Turkey Live Coverage (4 June): No Kurdish Problem At All?

See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: President Assad's "Real War"

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1800 GMT: According Turkish daily Today's Zaman, Ankara welcomes political efforts to unseat Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as politicians in the Iraqi Parliament have collected enough signatures to hold a non-confidence vote. 

1710 GMT: President Abdullah Gul met with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in Istanbul. Abbas is also expected to talk to Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Davutoglu. Nothing specific regarding the content of the meetings has been revealed so far. 

1600 GMT: Syrian opposition activits declared the formation of a new military coalition named "the Syrian Rebels Front". Khaled al-Okla, a member of the new group, says it coordinates with the Free Syrian Army.

1440 GMT: The first Mavi Marmara court hearing is scheduled for 6 November. As known, the indictment charging four Israeli commanders for full life sentence was accepted last month.

1335 GMT: Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag says that Turkey already has a semi-presidential system which needs to be upgraded to the presidential system.

1245 GMT: An air-supported operation against PKK is continuing in the Beytussebap district of the province of Sirnak. Sikorsky and Cobra helicopters are bombarding the Kato Mountain.

1220 GMT: Amid the recent debate in Turkey over the right to abortion, Religious Affairs Directorate head Mehmet Gormez has said parents have no authority to end the life of a fetus, supporting the Government's official policy. 

1100 GMT: The Kurdish insurgency PKK has released a British tourist whom it kidnapped late in Diyarbakir on Saturday.

During an operation against the Kurdish PKK, two soldiers were killed in a landmine accident in the province of Diyarbakir.

The Syrian Front

Is Turkey ready to announce further sanctions on the Assad regime following the massacre of 108 civilians in the Syrian town of Houla? Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that new, unspecified sanctions might be imposed against Damascus in the coming days, as the world “cannot remain silent in the face of such a situation".

At the same time, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Turkish TV, "We have never advised either the Syrian National Council or the Syrian administration to conduct an armed fight, and we will never do so.” He added: “The Syrian people will be the driving force that eventually topples the Syrian regime. Assad will leave as a result of the people’s will.”

That, however, does not mean a release in pressure on the Syria President. On Sunday, Erdogan accused Assad of not being honest:

When there is mass killing in Syria, Bashar al-Assad refers to foreign sources as the cause of the incident. Bashar al-Assad has never engaged in politics in his country until now. The latest elections allegedly put the cards on the table. This are not election results, as a matter of fact. As the elections were not fair, no one was interested in participation and election results, as the results disclose Assad's interests.

The Kurdish Front

On Saturday, speaking at the ruling Justice and Development Party's congress in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, Prime Minister Erdogan criticized the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). Erdogan repeated his party's official line, saying that there is no "Kurdish problem" anymore, only issues raised by Kurdish citizens:

Thisi is my 12th visit to Diyarbakir as the Prime Minister. It is one of the cities I visit most. We are not the lord of Diyarbakir but we are its servants. Whenever I came here, I talked with the language of honesty. Today, I came here as your brother and am speaking. We don't need mediators. We are not those who communicate through media. We are not those who talk with the language of gossip. Our relationship is not shaped by a remote control. We love each other due to Allah. No one can come inbetween us and Diyarbakir.

Some say that "the Prime Minister has no expectation from Diyarbakir". They say, "The Prime Minister cannot come to Diyarbakir." Who are you? I came here to embrace my brothers and sisters. He [the co-chair of BDP, Selahattin Demirtas] said yesterday, threateningly, that 'no one shall go to AKP's Congress'. Why are you so afraid of congress? What happened to your pro-freedom? Why are you afraid of thoughts? Here, they have no word to say. That is why they are encouraging violence. They do not produce but try to prevent the producer. They are showing AKP as the target. Because AKP is producing solution.

We have the terror problem, PKK problem. In the eye of my Kurdish-origin brothers, the very first party is AKP. Because we love them and they love us back. We have been alone in the democratisation struggle. We have always been prevented. Those who are doing politics only through Kurdish identity, showed displeasure while we were launching Kurdish TV for our Kurdish brothers. They made fun of us when we were forming Kurdish institutions. While we were putting historical steps on areas that have been shown as a dream for 100 years, they either ignored or did everything to prevent us. While mother were not able to speak Kurdish with their sons in funerals, I paved the way for it. While were making silent revolutions, they showed hostility to us. If you are thinking Kurds that much, what have you done for them so far? The only thing they know is insulting. We have lots of things to do. Of course, we know that we are lacking in many things.

We have invested 25 quadrillion to the region. If Diyarbakir has divided main roads, hospitals and schools increasing, that is due to our love to Diyarbakir.