Misplaced Pages

#346653

121-425: Turkey claims a portion of Cyprus' EEZ based on Turkey's definition that no islands, including Cyprus, can have a full 200 nautical mile EEZ authorized to coastal states and should only be entitled to their 12 nautical mile territorial seas. Turkey's definition creates a dispute over the rights to waters south of Cyprus containing an offshore gas field . This definition is not shared by most other states. Furthermore,

242-497: A pan-Turkish activist of the early 20th century. This version included an additional stanza in the beginning, its first two verses reading "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets / The minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers...." Under article 312/2 of the Turkish penal code his recitation was regarded by the judge as an incitement to violence and religious or racial hatred. In his defense, Erdoğan said that

363-452: A presidential system , introducing term limits and expanding executive powers, and Turkey's migrant crisis . Erdoğan responded to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine by closing the Bosphorus to Russian naval reinforcements, brokering a deal between Russia and Ukraine regarding the export of grain, and mediating a prisoner exchange. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was born on 26 February 1954 in

484-600: A 29 April rally in Istanbul, tens of thousands at separate protests on 4 May in Manisa and Çanakkale , and one million in İzmir on 13 May. The stage of the elections of 2007 was set for a fight for legitimacy in the eyes of voters between his government and the CHP. Erdoğan used the event that took place during the ill-fated Presidential elections a few months earlier as a part of the general election campaign of his party. On 22 July 2007,

605-519: A ban on 30 July 2008, a year after winning 46.7% of the vote in national elections, although judges did cut the party's public funding by 50%. In the June 2011 elections, Erdoğan's governing party won 327 seats (49.83% of the popular vote) making Erdoğan the only prime minister in Turkey's history to win three consecutive general elections, each time receiving more votes than the previous election. The second party,

726-424: A constitutional reform package. The reform package was first vetoed by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer . Then he applied to the Turkish constitutional court about the reform package, because the president is unable to veto amendments for the second time. The Turkish constitutional court did not find any problems in the packet and 68.95% of the voters supported the constitutional changes. The reforms consisted of electing

847-450: A consultant and senior manager in the private sector. Becoming active in local politics, he was elected Welfare Party 's Beyoğlu district chair in 1984 and Istanbul chair in 1985. Following the 1994 local elections , Erdoğan was elected mayor of Istanbul. He said at the time: "Democracy is like a train: when we reach our destination, we get off". In 1998 he was convicted for inciting religious hatred and banned from politics after reciting

968-622: A courageous step to resolve chronic issues that constitute an obstacle along Turkey's development, progression and empowerment." Erdoğan passed a partial amnesty to reduce penalties faced by many members of the Kurdish guerrilla movement PKK who had surrendered to the government. On 23 November 2011, during a televised meeting of his party in Ankara, he apologized on behalf of the state for the Dersim massacre , where many Alevis and Zazas were killed. In 2013

1089-446: A crime, therefore we do not need to apologise ... It will not have any benefit other than stirring up trouble, disturbing our peace and undoing the steps which have been taken." In 2011, Erdoğan ordered the tearing-down of the 33-meter-tall (108 ft) Monument to Humanity , a Turkish–Armenian friendship monument in Kars , which was commissioned in 2006 and represented a metaphor of

1210-598: A definitive split took place: the followers of Necmettin Erbakan founded the Felicity Party (SP) and the reformers founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) under the leadership of Abdullah Gül and Erdoğan. The pro-reform politicians realized that a strictly Islamic party would never be accepted as a governing party by the state apparatus and they believed that an Islamic party did not appeal to more than about 20 percent of

1331-613: A few kilometers of the Aphrodite gas field . In addition to the blocks contested between Northern Cyprus and Turkey, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has issued exploration licenses also in above-mentioned disputed blocks. Turkish oil company TPAO has also begun conducting oil and gas exploratory drilling off the shores of Northern Cyprus. The European Union (EU) acquis communautaire requires UNCLOS membership. The European Parliament called on Turkey to sign UNCLOS in adopting

SECTION 10

#1733085855347

1452-410: A joint US company, namely Noble Energy. The Cypriot and Israeli governments are discussing exporting their natural gas through the transport of compressed natural gas to Greece and then to the rest of Europe or through submarine pipelines starting from Israel and then leading to Greece via Cyprus. Recep Tayyip Erdo%C4%9Fan [REDACTED] Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954)

1573-571: A majority of 58%. In 2009, Prime Minister Erdoğan's government announced a plan to help end the quarter-century-long Turkey–Kurdistan Workers' Party conflict that had cost more than 40,000 lives. The government's plan, supported by the European Union , intended to allow the Kurdish language to be used in all broadcast media and political campaigns, and restored Kurdish names to cities and towns that had been given Turkish ones . Erdoğan said, "We took

1694-549: A mean of 122 tcf (3,455 bcm) of recoverable natural gas and 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil”, increasing the interest in the region. On May 31 of 2010, the Mavi Marmara incident took place. In the Mavi Marmara or Flotilla incident, activists' boats were blocked by Israeli forces in international waters, on their way to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The Israeli soldiers were met with resistance while boarding

1815-462: A new election for 9 February 2003 . By this time, party leader Erdoğan was able to run for parliament due to a legal change made possible by the opposition Republican People's Party. The AKP duly listed Erdoğan as a candidate for the rescheduled election, which he won, becoming Prime Minister after Gül handed over the post. On 14 April 2007, an estimated 300,000 people marched in Ankara to protest against

1936-662: A new proposal was submitted by the Turkish Cypriot side but was again rejected by the Greek-Cypriot side. The proposal included a bicommunal technical committee for natural resources and related agreements and revenues, with a chairman appointed by the Secretary General of the UN, and a pipeline transporting hydrocarbons through Turkey. In January 2013, ENI - Kogas granted Hydrocarbon Exploration Licences for Blocks 2, 3 and 9, and on

2057-468: A number of issues such as the right of individuals to appeal to the highest court, the creation of the ombudsman 's office; the possibility to negotiate a nationwide labour contract; gender equality; the ability of civilian courts to convict members of the military; the right of civil servants to go on strike; a privacy law; and the structure of the Constitutional Court . The referendum was agreed by

2178-519: A party that could operate within the limits of the system, and thus not getting banned as its predecessors like National Order Party , National Salvation Party and Welfare Party . They wanted to give the group the character of an ordinary conservative party with its members being Muslim Democrats following the example of the Europe's Christian Democrats . When the Virtue Party was also banned in 2001,

2299-566: A percentage of annual GDP declined from 74% in 2002 to 39% in 2009. In 2012, Turkey had a lower ratio of public debt to GDP than 21 of 27 members of the European Union and a lower budget deficit to GDP ratio than 23 of them. In 2003, Erdoğan's government pushed through the Labor Act, a comprehensive reform of Turkey's labor laws. The law greatly expanded the rights of employees, establishing a 45-hour workweek and limiting overtime work to 270 hours

2420-644: A poem by Ziya Gökalp that compared mosques to barracks and the faithful to an army. Erdoğan was released from prison in 1999 and formed the AKP, abandoning openly Islamist policies. Erdoğan led the AKP to a landslide victory in the election for the Grand National Assembly in 2002, and became prime minister after winning a by-election in Siirt in 2003. Erdoğan led the AKP to two more election victories in 2007 and 2011 . His tenure consisted of economic recovery from

2541-714: A poor conservative Muslim family. Erdoğan's family is originally from Adjara , a region in Georgia . Although Erdoğan was reported to have said in 2003 that he was of Georgian origin and that his origins were in Batumi , he later denied this. His parents were Ahmet Erdoğan (1905–1988) and Tenzile Erdoğan ( née Mutlu; 1924–2011). While Erdoğan attended school in Istanbul, his summer holidays were mostly spent in Güneysu , Rize, where his family originates from. Throughout his life he often returned to this spiritual home, and in 2015 he opened

SECTION 20

#1733085855347

2662-471: A rank of 153 out of a total of 179 countries in 2021. Freedom House reported a slight recovery in later years and awarded Turkey a Press Freedom Score of 55/100 in 2012 after a low point of 48/100 in 2006. In 2011, Erdoğan's government made legal reforms to return properties of Christian and Jewish minorities which were seized by the Turkish government in the 1930s. The total value of the properties returned reached $ 2 billion (USD). Under Erdoğan,

2783-483: A record low of 1.17%, below those of nine EU member countries and Russia. In 2002, the Turkish Central Bank had $ 26.5 billion in reserves. This amount reached $ 92.2 billion in 2011. During Erdoğan's leadership, inflation fell from 32% to 9.0% in 2004. Since then, Turkish inflation has continued to fluctuate around 9% and is still one of the highest inflation rates in the world. The Turkish public debt as

2904-475: A regular state school. That he eventually received a high school diploma from this school is a subject of debate. According to his official biography, Erdoğan subsequently studied business administration at the Aksaray School of Economics and Commercial Sciences ( Turkish : Aksaray İktisat ve Ticaret Yüksekokulu ), now known as Marmara University 's Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences. Both

3025-490: A result, on 16 of July 2019, the EU suspended funding of $ 163 million towards Turkey, as a reaction to Turkey's activities within the EEZ of Republic of Cyprus. Meanwhile, on July 13, Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci submitted a new proposal for a joint committee on hydrocarbons consisting of members from both communities, receiving the support of the Turkish government. Akinci's proposal

3146-425: A shadow like genocide". US President Barack Obama called for a "full, frank and just acknowledgement of the facts", but again stopped short of labelling it "genocide", despite his campaign promise to do so. During Erdoğan's time as Prime Minister, the far-reaching powers of the 1991 Anti-Terror Law were reduced. In 2004, the death penalty was abolished for all circumstances. The Democratic initiative process

3267-602: A shift towards a more authoritarian style of government. His economic policies have led to high inflation rates and the depreciation of the value of the Turkish lira . He has intervened in the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Libya , launched operations against the Islamic State , Syrian Democratic Forces and Assad's forces , and has made threats against Greece . He oversaw the transformation of Turkey's parliamentary system into

3388-503: A special mass in St. Peter's Basilica marking the centenary of the events, described atrocities against Armenian civilians in 1915–1922 as "the first genocide of the 20th century". In protest, Erdoğan recalled the Turkish ambassador from the Vatican, and summoned the Vatican's ambassador, to express "disappointment" at what he called a discriminatory message. He later stated "we don't carry a stain or

3509-646: A statement in nine languages (including two dialects of Armenian), offering condolences for the mass killings of Armenians and stating that the events of 1915 had inhumane consequences. The statement described the mass killings as the two nations' shared pain and said: "Having experienced events which had inhumane consequences – such as relocation – during the First World War, (it) should not prevent Turks and Armenians from establishing compassion and mutually humane attitudes among one another." Pope Francis in April 2015, at

3630-430: A vast mosque on a mountaintop near this village. The family returned to Istanbul when Erdoğan was 13 years old. As a teenager, Erdoğan's father provided him with a weekly allowance of 2.5 Turkish lira, less than a dollar. With it, Erdoğan bought postcards and resold them on the street. He sold bottles of water to drivers stuck in traffic. Erdoğan also worked as a street vendor selling simit (sesame bread rings), wearing

3751-457: A white gown and selling the simit from a red three-wheel cart with the rolls stacked behind glass. In his youth, Erdoğan played semi-professional football in Camialtıspor FC, a local club. Fenerbahçe wanted him to transfer to the club but his father prevented it. The stadium of the local football club in the district where he grew up, Kasımpaşa S.K. is named after him. Erdoğan

Cyprus–Turkey maritime zones dispute - Misplaced Pages Continue

3872-505: A year, provided legal protection against discrimination due to sex, religion, or political affiliation, prohibited discrimination between permanent and temporary workers, entitled employees terminated without "valid cause" to compensation, and mandated written contracts for employment arrangements lasting a year or more. Erdoğan increased the budget of the Ministry of Education from 7.5 billion lira in 2002 to 34 billion lira in 2011,

3993-536: Is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which he co-founded in 2001. He also served as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. Erdoğan was born in Beyoğlu , Istanbul , and studied at the Aksaray Academy of Economic and Commercial Sciences , before working as

4114-511: Is a member of the Community of İskenderpaşa , a Turkish Sufistic community of Naqshbandi tariqah . Erdoğan graduated from Kasımpaşa Piyale Primary School in 1965, and the Istanbul İmam Hatip High School , a religious vocational high school, in 1973. The same educational path was followed by other co-founders of the AK Party . One quarter of the curriculum of İmam Hatip schools involves study of

4235-633: Is a rich hydrocarbon province'. In April of the same year, in two separate referendums , the Annan Plan was rejected by the Greek Cypriots, while accepted by the Turkish Cypriots. Regarding the maritime dispute, the acceptance of the Annan Plan would mean that after the solution the natural resources would be under the authority of the bicommunal Presidential Council. On May 1, Republic of Cyprus joined

4356-528: Is divided into 13 exploration squares. Cyprus' EEZ borders those of Greece , Turkey , Syria , Lebanon , Israel and Egypt . Turkey disputes the Cypriot claim. The process of creating exclusive economic zones of Cyprus, Israel and Lebanon took place in Nicosia in 2010 with separate meetings between each country. Cyprus and Israel, as part of their broader cooperation, have agreed to start gas exploration with

4477-660: Is only sovereign waters." The Turkish position regarding the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a unique interpretation not shared by any other country, and not in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) treaty which is signed by 168 parties, but not Turkey. Exclusive economic zone of Cyprus The Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus covers 98,707 square km (38,100 square miles) and

4598-505: The 2016 Turkish coup attempt and the following purges . Six thousand additional deaths occurred in Turkey alone for 2015–2022. Yet, as of 2022 the intensity of the PKK-Turkey conflict did decrease in recent years. In the previous decade, Erdogan and the AKP government used anti-PKK, martial rhetoric and external operations to raise Turkish nationalist votes before elections. Erdoğan has said multiple times that Turkey would acknowledge

4719-527: The Commission 's annual report on paving the ground for EU–Turkey accession negotiations in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Turkey has repeatedly threatened to not allow the Republic of Cyprus to proceed with pursuing claims to hydrocarbon deposits in waters south of the island. It has warned international oil companies not to conduct exploration and production activities in disputed zones, under the threat of an exclusion from

4840-517: The European Union notably on freedom of speech , freedom of the press and Kurdish minority rights . Demands by activists for the recognition of LGBT rights were publicly rejected by government members. Reporters Without Borders reported a continuous decrease in Freedom of the Press during Erdoğan's later terms, with a rank of around 100 on its Press Freedom Index during his first term and

4961-597: The Quran , the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad , and the Arabic language . Erdoğan studied the Quran at the İmam Hatip, where his classmates began calling him hoca ("teacher" or "religious official"). Erdoğan attended a meeting of the nationalist student group National Turkish Student Union ( Milli Türk Talebe Birliği ), who sought to raise a conservative cohort of young people to counter

Cyprus–Turkey maritime zones dispute - Misplaced Pages Continue

5082-577: The economic crisis of 2001 , the start of EU membership negotiations , and the reduction of military influence on politics . In late 2012, his government began peace negotiations with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to end the Kurdish–Turkish conflict , negotiations which ended three years later. In 2014, Erdoğan became the country's first directly elected president . Erdoğan's presidency has been marked by democratic backsliding and

5203-616: The gas will be liquefied for export by ship to Italy and the rest of Europe. In August, 2015, the biggest to-date discovery in the Eastern Mediterranean was made, within the EEZ of Egypt, in the Zohr gas field , by ENI. Zohr was found six kilometres away from Republic of Cyprus' EEZ. In February, 2016, the 3rd licensing round for Republic of Cyprus was announced, for Blocks 6, 8 and 10. In March, 2017, Turkey announced their intention to proceed to exploration drillings in areas delimited by

5324-478: The mass killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide only after a thorough investigation by a joint Turkish-Armenian commission consisting of historians, archaeologists , political scientists and other experts. In 2005, Erdoğan and the main opposition party leader Deniz Baykal wrote a letter to President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan , proposing the creation of a joint Turkish-Armenian commission. Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian rejected

5445-469: The 2007 election campaign. The main opposition party CHP was not interested in altering the Constitution on a big scale, making it impossible to form a Constitutional Commission ( Anayasa Uzlaşma Komisyonu ). The amendments lacked the two-thirds majority needed to become law instantly, but secured 336 votes in the 550-seat parliament – enough to put the proposals to a referendum. The reform package included

5566-408: The AKP won an important victory over the opposition, garnering 46.7% of the popular vote. 22 July elections marked only the second time in the Republic of Turkey's history whereby an incumbent governing party won an election by increasing its share of popular support. On 14 March 2008, Turkey's Chief Prosecutor asked the country's Constitutional Court to ban Erdoğan's governing party. The party escaped

5687-552: The CEO of Italian energy company Eni , said that any agreement for the construction of the EastMed pipeline must include Turkey; he added that "there are disputes between Turkey and Cyprus that are difficult to remedy, furthermore Turkey has made an agreement with Libya to define a very vast platform that covers almost the entire EastMed, therefore not only Turkey but also Libya will have a say." In response to these comments, George Papanastasiou,

5808-593: The CHP, received 19.4% of the votes. The AKP won a landslide victory in the parliament, taking nearly two-thirds of the seats. Erdoğan could not become Prime Minister as he was still banned from politics by the judiciary for his speech in Siirt. Gül became the Prime Minister instead. In December 2002, the Supreme Election Board canceled the general election results from Siirt due to voting irregularities and scheduled

5929-533: The Continental Shelf Law which was adopted in 1974. After ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1988, Cyprus adopted a new law in 2004, which limited its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) by 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi). The EEZ was delimited by bilateral agreements with Israel , Lebanon and Egypt . Cyprus has called on Turkey to delineate

6050-518: The Cypriot Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, stated that not all people agree with the opinions expressed by Descalzi, and that he respects his opinion. These remarks follow reports that Eni, Cyprus and Israel are working on a deal for constructing a natural gas pipeline in the Eastern Mediterranean, connecting both the Cypriot and Israeli offshore gas fields to a processing plant in Cyprus, where

6171-569: The Cypriot Problem resumed after Turkey's NAVTEX expired, in May, 2015, with newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci . In May 2015, the European Commission grants €2 million to Eastern Mediterranean Gas Pipeline (EMGP) , a proposed pipeline transferring gas from the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe through Greece, for pre-FEED studies. In January 2017, a study by Edison presented to

SECTION 50

#1733085855347

6292-477: The EEZ agreement between Cyprus and Egypt based on its claims to the part of the continental shelf in that area. These claims are based on the viewpoint that the capacity of islands to generate maritime zones should be limited in competition with the continental coastal states. As a result, Turkey's claims are partly overlapping with Cyprus' EEZ blocks 1, 4, 6, and 7. Turkey also supports Northern Cyprus' claims in blocks 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, and 13, including seabed within

6413-530: The EEZ of Republic of Cyprus, while the Turkish navy released a NAVTEX for military exercises within Blocks 7 and 8. On February 28, 2019, ExxonMobil announced the largest to-date discoveries within the EEZ of Republic of Cyprus, at Glaucus-1, within Block 10. In early May 2019, Turkish drilling ship Fatih 1 arrived west of Cyprus, in order to perform drillings, with Republic of Cyprus reacting by issuing arrest warrants for

6534-568: The EU's Directorate-General for Energy described the project as 'commercially viable and technically feasible', while in January 2018, the Commission granted the project another €34.5 million for the FEED study and other expenses. In December 2018, a framework agreement regarding the project was signed between the governments of Israel, Republic of Cyprus, Greece and Italy. On 19 May 2023, Claudio Descalzi ,

6655-503: The Eastern Mediterranean were made between June 1999 and February 2000 offshore Israel. In 2003 Shell made the first significant discoveries of gas, offshore Egypt. In February 2003 an EEZ delineation agreement was signed between Republic of Cyprus and Egypt. TRNC responded by stating that they do not recognise the agreement. In February 2004, after performing drillings in the area, Shell's Matthias Bichsel announced that 'The drilling results have demonstrated that this ultra-deepwater area

6776-465: The European Union. In January 2007 an EEZ delineation agreement was reached between Republic of Cyprus and Lebanon. However, it has not been ratified by the Parliament of Lebanon yet. Some argue that the reason is a dispute between Lebanon and Israel over their maritime borders, pressure from Turkey, the relations between Turkey and Lebanon, and a potential trade agreement between Lebanon and Turkey, which

6897-540: The Gül government ended his political ban. The elections of 2002 were the first elections in which Erdoğan participated as a party leader. All parties previously elected to parliament failed to win enough votes to re-enter the parliament. The AKP won 34.3% of the national vote and formed the new government. Turkish stocks rose more than 7% on Monday morning. Politicians of the previous generation, such as Ecevit , Bahceli , Yılmaz and Çiller , resigned. The second largest party,

7018-479: The Islamist National Salvation Party (MSP), and was later promoted to chair of the Istanbul youth branch. He held this position until the 1980 military coup which dissolved all major political parties. He went on to be a consultant and senior executive in the private sector in the aftermath of the coup. Three years later, in 1983, Erdoğan followed most of Necmettin Erbakan 's followers into

7139-529: The Mavi Marmara and opened fire, killing nine Turkish citizens. The incident resulted to the sudden end of all diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel. The deterioration of Turkish-Israeli relations, which reached its peak with the Mavi Marmara incident; in connection to the discoveries made in the Leviathan field offshore Israel, the greatest discoveries of gas made until then in the region, in October, 2010 and

7260-549: The Mediterranean Sea; however, it has signed an agreement in 2011 with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to delimit continental shelf. Turkey does not recognize Cyprus' EEZ agreements with Egypt, Lebanon, and Israel due to the position that as a de facto divided island Republic of Cyprus cannot represent the interests of Northern Cyprus in the case the island will be reunified with a single EEZ. Turkey has disputed

7381-474: The Pınarhisar prison again for the first time in fourteen years. After the visit, he said "For me, Pınarhisar is a symbol of rebirth, where we prepared the establishment of the Justice and Development Party". Erdoğan was member of political parties that kept getting banned by the army or judges. Within his Virtue Party , there was a dispute about the appropriate discourse of the party between traditional politicians and pro-reform politicians. The latter envisioned

SECTION 60

#1733085855347

7502-402: The Republic of Cyprus. In April, 2017, Turkey released a NAVTEX for maritime areas east of Cyprus, overlapping with the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus, for Barbaros to perform seismic surveys between April and June, with Republic of Cyprus again protesting for Turkey's violation of its sovereignty and sovereign rights. In April 2017, ENI was granted Block 8, ENI/TOTAL granted Block 6, and Block 10

7623-417: The Republican People's Party (CHP), received 135 seats (25.94%), the nationalist MHP received 53 seats (13.01%), and the Independents received 35 seats (6.58%). A US$ 100 billion corruption scandal in 2013 led to the arrests of Erdoğan's close allies, and incriminated Erdoğan. After the opposition parties deadlocked the 2007 presidential election by boycotting the parliament, the ruling AKP proposed

7744-404: The TRNC, including areas overlapping with blocks licensed by The Republic of Cyprus, and Turkish vessel Piri Reis began seismographic research south of Cyprus and near Noble's platform, accompanied by Turkish warships. In September 2011, Turkish Cypriot leader Derviş Eroğlu submitted a proposal for mutual suspension of activities within the maritime space around Cyprus, or the cooperation between

7865-421: The Turkish Navy, and were asked to leave, as they claimed that their activities were conducted in areas under Turkish jurisdiction. In January, 2009 the first big offshore discoveries were made in the Tamar 1 , offshore Israel. Later, in March, 2009, new discoveries were made offshore Israel, at the Dalit 1 site. In March, 2010, the US Geological Survey revealed that “the waters of the Levant Basin […] contain

7986-408: The Turkish economy between 2002 and 2012 caused a growth of 64% in real GDP and a 43% increase in GDP per capita; considerably higher numbers were commonly advertised but these did not account for the inflation of the US dollar between 2002 and 2012. The average annual growth in GDP per capita was 3.6%. The growth in real GDP between 2002 and 2012 was higher than the values from developed countries, but

8107-438: The Turkish electorate. The AK party emphatically placed itself as a broad democratic conservative party with new politicians from the political center (like Ali Babacan and Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu ), while respecting Islamic norms and values, but without an explicit religious program. This turned out to be successful as the new party won 34% of the vote in the general elections of 2002 . Erdoğan became prime minister in March 2003 after

8228-510: The Turkish government tightened the laws on the sale and consumption of alcohol , banning all advertising and increasing the tax on alcoholic beverages. In 2002, Erdoğan inherited a Turkish economy that was beginning to recover from a recession as a result of reforms implemented by Kemal Derviş . Erdoğan supported Finance Minister Ali Babacan in enforcing macro-economic policies. Erdoğan tried to attract more foreign investors to Turkey and lifted many government regulations. The cash-flow into

8349-439: The Turkish position as evidence of a violation of national sovereignty and the rights of the Cypriot people. In late February 2014, Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades threatened to pull out of the new round of negotiations over the Cyprus dispute if Turkish vessels continue to intrude in Cyprus' exclusive economic zone. Turkey is not a party to UNCLOS, mainly due to the Aegean dispute with Greece and due to provisions of

8470-401: The UN Feridun Sinirlioglu , which reflect Ankara's notion of a "Blue Homeland" (Mavi Vatan). Greece condemned these claims as legally unfounded, incorrect and arbitrary, and an outright violation of Greece's sovereignty. Turkey's position is that islands cannot have a full Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and should only be entitled to a 12 nautical mile reduced EEZ or no EEZ at all, rather than

8591-470: The article 121 of UNCLOS which states that maritime zones of islands (except uninhabited rocks) are determined by the same principles as for the other territories. It has limited its territorial waters by 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) and by 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) in the Mediterranean Sea, established by the Council of Ministers of Turkey . There is no national legislation on EEZ or continental shelf. No EEZ proclamation exists for

8712-486: The authenticity and status of his degree have been the subject of disputes and controversy over whether the diploma is legitimate and ought to be considered sufficient to make him eligible as a candidate for the presidency. In 1976, Erdoğan engaged in politics by joining the National Turkish Student Union, an anti-communist action group. In the same year, he became head of the Beyoğlu youth branch of

8833-418: The bi-communal negotiation process for the Cypriot problem, in protest for Turkey's violation of Republic of Cyprus' sovereign rights. In January 2015, Turkey issued a NAVTEX for the period between January and April, reserving areas in the Eastern Mediterranean that included parts of Republic of Cyprus's EEZ, while Barbaros conducted research in the region, in the presence of the Turkish navy. Negotiations for

8954-558: The budgetary and market requirements of the two during his administration and received every loan installment, the only time any Turkish government has done so. Erdoğan inherited a debt of $ 23.5 billion to the IMF, which was reduced to $ 0.9 billion in 2012. He decided not to sign a new deal. Turkey's debt to the IMF was thus declared to be completely paid and he announced that the IMF could borrow from Turkey. In 2010, five-year credit default swaps for Turkey's sovereign debt were trading at

9075-511: The business operations in Turkey. It is not clear whether the incident could escalate to violence, as the Turkish Government has not made clear whether it regards oil and gas exploration by the Republic of Cyprus as an act of aggression. However, in November 2008, Turkish naval vessels harassed Cyprus contracted vessels conducting seismic exploration for hydrocarbon deposits in waters south of

9196-574: The capital, Ankara. Erdoğan governed pragmatically, focusing on bread-and-butter issues. He aimed to tackle the chronic problems plaguing the metropolis, such as water shortage , pollution – waste collection issues in particular – and severely congested traffic. He undertook an infrastructure overhaul: expanding and modernizing the water grid with hundreds of kilometers of new water pipes being laid, and constructing more than fifty bridges, viaducts, and stretches of highway to mitigate traffic. State-of-the-art recycling facilities were built and air pollution

9317-429: The course of the campaign, he was mocked by the mainstream media and treated as a country bumpkin by his opponents. In an upset, he won with 25.19% of the popular vote, making it the first time a mayor of Istanbul got elected from his political party. His win coincided with a wave of Welfare Party victories nationwide, as they won 28 provincial mayoralties - most out of any party - and numerous metropolitan seats, including

9438-484: The district mayoralty of Beyoğlu, finishing in second place with 22.8% of the vote. In the 1991 general election , the Welfare Party more than doubled its share of the vote in Istanbul compared to four years prior, reaching 16.7%. At first, Erdoğan, who led his party's district list, was thought to have been elected to parliament. However, as a product of the open-list proportional representation system adopted during

9559-571: The drilling operations. The United States respects Cyprus's right to develop its resources and has repeated caution to Turkey interrupting the oil and gas research within the Cypriot EEZ. The "US remains deeply concerned by Turkey's repeated attempts to conduct drilling operations in the waters off Cyprus... This provocative step raises tensions in the region. We urge Turkish authorities to halt these operations and encourage all parties to act with restraint and refrain from actions that increase tensions in

9680-557: The drilling program, though it is not clear if military support was also requested. It is also widely believed that Cyprus has requested support from the United States of America and the Russian Federation , though the exact specifics of any representations have not been made public. As of August 2011, the Cypriot media has shown widespread alarm at Turkish threats to intervene against the drilling program, and has remonstrated with

9801-615: The eastern Mediterranean , and the Aegean . On 2 September 2019, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appeared in a photograph with a map that depicted nearly half of the Aegean Sea and an area up to the eastern coast of Crete as belonging to Turkey. The map was displayed during an official ceremony at the National Defense University of Turkey in Istanbul and shows an area labelled as "Turkey's Blue Homeland" stretching up to

9922-471: The equity-based Turkish viewpoint, it is a small island immediately across the Turkish mainland (which, according to Turkey, has the longest coastline ), and isn't supposed to generate a maritime jurisdiction area four thousand times larger than its own surface. Furthermore, according to Turkey's Foreign Ministry, an EEZ has to be coextensive with the continental shelf, based on the relative lengths of adjacent coastlines and described any opposing views supporting

10043-442: The first exploratory drilling for Republic of Cyprus, in Block 12, with Turkey reacting by delineating their EEZ with TRNC. Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the action as a 'reciprocal decision' to the actions of Republic of Cyprus. During September, Turkish officials issued harsh warnings towards The Republic of Cyprus in several occasions. On September 22 and 23 of 2011, TPAO received exploration licences from

10164-419: The first time in modern Turkish history in 2015. The Turkish government approved a law in 2008 to return properties confiscated in the past by the state to non-Muslim foundations. It also paved the way for the free allocation of worship places such as synagogues and churches to non-Muslim foundations. However, European officials noted a return to more authoritarian ways after the stalling of Turkey's bid to join

10285-506: The following February Total granted Hydrocarbon Exploration Licences for Blocks 10, 11. In February 2013, TPAO finalized the purchase of 3D seismic vessel Polarcus Samur, which was renamed RV  Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa . Barbaros was used for explorations within Republic of Cyprus EEZ. In October 2014, Barbaros entered Republic of Cyprus' EEZ, accompanied by Turkish warships. President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades reacted by withdrawing from

10406-511: The government of Erdoğan began a peace process between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish Government, mediated by parliamentarians of the Peoples' Democratic party (HDP). In 2015, following AKP electoral defeat, the rise of a social democrat, pro-Kurdish rights opposition party , and the minor Ceylanpınar incident , he decided that the peace process was over and supported

10527-412: The highest share of the national budget given to one ministry. Before his prime ministership the military received the highest share of the national budget. Compulsory education was increased from eight years to twelve. In 2003, the Turkish government, together with UNICEF , initiated a campaign called "Come on girls, [let's go] to school!" ( Turkish : Haydi Kızlar Okula! ). The goal of this campaign

10648-514: The internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which was created as result of the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus , which took place in response to 1974 Cypriot coup d'état , also claims portions of Cypriot EEZ. Cyprus and other countries including Israel , France , Russia and Greece view these claims on Cyprus' land and sea as illegal under international law and urge Turkey to refrain from illegal drilling for gas in

10769-433: The island's EEZ. The European Union has threatened Turkey with economic and political sanctions for violating the Cypriot EEZ. Since Turkey does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus, there are no diplomatic relations between the two states. The Republic of Cyprus has refused to negotiate the maritime dispute and natural resources found in Republic of Cyprus' EEZ with the Turkish Cypriot leadership. The first discoveries in

10890-614: The island. The Blue Homeland ( Turkish : Mavi Vatan ), is an irredentist and expansionist concept and doctrine , created by the Chief of Staff of the Turkish Navy Commander Cihat Yaycı, and developed with Admiral Cem Gurdeniz in 2006. The doctrine is representing Turkey 's territorial sea , continental shelf , and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the Black Sea , as well as its claims of continental shelf and EEZ in

11011-483: The masses". Erdoğan wanted to pursue advanced studies at the Ankara University Faculty of Political Science , commonly known as Mülkiye, but only students with regular high school diplomas were eligible to apply, thereby excluding Imam Hatip graduates. Mülkiye was known for its political science department, which trained many statesmen and politicians in Turkey. Erdoğan was then admitted to Eyüp High School,

11132-692: The median line of the Aegean, enclosing the Greek islands in that part of the sea without any indication of the Greek territorial waters around them. On 13 November 2019, Turkey submitted to the United Nations a series of claims to Exclusive Economic Zones in the Eastern Mediterranean that are in conflict with Greek claims to the same areas – including a sea zone extending west of the southeastern Aegean island of Rhodes and south of Crete. The Turkish claims were made in an official letter by Turkey's Permanent Representative to

11253-467: The new geopolitical realities in the Eastern Mediterranean; led to an "unprecedented political, military and energy cooperation" between Israel and Cyprus and Greece. In December 2010, an EEZ agreement was signed between The Republic of Cyprus and Israel, with Turkey reacting by questioning the Greek Cypriots' willingness to achieve a solution to the Cypriot Problem, stating that they "ignor[e] Turkish Cypriots' rights". During September, 2011, Noble initiated

11374-460: The newly founded Welfare Party (RP). The new party, like its predecessors subscribed to Erbakan's strain of Islamism , the National view . He became the party's Beyoğlu district chair in 1984, and head of its Istanbul branch in 1985. Erdoğan entered the parliamentary by-elections of 1986 as a candidate in Istanbul's 6th electoral district, but failed to get elected. Three years later, Erdoğan ran for

11495-472: The number of universities in Turkey nearly doubled, from 98 in 2002 to 186 in October 2012. The Prime Minister kept his campaign promises by starting the Fatih project in which all state schools, from preschool to high school level, received a total of 620,000 smart boards, while tablet computers were distributed to 17 million students and approximately one million teachers and administrators. In June 2017

11616-454: The offer because he asserted that the proposal itself was "insincere and not serious". He added: "This issue cannot be considered at historical level with Turks, who themselves politicized the problem." In December 2008, Erdoğan criticized the I Apologize campaign by Turkish intellectuals to recognize the Armenian genocide, saying, "I neither accept nor support this campaign. We did not commit

11737-527: The original construction of the monument said the municipality was destroying not just a "monument to humanity" but "humanity itself". The demolition was not unopposed; among its detractors were several Turkish artists. Two of them, the painter Bedri Baykam and his associate, Pyramid Art Gallery general coordinator Tugba Kurtulmus, were stabbed after a meeting with other artists at the Istanbul Akatlar cultural center. On 23 April 2014, Erdoğan's office issued

11858-553: The people, gave out his e-mail address and established municipal hot lines. Erdoğan initiated the first roundtable of mayors during the Istanbul conference , which led to a global, organized movement of mayors. A seven-member international jury from the United Nations unanimously awarded Erdoğan the UN-Habitat award. In December 1997 in Siirt , Erdoğan recited a modified version of the " Soldier's prayer " poem written by Ziya Gökalp ,

11979-490: The poem was published in state-approved books. How this version of the poem ended up in a book published by the Turkish Standards Institution remained a topic of discussion. Erdoğan was given a ten-month prison sentence. He was forced to give up his mayoral position due to his conviction. The conviction also stipulated a political ban, which prevented him from participating in elections. He had appealed for

12100-406: The possible candidacy of Erdoğan in the 2007 presidential election, afraid that if elected as president, he would alter the secular nature of the Turkish state. Erdoğan announced on 24 April 2007 that the party had nominated Abdullah Gül as the AKP candidate in the presidential election. The protests continued over the next several weeks, with over one million people reported to have turned out at

12221-403: The president by popular vote instead of by parliament; reducing the presidential term from seven years to five; allowing the president to stand for re-election for a second term; holding general elections every four years instead of five; and reducing from 367 to 184 the quorum of lawmakers needed for parliamentary decisions. Reforming the Constitution was one of the main pledges of the AKP during

12342-420: The previous term, after all votes expressing a candidate preference were tabulated, it was instead Mustafa Baş who earned the seat allocated to the Welfare Party. A difference of about 4,000 preferential votes separated the two, with Baş's ~13,000 to Erdoğan's ~9,000. In the local elections of 1994 , Erdoğan ran as a candidate for Mayor of Istanbul . He was a young, dark horse candidate in a crowded field. Over

12463-402: The rapprochement of the two countries after many years of dispute over the events of 1915. Erdoğan justified the removal by stating that the monument was offensively close to the tomb of an 11th-century Islamic scholar, and that its shadow ruined the view of that site, while Kars municipality officials said it was illegally erected in a protected area. However, the former mayor of Kars who approved

12584-540: The region" stated Morgan Ortagus of the United States Department of State in 2019. The Republic of Cyprus adopted the Territorial Sea Law in 1964. The law established 12-nautical-mile (22 km; 14 mi) territorial sea. Coordinates of the territorial sea were submitted to the United Nations in 1993 and their validity was reconfirmed in 1996. The continental shelf of Cyprus is defined according to

12705-499: The revocation of the parliamentary immunity of the HDP parliamentarians. Violent confrontation resumed in 2015–2017, mainly in the South East of Turkey, resulting in higher death tolls and several external operations on the part of the Turkish military. Representatives and elected HDP have been systematically arrested, removed, and replaced in their offices, this tendency being confirmed after

12826-523: The right of islands to their EEZ as "maximalist and uncompromising Greek and Greek Cypriot claims". On 20 January 2020, the Turkish President Erdogan challenged even the rights of Crete, Greece's largest island and 5th largest in the Mediterranean , stating that "They talk about a continental shelf around Crete. There is no continental shelf around the islands, there is no such thing, there, it

12947-514: The rising movement of leftists in Turkey. Within the group, Erdoğan was distinguished by his oratorical skills, developing a penchant for public speaking and excelling in front of an audience. He won first place in a poetry-reading competition organized by the Community of Turkish Technical Painters, and began preparing for speeches through reading and research. Erdoğan would later comment on these competitions as "enhancing our courage to speak in front of

13068-484: The sea boundaries between the two countries. The area of highest interest to Cyprus is Block 12 , approximately 800,000 acres (3,200 km) in size, and on the border with Israel's own EEZ. Cyprus has actively sought to reinforce its position on the global stage through congress with major international players in the situation. Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis began her term in office in late 2011 by visiting both Greece and Israel to request support for

13189-486: The sentence to be converted to a monetary fine, but it was reduced to four months instead (24 March 1999 to 27 July 1999). He was transferred to Pınarhisar prison in Kırklareli . The day Erdoğan went to prison, he released an album called This Song Doesn't End Here . The album features a tracklist of seven poems and became the best-selling album of Turkey in 1999, selling over one million copies. In 2013, Erdoğan visited

13310-452: The staff of Fatih and accompanying ships. On June 16, 2019, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that Fatih began performing drillings, while also announcing the arrival of a second drilling ship in the region. Four days later, on June 20, Turkish drilling ship Yavuz began drillings northeast Cyprus, as announced earlier by Turkish officials. Republic of Cyprus and Greece reacted by pushing for EU's reaction to Turkey's actions. As

13431-431: The two communities on hydrocarbons, on issues such as distribution of profits. Republic of Cyprus rejected Eroğlu's proposal, responding that "exploration and exploitation of our natural resources constitutes a sovereign right of the Republic of Cyprus. [...] Our sovereign right is not negotiable". In December 2011, Noble announced discoveries in Block 12, close to Israel's Leviathan. The discovered gas field, ' Aphrodite ',

13552-438: The usual 200 miles that Turkey and every other country are entitled to according to Article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) . Turkey has not ratified UNCLOS, and argues that it is not bound by its provisions that award islands maritime zones. In this context, Turkey, for the first time on December 1, 2019, claimed that the Greek island of Kastellorizo shouldn't have any EEZ at all, because, from

13673-425: Was close to average when developing countries are also taken into account. The ranking of the Turkish economy in terms of GDP moved slightly from 17 to 16 during this decade. A major consequence of the policies between 2002 and 2012 was the widening of the current account deficit from US$ 600 million to US$ 58 billion (2013 est.) Since 1961, Turkey has signed 19 IMF loan accords. Erdoğan's government satisfied

13794-465: Was declared 'commercial' in June 2015. In February 2012, Republic of Cyprus announced the 2nd Licensing Round, for 12 blocks, which received 15 bids. Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response stated that they would not allow activities in blocks 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, which Turkey also claims theirs, and would "take all necessary measures to protect its rights and interests in the maritime areas falling within its continental shelf". On September 29, 2012,

13915-419: Was eventually signed in 2010. In May, 2007, the Republic of Cyprus announced the 1st Licensing Round Offshore Cyprus, for Blocks 1, 2, 4-12, which received 3 bids. In October, 2008, Noble Energy granted a Hydrocarbon Exploration Licence for Block 12. In November 2008, vessels performing research activities in the Republic of Cyprus' EEZ under contract with the Republic of Cyprus were intercepted by vessels of

14036-402: Was given to a cooperative bid of Exxon and QatarEnergy . On February 8, 2018, ENI announced discoveries of lean gas within Republic of Cyprus's EEZ, in well 'Calypso 1' of Block 6, which is also claimed by Turkey. Three days later, on February 11, 2018, ENI's drill ship was blocked by the Turkish navy on its way to perform drillings within Republic of Cyprus's EEZ, in Block 3, and the drilling

14157-629: Was initiated, with the goal to improve democratic standards in general and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities in particular. In 2012, the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey and the Ombudsman Institution were established. The UN Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture was ratified. Children are no longer prosecuted under terrorism legislation. The Jewish community were allowed to celebrate Hanukkah publicly for

14278-472: Was prevented, with the ship returning to the port two weeks later. The incident has been described as "the first (and only one until now) serious incident of military activity of this kind since the beginning of the Cypriot exploratory programme". In November 2018, Exxon Mobil started exploratory drillings in Block 10, in the Delphyne-1 well. In January 2019, Barbaros began a new round of seismic surveys within

14399-400: Was reduced through a plan to switch to natural gas. He changed the public buses to environmentally friendly ones. He took precautions to prevent corruption, using measures to ensure that municipal funds were used prudently. He paid back a major portion of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality 's two-billion-dollar debt and invested four billion dollars in the city. He also opened up City Hall to

14520-480: Was rejected by president of Cyprus Nicos Anastiasiades, after a meeting with the leaders of Greek-Cypriot political parties. In November 2019, European Union foreign ministers have approved a mechanism to sanction entities involved in unauthorized oil drilling in Cypriot waters. The sanctions would involve travel bans and asset freezes on people, companies and organizations. EU citizens and firms will not be allowed to provide any funds or technical support to Turkey for

14641-469: Was to close the gender gap in primary school enrollment through the provision of a quality basic education for all girls, especially in southeast Turkey. In 2005, the parliament granted amnesty to students expelled from universities before 2003. The amnesty applied to students dismissed on academic or disciplinary grounds. In 2004, textbooks became free of charge and since 2008 every province in Turkey has its own university. During Erdoğan's Premiership,

#346653