Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on Tuesday held talks with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the Middle East peace process and other "international issues," news agency Jana said. Kadhafi and Erdogan also discussed the reform of the United Nations, a constant theme of the Libyan leader who wants an end to the system in which five nations hold veto power. In a speech to the UN General Assembly in September, Kadhafi denounced the Security Council as a "Terror Council" and blamed it for failing to prevent 65 wars since its creation in the aftermath of World War II. Erdogan also held discussions ... Read Full Story

Turkey's government announced bold new measures Friday aimed at reconciling with minority Kurds and ending an insurgency that has dragged on for 25 years, but there was no mention of the sweeping amnesty sought by Kurdish rebels. Interior Minister Besir Atalay told Parliament the government wants to remove all restrictions on the use of the once-banned Kurdish language, create a committee to fight discrimination, restore Kurdish names of villages and establish an independent body to deal with complaints against security forces. "It is an open-ended, dynamic process," Atalay said. The rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, launched its fight for autonomy in 1984 and ... Read Full Story

Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay announced Friday details of a plan to give wider rights to Kurds, including allowing them to restore Kurdish names to their towns. The measures, aimed at getting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to lay down arms, are part of a "democratic opening" plan for the benefit of the country's estimated 12 million Kurds, he told parliament. Also planned is the creation of an independent commission charged with investigating human rights violations, notably in the southeast of the country, where the majority of Kurds live. "This commission will publish as quickly as possible the conclusions to its investigations," the ... Read Full Story

Turkey Tuesday said improving democratic rights was key to its plan to end a 25-year Kurdish insurgency, as the government tried to win over opponents who accuse it of giving into "terrorists" and undermining national unity. In a speech often interrupted by shouts from opposition benches, Interior Minister Besir Atalay set out a a general overview of the government's initiative, but gave no indication of the concrete steps it would take in the process. "We believe that democratisation will resolve a terrorism problem that has ethnic nationalism at its root," Atalay told the assembly. "This means an environment where everyone feels as an equal ... Read Full Story

Turkey on Tuesday said its plan to end a 25-year Kurdish insurgency focused on democratic rights, as opponents accused the government of giving into "terrorists" and undermining national unity. In a speech often interrupted by shouts from opposition benches, Interior Minister Besir Atalay set out a a general overview of the government's initiative, but gave no indication of the concrete steps it would take in the process. "We believe that democratisation will resolve a terrorism problem that has ethnic nationalism at its root," Atalay told the assembly. "This means an environment where everyone feels as an equal citizen of the state and is not ... Read Full Story