Turkish Politics & Internal Affairs

[fitpOsitive]

On the expense of other refugees!

Refugees are no problem brother.

 

[forcetrip]

All the refugees have to do now is get turkish passports.

 

[flamer84]

All the refugees have to do now is get turkish passports.

I'm pretty sure you haven't tought this one completely.I'm all for it though....

 

[xenon54 out]

All the refugees have to do now is get turkish passports.

I'm pretty sure you haven't tought this one completely.I'm all for it though....

Getting Turkish passport is very hard.

 

[flamer84]

Getting Turkish passport is very hard.

Getting Turkish passport means them loosing any refugee benefits and deportation to Turkey upon visa expiration.

 

[xenon54 out]

Getting Turkish passport means them loosing any refugee benefits and deportation to Turkey upon visa expiration.

yeah but thats no gonna happen unless they are fluent in Turkish, can sing the hymn, know about politics, adopt a Turkish name and live for several years legally in Turkey, so nope not gonna happen.

 

[T-123456]

EU countries lift Shengen Visa for TR citizens as from 01.07.2016...

Is there an official anouncement?

 

[Solomon2]

Turkey’s Sultan eases out his Grand Vizier
BY M.K. BHADRAKUMAR on MAY 5, 2016 in ASIA TIMES NEWS & FEATURES, MIDDLE EAST

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s exit puts at risk Turkey’s ties with the West, which sees President Recep Erdogan with skepticism bordering on derision. Erdogan will henceforth be the head of state, head of government, head of the ruling party and the “head of everything in Turkey”

There is an ancient saying in South India regarding leadership styles – ‘Nothing grows under a banyan tree’. The banyan tree is a great sight with its spread-out branches, air-roots, secondary trunks, covering a vast area, giving shelter. But nothing grows under its dense foliage, and when it dies, the ground beneath its feet lies barren and scorched.

Erdogan (L) probably decided to ease out Davutoglu just as the latter was acquiring a stature of his own among European statesmen​

Some leaders are like banyan trees who can only tolerate followers and will not allow for the emergence of other leaders. Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan is one such leader.

According to the latest reports, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has announced that he is stepping aside, declaring a May 22 congress date to mark the party’s future leader. Erdogan was seeking his replacement. A tense meeting lasting 100 minutes between the two in the presidential palace in Ankara on Wednesday was preceded by a poignant public remark by Erdogan –”What matters is that you should not forget how you got to your post.”

The import was not lost on Davutoglu who was hand-picked by the strongman when he himself moved into the presidency in August 2014.

It is a miserable spectacle to watch when the strong man tramples over a weakling. But why is Erdogan unhappy with Davutoglu?

For a start, they are like cheese and chalk. Erdogan grew up in the backstreets of Istanbul’s working class district of Kasimpasa and the tough life made him the ruthless political fighter he is today, still controlling the ruling party AKP (Justice and Development Party) with an iron grip even after he formally ceased to be the party boss after becoming the head of state, a constitutional post that expects him to be above the hurly-burly of party politics.

Erdogan is a man of limited formal education and the provincial mindset breeds complexes in the personality. Whereas, Davutoglu is a highly educated intellectual with a PhD in political science and international relations, a distinguished thinker and author on Turkish foreign policy and world politics, a scholar-diplomat who strayed into statecraft at Erdogan’s beckoning.

Indeed, Davutoglu has been compared with some justification as Turkey’s Kissinger. On one plane, therefore, Erdogan-Davutoglu rift can be attributed to the sharp contrast in their personalities, which was bound to surface at some point.

Davutoglu is far too erudite and urbane, and although he deliberately trimmed his sails and played second fiddle to Erdogan, he probably threw into relief unwittingly the latter’s inability to rise above the level of a mundane politician.

But then, this is also a rift over their respective visions for Turkey. A thinker like Davutoglu has beliefs and convictions and they do not conform to Erdogan’s world view which is almost entirely permeated with traditional Islamism.

What Erdogan originally found attractive in Davutoglu was the academic’s foreign policy vision that made a departure from ‘Kemalism’ by stressing the importance of rebuilding Turkey’s ties with the territories of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkan and Black Sea regions.

The doctrine of ‘Neo-Ottomanism’ that Davutoglu espoused appealed to Erdogan who styles himself as a Sultan and makes no bones about reviving the Ottoman legacies.

Equally, ‘neo-Ottomanism’ has a pan-Islamic character, which appeals to Erdogan who not only sees political Islam as a unifying factor in regional politics but visualizes a natural leadership role for Turkey (and himself) in the Muslim Middle East.

Where Erdogan and Davutoglu diverge is in regard of the latter’s curious advocacy of Turkey’s destiny also as a member of the European family. Davutoglu is serious about Turkey’s NATO membership and, left to himself, he might have sought a sustained pursuit of Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

Davutoglu visualizes that ‘neo-Ottomanism’ and ‘westernizm’ are both useful and necessary for Turkey to be an effective regional power. Erdogan, on the other hand, has been openly lukewarm and disdainful of the EU membership.

The EU accession process, which demands far better democratic credentials from Turkey, is antithetical to Erdogan’s political agenda of transforming Turkey into an authoritarian system of governance.

Interestingly, the timing of the move by Erdogan to ease out Davutoglu is not without significance. On Wednesday, the European Commission took a historic decision to recommend visa-free travel for Turks in the Shenghen zone as part of a deal, which was negotiated by Davutoglu personally, to curtail the flow of refugees from Turkey to the EU countries.

Turkey’s full integration with the EU remains a distant prospect but the proposed visa-free travel (plus the existing Customs Union arrangement) is major gain and the optics of it in the Turkish public opinion are simply brilliant for Davutoglu in political terms.

Simply put, Erdogan probably decided to ease out Davutoglu just as the latter was acquiring a stature of his own among European statesmen (and in Turkey itself) as a ‘westernizer’ in the Islamic government. The heart of the matter is that strong leaders like Erdogan are also prone to insecurities.

Davutoglu is in the mould of former president late Turgut Ozal who can be considered the father-figure of ‘neo-Ottomaniam” in foreign policy but is at the same time also credited with the ‘globalization’ of Turkish economy.

Davutoglu’s sensibility is on the one hand Turkish and Muslim, while on the other hand is also westernized and democratic. He does not think that Turkey has to choose between the western and Turkish or Islamic civilizations. He is comfortable with the thought that Turks are European Muslims.

Thus, Davutoglu’s writings show that he is in his elements with liberalism, human rights, democracy and scientific and technological developments and he does not see Turkish culture being an obstacle to receive these values of the Enlightenment. Put differently, although a pious Muslim, he could accommodate his Islamic understanding in his westernizm.

Davutoglu’s exit puts at risk Turkey’s ties with the West, which sees Erdogan with skepticism bordering on derision. Erdogan’s palace coup to ease out Davutoglu will only be seen in the West as a leap forward in the direction of authoritarian rule.

A pundit at the Washington Institute of Near East Policy rightly noted that Erdogan will henceforth be the head of state, head of government, head of the ruling party and the “head of everything in Turkey”. Indeed, by easing out the Grand Vizier (as the post of prime minister was known under Ottomans), Erdogan has underscored his absolute power.

Being grand vizier was never a very secure position under the Ottoman Sultans. Forty-four grand viziers were, in fact, executed at the orders of the Sultan out of the 284 who held that position. Come to think of it, Davutoglu is lucky.

Ambassador MK Bhadrakumar served as a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service for over 29 years, with postings including India’s ambassador to Uzbekistan (1995-1998) and to Turkey (1998-2001). He writes the “Indian Punchline” blog and has written regularly for Asia Times since 2001.

 

[BordoEnes]

Turkey’s Sultan eases out his Grand Vizier
BY M.K. BHADRAKUMAR on MAY 5, 2016 in ASIA TIMES NEWS & FEATURES, MIDDLE EAST

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s exit puts at risk Turkey’s ties with the West, which sees President Recep Erdogan with skepticism bordering on derision. Erdogan will henceforth be the head of state, head of government, head of the ruling party and the “head of everything in Turkey”

There is an ancient saying in South India regarding leadership styles – ‘Nothing grows under a banyan tree’. The banyan tree is a great sight with its spread-out branches, air-roots, secondary trunks, covering a vast area, giving shelter. But nothing grows under its dense foliage, and when it dies, the ground beneath its feet lies barren and scorched.

Erdogan (L) probably decided to ease out Davutoglu just as the latter was acquiring a stature of his own among European statesmen​

Some leaders are like banyan trees who can only tolerate followers and will not allow for the emergence of other leaders. Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan is one such leader.

According to the latest reports, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has announced that he is stepping aside, declaring a May 22 congress date to mark the party’s future leader. Erdogan was seeking his replacement. A tense meeting lasting 100 minutes between the two in the presidential palace in Ankara on Wednesday was preceded by a poignant public remark by Erdogan –”What matters is that you should not forget how you got to your post.”

The import was not lost on Davutoglu who was hand-picked by the strongman when he himself moved into the presidency in August 2014.

It is a miserable spectacle to watch when the strong man tramples over a weakling. But why is Erdogan unhappy with Davutoglu?

For a start, they are like cheese and chalk. Erdogan grew up in the backstreets of Istanbul’s working class district of Kasimpasa and the tough life made him the ruthless political fighter he is today, still controlling the ruling party AKP (Justice and Development Party) with an iron grip even after he formally ceased to be the party boss after becoming the head of state, a constitutional post that expects him to be above the hurly-burly of party politics.

Erdogan is a man of limited formal education and the provincial mindset breeds complexes in the personality. Whereas, Davutoglu is a highly educated intellectual with a PhD in political science and international relations, a distinguished thinker and author on Turkish foreign policy and world politics, a scholar-diplomat who strayed into statecraft at Erdogan’s beckoning.

Indeed, Davutoglu has been compared with some justification as Turkey’s Kissinger. On one plane, therefore, Erdogan-Davutoglu rift can be attributed to the sharp contrast in their personalities, which was bound to surface at some point.

Davutoglu is far too erudite and urbane, and although he deliberately trimmed his sails and played second fiddle to Erdogan, he probably threw into relief unwittingly the latter’s inability to rise above the level of a mundane politician.

But then, this is also a rift over their respective visions for Turkey. A thinker like Davutoglu has beliefs and convictions and they do not conform to Erdogan’s world view which is almost entirely permeated with traditional Islamism.

What Erdogan originally found attractive in Davutoglu was the academic’s foreign policy vision that made a departure from ‘Kemalism’ by stressing the importance of rebuilding Turkey’s ties with the territories of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkan and Black Sea regions.

The doctrine of ‘Neo-Ottomanism’ that Davutoglu espoused appealed to Erdogan who styles himself as a Sultan and makes no bones about reviving the Ottoman legacies.

Equally, ‘neo-Ottomanism’ has a pan-Islamic character, which appeals to Erdogan who not only sees political Islam as a unifying factor in regional politics but visualizes a natural leadership role for Turkey (and himself) in the Muslim Middle East.

Where Erdogan and Davutoglu diverge is in regard of the latter’s curious advocacy of Turkey’s destiny also as a member of the European family. Davutoglu is serious about Turkey’s NATO membership and, left to himself, he might have sought a sustained pursuit of Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

Davutoglu visualizes that ‘neo-Ottomanism’ and ‘westernizm’ are both useful and necessary for Turkey to be an effective regional power. Erdogan, on the other hand, has been openly lukewarm and disdainful of the EU membership.

The EU accession process, which demands far better democratic credentials from Turkey, is antithetical to Erdogan’s political agenda of transforming Turkey into an authoritarian system of governance.

Interestingly, the timing of the move by Erdogan to ease out Davutoglu is not without significance. On Wednesday, the European Commission took a historic decision to recommend visa-free travel for Turks in the Shenghen zone as part of a deal, which was negotiated by Davutoglu personally, to curtail the flow of refugees from Turkey to the EU countries.

Turkey’s full integration with the EU remains a distant prospect but the proposed visa-free travel (plus the existing Customs Union arrangement) is major gain and the optics of it in the Turkish public opinion are simply brilliant for Davutoglu in political terms.

Simply put, Erdogan probably decided to ease out Davutoglu just as the latter was acquiring a stature of his own among European statesmen (and in Turkey itself) as a ‘westernizer’ in the Islamic government. The heart of the matter is that strong leaders like Erdogan are also prone to insecurities.

Davutoglu is in the mould of former president late Turgut Ozal who can be considered the father-figure of ‘neo-Ottomaniam” in foreign policy but is at the same time also credited with the ‘globalization’ of Turkish economy.

Davutoglu’s sensibility is on the one hand Turkish and Muslim, while on the other hand is also westernized and democratic. He does not think that Turkey has to choose between the western and Turkish or Islamic civilizations. He is comfortable with the thought that Turks are European Muslims.

Thus, Davutoglu’s writings show that he is in his elements with liberalism, human rights, democracy and scientific and technological developments and he does not see Turkish culture being an obstacle to receive these values of the Enlightenment. Put differently, although a pious Muslim, he could accommodate his Islamic understanding in his westernizm.

Davutoglu’s exit puts at risk Turkey’s ties with the West, which sees Erdogan with skepticism bordering on derision. Erdogan’s palace coup to ease out Davutoglu will only be seen in the West as a leap forward in the direction of authoritarian rule.

A pundit at the Washington Institute of Near East Policy rightly noted that Erdogan will henceforth be the head of state, head of government, head of the ruling party and the “head of everything in Turkey”. Indeed, by easing out the Grand Vizier (as the post of prime minister was known under Ottomans), Erdogan has underscored his absolute power.

Being grand vizier was never a very secure position under the Ottoman Sultans. Forty-four grand viziers were, in fact, executed at the orders of the Sultan out of the 284 who held that position. Come to think of it, Davutoglu is lucky.

Ambassador MK Bhadrakumar served as a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service for over 29 years, with postings including India’s ambassador to Uzbekistan (1995-1998) and to Turkey (1998-2001). He writes the “Indian Punchline” blog and has written regularly for Asia Times since 2001.

Erdogan pretty much runs the entirety of AKP. Dude just forced out the prime miniser of Turkey as the president. Turkey is becoming a laughing stock slowly but surely.

 

[Deliorman]

I am all for it because for me it will bring more business opportunities, more trade, more tourists for Bulgaria and countries close to Turkey. A city of more than 15 million people like Istanbul is 2 hours away by car from Bulgaria, cities lime Bursa with 2 million people, Izmir- 3,5 million, Other smaller cities in Thrace and Around the Marmara Sea that host hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian Turks are on like 1-2-4-6 hours away by car- a huge market bigger than Greece, Romania and any other Balkan country.

It will also give a chance to my relatives that migrated to Turkey before 1980's (those that were expelled forcibly by the communists in the 1980's have the rights to have both Bulgarian and Turkish citizenship. People that left Bulgaria in the 60's and 70's have done it after diplomatic negotiations and anybody who wanted was free to go to Turkey if they wanted.) to come to Bulgaria without visas because right now they can't enter Bulgaria with their international passport only. I have relatives in Turkey that I have never seen, relatives that my father haven't seen in 40 years.

There is hundreds of thousands of such people around the whole Balkans- millions if you include Europe as there is probably a dozen million Turks in the EU only.

 

[Serpentine]

Good opportunity for Turkish citizens. Now you can sit in your car and drive all the way to Spain and Portugal.

 

[Selim I]

for this we only had to take back the million muslim refugees, to acknowledge the over 70 "to do list", accept Israel in Brüksel, and give the germans a own special place in incirlik that sound like a win win situation ..

As I remember Turkey is not going to accept additional refugees but rather they are going to trade their own refugees in Turkey for refugees in Europe.

As far as the 71 or 72 to do list, that's true. Some of them were already pretty much on the list due to Turkey trying to be part of EU for many decades.
But I agree some of the points is against Turkish dignity, if I recall correctly there's a point about acknowledging Cyprus as a whole state.

You can find the entire 72 criteria here: http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/turkiyen...n-yerine-getirmesi-gereken-kriterler-40067034

 

[The_magnificent]

yeah but thats no gonna happen unless they are fluent in Turkish, can sing the hymn, know about politics, adopt a Turkish name and live for several years legally in Turkey, so nope not gonna happen.

Do they make u do the bold part on passport interview ?

 

[Dubious]

Is there an official anouncement?

EU backs Turkey visa deal, but says conditions must be met

Turkey has long been pressing for visa-free travel to the European Union

The European Commission has given conditional backing for Turkish people to get visa-free travel inside Europe's passport-free Schengen area.

It says Turkey has made good progress on key conditions, but work remains to be done "as a matter of urgency".

The change could take effect from July, but first it requires approval by the European Parliament and member states.

The deal was offered in return for Turkey taking back migrants who crossed the Aegean Sea to Greece.

The EU fears that without it, Turkey will not control migration.

The Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, welcomed the recommendation, saying the visa proposals have opened a new page in Turkey's relations with the EU.

What is the Schengen agreement?

Turks look to EU to scrap visas

Image captionThousands of refugees - including children - are now housed in the Nizip camp in south-eastern Turkey

'Still work to be done'
The visa liberalisation deal remains controversial in a number of capitals across the EU, but the Commission praised Turkey for its progress in fulfilling its requirements, particularly in recent weeks.

Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: "There is still work to be done as a matter of urgency, but if Turkey sustains the progress made, they can meet the remaining benchmarks."

The Commission outlined several outstanding issues, with Turkey required to do more to tackle corruption and bring its laws on terrorism in line with European standards, among others.

Five benchmarks still to be met by Turkey:

• Corruption: Turkey must pass measures to prevent corruption, in line with EU recommendations
• Data protection: It must align national legislation on personal data protection with EU standards
• Europol: An agreement is to be concluded with the continent's law enforcement agency
• Judicial cooperation: It must work with all EU members on criminal matters
• Legislation on terrorism: Turkey is also required to bring its terror laws in line with European standards

Full European Commission Statement

The commission is also giving Turkey until the end of the year to upgrade its passports, so that they meet the latest biometric standards.

Mr Timmermans stressed that no Turkish citizen would enter the EU without a visa if they do not have a biometric passport with a facial image and fingerprint data.

He said: "I would rather have somebody at my border with a biometric passport where I can be sure that the person carrying the passport is actually mentioned in the passport, than a person with an old-fashioned passport and a paper visa."

The deal will scrap the requirement for Turks to get a three-month, short-stay Schengen visa for tourism or business trips.

Visa-free travel will apply to all EU Member States except for Ireland and the UK, and to the four Schengen associated countries - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

But it will not grant Turks the right to get a job in Europe.

Separate to the deal with Turkey, the Commission also proposed granting visa-free travel to citizens of Kosovo.

The tiny Balkan state declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and is still not recognised by Belgrade and five EU states.

Under the plan, Kosovans with biometric passports would be able to enter the Schengen zone without a visa and stay for up to 90 days.

Migrant crisis role
Turkey has threatened to stop taking back migrants from Greece if the EU fails to deliver on visa liberalisation.

The large influx of migrants and refugees arriving in Europe from Turkey, and from North Africa, has caused a political crisis among EU states.

Under the EU-Turkey agreement, migrants who have arrived illegally in Greece since 20 March are to be sent back to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or if their claim is rejected.

For each Syrian migrant returned to Turkey, the EU is to take in another Syrian who has made a legitimate request.

Turkey in numbers
78.7m

Population

• 11.1% Unemployment
  
• 2.75m Syrian refugees registered with UN
  
• 151 out of 180 countries on World Press Freedom Index
  

Source: Turkstat/UN
Reuters
Parliament's concerns

The deal will now be sent to the European Parliament, which has already said it will not vote on the proposal until the Commission confirms all of the conditions have been met.

Concerns have been raised in Parliament before that the visa-waiver looks like a reward for Turkey, because of its co-operation in the migrant crisis. It says Ankara falls short of many EU human rights benchmarks.

MEPs accept that Turkey is a "key strategic partner" for the EU. But they say reforms have slowed down in Turkey in many areas, including freedom of speech and judicial independence.

MEPs have also voiced concern about continuing fighting in south-eastern Turkey between government troops and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels, whom the government in Ankara describes as "terrorists".

A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36199811

 

[Winchester]

I am all for it because for me it will bring more business opportunities, more trade, more tourists for Bulgaria and countries close to Turkey. A city of more than 15 million people like Istanbul is 2 hours away by car from Bulgaria, cities lime Bursa with 2 million people, Izmir- 3,5 million, Other smaller cities in Thrace and Around the Marmara Sea that host hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian Turks are on like 1-2-4-6 hours away by car- a huge market bigger than Greece, Romania and any other Balkan country.

It will also give a chance to my relatives that migrated to Turkey before 1980's (those that were expelled forcibly by the communists in the 1980's have the rights to have both Bulgarian and Turkish citizenship. People that left Bulgaria in the 60's and 70's have done it after diplomatic negotiations and anybody who wanted was free to go to Turkey if they wanted.) to come to Bulgaria without visas because right now they can't enter Bulgaria with their international passport only. I have relatives in Turkey that I have never seen, relatives that my father haven't seen in 40 years.

There is hundreds of thousands of such people around the whole Balkans- millions if you include Europe as there is probably a dozen million Turks in the EU only.

You are a Bulgarian Turk???

Interesting documentary by AlJazeera on the plight of Bulgarian Turks....I wonder how accurate it is though !