News Scan for Turkey, August 15th, 2017

KRG will push for referendum until last minute: Turkmen leader

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) leader Masoud Barzani will push for a Sept. 25 statehood referendum for the autonomous region in northern Iraq until the last minute, but may withdraw from the move if Baghdad and Washington meet its demands, a Turkmen leader has said.

Barzani’s persistence on holding the referendum on the given date despite international reactions, including those from Turkey, the U.S. and Germany, has a “tactical dimension,” Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC) leader Arshad al-Salihi told daily Hürriyet.

A KRG team was set to visit Baghdad on Aug. 15, he said.

“We believe this delegation will hold a tight bargaining with the [central Iraqi] Baghdad administration,” he said, adding that Barzani might change his stance if Baghdad guarantees to pay the salaries of civil servants in the Kurdish region, pay all accumulated salaries and lift all obstacles on the KRG’s oil sales.

The KRG leader might also demand a long-term guarantee from the U.S. on the security of its soil, al-Salihi added.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/krg-will-push-for-referendum-until-last-minute-turkmen-leader–.aspx?pageID=238&nID=116737&NewsCatID=352

AK Party maintains political stability over 16-year rule

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed to continue bringing reforms to Turkey and preserve the country’s political stability as the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) celebrated its 16th anniversary Monday in an event in Ankara with the participation of about 6,000 people, including many leading figures who were involved in the establishment of the party.

Addressing over 6,000 people, including many leading figures who were involved in the establishment of the party, Erdoğan said the party will soon undergo a change as it did in the past. “We have come to this day by changing our parliament members, mayors, provincial and municipal assemblies,” the president said.

Erdoğan previously said that the AK Party will focus on intra-party reform to overcome what he has termed ‘metal fatigue’ through a shake-up in the party administration to ensure the maintenance of political stability, which AK Party governments’ has kept since 2002.

Erdoğan said the need for change was driven in particular by the 2019 elections, adding “We should work towards this end”.

https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2017/08/14/ak-party-maintains-political-stability-over-16-year-rule

The word ‘republic’ removed from social media accounts of Turkey’s president Erdoğan

A change in certain parts of the social media accounts of Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently caught the attention of the public.

The word ‘republic’ has been removed from Erdoğan’s official title.

‘A new state is being established in Turkey and its founder is Erdoğan’, says AKP executive ‘A new state is being established in Turkey and its founder is Erdoğan’, says AKP executive
While it was previously written as ‘President of the Republic of Turkey’, the most recent statement says ‘President of Turkey’.

As Turkey’s opposition newspaper Sözcü reported, while the word ‘republic’ has been removed, the title of ‘Chair of AKP’ has been added to Erdoğan’s profiles on Twitter and Facebook.

The change received reactions especially since it has been brought forth shortly after a highly disputed statement of a former AKP official on AKP’s effort to ‘establish a new state in Turkey’.

http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/the-word-republic-removed-from-social-media-accounts-of-turkey-s-president-erdogan-174761.html

‘We’ve been very patient with Ankara’, says Germany’s defense minister

BERLIN – A German lawmaker from the far-left Left party wants security guarantees from the German foreign ministry before embarking on a NATO-led trip to visit soldiers serving at an air base in Turkey next month.

Disputes over access to German soldiers at Turkish bases have heightened tensions between the NATO allies. Germany warned its citizens about traveling to Turkey after Ankara’s arrest of 10 human rights activists last month, including a German, in a security crackdown.

Left Party lawmaker Alexander Neu told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper he was worried about his safety given Turkey’s “absurd” claim that he had contacts to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is classified as a terrorist group in Germany and the European Union.

“It has to be clear that I will be able to get out of Turkey,” said Neu, who was not immediately available to comment.

http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/we-ve-been-very-patient-with-ankara-says-germany-s-defense-minister-174107.html

Turkey, Iran top brass to discuss Syria, Iraq

Iran’s Chief of General Staff Maj Gen Mohamed Baqeri is due to hold talks in Ankara with top Turkish officials, in a rare visit in which all regional security issues, the fight against terrorism, and developments in Syria and Iraq, including the Iraqi Kurds’ upcoming independence referendum, will be discussed.

“The Iranian Chief of General Staff will go to Turkey tomorrow [Aug. 15]. This is the first military visit at this level. The visit will take place upon the invitation [of the Turkish side]. Issues to be discussed are bilateral defense cooperation, regional developments, and border issues,” Bahram Qasimi, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman told reporters on Aug. 14 in Tehran.

Baqeri’s two-day visit will be a first of its kind since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Qasimi noted, adding that “we need to increase our contacts at different levels.”

He also referred to preparations for the upcoming Turkey-Iran high-level cooperation meeting, which will be held in Tehran under the leadership of the two countries’ presidents, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Hassan Rouhani.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-iran-top-brass-to-discuss-syria-iraq.aspx?pageID=238&nID=116722&NewsCatID=510

Saudi prince arrives with 300 suitcases in Bodrum

Al-Waleed Bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, a member of Saudi’s royal family, came to Muğla’s Bodrum for holiday with his family. He had 300 pieces of luggage, which were transported in a removal van upon his arrival.

Al-Waleed Bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, 62-year-old businessman, nephew of Saudi’s King Abdullah, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kingdom Holding came to Bodrum for a vacation with his wife and daughters.

Arriving at Milas-Bodrum Airport with his jumbo jet, his party of 150 was greeted by consulate officers. With a fortune of $32 billion, the Saudi prince and his family departed the airport in the VIP vehicles waiting for them.

http://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/saudi-prince-arrives-with-300-suitcases-in-bodrum-2779149

15.08.2017
compiled by Editor BTT

This is a news-scan from major Turkish papers and internet sites. However, we do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.