ERDOGAN ADVOCATES INTL MONITORING FOR EGYPT ELECTIONS
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday reiterated calls for a transition of power in Egypt, saying a government upholding universal principles of democracy should be established through free and fair elections held under international monitoring. Erdogan, addressing his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputies, said Turkey has no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of Egypt or another country, but stressed that people’s cries for humane living conditions isn’t a purely internal matter. "We’re looking at the issue from the perspective of humanity, brotherhood, and good neighborliness," he said. "What we want is peace, stability and welfare in our region." He added, "The Middle East has suffered greatly from wars, conflicts, internal unrest, instability and administrations that ignore their people’s wishes. … The duty of governments is to listen to what their people say." He also said, "Transition to a government based on universal democratic principles should take place in Egypt through fair and free elections monitored by international observers. The transition period must begin immediately and it should be orderly. The transitional government should be built on consensus, and those who resorted to violence during demonstrations should face justice." The elections should be concluded swiftly, over a period of a week at most, he said, and called for an international donors conference to discuss ways to prevent hunger and economic hardship in Egypt. /Today’s Zaman/

PM ERDOGAN MEETS WITH BAHRAINI CROWN PRINCE IN ANKARA
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with Bahraini Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who was in Ankara for an official visit. During the welcoming ceremony at the Prime Ministry, Al Khalifa saluted the honor guard. Prime Minister Erdogan later hosted a banquet in Al Khalifa’s honor at the Prime Ministry residence. During the meeting, regional and international issues, especially recent events in Egypt and Tunisia, were discussed. At a joint news conference afterwards, Al Khalifa said the developments in Egypt and Tunisia were separate and that a domino effect in other Arab countries is not likely. On Turkish-Bahraini relations, Al Khalifa said the two countries could cooperate in such areas as contracting, food safety and services. On commercial ties, Erdogan said trade between Turkey and Bahrain rose from $150 million in 2009 to $244 million last year. "In line with our excellent political relations, we hope to take some steps to boost trade," he said. /Sabah/

YAZICI: "TURKEY WON’T TOLERATE VIOLATIONS OF IRAN SANCTIONS"
Turkey is sensitive about the implementation of international sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program and won’t tolerate firms trying to violate them, said State Minister Hayati Yazici on Monday. "We support legal trade," Yazici told a press conference at the Turkish Embassy in Washington. "We won’t be in a position to circumvent our promises and responsibilities within the framework of international agreements." He added that firms trying to breach these sanctions won’t be tolerated by Turkish customs. /Today’s Zaman/

CAGLAYAN RULES OUT MEASURES AGAINST FIRMS BLACKLISTED BY THE US
Turkey won’t apply sanctions on three business entities that the US recently blacklisted for allegedly providing materials and support to Iran’s ballistic missile development efforts, according to State Minister Zafer Caglayan. "The US decision only binds the US," Caglayan said during a meeting of the Association of Diplomatic Correspondents in Ankara yesterday. "It’s out of the question for us to impose penalties or bar these companies from trade." Last week the US Treasury blocked transactions with two Turkish nationals and three Turkish firms, claiming they were supplying goods and services for Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization. The US said an Iranian businessman and his Turkish associates ran businesses in Istanbul and Tehran that purchased metals such as steel and aluminum alloy from US companies before exporting them to Iran. /Hurriyet Daily News/

TENSION RISES BETWEEN CAIRO, ANKARA OVER EGYPT UNREST
Questions of an Egypt-Turkey rivalry have come to the fore as the embattled Egyptian regime, regaining its confidence after two weeks of fierce demonstrations, has called Ankara on the carpet for its statements on the protests. Angered by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging 82-year-old President Hosni Mubarak to heed his people’s calls to step down, the Egyptian government dispatched its top diplomat in Ankara to convey a letter to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. In a television appearance, Egyptian Ambassador to Ankara Abderahman Salaheldin said that following Erdogan’s statements, his administration had officially contacted the Turkish ambassador in Cairo. "We understand well the interest shown in our affairs," he told news channel NTV. "This is reasonable, but there must be no interference. It is for Egyptians to decide when and what will be done." /Hurriyet Daily News/

NEW GAZA AID FLOTILLA SET FOR FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF DEADLY RAID
A new flotilla of ships will try to reach Gaza this May to mark the first anniversary of a deadly Israeli raid on a similar convoy that killed nine activists, organizers said Monday. The new flotilla that will try to break Israel’s blockade of the territory will consist of around 15 ships with activists from 25 nations, up from just six ships last year, they told a news conference in Madrid. "We will set sail during the second half of May," said Manuel Tapial, one of the three Spanish activists who were on board the Mavi Marmara, which was intercepted by Israeli navy commandos last May, sparking a global outcry. /Hurriyet Daily News/

TURKEY JOINS EUROPEAN LEADERSHIP NETWORK FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT AND NON-PROLIFERATION
Turkey is ready to join the European Leadership Network for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, a network of senior European political, military and diplomatic figures working on nuclear proliferation issues, according to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Politicians who work to build public opinion and lobby for disarmament invited Turkey to join the network, spearheaded by British legislators. Ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Vahit Erdem represented Turkey at a meeting of the network in London last June. /Hurriyet Daily News/

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION UP 16.9 PCT IN DECEMBER
Turkey produced 16.9 percent more industrial goods last December year-on-year and 16.8 percent more than in November, according to figures released by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) yesterday. Seasonally adjusted, the picture grows rosier still, as national industrial production rose 17.4 percent year-on-year in December. Manufacturing production was up 18.9 percent year-on-year, while mining was up 1.8 percent and utilities up 7.9 percent. The biggest production increase was seen in capital goods production, up 34.2 percent in December year-on-year, followed by a rise of 24.4 percent in the production of intermediate goods, 8.3 percent in energy production, and 7.5 percent in durable consumer goods. /Today’s Zaman/

CAR EXPORTS TO RUSSIA MORE THAN TRIPLE
Turkey’s automobile sector made $83.3 million in exports to Russia in January, rising more than threefold over a year ago, according to new Automotive Industry Exporters Union (OIB) data. According to an analysis of OIB statistics conducted by the Anatolia news agency, the country’s total automobile exports rose 6.1 percent in January year-on-year. Despite this overall increase, the sector’s exports to its two largest markets, France and Italy, fell over 20 percent last month. Auto exports to these two countries came in at $200 million and $180 million in January, respectively. Car exports to Germany, Europe’s most populous nation and the sector’s third-largest export market, were $164.8 million in January, up 5.5 percent from a year ago. The UK, Russia, Spain, Belgium, the US, Romania and Poland, in descending order, followed Germany in car imports from Turkey last month. /Today’s Zaman/

TURKISH TOURISM COMES IN AT NO. 2 IN CHINESE WEBSITE POLL
After outspending countries such as France, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Spain and the US on promoting its tourism market in China, Turkey emerged as the number two country in terms of tourism promotion, according to a Chinese website poll. On SOHU, China’s biggest travel website, Turkey was ranked among the top 30 countries in the tourism market in China. Ilknur Yigit, who heads the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Beijing promotion office, said Chinese people are eager to learn about visiting Turkey. /Turkiye/

TURKISH FOLK DANCERS HONORED IN THAILAND
A Turkish folk dance group won a top award at the World Cultures Folk Dance Festival in Thailand in January. The festival, which ended on Jan. 30, was attended by 20 countries from four continents. A Turkish folk dance group from Selcuk University in Konya, central Anatolia represented Turkey at the festival and won the Most Amazing Performance award. /Hurriyet Daily News/