Turkey says its EU membership bid progress report is 'positive'

Tue, 09 Nov 2010

Istanbul - The Turkish Minister for European Union Affairs on Tuesday welcomed the EU's latest progress report on the country's membership bid.

"I do not claim that Turkey is perfect in every aspect. The country still has major issues to solve. However, when we compare the current situation with the past, we can say that Turkey is at a much better place. Tomorrow, it will be at a much greater position," Bagis said at a press conference in Ankara.

The EU has told the Turkish government to do more to ensure press freedom, freedom of expression and religion, women's and trade union rights, as well as on integrating the Kurdish minority.

"The 2010 Turkey Progress Report is the most positive and encouraging one among the 13 reports released by the union so far," Bagis said.

Ankara's EU membership negotiations began in 2005, but have stalled in recent years because of Turkey's involvement in the Cyprus question - divided between ethnic Turks and ethnic Greek communities - and because of wider EU hostility to the integration of a large, Muslim country into the bloc.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/352765,bid-progress-is-positive.html.

Brussels tells Turkey to 'coordinate' foreign policy with EU - Summary

Tue, 09 Nov 2010

Brussels - Turkey must coordinate its foreign policy with the European Union if it wants to join the bloc, the EU signaled Tuesday, with the release of its annual report on the country's progress towards membership.

The warning came after Turkey's increasingly assertive stance took it to defy the EU and the United States in June, by voting against stronger United Nations sanctions on Iran after it eschewed international talks on its nuclear program.

"Turkey's foreign policy has become more active in its wider neighborhood. This is an asset for the European Union, provided it is developed as a complement to Turkey's (EU) accession process an in coordination with the EU," the European Commission's report said.

EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fule tried to play down the message when talking to the press, stressing how he and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton had "very constructive and substantive" contacts with Turkish officials.

"We are not referring to just one concrete example. This remark ... makes a point that the closer cooperation between the EU and Turkey is an important thing (that) adds value to our accession negotiations," he told reporters.

Those talks started in 2005, but are progressing at a snail's pace because of Turkey's involvement in the Cyprus question - divided between ethnic Turks and ethnic Greek communities - and because of wider EU hostility to the integration of a large, Muslim country into the bloc.

"Negotiations advanced, albeit rather slowly," the EU commission acknowledged, in reference to the past 12 months. It said Turkey made advances against corruption and took "an important step in the right direction" by adopting a constitutional reform in September.

However, the commission lamented that the referendum-approved changes were not consensual. Secular opposition parties opposed them, arguing that reforms gave the ruling moderate Islamic party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan too much control over the judiciary.

"A new civilian constitution would provide a solid basis for a further strengthening of democracy," the EU executive noted.

Erdogan's government was also told to do more on press freedom, freedom of expression and religion, women's and trade union rights, as well as on integrating the Kurdish minority.

The report also reiterated that "it is urgent" for Turkey to open up its ports and airports to vessels and planes from the Greek-governed part of Cyprus, as stipulated by a free-trade agreement covering all EU members.

Turkish authorities refuse to concede the point until reunification talks succeed between Greek Cypriots - the only side which is recognized as an EU member - and Turkish Cypriots.

Because of this, the EU decided in 2006 to freeze talks on eight of the 35 chapters that make up the accession process. The commission proposed that, in the absence of progress, the provision should be maintained, but not extended to cover even more chapters.

Cyprus and France have informally frozen a number of other dossiers, leaving EU and Turkish negotiators with only a handful of chapters where negotiations can actually be opened and bringing closer the specter of a complete standstill in the process.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/352760,policy-eu-summary.html.

Casablanca festival to honor Algerian playwright

2010-11-09

Algerian writer and playwright Bouziane Benachour will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Maghreb Popular Theatre Festival, scheduled December 16th-21st in Casablanca, El Watan reported on Tuesday (November 9th). Tunisian Kamel Aloui and Moroccan Abdelkrim Berrachid were honored at previous editions.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/11/09/newsbrief-05.

Algeria acquits Kabylie non-fasters

2010-11-09

An Algerian court on Monday (November 8th) acquitted eight people charged with failure to observe the Ramadan fast. The defendants, arrested last August in Ighzer Amokrane, Bejaia wilaya, had faced prison terms of 2-5 years. "This is a great victory for human rights and freedom of conscience and worship in Algeria," Tout sur l'Algerie quoted Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH) official Said Salhi as saying. Two Algerian Christians who had also faced prison time for failure to observe the Ramadan fast were acquitted last month in Tizi-Ouzou.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/11/09/newsbrief-04.

Kadhafi frees al-Ghad journalists

2010-11-09

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi ordered the release of 20 journalists detained since last week, AFP reported on Monday (November 8th). The reporters worked for independent Libyan weekly Oea and news agency Libya Press, part of Seif al-Islam Kadhafi's al-Ghad Media Group. No official reasons were given for the arrests.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/11/09/newsbrief-03.

Maghreb patients prefer Tunisia hospitals

Tunisia's experienced medical personnel, coupled with the country's mild climate, render the country a prime health spot for Maghrebi patients.

By Monia Ghanmi for Magharebia in Tunis – 09/11/10

Tunisia is becoming the number one medical haven for its Algerian and Libyan neighbors. The Health Ministry reported that Tunisian health institutions received more than 140,000 Libyan and Algerian patients last year.

"In Libya, we suffer from the bad treatment of medical professionals and from their indifference to the health problems that worry us," frequent visitor of Tunisian clinics Bouajila Fakhri told Magharebia.

Dissatisfied with local medical services, Libyans found solutions in Tunisia. A famous clinic in Tunisia is now known as the Libyan Clinic.

The Libyan government said earlier this year that the state has spent almost 2.5 billion Libyan dinars (1.5 billion euros) on the health sector last year, adding that the country has 97 hospitals, featuring 20,689 beds.

Some Libyans, however, question the healthcare reform data, noting that Libyan clinics still suffer from negligence and a dearth of basic equipment, including beds, blankets and air conditioners.

"All of these factors made Libyan citizens lose confidence in the health services that are provided in their country and leave them for hospitals in neighboring states," Libyan patient Hamida Abd Karim said.

According to the 2009 Libyan Health Secretariat report, 566 doctors were sent for overseas courses to raise their competency level in 2008. Meanwhile, 6,024 local courses were held for medical professionals. The same source said that 1,283 patients went abroad to seek help in 2008, compared to 399 in 2007.

Nawal Issaoui came to Tunisia with her ill father after doctors in Libya advised him to complete his treatment in Tunisia. Although she found it easy to have the necessary examinations made in Tunisia and praised the speed and accuracy in collecting the test results, Issaoui confirmed that most Libyans come to Tunisia for treatment to show off, adding that all capabilities are available in her country.

Meanwhile, the number of Algerians who seek treatment in Tunisia is on the rise as well. Clinics in Tunis, Sousse and Sfax have turned into destinations for Algerian patients, especially during the tourist season. Many Algerians prefer to kill two birds with one stone, by spending their summer vacation in Tunisia and simultaneously seeking medical help.

Some Algerians note that brain drain resulted in low expertise of medical professionals in Algeria and forced patients resort to Tunisian clinics.

The Order of French Doctors revealed in 2009 that there are 1,934 Algerian doctors in France, constituting 10.26% of the total number of foreigners working at French hospitals. Moroccans account for 7.69% and Tunisian for 4.85%.

Algerian patients complain about carelessness and lack of attention by local doctors. According to the Order of Algerian Doctors, more than 200 medical errors were made in 2009.

A study by the Canadian University of Sherbrooke and the World Health Organization (WHO) released September 14th confirmed that Tunisia has the best health care system in the Maghreb region.

In 2008, the country had 1.2 doctors per 1,000 citizens, as compared to 1.2 in Algeria and 0.6 in Morocco. The average life expectancy is 70 years for men and 75 years for women, compared to 70 years for men and 74 for women in Morocco, and 70 years for men and 72 for women in Algeria. Tunisia also has the lowest infant mortality rate (23 per 1,000, compared to 37 in Morocco and 38 in Algeria).

According to the report, among the main factors that contributed to the positive indicator in Tunisia were the eradication of all epidemics and medical training that conforms to international criteria.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/11/09/feature-02.

Jordan polls marred by fatality; voter turnout 53 per cent - Summary

Tue, 09 Nov 2010

Amman - Jordanians voted Tuesday in parliamentary elections that saw the killing of one person, the injury of two and the arrest of at least 20.

Polls across the kingdom closed at 7 pm (0500 GMT), 12 hours after opening. Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Shehab said there was no need to extend voting time.

Vote counting began immediately afterward and initial results were expected within hours, he added.

The fatality and the two injuries occurred in the Karak area, 120 kilometers south of Amman, during a shootout between supporters of rival candidates.

At least 20 people were arrested in Madaba, west of Amman, after they tried to prevent people from voting.

Security and police forces also intervened to deal with several election quarrels, stone-throwing incidents and attempts to thwart the polling process, which mostly occurred in rural and Bedouin areas, where tribalism and kinship still reign, media reports said.

The state-run media and the National Center for Human Rights (NCHR) said the polling process was completed in a "smooth manner", except for minor violations that included the use of false IDs and attempts of multiple voting.

Shehab said that the turnout throughout the country was 53 per cent, with the ratio of voters to those registered being as low as 34 per cent in the capital Amman and 36 per cent in the country's second largest city of Zarqa.

The Interior Ministry said that 2.37 million citizens were eligible to vote, but analysts suggested that the turnover could be lower when taking into account the considerable number of citizens who opted not to register for the elections.

Analysts attributed the low turnover in Amman mainly to the boycott of elections by the country's main opposition grouping, the Muslim Brotherhood movement, and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF).

Islamists decided to boycott the polls, saying they were afraid of the repetition of "rigging" that occurred in the 2007 elections.

A total of 763 candidates, including 143 women competed for the lower house's 120 seats, 12 of which are reserved for women under a quota system.

Official statistics indicated that 86 candidates ran as members of political parties, but analysts noted that tribal, family and factional affiliations would be the crucial factor in the outcome of the polls.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/352763,turnout-53-summary.html.