21 February 2006

1. "Will Turkey’s democratic reforms falter after August 2006?", on August 30, 2006, Turkish Land Forces Commander General Yasar Buyukanit is scheduled to succeed General Hilmi Ozkok as chief of general staff. With this change of leadership, will Turkey's march toward Europe, which has to a great extent been possible by the Turkish military's complaisance with the civilian administration and the military's support for further democratic reforms, slow in pace?

2. "Article 301 Now Sentencing Unionists!", a Tunceli court has sentenced Bekmezci, the Egitim-Sen offical for making a statement about murdered taxi-driver Akdag; and unionist Ser, for criticizing the postponement of the 6. Munzur Culture and Nature Festival, to 6 months in prison each.

3. "Academics' Case at Justice Minister's Door", an Ankara court decides to ask Justice Ministry's consent to try Professors Oran and Kaboglu who are charged with violating Article 301 by their minority report on "minorities". The two face five year in prison for "inciting racial hatred".

4. "Broadcasts in Kurdish on private channels to start in March", allowing broadcasts in languages other than Turkish was one of the requirements set by the European Union.

5. "Hasankeyf: doomed to a watery demise", experts say it will be almost impossible to salvage the historical and cultural assets of Hasankeyf once construction of Ilisu Dam is completed.

6. "Frattini: Religious freedom to be component of Turkey’s EU talks", the issue of religious freedom in Turkey will be one of the most important issues to be covered during Turkey's membership negotiations with the European Union, according to a senior official of the European Commission, executive organ of the EU that is most directly and actively involved in candidate countries' preparation process ahead of entry.

7. "German official calls for Turkish film on Iraq to be pulled from theaters", the film "Valley of the Wolves in Iraq" should be pulled from German cinemas, Bavaria state Gov. Edmund Stoiber said, according to the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. He said the movie was racist and could stir animosity between Islam and the West.

8. "Veto On Turkey EU Bid Is An Option, Says Cyprus", Cyprus warned Turkey on Sunday that it could veto its European Union bid if Ankara fails to meet obligations towards the partitioned Mediterranean island. Ratcheting up the pressure on Turkey, Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos told the Greek Ethnos newspaper that a veto was an option, but said it was a last resort.

1. - PINR - "Will Turkey’s democratic reforms falter after August 2006?":

20 February 2006 / by Mehmet Kalyoncu

On August 30, 2006, Turkish Land Forces Commander General Yasar Buyukanit is scheduled to succeed General Hilmi Ozkok as chief of general staff. With this change of leadership, will Turkey's march toward Europe, which has to a great extent been possible by the Turkish military's complaisance with the civilian administration and the military's support for further democratic reforms, slow in pace?

It has been speculated that the unusual complaisance of the Turkish army with the civilian administration in the recent democratic reform process is merely due to Ozkok's own modern views on civilian-military relations and not due to a mentality change in the minds of the generals. Some also speculate that the current harmonious civilian-military relations will be something of the past under the leadership of Buyukanit. Under the new military leadership, whether it is that of Buyukanit or another individual, the Islamist threat in Turkey is likely to become the most controversial issue that will determine the fate of civilian-military relations in Turkey and, therefore, that of Turkey's reform process toward E.U. membership.

Cooperation between the Turkish military and the civilian administration signifies a mentality change in the Turkish military. The transformation that has been initiated under the leadership of the consecutive chiefs of the general staff -- General Huseyin Kivrikoglu and General Ozkok -- is likely to continue under the leadership of prospective chief of general staff General Buyukanit. Conditions at both the international and individual levels require this. For instance, at the apex of his military career, why would Buyukanit want to risk being demonized domestically and marginalized internationally as the chief of the general staff who collapsed Turkey's unprecedented democratization process? Buyukanit's firm resistance against speculations about his recent visit to Washington being a quest for U.S. support for his prospective leadership signals that he would be no less democratic and compliant with the civilian administration than his predecessors Kivrikoglu and Ozkok.

Ozkok as Chief of General Staff

Following the footsteps of his reformist predecessor Kivrikoglu, Ozkok raised the bar in terms of reforming civilian-military relations. A recent article in Foreign Affairs, "The Turkish Military's March Toward Europe," correctly explains how after the December 1999 Helsinki summit where the E.U. granted Turkey "full eligibility" for membership, then Chief of General Staff Kivrikoglu's announcement of the Turkish military's full support for Turkey's E.U. membership marked a breakthrough and gave momentum to Turkey's democratic reform process in order to achieve the vision of full E.U. membership: "We view the E.U. decision for Turkey to be for the full benefit of the Turkish nation. We support it wholeheartedly." This explicit endorsement from the highest authority in the Turkish military provided new energy for the civilian authorities to prepare the country politically and economically for full membership in the E.U.

The reformist and democratic legacy of Ozkok marked even further harmonization in civilian-military relations and hence paved the way to the civilian administration's democratic reforms. As the Foreign Affairs article argues, the most notable reforms of the Ozkok legacy have included shifting the balance of power on the National Security Council (N.S.C.) in favor of civilian members, allowing civilians to lead the drafting of N.S.C. papers that define the threats facing the country, giving civilian authorities supervisory power over military expenses, promotions, and dismissals, removing military representatives from non-military councils, and subjecting military judicial institutions to civilian oversight. Such reforms would probably be unimaginable in the absence of a cause such as E.U. membership, but it also takes a bold and democratic-minded leadership like that of Ozkok to realize those reforms.

A Civilian-Military Clash over Defining the Islamist Threat

The authors in the Foreign Affairs article question how much further the Turkish military will cooperate with the civilian administration on two critical issues. The article states, "With the E.U.'s decision in October to begin membership negotiations with Ankara, the need for reform, especially regarding the military's policies on Kurdish secessionism and the status of Cyprus, will only intensify. And it remains to be seen how much further the Turkish military leadership will be willing to retreat." The authors identify only these two issues as possible grounds of contention where the military's cooperation with the civilian administration for the sake of E.U. accession may lessen or even turn into a confrontation.

Turkey's overall policies regarding these two issues are closely monitored by the international community, most notably by the E.U. member states. A radical shift in the military's policies in dealing with the Kurdish issue and the status of Cyprus may dramatically blockade Turkey's progress toward E.U. membership. Therefore, it is too costly for any military leader to depart radically from the course already established by the previous reformist leaderships such as those of Kivrikoglu and Ozkok.

Beyond these two issues, a third one, and probably more controversial, is the Islamist threat in Turkey. This issue is likely to be a major point of contention between the civilian administration and the successive military leadership after August 30, 2006. This issue will not only risk democratic progress in Turkey, but also the very fate of the current Justice and Development Party (A.K.P.) government, and hence Turkey's overall venture toward E.U. membership. Even though the Ozkok reforms include allowing civilians to lead the drafting of the N.S.C. papers that define the threats facing the country, identification of national threats that are listed in those N.S.C. papers still depend on the preferences of military and civilian authorities represented in the N.S.C. Therefore, what military members of the N.S.C. think about the key issues in Turkey still matters.

Buyukanit has always been cautious toward the late reforms required by the E.U. His views on these reforms are likely to have strong implications on the military-civilian relationship during his possible term as the chief of general staff. According to the report by Milliyet Daily, during his inauguration address, Buyukanit stressed that the "Islamist threat and separatism will be the main concerns of the Turkish Armed Forces. It will be our fundamental duty to identify and deal with those who exploit modern values such as human rights and individual freedoms in order to purse their separatist causes."

Similarly, Buyukanit noted that "it is imperative to think again and again about the initiatives carried out under the banner of reforms, if they are threatening the very fundamentals of the regime. We should always prioritize our concerns about the fate of the regime." He also rebuked both domestic and international efforts to limit the influence of the Turkish military by depriving it the role as protector of the regime. Nevertheless, during the same address, he made it clear that the cadres constituting the Turkish Armed Forces do not have any political expectations. His distinctive views on key issues does not necessarily mean that Buyukanit would be confrontational with the civilian administration; however, it does imply that during his possible term as the chief of general staff, the civilian administration's every reform would be much more scrutinized.

Buyukanit as Chief of General Staff

Buyukanit is likely to keep the course, if not further reforms, by complying with the civilian administration. The opposite would be a disaster not only for the democratization process in Turkey, but also for his own career as a chief of general staff. Besides individual ones, the international factors like the European Union's and the U.S.' desire to have a stable Turkey are likely to convince Buyukanit that it is in the best interests of Turkey to support rather than curtail the ongoing reform process.

Any radical change in the military's relations with the civilian administration would likely undermine civilian rights and freedoms in Turkey; it would also cause the public to attribute this change to the military's new leaders' ambitions to overturn the Ozkok reforms. In such a case, quite familiar with radically different leadership models, the Turkish public would not hesitate to draw parallels between Buyukanit's succession of Ozkok and Ismet Inonu's succession of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The more the new military leadership departs from the reformist and democratic course set by the Ozkok leadership, the more it will be likened to the Inonu leadership which was publicly perceived as driven by Inonu's personal ambition to ruin Ataturk's legacy.

Indeed, any radical move from the top generals that would hinder democratic reforms would create substantial public disappointment, which might severely tarnish the respectful image of the Turkish military in the minds of the Turkish people. Similarly, any instability in democratizing Turkey caused by military-civilian confrontation would attract severe criticism from the international community, most notably from the E.U. which expects the reforms to take root before Turkey's full membership, and from the U.S. which considers a stable and democratic Turkey important for the fate of the democratization project in the Middle East.

Conclusion

It is a matter of deep curiosity both domestically and internationally whether the late reforms imposed by the E.U. on Turkey will continue or not. Even if the A.K.P. government's resolve and dynamism to finalize Turkey's prolonged quest for E.U. membership has been an important driving force in undertaking the E.U.-imposed reforms, the Turkish military's unprecedented complaisance with the civilian administration under the leadership of Ozkok has proven key to the civilian administration's success. Without the Ozkok reforms, which have harmonized civilian-military relations, it would have been difficult for Turkey to improve its human rights record and to find sustainable solutions to both the Kurdish issue and to the status of Cyprus.

The upcoming August 30 succession at the top of the Turkish military is likely to be decisive for the fate of civilian-military leadership. Regardless of what sort of leadership follows the reformist and democratic one of Ozkok, it is not likely that the Kurdish and Cyprus issues will become a matter of contention in civilian-military relations. The successive leaderships are likely to follow a similar course on these two issues, which have been established through military-civilian deliberations and are closely monitored by the international community, most notably by the E.U. and the U.S. What is more likely to become a matter of contention is defining the Islamist threat in Turkey. This issue is more of a domestic one and an issue that has always highly concerned the Turkish Armed Forces that act as the protector of the secular regime.

Some have speculated that civilian-military relations are likely to be strained under the possible leadership of Buyukanit. However, the recent unusual complaisance of the Turkish military with the civilian administration is not a result of Ozkok's reformist and democratic personality alone, but more importantly a result of a substantial mentality change in the Turkish military. If Buyukanit takes control in August, the Turkish military should be no less democratic and compliant with the civilian administration.

2. - Bianet - "Article 301 Now Sentencing Unionists!":

A Tunceli court has sentenced Bekmezci, the Egitim-Sen offical for making a statement about murdered taxi-driver Akdag; and unionist Ser, for criticizing the postponement of the 6. Munzur Culture and Nature Festival, to 6 months in prison each.

ANKARA / 17 February / by Erol Onderoglu

A Tunceli court has sentenced Hanefi Bekmezci, the head of the Tunceli branch of the Union of Education and Science Workers (Egitim-Sen), to six months in prison for "publicly insulting the military forces." Bekmezci had made a statement about the murdered taxi-driver Hasan Akdag and the developments that followed.

The court first reduced Bekmezci's prison sentence to five months due to good conduct, then commuted it to a fine of 3,000 new Turkish liras (USD 2,300).

Same sentence to Ser from ESM Union

Bekmezci told bianet he would appeal the decision through his lawyer Baris Yildirim. He added he would take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.

Two weeks ago, the same court had sentenced Huseyin Ser, the manager of the headquarters of Energy, Industry and Mine Workers Union (ESM) to six months in prison.

Ser had received the prison sentence for reading the press statement, prepared by the Labor and Democracy Platform, on the postponement of the 6th Munzur Culture and Nature Festival. His prison sentence had also been commuted to a fine of 3,000 new Turkish liras.

Second case against Bekmezci

A new case has been opened against Bekmezci for "publicly insulting the state" by reading a joint press statements about exile of 12 public workers from Tunceli. He will stand trial on February 28.

3. - Bianet - "Academics' Case at Justice Minister's Door":

An Ankara court decides to ask Justice Ministry's consent to try Professors Oran and Kaboglu who are charged with violating Article 301 by their minority report on "minorities". The two face five year in prison for "inciting racial hatred".

ANKARA / 20 February 2006 / by Erol Onderoglu

A Turkish court begins trying Professor Dr. Ibrahim Kaboglu, the former head of the Human Rights Advisory Board of the Prime Ministry, and board member Professor Doctor Baskin Oran, for their minority report to "Minority Rights and Cultural Rights Working Group Report".

Kaboglu and Oran face five years in prison if found guilty of violating articles 216/1 and 301/2 of the Turkish Penal Code.

The involvement of informants rejected

The Ankara court decided to ask for the permission of the Justice Ministry to try the two professors based on article 301. The court, who listened to 25 witness testimonies, also rejected the involvement in the case of the informants whose personal complaints led to the prosecution against two academics. The trial has been postponed two April 10 for the second hearing.

The Republic Prosecutor of Ankara Nadi Turkaslan, on November 14, states in his indictment referring to section on "The Sevres Paranoia" in the report that "the proposals in favor of the minorities in this report, resemble largely the provisions on minorities in the Sevres Treaty, which led to invasion of our country (in 1918) . It is natural to have a Sevres paranoia in case of
such resemblance."

Prosecutor Turkaslan charges the authors with violating Article 301 basically for proposing the notion of the "citizen of Turkey," instead of the notion of "being a Turk."

4. - NTV/MSNBC - "Broadcasts in Kurdish on private channels to start in March":

Allowing broadcasts in languages other than Turkish was one of the requirements set by the European Union.

ANKARA / 20 February 2006

Turkey’s media watchdog has announced that broadcasts in the Kurdish language may commence in March on private radio and television stations.

Previously, the only broadcasts in Kurdish was a limited service on state media, introduced more than one year ago.

However, following a meeting of the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) on Monday, it was announced that owners of private broadcasters could begin transmissions in Kurdish next month, after completing the necessary documentation and being granted permission.

Under existing Turkish legislation that came into force late last year, only radio and television networks with national coverage would be allowed to broadcast in languages other than Turkish.

However, Monday’s announcement means that regional stations will also be able to apply to broadcast in Kurdish in their local areas.

5. - Turkish Daily News - "Hasankeyf: doomed to a watery demise":

Experts say it will be almost impossible to salvage the historical and cultural assets of Hasankeyf once construction of Ilisu Dam is completed

ANKARA / 20 February 2006

A symposium was held in Diyarbakir over the weekend to discuss the salvation of Hasankeyf, which faces submersion when Ilisu Dam is constructed.

Hasankeyf, located on the Tigris River in the southeastern province of Batman, is an ancient city dating back 10,000 years that was declared a natural conservation area in 1981. However, the district as well as its historical and cultural wealth are in danger of being inundated by Ilisu Dam, part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP).

Hasankeyf excavation leader Professor Abdüsselam Uluçam said the cultural and historical assets of Hasankeyf were in dire straits.

Noting that construction of the dam was scheduled to begin next month, Uluçam told the Anatolia news agency: “Hasankeyf as well as many other small settlements are in danger of being submerged and lost forever to the waters of Ilisu Dam. Thus, work on its rescue are multidimensional in that it aims to preserve both Hasankeyf and nearby settlements as well as the cultural and historical treasures of the city.”

Around 80 percent of Hasankeyf's treasures have either been ruined or are about to disappear due to natural phenomena or lack of interest,” he said, adding that the Zeynel Bey Tomb and Large Palace (Seyran Köskü) faced the risk of ruin. “Fully 90 percent of the area will be submerged when the dam is built,” he added.

Rescue work too slow:

Stating that archaeological and salvage work initiated in 1966 had proceeded slowly due to a lack of funding, Uluçam said: “We began excavation in Hasankeyf. We conducted an almost 15-year excavation study in just two years because of a sudden increase in financial support due to the dam's imminent construction.”

“A total of 19 new cultural assets were discovered during this excavation. Their architectural identity was confirmed and they were physically shored up,” he added.

Commenting that further work should be realized in two steps, he said: “Firstly, it is important to document the cultural assets that will be submerged by the dam, a 60-year task. Secondly, the artifacts excavated so far should be restored and protected.”

Hard to save Hasankeyf under these circumstances:

Professor Ahmet Adil Tirpan of Selçuk University said at the Diyarbakir symposium that he had taken part in various excavation projects aimed at saving artifacts at risk of submersion and that construction of the Bakü-Ceyhan pipeline as well over historical structures had prevented some excavation.

“Culture tourism is very important, yet we don't really realize just how much. Although many projects aiming to save these kinds of artifacts are being drawn up, we need more coordination between them. We can't revive Hasankeyf's historical and cultural treasures after they are lost,” he said. “It's really hard to save Hasankeyf under these circumstances.”

Speaking at the symposium, Turkish History Foundation Chairman Orhan Silier said there were approximately 1,200 existing and future dams in Turkey, with 350 currently under construction and 100 more on the drawing board.

“The construction of dams damages the natural and cultural environment, which is almost impossible to revive later on. This damage should be reduced to a minimum,” he said.

6. - Turkish Daily News - "Frattini: Religious freedom to be component of Turkey’s EU talks":

ANKARA / 20 February 2006

The issue of religious freedom in Turkey will be one of the most important issues to be covered during Turkey's membership negotiations with the European Union, according to a senior official of the European Commission, executive organ of the EU that is most directly and actively involved in candidate countries' preparation process ahead of entry.

While delivering a speech at a meeting titled “Italy's Role for a Conscious Europe” and held in Naples over the weekend, Franco Frattini, the vice president of the European Commission and EU commissioner for justice, freedom and security, touched upon the killing of a Roman Catholic priest in Turkey.

Father Andrea Santoro was killed by a 16-year-old high school student while praying in his church in the Black Sea city of Trabzon. The teenage assailant has been charged with the murder that reports have said was inspired by protests against Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

“Christianity should be unrestricted in the lands of Islam,” Frattini was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency, as he also described Santoro as a “martyr.”

“Freedom of religion will be a constant issue during Turkey's membership negotiations with the EU,” he added.

Turkey began formal accession talks with the 25-nation bloc in October and expects to start actual negotiations in the first half of 2006. The EU criticizes Turkey for shortcomings in granting religious freedoms to its non-Muslim minorities.

He referred to recent riots in Libya in reaction to Italian Reform Minister Roberto Calderoli wearing a t-shirt bearing the Prophet Mohammed caricatures as “a disconcerting affair.”

“There was no need to fuel the fire of controversies in this delicate moment. We obviously must resume talks with the Islamic world; otherwise, Italy would be seen as one of the enemy countries. And that is wrong, because Italy has always showed great tolerance and respect.”

Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül said that respect for cultural and religious values and the freedom of expression should not be considered contradictory values. “There's no freedom in this world that has no limits,” Gül said during the Jeddah Economic Forum, in apparent reference to the growing tension sparked by the publication of Prophet Mohammed cartoons in Western newspapers, which have offended the Muslim community worldwide.

Gül highlighted that identities and religious values can't be attacked or humiliated according to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. He said values such as respect, tolerance, rights and responsibilities were not unfamiliar to Muslims and emphasized that Islam teaches peace.

The minister also complained about a lack of mutual understanding between different cultures and civilizations.

7. - AP - "German official calls for Turkish film on Iraq to be pulled from theaters":

BERLIN / 20 February 2006

A German official called Sunday for movie houses to cancel a Turkish action film showing U.S. troops killing and capturing civilians in Iraq.

The film "Valley of the Wolves in Iraq" should be pulled from German cinemas, Bavaria state Gov. Edmund Stoiber said, according to the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

He said the movie was racist and could stir animosity between Islam and the West.

"This irresponsible film doesn't foster integration, but rather hatred and mistrust toward the West," Stoiber said.

Stoiber called on movie-theater operators to cancel screenings of the film in Germany, which has a sizable Turkish community. He also pressed the Turkish government to take a stance.

The film, in which Turkish agents struggle against renegade U.S. forces in Iraq, has been a huge hit in Turkey, while drawing criticism that it gives a twisted view of the Iraq war.

In one scene, U.S. soldiers crash a wedding party and shoot several of the guests. In another, a Jewish doctor removes organs from an Iraqi prisoner for export to the United States, Britain and Israel.

8. - Reuters - "Veto On Turkey EU Bid Is An Option, Says Cyprus":

NICOSIA / 19 February 2006

Cyprus warned Turkey on Sunday that it could veto its European Union bid if Ankara fails to meet obligations towards the partitioned Mediterranean island.

Ratcheting up the pressure on Turkey, Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos told the Greek Ethnos newspaper that a veto was an option, but said it was a last resort.

"A veto is more effective when you have convinced the others you have reached the ultimate position you can compromise on, and when they are also convinced the other side behaves unreasonably," he was quoted as telling the newspaper.

Asked if a veto was among the choices of the government, Papadopoulos said: "Certainly it is."

Papadopoulos's comments signify a toughening of Nicosia's stance and follow comments from a close presidential aide that the island would use the veto option if Ankara failed to open its ports and airports to Cypriot traffic. Government officials had previously shied away from such direct language.

Ethnically-partitioned Cyprus is represented in the EU only by Greek Cypriots with decades-old grievances against Turkey.

Turkey's long-delayed EU entry talks were launched last October but the Muslim country faces long negotiations before it can join the bloc.

There are a host of differences over Cyprus, ranging from a lack of diplomatic relations to the logjam in peace efforts, but the ports and airports issue is the most likely to cause friction in the short-term.

Turkey has said it would consider the ports and airports demand if the EU opens direct trade with Turkish Cypriot northern Cyprus, a breakaway state recognised only by Ankara. The Greek Cypriots reject the proposal.

EU member Cyprus has been split since Turkish troops invaded the island in 1974 after a brief Greek inspired coup.

Peace efforts ground to a halt in 2004, when Greek Cypriots rejected a U.N. reunification plan just days before joining the European Union. The blueprint was accepted by Turkish Cypriots.

Papadopoulos told the Greek newspaper that any fresh reunification bid should be well prepared. He is due to meet United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Paris on Feb. 28.