The ban on Turkey's main Kurdish party is bad news for Turkey's development, the daily Der Standard writes critically: "Having the DTP in parliament is by no means dangerous; it's a basic prerequisite for peace. But the judiciary allowed itself to be intimidated by the terrorism of the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party], which obviously is not seeking peace. The ban on the party is a political judgement that not only regresses the country's Kurdish policy by years, it also represents a step backwards in the entire democratisation process. Banning a party like the DTP means restricting political freedoms. The verdict is testimony to a lacking understanding of democracy on the part of the Turkish judiciary. It calls to mind previous party bans and times that were supposed to have been relegated to the past. But the Erdoğan government has bowed in the face of nationalist rhetoric. It has already steered a zigzag path when it comes to its policy on the Kurds in the past." (14/12/2009)

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All available articles from » Adelheid Wölfl

The peace process between Turks and Kurds has suffered a severe setback, the German daily Die Tageszeitung notes with regret, commenting on the ban against the pro-Kurdish party the DTP: "Only three months ago all the relevant forces in Turkey seemed determined to finally find a political solution for the Kurdish minority. The government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan was aiming to make even the large part of the PKK guerrilla group an offer of reintegration. The military didn't protest and the Kurdish DTP was delighted that the government was finally talking to it. Turkey was on the way to making a quantum leap in terms of democracy. But this path towards peace is now once again history. The DTP ban handed down by the Constitutional Court last Friday was only the final step in a process that demonstrates how stubborn opponents of peace are capable of torpedoing any kind of dialogue." (14/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Religion, » Minorities, » Weltanschauung, » Turkey
All available articles from » Jürgen Gottschlich

The ban on the Kurdish DTP could lead to political conflict and boost the nationalist forces, the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung fears: "You don't need to be psychic to predict that this questionable decision in terms of democratic policy will intensify the political tensions. At any rate the conditions for implementing the Kurdish policy Erdoğan had promoted have worsened. The ruling gives the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party], which argues that Ankara is not serious about reconciliation, another trump card. The retrogressive forces within the Kemalist and nationalist parties who consider any move towards the Kurds as an attack on national unity can also count themselves as winners. These circles are likely to be impervious to the EU's foreseeable criticism of the Ankara ruling."  (12/12/2009)

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All available articles from » Thomas Fuster

Yesterday 166 municipalities in the northern Spanish region of Catalonia voted on gaining independence from Spain. While the vote may have no legal basis, writes the daily Le Monde, it nevertheless "shows that in just a few years the desire for independence, stirred up by the nationalist rhetoric and regional institutions, has gained ground in Catalonia. ... Catalonia is not the sole region in Western Europe to crave emancipation. Aside from the Basque Country, where ETA violence is severly harming the idea of independence, Flanders ... and Scotland are also sorely tempted to break with the central power. ... Evidently the Belgian, Spanish and British membership in the EU has done nothing to cool regional nationalist sentiment. On the contrary, by supplying these regions subjected to a strong centrifugal force with a shared framework of peace, Europe has made it possible for them to envisage nonviolent secession. In today's world redrawing borders is no longer synonymous with armed confict." (12/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Spain, » Europe

The Danish police held around one thousand climate demonstrators on the weekend in preventive detention, leaving them sitting handcuffed on the street  for hours in freezing temperatures. Such conduct is unworthy of a constitutional state, writes the daily Kristeligt Dagblad: "It is terrifically annoying that a couple of hundred noise-makers - now being called 'climate rowdies' - can destroy the festive mood enjoyed by so many. ... In response the Danish police held around a thousand demonstrators in 'administrative' custody for up to twelve hours. ... Many of those arrested had nothing criminal about them, but were nonetheless caught up in the police dragnet. That is extremely problematic in terms of legal security. Nothing should be done to spread doubts that Denmark is an open, well-functioning democracy." (14/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Social movements, » Denmark

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was attacked on Sunday evening. According to the liberal daily La Stampa, the attacker, who threw a hard object at Berlusconi's face, is mentally disturbed but the attack can still be regarded as politically motivated: "The prime minister's body has been injured and no matter what you think of his politics this violence amounts to a direct, physical, material attack on the office of prime minister. In this respect it is an attack on the institutions, and must be judged as such, as a new tear among the many that are destroying the body of the Republic. It is a step in a direction from which there is no turning back - one that makes clear how quickly the political climate could degenerate into physical battle. ... Today we are no longer in a state of emergency [as in the times of the Red Brigades and terrorism]. But now as then the principle still applies that the governability of a country depends on a sense of responsibility - also on the part of the opposition."  (14/12/2009)

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All available articles from » Lucia Annunziata

According to the draft Equity Bill, bishops in the UK who refuse to ordain homosexuals or women may soon be severely penalised. The nationalist conservative Polish paper Nasz Dziennik is outraged: "For Catholics this is a true British hammer! ... If this strange bill really does come into force in January, then bishops who refuse to ordain homosexuals or women will be subject to horrendous fines, banned from using certain Church property and even threatened with jail sentences. ... All the more interesting is it that the draconian law would only apply to Catholics. The House of Commons, which has already passed the bill, determined it would not be applicable to other confessions." (14/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Poland
All available articles from » Marta Ziarnik

Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan explains in the liberal daily La Vanguardia why only a climate agreement that is fair has a chance of success: "A deal that stops at rhetoric and does not actually meet the needs of the poorest and most climate vulnerable countries simply will not work. The climate cannot be 'fixed' in one continent and not another. Climate change does not respect national borders. We are all in the same boat; a hole at one end will sink us all. For it to work, climate justice must be at the heart of the agreement. An unfair deal will come unstuck. Industrialised countries such as the United States must naturally take the lead in reducing emissions and supporting others to follow suit, but developing countries like India or China also have an increasing responsibility to do so as their economies continue to grow." (14/12/2009)

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In Russia the idea that the country has its own civilising mission is gaining ground, Uldis Šmits writes in the daily Latvijas Avize: "This mission is directed against the detrimental influence of the West. The best-known representative of this trend is Moscow Mayor Yury Luzkhov. He is certainly no gifted theoretician, but in his speeches and writings he always adopts an easily understandable, simple division between 'we' and 'the West' against which the people must be mobilised. In other words: for the 'Russian world', as it is increasingly described both by official sources and by the Orthodox Church in Russia, this means that the universal values introduced by the West are not acceptable. It is overlooked that Russian culture owes much to precisely these values, and many prominent personalities in Russia have defended these values despite all threats - and continue to do so." (14/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » History, » Weltanschauung, » Russia, » Europe
All available articles from » Uldis Šmits

Sweden has introduced new rules for bankers' bonuses. All banks that were rescued by state funds and which want to pay bonuses to their managers once more should adhere to the rules, writes the daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet: "The idea is that this system will encourage long-term action and reduce the incentive for short-term risks. But whether these rules will be sufficient is uncertain. It's not wrong to want to reward the readiness to take risks - with your own money. But when the state is forced to intervene and bear the risks, bonuses are no longer just the business of banks." (14/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Banks, » Sweden, » Europe

The Czech Republic is threatened with over-indebtedness after the left parties in parliament acted against the will of the independent caretaker government and inflated the budget for the coming year with additional social expenditures. Finance Minister Eduard Janota considered tendering his resignation in reaction. The conservative daily Lidové Noviny regrets that he will nevertheless probably remain in office: "It would be a fine thing if Finance Minister Eduard Janota announced his resignation. But on television he has already been saying how he wants to reduce government expenditures. That's not how people talk when they're about to resign . ... Janota is one of the few people who are actually doing something against indebtedness. If the popular minister walked out and slammed the door shut behind him, that would be a fittingly drastic way of reacting to the dramatic growth of the public debt." (14/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Daniel Kaiser

The Dutch government wants to limit state funding to students who finish their studies in the prescribed period of time. The daily NRC Handelsblad fears this will lead universities to spur students on to finish their studies even faster: "Only a minority of students finish their studies in the allotted time. As the vast majority of students cannot consist only of sluggards and deadbeats, it seems that this prescribed period is a little on the short side. Many students love what they study, and passion takes time to develop. Another reason is perhaps also the very meagre financial aid. ... It devalues university education when you can only graduate by being well-behaved and finishing all your exams on time, and literature and foreign internships are being cut from science degrees." (14/12/2009)

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After the fall of communism there has been a huge resurgence of religious belief in Romania. All over the country thousands of new churches have gone up, but the new religiosity takes strange forms, writes the weekly Dilema Veche: "According to opinion polls, the Church is seen as the most trustworthy institution in Romania. ... But the religious revival also means a return to the old orthodoxy and its intolerance. We still don't know what to make of the spreading religious sentiment, while the Orthodox Church is silently intervening in the affairs of the state and even interfering with election campaigns. On the other hand the current religious practices seem increasingly pervaded by a sort of pragmatic mysticism. People stand in line to receive blessings and sprinkle just about everything with holy water: their new cars, businesses, even new governments. But many are now casting doubts on this 'rebirth' of religion. ... Earlier we knew through our belief, today we know that we can no longer believe!" (14/12/2009)

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All available articles from » Vintela Mihailescu

A draft law in Italy stipulates a ban on cosmetic surgery for teenagers. The Bulgarian daily Novinar welcomes the idea and calls for a similar law in Bulgaria: "The draft law is praiseworthy, because it would reduce the number of those who fall victim to fashion and the 'new values'. With it, Italy will no longer be 'the Wild West of plastic surgery', as the country's deputy health minister has called it. Nevertheless if Italy can be called the Wild West of plastic surgery, our country should be called 'the dark India' of the cosmetic industry. Because there can be no talk of control or prevention of risks related to such operations here. Moreover the attempt to tax our plastic surgeons will be about as successful as looking for a needle in a haystack." (14/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health and Medicine, » Italy, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Ivan Filchev