news report volume 6 issue 14
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News Report is the weekly newspaper of the METU FPIRC.TRANSCRIPT
The Weekly Newspaper of Foreign Policy and International Relations Club
Volume 6, Issue 14
27 March 2012
France on high security alert after 4 killed in shooting at Jewish school
French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday night put the country's southwest region on the
highest possible security alert level, hours after a teacher and three children were gunned down at
a Jewish school in Toulouse.
The incident at the Ozar Hatorah school marked
the third time in the past 10 days that a gunman
on a motorcycle has fired on minorities in the re-
gion. The gunman drove away on a scooter, a na-
tional police officer said. Patrick Rouimi, the father of a child at the school, told AFP news agency that
a man opened fire on a group of people standing at
a spot where children were picked up for school.
The attacks, two targeting soldiers from ethnic mi-
norities, and the third focused on a Jewish school, have stunned the country, and left local residents
dreading the gunman's next move. Continues on page 2
At least four police officers, one lawmaker and several protesters are injured during unofficial
Nevruz celebrations in several of Turkey’s eastern and southestern provinces. While officials re-
lease messages of peace and solidarity, today’s officially scheduled celebrations are cancelled in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.
Tensions continued to mount across east-
ern Turkey yesterday, as independent Mardin deputy Ah-met Türk was rushed to hospital due to an injury sus-
tained during a clash between police and demonstrators
celebrating the Nevruz Festival, despite official bans. Four
police officers were also heavily injured during the dem-
onstrations in Hakkari’s Yüksekova district. Law enforce-
ment officials also seized nearly two kilograms of remote controlled A4 plastic explosives reinforced with metal
nails for cluster effect and a timing device near the area
designated for Nevruz Festivities in Van. Continues on
page 6
Scores injured as Nevruz protests lead to clashes
THIS
WEEK
EUROPE
PAGE 2
AMERICAS
PAGE 3
ASIA
PAGE 4
MIDDLE EAST&AFRICA PAGE 5
TURKEY
PAGE 6
SOCIAL
PAGE 7
EDITORIAL
PAGE 8
EUROPE
Former Irish PM took secret payments, probe finds
A former Lutheran pastor
and human rights activist Joachim Gauck has
become Germany's new
president after legislators
voted overwhelmingly for
him.
Al-Jazeera / March 18,
2012
As Greek wallets take a hit
from deep spending cuts,
the country’s farmers are fighting back in what has
been branded the ‘potato
revolution’. The idea is
simple: selling their
produce straight to the consumers. No middlemen,
no distributors and so
lower-than-supermarket
prices for a squeezed
nation.
Euronews / March 19,
2012
Queen Elizabeth II pledged
to rededicate herself to the
service of her people
Tuesday, as she addressed both houses of Parliament
as part of celebrations of
her Diamond Jubilee, or 60
years on the throne.
CNN / March 20, 2012
PAGE 2
Former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern received at least $276,000 in
secret payments and repeatedly lied about this under oath, a mam-
moth fact-finding judicial investigation ruled Thursday in a long-awaited verdict.
The three judges led by Justice Alan Mahon stopped short of finding Ahern guilty of corruption, because they couldn’t prove that Ahern gave favors to
any of his cash donors when he was finance minister in the 1990s.The
judges did find two other former lawmakers in Ahern’s Fianna Fail party,
including former Cabinet minister and European Union commissioner
Padraig Flynn, guilty of corruption for soliciting payments from property de-
velopers for personal use. They also found 11 past and present 11 members of local councils guilty of the same offense. The Washington Post / March
22, 2012
Portugal public sector workers go on strike
French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday night put the country's southwest region on the
highest possible security alert level, hours after a teacher and three children were gunned down at
a Jewish school in Toulouse. "He shot at everything he could see, children and adults, and some children
were chased into the school," Michel Valet, the local prosecutor, told jour-
nalists. Three children among four people shot dead in Toulouse attack de-
scribed by Nicolas Sarkozy as "national tragedy". ‘’It is a national tragedy,"
said Sarkozy, denouncing the "savagery" of the attack, UN chief Ban Ki-
moon sent his condolences to the victims’ families saying he was saddened by the tragic deaths. And the UK’s foreign minister said: “such a calculated
act of cruelty would unite all decent people in condemnation.” It is described
as a clear anti-Semitic crime that happened this morning in Tou-
louse. CNN / March 20, 2012
Public sector workers in Portugal have gone on strike to protest against
the government’s austerity measures.
Schools were closed as teachers
walked out, commuters faced se-
vere delays on trains and buses,
and hospitals had to work with
reduced staffing.The strike was
called by Portugal's biggest trade
union, the General Confederation
of Portuguese Workers.Hundreds
of union members marched from
central Lisbon to the parliament building on Thursday afternoon, with
separate youth movement and leftist demonstrations taking place
elsewhere. It is Portugal's second strike in four months. It has privatised
several industries, cut public sector wages and raised sales, income,
corporate and property tax. Welfare benefits have also been curtailed.
BBC / March 22, 2012
France on high security alert after 4 killed in shoot-ing at Jewish school
Two rival marches have been held over the Ecuadorian government’s
plans to develop large-scale mining in the Amazon region.
Indigenous groups say it will pollute their homelands and displace
thousands of people. Supporters of President Rafael Correa held a counter-
demonstration to back his plans to open up the mining industry to more
foreign investment. Correa says he will spend the proceeds on welfare and development projects. “Our opponents say we must choose between clean
water or mineral resources, as if we cannot have both, comrades,” he said.
Earlier this month, the government agreed a one billion euro deal with a
Chinese mining firm to develop a new copper mine near El Pangui. Correa
sees the plans as essential if Ecuador’s economy is to become less
dependent on oil exports. Euronews / March 23, 2012
AMERICAS
Rival marches held over Ecuador mining plans
U.S. sanctions on Iran oil exempt Japan / 10 European countries also
win waivers The U.S. State Department announced Tuesday that Japan and 10
European countries will be exempt from U.S. sanctions on crude oil imports from Iran, which have been imposed to prevent the Middle
East nation from developing nuclear weapons.
This is the first time waivers under the the National Defense Authorization
Act, which includes a section stipulating economic sanctions against Iran, have been applied since its enactment in December. With the decision,
Japanese financial institutions will not be subject to U.S. sanctions for
conducting deals with Iran's central bank. In reaching the decision, the
United States evaluated that Japan has cut a significant amount of Iranian
crude oil imports. The 10 other countries exempted are EU members. U.S.
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said in a statement released Wednesday that "We commend these countries for their actions and urge other nations
that import oil from Iran to follow their example." The Daily Yomiuri /
March 22, 2012
US lawmakers have released $88.6m (£56m) in
development aid for the
Palestinians that has been
frozen for more than six
months. BBC / March 24, 2012
President Obama has
nominated Korean-born
US academic Jim Yong
Kim to be the next
president of the World Bank. BBC / March 24,
2012
Dozens of families cleared
r u b b l e f r o m t h e i r
destroyed homes in southwestern Mexico on
Wednesday following a
major 7.4-magnitude
earthquake that caused
landslides, knocked down
school walls and cracked a church tower. Reuters /
March 21, 2012
PAGE 3
U.S. soldier charged with 17 murders in Afghan killings
A U.S. Army sergeant was formally charged with 17 counts of murder on Friday for killing eight
adults and nine children in a pre-dawn shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan that further
eroded U.S.-Afghan relations already frayed by a decade of war.
Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a decorated 38-year-old veteran of four combat
tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, also was charged with six counts each of
assault and attempted murder for attacking two other adults and four children in the March 11 shooting spree, a U.S. armed forces statement
said. Premeditated murder is a capital offence under the U.S. military
justice code, so Bales could face the death penalty if convicted. He would
face a mandatory minimum sentence, if convicted, of life imprisonment with
eligibility for parole, the military statement said. Bales is accused of walking
off his base under cover of darkness and opening fire at civilians in their homes in at least two different villages in Panjwai district in Kandahar
province. Reuters / March 23, 2012
PAGE 4
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev asked the government on
Thursday to work out a road map for privatization and less state interference in country's economy.
ASIA
Annan heading to Moscow, Beijing for Syria
Kofi Annan, joint special envoy of the United Nations and Arab League, will leave this weekend on
a trip to Moscow and Beijing for talks with senior Russian and Chinese officials on the crisis in
Syria, his spokesman said on Friday.
A team sent by Annan has returned from three days of "intensive and busi-
nesslike" talks in Damascus on implementing his six-point peace plan
aimed at stopping the killing, securing humanitarian aid and launching a
political dialogue with the Syrian opposition, spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said
in a statement. "Mr Annan and his team are currently studying the Syrian responses carefully, and negotiations with Damascus continue," Fawzi said.
Annan will meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and foreign minister
Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Fawzi told a news briefing in Geneva. The Rus-
sian news agency Interfax has said Annan is expected in Moscow for talks
on Saturday. Reuters / March 23, 2012
"I absolutely support of working out a road map for privatization to
deregulate the economy and determine a schedule for it," Medvedev told a
working group in charge of "open government." The Russian president also asked the open government group to provide crowd sourcing to optimize
business processes for the most important state services. In his state of the
nation address to parliament last December, Medvedev proposed setting up
a wider government to address the country’s most urgent issues. Under
Medvedev's plan, open government would unite all levels and branches of
power, and incldue public figures prepared to participate in running the state, and scrutinizing the most important decisions and programs.
Medvedev also said the implementation of the current privatization program
must be transparent. RIA Novosti / March 22, 2012
Japan readies anti-missile defence for N Korea rocket
Japan has ordered missile defence systems to prepared in response to the planned launch of a North Korean long-range rocket next month,Japanese Defence Minister Naoki Tanaka has said.
Reports said the defence systems would be deployed
near tha island of Okinawa to shoot down the rocket
should it threaten Japanese territory.North Korea says the rocket will put a satellite into orbit.But the US
and its allies believe the launch is a pretext for a
missile test. Pyongyang said last week it was to mark
the 100th birthday of its late Great Leader Kim II-sung
with the launch.The announcement drew widespread
criticism that the launch would violate UN Security Council resolutions. The resolutions were imposed
after a similar launch in April 2009.Japan is particularly concerned as the
last North Korean rocket was launched over the country. BBC / March 23,
2012
Medvedev Calls for Privatization Road Map
South Korea is prepearing
to host the heads of more than 50 nations and
international organisations
at a nuclear security
summit in Seoul.
Al-Jazeera / March 23,
2012
Al-Qaida’s leader lashed out at Afghan clerics and
politicians who support the
Kabul government in an
audio message posted
Thursday.
The Washington Post /
March 22, 2012
North Korea has invited the
Internat ional Atomic
Energy Agency to return,
nearly three years after it kicked U.N. nuclear
inspectors out of the
country, the IAEA said
Monday.
CNN / March 19, 2012
PAGE 5
Obama calls Abbas to discuss the retarded Middle East process, the White
House said. He called Abbas and told him the United States was committed to Middle East peace and both sides need to reinforce the efforts that have
brought an end to recent fighting and to avoid provocative actions, White
House spokesman Jay Carney said. The first conversation between Obama
and Abbas was in New York in September 2011.The Middle East peace proc-
ess between Israel and Palestine has been overshadowed by other significant problems in the region. By the way, the establishment of a Palestine state on
all land occupied by Israel in 1967 war is seen as a condition for negotiation
by Abbas. Reuters / March 21, 2012
Nine years after the invasion of Iraq, a militant group with al Qaeda
links claims responsibility for the deadly wave of bombings across Iraq.
A spate of car bombings rocked
Iraq on Tuesday, the ninth anni-versary of the U.S. invasion and
days before the nation hosts a
meeting of Arab leaders. The vio-
lence left at least 45 people dead
and 216 wounded, officials said. Attacks took place in Baghdad,
Kirkuk, Karbala, Hilla, Tikrit, Baiji,
Ramadi, Mosul, Falluja, Diyala
province, Salaheddin province,
Samarra and Mahmoudiya. The
Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group that includes al Qaeda in
Iraq, made the claim in a state-
ment posted on an al Qaeda website. The bombings were meant to target
the security plan "of the government of fools inside the Green Zone, in
preparation of the meeting of Arab tyrants in Baghdad," the statement said. The country is hosting the next Arab League summit March 29.
CNN / March 21, 2012
MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
Dozens killed in widespread attacks on Iraq invasion anniversary
Iran 'ready to retaliate if attacked' Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Iran will "attack to defend
itself" if targeted by US or Israeli aggression.
Iran will retaliate against any attack by Israeli or US forces, the country's
supreme leader has declared shortly after US President Barack Obama had issued a message directly to the Iranian people. Both Khamenei and Obama
were speaking on Tuesday to mark Nowruz, with Khamenei reiterating once
again that his country did not intend to build nuclear weapons. "We do not
have nuclear weapons and we will not build them but in the face of aggres-
sion from the enemies, whether from America or the Zionist regime, to de-fend ourselves we will attack on the same level as the enemies attack us"
Khamenei said. Al-Jazeera / March 20, 2012
In Mali, soldiers made a
military coup against the p r e s i d e n t A m a d o u
Toumani Toure because of
military anger about a lack
of resources to fight
against Tuareg rebels. After coup, soldiers looted
the palace of the president.
Euronews / March 23,
2012
Egypt decided to send oil
to help ease a lengthy fuel crisis in Gaza. In mid-
February, Cairo shut down
supplying fuel to the Gaza
strip because of a dispute
between Egypt and the
Hamas government in Gaza. BBC / March 23,
2012
On Thursday, at least 70
people died in clashes in
Syria, although UN
Security Council had
called for an end to all v i o l e n c e . S e c u r i t y
Council’s peace plan, put
forward by Kofi Annan was
supported by China and
Russia. Euronews / March 22, 2012
Middle East peace is at Obama’s agenda
US president Obama has spoken to Palestinian Authority President Abbas on the phone for the
first time in the six months.
At least four police officers, one lawmaker and several protesters are injured during unofficial
Nevruz celebrations in several of Turkey’s eastern and southestern provinces. While officials re-lease messages of peace and solidarity, today’s officially scheduled celebrations are cancelled in
the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.
A bomb demolition squad later destroyed the explosives. The official cele-brations that were planned for today in Diyarbakır have been canceled due
to yesterday’s clashes, according to reports. Meanwhile, in a message on
the occasion of Nevruz, President Abdullah Gül called for “everybody to
display caution and not to provide opportunity for attempts that could
harm the climate of peace and fraternity.” He stressed that “our differences and diversity are our greatest wealth” and that “everybody is an insepara-
ble and equal part of this nation regardless of their ethnic roots, language,
faith or political conviction.” Hurriyet Daily News / March 23, 2012
TURKEY
With no int’l consensus, Turkey and allies run out of options on how to
stop Syria’s Assad Turkey stands at the forefront of calls for the ouster of Syrian
President Bashar Assad, but there are an awful lot of red lines that it won’t cross to realize that goal.
Like its Western allies, Turkey says it won’t arm outgunned Syrian re-
bels, and has no plans to set up a buffer zone in neighboring Syria
where civilians and army defectors can shelter and regroup. That leaves
countries like Turkey, which staked credibility on a misguided belief that it could persuade Assad to reform, casting around for ways to pres-
sure the regime even though nobody knows what might replace it if it
ever falls. A so-called “Friends of Syria” meeting of nations that seek As-
sad’s downfall, planned for April 1 in Istanbul, runs the risk of yielding
just another bout of handwringing over the government crackdown in
Syria. The Washington Post / March 21, 2012
An annual U.S. government
report is adding U.S. ally Turkey as well as Tajikistan
to a list of the worst violators
of religious rights. The
Washington Post / March
20, 2012
Turkey will be represented at
the Nuclear Security Summit
by a large delegation that
also includes Prime Minister,
Foreign Minister and Energy and Natural Resources
Minister. TRT / March 23,
2012
Boyko Borisov and Recep
Tayyip Erdogan signed
around 20 agreements, i n c l u d i n g c u l t u r a l
exchanges, the setting up of
a ferry route between their
t w o c o u n t i e s a n d
cooperation over natural
disasters. Euronews / March 20, 2012
Scores injured as Nevruz protests lead to clashes
Turkey debates Afghan mission after helicopter crash
Turkish politicians are debating the necessity of Turkey's presence in
Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led peace mission.
“The same helicopter could have crashed in our country, too,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said at a joint news briefing with his
Bulgarian counterpart, Boyko Borisov, in Ankara on Tuesday, as he count-
ers increasing questioning of Turkey's Afghan mission. A Turkish military
helicopter crashed into a home near the Afghan capital on Friday, killing
12 Turkish soldiers on board and four Afghans on the ground. The Turkish
Foreign Ministry released a statement on Friday, reaffirming the nation's commitment within the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) command and said Turkey will continue helping the Afghan people.
The statement added that Turkish troops are serving in Afghanistan to
train Afghan national security forces and help the people improve security
and stability and with development. Today’s Zaman / March 21, 2012
PAGE 6
PAGE 7
26 March 2012:
Randejavu (Theater)
Ankara Hayal Kahvesi / 20.00
Ahmet Ümit (Conversation and Book Signing)
METU U3 / 17.30
Gülsin Onay (Piano Recital)
METU KKM Kemal Kurdaş Hall / 18.30
27 March 2012:
Giderayak (Theater)
METU KKM Kemal Kurdaş Hall / 20.00
Bir Opera Gecesi (Trumpet and Trampoline
Recital) Operet Hall / 20.00
28 March 2012:
DJ Jimmy Key (Party) Friends & Trends / 23.00
Mabel Matiz (Concert) Passage Pub / 21.30
Cem Adrian (Concert) IF Performance Hall /
22.00
29 March 2012:
Yasemin Mori (Concert) IF Performance Hall /
22.00
Hava Kuvvetleri Bando Komutanlığı (Spring
Concert) METU KKM Kemal Kurdaş Hall / 20.00
Bir Yaz Gecesi Rüyası (Modern Dance)
Opera Hall / 20.00
30 March 2012:
Çellistanbul Çello Dörtlüsü (Concert)
METU KKM Kemal Kurdaş Hall / 20.00
Fehim Paşa Konağı (Theater)
Müjdat Gezen Art Center / 20.30
Canlı Yayın (Theater) Cüneyt Gökçer Stage /
20.00
31 March 2012:
Geriye Kalan (Movie and Conversation with
the Director and Actors) METU KKM Kemal
Kurdaş Hall / 18.30
Don Giovanni (Opera) Opera Hall / 20.00
1 April 2012:
Stress Out Party (Party) Haniel Club / 22.00
April Fool’s Day Party (Party) IF Performance
Hall / 21.00
Four in the Pocket (Party) Passage Pub / 21.30
İş Hayatına Bir Adım Önde Başlayın (Seminar)
Ramada Ankara / 10.30 – 17.30
ODDLY ENOUGH
WHAT IS IAEA?
The IAEA is the world's center of cooperation in the nuclear
field. It was set up as the world´s "Atoms for Peace"
organization in 1957 within the United Nations family. The
Agency works with its Member States and multiple
partners worldwide to promote safe, secure and peaceful
nuclear technologies.
The IAEA Secretariat is headquartered at the Vienna
International Centre in Vienna, Austria. Operational liaison
and regional offices are located in Geneva, Switzerland;
New York, USA; Toronto, Canada; and Tokyo, Japan. The
IAEA runs or supports research centers and scientific
laboratories in Vienna and Seibersdorf, Austria; Monaco;
and Trieste, Italy.
The IAEA Secretariat is a team of 2300 multi-disciplinary
professional and support staff from more than 100
countries.
The IAEA works for the safe, secure and peaceful uses of
nuclear science and technology. Its key roles contribute to
international peace and security, and to the world's
Millennium Goals for social, economic and environmental
development.
EDITORIAL
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