Teamwork brings success, says viral AKP photo taken in flood zone

Hürriyet photo

A photo showing a Justice and Development Party (AKP) billboard boasting of success with a view of a flooded state-built neighborhood in Samsun became a viral sensation today following the flood that killed nine citizens.

Social media picked up on the photo soon after the devastating news of victims surfaced, and users shared the photo countless times.

The billboard, shown in front of the wretched Kuzey Yıldızı neighborhood that was recently finished by the government's Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ), reads "Teamwork brings success" and includes a photo of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shaking hands with a local AKP figure.

Five citizens were killed when the flood hit only two-year old Kuzey Yıldızı site.Some 450 houses in the Kuzey Yıldız Konutları building complex were affected by the flood.

The TOKİ buildings were located between two branches of Mert River which flooded the ground floors causing deaths and injuries, according to reports.

Heavy rain and flooding killed nine people in the Black Sea province of Samsun yesterday including six children. Two people are still reported missing and 21 have been injured, Samsun Governor Hüseyin Aksoy said.

TOKİ has blamed weather conditions, “which poured more rain than calculated” for the damage. (Hurriyet Daily News)

AKP deputy wants French name removed from Istanbul hill

Hürriyet photo

Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Vahit Kiler has launched a campaign to change the name of Pierre Loti hill in Istanbul’s Eyüp district to İdris-i Bitlis, which he claims is the original name of the famous Istanbul landmark, daily Akşam reported.

The hill was originally known as İdris Hill due to the location of a house belonging to someone named İdris until the name was changed in 1934 to that of the famous French novelist, Pierre Loti.

People in the eastern province of Bitlis were deeply saddened and even cried when they found out that İdris, a local from Bitlis, had had his named replaced by a foreigner in 1934, Kiler said.

Kiler added that they were gathering the necessary documents to make an official proposal to change the name and were now planning meetings with Istanbul’s mayor and other related officials.

Loti lived from 1850 to 1923. During his time as a naval officer, Loti traveled extensively and gathered material for his future novels in such places as Tahiti, Turkey, Senegal and Japan. He was a reputed Istanbul lover and devoted many of his literary works to the city. In spite of his Orientalist views, he received a positive critical reception from Turkish intellectuals. (Hurriyet Daily News)

AKP officials slam 'er otic' dance at school festival

A recent dance show that took place during the Culture and Tourism Festival was too "erotic" to be performed at a school, AKP officials in Bandırma province in the Marmara region have said, daily Hürriyet reported.

The festivities began at Atatürk Elementary School on June 3 and included a variety of activities that aimed to attract attention to a national bird sanctuary.

Locals, however, were shocked when two female dancers performed a raunchy dance routine in the midst of the activities.

While the children showed no reaction to the dancers, some fathers gathered in a small group behind the performers and enjoyed the show.

Bandırma's provincial AKP officials later criticized the performance, accusing the performers of "staging an erotic dance under the name of cultural activities at a platform that hosted families and children."

"The local attitude toward such an act is clear," the official statement read, warning the organizers not to make the same mistake next year. (Hurriyet Daily News)

AKP’s support for babies born of rap e fuels uproar

Health Minister Recep Akdağ (C) has though a moment while giving answers to female reporters on the controversial issues of abortion and Cesarean sections. AA photo

Uproar over government plans to restrict or ban abortion intensified yesterday as senior members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) voiced support for the delivery of unwanted babies conceived as a result of rape.

“Certainly, we will not abandon such children and the state will take care of them. But this not a final decision. There will be a public debate, and we will have discussions with experts and scientists,” Health Minister Recep Akdağ told reporters in the capital, Ankara.

Fending off criticism, Akdağ said his suggestion of state care for unwanted babies born as a result of rape was hypothetical and based on the assumption that the prospective law on the issue bans abortion in all cases except for situations of medical necessity.

AKP lawmaker Ayhan Sefer Üstün, the head of Parliament’s Human Rights Commission, upped the ante in supporting the minister, arguing in remarks to daily Akşam that “killing the baby in the mother’s womb is a greater crime than the deeds of the rapist.” He said abortion should also be banned in cases in which the unborn baby is determined to have a serious impairment.

Akdağ denied the government had made a decision to restrict abortion to the first four weeks of pregnancy – a move that critics say would amount to a virtual ban, as pregnancies are rarely detected within that period.

Planned restrictions
The minister defended the planned restrictions on abortion as a means to keep Turkey’s population young and avoid “the wrong path of Western countries” in grappling with the problem of an ageing population.

“Turkey should have a young population. We cannot follow the wrong path of Western countries. Many Western countries, where abortion is unconditionally free and where families have a certain lifestyle, are in serious trouble due to their aging populations,” he said.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lashed out at the health minister, charging that his approach would embolden rapists.

“The minister has demonstrated that he regards women as second-class citizens. A mentality which reduces the existence of a woman to reproduction belongs to totalitarian and fascist movements,” CHP deputy chair Perihan Sarı said.

Oktay Vural of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) said he had his “hair stood on end over this mentality, which is able to see even rape as a means of reproduction.”

Meanwhile, Amnesty International yesterday said it is deeply concerned by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s announcement of forthcoming legislation on abortion.

“The legislation, if passed, would further restrict access to needed health care for women and girls in contravention of their human rights,” the organization’s press statement said. “Amnesty International calls on the Turkish government to ensure that women’s human rights are fully protected,” it added. (Source: Ankara-Hürriyet Daily News)

Şırnak deputy head from AKP shot dead

Şırnak AKP deputy provincial head Ali Kılınç’s funeral was held in yesterday. DHA photo

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) deputy provincial head for the southeastern province of Şırnak was murdered last night in front of his house.

Unknown suspects opened fire on Ali Kılınç, 48, at around 7:30 p.m., critically wounding him in the head and the chest. He was immediately taken to Şırnak state hospital, where he died later the same night.
A preliminary forensic medicine autopsy report showed that Kılınç was shot three times with a bullet in his head and body. The report also revealed that Kılınç was shot with a 7.65 mm gun with a silencer.

Police searched several places, including the local Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) headquarters and detained 20 people in the city. Two officials from the BDP are among the detained, according to reports.

AKP officials said that it’s very early to comment on the issue whether the murder has a political motive or not. Speaking to the Daily News in a telephone interview, AKP Şırnak deputy Mehmet Emin Dindar said that an investigation was launched to apprehend the assailants. “We don’t have exact information on the issue at the moment, there is an ongoing investigation. He did not have any problems with anybody. We cannot say the murder has a political motive or not at the moment,” he said.

Members of the PKK had reportedly kidnapped the Justice and Development Party (AKP)’s district chairman for the southeastern province of Diyarbakır’s Kulp district, Veysel Çelik, on May 13. (ŞIRNAK - Doğan News Agency)

AKP government scales down national day festivities

This photo shows ‘foreign invaders’ during a reenactment of the War of Independence at a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the rescue of Şanlıurfa from invaders. The reenactment demonstrations of Turkish victories will not be held anymore. DHA photo

The celebration of national holidays will no longer include military parades and lavish shows at stadiums, with the government’s recent move to curb the army presence in celebrations to mark the national holidays

The government has significantly overhauled and scaled down official ceremonies on national holidays and commemoration days, removing the controversial reenactment demonstrations of Turkish victories over hostile forces and further curbing the profile of the military.

Under a regulation issued by the Cabinet and published in the Official Gazette over the weekend, only the Republic Day of Oct. 29 will be celebrated as a state event, under the patronage of the President, who will lead the ceremony at Atatürk’s mausoleum and host a reception in the evening at Çankaya Palace. The new regulation also confirmed the President’s takeover of the Victory Day celebrations on Aug. 30 from the chief of general staff, who had up to now always received the greetings and hosted the reception at military facilities. Victory Day will be the only national holiday to retain a military parade. However, the highest administrative official will lead provincial ceremonies, accompanied by the local commander and the mayor.

North Korean style shows
Government officials have long criticized the celebration of national holidays as old-fashioned and resembling those in totalitarian countries such as North Korea and the former Soviet Union. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hailed the new regulations in a speech in the southern city of Adana on May 5. “The turning points in our history were highlighted only in their military context and confined to obligatory official ceremonies that overlooked the enthusiasm behind them. We are lifting the dark official curtain and military outlook from our national holidays,” Erdoğan said.

The celebration of National Sovereignty and Children’s Day on April 23 and The Day of Youth and Remembrance of Atatürk on May 19 will no longer include official ceremonies, parades and lavish shows at stadiums. At the government level, the ministers of education and sports and youth will respectively issue messages to mark the two holidays. They will attend simple ceremonies in a province of their choosing, which will include only the laying of a wreath at an Atatürk monument, the playing of the national anthem and the raising the national flag up a flagpole. Other festivities to be organized by local committees will feature no official reception of greetings and parades.

The anniversaries of historical days and events commemorating Atatürk on a local level will be organized by the office of the provincial governor. These may include conferences, exhibitions, contests, music and dance shows, but again no official parades or receptions of greetings. In practice, this means that the regulation puts an end to the often criticized reenactments of battles between Turks and enemy forces that have been usually staged on days marking the liberation of individual cities from occupation. (ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News)

Students beaten, dragged during anti-AKP protest in Turkey

DHA photo

A group of university students in the Black Sea province of Samsun were beaten by private security guards and police officers before being detained for attempting to protest the government.

Students were slapped and beaten while one female student was dragged along the ground by her hair.

Security forces had first warned students coming towards the university campus for the protest to turn back. The students refused and the crowd began to march towards the campus carrying signs and shouting slogans. A clash broke out when private security attempted to disperse the students by force, prompting riot police to intervene.

Twenty students were detained and put on a police bus.

The students had wanted to protest the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) prior to a visit by Sports and Youth Minister Minister Suat Kılınç to the university.

Minister Kılıç arrived about 15 minutes after the crows was dispersed.
(SAMSUN - Doğan News Agency (DHA))

AKP members still cautious over formula to release MPs in prison

Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin had a two-hour meeting with PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Deputy PM Bekir Bozdağ. AA photo

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) remains skeptical of the formula, which would bring about the release of eight arrested deputies, agreed on by three oppositional parties on the grounds that it would violate the constitution’s principle of equality. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a lengthy meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ and Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin yesterday, a day before the Cabinet is set to convene.

As a result of Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek’s initiative, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) have agreed to amend Article 100 of the Criminal Procedures Law, under which lawmakers would be included in the scope of exemptions from pre-trial detention.

The legislation of the amendment requires the support of the AKP as the sum of lawmakers in the three opposition parties does not suffice to pass the bill. Erdoğan earlier said they would evaluate the proposal but would not allow the opposition to accuse the government as being responsible for this crisis. His meetings with Ergin and Bozdağ, both legal experts, were important in this sense.

However some voices within the AKP believe the amendment would violate the constitution’s principle of equality. “There are so many people arrested without conviction. The high court could annul it,” is the view expressed by some AKP officials. For them, the best solution to the problem of jailed lawmakers is to release them through court decisions. (ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News)

AKP women urge no ban on hijab

The demand to freely wear headscarves and ‘religious and political symbols’ encompasses all areas of the public realm, except judiciary, security and education. DHA photo

Women of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have urged for the new constitution to allow for the freedom to wear headscarves in all areas of the public realm as part of proposals they submitted to Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek.

The proposal, titled “The new civil constitution from the viewpoint of women,” also said that the new charter should place greater importance on family and religion as well as democracy, and stop imposing secularism.

The demand to freely wear headscarves and other “religious and political symbols” encompasses all areas of the public realm, including deputies in Parliament, but excluding the judiciary, security and education fields. It also stated that while teachers should not wear such items of clothing, students should be free to wear headscarves.

The 15-page report also highlighted that the current parliamentary system has had problems maintaining the separation of powers, and that a presidential system should be considered, for the parliamentary system to continue in a healthy way.

The basis of women’s rights is human rights, the party representatives pointed out, emphasizing that if human rights are not protected, discrimination against women, children, the disabled and homosexuals cannot be prevented.

Meanwhile, the Constitution Conciliation Commission will begin drafting the new constitution on May 1. Special rooms are being prepared both on the Parliament grounds and in other buildings in Ankara that will provide more privacy for commission members. The commission has unanimously decided to carry out the drafting process in complete secrecy.

A parliamentary commission to coordinate the work of drafting the new constitution was set up last October with equal representation from the four parties represented in Parliament. The Constitution Conciliation Commission and a prominent civil society organization under the leadership of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) also toured the provinces of the country to take the pulse of the people and their expectations. The last of the meetings will be held in Istanbul on April 28. (Source: ANKARA-Göksel Bozkurt-Hürriyet Daily News)

AKP seeks consensus on 5-year term for deputies

Senior ruling party lawmaker Mustafa Elitaş says the ruling party will seek consensus on the Constitution Conciliation Commission to increase the parliamentary term to five years from the current term of four years

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is planning to push for constitutional amendments restoring five-year parliamentary terms and moving local polls to either the summer or fall, while pledging to seek compromise with the opposition.

Senior AKP lawmaker Mustafa Elitaş told the Hürriyet Daily News that the party did not plan any unilateral move on the issue but would seek a compromise in talks at Parliament’s cross-party Constitution Conciliation Commission, which is tasked with drafting a new charter for Turkey.

The AKP’s intentions came under question when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed regret yesterday that they had agreed to an amendment to reduce parliamentary terms from five to four years as part of a constitutional reform package that had been approved in a referendum in 2007.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to China, Erdoğan said they were “deceived” by the now-defunct Motherland Party (ANAP), which had suggested the change. “I very much regret that. I wish we had left it at five years. He added, however, that the AKP would stick to the local elections calendar and would not seek to move the March 2014 polls forward “unless something extraordinary happens.”
In comments on Erdoğan’s remarks, Elitaş said the AKP had no immediate plans for amendments but could raise the issue at the constitution-making panel. “We could put forward a proposal after the commission begins writing the new charter. We need the contribution of the opposition. Such amendments would be the subject of the new constitution,” he told the Daily News.

No change in local vote

Elitaş said the AKP was fine with holding local elections every five years but would like to see the electioneering period ahead of the polls fall in the summer season. “When you hold elections in March, the election campaign falls in winter and this causes problems, particularly in the east and southeast. We could ensure that the campaigns fall in the summer season. This would also require a constitutional amendment and we could propose that, too, at the commission,” he said.

The Daily News has learned that the AKP is determined to secure the amendments by the end of 2012. If a compromise cannot be reached at the constitution-making panel, the AKP is expected to seek unilateral support from any of the opposition parties in 2013.

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) quickly dismissed the suggestion. “The prime minister should not tinker with the elections. This discussion points at machinations and calculations within the AKP about who will seek what posts. We think that the four-year term is OK,” the MHP’s Oktay Vural said. k HDN (hurriyetdailynews)