PARLIAMENT TO VOTE THIS WEEK ON ENDING UNIVERSITY HEADSCARF BAN
Constitutional changes meant to lift the headscarf ban at universities will be taken up by Parliament this week. On Wednesday Parliament will debate the amendments and hold its first round of secret voting, followed by a second round on Saturday. The proposed amendment will be passed if it gets the votes of more than 330 deputies. /Turkiye/
BABACAN: "2007 WAS A LOST YEAR FOR EU REFORMS"
Turkey's European Union accession reforms slowed down last year due to general elections and Parliament's resulting long recess, said Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday. "As soon as Parliament reopened, work on the budget started, and so there wasn't much progress in legislation in 2007," Babacan told news magazine Kriter. "But this wasn't only for the EU, there wasn't progress in general. 2007 was a lost year for reforms. Now, after the general elections, a new Parliament was seated. There's also a new president. Now the infrastructure is ready for us to continue with a new wave of reforms." He said that nearly 230 meetings on the EU acquis have been held since last fall, adding, "Seventeen delegations were sent to Brussels in the last five months. We'll finish the second round of updates on March 17. More than 40 visits were paid to EU countries at the level of prime minister and state minister. The premier visited five EU countries in five months." /Sabah/
FM BABACAN TO VISIT RUSSIA
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will pay a visit to Moscow on Feb. 16-17 at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The two top diplomats will discuss issues such as the Fener Greek patriarch's claim to be "ecumenical," Cyprus, the terrorist PKK and Kosovo. /Cumhuriyet/
OIC, BABACAN CALL FOR RESOLUTION OF PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI CONFLICT
Following a weekend meeting by the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia focusing on the Mideast issue, an OIC declaration meeting condemned recent actions by Israel. Reading out the declaration, OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu a Turkish scholar, said that Israel was responsible for the ongoing deplorable situation on the Gaza Strip. The declaration urged the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and the pre-1967 borders. In addition, speaking at the gathering, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said the conflict between Israel and Palestine was the basic reason for many problems in the region, adding that their issues could be resolved through negotiations. /Turkiye/
EU'S LAGENDIJK: "I SUPPORT THE AKP ON THE HEADSCARF ISSUE"
EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Co-Chair Joost Lagendijk said over the weekend that he was in favor of ending the headscarf ban at universities. At a conference in the Netherlands, Lagendijk said, "Ending the headscarf ban wouldn't contradict European Union principles or criteria." He added, "I support the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) work on this issue." /Star/
THOUSANDS RALLY AGAINST GOVT HEADSCARF PROPOSAL
More than 100,000 demonstrators flocked to the mausoleum of Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on Saturday to voice their opposition to a government proposal to end headscarf ban at universities. Similar demonstrations took place in provinces around the country. The meeting led by women's groups targeting the efforts of the government and opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) to lift the ban turned into a huge pro-secularism rally in the capital with the participation of around 60 non-governmental organizations. /Turkish Daily News/