News Scan for Turkey – Dec 10th, 2013

Court releases jailed CHP deputy Mustafa Balbay

An Istanbul court ruled on Dec. 9 for the release of jailed deputy and journalist Mustafa Balbay, following a Constitutional Court ruling that his lengthy imprisonment amounted to a “violation of the law” and a “violation of his right to be elected.” “I sincerely hope that this process will be a fresh start,” the journalist and Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Balbay said immediately after leaving Ankara’s Sincan Prison.

Balbay, 53, who was elected to Parliament in the 2011 general elections for the CHP, said he would probably take his parliamentary oath Dec. 10, but wanted more than anything else to take the pledge in front of the public. Vowing to fight against every kind of unlawfulness and injustice, Balbay particularly asserted that he would take on the duty of supporting the freedom of prisoners subject to unjust treatment and lengthy detentions. “Even though it isn’t forgettable, this is not the time to bear grudges,” Balbay said, ending his remarks by declaring “hello to freedom and hello to Turkey.”

Balbay, who ran for Parliament in 2011 under the banner of the CHP while in detention but before his conviction, applied to the Constitutional Court based on a 2010 referendum that allowed private citizens to do so for the review of their cases. His application stated that his right to be elected had been violated because he was not able to perform his parliamentary duties while in detention pending the conclusion of his trial. He also filed a complaint about his long detention time. The court ruled last week that his right to be elected as per Article 19 of the Constitution had been violated. It also ordered the state to pay TL 5,000 in compensation to Balbay.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

After WTO, expectations grow for Trans-Pacific trade deal

Ministers from 12 countries made closed-door talks in a Singapore hotel to try to tie up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, just days after the first World Trade Organization trade reform deal was reached. Expectations are growing that an ambitious trade pact between a dozen nations around the Pacific Rim may be wrapped up in 2-3 months, with signs that political desire for a deal is trumping a string of technical difficulties in drawing it up.

Agreement would establish a free-trade bloc stretching from Vietnam to Chile and Japan, encompassing some 800 million people and almost 40 percent of the global economy. More far-reaching than other deals, it would go beyond tariffs on physical trade and try to regulate sensitive areas such as government procurement and give companies more rights to sue governments.

Just a few months ago a deal looked a long way off, with Japan only entering into the talks in July and many countries at odds over issues ranging from tariffs on farm produce to rules on Internet freedom and state-owned enterprises. However, a push by the United States to try to reach some kind of agreement by the year-end looks as if it may be starting to pay off. Japan’s trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters on Monday that progress was made during talks over dinner on Dec. 8, and observers say plenty of pre-work for the TPP talks went on during last week’s WTO meeting in Bali.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

Turkey’s budget debate begins

Heated exchanges can be expected as the government begins on Tuesday to ask Parliament to approve its budget for next year. During this process government ministers will give account in Parliament of their performance over the last 12 months. The Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek kicks off the proceedings by presenting the budget in the plenary of the Grand National Assembly at 2pm.

The budget debate will continue for 11 days, ending on December 20, is a once-a-year opportunity for the opposition to question individual government departments as they present their budget proposals for the upcoming year. Deputies are allowed to question ministers about their department’s performance.

After the budget is presented, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader, Devlet Bahceli will speak on the budget proposals.

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Turkey-UK Business Forum held in Istanbul

The fourth Turkey-UK Business Forum, the one-day event bringing together senior government officials, business leaders, academics and professionals to convene on strengthening Turkish-British business ties and explore new areas of opportunity, was held on the 6th of December in Istanbul.

Organized by the Turkish British Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TBCCI) in association with the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT) and Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), the Forum highlighted Turkey’s economic accomplishments in the last decade and the high potential it offers to British companies looking for new markets.

Speaking at the event, Arda Ermut, the Vice President of ISPAT, said that a large number of foreign companies, including those from Japan and the US, regarded cooperating with Turkish companies as a gateway to third countries and called on British multinationals to do the same. “British companies emerged as the largest foreign investors in Turkey with an investment total of USD 23 billion. Over 2500 British companies are active in Turkey”, Ermut remarked, adding that the trade volume between Turkey and the UK amounted to USD 14 billion in 2012.

“Turkey’s spectacular economic success in the last decade and the combination of a large domestic market, key strategic location, favorable demographics and a skilled work force present the international companies with one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world”, the ISPAT Vice President said, stating ISPAT’s readiness to assist British investors at every stage of their venture in Turkey.

Thousands flock to Johannesburg stadium for Mandela memorial

Thousands of people flocked to Johannesburg’s 90,000-seat FNB Stadium on Tuesday to attend an official memorial service for late president and liberation icon Nelson Mandela. Heavy rainfall, however, has made it difficult for residents of the nearby Soweto Township – where Mandela once lived – to reach the stadium on foot.

Braving heavy rains, people lined up for hours outside the stadium to pass through airtight security. Many people sang and danced, while others carried banners bearing the image of Mandela, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 95. Security has been stepped up in Johannesburg, with numerous police details assigned to secure the FNB Stadium. No cars are allowed near the venue, while adjacent roads have been cordoned off. A number of tourists spent the night outside the stadium in tents in anticipation of Tuesday’s memorial.

On Tuesday morning, work at the stadium was ongoing, as officials rushed to finish erecting the last stand in time for the event. The four-hour memorial service is scheduled to begin at 11am local time.

President Jacob Zuma is expected to address the mourners, who will include a galaxy of international dignitaries including US President Barak Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Mandela’s body will not be displayed at the memorial service. South Africans will have the opportunity to view Mandela’s body from Wednesday to Friday at the Union Building in Pretoria, where the late leader’s body will lie in state ahead of Sunday’s funeral. Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, will finally be laid to rest on Sunday at his rural home in Qunu village in the Eastern Cape.

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Readmission agreement with EU raises concerns

The readmission agreement Turkey will sign in mid-December with the European Union in exchange for the start of visa exemption talks has raised some concerns about the burden the agreement will cause Turkey, while Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bağış said on Monday that Turkey maintains its right to cancel the agreement if the visa exemption talks do not produce a result within a “reasonable time.”

Speaking on the NTV channel, Bağış tried to soothe concerns over the readmission agreement, saying that Turkey has started visa liberalization talks with the EU “on its own terms,” and that both the visa exemption and the readmission agreement will be implemented in about three years’ time. Bağış said that in the next three years Turkey will get funding from the EU to install thermal cameras along its borders, open a center staffed with language experts to determine illegal immigrants’ countries of origin and build a detention center for illegal immigrants.

Turkey and the EU announced last week that talks on allowing Turkish citizens to travel in Europe without visas would start in mid-December in Ankara. Turkey is also expected to sign a readmission agreement that would require the repatriation of third-country nationals illegally migrating to Europe via Turkey back to Turkey with the EU.

Though the deal is being presented “like it’s a big victory,” main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Faruk Loğoğlu said on Monday, “Turkey seems to have made many serious compromises with the EU for visa exemption, which was hoped to be implemented in 3 to 3.5 years.”

TODAYS ZAMAN

10.12.2013
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.