IN ISTANBUL, GUL RECEIVES N.IRAQI LEADER BARZANI
In Istanbul yesterday, President Abdullah Gul received Massoud Barzani, the leader of northern Iraqi regional administration. No statement was made after nearly one-hour closed-door meeting. Barzani was in Turkey for a three-day official visit at the invitation of Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. As part of his visit, the northern Iraqi leader was also received by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and had a separate meeting with Davutoglu. During these meetings, top Turkish officials urged Barzani to take further concrete steps against the terrorist PKK and its bases in northern Iraq. Speaking at a joint press conference after meeting with Barzani, Davutoglu said that Turkey wants to achieve "total economic integration" with northern Iraq, adding that stronger cooperation in the fight against the terrorist PKK is a must. In related news, a weekend meeting between one of Turkey's top business leaders and Barzani focused on expanding bilateral economic and trade relations. "We will start working on developing our trade and investment relations with Iraq by putting our Iraqi Working Group into action," said Umit Boyner, chairwoman of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD). Amid changing world economic conditions, Turkey has started to seek new markets, she said. "At this point, Iraq holds a huge potential for Turkey," she said, citing the situation with Syria as a good example. "With the developing of relations with Syria, trade has revived in the border region while the market of the region has also developed. In brief, ameliorating and improving trade relations will help to develop both the Turkish and northern Iraqi borders, which have problems in terms of development," said Boyner. "Northern Iraq holds great potential for Turkey in terms of expanding its trade. We think that improving trade activities will contribute to our regional development." However, she said, the region has a democratization problem. "At this point, we stressed our concerns and also mentioned that efforts against terrorism should continue." /Sabah-Hurriyet Daily News/
UNBOWED BY ISRAELI RAID, ERDOGAN PLEDGES CONTINUED PUSH FOR MIDEAST PEACE
Speaking in the northwestern province of Bursa yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued his criticism of Israel's deadly raid last week on a Gaza aid flotilla which left nine Turks dead, but also vowed that Turkey's push for Mideast peace will remain strong. "The Middle East should enjoy peace and stability. We will continue our struggle until peace prevails in the Middle East," Erdogan said. "We will not give up our demand for a more peaceful Middle East. No one should doubt this." Last Monday Israeli commandos raided the flotilla in a pre-dawn operation and shot at defenseless peace activists who were attempting to transport humanitarian aid to Gaza in six boats. /Today's Zaman/
DAVUTOGLU: "IN THE WAKE OF ISRAELI RAID, NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME"
No state is above international law, and Israel has to be called to account for its attack last week on a Gaza aid convoy in the Mediterranean, which left nine Turkish peace activists dead, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday. Speaking at an extraordinary meeting of the board of directors of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Jeddah, Davutoglu called the Israeli strike a "determining moment" for the region's history, referring to it as "Turkey's September 11." Davutodlu added: "It will have a deep influence on our regional and global point of view, and nothing will ever be the same." He said Israel must be held accountable for its "illegal and unacceptable" actions. Davutoglu said the convoy's primary aim was to take humanitarian aid to Gazans. Noting that Israeli soldiers attacked the convoy's ships 72 miles off Israel's coast, Davutoglu said this is the first time that citizens of the Turkish Republic have been killed by soldiers of another country. Accusing Israeli authorities of ordering their soldiers to board the ship without permission and forcefully taking the occupants to an Israeli port without any opportunity to communicate, he said banditry, piracy, planned murder and hijacking were Israel's motives for its actions. Also speaking at the meeting, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Turkish scholar who serves as the OIC's secretary-general, called for an independent, impartial, trustworthy and transparent inquiry in line with international standards to investigate the bloody attack on the convoy. He said the attack is yet another example of Israel's violations of international law. "Israel must face the political and legal consequences of its crimes," he added. Ihsanoglu said Israel had crossed a line through its act of piracy, crime and state terrorism. Calling on Israel to lift the blockade of Gaza, Ihsanoglu said the siege violates Gazans' human and civil rights. /Sabah-Today's Zaman/
ANKARA WELCOMES UN PANEL PROPOSAL ON ISRAELI ASSAULT
Turkey yesterday welcomed a proposal by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a panel to investigate last week's controversial Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship, which left nine Turks dead. "We insisted on the establishment of the commission as an independent and impartial body," said a senior Turkish diplomatic source. "The mission of the commission should be to examine the incident from all points of view and light the way for finding out the crime and the criminals." Ban proposed that the panel be headed by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, a maritime law expert, and include Israeli, Turkish and US representatives. On Saturday, Ban discussed with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "options for moving forward with the investigation called for by the Security Council," the UN said on its website. In related news, Foreign Minister Davutoglu called on all Muslim countries to increase their efforts to end the blockade on the Gaza Strip. /Hurriyet Daily News/
ISTANBUL SET TO HOST CICA SUMMIT TODAY
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) will take place in Istanbul today with the participation of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel is set to be represented by Gaby Levy, its ambassador to Ankara, and Israel's deadly raid last week on a Gaza aid flotilla which set out from Turkey is expected to headline the summit. During his bilateral talks during the gathering, President Abdullah Gul will call on members of CICA, which Israel is a member of, to protest the raid and the continued blockade of Gaza. /Aksam/