MADRID, Spain – A Spanish court has released on bail Remzi Kartal, a former lawmaker from Turkey’s disbanded Democracy Party and suspected former commander of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Turkish media reported on Monday (March 30th).
Read More »Turkish opposition leader killed in helicopter crash
ANKARA, Turkey – Six people, including opposition Great Union Party (BBP) leader Muhsin Yazicioglu, died in a helicopter crash in the southern province of Kahramanmaras, Interior Minister Besir Atalay said on Friday (March 27th). Yazicioglu’s helicopter crashed Wednesday in bad weather. Searchers took two days to find the wreckage and …
Read More »Gul says Turkey not opposed to Rasmussen’s candidacy for NATO secretary-general
BRUSSELS, Belgium/ANKARA, Turkey – Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Friday (March 27th) Ankara is not against “any candidate” for the post of NATO secretary-general. “Turkey does not have any particular objection [to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s candidacy],” media reports quoted Gul as saying in Brussels.
Read More »Spanish police arrest senior PKK suspect
MADRID, Spain – Spanish police have detained a alleged senior official of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), authorities announced on Friday (March 27th). The suspect is Remzi Kartal, a former lawmaker from Turkey’s disbanded Democracy Party (DEP) and allegedly a former PKK commander. He was apprehended last Monday in …
Read More »Christofias discusses Cyprus issue with Pope Benedict XVI
VATICAN CITY – Cypriot President Demetris Christofias met on Friday (March 27th) with Pope Benedict XVI as part of his four-day visit to the Holy See. Benedict XVI said he hopes the direct reunification talks between Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat will “bear fruit”. The Cypriot president …
Read More »Turkey Slowly Erasing `Black Mark` Coup Legacy
Today, Kenan Evren, the leader of a 1980 military coup is falling from grace as are other coup-era generals in Turkey. For decades, he was the embodiment of a Turkish “pasha” general, one of those stern custodians of the republic’s secular principles, always ready to step in to salvage the …
Read More »Turkey Says Not Yet Decided on Next NATO Chief
The current NATO secretary general steps down on July 31 and his successor is expected to be named at a NATO summit on April 3 and 4. Turkey has not decided whether to back Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the next NATO chief, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said …
Read More »Turkey`s Gul Presses Kurdish PM On PKK Rebels
Turkey accuses the KRG of not doing enough to crack down on rebels from the Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK). Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul urged the prime minister of Iraq’s largely autonomous Kurdistan region on Tuesday to take a clear position against Kurdish separatist rebels using Iraq as a base to …
Read More »Cypriot president warns elections in TRNC may harm reunification talks
NICOSIA, Cyprus – President Demetris Christofias expressed concern on Monday (March 23rd) that election results in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) may harm ongoing reunification talks between the two Cypriot communities.
Read More »Turkish colonel detained in probe over missing Kurds
ANKARA, Turkey – Police arrested a senior military officer Monday (March 23rd) as part of an investigation of alleged killings of Kurds by Turkish security forces in the 1990s. They detained Colonel Cemal Temizoz in the central city of Kayseri, where he commands the local paramilitary gendarmerie.
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