Turkey 15/7/16

[rowan]

Business is business . . .

Britain has agreed a £100m defence deal to help develop fighter jets for the Turkish air force.
The announcement came as UK Prime Minister Theresa May met the Turkish president and prime minister in Ankara.
Mrs May said the defence agreement "underlines once again that Britain is a great, global, trading nation".
She said the UK would enhance trade relations with Turkey, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would increase trade to $20bn (£16bn).
The defence agreement between BAE Systems and Turkish Aerospace Industries is for the Turkish Fighter Programme.
The deal would pave the way for a deeper defence partnership and help to safeguard key roles at BAE Systems, the announcement says.
Mrs May said: "It marks the start of a new and deeper trading relationship with Turkey and will potentially secure British and Turkish jobs and prosperity for decades to come."

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-38779669?pos ... 503438#_=_

[rowan]

A growing number of immigrants from the Turkic regions of Central Asia have now been rounded up in relation to the Reina night club attack, and while the official line is that they are all die-hard ISIS terrorists, word on the street here is that they may have actully been part of a disgruntled drug ring that had a major beef with people connected to the club. Interesting theory. Personally I can't see why ISIS should be so hell-bent on the destruction of Turkey; and would ISIS really select Central Asian Turkmen as the hitmen? & then there is the final anomaly that the hitmen made no attempt to flee Istanbul - let alone Turkey. Don't they usually martyr themselves?

[rowan]

Right now the 3 major parties are in full swing campaigning for and against changes to the constitution that would greatly enhance the powers of the president. Basically Erodgan, who has already been in power for 15 years, first as PM and for the past two as president, would be given cart blanche to do as he pleases for another 12 years or so - which is why his ruling AKP party is pushing it. They have support from the right-wing nationalist MHP party but the main opposition, CHP, is dead set against it. The other major party, which is also against it, HDP, isn't having much say in matters these days, despite gaining the threshold for direct representation iin government during the most recent elections, as the AKP subsequently threw all their leaders into prison for a few hundred years or so. They can do that, since we're still technically under emergency law here in the wake of the so-called "coup attempt" which was reported to have occurred in the middle of last year. So this news comes as no surprise to anybody ...

The number of arrested and convicted individuals have risen by 232 percent in Turkey in the last 15 years, while the population increased only by 13.8 percent, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said in a communique it released to lay out human rights violations committed under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) since it came to power in 2002, daily Cumhuriyet reported on Feb. 12

The communique prepared by party members and led by Zeynep Altıok, the party’s Human and Nature Rights representative and deputy chair, laid out compiled numerical data on human rights violations that occurred in various fields under the 12-year rule.

The number of arrested and convicted individuals in jail was 59,429 when the AKP took office. In 2016, the number rose to 197,297, showing a 232 percent hike, which is disproportionate to the 13.8 rise in population, according to the data.

Between 2010 and 2015, the number of unsolved murders was 432, of which 21 parliamentary inquiries about them were sent to probe, but had been dropped after AKP deputies disapproved to follow the cases.

During the five years, 1,299 people had been convicted without fair trial, the report said, adding that according to the Rule of Law Index 2016 results, Turkey ranked 99th among 113 countries. Turkey was also ranked sixth among countries that had the least control over their governments. Meanwhile, Turkey in 2015 topped a list of European countries that violated the European Convention on Human Rights, with 20 violations to the right to fair trial and 28 violations of freedom of expression.

The number of people probed for insulting the president was also a worrying issue, according to the CHP. The number of dossiers opened for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan skyrocketed to 1845 when compared with cases for former presidents Abdullah Gül and Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who respectively had 139 and 26 cases only.

The CHP also said the state of press freedom was concerning and appalling, noting that between 2002 and 2015, there were 184 journalists arrested, while 150 journalists in total were arrested since July 27, 2016. According to World Press Freedom Index, Turkey ranked 151st among 180 countries, and in a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, it appeared as the top country in the world with the highest number of journalists in jail. During the 15-year AKP rule, some 112,024 websites were shut down, categorizing Turkey as “not free” in internet freedom.

The report also shed light on the number of dismissed public officials and academics as part of state of emergency decree laws that were issued after the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, saying that the number was more than those dismissed during the September 12, 1980 military coup in Turkey. It added that only in 161 days, 30,470 teachers, 3,957 academics, and 3,456 judges and prosecutors had been dismissed.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/main-o ... sCatID=339

[rowan]

The other major party, which is also against it, HDP, isn't having much say in matters these days, despite gaining the threshold for direct representation iin government during the most recent elections, as the AKP subsequently threw all their leaders into prison for a few hundred years or so.

That's the Kurdish party, btw. Kurds are regarded as the indigenous peoples of south-east Turkey.

[rowan]

& in pushing for the Yes vote the latest tack by the ruling party has been to claim the HDP are tied to the PKK militant group, who Turkey considers terrorists, and since the HDP is against the changes to the constitution anyone who votes No will therefore be supporting the terrorists. This message, of course, is roared with thunderous self-righteousness directly into our homes through our television brainwashing machines.

[rowan]

This comes as no surprise to anyone:




Around 70 percent of Turkish citizens have never participated in any culture or arts event in their lives, according to a new report from the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) based on data from research firms GfK and Ipsos.

According to the Ipsos 2016 “Understanding Turkey Guide,” 49 percent of Turkish people have never been to the cinema, 66 percent have never been to a concert, theater or opera events, and 39 percent have never read a book.

The study showed that some 85 percent of respondents said their favorite culture/arts activity is “watching TV,” while 47 percent of people said they do not read any magazines, while almost 90 percent said they have never been to a hobby or interest course in their lives.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/70-per ... sCatID=385

[rowan]

The other major party, which is also against it, HDP, isn't having much say in matters these days, despite gaining the threshold for direct representation iin government during the most recent elections, as the AKP subsequently threw all their leaders into prison for a few hundred years or so.

That's the Kurdish party, btw. Kurds are regarded as the indigenous peoples of south-east Turkey.

Amazing that the Western media appears to have completely ignored this. The most honest and charistmatic politician in the country is sitting in prison basically because of his ethnicity - after gaining the threshhold required for direct representation in government during last year's elections. There is no evidence against him. He has not been given a trial. His political immunity has been violated. & all this has been done under the State of Emergency which has remained in place since last year's horribly bungled so-called "coup attempt." Meanwhile the president appears set to succeed with his relentless drive to strengthen the powers of the presidency. Never mind the human rights violations, the prisons full of teachers and journalists, the dire state of the economy, and the conflicts Turkey now has with practically all of its neighbors. Turkey is once again a trusted friend and staunch ally of the West, & that's all that matters...

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/demirt ... sCatID=339

[rowan]

It had to come - Erdogan, the movie

[rowan]

Strangely our glorious leader gave a lengthy and highly energized victory speech yesterday, like an Ottoman conquerer, while images were beamed in of Turkish flag-waving Syrian locals chanting his name...

Security sources in Syria say more than 40 people including 35 civilians have been killed by an ISIL car bomb near al-Bab.

Many others are said to have been wounded in the attack, which happened at a checkpoint controlled by Turkey-backed rebels in the village of Sousian.

On Thursday the rebels drove the self-styled Islamic State from its last significant stronghold, and the nearby towns of Qabasin and al-Bezah in the north, after weeks of fighting.

http://www.euronews.com/2017/02/24/syri ... lls-dozens

Also remains to be seen whether Turkey, never invited into Syria in the first place, is willing to hand this territory back while Assad remains in power, given our peace-loving democratic government's insistence he be removed because our glorious leader says so...

[rowan]

Welcome to the jungle...

[rowan]

Meanwhile, as the ruling party and right-wing nationalists push for changes to the constitution which will pave the way for one man rule, Turkey is removing the theory of evolution from the school curriculum, thus joining Saudi Arabia as the only country in the world which does not teach this. Also, 40,000 women have left the work force over the past year.

Turkey is currently in conflict with Greece after alleged "coup" plotters escaped there and have not been handed over (and Turkish soldiers visited the disputed Kardak Islands in retaliation), as well as Germany after arresting a journalist for 'spreading terrorist propaganda' (ie writing about the Kurdish problem). They have also been criticizing Armenia over the conflict with Azerbaijan, and Austria for not allowing their one-man-rule campaign to operate there. In Turkey this campaign now dominates the TV news channels with lengthy speeches daily.

[rowan]

Meanwhile, as the ruling party and right-wing nationalists push for changes to the constitution which will pave the way for one man rule, Turkey is removing the theory of evolution from the school curriculum, thus joining Saudi Arabia as the only country in the world which does not teach this. Also, 40,000 women have left the work force over the past year.

Turkey is currently in conflict with Greece after alleged "coup" plotters escaped there and have not been handed over (and Turkish soldiers visited the disputed Kardak Islands in retaliation), as well as Germany after arresting a journalist for 'spreading terrorist propaganda' (ie writing about the Kurdish problem). They have also been criticizing Armenia over the conflict with Azerbaijan, and Austria for not allowing their one-man-rule campaign to operate there. In Turkey this campaign now dominates the TV news channels with lengthy speeches daily.

Yes, the latter situation is rapidly deteriorating with Erdogan calling the Germans 'Nazis' for not allowing the campaign for one-man-rule to operate there either. This is the same Erdogan who was so upset about being called a goat-shagger by a German poet that he took legal action and forced the German government to ban the poem. But no problem with him calling the Germans Nazis, apparently Meanwhile, the Dutch have taken the same stance as Austria and Germany on the issue.

So the president and his PM sidekick are on TV for hours every single day roaring ferociously to their flag-waving supporters about how angry they are with everybody else in the world. Aside from the above mentioned conflicts, they're now also angry with their masters in Washington for criticizing the mass incarcerations which have occured since last year's alleged coup attempt. Meanwhile, it's been reported soldiers apparently burned memory disks at military HQ on the night in question so that nobody would ever know what actually happened...

http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la- ... story.html

[rowan]

“I’m against the invasion into Syria! Is this another game of the West? These are our children, our boys that are dying there. These are innocent children of Syria that are being blown to pieces. Why do Syrian people have to run to Europe; tell me why? Why do they have to humiliate themselves, to suffer? Syria used to be rich. Those people are even more cultured than we are, more cultured than the West. How did this conflict begin?”

http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/03/06/ ... and-walls/

[Lord Lucan]

Meanwhile, as the ruling party and right-wing nationalists push for changes to the constitution which will pave the way for one man rule, Turkey is removing the theory of evolution from the school curriculum, thus joining Saudi Arabia as the only country in the world which does not teach this. Also, 40,000 women have left the work force over the past year.

Turkey is currently in conflict with Greece after alleged "coup" plotters escaped there and have not been handed over (and Turkish soldiers visited the disputed Kardak Islands in retaliation), as well as Germany after arresting a journalist for 'spreading terrorist propaganda' (ie writing about the Kurdish problem). They have also been criticizing Armenia over the conflict with Azerbaijan, and Austria for not allowing their one-man-rule campaign to operate there. In Turkey this campaign now dominates the TV news channels with lengthy speeches daily.

Great, at least they are doing something right.
I have a question for you evolutionist wallahs, if humans are supposed to have evolved from apes, how come there are still apes?? why didn't they evolve into humans as well, were they just unlucky or what, discuss?

[rowan]

Meanwhile, as the ruling party and right-wing nationalists push for changes to the constitution which will pave the way for one man rule, Turkey is removing the theory of evolution from the school curriculum, thus joining Saudi Arabia as the only country in the world which does not teach this. Also, 40,000 women have left the work force over the past year.

Turkey is currently in conflict with Greece after alleged "coup" plotters escaped there and have not been handed over (and Turkish soldiers visited the disputed Kardak Islands in retaliation), as well as Germany after arresting a journalist for 'spreading terrorist propaganda' (ie writing about the Kurdish problem). They have also been criticizing Armenia over the conflict with Azerbaijan, and Austria for not allowing their one-man-rule campaign to operate there. In Turkey this campaign now dominates the TV news channels with lengthy speeches daily.

Great, at least they are doing something right.
I have a question for you evolutionist wallahs, if humans are supposed to have evolved from apes, how come there are still apes?? why didn't they evolve into humans as well, were they just unlucky or what, discuss?

I'd suggest you have a look at the 6th Mass Extinction thread, where this topic has been discussed. Basically, there were other varieties of primitive man - but we wiped out the competition, as is our nature. Secondly, there are apes which did not evolve into man, just as there are wolves that did not evolve into dogs and boars that did not evolve into pigs, and so on. If the animal is in harmony with its habitat, there is probably no reason to evolve further.

What's your view then? The big guy in the sky (which we've figured out is an optical illusion) created man out of dust, in his own image, a few thousand years ago, plucked out one of his ribs to make a female of the species so they could procreate, though the object of this temptation was evil, leaving man in an eternal quandary to which he has not yet figured out the answer?

[rowan]

For all the tragicomedy of Turkey's current political situation, Istanbul is nonetheless a great city to live in, and there are plenty of exciting developments going on all over the city, mostly in terms of improving public transportation. This one, for example, is taking place in my neighbourhood. The stadium in the picture belongs to the Besiktas football team: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/seagul ... sCatID=341

[rowan]

Charming:

A mob illegally entered the Bilgi University campus in central Istanbul to attack students marking International Women’s Day on March 8.

The university confirmed in a statement that a group of 15 to 20 jumped over the gates of the santralistanbul campus to attack the students, chanting “Allahu akbar” (God is great).

A number of the students and security officers on campus were beaten by the mob, with one student injured, the statement added.

Six of the attackers were detained by police who arrived at the scene.

The university stated that it has launched legal action against the attackers and initiated a disciplinary process for students who joined the attackers.


http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/group- ... sCatID=509

[rowan]

So we can anticipate a NATO invasion pretty soon then...

Oh, wait, Turkey is Nato

The United Nations has accused Turkey of ‘serious’ human rights violations during operations against Kurdish separatists in the south-east of the country.

The UN says up to half a million people were displaced and at least 2000 people killed from July 2015.

The town of Cizre is said to have seen destruction on a massive scale.

Numerous disappearances and instances of torture were also documented in a report released by the UN human rights office on Friday.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesman Rupert Colville said:“It appears that not a single suspect was apprehended and not a single individual was prosecuted for violations that occurred during this period. The government of Turkey has repeatedly failed to grant us access but has nevertheless contested the veracity of the very serious allegations made in this report.”

The surge in violence is said to have occured after a ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK fell apart. Ankara did not immediately comment on the UN’s findings.

In early 2016, nearly 200 people were trapped for weeks in basements without food, water or medical help before they were killed in fire by shelling, the report said.

http://www.euronews.com/app_prod_com.ph ... dish-south

[rowan]

Who thinks they're a super power then ...

The Dutch government has withdrawn landing permission for the Turkish foreign minister's aircraft, drawing the ire of the Turkish president in a dispute over campaigning for an upcoming Turkish referendum.

The Dutch government on Saturday said in a statement it had withdrawn the permission because of "risks to public order and security" caused by the proposed visit of Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Rotterdam.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised retaliation against Dutch diplomatic flights.

"You can stop our foreign minister's plane all you want, let's see how your planes will come to Turkey from now on," Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul.

"They do not know politics or international diplomacy," said Erdogan and added, "these Nazi remnants, they are fascists" with the crowds booing.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/n ... 43825.html