Day: October 3, 2021

Turkey has started mass production of 122 domestically designed patrol boats to secure the country’s coasts, the project’s in charge said on Sunday.

The boats will be supplied by the defense and shipbuilding industry to the Coast Guard Command and General Directorate of Security.

The project is run by ARES Shipyard in the southern province of Antalya.

The small naval vessels will be used to keep a check on irregular migration, smuggling, search and rescue and maritime security operations in the “Blue Homeland.”

They will be built according to Turkish Lloyd’s rules (design calculations and projects of all kinds of ships, floating vessels, yachts, marine equipment), and will operate in all coastal regions of Turkey.

The ARES 35 FPB (Fast Patrol Boat), with a maximum speed of 35 knots and a range of 160 nautical miles, will be 12 meter high (over 39.3 feet).

Onur Yilmaz, who is also the planning and projects manager at ARES Shipyard, told Anadolu Agency that they successfully built first of the 122 patrol boats as part of the contract signed between their company and the Presidency of Presidential Defense Industry.

After about a year of design development activities, they started production in January, and the boat has been subjected to various tests, he said.

He added that the boat will depart from Antalya for two months to take part in operations in Black Sea.

“Production has also started for other boats. We plan to complete the project in four years by delivering six boats every two months,” he explained.

All boats will have the same features, but there could be changes in case of additional feedback, he added.

“It was designed with a high operational capability on all the coastlines of Turkey, and will prove itself by performing tasks in shallow and even deep waters (over 3.2 feet).”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Families whose children have been abducted or forcibly recruited by the PKK terror group continued their protest in southeastern Turkey on Sunday.

Since Sept. 3, 2019, families have been camped for 762 days outside the Diyarbakir offices of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a party the Turkish government says has links with the PKK.

Demonstrations have since spread to other provinces including Van, Mus, Sirnak, and Hakkari.

Necibe Ciftci came from Hakkari’s Semdinli district to join the protest, hoping to get back her son Rosat, who was abducted by the terror group six years ago at the age of 16.

She said the PKK also murdered her elder son and husband Sami Ciftci because they refused to support the terrorist organization.

“My son, the HDP deceived you and handed you over to the PKK. Come back now, enough is enough,” she said.

Yusuf Erdinc, another protester, said he was at the sit-in for his son Mikail.

The family has had no contact with Mikail since 2015, when he vanished while studying law at the Marmara University.

“I went to the HDP headquarters with my wife. The beat us and pushed us down the stairs,” said Erdinc, who hails from Van’s Gurpinar district.

“Since 2015, I have refused to give up hope of seeing my son again, and I don’t intend to give up now,” he added, urging Mikail to surrender to Turkish security forces.

In Turkey, offenders linked to terrorist groups are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law, if they surrender.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Source: Anadolu Agency

An ancient structure with a jar, numerous pots, and food fossils, dating back to some 4,500 years ago, were unearthed at the Yumuktepe Hoyuk (tumulus) in Turkey’s southern coastal city of Mersin, the head of the research team has told Anadolu Agency.

Isabella Caneva, an archeology professor at Italy’s University of Lecce, said important findings about changes in life, economy, and society in Yumuktepe are obtained during excavations every season.

Yumuktepe stands out as one of the oldest settlements in Anatolia with its history dating back to 7,000 BC.

The tumulus, located four kilometers (2.4 miles) west of the city center, gave important clues about the lifestyles of civilizations, Caneva said, adding that they reached a large building made of adobe on the field.

“There were many potteries inside the building. These pieces belonged to one type of product. These bowls are all the same, mass-produced. There were around 700 bowls in this building. This is a big place for a standard family or restaurant. We think that this is a place where public or ceremonial meals are held or food is distributed to the public,” she said.

The team of 25 — led by Caneva — found a 4,500-year-old jar belonging to the Middle Bronze Age, she noted.

Yumuktepe Hoyuk has been home to many civilizations where skulls from the Hittite period and seals from the Neolithic period were previously found.

Source: Anadolu Agency