DANGEROUS GAME BY ERDAL SAFAK
(SABAH)
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, while returning from Algeria, yesterday
said that in the face of dissolution by various
circles about last week’s attack on the Council
of State, he would soon speak out about the
issue. “I am personally involved in this,” said
Erdogan. “I will meet with my colleagues at
least once a week and closely follow it. We want
to do our utmost to bring it to the judiciary as
soon as possible. We’ll not let things be
concealed or sidetracked. We’ll bring things up
again if there’s anything, and examine them one
by one. We’ll uncover it even if it’s [related
to the 1996 scandal of] Susurluk.” He added that
he would also address the state of the financial
markets. /Hurriyet/
On the last day of his visit to
Algeria yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan was received by President Abdulaziz
Bouteflika. During their talks, Bouteflika said
that Algeria continues to lend support to Turkey
on a number of issues, including the Armenian
issue and Turkey’s European Union membership
bid. In addition, a friendship and cooperation
agreement was signed by Energy and Natural
Resources Minister Hilmi Guler and Algerian
Finance Minister Murat Midilisi. The agreement
reportedly proposes cooperation and investment
in politics, the military, trade and culture.
Furthermore, the two countries agreed to carry
out research into petroleum, natural gas and
minerals. Erdogan also attended a meeting of
Turkish and Algerian businessmen. Speaking at
the gathering, the premier noted that Algeria
was Turkey’s number one trading partner in
Africa, adding that both countries wanted to
further develop their ties. /Turkiye/
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
said yesterday that last week’s attack on
Council of State judges had truly targeted
democracy. Addressing Parliament during debates
over setting up a Security Affairs Directorate
under the Prime Ministry, Gul said that if
democracy should falter, both the government and
the opposition would suffer. Stressing that the
attack had targeted the state, principles of the
republic, secularism and basic principles of the
judiciary, Gul said the government was closely
following developments and that the security
forces had began to unravel the case. Calling on
all people to act together against the enemies
of the regime, secularism and judiciary, Gul
said that their duty was to protect those
values. /Turkiye/
A Turkish and Greek fighter jet
collided yesterday during a dogfight some 35
miles south of the Aegean island of Rhodes. The
Turkish pilot was rescued by a merchant ship
while the Greek pilot died, according to a
statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The
Turkish General Staff, in a written statement
yesterday on the accident, stressed that the
clash occurred while the Greek jet was
intercepting the Turkish jet. The General Staff
said that Turkish fighter jets were performing
routine training flights in international
airspace over the Aegean and Mediterranean when
they were intercepted by Greek jet fighters over
35 miles south of the Greek island of Rhodes.
“During this interception, a Turkish F-16
fighter jet and a Greek F-16 fighter jet
collided and both planes crashed,” the statement
said. Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul spoke to his Greek counterpart Dora
Bakoyannis on the phone yesterday to avoid a
possible crisis between Ankara and Athens
following the crash. /All papers/
Sabanci University and the US’
Brookings Institute yesterday held the Second
Sakip Sabanci Conference in Washington.
Addressing the gathering, World Bank President
and former US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul
Wolfowitz said that Turkey’s most important
issue was unemployment. Stressing that
unemployment was a greater concern for the
Turkish public than even terrorism, Wolfowitz
stated that 10 million new jobs should be
created through 2010. Pointing to the importance
of boosting investments and strengthening the
foreign private sector in the country, he added,
however, that Turkey has difficulty attracting
foreign investors. Concerning Turkey’s efforts
to join the European Union, Wolfowitz stated
that reforms in Turkey would benefit both Turkey
and the EU. He added that Turkey needed to
invest in its people to have a population in
step with technological advances. /Sabah/
Main opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal
yesterday said that Turkish society was
safeguarding secularism, which enjoyed the
protection of various institutions in the past,
and that this gives him hope. “We’ll find a way
through this political crisis with policy,” he
said. “We’ll find a way to those who brought
Turkey to this point through democratic means,
at the polls.” /Cumhuriyet/
National Police Chief Gokhan
Aydiner said yesterday that they had uncovered
an organized gang’s involvement in the attacks
on both the Council of State judges and
Cumhuriyet daily, adding that members of the
gang have been detained. Stressing that a total
of 17 people have been taken into custody, and
two more suspects are being sought, Aydiner said
that all leads were being investigated. /Aksam/
US State Department Iraq
Coordinator James Jeffrey yesterday said that
the terrorist PKK issue would constitute one of
the most important priorities of Washington’s
cooperation with the new government established
in Iraq. Jeffrey stated that they had brought
the PKK issue to the attention of Iraqi Kurdish
leaders last month. Touching on Turkey’s
security concerns stemming from the PKK’s
presence in Iraq, the diplomat stated that his
country expects to work in cooperation with both
Ankara and Baghdad on the issue. Urging all of
Iraq’s neighbors to use Turkey as a model,
Jeffrey praised Turkey’s contribution to the
reconstruction of Iraq and its role in political
and economic developments. /Milliyet/
Doctors treating former Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit said Tuesday he had shown
no improvement and remained in a coma on life
support following treatment for a stroke.
Doctors previously had been unable to assess the
81-year-old former leader’s neurological
condition because he was in a medically induced
sleep for nearly three days following his stroke
late Thursday night. The doctors said in a
written statement Tuesday that Ecevit had come
out of anesthesia, but remained in critical
condition and on life support. “The expected
changes in his condition have not occurred,”
they said, and “he remains in critical condition
and in a coma.” /The New Anatolian/
Turkey has extended its
congratulations to the new Iraqi government that
took office over the weekend and expressed hope
that the new government would be beneficial for
all Iraqis. A written statement released by the
Foreign Ministry on Monday said that Turkey is
determined to do its best to support the efforts
of the new government led by Nouri al-Maliki to
solve the political, economic, security and
social problems of Iraq. /Turkish Daily News/
Columnist Erdal Safak comments
on yesterday’s dogfight between Turkish and
Greek jets. A summary of his column is as
follows:
“This
is a war game. A deadly war game in peacetime!
I’m talking about the dogfight between the
Turkish and Greek jets. One of these dogfights
caused fear on both sides of the Aegean. The
Turkish and Greek jets crashed. Both pilots
managed to eject before the crash. The Turkish
pilot, Halil Ibrahim Ozdemir, survived. There
was no information about the Greek pilot as I
was writing this column. I hope he’ll survive.
On
Oct. 8, 1996, Turkish pilot Nail Erdogan died
during a dogfight over the Aegean when tension
between Athens and Ankara was high, and the fact
that he fell from a Greek missile came out years
later. This was reported by a Greek periodical.
The pilot’s family brought the incident to the
European Court of human Rights. The court agreed
to handle the case.
This
war game sometimes brings the two countries to
the brink of a conflict. On Nov. 18, 2004, a
Greek warplane locked its radar on a Turkish jet
and the jet opened fire, because locking radar
for more than five minutes is considered a
hostile act. Of course this was followed by
mutual harsh declarations.
Both
the military and politicians of both countries
intervened right after the latest incident.
Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok
immediately called his Greek counterpart. And
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul called his Greek
counterpart Dora Bakoyannis, who was scheduled
to go to Paris after her stay in Helsinki, but
now is returning to Athens. This shows that the
incident will stay on the agenda for several
days.
Could
this dangerous war game not be prevented?
According to the military: ‘No.’ Because
dogfights are an exercise for war pilots.
Retired Gen. Yasar Mujdeci said: ‘Planes from
both sides have fallen during the air maneuvers
called dogfights. Dogfights are necessary for
gauging the combat capabilityies of both sides.’
Fine, but Gul and Bakoyannis have explained that
they would establish a ‘red line’ between
Eskisehir and Larissa to put an end to these
dogfights. Based on Mujdeci’s words, we would
have no hope. Former Greek Defense Minister
Spilyos Spilyotopolos echoed Mujdeci: ‘Nothing
will change even if a red line is established.’
I hope the incident won’t cast a shadow over the
visit by Bakoyannis to Turkey in the coming
days.”
