12 October 2001

1. "Turkish lawmakers to start work on more constitutional reforms", a Turkish parliamentary group agreed Thursday to begin debate on new constitutional amendments, including curbs on presidential powers, after the adoption last week of reforms aimed at easing the country entry to the European Union, a parliamentary source said.

2. "Turkey says Iraq under threat in US campaign, but not imminently", NATO ally Turkey said on Thursday that its southern neighbor Iraq risked becoming a target in the US-led drive against terrorism, although not in the short term.

3. "Turkey nervous on U.S. view of Iraq", Turkey cautioned the United States on Wednesday against action against Iraq, recalling heavy financial losses Ankara has suffered in the 10 years since the Gulf War against Baghdad.

4. "TURKEY", Turkey is being offered technology from the U.S. M1A1 tank as part of an upgrade of Ankara's fleet of M-60 tanks.

5. "World Bank considers more aid for cash-strapped Turkey", the World Bank is considering additional financial assistance to Turkey after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, the bank's representative in Turkey said Thursday.

6. "Turkey expands military options", the Turkish parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill granting the government unlimited authority to send Turkish troops overseas and to allow foreign troops to be based in Turkey.

1. - AFP - "Turkish lawmakers to start work on more constitutional reforms":

ANKARA

A Turkish parliamentary group agreed Thursday to begin debate on new constitutional amendments, including curbs on presidential powers, after the adoption last week of reforms aimed at easing the country entry to the European Union, a parliamentary source said. The special panel of deputies from all six parties in parliament will examine amendments to 14 articles in the constitution relating to judicial and executive powers, the source told AFP. The proposed changes include cutting the president's term of office from seven to five years and allowing the head of state to be elected for a second term.

Other changes pave the way for legal appeals against certain presidential decisions and abolish the president's right to call a referandum on constitutional reforms. The commission agreed to hold weekly debates on the amendments with the goal of forming an all-party agreement on needed changes, the source added. If the commission reaches a compromise on the package, it will be debated in the parliament's constitutional commission before reaching the general assembly.

The new package comes after parliament adopted comprehensive constitutional refoms -- the largest-ever overhaul of the code which was largely dictated by the army after a 1980 military coup -- to boost Ankara's chances of becoming an EU member. Among those reforms was the abolition of the death penalty except in times of war, imminent threat of war and for terrorist crimes, and the lifting of a ban on use of "forbidden" languages, a step towards allowing the Kurdish minority to broadcast and publish material in their mother tongue.

Other changes make it more difficult for authorities to outlaw political parties, lift certain restraints on freedom of expression, speed up judicial and court procedures and expand the rights of trade unions and associations. Analysts have hailed the amendments as an encouraging step, but have said that they still leave the country lagging behind European norms. Turkey was declared a candidate for EU membership in December 1999, but was told by the union that it had to improve its crippled democracy and bleak human rights record before it could start accession talks.

2. - AFP - "Turkey says Iraq under threat in US campaign, but not imminently":

ANKARA

NATO ally Turkey said on Thursday that its southern neighbor Iraq risked becoming a target in the US-led drive against terrorism, although not in the short term. "Such a threat is present, but we do not see it in the short term," Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu said in an interview with the NTV news channel. The minister said the United Nations should ensure effective implementation of the sanctions it imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. "If this is done, I think Iraq will not become an issue," Cakmakoglu said.

However, he added: "we should still consider any possibility." The minister said Turkey suffered big commercial losses due to the embargo imposed on Iraq and had not been compensated despite the robust support it lent to the United States in the Gulf War. A military confrontation in Turkey's neighborhood, particularly in Iraq, is likely to pose serious economic and political problems for Turkey, already battling one of the most severe financial crises in its modern history.

Cakmakoglu described as "false" recent claims by a Kurdish faction in northern Iraq, which is under the protection of a US-enforced no-fly zone, that radical militants linked to terror suspect Osama bin Laden's network were active in the region. Turkey, the only mainly Muslim country in NATO, has lent its full support to the US-British strikes on Afghanistan, but has repeatedly warned that the operation should not spread.

The Turkish parliament approved on Wednesday a government request for permission to send soldiers abroad and allow foreign troops on its own soil if necessary as part of the anti-terror campaign. Cakmakoglu reiterated that Turkey did not have imminent plans to send soldiers to Afghanistan or elsewhere, and the decision was a precautionary move to give the government a free hand. "For us it is most possible to provide training for the armed (opposition) forces in the north" of Afghanistan, Cakmakoglu said, echoing an earlier proposal by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.

"If there is such a demand and if the government welcomes it in line with our interests ... we have units that are ready to go anytime," he added. Turkey has opened its airspace and airports to US transport planes and is supplying Washington with intelligence on Afghanistan, particularly on the country's north, where key anti-Taliban commander Abdul Rashid Dostam has close ties with Ankara.

Cakmakoglu said that on Wednesday, Ankara sent a liaison team made up of a general and three other officers to Florida, where the United States is establishing coalition headquarters to coordinate the operation against Afghanistan.

3. - Reuters - "Turkey nervous on U.S. view of Iraq":

ANKARA / by Ralph Boulton

Turkey cautioned the United States on Wednesday against action against Iraq, recalling heavy financial losses Ankara has suffered in the 10 years since the Gulf War against Baghdad.

"We are very sensitive on this matter and our allies are aware of our sensitivity. A man who has burnt his mouth with hot milk blows on his yoghurt," State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel, employing an old Turkish proverb, told NTV Television.

His comments came hours before Turkey's parliament approved a government decree to dispatch Turkish troops overseas -- which would prepare for future deployment in support of U.S. forces.

The decree also allows for the deployment of foreign troops on Turkish soil.

The United States, bombing Taliban-ruled Afghanistan in its pursuit of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, has warned it could take action against other states in its war on terrorism.

Britain on Wednesday dampened speculation, however, that Washington might target Baghdad, saying it had no evidence linking Iraq to last month's attacks on the United States.

Official Turkish thinking is clearly exercised by the fear of Washington turning its focus on Baghdad. Tens of thousands of refugees sought safety in Turkey after the Gulf War. Anti-Iraqi sanctions have not helped a Turkish economy suffering its biggest crisis in over 50 years.

Iraq is on a list of countries that the United States believes sponsor terrorism. A decade after the Gulf War, U.S. and British warplanes still enforce a "no-fly zone" over northern Iraq, regularly exchanging fire with Iraqi forces.

Military dispatch

Asked by NTV television how NATO member Turkey, one of Washington's closest Muslim allies, would view an attack on neighbouring Iraq, Gurel replied: "We don't expect or anticipate such a development and frankly we certainly don't desire it.

"Turkey turned out to be the nation which suffered the most damage (after the Gulf War)," he said.

Turkey has put airspace and air bases at Washington's disposal and cooperates in the intelligence sphere, but has not yet been asked participate in combat operations. Ankara would more likely dispatch units to Central Asia to help train opponents of Afghanistan's Taliban administration.

Turkey estimates it has lost up to $40 billion in exports through its adherence to sanctions against Iraq and feels it has not received the compensation it merits.

Ankara had been tentatively restoring relations with Baghdad despite U.S. misgivings. But recent tensions have put that in question. Authorities near the Iraqi border said during the weekend they were taking precautions to deal with any refugees. Traffic over the border has virtually stopped.

Turkey is seeking billions of dollars in new loans from the International Monetary Fund to help finance debt due in 2002. Its importance to Washington as a strategic partner in the Muslim world clearly bolsters its case, but global economic gloom will hinder efforts to recover from deep financial crisis.

"If this war overflows from Afghanistan, it threatens to put a fire to the whole region. If this occurs, Turkey could inescapably be dragged into this firestorm," Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said on Wednesday.

4. - Middle East Defense - "TURKEY":

Turkey is being offered technology from the U.S. M1A1 tank as part of an upgrade of Ankara's fleet of M-60 tanks.

General Dynamics Land Systems plans to present its upgrade of the M-60 that includes what executives term is unprecedented survivability as well as enhanced accuracy similar to the M1A1.

The G-D upgrade was demonstrated at the International Defense Industry, Aviation and Maritime Fair, or IDEF 2001. G-D is competing against the state-owned Israel Military Industries in an estimated $300 million project for the upgrade of 170 M-60 tanks.

In other developments, Turkey has donated military vehicles to Azerbaijan.

Turkish officials said 80 military vehicles have been delivered to Baku. The donation included four engineering vehicles.

The donation was part of Turkish military aid to Azerbaijan. Ankara provides Baku about $10 million a year in military aid.

5. - Reuters - "World Bank considers more aid for cash-strapped Turkey":

ANKARA

The World Bank is considering additional financial assistance to Turkey after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, the bank's representative in Turkey said Thursday. Asked by journalists whether more aid in the offing, Ajay Chhibber said: "Yes, the bank's support will continue," the Anatolia news agency reported.

"We will give Turkey broader support within the pledges we made earlier," Chhibber added.
He said that the new aid would be used in the banking sector, and for social issues and public administration. In a news conference in Washington last week, Turkish Economy Minister Kemal Dervis expressed hope that Ankara would receive additional international aid to resist the economic fallout of the attacks in the US. "We are working with the IMF and other institutions and countries interested in the Turkish economy to outline the financing profile for 2002," Dervis said.

However, he refused to give details on the form and amount of the aid. Turkey, the only Muslim country in NATO, is seen as a key US ally in the global fight against terrorism. The Turkish economy plunged into crisis in February after a cash crunch forced the government to abandon a pegged exchange regime, causing the Turkish lira to lose more than 50 percent of its value against the dollar. In May, Turkey started implementing a new package of tight reforms to put the economy back on track with multi-billion-dollar aid from the IMF and the World Bank.

6. - Los Angeles Times - "Turkey expands military options":

ANKARA

The Turkish parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill granting the government unlimited authority to send Turkish troops overseas and to allow foreign troops to be based in Turkey. The move comes amid widespread expectation that the Bush administration will ask the country to join its military campaign against Taliban forces and suspected terrorists in Afghanistan.

The bill was approved by a vote of 319 to 101 during a stormy session. Members of the pro-Islamic opposition took turns attacking the decree, saying leftist Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit had failed to explain what the United States was demanding of Turkey.

Ecevit later took the floor and said, "The struggle in Afghanistan against the archaic regime that hosts terrorism must be carried out until the end." But he added that "there has been no request from the U.S. for troops so far." Recent polls show that most Turks are opposed to Turkish military involvement in Afghanistan.

Turkey is the only predominantly Muslim member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Strategically placed at the crossroads of the Balkans, the Middle East and the oil-rich republics of formerly Soviet Central Asia, Turkey is also Israel's closest regional ally. For the past decade, U.S. and British warplanes have used a NATO base at Incirlik, about 60 miles from Syria's border and 320 miles from Iraq's, to patrol a "no-fly" zone over Kurdish-populated northern Iraq.

Turkey has opened its skies and bases to U.S. military planes in the war against global terrorism but has made it clear to Washington that it does not want to see the current operation extended to Iraq. Turkey's deepest concern is that overthrowing President Saddam Hussein could result in the emergence of an independent Kurdish state on its borders. That could fuel separatist sentiments among Turkey's own 13 million ethnic Kurds.

"Turkey's participation in the ongoing military campaign against the Taliban is principally aimed at bolstering U.S. efforts to prove to the Muslim world that the offensive is not targeting Muslims but terrorists and their supporters," said Hasan Koni, a political science professor who advises Turkey's National Security Council. "It will be symbolic and nothing more."