Turkish PM: Alevi places of worship to get legal

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TURKEY RUNS OCTOBER CURRENT
ACCOUNT DEFICIT OF $133M
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Turkey ran a current account deficit of $133 million in October 2015, down from $2.3 billion in the same month of
the previous year, according to a report from the Central
Bank of the Republic of Turkey released on Thursday.
“The current account deficit was at $133 million, indicating
a narrowing of $2,176 million from October of the previous year, the report said. This brought the 12-month rolling
deficit to $38,109 million,” the report said.
The sharp narrowing came after a current account surplus
of $95 million was run in September. >>ECONOMY
Historians have discovered what they believe to be the
shrine and mosque where the internal remains of Suleiman the Magnificent were interred in 1566.
A joint Turkish-Hungarian team uncovered structures in
southern Hungary where Suleiman’s organs were buried
following his death during a Balkans campaign.
The site near Szigetvar, which was under siege by Suleiman’s Ottoman army when he died, includes a “sultan-like
structure”, researchers said at... >> CULTURE ART
Turkish PM: Alevi places of
worship to get legal status
Friday December 11, 2015
Ahmet Davutoglu also vows to revise legislation left
over from coup periods
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said that cemevis -- Alevi places of
worship -- will be granted legal status.
This new status for Alevi religious buildings is just one part of 64th government’s
action plan, presented in the Turkish capital Ankara by Davutoglu on Thursday.
The exact size of the Alevi population in Turkey is not known, but they constitute
the second-largest religious community in the country after Sunni Muslims.
Davutoglu said that the legislation remaining form Turkey’s coup periods will be
revised and that anti-democratic provisions would be removed.
Turkey to raise minimum wage by 30 percent: Turkish PM
The action plan also includes a host of economic reforms and measures. Davutoglu
revealed that the minimum wage in Turkey is to be increased to 1,300 Turkish liras
per month ($446)
The government will also provide help to employers who must adopt the wage
hike. Davotoglu promised action to keep Turkish firms competitive, with particular help to reduce the burden on small- and medium-sized enterprises.
He vowed that the government would implement promises made to citizens ahead
of the Nov.1 general election “within three months”. >MORE DETAILS
Turkey in Iraq to promote stability,
Davutoglu says
Prime minister says Turkey does not ‘want to be neighbors with Daesh’
Turkey’s presence in Iraq is to promote
stability in the region, Prime Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu said late Wednesday.
“Our existence in Iraq is to ensure the
stability of the region because we do
not want to be neighbors with Daesh,”
Davutoglu said. “Therefore, we will
support both Iraq and the Kurdish
region on all terms.”
His remarks came as the president
of Iraq’s Kurdish region, Massoud
Barzani, paid an official visit to Ankara
to discuss the fight against terrorism.
During a meeting with President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the two leaders stressed the significance of cooperation, presidential sources said.
Barzani’s visit came amid a diplomatic row with Baghdad over Turkish
troops based near Mosul in northern
Iraq, where they are training Kurdish
peshmerga fighters.
Davutoglu announced that the head of
the National Intelligence Organization
Hakan Fidan and Foreign Ministry
Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu
would travel to Baghdad on Thursday.
>MORE DETAILS
US lawsuit filed against Gulen
Pennsylvania court receives legal complaints relating to US-based
Turkish preacher Fetullah Gulen
U.S. lawyers on Wednesday said they
have filed a lawsuit against a Turkish
cleric for human rights violations.
Attorney Robert Amsterdam said the
case was filed Dec. 7 in a Pennsylvania
district court on behalf of three
plaintiffs.
The lawsuit requests a jury trial for
U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen for
directing his followers in Turkey “to
launch a targeted persecution against a
different religious group in Turkey that
resulted in the arbitrary and prolonged
detention of plaintiffs, along with dozens other members of their religious group”.
Another lawyer, Patrick Egan, told
reporters that the targeted group is led
by Mehmet Dogan and one that disagrees with Gulen’s teachings.
The plaintiffs include Bunyamin Ates,
Turgut Yildirim and Murat Ozturk and
will be represented by the law firms
of Amsterdam & Partners and, Fox
Rothschild.
The suit asks the court to rule for “compensatory damages in an amount to be
determined at trial, interest, costs, attorney’s fees, punitive damages”.
It was filed against Gulen and 50 unidentified followers of the cleric who
Egan said are involved in criminal
action but whose true identities are not
currently known or sufficient information
about exists to include in the complaint.
Accusations against Gulen and his network number six counts, including false
accusations, detention, false imprisonment, and civil conspiracy in Turkey.
The claims are brought under the U.S.
Alien Tort Statute that allows foreign
citizens to seek remedies in American
courts for human-rights violations
committed outside the U.S.
Egan said his firm obtained evidence
for the case through interviews with the
plaintiffs and by other probes.
The complaint was brought forth in the
middle district of Pennsylvania where
Gulen currently resides.
Egan believes the legal action “will
hopefully use the United States courts
to have a justice resolution and a civil
resolution in this matter”.
The Gulen network was designated
a terrorist organization by Turkey in
2014 after the organization was found
to be spying on classified state data.
As Turkish prosecutors completed an
indictment against the organization
in October, the government hired
UK-based law firm Amsterdam &
Partners to assist in a global investigation that would be empowered to requested
Gulen’s extradition from the U.S.
Amsterdam, a co-founder the law firm
bearing his name, noted that the suit
should “resonate with those in Turkey
because this case follows a long line of
Turkish cases where Mr. Gulen and his
acolytes have allegedly falsely imprisoned individuals in Turkey”.
>MORE DETAILS
Turkey accuses Russia of Turkey: GDP growth at 4
‘ethnic cleansing’ in Syria pct in third quarter
Turkey’s prime minister on Wednesday
accused Russia of attempting “ethnic
cleansing” through its air campaign in
northwestern Syria.
Ahmet Davutoglu told foreign reporters in
Istanbul that Russian airstrikes had targeted
Turkmen and Sunni Muslim communities
around the Latakia region.
He said Russia’s action could force “many
more millions” of people to flee.
“Russia is trying to make ethnic cleansing in northern Latakia,” Davutoglu added
before renewing Turkey’s call for the creation of a safe zone in Syria “so that new
waves [of refugees] will not come.”
The prime minister also defended Turkey’s
deployment of additional troops to Iraq
last week, saying it was an “act of solidarity” with Iraq in the fight against Daesh.
Turkey has a long-standing training mission based near Mosul but the arrival of
fresh troops last week sparked uproar in
Baghdad, which demanded the additional
soldiers leave.
On Tuesday, Turkey announced the
defense ministers of both countries would
discuss the matter. Davutoglu said the
additional troops had been sent to protect
the trainers amid an increased threat from
Daesh. >MORE DETAILS
Turkey’s economy grew at the rate of
4 percent in the third quarter from the
same period in the previous year, the
Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat)
reported on Thursday.
The figure exceeded analyst consensus
estimates of 2.7 percent, the report said.
“Solid domestic demand continues to
fuel growth in Turkey,” Christopher
Dembik, an economist with Saxo Bank,
told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.
Household final consumption expenditure increased by 10.6 in the quarter
at current prices, the report said.
The Consumer Confidence Index
increased to 77.15 in November from
62.78 in October. Readings above 50
indicate a sharp improvement.
“Consumers had held back spending
when the Turkish lira lost value earlier
this year. Now that it has stabilized,
confidence in spending has returned,”
Dembik added.
Growth was up from 3.8 percent in
the second quarter. The nine months
growth rate of GDP increased by 3.4
percent in the third quarter of 2015,
the report said. >MORE DETAILS
Last group matches in the Europa League will be played
Thursday evening, with Istanbul’s Fenerbahce and Besiktas
seeming likely to advance to the last 32.
Fenerbahce, who lie second in Group A on eight points,
host Scottish side Celtic while Besiktas, who lead Group H
on nine points, take on Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.
In Fenerbahce’s group, Norwegian club Molde lead with 10
points. They face third-placed Ajax. A draw will be enough
to ensure Fenerbahce go to the next round...>>SPORT
WEATHER / ANKARA
Friday
SUNNY
9 °C
Saturday
PARTLY CLOUDY
9 °C
Syria, Russia impediments
to establish no-fly zone:
US Gen.
The question that we need to ask is, do we
have the political and policy backdrop with
which to do so?’ general says
The U.S. is able to impose a
no-fly zone in northern Syria, but political and military
considerations are preventing
it from doing so, a top general
said Wednesday.
In a fiery exchange with lawmakers, Gen. Paul Selva acknowledged the military’s
ability to create a safe zone,
but said, “The question that
we need to ask is, do we have
the political and policy backdrop with which to do so?”.
Crucial to the Joint Chiefs Vice
chairman was a potential confrontation with Russian forces
should they opt to challenge the
no-fly zone, or a “direct conflict” with the Syrian army.
A visibly perturbed Sen. John
McCain, who has long criticized the Obama administration’s strategy, rebutted. “I
must say, it’s one of the more
embarrassing statements I’ve
ever heard from a uniformed
military officer, that we are
worried about Syria and Russia’s reaction to saving the lives
of thousands and thousands of
Syrians who are being barrel-bombed and massacred.”
The heated crossfire came during a congressional hearing
in which Selva and Defense
Chief Ashton Carter sought to
defend President Barack Obama’s strategy to defeat Daesh
in Iraq and Syria.
In another terse stand-off with
the senior senator, Carter acknowledged that the extremist
group has not yet been contained after more than a year of
unrelenting airstrikes, but said
the U.S.-led coalition is “building momentum against ISIL”.
When asked how long it
would take to retake Daesh’s
de facto capital in Raqqa, and
Iraq’s second largest city of
Mosul, Carter emphasized that
it is up to local forces in Iraq and
Syria to take the lead.
Later Wednesday, the White
House criticized Congress for
blocking more than $116 million
in funding for operations in Syria.
“The Department of Defense
has been asking for weeks
now for additional funds to
Bulk of Daesh
arsenal made in
former Soviet States
The majority of weapons used
by Daesh come from supplies
plundered from the Iraqi military and mainly consist of stock
re-supply that effort and try
to continue the progress,”
said White House spokesman
Josh Earnest. “But Congress
inexplicably has not acted. In
fact, they have actually tried to
block this funding from going
through.” Obama has steadfastly resisted calls for another
massive U.S. troop buildup in
a Middle East country, and has
emphasized the importance of
developing partner forces in the
region to carry out the ground
offensive against Daesh.
As Iraqi forces continue their
offensive to retake the strategic city of Ramadi, Carter said
that the U.S. is standing ready
to provide additional close air
support and troops to advise
the offensive. >MORE DETAILS
Syrian regime
dropped 1,000
barrel bombs
in Nov: NGO
Daesh’s arsenal was old and dated from the 1980s and 1990s.
“The 1980s was a crucial era
for arms buildup and that was
Most weapons looted from Iraqi
military stocks, according to
Amnesty International report
The regime of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad last month
dropped a total of 1,083 barrel
bombs that killed 51 civilians,
including 16 children, according to a report issued by the
Syrian Network for Human
Rights.
Eight detained
in Istanbul
anti-terror raids
designed or manufactured in
former Soviet bloc states, according to Amnesty International.
Advances made across northern
Iraq last year, particularly the
capture of Mosul, gave Daesh
access to a huge stockpile of
arms that also included modern
U.S.-made weaponry.
“We have been able to see what
type of weapons they have got
but in terms of quantity it’s very
difficult to know that,” Patrick
Wilcken, an arms control researcher at Amnesty, told Anadolu Agency.
“However, what we can say
is that the top one is definitely Russian and former Soviet
Union weapons. So it’s Russian
and Eastern European and it’s
their standard equipment that
they are using.”
Wilcken said the U.S-made and
NATO equipment in Daesh’s
hands was a result of arms transfers made to Iraq since the 2003
U.S.-led invasion.
He added that the bulk of
the time of the Iran-Iraq War,
when Russia was the principal
supplier of Iraq,” Wilcken said.
“But I think it’s important to
remember that just because the
weapons are old does not mean
that they were necessarily
transferred in the era they were
manufactured.
“And a lot of old Warsaw Pact
stock has been transferred by
the U.S., the U.K., other coalition members, during the
occupation of Iraq and post2003. And even more recently,
supplies to Kurdish forces in
post-, mid-2014 were mainly
old Warsaw Pact stock.”
Daesh also buys weapons from
corrupt members of the Syrian
military and on the “illicit market that runs across the borders,” Wilcken added.
“There does seem to be a lot
of reports of illicit traffic. And
it would be surprising if there
wasn’t illicit traffic given that the
whole region is in conflict.”
>MORE DETAILS
Eight people have been detained in early morning anti-terror operations targeting
the PKK’s youth wing in Istanbul on Thursday.
Anti-terror squads, backed up
by helicopters raided 15 locations in three districts of the
city; Eyup, Fatih and Kucukcekmece on the European side,
according to police sources.
Eight suspects, who are
thought to be members of the
Patriotic Revolutionary Youth
Movement (YDG-H), were
held while many organizational documents were seized during the raids. Turkey has been
carrying out operations against
the PKK ...
>