THE RING OF MOCKERY
BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)
An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale shook the
southeastern province of Bingol early this morning at 3:27
a.m. local time. Officials put the estimated death toll at
around 150, including scores of children buried in a collapsed
school dormitory, adding that some 300 people had suffered
injuries. Search and rescue efforts are continuing to save
victims trapped under the quake’s debris. Over 50 aftershocks
were recorded in the region. The quake was also felt in many
other provinces, including Elazig and Diyarbakir, causing
panic among local residents. /Anatolian Agency/
The importance of the principle of secularism, one of the
basic pillars of the Turkish Republic, and its vigilant
protection cannot be overemphasized, said a statement released
by yesterday’s National Security Council (NSC) meeting. The
statement urged the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
government to protect Turkey’s secular state amid signs of
rising tension between the secular establishment and the
avowedly moderate Islamist governing party. Tensions between
the government and the secular establishment made headlines
last week when President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and top military
officials declined to attend a traditional state anniversary
reception. The statement from the NSC, which brings together
Sezer, government leaders and military officials, did not
specify any forthcoming action that the government might take.
/Aksam/
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is set to visit Tehran, Iran
at the end of this month to participate in the 30th foreign
ministers’ meeting of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC). Gul is also expected to pay an official
visit to Bulgaria near mid-month, on May 12. /Aksam/
Turkey’s place is within Europe, so a European Union
lacking it is by definition incomplete, said US Secretary of
State Colin Powell yesterday. Speaking to Greek daily To Vima,
Powell stressed the importance of Turkey’s relations with the
fellow nations of Europe, adding that it should be taken into
the EU’s ranks as soon as possible. “Ankara knows what it has
to do in order to fulfýll the Union’s criteria,” said Powell.
Also touching on the Cyprus issue, Powell said that he was
disappointed by the collapse in March of talks to reach a
resolution on the island. Powell is expected soon to follow in
his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul’s footsteps by visiting
Damascus to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The
visit carries great importance due to recent tensions between
the two countries. /Aksam/
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf
Denktas said yesterday that the TRNC had begun to carry out
its own plans for a peaceful settlement on the island. During
his visit to Sakarya University in northwestern Turkey, where
he was honored with an honorary doctorate, Denktas told
reporters that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Cyprus plan
was ill-suited to forge a lasting resolution on the island.
“The TRNC has opened its doors to Greek Cypriots for the sake
of peace,” said Denktas, referring to last week’s opening of
border gates between the island’s two countries. “This can be
a foundation for our two peoples to come to know each other.
If we cannot establish a joint state, then we can live as two
friendly countries side-by-side.” Stressing that granting
European Union membership to Greek Cyprus was a violation of
the Turkish side’s rights spelled out in 1960’s international
agreements, Denktas said that the EU’s “irresponsible” support
to the Greek Cypriots had “spoiled” them. “After getting ahold
of 12 Mediterranean islands, Greece now wants to take the
13th, and so encircle Turkey with a ring of islands,” added
the TRNC president. /Turkiye/
Following last week’s decision made by the Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to open its border gates with Greek
Cyprus, enabling citizens of the island’s two nations to visit
each other for the first time in decades, over 100,000
Cypriots from both sides have taken advantage of the
unprecedented open-door policy. The citizens have visited each
other in proportions roughly equal to their population sizes,
which in practice means more Greek Cypriots have visited the
TRNC. The international community has also welcomed the new
winds of friendship on the island. The Times of London quoted
Greek Cyprus’ Nicosia governor as saying, “From now on this
issue is in the hands of the two peoples. The politicians will
follow them.” He added that he was pleased with the recent
developments on the island and that new steps would follow.
“Along these lines, Turkish Cypriots may soon be able to work,
trade or make use of the health services in Greek Cyprus,”
said the governor. /Turkiye/
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to pay a visit
to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on May 9,
“European Union Day,” to hold a series of contacts there. He
will also meet with President Rauf Denktas to discuss recent
developments on the island. /Turkiye/
Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) leader Massoud
Barzani on Monday sent a letter to Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul, reportedly requesting further Turkish cooperation during
the postwar period in northern Iraq. Barzani also mentioned
his appreciation of Turkey’s stance on northern Iraq during
the war. In related news, Turkey is due to draw up a list of
people who may take part in the Iraqi interim government to
help the country in its transition to democracy. The list,
which would include both Sunnis and Shiites as well as Arabs,
Kurds and Turkmen so as to ensure a balanced administrative
system, is expected to be delivered to the Bush administration
later this month. /Cumhuriyet/
The US State Department cited KADEK, the terrorist
successor to the PKK, in its annual “Patterns of Global
Terrorism 2002” report released yesterday, alongside similar
groups the DHKP-C and Turkish Hizbullah. The report stated
that despite the PKK’s name-change last year to the so-called
“Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress” (KADEK) and its
concomitant pledge to abandon armed attacks in favor of a
political path, the terrorist group has persisted in arming an
estimated 8,000 trained fighters in and around Turkey. Over
the last two decades, the terrorist organization PKK/KADEK is
responsible for claiming over 30,000 lives in southeastern
Turkey. Turkey is a party to all 12 international conventions
and protocols relating to terrorism. /Cumhuriyet/
There is no reason why current domestic political tensions
should do any damage to the economy, said Central Bank
Governor Sureyya Serdengecti yesterday. Speaking to reporters,
Serdengecti said that the Iraq war had made no visible impact
on Turkey’s economy, adding that the CB would strive to
achieve its 20% inflation target for this year. He further
remarked that the CB might launch inflation indexing later in
May or June, but that external conditions were not appropriate
for the measure just now. /Milliyet/
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on Turkey’s foreign policy
issues. A summary of his column is as follows:
“The US is feeling uneasy about our recent contacts with
Iran and Syria. America is our ally, whereas Iran and Syria
are not. What’s more, these two countries are on the official
US list of terrorist states.
The unnecessary contacts with Iran and Syria make me uneasy
too because we’ve suffered so much due to our large neighbor
to the east and smaller neighbors to the south. They’re all
smiles now, but we shouldn’t let ourselves be fooled or forget
how they once looked down on us. We’ve tried sincerely to
establish friendly relations with both Syria and Iran. However,
their Persian and Baathist Arab racist nationalism and their
jealousy of us were tiresome. Even today we’re ready to
establish close relations with all of our neighbors, including
Armenia. We should take a stand on our justified expectation
of equal treatment.
Our relations with the Central Asian Turkic republics are
in a lull right now. However, these ties should be kept
constantly active. We should keep a close watch on this.
If the Justice and Development Party (AKP) doesn’t want to
be faced with awkward early elections, it needs to watch its
steps in the foreign policy arena.”
Columnist Oktay Eksi writes on recent US media reports
concerning a Turkish convoy transporting humanitarian aid to
Kirkuk. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Everything we know about the Iraq war is confined to what
US military officials are so gracious as to let us know. We
unfortunately have no idea about other pertinent facts: How
many civilians lost their lives? How many US soldiers turned a
blind eye to looters or even gave them help? Why, I must ask,
are we so under-informed? Because prominent US newsmagazine
Time and other similar mainstream news outlets would never
devote coverage to such shameful incidents even if they are
all too well aware of them. However, the US media recently
made a great ado about nothing when a handful of guns was
seized in a Turkish convoy devoted to delivering humanitarian
aid to the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
Here is what Time correspondent David Rohde reported:
‘Turkish Special Forces soldiers were caught trying to smuggle
grenades, night-vision goggles and dozens of rifles into
Kirkuk.’ In addition, Col. William Mayville, the commander of
US forces in the city, made controversial media remarks on the
issue, saying he was expecting the arrival of Turkish Special
Forces in the region in an effort to incite Iraq’s Turkmen
groups.
Yesterday, in an analysis of the situation, Hurriyet’s
Sedat Ergin wrote that US officials very much regret these
media reports as they’ve finally came to understand that the
arms were there only to protect the safe passage of the
convoy’s supplies. Thank God! The US has finally realized that
Turkey has no intention of arming Turkmen groups! However, no
matter what happens, Turkish convoys will be protected by US
soldiers from now on. Americans don’t want to see unescorted
Turks lurking about!
Let’s review a few basics of international relations:
If the necessary conditions arise, any state might send to
another such special forces or teams. Some of them might even
get caught. At that point, officials from the two states get
in contact with each other, discuss the issue and come to an
understanding. If there is no serious threat of spying or
sabotage, the matter is closed and considered forgotten.
That’s why we can’t take seriously either the US media
reports or their apologies afterwards. Let’s not forget that
even Time admitted that US military officials in Kirkuk had
been informed beforehand that a Turkish convoy was due there.
In this case, I consider the Kirkuk fuss just another American
show meant to browbeat or scare the Turkish leadership. This
is nothing but a game in which the Americans are trying to
pull the wool over everyone’s eyes.
We should know who we are dancing with.”
