Cyprus-Forum.com

[bill cobbett]

In view of the Internet Restrictions and now an expansion of the role of MIT (Turkish Intelligence Service) in society, a warning from one member of the European Parliament that the Accession Talks with the EU have never been as close to being suspended.

"... A senior member of the European Parliament (EP) has said that the European Union has never been as close as now to considering the possibility of suspending accession talks with Turkey.
British Liberal MEP Andrew Duff said President Abdullah Gül’s signing of the Internet law and the expectation that he would do the same with the law on the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) has made the option of suspending negotiations a possibility.

The comment came during a panel discussion in the EP titled “Turkish Democracy in Transition: Current Developments and Critics,” organized by an online forum called Turkey Debate. The keynote speaker at the event was Dr. Şahin Alpay, a columnist for Today’s Zaman. Duff also warned that the EU's Copenhagen criteria were being breached by Turkey, and that there would have to be consequences.

One of the most veteran politicians of the EP and a seasoned observer of Turkish politics, Duff was asked about the EU’s reaction to President Gül’s signature of the Internet law and the likelihood that he would do the same with the new HSYK law. He reiterated that the EU was closer to the point of suspending talks following the measures the government took after the Dec. 17 corruption scandal. ..."

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-340030- ... talks.html

[B25]

Only suspending talks???? They have talked about Turkeys accession for years, surely he meant to say scrap Turkey application, surely........

[Mustiejodu]

I thought this was cyprus forum? There seems to be more discussion about turkey than cyprus. Why are you so obsessed with turkey. I can bet you that 99.9% of homeland Turks would not have even mentioned the word cyprus. It just has no relevance to their day to day living. Change the record. Let's talk about cyprus.

[B25]

I thought this was cyprus forum? There seems to be more discussion about turkey than cyprus. Why are you so obsessed with turkey. I can bet you that 99.9% of homeland Turks would not have even mentioned the word cyprus. It just has no relevance to their day to day living. Change the record. Let's talk about cyprus.

We are discussing the invader occupier of our country, and it pleases us when they are suffering as they have made us to suffer.

99.9% of main land Turks, cannot spell nor know where Cyprus is these peasants cannot even spell Turkey so of course there is no mention of us only that they support the illegal occupation of Cyprus by your mother land.

these peasants just do as they are told, give them a washing machine or a tele and they'll jump through hoops for you as it has been shown in the trashcan during election time.

[bill cobbett]

This is the last para of an article in which 80 people, who are described as ... " top foreign policy figures from across the political spectrum ..." in the USA, call on Pres Obama to end his tacit approval of Mr Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian policies...

“We fear that Prime Minister Erdoğan and the Turkish public have taken American silence to mean that the Prime Minister retains U.S. support and can proceed as he wishes. In the meanwhile, the damage to Turkey’s democracy keeps worsening,” they wrote. “We believe it is important now to make it clear, privately and publicly, that Prime Minister Erdoğan’s autocratic actions and demagoguery are subverting Turkey’s political institutions and values and endangering the U.S.-Turkey relationship.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... urkey.html

[bill cobbett]

The Internet Restrictions have been signed in to law by Pres Gul.

They will also apply, when deemed necessary, in the Occupied Areas.

This is how the Internet in Turkey will be restricted on the whim of a civil servant...

(From Hurriyet)...

"... The bottom line for the moment, however, is that under the new Internet law a government-appointed bureaucrat will have the power to ban any Internet page he deems inappropriate without a court order. Under the changes made to the law, on Gül’s request, that bureaucrat will have to get a court order within 24 hours for his decision to stand.

But this doesn’t answer the question why a government appointee should have such a right in the first place, and why, if a court order is to be sought within 24 hours of a banning order, the same court order cannot be sought before a banning order. ..."

[Demonax]

Turkey is not a police state...

Welcome to the Mukhabarat state of Turkey

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has surely been establishing a Mukhabarat state similar to the one in Syria and Iran. The last bill introduced about the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) is nothing but an obvious attempt to establish an Orwellian state in Turkey...

http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/em ... urkey.html

[Demonax]

Erdogate...?

TURKISH PM'S OFFICE DENIES CORRUPTION TAPES

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said Monday that recordings of alleged wiretapped conversations between the Turkish leader and his son - leaked onto the Internet and suggesting corruption - were fabricated.

In recent weeks, several voice recordings of conversations allegedly involving Erdogan, his children, aides or businessmen have been circulating on the Internet.

In the latest recordings leaked on Monday, two people alleged to be Erdogan and his son are heard discussing means of getting rid of large amounts of cash from their home. The conversations allegedly took place Dec. 17, the day that sons of three Cabinet ministers were detained as part of a vast corruption probe.

Media reports said Erdogan met with Turkey's intelligence chief soon after that tape began to circulate on the Internet and that his office later issued a statement saying that the recordings were "immorally" fabricated and "totally unreal." It said the prime minister would take legal action against the recordings.

Turkey's main opposition party held an emergency meeting to discuss the latest leaked recording and called on Erdogan to resign, insisting that his government had lost its legitimacy.

Erdogan insists that the corruption probe which forced him in December to dismiss four Cabinet ministers is a conspiracy to discredit his government before local elections in March and a presidential election in August. He says the investigations were orchestrated by followers of a moderate Islamic movement led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who have allegedly infiltrated Turkey's police and judiciary.

Last month, the leader's 33 year-old son, Bilal Erdogan, was questioned by prosecutors investigating the allegations.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ ... 4-17-16-18

[bill cobbett]

Ooooh, excellent... can't have a decent Erdogate corruption scandal without tapes. ...

[Tim Drayton]

The coupists strike back following Erdoğan's/the AKP's success in emasculating the initial anti-corruption investigation whose aim was to oust him/them. A lot of people are saying that there is something phony about this tape, especially the sound of their voices and the large number of gaps. In my opinion, the USA now wants Erdoğan out (they previously brought him to power), and they will stop at nothing. Erdoğan is currently addressing his party on this matter. It will be interesting to see if they can successfully fight off this second offensive.