Corey Schink
Sott.net
Welcome to the strange world of 'unsolvable' refugee crises and back-room deals, a world where Cold War relics arm terrorist proxies, and where innocent refugees are used as pawns in ever more sinister games of cat and mouse. In all it's a world almost too absurd and too horrific to believe, but we'll try to tell it, and understand it, anyways. This is the story of the EU-Turkey Refugee Deal. Intro Tensions continue to mount across Europe as...
More:
http://www.sott.net/article/316709-The-EU-Turkey-Refugee-Deal-Other-Strange-Tales
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Obama: ‘If we let Americans sue Saudis for 9/11, foreigners will begin suing US non-stop’
Published time: 20 Apr, 2016 06:32
Edited time: 20 Apr, 2016 12:50
President Barack Obama has said the classified pages of the 9/11 Commission report that do not “compromise major national security interests” may “hopefully” be soon released, but argued against any potential legal action against Saudi citizens.
More:
https://www.rt.com/usa/340313-obama-saudi-pages-classified/
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PM Davutoğlu ‘guarantees’ a genuine European charter for Turkey
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pm-davutoglu-guarantees-a-genuine-european-charter-for-turkey.aspx?PageID=238&NID=98043&NewsCatID=429
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s visit to Strasbourg yesterday to address the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) came at a moment when critical voices about the state of fundamental freedoms in Turkey have become louder and harsher. The deterioration in freedom of expression, press freedom and the rule of law was widely covered by two reports issued last week by the European Parliament and the U.S. State Department.
Davutoğlu used the opportunity to offer guarantees to members of PACE that his government’s commitment to democracy, fundamental rights and universal values was intact, and there was no need to be concerned about Turkey’s democratic future.
“The fundamental principles of the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights will constitute the main pillars of the spirit of the [new] constitution. I tell you this as a commitment, as a guarantee. There will be not even a single article in our constitution that will be against the universal democratic values of the world,” Davutoğlu said yesterday.
In further remarks, he underlined that the constitution currently being drafted by his Justice and Development Party (AKP) will endorse the presidential system, while arguing that this will not bring authoritarian rule to Turkey.
“If the spirit [of the constitution] is well defined then this structure will function. What is important is to protect the spirit,” Davutoğlu added. This was perhaps the first time that he has tried to explain and defend to European parliamentarians the AKP’s attempt to shift Turkey to a presidential political system.
The AKP’s road map for the new constitution will consist of public and parliamentary debates about the draft, which it says will “re-balance the equation between authority and responsibility” and will “enhance check-and-balance mechanisms,” said the prime minister, trying to assure his audience that adopting the presidential system in Turkey will not bring about absolute one-man rule.
Davutoğlu’s visit to the Council of Europe coincides with a planned visit by senior European officials to the Turkish town of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria. The delegation includes German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Council President Donald Tusk.
Merkel’s appearance in Turkey will surely attract a lot of attention, especially after she recently gave permission for the potential prosecution of a German comedian on charges of insulting the Turkish president. An editorial by the New York Times openly criticized Merkel for opening the way for legal proceedings against the comedian, suggesting that it would set a precedent for more attempts in the future.
At a time when Turkey and the EU have been in intensified contact to prevent the derailment of the migrant deal, it is quite obvious that issues concerning human rights and democratic norms in Turkey have been put aside by European leaders. This is why Davutoğlu’s appearance at the PACE, responding to the questions of European parliamentarians, was significant. Indeed, the “guarantees” he have on the nature of Turkey’s new constitution will certainly be closely followed.
April/20/2016
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Erdogan warns EU on visa vow after migrant deal
http://pakobserver.net/2016/04/20/erdogan-warns-eu-on-visa-vow-after-migrant-deal/
Istanbul—President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the European Union Tuesday it needs Turkey more than Ankara needs the bloc, as tensions grew over promises for visa liberalisation in a crucial deal on stemming the flow of migrants to Europe.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had earlier bluntly told the EU that Ankara would no longer abide by the March migrant accord if Brussels fails to implement the pledge to grant Turks visa-free travel by June.
Tensions have also been fuelled by a European Parliament report published last week that accused Turkey of backsliding on democracy and pressure from Ankara on Berlin to prosecute a German comic over a poem satirising Erdogan.
The issues are coming to a head as Chancellor Angela Merkel and top EU officials prepare to travel Saturday to the Turkish city of Gaziantep close to the Syrian border to discuss implementation of the migrant deal.
“The European Union needs Turkey more than Turkey needs the European Union,” Erdogan said to cheers in a televised speech to municipal leaders in Ankara, denouncing as “provocative” the European Parliament report.
He lashed out at the report for not praising Turkey’s hosting of some 2.7 million refugees from the war in neighbouring Syria.
“Three million people have been looked after in this country so they don’t disturb the Europeans. Is there anything about this in the report?” said Erdogan.—
AFP
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