Debate over immunity of Turkish MPs descends into slugfest - again

Turkey's ruling AK Party and opposition lawmakers have brawled over changes to the constitution that could pave the way of prosecuting politicians. Multiple injuries reported after political tensions turn physical. 

Widely shared footage circulated on social media late Monday showing lawmakers from the ruling AKP and the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) exchanging blows in a committee room.

Parliament's constitutional committee had been meeting to discuss an AKP-backed proposal to strip MPs of their immunity from prosecution, after last week's session also broke up in physical violence.

Turkish lawmakers are constitutionally immune from prosecution while in office. Police can file dossiers against politicians, which can lead to a legal process only after the elected official is officially stripped of their title.

But the proposed change, championed by the Islamist-rooted AKP founded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, would strip members of parliament of their legal immunity.

Erdogan: HDP 'not legitimate political actors'

Erdogan has called for members of the HDP to face prosecution, accusing them of being an extension of the outlawed militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus of the AKP deplored the chaos inside the legislature and put the blame on HDP.

"No one should hope to push the government into backing out (of its plans) with this kind of behavior," he warned, adding that "whatever happens, the demand to lift the immunity (of lawmakers)... will be presented to parliament."

Meanwhile, the HDP has released statements via Twitter saying its members have been hospitalized with injuries. The party also released a slowed-down version of the scuffles it says proves that its members were struck first by AKP members.

The HDP says the bill is directed at its members and warned that prosecutions would only hamper efforts to restart peace talks between the Turkish state and PKK.

Over the years, Turkey's Constitutional Court has disbanded several of the HDP's predecessors for allegedly violating the constitution by advocating secession.

Washington-based journalist Aliza Marcus - who was expelled from Turkey in the 1990s for alleged PKK sympathies - took to Twitter warning that Ankara's zeal to shut down the HDP was merely repeating past mistakes.

Thousands of militants and hundreds of members of security forces and civilians have been killed since a 2-1/2-year ceasefire between the government and the PKK collapsed last summer.

The PKK - listed as a terror group by the EU, US and Turkey - has been fighting an insurgency for minority rights and political autonomy for Turkey's Kurds since the 1980s in a long-running conflict that's left more than 40,000 dead.

jar/rc (Reuters, AFP)

Brussels plays down TTIP revelations

Is it a sensation or a tempest in a teacup? Brussels says the secret TTIP documents are nothing but blueprints. Making any progress in the free trade agreement with the US is tedious. Bernd Riegert from Brussels. 

The scores of bracketed text passages in TTIP documents made available by Greenpeace are noticeable immediately. Everything in brackets represents either an EU or a US position, not a mutually agreed position. The texts are so-called consolidated chapters, designed to be a basis for further negotiation.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels, EU chief negotiator, Ignacio Garcia Bercero, made it very clear that the passages made public are by no means the outcome of negotiations, but proposals put forward by both sides. Nothing has been agreed, Garcia Bercero said, adding that the consolidated texts are a technical means of approximating positions.

The EU will never agree to many of the issues the US put in brackets, he said, adding that the really touchy matters won't be on the agenda until the very end of the talks. Nothing has been agreed until all questions are solved, Bercero emphasized.

Still worth continuing?

Greenpeace claims the US is putting pressure on the EU for approval of hormone-treated meat and genetically modified food. Beef is in fact one of the most difficult sticking points, according to Garcia Bercero, which is why negotiations on the issue haven't yet begun. The EU will never give in to Washington's demands, he added.

Is TTIP fundamentally flawed?

The various positions in the documents come as no surprise to Bernd Lange, an EU lawmaker who 

  European Parliament. The US hasn't budged in three years of talks, he told DW. "At some point you have to ask, is it still worth it?" If the Americans won't move, we must have the courage to say that we simply can't do it, he said.

The leaked documents also show that problems concerning EU market access in the US are a stumbling block. The EU negotiator has confirmed the contents of the documents and pointed out that the entire Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership depends on agreement in this area. It's not clear whether the negotiations will be concluded by the end of US President Barack Obama's term, which ends on January 20, 2017. Garcia Bercero "We're not pressed for time."

Muzzling lawmakers

The German Industry Association (BDI), a group with a vested interest in a comprehensive free trade deal with the US, says in order for TTIP to succeed, you need high standards and transparent investment protection with a mechanism that allows for appeals. "It's a good thing that the EU Commission, the German government and the European Parliament have pledged not to open up our high protective standards."

The publication of the secret documents is a "service to democracy" said Sven Giegold, a Green Party financial expert in the European Parliament. He said he was allowed to read the documents in a reading room set up for that purpose in parliament, but he wasn't allowed to speak about it. "The reporters removed the muzzles forced on us in the reading room," he said, adding that many citizens are fed up with the wheeling and dealing in back rooms. "You need a minimum of transparency," Giegold said.

The EU has pointed out that Brussels always makes public its positions on its website, but that the US demanded secrecy concerning Washington's positions and insisted on brackets in the consolidated versions.

Where is the leak?

What are the consequences of the leak? Clearly, there will be an investigation into who could have possibly passed on the documents, Ignacio Garcia Bercero said. Only the negotiating delegation, a few select officials and a small group of lawmakers from the 28 EU member states, the European Parliament and the US Congress had access to the papers.

Just a few days ago in New York, the EU and the US concluded the last round of TTIP talks without any major breakthrough. "There's a great deal of trust between the delegations and the mood is good, too," the EU chief negotiator said, declining to speculate on what the leaks might set off. "Of course, everyone tries to push through their own interests."

monitors the TTIP talks on behalf of the

Austria and Germany call for coordination on refugee initiatives

Austrian Defense Minister Hans Peter Doskozil and his German counterpart Ursula von der Leyen have reiterated the need to coordinate refugee initiatives EU-wide. There was no public mention of the Brenner Pass. 

At a meeting in Vienna Monday, von der Leyen said it was important to secure the EU's external borders in the ongoing refugee crisis.
"If we search for solutions together in the EU we will succeed, step by step," the Christian Democratic (CDU) minister said, adding that this was "the only way to curb the illegal routes and arrive at orderly migration."
The two ministers also agreed on closer military cooperation.
However, Von der Leyen did not comment on Austrian plans to introduce border controls at the Brenner Pass with Italy. "We must listen to what help Italy needs," she said.
Doskozil said he was "optimistic, that we will not have a second year, like we experienced in 2015."
Austria's Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said last week that Austria could seal the Brenner Pass to avoid being "overrun" by refugees. Germany has objected to the plan.
Austria and Germany said Saturday they were in talks with the EU's executive body to extend temporary border controls brought in last year to help stem the migrant flow.
The measures - triggered in case of "a serious threat to public policy or internal security" - expire May 12.
jhb/jm (dpa, AFP)

Experts: US lacks leverage to compel cease-fire and eventual peace in Syria

Washington's decision to stay out of Syria's civil war means it has little sway to compel peace among the warring factions. As a result, the prospects for a sustained cease-fire and eventual peace may be far away. 

As fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo intensified, with the death toll topping 250 in little more than a week, US Secretary of State John Kerry intensified his own efforts to reestablish the cease-fire that first took effect in February.

But after meeting with the United Nation's special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, in Geneva, the usually upbeat Kerry struck a rather downbeat note, saying the conflict was "in many ways out of control and deeply disturbing to everybody in the world, I hope."

The original cease-fire agreement didn't even include the strategic town of Aleppo, although the situation had been relatively calm there until little more than a week ago. Since then, however, Bashar al-Assad's regime has been accused of deliberately targeting a major hospital and three clinics, which Kerry called, "unconscionable" and adding that "it has to stop."

But experts agree that making it stop will be difficult. The Assad regime, with the military backing of Russia and, to a lesser extent, Iran, may be perpetrating the violence, but analysts say US President Barack Obama made a strategic blunder by keeping the US out of the conflict.

"The US has no stake in it militarily or politically," said David Butter, a Middle East expert at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. "There is a residual sense that the US is the number one military and political power in the world, and if there's a crisis the US has to take some interest."

Kerry works to restore cease-fire

Yes, Kerry is working with the UN envoy and his Russian counterpart, but Butter and others say that by keeping the US military out of Syria the White House left itself without any leverage to influence events, including a peace process in the worn torn country, which has now claimed more than 270,000 lives since 2011.

Itamar Rabinovich, another Middle East expert with the Washington-based Brookings Institute said Obama didn't need to inject US soldiers into Syria's civil war in order to give Washington some negotiating power.

"One can make a big difference with a no-fly zone," he said. "It could have established a safe haven in northern Syria along the Turkish border."

That, however, would have been a more viable option before Russia made a stark military commitment to the Syrian regime last summer, Rabinovich said, explaining that a US-led no-fly zone would difficult, if not impossible, to implement now.

A handful of US military advisers, no more than 50 or so, is all that Washington has inside Syria. That won't give the US the desired leverage it needs to bring the Syrian regime and its military patrons to heel, the experts say.

Currently, the Assad regime has no incentive to negotiate a cessation of hostilities because, for now at least, neither the potpourri of rebels inside Syria nor any outside military force poses an existential threat to the regime.

If a cease-fire is achieved, Butter says it will be because the Russian's want to look like peacemakers - in effect using the US.

"Russia likes having the United States involved because it gives their (peace) effort legitimacy," he said. "Putin said military gains could be capitalized on by bringing in the US to legitimize the peace process."

He predicts that Syria is poised to enter a period of fragile cease-fires that will collapse and be patched together, only to see the cycle repeat itself for the foreseeable future - perhaps until a new president takes office in Washington.

No US leverage means more war

Without the necessary leverage to compel the warring sides to negotiate - and compromise - Rabinovich, from the Brookings Institute, says the process can't go forward.

That process, he said, should look like this:

A) a consolidated and durable cease-fire

B) agreement on a political solution

C) implementation of the agreement

He said the conflict in Syria reminds him of the long, drawn-out, civil war that broke out in Lebanon in the 1970s and dragged on for 15 years.

"I'm pessimistic…with all due respect to Secretary Kerry," he said. "President Obama is determined not to be drawn into Syria, and Russia is determined to keep Assad in power."

Butter agrees that there is no end in sight to Syria's civil war, but he questions the Kremlins' affinity for the Syrian strongman.

"Russia doesn't have the leverage to pull strings inside the (Syrian) regime," he said. "Assad is a very difficult entity to deal with, very slippery, saying one thing and doing another. They're stuck with him."

U.S. says Iraq's PM in 'strong position' amid political unrest

STUTTGART, Germany | By Phil Stewart 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is in a strong position despite political unrest in Iraq, thanks in part to battlefield successes and his commitment to a multi-sectarian state, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Monday."He seems to be in a very strong position. Obviously we support him strongly because of what he stands for," Carter told reporters traveling with him shortly before landing in Germany.
Carter's full-throated backing of Abadi, one of his most forceful to date, follows months of intense Iraqi political wrangling that has put the country on edge.

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Abadi has attempted to replace party-affiliated ministers with technocrats as part of an anti-corruption drive. A divided parliament has failed to approve the proposal amid scuffles and protests.
"Prime Minister Abadi stands for and has been a partner in all of the things that are important to Iraq's future, namely a country that holds together and doesn't just spiral off into sectarianism," Carter said.
Corruption became a major issue after global oil prices collapsed two years ago, shrinking the state budget at a time when it needed additional income to wage war against Islamic State.
"That's why it's so important for the international community to help and support the Iraqi government at this time," Carter said, ahead of talks in Europe this week with allies in the campaign against Islamic State.
The militants have been retreating since December, when the Iraqi army recaptured Ramadi, the largest city in the western region. Last month, the army took the nearby region of Hit, pushing them further north along the Euphrates valley.
The United States is leading a coalition effort to help Iraq drive back the group. But U.S. officials acknowledge that military gains, including Iraq's recapture of the city of Ramadi and Hit, are not enough.
Experts point with anxiety to Iraq's unrelenting political infighting, corruption, a growing fiscal crisis and the Shiite Muslim-led government's fitful efforts to reconcile with aggrieved minority Sunnis, the bedrock of Islamic State support.
Three bombs went off in and around Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 14 people. The largest blast, which Islamic State said it was behind, came from a parked car bomb in the Saydiya district of southern Baghdad.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; additional reporting by Stephen Kalin in Baghdad, editing by Larry King and Andrew Hay) 

Argentine court probes ex-president Fernandez over new case: media

An Argentine court has asked a judge to look into accusations of illicit enrichment against leftist former President Cristina Fernandez, state press agency Telam reported on Monday.
Fernandez, who left office in December after eight years and was replaced by center-right Mauricio Macri, has already been accused of money laundering and overseeing irregularities at the central bank while she served.
The cases have sparked massive demonstrations by her supporters, who say she is being persecuted by a new government bent on revenge. Fernandez is a divisive figure, revered by many for generous welfare programs and reviled by others for her economic policies.
The latest accusation, issued by a public prosecutor, was initiated by an opposition politician. Fernandez and her son have been accused of illicit enrichment and the falsification of public documents relating to a company called Los Sauces, Telam said, citing legal sources.
It said that Los Sauces in 2009 had over 9 million Argentine pesos ($635,000 at current exchange rates) in property investment.
A spokesman for the attorney general's office said the investigating judge had issued a secrecy order on the case.
Under Argentine law, the judge will decide whether to accept the charge and open an investigation.
($1 = 14.1660 Argentine pesos)
(Reporting by Maximiliano Rizzi, Writing by Rosalba O'Brien; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Obama takes Supreme Court fight to Republican senators' home turf

WASHINGTON | By Roberta Rampton 

President Barack Obama on Monday took the political battle over his pick for a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court to the home states of seven Republican senators up for re-election in November.Obama conducted interviews with local television anchors where he argued that Republican senators should hold confirmation hearings and vote on his nomination of appellate Judge Merrick Garland to the top court.
"What my argument is: Let the American people see Judge Garland, let him answer questions, let them hear his responses," the Democratic president told WDAF-TV FOX 4 in Kansas City, Missouri, a market that straddles states where Senators Roy Blunt of Missouri and Jerry Moran of Kansas are up for re-election.
Republican leaders have been resolute that Obama's successor, who will be elected on Nov. 8 and take office on Jan. 20, should fill the vacancy left by February's death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. Republicans are hoping their party's candidate wins the presidency and can make the appointment.
The court is now split 4-4 between conservatives and liberals, meaning Scalia's successor could influence its ideological direction for years to come.
Obama has argued the Senate has a responsibility to formally consider Garland's nomination, telling ABC affiliate WMUR in Manchester, New Hampshire, that the judge was "maybe the most qualified nominee that we’ve seen before the Senate for a Supreme Court seat."
New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte is viewed as one of the most vulnerable Senate Republican incumbents. She met with Garland but wants the Senate to wait until after the election to act on the nomination.
"I know that folks like Senator Ayotte met with him and the fact that they're not calling a hearing or vote means they're not doing their job," Obama said in the interview.
In a separate interview with WMUR, Ayotte defended her position.
"In my view waiting for the election, we are in the midst of a presidential nomination process, to have the people weigh in the election in November is important considering we have a 4-4 court," she said.
Obama also talked with a television anchor from Iowa, home to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, who has helped lead efforts to block Garland.
The president spoke as well with anchors from Ohio, where Senator Rob Portman faces a competitive re-election race; Wisconsin, where Senator Ron Johnson is running again; and Phoenix, home to Senator John McCain of Arizona.
(Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham, Eric Walsh, David Alexander and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Peter Cooney,)