US Congressman Schiff, colleagues support bill banning Turkish investments

June 22, 2017 By administrator

US Congressman Schiff

US Congress member Adam Schiff and nine of his colleagues from California sent a letter to California State Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin De León in support of California Assembly Bill 1597, which would divest California’s public pension funds from investment vehicles that are owned, controlled, or managed by the Turkish government.

“California has acted in the past to prohibit new investments by its pension funds in sectors that are inimical to our state’s values, such as the 2015 state law mandating divestment from coal companies,” the Congress members wrote in the letter. “The narrowly drafted AB 1597 proposal is an appropriate use of that authority, blocking future investments directly owned by the Turkish Government, such as government bonds.”

“Given the recent assault on peaceful protestors in Washington, D.C. by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s personal security forces, as well as Turkey’s continued denial of the Armenian Genocide, divestment by California is an appropriate response,” the Congress members also wrote.

Merkel’s chief of staff mulls ban on Turkish politicians entering country

March 15, 2017 By administrator

(DW) Chancellery Head Peter Altmaier has said Germany would be legally entitled to ban Turkish politicians from campaigning in Germany. The threat came after Turkish President Erdogan accused Germany of Nazi practises.

Germany could ban Turkish politicians from entering Germany, Angela Merkel’s chief of staff threatened in an interview published on Wednesday.

Peter Altmaier said Germany still had plenty of legal options amid an escalating row with Ankara over Turkish referendum campaigns within Germany.

“We are firmly opposed to Nazi comparisons and grotesque allegations,” the CDU politician told the newspapers of the Funke Mediengruppe.

“Turkey always attaches great importance to the fact that its honor is not violated. Germany also has an honor.

“We will take a close look at what is responsible and what is not. An entry ban would be a last resort. But we reserve the right to do that.”

The countries’ relationship became especially fraught after Germany cancelled several Turkish political rallies, citing public security concerns.

Altmaier’s home-state of Saarland prohibited on Tuesday all foreign officials from holding campaign rallies, with the policy immediately targeting Turkish officials.

Responsible for Srebenica

Turkish President Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the bans as “fascist” and reeking of “Nazi practices” infuriating the German government. Turkey likewise attacked The Netherlands for its similar bans, accusing it of being responsible for the 1995 Srebrenica genocide of 8,000 Bosniaks.

Erdogan’s aggressive rhetoric and European campaigning came one month ahead of a referendum to greatly expand Erdogan’s powers – a referendum in which expatriate Turks can vote.

Altmaier said international law allowed all countries, including Germany, to ban the entry of foreign government officials in extreme circumstances.

“It’s never happened in Germany, as far as I know,” he said. “But the fact that Germany has not made full use of its options under international law is no ‘free pass’ for the future.”

Mass arrests

German politicians were highly critical of mass arrests and dismissals in Turkey following a failed military coup last July. Critics claim a successful referendum would erode political checks and balances, but Erdogan says the powers are essential to maintain stability in Turkey.

Particularly inflammatory was Turkey’s treatment of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, who was arrested in Ankara last month, amid claims he was working as a German spy.

aw/ (dpa, Reuters, AFP)

Trump’s travel ban ‘makes no sense’ without banning Turkey, Pakistan & Saudi Arabia

January 30, 2017 By administrator

Trump’s ban targets seven predominantly Muslim countries – Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen – whose citizens have so far not been involved in mass killings in the US. On the contrary, all major terrorist groups that have attacked the United States and other Western countries over the past couple of decades – from al Qaeda to the Taliban to the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) – can trace their roots back to Sunni-led countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar. But conspicuously these countries didn’t make the list.

Not only that, in a telephone call on Sunday with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, Trump reiterated his administration’s support to Riyadh. A White House statement said the two leaders discussed Trump’s role “to lead a Middle East effort to defeat terrorism and to help build a new future, economically and socially,” for Saudi Arabia and the region.

While Saudi nationals were involved in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the recent killings on US soil – the Orlando and San Bernardino shootings – were perpetrated by people of Afghan and Pakistani origin. Why did President Trump exempt these countries from the executive order?

It is too early and very difficult to evaluate President Trump’s strategy. Although the US media is claiming that Trump spared these countries because he has business ties with them, this may only be true for Saudi Arabia. He has no investments in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

UK Parliament to Debate Public Call to Ban Trump From Country on January 18 @realDonaldTrump

January 5, 2016 By administrator

The UK parliament will debate banning US Presidential candidate Donald Trump from entering the United Kingdom over his anti-Muslim comments, as proposed in an online public petition, on January 18, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The House of Commons petitions committee decided to hold a debate on the issue after a meeting on the issue, held Tuesday, the BBC news outlet reported

About 568,000 people have signed the petition after Trump proposed a temporary halt on Muslims entering the United States. After reaching 100,000 signatures, any petition can be discussed in the country’s parliament.

Prime Minister David Cameron has previously said that he completely disagrees with Trump’s remarks, but added that the US presidential hopeful should be allowed to visit Britain.

Turkey tightens grip on media by banning TV channels

October 8, 2015 By administrator

This December 19, 2014 file photo shows media activists holding placards that read, “free media can not be silenced,”
(AFP photo)

Judiciary officials in Turkey have banned a major broadcaster from airing channels close to an opposition leader in exile, expressing concern about the government’s tightening grip on free speech weeks ahead of key elections in the country.

A state prosecutor in the capital, Ankara, issued an order on Thursday, banning service provider Digiturk from broadcasting two major news networks, namely the Bugun TV and S Haber, along with a children’s channel and four other general stations.

“An official court document regarding crimes against the constitutional order was sent by the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office,” said a statement by Digiturk, Turkey’s third TV platform and the leading pay-TV service which is believed to be close to Fethullah Gulen, a cleric based in the United States who is opposed to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP).

“As the document’s content ordered, Kanalturk, Samanyolu TV, Mehtap TV, S Haber, Bugun TV, Yumurcak TV and Irmak TV have been removed from the platform,” the statement said.

Many in the social media have ridiculed the ban on the children’s TV channel, with a user, for instance, in Twitter posting a comment, saying the decision was a “blow” to plans for a civilian coup by Arthur the rabbit and Yumi the clever truck, two children’s TV characters.

Erdogan has accused Gulen and his followers of plotting to overthrow the AKP, a charge Gulen denies. Hundreds of people, believed to be sympathizers of Gulen, many of them members of the police and the judiciary, have been arrested as the government intensifies a crackdown ahead of the November 1 snap elections in which the AKP seeks to restore its majority in the parliament.

Police launched a raid last month on the offices of Koza Ipek, a conglomerate that owns channels including Kanalturk and Bugun TV. Similar raids were carried out late last year on media outlets which were close to Gulen, with police detaining dozens of staff members.