Erdogan in Denmark Stands Firm Against Terror

zaman.com


Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not participate in a joint news conference with his Danish counterpart Anders Fogh Rasmussen after learning that a terrorist organization Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK)-supported television correspondent had been invited to the conference as a member of the press.

Erdogan left Denmark Tuesday following the developments.

An official visit of Erdogan to Denmark transformed into the “Roj TV crisis” after he met with the Danish prime minister Tuesday.

[b]MOMENTS OF TENSION [/b]

Rasmussen: The police are investigating Roj TV; and we cannot do anything until the investigation’s complete.

Erdogan: I am giving you a document that shows the owner [of Roj TV] is a member of the terrorist organization. What more do you need to investigate? You are trying to bring me together with the broadcasting body of a terrorist organization. I will not join the meeting; and I will put on record your conflicting approach to terror.

Rasmussen: I cannot do this at the point of a press-broadcast. A crisis will occur even if you do not attend [the meeting].

Erdogan: If I participate, a bigger crisis will occur. I am ready to pay the price, no matter what.

Erdogan: You made an issue out of the 11 ambassadors of the Organization of Islamic Countries who sent a letter opposing the cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed improperly.

Rasmussen: Freedom of expression in Denmark is at an advanced level. If you are uncomfortable, take the issue before the courts.

Erdogan: Muslims do not insult any of the prophets; we do not tolerate any insults by others in this regard either. We demand equal respect for our prophets and holy figures.

Three more die in Pakistan as unrest spreads over Western newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

French President Jacques Chirac orders the asbestos-lined warship Clemenceau to return to French waters.

The court had demanded an end to the transfer of the decommissioned warship to a breaking yard in India after complaints from environmentalists.

Greenpeace and three anti-asbestos groups said the ship was an environmental and health hazard.

The ship is in the Arabian Sea after India refused entry to its waters.

India said it wanted more information before allowing the decommissioned aircraft carrier to enter its waters.

A statement from Mr Chirac's office said: "The president has decided to put this ship in French waters on a position of standby which offers all security guarantees until a definitive solution for its dismantling is found."

A Jordanian military court has sentenced nine men including Iraq's al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to death for plotting a chemical attack.

Germany's constitutional court has scrapped a law allowing the military to shoot down passenger planes suspected of being hijacked for terror attacks.
The judge found that the law infringed the right to life and human dignity.

A suspected al-Qaeda fundraiser alleged to have links to the 11 September attacks has failed in his High Court bid to avoid extradition to Spain.

Gunmen on a motorcycle killed three Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver Wednesday in a remote tribal region of southwestern Pakistan, police said.

The attack came just days before Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf planned to begin a visit to China on Feb. 19. China is one of Pakistan's most important allies because it provides the country weapons and other support.

The engineers, who were working at a concrete factory, were shot with their driver on a road in the town of Hub, about 700 kilometers (420 miles) southeast of Quetta, the capital of restive Baluchistan province, said Pervez Zahoor, the region's police chief.

The US says it will not shut Guantanamo Bay prison camp despite a UN report calling for its immediate closure.