rethinking death penalty may another sign of leaving the EU dream… A FP roundup..

From the Bosphorus: Straight – Renewed death penalty no answer

by HDN
Turkey formally abolished the death penalty in 2002. It was the right decision then. It is the right decision today.

The return of the death penalty

by FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK
The brutal killings of three children in Kayseri as well as one in İstanbul have sent shockwaves across the country, bringing to the agenda the return of the death penalty.

 

The Quote of the Week: ?The end of normative enlargement? The case of Turkey? by Dr. Atsuko Higashino

by Changing Turkey

Excerpt from Atsuko Higashino (2011) ?The end of normative enlargement? The case of Turkey?, EUSA Conference in Boston, 3-5 March. Full conference paper  is available at www.euce.org/eusa/2011/papers/10l_higashino.pdf

Announcement: ?EU?s Multilingualism Policy and the Turkish Language? speech by Asst. Prof. C. Akça ATAÇ

by Changing Turkey

Asst. Prof. C. Akça ATAÇ (Çankaya University, Jean Monnet European Studies Association) will give a speech entitled ?EU?s Multilingualism Policy and the Turkish Language?at Middle East Technical University (METU) hosted by Center for European Studies.

Date: 30th March 2011

Venue: Blue Room, Center for European Studies, FEAS building B, METU, Ankara, Turkey.

Time: 14.00

This is a free event, all welcome.

 

European Parliament report on Turkey: criticizing itself with its own words by Egemen Bağış

by Egemen Bağış
The fifth report of the European Parliament (EP) on Turkey was adopted on March 9, 2011 by the Plenary Assembly of the EP. Public debate on this report had already started after its approval in the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Signs of an axis shift in EU’s trust in Turkey’s ruling party

from Hurriyet Dailynews by BRUSSELS – Hürriyet Daily News
Trust in Turkey’s ruling AKP appears to be diminishing among European circles due to growing concerns about fundamental freedoms.

Questions linger over Turkey’s Mideast role

from Hurriyet Dailynews by BEIRUT, Lebanon – Hürriyet Daily News
Questions are lingering over Turkey’s recent overtures to its troubled neighborhood, with experts both praising and challenging Ankara’s role in the Middle East.

 

Eastern Dreams

from Istanbul Calling by Yigal Schleifer

Joshua Walker has a good piece up on the Huffington Post site that looks at the roots and trajectory of Turkey’s current foreign policy and the role of historical memory in shaping that policy. From his piece:

Turkey learns rules of the game in Iraq

Muffled guffaws would have been an appropriate response from Iraqis to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s claim this week that openness and sincerity have been hallmarks of Turkey’s policy towards its neighbor.

 

Historical embracement of Iraqi Kurds

The insoluble Cyprus problem: Sad island story | The Economist

Turkey-France: the tension?s side effects

by BERİL DEDEOĞLU
Everyone knows that there is ongoing tension between the Turkish and French governments. France?s decision to block several chapters of EU accession negotiations such as the Economic and Monetary Union, and its support of the Greek Cypriot government?s decision to block many other chapters, has been the main reason for the growing tension between the two countries since 2005.

 

Turkey and the future of Europe by Chris Patten

by TODAY?S?ZAMAN
LONDON -? This is my last column for a while. I am off to become chairman of the BBC Trust ?- the strategic authority of one of the greatest broadcasting organizations in the world.

W. Robert Pearson and PKK Connection

by M.A.M

Mavi Boncuk | WikiLeaks? Turkey partner, the daily Taraf, has published U.S. cables on alleged connections between the U.S. and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers? Party, or PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the U.S.

Taraf recalled a photograph published in the daily Milliyet by journalist Can Dündar on Jan. 23, 2003, which allegedly featured PKK members and ?U.S. officials? in a conference. Both Washington and then-U.S. Ambassador to Ankara W. Robert Pearson denied the allegations but Dündar stood by his story, claiming Turkey had official intelligence reports on the ties between the two parties. Taraf also noted the same photo was mentioned in an October 2010 interview by journalist Ertuğrul Mavioğlu with PKK official Murat Karayılan. He also denied the photo, saying it was computer generated, but confirmed the PKK was speaking to the U.S. in 2003-2004.

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