News Scan for Turkey, July 17th 2017

Bill to extend state of emergency submitted to Turkish parliament

A bill to extend the state of emergency for another three months was submitted to the Turkish parliament on July 17.

Turkey is set to enter a second year under a state of emergency after the government requested its extension. Emergency rule had been due to expire on July 19, but a statement from the office of Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the cabinet had asked parliament to approve a further three months until mid-October.

Given the comfortable majority held by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the national assembly, the proposal is all but guaranteed to pass.

source: media

Kılıçdaroğlu says CHP ready for more street protests

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) is prepared to carry out more street protests following the 25-day justice march, said its chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on July 17. Kılıçdaroğlu also rejected President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calling his walk from Ankara to Istanbul a “terrorist march.”

“I am not afraid. There is a serious lack of democracy in this country [and] someone needs to take a stand against it. Our main goal now is to drag Erdoğan down from his palace. We are determined to do this,” Kılıçdaroğlu said in an interview with The Times.

Kılıçdaroğlu began his justice march on June 15 from Ankara to Istanbul in protest of the arrest of the prominent CHP MP Enis Berberoğlu on charges of espionage. Accompanied by thousands of people, Kılıçdaroğlu concluded his march on July 9 in a massive rally in Istanbul with the participation of around one million people. Kılıçdaroğlu had vowed that their protests would continue in his address during the rally.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kilicdaroglu-says-chp-ready-for-more-street-protests.aspx?pageID=238&nID=115596&NewsCatID=338

Turkey’s unemployment rate drops to 10.5 percent in April

The unemployment rate in Turkey rose 1.2 points to 10.5 percent in April compared to the same month last year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) announced Monday. The number of jobless aged 15 and over in the country jumped to 3.3 million, a rise of 463,000 on April last year, TurkStat said in a statement.

However, April’s figures showed a 1.2 percentage point drop from the previous month, when unemployment stood at 11.7 percent. April’s employment rate was unchanged from the same period last year at 47.2 percent. Labor force participation increased by 0.7 percentage point year-on-year to 52.7 percent.

The TurkStat report revealed that the number of women in the workforce rose 0.8 percentage points from the previous year to 33.4 percent.

https://www.dailysabah.com/economy/2017/07/17/turkeys-unemployment-rate-drops-to-105-percent-in-april

Turkey, China partner up for 1.2-GW solar plant in Gebze

n investment that will contribute to the infrastructure of solar panel production – currently approaching 1,400 megawatts (MWs) in Turkey – will soon be put into effect. Smart Energy Group, which has solar power plant investments in Turkey and Balkan countries including Bulgaria and Greece, providing turnkey GES installation services to other investors, has undertaken the new solar panel investment.

The Turkish solar company Smart Energy Group will build a 1,200-MW solar panel plant in the Gebze Organized Industrial Zone (GOIZ) in collaboration with Chinese company, Phono Solar with roughly 400 MWs expected to begin production soon. The partnership aims to generate domestic sales as well as exports to the U.S. and Europe.

Smart Energy Chairman and CEO Halil Demirdağ said that the decision to produce solar panels has been fueled by new regulations in Turkey’s import sector, adding that Smart Energy has successfully convinced China’s Phono Solar, one of the key brands approved by major banks and insurance companies worldwide, to be a strategic partner.

https://www.dailysabah.com/energy/2017/07/14/turkey-china-partner-up-for-12-gw-solar-plant-in-gebze

Opposition in Turkey reacts to Erdoğan’s discriminative rhetoric

Speaking at the 1st year anniversary of the foiled coup of July 15 in Turkey, the chair of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave remarks that have caused reaction among the members of the opposition and the public.

‘We buried 250 heroes to the ground on the night of July 15. And, in return, we have saved the future of the 50 million in Turkey’, Erdoğan said, leaving aside the other 30 million in the country, which has a current population of around 80 million.

Members of the opposition Özgür Özel (CHP MP) and Meral Danış Beştaş (HDP MP) reacted to the discriminative rhetoric of Erdoğan and shared their comments with BirGün.

http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/opposition-in-turkey-reacts-to-erdogan-s-discriminative-rhetoric-170176.html

Turkey runs nearly $7B budget deficit in January-June

Turkey ran a budget deficit of 25.2 billion Turkish liras (about $6.9 billion) this January to June, Finance Minister Naci Agbal said Monday. The budget deficit in June stood at 13.7 billion Turkish liras (approximately $3.9 billion), compared to a surplus of 6.4 billion Turkish liras (around $1.8 billion) in May.

“The budget deficit for the first six months of this year stands at 53.9 percent of the government’s end-year targets,” Agbal said.

The government is aiming for a budget deficit of 46.9 billion Turkish liras (nearly $12.9 billion) at the end of the year, according to the Finance Ministry.

Turkey’s government ran a 29.3 billion Turkish lira (some $9.7 billion) budget deficit last year.

http://www.yenisafak.com/en/economy/turkey-runs-nearly-7b-budget-deficit-in-january-june-2757218

17.07.2017
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.