NEWS SCAN for Turkey – June 8th, 2013
New York Times responds to Erdoğan’s criticism over Gezi Park ad
The New York Times has said it accepts advertisements “from all advocacy groups who wish to share their opinions” in response to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s criticism over a full-page ad placed in the newspaper by Gezi Park supporters.
The ad run under the title “What’s happening in Turkey” and supported the popular resistance following the protests in Gezi Park, while issuing several demands, such as the end of police brutality, the start of democratic dialogue and a freer media.
The prime minister targeted the foreign media during a speech June 7, accusing foreign outlets of “running stories based on orders with ideological approaches.”
The New York Times said “We publish this type of advertising because we believe in the First Amendment, which affords us the right to publish news and editorials, but just as important, guarantees the public’s right to be heard”.
Fitch says current level of protest in Turkey not a rating threat
The anti-government protests in Turkey are not a threat to the sovereign’s ‘BBB-’ rating at present, Fitch Ratings said on June 7 by a press statement. Fitch Ratings had upgraded Turkey to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BB+’ in November.
“The level of unrest is well within the tolerance of political stability embedded in the current rating, and the economic impact so far is minor,” the agency said, adding that low political stability and, in particular, low World Bank voice accountability indicators (the latter falling well short of the ‘BBB’ median) have long been a feature of Turkey’s sovereign credit profile and are already considered weaknesses in their sovereign rating assessment.
Lagendijk says Turkey will have contributions in the EU
Member of European Parliament Joost Lagendijk stated that although Turkey would meet the criteria and enter European Union, it would never become a Denmark or the Netherlands, adding that Turkey would still contribute the EU well.
Speaking at the dinner after the conference “Common Future for Turkey and European Union in Face of Global Issues”, organized by Turkey’s European Union Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, Lagendijk underlined that Turks living in Europe more specified the image of Turkey than the Turks living in Turkey and said, “Europeans’ mind change after they visit Turkey. If we had the chance to bring all Germans to Turkey and let them pass one week in Turkey, the debate on Turkey in Germany would end. They would remark that Turkey was a developed and democratic country. As it is impossible to bring 60 million Germans to Turkey, we need to present Turkey’s achievements to Europe, gained in last ten years.”
Turkish financial markets enjoy slight recovery
Turkish markets and lira enjoyed a slight but critical recovery on Friday from significant losses through the entire week. Analysts believe Friday’s recovery in markets translates into increased resilience in Turkish markets; however, the threat is not far away in the face of a turbulent political atmosphere.
Shares traded on Turkey’s main benchmark index, BIST-100, gained 3.43 percent on Friday’s afternoon session at 78.498 points. (Photo: Today’s Zaman, Bahar Mandan)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could have helped to cushion a sharp decline in markets on his return to İstanbul early Friday as investors held their breath waiting for a reassuring message amidst heated anti-government protests, but he didn’t.
08.06.2013
SOURCE: MEDIA
We do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.
