News Scan for Turkey – Dec 3rd, 2013
Turkish President calls for calm as gov’t defuses tension with Gülen movement
In a bid to de-escalate a heated debate between the government and Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s movement surrounding the future of private prep-schools, known as “dershanes,” President Abdullah Gül has called for attention to be focused instead on “more essential issues.”
“Development in scientific fields is permanent. The others are daily discussions, today there are more conjectural discussions in our minds,” Gül said on Dec. 3 in response to questions from reporters, refusing to give a direct answer on questions about the private prep-school controversy.
His remarks came as supporters of the Gülen Movement have cautiously welcomed the government’s decision to set September 2015 as the deadline for the “transformation” of prep schools into private schools, bringing down the heat in the ongoing row between the parties.
HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
Turkey’s approval rating in Middle East down 10 percent from 2012
Research conducted on the perception of Turkey in the Middle East this year has found that the overall positive perception of Turkey in the region has dropped from 69 percent in 2012 to 59 percent and that while Turkey was the most-liked country in the region in the last two years, it now ranks third following the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
In 2011, Turkey’s approval rating across region was a high of 78 percent.
The Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) and KA Research Company conducted the fifth and final report in 16 countries in the Middle East between August and September of this year by randomly polling 2,800 people over the phone. The findings of the report were made public on Tuesday in İstanbul.
One of the most striking changes revealed by the research is the perception of Turkey in Syria and Egypt compared to figures from the last two surveys. As opposed to an 84 percent approval rating last year, only 38 percent of Egyptians felt favorably towards Turkey in 2013. The perception of Turkey in Syria has been on a consistent decline, from 44 percent in 2011 to 22 percent in 2013.
TODAYS ZAMAN
Turkey’s inflation still far from target
Turkey’s inflation showed a 7.3 percent increase last month from the same month a year earlier, while the year-on-year inflation rate was 7.7 percent in October. However, some economists say it seems unlikely to reach its inflation target, which was revised by the Central Bank from 6.2 to 6.8 percent at the end of 2013.
The inflation rose by 0.01 percent month-on-month in November, below expectations, according to figures revealed by the state-run statistics body TÜİK Dec. 3. But, the economists expect the Central Bank might enhance its cautious stance in tight monetary policy.
“Currently the course of core and headline inflation is much higher than the target of 5 percent,” said Central Bank Governor Erdem Başçı during a news conference by the end of October. “Therefore, don’t expect an easing of monetary policy until we approach the inflation target, and even achieve it,” he added.
HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
Turkey’s ruling AK Party announces new mayoral candidates
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday announced more mayoral candidates of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party for the 2014 local elections to be held on March 30, 2014 in provinces and municipalities.
Speaking at his party’s weekly group meeting, Erdogan announced specifically the incumbent Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin as mayoral candidate for the southernmost Hatay province, and AK Party legislator Galip Ensarioglu for the southeastern province of Diyarbakir for the upcoming local elections.
Despite losing votes from the 2004 elections, the AK Party remained the overall winner in the last 2009 local elections.
AA
Gov’t profiling of individuals found unacceptable, unlawful
Human rights advocates and legal experts have voiced their uneasiness about claims suggesting that the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) has profiled individuals whom it believes to be followers of certain religious and faith-based groups, describing the practice as being illegitimate and a violation of human rights.
According to a report published in the Taraf daily on Monday, the government’s profiling of individuals and its monitoring of their activities did not end in 2010 as previously claimed, but it continued between 2011 and 2013. Those mainly profiled are reportedly followers of the Hizmet (Service) movement, a faith-based movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. The daily also claimed that other religious groups that voiced criticism or disapproval of the government’s activities were also profiled, mainly civil servants or those who planned or hoped to be employed in a state post.
TODAYS ZAMAN
Exports break a historical monthly record
After experiencing a slowdown in October, exports have once again pressed on the gas in November. With a monthly export figure of $13.8 billion, November’s exports were the highest monthly figure ever before seen in the country’s history. Turkish Exporters Assembly President Büyükekşi assures, “We will meet our $153 billion target by the end of the year.”
While Turkey’s exports regressed in October due to the nine-day Feast of Sacrifice holiday, in November exports experienced a record breaking recovery, increasing by 8.8 percent, compared to the same month the year prior, to reach a total of $13.797 billion. Turkey’s Exporters’ Assembly (TİM) released November’s export figures in Tokat on Monday. TİM President Mehmet Büyükekşi explained during Monday’s meeting, “This is the highest monthly export figure in the history of the nation.”
SABAH
03.12.2013
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.
