7 May 2007

1. "Gul withdraws from Turkey poll", Abdullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister, has said he will withdraw from the presidential race after opposition politicians again boycotted a parliamentary vote.

2. "Islam on the ballot: Turkey's test", a presidential bid revealed the fault line between secular nationalism and conservative Islamic views.

3. "EU Welcomes Early Elections in Turkey", EU commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn said that the commission welcomed the announcement of elections in Turkey, noting it would bring political stability to the country. Rehn said civilian supremacy over the military is a basic principle for the EU.

4. "France's blow to Turkey's hopes", the campaign has revealed a virulent strand of anti-Turkish feeling in French opinion which could have serious consequences for Turkey and for its turbulent Middle Eastern neighbours.

5. "Cyprus fears 'army' victory in Turkey", if Turkey's army grabs power from the government in a standoff over the country's secular nature it will reduce Turkish chances of joining the EU and of solving the Cyprus issue, the Cypriot foreign minister was quoted as saying by a Greek paper Sunday.

6. "Danish Council gives green light for Roj TV broadcasts", the Danish Radio and Television Council on Thursday rejected Turkish complaints about Roj TV broadcasts, saying that the content of stories aired on that channel had the characteristics of news reporting, not propaganda of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

7. "2 Kurdish rebels, 2 soldiers killed in fighting in southeast Turkey", Turkish troops killed two Kurdish rebels Sunday in a clash in southern Turkey, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported. Two soldiers were also killed in separate fighting in the southeast of the country.

8. "If Hasankeyf were in Austria, would it have been turned into a dam?", the 12,000 year-old Hasankeyf is one of the oldest cities in Mesopotamia, and one of the most significant cultural heritages in Turkey.

1. - Al Jazeera - "Gul withdraws from Turkey poll":

7 May 2007

Abdullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister, has said he will withdraw from the presidential race after opposition politicians again boycotted a parliamentary vote.

Gul, the ruling Islamist-rooted AK party's candidate, failed to secure the presence of 367 parliamentary deputies needed to make the voting process valid.

The first round of voting was annulled last week by the constitutional court, which ruled that two-thirds of parliament had to be present for the poll to be valid.

Gul's candidacy has worried secularists who fear an openly religious president and millions of Turks have protested against him.

"After this... my candidacy is out of the question," Gul, who was the only candidate standing, said following the decision.

Bulent Arinc, the speaker of parliament, closed the session, saying only 358 members were present.

Military moves

The presidential elections have exposed a deepening divide between secularists and supporters of prime minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK party.

Secularists oppose Gul's candidacy, fearing that Erdogan's party will expand its control and impose religion on society.

Erdogan's ruling party, an advocate of EU membership, rejects the Islamist label.

In an attempt to resolve the crisis, the government has called early general elections for July 22 and is pushing for a change to the constitution to allow the public rather than parliament to elect the president.

Gul said in an interview with The Financial Times on Friday that he would be his party's candidate if the vote went to the people, and said he believed he had the support of 70 per cent of the Turkish public.

The army, however, is also alarmed by the prospect of a former Islamist as head of state and commander-in-chief.

Military influence

The military establishment has issued a public reminder that it is the ultimate defender of the secular Turkish state.

Barnaby Phillips, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Ankara, said the military had applied "discreet but effective pressure" to undermine Gul's presidential attempt.

"The military released a statement last week saying that it didn't believe Gul was the right man for the Turkish presidency," he said.

"Probably as a direct result of that, Gul's candidacy has floundered ever since."

Turkey's military has removed four of the country's civilian governments in 50 years, but Phillips said it was unlikely the country would "see tanks on the streets" this time.

2. - The Chirstian Sience Monitor - "Islam on the ballot: Turkey's test":

A presidential bid revealed the fault line between secular nationalism and conservative Islamic views.

ATHENS / 7 May 2007 / by John K. Cooley

For a nation that spans two continents – Europe and Asia – and two worlds – the secular and the religious – Turkey is accustomed to tectonic tensions over its identity. But the recent political temblor over the disputed presidential candidacy of Abdullah Gul, the foreign minister with an Islamist past, revealed just how critical the democratic fault line is between Turkey's secular core and its Muslim masses.

Recently, the Turkish Army continued its tradition of weighing in on the side of secularism by warning against Mr. Gul's candidacy. Secular-minded protesters echoed that sentiment in demonstrations in Istanbul. After failing the second time to gain approval in parliament, Gul withdrew his candidacy Sunday. But his replacement is likely to face the same dynamic in elections scheduled for July 22. Nevertheless, Gul's political party, the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) remains popular, especially among Turks who live in rural areas.

Turkey's anxious European and Arab neighbors will be watching the election results closely. If carried out carefully, they could go far toward healing the split and steering Turkey on a course of moderation and possible future membership in the elite club of European democracies, the European Union (EU).

Although the West may regard democracy and secularism as essentially two halves of a whole, this isn't necessarily the case in Turkey. Since the pre-World War I Ottoman Empire was swept away, national hero Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's military victories and profound social and economic reforms set Turkey on a decidedly secular and Westernizing, modernizing path.

But this secular nationalism has become mixed with deeply conservative Islamic views in the vast rural hinterland, outside the rapidly growing and modernizing cities, stronghold of Turkey's secular-minded urbanites.

It's essential to keep in mind that Turkey's armed forces, especially its senior chiefs, are a key player, if not the key player in today's drama, as well as in past crises. Turks remember four regime changes when the Army crushed elected Islamist politicians.

A 1960 Army coup involved the brutal execution of prime minister Adnan Menderes and two of his senior ministers, and imprisonment of many Menderes followers. Army pressure removed governments considered to be anti-Kemalist in 1971 and 1980. In 1997, the ousted prime minister was Necmettin Erbakan, an Islamist-minded technocrat.

There are two other crucial points about the Turkish armed forces. One is that they have clung to Turkey's NATO membership and US supply and training relationships, despite governmental opposition to American policies, such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq or US congressional condemnation of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus in 1974, which resulted in a brief embargo of US arms to Turkey.

The other point is a critical difference between the Turkish military brass and other contemporary, politically minded armies: Turkish Army chiefs, once they effected regime change, have never clung to power for long. Unlike Greek colonels who seized power and ended parliamentary demo­cracy between 1967 and 1974 in the name of slogans such as "A Greece of Christian Greeks," the Turkish military avoids antidemocratic slogans. It stresses keeping religion out of politics.

There's also an important difference between the Turkish military and armies in neighboring Arab states. Military rulers such as Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser or Syria's Hafez Assad were unable permanently to impose the secular reforms they advocated.

Islamist opposition to Mr. Nasser, including his attempted murder by Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, was suppressed by executions and imprisonments. An Islamist rising against Mr. Assad in the Syrian city of Hama was brutally crushed by the Syrian military, with the loss of at least 15,000 lives.

EU spokesmen have voiced warnings that Turkish Army interference in democratic processes could further endanger Turkey's already shaky prospects for entering the EU. The US State Department has issued somewhat more muted, cautionary statements about preference for civilian control of the military.

At present, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan – Gul's chief backer – and his AK Party associates advocate amending the Turkish Constitution so that presidents would be elected by popular vote instead of by successive parliamentary polls, as at present. If the vote for president went to the people, Gul has said he would still run as the AK Party candidate.

The question many Turks and their friends abroad now ask is what might the Army and its Kemalist-minded civilian allies do if Gul and other AK candidates win popular elections to regain control of parliament, elect a president, or both? An answer to this would show the world whether Turkey has truly become a mature democracy, true to the traditions of Mr. Ataturk, its revered founding father.

• John K. Cooley, a former Monitor correspondent, covered the Middle East for more than 40 years. His latest book is "An Alliance Against Babylon: The US, Israel and Iraq."

3. - Bianet - "EU Welcomes Early Elections in Turkey":

EU commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn said that the commission welcomed the announcement of elections in Turkey, noting it would bring political stability to the country. Rehn said civilian supremacy over the military is a basic principle for the EU.

BRUSSELS / 3 May 2007

Commenting on the political situation in Turkey, the European Union's commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn said: "The Commission expects that the parliamentary and presidential elections will be carried out democratically without any undue interference, and in an atmosphere of responsible debate and political stability".

Referring to last week's declaration by the Turkish General Staff, Rehn noted that one of the EU's founding principles is the supremacy of democratic civilian power over the military.

"This is the core of the Copenhagen criteria of EU accession", Rehn said. Turkey's bid for accession into the union is still at the phase of negations.

On another account, Council of Europe General Secretary Terry Davis criticized the Turkish army's interference to politics, saying "it's a deliberate attempt to influence the presidential elections".

"They should stay in their barracks and keep out of politics", said Davis and added:

"The Turkish people have achieved great progress in respect for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law since Turkey's accession to the Council of Europe in 1949. These achievements should not be put at risk".

4. - Gulf News - "France's blow to Turkey's hopes":

6 May 2007 / by Patrick Seale*

Turkey's hopes of admission to the European Union have been damaged by the heated contest for the French presidency between the right-wing Nicolas Sarkozy and his Socialist opponent, Segolene Royal.

The campaign has revealed a virulent strand of anti-Turkish feeling in French opinion which could have serious consequences for Turkey and for its turbulent Middle Eastern neighbours.

Throughout the campaign, Sarkozy's opposition to Turkey's EU membership has been blunt, categorical and frequently repeated.

Turkey, he says, is not a European country. It lies in Asia Minor. Its entry into the Union would reduce the EU to a mere trading bloc, robbing it of political clout.

It would prevent the emergence of a "political Europe" - that is to say a politically cohesive continent able to make its voice heard in the world, on a par with the United States, China, Russia, India and other emerging powers.

Sarkozy's political objections to Turkey's membership have been reinforced by an apparent concern for France's cultural identity.

He has made little effort to conceal his distaste at the thought of Europe being swamped by a Muslim country of over 70 million people, 40 per cent of whom are under the age of 15.

As Minister of Interior for the past four years, Sarkozy's restrictive policy on immigration - essentially from North Africa and Black Africa - strongly suggests that he believes there are already enough Muslims in France, without an influx of Turks.

In her speeches, Royal has been less hostile to Turkey's admission into the EU. Her position is that a process of negotiations with Turkey has begun and should be allowed to proceed.

Once the process is complete in 10 years or more, the French public will have the opportunity to give its verdict by referendum. This is the policy to which Jacques Chirac, France's outgoing president, has given his word. To change course now would be a betrayal.

She did hint, however, that the EU might grant Turkey something less than full membership, on the lines of the "privileged relationship" proposed by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The Turkish government, however, has adamantly rejected the idea. It wants full membership or nothing.

Both candidates - and especially Sarkozy - have shown a woeful insensitivity, if not outright ignorance, of the impact of their policies on Turkish opinion, already deeply offended by European hesitations.

A rejection by Europe will have adverse consequences for Turkish domestic and foreign policy; for Turkey's neighbours - Iraq, Iran and Syria; and for such unresolved conflicts as those between Israel and the Palestinians and between the Greek and Turkish parts of Cyprus.

The paradox

Surprisingly, issues of foreign policy were almost totally absent from the contest for the French presidency, with both candidates evidently more at ease debating such questions as unemployment, health care, pensions and law and order.

It is unfortunate that the French presidential election has coincided with a crisis in Turkey between, on the one hand, the secular establishment, backed by the powerful armed forces and, on the other, the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his moderately Islamic AKP (Justice and Development Party).

With the seven-year term of the arch-secularist President Ahmet Necdet Sezer coming to an end on May 16, Erdogan proposed his close colleague Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul for the post.

Secularists were immediately up in arms at the thought that Islamists would then control the presidency - traditionally a secularist stronghold - as well as the government and the parliament.

When the constitutional court, citing the lack of a parliamentary quorum, annulled the first round of elections which would have put Gul in the presidential palace, Erdogan called early elections for July 22. His AK Party is likely to win an even greater majority than at present.

The Turkish paradox - which Sarkozy clearly failed to grasp - is that the drive for EU membership, for democracy, for free markets, individual liberties and a vibrant civil society has come from the AKP and not from its secular opponents. Erdogan's government, which came to power in 2002, has carried out a major economic and political transformation.

His AKP government has reined in the powers of the military, promised greater rights for the Kurdish population, improved relations with Greece, shown flexibility over the Armenian question and over Cyprus, proposed mediating between Israelis and Palestinians, and has consulted with all parties in Iraq in a bid to stabilise that country and preserve its unity. Above all, by demonstrating that democracy and Islam can be reconciled, Turkey has provided an example to the whole Middle East.

Slamming Europe's door in Turkey's face, as Sarkozy has recommended, must inevitably set back these highly promising developments, and reawaken in Turkish opinion a proud and prickly nationalism hostile to the West, and inclined to settle quarrels by military force rather than democratic dialogue.

Whatever Sarkozy may think, Turkey is a unique bridge between the West and the world of Islam. To rebuff Turkey at this critical moment would be a strategic error of the first importance. Turkey's bid for EU membership must be encouraged, not disappointed.

* Patrick Seale is a commentator and author of several books on Middle East affairs.

5. - AFP - "Cyprus fears 'army' victory in Turkey":

ATHENS / 6 May 2007

If Turkey's army grabs power from the government in a standoff over the country's secular nature it will reduce Turkish chances of joining the EU and of solving the Cyprus issue, the Cypriot foreign minister was quoted as saying by a Greek paper Sunday.

"With the military in power and Turkey outside the European Union we could not hope that the conditions would be ripe for progress on the Cyprus issue," Cypriot Foreign Minister Georgios Lillikas told the Eleftheros Typos daily.

"Derailing Turkey's European train is a negative contingency for Cyprus, although it is not impossible that we will have to imagine this scenario soon," he added.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops seized and invaded its northern third in response to an Athens engineered coup to unite the island with Greece.

Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis also reiterated to Eleftheros Typos that Athens supported "Turkey's European prospects despite the reserves expressed by some EU member countries."

"We consider that a European and democratic Turkey is in the interest of peace, development and stability in our region," she added.

The Turkish army, which has toppled four governments in as many decades, issued a bombshell statement last week accusing the government of tolerating rising Islamist activity in secular Turkey after Islamist-rooted Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul stood as the country's only presidential candidate.

Gul failed in his second bid to get elected Sunday, when a re-run ballot in parliament was cancelled for lack of a quorum.

After the abortive session, which was boycotted by the opposition, Gul said he would withdraw his candidacy, clearing the way for early general elections which have been brought forward from November to July 22.

6. - Turkish Daily News - "Danish Council gives green light for Roj TV broadcasts":

ANKARA / 5 May 2007

The Danish Radio and Television Council on Thursday rejected Turkish complaints about Roj TV broadcasts, saying that the content of stories aired on that channel had the characteristics of news reporting, not propaganda of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

In 2006, the Turkish Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTÜK) lodged three complaints against the broadcasts of Roj TV, which Ankara says is a mouthpiece for the PKK, on the grounds that the television station breached broadcasting principles by inciting violence and racism.

But the Danish Council said there were no grounds to stop Roj TV broadcasts, because it said, the channel aired news stories in the same way as other Danish television stations do. Turkish sources said they had not yet seen the official document released by the Danish Council, adding that Turkey was already contacting Danish authorities through diplomatic channels to stop Roj TV broadcasts.

Speaking with the Turkish Daily News, Danish sources said Turkey could appeal the Danish Council's decision through the court, not through the administrative authorities.

7. - AP - "2 Kurdish rebels, 2 soldiers killed in fighting in southeast Turkey":

ANKARA / 7 May 2007

Turkish troops killed two Kurdish rebels Sunday in a clash in southern Turkey, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported. Two soldiers were also killed in separate fighting in the southeast of the country.

The rebels were killed in the southern province of Hatay, which borders Syria, after they ignored soldiers' call for them to surrender, Anatolia reported.

The soldiers died in a fight in Sirnak province, which borders Iraq, late Saturday, when a group of rebels opened fire on the security forces, the agency reported.

More than 37,000 people have died in fighting since autonomy-seeking rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.

Last month, the head of Turkey's armed forces said several large-scale offensives against the rebels had been launched in the southeast of the country, and requested permission to launch an operation into northern Iraq to attack the guerrillas at their bases there.

8. - Turkish Daily News - "If Hasankeyf were in Austria, would it have been turned into a dam?":

5 May 2007 / by Gila Benmayor

The 12,000 year-old Hasankeyf is one of the oldest cities in Mesopotamia, and one of the most significant cultural heritages in Turkey.

Unfortunately, due to the plans of building the Ilisu Dam in the region, locals of Hasankeyf for years are living under the stress that their town will be sank under water.

I always try to visit Hasankeyf when ever I have a trip to Southeastern Turkey. In fact, I did it again and ended up in the breathtaking city of Mardin last week during a tour I took with Turkey Banks Union.

As usual, with the company of “my little volunteer guide” I climbed to the highest point of the Hasankeyf castle.

I looked at the legs of the bridge allegedly built in the Artuklular period in the middle of the River Tigris, at the Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami), at the Zeynel Bey Tomb and at El Rizk minaret with the feeling of “I think I see them all for the last time”.

In front of the Hasankeyf's grandeur, I lamented one more time, “how could such a place sink under water.”

After climbing down from the castle, I met with Arif Arslan, president of Hasankeyf Volunteers Association, and heard about the latest developments from him.

Switzerland, Germany and Austria, as the loaners for the construction of the Ilusu Dam, are apparently convinced by the Turkish government which ensured, “Historic artifacts of Hasankeyf will be moved to some other place for preservation”.

The rumors for sometime were that Switzerland as the most prudent of these countries hesitated to loan money. But now, even Switzerland seems to mellow.

Among the historic artifacts for which during the Ilusu Dam's ground-laying ceremony last year Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised “to move them to some other place” were the legs of the bridge, the Zeynel Bey Tomb, the Grand Mosque and El Rizk minaret.

What will happen to the caverns?

Of course, Hasankeyf is not all. What will happen to approximately 6,000 caverns as part of the region's unique historical texture? How could they be moved?

Mr. Arslan dwells mostly upon the following:

As it is known, the life-span of dams is about 50 years. Even if it is 100 years instead of 50, would it be possible to sacrifice a 12,000 year-old history?

If such a wonder of world were situated, say, in Austria, among the countries to provide credit, what would be the reaction of Austrians?

We all know how Western countries claim their cultural heritage. All right then, what kind of an action the locals of Hasankeyf will take if Austria, Germany and Switzerland are really convinced to loan money?

At this point, Arslan talks about preparations for a massive protest rally on May 16 in Ankara in front of the embassies of the said countries. Masses will gather under the leadership of “Hasankeyfi Yasatma Girisimi” (The initiative to Keep Hasankeyf alive) consisting of 80 NGOs and a press release will be read in front of the embassy buildings. They will make a “demand for asylum” for 55-60,000 people.

“Why do they make a demand for asylum?” I ask Arslan.

“After Hasankeyf sinks under the water, 55-60,000 people living in the region will become homeless and unemployed. So, we plan to pressure in a way, ‘since you let our place of living submerge under the water, then you regard that we demand for asylum',” he says.

However, before this protest rally, it is a possibility that Austrian, German and Swiss ambassadors would pay a visit to the region and lend an ear for last time to what is going on here. “We'll see. We invited them too. If they come here and be convinced not to loan money, it would be perfect,” adds Arslan.

Application to the European Court of Human Rights

Meanwhile, a few legal processes are going on. One of them is a case filed at the European Court of Human Rights by one of the most distinguished restoration experts of Turkey Professor Zeynep Ahunbay, an Architect and Archeologist Professor Metin Ahunbay, Professor Olus Arik, who conducted the Hasankeyf excavations between 1986 and 2003; and the Atlas magazine as the organizer of organized a train trip titled “Loyalty to Hasankeyf” last year for saving the area.

“Hasankeyf is the supreme level representative of creative genius of mankind and one of the rarest representatives of many extinct civilizations” are mentioned in the cause for litigation.

Similarly, it is also emphasized that if it is moved this splendid ancient city would disappear.

Another legal action in progress is the suit filed by the Hasankeyf Volunteers Association, Hasankeyf Municipality and Diyarbakir and Batman Bars against the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Besides, there are promises made by some famous personalities like Bianca Jagger who previously visited Hasankeyf that they would carry the issue to the agenda of the European Parliament.

The bottom line, Hasankeyf is a historic and cultural heritage needs be protected like an invaluable piece of jewelry. I hope these three countries getting ready to provide credit for the construction of the Ilusu Dam take this realty into consideration one more time.