Cyprus-Forum.com

[Jerry]

Interesting article about a possible breakdown in US - Turkish relationship and its likely causes.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-tur ... sCatID=409

Who will blink first, Trump or Erdogan, when they meet later this month.

[Kikapu]

Interesting article about a possible breakdown in US - Turkish relationship and its likely causes.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-tur ... sCatID=409

Who will blink first, Trump or Erdogan, when they meet later this month.

Trump has ran out of decent heads of states to invite to Washington in his first 100 days, and now, he is scraping the bottom of the barrel of other leaders to fill his free time for the next 100 days, no matter how shady characters these leaders may be. Even this leader, Rodrigo Duterte of Philippines will come before Erdogan. What does that say about Erdogan's standing in the world.

Of course, Trump isn't much better himself, but he betters himself when standing next to these shady leaders. Yes, Erdogan will most definitely will do wonders to Trumps' own image in comparison when standing next to each other. Trump has been overshadowed by other world leaders. Now he needs some scummy leaders to make himself look better.

[Tim Drayton]

EU holds off halting Turkey membership talks

https://www.ft.com/content/9b6ea9c2-2c2 ... 28796fe35c

Big mistake. The new constitution, dispensing as it does with the separation of powers, disqualifies Turkey from EU membership.

Yes. This, in my view, is what the EU has to be saying:

Turkey's EU dream is over, for now, top official says

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turke ... SKBN17Y0U0

[supporttheunderdog]

About time....

[Tim Drayton]

The opposition HDP party, the third largest party in parliament but a large number of whose MPs, mayors and party administrators are now in jail on pre-trial detention, is challenging the referendum result in the Constitutional Court.

(report in Turkish) http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/hdp-a ... 57847.html

[Tim Drayton]

I am glad to see more people in the know (Manfred Weber, the chairman of the EPP group in the European Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt, the chairman of the ALDE group in the European Parliament, Dr. Renate Sommer, the permanent EPP group spokeswoman on Turkey, and Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, the vice-president of the European Parliament) stating the obvious - that Turkey cannot be an EU candidate member with a constitution that dispenses with the separation of powers and creates a virtual one-man dictatorship.

“Turkey no longer fulfils the Copenhagen criteria, the key that opens the door to EU accession,”

https://euobserver.com/opinion/137705

[Tim Drayton]

For those not familiar with the issue:

President Tayyip Erdoğan becoming a party member in a ceremony at AKP Headquarters ushered in a period in which the separation of powers, on which democracy in the country is based, will end. Erdoğan will become the sole guiding force of the legislature, executive and judiciary when he becomes general chair at the extraordinary congress on 21 May.

With the separation of powers vanishing as President Tayyip Erdoğan became a party member, the legislature, executive and judiciary will be concentrated in one hand. Erdoğan will manage both the AKP and, as president, the state and government once he becomes general chair at the extraordinary congress to be held on 21 May. Erdoğan will chair his party’s Central Executive Committee and Central Decision and Executive Committee. He will hold group meetings in parliament. Erdoğan, who will acquire the power to appoint and fire the party’s provincial and sub-provincial chairs, will decide who gets to stand as mayoral and parliamentary candidates prior to general and local elections. Absolutely no statutory regulation will be able to pass through parliament without Erdoğan’s approval. Erdoğan, who will dominate the AKP group, will also set parliament’s agenda. Erdoğan will also hold sway over the judiciary under the constitutional amendment. Erdoğan will appoint twelve of the fifteen members of the Constitutional Court and seven of the thirteen members of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors directly, and four of them thanks to the AKP’s parliamentary majority. Two members of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors, on the other hand, will be the natural members of the Minister of Justice and the Justice Ministry Undersecretary, whom Erdoğan and the AKP will appoint. As such, Erdoğan and the AKP will determine the entire membership of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors. The AKP will solve the problem of the two-thirds majority needed in the final round for the seven members to be appointed by parliament by giving an allocation to the MHP, but the majority on the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors will always consist of individuals appointed by the AKP.

http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/engl ... owers.html

[Londonrake]

President Tayyip Erdoğan becoming a party member in a ceremony at AKP Headquarters ushered in a period in which the separation of powers, on which democracy in the country is based, will end. Erdoğan will become the sole guiding force of the legislature, executive and judiciary when he becomes general chair at the extraordinary congress on 21 May.

With the separation of powers vanishing as President Tayyip Erdoğan became a party member, the legislature, executive and judiciary will be concentrated in one hand. Erdoğan will manage both the AKP and, as president, the state and government once he becomes general chair at the extraordinary congress to be held on 21 May. Erdoğan will chair his party’s Central Executive Committee and Central Decision and Executive Committee. He will hold group meetings in parliament. Erdoğan, who will acquire the power to appoint and fire the party’s provincial and sub-provincial chairs, will decide who gets to stand as mayoral and parliamentary candidates prior to general and local elections. Absolutely no sotatutory regulation will be able to pass through parliament without Erdoğan’s approval. Erdoğan, who will dominate the AKP group, will also set parliament’s agenda. Erdoğan will also hold sway over the judiciary under the constitutional amendment. Erdoğan will appoint twelve of the fifteen members of the Constitutional Court and seven of the thirteen members of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors directly, and four of them thanks to the AKP’s parliamentary majority. Two members of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors, on the other hand, will be the natural members of the Minister of Justice and the Justice Ministry Undersecretary, whom Erdoğan and the AKP will appoint. As such, Erdoğan and the AKP will determine the entire membership of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors. The AKP will solve the problem of the two-thirds majority needed in the final round for the seven members to be appointed by parliament by giving an allocation to the MHP, but the majority on the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors will always consist of individuals appointed by the AKP.

He's working on it but - still some way to go in order to reach Putin's heights. Obviously, a template.

[Tim Drayton]

President Tayyip Erdoğan becoming a party member in a ceremony at AKP Headquarters ushered in a period in which the separation of powers, on which democracy in the country is based, will end. Erdoğan will become the sole guiding force of the legislature, executive and judiciary when he becomes general chair at the extraordinary congress on 21 May.

With the separation of powers vanishing as President Tayyip Erdoğan became a party member, the legislature, executive and judiciary will be concentrated in one hand. Erdoğan will manage both the AKP and, as president, the state and government once he becomes general chair at the extraordinary congress to be held on 21 May. Erdoğan will chair his party’s Central Executive Committee and Central Decision and Executive Committee. He will hold group meetings in parliament. Erdoğan, who will acquire the power to appoint and fire the party’s provincial and sub-provincial chairs, will decide who gets to stand as mayoral and parliamentary candidates prior to general and local elections. Absolutely no sotatutory regulation will be able to pass through parliament without Erdoğan’s approval. Erdoğan, who will dominate the AKP group, will also set parliament’s agenda. Erdoğan will also hold sway over the judiciary under the constitutional amendment. Erdoğan will appoint twelve of the fifteen members of the Constitutional Court and seven of the thirteen members of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors directly, and four of them thanks to the AKP’s parliamentary majority. Two members of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors, on the other hand, will be the natural members of the Minister of Justice and the Justice Ministry Undersecretary, whom Erdoğan and the AKP will appoint. As such, Erdoğan and the AKP will determine the entire membership of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors. The AKP will solve the problem of the two-thirds majority needed in the final round for the seven members to be appointed by parliament by giving an allocation to the MHP, but the majority on the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors will always consist of individuals appointed by the AKP.

He's working on it but - still some way to go in order to reach Putin's heights. Obviously, a template.

I fully agree with you (for once!).

[Tim Drayton]

Oddly enough, the two gentlemen met in Sochi today. I wonder if Putin passed on a few good tips as to how to rachet up the oppression even more?