Ref. Barangkali tidak keliru kalau dibilang Raki atau juga disebut Urzu adalah minuman nasional di Turki, karena terdapat diseluruh negeri dan diminum pada setiap kesempatan. Minuman ini sama jenisnya dengan Pernod di Perancis. Di Turki juga dibuat minuman anggur, karena banyak penanam anggur. Minuman impor seperti whisky, coniaq, wodka, bir teresebar luas.
Turkish Parliament adopts alcohol restrictions, bans sale between 10 pm and 6 am
ANKARA
AA Photo
The proposal was swiftly put on the agenda, despite the protests from the opposition, and was eventually adopted early in the morning of May 24 following debates which ran on past midnight. The AKP has acted remarkably fast in bringing the legislative package to the agenda of Parliament's General Assembly, within a period of a mere two days.
According to the bill, retailers will no longer be allowed to sell alcoholic beverages between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The opposition parties strongly criticized the amendments, arguing that such a ban should not include touristic regions. "[Alcohol] banned during night prayers, but allowed during morning prayers," a Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy said about the proposition.
The head of the Planning and Budget Commission, Lütfü Elvan of the AKP, said that such restrictions were in place in many Western countries. "This approach of night prayers and morning prayers saddened me. In Sweden, [the retail sale of alcohol] is forbidden after 7 p.m. on weekdays, 3 p.m. on Saturdays and 24 hours on Sundays. There are similar restrictions in all Scandinavian countries," he said.
"No one can be forced to drink or not to drink. This is a religious and ideological imposition," Musa Çam, a deputy from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said. "This is not a struggle against the ills of alcohol but an attempt to re-design the society according to their beliefs and lifestyle," he added.
All sorts of advertising campaigns will be completely banned, such as promotions, sponsored activities, festivals and free giveaways. The only exception will be the international fairs aimed at international marketing of the alcoholic beverages.
Violators of the advertising ban will be punished with financial penalties ranging from 5000 to 200,000 Turkish liras.
Under the bill, alcohol companies would no longer be allowed to promote their brands and logos, these can only be used as part of service inside the facility.
Additionally, all liquor bottles sold would have to display warning signs about the harms of alcohol, again similar to those found on cigarette packages.
London-based spirits company Diageo, which entered the Turkish market by acquiring Mey Icki in 2011, released a statement on May 23, saying that it shared the government's concerns about alcohol consumption but that it was seeking a meeting with officials to "present alternative views" on "fair, balanced and responsible" regulation.
In TV series, films and music videos, images that glorify the consumption of alcohol will be prohibited. Images of alcohol would be blurred, the same way as cigarettes are being blurred at the moment.
BDP deputy Murat Bozlak also demonstrated their disapproval of the bill as he said "Nobody has the right to impose the monotype lifestyle on the society."
Alcoholic beverages will not be allowed to be purchased from vending machines. Beverages could not be sold from see-through shop windows and cannot be sold to be consumed outside the facility.
Student dormitories, health institutions, sports clubs, all sorts of education institutions and gas stations will be banned from selling alcohol. Already acquired licenses to sell alcohol will remain intact, yet to get new ones, facilities are required to be located outside the perimeter of 100 meters of educational and religious centers.
Those who want to get licenses to sell alcohol from the Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Authority (TAPDK) will be conditioned to get the license to open up a business from the municipality and then a tourism document from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Before granting a license the municipalities will get the opinion of the authorized law enforcement forces.
The alcohol limit for drivers has also been decreased from 1 to 0.5 promil. If the driver is to exceed this limit, they will be penalized with a fine of 700 liras and their driving license will be seized for a period of six months. Smoking while driving is also prohibited.
May/24/2013
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Alcohol restrictions to damage Turkey's image, warns Diageo
ISTANBUL
Diageo acquired Mey İçki for $2.1 billion in 2011. The company is the owns Turkey's biggest Rakı brand 'Yeni Rakı'.
The world's leading spirits company, which acquired Mey İçki for $2.1 billion in 2011, owns the country's leading rakı brand as well as a well-known wine brand.
The company's representatives said such radical and restrictive measures taken precipitately would have a dissuasive effect on investors. Diageo representatives added they would focus on other markets in the future. "Diageo operates in 180 countries across the world. But we haven't given up on Turkey," a representative said.
'Promises weren't kept'
The company also said the government had made promises regarding legislation in a separate interview published by daily Hürriyet May 25. "We would have appreciated it if we had had an opportunity to give our opinion in the process so far. As a party that will be severely affected, we would still understand if such an opportunity were seized in the future," it said, adding that they were ready to work with authorities to fight with the problems related to alcoholism.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been the architect of the new law banning retailers from selling alcoholic beverages between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and severely restricting advertising and promotion campaigns of alcoholic drink companies. According to the bill, Previously acquired licenses to sell alcohol will remain valid, but to get new ones, facilities will be required to be located more than 100 meters from educational and religious centers.
Drinking alcohol in public parks to be forbidden
Istanbul deputy Cevdet Erdöl, who is also the head of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's medical team, told daily Hürriyet that alcohol consumption in public parks would also be banned while permission will be required to consume on beaches and in picnic areas.
"The more alcohol, the more crime, from violence to sexual abuse. We don't keep records on it but if you look at the intensive care units you will see that the cause of 60-70 percent of accidents is alcohol," Erdöl said, comparing drinking alcohol with carrying a gun.
"I don't want anyone to hit the bottle near my kid. The comparison is not perfectly adequate, but [drinking alcohol] is like carrying a gun," Erdöl said. He also added that all images on TV showing people drinking alcohol could be removed, instead of merely being blurred.
May/25/2013
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