19
September 2001
2. "Ecevit says support for US a 'humanity obligation'"
3. "Robertson on CNN Turk", speaking on CNN Turk, NATO Secretary General George Robertson replied the questions of prominent Turkish reporter Mehmet Ali Birand on the recent terrorist attacks in the US.
4. "Turkey rattled by conflict fears", Turkey has warned it may delay loan repayments to the IMF, and has hinted it might seek compensation for use of military bases, as it struggles to counteract implications of last week's attack on the US.
5. "Turkey launches role in A-400 transport", Turkey has launched participation in the European Union's military transport jet program.
6. "A strange situation", columnist Oktay Eksi comments on the recent terrorist attacks in the US and the policies to be followed regarding them.
1. - AFP - "Turkish-Iraq border closed after Baghdad suspends oil deliveries":
SIRNAK
A Turkish-Iraqi border crossing was closed after Baghdad suspended
the delivery of heating oil to Kurdish-dominated areas of northern Iraq,
local officials in this southwestern Turkish town said Wednesday.
Baghdad's decision left some 4,000 Turkish trucks who had crossed over to collect heating oil stranded in the northern Iraqi towns of Zakho and Dahuk awaiting a lift on the ban before returning home with their cargo. Local officials in Sirnak decided to close the Habur crossing so as to avoid a massive bottleneck at the border and prevent more trucks seeking to acquire oil from entering Iraq.
Baghdad decided on Monday to suspend the delivery of the oil to northern regions controlled by Iraki Kurdish factions since the 1991 Gulf War. The Turkish lorries normally carry food products and return with cooking oil, acquired for a fraction of the price than in Turkey. Some 1,500 trucks normally cross the border in both directions every day.
This limited trade, allowed under the UN's oil-for-food
program, allows the population of southwestern Turkey to partially make-up
for major financial losses which resulted from the UN santions on its
neighbour. The Turkish government has estimated an economic loss of
some 35 billion dollars (37.8 million euros) as a result of the sanctions
on Iraq. 
2. - Turkish Daily News - "Ecevit says support for US a 'humanity obligation'":
Acknowledging that the United States was one of the few
countries who was evaluating Turkey's fight against terrorism with understanding,
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said it was Turkey's "humanity
obligation" to support in the best possible way the American anti-terrorism
drive. 
Speaking at the deputies of his Democratic Left Party (DSP) in Parliament
on Tuesday, Ecevit said including many of Turkey's Western allies, many
countries of the world have so far approached the terrorism issue with
an understanding "Let the snake that does not bite me live for
a thousand years."
Complaining that some of Turkey's Western allies sheltered chieftains of terrorist gangs despite knowing the fact that those chieftains were the planners and perpetrators of many terrorist incidents in Turkey.
"This is a shame of Europe's humanity," Ecevit said, and expressed appreciation for the understanding Washington has showed Turkey all through the past decades while it tried to combat separatist terrorism.
"I hope Europe, after all that has happened in the United States will make a reassessment of their policies against terrorism," Ecevit said.
The prime minister said for 20 years many of Turkey's allies remained "deaf and blind" to terrorist activities in Turkey. He said most of those terrorists acts were planned and ordered from outside of Turkey. Now, he said, it was high time for Europe to wake up to the realities and get rid of the shame of tolerating and harboring terrorists from Turkey.
Ecevit said Turkish intelligence was quite successful against terrorism. He said he hoped those Western countries of Turkey who must have awakened to the importance of fighting terrorism will try to make use of the experiences of Turkey.
Stressing that there were no boundaries to terrorism, Ecevit said it was impossible for any single country to achieve absolute success in fighting terrorism. He said international cooperation and collaboration was required in order to stage an effective campaign against terrorism.
He said Turkey was prepared to play a pioneering role in this campaign.
The prime minister also stressed that terrorists may cause
great damage to civilians and civilian targets without even using weapons
and said in view of these developments the world must reassess how to
combat terrorism.
3. - Hurriyet - "Robertson on CNN Turk":
Speaking on CNN Turk, NATO Secretary General George Robertson
replied the questions of prominent Turkish reporter Mehmet Ali Birand
on the recent terrorist attacks in the US. 
Upon a question asking why NATO did not invoke Article V for the cases
of Turkey and Spain who had been fighting against PKK and ETA for years,
Robertson said, "This is the first time a country applied for invoking
the Article V. NATO has two conditions to invoke the Article V. First,
the attack must be committed from abroad and the second, the decision
to invoke the Article must be taken unanimously.
The attacks on the US has showed us that invoking Article V was a must to improve cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Upon Birand's question about Turkey's position under these recent circumstances, Robertson said "Turkey and all other member countries are obliged to support the US.
This obligation covers determining what should be done
and then giving the possible support. All NATO members have accepted
this obligation and responsibility.
4. - BBC - "Turkey rattled by conflict fears":
Turkey has warned it may delay loan repayments to the
IMF, and has hinted it might seek compensation for use of military bases,
as it struggles to counteract implications of last week's attack on
the US. 
Foreign investors have pulled out of Turkey, a member of Nato, over
fears of its potential involvement in US-led retaliatory strikes.
Turkey's stock market fell more than 10% on Monday, bring the total fall since the attacks on the US to 25%.
The Turkish lira reached a new record low of 1,540,000 against the dollar, which has itself weakened against other major currencies.
"The market is very volatile," said Gamze Sermet, a broker with Alfa Securities. "The prospects of a long war is forcing the investors to leave." Ms Sermet added that investors' morale had been depressed by warnings by Turkish Economy Minister Kemal Dervis that tourism and exports, the only revenue-making sectors in the country, could be affected by US retaliation.
Depressing brief
Mr Dervis told journalists that Turkey, as a country which had greatly suffered from insurgent attacks, must support the international fight against terrorism.
But he hinted that there may be a price.
"Turkey's strategic importance for the European Union and Nato is increasing and within this strategic framework Western allies should consider the cost that Turkey will have to bear," Mr Dervis said.
Since the Gulf War, sanctions against Iraq, once a major trading partner, have cost Turkey an estimate $35bn and officials feel Ankara has had little compensation for its support.
But he stressed that despite the turmoil, implementation of the $15.7bn IMF rescue package was on course and no more loans would be requested.
"The thing that has to be done right now is we have to state clearly that the programme will continue," Mr Dervis said.
He also postponed eurobond issue scheduled for September, and said Turkey had discussed delaying the part repayment of a $5bn IMF loan due next year. He did not say whether the IMF had agreed to a postponement. The fund last week indicated such a move should not be a problem.
Turkey's currency has lost more than half of its value
since February's financial crisis and more than 600,000 people have
lost their jobs since the failure of a previous IMF plan.
Military might
Bordering the Caucasus, Iraq, Syria and Iran, Nato-ally Turkey has a
large US military presence and commands the biggest standing army in
NATO's European theatre.
Washington sees Turkey as a key ally in a region.
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said on Sunday that Turkey would allow the use of Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey for US retaliation.
Incirlik already hosts US and British warplanes enforcing
a no-fly zone over northern Iraq and was a key staging post for US attacks
on Iraq during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
5. - Middle East Newsline - "Turkey launches role in A-400 transport".
ANKARA
Turkey has launched participation in the European Union's military
transport jet program.
Officials said two major Turkish companies have been slated to participate
in the design, development and manufacturing of the A-400 M project.
The project by eight EU countries is meant to produce a large transport
aircraft for military use.
The two Turkish companies are Turkish Aerospace Industries and Turkish Engine Industry. Ankara has pledged to purchase 10 A-400 M transports. Germany has pledged to purchase 73 aircraft; France, 50; Spain, 27; Britain, 25; Italy, 16, Belgium. 8 and Portugal, 3.
Officials said they hope the EU project will increase military ties between Ankara and the EU. They said the project will also help revive the nation's aerospace industry, which has sustained the shock of Turkey's economic crisis.
A contract for the A-400 M is expected for signing in October. Airbus Military Co. is the prime contractor and the first delivery of the transport will take place in 2007.
Officials said Turkey's participation in the project has
been set at 4.7 percent. TAI will have a 5.7 percent share. At the same
time, TEI is holding talks with the A-400 M engine consortium on the
share by the Turkish company in the program.
6. - Hurriyet - "A strange situation":
Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on the recent terrorist attacks in the US and the policies to be followed regarding them. A summary of his column is as follows:
"It is known that the US will deal a harsh blow mainly to Afghanistan and other countries who are sheltering terrorists. However, which countries fit the description other than Afghanistan it is not known. If the words of the US officials are taken as basis, this blow will be dealt through a war which will last long. However, no one knows where this war will lead to.
Among all this chaos, we forget that an organization called 'United Nations' was found in 1945 to solve international disputes through peaceful means. If there is a war in sight, shouldn't it be carried to the Security Council of the UN? It may be said that one of the sides is known but theother party is not specified as yet. If this is the case, where is the logic in striking Afghanistan?
The main question here is the mentality of the officials governing the United States of America. The US could not accept to go to the UN for the solution of a problem she is a party to and therefore felt no need to to have a resolution for sanctions adopted. She felt it was enough to have passed a resolution condemning the attack which occurred on September 11th . On the other hand she called on the NATO countries to adopt a resolution that all NATO countries would deem an attack incurred on the US as if it was done to them and had it accepted in a day.
We believe there is an incongruity here or are we mistaken?
The issue of countries sheltering terrorism is another matter on our
mind. If the US will punish those sheltering terrorists, should not
she start with the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Belgium and Greece
and even France who once embraced ASALA? True, these states are not
cited in the list of terrorist countries announced by the US. States
such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, North Korea and Libya were seen contantly
in these lists. However, the recent attacks were carried out not by
terrorists fostered in these countries but in the countries who sheltered
Metin Kaplan, and Dursun Karatas, the murderer of thousands of innocent
people...'