Human Rights Plan Sees Mixed Reviews; EU Divided Over Ankara Strategy

LOCAL NEWS

• Legal experts hail Erdogan's human rights action plan: highlights augmented judiciary independence and processes with regulations on detention as key components.
  • Says important gains will be made with the implementation of the plan, with the overriding goal being a new civil constitution.
  • Article was very pro-Erdogan from Anadolu Agency and should be taken with a pinch of salt – other analysts have been less complementary, questioning the follow-through amid detentions of Erdogan opponents and the likes of Kavala
• Local analyst says EU leaders divided over Ankara strategy ahead of the March 25-26 European Council meeting where Turkey will be on the agenda.
  • EU govts are after a more stable relationship with Turkey for fear of a new wave of refugees, but are caught with the predicament of Erdogan's expansionary ambitions in the East-Med and S-400 retention.
  • Erdogan has also pledged a new Human Rights action plan yesterday that brings it closer to EU requirements, but says "we've heard it all before from Turkey on Rule of Law."
• Erdogan hires economics professor Sait Erdal Dincer as the fourth Chief of statistics Dept (TUIK) in less than three years. Concerns about TUIK's autonomy reman an issue.
  • Dincer has a Doctorate in econometrics and experience in multi-criteria decision-making, optimization techniques and risk management