12
February 2004
2. "Turks sharply divided over whether King Attalos II was gay", Battle lines are drawn in the southern Turkish resort town of Antalya with residents sharply divided over whether town founder King Attalos II was gay and whether a statue should be built in his honor.
3. "Turkey prepares to ratify key human rights protocol", The protocol allows a UN human rights commission to investigate and judge human rights complaints filed by individuals
4. "No agreement yet on unifying Cyprus; talks to continue", A second day of talks to unify Cyprus before its May 1 entry into the European Union adjourned yesterday without an agreement, and negotiators set a third session for today.
5. "Turkey wants Cyprus solution before May 1", Gül: Turkey has shown its good will in seeking a settlement of the Cyprus question, the Foreign Minister said.
6. "Turkey unveils 2004 privatization plans", Turkey on Wednesday unveiled ambitious plans to push through privatizations in 2004 ranging from tobacco and sugar to telecoms and power firms, undaunted by failure to meet privatization targets in past years.
1. - Associated Press - "Kurd Return Sparks Tension in North Iraq":
KIRKUK (Iraq) / 11 February 2004 / By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
Piroz Nasser Zanganeh has moved from one refugee camp to another for 16 years, ever since she was driven out of her home by Saddam Hussein’s security agents who took away her husband.
Now she is ready to come home but has gotten no closer than a tent on the edge of the city.
The return of more than 4,000 Kurdish families like Zanganeh’s is creating friction between Kurdish parties and other ethnic factions competing for control of this northern Iraqi oil city.
U.S.-led forces are trying to discourage Kurds who lost their homes in Saddam’s campaign of ethnic cleansing from coming back too quickly, hoping to avert humanitarian and political problems.
Kirkuk, which sits on some of the world’s largest oil reserves, is considered a difficult case in the political tangle of the new Iraq (news - web sites). Its inhabitants are made up of Kurds, Turkomen, Arabs and Christians. Rivalry among the three Muslim ethnic groups has led to bloodshed in recent months.
Saddam brought Arabs to Kirkuk, sometimes given homes of displaced Kurds to "Arabize" the city. Many Kurds want the Arabs who came during Saddam’s rule to return to where they came from, something the Coalition Provisional Authority opposes.
Some Turkomen leaders accuse the two dominant Kurdish parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, of encouraging the Kurds’ return to increase their numbers in time for a possible referendum on the future of the city or strengthen their bargaining position in the future.
The Kurdish parties say they are not encouraging returns, just providing humanitarian assistance when needed.
The U.S.-led coalition asked the PUK to stop supplying tents to the returnees to discourage them from coming back.
"If all come back at the same time, the city simply can’t cope in terms of providing services," said Paul Harvey, a Briton, who heads the coalition office in Kirkuk.
But Zanganeh cannot understand why she is not welcome.
"For so many years Saddam refused to let us live in this city," said Piroz, 36. "We’ve been homeless for too long."
She, her three sons, her mother, two sisters, four nieces and two nephews left their previous camp — in Chamchamal, 24 miles to the east — on April 14, a day after Kirkuk fell to the U.S. Army, and moved into a tent on the edge of the city.
Zanganeh’s son, Amin, 20, fears that promises that eventually they will be allowed to settle in the city may fall through. "The sooner we return and have a foothold here the better because this way we are more assured that we will stay and won’t be uprooted. This is my home. This tent is erected on my land, the land of my ancestors," he said.
Kurdish officials accuse coalition officials of lacking sympathy.
"It is their right to return the moment they desire to do so," said Hassib Rozbayani, a Kurd and Kirkuk’s deputy mayor.
Harvey said the return — especially of those whose property was confiscated and handed to Arabs — could take more than a year.
The Iraqi Governing Council in Baghdad has ordered the creation of a claims commission in each of the country’s 18 governorates to address property disputes, due to start work by the end of the month.
"But it will take time to process those claims," said Harvey. "There’s no instant fix."
Complicating matters, some confiscated homes have been sold and resold multiple times.
"You will have somebody in their property today who bought it in good faith and to tell them that they have to move out is a problem," Harvey said.
The absence of international aid agencies, including the United Nations, has also slowed resettlement. Relief organizations withdrew from Iraq last year following a series of suicide bombings at U.N. and international Red cross headquarters.
The few agencies who are here are trying to provide the 60 sites where returnees are staying with electricity, clean water and sanitation.
The home of Rabiya Abdullah Amin, 73, has been fixed up in the village of Qarahanjir, about 30 miles northwest of Kirkuk. But she can’t occupy the property until 800 more houses scheduled to be repaired are done — so everyone can move in at once.
She and other families are squatting nearby to make sure they don’t lose their homes again.
"I am afraid someone would come and occupy it again and never
give it back," said Amin. "As soon as they give the key,
I will take my old man and move into our house."
2.
- AFP - "Turks sharply divided over whether King Attalos II
was gay":
ISTANBUL / 11 February 2004
Battle lines are drawn in the southern Turkish resort town of Antalya with residents sharply divided over whether town founder King Attalos II was gay and whether a statue should be built in his honor.
Antalya, a popular Mediterranean resort, was named after its founder, King Attalos of Pergamon, who died more than 2000 years ago.
"Attalos II was very important for the identity of our town," mayor Bekir Kumbul told the press this week. "Some people are launching ill-intentioned attacks because of the (municipal) elections (next month) and saying that (Attalos) was gay. But that's not true," he added.
Dozens of nationalist groups oppose the idea of erecting a statue for Attalos to mark the town's founding, arguing that Antalya should instead honor the Seljuk sultan who conquered the town in 1207 or a hero of the war of independence who fought against the Italian occupiers after World War One.
Plans to erect a statue of King Attalos in the nude sparked protests,
prompting town authorities to give him a loinscloth. Nationalists
criticize King Attalos not only for his alleged homosexuality but
also for his Greek origins. "Attalos was an Anatolian. And all
the cultures of this country belong to us," Kumbul retorted.
3. - Turkish Daily News - "Turkey prepares to ratify key human rights protocol":
The protocol allows a UN human rights commission to investigate and judge human rights complaints filed by individuals
ANKARA / 12 February 2004
Turkey has signed a protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights allowing individuals to apply to a U.N. human rights commission for human rights complaints, and preparations are under way for ratification of the protocol in the Turkish Parliament, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
The Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that Turkey had signed the so-called Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on Feb. 3 at U.N. headquarters in New York.
The protocol adds legal strength to the covenant by allowing the Human Rights Commission, a body attached to the covenant, to investigate and judge complaints of human rights violations from individuals from signatory countries.
Thus, said the statement, Turkey has fulfilled one more condition stipulated as a membership requirement in European Union documents such as the revised Accession Partnership Document.
Preparations are already under way for the ratification of the optional
protocol, as the protocol is due to be sent to Parliament soon, the
Foreign Ministry said.
4. - Reuters - "No agreement yet on unifying Cyprus; talks to continue":
UNITED NATIONS / By Irwin Arieff / 12 February 2004
A second day of talks to unify Cyprus before its May 1 entry into the European Union adjourned yesterday without an agreement, and negotiators set a third session for today.
The talks between Cyprus's president, Tassos Papadopoulos, and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, hosted by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, broke up after less than 90 minutes.
Both Papadopoulos and Denktash declined to comment as they left UN headquarters on what, if anything, the talks had accomplished. UN officials were similarly mum, signaling the parties may not have made much progress for a second day running.
The negotiations had been extended to yesterday after an initial round of meetings broke off Tuesday evening without the quick agreement sought by Annan on ground rules for later talks in Cyprus on the fine print of a reunification deal.
Annan wants Papadopoulos and Rauf Denktash to accept a previous UN draft as the blueprint for their work, and he wants the talks wrapped up by late March. At that point, he would fill in any blanks in a peace deal that would then be put to a vote in the Turkish Cypriot north and Greek Cypriot south in separate referendums on April 21.
But both sides are resisting Annan's demand that he be allowed to set terms on points on which the parties could not agree, diplomats close to the talks said.
"We are not thinking of accepting the plan as it presently is," Denktash told the CNN Turk Network in New York before yesterday's meeting.
"As long as solutions are found for the points we consider dangerous or those that are not satisfying, it will be brought into a form that we can accept. If that doesn't happen, [a settlement] won't happen," he said. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops occupied the island's north in response to a coup in Nicosia engineered by the junta then ruling Greece.
Turkey alone recognizes Denktash's statelet in the north and bases some 30,000 troops there, while the Greek Cypriot government in the south, with fewer than 5,000 Greek troops on its soil, is widely recognized and will enter the European Union with or without a reunification deal.
Turkey, fearful that failure to reach an agreement will damage its own hopes of entering the EU, has put heavy pressure on Denktash to reach a deal.
The European Union and the United States have also pushed hard for an agreement.
But Denktash has strong support from Turkish nationalists.
Opposition parties, appealing to nationalist sentiment ahead of local elections next month, have accused Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey of preparing to "betray" the Turkish Cypriots to save Ankara's EU candidacy.
In Ankara, Erdogan reiterated again yesterday that Turkey was committed to a settlement, saying,
"We are obliged to seek a solution without damaging Turkey's
historical heritage and interests."
5. - MSNBC - "Turkey wants Cyprus solution before May 1: Gül":
Turkey has shown its good will in seeking a settlement of the Cyprus question, the Foreign Minister said.
February 11, 2004
Turkey hoped that a solution to the dispute on Cyprus would be reached before May 1, the date the Greek Cypriot administered south is due to join the European Union, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül said on Tuesday.
Turkey’s good will on the Cyprus issue was clear and it was
to be hoped a compromise would be reached this time, Gül told
reporters on his return from Warsaw.
Both the Turkish and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
delegations had gone to New York with good will, and he hoped this
would be recognised and reciprocated by the Greek Cypriot side, Gul
said.
Followiing his return from Poland, the Foreign Minister and several
other members of the cabinet met at the Prime Ministry to discuss
the Cyprus issue.
State Ministers Abdullatif Sener and Mehmet Ali Sahin, Justice Minister
Cemil Çiçek, National Defence Minister Vecdi Gönül
and Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu attended the meeting.
6. - The Daily Star (Lebanon) - "Turkey unveils 2004 privatization plans":
But major US pension fund pulls out of Turkish stocks
Officials in Ankara say those who follow Calpers example will lose out, adding that confidence is coming back strongly
Compiled by Daily Star staff / 12 February 2004
Turkey on Wednesday unveiled ambitious plans to push through privatizations
in 2004 ranging from tobacco and sugar to telecoms and power firms,
undaunted by failure to meet privatization targets in past years.
The announcement came a day after an influential US pension fund said
it would no longer be investing in Turkey’s stock markets.
In a sign of greater caution on sell-off prospects, however, Finance
Minister Kemal Unakitan gave no target for 2004 privatization revenues.
He said Ankara, which is seeking to accelerate a faltering International
Monetary Fund (IMF) backed sell-off program, would complete work on
a strategy to privatize the Tekel tobacco company in March and then
announce a timetable for its sale.
An initial attempt to sell the tobacco firm last year failed as bids
fell short of official expectations. Ankara has pledged to advance
privatization under a $19 billion loan accord with the IMF.
In a news conference to detail the sell-off program for 2004, Unakitan
also said there were plans to sell off the state power company Tedas
and some affiliated firms this year.
Though the minister provided no overall target for 2004 privatizations,
the treasury previously said Turkey is looking to raise some 1,600
trillion lira ($1.19 billion) from sell-offs this year.
Unakitan said Turkey was planning to make a public offering of 15
percent in Turkish Airlines. The flagship airline is 98.17 percent
state-owned. He gave no details on the plan.
The government is also looking at making a public offering of shares
in the leading steel producer Erdemir.
The minister said that analytical work on the planned block sale of
a 51 percent stake in landline phone company Turk Telekom had been
completed and that an invitation for bids would be issued by the end
of May, as previously scheduled.
Turkey has carried out privatizations worth $2.2 billion since the
start of 2003 and has collected $248 million in revenues over the
same period, the minister said. Of 53 tenders offered last year, 50
were completed.
Turkey had previously set a target of starting privatizations worth
$4 billion in 2003.
Unakitan said some factories belonging to the state sugar concern
Turk Seker would soon be included in the sell-off program.
Turkey’s High Privatization Board this week approved the $1.3
billion sale of a controlling stake in state oil refiner Tupras, boosting
trust in sell-off plans.
The Privatization Administration said in January it had cancelled
a tender for state-run petrochemicals firm Petkim after it failed
to attract enough bids.
Unakitan said there were plans to sell Petkim this year and that Turkish
officials would hold talks with possible investors in the company.
It was announced this week that Turkey has failed to meet the strict
investment standards of an influential US pension fund, California
Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers), but other investors
said Wednesday the EU-candidate country has made progress in some
areas.
Improvements have come on both the political and economic front, they
said, although the state of Turkish corporate governance remains very
poor.
Turkey, a major debtor of the IMF, was dropped Tuesday from a list
of stock markets that pending final approval the $164
billion Calpers can invest in.
Calpers gave no specific reason for Turkey’s fall from grace,
but the fund ranks countries for investment based on criteria that
include market efficiency, corporate governance, political stability
and human rights.
Investors though reluctant or unwilling to comment on Calpers
said Turkey had been making great strides in both political
and economic reforms as it worked toward EU membership.
“Macro economic improvement seems to be continuing and also the
talks on Cyprus, smoothing the way for (EU) accession, are progressing,”
said Philip Ehrmann, emerging markets chief at Gartmore Investment
Management. “All of which have given comfort to the credit markets,
which tend to give direction to the equity markets.”
Jacqueline Aldous, head of offshore equity analysis at fund researcher
and fund-of-funds manager Forsyth Partners, agreed. “There is
general bullishness. The political situation has stabilized …
and with the political risk, the equity risk has come down,”
she said.
But analysts said Turkey’s record of corporate governance
a major Calpers consideration left much to be desired.
“The standards are very low,” said Maarten de Kok, senior
portfolio manager for investor Robeco’s emerging market fund.
Turkish firms have been criticized for lack of disclosure and many
are tightly run by families, factors which often drive away investors
seeking well run firms.
But even here, there was some sign of slow progress.
“The financial crisis of 2001 has forced some of the worst corporate
(offenders) out of the market,” de Kok said.
A $19-billion IMF loan is helping Turkey recover from the 2001 crisis
in which the lira collapsed amid soaring inflation.
In an initial reaction from Ankara to the Calpers move, a Turkish
government official told Reuters Calpers information about his country
appeared to be “obsolete.”
“Confidence is coming back very strongly,” he said. “Investors
acting on the basis of this report will lose because Turkey is a big,
dynamic market.”