NEWS SCAN for Turkey – June 28th, 2013
Down below you will find a summary of topics from major Turkish papers and internet sites.
Gezi Park to reopen in a few days, says Istanbul governor
The currently closed Gezi Park will be opened again to public use in a few days as municipality work continues at the site, which has become the heart of the antigovernment movement sweeping the nation, Istanbul Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu said.
“The work will be completed within a few days, and the park will be open to public use,” Mutlu told reporters as he attended a public relations award ceremony.
The park has been closed since heavy police intervention forced protesters out of the site, abandoning their tents and locations where they had stayed day and night for nearly two weeks before the evacuation.
PM Erdoğan says only 15 percent of PKK has left Turkey
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is reported to have stated, “Only 15 percent of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members have left Turkey’s soil since the settlement process began in late May,” during his final meeting with the Wise People Commission on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Erdoğan held a meeting with 63 members of the Wise People Commission at the Prime Minister’s Office in Dolmabahçe Palace. The commission presented their final reports which consisted of regional assessments, demands of the public and proposals for solutions to the problems revealed in their two-month study, to the prime minister.
The group, made up of a wide range of academics, journalists, actors, authors and singers, relayed the demand for the government to take further steps to start the second stage of the process, since the PKK has reportedly been leaving the country, which was to mark the end of first stage.
Fenerbahce slam UEFA for the 3 year ban from Europe
Fenerbahce’s Chairman YILDIRIM who held a press conference yesterday said the ban was the most unfortunate case for UEFA and it might put UEFA into a difficult situation.
The Yellow Canaries were given a three year ban from European competitions by the UEFA.
YILDIRIM stated there could not be match-fixing like this and it was not a match-fixing case but an operation against Fenerbahce and added they believed that the ban might be revoked by Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The expression “Due to this decision, UEFA might even collapse,” caused big surprise among audience.
Official says Prime Minister Erdoğan’s Recep Tayyip visit to Gaza not scheduled yet
An official replied to a question about earlier reports that claimed the prime minister would visit the Hamas-controlled enclave on July 5 and denied that such a date was not yet scheduled. The same official reiterated however that Erdoğan would visit Gaza at some point.
PM Erdoğan’s expected visit to Gaza has been an issue of conflict since Erdoğan announced he weas determined to pay a visit to said destination in the very close future.
In fact, on Erdoğan’s visit to the USA top American officials had implied they would much rather have Erdoğan postpone his concerned visit.
Turkish athletes cause doping scandal at Mediterranean Games
It is reported that test results for eight Turkish athletes turned out to be positive for doping substances days after similar accusations were made regarding eight Turkish weightlifters.
Earlier five other athletes competing in the European Team Championships had been accused of doping, and thus the list has become longer following with additional names; Eşref Apak, Kaan Şencan, Elif Yıldırım, İsa Can, Umut Aday, Ummuhani Karaçadırlı, Fatih Eryıldırım and Narin Kahraman are reported to be the latest athletes to have tested positive for banned substances.
28.06.2013
SOURCE: MEDIA
We do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.
