15
March 2006
2. "EP criticizes slowing Turkish reforms", Elmar Brok, the chairman of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized Turkey for slowing down the reform process in 2005 in his new report that puts European Union's enlargement policies under the magnifying glass.
3. "European Parliament is discussing EU enlargement, Turkey", the European Parliament is holding a plenary session today to review the EU enlargement strategy paper, dedicated to situation in Macedonia, Croatia, Turkey and other Balkan countries.
4. "Eurasian energy lines and Turkey", in today's world, which has become unipolar after the 1990s, the main intention in the design of the Greater Middle East Initiative (GME) -- which is used as a camouflage permitting the U.S. to attack any country, as it sees necessary based on its own interests -- is revealing itself more and more.
5. "Washington Times attacks Turkish 'Islamofascists'", six months after calling on European Union countries to say “no” to Turkey's membership aspirations, a Washington Times columnist raised his concerns again over the Turkish government, saying it had launched an “Islamofascist” assault on Turkish democracy.
6. "Turkey`s Image Problem", when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared on Capitol Hill last week to rally support for the 2007 budget, Rep. Dave Weldon asked her about the controversial Turkish film "The Valley of the Wolves."
1. - Prawda - "Kurdish protesters with police in Turkey":
15 March 2006
About 250 stone-throwing Kurds, protesting the detention
of three members of a Kurdish human rights association, clashed with
police in eastern Turkey, a Turkish news agency reported Wednesday.
At least four policemen were injured and a few police cars were torched
during the clash in the eastern city of Tunceli on Tuesday night, Gov.
Mustafa Erkal was quoted as saying by the state-owned Anatolia news
agency. Police detained 31 demonstrators, the report said.
Officials were not immediately available for comment.
Tensions have been running high in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey, where autonomy-seeking Kurdish guerrillas have escalated their attacks recently.
The fight for autonomy by the Kurdistan Workers Party,
or PKK, has claimed the lives of more than 37,000 people since 1984.
2. - The New Anatolian - "EP criticizes slowing Turkish reforms":
STRASBOURG / 15 March 2006
Elmar Brok, the chairman of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs
Committee, criticized Turkey for slowing down the reform process in
2005 in his new report that puts European Union's enlargement policies
under the magnifying glass.
"Political transition process slowed down in Turkey in 2005 and there are inequalities in the implementation of reforms," Brok said in his report underlining that the beginning of negotiations should have added fuel to the implementation of other reforms.
The report, which was approved by the EP Foreign Affairs Committee in January, will be debated in an EP General Council meeting set for today in Strasbourg.
While Brok's report stressed the necessity for Turkish fulfillment of all political and economic criteria, it also urged the European Commission to closely monitor developments in Turkey especially concerning human rights, fundamental rights and freedoms, the rule of law and the democratization process.
The report also asked Turkey to grant guarantees for freedom of expression, religious freedom, and cultural and minority rights, especially the rights of Greeks living in Istanbul and on islands.
Underlining the need for Turkey to have an independent and well-functioning legal system, Brok called on Turkey to completely abolish torture and mistreatment. It also stressed the importance of combating violence against women and domestic violence, urging Turkey to establish protection centers for women who are under the threat of harsh treatment.
While praising Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statements on the Kurdish issue where he suggested democratic means to solve it, Brok expressed the EU's concern over the instability in the southeast, warning that the continuation of instability in the region might negatively affect Turkey's membership negotiations with the EU.
The section concerning Turkey also said that the membership of a democratic, secular Turkey in the EU will contribute to the alliance of civilizations.
Brok urges redefinition of EU enlargement
Ahead of discussion on EU's enlargement report, Brok urged yesterday the redefinition of the EU enlargement process by proposing a new membership status for the incoming and possible EU members at a press conference.
"Since the absorption capacity of the EU is limited, the member states should revise the EU's neighborhood policies by developing a new strategy. A new status should be created between the countries that want to be EU members but has less chance to join the bloc. This status should be between the full member status and candidate status," he said, explaining the details of the plan.
Asked whether the EP is trying to block Turkish membership
by implementing this new formula, Brok said, "No," adding
that his report does not include nay "privileged partnership"
proposal.
3. - ABHaber - "European Parliament is discussing EU enlargement, Turkey":
The European Parliament is holding a plenary session today to review the EU enlargement strategy paper, dedicated to situation in Macedonia, Croatia, Turkey and other Balkan countries.
The final draft of the report prepared by German MEP Brok is as follos:
...
Turkey
21. Believes that a democratic and secular Turkey could
play a constructive role in promoting understanding between civilisations;
22. Notes that, while Turkey's process of political transition is under
way, the pace of change has slowed in 2005 and that implementation of
the reforms remains uneven; expresses the hope that the opening of negotiations
will act as leverage for further necessary reforms which should be pursued
by Turkey in order to fully satisfy all political and economic criteria;
expects the Commission to conduct a rigorous and thorough scrutiny of
the developments on the ground regarding the effective implementation
by Turkey of legal provisions regarding, in particular, human rights
and fundamental freedoms, the rule of law and democracy;
23. Urges Turkey to remove all existing legislative and practical obstacles
to full enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms by all Turkish
citizens, notably freedom of expression, religious freedom, cultural
rights, rights of minorities in general and in particular the rights
of the ecumenical Patriarch as well as the rights of the Greek minority
in Istanbul, Imbros and Tenedos;
24. Expects Turkey to ensure full independence of the judiciary and
its proper functioning, to eradicate torture and ill-treatment immediately,
to pursue vigorously efforts to promote women's rights and to prosecute
violence against women; urges Turkey to provide shelters for women at
risk of violence;
25. Welcomes the positive remarks of Prime Minister Erdogan on the need
to resolve the Kurdish issue by democratic means; deplores the degradation
of the current security situation in the south-east, in particular the
increase in violence after the resumption of terrorist attacks; reminds
all parties concerned that further provocation or an escalation of violence
would not only seriously affect the people of this region, but would
also form an obstacle in the negotiating process;
26. Welcomes the Court's decision not to prosecute Orhan Pamuk any longer,
but denouces the further prosecution of others for non-violent expression
of opinion; urges therefore the Turkish authorities to revise the legal
provisions sometimes applied by the judiciary even on the basis of the
recently adopted Penal Code, to prosecute and, in some cases, convict
individuals despite the fact that they have expressed their opinions
in a non-violent way;
27. Regrets the unilateral Declaration made by Turkey on the occasion
of the signature of the Additional Protocol to the Ankara Agreement;
reminds Turkey that recognition of all Member States is a necessary
component of the accession process;
28. Calls on the Turkish authorities to fully implement the provisions
stemming from the Customs Union Agreement and the priorities in the
Accession Partnership and to remove without delay all restrictions on
the free movement of goods affecting, inter alia, vessels flying the
flag of the Republic of Cyprus or ships approaching Turkish ports from
harbours in the Republic of Cyprus, or Cypriot aircraft; calls on the
Turkish government to state clearly that the Declaration is not part
of the ratification process in the Turkish Grand National Assembly,
thereby enabling the European Parliament to ratify the Additional Protocol;
29. Calls on the Council to make renewed efforts to reach agreement
on the financial aid package and on trade facilitation regulations concerning
the northern part of Cyprus;
30. Reiterates its position that those priorities in the Accession Partnership
which relate to the political criteria have to be accomplished in the
first phase of the negotiations; notes with satisfaction that the Commission
now supports this view as well by stating that those criteria have to
be fulfilled within one or two years; calls on Turkey to present as
soon as possible a plan including a timetable and specific measures
to meet these deadlines; urges the Commission and the Council to make
the progress of the negotiations conditional on the timely accomplishment
of those priorities;
31. Expects that Turkey will not obstruct the application of the Berlin
Plus Agreement with NATO.
4. - The New Anatolian - "Eurasian energy lines and Turkey":
15 March 2006 / by Ali Kulebi
PART I
In today's world, which has become unipolar after the 1990s, the main intention in the design of the Greater Middle East Initiative (GME) -- which is used as a camouflage permitting the U.S. to attack any country, as it sees necessary based on its own interests -- is revealing itself more and more. Is it a coincidence that the geopolitical region encompassed by the greater Middle East, from Morocco to the Chinese border, is rich with energy resources? Or, is the purpose simply to get hold of the energy resources and thus provide Americans with cheap natural resources? The Caucasus and Central Asia, which have connections with the Middle East, and whose energy resources account for more than 70 percent of the proven petroleum and natural gas reserves in the world, have a strategic importance for the U.S. and all of the West. However, fundamentalist religious movements, terrorist groups, weapons of mass destruction, organized crime networks engaged in drug and weapon smuggling as well as human trafficking pose threats to the interests of the West and the need to monitor and restrict all these are among the reasons why American capital invaded these places alongside the purpose of obtaining cheap energy. According to the "inventors" of the GME, the real reason for the emergence of such elements of international crime are the backward economic and social conditions of the peoples of the region and the anti-democratic regimes that rule them. Therefore, states with such authoritarian regimes must be intervened in and their peoples must be liberated. A range of measures is required for this. The inventors of the GME, who asserts that an "altogether" democraticization including economic development as well as the opportunities of education and communication could solve all problems of the countries in question, have launched this project especially against the Islamic world, where there is abundant petroleum, and made the U.S. Army involved in a war far beyond its capacity. The inventors of the GME, who watched idly while nearly one million people were killed in Rwanda and Sudan and who did not consider exporting their "self-proven" social system and democraticization to these places, instead occupied Iraq and Afghanistan with the promise of founding a democratic regime and thereby paved the way to an uncertain future and disintegration. If there had been important petroleum resources in Rwanda and Sudan, they would have invaded those countries in a heartbeat also, and this fact alone suffices to demonstrate their contradiction and the importance they placed on democracy. Besides, in the last couple of years the GME has not been as lively a topic as it used to be, because Iraq is occupied and petroleum is secured now.
Now the other countries around us are at the target. Central Asian Turkic republics and the Caucasus region, which concern us dearly and to which we will turn at the time when the EU craze will have proven to be nothing but a vain dream, have been included in this plan because the U.S. wants to disseminate its petroleum-oriented sovereignty through the petroleum policy of Brezinsky, which begins in the Middle East and extends to the Caspian region. In accordance with the saying "Who controls oil resources controls states, who controls water resources controls peoples," the U.S is seeking to dominate the Caspian region, which is rich with petroleum today and which will be rich with water tomorrow.
The importance of the Caspian Sea
The fact that the Central Asian Turkic republics are a center of attraction and of a social and economic cooperation and are likely to be even more for us in the near future increases the strategic importance of the west and east of the Caspian Sea, which is a bridge between that region and our country and where we act as a natural political actor. This geography, which we have politically neglected in recent years, is becoming more important for the U.S., the EU, China and India mostly because the energy resources are located there. To the EU, which imports 80 percent of its energy, the natural gas and petroleum extracted from Middle East and this region it is becoming more and more crucial. In this context, we should emphasize the importance of the Caspian Sea and Caspian region through the following points:
- The Caspian Region is a new center for world energy supplies.
- Subsequent to the collapse of the U.S.SR, no power in the Caspian region has emerged decisively predominant.
On this account, some 25 major oil companies from 15 countries are active as actors in the region. These companies have made investments totaling more than $70 billion and thereby the region has become an intersection point where the interests of international companies overlap. Now the problem seems to be about how the petroleum and natural gas extracted from the region would be transmitted to the consumer countries, most of which are in the Western Europe. In this respect, by also taking into account the economic and political concerns, various projects of possible pipelines are under assessment. The big players to control these pipelines in the future are in part certain. Although the rules of the game and the share proportions are determined among the investors leading the global capital, there exist some unsolved problems also. Nowadays, the Russian Federation, which was formerly the sovereign power in the region in political and geographical terms, claims a bigger share by making good use of its advantageous geopolitical position.
The Russian Federation, seeking to counter the American moves in the "Grand Chess Game of Caucasia," desires to sustain its effectiveness in the Caspian Sea, especially in its west. On the other hand, it has some attempts at hindering the U.S., which wants to wave its flag over the Black Sea -- one of the rare seas where the U.S. could not manage to settle, and wants to see Turkey as an ally in this respect.
In the struggle for the Caspian Sea, the U.S., which has constituted together with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan a force, namely the Caspian Guard, and which, claiming to fight weapons of mass destruction and terror, has aimed at stopping Iran's quest for dominance in the region, also wants to control Russia by keeping it in close contact. The U.S. military presence enhanced with air bases and planes and helicopters and also with some radar systems to be built under the order of the Commandership of Caspian Guard is meant to be against the Russian Federation, which is the most important military force in the region with its two modern frigates, 12 patrol ship and other auxiliary ships located in the Caspian Sea. The U.S. presence there will at the same time seek to surpass Iran's influence in the same region.
Meanwhile, nevertheless, Russia pursues the goal of enhancing its effective naval force through new political alliances by, for instance, forming the CASFOR Force. The main reason for the struggle between two countries should be understood within this context. The fight over supremacy in the Caspian Sea and Caspian region started because of the two parties' unwillingness to leave the control of the natural resources to the other. At this point we see that the purpose of the U.S. is to put an end to the Russian influence over the Caspian Sea region. We would like to see Turkey in a more effective position here, could have a say in where the pipelines transferring oil and natural gas via Turkey would start and could make the right and effective political attempts at securing its energy need. It should here be noted that Turkey will always be needed to protect the pipelines in the region based on its military force and the influence that it enjoys on its periphery. It would be to Turkey's benefit to make use of such need.
Eurasia: The center of energy resources
It is important to mention here three features of Turkey, which is an important actor in the Caspian Sea and Caspian region that will be referred to in this context -- and in a narrower geographical sense -- as Eurasia. Turkey:
- firmly stood as a fortress between the Middle East and Soviet Union during the Cold War and protected this region, which was rich with petroleum, against the USSR.
- given its geographical situation, is one of the most strong and fit actors in this region, which is going to be world's second-most important basin on account of housing various ethnic, political, cultural, economic and religious dynamics, which actually have the potential to change the course of history.
- controls both the Black and Caspian Seas and the transit passes on them.
Turkey, if makes good use of these factors and its geographical
eminence increased especially by its Mediterranean Coast, will be in
the position to securely obtain its need of oil and natural gas, even
during times of scarcity, and generate income by taking tolls from transit
passes. Also that it has the strongest army of the region makes Turkey
emerge more and more advantageous. The U.S., taking into account this
reality and laying emphasis on security issues, despite Russia's obstructing
attempts, has backed up the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
Pipeline. Following the finalization of that extensive pipeline and
the hardship that it endured, because the passage through the Straits
is not unlimited, the Russian Federation could not insist on its unsupportive,
if not impeding, attitude. Thus, Turkey's geographical advantage has
rendered it more indispensable a regional actor. In this respect, Russia
has come to treat Turkey as the most viable option, while assessing
the most suitable destination for possible pipelines. Nevertheless,
this shift in Russia's attitude towards Turkey has contradicted with
American policy of preventing any country from becoming the single option
for pipeline projects. For that reason now, the U.S. seems to be preparing
itself to hinder Turkey's inclusion into any pipeline.
5. - Turkish Daily News - "Washington Times attacks Turkish 'Islamofascists'":
ANKARA / 15 March 2006
Six months after calling on European Union countries to say “no” to Turkey's membership aspirations, a Washington Times columnist raised his concerns again over the Turkish government, saying it had launched an “Islamofascist” assault on Turkish democracy.
Frank J. Gaffney Jr., president of the Center for Security Policy and a columnist for the Washington Times, said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government targeted the education system, the judiciary, and, most recently, the military, “the guarantor of that secular government in Turkey.”
“Mr. Erdogan has now gone after one of Turkey's most highly regarded generals, Land Force Commander Gen. Yasar Büyükanit, who is widely expected to become the head of the Turkish military this summer. He is a courageous and outspoken anti-Islamist and the regime clearly views his ascendancy as a threat,” he wrote, referring to charges leveled by a local prosecutor against Büyükanit after a bomb attack on a bookstore in the predominantly Kurdish southeastern town of Semdinli.
Gaffney called the charges against Büyükanit, who has said he knew one of the noncommissioned officers believed to have been involved in the bombing and called him a “good boy,” were “no-less-absurd” than those directed at a university rector, Yücel Askin, on the grounds of corruption and irregularities, by the same prosecutor.
Gaffney said the prosecutor was “clearly acting on orders from higher up” and described charges against Askin as “preposterously trumped up.”
The Washington Times columnist also questioned Erdogan's commitment to EU membership.
“Far from being willing to adhere to European human rights and other standards, he has simply viewed the EU accession process as a means of keeping the army from once again intervening to preserve secular rule -- probably the last remaining threat to his consolidation of Islamofascist power,” he wrote.
In his article published in September last year, Gaffney said the EU should reject Turkey's bid to join in order to block the Erdogan government's efforts to “systematically turn his country from a Muslim secular democracy into an Islamofascist state governed by an ideology anathema to European values and freedoms.”
He concluded his article on Tuesday by saying, “Fortunately, the cumulative effect of Mr. Erdogan's Islamofascist assault on Turkish democracy is becoming more apparent to his countrymen and opposition appears to be rising at home.”
“It behooves the EU to reinforce the political effect
of such sentiment by making clear that Islamofascist behavior will preclude
Turkey from membership, not efforts by the Turkish military to counter
the Islamists' takeover. And the U.S. and other freedom-loving nations
must make it clear they view an Islamist Turkey as no model for the
Muslim world and a threat to Turkey's standing as a valued member of
the Free World,” he said.
6. - Washington Times - "Turkey`s Image Problem":
14 March 2006 / by Tulin Daloglu
When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared on Capitol Hill last week to rally support for the 2007 budget, Rep. Dave Weldon asked her about the controversial Turkish film "The Valley of the Wolves." "[I]t depicts American GIs murdering people at a wedding.
And it`s very anti-Semitic also; it has some gruesome visuals of Jews mistreating Muslims," he said. "It would seem to me that we may be winning on the fronts of Afghanistan and in all these other places where we`re fighting, in Iraq. But for the hearts and minds of the people we are not doing very well at all. We may actually be heading in the wrong direction."
In response, Miss Rice talked about Karen Hughes, the undersecretary of public diplomacy, who is working to counter anti-U.S. propaganda in the Muslim world. She included Turkey in her first foreign travel and heard plenty from critics of the war in Iraq. "Valley of the Wolves" screenwriter Bahadir Ozdener insists that he is also trying to make an antiwar statement, not an anti-American or anti-Semitic one, with his movie. "We are speaking out against the war, the occupation and the human rights violations," he said.
I haven`t seen the film, but it`s difficult to believe that Mr. Ozdener is conveying solely an "antiwar" message. However, it does advise viewers that it is a work of "fiction." When asked about it, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, "[T]here`s no reason to comment on fiction." He`s right; it is just a movie. But in reality, is a movie ever "just" a movie?
A Seattle Post?Intelligencer article asked in 2004, "In
the history of cinema, has any film done more to blacken a nation`s
reputation among travelers than `Midnight Express`? A quarter of a century
after its release, people still cite it as a reason for steering clear
of Turkey." "Midnight Express" declares in its opening
credits that it is based on a true story of a young American, Billy
Hayes, who was caught trying to smuggle drugs out of Turkey in 1970.
The film details his experiences until he escaped from prison. Two decades
after the film was released, Mr. Hayes said in a newspaper interview,
"There`s no doubt it changed the whole face of Turkish tourism...
It`s not fair. The burden fell on people who weren`t to blame."
Indeed. When I was in Cleveland recently, a taxi driver heard me talking
to my mother in a foreign language, and asked where we were from. When
I answered, "Turkey," he said, "Oh, I have seen Istanbul."
I asked when he was there, and he answered, "No. I did not go.
I saw it in `Midnight Express.` " I listened to his review without
comment, changed the subject and resumed my conversation with my mother.
Mr. Hayes has said, "The message of `Midnight Express` isn`t `Don`t go to Turkey.` It`s `Don`t be an idiot like I was, and try to smuggle drugs.` " But the fact is, "Midnight Express" seriously damaged Turkey`s image in the United States. There is truth in the movie, but even Mr. Hayes admitted there is a lot of exaggeration as well. The similarities of the "Valley of the Wolves" and the "Midnight Express" begin and end with both being movies. In terms of effectiveness, Holywood wins. And "Valley of the Wolves" -- regardless of its subject -- is the first Turkish movie to challenge Holywood.
Since Turkey denied the United States a northern front to invade Iraq in March 2003, TV screenwriters also have gotten inspired. The Assembly of Turkish American Associations cites two episodes -- one from Fox`s "24" and the other from NBC`s "The West Wing" -- in which they say Turkey and Turkish people are unfairly maligned. In the "24" episode, Turks are depicted as terrorists and given Arab names. In the "West Wing" episode, the Turkish government adopts Islamic laws under the leadership of the AKP, and convicts and orders the execution by beheading of a woman for having sex with her fiancee. Both shows offended many Turks. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul mentioned them to Miss Rice when she visited Ankara, and her response was that America is a free country, and the government does not control the movies.
Finally, PBS is airing a documentary next month called "Armenian Genocide." Turks disagree that what happened to the Armenians was not "genocide," and note that the Armenians also killed many Anatolian Muslims. PBS refuses, however, to show the documentary "Armenian Revolt," which depicts the massacre of the Anatolian Muslims. PBS has also refused to hold a suggested panel discussion among historians after airing "Armenian Genocide." I am not looking to open a debate on the nature of what happened, but if we support freedom of speech, we have to allow all opinions to be heard.
It`s important that any film, documentary or feature, be put in context. Since when do governments make decisions or take action against other countries because of a movie? These are movies, and they should be treated as such in the larger debate.
State Department spokes-man Sean McCormack was asked recently
about "Valley of the Wolves" and he summed it up exactly right:
"I don`t do movie reviews."