in the concerts, which are supported by three orchestras. Anadolu Kultur | Anatolian Culture] Turkey, Serbia Orchestra Without Borders and the Theatre of Dresden, Germany, support the project. The composer and guitarist Marc Sinan also participates in the program, which is the last part of a trilogy reflecting the cultures of Anatolia and the Caucasus.

We talked to contributors musicians. The composer Marc Sinan and the head of the Dresden Symphony Orchestra told us: “This is a Turkish artists punishment attempt taking our peaceful art project for pretense.” Under the title “Notes of one who remained silent,” Zeynep Gedizlioglu composed a new work included in the project Aghet; She said: “I think this project is based on peace and dialogue. The meeting that we made and the dialogue we hired were immediate, sincere, genuine and human. For most of us, it was beyond what we had imagined. “

What is the real aim?

Creative Europe is essential for most of the initiatives of culture and arts in Turkey, because it is almost impossible to carry most projects without support of that kind. Vasif Kortun, Director of Research and Programs Salt Istanbul, said that they had knowledge of the decision as they were preparing to renew their program at The International, a confederation of museums, which is the most great confederation in Europe for the establishment of a long-term and viable model for public museums. Salt, as a member of this confederation, had the opportunity to benefit from the funding sources of Creative Europe, to work with five museums and access to archives and collections of these museums. The administration of The International issued a statement entitled “Breaking Bridges – The withdrawal of Turkey Creative Europe”, disapproving of the decision to disengage, Vasif Kortun said he could that they have taken the Aghet project as an excuse, adding: “We could express discomfort towards this particular project, rather than withdraw from the program in its entirety. However, they chose to do so. It could be that the real purpose is to pressure financially to various institutions. This is what happens in India, China, Egypt and Russia in recent years. I would have hoped that Turkey follow the example of democratic countries instead of those … “.

The Foundation for Culture and Arts Istanbul (IKSV) also had projects and has benefited from the program and they have also the backlog. The Director General of IKSV Gorgun Taner said, “the budget of the Ministry of Culture is pleased to 0.5% of the state budget. Creative Europe is a program that would have been advantageous for us, even non-EU members. While resources diminish the culture of the day, such support should not be avoided. “

Fatih Gökhan Diler

AGOS newspaper

Translation Gilbert Béguian

Ankara police, activists clash on bombing anniversary

October 10, 2016 By administrator

Turkish police used tear gas and plastic bullets to prevent pro-Kurdish activists holding a protest to mark the one-year anniversary on Monday of the country’s worst attack in its modern history in the capital Ankara, Freemalaysiatoday.com reports, citing an AFP correspondent.
One hundred and three people were killed on October 10, 2015 when suicide bombers said to be linked to Islamic State (IS) jihadists blew themselves up in a crowd of pro-Kurdish peace activists planning to hold a rally outside Ankara’s main train station, .
Nearly 500 people were wounded, some of whom are still receiving treatment.
A crowd of more than 150 chanted “murderous state” as a line of police and water cannon trucks refused to let them through to the site of the attack to commemorate the the one-year anniversary, the correspondent said.
Hundreds of people carrying placards and flags from different associations were also stopped by a group of at least 20 police officers carrying anti-riot shields.
Police then used tear gas and plastic bullets against the group, some of whom threw bottles and stones. Some were hit by police truncheons as they scattered, covering their mouths to limit the effects of the tear gas.
But demonstrators said relatives of the victims — including parents and children — had been allowed through to pay their respects at the site of the attack before the commemoration began.
When the moment came to pause for silence at the precise time of the attack at 10:04am (0704 GMT), the crowd burst into applause vowing that they would not let it ever be forgotten.
There has been considerable frustration among relatives of those killed over the slowness of the investigation and no-one has ever been brought to justice over the attack.
The attack came at a time of considerable social tension in Turkey as the government wages a crackdown against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its supporters.

France closes embassy in Turkey Ankara, consulate in Istanbul until further notice

July 13, 2016 By administrator

France on Wednesday, July 13 said it had closed its embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara and its consulate in Istanbul until further notice for security reasons, after cancelling events to mark the July 14 Bastille Day holiday, AFP reports.

“The Embassy of France in Ankara, as well as the Consulate General in Istanbul will be closed from Wednesday July 13, 1:00 pm (1000 GMT), until further notice,” the embassy said in a statement after scrapping the July 14 receptions at the missions on security grounds.

It did not give any further details on how the closure would be implemented.

France’s consulate in Istanbul, its embassy in Ankara and its mission in the Aegean city of Izmir were all to have held celebrations marking the July 14 Bastille Day.

French consul to Istanbul Muriel Domenach wrote on Twitter the events in all three cities had been cancelled “for security reasons” and France was in touch with the Turkish authorities, AFP says.

Earlier, the Istanbul consulate had sent an email message to French citizens in Turkey saying there had been “concurring information of a serious threat against the organisation of the July 14 celebrations in Turkey”.

It said the decision had been taken in coordination with the Turkish authorities.

Turkey is on a high security alert following the June 28 attack on Istanbul’s main airport which was blamed on Islamic State (IS) jihadists and killed 47 people.

Thirty-seven suspects have been placed under arrest over suspicion of involvement in the attacks. Of these, 15 are Turks and 22 foreigners, according to official media, AFP says.

Authorities have said a number of citizens of ex-Soviet republics are among the suspects, raising concerns over the threat to Turkey from Islamist militancy in the Central Asia and the Northern Caucasus.

But of seven suspects arrested earlier this week, three are Algerian, two Tunisian and two Egyptian, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.

AFP. France shuts missions in Turkey until further notice

Ankara & Moscow from Shooting down Russian Jet to now uses Incirlik base

July 4, 2016 By administrator

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says his country is open to allowing Russia to use the Incirlik Air Base in south-central Turkey to launch airstrikes against the positions of Daesh in Syria, as Ankara and Moscow further move to mend fences.

“We will cooperate with everybody who is fighting Daesh. Ankara has opened the Incirlik Air Base to all those wishing to join the active fight,” Cavusoglu said in an interview with the state-run TRT television network on Monday.

“Why not cooperate with Russia in the same manner? Turkey is ready for such cooperation. Terrorism is our common enemy. Joint efforts are important to avoid negative incidents,” the top Turkish diplomat said.

The Incirlik Air Base lies eight kilometers (five miles) north of the Turkish city of Adana near the border with Syria, and currently hosts military aircraft from the United States, Germany, Britain, Saudi Arabia as well as Qatar. The latter countries are involved in the US-led coalition that purports to be targeting Daesh targets inside Syria.

A crisis emerged in relations between the Ankara and Moscow after Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 fighter jet on November 24, 2015 as it was conducting an anti-Daesh mission in Syria. Turkey said the jet violated its airspace, a claim that Russia refuted.

One of the two pilots of the Russian jet — both of whom parachuted out of the aircraft — was killed by militants on the ground in Syria. The other was rescued.

Russia demanded an apology. Turkey refused, which plunged their relations into an abyss.

In late June, Russia said it had received a letter from the Turkish government in which the latter apologized for the incident. Although Ankara denied having offered an apology, saying that it had only “expressed regret” over the incident, the two sides have been engaged in efforts to normalize relations ever since.

The Russian and Turkish leaders talked on the phone, and the foreign ministers later met in person on July 1.

Russia has been carrying out an aerial campaign against militants in Syria since September 2015 on a request from the Syrian government. Moscow is currently using the Hmeimim military base in Latakia Province in northwestern Syria to launch the airstrikes in Syria.

There has been no official word from Moscow over the comments by Cavusoglu regarding Incirlik. The Turkish foreign minister did not specify whether the offer was an official one, and whether it had been conveyed to Moscow.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict. The UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.

A ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia went into effect in Syria on February 27, but it does not apply to the Daesh and al-Nusra Front terrorist groups in the Arab country.