19
June 2007
2. "Signs declaring parts of Turkish province as no go zone set up", Sirnak was one of the three south eastern provinces declared a security zone by the general Staff as apart of ongoing fight against the PKK.
3. "Turkish president deals new blow to referendum hopes", Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on Monday rejected a bill designed to speed up a planned referendum on reforms that would see the president elected by popular vote, dealing a fresh blow to the Islamist-rooted ruling party.
4. "Turkey's AK Party Will Win Clear Majority", Turkey's ruling centre-right AK Party will sweep back to power in July 22 elections with 307 seats in the 550-member parliament.
5. "Islamic Finance in Turkey – Looking Ahead With Confidence", so far the Turkish economy has proven to be sufficiently resilient against some monetary re-adjustments that in the past would have caused problems.
6. "Judiciary Ignores Right to Life", a Turkish court has denied compensation to the families of dead and injured children who, when herding sheep, played with explosives they found. The ECHR has convicted Turkey on this issue before.
7. "Turkish soldiers kill 3 Kurdish rebels in fighting", Turkish troops killed three separatist Kurdish rebels in fighting in southeast Turkey, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported Monday.
8. "Land mine kills soldier", a land mine believed to be planted by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) killed a Turkish soldier Saturday, authorities said. Also Monday, the private Dogan news agency said suspected rebels attacked a military vehicle in the mainly Kurdish province of Tunceli, injuring two soldiers.
1. - The Guardian - "Kurdish rebel leader warns Turkey against Iraq incursion":
· Concern grows over army build-up on border
· PKK man predicts political and military disaster
QANDIL MOUNTAINS / 18 June 2007 / by Michael Howard
A Kurdish rebel leader has warned Turkey that it faces disaster if its troops and tanks cross into northern Iraq, amid growing concern of a big Turkish operation to hunt down Kurdish guerrillas holed up across the border.
The Turkish army faces "a political and military disaster" if its generals give orders for a cross-border offensive, Cemil Bayik, one of the two most powerful figures in the Kurdistan Workers party, or PKK, told the Guardian at a hideout in the Qandil mountains on the border with Iran. Mr Bayik said his units did not seek a fight, but "would defend ourselves if attacked". It could become "a quagmire for them [the Turkish army] and create space for Iran to interfere in Iraq also," he said.
Over the past month, tensions have been rising in Iraqi Kurdistan, with the Turkish army massing thousands of troops and tanks along the 238-mile border and its hawkish chief of staff, General Yasar Buyukanit, repeatedly pressing a reluctant government in Ankara for permission to go in after the PKK.
Turkey says the group is launching attacks from its mountain hideouts in Iraq. It accuses Iraqi Kurds of helping them. The rebel group is thought to have 2,000-3,000 well-trained but lightly armed fighters inside Iraqi territory, where its strategic leadership also resides. The bulk of its membership is on Turkish soil, many in poor city suburbs.
In the last few weeks, the Turkish army has shelled suspected rebel positions on the Iraqi side, and staged a number of small-scale incursions. Some observers believe it wants to set up a "buffer zone" in Iraq to prevent the fighters of the PKK crossing into Turkey.
The US and other Nato allies of Turkey have repeatedly warned Ankara against an incursion into Iraq, while calling on Baghdad and Iraq's Kurdish authorities to take action to resolve the PKK issue. The Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, said at the weekend that discussions should involve the Turkish and Iraqi governments, the US and the Kurdistan regional government. Turkey refuses to recognize the Kurdish regional government and says it will talk only to Baghdad and Washington on the issue.
Mr Bayik, who together with fellow rebel chief Murat Karyilan tops Turkey's list of most wanted, said the Turkish chief of staff was "playing a dangerous game" that threatened to undermine democratic politics in Turkey by ousting the prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AK party from power and at the same time destabilising Iraq's Kurdistan region. He said the general was using the issue of the PKK's presence in Iraq as an excuse to "annihilate Kurdishness".
"Gen Buyukanit wants everyone to be a happy Turk. And those who don't agree he brands as a traitor. He wants first to smash the Kurdish regional government in Iraq. He wants second to ruin any chances of a referendum being held on Kirkuk, and the PKK issue is really only third on his list of priorities."
He said the PKK had announced no new ceasefires, as reported last week, but that the previous "unilateral" ceasefire... announced late last year, still held. "So far we have heard nothing positive from the Turkish side, which makes us wonder whether they really do want peace, or just continue into a destructive war to serve the military's own purposes," he said.
"We are not a terrorist movement, we condemn attacks on civilians. We are freedom fighters," Mr Bayik insisted, saying he would work to convince the international community of his group's commitment to peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question. "We are open to dialogue and we welcome it," he said.
Until recently the PKK's main camps lined the steep valleys and ravines near the group's headquarters on Qandil mountain. But now the camps have largely been abandoned, say PKK sources. The fighters are on the move, staying in the same place for barely more than a night.
Mr Bayik said the PKK, which began life 30 years ago advocating a pan-Kurdish Marxist-Leninist state, was no longer a separatist movement. "We are not looking for independence, we are not even looking for federalism like the Iraqi Kurds have. The solution lies in granting the Kurds of Turkey language and cultural rights and freedom of speech."
He also dismissed the idea of a general amnesty for PKK
rebels in Turkey unless it was accompanied by genuine reform. In the
past few years Turkey has granted its Kurdish population more cultural
rights, but critics say the reforms are paper thin. 
2. - NTV/MSNBC - "Signs declaring parts of Turkish province as no go zone set up":
Sirnak was one of the three south eastern provinces declared a security zone by the general Staff as apart of ongoing fight against the PKK.
SIRNAK / 18 June 2007
Parts of the south eastern Turkish province of Sirnak, which borders northern Iraq, has been declared a prohibited zone by the Turkish military.
Most of the security zones are along the border region and have been marked by signs declaring that entry to the area is unsafe and illegal. According to the signs, the entry ban would remain in place until May 2008.
Earlier this month, the military declared parts of Sirnak
and other nearby provinces to be out of bounds due to military training
exercises and ongoing operations against the PKK, which has bases in
northern Iraq.
3. - AFP - "Turkish president deals new blow to referendum hopes":
ANKARA / 18 June 2007
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on Monday rejected a bill designed to speed up a planned referendum on reforms that would see the president elected by popular vote, dealing a fresh blow to the Islamist-rooted ruling party.
Sezer sent the bill back to parliament for reconsideration, arguing that there was no ‘justifiable reason’ to hasten the referendum when there was no final decision to hold one, a statement from his press office said.
The bill, proposed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), sought for a referendum to be organised 45 days after presidential approval. The current delay is 120 days.
The measure was introduced after the government proposed a series of constitutional amendments, including presidential election by universal suffrage, to resolve a political crisis created by a deadlock in a parliamentary vote to elect Sezer’s successor.
Sezer rejected the constitutional changes in May but parliament sent them back unchanged and, legally unable to reject them a second time, he called for a referendum, adding that he would ask the Constitutional Court to annul the package.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has already filed with the court to have the package annulled on a technicallity and the court is expected to rule on Tuesday.
The Turkish press said Monday that the court’s rapporteur advised the judges to annul the constitutional amendments. His recommendation is not binding.
If the court annuls the reforms, there will be no referendum.
The AKP hoped to hold the referendum simultaneously with early elections on July 22, saying it would save money.
Sezer rejected the AKP argument, stressing that the national interest is far more important than financial costs on such issues as substantial changes to the country’s electoral system.
The AKP launched the constitutional reforms after it failed twice to get its presidential candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, elected because of an opposition boycott of the vote in parliament.
The presidential election in the legislature was called off after the Constitutional Court said voting sessions could not begin without a quorum of two-thirds of the membership, of which the AKP fell short.
The prospect of having an AKP president sparked mass pro-secular rallies and a stiff warning from the army that it is ready to act to defend the secular order if need be.
The AKP, the moderate offshoot of a now-banned Islamist
movement, says it has disawoved its past, but its detractors suspect
it of having a secret agenda to increase Islam’s role in all areas
of life in Turkey.
4. - Reuters - "Turkey's AK Party Will Win Clear Majority":
ANKARA / 18 June 2007
Turkey's ruling centre-right AK Party will sweep back to power in July 22 elections with 307 seats in the 550-member parliament.
Turkey's ruling centre-right AK Party will sweep back to power in July 22 elections with 307 seats in the 550-member parliament, an opinion poll showed on Monday.
Financial markets are hoping for a clear-cut victory for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, fearing a coalition government would bring economic and political instability.
The poll, conducted by KONDA market research agency for Raymond James brokerage, showed two other parties clearing Turkey's 10 percent threshold for entering parliament.
These are the centre-left Republican People's Party (CHP) and the ultra-nationalist MHP. As many as 40 independents, mostly pro-Kurdish candidates, are also expected to enter parliament, the poll showed.
The AK Party has 352 members in the outgoing parliament. It would need 367 seats, or two thirds, to amend Turkey's constitution. But with 307 seats it would still have enough deputies to govern alone, as it has since November 2002.
"This outcome would be market-friendly as political stability is likely to be preserved at least over the next three to four years," said Raymond James brokerage in a note accompanying the poll results.
The AK Party has presided over strong economic growth, falling inflation and the historic launch of European Union membership talks.
But it is distrusted by Turkey's powerful secular elite,
including top judges and army generals, because of its roots in political
Islam. The party denies any Islamist agenda.
5. - Dinar Standard - "Islamic Finance in Turkey – Looking Ahead With Confidence":
18 June 2007 / by Paul Wouters
So far the Turkish economy has proven to be sufficiently resilient against some monetary re-adjustments that in the past would have caused problems.
The present government, tied up with the upcoming elections and the EU accession talks, still manages to master inflation rates and maintain economic growth objectives. Due to ongoing legislative and budgetarian efforts, a reassuring International Monetary Fund (IMF) report and a cautious but positive Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report on corporate governance were obtained.
Foreign direct investment is improving and on the local financial markets, several new international players have established themselves (amongst others Fortis and Dexia). These firms import the required energy, knowledge and expertise, new types of financial instruments and will enhance competition and innovation. Such incentives are much needed by the comparatively inexperienced local financial markets (both conventional and Islamic) that – sometimes also hindered by reluctant regulatory bodies – struggle to innovate.
Islamic finance - market players
The Islamic finance sector (referred to in Turkey as Participation Banks), as of September 2006 was about 340 branch offices (up from 290 branches at the end of 2005), and is projected to grow at a rate of 50 new units per year. Overall, personnel grew from 5,740 at the end of 2005 to 6,340 in June 2006. Compared to 2005, deposits and investment accounts have grown 25%.
Dubai Islamic Bank (which maintains a representative office in Istanbul) encountered a setback in trying to acquire MNG Bank (transaction value estimated at US$160 million), but Kuwait-based The International Investor (TII) succeeded taking over Adabank (formerly owned by the UZAN group) for a total of TL45.1 million (US$32 million).
The granting of this licence will bring the total number of Turkish Participation Banks to five. The others are:
* Albaraka Turk Participation Bank (Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi), part of the Gulf-based Albaraka Banking Group, which met its projected targets last year and is preparing for an IPO in 2007.
* Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank (Kuveyt Turk Katilim
Bankasi), part of Kuwait Finance House (KFH). Kuveyt Turk was in the
newspapers several times last year with important Murabahah financings.
It is rumoured that it will redress its balance sheet and – depending
on market conditions – could be candidate for an IPO in 2008–2009.
6. - Bianet - "Judiciary Ignores Right to Life":
A Turkish court has denied compensation to the families of dead and injured children who, when herding sheep, played with explosives they found. The ECHR has convicted Turkey on this issue before.
ERZURUM / 18 June 2007
A court in Erzurum (east of Turkey) has denied the families of several children compensation. When on shepherding duty in Agri province (east of Turkey) in 2006, three young boys had found unexploded ammunition and played with them. Eight-year-old Ismail Isik died, five-year-old Adem Akbay lost his fingers, and six-year-old Emrah Akbay was also wounded.
The families of the children applied for compensation to the Ministry of Defence, but their application was denied in the same year. After a complaint against military authorities, the Agri chief public prosecutor's office decreed that there was no one to be held responsible, and that the explosives were also used by illegal organisations. The case was thus dropped. The families' lawyer's appeal to a military penal court was also rejected.
In May 2007, an administrative court in Erzurum decreed in the trial against the Ministry of Defence that "there was no causal relationship between administrative actions and the damage. The demand for compensation was thus rejected.
The lawyer for the two families concerned said that the decision would be appealed against. He added that the state was responsible for protecting the right to life. The Ottawa Convention , which is concerned with the clearing of land mines and explosives, obliges Turkey to protect its civilians. Last year, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) convicted Turkey on that account.
A Diyarbakir Bar Association lawyer, Cihan Aydin, said that it was irrelevant whom the unexploded ammunition belonged to. According to the Ottawa Convention, it is a state's responsibility to clear land of weapon remnants and to designate and fence in dangerous areas. Should any damage occur, the state has to cover the damage and ensure that rehabilitation and care are provided.
Aydin also argued that a previous case which had been
taken to the ECHR, and in which Turkey had been forced to pay compensation,
had set a precedent that could not be ignored.
7. - AP - "Turkish soldiers kill 3 Kurdish rebels in fighting":
ANKARA / 18 June 2007
Turkish troops killed three separatist Kurdish rebels in fighting in southeast Turkey, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported Monday.
The rebels were killed in a clash in a rural area between the provinces of Siirt and Sirnak, close to the border with Iraq, Anatolia reported. It did not say when the fighting occurred.
The local governor's office could not immediately confirm the report.
Also Monday, the private Dogan news agency said suspected rebels attacked a military vehicle in the mainly Kurdish province of Tunceli, injuring two soldiers.
The rebels, who are fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast, declared a cease-fire last week and said it would only strike in self-defense. But attacks on troops have continued, despite the announcement.
Turkish leaders are debating whether to launch a cross-border offensive into northern Iraq, where rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, stage attacks into Turkey. The Turkish military has been carrying out several anti-rebel offensives within Turkey and has massed troops along the border with Iraq.
The conflict with the PKK has killed tens of thousands
of people since 1984, when the rebels first took up arms against the
Turkish state.
8. - Turkish Daily News - "Land mine kills soldier":
ISTANBUL / 18 June 2007
A land mine believed to be planted by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) killed a Turkish soldier Saturday, authorities said.
The soldier stepped on the mine as he was returning from an operation in the Küpeli mountain in the southeastern province of Sirnak, a local official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Separately, another soldier was injured Saturday as he stepped on a mine allegedly planted the PKK, state run Anatolia news agency reported.
PKK denies responsibility for explosion:
The PKK over the weekend also denied responsibility for a bomb blast that wounded seven people in Diyarbakir on Friday, a news agency close to the militants reported."Kurdish forces have nothing to do with the blast," said a statement quoted by the Firat agency, widely regarded as the mouthpiece of the PKK.
The bomb, hidden in the saddle of a bicycle, exploded Friday morning near a bus stop in the center of Diyarbakir often used by soldiers. One of those injured was a soldier."The way the incident happened and the type of explosive used indicates who did it," Interior Minister Osman Günes said, in an apparent reference to the PKK, which has notably stepped up attacks this year.
He said a detailed statement would be made after the police completed their investigation.The Turkish army has launched a large-scale crackdown against the PKK in the east and southeast and amassed troops at the border with Iraq, where the militants take refuge.
The PKK took up arms for Kurdish self-rule in the southeast
in 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.