Turkey : Part Tres :)

by **Exit40** on Sat May 12, 2012 4:18 pm

"Sixty Minutes" to Air Report on Turkish Charter School Cleric Tied to Bob Filner

Matt Potter, May 11, 2012

Just in time for the final stretch of San Diego's race for mayor, the CBS news magazine Sixty Minutes is airing a report this coming Sunday about a controversial Turkish spiritual leader, followers of whom, records show, have contributed money to the mayoral campaign of Democratic congressman Bob Filner.

The Muslim scholar, Fethullah Gulen, leads a worldwide movement that has been heavily involved in creating high-tech charter schools around the world and has both backers and detractors.

As we reported in March of last year, Filner visited Turkey in late December 2010, courtesy of a non-profit corporation called the Pacifica Institute:

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Sun May 13, 2012 10:08 am

Kurdish-Islamist Party in Turkey Set to Launch Despite Obstacles
12/05/2012 05:50:00 By HEMIN KHOSHNAW

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -- Sidki Zilan, a prominent Kurdish-Islamic figure in southeastern Turkey is planning to found an Islamic Party of Kurdistan. "Our party will become an independent Islamic party of Kurdistan and will have no relations with the AKP or BDP. Our party will stress the Islamic and Kurdish identity of our nation," Zilan told Rudaw.

The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) considers this action as political pluralism while a former member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) sees it as an outcome of the political vacuum in Kurdish regions of Turkey. In the last municipal and parliamentary elections, the AKP and BDP won most of the Kurdish votes in Turkey. But now, rumors are circulating that the new Islamic party may be established by former AKP members who split from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP. But as the mastermind of the new party, Zilan denies having any relationship with former AKP members.

According to Turkish laws, no political party or institution can contain the name “Kurdistan.” "It is impossible for a Kurdish Islamic party to use the word Kurdistan, according to Turkish laws, but we should be daring and determined,” Zilan said. Zilan says that the main challenge to his new party will come from the ultranationalist Kemalists who oppose both the “Islamic and Kurdish identity.”....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Sun May 13, 2012 10:35 am

Turkey Wants Better French Ties, Minister Tells AFP
Posted GMT 5-12-2012 17:28:18

ISTANBUL (AFP) -- Turkey is hoping that new French president Francois Hollande will open a fresh page in relations with Ankara and, unlike his predecessor, back the Muslim-majority nation's EU bid.

"We are hoping that he (Hollande) would open a new page in the very deep and fruitful historical relations between Turkey and France," Turkey's European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis told AFP.

Ankara would like to see France "become one of the champions of Turkish integration in the EU," as it was under president Jacques Chirac, he said....

**** Snip .... But Bagis says for Turkey the EU is not an economic project but a major avenue for peace. "Turkey can turn the grandest peace project of the history of mankind, which is the EU, from being a continental project to a global project."..

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Wed May 16, 2012 7:43 am

Turkey shows renewed interest in EU bid
Published May 16, 2012
Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey – With a new government in place in France, Turkey is showing a renewed interest in reviving its stalled bid to join the European Union.

On Thursday, Turkey and the EU are set to launch informal discussions aimed at bringing membership talks back on track.

This week, Turkey's government also said its parliament would soon vote on a series of EU-oriented reforms that would help advance the membership talks.

Turkey began EU accession negotiations in 2005 but made little progress since then due to a dispute with Cyprus and opposition by former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to Turkey's membership.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said this week: "With the coming to power of Mr. Francois Hollande, we are all hoping that a new course in the Turkish-EU relations will gain momentum."...

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Thu May 17, 2012 9:35 am

Turkey, EU Launch Bid to Revive Stalled Membership Talks
Posted Thursday, May 17th, 2012 at 12:10 pm

Turkey and the European Union have officially launched a bid to revive accession talks following years of stagnation.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said Thursday the new “positive agenda” should bring fresh dynamics and new momentum to their relations. He spoke in the Turkish capital, Ankara, where he traveled to announce the start of those talks. ...

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Thu May 17, 2012 10:26 am

Harmony Science representative defends school, denies allegations
Posted: May 16, 2012 9:35 PM PDT Updated: May 17, 2012 8:53 AM PDT
By Natasha Sweatte - email
LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) -

60 Minutes aired a story Sunday night about possible ties between American charter schools and the Gulen movement.
The Gülen movement is inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Fethullah Gülen. KCBD NewsChannel 11 reached out to Harmony Science Academy in Lubbock earlier this week, but our on camera interview request was denied.

Harmony Science Academy Elementary Coordinator Jodi Bennett sat down with KCBD Wednesday to set the record straight at the local level.

She said the report 60 Minutes aired Sunday was fair. "Hopefully it dispelled some of the myths that are going on about the ties to our school and the Gulen movement," Bennett said. "None of those are true."

So where are these complaints coming from?...

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Thu May 17, 2012 10:45 am

May 16, 2012 8:01 pm
Turkey close to Azeri gas deal
By Daniel Dombey in Istanbul

Turkey says it is close to an agreement to bring gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe, a deal widely seen as marking the end of the road for a longstanding European plan to combine Azerbaijani with Central Asian gas and reduce the continent’s dependence on Russian imports.

By the end of next month Ankara will conclude an agreement with Azerbaijan to set up a new pipeline to transport gas from the Caspian state’s giant Shah Deniz field, Taner Yildiz, Turkey’s energy minister, told the FT.

European Union officials have hoped that a bigger pipeline, named Nabucco, would take the gas more than 3,000km into the heart of Europe and, at a later stage, also transport gas from Turkmenistan, so providing substantial alternative supplies to Russian gas....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Fri May 18, 2012 7:10 am

May 17, 2012, 8:29 p.m. ET
Turkey Aims to Damp Drone-Report Furor
By JOE PARKINSON and ADAM ENTOUS

ISTANBUL—Turkish drones were responsible for the initial intelligence footage that prompted a deadly strike against civilian smugglers, Turkey's armed forces said Thursday, seeking to damp a furor sparked by a Wall Street Journal article that described the role played by a U.S. drone.

Turkey's General Staff said in a written statement that Turkish-language reports, which cited a Wednesday article in the Journal, were "not based on the truth."

Quoting a Pentagon after-action report, the Journal said a U.S. Predator drone spotted a group of men and pack animals and passed the footage to Turkey's military. The Turks identified the convoy as Kurdish militant fighters and took the decision to strike using jets from its air force....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Fri May 18, 2012 7:14 am

Bloomberg View: Let Turkey Progress Toward EU Membership
Posted on May 17, 2012

François Hollande should add an item to his daunting list of priorities: End France’s block on Turkey’s talks to join the European Union, and do it soon.

That may seem eccentric in light of everything Hollande already faces, what with the euro area’s economic meltdown. But it isn’t. EU leaders need to show direction and create momentum for the bloc in areas where they can reaffirm its purpose and values, even as the economy sputters.

Turkey’s a good place to start. Unblocking its membership process would end the widespread impression that the EU discriminates against Muslims at a time when xenophobia, anti-immigrant feelings, and isolationism are rising within the mainly Christian nations of Europe.

In 2004, the EU agreed to give Turkey the chance to join the bloc, if it could show it had adopted the required 100,000-plus pages of EU legislation and other conditions of membership. Since then, 19 of the 35 negotiating chapters that are involved in this process have been blocked. Turkey is the only country in the EU’s history to have its membership bid frozen in this way.....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Fri May 18, 2012 7:22 am

Turkey Flexes Muscles Before NATO Summit
Dorian Jones
May 16, 2012

ISTANBUL - A last-minute deal has cleared away a dispute over the attendance of senior European Union officials at the NATO summit opening in Chicago Sunday. Analysts saw the dispute as an example of Turkey flexing its growing diplomatic muscle within the military alliance.

With only days to go before the NATO summit, the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and the head of European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, finally received an official invitation to attend.

The delay was a result of objections by Turkey over what Ankara perceives as a lack of equal treatment between NATO and EU officials.....

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God Bless

David

by **burien1** on Fri May 18, 2012 8:54 am

Exit40 wrote:Turkey Flexes Muscles Before NATO Summit
Dorian Jones
May 16, 2012

ISTANBUL - A last-minute deal has cleared away a dispute over the attendance of senior European Union officials at the NATO summit opening in Chicago Sunday. Analysts saw the dispute as an example of Turkey flexing its growing diplomatic muscle within the military alliance.

With only days to go before the NATO summit, the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and the head of European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, finally received an official invitation to attend.

The delay was a result of objections by Turkey over what Ankara perceives as a lack of equal treatment between NATO and EU officials.....

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God Bless

David

Flexing its muscles, or ruling all, including Us ? ? ?

by **Exit40** on Fri May 18, 2012 8:55 am

May 18, 2012
60 Minutes Veils Education Jihad
By Janet Levy

While the mainstream media continues to promote Turkey as a successful example of the coexistence of Islam, democracy, and economic stability -- referring to the country as "a bridge between East and West" and a potential asset to the European Union -- this view couldn't be farther from reality.

In fact, Turkey has descended farther into the abyss of Islamization as it continues to refuse to acknowledge its genocide of Armenians, Assyrians, Greek Christians, and other minorities; denies its decades-long repression of its Kurdish population; and persists in its illegal occupation of the Republic of Cyprus. Islamic instruction, under the guise of religious culture and ethics classes, has become mandatory in state schools, further signaling the demise of secularism in Turkey. Meanwhile, veiling, an emblem of Islamization, has increased significantly within the last decade.

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Sun May 20, 2012 6:54 am

Israel fixes, returns four aerial drones to Turkey in possible sign of warming ties
Failure to repair the Herons has been a bone of contention with Ankara for years
By Yifa Yaakov May 19, 2012, 9:32 pm 2

In another possible sign of a thaw in the icy relations between Israel and Turkey, Israel has fixed and returned to Turkey four of the five unmanned aerial Heron drones which were sent to Israel for repairs several years ago.

Ankara purchased the drones several years ago, signing a contract with the Israeli government which Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Jerusalem of breaking when the Herons were not promptly fixed and returned to Turkey. “Are they even ethical?” Erdogan asked of Israel last September. “There can be problems amongst people and resentment; they can refrain from meeting with each other. All of this is possible, but when it comes to international agreements, there is an international trade ethic.”

According to a report in the Turkish Sabah daily on Saturday, however, the repair and maintenance work has now been performed on the Israeli-made drones, and they have quietly been returned to Ankara. The first was returned in April, and the other three were sent back a few days ago. A fifth is reportedly still undergoing repair.....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Sun May 20, 2012 8:48 am

Sunday,May 20 2012, Your time is 8:45:53 AM
Israel seeks to deploy 20,000 commandos in Greek Cyprus

NICOSIA - Anatolia News Agency
An Israeli soldier patrols near a building occupied by Israeli settlers in the West Bank city of Hebron. AP photo

An Israeli soldier patrols near a building occupied by Israeli settlers in the West Bank city of Hebron. AP photo
Israel wants its energy projects in Greek Cyprus to be run by Israelis and is seeking to deploy as many as 20,000 commandos for their protection, Anatolia news agency reported today.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Greek Cypriot counterpart, Demetris Christofias, met on Feb. 16 to discuss the two countries' joint ventures. Details of the talks between the two leaders were kept secret.

Anatolia cited a source it said was close to the Greek Cypriot government who reportedly said Christophias specifically asked Netanyahu to convince Israeli businessmen to halt their investments in Turkish Cyprus during the meeting...

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Sun May 20, 2012 8:51 am

Turkish PM links Uludere raid row to elections in US

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Erdoğan accuses a US daily of trying to undermine the Obama administration with a story over the Uludere raid failure last year.

The Wall Street Journal may be part of a project to undermine the Barack Obama administration as the U.S. presidential election approaches, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

In late December 2011 34 civilians were killed in a Turkish airstrike at Uludere after they were wrongly suspected of being terrorists. Questions as to the source of the intelligence which led to the mistake have been widely disputed in Turkey, and no clear answer was forthcoming. The Wall Street Journal’s report stated that the initial intelligence leading to the attack originated from an American Predator drone.

“My assessment of this news is that it is meant to make life difficult for the current [U.S.] government,” Erdoğan said, adding that the information that led to the Uludere incident, which recently sparked great discussion in Turkey, had been gathered from Turkish domestic intelligence sources....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Sun May 20, 2012 9:14 am

Sunday,May 20 2012, Your time is 9:09:21 AM
CONTRIBUTOR
Anchoring the alliance

On the eve of the NATO’s Chicago summit May 20 and 21, where world leaders will discuss the war in Afghanistan, defense capabilities and global partnerships, a new Atlantic Council report argues for the enduring importance of NATO, and calls for renewed leadership from the alliance’s members to ensure NATO’s vibrancy in the decade to come.

The report, titled “Anchoring the Alliance,” argues that NATO is a force multiplier for the United States and remains essential to addressing the security challenges of a globalized world. In the report, Richard Nicholas Burns, Atlantic Council Board director, former undersecretary of state, and former U.S. ambassador to NATO, argues that for NATO to remain central in the coming decade, the United States will have to provide strong leadership of the alliance, Europe must maintain its aspirations for global leadership, and the alliance as a whole must strengthen its engagement with global partners.

The report also calls for greater leadership from individual members of the alliance. While all NATO members have unique and essential contributions to make, “the responsibility for NATO’s future vitality falls disproportionately heavily on Turkey, the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, and the steps they now take toward recommitting to the alliance.” ....

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God bless

David

by **Exit40** on Mon May 21, 2012 5:55 am

Monday,May 21 2012, Your time is 5:53:20 AM
Israel denies claims of troop deployment to Greek Cyprus

Israel's Foreign Ministry has denied a report that claimed the country hoped to deploy as many as 20,000 commandos to Greek Cyprus to protect nationals working on energy projects....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Tue May 22, 2012 8:58 am

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

VIEW: Waiting for a Pakistani Erdogan! — Aqdas Afzal

The would-be Pakistani Erdogan should try to obtain political experience, preferably as a local mayor, before making a dash for the prime ministerial slot

National elections in Pakistan are around the corner and if certain polls are to be believed, Pakistan may have a new prime minister in 2013, if not sooner. In order to deliver the Pakistani nation from the economic doldrums, the next prime minister will have to learn quickly and act even faster. The spectacular success of the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (pronounced: Er-do-ahn), in pulling Turkey back from the economic brink and placing his country on the road towards economic prosperity offers an instructive case in point.

Recently, Pakistani politicians and policymakers seem to have rediscovered Turkey. ‘All things Turkish’ has become the new fad judging by the endless references to that country on primetime television. Shahbaz Sharif, the Chief Minister of Punjab, has been a regular visitor to Turkey, where, according to sources, he has been tirelessly working towards bringing Turkish investment to Pakistan. A few months back, Imran Khan visited Turkey from where he tweeted about his appreciation for that country’s successful development model, particularly since Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (known in Turkey by the acronym AKP) came to power in 2002. In other words, it seems Turkey is now going to be our role model on the road to development.

Turkey has made tremendous economic progress since the AKP took over in 2002. Data obtained from the World Bank shows that during the nine years preceding AKP’s arrival at the helm (1993-2001), the average gross domestic product (GDP) growth per year was three percent. However, in the nine years under AKP (2002-2010), the GDP growth increased at an impressive five percent per year — at five percent annual growth, it would take about 14 years for the present Turkish real GDP to double, as opposed to 23 years at three percent. During the same period, inflation amounted to an average annual increase of 76 percent in prices before AKP. Since the AKP has taken over, the average annual inflation has come down to 15 percent in the nine years from 2002-2010. In 2002, the Turkish per capita income was $ 3,553. It has now increased to $ 10,094 (2010) — almost triple.

Turkey’s economic performance has been so impressive by international standards that Jim O’Neill, who coined the acronym BRICs in order to categorise Brazil, Russia, India and China as the most attractive emerging economies in 2001, has recently come up with a new list of promising emerging economies. O’Neill’s new list is denoted by the acronym MIST that now includes Turkey besides Mexico, Indonesia and South Korea....

[url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\05\22\story_22-5-2012_pg3_6]Continues[/url]

God Bless

David

Don't know why I can't fix this link. Copy/paste into your browser, should take you there, worked for me. D.

by **Exit40** on Tue May 22, 2012 9:03 am

Pakistan, Turkey agree to enhance cooperation
By: NNI | May 22, 2012, 5:48 pm | 0
Pakistan, Turkey agree to enhance cooperation

Pakistan and Turkey have agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of energy‚ trade‚ economy‚ culture‚ defence and communication. The agreement came at the second high level cooperation council meeting between Pakistan and Turkey here. Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan jointly presided over the meeting. Both the sides pledged to increase the trade volume between the countries to the tune of two billion dollars during the current financial year. The Council meeting expressed its satisfaction over the increase in the mutual trade activities between the two countries during the last few years. The meeting also reviewed how to increase trade on priority basis between the two countries. ...

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Wed May 23, 2012 10:25 am

Turkey says Syria is helping Kurdish rebels by allowing them to work from its territory

By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, May 23, 7:24 AM

ANKARA, Turkey — Syria is allowing Kurdish rebels who are fighting Turkish forces to establish bases in Syrian territory, as ties between the two neighboring countries deteriorate, a Turkish minister said Wednesday.

Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said Turkish intelligence indicates that Syria is allowing rebels to establish themselves in areas close to the Turkish border. Some Kurdistan Workers’ Party rebels have even taken charge of running small Syrian towns, Sahin claimed, describing the development as an apparent act of revenge against Turkey....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Wed May 23, 2012 10:38 am

May 23, 2012, 8:49 am
It’s Turkey’s Time
By ANDREW FINKEL
Murad Sezer/Associated Press

ISTANBUL — If patience is a virtue, then Turkey’s place among the angels is secure. The country’s efforts to become a member of the European Union has been dragging on for some 50 years, and while Ankara has not always been free from blame, since 2005 — when negotiations began in earnest — it has been trying hard to climb over the wall of Europe’s prejudices.

Yet now there is hope at last that the process may accelerate. Voter disenchantment in the euro zone recently claimed the head of President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, the leader of the die-hard Turko-skeptics. France had been refusing to even discuss with Turkey important provisions of the accession document known as the acquis communautaire, including those about budgetary affairs and agriculture. Along with his ally German Chancellor Angela Merkel — who has also been answering to constituencies that regard Turkey as not European enough to join the European club — Sarkozy favored granting Turkey a form of association that would stop well short of full membership.....

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God bless

David

by **Exit40** on Wed May 23, 2012 12:07 pm

Turkey proposes charges against Israeli military

Originally published: May 23, 2012 12:21 PM
Updated: May 23, 2012 12:43 PM
By The Associated Press SELCAN HACAOGLU (Associated Press)

ANKARA, Turkey - (AP) -- A Turkish court was asked Wednesday to approve murder charges against members of Israel's military for the killing of nine people aboard a Turkish ship trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza in 2010, Turkey's state-run news agency reported.

The court in Istanbul received the proposed indictment, and will have 15 days to decide whether to accept it, the Anadolu Agency said.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Wednesday that Israel would only comment on the indictment after it had been filed and approved.

The Turkish prosecutor proposed charging Israel's former military chief Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, along with the heads of its navy, air force and military intelligence. They face nine consecutive life terms in prison for "inciting to kill monstrously, and by torturing," the agency said....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Thu May 24, 2012 10:52 am

The new Saudi Arabia?: Erdogan plays middleman between govt, opposition
By Abdul Manan
Published: May 24, 2012

While Saudi Arabia has been the traditional middleman involved in brokering deals between Pakistan’s opposition and government, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan’s recent visit to Islamabad has firmly established Istanbul’s ability to fill Riyadh’s shoes.

The visit, according to sources, played a successful role in bringing both the coalition government and the opposition to the negotiating table just as tensions had reached a boiling point. Sources add that Premier Erdogan’s visit was in response to a special request from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the army itself.

A number of issues were discussed and agreed upon during the visit, including the smooth transition to a caretaker government, the stepping down of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, and letting the court decide the premier’s fate without undue interference....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Thu May 24, 2012 11:22 am

Kurds' oil deal with Turkey will hit Iraq
Published: May 24, 2012 at 1:41 PM

ERBIL, Iraq, May 24 (UPI) -- Plans for Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish enclave to build an oil pipeline to Turkey points to a major political and economic realignment in the Middle East that will impact heavily on Iraq.

The country stands to lose a region believed to contain 45 billion barrels of oil and as much as 211 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The unilateral move by the Kurdistan Regional Government in the northern city of Irbil, the Kurdish capital, will deepen the strains between Kurds and the Baghdad government.

These will intensify concerns that Iraq's Kurds, who rule three northern provinces, are taking another step toward the independence they have long sought.

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Thu May 24, 2012 11:29 am

Turkey's obsession with energy supplies

Ankara hopes diversifying natural gas and oil supplies away from Russia and Iran will reduce their political leverage

By Marwan Kabalan, Special to Gulf News
Published: 00:00 May 25, 2012

Tension is increasingly in the Middle East with yet another conflict looming in the horizon. Last week, Turkey warned both Israel and the Greek-Cyprus government against proceeding with their exploratory offshore drilling in disputed areas in the eastern Mediterranean.

The exploratory drilling is part of a geological area called the Levant Basin, which lies off the coasts of Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Israel, Gaza and Egypt. The US Geological Survey estimates the basin could hold 122 trillion cubic feet of extractable gas. That makes it one of the world’s richest gasfields — in one of the world’s most fractious areas.

Both Israel and the Greek Cypriot government have already rejected Turkish warnings and are proceeding with their co-operation to explore the underwater natural gas bonanza. Clearly, the emerging dispute will further complicate the already complicated political landscape in the Middle East.

With all the parties concerned already dependent on gas and oil imports to meet their domestic needs, tension is likely to escalate. In addition, hydrocarbon energy is increasingly becoming a strategic commodity and exporting countries are increasingly using it as a means to draw political concessions....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Fri May 25, 2012 4:17 am

Bulgaria, Turkey, Qatar agree to build highway
SOFIA | Fri May 25, 2012 5:27am EDT

(Reuters) - Bulgaria, Turkey and Qatar have agreed to form a common project company to build a highway on the Bulgarian territory, the construction ministry said after a trilateral meeting on Thursday.

The 300-km highway will connect the Danube River town of Ruse, bordering Romania, with the southern town of Svilengrad, bordering Balkan neighbours Greece and Turkey.

"As decided at the meeting of the prime ministers of Bulgaria, Qatar and Turkey, we held a technical meeting over the construction of the Ruse-Svilengrad highway under the principle of the public-private partnership," Construction Minister Lilyana Pavlova told a news conference.

Last week, the premiers of the three countries agreed to study joint infrastructure projects, including construction of a new motorway that would connect the Danube River bridge with Istanbul, Turkey's largest city....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Sun May 27, 2012 7:21 am

PM: abortion is murder
Ankara
May 28, 2012

TURKISH Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has compared abortion to murder and said it's a conspiracy to crimp his country's economic expansion.

''We know there is a devious plan to remove this nation from the world stage,'' Mr Erdogan told the women's unit of the governing Justice and Development Party.

More

**** I'm speechless. D

God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Sun May 27, 2012 7:25 am

Family Minister backs Turkish PM on abortion, Caesarean births

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin has expressed support for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s distaste for Caesarean births and belief that “abortion is murder,” saying those who criticized the leader were "distanced from science."

"The World Health Organization advises a rate of 15-20 percent of Caesarean births," Şahin told reporters. "In Turkey, every one of two women gets a Caesarean operation." ...

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Sun May 27, 2012 7:36 am

Muslims praying that historic museum in Turkey be turned into mosque
Ayla Jean Yackley, Reuters May 27, 2012 9:30pm

Thousands of devout Muslims prayed outside Turkey's historic Hagia Sophia museum on Saturday to protest a 1934 law that bars religious services at the former church and mosque.

Worshippers shouted, "Break the chains, let Hagia Sophia Mosque open," and "God is great" before kneeling in prayer as tourists looked on.

Turkey's secular laws prevent Muslims and Christians from formal worship within the 6th-century monument, the world's greatest cathedral for almost a millennium before invading Ottomans converted it into a mosque in the 15th century.

"Keeping Hagia Sophia Mosque closed is an insult to our mostly Muslim population of 75 million. It symbolises our ill-treatment by the West," Salih Turhan, head of the Anatolian Youth Association, which organised the event, told the crowd, whose male and female worshippers prayed separately according to Islamic custom.

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Is this not a temple of God ?

David

by **Exit40** on Mon May 28, 2012 6:41 am

Erdogan backing generals may signal Islamist split
By BLOOMBERG
05/28/2012 08:41
Turkish PM does about-face on probes into alleged coup plots; analysts see warning directed at Islamist supporters.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rare expression of sympathy for Turkish generals this month may signal a split with Turkey’s most powerful religious movement, undermining the unity of his government.

Erdogan, who has backed a series of inquiries into alleged coup plots that have left hundreds of army officers in prison, was critical of the latest probe, saying it was “unsettling” the country. Previously, he blocked an attempt by one of the investigations to interrogate Turkey’s intelligence chief.

Many Turkish analysts saw those actions as a warning directed at Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish imam based in the US and leader of a movement widely seen here as a driving force behind the prosecutions. Curbing the army’s power has been a key policy for Erdogan, who has presided over record growth after ending an era of fragile coalition governments. Now, the premier and Gulen may no longer share the same goals, threatening the stability that underlay Erdogan’s economic success.....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Mon May 28, 2012 6:48 am

Somali peace foremost priority, says Turkish FM
Today’s Zaman By Goth Mohamed
May 27, 2012
ANKARA — Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has emphasized that resolving the conflict situation in Somalia is one of Turkey’s highest foreign policy priorities, as peace in Somalia would mean peace in a large area covering Africa, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Delivering a speech at a gathering of representatives of Somali civil society groups in İstanbul on Sunday, the foreign minister underlined Turkey’s role in contributing to a stable economic and political environment in Somalia. “While the entire world was looking to Somalia from the outside and holding conferences [on the situation in the country] in foreign capitals, Turkey has sent its most active civil society groups and aid organizations into Somalia, to be able to demonstrate that we share a common fate with Somalia,” he asserted. He further maintained that Turkey sees Somalia as neither an area of interest nor as a risk or security threat, but as a place where humanity’s conscience would be tested.....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Mon May 28, 2012 6:54 am

Somalia: Puntland and Galmudug Say Turkey Conference Is 'Politically Motivated'
27 May 2012
Istanbul — Puntland and Galmudug have withdrew from the upcoming Istanbul conference at the end of the month sighting that it is not a Somali-owned process, Garowe Online reports. Both Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole and Galmudug President Mohamed Ahmed Alim signed a joint press statement on Sunday cancelling their participation to the Istanbul conference on May 31 saying that the conference is "politically motivated".

In the joint press statement both governments said that after much consideration they realize that that the "Turkish role in Somalia objects to consulting the Somali people". According to the statement the Turkish role is also misbalanced and not transparent enough. The statement also says that the Turkish government sidestepped regional governments and institutions and invited civil society groups from Somalia to a conference in the Turkish capital.

According to the statement the purpose of the conference was "ambiguous", and leaders from the TFG and regional states did not know the intentions of the conference, that will be attended by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and officials from the African Union....

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God Bless

David

by **Exit40** on Wed May 30, 2012 8:40 am

U.N. observers discover 13 bound corpses in Syria
Updated 2h 40m ago

BEIRUT (AP) – U.N. observers have discovered 13 bound corpses in eastern Syria, many of them apparently shot execution-style, the monitoring mission said Wednesday.

The announcement comes days after a massacre in Houla, in the central Homs province, which killed more than 100 people and prompted worldwide condemnation against the regime of President Bashar Assad. The Syrian government denied its troops were behind the killings and blamed "armed terrorists."

The latest killings apparently happened in Deir el-Zour province. The corpses were found with their hands tied behind their backs, according to a statement by the U.N. mission. Some appeared to have been shot in the head from a short distance.

The head of the U.N. observer team, Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, said he was "deeply disturbed by this appalling and inexcusable act."

Snip

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said new unspecified sanctions might be imposed against Syria in the coming days. The world "cannot remain silent in the face of such a situation," he said....

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David

by **Exit40** on Wed May 30, 2012 9:18 am

Turkey signs deal with EU’s border agency
Published: 5/30/2012
Turkey has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with FRONTEX, the EU’s border management agency, to cooperate against illegal immigration, amid expectations that the EU will soon give the go-ahead for visa liberalization talks with Ankara.

“The MoU, which establishes cooperation with FRONTEX, clearly shows Turkey’s determination to work to fight irregular migration and the importance attached to cooperation in this field,” said a written statement released by the Foreign Ministry late May 28.

The MoU aims to establish the ground rules for joint assessment and the sharing of information and experiences to tackle irregular migration, as well as for carrying out joint projects between Turkish border authorities and FRONTEX, the statement said.

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David

by **Exit40** on Wed May 30, 2012 9:23 am

May 30, 2012, 10:05 a.m. ET
EBRD Opens New Turkey Office, To Invest EUR1 Billion Annually

ISTANBUL (Dow Jones)--The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said Wednesday it will open a new resident office in Ankara to boost its footprint in Turkey's fast-growing economy.

The development bank, which has invested some EUR1.8 billion in key sector's of Turkey's economy since it began operating in the market three years ago, will seek to boost lending to EUR1 billion annually.

We are prepared to invest around EUR1 billion annually in Turkey in infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, industry and financial sectors, facilitating access to the much-needed financing for Turkish businesses, especially in the more remote regions of the country," said Varel Freeman, EBRD's First Vice President, at the launch event held today in Ankara....

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David

by **Exit40** on Sun Jun 03, 2012 8:19 am

Thousands protest at Turkey anti-abortion law plan

ISTANBUL | Sun Jun 3, 2012 9:53am EDT

(Reuters) - Thousands of people took to the streets of Istanbul on Sunday to protest against plans by Turkey's prime minister to bring in a new law on abortion, a practice he has called "murder".

Women of all ages held aloft banners with slogans including "My body, my choice" and "I am a woman not a mother, don't touch my body" as they marched to the city's Kadikoy Square.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan sparked outrage from women's groups and opposition lawmakers last weekend when he delivered two fiery speeches in which he attacked abortion and caesarean births as secret plots designed to stall Turkey's economic growth. Abortion, he said, was "murder".

He said on Tuesday his governing AK Party was preparing a draft bill on abortion and intended to enact it into law. He gave no details.....

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David

by **Exit40** on Sun Jun 03, 2012 8:24 am

Thousands of Muslims pray for Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia to be a mosque again
By Ayla Jean Yackley
May 29, 2012

Thousands of devout Muslimshave prayed outside Turkey’s historic Hagia Sophia museum to protest a 1934 law that bars religious services at the former church and mosque.

Worshippers shouted, “Break the chains, let Hagia Sophia Mosque open,” and “God is great” before kneeling in prayer on Saturday as tourists looked on.

Turkey’s secular laws prevent Muslims and Christians from formal worship within the 6th-century monument, the world’s greatest cathedral for almost a millennium before invading Ottomans converted it into a mosque in the 15th century....

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David

by **Exit40** on Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:44 am

Turkey Religious Authority Rules Abortion Is Murder, NTV Says
By Benjamin Harvey - Jun 4, 2012 2:47 AM PT

Turkey’s Department of Religious Affairs ruled that abortion is murder and is prohibited by Islamic law, NTV reported citing Mehmet Gormez, head of the department.

The authority, known as the Diyanet in Turkish, issued the ruling after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said abortion was murder and that his government was preparing a law to restrict the practice, according to NTV....

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David

by **Exit40** on Tue Jun 05, 2012 6:59 am

Turkey steeply cuts Iran crude imports -source
By Humeyra Pamuk
DUBAI, June 5 | Tue Jun 5, 2012 5:57am EDT

(Reuters) - Turkey has steeply cut oil imports from Iran in May and June, a source at the country's sole refiner told Reuters, to avoid U.S. sanctions after official trade data showed stubbornly high imports in April.

Lower imports from Ankara will add pressure on Tehran which is struggling to sell oil as the West expands sanctions to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear programme.

A sharp drop in crude prices in May below $100 a barrel is a further blow for Tehran which is heavily dependent on oil revenues.

The EU will join the United States in imposing a total ban on imports of Iranian oil from July.....

Snip.... Most European refiners have gradually stopped lifting Iranian crude ahead of the EU embargo. From July 1 Turkey will remain effectively the sole buyer of Iranian crude in Europe....

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David

by **Exit40** on Tue Jun 05, 2012 7:32 am

We Demand Visa Exemption from EU, Says FM Davutoglu

Tuesday, 5 June 2012

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday that they demanded visa exemption for Turkish citizens from the European Union (EU).

Speaking at the "Second Trade Counsellors' Conference" in Turkish capital of Ankara on Monday, Davutoglu said that once the EU removed visa requirements for Turkish citizens, Turkey and the EU would be in harmony.

We will not leave our visa policy until the EU lifts visa requirements, Davutoglu stressed.

Turkey must be a geographic center and not a bridge, Davutoglu said....

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David

by **Exit40** on Tue Jun 05, 2012 8:40 am

Some 2,700 Syrians flee to Turkey in past 5 days
ISTANBUL | Tue Jun 5, 2012 8:05am EDT

(Reuters) - Almost 2,700 Syrians fled to Turkey during the first five days of June, a Turkish official said on Tuesday, as villagers reported that Syrian forces were setting wooded areas near the border ablaze to flush out rebels hiding there.

Most of the refugees have poured into Hatay, a southeastern Turkish province that juts into Syrian territory, and there are now close to 27,000 Syrians registered at camps, mostly set up in that province.

Villagers close to the border told Reuters that in the past few days Syrian soldiers had torched forested areas to destroy cover for armed insurgents suspected of operating there.

The Turkish official said the fires were across the border from the Turkish villages of Guvecci and Gorentas.

The sudden influx of refugees has coincided with mounting doubts over the fate of a peace plan drafted by international peace envoy Kofi Annan following the massacre of 108 people in the Houla area of Homs province on May 25.....

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David

by **Exit40** on Tue Jun 05, 2012 9:13 am

Turkey cozies up to the Kurdish regional government

WASHINGTON — Turkey’s popular and outspoken prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was treated to a hero’s welcome recently when he met with Syrian refugees for the first time since Turkey opened its doors to the thousands of people fleeing Bashar Al-Assad’s crackdown. Erdogan’s pledge to defend the rights of the Syrian people and his call for Assad’s removal, however, fell short of expectations.

Although Erdogan’s speech drew some applause, it was also interrupted by shouts of “We want arms for the Free Syrian Army and a buffer zone inside Syria!” The Turkish PM’s reiteration of his previous positions seemed to dismay the refugees and some in the international community who hoped he would call for the establishment of a buffer zone or offer other more forceful support.

Thus, Turkey’s strategy of seeking regional and international initiatives to increase the pressure on Assad remains intact, but with a twist: Turkey has begun to strengthen bilateral relations with the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) as a way of making inroads into Syrian Kurdish politics in a post-Assad Syria.....

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David

by **Exit40** on Tue Jun 05, 2012 9:40 am

Tuesday , 5/6/2012 7:38 pm GMT+3 << >>

PM, Turkish counterpart discuss ties, Syria

Istanbul, June 5 (Petra) -- Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday discussed ways of cementing Jordanian-Turkish ties and regional developments, particularly the turmoil in Syria.

Tarawneh said Jordan recognised Turkey as a regional player, voicing hope that Ankara would help to enhance Middle East stability and find solutions in major trouble spots in the region, including Palestine, Syria and Iraq.

On Syria, Tarawneh reiterated Jordan's call for a political solution and the need for a collective regional and international effort to stop the bloodshed, stressing Jordan's support of U.N.-Arab League mediator Kofi Annan's peace plan in that endeavour....

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David

by **Exit40** on Tue Jun 05, 2012 11:58 am

Turkey, Israel: Potential for a fresh start?
Byaira June 1, 2012

Turkey, Israel: Potential for a fresh start?
By Soner Cagaptay and Tyler Evans, Special to CNN

Thursday marks the two-year anniversary of the 2010 flotilla incident, a crisis on the high seas that triggered a tailspin in Turkish-Israeli relations. In the aftermath of the incident, Turkey recalled its ambassador and demanded an apology from Israel as well as reparations for the nine slain activists. Ankara even announced that its warships would escort future missions to Gaza. Attempts to mend fences have stalled over the issue of an Israeli apology. With Turkey willing to accept nothing less than a full apology, and Israel for the moment unwilling to accommodate this demand, the two sides seem to be at an impasse.

Yet below the surface, not all is grim in Turkish-Israeli relations. Remarkably, economic ties have been flourishing between the two countries......

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David

by **Exit40** on Wed Jun 06, 2012 10:06 am

Audits for 3 Georgia Schools Tied to Turkish Movement
By STEPHANIE SAUL
Published: June 5, 2012

A group of three publicly financed charter schools in Georgia run by followers of Fethullah Gulen, a prominent Turkish imam, have come under scrutiny after they defaulted on bonds and an audit found that the schools improperly granted hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts to businesses and groups, many of them with ties to the Gulen movement.

The audit released Tuesday by the Fulton County Schools near Atlanta found the schools made purchases like T-shirts, teacher training and video production services from organizations with connections to school officials or Gulen followers. Those included more than $500,000 in contracts since January 2010 with the Grace Institute, a foundation whose board has included school leaders. In some cases the awards skirted bidding requirements, the audit said.

“I would just question how those vendors were selected when price in many instances wasn’t part of the decision making,” said the Fulton County superintendent, Robert Avossa, who criticized the schools for conflicts of interest. “And those are public dollars.” ...

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David

by **Exit40** on Thu Jun 07, 2012 10:39 am

Turkish PM tells EU to 'reinvent' itself
By Martin Banks - 7th June 2012
" Member states need to move towards greater integration"

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told the EU to use the economic crisis to "reinvent itself". His comments come ahead of a crunch summit in Brussels later this month where EU leaders and heads of state will discuss latest proposals to address the downturn. They come as European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi this week said risks to the eurozone economy have increased with "heightened uncertainty weighing on confidence and sentiment".

In a speech at the Astana Economic Forum in Kazakhstan Erdogan said, "Actions have to be taken for countries to develop their own debt management strategies. "The EU is experiencing serious economic crisis and it should use this crisis to build a stronger policy and reinvent itself."

He said member states "need to move towards greater integration"....

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David

by **Exit40** on Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:06 am

Turkey Continues Pursuit of EU Membership
Dorian Jones
June 07, 2012

ISTANBUL - Leading European Union (EU) officials have met with their Turkish counterparts in Istanbul in the latest effort to re-energize Turkey's faltering membership bid. There is still enthusiasm for Turkish membership but big obstacles remain.

Under the banner Turkish-EU dialogue, the head of EU foreign affairs Catherine Ashton payed tribute to Turkey's growing regional importance and the nation's increasing cooperation with the rest of Europe.

"I want to say first of all the launch of the "Positive Agenda" [initiative toward Turkish EU membership] I really do hope it will give new momentum to the accession process [for Turkey]," said Ashton. "There is no question that we have an excellent relationship in foreign policy. I believe it is vital that we do given our shared interest in our common neighborhood. "...

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by **Exit40** on Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:14 am

Turkey sticks to boycott of Cyprus EU presidency
ISTANBUL | Thu Jun 7, 2012 2:56pm EDT

(Reuters) - Turkey will carry out its threat to cease contact with the EU Presidency when Cyprus assumes the role on July 1, but will maintain ties with the European Commission, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said after meeting EU officials on Thursday.

EU candidate Turkey served notice last year that it would break off relations with the EU presidency during Cyprus's six-month term unless there was progress in reunification talks between the Turkish Cypriots, living in a northern enclave, and Greek Cypriots who govern Cyprus.

"Our position on the presidency of the Greek Cypriots is clear. Today we have once more conveyed our position in the meeting," Davutoglu told a joint news conference with EU counterpart Catherine Ashton and Stefan Fule, the European Commissioner in charge of enlargement......

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David

by **Exit40** on Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:03 am

Historic Breakthrough over Kurdish Problem
Thursday, 7 June 2012
by Hüseyin Hayatsever and Özgür Ekşi, HDN

In a watershed for Turkish politics, the leaders of the two largest parties agree to a joint road map to end the Kurdish problem

Turkish politics witnessed a historic breakthrough yesterday as the ruling and main opposition parties agreed on a road map for the solution of the decades-old Kurdish question, with or without the contribution of Parliament’s other two political parties.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Republican People’s Party (CHP) chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu met in an hour-long landmark meeting at the Justice and Development Party (AKP) headquarters in Ankara. The social democrat party introduced its 10-point package that foresees the establishment of two commissions, inside and outside Parliament, to shape the way to solve the Kurdish issue and end violence that has claimed the lives of nearly 40,000 people since the early 1980s......

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David

by **Exit40** on Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:17 am

Creationists Making Inroads at Turkish Universities
Dorian Jones
June 08, 2012

ISTAMBUL - The battle between science and its enemies is heating up in Turkey as the fight over the teaching of evolution at Turkish universities increases. Academics are voicing alarm that creationist ideas are replacing those of evolution.
Hundreds of academics and students protest outside Istanbul's Marmara University recently at what was described by its organizers as the first scientific symposium on creationist ideas.

Retired Professor Alaeddin Senel addressed protestors, condemning the meeting. "Bringing the scientific theory of evolution together with creationism undermines the foundations of science," Senel said. "Creationism is not supported by scientific data and doesn't have any place in education at any level."

The two-day symposium brought together more than a dozen academics to attack one of the fundamental tenants of evolution: the theory of natural selection, which explains how apes developed into humans. One of the key note speakers was genetics Professor Ibrahim Pirim of Izmir's Katip Celebi University. He claims deficiencies in the evolution theory leaves the door open for religious beliefs in science....

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David