[Event of the week]
Turkish economy grows 11.7 percent in a stunning upturn

The Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) released its quarterly growth rates on Wednesday, revealing that the economy had continued to grow for the second straight quarter. The growth rate was in double digits, in line with market expectations. Accordingly, Turkey’s gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to TL 23.35 billion at constant prices in the first three months of the year, 11.7 percent higher than a year earlier, when the economy contracted by 14.5 percent. At current prices the year-on-year growth in the GDP was 16 percent, reaching a total GDP of TL 243.26 billion.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signaled that the first quarter growth figures would definitely be high, during his speech at the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday. “Turkey’s growth performance is drawing worldwide attention. This has been confirmed by each and every leader I have talked with. With the growth rates to be announced [on Wednesday], we will hopefully be breaking a new record.”

With this phenomenal growth rate, Turkey came in second among the G-20 economies, after China, which posted a growth rate of 11.9 percent. During this period the European Union economy expanded by only 0.3 percent, with Germany and France expanding by 1.5 and 1.2 percent, respectively, while the UK suffered a contraction of 0.3 percent.

 This year marked the 649th Kırkpınar oil wrestling tournament, but it was a little different from previous years as five sumo wrestlers from Japan joined in the festivities on Edirne’s Er Square on Saturday as part of Japan Year 2010 in Turkey. Legendary oil wrestler and two-time champion Ahmet Taşçı faced Japanese champion sumo wrestler Akino Mine. The match between the 1.75-meter-tall Taşçı, weighing 110 kilograms, and the 1.90-meter-tall Mine, weighing 150 kilograms, drew much interest from spectators.

June 27 Sunday

 Military tutelage stands as the greatest obstacle to Turkey’s efforts to solve the country’s chronic problems, including the Kurdish question, the Alevi issue, the headscarf ban and restrictions on fundamental rights and freedoms, the Abant Platform underscored in its closing evaluation, following a three-day meeting that ended on Sunday.

 The number of lives lost due to last week’s roadside bombing in İstanbul’s Halkalı district rose to six following the death of Spc. Sgt. Mehmet Boşnak, who was seriously wounded by the explosion on June 21. Boşnak was pronounced brain dead late Saturday and his heart stopped on Sunday.

 A military court sentenced battalion commander Lt. Col. Onur Dirik, who in 2007 ordered 1st Lt. Çağlar Canbaz of the gendarmerie to manually defuse a land mine believed to have been laid by terrorists in the southeastern province of Hakkari, to two years, 11 months in prison.

June 28 Monday

 In a rebuke of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), civic groups and nongovernmental organizations in the predominantly Kurdish Southeast called on the terrorist organization to put an end to its violent attacks and have urged the government to continue on the path of reform. NGOs, numbering around 100, gathered in Diyarbakır yesterday to issue a declaration, calling on the PKK to “de-escalate the situation,” a term used to advise the organization to stop attacks on Turkish targets, including military ones. The statement also urged the government to keep working on the democratization initiative it launched last year to expand the rights of Kurdish citizens.

 Two villagers were killed and another was injured when gendarmes mistook them for terrorists and opened fire in the southern province of Hatay. The villagers were collecting thyme when they were killed. Ali Dalmış and Mustafa Fil died at the scene of the incident, while Mehmet Sak was rushed to Mustafa Kemal University Medical Center.

 Turkish Education Minister Nimet Çubukçu announced that sixth and seventh graders will no longer have to take the Level Determination Examination (SBS), the standardized test used to determine which high schools students can enroll in, decreeing that the exam will now be given only to eighth graders.

 Western countries, the United States included, should act together with Turkey in its fight against the terrorism of the outlawed PKK, a considerable segment of which is based in northern Iraq, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, while underlining Turkey’s role and strategic position within NATO. One of NATO’s most important goals is fighting against terrorism, Erdoğan said in an interview with PBS television’s Charlie Rose, aired late on Monday.

 Lawyers from 16 law associations in İstanbul have called on the high judiciary, which has recently drawn ire for several controversial decisions, to comply with international principles of law, criticizing the high courts for engaging in a power struggle with the political authority. Nearly 50 lawyers gathered under the umbrella of the Law Associations Platform and staged a demonstration at the İstanbul Courthouse on Monday to protest the high judiciary.

 The Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER) stated during a press conference on Monday that Israeli commandos shot at activists on the Mavi Marmara from their helicopters, according to autopsy reports.

 This year’s +1T Design Days, organized by the Zaman daily, Today’s Zaman’s sister paper, and currently in its fifth year, kicked off at the Zaman headquarters in İstanbul. Ninety-five enthusiastic young designers are participating in the eight-day-long event, which aims to provide newspaper design with an original perspective and fresh energy.

June 29 Tuesday

 Erdoğan called on all political party leaders to share their views on the recent spike in terrorist attacks in the country with the government, but the opposition did not welcome Erdoğan’s invitation. “I will convey my invitation as soon as possible. We will see who will come. I would like to discuss these issues [related to terrorism] with those who accept the invitation. I would like to hear what kind of contribution they would make,” Erdoğan said. Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said he would not accept such an invitation since he expects a visit from the prime minister first. An immediate rejection to Erdoğan’s call came from Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, the harshest critic of the government’s democratic initiative. He said he does not think that such a meeting would be fruitful.

 Erdoğan clarified his earlier remarks on the actual power behind the terrorist PKK and said the acts of terror and violence by the outlawed organization against Turkish security forces and civilians were planned by Ergenekon.

 MHP leader Bahçeli said his party is ready to support the government if it takes any step toward the execution of jailed outlawed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

 A retired lieutenant colonel charged with using drugs and hypnosis as an interrogation technique on three NCOs was sentenced to seven years, six months in jail. The Kayseri 2nd Criminal Court, hearing the trial on the interrogation of the NCOs by retired Lt. Col. Gürol Doğan, announced its ruling on Tuesday.

 Turkish President Abdullah Gül has said Turkey and Indonesia agreed to start working towards reciprocally abolishing visa requirements between the two countries as a way to strengthen relations.

 One person was apprehended by police in the northwestern province of Kocaeli as part of the investigation into a roadside bomb attack on a bus carrying military officers in İstanbul’s Halkalı district last week. Five people, including a student, died in the attack.

 Two senior Turkish and Israeli cabinet members met secretly in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss how to mend frayed relations between the old allies after Israel attacked an aid flotilla in international waters last month.

June 30 Wednesday

 The latest data provided by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) on Wednesday showed that the foreign trade deficit had surged by 115.5 percent in the first five months of 2010 over the same period a year ago, reaching $22.58 billion.

 The İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court, which is hearing the case against the Ergenekon terrorist organization, on Wednesday refused an earlier request to remove three judges presiding over the trial by lawyers of a suspect in the trial on a military plot aimed to undermine the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the faith-based Gülen movement.

 TurkStat released its quarterly growth rates on Wednesday, revealing that the Turkish economy expanded at the breakneck speed of 11.7 percent in the first quarter of 2010 over the same period a year ago. Accordingly, Turkey’s gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to TL 23.35 billion at constant prices in the first three months of the year, 11.7 percent higher than a year earlier, when the economy contracted by 14.5 percent. At current prices the year-on-year growth in GDP was 16 percent, reaching a total GDP of TL 243.26 billion.

 The PKK terrorist group perpetrated yet another bloody attack, this time in Pervari in the eastern province of Siirt, against Turkish security forces in which two soldiers and three village guards died.

July 1 Thursday

 A meeting to devise a plan to prevent major environmental disasters -- such as an oil spill -- in the Bosporus began at the Conrad Hotel, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız and Environment and Forestry Minister Veysel Eroğlu were among the participants tackling the timely issue.

 Syrian security forces detained 400 people in an attempt to crackdown on the PKK’s activities within its borders. The Syrian government also announced that those aiding and abetting the separatist group would be deprived of the right to use land distributed to farmers by the government.

July 2 Friday

 Col. Dursun Çiçek, whose signature appears on a suspected military plot against the AK Party and the faith-based Gülen movement according to a number of reports, has said that he changed his signature after the exposure of the plot with the knowledge of the Military Prosecutor’s Office.

 The Human Rights Agenda Association launched its new booklet, over 60 pages in length, in response to arguments raised by opponents of the case against Ergenekon -- a clandestine criminal organization accused of working to overthrow the government -- at a press conference in İstanbul. The conference was chaired by Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a lawyer by profession and president of the association, and Bekir Berat Özipek, an academic at İstanbul Commerce University. Turkish and foreign journalists as well as members of the Young Civilians, a group promoting democracy in Turkey, also attended the conference. The Young Civilians also contributed to the booklet, which was published in English.

 Military warplanes bombed PKK camps in northern Iraq, according to a statement from the General Staff. The bombardment follows a spate of terrorist attacks on Turkish soil.

 President Gül has urged Turkey’s political parties to hold a summit to share their views on the recent escalation of terrorist attacks, saying such a summit would facilitate a settlement of country’s problems.