News Scan, 4th Feb: CHP deputy criticizes TİB’s censorship of his parliamentary question

CHP deputy criticizes TİB’s censorship of his parliamentary question

A deputy chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has criticized a ban imposed by the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) on a news report about a parliamentary inquiry he submitted concerning claims of alleged bribery and fraud involving the family of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, maintaining that freedom of speech is under threat.

“This is the first time in 90 years [since the establishment of the Turkish Republic] that the legislative branch has been exposed to an intervention, a [sort of] coup [d’état], censorship,” CHP Deputy Chairman Umut Oran asserted at a press conference held at his party’s İstanbul provincial office on Monday. “Today, freedom of speech is under a very serious threat.”

Calling on Lütfü Elvan, minister of transportation, maritime affairs and communications, to withdraw a draft bill in Parliament that would enable the government to easily censor the Internet at a time when claims of government corruption are circulating, Oran said: “Let us pass it [the Internet bill] together in Parliament if it [the bill] is prepared in a pluralistic manner, in accordance with international standards with the contribution of nongovernmental organizations. We are ready to work together on the issue, but we will not let censorship be imposed on the Internet by a fait accompli.”

TİB ordered on Friday that an independent online news portal, T24, remove a news article from its website about the parliamentary inquiry submitted by the CHP deputy chairman. According to Doğan Akın, owner of T24, TİB applied to a court, asking judges to either order the removal of the report from the portal’s website or to ban access to the portal altogether. In response, a judge ruled that the report be removed from T24’s website. TİB forwarded this decision to the portal’s officials, asking them to comply.

On Saturday, a similar warning came to Oran to remove a copy of the parliamentary question from his personal website. In the warning, TİB allegedly argued that Oran had breached a law that regulates publications on the Internet and crimes committed as a result of such publications. Tayfun Acarer, head of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK), said the notice was sent to T24 by mistake. Speaking to the Habertürk television station on Monday, Acarer said TİB would withdraw and annul the warning notice it had sent to T24 and that an investigation would be carried out.

TODAYS ZAMAN

Cicek praises French president’s positive remarks on Turkey’s EU membership during his recent visit to Ankara

French President Hollande’s visit to Turkey last week increased hopes for possible new chapters to open between Turkey and the European Union (EU), said Cemil Cicek, Turkey’s parliamentary speaker on Monday.

Cicek called Turkey’s wish to be an EU member ‘a strategic preference.’ “Turkey’s accession to the EU will be beneficial for both parties, because without Turkey EU cannot be a strategic, problem-solving power,” he said.

He said that the EU is a great union in terms of economic cooperation and unity, but in terms of international politics it is not a very influential player. “A country like Turkey will be of great benefit for the European Union,” he added.

Cicek also praised Hollande’s positive remarks on Turkey’s EU membership during his recent visit to Ankara.

“Certain chapters could not be negotiated due to France’s blocking, but after Mr. President’s visit we can say that some chapters are likely to be opened,” Cicek said.

In 2005 Turkey began full accession talks with the EU. However, the process has proved less than smooth and concrete progress elusive; nearly ten years on Turkey faces one third of the negotiating ‘chapters’ or policy areas — required to be successfully completed for membership — currently blocked by member states, with the rest not even opened to talks.

Turkey among top 10 medical tourism destinations

High quality treatment options offered by Turkish medical facilities at reasonable prices continue to attract hundreds of thousands of foreign healthcare seekers. The rapid growth observed in Turkey’s medical tourism in recent years has placed the country among the top 10 healthcare destinations globally, according to advisory firm Deloitte’s 2014 Global Life Sciences Outlook.

Assessing healthcare and pharmaceutical markets by country, the report also foresees a growth of 8.8 percent in pharma sales in Turkey between 2013 and 2017, reaching a volume of USD 19 billion. The report also advises healthcare providers in Turkey to pursue long-term strategies and not focus on maximizing short-term profits given the fast-changing market conditions.

According to earlier reports, Turkey welcomed 250,000 medical tourists in 2012, a remarkable increase from the 74,000 patients in 2008.

Turkey is running a multi-pronged health tourism strategy to attract more foreign visitors, including medical, spa and healthcare for elderly and disabled people. Foreigners are also seeking medical care in dentistry, optometry, orthopedics, plastic surgery and many other branches. There are over 1,600 thermal springs in the country known for their healing and revitalizing effects for those who seek alternative methods of treatment.

Planning to introduce tax-free healthcare zones specifically tailored for foreign patients, Turkey’s Ministry of Health intends to increase the number of medical tourists to 500,000 by 2015 and to 2 million by 2023.

INVEST.GOV.TR

Turkey’s tourism revenue hits USD 32 billion

Dünya – As one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world, Turkey welcomed more than 35 million foreign visitors last year, becoming the 6th most visited tourist destination globally.

According to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), tourist spending in the country went up by 11 percent to hit USD 32.3 billion in 2013. 78.9 percent of that revenue originated from foreign visitors, while 21.1 percent came from Turkish citizens living abroad. Out of the total expenditure by visitors, individual expenses constituted around USD 24.8 billion while around USD 7.4 billion came from tour companies. The country’s visitors spent 824 dollars per capita.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism figures, Germans preferred Turkey the most in 2013 as 5.4 million Germans took a trip to the country, followed by 4.2 million Russians and 2.5 million Britons.

Having welcomed over 11.1 million visitors, Antalya remained the most popular port of entry to the country last year, closely followed Istanbul, Turkey’s financial capital, with 10.4 million arrivals.

DUNYA.COM

04.02.2014

This is a news-scan from major Turkish papers and internet sites. However, we do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.