News Scan for Turkey, August 29th, 2017

Germany’s Merkel says ties with Turkey in a ‘complicated phase’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Aug. 29 at a Berlin press conference that she wanted to have better relations with Turkey, but the relationship between Berlin and Ankara was currently at “a very complicated phase.”

“I would very much like having better relations, but we have to face reality … It’s a very complicated phase in our relations,” she said.

Merkel said there could be no progress even in trade relations with Turkey if the rule of law was not guaranteed in the country. Good ties are “linked to respect for the rule of law and this isn’t guaranteed right now in Turkey,” she said.

Merkel also reiterated Germany’s demand that Turkey free from custody journalists and rights workers, including Die Welt daily correspondent Deniz Yücel. “Our demand is very clear: That the people who have been arrested there are released,” she said.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/germanys-merkel-says-ties-with-turkey-in-a-complicated-phase.aspx?pageID=238&nID=117314&NewsCatID=351

Two thousand year old shops found in Turkey’s Antalya province

Two thousand year old shops and warehouses were revealed at an excavation site of the ancient Aspendos city, located in the Serik district of Turkey’s touristic Antalya province.

Excavations in the the area where the ancient warehouses and shops were found started in 2008 with surface surveys, and turned into a ministry approved excavation site in 2014.

Associate Professor Veli Köse from Haceteppe University, who oversees the excavations, said he believes valuable materials were sold and stored in the recently discovered area, and that some of the sites might have been used as offices. The proximity of the shops to the city center support his views, he said.

Professor Köse also said that a wealth of coins dating back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods, a glass amphora, oil, pieces of perfume bottles, candles, bronze belt buckles, bone hair pins, plenty of nails, rings and gems were found during excavations at the site.

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2017/08/27/two-century-old-shops-found-in-turkeys-antalya-province

Turkey’s new ‘Center Democrat Party’ to be founded soon

A new political party in Turkey that has been on the stage of formation by former members and top lawmakers from far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) will most likely be named as ‘Center Democrat Party’, as MHP’s recently resigned MP, Koray Aydın, announced during an interview with HaberTürk on August 28.

Unlike the party they had formerly been affiliated with and worked for, the founders of the new party have asserted at various occasions that their aim is now to create a political party that will be ‘embracing all from left, right, and center’.

A detrimental meltdown took place within MHP last year as the party’s chair Devlet Bahçeli, along with his supporters, had a change of course in approach towards the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and also sided with Erdoğan on the controversial constitutional amendments to establish a presidential system in the country, allowing the current president Erdoğan to have excessive power.

http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/turkey-s-new-center-democrat-party-to-be-founded-soon-177041.html

Intel agency must be under head of state: President Erdoğan

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that a country’s intelligence agency must be under the head of state, as he commented on the changes made in the functioning of the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) with the recent state of emergency decree.

“Isn’t the head of a state the one who should receive the most significant information and documents in intelligence? If the head of intelligence isn’t directly under the head of the state then the state loses its ability to act,” Erdoğan said during a joint broadcast by private broadcaster NTV and state-run broadcaster TRT Haber late on Aug. 28 to mark his third year as president.

The decree issued on Aug. 25, brought MİT under the authority of the president and re-activated intelligence gathering activities within the military. As part of the decree, responsibility for the MİT undersecretary was taken from the office of the prime minister and given to the president, prompting criticism from the opposition ranks.

Erdoğan said the practice is in place in “all of the big states.”

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/intel-agency-must-be-under-head-of-state-president-erdogan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=117312&NewsCatID=338

150 Turkish firms opening branches abroad

There are 2,500 business chains with 60,000 branches in Turkey and there are over 150 Turkish brands that have started to open branches abroad, a leading franchising sector representative has stated.

The franchising sector is recognized as one of the most popular entrepreneurship practices and grew to a size of $43 billion last year, National Franchising Association President Mustafa Aydın told state-run Anadolu Agency, adding that it is expected to become $50 billion by the end of 2017.

Aydın noted that brands reach national and international standards through the franchising system.

“The total number of chain businesses in Turkey is 2,500. These businesses have approximately 60,000 branches in total. The ratio of foreign businesses in the sector is 29 percent. Meanwhile, there are more than 150 Turkish brands starting to establish branches abroad,” he said.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/150-turkish-firms-opening-branches-abroad.aspx?pageID=238&nID=117345&NewsCatID=345

Turkey contacts the Muslim world for Rohingya Muslims

Turkey has made contact with Muslim countries regarding the ongoing massacre of the Rohingya Muslims living in Rakhine, a state of Myanmar, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated on Tuesday.

The Myanmar army killed between 2,000 and 3,000 Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State in the last three days, Anita Schug, a spokeswoman for the European Rohingya Council (ERC) said on Monday.

Turkey has condemned the ongoing attacks, encouraging the world to speak up for the Rohingyas. “We made contact with member countries of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Rakhine. We particularly requested Bangladesh to help those who want to cross the border. Additionally, we told them that we would support them,” Çavuşoğlu said.

http://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/turkey-contacts-the-muslim-world-for-rohingya-muslims-2787785

Officials work to remove red tape at customs borders

Turkey’s Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci has said that the government is speeding up efforts to make Turkey’s border gates at customs more modern, noting that officials are monitoring customs not only in a physical sense but also in terms of legislation, asserting that simplifying customs-related legislation will allow the government to remove unnecessary red tape, especially in terms of legislation. “We will share the good news with our citizens,” Minister Tüfenkci said.

Speaking about the recent situation involving the Hamzabeyli Border Gate in Edirne province on Turkey’s border with Bulgaria, Minister Tüfenkci asserted that the demolition and reconstruction of the Hamzabeyli Border Gate is already underway. Tüfenkci also said that the tender for the project has been completed and now some part of the construction is dismantled. “On the one hand, services will continue as in the case of Sarp Border Gate, while on the other hand, construction will continue. It will be a modern gate,” Tüfenkci said. “The border gate’s capacity will increase two-fold, and since the project is based on the ‘Single Window, Single Stop Project,’ the duration of waiting time at the customs gates will be shortened.”

https://www.dailysabah.com/business/2017/08/29/officials-work-to-remove-red-tape-at-customs-borders

29.08.2017
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.