Mediaboss Marketing

ANKARA Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the European Union had presented Turkey with a new 12-month timetable for renewing their relations, the Hurriyet daily said on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters on the return flight from this week's NATO summit in Brussels, Erdogan was cited by Hurriyet as saying that during the summit, Turkey and the EU had agreed on giving a new impetus to relations and added Turkey's foreign and EU affairs ministries would work towards the timetable.

Turkey's relations with the European Union, particularly Germany, have deteriorated sharply after a series of diplomatic rows.

Erdogan was quoted as saying he had put the issue of the visa liberalization on the agenda during meetings with EU officials, and that Turkish and EU officials would work together on the issue.

Turkey agreed in early 2016 to help curb a flood of migrants into Europe in return for visa-free travel for Turks to Europe and 3 billion euros ($3.35 billion) in EU financial aid. But Brussels first wants Ankara to modify anti-terrorism laws that it says are too broad.

Most recently, Turkey has expressed anger that Germany is granting asylum to Turks, more than 400 of them with diplomatic passports and government working permits, accused of participating in a failed coup in July. The failed putsch prompted a purge of the Turkish military, judiciary and civil service.

Western countries have criticized Turkey for what they say is the heavy-handed nature of the clamp-down following the coup attempt, and for the behavior of Turkish politicians while visiting their countries.

Turkey this month blocked German lawmakers from visiting the troops at Turkey's Incirlik air base, prompting Berlin to say it may consider moving the troops. Some 250 German troops are stationed at Incirlik, where they contribute to the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State.

Erdogan said Turkey would say "goodbye" if Germany decided to withdraw its troops from Incirlik, adding Ankara had not received any sign from Berlin on the possible withdrawal of troops stationed at the base in southern Turkey.

At their meeting in Brussels, Erdogan told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that a parliamentary delegation would be allowed to visit Incirlik if the German foreign minister presented a list of names to Turkey beforehand.

"There can be some among German lawmakers who openly support terrorists," Erdogan was quoted as saying.

The row has placed Europe in an awkward position with Turkey, which has seen its decades-old bid to join the bloc move at snail's pace due to concerns over its human rights record, ethnically-split Cyprus, and reluctance among some European countries to admit a largely Muslim nation.

Erdogan has suggested Turkey could hold a referendum on continuing EU accession talks, and possibly another on reinstating the death penalty. Restoring capital punishment, which Turkey abolished over a decade ago, would all but end Turkey's bid to join the EU.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Toby Chopra)

BERLIN German Chancellor Angela Merkel underlined her doubts about the reliability of the United States as an ally on Monday but said she was a "convinced trans-Atlanticist", fine-tuning her message after surprising Washington with her frankness a day earlier.

WASHINGTON The Trump administration is nearing completion of a policy review to determine how far it goes in rolling back former President Barack Obamas engagement with Cuba and could make an announcement next month, according to current and former U.S. officials and people familiar with the discussions.

BAGHDAD Two car bombs killed at least 20 people in Baghdad and wounded about 80 others early on Tuesday, security sources said, one targeting the late-night crowds typical of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan who shop and eat ahead of the next day's fast.

Read more from the original source:
Erdogan says EU presented Turkey with new 12-month diplomatic ...

ANKARA Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the European Union had presented Turkey with a new 12-month timetable for renewing their relations, the Hurriyet daily said on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters on the return flight from this week's NATO summit in Brussels, Erdogan was cited by Hurriyet as saying that during the summit, Turkey and the EU had agreed on giving a new impetus to relations and added Turkey's foreign and EU affairs ministries would work towards the timetable.

Turkey's relations with the European Union, particularly Germany, have deteriorated sharply after a series of diplomatic rows.

Erdogan was quoted as saying he had put the issue of the visa liberalization on the agenda during meetings with EU officials, and that Turkish and EU officials would work together on the issue.

Turkey agreed in early 2016 to help curb a flood of migrants into Europe in return for visa-free travel for Turks to Europe and 3 billion euros ($3.35 billion) in EU financial aid. But Brussels first wants Ankara to modify anti-terrorism laws that it says are too broad.

Most recently, Turkey has expressed anger that Germany is granting asylum to Turks, more than 400 of them with diplomatic passports and government working permits, accused of participating in a failed coup in July. The failed putsch prompted a purge of the Turkish military, judiciary and civil service.

Western countries have criticized Turkey for what they say is the heavy-handed nature of the clamp-down following the coup attempt, and for the behavior of Turkish politicians while visiting their countries.

Turkey this month blocked German lawmakers from visiting the troops at Turkey's Incirlik air base, prompting Berlin to say it may consider moving the troops. Some 250 German troops are stationed at Incirlik, where they contribute to the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State.

Erdogan said Turkey would say "goodbye" if Germany decided to withdraw its troops from Incirlik, adding Ankara had not received any sign from Berlin on the possible withdrawal of troops stationed at the base in southern Turkey.

At their meeting in Brussels, Erdogan told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that a parliamentary delegation would be allowed to visit Incirlik if the German foreign minister presented a list of names to Turkey beforehand.

"There can be some among German lawmakers who openly support terrorists," Erdogan was quoted as saying.

The row has placed Europe in an awkward position with Turkey, which has seen its decades-old bid to join the bloc move at snail's pace due to concerns over its human rights record, ethnically-split Cyprus, and reluctance among some European countries to admit a largely Muslim nation.

Erdogan has suggested Turkey could hold a referendum on continuing EU accession talks, and possibly another on reinstating the death penalty. Restoring capital punishment, which Turkey abolished over a decade ago, would all but end Turkey's bid to join the EU.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Toby Chopra)

MANCHESTER, England Members of Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi's network are still potentially at large, British interior minister Amber Rudd said on Sunday, after the terrorism threat level was lowered due to significant progress in the investigation.

BERLIN Germany, whose relations with Turkey have been strained by a series of rows, will decide within two weeks whether to withdraw troops deployed at Turkey's Incirlik air force base, a German Foreign Ministry official said on Sunday.

MILAN Former prime minister Matteo Renzi suggested on Sunday that Italy's next election be held at the same time as Germany's, saying this made sense "from a European perspective".

See the original post here:
Erdogan says EU presented Turkey with new 12-month diplomatic timetable: Hurriyet - Reuters

Undoubtedly a cruel authoritarian with a badly trimmed moustache, a forehead wider than all of Anatolia, and a vague resemblance to Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, Erdoan, the President of Turkey, is slowly dragging his own country through the dirt. That is, more acutely worded, Erdoan, a man who will never be the man his mother is, whose status as a lazy canine animal is located somewhere in the middle of his name, is turning the wonderful nation of Turkey inside out, and crushing the ones who are trying to stop him.

Given that I am no Jan Bhmermann, a German satirist whose mocking of the Turkish President faced direct criticism from Chancellor Merkel at the behest of Erdoan, I will move onto discussing exactly why Erdoan is the slime of Turkey. Last week, a video shot in front of the Turkish American embassy showed US police struggling to protect protesters, and two Turkish bodyguards being briefly detained after an incident in which they violently assaulted protesters. A few days later, a much more revealing video showed clearly Erdoan mouthing orders for the assault to one of his henchman out of his car, who then passed it down the line and engaged in the quelling seconds later.

That incident wasnt the first during an Erdoan visit. Last year a fight erupted outside a nuclear security summit in Washington attended by Erdoan. Since then, American senators have threatened lawsuits if the bodyguards responsible were not properly prosecuted. In a nation where as many as 800 families of the deceased from September 11 pursued lawsuits against the entire nation of Saudi Arabia, such a threat should not be taken lightly. In addition, Lindsey Graham threatened potential implications for assistance to Turkey if the bodyguards were not properly prosecuted. In the event, the two detained were set free and returned to Turkey. The behaviour of Erdoans thugs directly, and quite obviously, breach American laws protecting free speech and the right to assemble.

Instead of delivering a rationally formed apology, the Turkish response has been, instead, to employ a strange gaslighting policy, similar to a physically abusive husband accused of domestic violence. Instead of apologising for what even an infant could make out to be an ordered attack, Turkey summoned the American ambassador on Monday to protest what it called aggressive and unprofessional actions by American security personnel. Turkey didnt specify the actions by US security officials it deemed inappropriate. The statement was interpreted as a much needed reaction to the public and national reaction of the videos spreading online, but was horribly done and thus merely resulted in another wave of criticism.

Related Human rights, not financial gain

Turkeys reputation is being destroyed slowly but surely by Erdoan. The country has long been considered by some to be part of Europe, given its geographical location in Eastern Thrace and continental Europe. Formerly known under the auspices of the Ottoman Empire as The Sick Man of Europe, it was a man of Europe none the less. Turkey was one of the fi rst members of the Council of Europe in 1949, and its current position as a member of NATO has marked it as one of the few nations that was at once part of the western and middle eastern international community. Turkeys ability to avoid being partitioned among western powers and to form its own sovereign nation on its own terms, unlike the rest of the Middle East, was not only admirable, but marked a future of social and economic progression. Guided by the policies of Ataturk, Turkey joined the international community gracefully. Now, while the attacks on protesters by Erdogans thugs might seem like an isolated incident, the perception of Turkey in the international community is shifting, to a country that is determined to shut down and eliminate freedom of speech within its borders. Leaders like Erdogan panhandle the idea of an obtusely strong executive, exclaiming admiration for absolutist dictators of the past.

Remember this is a man who, at a televised press conference, stated that he believed a presidential system was possible in a unitary state, and cited Nazi Germany as an empirical example for his proposition. And where are we now? Last month the disastrous constitutional referendum, which faced electoral fraud of astounding proportions, cemented Erdoans iron grip and established the presidential system that he was daydreaming about in the press conference. I often urge people to avoid sliding into marking everything they disagree with as literally Hitler. But one should often how far the comparison is required to go until a logical equivalence is actually reached, as Erdoan continues to actively deny the Armenian genocide, censor and jail journalists en masse, and violently crack down on opposition movements.

Related Should subfusc remain compulsory?

Unfortunately, Erdoans influence in Turkey has its very real effects on the West, not just by nature of geographical proximity, but also by a disturbing cultural effect. There is an increasing fetishisation of autocrats like Erdoan and Putin in the West, which is reflected in a growing support for power consolidating bureaucrats masquerading as benevolent dictators. In Hilary Term, the former 13-year editor of The Economist, Bill Emmott, delivered a speech on his new book, The Fate of the West, in which he discussed a number of issues facing western democracies, and democracy in general. He mused on the toxic combination of self-proclaimed admiration for leaders like Putin by western politicians, and the simultaneous McCarthyist fear mongering of the Russian state. When Erdoan was questioned about the previous comment he made in admiration of the Third Reich, he stated that he was simply admiring the strong executive of the Nazi regime. So, in this country, when the words strong and stable seem to have such great effect, we should only naturally be disturbed.

Erdoan is coming very close to single-handedly destroying the legacy of Ataturk and the status of a secular and democratic Turkey. Sozcu, a Turkish opposition newspaper and staunch supporter of the legacy of Ataturk, published their most recent issue completely blank, citing a mixture of protest and a genuine inability to publish more material following the recent arrest. Various websites continue to face censorship, while according to the highly respected organization Reporters Without Borders it is not China, but Turkey, that is the worlds biggest prison for journalists. To this degree, I stand firmly for the freedom of expression of Turkish journalists, and violently condemn the actions of the slime of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoan.

View post:
Recep Tayyip Erdoan, the slime of Turkey - Cherwell Online

Turkeys Galatasaray said Saturday it would rename its stadium after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans call for the removal of the word arena from sports stadia, state media reported.

The board of directors took the decision to change the stadiums name after the president made the call on this issue, club chairman Dursun Ozbek said, quoted by state-run news agency Anadolu.

The Turkish football teams venue will be called Turk Telekom Stadium instead of Turk Telekom Arena from Monday, according to Hurriyet daily.

Erdogan said Friday he was against the use of the word arena and had given instructions for their removal from stadia to Sports Minister Akif Cagatay Kilic.

Of course you know what they used to do in arenas in the past? They would let people be shred to pieces.

He claimed it was a term foreign to Turkish: What does arena mean? We dont have such a thing in our language.

Several stadia in Turkey have the word arena in their title including Istanbul team Fenerbahces basketball venue, home of last weekends EuroLeague champions, called the Ulker Sports Arena.

Meanwhile Istanbul team Besiktas opened its over 40,000 capacity waterfront Vodafone Arena stadium in April last year.

Turk Telekom chief executive Paul Doany welcomed Galatasarays move, saying he supported Erdogans call for the arena names changes.

We are in agreement with Galatasarays name change from Turk Telekom Arena to Turk Telekom Stadium. We have begun work, Doany said.

The sports ministry issued a warning to provincial governors to remove the word arena from stadia across Turkey, Anadolu reported.

Go here to see the original:
Galatasaray to rename stadium after Erdogan call - Vanguard

But the constitutional changes scrapped that rule, and on Sunday, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) returned the reins to Erdogan in a extraordinary Congress in Ankara.

Erdogan could potentially remain president until 2029 under the country's new political structure.

The President appeared to have come to the Congress with the country's next elections in mind, reminding his supporters that "2019 is upon us."

"We will have local elections in March 2019, and general elections and presidential elections in November 2019. We shall not stop. We shall work hard and maintain our humbleness," he said Sunday. Some 80,000 supporters showed up to the Congress, according to media reports.

Erodgan co-founded the AKP in 2001, and the political powerhouse has ruled the country since its 2002 election win. Resuming leadership of the party would put Erdogan in control of both the executive branch of government and the largest party in Parliament.

It will also mean he can appoint his loyalists to more key posts.

Turkey's president denies dictator charges 01:51

The referendum, brought forward by the AKP, was widely condemned by European leaders and rights groups, who saw it as a blatant power grab by a leader showing increasing dictatorial tendencies.

Following an attempted military coup last year, Erodgan has led an ongoing purge that has gutted public institutions and crushed his political opponents. More than 100,000 people have been either jailed, arrested or suspended from their jobs.

He has been able to use heavier-handed tactics under the country's state of emergency, which was declared following the coup attempt and extended several times. On Sunday, Erdogan said that he had no plans to end it.

"We will end it when peace and safety and security is restored. Why should we end it? Schools are open. Factories are running. Everything is going on as normal," he said.

The tentacles of Erdogan's crackdown have also reached the country's universities and media organizations, once bastions of free thought and expression in Turkey. Academics and journalists considered critics of the government have been imprisoned for months without trial.

Erdogan also appears to have taken this brutality to the United States, where men who appeared to be his bodyguards were captured on a video by Voice of America on Tuesday outside the Turkish ambassador's home pushing and repeatedly kicking anti-Erdogan protestors.

Two law enforcement officials confirmed to CNN that Turkish security officials were involved in the bloody brawl.

It is not the first time members of Erdogan's entourage have been filmed fighting in public.

A little more than a year ago in the same city, journalists accused members of Erdogan's security detail of manhandling them and cursing them at a speech the Turkish president gave at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

CNN's Joseph Netto, Elise Labott, Zachary Cohen, Paul P. Murphy and Peter Morris contributed to this report.

Go here to read the rest:
Erdogan returns as chief of Turkey's ruling party - CNN