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Breaking News: I leave the post of the country’s prime minister. Serzh Sargsyan’s statement:

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Serge Sargsyan issued a statement. “Armenpress” presents it entirely.

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan issued a statement. “Armenpress” presents it entirely.

“Dear Compatriots,

I appeal to all citizens of the Republic of Armenia,
adults and my beloved young people,
women and men,

I turn to the streets on the streets, “Do not Deny Serge” with day and night stays and closed streets with hard work on those days and those who are indebted to them,

I appeal to those who have been in jail for days and nights and those who ensure public security day and night,
I turn to our brave soldiers and officers standing at the border, apply to my companions,

I appeal to my fellow party friends, all political forces and politicians.

As the head of the country I have applied for the last time.

Nikol Pashinyan was right. I was wrong. The created situation has several solutions, but I will not go to any of them. That’s not mine. I leave the post of the country’s prime minister.

The movement of the street is against my office. I fulfill your claim.

Peace, harmony and logic to our country.

Thank you”.

A die-hard Erdogan loyalist Ankara’s eccentric mayor, Melih Gokcek pushed out Resign

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No one Survive Recep Tayyip Erdoğan HAND-SHAKE, Gagrulenet illustration

Ankara’s mayor, Melih Gokcek, has stepped down, becoming the sixth mayor to resign as Turkey’s Erdogan purges his party’s ranks. Erdogan appears to be worried about a string of elections in 2019.

Ankara’s eccentric mayor, Melih Gokcek, resigned Saturday after 23 years of running the Turkish capital, becoming the latest local politician to bow to pressure from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he shakes up his party.

The 69-year-old former mayor is one of Turkey’s most controversial and high-profile figures, regularly appearing on television and pushing conspiracy theories to his 4 million Twitter followers. He has famously claimed Western powers cause earthquakes to hurt Turkey, called German politician Cem Özdemir an “Armenian servant,”  and suggested the Obama administration created the “Islamic State.”

A die-hard Erdogan loyalist, Gokcek announced he would resign last Monday. He made the announcement in his trademark all-caps tweets after a three-hour meeting with Erdogan at the presidential palace.

“God willing, on Saturday the Ankara city council will hold an extraordinary meeting and I will say goodbye to its members and resign,” he wrote.

In the weeks leading up to the resignation, Gokcek appeared to resist pressure to step down from Erdogan, who said there would be consequences for mayors who didn’t resign.

Then, the pro-government media that once supported Gokcek started publishing articles suggesting he was close to the opposition Republican People’s Party and Fethullah Gulen, the US-based cleric Ankara blames for last year’s failed coup attempt.

Such media reports were clear threats, indicating an indictment could be pending for Gulen ties or corruption if the mayor didn’t step down. Similar to Erdogan, Gokcek was close to the Gulen movement before a fallout between it and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2013.

Erdogan purging mayors

Gokcek is the sixth mayor from Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to resign under pressure in recent weeks, including those of Istanbul and Turkey’s fourth largest city of Bursa.

Under a state of emergency, Erdogan has also replaced more than 80 Kurdish mayors in the southeast with loyalist over the past year.

More than 50,000 people have been arrested and some 150,000 dismissed from their jobs in an ongoing cull in the wake of the failed coup attempt.

Turkey’s top opposition leader challenges Erdogan to resign

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Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu gives his weekly speech in the town of Camlidere in the Ankara Province, on June 20, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Turkey’s main opposition leader has challenged President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resign if it is proven that the government influenced the judiciary in the post-coup crackdown in the country.

Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu made the remarks in a Tuesday speech for hundreds in the town of Camlidere on the outskirts of Ankara on the sixth day of his “walk for justice” protest march from Ankara to Istanbul.

“If I prove you and your government gave instructions to the courts, will you resign from your role as an honest and honorable person?” he said.

“I give my word as well. I will leave politics if I do not prove (these claims). Because I am an honest and honorable person,” he added.

The 68-year-old Kilicdaroglu leads the march in protest at a heavy jail sentence handed down to former journalist turned CHP lawmaker Enis Berberoglu.

A court sentenced Berberoglu to 25 years in jail on Wednesday for leaking classified information to a newspaper.

The 450-kilometer (280 miles) trek is expected to take almost a month and will culminate at Maltepe prison in Istanbul where Berberoglu is being held. The march represents Kilicdaroglu’s biggest challenge to Erdogan since he took over the CHP in 2010.

Kilicdaroglu said he was “walking for everyone who seeks justice,” vowing, “We are a party who will defend democracy until the end.”

The opposition accuses Erdogan of shifting towards authoritarianism, especially since last year’s failed coup which was followed by a massive crackdown and the April referendum which expands the president’s power.

Kilicdaroglu calls Erdogan the “July 20 coup plotter”, referring to the date when the president declared a state of emergency.

Erdogan said Saturday that actions like the march by Kilicdaroglu would bring no good for Turkey, saying the opposition leader should not “be surprised” if legal proceedings were opened.

Kilicdaroglu said he was undeterred by Erdogan’s threats that the action might lead to legal proceedings against him.

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Turkey has seen a surge in political fighting since a failed coup attempt on July 15 last year. The opposition has constantly criticized a crackdown launched since the coup which has seen more than 40,000 people arrested and over 100,000 discharged from their jobs. Kilicdaroglu even once accused Erdogan of being the “July 20 coup plotter”, saying he had used the deadly coup by military renegades to consolidate his rule in Turkey.

Tensions rose again on April 16 when voters endorsed changes to Turkey’s constitution and gave Erdogan more powers as president. The CHP has censured Erdogan’s narrow victory in the referendum while warning that Erdogan would slide Turkey into a one-man rule system.

New Zealand’s prime minister announces sudden resignation

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resignNew Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key says he is resigning after some eight years in office, taking the country by surprise with the abrupt announcement.

55-year-old Key cited family matters as the reason for his sudden resignation.

Speaking at a weekly media conference in Wellington on Monday, he said it had been “the hardest decision” he had ever made.

He was first elected prime minister in 2008 and has led the National Party since ten years ago.

“It’s been a decade of a lot of long, lonely nights for her,” he said in reference to his wife, adding, “And it’s the right time for me to come home… On a family basis, I don’t think I could commit much longer.”

Key, who is a wealthy former stock broker, said he would stay in the parliament so the National Party would not need to go through by-elections.

The National Party is set to hold a meeting on December 12 to choose Key’s successor. Key said he would vote for his deputy and finance minister, Bill English, to take over if his name is put forward.

English told reporters at a press conference that he had not yet decided whether to stand for leadership but did not rule it out.

He praised the prime minister’s “intelligence, optimism and integrity” and said he would be “judged by history as one of New Zealand’s greatest leaders.”

If English becomes prime minister, he would likely continue with many of Key’s core policies, analysts say.

Winston Peters, the leader of the rival New Zealand First Party, hinted that the country needed a change in policy. He said Key had consistently misled the public about the state of the economy, and his resignation showed he was “unable to muddy the waters anymore.”

European leaders call for calm as Italy’s Renzi resigns

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pm-resignFollowing a referendum defeat, Italian PM Matteo Renzi has said he will step down without delay. Italians overwhelmingly voted against the premier’s proposed constitutional reforms.

“My government ends today,” said Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi just after midnight on Monday, in a televised address from the Palazzo Chigi. “I take full responsibility for this defeat.”

Renzi said he could not refute the “extraordinarily clear” results of Sunday’s referendum on constitutional reforms, and called on his rivals to provide clear proposals for ending the continuous cycle of political deadlock in Rome. He offered his condolences to those in his “Yes” camp, congratulating them on a hard-fought campaign.

“Good luck to us all,” said the prime minister of two-and-a-half years, saying he would give his letter of resignation to President Sergio Mattarella later on Monday.

Europe calls for fast solution

Following Renzi’s referendum defeat, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he hoped the government crisis in Italy will resolve quickly.

“We are watching the result in Italy with concern,” Steinmeier, who is visiting Greece, said in televised remarks on Monday.

“This is not of course a state crisis, but it’s a government crisis that needs to be resolved… it’s not a positive message to Europe at a difficult time,” he added.

Manfried Weber, a senior conservative European Parliament lawmaker from Germany, echoed Steinmeier’s concerns.

“Initially, a phase of instability now lies ahead of us – how will one of the biggest countries in the European Union now stabilize itself?” Weber told German public broadcaster ZDF. He added that the referendum outcome is a setback for those who want reforms in Europe.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble urged Italy to continue with Renzi’s economic reforms during a call with his Italian counterpart on Monday.

France and Luxembourg, on the other hand, viewed the result as a domestic issue that did not signify a defeat for Europe. French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said the result poses no systemic risk to the euro zone.

Likewise, Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, called the referendum a “domestic political argument,” in comments to news agency DPA. He said the issue should not be extended to the European level, but added that a drawn-out government crisis would be bad for the euro.

‘No’ constitutional change in Rome

With all votes counted, results showed 59 percent of Italians voting against Renzi’s proposed reforms, with just under 41 percent in favor, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

Turnout for the election was high, with 65 percent of the 47 million registered voters in Italy casting ballots.

Armenia PM delivers farewell remarks: Society is still polarized, new approaches are needed

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pm-resignYEREVAN. – The Armenian society is still polarized; new approaches, a new start are needed.

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Hovik Abrahamyan, noted about the abovementioned at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, as he announced his resignation as head of the government.

“I have fought against political divides all through my political career, working toward the establishment of bridges of cooperation,” Abrahamyan noted, in particular. “The government, led by myself, has been open to any discourse, discussion of a sound idea.

“The sincere and realistic approaches we adopted had their result. But the society still remained polarized. In my view, one of its main reasons is the existing disagreements nourished from geopolitical, foreign economic, and military challenges.

“We are still a country having transition problems, where we need joint efforts by the society and the government, to improve the current economic and social situation; and new approaches, a new start are needed for this.

“For that reason, I have decided to resign [as PM], and enable the President the opportunity to form a new government.”

“But work was truly carried out.

“As an active participant in the political life, I will continue my mission to surmount the existing divides in society.”

Georgian Foreign Minister Resigns

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By RFE/RL’s Georgian Service
1F4A03B9-E8B4-4F6E-8FD5-B4F9AF0A37C6_w640_r1_sGeorgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze has resigned a day after Defense Minister Irakli Alasania was dismissed, revealing growing rifts in the ruling coalition two years after it rose to power.

Panjikidze announced her resignation on November 5 and said she was quitting the Georgian Dream coalition as well as Democratic Georgia, a party founded by former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and now chaired by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

“As we see that not only our future activities but also achievements we have made so far are endangered, we decided to [resign],” Panjikidze, whose four deputies also quit, said at a news conference.
Garibashvili dismissed Panjikidze’s ally Alasania on November 4, hours after the defense chief called recent arrests and charges against military brass an “attack on Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic choice” — a reference to NATO and EU aspirations in Georgia — and said they were “obviously politically motivated.”

The state minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, Aleksi Petriashvili, who is a member of Alasania’s party, resigned on November 4 after Alasania’s dismissal.

WATCH: Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze announces her resignation from the government, following the firing of Defense Minister Irakli Alasania the previous day. She warns that Georgia’s pro-Western course is in danger.
The shakeup raises the prospect of new political instability in the Caucasus nation, a foe of Russia and a conduit for Western-bound energy supplies from the Caspian Sea, and could cause concern in the United States and the European Union.

U.S. Ambassador Richard Norland urged all parties in Georgia to work “towards stability, unity, demonstrated commitment to due process and the rule of law, and public confidence in democratic institutions,” and to “focus on future for the country that is firmly anchored in Euro-Atlantic institutions.”

Speaking to the media on November 5, Norland said that there were “legitimate” concerns the judicial system is being used in “a politicized way.”

Alasania, whose Free Democrats party is part of Georgian Dream, said after his dismissal that the country was in political crisis and urged efforts to avoid deepening the divisions.

He said that he “absolutely” did not see the coalition in its current configuration in the next parliamentary elections in 2016.

Billionaire tycoon Ivanishvili upended Georgian politics by leading Georgian Dream to victory over longtime President Mikheil Saakashvili’s ruling party in 2012 parliamentary elections.

He served as prime minister before handing the reins to Garibashvili in November 2013.

There have been signs of growing rivalry and discord, including a war of words between Garibashvili and President Giorgi Margvelashvili in September.
Alasania’s firing came after five current and former senior military officials were arrested late last month on suspicion of misspending more than $2.3 million in state funds and three army medical officers were charged with negligence that led to the food poisoning of hundreds of servicemen last year.

Speaking to Georgian journalists in Vienna on November 4, Margvelashvili said there was a “crisis” in the Georgian Dream coalition.

He said “political confrontation” posed a “threat to the efficient functioning” of Georgia’s state institutions and to closer integration with Western structures.

Alasania is married to a sister of Panjikidze.

Both had held their positions since Georgian Dream formed a government in October 2012 after defeating Saakashvili’s United National Movement.

Georgian Dream’s victory was fueled partly by accusations that Saakashvili had abandoned the rule of law, but the current government has faced similiar accusations.

The United States has repeatedly urged it to avoid using the justice system as a political lever.

Last week, U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki stressed “the importance of due process and rule of law and of conducting investigations with transparency to avoid even the perception that the judicial system is being used for political retribution.”

Panjikidze said that her four deputies — Davit Zalkaliani, Tamar Beruchashvili, Davit Jalagania, and Vladimer Gurgenidze — also resigned.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Agrees to Relinquish Power

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Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki on Thursday night said he agreed to relinquish power, state television reported, a move that came after days of crisis in which Mr. Maliki’s deployment of extra security forces around the capital raised worries of a military coup. report NYT
While the country is not at peace, Mr. Maliki’s decision, nonetheless, appeared to pave the way for the first truly peaceful transition of power, based on democratic elections and without the guiding hand of American military forces, in modern Iraq’s history.
In stepping aside Mr. Maliki agreed to end his legal challenge to the nomination of his replacement, which was made on Monday when Iraq’s president nominated Haider al-Abadi, a member of Mr. Maliki’s own Shiite Islamist Dawa Party.
Mr. Maliki’s decision came after days of negotiations with his former Shiite allies, who urged Mr. Maliki to give up in the face of growing international opposition to his rule, including from the United States and Iran, and the sense among most Iraqi leaders that his removal was necessary to bring the country together in the face of an onslaught by Sunni militants with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Mr. Abadi, according to the constitution, has 30 days from the time of his appointment – which was Monday – to form a new government. During that time, Mr. Maliki remains the caretaker prime minister, and the commander-in-chief of the military.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/15/world/middleeast/iraq-prime-minister-.html?emc=edit_na_20140814

The notorious genocide denier, Top American-Turkish Council ATC officials resign over corruption probe row

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Tolga Tanış WASHINGTON / Hürriyet

Former U.S. ambassador to Turkey Jim Holmes was ATC’s president since 2005.
n_67314_1Top executives of the main bilateral business association between Turkey and the United States, the Washington-based American-Turkish Council (ATC), announced their resignation June 1, following government pressure in the aftermath of the corruption probe.

The council’s president for 11 years and former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Jim Holmes, Deputy Head Canan Büyüküstün and Executive Manager Ayşe Sümer submitted their resignations following Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan’s demand.

The main reason behind the rift was a bulletin that only cited news reports from the website of Today’s Zaman, which were published after the Dec. 17, 2013 probe that implicated four ex-ministers. Today’s Zaman is the English-arm of the main newspaper outlet affiliated with the U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who is accused by the government of orchestrating the prosecutions.

The bulletin overlooking the investigation drew harsh reactions from Cüneyt Zapsu, an executive member of the Turkish-American Business Council (TAİK) and former adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Zapsu conveyed his disturbance to the highest echelons of the TAİK, which is itself affiliated with Turkey’s top trade association, the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB).

Following Zapsu’s intervention, Holmes’ resignation was requested by Babacan, who traveled twice to Washington in the past two months.

The ATC’s executive board stood behind Holmes in the beginning, but surrendered to the growing pressure after officials from both Turkey and the U.S. snubbed the council’s annual congress this month, leading to Holmes announcing his resignation on June 1, along with Büyüküstün and Sümer. Top figures such as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Army Chief of Staff Martin Dempsey had attended the ATC’s congress in previous years, while this year the highest level officials present at the event were the White House’s Trade Representative and the Turkish Foreign Ministry deputy undersecretary.

Both Zapsu and the Prime Ministry’s press office have declined to comment on the resignations.

The government had responded to the investigation by carrying out massive purges within the judiciary, police and bureaucracy.

June/03/2014

Source: hurriyet daily news.com