Turkey’s former economy tsar challenges Erdogan with new party

In this March 1, 2020 file photo, Ali Babacan attends funerals for a Turkish soldier killed in Syria, in Ankara, Turkey. (AP)
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Updated 10 March 2020
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Turkey’s former economy tsar challenges Erdogan with new party

  • Babacan’s criticisms of the AKP and Erdogan are also focusing on economic mismanagement, the dangers of “one man rule” and the country’s poor economic indicators since the 2018 currency crisis, which has greatly diminished the party’s electoral support

ANKARA: After resigning from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in July 2019, Ali Babacan, a former deputy prime minister in charge of the economy, filed an official request to the Interior Ministry to establish his new party on Monday.
The launch event of the party will be in Ankara on Wednesday.
Turkey’s new party Democracy and Advance Party (DEVA), which faces a mighty challenge ahead, has a thought-provoking list of founding members, a more technocratic tone with many young members, and combines conservative and secular figures around broad goals.
A former close ally of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, 53-year-old Babacan has had the support of former President Abdullah Gul during the preparations for establishing the party. However, Gul did not join the party.
The party’s founders’ list comprises people with a high educational profile, mainly with masters’ and PhD degrees, from different business sectors and academia.
Senior figures from the armed forces as well as former ministers from the AKP rule and from Turkish Airlines also drew public attention.
Babacan supports a fully democratic parliamentary system, which Turkey left three years ago for a transit to the presidential system.
During an interview broadcast live on Turkey’s Fox TV on Monday morning, Babacan said that Turkey needed a “fresh start” and urged reforms to strengthen the rule of law, human rights and democracy in the country.
“Nearly 20 years have passed (since the AKP was established). Turkey has changed and sadly the political party of which I was a member began to do things very contrary to its founding principles,” he said.
“There is a great need to create a more prosperous and livable Turkey and this is impossible with the current political order. There is nothing independent in the country, not even the judiciary,” he said.
Babacan’s criticisms of the AKP and Erdogan are also focusing on economic mismanagement, the dangers of “one man rule” and the country’s poor economic indicators since the 2018 currency crisis, which has greatly diminished the party’s electoral support.
In an interview last November, the former minister criticized the fact that “some investors come to Turkey for short-term investments, for two of three months, but refrain from a long-term one” because of the lack of “judicial predictability.”
Babacan was the leading figure behind the Turkish economic boom between 2009 and 2015, and was appreciated by foreign investors at the time.
He also hailed Turkey’s ties with the Arab world during his ministerial term.

FASTFACT

Ali Babacan was the leading figure during Turkey’s IMF-backed economic reforms in the early 2000s, before being appointed as chief negotiator with the EU in 2005 during the country’s candidacy process.

He mainly represented the AKP’s liberal faction, with his views in favor of sustaining Turkey’s Western alignment.
Babacan was the leading figure during Turkey’s IMF-backed economic reforms in the early 2000s, before being appointed as chief negotiator with the EU in 2005 during the country’s candidacy process.
In December, Turkey’s former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also launched his breakaway Future Party from the ruling AKP.
According to Berk Esen, a political analyst from Bilkent University in Ankara, with the launch of Babacan’s party the more centrist group that had played a major rule in government during the AKP’s first three terms is finally exiting the ruling party.
“This may prove to be a bigger blow to Erdogan than the defection of Davutoglu’s group earlier this year since Babacan has been hailed by many as a very successful technocrat who led the Turkish economy through several years of impressive growth,” he told Arab News.
Last week, Ankara-based pollster Metropoll published a report showing that Erdogan’s approval in Turkey had fallen to 41.1 percent, down from 48 percent in October during the launch of a military operation in northeast Syria.
The same poll company also released another survey last month, showing that support for Davutoglu’s party remains at 1.2 percent, while for Babacan’s new party support is at 0.8 percent. The same poll revealed that public support for the AKP had decreased to 40 percent from 42.6 percent since the 2018 general election.
“Although Davutoglu had an early start, Babacan does not carry heavy political baggage and can appeal both to centrist voters and business circles at the same time. After the party’s founding, Babacan should change the public debate by discussing Turkey’s economic problems,” said political analyst Esen.
According to Esen, Babacan has followed a balanced course so far between being a critic of Erdogan’s monopolization of power and appealing to conservative and centrist voters.
“In active politics, however, he needs to be ready to take on Erdogan directly if he is going to have any chance of appealing
to mass voters and returning Turkey to a parliamentary system,” he said.


More than 15,000 Syrian refugees return home from Jordan in May

Updated 6 sec ago
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More than 15,000 Syrian refugees return home from Jordan in May

  • UNHCR reported that the figure represents a 45 percent increase compared to April
  • Jordan has received about 628,000 Syrian refugees, according to UNHCR figures as of December 2024

LONDON: More than 15,000 Syrian refugees registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have returned to their home country from Jordan since May.

The UNHCR reported that the figure represents a 45 percent increase compared to April, when nearly 10,500 Syrian refugees entered the country through Jordan’s Jaber border crossing.

Since the collapse of the Assad regime in December, 75,000 Syrian refugees have returned home from Jordan alone, which is more than one percent of the estimated six million Syrians who fled the country during the civil war that began in 2011.

As of March, the UN estimated that nearly 1.2 million Syrian refugees and internally displaced people have returned home following the change in power in Damascus.

The UNHCR announced the transfer of thousands of refugees from Jordanian communities and refugee camps to Syria in May, marking a significant increase from April, according to the SANA news agency.

Jordan has received about 628,000 Syrian refugees, according to UNHCR figures as of December 2024.


UAE and Jordan condemn terror attack on Pakistani military convoy that killed 13 soldiers

Updated 30 June 2025
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UAE and Jordan condemn terror attack on Pakistani military convoy that killed 13 soldiers

  • A further 24 people were injured, 14 of them civilians, when a car bomb exploded near a bomb-disposal vehicle in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday
  • Emirati Foreign Ministry sends condolences to families of the victims and the people of Pakistan following the ‘cowardly attack’

LONDON: Authorities in the UAE and Jordan have strongly condemned a terrorist attack on a military convoy in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan in which 13 soldiers were killed and at least 24 people were injured.

The Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent its condolences to the families of the victims, and all the people of Pakistan, following the “heinous and cowardly attack,” along its best wishes for a speedy recovery of those who were injured.

It added that the UAE firmly rejects all forms of terrorism and violence that undermine security and stability.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry similarly condemned the attack and expressed its solidarity with Pakistan during this terrible time.

A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into the military convoy on Saturday and it detonated near a bomb disposal vehicle. Of the 24 people who were injured, 14 are civilians.

Armed group Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. It was one of the deadliest, single-day incidents in recent months targeting security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.


Qatari emir, Spanish king meet on sidelines of UN investment conference in Seville

Updated 30 June 2025
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Qatari emir, Spanish king meet on sidelines of UN investment conference in Seville

  • King Felipe expressed his desire to strengthen relations and support joint investments with Qatar
  • He reiterated Spain’s solidarity with Qatar and condemned the Iranian attack on Al-Udeid Air Base last week

LONDON: Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, met King Felipe VI of Spain in Seville on the sidelines of a UN-organized international investment conference.

The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development began on Monday and will continue until July 3, bringing together global leaders to discuss urgent reforms necessary for financing sustainable development.

King Felipe expressed his desire to strengthen relations and support joint investments through small and medium-sized enterprises following the recent economic agreements between Qatar and Spain.

He also reiterated Spain’s solidarity with Qatar and condemned the Iranian attack on Al-Udeid Air Base last week, praising Doha’s role in facilitating a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel.

Sheikh Tamim emphasized Qatar’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with Spain across cultural, educational and security fields to serve the common interests of both countries, the Qatar News Agency reported.


Israeli settlers hold wedding ceremony inside Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection

Updated 30 June 2025
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Israeli settlers hold wedding ceremony inside Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection

  • The Jerusalem Governorate deemed the move ‘provocative and humiliating’

LONDON: Israeli authorities permitted a wedding engagement ceremony for Jewish settlers within the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied Old City of East Jerusalem on Monday.

The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate deemed the move “provocative and humiliating,” describing it as a transformation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque into what resembles a public hall for celebrations by extremist settlers.

“(This is) a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the mosque, a serious provocation of the feelings of Muslims, and a deliberate attempt to impose a new reality that erases the Islamic identity of the site and paves the way for its division temporally and spatially,” the Jerusalem Governorate said.

On Monday, settlers, accompanied by Israeli police, toured the Al-Aqsa compound. Police prevented Palestinians from approaching the settlers to disrupt the ceremony, according to the Wafa news agency.

The Jerusalem Governorate said that Israeli policies aim to impose sovereignty on Al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing that these repeated provocations contradict international law and the 2016 UNESCO resolution, which recognized Al-Aqsa Mosque as an Islamic heritage site and called for its preservation.

Since 1967, the Jerusalem Endowments Council, which operates under Jordan’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, has been the legal authority responsible for managing and regulating the affairs of Al-Aqsa.

However, this status quo has been challenged in recent years by extremist settlers who regularly tour the site under the protection of Israeli police and are often accompanied by government officials and far-right ministers and activists.


UK MPs demand Ukraine-style visa route for Gazans

Updated 30 June 2025
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UK MPs demand Ukraine-style visa route for Gazans

  • Letter to PM: ‘The same generosity should be extended to Palestinian families’
  • Death toll ‘likely to be exponentially higher’ than official figure due to collapse of local govt, health systems

LONDON: MPs in the UK are calling on the government to launch a visa system for Palestinians in Gaza with family already living in Britain.

Sixty-seven politicians have written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper asking for a Gaza Family Scheme mirroring the Ukraine Family Scheme established in 2022 to help refugees escape the war with Russia. It allowed Ukrainians to live and work in the UK for up to three years.

“We believe that the same generosity should be extended to Palestinian families,” said the letter, seen by Sky News.

Signatories include 35 Labour MPs and members of the House of Lords, as well as several people currently suspended from the governing party, including its former leader Jeremy Corbyn and former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. 

All four sitting members of the Green Party have also signed, alongside former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron and the Bishop of Chelmsford Dr. Guli Francis-Dehquani.

The letter accuses Israel of “shattering the temporary ceasefire agreement” with Hamas in Gaza, and of conducting a “campaign of bombardment and military assaults, and targeting of people accessing humanitarian aid.”

MP Marsha de Cordova, who helped organize the letter alongside the Gaza Families Reunited campaign, told Sky News that the Ukraine visa scheme “was the right response to a brutal war,” and that establishing one for Gazans “would be an extension of those same principles, showing that this government is steadfast in its commitment to helping families experiencing the worst horrors of war.

“It is time for the government to act now to help British Palestinians get their loved ones to safety, enabling them to rebuild their lives.”

The letter said the proposed scheme would let Palestinians reunite with “people they may never see again unless urgent action is taken,” and many Gazans trying to reach the UK “struggled to navigate the immigration system.”

It added that efforts to secure visas have been made “impossible due to the destruction of the visa application centre in Gaza and blockade of the Rafah crossing.”

The letter said the death toll in Gaza, reported by Palestinian authorities as numbering at least 53,000 people, “is likely to be exponentially higher” due to the collapse of local government and health systems in the enclave.

Ghassan Ghaben, spokesperson for Gaza Families Reunited, told Sky News: “Family unity is an undeniable human right.”

He urged more MPs, including Conservatives, to add their names to efforts to help get Palestinians to the UK, saying: “We are still waiting for the new government to do the right thing. We, as Palestinians in the UK, simply want the opportunity to bring our loved ones from Gaza to safety, until it is safe to return.”

A government spokesperson told Sky News: “The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable. Since day one, we have been clear that we need to see an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages cruelly detained by Hamas, better protection of civilians, significantly more aid consistently entering Gaza, and a path to long-term peace and stability.

“There are a range of routes available for Palestinians who wish to join family members in the UK.”