EU-DIGEST

Roj TV known for its closeness to Kurdistan Workers’ Party /PKK/ has stopped broadcasting, Turkish Hurriyet daily writes on its Internet site. The television channel was broadcasting from Denmark. Danish officials explain the channel stopped broadcasting on technical grounds despite the claims that this is a response to Turkey’s request.us Owners of satellite antennas in Turkey, who used to received the broadcast, say the channel does not send anymore signals.

Labels: Denmark, EU, PKK, Roj TV, Turkey

Turkey segment of ABN Amro sale completed

A consortium composed of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Belgian Fortis bank and Spanish Banco Santander had previously appealed to take over Dutch bank ABN Amro's six branches in Turkey, but the request was initially rejected by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) due to security concerns. According to the Sabah daily, 2008 yearend intelligence reports showed that Barclays had cancelled the PKK accounts, and the takeover was approved by the BDDK. During a recent visit to Turkey, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was told by his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that there were some banks transferring money to the PKK in Europe, and Brown responded that they had decided to ban such activities. The BDDK had previously rejected the handover of Turkish A Bank to Greek Alpha Bank due to similar security concerns.

Labels: ABN-AMRO, EU, PKK, The Netherlands, Turkey

‘Ice warrior’ poised to repel rise of Islamic rule in Turkey - by John Swain

The next chief of the armed forces is being chosen this weekend at the end of a tumultuous week. Two PKK terrorist bombs exploded last Sunday night in Istanbul, killing 17 people, including five children whose bodies were riddled with shrapnel. Sandhurst-trained Basbug, 65, will have the top job for the next two years. He is a formidable military figure and an ideological hardliner who will ensure that Erdogan’s government - which was elected last year with 47% of the vote but is mistrusted by the military, which sees itself as guardian of a secular society - walks a narrow political line. For these reasons Basbug is almost certainly not the general Erdogan would choose to promote. The outgoing chief of the general staff, General Mehmet Yasar Buyukanit, was also a hardliner but he was impulsive and could be outmanoeuvred by the prime minister. “Erdogan will find Basbug is a much more formidable opponent than his predecessor. He is a lot more subtle,” said a military source.

Labels: Ilker Basbug, Military, PKK, Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey

Turkey says 'many' PKK terrorists killed in Iraq air raid

The Turkish army said Friday that "many" Kurdish rebels were killed in a bombing raid in northern Iraq, but gave no precise figures.Bombardments, which began at 11:00 pm (2000 GMT) on Thursday, targeted Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) hideouts in the Qandil mountains along the Iraq-Iran border and destroyed 43 targets, including a communication centre. "The raid...has delivered a major blow to the PKK terrorist organization," the statement said, describing the strikes as "comprehensive and efficient." The army did not say how many planes took part in the bombing, but Turkey's NTV news channel put the figure at 50 fighter jets.

Labels: PKK, Turkey

PKK remains on Euro terror list

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the terrorist organization PKK remained on a European Union list of terrorist groups despite an EU court ruling that overturned Thursday a European Council decision to place the group on the blacklist. "Our initial analysis of the ruling suggests that the court issued an opinion on whether the European Council's decision complied with the EU laws, not on whether the PKK/KONGRA-GEL is a terrorist organization," the MFA spokesman said in a written response to a question. "Allegations that the group was removed from the EU list were untrue," the spokesman said.

Labels: EU, PKK, Turkey

Labels: EU, PKK, Terrorism