Turkish FM says Greek Cyprus appears lack of peace culture

Davutoglu said, it appears peace culture did not take root in the Greek Cypriot Side.

Thursday, 23 December 2010

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the attack on Turkish basketball team staged by Greek Cypriot hooligans, after a EuroChallange game in Lefkosa showed necessary security precautions were not taken.

Speaking to reporters in Istanbul Thursday, Davutoglu said, it appears peace culture did not take root in the Greek Cypriot Side.

Answering a question on whether he was satisfied with the reaction of the Greek Cypriot Administration acknowledging that they were not quick enough to respond, Davutoglu said remarks condemning the attack was not enough. He said the uproar got out of control too fast, which showed security measures were not sufficient.

Davutoglu said Turkish government on the other hand was quick to respond and take instant action. He said the Turkish government instantly launched international initiatives to ensure the security of Turkish basketball team, and even contacted the UN.

"Peace and brotherhood should be paramount in Sports games...It appears the culture of peace has not yet taken root in the Greek Cypriot Administration. Emergence of such a situation where security is neglected, shows Greek Cypriot Administration have not reached international standards yet. We have appealed to the UN (about the attack). We will continue to follow up on this issue. This is unacceptable" said Davutoglu.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=67744.

Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran agree to hold regular meetings

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran met in Istanbul on Thursday on the sidelines of the 11th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the ECO.

Thursday, 23 December 2010

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran met in Istanbul on Thursday on the sidelines of the 11th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi agreed to hold regular meetings to discuss regional and global developments including combat against terrorism, organized crimes, weapon smuggling and human smuggling.

A statement released following the tripartite meeting reads, "the ministers stressed that they are ready to further deepen their cooperation in efforts to ensure economic growth and sustainable development of the region. They underlined the unique nature of the relations among Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran and welcomed recent progress made in the relations in all areas. They reiterated their will to consolidate peace and prosperity both in the region and in the world and to cooperate with each other in fight against terrorism, organized crimes, illicit drug trafficking, weapon smuggling and human smuggling."

The ministers also decided to hold tripartite meetings to review joint cooperation projects in the areas of trade, investment, energy, tourism and environment. The next meeting will take place in Iran in the coming weeks.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=67736.

Turkey's FM welcomes "US common sense" over Armenia bill

Turkey has long been facing a systematic campaign of defamation carried out by Armenian lobbying groups.

Thursday, 23 December 2010

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday expressed pleasure that the resolution on the Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915 had not been included in the official daily agenda of the U.S. House of Representatives.

"We are pleased that a development that would put a blow on balances in the Caucasus, Turkish-American and Turkish-Armenian relations did not happen in the U.S. Congress. Common sense prevailed yesterday," Davutoglu told reporters.

Davutoglu said, "We closely monitored the developments. We thank U.S. administration, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other executives for their efforts. This incident once again proved that assessment of historical incidents by political authorities is principally wrong. Turkey's stance on this issue is fairly apparent. We are ready for every kind of confrontation and every kind of study. However, we can not accept use of those historical incidents as blackmailing towards our country and it is not true to revive historical issues like the sword of Damocles swinging on Turkish-U.S. relations."

"We would wish to endeavor for positive diplomatic efforts with the U.S. executives in the past 3-4 days instead of trying to prevent a possible crisis. It is obvious that such kind of initiatives lead to waste of energy and time. It is time for dialogue, meetings and agreement. We are obliged to intensify efforts reciprocally and prevail peace and dialogue in the whole world. I would like to underscore once again that efforts to put pressure on Turkey via representatives who are unaware of the issue would remain inconclusive and harm Turkish-U.S. and Turkish-Armenian relations. We hope that such initiatives would not be brought to the agenda in the coming days," he said.

The resolution "H. Res. 252" --labeling the 1915 incidents which took place shortly before the fall of the Ottoman Empire as "genocide" -- was approved by the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 23 against 22 last March.

The adoption of the resolution caused wide reaction in Turkey, which recalled its ambassador, who returned to Washington, D.C. a month later.

Turkey has long been facing a systematic campaign of defamation carried out by Armenian lobbying groups. The Armenian diaspora has lately increased its organized activities throughout the world for the recognition of their unfounded allegations in regard to the events of 1915 as "genocide" by national and local parliaments.

Turkey is of the view that parliaments and other political institutions are not the appropriate fora to debate and pass judgments on disputed periods of history. Past events and controversial periods of history should be left to the historians for their dispassionate study and evaluation. In order to shed light on such a disputed historical issue, the Turkish Government has opened all its archives, including military records to all researchers. Furthermore, Turkey encourages historians, scholars and researchers to freely examine and discuss this historical issue in every platform. In order to have an objective and complete analysis of the Turkish-Armenian relations, the Armenian archives should also be opened and made available to the public and researchers. For reaching the truth, historians must have access to all related archives.

In this respect, in 2005, Turkey has officially proposed to the Government of Armenia the establishment of a joint commission of history composed of historians and other experts from both sides to study together the events of 1915 not only in the archives of Turkey and Armenia but also in the archives of all relevant third countries and to share their findings with the public. Unfortunately, Armenia has not responded positively to this initiative, yet. Turkey's proposal is still on the table.

If accepted by Armenia, Turkey's proposal for setting up a Joint Commission of History would also serve as a confidence-building measure paving the way for a dialogue towards normalization of relations between the two countries.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=67733.

ECO summit kicks off, Turkey's Gul elected term president

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Turkish President Abdullah Gul was elected the term president of the Economic Cooperation Organization.

Thursday, 23 December 2010

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Turkish President Abdullah Gul was elected the term president of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).

The 11th summit of heads of state and government of the ECO began in Istanbul's Ciragan Palace on Thursday.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul is hosting the summit attended by ten member and guest countries including Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Iraq, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Some of the leaders participating in the summit are Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Tajik President Emomoli Rahman.

President Jalal Talabani of Iraq is attending the summit as a leader from one of the guest countries.

Delivering the opening remarks at the 11th summit of the heads of state and government of the ECO in Istanbul, Ahmadinejad thanked Gul for the hospitality displayed.

Less than two years have passed since the Tehran Summit. Since then, the ministers of respective countries held many meetings and various projects were put into service, Ahmadinejad said.

The ECO has great potential for comprehensive cooperation. I am confident that, under Mr. Gul's leadership, all members of the ECO will make sincere cooperation to reach long term goals, Ahmadinejad also said.

Turkey will take over ECO rotating presidency from Iran during the summit. Participants are expected to adopt an Istanbul declaration at the end of the meeting.

ECO is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the Member States.

In 1992, the Organization was expanded to include seven new members, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan.

ECO aims to boost cultural, commercial and economic cooperation among its members, and it also targets at establishing a free trade zone by 2015.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=67724.

Three killed while trying to enter Syria illegally

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Amman - Three men have been killed by Jordanian border guards while trying to infiltrate into Syria, media reports said Thursday.

The victims - two Egyptians and their Jordanian helper - were among a group who planned to enter Syrian territory illegally, the reports quoted security sources as saying.

Border guards opened fire on the group Tuesday night after they refused to stop, killing two Egyptians and the Jordanian who was supposed to guide them to Syria, the sources said.

At least 10 of the infiltrators of different nationalities were arrested and are under interrogation. There has been no word from the government so far.

On previous occasions, non-Jordanians were reported to have sneaked across the Jordanian-Syrian border on their way to Iraq to fight against US troops based there.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359446,trying-enter-syria-illegally.html.

Jordan's government wins confidence of new parliament

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Amman - The Jordanian government of Prime Minister Samir Rifai on Thursday won a vote of confidence with a large majority from the newly elected lower house of parliament.

The 111-9 vote came at the end of five days of debate on the government's major policy statement by the House of Representatives, which was elected on November 9.

The parliamentary elections produced a house with a majority of government loyalists as the polling process was boycotted by the country's main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood movement and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF).

The Brotherhood insisted on conducting the polling process on the basis of an election law that ensures proportional representation.

In a concluding statement, Rifai pledged to speed up the process of political reforms, starting with the amendment of the controversial election law towards the adoption of a system of "political pluralism".

He also vowed to fight corruption and favoritism and to upgrade laws to ensure due respect for public freedoms and human rights.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359524,wins-confidence-new-parliament.html.

Pro-junta parliamentarians gather for closed-door meeting

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Yangon - Elected members of Myanmar's pro-junta political party that won last month's general election gathered this week in Naypyitaw for closed-door discussions on nominations for the country's top leadership, sources said Thursday.

Legislators from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which won 77 per cent of the contested seats in the November 7 polls, met from Tuesday until Thursday in Naypyitaw, the military's new capital situated about 350 kilometers north of Yangon.

"The meeting is for preparing for the coming parliaments," a government official said. "I think there may be some nominations for important posts for the new government," said the official, who requested anonymity.

Last month, military-ruled Myanmar held its first polls in two decades for its three houses of parliament - upper, lower, and regions or states.

USDP, the proxy party of Myanmar's ruling junta, won 76.8 per cent of the 1,096 contested seats, or altogether 842 seats in the three chambers of parliament.

According to Myanmar's constitution, the elected legislators must nominate a new president and vice presidents within three months of the election, who will then select cabinet ministers and open parliament.

The selection process will be dominated by the winning USDP, which is packed with ex-military men and government ministers.

Even without the massive USDP election win, the next parliaments would not be free from military controls since the current constitution allows the army to appoint 25 per cent of all legislators, enough for them to veto any legislation they disapprove of.

Myanmar's elections were strongly criticized by the international community for being unfair and for excluding Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy opposition party.

Suu Kyi, 65, was freed from a seven-year house detention term on November 13, a week after the polls.

The National League for Democracy won the 1990 general election by a landslide, but it was blocked from assuming power by the military. The party was officially disbanded in May for failing to register to contest the polls.

Beside the USDP, other parties that won seats in the election included the pro-establishment National Unity Party with 5.7 per cent, the pro-democracy Shan Nationalities Democratic Party with 5.2 per cent and the Rakhaine National Development Party polled 3.2 per cent.

The National Democratic Force, a breakaway faction from the main opposition National League for Democracy party, came in sixth with 1.5 per cent of all contested seats.

Myanmar has been under military dictatorships since 1962.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359425,parliamentarians-gather-closed-door-meeting.html.

Beijing caps new cars, issues traffic measures

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Beijing - China's capital on Thursday announced an annual cap on licenses for new cars and other measures designed to relieve the city's notorious traffic congestion.

Authorities are to license 240,000 new cars annually from 2011, one-third of the 700,000 new cars that hit Beijing's roads this year.

From January 1, buyers of new cars will have to apply for license plates issued via a lottery before taking to the road, the municipal government said.

Beijing officials have struggled to control the city's mushrooming traffic over the past decade with expansion of public transport and restrictions on private car usage showing only limited success in clearing the gridlock.

Other measures announced Thursday included a rush-hour ban on vehicles registered outside Beijing and city-center parking restrictions.

The estimated number of vehicles licensed in Beijing has reached about 5 million.

Anticipation of the new measures fueled a fresh wave of buying this month with 30,000 cars sold in the past week alone, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Car exhaust fumes and other pollutants were a major concern for athletes in the run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

Chinese authorities only allowed cars to drive every other day on Beijing's roads during the Olympics and have since imposed permanent driving restrictions that they claimed have reduced Beijing's traffic by about 20 per cent on weekdays.

Every car is now barred from the roads one day a week, a system that is enforced through license plate numbers, but little relief is seen on the streets of the city of 17 million people.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359437,cars-issues-traffic-measures.html.

France's Le Monde anoints WikiLeaks founder 'Man of the Year'

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Paris - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been named "Man of the Year" by the French newspaper Le Monde, which Friday devoted the front page of its weekly magazine to the 39-year-old Australian.

The paper is one of five international media outlets that have been evaluating confidential United States diplomatic cables being released by Assange's whistleblower website.

Assange told the Paris Match magazine for its Thursday edition that WikiLeaks has completed only "one fiftieth" of its mission, with 1,800 of the 251,000 documents reportedly in its possession released.

He said he has so far felt protected by his notoriety, but realizes that he is the main target of critics.

Assange is currently living in Britain under strict bail conditions. Swedish prosecutors have accused him of sex offenses against two women and have demanded his extradition. Assange has argued that the sex he had with the two women was consensual.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359486,wikileaks-founder-man-year.html.

Spain's Catalonia gets new prime minister

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Barcelona - Catalan nationalist Artur Mas was Thursday confirmed as the new prime minister of the wealthy north-eastern Spanish region of Catalonia.

The regional parliament backed Mas as the successor of Socialist Jose Montilla, who suffered a crushing defeat in regional elections on November 28.

Montilla's defeat was seen as a heavy blow to Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who is under fire over his handling of the country's economic crisis.

Mas, 54, was expected to build a minority government. He belongs to the conservative-liberal Catalan nationalist party CiU, which already governed the region of 7.5 million residents from 1980 until 2003.

Catalonia's political trends favor the region's independence from Spain. Mas has said he is not against independence, but feels the time is not yet ripe for it.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359488,gets-new-prime-minister.html.

Iraqi politician claims cabinet posts were bought - Summary

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Baghdad - An Iraqi politician charged Thursday that some seats in the new cabinet given to the Iraqiya List party were bought at a secret meeting at the home of an unnamed Iraqi businessman in Jordan.

"The allocation of ministry posts among members of the Iraqiya List was based on substantial financial deals," Iraqiya member Kamel al-Dulaimi told the Kurdistan News Agency.

He alleged that the deals were made in the home of an Iraqi businessman residing in neighboring Jordan. Al-Dulaimi stopped short of naming the man.

Al-Dulaimi's al-Hall Party, which is part of the Iraqiya List coalition, was given the Ministry of Industry and Minerals portfolio in the new government.

Reports emerged later on Thursday that the al-Hall Party had also received the Ministry of Electricity portfolio, while the Ministry of Defense portfolio went to another member of the Iraqiya List, according to the Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

The Iraqiya List, which is headed by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, is the largest bloc in parliament. The party has been given nine ministries as well as the posts of vice-president and deputy prime minister. Allawi is slated to head a new National Council on Strategic Policies.

Iraq's parliament voted earlier this week for a "partial" government, leaving some posts unfilled, ending a political stalemate that has dragged on since elections nine months ago.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359493,were-bought-summary.html.

Head of Lebanese Christian community urges sacrifice

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Beirut - The head of the Christian Maronite community in Lebanon called Thursday in his Christmas message on all rival Lebanese sides to "sacrifice" for Lebanon.

"The holidays, as every year, arrived amidst a split among the Lebanese, and the faithful cannot hide their concerns about their country," Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir said in the message.

"Nations can only survive with its citizens' sacrifices," he urged. "Loyalty to Lebanon must be sacred."

Sfeir came under harsh attack this week from the Iranian and Syrian-backed Lebanese Shiite movement, Hezbollah, after he expressed fears that Hezbollah would stage a coup d'etat to seize control of Lebanon.

Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad on Wednesday hit back at Sfeir, telling him "we are not coup-seekers and this is not on our mind."

Lebanon is celebrating Christmas amid tensions following reports that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will soon issue its indictment into the 2005 assassination of Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri. It is expected that some Hezbollah members might be fingered for involvement in the murder.

Some leaders in Lebanon are concerned that should the court indict Hezbollah members, it could lead to a new civil strife in Lebanon.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359497,christian-community-urges-sacrifice.html.

Italian parliament approves contentious university reforms

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Rome - Italy's parliament on Thursday gave final approval to a university reform package featuring controversial budget cuts that have triggered widespread and sometimes violent protests.

The upper-house Senate voted 161-98 to approve the bill, which was tabled by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's conservative government.

The lower-house Chamber of Deputies had already given its approval to the legislation earlier this month.

The reforms include cutting funds to faculties and courses that the government says attract only a few students and drain resources from other more vital areas of study.

But critics, including the center-left opposition, had argued that they will make less funds available for research projects and other investments that universities have to make to guarantee high standards of education.

On Wednesday, thousands of students gathered in streets and squares around Italy for protests that led to scuffles with police and the disruption of traffic in Rome and several other cities.

Similar demonstrations last week had also led to dozens of injuries and several million euros in damage in the Italian capital after clashes between leftists and security forces.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359498,approves-contentious-university-reforms.html.

UN slams human rights abuses in Ivory Coast - Summary

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Geneva - The United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday denounced what it said were severe abuses in the Ivory Coast, where disputed election results have led to violence and instability.

Its resolution was passed as the UN confirmed that 173 people have died since the crisis began on December 16, after incumbent Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power to Alassane Ouattara - the man the world sees as the rightful winner of last month's presidential polls.

The UN resolution "strongly condemns" a long list of offenses, including abductions, summary executions and acts of sexual violence.

The council's special session - the 14th since the council started operating in 2007 - was held at the request of nations from Africa, Europe and the United States.

It called on "all the relevant parties to immediately put an end to all human rights violations in Cote d'Ivoire and to fully respect all human rights and fundamental freedoms."

The resolution, which had no enforcement mechanism, also said the government must "investigate and bring to justice perpetrators of violations of human rights."

Ivory Coast had held the recent elections with the aim of healing the divisions of a 2002 civil war that had split the country into the mainly Muslim north, which backs Ouattara, and Christian south, where Gbagbo holds sway.

Ouattara's camp says that people have been killed and wounded as part of Gbagbo's crackdown, which reportedly has featured Liberian and Angolan mercenaries operating death squads. The UN confirmed the presence of Liberian forces in Ivory Coast.

A senior UN human rights official, Kyung-wha Kang, said she found "particularly alarming" the use of media outlets "to incite hatred and violence among the population."

The leading human rights organization Amnesty International, meanwhile, has said that "all those responsible for human rights abuses (should) be held accountable."

The final Human Rights Council resolution avoided calling for respecting "the will of the people as well as the restoration of democracy," as an early draft text had suggested.

California digs out from record storm

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Los Angeles - The sun made a welcome return to southern California Thursday after seven days of torrential rain left many areas underwater, covered with mud and threatened by mudslides.

The relentless downpour splashed some 19 centimeters of rain on downtown Los Angeles, which is now expected to record the second- wettest winter on record.

The only fatality caused by the storm occurred in Riverside county where a woman was found dead in her vehicle after her car was swept away by rushing water.

In the mountain ranges that ring Los Angeles, as much as 50 centimeters of rain fell in many places. But the brunt of the recent storm fell more heavily on Orange County in the south where swanky Laguna Beach was covered in a thick layer of mud when a storm drain channel that usually diverts excess water underneath the downtown area burst its barriers and sent torrents of debris through the streets.

Residents who left their homes Thursday to survey the damage found streets, stores and restaurants covered in knee high mud and the popular beach boardwalks all but eliminated.

"The devastation is incredible," said local resident Jennifer Jacobs as she watched crews begin the clean-up. "The mud is everywhere."

But emergency officials had been bracing for far worse damage, fearing that hillsides denuded in last summer's wildfires would send torrents of debris hurtling down slopes and into residential areas and roads. Hundreds of homes had been evacuated but the feared mudslides did not occur, though officials warned that storms forecast for the weekend could trigger deadly landslides.

"The ground is so saturated it could move at any time" and the threat will remain for several weeks, said Bob Spencer, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

"We really, really dodged a bullet," meteorologist Jamie Meier told the Los Angeles Times.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359511,california-digs-record-storm.html.

Russian opposition sues Putin for slander

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Moscow - Russian opposition figures have sued Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for slander and demanded that he pay them 1 million rubles (32,700 dollars) in damages, former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov told the Interfax news agency on Thursday.

He pointed to statements Putin had made recently during an annual live television question-and-answer session, in which he accused opposition figures of having stolen billions of rubles from Russia along with the exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky.

"That is a lie and defamation," Nemtsov said, also demanding an apology from Putin.

The premier's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Opposition politicians such as Nemtsov are only interested in power and money, Putin had argued during the December 16 broadcast.

"They have spent everything and now they want to come back and line their own pockets," he said.

"I think that if we allow that, they will not focus on a few billions. They will sell off all of Russia," he added.

The accused had retorted that Putin's corrupt system with its authoritarian structures is destroying the country.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359515,opposition-sues-putin-slander.html.

EXTRA: Obama, Medvedev pledge close ties after 'historic' deal

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Washington - US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday pledged to continue their close cooperation as the two countries were set to implement an "historic" nuclear arms reduction treaty.

In a morning telephone call, Medevedev congratulated Obama on the Senate's ratification Wednesday of the New START Treaty, the White House said in a statement. The Russian Duma could ratify the accord after January 10.

"The two leaders agreed that this was an historic event for both countries and for US-Russia relations," the White House said. The two leaders also "pledged to continue their close partnership" in 2011.

New START was signed by Obama and Medvedev in April and binds the two sides to cut their numbers of active warheads to 1,550 within seven years, or by about 30 per cent from the 1991 treaty that expired in December 2009.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359520,close-ties-historic-deal.html.