SPEAKING IN DIYARBAKIR , GUL REAFFIRMS TURKISH AS NATION’S OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
President Abdullah Gul, in his first remarks on the issue, yesterday ruled out the use of the Kurdish language in official business, saying that Turkey ’s official language is Turkish. "The official language of the Republic of Turkey is Turkish, and so it will remain," he said, speaking in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir . "The language of public agencies is also Turkish. It is our common language, but it is also true that among the citizens of the Republic of Turkey we have people and regions who speak different languages. We have Arabic speakers in other areas, just as you have Kurdish speakers here. There are languages spoken by our non-Muslim citizens, whose numbers are dwindling. All of these languages are ours; they belong to us all." Gul made his comments after meeting with officials, including Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir, who presented him with a Turkish-Kurdish dictionary, saying that peace can only be reached through dialogue and consensus. /Aksam/

BYPASSING STALLED SENATE, OBAMA APPOINTS RICCIARDONE AS AMBASSADOR TO ANKARA
US President Barack Obama late Wednesday bypassed Republican obstructionism in the Senate to appoint Frank Ricciardone as the new ambassador to Ankara , using his recess appointment power to end five months without a top representative in Turkey . The Ankara post has been vacant since July when the previous envoy, James Jeffrey, left to take up his new job as ambassador to Baghdad . Ankara sees the move as a positive one. "This is very good news for our relationship with the US ," said one senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official. To remain in effect, a recess appointment must be approved by the Senate by the end of the next session of Congress – at the end of 2011 – or the position becomes vacant again. In current practice, this means that a recess appointment must be approved by roughly the end of the next calendar year. Despite the recess appointment, Obama is expected to continue to seek formal Senate conformation in 2011 for the appointments of Ricciardone and other ambassadors. Using procedural maneuvers, Republicans had denied Ricciardone a straight up-or-down vote, and certain confirmation in the Democrat-controlled Senate. /Hurriyet Daily News/

KINIKLIOGLU: "TURKISH-ISRAELI TENSIONS ARE AFFECTING OUR TIES WITH THE US"
Tensions in Turkish-Israeli ties are affecting Turkey ’s relations with the US , said Suat Kiniklioglu, a member of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party and chairman of the Turkish-US Parliamentary Friendship Group, this week. Turkey recently presented an opportunity to mend Turkish-Israeli ties when it rushed to help Israel battle a devastating fire, said Kiniklioglu. "But if Israel fails to make use of this and take steps, I think we could enter a cold peace era, which is a period in which the level of representation is too low, relations are at a minimum, and political dialogue is limited," he added. Kiniklioglu said there are some in the US who tend to support Israel more fervently than Israel itself. He also praised the appointment of a new US ambassador to Turkey , as well as the failure of a resolution on the incidents of 1915 to reach the US House of Representatives floor. "We hope that such tensions and initiatives, which we face every year, will cease from now on," Kiniklioglu said, adding that Turkish-US relations should not fall victim to domestic politics. /Hurriyet Daily News/

GREEK CYPRIOT LEADER CRITICIZES ANKARA FOR OBJECTING TO DEAL WITH ISRAEL
Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias on Wednesday attacked Ankara for slamming a maritime accord between his administration and Israel, suggesting that there is nothing in international law to justify Turkey’s alleged "cynicism and arrogance." Last week, the Turkish Foreign Ministry slammed the deal as "null and void" since it disregards the rights and jurisdiction of Turkish Cypriots on the island. "(N)either the UN Charter nor international law can justify the level of (Foreign Minister) Davutoglu’s cynicism and arrogance," English-language daily The Cyprus Mail quoted Christofias as saying. "The (Greek) Republic of Cyprus has signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and unfortunately Turkey has not signed it, so those outside the law are Mr. Davutoglu and his country," he alleged. /Today’s Zaman/

BABACAN: "THE ONLY COUNTRY IN EUROPE WITH FALLING DEBT IS TURKEY"
Speaking this week to the Economy Coordination Commission, Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan reviewed economic developments in 2010. He said rising oil and energy prices, increased investments due to high machine and equipment imports, and a speedup in domestic consumption had raised the current deficit. "We will close this year with a good growth rate," he added. "Unlike most countries, Turkey cut its debt stock and public deficit in 2010. … In our mid-term plan, we estimate $127 billion in exports in 2011." /Hurriyet/

CAGLAYAN: "TURKEY’S EXPORTS THIS YEAR EXCEEDED $112 BLN"
Turkey met its exports target for 2010 at the beginning of this week, said Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan on Wednesday. Speaking to the Economic Journalists Association in Istanbul, Caglayan announced that the country’s total annual exports exceeded $112 billion as of Tuesday, and that in December exporters reached the highest business volume in the past 27 months. Turkey ’s foreign trade deficit also rose 107 percent in the first 11 months of 2010 year-on-year. The country’s total export volume for January-November was $102 billion, an 11 percent rise over a year ago, but imports for the same period were $165 billion, in a 31 percent year-on-year increase. The resulting foreign trade deficit is $62.8 billion, up from last year’s $33.8 billion. /Today’s Zaman/

TEXTILE EXPORTERS SEE BANNER YEAR AHEAD
Turkey’s textile exports outpaced pre-crisis numbers this year, and sector analysts predicted a "golden age" for the ready-wear and textile industries next year. "Our textile industry had a successful year and exceeded 2008 numbers. It has become the first industry to outpace pre-crisis export numbers," said Emre Kizilgunesler, head of the Aegean Ready-to-Wear and Clothing Exporters’ Assembly. Exports in Turkey ’s ready-wear and clothing industry, one of the driving engines of the country’s export industries, totaled $15.7 billion in 2008, but dropped 15.5 percent to $13.2 billion in 2009. In 2010, they are expected to bounce back by around 13 percent to reach $15 billion. Kizilgunesler said the European market had recently shifted from Chinese manufacturers to Turkish textiles and clothing producers, after facing troubles with suppliers from Far Eastern countries. Kizilgunesler also praised the Central Bank’s foreign exchange policy for helping to maintain Turkish exporters’ competitive edge. "If this policy continues, Turkey will see a brighter year in 2011," he added. "In other words, if the CB continues to cut interest rates and foreign exchange rates rise to their real values, 2011 will be a golden age for our industries. I can’t speak for the whole country’s economy, but I can say the global economic crisis was tangential to Turkey ’s textiles and clothing industries." /Hurriyet Daily News/

SCIENCE MAGAZINE HAILS TURKISH DOCTOR’S GENE STUDY AS AMONG 2010’S TOP 10 DISCOVERIES
Recent genetics research by Dr. Murat Gunel, professor of genetics and neurosurgery at the School of Medicine and chief of neurovascular surgery at Yale University , was hailed this week by Science magazine as constituting one of the top 10 discoveries in 2010. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Gunel said that it normally takes a long time to access a genetic sequence, as some 3 billion genetic series need to be examined. But Gunel’s method, which uses "whole-exome sequencing," identifies genes more quickly. His findings could lead to new screening tests to identify people at risk for stroke and to new therapies that might strengthen blood vessels in the brain. /Today’s Zaman/