FP roundup: Turkey to freeze Israeli ties

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Turkey to freeze Israeli ties

from Yahoo news
ISTANBUL (Turkey) – A TURKISH newspaper reported on Wednesday that Turkey would halt military cooperation with Israel and would not send back an envoy, withdrawn after an Israeli commando operation to stop an aid convoy reaching Gaza. The Turkish government has said it is working on a road map for future ties with once close ally Israel, following the May 31 operation in which nine pro …

AMANDA PAUL – The West?s obsession with ?losing? Turkey

These days Turkey is stronger and more self-confident than ever before. Ankara?s new assertive foreign policy and where it is headed continues to be hotly debated. Conferences on this topic are springing up all over Europe, and yesterday I attended one such event which presented a new report by the Transatlantic Academy titled ?Getting to Zero: Turkey, its Neighbors and the West.?

Letter From Istanbul

from NYT > Turkey by By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Visiting Turkey and finding that the nation has pulled away from its balance point between the East and the West.

An Israeli Investigation and Two Lame Observers

from Mavi Boncuk by M.A.M


UN suggested an international commission on Mavi Marmara assault. And the Israeli ambassador to the USA has already said that Israel will not accept UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon?s offer. Michael Oren has told America?s Fox News that Israel will not apologise for the incident and that it will reject an international commission insisting that it has the right and the ability to investigate its own military. On June 13, 2010, the Israeli government appointed Lord Trimble[1] along with Ken Watkin[2] to be one of two international observers serving on an Israeli commission of inquiry looking into the events surrounding an Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara. Turkish Foreign Ministry declared[3] a strong condemnation.

France: Reflections on Being Part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla

from Global Voices Online by Suzanne Lehn

By Suzanne Lehn

Miloud was on board of a Greek ship sailing to Gaza with the Freedom Flottilla that was raided by the IDF. Back in his home town of Marseilles, he tells [Fr] Marseille Bondy Blog about his experience.

L?Europe veut tempérer la diplomatie turque

by acturca

Le Figaro (France), 14 juin 2010, p. 5

Pierre Rousselin, envoyé spécial à Istanbul

Le secrétaire d?État chargé des Affaires européennes, Pierre Lellouche, appelle Ankara à « la désescalade ».

La réorientation diplomatique turque en faveur de l?Iran et au détriment d?Israël inquiète l?Europe. À la veille d?un Conseil des ministres des Affaires étrangères des Vingt-Sept consacré, ce lundi, aux mesures à prendre pour alléger le blocus israélien de Gaza, la France a appelé la Turquie à travailler « en partenariat étroit » avec l?Union européenne.

International Committee of the Red Cross condemns Gaza blockade

from Wikinews

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a statement today calling for an end to Israel‘s blockade of the Gaza Strip which it called a “…collective punishment imposed in clear violation of Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law.

Turkey’s changing axis excludes Central Asia, experts say

from Hurriyet Dailynews
Turkey may be shifting its axis away from the West, but it is not moving far enough East to encompass the growing importance of ? or affect the current turmoil in ? Central Asia, regional experts say. Observers criticize Ankara’s ‘indifference’ to the ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan, saying the government is too preoccupied with issues in Iran and Israel

L?UE a commis des erreurs vis-à-vis de la Turquie (Frattini)

by acturca

Agence France Presse

10 juin 2010

Le ministre italien des Affaires étrangères, Franco Frattini, estime que l?Union européenne a commis ?des erreurs? vis-à-vis de la Turquie, dans un entretien au quotidien Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung de jeudi.

?Je crois que nous, les Européens, avons commis l?erreur de pousser la Turquie vers l?est, au lieu de l?attirer vers nous?, a déclaré le ministre italien, qui va ainsi dans le sens des déclarations du secrétaire américain à la Défense Robert Gates faites mercredi à Londres.

Métaux ferreux : la Turquie, importateur majeur

by acturca

Recyclage Récupération (France)

14 juin 2010, No. 22, p. 4

Pour les ferrailles, nous avons quitté la Chine pour rejoindre la Turquie. Il était évident, à les voir se retrouver, que les négociants en ferrailles étaient en pays connu à Istanbul, qui est l?une des premières destinations de matériaux destinés à la sidérurgie. Nombre de participants étaient venus pour commercer.

Forecast: Hot Summer, Increasing Showers of Rhetoric

from Istanbul Calling by Yigal Schleifer

Two interesting pieces in Turkey’s English-language press today looking at how the aftermath of the Gaza flotilla raid will play out in terms of Turkey’s domestic politics.

Today’s Zaman’s Lale Kemal believes that the flotilla incident and the resulting tension with Israel is helping the Turkish government turn attention away from other problems and believes it will turn the rhetoric up higher as next year’s elections approach. From her piece:

A Familiar EU Double-Standard and Its Global Reflections

from The Istanbulian by Emre Kızılkaya

The Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV station will be taken off the air in 48 hours, as the French government has recently given an ultimatum to Eutelsat, a Paris-based satellite provider, arguing that the channel incites people to hatred. I support the decision, because Al-Aqsa TV is nothing but a harmful propaganda machine, directly targeting the minds of the youth by abusing religious values. Letting this channel broadcast its pseudo-Islamic indoctrination via satellite is a shame, so legally stopping it is totally justified in my eyes.

Is the EU still important for the AKP?

from Hurriyet Dailynews by HDN
PM Erdoğan’s barely concealed message, it seems, was this: Why bother with the Europeans, let’s put our money on better relations with our Arab brothers.

Ahmet Davutoglu, maître d?oeuvre de l?émancipation de la diplomatie turque

by acturca

Le Figaro (France), 15 juin 2010, p. 6

Laure Marchand, Istanbul

Depuis l?assaut de Tsahal contre le Mavi Marmara, affrété par une ONG islamiste turque, le ministre des Affaires étrangères turc est aux avant-postes de la crise avec Israël. C?est lui qui est monté au créneau au Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies pour dénoncer « un meurtre commis par un État » , un acte « de banditisme et de piraterie ». C?est encore lui qui se trouvait sur le tarmac de l?aéroport à Ankara pour soutenir les blessés de la flottille, accueillis en héros en Turquie. Et son ministère a sponsorisé tacitement l?opération maritime vers Gaza afin d?en « faire une sorte de porte-voix » de la Turquie selon l?éditorialiste Mehmet Ali Birand.

Turkeys Soul-Searching Leads to its Rise as a Regional Power

from Yahoo news
It is not only religion that charts Turkeys new course. Mr Erdogans foreign policy realigns Turkey with its history and geography, in the process raising its regional and global status, says Dilip Hiro .

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