NEWS SCAN for Turkey – Aug 3rd, 2013

Down below you will find a summary of topics from major Turkish papers and internet sites

Security forces raid homes of members of Workers’ Party and TGB just before Ergenekon verdict

Riot police have launched raids at several locations in Istanbul and Ankara, including NGOs and media bureaus ahead of the Ergenekon trial verdict hearing scheduled to take place Aug. 5, detaining at least 20 people.

Police squads set out in the early hours of Aug. 3 and raided the home addresses of the Workers’ Party (İP) officials both in Istanbul and in Ankara, as well as homes of members of the Turkish Youth Union (TGB), a youth association affiliated with the party. Homes of some journalists at daily Aydınlık and broadcaster Ulusal Kanal, both linked with İP, were also searched.

Police units also raided TGB’s Istanbul headquarters at the Beyoğlu district. The searched addresses included the homes of TGB’s Istanbul province head Olgu Özdemir and vice-chairman Utku Faik Yılmaz, İP’s Istanbul province head Osman Bilge Kuruca and Ankara province head Osman Yılmaz, Aydınlık editor-in-chief İker Yücel and reporter Osman Erbil as well as Ulusal Kanal’s Ankara representative Mustafa Kaya.  TGB’s Chairman Çağdaş Cengiz was among the 20 people taken into custody, daily Hürriyet reported.

Foreign investors make money off interest revenues

Interest rate revenues are at the forefront of foreigners’ earnings, as 52 percent, or $63 billion of Turkey’s investment income has been transferred as interest revenue for the last 10-and-a-half years of Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule.

It was very noteworthy that one-third of the $7.5 billion of Turkey’s current account deficit in May resulted from foreign investors’ transfer of investment revenues. Many foreign investors transferred their revenues from yields, interest and hot money very rapidly, and the total from such transfers amounted to $7 billion in the first five months of this year. If the same trend continues in the next seven months, Turkey will experience what happened in 2008. Namely, foreign investors will transfer over $15 billion of their income in 2013, as they did in 2008, when the world saw an outbreak of serious economic crisis. Such a trend was normal in 2008, but is it possible to understand the same trend in 2013? The decision of the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) to end the high liquidity party in the global markets appears to be a prominent factor.

Pipeline to carry oil from the Kurdistan Regional Government to Turkey will be finished finish end of 2013

The pipeline that will carry oil from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to Turkey will be completed by the end of this year, Anglo-Turkish oil and gas independent Genel Energy has said. “Significant progress has been made on the independent KRG pipeline infrastructure to Turkey, which is expected to be completed in the last quarter of this year,” the company said in a written statement on July 31.

The first phase from the Taq Taq field to Khurmala is currently operational with an initial capacity of 150,000 barrels oil per day (bopd). The second phase involves the conversion to an oil pipeline of a pipeline from Khurmala to Dohuk, which will have an initial capacity of 300,000 bopd and the conversion is now complete. The final phase is a pipeline from Dohuk to Fishkabur on the Turkish border, which is under construction and expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2013, Genel Energy said. Tony Hayward, chief executive, said Genel’s exploration success in the first half of 2013 had added the equivalent of around 500m barrels of oil to its total contingent resources – an increase of more than 50 percent. He said a gas sales agreement between the KRG and Turkey could be signed by the end of the year, envisaging sales to Turkey of 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

Court rejects request for retrial filed by  jailed PKK leader’s lawyers

An Ankara court today rejected a demand from Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), requesting a retrial and a suspension of his prison sentence. Öcalan’s lawyers had filed a new request for a retrial after the reform bill known as the “fourth judicial package” was approved by the Parliament in April.

A clause in the bill enabled the retrial of some convicts whose rights originating from the European Convention of Human Rights had been violated according to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Lawyers argued that Öcalan’s conviction was breaching ECHR law and gave a legitimate right to apply for a retrial under the amendment. However the judge panel rejected unanimously the lawyers’ request, Anadolu agency reported.

Öcalan has been serving a life sentence on Imralı Island for a long while now. The PKK leader has been involved in peace talks with the government to solve permanently the three-decades-long armed conflict in the Kurdish southeastern areas of the country. The process is currently in a critical phase, with PKK militants continuing to withdraw from Turkish soil and the Kurdish actors increasing their pressure on the government to prepare deep reforms.

Supreme Military Council in Turkey replaces all force commanders

All force commanders including Gendarmerie Commander Bekir Kalyoncu, who was expected to be appointed as the new Turkish Land Forces commander in accordance with the military tradition, have been replaced as the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) re-shaped the army echelon. According to Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) tradition, if Kalyoncu had been appointed as the new head of the Land Forces Command during the YAŞ meeting, he would be appointed the new chief of the General Staff in 2015, replacing Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel.

The results of the three-day YAŞ meeting were made public after the decisions were presented to President Abdullah Gül on Saturday. According to the decisions, Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar has been appointed as the new Land Forces commander while Kalyoncu was forced to retire. Akar is expected to replace Özel in 2015.

Air Training Commander Lt. Gen. Akın Öztürk replaced Gen. Mehmet Erten as the new Air Forces commander. Head of the Education and Doctrine Command (EDOK) Servet Yörük replaced Gen. Kalyoncu while new Naval Forces Commander will be Vice Adm. Bülent Bostanoğlu. Incumbent Chief of General Staff Gen. Özel, who is known for respecting civilian supremacy, will remain in his post until his retirement in 2015.

02308.2013
SOURCE: MEDIA

We do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.