Cyprus-Forum.com

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Turkish PM says will not talk with Netanyahu

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan does not want to talk with his Israeli counterpart and will not attend a climate change conference in Athens on Friday if Benjamin Netanyahu is there, he told Greece's Skai TV on Monday

Turkey, once a close ally of Israel, has become a sharp critic since nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists were killed in an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship in May.

"A prime minister who is proud of such an armed intervention is a prime minister with whom I do not agree to talk," Erdogan told Skai TV before his planned visit to Athens.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69H51C20101018

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Turkey begins trial of 151 pro-Kurdish politicians

* 12 elected mayors among defendants

* European Union says closely following trial

DIYARBAKIR: Turkey on Monday began trying 151 politicians and activists, including 12 elected mayors, charged with links to Kurdish rebels in a case testing a European Union-inspired drive to broaden Kurdish rights.

The defendants are accused of crimes including membership in an illegal armed group, spreading its propaganda, undermining Turkey’s territorial integrity and violating laws on public demonstrations, according to a 7,500-page indictment.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\10\19\story_19-10-2010_pg4_9

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European Court rules against Turkey over journalist's murder

Amnesty International has welcomed a European Court of Human Rights ruling that Turkey failed to protect the life of journalist and human rights activist Hrant Dink, who was killed in Istanbul in 2007.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-upda ... 2010-09-16

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European Court Rules Against Turkey’s Religion ID

A European court on Tuesday ordered Turkey to remove the religious affiliation section from citizens’ identification cards, calling the practice a violation of human rights.

Religious minorities and in particular Christian converts in Turkey have faced discrimination because of the mandatory religion declaration on their identification cards, which was enforced until 2006. Since then, citizens are allowed to leave the “Religion” section of their IDs blank.

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20 ... ligion-id/

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European court rules against Turkey's Apollinaire ban

Human rights court rules that censorship of 1907 erotic novel The Eleven Thousand Rods 'hindered

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/fe ... inaire-ban

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ECHR rules against Turkey in Armenian property ownership case

The European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Tuesday that Turkey violated the property rights of two Armenian foundations in Istanbul. (UPDATED)

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/dome ... 580596.asp

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Erdogan’s great purge continues…


Police arrest 12 with alleged Al-Qaeda links
http://www.english.rfi.fr/europe/201010 ... aeda-links

9 Turkish officers accused of blackmail, spying
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadi ... Id=4959407

Former police chief arrested in Turkey
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/144443.html

Armenian criminal groups arrested in Turkey
http://www.news.az/articles/armenia/24739

New York real estate mogul arrested in Turkey
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -ring.html

29 al-Qaida suspects arrested in Turkey
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=181660

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This is an oldie (Jan) article but nonetheless relevant!


Turkish PM refutes allegations of civilian dictatorship

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php? ... 2010-01-12

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Turkey's intel severs ties with Mossad

ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Turkey's intelligence establishment has severed working ties with Israel's Mossad, further proof of strained relations between the countries, officials said.

A report in the Sabah newspaper quoted officials as saying the two agencies that once enjoyed close cooperation have stopped exchanging intelligence and conducting joint operations.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/ ... 288095298/

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Turkey policy paper: Israel's actions threaten Mideast

Ankara's National Security Council names Israel as central threat to Turkey's security for first time since 1949, fails to mention Iran, Syria.

Turkey's already tense relations with Israel continued their apparent downward spiral on Saturday as Channel 10 reported that a central Ankara policy paper defined Israel as a central threat to Turkey's security, blaming Jerusalem's policies for destabilizing the entire region.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-d ... t-1.321960

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Don't expect this to last...

Court orders lifting of Turkey YouTube ban: reports

ANKARA (AFP) – A Turkish court on Saturday ordered the lifting of a three-year ban on Internet video website YouTube, media reports said, but thousands of other sites are still blocked.

Access to YouTube was barred in September 2007 by a court in Sivas, eastern Turkey, after an individual complained of clips disrespectful to the revered founder of the modern state, Mustafa Kemal Atataturk.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101030/tc ... rshipcourt

[Oracle]

Don't expect this to last...

Court orders lifting of Turkey YouTube ban: reports

ANKARA (AFP) – A Turkish court on Saturday ordered the lifting of a three-year ban on Internet video website YouTube, media reports said, but thousands of other sites are still blocked.

Access to YouTube was barred in September 2007 by a court in Sivas, eastern Turkey, after an individual complained of clips disrespectful to the revered founder of the modern state, Mustafa Kemal Atataturk.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101030/tc ... rshipcourt

Is that the new, super-duper Ataturk? ... or just a little stutter?

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A guilty conscience is no basis for membership

How should the EU deal with Turkey's membership hopes? Many EU politicians have a guilty conscience over keeping Ankara waiting. But that's a poor basis for making decisions, says DW's Christoph Hasselbach.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6209594,00.html



Turkey’s top court should change mentality, Euro court judge says

Turkey’s Constitutional Court must adhere more closely to rulings from the European Court of Human Rights if it wants to stop the flow of cases to the Strasbourg-based court, according to a Turkish judge at the institution. “The Constitutional Court and other high judicial institutions should abide by the ruling cases of the European court. This is in fact the core of the current problems. If the Constitutional Court ruled in line with these ruling cases, there would be no problem.

http://www.turkeydailynews.com/news/117 ... 11-12.html