Artist Flees Turkey after Brush with Leader
THE INDEPENDENT: An artist who was cleared of mocking Turkey's prime minister by portraying him as a dog in a collage has fled the country after hearing his acquittal has been overturned.

Michael Dickinson, 59, returned home to County Durham after hearing a late-night TV report last week saying the acquittal had been quashed and a new trial was pending.

"I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. I was told by a woman, whose husband had seen it, and I said 'He must be dreaming'," he said.

"I caught a plane out as soon as I could, leaving most of my possessions behind, including my books, furnishings and computer.

"I was sad to leave after 23 years in Turkey, but I don't fancy another taste of Turkish hospitality in incarceration." >>> Rod Minchin, Press Association | Tuesday, June 30, 2009

EURACTIV: EU Tells Turkey: No 'Cruise Control' on Accession

As leading EU countries are advocating alternatives to full EU membership for Turkey, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week that Ankara should speed up reform instead of breeding unrealistic expectations during its accession process.

"No one should be mistaken: There is no cruise control in the accession negotiations. Each step forward requires hard work and intense preparations by the candidates for EU membership," Rehn said, speaking at forum held in Brussels on Friday (26 June).

The enlargement commissioner acknowledged progress made by Turkey in the accession process, but stressed that no such advance was visible in the last six months.

He stressed the "pressing need" to reform the legal and constitutional framework governing the closure of political parties, as well of guaranteeing freedom of expression and the independence and pluralism of the media.

Recent reports by the European Commission and the Parliament have warned of a continuous slowdown in the reform process in Turkey (EurActiv 12/02/09). >>> | Monday, June 29, 2009

Olli Rehn Talks through His Pine End!
DAILY TELEGRAPH: The European Union's enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn has accused Britain of having an irrational and backward looking view on the EU's eastwards expansion and foreign workers.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn . Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
He launched the extraordinary attack as the EU marked the fifth anniversary of the 2004 enlargement, when 10 mainly Central and East European countries joined.

He likened "scepticism" about expansion, especially in "established" countries such Britain, Germany and France, to sentimentality for the 1960s.

The 47-year old Finn insisted the negative reaction was a product of "popular psychology" and backward looking sentiment for a bygone age.

"I cannot see any rational reasons," he told The Daily Telegraph. "In the established member states there has been the feeling that it is a cosy club, by the fireside, where we can take decisions that concern all of us, who are very similar.

"There is plenty of sweet nostalgia. It is like Beatle records or George Best's performances at Man United. That belongs to a different era." EU Commissioner Accuses Britain of Having Irrational View of Europe >>> By Bruno Waterfield in Prague | Friday, May 1, 2009

Turkey: Erdogan in Trouble
Photo of Recep Tayyip Erdogan courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Turkey's chief prosecutor has appeared before the country's Constitutional Court calling for the governing party to be closed down.

Founded by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Justice and Development Party, the AKP, won a landslide victory in the last election.

But its critics say it is trying to impose Sharia law on the secular state.

The party's attempt to ease a ban on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf is expected to be central to the evidence.

Prosecutor Abdurraham Yalcinkaya, who has argued that the party has become the focal point of anti-secular activities in Turkey, is appearing before judges in a closed-door session.

"This risk has been increasing every day" reads the 162-page petition submitted to the Constitutional Court by Mr Yalcinkaya.

"The danger is clear and concrete. There is no other way to protect society than to close the party down," it reads.

He is calling for the prime minister, president and 69 other party members to be banned from politics.

The AKP has condemned the case as an assault on democracy. A team representing the party are expected to present their defence on Thursday.

The EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has warned the case could jeopardise Turkey's bid to join the bloc - arguing such disputes should be resolved through the ballot box, not the courts. Turkish Ruling Party Put on Trial >>> | July 1, 2008

LISTEN TO BBC RADIO:
The AK Party won the last election in Turkey by a landslide, but its roots are in political Islam. Now Turkey's chief prosecutor is to give evidence to the country's constitutional court calling for the governing party to be closed down. The prosecutor claims it is trying to impose sharia law on Turkey, which is a strictly secular state >>> Sarah Rainsford reports | July 1, 2008

VOICE OF AMERICA:
Case Against Turkey's Ruling Party Gets Under Way: Turkey's constitutional court has begun hearing a case calling for the ruling Justice and Development Party to be shut down on the charge of undermining the secular state. The prosecutors are asking the court to disband the party and ban the prime minister and president from politics. As Dorian Jones reports for VOA from Istanbul, just as the case got started, Turkish authorities arrested more than 20 hardline nationalists, including two retired generals >>> By Dorian Jones, Istanbul | July 1, 2008

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