News Scan for Turkey, March 21st 2016

Iran’s Zarif to discuss business, Syria on Turkey visit

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif joined his Turkish hosts in Istanbul on Saturday in condemning a suicide bombing by suspected Kurdish militants in a main shopping district that killed five people. Zarif, on a visit to bolster bilateral trade and discuss political differences over the war in neighboring Syria, said the bombing – which also injured 36 people – “displays the ugly face of terrorism”.

Turkey’s foreign ministry has said the aim of the talks during Zarif’s visit will be “current regional and international developments” as well as relations between the two countries. Zarif suggested business would be high on the agenda. “We are seeking the best possible level of economic cooperation with Turkey after the nuclear deal,” he told reporters in Istanbul.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-turkey-idUSKCN0WL0BI

Istanbul bomber identified as suspected IS member

The identity of suicide bomber who carried out the attack in Istanbul’s busy Istiklal Avenue on March 19 has been revealed as Mehmet Öztürk, a suspected Islamic State (IS) member. “The identity of terrorist who carried out this wretched suicide attack has been determined. This person, this terrorist is Mehmet Öztürk, born in 1992 and registered from the Gaziantep province. Current findings show that the terrorist has links to the DAEŞ terror organization,” Interior Minister Efkan Ala has said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

Born in 1992 in Gaziantep, Öztürk was sought as the Islamic State (IS) suspect from ‘terror-qualified missing person’ list. The identity of Öztürk was confirmed following DNA tests of samples taken from his relatives.

http://www.dha.com.tr/istanbul-bomber-identified-as-suspected-is-member_1172048.html

Dutch Consul General takes solidarity walk down Istiklal Street

The Dutch Consul General in Istanbul, Robert Schuddeboom took a march down Istiklal Street on Saturday night once it was reopened after a deadly suicide bombing that left four civilians dead.

The walk was in solidarity with Turkey as Schuddeboom posted a message on the social media platform, Twitter, that read, “This evening #Istiklal was reopened by authorities, but remained eerily quiet. Went out for grocery with my boys.”

http://www.dailysabah.com/istanbul/2016/03/20/dutch-consul-general-robert-schuddeboom-takes-solidarity-walk-down-istiklal-street

Turkey plans to make praising violent acts in media a ‘terror crime’

AKP legal expert says counter-terror laws will be broadened to target those who ‘ideologically support’ terrorist acts, days after Ankara bombing blamed on PKK

Turkey is working on widening the definition of a “terror crime” to include those who use the media to support or praise acts of violence, a senior official from the ruling party said on Wednesday, days after a suicide bombing killed 37 people.  The president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said on Monday that Turkey’s counter-terrorism laws, already seen by rights groups as too invasive and used in recent months to detain academics and journalists, should be widened further.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/16/turkey-plans-to-make-praising-violent-acts-in-media-a-terror

Turkey to sell locally produced medicine to local, foreign markets

Turkish pharmaceutical company TR-Pharm, aiming to further popularize the country’s pharmaceutical industry worldwide, plans to develop and launch biosimilars in both local and international markets in cooperation with India’s Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories.

Turkey has taken a major step toward producing locally produced medicine with pharmaceutical company TR-Pharm in collaboration with India’s multinational pharmaceutical company, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, to develop biosimilars and launch these products in local and foreign markets.

http://www.dailysabah.com/money/2016/03/21/turkey-to-sell-locally-produced-medicine-to-local-foreign-markets

AKP rule increasingly relies on “GONGOs,” or government-oriented NGOs

In contrast to more liberal policies pursued by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in its initial years in power, the space for civil society in Turkey today is deteriorating rapidly, Third Sector Foundation of Turkey (TÜSEV) head Tevfik Başak Ersen has told the Hürriyet Daily News.

AKP rule increasingly relies on “GONGOs,” or government-oriented NGOs, with groups close to the government supported but the rest excluded and seen increasingly as a threat, according to Ersen, whose TÜSEV issues regular reports on the state of civil society in Turkey.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/akp-sets-up-gongos-and-exclude-other-ngos.aspx?pageID=238&nID=96686&NewsCatID=338

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.

21.03.2016
compiled by Editor BTT