Turkey's army chief denies mass resignations: report

Tensions between the staunchly secular military and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-leaning government have simmered in the weeks that followed the arrests and sent shivers through financial markets.

There are several plots being investigated, but General Ilker Basbug told Milliyet newspaper the investigation into the 2003 "Operation Sledgehammer" was the most serious.

Scores of officers were detained, including the former heads of the navy and air force, in the sweep launched by prosecutors in late February. While the two former service heads were released without charge, more than 30 others were charged.

Prosecutors have still to file the formal indictment.

The alleged actions included provoking a near-conflict with neighboring Greece and planting bombs in an Istanbul mosque.

"The incident is serious and up until now has perhaps had the most important effect on the Turkish Armed Forces," Basbug told the newspaper without elaborating.

Basbug in the past has spoken of the damaging effect on morale in the military that has resulted from the probes into anti-government plots. But he did not directly criticize the government or investigators in the interview.

Asked about Turkish media reports that commanders had threatened to step down following the arrests, Basbug said: "No, there was definitely nothing like this. It was not discussed, debated or expressed."

The officers under suspicion attended what the military has characterized as a war-games scenario, in which plans that could destabilize the government were mapped out.

In another alleged plot, a military prosecutor is carrying out a "comprehensive and multi-dimensional" probe of a colonel whose signature may have appeared on a document outlining a conspiracy to undermine the government, Basbug also said.

He declined to say whether any other serving officers are under investigation.

A military court last month rejected the prosecutor's request to arrest the colonel. He can only be dismissed from his post by the Defense Ministry if he is charged, Basbug said.

Turkey's generals have ousted four civilian governments in the last 50 years, but few observers believe they would take such action again, as Turks' confidence in democracy has grown and the government introduces European Union-inspired reforms.

But there are worrying signs of polarization.

Erdogan has threatened to call a referendum unless parliament approves planned constitutional changes to reform the judiciary, which along with the military is a stronghold of the conservative, secular forces who represent Turkey's old guard.

The row between the government and the secularist establishment has weighed on financial markets as investors fret about political stability in the $650 billion economy.

Source:reuters.com/

EU enlargement commissioner to visit Turkey

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle will pay his first visit to Turkey on Monday and Tuesday.

“I am confident that at the end of the process, it will be a new, modern and reformed Turkey whose accession to the EU will be to the benefit of both the EU and Turkey,” Füle said in a statement released by his office prior to the visit.

The commissioner is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, chief EU negotiator Egemen Bağış and several deputies.

Füle is also set to have talks with civil-society organizations and members of business circles as part of his trip to Ankara and Istanbul.

An association agreement between Turkey and the EU was signed in 1963. A number of decisions by the European Council, as well as resolutions by the European Parliament, confirmed that Turkey would become a full member once it meets all requirements.

Turkey was granted candidate status by the Helsinki European Council Summit in 1999 and accession negotiations began in October 2005.

Source:hurriyetdailynews.com/

Turkey bluffing about property

Refugees from Varosha should apply en masse to the property commission’

TURKEY IS bluffing about giving compensation to Greek Cypriot property owners, said top human rights lawyer Achilleas Demetriades yesterday.

He argued that one way of calling their bluff was for Famagusta refugees to apply en masse to the property commission in the north.

Demetriades called for some “lateral thinking” on how to call Turkey’s bluff following last week’s European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decision which approved the Immoveable Property Commission (IPC) in the north as an effective remedy for Greek Cypriot property owners. The decision of the Strasbourg court effectively makes it mandatory for Greek Cypriot property owners who wish to take Turkey to the ECHR for occupying their lands, to pass through the IPC and the “High Administrative Court” in the north first.

As the dust begins to settle on the legal tornado caused by the ruling, a number of questions are surfacing. What happens to the 1,400-odd cases already at the ECHR? Do they now apply to the IPC for restitution of their property rights? Are they more likely to receive compensation than the return of their property, which in turn will reinforce the ethnic divide on the island? If they do a ‘land swap’ with Turkish Cypriot properties in the south, how can they get that registered at the Land Registry?

Following the decision, Constantis Candounas, the lawyer who represented Meletis Apostolides in the Orams case, called on every Greek Cypriot refugee to apply to the IPC to seek restitution of their property rights.

Demetriades, who won a breakthrough case at the ECHR for refugee Titina Loizidou, argues that people must decide what they want to do. “If people want to apply to the commission to reach Strasbourg then they should go to the IPC. It doesn’t mean they have to apply. A lot won’t want to for emotional, political or moral reasons.

“If yes, however, then there should be a methodology in how people apply. Before deciding on an individual level, there is a need for some lateral thinking because I think Turkey is bluffing and cannot afford to pay the compensation for loss of use or effect restitution. Is it serious about giving a really effective remedy?”

He argued that one way of calling that bluff is to plan a first wave of applications for refugees from Varosha, the fenced-off part of Famagusta.

“We flood the commission with 10,000 applications. They will have to award compensation for loss of use from 1974 to 2010 plus interest,” he said, noting that the rate of compensation has already been set by the ECHR judgement on the Arestis case. “The indicator is there in the Arestis judgement.”

However, applicants will ask for restitution first and compensation for loss of use later. “They want to go home. What is the public interest of Turkey in not allowing restitution to the legal inhabitants of Famagusta? None. They cannot justify it,” said Demetriades.

Former Attorney-general Alecos Markides disagreed, saying that Turkey could surprise everyone by allowing people to return to the fenced-off part of Famagusta which remains solely under the control of the Turkish occupation forces.

“I do not agree that the so-called committee has no discretion to order the reinstatement of the properties, especially in cases where the properties are not occupied, as happens with the enclosed part of Famagusta.

“Turkey has proved to be able to follow an elastic policy and one should wonder what would happen if the committee ordered the reinstatement of properties. Would owners be prepared to go and live under the control of the Turkish army?” asked Markides.

Asked to comment on the possibility of returning to Famagusta under the control of the Turkish army, Demetriades said: “Yes of course, what else can one expect?”

“The best case scenario of the ECHR is award for loss of use and restitution under Turkish occupation. Strasbourg cannot offer more than that. This is the fallacy people have been labouring under.

“People have been saying go to the ECHR and they will throw the Turkish army in the water. The system cannot deliver this. This is its maximum. If you are looking for legal answers, these are our options. Legally, there is no other solution,” he said.

Asked to comment on the decision, President Demetris Christofias yesterday said he planned to chair a meeting with experts early next week to have an in-depth discussion about the whole subject.

“We shouldn’t paint everything black…The issue will be dealt with thoroughly with the solution of the Cyprus problem and solving the property issue through that solution,” he said.

Source:cyprus-mail.com

Turkey earthquake kills 51; scientists say earthquake frequency not rising

Boston
In yet another deadly rumbling of Earth’s crust, an earthquake in Turkey killed at least 51 people early Monday morning. But scientists are warning against drawing conclusions about increasingly frequent earthquakes.
The magnitude-6.0 earthquake hit at 4:32 a.m. local time in Elazig Province in eastern Turkey, about 340 miles east of the capital, Ankara. It knocked down stone and mud-brick houses, according to reports. More than 50 aftershocks measuring up to 5.5 vibrated the region and slowed efforts to treat dozens of injured people.

“Everything has been knocked down, there is not a stone in place,” Yadin Apaydin, administrator for the village of Yukari Kanatli, where at least three people died, told the Associated Press.

The government initially put the death toll at 57 but lowered it to 51. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the press: “Teams from the state mass housing project have also been sent to the area to study how to rebuild the area in different methods."

The Turkish quake comes on the heels of quakes measuring 6.4 in Taiwan, 8.8 in Chile, and 7.0 in Haiti, raising speculation of a link.

IN PICTURES: Images from the Turkey earthquake

Richard Luckett, a seismologist from the British Geological Survey, told the Associated Press there has not been a spike in global seismic activity.

"If there was a big increase in the number of magnitude-6.0s in the past decade we would know it because we would see it in the statistics," Dr. Luckett said. "We haven't seen an increase in 7.0s either."

According to the US Geological Survey, the earth usually has one magnitude-8 or higher earthquake per year, some 17 quakes between 7 and 7.9, and roughly 132 earthquakes a year with a magnitude of between 6 and 6.9 – like the most recent quake in Turkey.

The recent earthquakes are not abnormal in frequency, scientists say, but have received more attention because of the loss of human life.

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which sits atop two major fault lines.

In 2007, a magnitude-5.7 quake damaged buildings in Elazig. In 2003, a magnitude-6.4 quake killed 83 children when a school dormitory collapsed in Bingol. In 1999, two powerful earthquakes struck northwestern Turkey, killing about 18,000 people.

“The point is that earthquakes are common and always have been,” Luckett told the AP.

Source:csmonitor.com/

Strong quake in eastern Turkey kills 51

At least 51 people were killed in a powerful earthquake that struck eastern Turkey early on Monday, a local official said

The number of dead has reached 51," an official from a crisis desk at the governor's office in Elazig province, told AFP by telephone.

The victims perished in several villages near Karakocan town which lies close to epicentre of the quake which had a magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter scale.

About 100 people were injured, according to the emergency situations agency in Ankara.

Source:bangkokpost.com/

Can Obama Keep Eastward-Looking Turkey On Side?

One of Barack Obama's first overseas trips as President was to Turkey. When he visited in April he focused on the significant role the country — mainly Muslim, officially secular, and a member of NATO — has to play in the Middle East. Heralding "a model partnership," Obama said Ankara had an important part to play in global peace. "Turkey is a critical ally. Turkey is an important part of Europe. And Turkey and the United States must stand together," he told Turkish MPs in parliament.

The eight months since have been a mixed bag. Yes, Turkey has agreed to diplomatic normalization with neighbor and historic foe Armenia, and announced plans to end a two-decade war against Kurdish rebels that threatens to spill over into Iraq. But both developments have yet to be formalized. And Ankara has stirred hostility against Israel, a traditional ally, and its pursuit of closer commercial and political ties with the Muslim world, including Iran, has raised fears of a drift eastwards.
(See the top 10 players in Iran's power struggle.)


That trend is sure to be the undertone during discussions between Obama and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, when the two leaders meet in Washington to discuss a high-stakes list of concerns topped by Afghanistan and Iran. "The U.S. side needs to impress diplomatically on Prime Minister Erdogan how much his anti-Western populist rhetoric damages Turkey's position with its key partners and pro-Turkey constituencies in Washington and Brussels," analyst Hugh Pope wrote in a recent paper for the Transatlantic Academy.

Before leaving for the U.S, Erdogan said Turkey was already "doing what it can" in Afghanistan, suggesting the Turks will resist Obama's call to commit more troops. Turkey has 1,750 soldiers in the Hindu Kush on a strictly humanitarian, noncombat mission that includes building roads and schools and patrolling Kabul. Ankara is wary of fighting fellow Muslims in a region with which it also has historic ties. "A midway solution could be for Turkey to increase its troops but not engage in warfare in southern provinces like Kandahar and Helmand," says Cengiz Candar, a commentator for the Radikal newspaper.
(See pictures of Obama in Turkey.)

There are also differences over how to deal with Iran's nuclear program. Although Turkish diplomats insist that Ankara is opposed to any development of nuclear weapons in neighboring Iran, Erdogan has in recent months strengthened diplomatic and trade ties with Tehran, which is a key gas supplier to Turkey. The Turks abstained last month in a U.N. vote condemning Iran's nuclear activities, despite China and Russia's support for it. Erdogan has also criticized Western leaders for turning a blind eye to Israel, widely seen as the Middle East's only nuclear power — albeit an undeclared one. Turkey's relations with Israel soured during Israel's invasion of Gaza last year. At a Davos forum in January, an irate Erdogan accused Israeli President Shimon Peres of "murdering children" and stormed out. The two countries, historically strong strategic allies, have since lurched from one crisis to another.

Despite the potential for disagreements, the Obama Administration considers Turkey a crucial ally in a region riddled with conflict. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton played a key role in ensuring a last-minute deal in August between Turkey and Armenia aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations and eventually opening their long-closed border. That agreement is one of the U.S. Administration's chief foreign policy successes to date. Obama, who shied away from a campaign pledge to recognize the 1915 mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman soldiers as genocide in favor of supporting a bilateral peace process, will press Erdogan to ratify the deal in parliament as soon as possible.
(Read "Friends No More? Why Turkey and Israel Have Fallen Out.")

The two are also likely to discuss Turkey's decades-old bid to become part of the European Union, an ambition that Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government appears to have placed on the back burner. The Prime Minister and his ministers have racked up dozens of visits to the Middle East and gulf this year, shoring up trade deals and political ties. They have visited Brussels many fewer times. In part, this is Europe's fault. Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Nicholas Sarkozy have made little secret of their distaste for Turkey's eventual membership. "The U.S. must ... convince Erdogan that explicitly resurrecting the E.U. goal is vital, and that recent E.U. coldness towards Turkey is not forever," says Pope. That sentiment would mean more if it came from Europe.

Source:time.com/

Gunmen kill seven soldiers in northern Turkey

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Unidentified gunmen killed at least seven soldiers in an attack in northern Turkey, state-run news agency Anatolian reported on Monday, citing provincial officials.
The gunmen targeted a vehicle carrying the soldiers in Tokat province's Resadiye district, television channels reported. Other soldiers were reported to have been wounded.
It was the worst attack since Kurdish militants killed 10 soldiers with a remote-controlled bomb in southeast Turkey in April. It came as Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan prepared to meet President Barack Obama in Washington for talks that were likely to include government moves to improve Kurdish rights.
A court is expected to hear a case in the coming days on whether the largest pro-Kurdish political party, the Democratic Society Party, should be shut down.
In the past, the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has carried out attacks on military targets. The PKK mostly operates in the primarily Kurdish southeast, where one man was killed during clashes between police and protesters on Sunday.
Attacks in the north are not unheard of, but are rare. (Reporting by Thomas Grove; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Mark Trevelyan)

Source:swissinfo.ch/