Turkish PM: Israel must apologize

Press TV, Wed Oct 13, 2010, 11:44PM

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterates that Israel must apologize for its raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that left nine peace activists dead.

Erdogan noted that Tel Aviva should also pay compensation for killing the Turkish nationals on May 31.

"Unless Israel pays compensation and seeks an apology, peace cannot be restored in the Middle East and Israel will remain alone," Erdogan told a gathering in Multan, Pakistan on Wednesday, dpa reported.

The Gaza Freedom Flotilla was trying to deliver thousands of tons of humanitarian supplies to the 1.5 million impoverished people of Gaza, who have been under Israel's siege since 2007.

The assault has done a record damage to Israel-Turkey bilateral ties, already clouded over Tel Aviv's attacks on Gaza at the turn of 2009, which killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians.

The UN Human Rights Council has ordered the investigation of the Israeli attack, saying that there is clear evidence to back prosecution against Tel Aviv.

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Turkey boycotts Israeli conference

Press TV, Thu Oct 14, 2010, 12:14AM

Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertugrul Gunay Turkey says it will not attend a tourism conference in al-Quds (Jerusalem) in protest to Tel Aviv's aggressive approach towards the Palestinians.

Turkey's Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay said on Tuesday that his country has boycotted the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) gathering after Israel made the event a political issue.

"Regrettable statements have been made. We want tourism to take place, not politics," the Turkish daily Hurriyet quoted him as saying.

The OECD will hold its biannual conference on October 20-21 in West al-Quds in a district adjacent to several illegal Israeli settlements in the eastern part of the city.

Israel's Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov had earlier said the OECD conference in al-Quds was in fact a sign of worldwide recognition of city as Israel's capital.

The summit's convening in al-Quds marks the second OECD biannual conference in more than six decades to be held outside of the French capital, Paris.

Britain and Spain have also announced they will not attend the OECD conference.

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2 Turkish troops killed in PKK clash

Press TV, Thu Oct 14, 2010, 12:47AM

Turkish soldiers patrol the eastern province of Tunceli. Two soldiers and a Kurdish militant have been killed in a clash between the Turkish security forces and members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The incident took place in eastern province of Tunceli on Wednesday, Anatolia news agency reported.

The fighting broke out after the militants "ignored troops' call to surrender and opened fire," the report said.

The PKK, which is on the terrorist list of much of the international community, has been fighting Turkey since 1984. Some 45,000 people are estimated to have died since the group launched its armed offensive for an independent state in southeastern Turkey.

The militants launch their attacks from the Qandil Mountains where Israel and Israeli firms also reportedly operate. In June, Sedat Laciner, the head of Turkish think tank International Strategic Research Organization, said Israeli intelligence agents and military retirees had been sighted providing training to PKK militants in Iraqi Kurdistan.

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