Word: erdogan
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...secularist backlash has already made itself felt: Gul is his party's second choice for President; for several months it has been assumed that the AKP's nomination would go to current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose Islamist roots are more pronounced than Gul's, and who is widely distrusted by the Turkish military and secular establishment. At a huge secularist rally last weekend in Ankara, at least 300,000 people turned out to oppose Erdogan's candidacy, some saying they would prefer military rule to him being President. The AKP appears to have noted the warning...
Early last week, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had reason to be optimistic. During a meeting in Ankara, Pope Benedict XVI said he was in favor of Turkey joining the European Union. This reversed an opinion he had delivered previously as a Cardinal, saying the move would be "a grave error against history." But the good news was short-lived. Just days after the Pope's remarks, Olli Rehn, the E.U.'s Commissioner for Enlargement, recommended that the E.U. suspend a portion of Turkey's membership talks just 13 months after they began. The reason: Turkey's continued unwillingness...
...leaders accept Rehn's recommendations, Turkey's E.U. accession train may not be wrecked, but it will have slowed considerably. After initially calling the reprimand "unacceptable," Erdogan said Turkey would continue "in the E.U. direction," while officials in Brussels insisted they were still committed to Turkey's inclusion. "Turkey is not fulfilling all its obligations and so there must be some consequences," said Commission President José Manuel Barroso after the announcement. But, he added, "We don't want to close the door on Turkey...
...policies are gaining strength. Support for the country's two right-wing Euro-skeptic opposition parties has grown to 26% from about 17% four years ago. If they capture that much of the vote in next year's election, they could force a coalition with Erdogan's AK Party...
...going to be easy to sort this out. Erdogan's government has pushed through reforms to improve the rights of the Kurdish minority and strengthen civilian control of the military - measures that helped convince the E.U. to open membership talks in the first place. But he seems unwilling to back down on Cyprus. Erdogan has agreed to lift Turkey's restrictions on Greek Cypriot ships and planes only if the E.U. follows through on its promises to ease trade restrictions on the Turkish Cypriot?controlled part of the island...