Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay has slammed a recent threat by the European Union to slap Ankara with sanctions as “hypocritical” as his country yesterday launched a new military drill off the coast of Cyprus amid tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.
Oktay’s comments came a day after Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said the bloc was preparing to impose sanctions on Turkey – including tough economic measures – unless progress is made in reducing soaring tensions with Greece and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean.
“It is hypocritical for the European Union to call for dialogue and, simultaneously, make other plans regarding Turkey’s activities within our continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Oktay said on Twitter.
“We are proficient in the language of peace and diplomacy, but do not hesitate to do the necessary thing when it comes to defending Turkey‘s rights and interests. France and Greece know that better than anyone.”
The long-running dispute between Turkey and Greece, both Nato members, flared after both agreed to rival accords on their maritime boundaries with Libya and Egypt, and Turkey sent a survey vessel into contested waters this month.
The EU‘s measures, meant to limit Turkey’s ability to explore for natural gas in contested waters, could include individuals, ships or the use of European ports, Borrell said.
Greece and Turkey are at odds over the rights to potential hydrocarbon resources in the eastern Mediterranean, based on conflicting claims about the extent of their continental shelves.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, also underlined the need for regional agreement on safe disembarkation amid the COVID-19 pandemic and reduced search and rescue capacity.
“The humanitarian imperative of saving lives should not be penalized or stigmatized, especially in the absence of dedicated state-led efforts,” they said in a joint statement.
IOM and UNHCR are calling for the immediate disembarkation of more than 400 rescued migrants and refugees in the Central Mediterranean.
The agencies reported that some 200 refugees and migrants were in urgent need of transfer and disembarkation from the Louise Michel, a search and rescue vessel operated by a German non-governmental organization (NGO) and funded by the reclusive British artist Banksy.
The boat had assisted in a rescue early on Saturday and was overcrowded. “Any delays could jeopardize the safety of all people onboard, including its crew members,” the agencies warned.
Following calls for assistance, 49 people were later evacuated by the Italian coastguard, according to media reports.
An ‘unacceptable’ situation
Meanwhile, some 27 people who had departed from Libya have been aboard a commercial vessel since being rescued more than three weeks ago. Those on the Maersk Etienne include a pregnant woman and children.
Describing the situation as “unacceptable”, the UN agencies stressed that a commercial tanker “cannot be considered a suitable place to keep people in need of humanitarian assistance or those who may need international protection”, adding that “appropriate COVID-19 prevention measures can be implemented once they reach dry land.”
A further 200 migrants and refugees are on board another NGO rescue vessel, the Sea Watch 4.
Lack of regional agreement
Both IOM and UNHCR have long called for regional agreement on a mechanism for disembarkation of people rescued at sea.
“The lack of agreement…is not an excuse to deny vulnerable people a port of safety and the assistance they need, as required under international law,” they said, calling for stalled talks to be resumed and for other European Union (EU) states to step up support to Mediterranean countries on the frontline of the issue.
The UN agencies also expressed concern about what they described as the continued absence of dedicated EU-led search and rescue capacity in the Central Mediterranean.
“With relatively fewer NGO vessels compared to previous years, the gap is being increasingly filled by commercial vessels,” they said.
“It is vital that they are permitted to disembark rescued passengers promptly, as without such timely processes, shipmasters of commercial vessels may be deterred from attending to distress calls for fear of being stranded at sea for weeks on end.”
Responsibility for the tension in the Eastern Mediterranean is increasingly seen to fall on Turkey following the informal EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Berlin and the latest statements by German Chancellor Angela Merkel supporting Greece and Cyprus.
<p>As of Saturday, it was also clear that diplomatic efforts on the part of Berlin and Brussels for a de-escalation, combined with the threat of new sanctions, will continue ahead of the European Council on September 24.</p><aside><strong class="trendig-now-label">VIRAL ΕΙΔΗΣΕΙΣ</strong>
</aside><p>German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who had previously tried to maintain equal distances in public, noted that Turkey's behaviour in the Eastern Mediterranean was harming its relations with the EU, while EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that dialogue will be conditional on Turkey abstaining from unilateral actions.
There was also clear willingness among EU partners to support Greece and Cyprus in the face of Turkish provocativeness and on the need to impose stricter sanctions if mediation should fail.
Merkel, in recent statements, said that all EU countries have an obligation to support Greece. She had previously had two rounds of talks on the telephone with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while abortive efforts by Germany’s foreign minister to mediate ahead of Gymnich only confirmed that Turkey is not interested in reaching an understanding.
Effectively, the EU has given Turkey a month to conform and to stop unilateral actions and violations of international law before Europe imposes sanctions. The EU summit on September 24-25 will focus on EU-Turkish relations and decide on a series of strong sanctions proposed by Brussels, if there is no de-escalation and the start of dialogue is still not possible.
As Borrell noted, efforts to “create space for negotiations” on all issues relating to relations with Turkey will continue but he also presented a long list of escalating sanctions, including in sectors where the Turkish economy is more closely linked with that of Europe, that will be imposed on Ankara if it insists on illegal activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay has attacked as “hypocritical” a threat by the EU to impose sanctions on Ankara over its soaring tensions in the eastern Mediterranean with neighbour Greece.
In a Tweet, Oktay issued a scathing rebuke of the EU’s position, saying that, “It is hypocritical for the European Union to call for dialogue and, simultaneously, make other plans regarding Turkey’s activities within our continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
“We are proficient in the language of peace and diplomacy, but do not hesitate to do the necessary thing when it comes to defending Turkey’s rights and interests. France and Greece know that better than anyone,” he added.
Oktay’s comments come hot on the heels of a statement by EU Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell, who said that the bloc was preparing to slap sanctions on Turkey – including harsh economic measures – unless it make speedy efforts toward reducing rapidly deteriorating relations with both Greece and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean region.
The measures, if imposed, would seek to curtail Turkey’s ability to explore for natural gas in the famously contested waters of the region, and could, according to Mr Borrell, target individuals, Turkish ships and the use of European ports.
“We can go to measures related to sectoral activities… where the Turkish economy is related to the European economy,” Mr Borrell told a news conference recently in reference to the possible sanctions.
The EU would, Mr Borrell noted, focus on all “activities we consider illegal.”
The long-simmering dispute between Turkey and Greece – both NATO member states – started to boil over after both agreed to rival accords on maritime zones with Libya and Egypt.
Turkey and the UN-backed Government of National Accord in Libya – whom Ankara has been providing substantial military support to in that country’s ongoing civil war – struck an accord in late 2019 that allowed Turkey to access areas in the region where sizeable hydrocarbon resources have been found.
Then, at the beginning of August, Egypt and Greece signed a rival agreement – one that Turkey declared “null and void” – to jointly explore their exclusive economic zones for marine resources.
Both sides have continued to lock horns over who has legitimate rights over hydrocarbon resources in the region as a result of conflicting claims about the extent of their continental shelves.
Military Developments
Ominous signs of the potential for the militarisation of the dispute have started to emerge.
On Friday, August 28, Turkey declared that it would hold military drills off northwest Cyprus in the coming weeks.
Following that, the Turkish military issued a warning to mariners, known as a Navtex, which said it would be holding “gunnery exercise” from Saturday August 29 until September 11.
Before that, on August 12, Greek and Turkish frigates that were following one of Ankara’s oil and gas survey ships, the Oruc Reis, collided.
Turkish and Greek F-16 fighter jets engaged in what The Times described as a “dogfight” over the Mediterranean as Ankara dispatched its planes to intercept six Greek jets as they returned from war games in Cyprus.
Brussels [Belgium], Aug 28 (ANI): The European Parliament has asked Pakistan to protect the rights of women and girls after rising incidents of honour killings, acid attacks and social restrictions on movement and jobs reported from the country.
Recently, a question was raised that despite the fact that Pakistan benefits from the EU GSP, both the current and former Pakistani Governments have done little for Pakistan’s women and girls.
In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, an official circular forcing school girls to wear the hijab or the abaya was issued a few months ago. After widespread outrage, the local Government had to revoke the decision.
Ishaq Khakwani, a former federal minister and one of the leaders of the current ruling party, Tehreek-e-Insaf, has admitted that the Government has not paid enough attention to addressing the issue of violence against women.
In a reply, the European Commission said, “The Report shows that Pakistan is making some progress on effective implementation, e.g. on the elimination of honour killings, the protection of transgender persons and the protection of women’s and children’s rights. The report also notes that more progress is needed, including with regard to discrimination and violence against women and girls”.
It further added, “Within the GSP monitoring process, the Commission sent a list of salient issues to Pakistan in June 2020 recalling the need to take effective measures to prevent child marriage across the country, make progress on the bill raising the legal age for marriage to 18 years and on the bill on prevention and protection from domestic violence against women”.
It is waiting for a response from the Pakistan government, which is expected by September 2020.
The reply also added, “Discrimination and violence against women and girls were also discussed during the 10th EU-Pakistan Sub-Group on Democracy, Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights in November 2019″.
The European Commission also raised concerns over growing child labour in Pakistan.
“The EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore raised the tragic case of Zohra Shah, and the matter of child labour more broadly, with Federal Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari on 27 June 2020, highlighting the EU’s serious concerns. Minister Mazari informed of legislative efforts to ensure that domestic child labour below 14 years of age would stop”, said the Commission in a question raised over the issue.
It further added, “The topic of child labour features prominently on the agenda of the EU-Pakistan Joint Commission’s Sub-Group on Human Rights, and is also addressed in the context of the Special Incentive Arrangement for Sustainable Development and Good Governance (GSP), the 2018-2019 Report on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) and its assessment on the implementation by Pakistan of the conventions on labour and human rights covered by GSP”.
Extreme poverty in some provinces of Pakistan forced many children to work as laborious. The situation is grim in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (ANI)
… news on the region.
The European Union stepped up threats of more … by Greece and Cyprus. EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell … measured from its mainland. EU Walks Turkey Tightrope With Limited … statement on Friday following the EU’s meeting. “Such language …
Pasko: This may be one Christmas season different in so many ways from previous ones because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Western Europe and the United States, where Santa Claus figures prominently as Father Christmas planners are already figuring out ways to bring him to children without endangering them through strict adherence to distancing and other safety protocols.
London holiday planner Ministry of Fun is determined to see that British children get to experience meeting Santa as in previous years, but this time he will be wearing a face mask. It will be made of red velvet with white fur as Santa’s beard. Santa won’t be handing gifts directly to the children, but place them on a sleigh between them for proper distancing.
“You can’t have Christmas without Santa,” it said. “A child meeting Father Christmas is a really big deal.” It is still early in the year, it said, but people are already looking forward to the Christmas season at the end of the year and “people need reassurance that Father Christmas can appear.”
Our Christmas in the Philippines is less about Santa as about Belens and parols, carols about Pasko, Christmas programs in schools, exchange of gifts, giant Chrismas trees in malls and parks, Simbang Gabi starting December 16, and finally the Christmas Eve Mass that ends on Christmas Day.
Two days from today, on November 1, we will start hearing Pasko carols on radio. It is the start of the “ber” months and Filipinos see these months as part of the holiday season, although it is the dawn masses of the Simbang Gabi starting December 16 that stand out in the Filipino celebration of Christmas. It is a tradition that many Filipinos observe even when they have come to live and work in Europe, the US, and other countries.
The world today is still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. It may take two more years before it will cease to be a problem, according to the World Health Organization. There should be vaccines by December that will hasten the end of the pandemic.
With or without COVID-19, Christians around the world will celebrate Christmas, this dearest of Christian holidays. In the last six months, so many people could not go to church on Sundays; even now, only 10 percent are allowed in churches in Metro Manila. All these restrictions, we hope, will soon be lifted and we will celebrate Christmas with joy as we have always celebrated it.
The European Union is deeply saddened by the death of Ebru Timtik, a lawyer who has been on hunger strike for 238 days following her conviction last year for alleged membership of a terrorist organisation. She is the fourth prisoner to die this year as the result of a hunger strike, following the deaths of Helin Bölek and Ibrahim Gökçek, two musicians from the Grup Yorum band, and Mustafa Koçak. We offer our condolences to their families.
The tragic outcome of their fight for a fair trial painfully illustrates the urgent need for the Turkish authorities to credibly address the human rights situation in the country, which has severely deteriorated in recent years, as well as serious shortcomings observed in the judiciary.
Turkey urgently needs to demonstrate concrete progress on the rule of law and fundamental freedoms.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports to the European Union (EU) increased by 3.3 per cent under the generalised system of preferences plus (GSP+) scheme, a report produced by the Democracy Report International and European Commission showed on Friday.
Before the GSP+ scheme, Pakistan’s exports to 28-member union stood at €4.54 billion in 2013, which jumped to €5.51bn in 2014. In the second year of the GSP+ scheme, exports further jumped by 10pc to €6.09bn.
Since 2016, exports proceeds have stagnated at €6.30bn at 2016, €6.69bn in 2017 and €6.88bn in 2018.
Of the €6.739bn exports to the EU in 2018, Pakistan was able to avail tariff concessions on €5.885bn. From 2013 to 2019, Pakistan was able to considerably enhance its exports to the EU with an increase of 65pc.
The findings were reported by the ‘EU’s GSP+ Assessment Report 2020: How has Pakistan progressed in its compliance?’.
Growth marred by lack of action on forced labour; curbs on freedom of expression
The European Commission inked a law in 2013 allowing Pakistan the GSP+ status under which exporters will be exempted tax on certain categories of goods exported to the EU.
The preferential scheme is conditional on implementing international conventions on human and labour rights, and freedom of speech in Pakistan. The current EU report states that some provinces have demonstrated an improvement in compliance with labour conventions, yet much of the issues reported in its 2018 report not addressed by 2020.
Weak occupational safety can be attributed to weak labour inspections. Low numbers of labour inspection officers and lack of training and capacity affect law enforcement. Freedom of association and collective bargaining is an issue which the EU noted as having ‘limited progress’. This, like occupational safety, had also been mentioned in the EU’s previous report.
Pakistan ranks 8th in 167 countries by the global slavery index ranking and classified as one of the worst countries in terms of its government response. The EU report uses strong language while describing the lack of compliance with the abolition of forced labour and states that despite existing laws “the issue is that of non-implementation and is rooted in either political unwillingness or inability to implement the law.”
The EU suggests “more industrial and economic zones need to be initiated in the country to address increasing bondage labour, as the higher number industrial zones can reduce the chances of the forced labour.”
The data on female workforce participation and remuneration for Pakistan reflects a dismal situation. The 2018 Labour Force Survey shows less than 15pc participant rate of women in the labour market as compared to 46pc for men. Added to this is discrimination towards women in terms of their representation in high skilled occupations and positions of senior management.
The report praised merger of the Former Federal Administered Tribal Areas as part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the extension of the High Court and the Pakistan Supreme Court, representation for former FATA residents at the federal Parliament and in the KP Assembly.
However, there is also mention that these developments have been undermined by the passage of the KP Action (in aid of civil power) Ordinance, 2019, which allows the military in the merged districts to detain without reason or the need to produce arrested individuals at a court of law, which the report recognises as ‘serious concern’.
Freedom of expression was cited as restrictive in Pakistan’s 2018 Universal Period Review, same as in 2017 report. In its report in 2020, the EU again repeats its call to improve freedom of expression, as stipulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Restrictions on freedom of expression only increased during the reporting period with curbs of broadcasting, self-censorship by journalists and disruption to the distribution of a national newspaper.
