Turkey's Foreign Minister Steps Down
Thu Jul 11, 7:48 AM ET
By LOUIS MEIXLER, Associated Press Writer
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey's foreign minister resigned Thursday, the Anatolia news agency reported, dealing a harsh blow to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, who is struggling to stay in power despite mass resignations from his party.
story.news.yahoo.com
Turkey gripped by turmoil
The Daily Star -- Beirut
Turkey will remain in the grip of a political crisis that is referred to as “political uncertainty” until the current government is changed, or early legislative elections are held.
“Political uncertainty” is a phrase that politicians and the media use frequently. But no one is trying to pinpoint the meaning of such uncertainty. Is it the prolongation of the government’s “sickness” along with the continued illness of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit? Can simply changing the government end the uncertainty, or are legislative elections needed? Or, does the uncertainty stem from the blocked passage to the EU as Parliament begins its summer recess, postponing till the autumn a decision on capital punishment, Kurdish language broadcasts and Kurdish education? Or does uncertainty refer to the negative economic signals that are pointing toward the outbreak of a third, huge economic crisis?
dailystar.com.lb
Return of the "Sick Man"
Andres Wysling -- Switzerland
A fragile old man on shaky legs: that was the TV image presented recently by Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. He was in hospital when the Turkish soccer team played in the World Cup semifinals - and lost after a tough fight. Ecevit is the latest embodiment of the immortal metaphor of the "Sick Man on the Bosporus." Sharp-penned newspaper commentators are speculating about the state of his health and expressing doubts about the government's ability to act; they offer cheap diagnoses of the patient's condition and advice on how to improve the nation's political state. The general public in Turkey is also playing the game, with merciless jokes and bon mots. The Turkish stock market is shaky, its prices fluctuating, the trend generally downward.
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