TUSIAD Turkey Letter: 01 June 2015

Foreign Policy

  • Turkish FM set to attend Paris meeting of anti-ISIL coalition
  • US training of Syria rebel fighters expands to Turkey: Source
  • No Turkish-US agreement on no-fly zone, but Ankara in line with Gulf: Erdoğan

Economy and Energy

  • Turkish Authorities Seize Bank Asya
  • Weakening Economy Threatens Turkish Government’s Election Chances

Domestic Politics

  • Pro-Kurdish Party’s Emergence in Turkey Could Shake Up Election
  • Voting abroad over, turnout 36 percent
  • HDP not to return ‘ethnic politics’ after polls: Demirtaş
  • Renault workers in Turkey end protests

Foreign Policy

Turkish FM set to attend Paris meeting of anti-ISIL coalition
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will attend a high-level meeting of the international community on combating the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on June 2 in Paris.
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Hurriyet Daily News, June 01, 2015, Turkish FM set to attend Paris meeting of anti-ISIL coalition, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-fm-set-to-attend-paris-meeting-of-anti-isil-coalition-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=83306&NewsCatID=510

US training of Syria rebel fighters expands to Turkey: Source
The US military has started training Syrian opposition fighters in Turkey to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an expected expansion of a program that first launched in Jordan weeks ago, a US official told Reuters on May 28.
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Hurriyet Daily News, May 28, 2015, US training of Syria rebel fighters expands to Turkey: Source, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-training-of-syria-rebel-fighters-expands-to-turkey-source.aspx?pageID=238&nID=83113&NewsCatID=510

No Turkish-US agreement on no-fly zone, but Ankara in line with Gulf: Erdoğan
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have agreed on the necessity to enforce a safe zone and a no-fly zone in Syria despite the absence of such an agreement with the US administration, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.
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Hurriyet Daily News, May 27, 2015, No Turkish-US agreement on no-fly zone, but Ankara in line with Gulf: Erdoğan, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/no-turkish-us-agreement-on-no-fly-zone-but-ankara-in-line-with-gulf-erdogan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=83030&NewsCatID=510

 

Economy and Energy

Turkish Authorities Seize Bank Asya
Turkish authorities seized Bank Asya, ending a long-running battle to bring the Islamic lender firmly under government control after the company became embroiled in a political feud.  The move, announced by Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency late Friday, comes just a week before critical parliamentary elections and marks the latest step in an 18-month saga that saw the country’s largest Islamic lender lose half of its assets as political attacks fueled a run by depositors.
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Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2015, Turkish Authorities Seize Bank Asya, http://www.wsj.com/articles/turkish-authorities-seize-bank-asya-1433102306

Weakening Economy Threatens Turkish Government’s Election Chances
As Turkey prepares for June elections, the government’s 13-year hold on power is facing a new threat: diminishing faith in its long-trusted economic management.
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Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2015, Weakening Economy Threatens Turkish Government’s Election Chances, http://www.wsj.com/articles/weakening-economy-threatens-turkish-governments-election-chances-1432814838

 

Domestic Politics

Turkey’s Game-Changing Election
Turkey’s parliamentary election will mark a pivotal moment for the country’s future. Yet for the first time in over a decade, the outcome is clouded in uncertainty.
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Carnegie Institution, May 29, 2015, Turkey’s Game-Changing Election, http://carnegieeurope.eu/2015/05/29/turkey-s-game-changing-election/i97d

Pro-Kurdish Party’s Emergence in Turkey Could Shake Up Election
As the most competitive parliamentary election in a decade approaches, the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) has emerged as a potential spoiler to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plans to cement his grip on power.
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Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2015, Pro-Kurdish Party’s Emergence in Turkey Could Shake Up Election, http://www.wsj.com/articles/pro-kurdish-partys-emergence-in-turkey-could-shake-up-election-1433104855

Voting abroad over, turnout 36 percent
The voting for Turkey’s June 7 general elections has ended in 54 countries with more than 1 million people voting abroad, mainly in European countries.
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Hurriyet Daily News, June 1, 2015, Voting abroad over, turnout 36 percent, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/voting-abroad-over-turnout-36-percent.aspx?pageID=238&nID=83296&NewsCatID=341

HDP not to return ‘ethnic politics’ after polls: Demirtaş
The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) will continue its efforts to turn into a political party embracing entire Turkey by abandoning its decades-old ethnic politics, its co-leader has said, vowing no return even after the June 7 election.
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Hurriyet Daily News, June 1, 2015, HDP not to return ‘ethnic politics’ after polls: Demirtaş, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hdp-not-to-return-ethnic-politics-after-polls-demirtas-.aspx?PageID=238&NID=83252&NewsCatID=338

Renault workers in Turkey end protests
French car giant Renault said on May 27 that a labor dispute over wages and working conditions, which halted operations at its factory in the northwestern province of Bursa, has ended following an agreement with the protesters.
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Hurriyet Daily News, May 27, 2015, Renault workers in Turkey end protests, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/renault-workers-in-turkey-end-protests.aspx?pageID=238&nID=83047&NewsCatID=347

 

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