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.
Read More »Turkey Arrests Colonel Linked To Mass Graves
Police across Turkey have arrested dozens of suspects in the Ergenekon probe over the past year. A Turkish colonel was arrested on Monday in connection with an investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings a decade ago in the mainly Kurdish southeast, Turkish media said. Authorities this month began excavating suspected mass …
Read More »Turkish police detain former mayor in probe over missing Kurds
ANKARA, Turkey – Police arrested Kamil Atak, former mayor of the south-eastern town of Cizre, as part of a probe into the alleged killings of Kurds by Turkish security forces in the 1990s, media reported on Sunday (March 22nd). Police nabbed him in a raid late Saturday in the province …
Read More »Report: Turkey may veto Rasmussen’s candidacy for NATO secretary-general
ANKARA, Turkey – Media quoted government officials as saying on Sunday (March 22nd) that Turkey may block Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s candidacy for the NATO secretary-general position. Ankara has expressed concerns over Denmark’s previous decision to allow Kurdish Roj TV, often criticised by Turkish authorities for distributing statements …
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