Turkey Live Coverage (14 March): A Growing Role Over Syria

1845 GMT: Turkey is getting ready to sue Iran for its relatively high natural gas price. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız said: "The road to arbitration is being paved on March 16, and we will not wait for too long after that to file our complaint."

Turkey currently buys a cubic meter of Azerbaijani gas for $330 and pays Russia $400 for the same amount. However, Iran sells its gas to Turkey for $505 for each cubic meter. 

Turkey is reportedly going to take the issue to the International Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland, which awarded Turkey $800 million in compensation in 2009 in a previous dispute with Iran.

1730 GMT: Retired Gen. Ergin Saygun, who has been receiving medical support since he was first arrested as a Sledgehammer suspect in 2011, was arrested by a Turkish court today. 

The case of Sledgehammer suspects, a clique inside the military, are being accused of carrying out anti-government plans to overthrow the AKP government. Crashing jets, bombing mosques during a busy hour of the day are just some of the accusations. 

1645 GMT: State-run Anatolia news agency reported that at least 765 Syrian refugees, mostly women and children, have crossed into Turkey since Tuesday night. It is reported that Turkey currently hosts nearly 14,000 Syrian refugees in its Hatay district.

1550 GMT: With regards to his meeting with CIA's Director David Petraeus, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "We discussed recent developments in the region, especially Syria, Iraq and Iran."

1435 GMT: Ahead of Newroz celebrations that will start on Sunday, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)'s co-chairman Selahattin Demirtas accued Diyarbakir Governership of removing banners in Kurdish that were made for Sunday's celebration and of using Kurdish in billboards commemorating the anniversary of the Canakkale War. Demirtas said:

Kurdish is unbound to the state. Kurdish has never been prohibited to the state. Kurdish is prohibited only to Kurds. There a lot of things to say regarding the state, the governership. The institution of governership is an unnecessary institution. In our proposed system, it has no place, it will be removed.

1400 GMT: Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)'s group deputy chairman Oktay Vural said: "Prime Minister's having direct contact with CIA's chief who is planning coups in countries shall be questioned."

1310 GMT: CIA chief David Petraeus has been in Ankara for two days. including meetings with Prime Minister Erdogan and Hakan Fidan, head of the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT). 

An official from the US Embassy said Turkish and American officials discussed “more fruitful cooperation on the region’s most pressing issues in the coming months.” Turkish officials said Erdoğan and Petraeus exchanged views on the Syrian crisis and the fight against terrorism.

1255 GMT: Israel has issued a travel warning, saying that "terror groups are planning to carry out attacks against Jewish and Israeli sites inside Turkey"/ 

Israel has often accused Tehran of coordinating, funding, and even training "terrorists" abroad, a warning accentuated by the recent targeting of Israels in Thailand and India. Regardless of the truth of West Jerusalem's intelligence reports on Turkey, political friction between Ankara and Israel, amidst Ankara's close contacts with Tehran, play a part in this travel alert.

1240 GMT: Turkish war planes hit the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)'s camps in northern Iraq around 2000 GMT on Tuesday. There are no reports of casualties.

1210 GMT: Reacting to criticisms of the recently approved 4+4+4 education bill, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at his weekly parliamentary meeting of Justice and Development Party (AKP): 

We are ending oppression. We are making up for the suffering. We will never bow down to the CHP’s brutality and threats. They are now talking about settling scores. We can speak the language they understand.

The leader of the main opposition party, Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu called Erdogan a "post-modern dictator" and the Natonalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli said the government had even "outstripped the Nazi rule of Germany".

1150 GMT: According to a report of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission, gender-based violence has doubled in four years. Istanbul is the most dangerous province for women.

In 2011, 80,398 incidents were reported across Turkey. 

1130 GMT: The state-run Anatolia news agency reported yesterday that two Turkish journalists of Gercek Hayat (Real Life) magazine were have been missing in Syria since Friday. They went to Idlib a week ago.

0600 GMT: The Syrian Front

On Tuesday, the UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan met with representatives of the opposition Syrian National Council in Ankara. At the subsequent news conference, Annan said: "I also indicated to [Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu] that I am expecting to hear from the Syrian authorities today, since I left some concrete proposals for them to consider."

When the three men met on Monday, Davutoglu emphasised the growing number of Syrian refugees in Turkey, rising to 13,000 from about 8000 in just two weeks. As both Turkish leaders urged Annan to get a quick solution, at least 489 Syrians crossed into Turkey, fleeing the violence in Idlib Province. On the same day, Human Rights Watch stated that Syrian soldiers were laying mines near the borders of Lebanon and Turkey. 

On Tuesday, Ankara announced that it will hold the second meeting of the "Friends of Syria", the representatives of more than 50 countries condidering pressure on the Assad regime.  

Turkey's Shame over the Sivas Massacre

The Sivas massacre case dropped due to the statute of limitations, shocking many observers. 

The Ankara 11th High Criminal Court, declaring that two suspects had died, ruled that too much time had passed since the July 1993 incidet, when 33 artists and intellectuals, two hotel workers and two assailants, were killed in a fire in the Madimak Hotel. The dead had gathered in Sivas Province to attend a conference on Alawite poet Pir Sultan Abdal.

After the announcement of the verdict, angry crowds clashed with police forces for three hours in Ankara. Protestors were dispersed with tear gas and water cannons.

Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said the verdict was a disgrace for Turkey. His deputy chairman Sezgin Tanrıkulu commented, “We see this as a disgrace for the judiciary, and we condemn it.”

Gültan Kışanak, a deputy chairwoman of the Peace and Democracy Party, said: “The verdict doesn’t help heal the wounds in hearts. Someone might have closed this case, but those who protect democracy will not allow this case to be closed.”

Economic Cooperation with Bulgaria

On Tuesday, the Bulgarian government ratified an economic cooperation agreement with Turkey that will boost commercial, economic and technological cooperation between the two countries.

Turkey ranked 19th in countries making direct investments in Bulgaria between 1996 and 2010, putting in 432.4 million Euros.