The Latest from Iran (24 March): Trust Us, We're Different

2125 GMT: Lawyer and human rights activist Shadi Sadr has expressed hope over today's resolution by the UN Human Rights Council, passed 22-7, to appoint a Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran. Sadr said previous reports by Rapporteurs had a positive effect on the conditions in the country, particularly on those of political prisoners. Sadr continued:

I think today’s resolution is quite important and will be quite effective because not only does having the Special Rapporteur mean more and specific monitoring, but it is also a swift shift in the international community’s approach regarding Iran’s human rights situation. It does not matter if the Islamic Republic of Iran allows the Rapporteur to visit the country or not. The point is that the international community, tired of negotiations with no results…today, has shown its stick rather than its carrot. This is the exact atmosphere that we, Iranian civil society, need to use as a useful platform to push for the demands and rights of the people of Iran.

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Latest from Turkey: The Insurgent PKK, Relations with Russia, the New Middle East, and Israel

Latest developments in Turkey....

What Next with the PKK?

The Kurdish separatist group, PKK, ended its unilateral truce on 28 February. Last week, its life-long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan said: “I will make the evaluation in the coming days in March. If something positive happens, the current state of inaction will continue until elections. If not, I am out, I will fade from the scene. My health situation is already not good enough to carry on this work.”

On the following day, three PKK guerillas/terrorists were killed by Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in Sirnak. On Friday, TSK clashed with PKK members in Bingol --- four PKK members and two village guards were killed. Was this a reaction to Ocalan by PKK ’s senior officials or an organized response by PKK with Ocalan’s permission before the Turkish New Year (Newroz)?

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Egypt, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Dramas with State Security --- Continued

2050 GMT: Two claimed videos from Az Zintan, 160 km (100 miles) southwest of Tripoli, where the opposition says it attacked regime forces on the outskirts of the city: the first is of questioning of captured Qaddafi troops, the second is a brief clip of the pre-1969 flag flying over the town:

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Turkey Special: Erdogan Government Reaches Out Abroad, Talks Tough at Home

Prime Minister Erdogan is striking a conservative posture at home, even as it holds out the unclenched first abroad. This does not mean he is seeking confrontation as an election strategy: there is no desire for a military clash with PKK, any more than there is a wish to use Iran and Syria against the US, but he is going to the leave no doubts. He is the man in charge.

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Israel and Egypt: Does Stability Follow the Uprising?

Following the departure of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the Supreme Military Council released a statement  that Cairo will be loyal to its international agreements, including the peace treaty signed with Israel in 1979. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded that the "longstanding peace treaty between Israel and Egypt has greatly contributed to both countries and is the cornerstone for peace and stability in the entire Middle East".

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Turkey Analysis: Ankara Expands Ties with Syria and Iran

Turkey's relations with its Eastern neighbours are continuing to develop. On Sunday, at the groundbreaking ceremony of Asi Friendship Dam in Hatay, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Erdogan said:

Asi river is not a river separating us, drawing borders between us anymore; it is turning into a river bringing us together.

Eight years ago, when we formed the government, we said this: 'Turkey wants peace, Turkey wants calm in the region. Turkey wants stability in this geography, wants wealth all together.' We said 'zero problem with neighbours' eight years ago. Because we believe this with our hearts that the more Syria is in peace the more Turkey is in peace. The more Turkey is in wealth the more the more Syria is in wealth. Because we are nations that are rendered as brothers by history. Throughout the history, our fate has been the same, our hearts have beat together. 

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Newsflash! Al Jazeera Turk is Coming...

On 1 February, Al Jazeera Turk placed a $21 million bid  to take over a national TV station, Cine-5, known primarily for showing football matches to paying customers. The bid was put to the side as the Saving Deposit Insurance Fund set a minimum of $40 million for tenders, but on Thursday, Al Jazeera Turk's revised offer of $40.5 million was accepted.

Turkey has also CNN Turk, which was founded in 1999. For some, the entry of Al Jazeera Turk into the national arena is welcomed for increased competition and the quality; for others, it is a sign of Ankara's rising importance and autonomy in the region. 

Turkey's Foreign Minister on Egypt: "We Took the Most Active and Clearest Position"

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attended an international conference on security on Saturday. In his meeting with U.S. Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton, Davutoglu said: "Chances for democracy in the Middle East have been missed twice in the past 20 years. We cannot let this happen once again."

For Davutoglu, Turkey took "the most active and clearest position in Egypt".

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Turkey's Message for Egypt: "Democracy Shall Win"

On Tuesday, as hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to "listen to people's outcries and extremely humanistic demands" and continued his advice:

Meet the freedom demands of people without a doubt. In today’s world, freedoms cannot be postponed or overlooked.

We are mortal. We will all die and be judged by those who remain. As Muslims, our final address is a two-cubic-meter hole. What matters is to be remembered with respect. We should listen to the voice of our conscience and the voice of our people and be ready either for their good prayers or curses. We are for the people; we are in the service of the people.

Turkey will continue to stand side-by-side with both the Tunisian and Egyptian people and continue to share their hope and happiness.

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Turkey Document: Ankara's Response to Israeli Commission's Findings on the Freedom Flotilla

After Israel's Turkel Commission found that the Israel Defense Forces' killing of nine Turkish citizens on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla was "self-defense", Ankara has responded by publishing details of its own report, submitted last September to the United Nations enquiry. 

The report asserted that two of the activists were killed before any Israeli soldier descended onto the deck. It claimed Israeli forces had terrorised passengers, abusing them physically and psychologically with strip-searches and sexual humiliation.

The full transcript of the Turkish press release....

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