Turkish top court bans pro-Kurdish party

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has voted to ban the country’s largest pro-Kurdish party because of alleged links with Kurdish separatist rebels.

Turkey’s chief prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya argued that the Democratic Society Party (DTP) took orders from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The DTP is the latest in a series of pro-Kurdish parties to have been closed down in Turkey.

The EU, which Turkey hopes to join, expressed concern over Friday’s ruling.

“While strongly denouncing violence and terrorism, the presidency recalls that the dissolution of political parties is an exceptional measure that should be used with utmost restraint,” the EU’s Swedish presidency said in a statement reported by Reuters.

The 11 judges in Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that the DTP had become a “focal point of activities against the indivisible unity of the state, the country and the nation”, court president Hasim Kilic told reporters.

He said DTP leaders Ahmet Turk and Aysel Tugluk had been stripped of parliamentary immunity and banned from politics for five years along with 35 other party members.

The treasury would seize all party assets, Mr Kilic added.

The DTP holds 21 seats in Turkey’s 550-member parliament.

Some 40,000 people have died since the outlawed PKK launched an armed campaign in the mainly Kurdish southeast in 1984.

The BBC’s Jonathan Head, in Istanbul, says the DTP’s ban is another blow to the government’s hopes of ending the conflict.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tried to push through a package of reforms aimed at winning over the alienated Kurdish community and persuading militants to lay down their weapons.

Reacting to the ban, DTP chairman Mr Turk said it would not help to end the 25-year conflict.

“Turkey cannot resolve this problem by closing down parties,” he said.

The court case has already caused unrest in Kurdish areas.

In the city of Hakkari - near the Iran and Iraq borders - Turkish police used water canon to break up a protest by Kurdish rebel supporters on Friday, Anatolia news agency reported.

Kurds make up about 20% of Turkey’s population of more than 70 million.

Turkey, the EU and the US list the PKK as a terrorist organisation.

For more information visit: www.bbc.co.uk / www.reuters.com

Bodrum Tipped As Double Rental Prospect

It has been stated that the Turkish Aegean Peninsula of Bodrum provides a dual incentive to investors.

Both buyers and investors hoping to rent out property can benefit from the fact that the area boasts both a domestic and an international market for tourist rentals.

This is due to the fact that the peninsula is the preferred Turkish holiday destination not only for the Turks but also by tourists visiting from Britain, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

Hannah Gelbart of Cumberland Properties, a property developer that owns three developments within the Bodrum Peninsula, affirms that “more than 50% of our buyers come from Ankara and Istanbul.”

Bodrum has a great many attractions, including cultural and historic features such as Bodrum Castle and the remains of the Mausoleum, one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. It is also famed for its stunning marina, whitewashed houses, narrow winding streets and elegant boutiques.

Furthermore, its Underwater Archaeological Museum that is housed in Bodrum Castle is recognised as the best of its type in the world. It was the wealth of marine artefacts recovered locally that originally inspired the commissioning of the museum.

Diving for antiquities remains a firm favourite amongst the more adventurous tourists. The area boasts a full range of water sports from a gentle paddle or a trip out on a pedalo – for the less adventurous – through to parasailing and scuba diving courses all that can be arranged locally.

Recent studies in and around the area have noted that crime rates are minimal, as indeed is the cost of living. English is widely spoken throughout the region. During the summer months you could almost be forgiven for thinking it was the first language.

English pounds sterling, Euros, Dollars and obviously Turkish Lira are all in circulation during the summer months and are readily accepted in most local shops and markets. Although be prepared to have your change given in Turkish Lira. The UK especially continues to benefit from superb exchange rates virtually doubling your money.

Bodrum has been recently tipped as one of Turkey’s property hotspots for buyers in 2010, along with fellow Turkish resorts Altinkum and Dalaman.

Turkey Is The Place To Be For The New Year

Keen overseas investors and holiday-home buyers for early 2011 have been recommended to consider Turkey as an ideal location. The number of holidaymakers in Turkey is on the increase, particularly from the UK, due to the pound’s strength against the Turkish lira compared to the euro.

The three locations that were specifically mentioned were Bodrum, Dalaman and Altinkum, although Bodrum is widely known as the preferred destination of the three. With its stunning marina, sandy beaches and lively old-town, the Bodrum peninsula is especially popular due to the building restrictions that protect it from overdevelopment and its excellent investment potential, compared to other areas of Turkey.

However, with or without the beauty, glamour and character of Bodrum, all three destinations have inexpensive property with plenty of rental demand. Some developments, including renowned property developers Cumberland Properties, that operate on the Bodrum Peninsula, can also arrange and facilitate rentals.

Venturing further from Europe, Hurghada in Egypt and Tenerife in the Canary Islands were also noted as good investment prospects for 2010.

Earlier this month, international mortgage firm Conti identified Turkey as a fast-growing market, noting that 13 per cent of its mortgage enquiries so far this year concerned the country, making it the third most popular buyer destination. This figure was an increase in the 11 per cent total for 2008, Conti revealed.

Turkish Property Sales Rise By 24% In Q3 2009

Even though the real estate sector continues to feel the negative after effects of the global financial crisis and is expected to regain pre-crisis levels by as late as 2012, sales of property in Turkey rose by 24% in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period last year thanks to several incentives, Today’s Zaman reports, quoting Real Estate Investing Partners Association (GYODER) President Turgay Tanes as saying.

Delivering a speech at a press conference called to present the association’s recently released report on the sector, Tanes said that real estate in Turkey had been one of the sectors that was anticipated to have been hit most severely by the global financial crisis.

However, he noted, the sector saw a 24% rise in housing sales figures in the January -September period of 2009 over the same period of 2008.

The fact that demand for property in Turkey, both domestically and internationally, remains strong is partly fuelled by the burgeoning tourist industry and strong overseas investment in Turkey maintaining demand, consequently this will have helped to deflect the worst impact of the crisis and continues to underpin the market.

These figures are certainly bourn out by Cumberland Properties own experiences of sales of property in Bodrum for the period.

To a great extent the Bodrum peninsular remains immune from the negative effects of the crisis due to its preferred location. Unequivocally the favoured holiday destination both domestically and internationally the peninsular benefits from its designation as a protected area; the Turkish Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture has issued a White Paper that lays out specific guidelines limiting the density of construction in order to retain the authenticity of the Aegean and Mediterranean coastlines.

Buildings may only be 2 storeys high and must be whitewashed, maintaining the region’s authentic and picturesque identity. Furthermore, only 20% of the land in Bodrum can be built on, thus ensuring that its diverse range of wildlife together with its unique natural beauty will be protected for generations to come.

Cumberland Properties can further endorse these findings having already sold a number of properties at Woodland Regency in the first week of January 2010 and are currently experiencing a significant increase, over the same period last year, in enquiries for both property for sale in Bodrum and rentals in Bodrum, having already secured a number of reservations for the ever popular Seaview Regency Prestige

For further information on Yali Seaside Residence contact: Volkan

Source: ANSAmed.