TUSIAD Turkey Letter: 7 October 2013

Turkey not involved in Somalia al Shabaab raid -Turkish official
Turkish special forces did not take any part in a dawn attack on a stronghold of the Somalian Islamist militia al Shaabab, a foreign ministry official said on Saturday, denying an accusation by the Islamist militia.
Al Shabaab had said British and Turkish Special Forces carried out a raid in the small town of Barawe in the south of the country, killing one rebel. It said a British officer had been killed and several British soldiers and one Turk wounded.
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Reuters, 5 October 2013, Turkey not involved in Somalia al Shabaab raid -Turkish official

EU commissioner welcomes democracy package  
EU Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle welcomed a democratization package announced earlier this week by the Turkish government during a meeting in Brussels with EU Minister Egemen Bağış, where the upcoming Progress Report was the burning topic.
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Hurriyet Daily New, 2 October 2013, EU commissioner welcomes democratization package during meeting with Minister Bağış

Turkey builds wall along Syria border
The Turkish military has started to build a wall alongside the Nusaybin district, bordering Syria, to prevent illegal passing and smugglers, according to Doğan News Agency.
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Hurriyet Daily News, 6 October 2013, Turkey builds wall along Syria border

Turkey’s exports surge 11 percent in September
Turkey’s exports reached $12.5 billion in September with an 11 percent rise, corresponding to an increase of 0.6 percent over the same period of the previous year, according to figures announced by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) President Mehmet Buyukeksi during a press conference.
According to the figures, exports increased by 0.6 percent in the last nine months, reaching $980 billion, whereas the 12-month cumulative number added up to $151.53 billion, registering a 3.3 percent increase.
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Turkish Press Review, 2 October 2013, Turkey’s exports surge 11 percent in September

Turkish PM unveils reforms after summer of protests
Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, unveiled the first big package of liberalising reforms in years on Monday, making overtures to the large Kurdish minority and proposing that headscarved women be allowed to sit in parliament and work as civil servants for the first time in the history of the Turkish republic.
The proposals, which have been repeatedly delayed due to their potentially incendiary impact, followed a summer of the largest and most persistent anti-government protests in Erdogan’s 11 years in power.
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The Guardian, 30 September 2013, Turkish PM unveils reforms after summer of protests