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Entries in Hakan Fidan (2)

Monday
Mar192012

Turkey Live Coverage (19 March): New Year Celebrations, Clashes, and the Syria Crisis

See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Heavy Fighting in Damascus?


1815 GMT: Publisher Ragıp Zarakolu and Professor Büşra Ersanlı are facing up to 10 and 15 years in jail respectively, due to charges of leading and aiding a "terrorist organization".

Zarakolu and Ersanli were arrested  in November on terrorism charges as part of an investigation into the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), claimed as an umbrella group for the urban sections of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

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Wednesday
Mar142012

Turkey Live Coverage (14 March): A Growing Role Over Syria

1845 GMT: Turkey is getting ready to sue Iran for its relatively high natural gas price. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız said: "The road to arbitration is being paved on March 16, and we will not wait for too long after that to file our complaint."

Turkey currently buys a cubic meter of Azerbaijani gas for $330 and pays Russia $400 for the same amount. However, Iran sells its gas to Turkey for $505 for each cubic meter. 

Turkey is reportedly going to take the issue to the International Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland, which awarded Turkey $800 million in compensation in 2009 in a previous dispute with Iran.

1730 GMT: Retired Gen. Ergin Saygun, who has been receiving medical support since he was first arrested as a Sledgehammer suspect in 2011, was arrested by a Turkish court today. 

The case of Sledgehammer suspects, a clique inside the military, are being accused of carrying out anti-government plans to overthrow the AKP government. Crashing jets, bombing mosques during a busy hour of the day are just some of the accusations. 

1645 GMT: State-run Anatolia news agency reported that at least 765 Syrian refugees, mostly women and children, have crossed into Turkey since Tuesday night. It is reported that Turkey currently hosts nearly 14,000 Syrian refugees in its Hatay district.

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