10 13 20

Pacquiao
stops Cotto
to win 7th
world title

Obama says US and Russia will have Pianist Miriam Méndez conjures
treaty on reducing nuclear arms up musical image of what would
ready for approval by year’s end happen if Mozart visited Andalusia

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page04 Turkey, Israel hold search-and-rescue maneuvers

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Intatve pcks up momentum

PHOTO

wth new rghts reforms

Col. Çiçek was released less than two days after
his arrest on charges of membership in Ergenekon.
ERCAN YAVUZ, ANKARA
The government, decisively moving for-
ward with the Kurdish initiative despite
strong objections from opposition parties,
has decided to create two new institutions to pro-
mote human rights. The government plans to
establish a human rights institution and a com-
mission on combating discrimination and
The government has concluded that the Prime
Ministry's Human Rights Directorate is not
addressing human rights issues efficiently. The
Prime Ministry, in a statement made after a
Cabinet meeting in May, announced that a sepa-
rate human rights institution would be created.
However, steps were not taken to establish the
institution at the time because of opposition from
civil society organizations. The government decid-
its Kurdish initiative. Interior Minister Beir Atalay
plans to ensure that the projected human rights
institution is established in 2010.
The human rights institution will include repre-
sentatives from universities, human rights organi-
zations, bar associations and other civil society
actors and will operate a separate commission on
combating discrimination. The institution will func-
tion independently and will be headed by an elect-
mendation from the prime minister and with the
final approval of the president. The human rights
institution will also have a separate secretariat and
staff. The projected system will be supervised by a
central institution and include liaison offices in
every district and province; the liaison offices will be
connected online to make sure that the system will
be free of pressure. The human rights offices will
hold roundtable meetings with local residents

PLOT COLONEL ÇÇEK’S

strengthen legal measures to combat hate crimes. ed to take action on this matter after announcing ed president, who will be appointed upon a recom- to identify cases of discrimination. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

RELEASE UNLAWFUL, SAY

CHAN, ZYA PEK

PROMINENT JURISTS
NEWS ANALYSIS

05
By Büra Erdal

PHOTO
TODAY’S ZAMAN

The release of a colonel on Friday, 44 hours

after being arrested on charges of member-
ship in Ergenekon -- a clandestine gang charged
with plotting to overthrow the government -- has
created great resentment among jurists, with a
majority of those in the legal profession saying the
release was unlawful.
Col. Dursun Çiçek, whose signature appears on
GOVERNMENT READY TO
a military document titled the Action Plan to Fight SACRIFICE WHATEVER IT
TAKES TO END TERROR
Reactionaryism that details a plan to undermine the
ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party),
was arrested for the first time in the investigation PM Erdoan stated that
into coup plotting officers in the military on July 18, government is determined to
but was released the next day on the grounds that end terrorism no matter what
the original copy of the Action Plan was not avail- the cost, and he also lashed
able. He was arrested again last week when pros- out at the opposition for their
ecutors conducting the Ergenekon investigation accusations of government
obtained the original copy of the document with collaboration with the PKK.
Çiçek's “wet signature.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

YUNUS ARIKAN: TURKEY

CAN BE KEY TO OPENING ALEVS UP IN ARMS
Turkey's Alevis have continued to slam the remarks of Republican People's Party (CHP)
Deputy Chairman Onur Öymen, who on Tuesday referred to the Turkish government's response

COPENHAGEN DEADLOCK
to a 1937 rebellion in the predominantly Alevi city of Tunceli, then known as Dersim, as an
AGAINST CHP'S

04
example of fighting terrorism. On Saturday, 43 civil society organizations in the eastern province
ÖYMEN AFTER of Diyarbakr made a joint statement calling on Öymen to resign. Harika Peker from the
Diyarbakr Democracy Platform read the joint statement, saying the speech by Öymen has
YONCA POYRAZ DOAN, ÝSTANBUL DERSM REMARKS taken its place in history as a disgrace. “We condemn Onur Öymen, who wanted more pain
to be experienced through his speech in Parliament and who lacks any conscientious
Yunus Arkan, spokesman for the world's cities feelings as well as CHP mentality, and those who applauded him.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 03
on climate change, has said Turkey can be a key
country in ending the deadlock at the United Nations
Climate Change Conference (COP 15) meetings in
December in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, where
the world will try to find a solution to climate change.
“Currently, there is a lack of trust between devel- TURKEY OFFERS HELP TO Poll: Military plot damaged public trust in TSK
OVERCOME CONFIDENCE
oped and developing countries. Turkey can show the
leadership that can narrow this gap in the sense that

CRISIS OVER IRAN’S LEU ULE KULU, ÝSTANBUL

there are some countries in between these two
groups. Turkey can lead the definition of a new group
of countries which would have responsibilities that are
less binding than those for developed countries but
more ambitious than major emitters,” he told Today's
Zaman for Monday Talk. The latest round of interna-
tional talks on climate change ended on Nov. 6 with-
out resolving major disputes over a new global climate
pact and how to pay for it. MONDAY TALK CONTINUED ON PAGE 06
In a bid to resolve the standoff
between Iran and world powers
over low-enriched uranium,
Turkey is prepared to offer
escrow service, storing LEU in its
own territory under the supervi-
sion of the IAEA, Davutolu said.
Despite the Turkish Armed Forces' (TSK) frequent
recent emphasis on its commitment to democracy
and the rule of law, a considerable portion of the Turkish
nation does not believe the idea that the TSK does not
shelter officers involved in pro-coup and illegal activities,
the latest results of a monthly opinion poll have shown.
The Ankara-based MetroPOLL Strategic and Social
Research Center conducted a survey on the political situ-
ation in Turkey to get an idea of what the public thinks
about a recently exposed military plot to undermine the
ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the
faith-based Gülen movement as well as the govern-
ment's ongoing efforts to settle the Kurdish issue.
One of the questions in the survey was on partici-
pants' ideas about to what extent the TSK was committed
to democracy and the rule of law in Turkey. More than a
third of participants in the survey said they did not believe
that the TSK doesn't shelter pro-coup officers, despite the
General Staff's pledges to the contrary, which is a sign of
the loss of the TSK's credibility in the eyes of the public in
Turkey, where trust in the military used to be up to 80
percent among the public in the past. The Turkish mili-
tary has recently become the center of mounting criticism
over a military action plan, bearing the genuine signature
of Col. Dursun Çiçek. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

Featuring news and articles from

‘ 02 TODAY’S ZAMAN

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

‘ Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
‘ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009

WORDS OF WISDOM
PRESS REVIEW

colu m ns
We’re fed up with your [Israel’s] Now, we are trying to compensate Forever is composed They might even
time-wasting … We don’t believe that for the failures of past politicianswho of nows. release him by force
you really want a two-state solution. smoothed over the cracks for years. STAR MEHMET ALTAN
While Prime Minister Recep
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan Emily Dickinson Tayyip Erdoan was addressing
Parliament, my phone rang. A
news station said Col. Dursun
Çiçek had been released. Ob-
viously, the “junta” members
who prepared the Action Plan to Fight Reacti-
onaryism intended to send a message by calcu-
CROSS READER lating this coincidence. What was the message?
Do not touch my junta suspect. Why was Dur-
pr ess rou n du p sun released just 46 hours after he was arres-
ted when the forensic report revealed that he

REUTERS, MURAD SEZER

Lack of constructve had signed the Action Plan to Fight Reactionar-
yism? Because he is not a ight risk. Was there
opposton once agan anyone in the past who was arrested on char-
shows ts face ges of “being involved in a coup” and who was
then released on the grounds of “having a de-
The ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) nite address”? As far as I know, there was not.
democratic initiative, which aims to settle Turkey’s
decades-long Kurdish issue, was discussed at length
in Parliament on Friday, after heated debates on Tues- Who else would

PHOTO
day, when the issue was rst discussed in Parliament.
Friday’s session did not lack exchanges and confronta-
they wiretap?
tions among deputies either, in particular while Prime BUGÜN GÜLAY GÖKTÜRK
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan was addressing the de- This time they are making the
puties. Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputies even same commotion about the wi-
walked out of the general assembly when Erdoan ac- retapping of certain judges and
cused some circles, without naming names, of using the prosecutors. If they should not
death of Turkish soldiers as a means of political gain. wiretap the judges and prosecu-
The session, despite being a milestone when the past tors whose names were noted in
years of ignoring the issue are taken into consideration, the agenda of Veli Küçük, found on the com-
has led to pessimism for some as it once again revealed puters of Ergenekon defendants or referred to
the lack of a constructive opposition in Turkey. in their phone calls, who should they wiretap?
Yeni afak’s Fehmi Koru recalls a meeting Interior Mi- Those who collaborated with the relatives of
nister Beir Atalay held with some journalists, including Ergenekon suspects so that these suspects wo-
himself, to discuss their views on the Kurdish issue. No- uld be sent to the Gülhane Military Academy of
ting that Atalay then said they would resolve the issue in Medicine (GATA) for protection, those who ar-
Parliament, he says he was the only person who told Ata- ranged the release of some suspects by chan-
lay not to trust Parliament so much. “I said that since I ging the composition of certain courts with a
believed that the understanding of ‘opposition’ and ‘go- Turkey’s chief rabbi, Ishak Haleva (C), was accompanied by sleight of hand and those who attempted to in-
vernment’ in Turkey is not suited toward the resolution of terfere with the trials of JTEM by appointing
problematic issues regardless of how sensitive the issue is. Beyolu Mayor Ahmet Misbah Demircan (R) during acere- certain prosecutors to oversee the investigati-
I wish I had turned out to be in the wrong. I wish oppositi- mony in stanbul yesterday marking the sixth anniversary on, weren’t they all members of the judiciary?
on parties had acted to show what constructive opposition
is. Democracy in Turkey is perceived as cockghting bet- of bomb attacks against the city’s two main synagogues.
ween the government and the opposition,” he says. How are Alevi problems
Erhan Bayurt from the Bugün daily thinks that the
CHP, whose leader, Deniz Baykal, had previously absta-
akam: “He is seeking an excuse for closure,” the daily
said in the headline of its main story yesterday, referring to
Erdoan, who said his government was ready to forsake all
its posts if it would prevent the death of a single Turkish
connected to me?
ined from discussing the issue with the prime minister at RADKAL HASAN CELAL GÜZEL
Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman soldier. On Saturday, Erdoan was in the eastern province
his party headquarters, insisting on having the meeting Yalçnkaya, who previously led a court request for the closu- of Malatya, where he addressed the locals and explained Unfortunately, the judicial struc-
recorded, totally closed its doors to compromise during re of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The his government’s democratic initiative to settle the Kur- ture has become highly politici-
Friday’s session. “Although AK Party deputies listened to daily reported that Yalçnkaya is once again getting ready to dish issue. During his speech, Erdoan criticized the oppo- zed and has unilaterally interfe-
him [Baykal] while he was speaking, Baykal and his party le a closure case against the AK Party following recent reports sition for ghting an initiative that aims to strengthen red with politics in many cases.
walked out of Parliament during Erdoan’s address, which that the telephones of a chief public prosecutor and some brotherhood and unity in the country. In particular, in various stages of
shows that their camera condition was just an excuse to members of the Supreme Court of Appeals have been wiretap- the Ergenekon investigation, it
not to meet with the prime minister,” he says. ped for a long time as part of an ongoing probe into the clan- akam: In its top story yesterday, the daily reported has come to light that certain members of the ju-
While evaluating the CHP’s Parliament walkout, destine Ergenekon organization. Yalçnkaya accuses the go- that Ergenekon prosecutors would never send the original diciary have intervened in the investigation. Aga-
Mahmut Övür from the Sabah daily says the CHP’s re- vernment of illegally wiretapping members of the judiciary. copy of a document detailing a plot to illegally undermine in, some members of the judiciary are believed to
action was most likely not spontaneous but planned. As- the governing AK Party to the Military Prosecutor’s Ofce, be involved in political affairs. During such a cha-
king then why the CHP, which supported the Social De- habertürk: “All posts to be sacriced for a which had requested the document a number of times. Erge- otic period, it is not illegal to wiretap members
mocratic People’s Party’s (SHP) Kurdish report in 1989, martyr,” read the headline of the daily’s lead story yester- nekon prosecutors do not want to send the document, as of the judiciary within the scope of duly issued
now walks out of Parliament, he says he asked this ques- day, quoting remarks from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip they are concerned that it could be damaged or modied. court decisions. However, it is illegal for the vice
tion of some CHP members and even they couldn’t un- president of the Supreme Board of Judges and
derstand it. “There are some within the party who do not Prosecutors (HSYK) to call on judges and courts
like democracy,” he quotes a CHP member as saying. not to issue decisions that permit wiretapping.

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CMYK
 NATIONAL
Carbon monoxide
poisoning kills
5 in stanbul
Four children and their grandmother
died as a result of carbon monoxide poi-
soning from a leak in a coal-burning stove in
the Ümraniye district of stanbul on Sunday.
After returning from a coffeehouse, Mehm-
et Kepkin broke the back door of his home
since he did not hear any voices inside and
discovered a tragic scene. His wife, Vahide
Kepkin (54), and grandchildren, Sevda Kepkin
(15), Nihat Kepkin (8), Abdullah Kepkin (10)
and Mahsun Gerçek (8), were lifeless on the
floor. Mehmet Kepkin called the police and an
ambulance rushed to the scene.
It was reported that four of the family
members had died by the time the ambulance
arrived, with one person being rushed to the
hospital, where said person later died. All of
the bodies were brought to the private Sancak-
tepe Hospital morgue.
Sevda, Nihat and Abdullah Kepkin’s moth-
er and father, Meysel and Nezir Kepkin, and
Mahsun Gerçek’s mother and father, Çiçek
Gerçek and Cem Gerçek, were reportedly at-
tending a wedding in Siirt.
Meanwhile, three people in the Kiraz dis-
trict of zmir were poisoned by smoke from
a bucket of burning coal that they placed in
a minibus to keep them warm while sleep-
ing on Friday. Ümit Sar, the son of Turhan
Sar, who died at a hospital in zmir, asked
his friend Barattin Erdem (34) to drive his de-
ceased father’s corpse to the funeral home.
Erdem, his friend Bünyamin Aydoan (29)
and the father-in-law of Ümit Sar, Dursun
Topalak (48), brought the corpse to the Kiraz
district. As the funeral home was crowded,
the three people decided to sleep in the vehi-
cle. In order to stay warm, they brought some
coal from a coal-burning heater in the house
and put it in a bucket. They placed the bucket
into the minibus where they fell asleep. The
smoke from the coal killed them during the
night. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
Good Samaritan
killed by car
A man trying to help an injured person was
killed by another car on the Eskiehir high-
way on his way to Ankara on Sunday. Two people
died and four people were injured in the accident.
A pick-up truck driven by brahim Ünsal hit
highway barriers 35 kilometers away from Ankara.
Gül Ylmaz was ejected from the vehicle onto the
highway. Noticing the accident, Mehmet Erkan
stopped his car and attempted to help Ylmaz, who
was lying in the highway. Meanwhile, a car driven
by Ali Uzun hit Erkan and Ylmaz, killing both.
Uzun was injured in the accident.
Uzun and Ünsal were taken to the Gazi
University Medical Faculty Hospital for treat-
ment, while Yldz and Gülah Ylmaz, two other
passengers in the pick-up truck, were taken to
Atatürk Education and Research Hospital by an-
other vehicle. None of their injuries are consid-
ered life threatening. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
Vaccination of chronic disease sufferers, kids begins
After vaccinating health workers and pilgrims
embarking on hajj, the Health Ministry is set to
begin administering vaccines against H1N1 influenza,
popularly known as swine flu, to children under 5 years
of age and individuals with chronic diseases today.
The vaccinations will take place at local clin-
ics (salk oca) and family health centers, and
individuals within this category must only attest
to their diseases or age in order to receive the
vaccine. According to the Anatolia news agency,
people suffering from chronic organ failure, dia-
betes, immune system disorders, chronic lung dis-
eases, cancer, leukemia, cardiovascular diseases
and asthma will be vaccinated. Children below the
age of 5 will be vaccinated upon the permission of
their parents. Officials said individuals being vac-
cinated are informed about the possible side ef-
fects of the vaccine, Anatolia reported.
Experts and the Health Ministry say the best way
M O N D A Y, N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 9
Alevis across Turkey held demonstrations to protest CHP deputy Onur Öymen’s reference to the Dersim
Rebellion as an example of terrorism. They laid black wreaths in front of CHP’s local offices.
Alevis up in arms
against CHP’s Öymen
after Dersim remarks
contýnued from page 1
During a speech criticizing the govern-
ment’s Kurdish initiative, which seeks
to extend the rights of Kurds in Turkey to al-
leviate and ultimately end the separatist terror-
ism of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), in
Parliament on Tuesday, Öymen said: “Didn’t
mothers also cry at the time of the Sheikh Said
Rebellion? Didn’t mothers also cry at the time
of the Dersim Rebellion?” in response to the
government’s used of the phrase “Let no more
mothers cry” as part of its efforts to end the
PKK’s campaign of terrorism.
The rebellion took place in 1937 in Der-
sim, which had historically been a semi-
autonomous region. Dersim was renamed
Tunceli after the rebellion. The rebellion
was led by Seyyid Riza, the chief of a Zaza
(Kurdish) tribe in the region. The Turkish
government at the time, led by smet nönü,
responded with air strikes against the reb-
els. Thousands were killed in the campaign.
Öymen’s reference to the Dersim rebels as
an example of terrorists continued to draw
anger and resentment from the country’s
Alevis and Zazas.
A group of Alevis in the Aegean province
of zmir, a city among the strongholds of the
CHP, also gathered on Saturday to protest
Öymen and the CHP. Holding banners read-
ing “Racist Öymen will give account” and
“Racist CHP go away Dersim,” the group
also called on Öymen to resign.
Another harsh reaction to Öymen came
AA
PHOTO
The Ministry of Health will today begin to vaccinate chil-
dren under 5 years of age against H1N1 influenza.
for those in high-risk groups to protect themselves
from the virus is to receive a swine flu shot. Associate
Professor Alpay Azap from the department of infec-
tious diseases at Ankara University said children be-
low the age of 5 and individuals with chronic diseases
should definitely be vaccinated against swine flu as
STANBUL
ANKARA
ZMR
ANTALYA
ADANA
ERZURUM
EDRNE
TRABZON
KAYSER
CHAN, ZYA PEK
PHOTO
from the southern province of Mersin,
where various NGOs, including the Fed-
eration of Tunceli Residents, marched on
Saturday. Democratic Society Party (DTP)
members also held a demonstration in the
city, holding posters showing Öymen with
a Hitler-like toothbrush moustache. The
group also chanted slogans protesting Öy-
men. Group spokesperson and DTP Provin-
cial Chairman Serhat Ölmez said Öymen’s
remarks are evidence of the CHP’s years-
long policies of denial and destruction. The
group laid a black wreath in front of the
CHP’s local ofce. The group then held a
moment of silence to remember those who
were killed in the Dersin rebellion.
In the eastern province of Batman, a
group of people including representatives of
political parties and civil society groups also
laid a black wreath in front of the CHP’s local
ofce. Association of Human Rights and Sol-
idarity for Oppressed Peoples’ (MAZLUM-
DER) Batman branch head Murat Çiçek said
in order for the democratic initiative to be
successful Turkey should shed light on the
past’s unfortunate events. “We condemn
Onur Öymen and the mentality he repre-
sents and we want everyone in favor of peace
to show their reaction,” he said.
Following Öymen’s remarks, residents of
Tunceli, a predominantly Alevi city, also put
up posters throughout the city showing Öy-
men with a Hitler-like toothbrush moustache
to protest Öymen. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
the illness is more dangerous for these individuals.
The vaccination campaign against the pandemic
flu started on Nov. 2 in Turkey with the vaccination
of health care professionals and those preparing to go
on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. “The campaign is
still under way, and close to 250,000 people have been
vaccinated. No serious adverse effects have been ob-
served in those vaccinated,” said the Health Ministry
in a statement on Friday.
Pregnant women in Turkey will receive a special
form of the swine flu vaccine that does not contain an
adjuvant. Turkey plans to import 1 million doses of
adjuvant-free vaccine, set to arrive in December.
Turkey reported its first case of swine flu on May
15. Turkey’s first swine flu death occurred on Oct. 24,
when Mustafa Güne died at Ankara’s Atatürk Sana-
torium, where he had been receiving treatment. The
death toll has rapidly increased over the last 20 days
and reached 60 as of Friday. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
CMYK
TODAY’S ZAMAN 03
13° KONYA 12°
11° ÇANAKKALE 17°
19° DYARBAKIR 14°
23° SAMSUN 15°
18° BURSA 15°
5° GAZANTEP 14°
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9° KOCAEL 13°
b.kenes@todayszaman.com
State deputy
It turned out his uncle was one of those who
voted yes for the bill passed in 1935 that led to
the infamous Dersim massacre. The massacre of
thousands of civilians using warplanes, cannons
and heavy weaponry -- which Hfz Rait Rah-
man Bey, whom we can describe as a “state dep-
uty” since there was no multi-party competitive
regime in place at that time, heartily supported
-- is today advocated by his nephew, who has
managed to remain a “state deputy” despite the
existence of a multi-party regime.
During the parliamentary session in which
the government’s Kurdish initiative was be-
ing discussed, on Nov. 10, the following words,
which made the blood freeze, poured forth from
his lips without any sign of emotion: “Unfortu-
nately, the mothers of this country have wept on
so many occasions. Throughout our history, we
have had many martyrs. We had 200,000 mar-
tyrs at the Battle of Çanakkale. The mothers of all
of them cried. But no one suggested ending that
war. Didn’t mothers also weep during the War
of Independence, at the time of the Sheikh Said
Rebellion? Didn’t mothers also cry at the time of
the Dersim Rebellion and during the Cyprus op-
eration? Did anyone then suggest stopping the
ght, saying, ‘Let no more mothers cry’?”
However, during the Dersim incidents, the
mothers did not cry as they would have for their
lost sons who were martyred during the War of
Independence or during the Ottoman period. In-
deed, they would not cry for their sons who were
ghting against the enemy for the survival of the
nation. No, in Dersim, the state and the military
of the establishment for which they had worked
so hard crushed the heads of their sons. And
now, mothers cry for the children of this country
ghting against each other. This is the truth that
that emotionless state deputy chose to skip over.
Although it is the most striking of all, this is
not, unfortunately, the rst scandal for this per-
son, who spent his life representing the state as a
diplomat in foreign missions. In order to under-
stand his mood and a mentality that is deprived
of any notion of peace or brotherhood, we can
take a look at his sentence “You have been in
power for so many years, but you have never
conducted a cross-border operation,” which he
uttered as a criticism of the ruling Justice and De-
velopment Party (AK Party) in his same speech.
While Parliament was discussing the re-
forms to remove restrictions on property rights
of the foundations of non-Muslim minorities, he
suggested that the principle of reciprocity must
be applied vis-à-vis the rights granted to Turks
and Muslims in the country where the ethnici-
ties and religions of those non-Muslim minori-
ties are dominant so that these ethnic or religious
minorities -- who are Turkish citizens -- could be
granted some rights.
He is also considerably skillful in portray-
ing some historical events as if they never hap-
pened: “It is against our constitutional and le-
gal system to send away minorities. There is no
such event in our civilized country as banishing
minorities. ... We have not heard about anyone
who was expelled from the country on charges
of being from a specic ethnicity.” So, accord-
ing to this state deputy, neither the forced
migration of Armenians nor the exchange of
populations nor the incidents of Sept. 6-7, 1955
-- in which a great part of the minorities had to
leave the country and which events were later
described by some state ofcials as “a perfect
organization” -- nor such discriminatory prac-
tices as imposing taxes specically on minori-
ties were seen in this country.
Given his insensitivity toward the rights of
non-Muslim minorities, can we assume him to
be utterly sensitive toward the rights of Muslim
citizens? I think the following story is sufcient
to demonstrate his stance in this respect: Rumor
has it that when he was the Turkish ambassa-
dor to Germany, he had visited mosques and
asked why the mosques did not have a photo of
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and threatened imams
who refused to hang Atatürk pictures in their
mosques that he would send them back home.
Moreover, when the lifting of the headscarf ban
BÜLENT
KENE
on university campuses -- which had victimized
and continues to victimize tens of thousands of
young girls -- was being discussed, he had said,
“The headscarf is Nazi and fascist apparel,” never
realizing that these words had put that apparel
on himself.
The deeds and remarks of this person who
is the representative of a political mentality that
regards representing the state as a typical state
nationalist is superior to representing the soci-
ety, and who conducts his political career as if it
were a state mission, are not restricted to these.
In this regard, the response he suggested that
Turkey should give to the Armenian genocide
claims being discussed in the parliaments of
foreign countries is quite interesting: “We must
immediately send 70,000 Armenians working
in our country back to Armenia. In such is-
sues, we must respect national interests; it is
no place to be sentimental.”
Now let us hear what this person said about
the Turks who held protests of the murder of
Hrant Dink, which has now has been estab-
lished to have been committed by the shadowy
network of the deep state, Ergenekon: “We, as
the members of the Turkish foreign mission,
gave more than 40 martyrs to Armenian terror.
The murderers of many of them have not yet
been found. When Ambassador Galip Balkar
was murdered by Armenians and his dead
body was brought to Turkey, tens of thousands
did not walk in protest, and only his family was
there. No one shouted ‘We are all Galip Balkar’
or ‘We are all smail Erz’.”
In a sense, this reaction is perfectly un-
derstandable. This is because his person and
his party which he guided had fought hard
so that the infamous Article 301 -- which
paved the way for the eventual murder of
Dink -- should not be lifted.
The people who are like this person, who
would oppose any move to extend the rights
and freedoms of citizens, were also quick to hail
every military and judiciary intervention with ci-
vilian politics and democracy. This deputy of the
state party, who said, “The TSK [Turkish Armed
Forces] is a civil society organization,” had af-
forded full support to the 367 trickery during the
presidential election and also heartily defended
the e-memorandum of April 27, 2007, saying, “I
agree with every line of the memorandum.” And
in the face of the big election defeats that these
anti-democratic stances brought about, he had
taken refuge behind the illogical statement that
“the voters acted irrationally.”
Do you know who this state deputy is? He
is the one who said: “Our Constitution allows
amendments to the Constitution and amend-
ments of its articles. But we fail to see any article
of the Constitution that allows the complete
abolishment of the existing Constitution and re-
placing it with a new one.”
At this point, one cannot agree more with
the Freedom Association’s (Özgür-Der) state-
ment: “While many were shocked with the
proposal voiced in Parliament for pursuing the
policy of deportation and extermination in or-
der to settle the Kurdish issue with a blind eye
to the experiences of the past, it is impossible
to say for those who closely monitor Turkish
politics that this is a strange proposal. It is really
hard to understand why everyone is surprised
to hear the ‘solution’ proposed by a party of-
cial who acts as the guardian of the ofcial
Kemalist ideology based on his primary refer-
ences against political and social issues. In this
sense, the mentality of ‘not making compro-
mises from the basic principles or functions of
the state so that mothers should not cry’ repre-
sents is the exact reection of the Kemalist and
bureaucratic mentality which Onur Öymen
represents. There is no inconsistency here.”
In the end, isn’t Republican People’s Party
(CHP) Deputy Chairman Onur Öymen, to
whom we have not referred explicitly so far, an
unyielding defender of the status quo in this
country, an ofcial of the language of denial, and
an eternal representative of the state? Wouldn’t it
be unfair for us to expect more from him?
 04 TODAY’S ZAMAN
Turkey vows to choose Turkish Cypriots over its EU bid
Turkey’s strong desire to end the decades-
old Cyprus conflict does not mean it will
accept a resolution at any price, Turkey’s Dep-
uty Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek said on Sunday,
warning that nobody should force Turkey to
make a choice between its own European Union
aspirations and its support of the Turkish Repub-
lic of Northern Cyprus’ (KKTC) right to exist.
In a speech delivered at a ceremony held in
Lefkoa on Sunday marking the 26th anniversary of
the KKTC’s declaration of independence, Çiçek reit-
erated Ankara’s support for the ongoing United Na-
tions-led reunication negotiations between Greek
and Turkish Cypriot leaders. Turkish Cypriot leader
Mehmet Ali Talat and Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris
Christoas broke a four-year stalemate on talks in
March 2008 and have been engaged in face-to-face
negotiations with the goal of reunifying the island.
“This has to be known by everybody: We want
a resolution, but not a resolution at any cost. A
resolution which can be reached through Turkish
Cypriots’ giving up their legitimate rights is not a
resolution which we will back,” Çiçek said, warning
that the negotiations cannot go on forever and the existing
Turkey offers help to overcome
confdence crss over Iran’s LEU
ABDULLAH BOZKURT CORDOBA
In a bid to resolve the standoff between
Iran and world powers over low-enriched
uranium (LEU), Turkey is prepared to
offer escrow service, storing LEU in its own ter-
ritory under the supervision of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a top Turkish dip-
lomat said on Saturday. “We have a lot of political
capital in Tehran, and we helped diffuse tension
between Iran and world powers in the past,” For-
eign Minister Ahmet Davutolu told Today’s Za-
man over the weekend while traveling to Spain to
meet with his Spanish counterpart. He signaled that
Turkey is willing to take up the IAEA suggestion that
Iran send its LEU to Turkey, a friendly third country.
Recalling that Turkey had convinced Iran to send
a delegation headed by Iran’s Supreme National
Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili to meet with
European Union High Representative for the Com-
mon Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, who
presided as moderator of the 5+1 group (the UN
Security Council’s ve permanent members and
Germany) delegation on Oct. 1, Davutolu said the
dialogue process has reached this point because of
Turkish efforts and that talks should continue.
He stated that he held telephone conversations
with both IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei and Irani-
an ofcials last week to conrm Turkey’s willingness
to act as a mediator on the issue in a major drive to
prevent the disagreement from escalating into a full-
blown crisis and help allay concerns on both sides.
The issue originated when Iran realized it was
running out of special fuel to operate a Tehran
research reactor that produces radioactive iso-
topes for cancer treatment. On Oct. 1, the meet-
ing between Iran and world powers resulted in an
agreement that Tehran would send the bulk of its
LEU to Russia and France for further processing
and conversion into fuel for the research reactor.
The agreement, however, was stalled over the
timing and logistics of how Iran will part ways
with its LEU, which some in Iran see as a vital
strategic asset. The objections that were raised
later by Iranian ofcials about sending the LEU to
France or Russia prompted the UN to suggest that a
friendly third country such as Turkey could act as escrow
holder until the fuel arrives for the Tehran reactor.
From a technical standpoint, Turkey has
the capability to store the LEU under watchdog
agency supervision, Turkish ofcials said last
week. “There is no problem from the side of Tur-
key with Iran storing its LEU in Turkey,” Energy
Minister Taner Yldz told reporters. The UN plan
requires Tehran to send 1.2 tons (1,100 kilograms)
-- around 70 percent of its stockpile -- of LEU to
Turkey, Israel, Jordan hold search and rescue maneuvers
LALE KEMAL ANKARA
Turkey, Jordan and Israel reportedly held
joint search and rescue maneuvers almost
two weeks ago in Ankara’s Gölba district at
the Special Forces Command’s training range.
This signals an improvement in the currently
strained Turkish-Israeli relations, as Ankara ex-
cluded Israel at the last minute from the Anato-
lian Eagle international maneuvers which were
planned to take place between Oct. 13 and 23 in
Talat (front) is seen during a ceremony on Sunday marking the anniversary of the KKTC’s independence.
window of opportunity cannot remain open indenitely.
“The comprehensive resolution which we
aim for should emerge as a new partnership un-
der which the island will be reunited as based
on the principles two equal community, bi-
zonality, political equality and two constituent
states with equal status,” he said, underlining
Davutolu ‘very Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutolu said Sunday he is
“very optimistic” about Spain’s upcoming presidency
optimistic’ for of the European Union, while his Spanish counterpart,
Miguel Angel Moratinos, pledged to doing their best to
Spanish EU move Turkey’s EU accession process to an “irrevers-
ible path.” The two ministers’ remarks came in the
presidency Andalusian city of Cordoba following official talks be-
tween Spanish and Turkish delegations led by the two
Russia in one batch by the end of the year for fur-
ther enrichment, a move that would ease inter-
national concerns that the material could be pro-
cessed for a bomb. After further enrichment in Russia,
France would then convert the uranium into fuel rods that
would be returned to Iran for use in a reactor. Fuel rods can-
not be further enriched into weapons-grade material.
Turkey, which has very close political and
trade relations with Iran, has said in the past it is
willing to mediate between Iran and the West over
Iran’s nuclear program. Turkish ofcials had com-
prehensive talks with Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad and Iranian Foreign Minister Ma-
nouchehr Mottaki, who were both in stanbul
to attend an Organization of the Islamic Con-
ference (OIC) economic summit last week.
Turkey’s central Anatolian town of Konya because
of Israel’s assault on Gaza against Hamas militants
early this year which killed more than 1,500 civil-
ians. A Turkish TV series named “Ayrlk” (Separa-
tion), which contained anti-Israeli elements, fur-
ther fuelled the deterioration in ties.
In protest over the Turkish exclusion of Israel from
the exercises at the last minute, the United States and
Italy also withdrew from the maneuvers.
Reliable sources told Today’s Zaman that due to
the nature of the search and rescue operations held
AA ,MUSTAFA SA IROGLU
PHOTO
that Turkey’s security guarantees for the Turk-
ish Cypriots will continue.
“We will never let the integrity of the reso-
lution to be breached within the EU,” Çiçek
said. “If some are planning to say ‘Either Cy-
prus or the EU,’ [then] Turkey’s choice will
forever be to stand next to the Turkish Cypri-
within the framework of Davutolu’s three-day official
visit to Spain. Spain will take over the six-month rotat-
ing presidency of the EU from Sweden in January. Be-
fore wrapping up his visit today Davutolu will deliver
a speech titled “Turkey and Spain, Two Sides of the
Mediterranean: Joint Contributions to Global Peace
and Security,” at a breakfast meeting to be held at the
Madrid-based Nueva Economia Forum. Cordoba Today’s Zaman
Turkey against all nuclear arms
Davutolu reiterated Turkey’s policy regarding
the nuclear arms issue, saying Ankara is, and has
been, against all nuclear weapons, especially in
the Middle East. “No matter who possesses these
deadly weapons, we are against it,” he said, add-
ing, however, that every country has a right to de-
velop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes,
such as meeting legitimate energy needs.
“Countries should be able to produce enriched
uranium for civilian purposes, but the process must
be transparent and for peaceful goals,” Davutolu
underlined. “We are not doing this to favor Iran as
our approach to nuclear arms and nuclear energy is-
sues is valid for other countries as well,” he added.
The Turkish foreign minister also balked
over three days in the Gölba district, jet ghters were
not used in the maneuvers.
During his remarks to the media last month,
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutolu highlighted
Turkey’s sensitivity about the fact that Israeli jets
used during Gaza assault were also going to take
part in the maneuvers, hinting at the reason for
Turkey’s exclusion of Israel from the exercises.
In a related development, technical prob-
lems that have caused a more than two-year-
long delay in the delivery of Israel’s Heron un-
CMYK
M O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 9
NATIONAL
ots. Everybody should understand this.”
Talat, speaking at the same ceremony, said
the declaration of the KKTC’s independence
was aimed at “reconciliation and peace.”
Addressing the Greek Cypriots, Talat said:
“The Turkish Cypriot people are ready to share
this beautiful island with you. Come and con-
tribute to our reconciliation efforts; do not pre-
vent our beautiful island from becoming an is-
land of friendship and cooperation.”
Ankara does not recognize the Greek Cypriot
government, which entered the EU in May 2004 as
the ofcial representative of the entire island after
the Greek Cypriots in the south rejected the UN re-
unication plan in twin referendums held in 2004.
In 1983 the KKTC unilaterally declared its indepen-
dence, though it is only recognized by Ankara.
Turkey’s refusal to implement a trade pact
between Turkey and the EU that requires Ankara
to allow Greek Cypriot vessels to use its air and
sea ports has already prompted the EU to freeze
eight chapters in Turkey’s accession talks and the
bloc may consider fresh sanctions at a summit in
December. Ankara Today’s Zaman with wires
AA , SENHAN BÖLELL
PHOTO
Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutolu (R) shaking hands
with his Spanish counterpart,
Miguel Angel Moratinos, on
Sunday in Cordoba.
at more sanctions targeting Iran, saying Tur-
key would be most adversely impacted in the
case of a possible expansion of embargo and
trade restrictions. “We suffered immensely
when the UN Security Council imposed an
embargo on Iraq during Saddam’s rule. The
sanctions have a way of punishing those who
were not intended to be punished in the first
place. The Iraqi embargo affected not only
Turkey but also the Iraqi people,” he said.
Davutolu emphasized that Turkey prefers
negotiations to resolve outstanding issues be-
tween Iran and Western powers, noting that
military means fall short of accomplishing goals
and complicate matters worse. “Let’s give talks a
chance and stick to negotiations,” he added.
manned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Turkey have
reportedly been overcome. According to the lo-
cal defense industry sources, the Turkish and Is-
raeli sides are now negotiating over the amount
of compensation to be paid for the Israeli delay
of Heron UAVs.
In another sign of repairing the damaged
relations between Turkey and Israel, Industry,
Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
of Israel, who was formerly the defense minis-
ter, is scheduled to visit Turkey on Nov. 24.
REUTER
PHOTO
Anti-Islamic
Dutch lawmaker
to visit Turkey
Dutch right-wing lawmaker Geert
Wilders is among members of a del-
egation from the Netherlands House of
Representatives which will pay a visit to
Turkey in early January, the Anatolia news
agency reported over the weekend.
Wilders has outraged Muslims by com-
paring the Quran to Adolf Hitler’s “Mein
Kampf” and calling for an end to Muslim
immigration to the Netherlands. He has de-
fended his right to criticize the actions of a
minority he says poses a threat to society.
During European Parliament elections
in early summer, running an anti-Muslim
and anti-Turkey campaign, Wilders got
17 percent of the vote, and his Party for
Freedom became the second-largest party
after the Christian Democrats and before
the Socialists in what was once known to
be one of the most liberal countries on earth.
In his victory speech Wilders said: “Should
Turkey as an Islamic country be able to join
the European Union? We are the only party in
Holland that says it is an Islamic country, so no,
not in 10 years, not in a million years.”
In its report, posted from Amsterdam,
Anatolia said that the delegation from the
Dutch House of Representatives is expected
to be in Turkey between Jan. 4 and 9, while
noting that Wilders most recently visited
Turkey in 1983. Ankara Today’s Zaman with wires
Ankara denies
‘implicit deal’ with
France on its EU bid
The Turkish capital has firmly re-
jected recent news reports which
have suggested the presence of an
agreement between France and Turkey
that would establish an alternative to
the latter’s European Union membership
prospects and has presented Turkey-
France bilateral relations as “free” from
Turkey’s EU membership issue.
“Turkey considers its bilateral relations
with its friend and ally France as a whole, not
solely connected to one issue. Turkey’s acces-
sion process to the EU is, without a doubt,
one of the most important elements of these
relations,” said a statement released by the
Foreign Ministry over the weekend.
Last week, French Minister for European
Affairs Pierre Lellouche was quoted as say-
ing that his country and Turkey had recently
reached an “implicit agreement” concern-
ing bilateral disagreements surrounding
Turkey’s EU membership process.
Brieng members of the French National
Assembly’s foreign affairs committee, Lel-
louche said an implicit agreement had been
reached during President Abdullah Gül’s
meeting with French President Nicolas Sar-
kozy in Paris last month, noting that the
agreement aimed at “easing” problems
concerning Turkey’s EU membership pro-
cess, the Anatolia news agency reported.
“Therefore, such a mutual understanding as
cited in those news reports has not occurred and
it is not possible for it to occur either,” the govern-
ment’s statement, which came in the form of an
answer by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Burak
Özügergin to a journalist’s question, said. “In addi-
tion to groundless news reports, the use of careful
language by all related ofcials is extremely impor-
tant concerning the course of affairs in Tur-
key-France relations,” Özügergin also noted.
Sarkozy believes that Turkey does not be-
long in Europe and proposes instead a privi-
leged partnership that falls short of membership
in the 27-nation EU, while the Turkish leader-
ship categorically rejects any formula that does
not include full membership in the European bloc.
Gül paid an ofcial visit to Paris last month,
where he and Sarkozy together opened an exhibi-
tion at Paris’ Grand Palais as part of the Season of
Turkey in France. During their meeting last month,
the French and Turkish presidents reached an un-
written agreement based on “mutual compromise
on three issues for easing problems stemming from
the parties’ positions,” Lellouche told the foreign affairs
committee last week. The first compromise was an unde-
clared acceptance that France continues to oppose acces-
sionofTurkeyintotheEU,hesaid. Ankara Today’s Zaman
 NATIONAL MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009 TODAY’S ZAMAN 05

Ending terror
easier said than
done, says Arnç
Democratic initiative crosses important threshold
State Minister and Deputy Prime Min-

T O D AY ’S ZAMAN , AL  Ü N AL
ister Bülent Arnç has said that there is
a simple formula to end terror: preventing CHP warned about
new recruits to the terrorist Kurdistan Work-
ers’ Party (PKK), and enabling those who are failing 2011 elections
already in it to return, but he also noted that The CHP is experiencing difficult days. Its
this would not be easy to achieve. negative attitude on the democratic initia-
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the tive is gradually manifesting the troubles within
Political Academy convention of the Justice and the party. When CHP Deputy Chairman Onur Öy-
men said, “No one said let’s not make mothers
PHOTO

Development Party’s (AK Party) Afyon provin-

cial presidency, Arnç said unemployment and
fear of the future were the two major reasons
behind new recruits’ joining the PKK. He said
there were other reasons as well, such as an in-
ability to express oneself and a lack of educa-
tion. “I know that region really well. If you can’t
give them another option than joining the PKK
when they ask you, ‘what will become of us?’,
there is no meaning to your words of patrio-
tism. There are no investments; you issue in-
centives, but nobody applies for them.”
Arnç said solving the terror problem would
mean a brighter future for Turkey. “If you solve
terror, Turkey will make leaps of improvement.
We would stop wasting our own resources and
use them for the wealth of our people. Our repu-
tation in the international arena would rise. Be-
fore anything else, this problem is one of national
security. Without it, we could spend the money
we pour into this on improving our country.”
He said civil society organizations and
professional groups have contributed their
opinions to the democratic initiative project of
the government to end terrorism, noting that
the opposition Nationalist Movement Party
(MHP) and the Republican People’s Party
(CHP) have opposed the initiative from the
start and therefore did not share their views.
He said: “Our people in that region want to
speak, sing, read and publish in their language
-- which they have been doing since 2002. This is
what the people want, not what the PKK wants.”
He said the government was working to meet all
the demands of the region’s residents.
“As long as there are returnees, we will
also be preventing new recruits,” he said.
“This is a psychological move. They will think,
‘those ones are coming back, why should I
join?’”stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
Osman Öcalan,
more PKK members
to surrender
Signicant progress has been reached
within the democratic initiative as Patriotic
Democrat Party (PWD) leaders and 100 terrorists,
including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
terrorist organization leader Abdullah Öcalan’s
brother, Osman Öcalan, and Nizamettin Ta are
expected to surrender to Turkey in the near future.
The National Intelligence Organization (MIT)
has held top secret meetings in Suleymaniye and
Arbil with President of Iraqi Kurdistan Massoud
Barzani to urge PKK members to surrender and
address details of how such a step would proceed.
Öcalan and 200 followers reportedly
broke away from the PKK’s conservative
wing, led by Murat Karaylan, Cemil Bayk,
Mustafa Karasu, Fehman Hüseyin and Duran
Kalkan, in 2004 due to a difference in opin-
ions and left the Kandil Mountains.
It was noted that Öcalan has asked for
guarantees that his group will not be arrested
when they return to Turkey. A group of PKK
members who returned to Turkey last month
were released following a brief interrogation
Government ready to sacrifice whatever it takes to end terror
Tension was high during a session in Parliament on Friday over the government’s Kurdish initiative.
Political executives are taking a deep breath after a critical week.
Last week was important for the government, the opposition and
the Ergenekon case. The week began with two critical questions:
The rst was what the atmosphere would be like in Parliament dur-
ing the discussion of the democratic initiative. The second ques-
tion was related to the investigation of a junta within the military.
Would legal action be taken against Col. Dursun Çiçek, who avoid-
ed going to the prosecutor’s ofce to testify for two weeks despite
evidence that he signed an action plan to discredit the Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) and the faith-based Gülen move-
ment? What would the government’s stance on these issues be?
Would Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan take a step back in re-
sponse to the opposition’s harsh criticism or would he continue to
argue for “more democracy and more freedom for everyone”? The
Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) voiced the same criticism in different words. While
CHP leader Deniz Bayal called the initiative an “mral-government
cooperation” -- suggesting that it was prepared in line with the
wishes of outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdul-
lah Öcalan, jailed on the island of mral off of stanbul -- MHP
leader Devlet Bahçeli made the same point by calling the initiative
a “PKK-AK Party cooperation.”
The government maintained a clear stance in both cases.
Erdoan emphasized once again that they were determined to take
new steps in pursuing the initiative. The rst step had to do with the
junta issue. While Col. Çiçek went to court to testify several days
later, Erdoan summoned Chief of General Staff Gen. lker Babu
to the Prime Ministry and reiterated that the junta in the army
should be eliminated. The lengthy meeting was different from their
regular weekly meetings in terms of both its timing and its content.
It is commonly accepted that Çiçek, who was later released pend-
ing trial, did not commit the crime of planning a coup by himself.
Çiçek’s denial that he signed the plan is considered to be evidence
that he committed the crime upon an order from a superior. Those
who ordered the crime are now ordering him to deny signing the
document. As for Çiçek, who is denying that the signature on the
plan is his, he is saying nothing more than “the gods want a sac-
rice.” The public is waiting for those who ordered Çiçek to draw
up this plan to be revealed. Carrying out an order that constitutes
criminal activity is dened in the Constitution as a crime. But order-
ing an action that constitutes a crime is even a bigger crime.
The general sentiment is that Erdoan, who called Babu to
the Prime Ministry to meet a day earlier than their scheduled week-
ly meeting, does not want junta supporters to be protected.
Refusing to back down on eliminating junta supporters from
the army, Erdoan is equally determined to proceed forward with
the democratic initiative despite opposition. He did not pay heed
to objections against holding the rst parliamentary discussion on
the initiative on Nov. 10, which marks the anniversary of the death
of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. In-
stead he argued that discussing peace on Nov. 10 would be a good
way to honor his memory on that day. After heated preliminary
talks on Tuesday, Erdoan acted like a captain steering his ship
during the discussions held on Friday. Recalling the importance
Atatürk placed on Parliament and peace, he asked, “Can we ensure
peace in the world without ensuring peace at home?” To prevent
the anticipated atmosphere of tension from the opposition, the AK
Party leader managed his group very well. Despite harsh criticism,
the AK Party did not show any reaction to Baykal or Bahçeli.
During his own speech, Erdoan warned Baykal and Bahçeli
to control their groups when their members starting making ob-
jections. This was an important move. It was critical that images
of tension did not overshadow discussion of the initiative. Interior
Minister Beir Atalay, who spoke on behalf of the government, gave
the rst hints on what the initiative would entail and noted that this
was a process that was still continuing. Although the steps that will
be taken were not ofcially outlined, the leaders of all four major
political parties in Parliament were in agreement on the steps that
would absolutely not be taken. While this weakened the hand of
the CHP and the MHP, which were both giving the impression that
they were staunchly opposing for the sake of opposition, the demo-
cratic initiative successfully completed its rst stage.
cry during the Gallipoli Campaign or the Dersim
Rebellion” -- referring to the slogan “Let no more
mother’s cry,” used by the government to defend
its Kurdish initiative -- his words came as a shock
to his party. Reactions from the party’s grass
roots have lowered the morale of deputies. Öy-
men, who spoke on behalf of the CHP during the
preliminary talks on the initiative on Tuesday, be-
came the focus of criticism during the discussion
on Friday. While Democratic Society Party (DTP)
leader Ahmet Türk criticized Öymen for “politics
that incite racism,” Erdoan said only a person
lacking humanity could defend the Dersim mas-
sacre. It was obvious that Öymen, who preferred
not to enter the general assembly during the dis-
cussion, was quite upset. He allegedly entered
the general assembly at one point and asked
Baykal if he could take the podium to respond
to criticism. But he walked out of the general
assembly with the same upset demeanor when
Baykal responded in the negative. Dersim is a
sensitive subject for Alevis, and Alevi organiza-
tions are strongly criticizing the CHP. stanbul
deputy Ufuk Uras, former leader of the Freedom
and Solidarity Party (ÖDP), issued the first warn-
ing that the CHP would fail in the 2011 election.
Uras, who is involved in a movement to unite the
contemporary left, states that constituents are
coming to realize that the CHP does not have the
ability to represent the left. Another factor that
will lead to the CHP’s election failure is a party
being formed by ili Mayor Mustafa Sargül, who
already has more than 10 percent of the left’s
support even though he hasn’t set up a party yet.
Ergenekon crack in DP
Political circles compare the merger of
the Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) and the
Democrat Party (DP) to the mixing of olive oil and
water. There are claims that Süleyman Demirel’s
pro-status quo line and Turgut Özal’s reformist
line will not be able to work together. The first
sign of incompatibility came not from former ANA-
VATAN members, but from DP leader Hüsamettin
Cindoruk’s close friend, former Deputy Chairman
Çar Erhan. Erhan competed against Süleyman
Soylu to become the party’s leader after Mehm-
et Aar resigned as chairman but lost the elec-
tions by a small margin. Erhan, who challenged
Soylu again after the local elections, persuaded
him to choose Cindoruk as candidate for chair-
man of the unification process. But the return of
Demirel-backed Cindoruk to politics led to specu-
lation that he was probably the third partner of a
CHP-MHP coalition needed to end the Ergenekon
process. Cafe Capital had reported that Erhan,
who denied this claim, said they would not
participate in that kind of a coalition. Erhan se-
verely criticized claims that Cindoruk was an Er-
genekon supporter during the congress in which
the two parties merged. “We must be against
coups and alongside democracy,” he said. It’s
clear that in order to ensure harmony within the
DP someone will have to constantly stir the wa-
ter and olive oil. It’s also clear that the party has
a long road ahead for democratization.
AA, KENAN ÇMEN

by prosecutors. However, an unclear answer
was given to Öcalan: He apparently was in-
formed that he and his followers will be dealt
with in full accordance with all applicable laws,
including the law of repentance. So far, nearly
1,000 PKK members who were not involved in
any acts of terror have beneted from the law
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan stated outlets for attempting to undermine the democratic
that his government is determined to end ter- initiative process. “Some media agencies are slyly try-
rorism no matter what the cost, and he also lashed ing to undermine this process of brotherhood with the
out at the opposition for their accusations that the images they publish and with untruthful news stories
government was collaborating with the terrorist they report. They are trying to axe the process.”
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), speaking on Sat- In his criticism of the CHP, he accused the party
urday in Malatya to a party convention. of betraying Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of
PHOTO

and have been exonerated and freed.
Senior security sources say the surrender
of Öcalan and Ta is very important to the
progress of the democratic initiative. The out-
come of the terrorists’ surrender to Turkey will
be closely watched by those still in the Kandil
Mountains, thus Öcalan’s surrender could ac-
celerate the democratic initiative process.
After Öcalan and his followers arrive at the
Habur Border Gate, judicial action will proceed at
the Diyarbakr Court, instead of the Silopi court.
Claiming that armed ghting should be
ended, and thus quarrelling with the armed
wing of the PKK, Öcalan and Ta left the Kan-
dil Mountains ve years ago.
Öcalan established the PWD with Ta in
northern Iraq. Öcalan and Ta are reported to
live in Kuysanjaq, a town between Suleymaniye
and Arbil in northern Iraq. Karaylan and Bayk
coordinated assassination attempts on both
Öcalan and Ta after they left the Kandil Moun-
tains. Öcalan was supposed to be killed by poi-
soned coffee and Ta with a weapon, yet both
attempts failed miserably. Sedat Güneç Ankara
The prime minister said to emphasize his gov-
ernment’s determination to end the Kurdish prob-
lem: “We are ready to be stripped of all ofces,
titles we possess. All we want is that not another
drop of martyrs’ blood is shed.”
The prime minister’s remarks were a continu-
ation of a verbal ght that started in Parliament on
Friday as the General Assembly discussed the gov-
ernment’s democratic initiative aimed at alleviat-
ing and ultimately ending Turkey’s long-standing
problem with separatist violence by extending
more rights to Kurds. Opposition leaders Deniz
Baykal of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and
Devlet Bahçeli of the Nationalist Movement Party
(MHP) referred to the democratic initiative as a
destructive plan and accused the Justice and De-
velopment Party (AK Party) government of serving
the goals of the terrorist PKK.
Erdoan criticized the opposition in a very harsh
tone on Saturday. “In the past 25 years, terror has
formed its own lobby and market. There are those
who earn their bread from this bloody market.” He
repeated his earlier accusation that the opposition
was exploiting the terror problem and expecting po-
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan was warmly welcomed by residents of the Aegean province of zmir,
where he inaugurated the newly built zmir-Ankara highway.
litical gain from the deaths of soldiers. He also said
the PKK was exploiting the same terrorism market,
referring to the festive homecoming celebration for
34 PKK returnees in mid-October as a result of this
exploitation. “When the bullets are silent, when
there are no more martyr funerals, when there are
no more youths joining [terrorists], when there are
no more tears, winners of this bloody market will be
jobless. What we saw in Habur, Diyarbakr [during
the reception of PKK returnees] was a result of this
exploitation,” he said.
He referred to Nov. 13, which saw the debate
on the democratic initiative in Parliament, as a mile-
stone. He also denied accusations that his govern-
ment was talking to the PKK. “No honored govern-
ment of this country has negotiated with terrorists.
Nobody can debate the borders of this country, its
secular, democratic structure as a social welfare
state governed by the rule of law,” he said.
The prime minister also criticized some media
modern Turkey. “‘This party is Atatürk’s party,’ they
sometimes say. No, Atatürk did not leave you such
a party. The rst betrayal started as such. When
Atatürk died, you [the CHP] erased his pictures
from the bills and placed nönü’s pictures instead.”
Meanwhile, CHP leader Baykal also contin-
ued to criticize Erdoan and the democratic ini-
tiative. He reiterated his earlier statement that
the initiative was a common project of the AK
Party and the PKK. He said the democratic initia-
tive will inevitably bring ethnic separation to the
country. “The PKK has neared obtaining what it
has failed to get with armed struggle in 25 years
with the cooperation of this government.”
Speaking during a visit to the Karamanl Mu-
nicipality in Burdur, Baykal said when a group of
PKK terrorists returned to Turkey, prosecutors had
rushed to their feet. “Which law, which article al-
lows that. The man [returnee] openly says, ‘I am
not an enemy. I am a member of the PKK. Keep
that in mind when taking my testimony.’ Who
made this possible? How can [PKK leader] Apo
[Abdullah Öcalan] and our government work to-
gether in this project?” stanbul Today’s Zaman

CMYK
 06 TODAY’S ZAMAN MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009 INTERVIEW

‘Turkey can be key to open the

contnued from page 1
The new agreement is a follow-up to the 1997 Kyoto
Protocol, which set binding targets for industrialized
nations to cut their carbon emissions by a collective 5 per-
cent below 1990 levels during the rst commitment period
Copenhagen deadlock’
‘Currently, there is a lack of trust between developed and developing countries. Turkey can show the
from 2008 to 2012.
“Everybody knows that the current deadlock will be re- leadership that can narrow this gap in the sense that there are some countries in between these two
solved by political leaders, not by bureaucrats,” Arkan said.
But he added that it is not enough for Turkey to say that
groups. Turkey can lead the denition of a new group of countries which would have responsibilities
it wants to maintain its current status, which frees it from that are less binding than those for developed countries but more ambitious than major emitters’
reduction commitments. Turkey, South Korea and Mexico
are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation

TODAY’S ZAMAN, MEHMET AL POYRAZ

and Development (OECD), widely considered to be a group
of industrialized nations, but do not have emission reduction
commitments under the current Kyoto regime until 2012.
“Turkey should be proactive and specify in which group
of countries it will be classied in the new setup after the end
of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012. Otherwise, it will be vulner-
able to surprises that could occur in Copenhagen,” he said.
Per capita annual emissions in Turkey are 4.5 tons com-
pared to 23.5 tons in the United States and 11 tons in Den-
mark. But its emissions are increasing fast as the country
continues to grow.
The US refused to adopt the treaty, even though it was
the world’s largest carbon emitter. Japan and the European
Union have announced cuts of 25 and 30 percent, while the

PHOTO
US target is a less ambitious 7 percent cut, pending the
passage of climate legislation in the US Senate.
Thousands of ofcials, advisers, diplo-
mats, campaigners and media personnel
from about 200 countries will be joined by
heads of state on Dec. 6-18 in one of the
most signicant gatherings in history.
Arkan elaborated on the issue when
answering our questions. We talked
last week on Nov. 12 at the “Climate
Change, Global Threats & Low Carbon
Prosperity toward Copenhagen” con-
ference in stanbul, at which climate
experts from academia, civil society
and relevant ministries were present to
discuss where Turkey and other coun-
tries stand. The conference was put
together by the Turkish Parliament
and an EU parliamentary initiative,
Globe EU, based in Brussels. It was
hosted by Haluk Özdalga, chair-
man of the Turkish Parliament’s
Environment Commission.
You say Turkey can end the
Copenhagen deadlock. How did
you reach that conviction?
Currently, there is a lack of trust
between developed and developing Yunus Arkan, spokesman for the world’s cities on climate
countries. Turkey can show the lead- Based in Bonn, Germany, he is the manager of the Cities Cli- cal governments and associations of mayors that participate
ership that can narrow this gap in the mate Center for Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), in the meetings of the United Nations Framework Convention
sense that there are some countries which is an international association of local governments as on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as observers. Arkan used to be
well as national and regional local government organizations the senior project manager for the Turkey office of the Hungary-
in between these two groups. Tur-
that have made a commitment to sustainable development. In based Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern
key can lead the denition of a new that capacity, Arkan is both the secretary for the World Mayors Europe (REC). Arkan’s lobbying work at REC was instrumental
group of countries which would Council on Climate Change (WMCCC) and spokesman for lo- in Turkey’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol this year.
have responsibilities that are less
binding than developed countries but
more ambitious than major emitters.
Such as? Why do you think Turkey should not stay and bureaucratic community to approve the Kyoto Protocol.
China, Brazil and India, which are home outside? It was Özdalga, Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdoan and
to billions of people. The question has been Turkey is among the top 20 countries in terms the Foreign Ministry who took the risk. With today’s con-
whether or not they would be able to adapt to a of its economy and population. Like the rest of ference, Parliament’s Environment Commission saw a new
low-carbon economy. Actually, China has made the world, it cannot depend on fossil fuels for its en- picture regarding Turkey and the world as far as the climate
extensive and often dramatic efforts to do so. ergy needs. Turkey has renewable energy resources such as issue is concerned. It is also true for the international par-
However, China and other developing countries wind, sun, bio-mass and hydro energy. There is a huge ef- ticipants, that they saw a different Turkey than the one they
are rightfully asking, “Have the OECD countries ciency potential in Turkey as well. If these resources can be already knew. Turkey has until midnight on Dec. 18 to state
done their job of reducing their emissions when mobilized in collaboration with the rest of the world, it will its position. It is very important that the chairman of the
you are asking us to do it?” And there is the Unit- be easier for Turkey to shift to a low-carbon economy. Turkish Parliament’s Environment Commission be in Co-
ed States [which was responsible for 36.1 percent Do you think the Turkish leadership can do what penhagen. Everybody knows that the current deadlock will
of the world’s 1990 emission levels], which has you have just said? be resolved by political leaders, not by bureaucrats. And it is
not ratied the Kyoto Protocol. And there are When I was proposing that Turkey be a party to the Kyoto not enough to say that Turkey just wants to keep its current
countries such as Turkey, South Korea and Mexico, Protocol without a reduction commitment four years ago, ev- status. Turkey should be able to dene how it wants to take
which are members of the OECD but at the same erybody at home and abroad was laughing at me. Now that part in the new regime after 2012.
time do not have emission reduction commitments Turkey has ratied the Kyoto Protocol, the critical issue is what It was Sedat Kadolu, deputy undersecretary of the
under the current Kyoto regime until 2012. Turkey wants to do in the post-2012 period. Once again, I hear Ministry of Environment and Forestry, who said today
Do you expect a change of direction at the similar responses when I say that Turkey is the key to ending that Turkey’s emission reduction target is 11 percent by
meeting in Copenhagen from developing or the Copenhagen deadlock, but there is not a better proposal at 2020 if current reduction efforts continue, and he said
developed countries? the table, neither for Turkey nor for the world. they will know more about this after a meeting of the
No. Developing countries will continue to Turkey says it aims to reduce its emissions by 11 per- Climate Change Coordination Board in Turkey on Nov.
say that they cannot bear the burden if the de- cent by 2020. How do you evaluate this? 18. Do you think the gure is likely to change?
veloped world does not take more responsibil- The gure is not so important. The important thing is Everything can change. The chairman of the Environ-
ity. Mexico and South Korea, who are members how you come to this conclusion. What is the scientic ment Commission will not be indifferent to that meeting.
of the OECD but do not have commitments background? Which institution is politically accountable for We all heard Özdalga saying today that Turkish industry
under the Kyoto Protocol, have already set vol- this decision? What is the stakeholder contribution in this was extremely opposed to the approval of the Kyoto Proto-
untary targets for themselves. So who is left? specic target? What is the strategy to negotiate it with the col and the bureaucracy was not much different. Therefore,
It is Turkey, a country which does not have a international community? I doubt that whether all these es- Turkey has already taken a leap forward and can do so again.
mitigation commitment. And it is not clear how sential elements are clear. Even if there is no progress at the Nov. 18 meeting, Turkey’s
Turkey will be categorized in the new regime. Do you think today’s [Nov. 12] meeting can change presence in Copenhagen with its Environment Commission
this situation? chairman or the prime minister would help Turkey take an-
‘Turkey shouldn’t be left outside’ Yes. Today’s meeting was of historic importance because other political risk, but at the same time show the spirit of
What are the possible scenarios? it was hosted by the Turkish Parliament, which kicked off collaboration at the global level.
There are a few things that could happen. If Turkey’s accession to the Kyoto Protocol in 2007. Remem- You had said Turkey’s role is known by the outside
Turkey is included as a developed country with ber, until 2008 and even in 2008, Turkish ofcials were say- world. In that regard, what is the position of the Euro-
strict commitments, it might not want to ap- ing that Turkey should forget about the Kyoto Protocol until pean Union, which Turkey aspires to be a member of?
prove this new proposal as it might be exposed the year 2030. But in June, this position changed. The European Union supports that advanced develop-
to political and economic pressures which will ing countries should take more ambitious action. But the EU
force Turkey to accept commitments which ‘2007 was a historic year for Turkey’ has come a long way, too. The EU’s environmental report in
are not economically feasible. The worst sce- How did it happen? 2007 said Turkey should have emission reduction commit-
nario is that the world is heading toward a The year 2007 was a historic year because politicians ments before 2012. But after considering Turkey’s situation,
low-carbon economy, where even China were forced to discuss the drought and climate change. Then they changed. So negotiating is possible if you really have a
and the United States are involved, Haluk Özdalga, chairman of the Turkish Parliament’s Envi- point. Turkey can be a driving country to take other similar
but Turkey is outside. ronment Commission, worked hard to convince the political countries in the OECD along.

CMYK
 BUSINESS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009 TODAY’S ZAMAN 07

Gold’s growng luster for central banks EPDK investigates

As the value of the US dollar falls and is expected to fall further, gold’s lus-
ter is growing not only for private investors but also for central banks as
ination hedge and for portfolio diversication. This year the dollar has
depreciated against all major developed countries’ currencies and almost all
emerging markets’ currencies, including the Turkish lira, with the major ex-
ception of the Chinese RMB, which has been re-pegged to the dollar since
mid-2008. On Friday, the dollar DXY spot price index, which measures the
US currency against a basket of six major currencies, closed at very near its
52-week low. Since 2002, the US dollar DX futures price index has followed
a sharp downward trajectory, with a cumulative decline of about 35 percent
from its peak, interrupted briey during the rst three months of this year,
when rising global risk aversion beneted the dollar as the safe-haven asset.
The Peterson Institute for International Economics has projected
that if the US’s gaping budget decits continue, the current account de-
cit will rise from a previous record high of 6 percent of gross domestic
product (GDP) in 2006 to over 15 percent, in excess of $5 trillion annu-
ally, by 2030. The US’s net debt will jump from the current $3.5 trilli-
on to $50 trillion, amounting to 140 percent of GDP. The critical issue
now is not whether the dollar’s downward trajectory will continue, but
whether its orderly decline might turn into a rout with a sudden massi-
ve depreciation, ending in yet another global nancial crisis. This is still
an unlikely doom scenario. Gold, on the other hand, has appreciated
sharply from $734 to $1,116 per troy ounce in spot trading since the be-
ginning of the year. Since 2002, the US dollar gold price has followed an
upward trend, rising from around $300, but with signicant cyclicality.
The dollar is depreciating due to the combined loose US scal and
monetary policies, worsened by the heavy overhang of the huge US
dollar net foreign liabilities, denominated almost entirely in US dollars.
The practically zero short-term US interest rates, courtesy of the overly
generous Federal Reserve, have turned the US dollar into a funding cur-
rency for carry traders, who borrow lower-interest currencies to invest
in higher-interest currencies, practicing risky uncovered interest rate
arbitrage. By borrowing and then selling US dollars for other higher-
interest currencies, carry traders contribute to the dollar’s depreciation.
2010 public
ASIM
ERDLEK
a.erdilek@todayszaman.com
The dollar’s role as the primary ofcial global reserve asset is under
increasing scrutiny as its value declines relative to other major currencies
as well as gold. Since last March, when the Chinese central bank gover-
nor questioned the dollar’s reserve currency role (see my column “China
challenges US dollar’s dominance,” March 30, 2009), the global primacy of
the dollar has become more controversial. Last week, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) released a study titled “The Debate on the Inter-
national Monetary System,” which underlines the inherent weakness
of the present reserve-currency based system that relies heavily on the
US dollar: The US runs scal and current account decits to satisfy the
growing global demand for ofcial reserves but without a mechanism
to force either the US or current account surplus countries, such as
China, to adjust. This inherent weakness has been exacerbated by the
tendency of emerging market economies to increase their foreign re-
serves sharply as a self-insurance against the balance of payment crises
that had bedeviled them earlier. The IMF study considers and compares
several reform options that range from multiple reserve currencies to
multilateral assets such as the SDR or an actual new global currency.
But realizing that a fundamental reform of the present system would
be difcult if not impossible in the near future, many countries are anxious
to diversify their foreign reserves away from dollar-denominated assets,
mostly in US Treasury bills. (The estimate of global foreign exchange re-
serves, at 2008-end, was around $7.5 trillion, with the dollar accounting for
about two-thirds.) Their objective is to minimize their future capital losses
from the depreciating dollar. Last month, India’s central bank purchased
200 metric tons of gold, worth $6.7 billion, from the IMF, which had put
403.3 tons of its gold stock up for sale in September, to strengthen its nan-
cial position and to increase its subsidized loans to poor countries. India’s
hydroelectricity
purchase gave the strongest signal yet of the inclination of central banks
and sovereign wealth funds to build up their gold reserves by selling dol-
producers
lars. It signaled the end of the anti-gold position prevalent among central
The Energy Market Regulatory Agency
(EPDK) has begun to investigate 142 rms
banks, which had been net sellers of gold during the last two decades, re-
licensed to operate hydroelectric power plants over
ducing gold’s share of global ofcial reserves from 33 percent to 10 percent.
their failure to le progress reports.
Actually, the Chinese central bank, which still has less than 2 percent of
The agency last week requested that rms
its close to $3 trillion reserves in gold, almost doubled its gold holdings
that haven’t led progress reports with the agency
earlier this year. Several other central banks have also bought gold in re-
submit written statements defending their acti-
cent months. There is speculation that China, which is believed to hold 70
ons and le the belated progress reports within
percent of its reserves in dollars, could buy the rest of the gold on sale from
15 days. Under the agency’s decision, rms that
the IMF. The countries with rapidly rising foreign exchange reserves such
do not le a progress report will be ned, while
as China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, India, Singapore, Brazil and South Korea,
rms found not to have fullled their obligations
also hold a much lower proportion of their reserves in gold than most ad-
will have their licenses
vanced countries. (Turkey holds about 5 percent of its ofcial reserves in
revoked. The agency will
gold.) Therefore, they have relatively high potential demand for gold as
carry out similar investi-
the ultimate global reserve asset. That demand, rising faster than supply, is
gations of rms opera-
bound to put continued upward pressure on the price of gold in the years
ting wind and thermal
ahead. Except for gold bugs, it would be wild speculation, however, to say
power plants.
we are witnessing the gradual de facto return of the gold standard, frustra-
EPDK President
ting US efforts during the last 65 years, especially since ending the dollar’s
Hasan Kökta anno-
gold convertibility in 1971, to demonetize gold.
unced that they plan to
But the growing dissatisfaction with the dollar’s reserve currency
prevent “misuse of li-
role is also fueled by deep resentment toward the exorbitant US privile- Hasan Kökta
censes by rms,” high-
ge of being able to borrow in its currency and to earn seigniorage (prot
lighting that the agency
from money creation) from the global use of the dollar. With its foreign
has revoked the wind and hydroelectric licen-
assets primarily in foreign currencies but its liabilities almost entirely in
ses of 17 rms, adding: “Firms that are licensed
its own currency, the US not only benets asymmetrically from nancial
to produce energy from renewable energy so-
globalization by attracting the lion’s share of global capital inows but
urces are required to le progress reports re-
also reaps net capital gains from dollar depreciation, which has been
garding their investments every January, May
estimated in excess of $1 trillion cumulatively between 2002 and 2007.
and September. There are rms who have yet
Sooner or later, the free lunch enjoyed by the US, as the issuer of the
to do this, and we’ve requested a written sta-
principal global reserve currency since 1944, during and after the Bretton-
tement defending their positions. In order to
Woods system, will end, with or without the return of the gold standard.
make sure the licenses are given to good hands
that will make the necessary investments,
we’re investigating rms’ progress.”
Kökta emphasized that 2009 was an espe-
cially successful year for electricity production
investments by the private sector and revealed

CIHAN, ABAN GÜNDÜZ

that as of the end of September, 88 projects to-

deficit to be taling 2,546 megawatts (MW) have been accep-

ted and connected to the infrastructure. He ad-
ded that this is the largest investment in the last
more than seven years and greater than the investments
in electricity production made in the last three
TL 48 billion years combined. Ankara Today’s Zaman with wires

Public expenditures are estimated
to be TL 415.54 billion for the year
ahead, while public revenue is expected
to be TL 366.9 billion, creating an antici-
pated decit of TL 48.15 billion in 2010.
According to the government’s
2010 General Economic Goals and
Investments Program, public expen-
ditures covering the total money al-
located for the budgets of the central
administration, local administrations,
institutions with working capital, the
unemployment insurance fund, so-
cial security institutions and the ext-
ra budgetary fund will be TL 415.54
billion in 2010, accounting to 40.3
percent of the gross domestic pro-
duct (GDP). Fully TL 353.55 billion
of total estimated expenditure for the
year ahead is predicted to be on non-
interest expenses, accounting for 34.4
percent of the GDP. The remaining
TL 61.51 billion expenditure will be
on interest expenditures.
With an anticipated amount of
TL 196.69 billion, transfer expenses
are foreseen to make up the largest
share in government expenditures
in the year ahead. Looking into sub-
categories of transfers, current trans-
fer expenses will be TL 190.46 billion
and capital transfer expenses will be
TL 6.21 billion in 2010, according to
the program.
The money spent for investment
purposes is estimated to be TL 33.93
billion in 2010, of which TL 33.68
billion will be for expenses related to
xed capital and TL 244 million for
inventory variation. The program fo-
resees current expenditure to be TL
184.44 billion in 2010.
Public revenues, on the other
hand, are estimated to be TL 366.9
billion in the coming year. Of the
total revenue, TL200.51 billion is ex-
pected to come from tax revenues, ac-
counting for 19.5 percent of the GDP.
Direct tax and indirect revenues are
predicted to be TL 59.84 billion and
TL 133.33 billion while TL 7.34 billion
of revenue will come from wealth tax
collected in 2010.
According to the program, TL
21.63 of total public revenue will come
from tax-free income, while TL 55.15
billion is expected to be from factor
income. Revenues from social funds
and privatization, on the other hand,
are foreseen to be TL 79.21 billion and
TL 10.4 billion in 2010, respectively.
The program envisions a need of
public borrowing of TL48.15 million
in 2010. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
 Bankas CEO Ersin Özince planted trees in Antalya in the  Bankas Memorial Forest. After the event, Özince spoke about the future of the Turkish banking sector.
Özince: TL-based assets make
money, but profits will slip in 2010
ARF BAYRAKTAR, ABAN GÜNDÜZ ANTALYA
Turkish banks, having been mostly shiel-
ded from the effects of the economic crisis,
have made record prots according to third
quarter nancial results.  Bankas made TL 2.21
billion in the rst three quarters of the year, whi-
le Garanti and Vakfbank made TL 2.1 billion and
TL 940 million, respectively.  Bankas CEO Ersin
Özince noted that these prots would continue into
the new year, stating that “according to the data,
banks will experience prots in the new year similar
to those of the second half of this year. Prots will
fall by a bit, but they will not disappear completely.”
At a tree planting ceremony at the  Banka-
s Memorial Forest in Antalya, Özince answered
questions from the press regarding the third qu-
arter nancial statements of banks. Özince stated
that these prots helped banks dealing with non-
performing loans and therefore made it easier to
make loans. Regarding the fall in interest rates
this year, Özince highlighted that institutions with
strong positions, including banks, would make
high prots due to the low interest rates. “Those
who have invested in TL-based assets are making
money and will continue to do so. There is, howe-
ver, a misconception that only banks are making
money. This is simply untrue.”
The CEO also underlined that accusations that
banks were not giving credit because of the low in-
terest rates were provocative statements, and said,
“We don’t have the luxury of not giving loans.” He
continued by stating that  Bankas had adopted
a long-term strategy that included risky loans, and
that even with the non-performing loans origi-
nating from individuals and small businesses, the
banking sector did not limit the amount of credit in
the market. He said: “There was a TL 7 billion to TL
8 billion decrease in international sources of credit.
The credit-deposit ratio decreased from 83 percent
PHOTO
at the end of 2008 to 81 percent. So the banking
sector did not narrow credit lines to the real sector.”
Regarding the 2010 expectations for the ban-
king sector, Özince revealed that “prots may
shrink because we don’t have a macroeconomic si-
tuation that allows for savings. 2010 revenues may
not be as strong as this year’s and expenses may
increase. Today, the whole world is saying, ‘If you
are going to take any precautions, it’s best to do it
now when business is going well’.” Özince conti-
nued by stating that the Turkish economy “speeds
up and slows down very quickly. So if we have a
favorable environment, then the banking sector’s
prots will continue to accrue.”
When reminded about the double-taxation
agreements that Turkey has with Switzerland
and Luxembourg, Özince underlined that “these
types of agreements are needed with all countri-
es. For the problem of tax fraud to be solved, soci-
al government fundamentals need to be in place.”
Trade in free trade
zones drops 34.3 pct
in first 10 months
Trade volume in Turkey’s free trade zones,
continuing to decline in October, totaled
$14.2 billion in the rst 10 months of 2009, a 34.3
percent fall over the same period of last year.
According to data from the Foreign Trade
Undersecretariat, during the January-October
period of this year the stanbul Leather Free Tra-
de Zone saw the greatest level in trade volume
among all the free trade zones in Turkey. Trade
volume decreased by 41.4 percent compared to
the same period last year, falling to $3.1 billion.
The trade volume in the Ege Free Trade
Zone declined by 35.8 percent over the January-
October period of last year, totaling $2.18 billion
this year. The free trade zone at stanbul Atatürk
Airport suffered a 23.9 percent drop in trade vo-
lume in the rst 10 months of this year compared
to same period of 2008, falling to $2.32 billion.
The Kocaeli Free Zone and the Scientic and
Technology Research Council of Turkey (TÜB-
TAK) MAM Technology Zone, on the other hand,
saw an increase in their trade volume during this
period despite the crisis. The Kocaeli Free Zone
enjoyed a 13.7 percent increase in the rst nine
months of the year over the same period of last
year, reaching a trade volume of $681.12 million.
Trade volume from commerce in the TÜBTAK
MAM Technology Zone also rose to $129.2 milli-
on, accounting for a 65.2 percent increase.
The greatest trade was done in Turkey’s free
trade zones with countries in the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) and the European Union in the rst 10
months of this year, with a total of $5.1 billion,
declining by 36.1 percent over the same period
of last year. Trade volume between Turkey and
27 EU countries decreased by 34.2 percent in this
period over the January-October period of 2008,
falling to $4.25 billion. Trade with OECD countri-
es also suffered a drop of 44.1 percent during the
same period, decreasing to $859.45 million.
The employment level in free trade zones
overall, which totaled at 45,149, also suffered a
15.4 percent decline in the same period compa-
red to last year. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires

CMYK
 08 TODAY’S ZAMAN
‘Trade with Morocco can be increased by reducing customs duty’
The high levels of customs duty, sometimes up
to 30 percent, levied on industrial goods traded
between Turkey and Morocco impedes commerce
between the two countries, Ahmet Cier, president
of the Marmara Business Life Associations Federa-
tion (MARFED) has said, calling for a reduction of
the customs duty to a reasonable level.
Speaking to reporters on the ight home from
Casablanca, where he attended the Trade and Invest-
ment Bridge between Turkey and Morocco, orga-
nized by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen
and Industrialists (TUSKON), which ended on Satur-
day, Cier said that the high levels of taxes levied on
Turkish exports to Morocco have a negative impact
on Turkish businessmen, who would like to trade
more with the country. Unless these taxes are re-
duced, Turkey might lose its advantage to European
countries in Morocco, Cier remarked. Underlining
that Turkey is unable to compete with China on pric-
APEC leaders call for ‘fresh
model of economc ntegraton’
Stimulus spending and other emergency
measures have set the stage for global
economic recovery, but nations must
push ahead with free trade and investment to
ensure growth, President Barack Obama and fel-
low Asia-Pacic leaders said Sunday.
Obama and 20 other leaders, meeting in
Singapore for the annual Asia-Pacic Economic
Cooperation forum, rejected protectionism and
agreed to develop long-term strategies that take
into account the diverse needs of economies in a
region stretching from Chile to China.
Recovery is not yet on solid footing and the re-
gion ”cannot go back to growth as usual,” Singa-
pore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, read-
ing from a joint statement by the APEC leaders.
”We need a new growth paradigm. We
need a fresh model of economic integration,”
they said. “We will pursue growth which is
balanced, inclusive, and sustainable, sup-
ported by innovation and a knowledge-based
economy, to ensure a durable recovery that
will create jobs and benet our people.”
To that end, APEC members pledged to
maintain economic stimulus policies until a du-
rable recovery has clearly taken hold.
Nations must work toward “strong,
sustainable and balanced global economic
growth” with policies that expand opportuni-
ties for all, including women and small business
owners; take better care of the environment;
and promote development while reduc-
ing poverty and ensuring security, they said.
There was no mention of currency rates in
the nal statement, despite nance ministers’
calls earlier in the week for maintaining “mar-
ket-oriented exchange rates.” That was a refer-
ence to the Chinese currency, the yuan, which
critics say is kept articially undervalued, mak-
ing exports of other countries less competitive.
Asked if leaders discussed the argument that
controlled exchange rates such as China’s con-
stituted a form of protectionism, Lee said: “Some
leaders expressed their concern about the pos-
sibility of currency movements that could be-
come unstable and the potential problems that
could arise if governments had to continually
intervene in order to manage their currencies.”
A push for concrete goals for reductions of
greenhouse gas emissions was omitted from the
statement. A previous draft had pledged a 50 per-
cent reduction from 1990 levels by 2050, but the
nal communiqué committed only to working to-
Azerbaijani gas to Bulgaria marks
easing of dependence on Russia
Bulgaria and Azerbaijan signed a deal
Friday for the delivery of Caspian gas,
which will mark the rst easing of Bulgaria’s
dependence on supplies from Russia.
The agreement, which provides for an-
nual supplies of over 1 billion cubic meters
of gas starting in 2011 or 2012 was signed in
Soa, the Bulgarian capital, during a brief visit
by Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev. No
nancial details were released.
“Supplying gas from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria
makes us an energy partner of the EU, and we
hope that this partnership will develop further,”
Aliyev told reporters. Bulgarian Energy Minister
Traicho Traikov said Azeri gas will be trans-
es of goods, he said that Turkish busi-
nessmen can compete with European
countries and the US without any
difculty, both of which make up the
largest share of imports to Morocco.
In order to boost commerce between
Turkey and Morocco, the free trade
agreement between the two countries
which was signed in 2006 should be Ahmet Cier
broadened, the MARFED president
added. Economic relations with Morocco should not
be considered only export-oriented, he contended,
remarking that Turkish businessmen, making use of
the free trade agreement between Morocco and Eu-
rope, the US and African countries, should also make
investments in the country.
Cier said that more than 2,000 meetings took
place between businessmen of the two countries
at the event, which was attended by 62 business-
The Indonesian delegation (R) and the US delegation look on as President Obama meets with Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Singapore.
ward “an ambitious outcome” at climate talks in
Copenhagen, Denmark, next month.
Obama and other world leaders agreed Sun-
day that the Copenhagen summit will be merely
a way station, not the once hoped-for endpoint in
the drive for a new global climate-change treaty.
The World Wildlife Fund’s Global Climate
Initiative said leaders must begin taking stronger
action. ”Deleting rather than strengthening emis-
sion reduction targets in their leaders’ declarations
-- like they did here in Singapore -- is certainly not
a solution,” spokeswoman Diane McFadzien said
in a statement. “Leaders have to take the bull by
the horns, and nally tackle the difcult questions,
instead of constantly avoiding them.”
APEC, which accounts for 40 percent of the
world’s population and 54 percent of global out-
put, was created 20 years ago to promote trade and
ported to Bulgaria through a future link to the
Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy, or ITGI,
pipeline, which is planned to carry Caspian gas
via Turkey and Greece to Italy. The new pipe-
line has been strongly supported by the United
States as a way to give countries an alternative
to Russian gas. The Greek-Turkish section of the
pipeline was inaugurated in late 2007.
Traikov said that under the agreement Bul-
garia and Azerbaijan will also look into trans-
porting compressed Azeri gas through Georgia
and then by tankers across the Black Sea.
Bulgaria was among the countries most
severely hit by the gas dispute between Rus-
sia and Ukraine in January. Sofia AP
men from Turkey and 417 Moroc-
can businessmen, along with In-
dustry and Trade Minister Nihat
Ergün. One hundred and sixteen of
these talks had successful results,
he said. Giving Daha naat as an
example, Cier explained that Daha
naat and a Moroccan company
had agreed on the construction of a
1,500-unit housing project; the Mo-
roccan company will come to stanbul in December
in order to sign the deal. Morocco plans to launch
180,000-unit housing projects per year addressing
middle and low-income groups, he stated, continu-
ing, “As Moroccan construction rms are unavail-
able to meet this demand, they want to establish
cooperation with Turkish constructors.” According
to the plans, the Moroccan construction market’s
size will increase to some $6 billion, he said.
integration among Pacic Rim nations. Pledges are
nonbinding, and the forum’s scope has expanded
to encompass issues such as climate change, en-
ergy and food security, and politics.
One key APEC goal is the creation of a free-
trade area covering all 21 APEC economies -- an
ambition that many acknowledge is years away.
There had been concerns that the US, the
world’s biggest economy, and other nations
might turn inward as they grapple with the
worst global nancial crisis in decades. Wash-
ington has been sitting on free-trade pacts with
South Korea, Colombia and Panama, and is
embroiled in a dispute with China over tariffs
slapped on Chinese-made tire imports.
But Obama added his voice to calls for ex-
pansion of free trade rather than resorting to
protectionist measures. Leaders pushed hard
Swiss banks consider tax pledge
for foreigners, daily reports
Swiss banks are considering asking
some foreign clients to sign a pledge de-
claring they aren’t breaking tax laws at home,
a Swiss newspaper reported Sunday.
The chairman of the Swiss Bankers Associa-
tion, Patrick Odier, told weekly NZZ am Sonntag
that the industry group is examining various ways
of forestalling demands for an automatic ex-
change of client information with other countries.
Odier said one option would be to make cus-
tomers from nations that have a tax agreement
with Switzerland sign a written declaration that
they are conforming to their country’s tax laws.
The SBA also favors an anonymized tax
on interest earned that would be handed over
CMYK
M O N D A Y, N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 9
Morocco has a $9 bln solar
energy market
Cier, noting that Morocco is turning towards renew-
able energy in order to meet its energy shortage, stated
that the Moroccan government has allocated a signi-
cant portion of its budget to investing in the renewable
energy sector, especially wind and solar energy. This
situation offers lucrative opportunities to Turkish inves-
tors, he remarked, continuing by saying: “Hundreds
of rms are still waiting for securing a license from the
Energy Market Regulatory Agency (EPDK), while Mo-
rocco is ready to grant licenses immediately, enabling
rms to start to produce instantly. The Moroccan gov-
ernment allocated a budget of $9 billion for rms who
want to invest in solar energy. Sun eld stations, which
are yet to be built in Turkey, are also planned for Mo-
rocco. Turkey can take advantage of investing in Mo-
rocco’s renewable energy sector.” Serkan ahin Casablanca
AP, CHARLES DHARAPAK
PHOTO
for progress on talks to liberalize world trade
and supported studies on the benets of a fu-
ture Asia-Pacic free trade area.
They also pledged to make it 25 percent
cheaper, faster and easier to do business in
Asia-Pacic by 2015.
Later Sunday, Obama -- holding Wash-
ington’s rst-ever summit with Southeast
Asian leaders -- told Myanmar’s prime min-
ister that the military junta must free pro-de-
mocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other
political prisoners. A joint statement, howev-
er, made no mention of political prisoners or
the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has spent
the last 14 of 20 years in detention.
Singapore was Obama’s second stop on a
tour of Asia that began in Japan and will take
him to China and South Korea. Singapore AP
to the foreign client’s government.
Odier told NZZ am Sonntag that the pro-
posals have yet to be nalized.
Over the past year, Switzerland has come
under sustained pressure from the US and
other countries to stamp out tax evasion by
foreigners hiding funds in Swiss vaults. Earlier
this year, the government agreed to relax its
strict banking secrecy laws to allow legal help
for foreign governments in cases of suspected
large-scale tax evasion by their citizens.
Odier said existing fortunes that have been
stashed in Switzerland but not declared at
home could be legalized with tax amnesties, a
process he said could take several years. Zurich AP
BUSINESS
REUTERS
PHOTO
Brown vows tougher
bank regulation
in new law
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said
Sunday that the government will announce
new legislation next week to toughen banking
regulation and let customers take collective ac-
tion against errant nancial institutions.
In a podcast on the 10 Downing Street Web
site, Brown said the government “will ensure that
the banking crisis we have experienced over the last
two years should never again come at a cost to the
taxpayer.” “This means a transformation of the way
the nancial sector is policed, with banks them-
selves and not the taxpayer made to pay for bank
failings,” he said. Brown said consumers would be
empowered “to hold banks to account by taking
collective action to get redress when many people
feel that they have been badly treated.”
Brown said the reforms will be announced as
part of Wednesday’s Queen’s Speech, in which the
government lays out its plans for the next session of
Parliament. Treasury Chief Alistair Darling said the
Financial Services Bill announced in the speech would
give regulators the power to stop bankers from pock-
eting big bonuses that could destabilize the nancial
system. Darling told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper
that the bill will allow nancial watchdogs to cancel pay
packages that reward undue risk-taking.
Darling was quoted as saying that the legislation
would give the Financial Services Authority the power
to cancel contracts that breach a banking remunera-
tion code agreed by the Group of 20 nations earlier this
year. The regulator could ne banks that fail to comply.
“Bonuses have been a symptom of the excessive
behavior of some banks over the last few years and
even over the last few months,” Darling was quoted as
saying. He said he would be “giving the FSA powers if
necessary to tear up contracts that would result in pay-
ments being made that would cause instability.”
The new rules would apply to British banks and
to the British operations of global investment banks
like Goldman Sachs. They have already agreed to
abide by the G20-approved rules, which link bo-
nuses to long-term performance
The bill must be approved by Parliament
before becoming law, and could be derailed if it
is not passed before the next national election,
which must be held by June. London AP
US official: Climate
deal will take time
World leaders agree that next month’s
much-anticipated international summit on
climate change will be a preliminary step that will
require subsequent efforts to tackle global warm-
ing, a senior US ofcial said Sunday.
President Barack Obama and other leaders
agreed the December summit in Copenhagen
will try to keep nations on track for steps to re-
duce heat-trapping gasses, national security aide
Michael Froman said. But he said the summit will
be followed by at least one more major gathering
designed to nail down specic commitments.
The leaders agreed a full international, le-
gally binding agreement cannot be negotiated
before the Copenhagen meeting begins in three
weeks, Froman said. Froman briefed reporters
after Obama met with more than a dozen Asian
leaders Sunday at an Asia-Pacic Economic Co-
operation forum in Singapore. Singapore AP
Iraq: 2nd round to
see competitive bids
Iraq’s oil minister expects “good competitive
offers” from international oil companies in a
second round of bidding due to be held next month
on the country’s lucrative oil elds.
Hussain al-Shahristani said Sunday the per-
barrel-produced fee will be “studied carefully” to
reach a “fair price” to develop 15 oil elds offered
in 10 projects. Iraq’s rst postwar auction in June
opped after most foreign oil companies rejected
Baghdad’s terms. Only one contract was awarded
out of eight oil and gas elds on offer.
Two international consortiums have since re-
vised their bids and were awarded two contracts,
which still need the government’s nal approval.
Iraq sits on the world’s third largest reserves
with at least 115 billion barrels. Baghdad AP
 FOOD MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009 TODAY’S ZAMAN 09

Max4all in Beikta

TODAY’S ZAMAN, TURGUT ENGN

Patata on stiklal Street

A NEW FOOD TREND: FRIES IN A CONE
Fries served in a cone have
been around for about the
last six months in Turkey.
Some of the most popular
spots for this snack are
currently Beikta’s Max4all
and Istiklal Caddesi’s Patata.
As for the potatoes
themselves, they are fried in
ASLIHAN KÖEKOLU ÝSTANBUL
Baked, grilled, pureed. We have seen
practically every form of potatoes.
But now, one of Turkish cuisine’s
most popular ingredients is being eaten from
a cone. Potato sellers of all kinds who claim
to have the crunchiest, tastiest and most ap-
pealing french fries of all have people com-
ing from all over to eat their fare from cones.
Potatoes, which can be eaten during almost
any meal due to their lightness and delicious-
ness, are no doubt one of the most indispens-
able ingredients in Turkish cuisine. They can be
eaten on their own, as an ingredient in a com-
of stanbul. And what’s more, in a cone!
Interestingly, it was the Netherlands where
serving fries in a cone became popular. In a nation
of 16 million people, there are a full 6,000 spots
selling french fries in a cone. As for Turkey, fries
served in a cone have been around for about the
last six months. Some of the most popular spots
for this snack are currently Beikta’s Max4all
and Istiklal Caddesi’s Patata. As for the potatoes
themselves, they are fried in different ways de-
pending on where you go to eat them.
The underlying aim of both of these french
fry locations is, of course, to provide their cus-
tomers with the tastiest, healthiest, hottest
and fastest-served potatoes possible. Max4all
tend to prefer the hot ones, their favorites be-
ing the Cafe de Paris sauce, made with 42 dif-
ferent spices, and the cheese sauce. Some of
the cold sauces available at Max4all are basil
sauce, a garlic mayonnaise sauce, salsa, fajita
sauce, ketchup and mayonnaise. These sauces,
it should be noted, are made daily by Unilever
and contain absolutely no additives.
The price for potatoes in a cone, depend-
ing on the size of the cone, is TL 3.50, 4.50 and
5.50. Max4all has been in service for about a
month, and its owners are quite pleased with
the level of customer interest.
As mentioned above, another popular spot
to pick up your fries in a cone is Istiklal Caddesi’s
PHOTOS
and again, Cafe de Paris, as well as many oth-
ers including the ever-popular mayonnaise, bar-
beque, mustard, dip sauce and curry sauce. Prices
are TL 3.95 for a small cone, TL 4.95 for a medium
cone and TL 6.95 for a large cone of fries.
Ice cream from a cone
No matter how many new things people might be
trying to sell from cones, the rst thing that comes
to mind when we see cones is ice cream. Scoops
of brightly colored ice cream atop a crunchy cone
are a sight that excites everyone, especially chil-
dren. There is nothing like a big cone of ice cream
on a hot summer day to make a child happy.

different ways depending on
where you go to eat them
plicated dish or simply as a garnish. Sometimes
they are a main course, sometimes just a side
dish. But fried potatoes are no doubt one of the
most popular children’s foods. Though fried po-
tatoes have traditionally been served alongside
pilav (rice) and köfte (meatballs) on Turkish
menus, the spread and popularity of fast food
in recent years now means french fries are often
seen as a snack food, too -- so much so that you
can now nd spots selling fries in many corners
is a Dutch-owned restaurant that uses a spe-
cial technique to fry up its potatoes in just 90
seconds. This method results in much less oil
being absorbed by the potatoes than during
the more normal ve-minute frying session.
And the amount of trans fat in these potatoes is
zero. Of course, serving the potatoes up while
they’re still hot is very important. And sauces
are also crucial. There are nine different hot
and cold sauces available at Max4all. Turks
Patata. At Patata, potatoes are fried in two stages.
When the rst stage is completed, the french fries
are set aside for a bit to allow the oil to drip off.
The second stage of frying takes place at a higher
temperature. Thus the oil level of the potatoes is
lower, and the potatoes themselves are crunchier
and more delicious. At Patata, the oil used is com-
pletely natural and is not allowed to burn. There
are 13 sauce varieties available at this spot, with
some of the popular ones being cheddar, salsa
Pasta from a cone?
Yes, pasta from a cone, though it may seem unbe-
lievable, is available. In the wake of the popular-
ity of corn from a cup, entrepreneurs have helped
make pasta from a cone popular in countries such
as Japan, Malaysia and China, and they have now
brought this trend to Turkey. Even classic Kayseri
mant has been sighted being sold from a cone.
Not long ago, shopping centers throughout Turkey
started featuring this unique style of “fast food.”

Chicken soup for the flu-ridden soul

TODAY’S ZAMAN, MEHMET YAMAN

SEVM ENTÜRK ÝSTANBUL
If you are fighting the flu, but want to
avoid taking a panoply of medicines,
experts advise natural ways of strengthen-
ing your defenses. Chicken soup, experts
note, can be the perfect food to eat when
you have a cold and is very comforting
when you have the flu as well.
PHOTOS
soothe our sinuses and our tonsils, which be-
come irritated as a result of illnesses.
The u is an illness we have always had to
worry about with the arrival of colder weather.
And we have dealt with it fearlessly over the
years, using our own methods. How? With
soup, an easy-to-digest food full of nutrients.
There is one soup in particular so powerful in
this realm that experts label it “a homemade
Good chicksoup
spots in stanbul
One place is Pangalt Süti, where you
can find a bowl of traditionally made
chicken soup. A bowl of this delicious,
healthy soup is only TL 4.
Tel: 0212-248 58 52
weather really arrives, you’ll have a hot, deli-
cious and healthy broth to serve up at your table.
A good recipe
Ingredients: One chicken breast and one
chicken thigh, with skin; two onions, quar-
tered; two tablespoons of our; three heads of
garlic, crushed; two tablespoons of butter; and
salt and black pepper to taste.

A delicious bowl of hot chicken soup with
lots of black pepper and lemon juice has a
healing effect on the body and will help you
get through your illness more easily than you
might expect.
These days, with cold weather approaching,
the u is on everyone’s minds. Just the normal
u? Nope, swine u, too. Though it has been
a topic on the world agenda for months now,
swine u has rapidly spread across Turkey in re-
cent weeks, and now people are carefully listen-
ing to advice from experts on how best to protect
themselves. We try to erect barriers between
ourselves and the H1N1 virus through vaccines,
gels and many different kinds of disinfectants.
At the same time though, we are forgetting to
remedy for the u.” This soup is chicken soup,
a dish many of us are familiar with from our
own mothers, who would make it and serve it
to us the moment we got ill. Even now, many
experts advise having chicken soup as the rst
recourse for those struck down by winter ill-
nesses. The medical world has conrmed the
health benets of this miraculous dish, one
that grandmothers have known about for ages.
Making your
own chicken broth
Ayfer Ünsal is a food expert who offers up advice
on special ways of making your own chicken
broth. Here’s what to do:
Ingredients: Two chicken thighs, with skin;
Another spot to enjoy chicken soup
alongside other homemade foods is
Hünkar. Tel: 0212-287
47 70 Shorba is a soup spot where
you’ll feel right at home. Soups here are
TL 6.75 Tel: 0216-360 89 97
one carrot, roughly chopped; one onion, quar-
tered; a cinnamon stick; and two bay leaves.
Preparation: Place the chicken thighs, carrot,
cinnamon stick, bay leaves and onion into a li-
ter of water in a large pot. Boil this for around
one hour. Then remove the chicken and other
ingredients from the broth. You can place the
chicken broth you now have in the freezer to
be used later, which means that when the cold
Preparation: Cook the chicken breast and
thigh in water along with the onions. Remove
the chicken meat after it’s boiled and chop it
up nely. Sauté the our and butter in a sepa-
rate soup pot for around four minutes. Add the
chicken broth bit by bit to this mixture. Then
add the crushed garlic and the nely chopped
bits of chicken meat. Boil this for another 15-
20 minutes, and serve up with salt and pepper.
The benets of chicken soup
Opens up the sinuses.
Helps you to breathe when your nose is
blocked.
Reduces coughing.
Soothes joint pain.
Helps rid the body of aches.

CMYK
 10 TODAY’S ZAMAN
ONSLAUGHT
French troops launch
Afghan offensive
Hundreds of French and Afghan troops pushed
into a volatile valley east of the Afghan capital on
Sunday in an attempt to gain control of an area that
has long been a haven for militants who launch
quick attacks and then fade back into hillside vil-
lages. The force of about 700 French and 100 Af-
ghan soldiers launched the offensive into the Tagab
valley before dawn, one part from the north and
another from the south, according to Col. Francis
Chanson, head of the French marine infantry regi-
ment. Just 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Kabul, the
Tagab valley is seen as a launching pad for attacks
in the capital. The area also needs to be secure for
a planned road that would bypass the capital for
moving supplies from neighboring Pakistan to
the north of the country, Chanson said. Construc-
tion has already begun in one of the safer parts of
eastern Kapisa province. NATO forces have bases
in the valley, but have had difculty securing the
mountainous area connected by small footpaths.
In a neighboring valley last year, militants killed 10
French troops. The joint force moved in with more
than 100 armored vehicles as US and French attack
helicopters roared overhead. Tagab Valley AP
THAW
Colombia seeks
peace with Venezuela
Colombia captured four members of the Venezu-
elan National Guard on Colombian soil and said
on Saturday it would send them home in a gesture
aimed at lowering diplomatic tensions between
the neighboring countries. Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez last week ordered his army to pre-
pare for war, warning that a new US-Colombia
military cooperation agreement could set the
stage for an invasion of Venezuela. Bogota and
Washington dismiss the claim, saying their pact is
limited to ghting drug-runners and rebels in Co-
lombia. “They should carry back the message that
here there is brotherly affection for Venezuela and
that affection is unbreakable,” said Colombian
President Alvaro Uribe, referring to the Venezue-
lans captured on Friday. The four were stopped by
the Colombian Navy while traveling by boat on a
river in the border province of Vichada. The long-
simmering spat between conservative Uribe and
leftist Chavez has reduced bi-lateral trade, which
amounted to more than $7 billion last year, and
increased tension along a border already beset by
the smuggling of drugs and other contraband. But
analysts are not predicting war. Bogota Reuters
BLAZE
South Korea probes
shooting range fire
South Korean police and re ofcers on Sun-
day investigated what caused a blaze that raced
through an indoor shooting gallery killing 10
people, including eight Japanese tourists. The
re on Saturday occurred in a ve-story building
in the southeastern city of Busan, where a group
of Japanese tourists visited as part of their tour
of the port city, about 200 miles (325 kilometers)
from Seoul. The 10 dead included eight Japanese
tourists and their South Korean tour guide, the
Busan Fire Department said in a statement. The
10th victim was believed to be a South Korean
employee at the shooting range. Six people were
also seriously injured. Department spokesman
Lee Young-chul said all 10 bodies were severely
burned. South Korea’s tourism minister offered
an apology to the Japanese victims and their fam-
ily members. “I’m offering my words of sincere
condolence,” said Culture, Sports and Tourism
Minister Yu In-chon in a statement. Police and
re ofcers examined the site on Sunday with
National Institute of Science Investigation of-
cials, local re ofcer Lee Jung-min said. Seoul AP
SENTENCE
Iran condemns man
to death over unrest
A court has sentenced a man to death for involve-
ment in street unrest after Iran’s disputed election
in June, and for membership of an exiled opposi-
tion movement, an Iranian rights group said on
Sunday. The group, the Committee of Human
Rights Reporters, said on its website that Reza
Khademi was the fth person to receive the death
sentence in connection with widespread unrest
triggered by the presidential poll. There was no
immediate comment from Iranian ofcials. In Oc-
tober, the Iranian news agency ISNA reported that
a court had sentenced three people to death on
similar charges. It quoted a judiciary ofcial as say-
ing the sentences could be appealed. The UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, last
month urged Iran’s appeal courts to review the
three death sentences carefully. The pro-reform
opposition has said the vote was rigged to secure
hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-
election. Iranian authorities have rejected election
fraud charges and portrayed the street protests that
erupted after the vote as foreign-backed efforts to
undermine the Islamic Republic. Tehran Reuters
US Defense Secretary Gates blocks release of detainee abuse photos
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has
blocked the public release of any more
pictures of foreign detainees abused by their
US captors, saying their release would endan-
ger American soldiers.
The Obama administration led a brief
with the Supreme Court late on Friday saying
that Gates has invoked new powers blocking
the release of the photos.
The American Civil Liberties Union had
sued for the release of 21 color photographs
showing prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq be-
ing abused by Americans. Federal courts had
rejected the government’s arguments to block
their release, so Congress gave Gates new pow-
ers to keep them private under a law signed by
President Barack Obama last month.
Gates’ order specically cites the 21 pictures
sought by the ACLU, plus 23 additional ones
cited in a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for
Obama and Medvedev see
nuclear pact progress
While publicizing progress with Russia on arms control -- part of Obama’s agenda to advance nuclear
disarmament -- the US president and other leaders bowed to the obvious on climate change
Members of the ASAEN 10 link hands for a group photo in Singapore on Sunday. From left to right, Malaysian PM Najib Razak, Myanmar PM Gen. Thein Sein, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong, US
President Barack Obama, Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva, Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung, Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodian PM Hun Sen, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Laotian PM Bouasone Bouphvanh.
President Barack Obama said Sunday
the United States and Russia would
have a replacement treaty on reduc-
ing nuclear arms ready for approval by year’s
end, an announcement designed as an upbeat
ending to a summit with Asia-Pacic leaders.
While publicizing progress with Russia
on arms control -- part of Obama’s agenda to
advance nuclear disarmament -- the president
and other leaders bowed to the obvious on
climate change. They discussed a compromise
agreement for a 192-nation gathering next
month in Copenhagen, indirectly admitting
that the meeting would not produce a new
global treaty to reduce the heat-trapping car-
bon emissions that are warming the planet.
Nearing the end of his two days in Singa-
pore, Obama also attended a second summit
with leaders of the 10 Southeast Asian countries
that make up the ASEAN group. Obama was the
rst US president to sit in on the meetings, that
included a senior leader of Myanmar -- part of a
shift in US policy away from isolating the repres-
sive Myanmar military government.
The whirlwind of summitry is part of
Obama’s rst presidential trip to the re-
gion. Its emphasis on big issues like climate
change, disarmament and the economic cri-
sis is part of Obama’s approach to persuade
new emerging powers like China -- where he
headed later on Sunday -- to share in the bur-
den of managing global challenges.
The change in emphasis has helped Obama
shift relations to a more positive footing, away
from disputes over human rights and the Chi-
nese military buildup that have unsteadied ties.
In Shanghai today, Obama will address an au-
dience of students from several universities and
eld questions from them and from submis-
sions to the US Embassy’s Web site.
Russian-US meeting
Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medve-
dev met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacic sum-
mit of APEC nations to announce good progress
in negotiations on an updated pact to replace the
START nuclear arms agreement that expires on
Dec. 5. Sitting, gesturing and leaning toward his
Russian counterpart, Obama said the pair dis-
cussed a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms
Reduction Treaty and described “excellent prog-
ress over the last several months.”
“I’m condent that if we work hard and with
the 2nd Circuit. However, Pentagon spokes-
man Bryan Whitman said the order covers all
photographs from investigations related to the
treatment of individuals captured or detained in
military operations outside the United States be-
tween Sept. 11, 2001, and Jan. 22, 2009.
Gates’ new powers were included in a bud-
get bill for the Homeland Security Department.
“Public disclosure of these photographs
would endanger citizens of the United States,
members of the United States armed forces, or
employees of the United States government de-
ployed outside the United States,” Gates said in
his order blocking release of the photos.
The release of photos showing prisoners
being abused by US soldiers at the Abu Ghraib
prison in Iraq sparked international outrage.
Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU National
Security Project, said the group will continue to
ght for the release of the photographs, arguing
President Obama meets with Russian President Medvedev on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Singapore.
a sense of urgency, we’ll be able to get that done,”
Obama said, adding technical issues remain.
Medvedev said he hoped negotiators would “-
nalize the text of the document by December.”
Obama and Medvedev agreed in April to
reach a new nuclear arms reduction pact to
replace and expand upon the one that was
signed by former President George H.W. Bush
and Soviet leader Michael Gorbachev.
During a July summit in Moscow, Obama
and Medvedev further agreed to cut the num-
ber of nuclear warheads each nation possesses
to between 1,500 and 1,675 within seven years.
US ofcials say the two nations now have
agreed on the broad outlines of a new treaty,
which could be signed during Obama’s travels to
Europe in early December to accept the Nobel
Peace Prize. It still was not clear if Obama would
use that same trip to attend the Copenhagen cli-
mate summit, given that any agreement reached
on cutting greenhouse gas emissions would
serve only as an interim, political document.
“There was an assessment by the leaders
that it is unrealistic to expect a full interna-
tionally, legally binding agreement could be
negotiated between now and Copenhagen
which starts in 22 days,” said Michael Froman,
Obama’s deputy national security adviser for
international economic matters.
The prime minister of Denmark, Lars
Loekke Rasmussen, the UN-sponsored cli-
CMYK
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009
that Gates’ order was overly broad.
“We think the photos are an important part
of the historical record. They are critical to the on-
going national conversation about accountability
for torture,” Jaffer said. “It sets a bad precedent
for the government to be suppressing informa-
tion that relates to government misconduct.”
Obama initially indicated he would not
ght the release of the photographs, but he
reversed course in May. The president said he
was persuaded that disclosure could further
incite violence in Afghanistan and Iraq and
endanger US troops there.
The photographs at issue were taken by ser-
vice members in Iraq and Afghanistan and were
part of criminal investigations of alleged abuse.
Some pictures show ”soldiers pointing pistols or
ries at the heads of hooded and handcuffed de-
tainees,” Solicitor General Elena Kagan said in
an appeal to the high court. Washington AP
mate conference’s chairman, ew overnight
to Singapore to present a proposal shifting the
goal of the meeting to a “politically binding”
agreement, in hopes of breathing life into the
struggling process. A fully binding legal agree-
ment would be left to a second meeting next
year in Mexico City, Froman said.
Obama backed the approach, cautioning the
group not to let the “perfect be the enemy of the
good,” Froman said. A major bill dealing with
energy and climate in the US Senate, a domestic
priority of Obama’s, is bogged down with scant
hope of completion by next month. That would
leave Obama little to show in Copenhagen.
Time running out
During his Asia trip, which continued later on
Sunday to China, Obama also pushed for con-
tinued pressure on Iran and its nuclear pro-
gram. Appearing with Medvedev, Obama said
“we are now running out of time.”
“Unfortunately, so far it appears Iran has
been unable to say yes” to the proposal on
uranium reprocessing, Obama said.
Medvedev continued: “We are prepared to
work further and I hope our joint work will reach
a positive result. In case we fail, other options re-
main on the table.” He has said further sanctions
against Iran were possible if it did not open its
nuclear program to inspections to prove it was
not trying to build a bomb. Singapore AP
WORLD
AP, ALEX BRANDON
PHOTO
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
AP, PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS
PHOTOS
Obama calls for
Suu Kyi’s release
at ASEAN summit
US President Barack Obama called for
the release of Myanmar opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi when he met the country’s
prime minister at a meeting with other South-
east Asian leaders in Singapore on Sunday.
Obama did not speak or shake hands with
Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein at the
meeting in Singapore’s Shangri-la hotel with the
10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), the rst with a US president.
He joined the ASEAN tradition of link-
ing arms at the start of the meeting, looking
a bit bemused, before the leaders sat down
around a circular table for the talks.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs
said Obama reiterated his call for Suu Kyi to be
freed, although a statement to be issued after
the meeting does not demand her release or
that of other political prisoners ahead of elec-
tions in the military-ruled country next year.
The meeting in Singapore marked the
rst time in history a US leader had met with
his counterparts in the 42-year-old grouping,
founded at the height of the Vietnam War. It
took place after an Asia-Pacic summit.
For the rst time in decades, the United
States and ASEAN are singing from the same
hymn book when it comes to Myanmar.
Washington has recently taken a two-
prong approach to the former Burma, en-
gaging the junta while keeping sanctions on
the resource-rich nation that shares borders
with India and China.
For years, ASEAN was heavily criticized in
the West for its own fruitless engagement policy
with Myanmar’s generals. Now it is hoping that
with US support, Myanmar, under military rule
since 1962, can be guided back to democracy.
The draft statement said the leaders hoped
the new policy “would contribute to broad po-
litical and economic reforms.”
“We also underscored the importance of
achieving national reconciliation and that the
general elections to be held in Myanmar in 2010
must be conducted in a free, fair, inclusive and
transparent manner in order to be credible to
the international community.” Singapore Reuters
 WORLD M O N D A Y, N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 9 TODAY’S ZAMAN 11

Castro’s Serbian Orthodox

AP, ADEL HANA

Church head Pavle
long goodbye dies of cardiac arrest
Patriarch Pavle, who led Serbia’s Christian
OPINION
Orthodox Church through its post-Com-
Ann Louise Bardach* munist revival and the turbulent 1990s marked

PHOTO
by ethnic conicts in the Balkans, died on Sun-
TODAY’S ZAMAN day. He was 95. Pavle, who took over the church
in 1990, had been hospitalized for more than
On July 27, 2006, Fidel Castro nearly died dur-
a year. He had heart and lung problems. The
ing emergency intestinal surgery to stem internal
church said he died of cardiac arrest.
bleeding caused by chronic diverticulitis. Since
Bells tolled from Serbian churches after the
then, Cuba-watchers and obituary writers have
news of Pavle’s death and the state-run televi-
been on high alert awaiting his demise.
sion aired documentaries about his life. A re-
Yet, more than three years later, Castro soldiers
spected theologian and linguist also known for
on, approaching his mortal end with the same zeal
personal humility and modesty, Pavle took over
he lavished on his life. The 83-year-old appears to
the dominant Serbian church just as the collapse
have adjusted to his medically mandated retire-
of communism ended years of state policy of re-
ment, enduring various surgeries and their atten-
pressing religion. He also headed the church dur-
dant complications. A state-of-the-art convalescent
ing the turbulent years of the Balkan wars in the
suite has been installed in his principal residence,
1990s and the collapse of former President Slo-
Punto Cero, where he is surrounded by family and
bodan Milosevic’s regime in 2000.
Cuba’s nest doctors. On his good days, he enter-
President Boris Tadic said Patriarch Pav-
tains well-wishers -- among them, Harry Belafonte
le’s death is a “huge loss” for the nation. Tadic
and Oliver Stone. And he continues to intervene in
said Pavle was “one of those people who by
the thorny politics of Cuba. their very existence bring together the entire
In 2007, while still hospitalized, Castro began a nation. “His departure is my personal loss
transition from being Cuba’s commander-in-chief too,” Tadic said, explaining he had often con-
to its pundit-in-chief, penning columns he calls sulted with the patriarch about crucial nation-
Palestinian children walk between tents set up for people who had lost their homes in Israel’s latest incursion into Gaza at the devas-
“Reections” in the state-run newspaper, Granma. tated area east of Jebaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, in this May 13 file photo. al decisions. Tadic added that Patriarch Pavle
Late last year, he offered some personal introspec- was respected worldwide by both the Ortho-
tion. “I have had the rare privilege of observing dox Christian churches and the pope.
events for a very long time,” he wrote. He then
acknowledged the gravity of his illness. “I do not
expect I shall enjoy such a privilege four years from
now -- when President [Barack] Obama’s rst term
has concluded.”
Palestinians threaten The news about patriarch’s death was rst
announced by inuential Bishop Amlohije, who
has served as the acting head of church during
most of Pavle’s hospitalization. State TV showed
Amlohije breaking into tears as he told a gath-
But until Castro is in the grave, we will be hear-
ing from him. While his brother Raul and the Cu-
ban army are running the day-to-day affairs of the
country, Castro retains and exercises veto power.
And Cubans continue to feel the strongman’s sting.
to declare independence ering of believers that Pavle had died. A sobbing
Amlohije then said a prayer for the Patriarch.
The church said its highest body, the Holy
Synod, is expected to meet early Monday, pos-
sibly to choose Pavle’s successor. There have
In March, more than a dozen of the most senior Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Israel’s Army Radio that frustrated been reports of a power struggle within the
members of the Cuban regime were purged from church over who will succeed Pavle. The fa-
the government. While Raul Castro had initiated the Palestinians had decided to turn to the UN Security Council an independent state without vorite for the post among several candidates
internal coup, Fidel was quick to weigh in and assail Israel’s consent for after 18 years of on-again, off-again negotiations with Israel is Amlohije, a hard-liner known for his anti-
its casualties, all former members of his inner circle. Western and nationalist stands.
Palestinian ofcials said Sunday

REUTERS, FADI AROURI

The men had succumbed to “the honey of power,” Pavle often spoke against violence in the
he wrote in his column. Their replacements have they are preparing to ask the United ethnic wars Orthodox Serbs fought in the 1990s
dodged the limelight and tread far more carefully. Nations to endorse an independent against Catholic Croats and Bosnian Muslims
Castro’s reluctant leave-taking -- with its pe- state without Israel’s consent because they during the bloodiest conict in Europe since
riodic near-nales -- ts into a long tradition of are losing hope they can achieve their aspira- World War II. “God help us understand that we
Hispanic “caudillos” or dictators. Consider, for ex- tions through peace talks. are human beings and that we must live as hu-
ample, the life -- and death -- of Francisco Franco, The announcement drew a harsh rebuke man beings, so that peace would come into our
Spain’s dictator of almost 40 years. Both Castro’s from Israeli ofcials. Chief Palestinian negoti- country and bring an end to the killing,” Pavle
father and Franco hailed from the rugged north- ator Saeb Erekat told Israel’s Army Radio that had appealed -- mostly in vain -- in 1991 as
PHOTO
ern countryside of Spain, a region renowned for its frustrated Palestinians had decided to turn to ghting raged between Serbs and Croats over
erce and stubborn citizenry. And notwithstanding the UN Security Council after 18 years of on- disputed territories in Croatia.
divergent political ideologies -- Franco was a zeal- again, off-again negotiations with Israel. “It is only the will of the devil that is
ous anti-communist -- the two men had a good “The purpose of such a move is to keep served by this war,” the patriarch was quoted
deal in common. Both were willing to forge un- hope alive in the minds of the Palestinians,” as saying in 1992 but stopped short of nam-
palatable and unpopular alliances with totalitarian he said. US efforts to restart Israeli-Palestin- ing names, notably not going explicitly against
states to shore up their power -- Franco with Nazi ian peace talks are deadlocked. Israeli Prime Milosevic. The Serbian Church eventually
Germany and Castro with the Soviet Union. Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged the broke with its tradition of formal neutrality in
Palestinians to negotiate with him but they Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat (R) speaks with President Mahmoud Abbas. 2000, openly urging the Serbian strongman to
And Franco’s shrouded last days neatly fore-
shadowed Castro’s. Franco became grievously ill in refuse, saying Netanyahu must rst stop step down after the regimes humiliating de-
to discuss this only after we’ve been given Hamas makes U-turn
1974 and was forced to turn over his rule -- “tem- building settlements on lands they claim. feat in 1999 following NATO bombing that
assurances,” he told the Israeli daily Maariv. over national day
porarily,” he insisted -- to Prince Juan Carlos. Cas- Even if the UN endorses the Palestin- ended Milosevic’s crackdown against ethnic
“There is no point in rushing just so that we
tro also initially ceded control to his brother only ian idea, it would be virtually impossible to On Saturday, Hamas authorities did an about Albanian separatists in Kosovo. Belgrade AP
collide with an American veto.” As one of
“temporarily.” Like Castro, Franco had an unex- implement while Israel remains in control of face and dropped a plan to keep schools in
the ve permanent members of the Security
pected recovery, although his lasted only a year be- the West Bank and east Jerusalem _ captured the Gaza Strip open on a Palestinian holiday

REUTERS
Council, the US wields veto power over any
fore he died at 82. land where the Palestinians want to build founded by the rival Fatah faction. An ofcial
resolution. Israeli media predicted that the
Although it is generally believed that Franco their state. The Palestinians already declared with Gaza’s Education Ministry said schools
US, Israel’s key ally, would veto the move.
died days earlier, his death was announced on independence unilaterally on Nov. 15, 1988. would shut down on Sunday, designated as
Hammad said Abbas would travel to
Nov. 20, 1975, the same day on which Jose Antonio The move was recognized by dozens of coun- an “independence day” for Palestinians, “in

PHOTO
tries, but never implemented on the ground. Cairo Wednesday to discuss the plan with
Primo de Rivera, the founder of Franco’s fascist Fa- order to avoid misinterpretation of the deci-
In the meantime, the Palestinian prime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. There
lange party, died 40 years earlier. sion to keep it a regular school day.”
minister has launched a two-year develop- was no immediate reaction from Security A ruling issued on Friday to keep the
Some people assert doctors kept Franco alive
ment plan mean to lay the groundwork for Council members. But Erekat said Russia, schools open drew criticism from non-Hamas
under orders from the dictator that he would live
independence. Erekat declined to say when another permanent member of the Security factions in Gaza as well as ordinary people
until the ordained date. But Franco’s scheming to
the Palestinians would make their appeal to Council, and unspecied European nations who have been living under the movement’s
die with gravity and splendor backred, and his
protracted departure became a joke that would long the UN But Nimr Hammad, an adviser to are “on board” with the Palestinian plan. administration since it seized control from the
outlive him. “Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom, a Western-backed Fatah in the territory in 2007.
dead,” Chevy Chase would intone with mock so- they “have no intention of rushing” to the member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, warned Fatah still holds sway in the Israeli-occu-
lemnity on “Saturday Night Live” as a running gag Security Council. the Palestinians against taking any one-sided pied West Bank and enjoys U.S. recognition,
for nearly two years. “We are going to have to prepare for action. “I think the Palestinians should know while Hamas is largely isolated in Gaza over
Castro’s long goodbye is proving equally irre- this well and to hold political and diplo- that that unilateral actions will not lead to the its refusal to accept permanent co-existence
sistible for late-night comedians. “He ran Cuba for matic talks. We want the Security Council results they hope for,” he said on Sunday. with the Jewish state. Jerusalem AP/Reuters
Patriarch Pavle, the head of the Serbian Orthodox
almost 50 years,” began Jay Leno in one riff. “And Church, died on Sunday at the age of 95.
political analysts are now debating what kind of
changes the Cuban people will hope for. I’m gonna
guess: term limits.”
Castro’s untidy leaving also has kept the news
media in an indenite state of high alert, as they
formulate and reformulate coverage and obituar-
ies. The veteran Spanish Civil War reporter Mar-
tha Gellhorn found herself in a similar pickle three
Kosovo holds first local election since independence
decades ago. In 1975, she accepted an assignment Kosovo went to the polls on Sunday for the said Hasim Canolli, 60, after voting in the capital mocracy and the European Union perspective,”
REUTERS, HAZIR REKA

from New York magazine to write about post-Fran- rst time since declaring independence from Pristina. “The independence issue is over, and said Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. The
co Spain. “This thrills me, the sort of journalism I Serbia last year, with parties pledging to tackle un- people need jobs now.” Turnout among Kosovo’s dominant groupings are Thaci’s Democratic Party
love,” she wrote her son. “I am waiting for the old employment, corruption, poor infrastructure and small Serb minority was minimal after Serbian of Kosovo (PDK) and President Fatmir Sejdiu’s
swine to die; but obviously he is being kept breath- weak foreign investment. leaders in Belgrade warned voters not to “legiti- Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), which are
ing [no more] while the right tightens its hold on Facing a key democratic test, Kosovo’s leaders mize Kosovo’s independence.” coalition partners in the government.
the country.” have urged citizens to vote peacefully after violent “When my president, my government and my Around 1.5 million people are eligible to
When I asked Castro in a 1994 interview when incidents marred the last week of campaigning, [Orthodox] Church in Belgrade told me not Tto elect mayors and local councils in 36 municipali-
he would retire, he snapped: “My vocation is the including the stoning of the prime minister’s car vote, of course I will not vote,” said Snezana Mar- ties. Clear winners will emerge only after sec-
PHOTO

revolution. I am a revolutionary, and revolutionar- and an attack on a mayoral candidate. Few expect kovic in the Serb stronghold of Mitrovica in north- ond-round mayoral run-offs in a month’s time.
ies do not retire.” the winners of the local elections to change the ern Kosovo. But some voters from the Serb minor- Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in
40 percent unemployment rate and create jobs for ity in southern parts of the country were voting for 2008, nine years after NATO bombing drove out
*Ann Louise Bardach is the author of “Without Fidel: A 30,000 young people who enter the job market their new municipalities, as foreseen in the Kosovo Serb forces to stop the killing of ethnic Albanians
Death Foretold in Miami, Havana, and Washington” every year. Many of them continue to leave the independence plan drafted by former Finnish presi- in a two-year counter-insurgency war. More
and “Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami country to nd work abroad. dent Martti Ahtisaari. than 60 countries, mainly western, have recog-
and Havana” and serves on the Brookings Institution’s A Kosovar Albanian votes at a polling station in the “We need water, better roads and elevators in “Today we are showing that our country and nized Kosovo’s independence, but not Serbia, its
Cuba Study Project. © The Los Angeles Times, 2009 Kosovo town of Lipljane on Sunday. our apartments, which are the municipality’s job,” its citizens have deserved independence, de- former ruler, or Russia. Pristina Reuters

CMYK
 12 TODAY’S ZAMAN
Broadcastng n local languages and dalects (1)
Parliament on Friday discussed the government’s democratic ini-
tiative aimed at ultimately ending Turkey’s long-standing prob-
lem with separatist violence by revising its policy toward minori-
ties. In the latest session of Parliament, the government and the
opposition entered with drastically different expectations, but the
government is taking action to implement its policy and hopes to
collect the immediate fruits of this initiative.
In line with the initiative, the government has launched an
amendment, which is, in my humble opinion, very important.
The new legislation came into force just recently, on Nov. 13.
The reason I am interested in this particular legislation is that it
directly affects the social and cultural life of local Turkish people.
The legislation is not a law but a communiqué. The government
already notied the public and the opposition that most of the
regulations that need to be implemented are already in force but
some minor administrative changes have to be made. The gov-
ernment also added that these regulations will be implemented
G
Many of the expats working in Turkey are teaching English in state schools,
private schools, universities (state and private) or private language schools.
Pedagogical skills and techniques aside, the majority of those I have worked
with admit that their weakest link is their knowledge and use of grammar
etting it write
ASHLEY PERKS NORWICH
As an English teacher of some years’ experience, I
am always interested in what other people, especially
outside the profession, think and say about the lan-
guage and the way it is taught, learnt and written. These are
fundamental issues that need to be addressed and updated on
a regular basis as those of us in the profession seek to impart
the knowledge and skills required, not least because living lan-
guages are in a constant state of ux and, in the case of English
in particular, evolving at an ever-increasing rate. It was with an-
ticipated pleasure, therefore, that I began reading veteran BBC
broadcaster John Humphrys’ book “Beyond Words” (Hodder
& Stoughton, 2006), the sequel to his “Lost For Words.” The
subheading for the more recent of the two is “How Language
Reveals the Way We Live Now.” Humphrys expands on this in
his introduction by saying: “Language is more than a tool for
expressing ourselves. It acts as a mirror to our world, reecting
back to us the way we live. Our choice of language and the new
words we create reveal an enormous amount about how we
lead our lives today and how society is changing.”
The grammer dilemma
One of the dilemmas that has faced teachers of English for
some considerable time relates to the teaching of grammar.
This has applied not only in the world of teaching English as
a foreign language (EFL) but historically from the decision
made in the UK in the 1970s to abandon the formal teaching
of grammar to students in English classes in England. My
generation was the rst not to have been “burdened” with
formal grammar lessons. Humphrys summarizes what his
rst book on language was about: “In ‘Lost For Words’ I was
not saying that language should never change [because of
course it always does] but that grammar matters. One of the
daftest things we ever did to our schools was to stop teach-
ing it to children. Academics who should have known better
came up with the absurd notion that rules somehow con-
ned children, restricted their imagination. I argued that the
opposite is true. Understanding the basic workings of gram-
mar -- even if you don’t observe all the rules to the letter --
can liberate. If you don’t know how to construct a sentence,
how can you express yourself?”
In my general introduction to the advanced level courses,
I always ask my students this question: “What constitutes u-
LEGAL CORNER
BERK
ÇEKTiR
without the interference of Parliament. The following regulation
is made in this sense, and it is a communiqué.
The communiqué concerns television and radio broadcasting
regulations, and the ofcial name of the legislation is “Radio and
Television Broadcasts Made in Various Languages and Dialects
Traditionally Used by Turkish Citizens in Their Daily Lives.” In-
deed, in this age of communication, technological advances and
ency in a foreign language and how do you know when you
have got it?” I always get a variety of fairly predictable answers,
especially from Turkish students, used, as they are, to rigorous
and repetitive teaching methods in their schools and universi-
ties: correct and appropriate vocabulary; correct use of gram-
mar (aha!); pronunciation; near native listening and reading
skills; being able to speak without hesitating and internally
translating everything; and so on. All of these are true, but I
surprise them by repeating what one linguist once said: u-
ency in a language is knowing how and when to break the
rules. Rather like driving a car, for example, to drive safely yet
be able to have some fun and use different techniques requires
a full knowledge of the rules in the rst place so that break-
ing them doesn’t involve breaking your car, yourself or, God
forbid, someone else. The same idea is revealed in comedy.
One of the hardest things to understand and to carry off in a
foreign language is telling jokes. Because verbal comedy has al-
ways depended on playing with words, meaning, context and
syntax, comedy quintessentially demands a rock-solid founda-
tion in the structural grammar and vocabulary of the language
used. Jokes translate very badly from one language to another
for this very reason.
Many of the expats working in Turkey are teaching Eng-
lish in state schools, private schools, universities or private
language schools. Most of them have studied at university
but not necessarily English and have taken a TEFL or CELTA
course to obtain a certicate to teach English as a foreign
language. These courses range from a few hours online,
to a mixed online and real teacher training to an intensive
month-long program in situ with real students in real class-
room situations. Pedagogical skills and techniques aside, the
majority of those I have worked with admit that their weak-
est link is their knowledge and use of grammar. Most of the
questions I was asked by staff related to grammar, although
the Turkish teachers generally outshone their foreign col-
leagues by their in-depth understanding of grammar.
So does grammar, which includes punctuation, really mat-
ter? Professor David Crystal (www.davidcrystal.com) is con-
sidered to be the expert’s expert in linguistics, with more than a
hundred books on the subject to his name. He believes that so
long as we are intelligible we can be as cavalier as we like with
the rules and conventions of language, including punctuation.
In a sense, this may be true. Here is an example from a for-
mer head of English in a comprehensive school: “Aoccdrnig to
M O N D AY , NOVEMBER 16, 2009
innovations have made it possible to overcome many prohibitions
regarding broadcasting. You can see big antennas on the roofs of
houses in the eastern part of Turkey. These antennas allow viewers
to watch or listen to programs from different countries.
The preamble of the communiqué states the scope, purpose
and denitions. The purpose of the legislation is to regulate broad-
casting companies other than the Turkish Radio and Television
Corporation (TRT) that broadcast in different languages and dia-
lects that are used traditionally in the daily life of Turkish citizens.
The plural form used in the denition of the scope of the
communiqué indicates that the regulation is not addressing only
a single language, Kurdish. Indeed, the initiative is not address-
ing only Kurds; it is one of the steps to x the long-standing
problems faced by all minorities who are Turkish citizens. In
other words, the legislation should also include broadcasting in
all languages and dialects other than Turkish, including, but not
limited to, Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, the Karapapak
AP
PHOTO
rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deson’t mttaer in waht
order the ltteers in a word are, the only iprmoatnt tihng is taht
the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a
taotl mses and you can sittl raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is
bcuseae the human mind deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef,
but the word as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?” Try that on your
students! The head of English explains, however, that it is the
knowledge of the rules that makes understanding of this piece
possible: “What is not made clear, of course, is that in order to
decipher the jumble, your own mind has to have a semblance
of order in the rst place. This is exactly why we need rules and
conventions.” (Quoted by Humphrys, ibid p. 26)
Punctuation matters
To observers and users of English, such as Humphrys, punc-
tuation also matters. Most English teachers are, I imagine,
familiar with Lynne Truss’ best-seller on punctuation “Eats,
Shoots and Leaves” (Prole Books, 2003). The title comes from
the following story: “A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a
sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun a res two shots in the
air. ‘Why?’ asked the confused waiter, as the panda makes to-
wards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife
manual and tosses it over his shoulder. ‘I’m a panda,’ he says,
at the door. ‘Look it up.’ The waiter turns to the relevant entry
and, sure enough, nds an explanation. ‘Panda. Large black-
and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots
and leaves’.” You get the point.
If our students are to have any hope of progressing to
the Nirvana of uency they so crave, then we are going to
have to ensure that we are fully up-to-speed on the rules
and conventions of modern English grammar and are able
to explain and demonstrate them in as comprehensible, ac-
cessible and enjoyable way as possible. Many of you may be
like me insofar as you learnt grammar not from your Eng-
lish lessons in school or university but by studying other
languages. In my case it was Latin and French, which were
taught in a traditional manner and thus forced us to come to
terms with the nuts and bolts of the language. In Latin we
did exercises called parsing which involved deconstructing
sentences into their individual grammatical parts. Turkish
teachers of English do this and know how to pass the knowl-
edge on to their students. How many of us could say the
same? And Turkish students appreciate this. It answers their
perennial question, “Why?” Let’s see if we can get it write.
CMYK
EXPAT ZONE
dialect, Turkmen, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Chechen, Armenian,
Greek, etc. All minorities who are Turkish citizens and who tra-
ditionally speak their own language will be able to broadcast
programs in their own language or dialect.
Therefore, this communiqué encompasses a huge population
and geographical area. The question in my mind is: Will Turkish
citizens with foreign roots be able to have their languages broad-
cast on television and radio in Turkey? In the next article, I will
mention the other details of this new regulation.
NOTE: Berk Çektir is a licensed attorney at law and available to
answer questions on the legal aspects of living in Turkey. Send en-
quiries to b.cektir@todayszaman.com The names of the readers
are disclosed only upon written approval of the sender.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended to give
basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a
licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and
not just rely on the information in this corner.
CULTURAL CORNER
CHARLOTTE
McPHERSON
Rowng old:
Blessngs, curses
When my aunt Syble turned 95 I decided, even though it was an in-
ternational phone call, that I would try to call her about four times a
year -- that would be major holidays and her birthday. Just less than
two years ago, she turned 100. She informed me this summer when I
went to visit her that old age has its blessings and curses.
Even though my aunt had misplaced both of her hearing aids,
which meant she could not really hear me, I thought it was important
to just sit beside her and chat with her like usual. She looked at me in-
tently and appeared as though she understood everything, but I could
tell she really didn’t. My sister Jean lives near the nursing home where
my aunt lives and visits her daily and carries on this charade. I admire
her for her faithfulness.
Back in July, Jean told me a lot about what she knew on the sub-
ject of elderly people. She seems quite informed about it all. Rightly
so, as she has taken care of her husband’s mom and now our aunt.
Jean told me that the oldest person she knew of in the world lived in
Los Angeles and died at the age of 115.
Centenarians used to be non-existent, but not anymore!
The number is increasing signicantly, and more and more indi-
viduals have to look after their parents in their old age.
The trend in Turkey used to be that grandparents, parents and
children all lived under one roof. In recent decades, this has been
changing. In some of the more posh neighborhoods in stanbul you
can even nd a Huzurevi (rest home). This concept is a very new
trend in Turkey.
In the West you’ll come across some baby boomers who are ap-
proaching retirement age and have great plans for the future. Many
will tell you they want to live to be 100 or more! They are the ones
who want to do the things they have dreamed of doing -- travel the
world, skydive, whatever. These are the elderly, gray-haired tourists
who visit Turkey to tour the Grand Bazaar, Topkap Palace and Ephe-
sus, traipsing around in jogging outts and trainers. Turks nd them
endearing and marvel at their enthusiasm.
Then there are those of us who are not keen to live so long. After
all, longer lifespans are not an unalloyed blessing.
In this economic climate, how far will your pension go and your
savings last? Whether you are in Turkey or somewhere like the United
States, you may wonder just how you can afford to get ill or retire.
Calculations for US health care costs have been based on shorter lifes-
pans, and now we are living longer.
In Turkey, retirement programs have faced insolvency. Being very
logical, the Turkish government has been gradually raising the retire-
ment age; America also faces this same issue and has contemplated
raising its retirement age for able-bodied workers.
As individuals live longer, we experience more signicant social
and nancial costs.
A couple of Turkish friends whose mother passed away at the be-
ginning of the summer shared with me how in the nal year or two
of life her medical expenses in Turkey ran about the price of an apart-
ment. They were fortunate in that they had real estate to sell to pay
the medical bills.
My aunt Syble’s medical expenses since she moved into the nurs-
ing home three years ago have now exceeded the cost of her home
and have nearly run down her savings.
Similar to elderly people in the West, Turks who are retired usu-
ally live on xed incomes. Maybe you have noticed the long queues
outside the state banks at certain times of the month? Utilities have
increased considerably, in excess of ination, and use up much of a
pensioner’s budget. According to an AARP Bulletin from last winter, I
read that as heating prices rise in the US, the burden of heating costs
will be disproportionately heavy on elderly Americans.
In the building where I live, there are a number of elderly people.
Their children are grown and live in their own homes elsewhere. One
elderly woman said to me that even though her children do not live
with her, they help her nancially. She admits that without their help
she would not be able to make ends meet. “I’d freeze,” says one el-
derly neighbor. Similar comments are said back home.
Sadly, when the cold winds blow this year, they will bring an extra
chill to millions of elderly individuals.
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep
your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you,
Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
NOTE: Today’s Zaman intends to provide a lively forum for expatriates living in Turkey. We
encourage you to contact us at voice@todayszaman.com and share your experiences, ques-
tions and problems in all walks of life for publication in Today’s Zaman.
 CULTURE&ARTS
Italy opens new contemporary arts museum in Rome
Italy is opening its rst national museum for con-
temporary arts and architecture in a bid to shed
its image as merely a keeper of a glorious artistic past.
The 150 million euro ($223 million) Maxxi cul-
tural center opened Saturday for a limited wee-
kend run before its full-edged opening in a few
months. Located in a residential area of Rome,
the museum was designed by Iraqi-born architect
Zaha Hadid, the rst woman to win the prestigio-
us Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004.
The Culture Ministry decided to build the muse-
um in 1998, recognizing that the country that produ-
ced Giotto, Michelangelo and Bernini -- avant-garde
artists of their times -- must continue to promote
contemporary creativity if it wants to have a cultural
heritage in the future. “It is inconceivable for this very
long ow of Italian creativity to be interrupted and do
without the promotion and support which, over past
CENK ERDEM STANBUL
The Antalya International Piano Festival is
marking its 10th anniversary with 10 con-
certs by very special performers, including
Fazl Say, Michel Camilo, Pavel Kaspar and Aziza
Mustafa Zadeh.
The festival is almost halfway through and ge-
aring up for the end. Festivalgoers in Antalya must
be impatient for this year’s closing concert, as it will
feature Spanish pianist Miriam Méndez. Known by
Turkish concertgoers for her unique blend of classi-
cal piano with tunes from her native land, Méndez
will present her most recent project, “Mozart,
Sueño Flamenco,” on Saturday, the festival’s clo-
sing night, at the Antalya Culture Center (AKM).
Released toward the end of 2008 on the he-
els of the massive success of her debut recording,
“Bach por Flamenco,” Méndez was inspired to cre-
ate “Mozart, Sueño Flamenco” by an imaginary jo-
urney of Mozart to Andalusia, where the roots of
amenco lay. In an interview ahead of her visit to
Turkey, Méndez spoke about her music.
What are the major differences between
your previous work and this newest one?
In “Mozart, Sueño Flamenco,” every track is an
episode of an imaginary trip Mozart made to An-
dalusia, the south of Spain and the root of amen-
co music. On his trip to Italy, he discovered opera.
The question that I ask in this show is what would
have happened if he had the opportunity of disco-
vering the Andalusian culture traveling to the so-
uth, to such places as Seville and Cádiz.
If Mozart had visited Andalusia, what tra-
its of amenco would have attracted him the
most?
Flamenco is a passionate musical expressi-
on where the extremes are very strong. In or-
der to express joy and happiness you dance and
sing until you faint, [like] in the “Fiestas por
Bulerías” in Jerez. When you want to express
pain, you do it in a very radical way, for examp-
le with a soleá. Mozart had both in his persona-
lity: joy, like in “The Magic Flute,” and pain, like
in the “Requiem” and Symphony No. 40. So I
think that everything would have been fascina-
ting for him, but to be honest, in a private party
“por Bulerías,” I think he would have ipped out
and he would have stopped dancing. (laughs)
You say that the idea of Mozart meeting
amenco is very natural. How so?
Naturalness is something that denes
Mozart’s personality and his music, and a-
menco is a spontaneous and natural music, too.
When you reinterpret Mozart’s “Tur-
kish March,” what do you think this piece
communicates about Turkish people?
The nobility, the power and positivity whi-
le looking toward the future.
MOVIE
Reha Erdem’s films at
Tark Zafer Tunaya Center
A monthly lm program titled “A New Look at Tur-
kish Cinema” at stanbul’s Tark Zafer Tunaya Cul-
ture Center features lms by Reha Erdem in its rst
edition. Erdem’s “Korkuyorum Anne” (“What’s a
Human, Anyway?” 2004) and “A Ay” (“Oh, Moon”
1989) will be offered in the last two weeks of the
program, running through Nov. 29. There are three
showings every day except Monday, at 2 p.m., 4:30
p.m. and 7 p.m. Ticket price: TL 3.50
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009
centuries, have generally kindled it,” said Pio Baldi,
head of the foundation that runs the museum.
The center, ofcially called the National Muse-
um of the XXI Century Arts, is the latest in a series of
cutting-edge architectural projects to be built in the
Eternal City, which is better known for its Roman ru-
ins, Baroque basilicas and Renaissance palazzi.
Renzo Piano’s Auditorium opened in 2002, giving
Rome its rst major-league concert hall. More re-
cently and controversially, Richard Meier’s Ara Pacis
museum, which houses a 2,000-year-old altar, ope-
ned in 2005. Critics complained the box-like shell was
a modern blot in Rome’s historic center -- to some, a
gas station blocks away from the Spanish Steps.
No such protests sullied Hadid’s design for the
museum, built on the grounds of a former mili-
tary barracks in Rome’s Flaminio neighborhood,
far from the cobblestoned streets of the center but
Is it Bach or Mozart who suits amen-
co most?
Both, I think. Occidental music evolved in
different ways, but mostly under the same fee-
ling, and this is universal.
How do you interpret Baroque music
through amenco?
By being spontaneous and free. Imagine
Mozart discovering the spontaneous amen-
co expression in Cádiz, Bulerías and Alegrías.
CONCERT
Cem Adrian to perform
live for fans in Ankara
Turkish alternative pop singer Cem Adrian, pra-
ised by critics and audiences alike for his voi-
ce range of almost 4.5 octaves, is scheduled for a
live performance this week at Ankara’s If Perfor-
mance Hall. The 29-year-old singer will be per-
forming songs from his four albums, including
his most recent, “Emir” (Commandment), relea-
sed in December 2008, at the concert, which will
take place Thursday night. Ticket price: TL 17.50
close enough to be reached on public transport
and near the new concert hall.
Hadid said she intended the space to be an “ur-
ban cultural center,” an arts campus with indoor
and outdoor exhibition spaces. The building itself
-- a sleek, windowed box on top of a box -- is made
of cement walls, steel stairs and a glass roof, giving
the galleries a neutral backdrop illuminated by lte-
red natural light. Black staircases offer sharp cont-
rast to the white walls. “I see Maxxi as an immersi-
ve urban environment for the exchange of ideas, fe-
eding the cultural vitality of the city,” she said.
Guests at Friday night’s festive preview descri-
bed the museum as essential to Rome’s living fully
in the present. “Surely a museum of contemporary
art in such an ancient city is a passage from the an-
cient to the future, a voyage in space and time,”
said Vincenzo Di Stefano, a manager for a publis-
MIRIAM MENDEZ
brings Mozart’s flamenco
dreams to Antalya
Flamenco music is the result of different cultu-
res and civilizations living together for centu-
ries in Andalusia. As you know, in Andalusia,
for eight centuries, there were Muslims, Jews,
Christians, Gypsies from India living together;
it was like the present-day New York. I think
that there’s something common in every cul-
ture and to nd this joint point, this “gene,”
makes me break my own limits when I relate
Mozart or Bach with amenco music or myself
EXHIBITION
Mavitan’s ‘sculptures to
hang on a wall’ on display
A new collection by famous Turkish artist Bih-
rat Mavitan is on view at the Selvin Art Gallery in
stanbul’s Arnavutköy district. The 61-year-old ar-
tist, a career sculptor who graduated in 1973 from
the prestigious stanbul State Academy of Fine Arts,
showcases his newest set of unique works, which
he calls “sculptures to hang on a wall,” in the exhi-
bit, scheduled to run through Dec. 12. The gallery is
open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday.
CMYK
TODAY’S ZAMAN 13
hing group. “Art is always a message that unites
the contemporary, future and past.” Artist Mari-
anna Masciolini, an Umbrian who works in Rome,
said: “The city needs to enter the 21st century.”
Maxxi technically is two museums: Maxxi Art
and Maxxi Architecture, which includes the les of
architecture designs. The campus -- which covers
29,000 square meters -- also includes an auditori-
um, library, media library, study rooms, laboratori-
es, a bookshop, cafe and spaces for live events and
commercial activities. Rome has several other mo-
dern and contemporary art spaces, but the Cultu-
re Ministry says Maxxi is the rst national museum
devoted to contemporary arts.
While Maxxi museum opened to the public of-
cially on Saturday, it was a limited two-day opening.
The museum will formally open its rst exhibits in
2010, when ve shows are planned. Rome AP
and Bach or Mozart or amenco music. The
entire human race is one.
How do you feel about Turkey?
I love Turkey. The diversity and enormous
cultural legacy you can nd in every corner there,
it’s fascinating. And I love the food! I have many
things to discover yet, and I hope to come here
more often to keep on learning more. I really feel
home, and it’s probably because of the Turkish
people, that’s why I have this nice feeling.
CONCERT
Princess of Jazz to grace
Antalya piano festival stage
Azerbaijani jazz singer, pianist and composer Azi-
za Mustafa Zadeh, dubbed the Princess of Jazz, is in
Antalya this week for her eagerly anticipated appea-
rance at this year’s Antalya International Piano Fes-
tival. Accompanied by Ralf Cetto on bass and Simon
Zambardo on drums, Zadeh will take to the stage
8:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Antalya Culture Center
(AKM) to present a program of pieces by Verdi, Puc-
cini, Gershwin and Ravel as well as her own songs.
REUTERS
PHOTO
Martin Scorsese to
receive DeMille Award
Golden Globe organizers last week said
they will honor director Martin Scorsese
with their Cecil B. DeMille award at their up-
coming ceremony, signifying his contribution
to entertainment.
Scorsese, director of classic lms such as
“Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas”
and Oscar and Golden Globe winner “The
Departed,” is widely considered among the
best directors of his generation which gai-
ned notoriety in the 1970s. But his contribu-
tions don’t stop at making blockbuster movi-
es. Earlier this decade, the 66-year-old direc-
tor lmed a documentary series about music
called “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Blues,”
and he founded non-prot organizations The
Film Foundation and the World Cinema Fo-
undation, which are dedicated to lm preser-
vation and restoration.
The Golden Globe Awards, which honor the
year’s best lms, US television shows and perfor-
mances, are given out by members of the Holl-
ywood Foreign Press Association in a gala ce-
remony held annually in Beverly Hills and seen
on television in some 160 countries around the
world. The 67th Golden Globe Awards will take
place on Jan. 17, and nominations for awards will
be announced on Dec. 15. Los Angeles Reuters
Contemporary stanbul
ready for fourth edition
Contemporary stanbul, an annual interna-
tional art fair that has become one of the
major events of the city’s art scene, is preparing
to launch its fourth edition early next month at
stanbul’s Lüt Krdar International Convention
and Exhibition Center.
This year’s fair, scheduled to run Dec. 3-6,
will have an invitation-only preview on Dec.
2 which will feature a live performance of two
acts from famous Turkish choreographer Aydn
Teker’s “aKab.”
The four-day fair offers a wide range of works
in many disciplines, such as painting, sculpture,
photography, installation, video and new media art.
CI’09 will bring together 73 art galleries, art
institutions and artist initiatives to showcase
works of art by 306 artists from Turkey and abro-
ad, the fair’s director, Emin Mahir Balcolu, said
in a written statement.
This year the fair’s organizers are aiming to
widen the scope of the event with the additi-
on of 12 established art institutions such as the
stanbul-based Sakp Sabanc Museum, the Ak-
bank Art Center, stanbul Modern, the stanbul
Foundation for Culture and Art (KSV) and the
Doançay Museum, founded by renowned Tur-
kish contemporary abstract artist Burhan Doan-
çay, the Anatolia news agency reported.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of
stanbul and Berlin being declared sister cities,
Contemporary stanbul will also offer a special
exhibition space for Berlin-based art galleries and
art collectors. The fair’s “New Horizons” section
will feature contemporary art from Syria. Organi-
zers say they expect this year’s fair to attract more
than 50,000 visitors. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
Adana’s 13 Kare art
festival opens today
Adana’s annual 13 Kare International
Art Festival opens today, unveiling the
11th edition of the southern city’s second-
largest art event.
Organized by the Adana Metropolitan Mu-
nicipality, the festival will feature numerous
art exhibitions, concerts and panel discussions
with artists, before wrapping up on Nov. 24.
Among the festival’s events will be the award
ceremony for the annual Golden Camera Pho-
tography Competition, organized by the Ada-
na Amateur Photographers Association.
The festival will open with a ceremony at
8 p.m. at the Adana Municipal Theater. The
ceremony will be followed by a performan-
ce of the renowned Turkish operetta “Lü-
küs Hayat” (Luxurious Life), which marked
its 25th anniversary in April. Two exhibitions
by sculptors Mutluhan Ta and Tayfur Öztürk
also begin today. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
 14 TODAY’S ZAMAN
TRAVELS BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN:
BEFORE THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL
KLAUS
JURGENS
k.jurgens@todayszaman.com
Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall much has been
written about the signicance of this event and how it changed
the political and ultimately economic world order. As politics
never was, and probably never will be, one-dimensional, I am
questioning the predominantly “Western”-oriented outlook of de-
bating the year 1989. Let me embark on a very personal journey,
nevertheless giving a balanced account of this rather turbulent era.
Eastern Europe before the
fall of the Berlin Wall
I was 27 years old in 1989 and many of my generation had been exten-
sively involved in East- West or “All European”-youth politics.
Looking behind what was commonly referred to as the Iron
Curtain; I visited the Soviet Union, Budapest, Prague and the
German Democratic Republic (GDR) from the years 1985 to
1989. Perhaps surprisingly and unbeknownst to many outside
observers things had begun to move forward, not by external
pressure but through internal determination. However, change
does not happen overnight and what I was able to witness was
perhaps only gradual change, but nevertheless it was quite sig-
nicant. Let me talk about a number of meetings which made
me believe that a new generation of leaders, carefully groomed
by the politburo’s of the time but much more open to accept-
ing change as a necessity, would over time come to terms with
new realities and granting extended personal freedoms to their
emerging civil societies, including themselves.
We met with representatives of the ruling socialist/
communist party’s youth movements, powerful in their
own right and perceived to be the future leaders of their
countries whilst no one from my generation was certain
to ever being elevated into higher political office.
In 1985 I participated in a 500-strong “Western” delegation
attending the Moscow World Youth Festival. Under Mikhail Gor-
bachev the rst signs of an easing of restrictions that hampered so
many aspects of Russian everyday life became visible. We visited
private homes of ordinary citizens, ate in Moscow’s rst pizza res-
taurant and roamed freely all over town without anyone looking
over their shoulder. We brought a famous rock star along too, who
was allowed to give public concerts -- a rst for him and a prec-
edent for what was to come in the near future. Had I landed on a
distant totalitarian planet, heavily policed? Not really. I rather felt
disheartened by realizing that what many of my fellow West Eu-
ropean youth-representatives took for granted back home and of
course did not nd in Russia and dened as “freedom” came down
to comparing levels of economic development, material matters.
Still, we knew about human rights violations and restricted free-
dom of speech. For us it was a delicate balancing act to say the least.
I flew back to Russia one year later in 1986, this time
with 10 or so of my colleagues. The meetings were part of
a cross-border, cross-systems youth dialogue aimed at the
future political party and NGO leaders on both sides of the Iron
Curtain getting to know each other. The message we carried
with us and heard from our hosts was one of peace, not war.
We continued to Baku, where we received a very warm wel-
come indeed. The rst place our hosts took us to visit had been
the local mosque, followed by a fascinating indoors-outdoors
museum and then the impressive oil platforms located offshore
in the Caspian Sea. We were told that there were no unreason-
able demands being levied upon them from Moscow, that reli-
gion could be practiced relatively freely and that they were hoping
more tourists would be able to come and visit. Although we had
been accompanied by two leading members of the communist
party’s youth organization ying down with us from Moscow
there was no big-brother type of atmosphere. Even our guides
from central ofce started to relax and unwind once in Baku;
Moscow’s corridors of power seemed to be light-years away.
Talking about the
environment, Hungary 1987
I had heard a lot about Hungary trying to implement a more inclu-
sive set of policies and in late 1987 was keen to see with my own
eyes whether this held true or not. Hungary would rank rst if mea-
sured on a scale of alternative topics we were able to discuss. Yes,
Thýnk tank cafe´
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Locals walk along the former border in Berlin during the commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989.
we had of course a local party ofcial “accompanying” our delega-
tion (the “interpreter”). We met student representatives who had
been “selected” beforehand but nevertheless gave a fascinating
insight into what was about to happen in that country soon. The
environment had become a focus of attention, so had the role of
women in society and addressing the gender imbalance. A visit
to Prague the same year underlined my observations -- Eastern
youth leaders asked for dialogue, best practices and support.
Germans were simply
Germans -- whether East or West
Compared to a certain “laissez-faire” attitude as witnessed in Russia,
Prague and Budapest, meeting East Germany’s Socialist Unity Par-
ty (SED) youth leaders was an altogether different story. Not simply
because the GDR was one of Russia’s satellite states, always afraid
of falling out with Moscow; socialism was more pure, or perhaps
simpler than the version we had encountered in Russia. A youth
festival or large scale event was to be held in the form of a “camp,”
and not in posh hotels. I visited East Germany three times between
1987 and 1989 -- once for the above mentioned “camp” near Berlin,
once on a special three city tour focusing on the emerging computer
revolution and meeting young fashion designers and nally for the
Jung Königswinter Conference. We were able to listen to a mes-
sage of communication, trying to arrange for more meetings and
slowly but steadily opening the door to increased youth and
student exchange programs. I sensed that our East German
partners were afraid that perhaps socialism would one day
cease to exist; our view was that the final generation of East
German youth leaders was interested in keeping a state they
could actually manage instead of being the permanent un-
derstudy for their “rich” West German neighbors.
During the above mentioned 1988 Jung Königswinter Confer-
ence youth representatives from both the United Kingdom and East
and West Germany came together to acquaint themselves with
each other, relate to issues of mutual concern and above all learn
about respect for each other. Visiting our British army representa-
tion as part of the Allied Forces in West Berlin on that occasion
one year before the fall of the Berlin Wall no one would even
think of that being a possibility with Berlin politics being the art
of the possible, normalization was the top item on the agenda.
It would be wrong to state that the Berlin Wall was the last
of its kind. Walls can be physical and they can be psychologi-
cal too. A wall can resemble an unjust border or separation.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009
AP ,GERO BRELOERL
PHOTO
Think the two Korea’s, think Israel and Palestine. Besides, we
can distinguish between walls made out of concrete and less
obvious ones which are nevertheless as harmful. A wall can
exist in politics, perceptions, minds and even hearts. Peace-
ful coexistence is not possible as long as we continue to erect
various types of barriers, obstacles and manifestations of ha-
tred. Think apartheid, racial discrimination, oppression and
gender imbalances. Think wars -- any war really. If the Eu-
ropean Union has achieved one thing even the staunchest
Euroskeptic could not wish away it is the fact that it has
brought lasting peace to its member countries, initially start-
ing out with France and West Germany.
1989’s communist youth
leaders were no warlords
My very own and personal opinion is that I would have pre-
ferred that East and West would come together having had
much more time to get to know each other rst. I sometimes
think that what had really happened was nothing more than
transforming “good communists” into “good free marketers.”
I am not convinced though whether any of the two scenarios is
what the citizens of the eight former soviet satellite states plus
the former GDR, by now all proud EU members, really wanted.
What I recall 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall is above all
the fact that I had the chance to meet face to face with the soon-
to-be members of the leading political circles of four different
countries, only that this soon-to-be became a “not any longer”
after 1990. None of my partners appeared to me to be “totalitar-
ian” or inclined to happily engage in nuclear warfare. A lot of
momentum and intellectual capital was lost by not tolerating
most former socialist youth activists to at least continue in an-
other capacity, resulting in more or less declaring them outcasts.
Civil society can not be exported,
imported or masterminded
I am not saying this because my father’s family hails from one
of the Baltic Sea nations, but if I had been a citizen of any of the
countries I was able to visit during 1985-1989 I would have felt
rather intimidated by the approach of so many Western politi-
cians telling me what would be best for me and my country! I am
not saying I would have come to another conclusion, as after all civil
liberties are what really matters -- but I probably would have preferred
to achieve this according to my own methods and in my own time.
CMYK
OPINION
EKREM
DUMANLI
e.dumanli@todayszaman.com
Whle puttng the
law through hell
Is there any other country in the world other than Turkey
where the judiciary is debated every day? Everyone, espe-
cially lawyers, are fed up with this situation. No offense to
anyone, but unfortunately it is some members of the ju-
diciary who placed the judiciary in the center of a politi-
cal ght. They portray an image that leads to suspicions in
the public’s mind that some members of the judiciary are
collaborating and even partnering with junta members.
The fact that scandals that would no be seen in any other
countries in a hundred years are seen in this country every
week increase concerns that the issue is not just about an
image, but that there are also some problems based on con-
crete data. Taking a look at just the events that happened
this week and the debates over the judiciary are enough to
understand this. Col. Dursun Çiçek, whose signature on a
junta action plan that plots a conspiracy against the society
and politics has been conrmed, appeared before the civil-
ian judiciary after nearly 20 days of resistance, and of course
he was arrested. Çiçek had appeared before the judiciary
before but was not arrested. He was released 18 hours after
being held in custody because the document was a pho-
tocopy. After the original of the document was sent to the
prosecutors leading the Ergenekon investigation in a letter
written by an anonymous military ofcer and the Council
of Forensic Medicine (ATK) determined that the signature
on the document was produced by Çiçek’s hand, it became
necessary for the colonel to give another statement to the
prosecutors. But he did not go for a long time. Even the
privates accused of destroying the documents were not re-
ferred to the prosecutors for a long time. The General Staff
also didn’t send the surveillance tapes from the day certain
documents were destroyed according to the informant’s
letter to the court, either. But anyways. This time Çiçek was
released 43 hours after being held in custody. Why? Be-
cause there was “no suspicion of him running away.”
Unfortunately, the decision to release him has led to
the question of whether there is a connection between
the judiciary and some junta supporters. In fact it has
increased suspicion of whether some deep structures
are being protected by the judiciary. It is for this reason
that a signicant number of dailies have not been able to
understand the reason behind this odd decision. It is for
this reason that the Milliyet daily referred to the situa-
tion as “Çiçek Taxi,” (an apparent reference to the speed
at which the decision was made) and Radikal said, “He
went in and out.” The headline “Arrested for 18 hours
for photocopy, arrested for 43 hours for original” is indic-
ative of the impression the event has left in people’s hearts.
Frankly, reaching this decision despite so much evidence
has undermined the faith people have in justice once again.
The public conscience will ask, “What is the rea-
son behind persistently releasing someone despite so
much concrete evidence against him?” The potential
answer(s) to this question leads to serious implica-
tions that complicate the judicial mechanism. Ac-
cording to the image that has been portrayed, people
are either going to say, “The justice system functions
differently for civilians and differently for military per-
sonnel and grants privileges to military ofcers,” or they are
going to say: “Çiçek is in such a critical spot that if his position
is exposed, all junta work will unravel. Therefore, special atten-
tion is being put on this position, and there’s no harm seen
in putting the law through hell.”
We cannot look at this as a personal hostility be-
cause we don’t know who Dursun Çiçek is. Besides,
the issue is not about if someone is arrested or re-
leased. It is about how someone can be protected
despite the fact that his signature was confirmed by
forensic medicine on a document which actually lays
a trap for the whole society. The judiciary has once
again been damaged seriously. That is because the lat-
est decisions taken by the Supreme Board of Judges and
Prosecutors (HSYK) are involved in the event, and it
feels like once again there is pressure and favoritism.
During that week there was a juridical debate that was
funnier than a comedy movie. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17
Daðýstan Çetinkaya
dagistancetinkaya@todayszaman.com.tr
 COLUMNS M O N D AY , NOVEMBER 16, 2009
Who s ready for a kurdsh soluton?
It appears that the Kurdish initiative will not receive any
backing from the main opposition parties. The latest debate
in Parliament last Friday showed once more how some poli-
ticians approach the initiative as an opportunity to fan the
heat of Turkish nationalism instead of contributing to the so-
lution of a long-standing problem of the country.
This is a pity, but also the reality. What are left in Parliament are
the governing party and the Democratic Society Party (DTP). It is cer-
tain now that these two political parties alone will work together to
nd a solution to the Kurdish question.
Anyway, it is not realistic to expect anything positive from the
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), whose leader, speaking in Par-
liament, declared democracy a threat to the existence of the Turkish
state. So with the ultranationalists, who do not accept even democ-
racy as a decent ground to address a question, what can be expected?
For that matter, the main opposition party is no different. Deniz
Baykal equates any solution on the Kurdish question to a concession
made to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Again, it was the dep-
uty leader of this party who applauded the Dersim massacre of 1938
AHN
ALPAY
s.alpay@todayszaman.com
Turksh mracle of
the 21st century
Last Friday I had lunch with a close Kurdish friend of mine that I had not
seen for a while. We had come to know each other in the mid-1960s as
young activists working in the ranks of the Turkish Labor Party (TP). We
have kept in touch ever since, and our political views have evolved much
in the same direction throughout the years, bringing us to the conclusion
that nothing is more valuable than political freedom. Over lunch we dis-
cussed the recent political events taking place in the country. He was full
of ideas and said a lot of things. But the most remarkable statement he
made was the following: “Devout Muslims in Turkey have nally fully un-
derstood that they cannot liberate themselves without liberating all who
have suffered under the current authoritarian regime, that is the Kurds, the
Alevis, the non-Muslims and others. That is why I am quite hopeful that
the ‘democratic’ or ‘Kurdish opening’ the Justice and Development Party
(AKP) government promises to pursue may succeed.”
In the evening I listened to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan ad-
dressing Parliament in Ankara on the government initiative to further de-
mocratize the regime and solve the Kurdish problem that has caused so
much suffering not only since the beginning of the Kurdish insurgency led
by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) 25 years ago, but ever
since the founding of the republic. I was truly moved by Prime Minister
Erdoan’s speech. I was so happy to see that what the liberal-minded
Turkish and Kurdish intellectuals had been advocating for a solution to
the Kurdish problem for at least the last two decades had nally become
the government discourse as expressed by the chief executive. Prime Min-
ister Erdoan said the parliamentary debate on the Kurdish question held
that day should be taken as a milestone in history. Nov. 13 may indeed
become a milestone in republican Turkish history because with the initial
reforms announced by Interior Minister Beir Atalay on that day, Turkey
may be embarking on a road towards a solution to the Kurdish problem
and bringing an end to the PKK insurgency, which has cost the country at
least 40,000 lives and hundreds of billions of dollars.
I felt so elated that when Erdoan concluded his speech I phoned close
friends to share with them my thoughts and feelings on what we were wit-
nessing. Later I sat down and contemplated. The Kurdish friend I met dur-
ing the day was absolutely right. A very important aspect to consider of what
we are recently witnessing in Turkish politics is surely the highly remarkable
ideological evolution or transformation observed among the politicians in the
AKP leadership since their appearance on the political scene in the early 1990s.
These politicians were among the leading cadre of the national vi-
sion (or if you like the Islamist) movement led by Mr. Necmettin Erbakan
whose Welfare Party (RP) was banned by the Constitutional Court in 1998.
There were serious doubts about the RP’s commitment to secularism. It
was advocating a highly statist and nationalistic economic philosophy that
strongly opposed the liberalization and globalization of the Turkish econ-
omy. In foreign policy it promised moving Turkey away from the West and
the severing of ties with NATO and the EU. Its approach to the Kurdish
problem was not much different from the ofcial authoritarian line.
This is what Mr. Erbakan was recently saying about the AKP govern-
ment’s initiative: “Where does this Kurdish problem come from? Outside
forces are inciting Kurdish nationalism to dismember Turkey. They want
to have Turkey ght within itself and then swallow it. They want to turn
Turkey into a province of Israel …” This is how Mr. Erbakan called on AKP
followers: “So what if you have taken off the ‘National Vision’ shirt? You
are left naked … You are following the Jews. You said ‘one minute’ and
then apologized … The road you are taking is not the right way. Return to
your roots …” (At a Felicity Party meeting on Oct. 29.)
There certainly are a number of factors that explain the AKP leader-
ship’s ideological transformation from “National Vision” to “Conservative
Democracy.” The principal factor may be the rise since the 1990s in Anato-
lia of new business and professional elites who are culturally conservative
but pro-democracy and pro-liberal in their general political and economic
orientations. Another factor may be prospects for greater freedom and
prosperity, which the start of the EU accession process at the end of the
1990s opened up for Turkey. Yet another factor surely is the impact of the
critical discourse of liberal-minded intellectuals directed towards the re-
gime dominated by state elites with the military at the helm. But perhaps
more important than any of these factors is the one my Kurdish friend
pointed to, that is the realization by devoutly Muslim politicians that they
cannot liberate themselves without liberating all who have suffered under
the illiberal and authoritarian regime.
The AKP, with roots in the National Vision or (if you like the Is-
lamist) movement, going through a radical ideological transformation
and assuming leadership towards greater freedom and broader democ-
racy in Turkey, even without any encouragement coming from the EU
after the appearance of Sarkozys and Merkels, and despite military and
judicial coup attempts and foul opposition from rival parties and main-
stream media, is truly the Turkish miracle of the 21st century.
HSAN
DAI
i.dagi@todayszaman.com
in his speech in Parliament. With the Kemalists, who are still suggest-
ing Dersim-model massacres to “resolve” the Kurdish question, what
kind of cooperation can be established? They would always argue for
what they know and do best: oppression.
Thus the responsibility falls on the ruling party and the DTP (and
or for that matter the PKK) and on all the progressive forces of the
country in and outside Parliament.
The solution cannot be sudden, it will take time and progress as
the public’s condence and support is continuously being built.
The government seems committed. I have never seen the
prime minister this determined on any other issue. He has been
consistently and continuously talking about the Kurdish opening
No Comment
Pragmatc populsm or Islamc extremsm?
ÖMER
TAPINAR
o.taspinar@todayszaman.com
How can a country that is supposedly turning
authoritarian at home and Islamist in its foreign
policy be pursuing a democratization package for
Kurds and an engagement policy with Armenia?
The Kurdish reform initiative, which will expand
cultural rights for Kurds, is applauded by both the
EU and Washington. Such democratic steps aimed
at a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem are
likely to bolster Ankara’s stalled accession process
with the EU. One can thus argue that by tackling
the Kurdish issue, the Justice and Development
Party (AKP) is also trying to improve Turkey’s
chances of EU membership. The same goes for the
opening with Armenia. Rapprochement between
Turkey and Armenia is a crucial priority for the
Obama administration. The US president needs
a face-saving excuse in order to convince the Ar-
menian lobby and the US Congress that genocide
recognition is not the way to go with Turkey. He
can only to do so by pointing at the progress on
the ground. Therefore, by improving its relations
with Erevan, Ankara is in fact also improving its
relations with Washington.
So where is the Islamic agenda in all these poli-
cies? Skeptics will argue that Ankara’s close relations
with Iran and recent problems with Israel illustrate
the Islamist tilt in its foreign policy. But is Turkey’s
Iran policy based on a sense of Islamic solidarity?
Would a more secular government in Turkey follow a
very different Iran policy? There are major trade and
energy contracts, amounting to $10 billion, between
the two countries. In my opinion Turkey’s Iran policy
is more about economic interests and “realpolitik.”
As far as Israel is concerned, the policies of the
AKP government reect the feelings of the Turkish
wherever he goes and whatever the agenda is, acting like a public
educator on the Kurdish question.
Democratic reforms, some of which were outlined by Interior
Minister Besir Atalay, will be introduced by the government, which
has a parliamentary majority and executive power. On these, no help
is needed except positive public opinion.
Yet this is only one aspect of the question and the solution.
The second part involves disarming the PKK. Unless some posi-
tive developments emerge on this side, it may be hard to keep up
the momentum for democratic reforms for long, given the need
for at least some degree of public support, which will only come
through if the PKK seems to be disarming.
This must materialize. The PKK, whether willingly or unwillingly,
in contact with Turkish government agencies or not, should contrib-
ute to this process if it claims to be a party in the Kurdish question.
The rst thing the PKK should do is denounce violence and de-
clare its intention to engage in nonviolent political struggle. Second,
it should surrender its arms, for example to the UN authorities in Iraq
or the Iraqi Kurdish administration, in a gesture of goodwill. Such sur-
SPAIN, REUTERS
street. In other words, Turkey’s anger with Israel is not
an Islamic expression. It is rather a populist expression
of frustration and willingness to punish the country for
killing 1,400 innocent civilians earlier this year in Gaza.
Do you have to be an Islamist to feel such an-
ger? This is why it doesn’t make much sense to
talk about an Islamist turn in Turkish foreign policy.
Turkey is becoming a country where public opin-
ion matters much more than before. Populism and
democracy often go hand-in-hand. After all, politi-
cians who run democratic countries need to always
think about elections and the ballot box. This is why
they develop a chronic habit of looking at opinion
polls. They do their best to follow the wishes of their
constituency. In that sense, the AKP is not any dif-
ferent. It is a populist party rather than an Islamist
one. If the EU is popular with the Turkish street, the
AKP will push for more EU reform. If people are an-
gry with the EU, as seems now to be the case, there
will be less political will for EU reforms.
Are there, then, no dangers in populism? The
answer depends on the social and economic con-
text. The street can sometimes turn to extreme
ideologies and elect extremist politicians. After all,
Hitler was an elected politician, and he was popular
with the German street. But any objective observer
of Turkey would agree that the Turkish street is
pragmatic. Turkish voters, like voters in Western
democracies, look at the economic situation rst.
Bread and butter issues are much more important
than ideology for them. Therefore, if the AKP is
unable to run the economy properly, it will most
probably lose the elections. This is why job cre-
ation, the economic growth rate, the trade balance
and volume with neighbors are such critical factors
for Turkey’s democratically elected politicians. No
democratically elected government can ignore such
issues. For all these reasons, democracies tend to
be pragmatic systems. The need to get re-elected
has a moderating impact on politicians. There are
no reasons to doubt that the same dynamics are at
play in Turkey’s own political evolution.
CMYK
TODAY’S ZAMAN 15
prising gestures of goodwill would certainly help democratic reforms
pursued aggressively in Turkey and win over the support of the over-
whelming majority of people in Turkey.
The question of course will emerge: why should the PKK act like
this? My answer is very simple: If the PKK rejects claims of being an
organization of self-interest-seeking people and feels responsible for
the well-being of the Kurds in Turkey, it should not torpedo the pro-
cess but be constructive.
In short, while on the one hand the government should be pushed
for bold democratization initiatives, on the other hand the PKK must
be continuously pressured to lay down its weapons. These two must
be synchronized in order to carry on with the process successfully.
The friends of the Kurds and the Turks, and those who think
that the region and the world would be a better place without the
Kurdish question, cannot refrain from contributing to the new
Kurdish initiative. Otherwise neither the democratic rights of the
Kurds nor peace in Turkey and its region will be forthcoming. This
is a scenario in which the mindset and policies of 1925 and 1938
will prevail, destabilizing the entire region.
YAVUZ
BAYDAR
y.baydar@todayszaman.com
Msery of the
oppostonal mnd
When the stormy, historical session in Parliament on Friday evening
ended, I crossed the uncrowded border gate into Greece with some
friends into the region called Western Thrace, where a less concerned
minority of some 100,000 Turks have lived for ages. My intention was not
to draw analogies between Turkey’s bleeding issue with its large Kurdish
segment and that of Greece’s still annoyed, but placid, Turks, but when I
saw yesterday’s road signs, I asked my road companion, a former deputy
of the Turkish minority in the Greek Parliament, why there was a lack of
Turkish names for the villages and towns besides the Greek ones.
He was bitter, of course, and it was clear to him that the majority
would be very happy to wipe out the history of his people. “Peacefully,
we have to keep asking,” he said. “Otherwise, our mouths would not be
served by their spoons. We call ourselves Turks, not Muslims, here. Yet,
they are trying to teach us that we are Muslims. We hope that they will
learn someday that you are whatever you say you are.”
Denial and harassment have long been the common realities in this
part of the world as elsewhere. Deeper into the millennium, on the other
hand, dynamics clash. Societies raised in the hope of keeping everything
static and unchanged drag behind.
There are now several conclusions from last Friday’s historic ses-
sion on the Kurdish issue in Turkey. The rst is that the dynamic of
moving rocks from where they have stayed seems to have superiority
over the other. The leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP)
and the head of the government, the key gure in the whole pro-
cess, Recep Tayyip Erdoan, is unfazed in his resolve. The interesting
part of this is the phenomenon of “swimming against the tide.” The
AKP has, according to late polls, lost some further percentage points
in handling the process, and it displays clearly in surveys that there is
dismay felt by the Turkish majority on the way Kurds turned the PKK
militants’ return into a victory. The pain and the memory of it will
have to be taken very seriously by all involved.
The second conclusion is that the process will be long, slow and de-
mand a lot of passion. Simply because it has been deeply rooted in the
collective mind and the violent industry created will be resistant on all
levels. Yet it will have to be measured by the quantity of concrete steps
taken by the end of this year. The priority, it seems, will be on the native
tongue -- Kurdish -- and its freedom and gradual normalization (yes, it
will include the Kurdish names of towns and villages!).
There was a touch of realism in Erdoan’s address on Friday. He
stated that “we should not hope that everything will be problem free.
The hope is that we leave a Turkey with less problems for our children.”
The third and nal conclusion should be on the misery of the op-
positional mind in politics. I wrote a long time ago that despite moves
toward nding a common ground, the AKP government will in the
end of the day be “alone.” Last Friday’s showdown, reaching a peak
when the Republican People’s Party (CHP) left the general assembly
en masse, should have dispersed leftover hope that there will be any
meeting of the minds on the bumpy road ahead.
The rhetoric exercised by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) was of
no surprise. But I wonder whether any serious politician of the Left Bloc
in the European Parliament or any member of Socialist International
(SI) would, at this stage, take the rhetoric and behavior of the CHP as
“business as usual.” With its performance, the CHP burned almost all its
bridges with Turkey’s poor and politicized East and Kurdish Southeast.
When seeing the pictures of inuential party gure Onur Öymen de-
picted as Hitler (and, surprisingly not as Joseph Goebbels), displayed in
windows and on walls in the province of Tunceli, it is no wonder where
in politics the CHP has steered itself into. The next stage will be Alevis
seeking another address for their votes.
When I am asked about the differences between parties such as the
AKP and the Democratic Society Party (DTP) on one side and the MHP
and the CHP on the other side, I always begin with the most important
element, which is completely absent from the latter two: conscience. If
a prime minister for the rst time in the history of the republic can talk
about the pain of having one’s village burned and sons killed and of
people mysteriously vanishing, this illustrates a major change in Turkish
politics since it tells of the power of conscience.
“Those in the opposition do not have the strength or the heart to
talk about a solution today,” wrote my Kurdish colleague, Bejan Matur,
in her latest article -- which I recommend strongly for my readers --
here in Today’s Zaman. “Old men are banging on their desks in Par-
liament. What they want to kill is Turkey’s future. The future in which
there will be no blood shed between Turks and Kurds. From the lectern
in Parliament they are defaming the pain of mothers. They are listening
with the deaf ears of a person who has never felt the pain of losing a
child. Perhaps their souls are not touched. They are adding poison to
the clear waters of the future,” she concludes.
 16 TODAY’S ZAMAN M O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 9
LEISURE

move gude
“The Watercolor”
2012
STANBUL: BEYOLU AFM FTA 11:00
12:50 14:30 16:20 18:00 19:45 21:30
23:30 MAÇKA CNEBONUS 11:30 12:15
14:45 15:30 18:00 18:45 21:15 22:00 00:15
CADDEBOSTAN AFM 10:30 12:15 14:00
15:50 17:40 19:30 21:20 23:10 ANKARA:
ATA ON TOWER 11:00 12:30 14:00 15:30
17:15 18:45 20:30 22:00 23:00 00:00
BLKENT CNEBONUS 10:45 12:15 13:55
15:30 17:10 18:45 20:25 22:00 00:00
ZMR: CNEBONUS KONAK PER 10:30
Gregorian Calendar: 16 November 2009 C.E. Hijri Calendar: 29 Dhul-Qadah 1430 A.H. Hebrew Calendar: 29 Cheshvan 5770 tv gude
calendar@todayszaman.com
E2
08:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Today is the anniversary of the founding of the United this day in 1988, Estonia declared its sovereignty in internal af- opened to marine traffic. 09:00 Dedikoducu Kz
10:00 The Martha Stewart Show
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization fairs. This initial step toward full independence yielded fruit when Today is the anniversary of the death of Academy Award-win- 11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
(UNESCO). On this day in 1945, UNESCO was established with the country became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. ning American film actor Clark Gable (1901-1960). Nicknamed 12:00 The Rachael Ray Show
13:00 Umutsuz Evkadnlar
the aim of creating peace in the minds of men through education, Today is Icelandic Language Day in Iceland. This date was “The King of Hollywood,” Gable was named the seventh greatest 14:00 The Martha Stewart Show
social and natural science, culture and communication. chosen to coincide with the birthday of the Icelandic poet Jónas male star of all time in 1999 by the American Film Institute. 15:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
16:00 The Rachael Ray Show
Today is the International Day for Tolerance. The UN Gen- Hallgrímsson and the announcement of the national Jónas Hall- On this day in 1918, the Hungarian Democratic Republic was 17:00 Dedikoducu Kz
eral Assembly established this day to commemorate the adoption grímsson Award, which is given to someone who has contributed created by a revolution that started in Budapest on Oct. 31, 1918. 18:00 The Martha Stewart Show
19:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
by UNESCO member states of the Declaration of Principles on to the development of the Icelandic language. The official proclamation of the republic was Nov. 16, 1918, and 20:00 Family Guy
21:00 Heroes
Tolerance in 1995. Today is Children in Need Day in the UK and Ireland. This Mihály Károlyi became the president. 22:15 Mad Men
Today is the anniversary of the adoption of the Seville State- day is a charity appeal day organized by the BBC. Each year since On this day in 1949, Operation Magic Carpet was launched. 23:00 The Tonight Show With
Conan O'Brien
ment on Violence by UNESCO in 1989. The Seville Statement on 1980 the BBC has set aside one evening of programming on its Also known as Operation On Wings of Eagles, the operation be- 24:00 Mad Men
Violence was originally adopted by scientists on May 16 of the flagship television channel, BBC 1, to broadcast events aimed at tween June 1949 and September 1950 brought 49,000 Yemenite 01:00 The Jay Leno Show
02:00 The Tonight Show With
same year. It refuted the notion that organized human violence is raising money for charities working with children in the UK. Jews to the new state of Israel. British and American transport Conan O'Brien
biologically determined. On this day in 1869, the Suez Canal running between Port planes made some 380 flights from Aden, in a secret operation 03:00 Heroes
04:00 Family Guy
Today is the anniversary of National Rebirth in Estonia. On Said on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez on the Red Sea was that was not made public until several months after it was over.
CNBC-E
17:55 How I Met Your Mother
18:50 The Jay Leno Show
20:00 Two And A Half Men
20:30 The Big Bang Theory
21:00 Without A Trace
22:00 Passion of Mind
00:15 The Jay Leno Show
Hollywood A-lsters n trouble 01:15 Two And A Half Men
01:45 The Big Bang Theory
02:15 Without A Trace
03:00 Passion of Mind
05:00 Without A Trace

REUTERS, MICHAELA REHLE

12:00 13:45 15:15 17:00 18:30 20:15 21:45
23:45 ANTALYA: CNEBONUS MGROS
10:45 12:15 14:00 15:30 17:30 19:00 20:45
22:15 00:00 14:45 18:15 21:45
BORNOVA BORNOVA
STANBUL: Ataköy Galleria Prestige
11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 20:00 22:00
00:00 Beyolu Alkazar 12:00 14:00 16:15
18:45 21:00 Maçka Cinebonus 11:00 13:00
Hollywood studios are now think- $384 million at global box offices and gave
ing twice about splurging on A-list Summit a bona fide franchise. GOLDMAX
06:45 The Godfather III
movie stars and costly productions In recent years, Hollywood has been 09:30 Wo Hu Cang
in reaction to the poor economy, but also be- racked by the recession, competition from 11:30 Emily Bronte's Wuthering
Heights
cause of the surprising success of recent films video games and the Web, declining DVD
with unknown actors. sales and fewer licensing deals with televi-
13:20 Doctor Zhivago
16:30 Gloria
18:20 Top Gun
After buddy comedy “The Hangover,” sion networks. This week, Disney chief Bob 20:15 A Crime
a movie with a little known cast, made $459 Iger said in a conference call that the sluggish 22:00 The Godfather
00:55 The Closer You Get
million at global box offices this past sum- DVD market is one reason the major studio

15:15 17:30 19:45 22:00 00:15 Altunizade
Capitol 11:00 15:30 17:40 19:50 22:00
00:10 Ankara: Bilkent Cinebonus 11:00
13:10 15:20 17:30 19:40 21:50 00:00
Cinebonus Panora 11:00 13:00 15:15
17:30 19:45 22:00 zmir: Afm Forum
Bornova 11:00 13:10 15:50 18:30 21:00
23:45 Cinecity Kipa Çili 11:15 13:15 15:15
17:15 19:15 21:15 23:45
THE WATERCOLOR
stanbul: Esentepe Cinebonus Astoria
11:00 12:45 14:30 16:15 18:00 19:45 21:45
23:45 Maçka Cinebonus 11:30 13:30
15:30 17:30 19:30 21:30 23:30 Kozyata
Cinebonus Palladium 11:00 13:00
15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 Ankara: Bilkent
Cinebonus 11:30 13:30 15:30 17:30 19:30
21:30 23:45 Cinebonus Gordion 11:00
13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 zmir:
Balçova Cinebonus Kipa 11:00 12:45
14:30 16:15 18:00 19:45 21:30 23:15
THE TOURNAMENT
stanbul: Bakrköy Cinebonus Capacity
11:00 13:00 15:15 17:30 19:45 22:00
Esentepe Cinebonus Astoria 11:15 13:15
15:15 17:15 19:15 21:15 23:15 Kadiköy
Cinebonus 11:00 15:30 17:30 19:45 22:00
00:15 Ankara: Cinebonus Panora 11:00
13:00 15:15 17:30 19:45 22:00 00:00 zmir:
Balçova Cinebonus Kipa 11:00 13:00
15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00
mer, several films have shown that a great
concept or story can trump star appeal when
it comes to luring fans.
“District 9,” a low budget movie in which
the biggest stars were space aliens treated
like refugees and the lead actor was South
African Sharlto Copley, made $200 million.
Thriller “Paranormal Activity,” starring Katie
Featherston and Micah Sloat, has cash regis-
ters ringing to the tune of $100 million.
Next up, on Nov. 20, comes Summit
Entertainment’s relatively low-budget ($50
million) franchise movie “The Twilight Saga:
New Moon,” a sequel to the 2008 hit vampire
romance “Twilight” which made global stars
of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. On-
line ticket sellers report “New Moon” is one of
their highest pre-sale movies of all time.
“Nobody says that a big wonderful mov-
ie needs to be expensive, it’s just that that’s
been the trend, and perhaps the trend is mis-
guided,” said University of Southern Califor-
nia cinema professor Jason E. Squire.
Last weekend, comic actor Jim Car-
rey’s “A Christmas Carol” became the latest
Robert Pattinson (L) and Kristen Stewart share the title roles in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
celebrity-driven movie to stumble at box of-
fices, opening to a lower-than-expected $30
million. Aside from Jim Carrey and “Carol,”
which cost at least $175 million, A-listers who
suffered box office flops recently have includ-
ed Bruce Willis (“Surrogates”), Adam Sandler
(“Funny People”), Will Ferrell (“Land of the
Lost”) and Julia Roberts (“Duplicity”).
Hollywood insiders say A-listers current-
ly are having trouble with salary demands in
the $15 million range or participation ap-
proaching 20 percent of gross profits -- deals
that were once somewhat common for top
PHOTO
02:30 Soul Plane
has altered its moviemaking. “It causes us to 04:00 Gloria
05:50 Les Amants Du Pont Neuf
really reconsider not only what we’re invest-
MOVIEMAX
ing in our films, but how we market them
07:00 Silk
and how we distribute them,” he said. 08:50 High School Musical 3:
For its part, fledgling Summit has posi- Senior Year
10:50 Hancock
tioned “Twilight” as a franchise for the reces- 12:30 Flight Of Fury
sion era by keeping the pressure on the costs 14:20 It Runs in the Family
for “New Moon,” and Hollywood producers
16:15 Thief: Part 3
17:50 Fifty Dead Men Walking
20:00 Still Waiting...
are praising them for it.
21:50 Gone Baby Gone
When director Peter Jackson made his 23:50 I'll Always Know What You
three “Lord of the Rings” films simulta- Did Last Summer
01:30 Feast Of Love
neously 10 years ago, it was a novel idea 03:10 It Runs in the Family
05:00 Drillbit Taylor
talent. Instead, they are being asked to take that reduced costs because actors, sets, 05:30 Gone Baby Gone
less money upfront and greater compensa- costumes, locations and other items only
MGM MOVIES
tion only if a film breaks even. had to be assembled and paid for once. 07:15 The Man In The Moon
Similarly, by shooting the next two “Twi- 09:00 Broadway Danny Rose
Franchise on the cheap light” movies together, Summit kept the
10:30 The Alamo: Thirteen Days
To Glory
In “New Moon,” actors Robert Pattinson cost of the third film, “Eclipse,” due out 12:50 Coming Home
15:00 How To Beat The High
and Kristen Stewart rekindle their romance June 30, around $60 million, one source Co$T Of Living
said. “What I like is they didn’t have a long 16:55 MGM Craft: 'Avanti!'
between an immortal vampire and a high
17:05 The Long Goodbye
school girl that they brought to silver screens window [between films], they went in to 19:00 Company Business
in last year’s adaptation from Stephenie make a franchise, they didn’t go in to see 20:45 The White Buffalo
22:25 Happy Anniversary
Meyer’s “Twilight” books. At the time, Pat- if they had a franchise,” said Warren Zide, 23:50 She-Devil
producer on the “American Pie” and “Fi- 01:30 The Long Goodbye
tinson and Stewart were unknown stars but
04:05 Company Business
that did not hurt “Twilight,” which made nal Destination” movies. Los Angeles Reuters 05:45 Escort West

COMEDYMAX
08:00 Rules of Engagement
08:30 Gary Unmarried
09:00 The Cosby Show

Crossword Mr. DploMAT! Cem Kzltu

c.kiziltug@todayszaman.com
10:00 According to Jim
11:00 Everybody Loves Raymond
12:00 The Office
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936
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1 Bit of luggage carriage, in 13 Hide the gray 41 It pumps up 14:00 Rules of Engagement
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enhancer 53 Sidewalk office work for short 15:00 The Cosby Show
9 Followed a eatery accumulates 45 Afghan 16:00 According to Jim
cannonball’s 54 Have a 19 ‘Droid princes (Var.)
path crush on 24 Lighten up 47 Acquire 17:00 Everybody Loves Raymond
14 Mendes of 55 Start over 25 Unlikely, as pearly whites 18:00 3rd Rock from the Sun
Hollywood from scratch chances 49 They’re 18:30 The Game
15 Emergency 57 Heart and 27 “Judge certainly not 19:00 The Cosby Show
brake control soul Judy” figure company 19:30 30 Rock
16 Excessively 59 Participate 28 Place to men 20:00 Rules of Engagement
resonant in a think refresh 50 Known by 20:30 Gary Unmarried
17 Have faith in, tank oneself only a few
as a rumor 63 Judgment 30 Group of 51 Playground 21:00 According to Jim
20 Meditation payout nations contraption 21:30 Everybody Loves Raymond
goal 64 Needed 31 Disabled, as 53 Wearer of 22:00 The Office
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22 Cedes the 65 What a 33 Agenda 54 Actor’s 23:30 Entourage
pigskin retrovirus element whisper 00:00 Gary Unmarried
23 Unprepared contains 35 Certain 56 City slicker,
00:30 30 Rock
student’s 66 A few bricks necklines out West
dread shy of a load 37 Aspen 58 Ships’
26 Julia Roberts 67 Animals in a ascender pronouns
in “Ocean’s skein 38 Control 59 Hardly a girl’s
Eleven”
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68 Darn it all?
DOWN 39
tower figure
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quickly 1 Dances to South to
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CMYK
 CONTINUATION
Initiative picks up momentum with new rights reforms
contnued from page 1
All institutions and organizations whose
statutes and charters include provisions on and
references to human rights will have a right to
representation in the human rights ofces to be
created by the government.
A substantial number of civil society organiza-
tions are wary of the creation of the human rights
institution. Their cautious approach is mostly due to
the fact that the government failed to consult with
them while devising its plan. The previous draft
prepared by government ofcials provided that the
local liaison ofces would include at least three ci-
vil society organizations as representatives; howe-
ver, civil society actors said it would not be possib-
le to meet this requirement in most districts because
there are not enough civil society organizations fo-
cusing on human rights issues. Civil society actors
also demand that the projected human rights insti-
tution be nancially independent, that its members
be protected, that the procedures for the appoint-
Col. Çiçek’s release after second
arrest unlawful, say jurists
contnued from page 1
However, he was released after a brief
detention, with the stanbul 9th Crimi-
nal Court citing its reason as “the suspect having
no possibility of obscuring evidence, and has a
permanent address where he can be found,” un-
der Article 100 of the Code on Criminal Proce-
dure (CMK). However, the same article -- which
allows for the release of individuals if they meet
the conditions of not having the ability to obs-
cure evidence and having a permanent residen-
ce where they can easily be found -- also states
in its second paragraph that these reasons alone
are not good enough for release in crimes against
constitutional order.
According to former Prosecutor Gültekin
Avc, such practices might encourage terrorist or-
ganizations. Avc says: “Such a ruling to release
him while all of the conditions for arrest laid out
in the CMK are there is very surprising. The de-
cision is a very serious disappointment. It cannot
legally be defended. The judicial mechanism that
has ruled this release decision actually paves the
way for members of all terrorist organizations to
walk free. If this is referred to as a precedent by
other courts, this will mean that people will ne-
ver be punished because of such documents and
their statements in legally wiretapped phone
conversations. The judges who made this ruling
were appointed recently by the Supreme Council
of Judges and Prosecutors [HSYK]. It is also inte-
resting that the ruling comes one day after HSYK
Deputy Chairman Kadir Özbek made the state-
ment that the judiciary is now on defense.”
Another former prosecutor, Reat Petek,
said Çiçek’s release for the second time was cle-
arly indicative of a settling of accounts going on
inside the judiciary. “As it is publicly known, a
coup plot aiming to destroy the rule of law and
democracy was acquired. A forensic report sho-
wed that this document is authentic. According
to the law, a person who stands accused based
on such evidence should remain under arrest.
The HSYK deputy chairman who sits at the top
of the judicial hierarchy has given orders to the
judges. This has created the impression that the
Military plot damaged public trust in TSK, poll shows
contnued from page 14
The plot details a plan to destroy the image
of the government and the Gülen movement in
the eyes of the public, to play down the Ergene-
kon investigation and to gather support for mem-
bers of the military arrested as part of the inves-
tigation into Ergenekon, a clandestine organiza-
tion plotting to overthrow the government. The
plot, called the Action Plan to Fight Reactionar-
yism, made its way into the media in early June.
The General Staff, however, denied possession
of the plan, saying the document was merely a
photocopied version. An unnamed military of-
cer mailed the original copy to Ergenekon pro-
secutors last month, which eliminated all suspi-
cion surrounding the authenticity of the docu-
ment. Since June, Chief of General Staff Gen. l-
ker Babu has reiterated that his military had al-
ways been deeply loyal to democracy and the rule
of law and the TSK does not shelter junta groups.
However, according to the latest MetroPOLL
survey almost 37 percent of the participants said
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009
ment and removal of ofcers in the institution be
publicized, that the right to conduct unlimited and
unplanned visits to state institutions be recognized
and that it be given the right to make recommenda-
tions to the National Security Council (MGK). The
government agrees that the human rights instituti-
on should be independent, but argues that the exe-
cutive branch should be represented in the instituti-
on. Human rights organizations argue that the go-
vernment representative should not be entitled to
cast a vote in the meetings of the institution.
International inspections
to prevent torture
The government will withdraw its reservations
to the Optional Protocol to the UN Conventi-
on Against Torture. Despite signing the optional
protocol, opened for signature in 2005, on Sept.
4, 2005, Turkey did not proceed with ratication.
The government has recently referred the pro-
tocol to Parliament for ratication amid ongoing
Çiçek’s release was condemned in public protests on Saturday by groups who gathered in front of the stanbul courthouse in Beikta.
judiciary is facing a very serious interference. No-
body, neither the justice minister nor the deputy
chairman of the HSYK or the head of the Sup-
reme Court of Appeals can give orders to inde-
pendent judges. There is material evidence the-
re; this is why he was arrested in the rst place.”
Ali Aydn, the head of the Kayseri Bar As-
sociation, commented, saying: “Courts are se-
riously losing credibility. This is in no way a
decision inline with the law. This is a very un-
fortunate ruling.” Süleyman Gürkök, the head
of the Anatolia Law Association said: “The
type of crime here is very important. Dursun
Çiçek was arrested on charges of terrorism.
The prosecution in this investigation claims
that the crime was not committed by a sing-
they do not believe that, while 52 percent of the
participants admitted they still believed the mili-
tary was loyal to democracy and the rule of law.
In the poll, 33 percent of participants also
said their condence in the TSK has been dama-
ged following the appearance of the military plot,
while 42 percent said there has been no change in
their condence in the TSK and the chief of Gene-
ral Staff. Furthermore, 31.7 percent of the respon-
dents said the chief of General Staff should resign
while 50 percent said he should remain in his post.
Reections of democratic initiative
Another issue respondents were asked about
was the ruling AK Party’s democratic initiative
to bring a solution to the country’s long-standing
Kurdish issue. Asked whether they support the
initiative process or not, 51.6 percent said they
opposed it while 35.4 said they supported it. As
for the question of whether they found the go-
vernment successful in managing the initiative
process, 59 percent replied “no,” while 28 per-
discussions on the Kurdish initiative.
With this move, the government seeks to cre-
ate a system allowing inspection of detention cen-
ters by international and national bodies in an at-
tempt to put an end to torture and other inhuma-
ne, cruel and humiliating conduct. Eager to pursue a
zero-tolerance policy vis-à-vis torture, the govern-
ment has agreed to international supervision.
Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Burhan Kuzu,
chairman of Parliament’s Constitution Com-
mission, said the commission on combating
discrimination will take shape in accordance
with the Paris Principles and that the commis-
sion will address all cases involving hate crimes
and will also defend the rights of subjects victi-
mized by these offenses. Reports prepared by
the commission will be reviewed and assessed
by the human rights institution; the ndings of
the institution will be further referred to the go-
vernment. The Paris Principles, which relate to
the status of national institutions for the pro-
le person and that this crime was committed
against the majority of the society. This ruling
is highly suspicious.” The head of the Associ-
ation of Jurists, Kamil Uur Yaral, said an of-
cer facing such a serious accusation should
not have been released. “This will destroy the
trust which segments that have been targeted
by the action plan have in the judiciary.”
Civil society protests
Public protests also took place on Saturday aga-
inst Çiçek’s release. A group of 50 individuals
who gathered in front of the stanbul Courtho-
use in Beikta held up signs reading, “How did
the wet signature dry up in two days?” questio-
ning Çiçek’s controversial release. A spokesper-
cent said “yes.” Professor Özer Sencar, the ow-
ner of MetroPOLL, said the poll results on the
initiative revealed that the government had not
explained its plans to settle the issue sufciently
to the public yet, while the opposition was suc-
cessful in making its position heard louder. Pub-
lic opinion about the government and Prime Mi-
nister Recep Tayyip Erdoan seems to have been
negatively inuenced by the democratic initiative
process, according to poll results. As for the qu-
estion of whether their view of the government
has been negatively or positively inuenced sin-
ce the initiative was announced, 56 percent of the
respondents said negatively and 38 percent said
positively. While 30 percent of AK Party suppor-
ters also said their views about the government
and the prime minister have been affected negati-
vely, 77 percent of pro-Kurdish Democratic Soci-
ety Party (DTP) supporters said they look the go-
vernment more positively with the initiative.
As Sancar says, the enthusiastic reception of
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members while
CMYK
motion and protection of human rights, ente-
red into force on Dec. 20, 1993; these principles
were recommended by the Council of Europe to
its member states on Sept. 30, 1997. Turkey will
take a bright and brave step toward EU mem-
bership by aligning itself with these principles.
Hate crimes to be monitored
With the establishment of the commission, the go-
vernment will not insert a separate section on hate
crimes in the criminal code. The political administ-
ration will introduce measures to make sure that
sanctions against violent offenses involving preju-
dices and stereotypes against a certain group, race
or gender are properly implemented. The govern-
ment believes problems arise from a lack of imple-
mentation of measures included in legislative ins-
truments prohibiting discrimination. The projected
commission on combating discrimination will add-
ress these problems and make sure that these mea-
sures are properly observed in relevant cases.
CHAN, OSMAN ARSLAN
PHOTO
son for the group said Turkey has seen examples
of the General Staff giving briengs to judiciary
members in the past. “We have always been aga-
inst such intervention in the judiciary by the Ge-
neral Staff and we always will be.”
Meanwhile, the General Staff yesterday re-
leased a statement denying allegations made by
some media organizations that Çiçek had lunch
with the force commanders at the General Staff
Headquarters on Nov. 10.
All in all, 30 people who are currently on ac-
tive duty in the military have been arrested so far
for involvement in the Ergenekon organization.
Five of these have been released. Currently, 25 of-
cers on active duty are under arrest as suspec-
ted members of Ergenekon. stanbul Today’s Zaman
returning to Turkey last month also negatively af-
fected public opinion on the initiative. According
to the poll, 93.9 percent of the respondents said
they found the enthusiastic and joyous reception
of PKK members by DTP supporters and others
wrong. According to the poll, while 35 percent
of the respondents said they support the stance
of Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader De-
niz Baykal, who strongly opposes the initiative on
the grounds that it would lead to separation in the
country, it is noteworthy that 23 percent of those
who said they voted for the CHP in the latest lo-
cal elections disagree with Baykal.
When respondents were asked for which
party they would vote if the general elections
were held today, 32.2 percent said they would
vote for the AK Party, a gure lower than the
38.3 percent of the vote the party received in the
March 29 local elections. While 23.1 percent said
they would vote for the CHP, 18.4 percent said
they would vote for the Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP). stanbul Today’s Zaman
TODAY’S ZAMAN 17
While putting the
law through hell
contnued from page 14
Ömer Faruk Eminaaolu, who is the president of the
Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV) and continues
his duty as a prosecutor in his spare time(!), and a judge from
Sincan, most of whose decisions were claimed to be political,
put their heads together and started the process that led to a
raid on the Telecommunications Directorate (TB). Right after
the raid was carried out, special news deliveries were made to
some media organizations. They claimed the judiciary was wi-
retapping telephone calls of the judiciary. This is nothing new.
Indeed, it is a regular procedure to wiretap someone from the
judiciary if he or she is the subject of an investigation. On the
other hand much evidence emerged that there was a link bet-
ween the Ergenekon case and many judges and prosecutors.
Wasn’t it discovered that some members of the judiciary had
said, “Do you have an orders for me” to Ergenekon suspects?
During this process, didn’t we learn about a prosecutor who re-
quested retirement and started to get ready to become a notary
after it was revealed that he had invited the president of the As-
sociation for the Union of Patriotic Forces (VKGB), who is cur-
rently in Silivri Prison, to his room while interrogating a writer?
Didn’t the same prosecutors le lawsuits against newspa-
pers because their names were mentioned with Ergenekon?
Moreover, the man is both a prosecutor and the chairman of an
association. Even that is understandable. But he is acting as tho-
ugh he is defending the Ergenekon suspects and telling them
how they need to act when giving testimony. This is the situati-
on. Unfortunately, there are suspicions that there is actual coo-
peration between some members of the judiciary and deep for-
mations. Under the current circumstances which is more cor-
rect to say: “Wow, they were actually listening to the judiciary,”
or “Wow, some members of the judiciary were supporting il-
legal organizations”? Experiences around the world show that
dark organization cannot survive without support from the ju-
diciary. Therefore, if there is a concrete reason to suspect a link,
those who are leading the investigation will start the legal pro-
cess and monitor phone calls through the judiciary (even if it is
a judicial member). This is not illegal.
Besides, the TB is not where interceptions are actually
made. It is a unit where bureaucratic records of gendarmerie
intelligence, police intelligence and national intelligence inter-
ceptions are kept and where the interception process is mo-
nitored to ensure that it is conducted according to procedure.
But for some people that is not important. For them, starting
an outcry that “everyone is being listened to” is more impor-
tant then the truth. Since there were some media organizati-
ons that were in line to spread this message, there was no rea-
son not to turn it into a show, and ultimately that is what hap-
pened. Some media organizations (especially a news station
that appears to be objective but is actually an Ergenekon trum-
peter) facilitated the spread of an incorrect perception. Whi-
le talking about wiretapping and eavesdropping, we forget the
real question: “Why were requests made to monitor the phone
calls of some members of the judiciary, and what concrete evi-
dence was there that led the judges to respond in the afrma-
tive for the request to intercept phone calls?”
With the position it has taken and controversial de-
cisions it has reached, the judiciary has given the ima-
ge that it is involved in politics, and this has caused seri-
ous damage (although some judicial members don’t care
about this). At a time when trust in justice has weakened,
we are also experiencing a media problem. Unfortunately,
some members of the media continue to directly and so-
metime indirectly support junta supporters. That said, it
seems there is along way ahead before democracy is fully
established in this country. Despite this serious picture
we have before us, no one should think Turkey will turn
its back on the participatory and pluralistic democracy or-
bit it has entered. It will not turn back. Just as juntas are
outdated, facilitating juntas is also outdated.
YARSAV accuses gov’t of
manipulating judiciary
The honorary president of the Supreme Court of Ap-
peals, Sabih Kanadolu, claimed that the govern-
ment is attempting to create a new judiciary loyal to itself,
in remarks at the 2nd General Council of the Judges’ and
Prosecutors’ Foundation (YARSAV) yesterday.
In response to questions from the press regarding re-
cent allegations of wiretapping of Supreme Court of Ap-
peals phones, Kanadolu said: “The Republic of Turkey
is a secular, democratic, social welfare state governed by
the rule of law that respects human rights. If it really res-
pects human rights, it should ensure that 70 million peop-
le do not have to live under the suspicion that their pho-
ne conversations are being listened in on. If you are gover-
ned by the rule of law, you should ensure that judicial in-
dependence survives. If you want to see a democratic re-
gime survive, then everything should live up to the stan-
dards of contemporary democracy.”
In response to a question regarding Telecommuni-
cations Directorate (TB) President Fethi imek’s deni-
al that Supreme Court of Appeals phones were wiretap-
ped, Kanadolu said he had seen a directive from a Jus-
tice Ministry inspector to the national police department
that clearly tells the police to move records of a wiretap-
ped phone number connected to the Supreme Court of
Appeals operator to “someplace else” or destroy all re-
cords of the wiretapping. “If there was indeed no wire-
tapping of the Supreme Court of Appeals phones, then
the inspector’s writing is not in line with reality. If that
was the case, the TB president’s statement is not true.”
YARSAV President Ömer Faruk Eminaaolu also
spoke at yesterday’s general congress, saying the wi-
retapping scandal has shown that the government is
trying to put the judiciary under pressure. He said YAR-
SAV was being attacked by the government and some
media outlets for not keeping silent in the face of attacks
against the judiciary. stanbul Today’s Zaman
T18-16-11-09.qxd 15.11.2009 16:14 Page 1

18 TODAY’S ZAMAN M O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 9 TODAY’S LEARNING

INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)
* QUOTE OF THE DAY
Those who know nothing of foreign languages, knows nothing of their own.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe GRAMMAR
Read the text and complete it with the correct
active or passive form of the verbs in parentheses.

VOCABULARY
Titanic
The Titanic was a passenger liner. It (1) ___________ (con-
1. What does "passenger" mean?
a. Someone who is walking, especially along
a street or other place used by cars.
struct) at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland in b. Someone who is traveling in a vehicle.
ADVANCED (B1-B2) 1912. The Titanic was the biggest steam ship in the world.
However, on her very first voyage, it (2) __________ (collide) 2. What does "construct" mean?

PHOBIAS with an iceberg and sank.

Phobia originally comes from the Greek word
"phobos," which means fear. A phobia is an
uncontrollable and intense fear of a stimulus or
situation. Moreover, phobias are unreasonable
and irrational. Although people with phobias
realize that there is no reason for their fear,
they panic when they encounter the feared ob-
ject or situation. This fear can be alleviated only
by avoiding that object or situation. Phobias
interfere with the person's daily life.
AP
As a result of the accident, 1,517 passengers (3)
a.
b.
o build a physical structure such as a house, bridge or road.
To form something such as an argument or
Phobias are divided into three categories: ___________ (die), making it the biggest sea disaster in histo- system by joining words and ideas.
simple phobias, social phobias and agora- ry at that time. In the construction of Titanic, they used the
phobia. People with simple phobias are 3. What does "collide" mean?
most advanced technology and it (4) ___________(believe) to
afraid of a specific object, animal or situation. a. to touch
be unsinkable. Despite using the most advanced technology
b. to hit something violently
These people fear darkness, enclosed places and having an experienced and trained crew, it still (5)
like elevators or theaters, snakes and heights. __________ (sink). Thus, many people were shocked to learn 4. What does "crew" mean?
People with social phobias do not feel of this tragic event. Media coverage of this disaster made the a. a group of people or friends
comfortable in social situations like speaking Titanic well known. Finally, when Robert Ballard (6) b. all the people who work on a ship or plane
or eating in public. Socially phobic people _________ (find) the shipwreck in 1985, the Titanic became a
avoid social situations because they are afraid lot more famous. 5. What does "shipwreck" mean?
of being criticized or humiliated. Agoraphobia The story of the very famous ship Titanic provided inspi- a. the destruction of a vehicle in an accident

is the most common anxiety disorder. People ration for many directors over the decades. The most well- b. the remains of a ship that has been destroyed in an accident
with agoraphobia cannot leave their neigh-
PHOTO

known film version of the sinking of the Titanic (7)

borhood. They feel upset if they have to do so
and are worried that there will be no one
available to help them. Agoraphobic individu-
als really need professional help.
How are people suffering from phobias
treated? Compared to agoraphobia, simple
and social phobias are much easier to treat.
There are basically two ways to treat phobias.
First, a drug treatment is a fairly effective op-
tion. Second, therapy is another option. The
most commonly used method of therapy is
exposure. In this technique, the phobic indi-
vidual is treated by facing his phobia.
Most of us are afraid of something; how-
ever, it is comforting that your phobias can
be treated if you confront them.
__________ (release) in 1997. This American romantic drama 6. What does "inspiration" mean?
a. a good idea about what you should do, write or say,
film (8) __________ (make) by James Cameron. It became the
especially one that suddenly comes to your mind
most expensive film ever made at the time. It (9) __________
b. a good idea about what you should do, write or say,
(cost) $200 million to make. It also was the most successful especially one which results after thinking for quite a long time
film and (10) __________ (win) 11 Oscars. It is also not sur-
prising that the protagonists of the film, Kate Winslet and 7. What does "protagonist" mean?
Leonardo DiCaprio, became very popular. a. supporter
b. the most important character in a play, film or story
*Extracted and adapted from wikipedia.org

*Adapted and extracted from "Introduction to

Psychology" (Atkinson, R.L., Atkinson R.C., Smith &
Hillgard 1985)

A. VOCABULARY:
Read the definitions and find the word in the text that matches it.

1. _______________: having a very strong effect or felt very strongly (para. 1)

2. _______________: something that makes someone or something move or react (para. 1)
3. _______________: to make something less painful or difficult to deal with (para. 1)
4. _______________: to make someone feel ashamed or stupid,
especially when other people are present (para. 2)
5. _______________: something which is able to be used or can easily be bought or found (para. 2)
6. _______________: to experience physical or mental pain (para. 3)
7. _______________: to deal with something very difficult or unpleasant in a brave,
determined way (para. 4)

B. READING COMPREHENSION:
Mark the sentences as T (true) or F (false).

1. _________ Phobic people cannot control themselves when they encounter their phobias.

REUTERS
2. _________ Phobic people are aware that their fear is not rational.
3. _________ Fear of snakes is an example of agoraphobia.
4. _________ People who are afraid of going to places away from their home have agoraphobia.

PHOTO
5. _________ Social phobias are the most difficult to treat.
6. _________ Drugs do not work in treating phobias.

ELEMENTARY (A1-A2)

Recycling
B. READING COMPREHENSION:
REUTERS

The recycling process Ways to reduce trash

Recycling means to put used objects or materials through
a special process so that they can be used again.
Recycling starts with people separating recyclable mate-
The best way to reduce the amount of trash is to be a
Answer the questions according to the text.
careful shopper. Do not buy more than you need. As
1. How can the amount of trash be re-
more and more people buy products that are reusable,
duced?
PHOTO

rials from other trash. Next, the separated recyclable ma-
terials are collected by recycling programs and processed
at recycling plants. These processed recyclable materials
are then sold to manufacturers for use in new products.
The benefits of recycling
Making new things from recycled ones takes less money,
less energy and less of the earth's resources. Because less
energy is used, factories do not release as much pollution
either. In addition, recycling conserves energy and raw
materials needed to make new products. By recycling or
reusing plastic, metal and glass items, you can reduce the
need to mine, transport and manufacture natural re-
sources to make new products.
refillable or concentrated, manufacturers will take notice
a. By using paper or plastic bags once.
and produce more of these environmentally friendly
b. By throwing away broken objects.
products. Other ways you can reduce trash are:
c. By buying more than you need.
Avoid products with excessive packaging.
d. By using environmentally
Repair, rather than replace, broken items.
friendly products.
Donate unwanted materials to charity.
Use re-usable bags.
2. Which of the following is
NOT a benefit of recycling?
*Adapted from http://www.recycling-for-charity.com
a. using less energy
b. the release of more pollution
c. spending less money
d. using less natural resources
A. PROCESS:
Put the sentences in order according to the 3. Which of these materials are recyclable

What are recyclable materials? recycling process. (choose ALL correct answers)?
a. newspaper
Aluminum and steel cans, cardboard, glass, newspapers
b. glass bottles
and plastic bottles are all recyclable. These items can be a. ----------collection by recycling programs
made into new products, including cans, the steel used b.-------sorting the items c. aluminum cans
to build skyscrapers and buses, cardboard boxes, glass c.-------selling to manufacturers d. leftover food
jars and bottles, newspaper and office paper, plastic de- d.----------processing
tergent bottles, and even playground equipment. e. ---------creating a new item

Last week's answer key: Advance: 1-was, 2-was, 3-were tearing, 4-didn't have, 5-went, 6-had sold, 7-decided, 8-were sniffing, 9-made, 10-wrote, 11-joined, 12-signed, 13-released, 14-decided, 15-were/had been, 16-went, 17-sold, 18-didn't speak, 19-wasn't, 20-hired, 21-stud-
ied, 22-wrote, 23-released, 24-became/has become, 25-sang, 26-is trying, 27-took, 28-studies, 29-founded, 30-has opened, 31-is, 32-has been, 33-has received, 34-has sold, 35-has become. Elementary: A. 1. T, 2. F, 3. T, 4. F, 5. F, B. 1. a, 2. b, 3. b, 4. a, Intermediate: A. 1.
e, 2. f, 3. g 4. a, 5. h, 6. d, 7. c, 8. i, 9. b, B. Verb: observe, motivate; Noun: effect, optimists; Adjective: balanced, exhausted, reluctant; Adverb: affective

CM Y K
 SPORTS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009
BASKETBALL
Erdemir stuns
Tofa in Bursa
Erdemirspor beat Tofa 80-88 on the
road in a thrilling men’s Beko Turk-
ish Basketball League (TBL) match in
Bursa. Both teams gave their all in the
rst quarter, and it was no surprise that
this quarter ended 22-22. Erdemirspor
upped the tempo in the second quar-
ter to lead 42-40 before taking a com-
manding 65-53 lead in the third and
winning the fourth and last quarter
88-80 to carry the day. Sean Denison
of Tofa was the overall top scorer with
18 points, while Hakan Demirel led Er-
demirspor with 16. Bursaspor players
and their coach Erturul Salam were
among the spectators in the stands.
Other TBL results: Türk Telekomspor
109, Aliaa Petkim Spor 73; Antalya
Büyükehir Belediyesi 77, Oyak Re-
nault 69; Pnar Karyaka 87, Bandrma
Banvitspor 82; and Mersin Büyükehir
Belediyesi 86, Bornova Belediyesi 75.
In the Women’s Turkish Basketball
League (TBBL) it was: Fenerbahçe
84, stanbul Üniversitesi 64 and Tar-
sus Belediyesi 64, Mersin Büyükehir
Belediyesi 74. stanbul Today’s Zaman
ARM WRESTLING
Kzgn reigns
supreme in NY
Turkish star Özgür Kzgn last week
won the 32nd Empire State Golden Arm
Wrestling Tournament of Champions in
New York, the oldest wrestling tourna-
ment in the city. Kzgn’s triumph over
Shawn Lattimer, a world-renowned
bencher who weights 172 kilograms,
almost two times as much as Kzgn, in
only a few seconds was one of the big-
gest surprises of the tournament. After
the match, Lattimer praised Kzgn’s
might, saying, “You are strong, very
strong.” Noting that this tournament
is just training for him, Kzgn said he is
preparing for an upcoming tournament
that will take place in Las Vegas. “I am
happy with the result. Shawn Lattimer
and I are not in the same category, but
since it was a special event, I competed
against him. It was not hard for me.
I proved one more time how strong
Turkish wrestling is,” said Kzgn, who
also thanked Turkish Airlines (THY)
and Turkish American Sports Club for
their sponsorship. stanbul Today’s Zaman
ATHLETICS
Abitova wins
in Yokohama
Russia’s Inga Abitova won the Yoko-
hama Women’s International Mara-
thon on Sunday, overshadowing the
Beijing Olympic gold and silver med-
alists. Last year’s Olympic champion
Constantina Dita of Romania trailed
in a distant 10th while Kenyan Cath-
erine Ndereba nished third. Abitova,
a 10,000-meter specialist, broke clear
from the leading group from the 30-ki-
lometer mark to win in a time of two
hours, 27 minutes, 18 seconds. Japan’s
Kiyoko Shimahara, who won August’s
Hokkaido Marathon, nished runner-
up up in 2:28:51. Yokohama - Reuters
FIGURE SKATING
World champion
Kim sets record
South Korea’s Kim Yu-na set a
world record for a short program at
Skate America, breaking her own
mark with 76.28 points on Satur-
day. World champion Kim capped
the mesmerizing performance to a
James Bond medley with a marks-
man’s pose that would make Sean
Connery or Daniel Craig proud. “I’m
trying to do a clean program every
time,” she said after blowing away
the eld, grabbing a 17.48-point lead
over American Rachael Flatt. “It’s not
about the score. I don’t want to think
about the score.” Lake Placid, NY AP
France, Portugal, Russia
eye 2010 World Cup spots
Uruguay seized the advantage in the South American/CONCACAF playoff with a 22nd
minute goal by 29-year-old Fenerbahçe Diego Lugano to give it a 1-0 victory in Costa
Rica and head back to the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo on Wednesday
AP, FERNANDO VERGARA
PHOTO
Fenerbahçe’s Uruguay defender Diego Lugano celebrates after scoring against Costa Rica in their 2010 World Cup qualifying playoff first-leg match in San Jose.
Turkish U-21s falter when it matters most
OKAN UDO BASSEY ÝSTANBUL
The Turkish under-21 national team was expected
to beat leader Switzerland in their 2011 European
Under-21 Championship Group Two qualier at Tra-
bzon’s Avni Aker Stadium on Saturday, take over the
lead and gain a huge advantage ahead of Wednesday’s
group match against Estonia in Rize.
But it was not to be, as the Turkish U-21s froze
on the big occasion and were beaten 3-1 by Swit-
zerland, a result that has badly dented Turkey’s
hopes and put the Swiss rmly in the driver’s
seat. The Swiss now lead the Turks by four points,
though Turkey has a game in hand.
The writing was already on the wall after only
seven minutes, when 20-year-old FC Basel midelder
Valentin Stocker, capitalizing on a horrendous mistake
by 21-year-old Fenerbahçe second-choice goalkeeper
Volkan Babacan, headed the ball into a wide empty net.
Stocker was again on target in the 43rd, slot-
ting the ball in after another goalkeeping blunder
by Volkan to double the score for the Swiss.
Turkey coach Hami Mandral brought in Deni-
zlispor keeper Cenk Gönen in the second half to
replace error-prone Volkan, and Galatasaray leftie
Caner Erkin gave the Turks a glimmer of hope six
minutes into the half when he scored with a crack-
er of a shot to reduce the tally to 2-1.
Thereafter the Turks threw everything they had at
the Swiss but squandered several glaring chances. And
21-year-old Yugoslavia-born AC Bellinzona midelder
Shkelzen Gashi put the game beyond reach when he
Tiger puts on a show to win Down Under
Tiger Woods gave a record crowd at Kingston Heath what they wanted
to see -- exquisite shots and a closing round of 4-under 68 to win the
Australian Masters on Sunday for his seventh victory of the year.
In his first trip to Australia in 11 years, Woods put on quite a
show for his $3 million appearance. Melbourne, AP
France, Portugal and Russia all moved
closer to next year’s World Cup nals
with rst leg playoff wins on Saturday, al-
though none of them did enough to take victory
for granted in the second legs this week.
France, runner-up in Germany in 2006, beat
Ireland 1-0 in Dublin with a late deected goal
from Nicolas Anelka, and starts as the favorite to
nish the job in Paris on Wednesday.
Portugal beat Bosnia 1-0 in Lisbon with defender
Bruno Alves heading the only goal in the rst half,
while two goals from Diniyar Bilyaletdinov put Russia
2-0 up against Slovenia which scored a vital away goal
three minutes from time when substitute Nejc Pecnik
headed home to make the nal score 2-1.
Greece and Ukraine drew 0-0 in the rst leg of their
playoff in Athens, with Ukraine now the favorite to take
control of the tie at home in Donetsk on Wednesday.
While Saturday saw the start of the European
playoffs, it also signaled the end of New Zealand’s
long wait to return to the nals for the rst time
since 1982. The New Zealanders sealed their place
in next year’s nals in South Africa with a 1-0 win
in the second leg of their Asia/Oceania playoff
against Bahrain to win the tie 1-0 on aggregate.
Uruguay seized the advantage in the South
American/CONCACAF playoff with a 22nd min-
ute goal by 29-year-old Fenerbahçe Diego Lu-
gano to give it a 1-0 victory in Costa Rica and
head back to the Centenario Stadium in
Montevideo on Wednesday. London Reuters
scored for the Swiss from a swift counterattack.
The Turks will now try to make amends for this
defeat when they entertain Estonia at the Yeni Rize GROUP B standings
Stadium on Wednesday, while leader Switzerland
P W D L
will host Georgia that same day.
Switzerland 6 4 1 1
“There is no justice in soccer,” Hami said af-
Turkey 5 3 0 2
ter the match. “If we had converted the chances
Estonia 5 2 2 1
that we had, we could have won by a hatful of
goals. You have to score to win, but we couldn’t
Georgia 4 1 2 1
score more goals and therefore lost. This match is
over, so we must now focus all our attention on the
Rep. of Ireland
Armenia
5
5
0
0
4
1
1
4
match against Estonia on Wednesday,” he added.
Turkish U-21 players (in red) are seen in a dejected mood as the Swiss celebrate one of their goals during their match.
CMYK
REUTERS, THOMAS MUKOYA
PHOTO
Nigeria striker Obafemi Martins (L) is congratulated
by Yussuf Atanda following his goal against Kenya.
Nigerians ride
their luck to earn
berth for S. Africa
Who said there is no luck factor in soccer?
Going into the nal day of the African quali-
ers for the 2010 World Cup nals, Tunisia led
Nigeria by two points in Group B and needed
only a draw at hopeless Mozambique to qualify.
Nigeria, meanwhile, faced a more complex situa-
tion because its fate was no longer in its hands but in
those of Tunisia. In other words the Nigerian Super
Eagles not only had to beat Kenya away to make the
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, but the Tunisian
Carthage Eagles had to lose against lightweight Mo-
zambique. On paper, that seemed highly improbable.
But as we have said before, and are saying again
now, no game is ever won or lost until it has been
played. And so Nigeria overtook Tunisia on the -
nal day of the qualiers on Saturday by coming from
behind to beat Kenya 3-2 and reach the World Cup
soccer nals for the rst time since 2002.
In Maputo, 25-year-old Al-Kharitiyath defender
Dario Khan scored in the 83rd minute as Mozam-
bique sent the Tunisians packing and handed the
Carthage Eagles, which included 28-year-old Anta-
lyaspor forward Ali Zitouni on Saturday, their rst
loss in the qualiers since their opening Group B
game on June 2008. Tunisia has appeared in four
World Cups, including the last three.
Twenty-four-year-old Auxerre striker Dennis
Oliech put Kenya ahead in the 16th minute when he
beat goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama with a low shot.
Twenty-ve-year-old Wolfsburg forward Obafemi
Martins equalized for the Nigerians in the 62nd, cap-
italizing on a perfect pass from 28-year-old Russian-
Nigerian Lokomotiv winger Osaze Peter Odemwin-
gie. Nigeria went up 2-1 three minutes later when
26-year-old Everton striker Ayegbeni Yakubu hit a
post and converted the rebound.
But 23-year-old Atlético Petróleos Luanda strik-
er Allan Wetende again equalized for the Kenyans
with a header goal in the 79th. Thereafter the never-
say-die Nigerians chased every ball, won all mideld
battles and were rewarded in the 83rd when Martin
scored to make the nal score 3-2 and give the lucky
Super Eagles a ticket for next year’s World Cup after
they missed out on the soccer extravaganza in 2006.
Other African qualiers: South Africa (quali-
es as host), Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon.
Note: Algeria and Egypt will play a sudden
death playoff in Sudan on Wednesday to decide
who goes through to next year’s nals in South Af-
rica after the two teams nished their Group C qual-
Pts
iers with identical records. Okan Udo Bassey stanbul
13
9
8
5 James provides
4
1
spark as Cavaliers
down Okur’s Jazz
LeBron James helped Cleveland resist a
late surge from the Utah Jazz by scoring
the Cavaliers’ nal eight points in a 107-103
NBA victory on Saturday.
Turkish star Mehmet Okur had 13 points
with eight rebounds and three assists for Utah
(4-6), but that was not enough to save the
Jazz from defeat. Carlos Boozer led Utah with
25 points and 12 rebounds, while guard Eric
AA, BRAHIM AHN
Maynor scored a career-best 24 points.
James, who nished with 21 points, a game-
high nine assists and six rebounds, personally
outscored the Jazz 8-4 in the nal 52 seconds to
spark Cleveland to its fourth consecutive victory.
Other NBA results: Indiana 113, Boston 104; De-
troit 106, Washington 103; Atlanta 121, New Orleans
PHOTO
98; Portland 80, Charlotte 74; Miami 81, New Jersey
80; Chicago 94, Philadelphia 88; Memphis 97, Minne-
sota 87; Milwaukee 129, Golden State 125;Oklahoma
City 101, San Antonio 98. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
 Liam Gallagher working on new band
Former Oasis guitarist and vocalist Liam Gallagher says that he and the
other members of the band -- aside from his brother Noel -- are writing
songs and will perform as a new group. “We’re sort of doing things at
the moment,” he said during an Italian radio interview. NY, Reuters

WWW.TODAYSZAMAN.COM MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009

Lauren Bacall
PACQUIAO and Roger Corman
get early Oscars
The Academy Awards won’t be pre-

STOPS COTTO sented until March, but the rst Oscar

statuettes of the season were handed out at a
private, black-tie dinner in Hollywood.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts

TO WIN SEVENTH and Sciences was breaking with tradition

and presenting its honorary Oscars away
from the televised ceremony. Actress Lau-
ren Bacall, producer-director Roger Corman

WORLD TITLE and cinematographer Gordon Willis each

The Filipino star used his blazing speed and power from both
hands to cement his stature as the best pound-for-pound boxer in
the world. Cotto took such a beating that his face was a river of
red from the fury of Pacquiao’s punches but he refused to quit
Manny Pacquiao knocked down Miguel Cotto twice
and turned his face into a bloody mess before nally
stopping him 55 seconds into the 12th round Saturday
to win his seventh title in seven weight classes. The Filipino star
used his blazing speed and power from both hands to cement
his stature as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
Cotto took such a beating that his face was a river of red
from the fury of Pacquiao’s punches but he refused to quit
even as his corner tried to throw in the towel after the 11th
round. The ght was billed as a 145-pound classic, and in the
early rounds it didn’t disappoint. The two went after each
other with a vengeance and Cotto more than held his own as
they traded punches in the center of the ring.
Pacquiao dropped Cotto with a right hand early in the
third round, but he wasn’t badly hurt and came back to nish
the round strong. But after Pacquiao put Cotto on the canvas
with a big left hand as Cotto was advancing forward late in
the fourth round, the Puerto Rican was never the same again.
No hurry
“Our plan was not to hurry but to take our time,” Pac-
quiao said. “It was a hard ght tonight and I needed
time to test his power.” Cotto fought gamely but in the
later rounds he was just trying to survive as blood owed
down his face and Pacquiao kept coming after him re-
lentlessly. In the 12th, Cotto went back out to take even
more punishment before a nal urry along the ropes
prompted referee Kenny Bayless to stop the ght.
Cotto’s wife and child, who were at ringside, left after the
AP
received Oscar statuettes at the inaugural
Governors Awards event on Saturday night.
The winner of this year’s Irving J. Thalberg
Memorial Award, producer John Calley, also
received his trophy at the star-studded din-
ner. Each of the four recipients were chosen
by the academy’s Board of Governors.
Annette Bening, Tom Hanks, Kirk
Douglas, Anjelica Huston and Quentin
Tarantino signed on as presenters for the
ninth round, unable to watch the beating any longer. They evening, which included 600 invited guests
later accompanied him to a local hospital for a post-ght ex- celebrating at the Grand Ballroom above the
amination. “My health comes rst. I Kodak Theater, the same room where the
just want to make sure I’m ne, annual post-Academy Awards Governors
but I feel great. I’m swollen but Ball is held. Morgan Freeman, Alec Baldwin,
that’s all,” Cotto said. Steven Spielberg and other guests were ser-
Cotto’s face was swollen, enaded by a violin quartet before the cere-
blood was owing from his mony began in a room decked out in bronze
nose and his cuts, and he sim- and silver curtains with a giant Oscar statue
ply couldn’t stop Pacquiao from at the center.
bouncing inside and throwing both Bacall made her screen debut with Hum-
hands at will. “I didn’t know from phrey Bogart in “To Have and Have Not”in
where the punches were coming,” 1944. She went on to star in more than 30
Cotto said. “Manny Pacquiao is one of the lms, including classics such as “The Big
best boxers I ever fought.” Sleep”and “Key Largo.” Corman has direct-
Pacquiao, coming off spectacular ed more than 50 lms and produced more
wins over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky than 300 during his ve-decade career, in-
Hatton, added another one against Cotto, who cluding “It Conquered the World”and 1960’s
had lost only once and held the WBO version of the “The Little Shop of Horrors.”
welterweight title. Pacquiao did it in trademark fashion, Willis is a two-time Academy Award
throwing punches in urries and from all angles until nominee for “Zelig”and “The Godfather,
Cotto began to slow down and then pursuing him relent- Part III.” Calley’s producing credits include
lessly until the ght nally ended. “Postcards from the Edge,”“The Remains of
the Day,”for which he earned a Best Picture
Floyd Mayweather next? Oscar nomination, “Closer”and “The Da
The ght will likely set up an even bigger ght against Floyd Vinci Code.”
Mayweather Jr., and many in the capacity crowd at the Other guests expected Saturday include
MGM Grand arena began chanting “We want Floyd! We Jeff Bridges, James Cameron, Dennis Hop-
want Floyd” after the ght ended. “I want to see him ght per, Ron Howard and Julie Taymor. The
Mayweather,” trainer Freddie Roach said. event was being taped but not televised. Ex-

Mayweather may have second thoughts after Pac- cerpts will be shown during the 82nd annual
quiao did what no ghter has done before and win a belt Academy Awards on March 7. Los Angeles AP
PHOTO

in a seventh weight class. More impressive, though, is

how he has fought, dismantling opponents despite mov-
ing up consistently in weight.
The welterweight ranks will be the last ones Pacquiao
Overdue library
conquers, though. He said he will not move up any more in
weight. “This is the last weight division for me,” Pacquiao
books returned
said. “It’s history for me and more importantly a Filipino did 51 years later
it.” Pacquiao was credited with landing almost twice as many A high school librarian in Phoenix says
punches -- 336-172 -- as Cotto. He earned a minimum $13 a former student at the school returned
million for the win, while Cotto got $7 million. Las Vegas AP two overdue books checked out 51 years ago
Pacquiao (R) moves against Miguel Cotto during their title fight.
along with a $1,000 money order to cover
the nes. Camelback High School librarian
AP

AP

Georgette Bordine says the two Audubon So-

PHOTO

PHOTO

ciety books checked out in 1959 and the mon-

ey order were sent by someone who wanted
to remain anonymous. Bordine says the letter
explained that the borrower’s family moved to
another state and the books were mistakenly
packed. The letter said the money order was
to cover nes of 2 cents per day for each book.
That would total about $745. The letter says
the extra money was added in case the rates
REUTERS,

had changed. Bordine says the money will buy

Referee Kenny Bayless (center rear) directs Manny Pacquiao to
his corner after knocking down Miguel Cotto in the fourth round.
more books, and the overdue books will be re-
Manny Pacquiao (C) holds his championship belt as he turned to the shelves. Phoenix AP
stands with promoter Bob Arum (L) and trainer Freddie
Roach after winning the WBO welterweight title.
PHOTO

Michigan fans forgive

Springsteen’s goof
AP

Pacquiao the best I’ve seen, says promoter Bob Arum The curse of Friday the 13th struck
PHOTO

Bruce Springsteen in a most unusual

Promoter Bob Arum (R) welcomes Manny Pacquiao to a
post-fight press conference after he won the WBO title.
Boxing promoter Bob Arum has worked with Muham-
mad Ali, “Sugar” Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler but
he believes Filipino Manny Pacquiao is the best he
has seen. Pacquiao stopped Puerto Rican Miguel
Cotto in the 12th round of their title fight in Las Ve-
gas on Saturday night to become WBO welterweight
champion and win a seventh world title in an unprec-
edented seventh weight class.
“I’ve promoted Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leon-
ard, Marvin Hagler, and Manny Pacquiao is the best
fighter I have ever seen,” Arum told reporters at the
MGM Grand after Pacquiao’s win. Pacquiao’s train-
er Freddie Roach endorsed Arum’s statement.
“Compared to all those names, he’s as good as
any of them,” Roach said. “He’s the greatest fighter
of his era, for sure. 100 percent.” The fighter him-
self, however, was reluctant to make comparisons.
“I don’t want to compare my achievement to any
fighter,” said Pacquiao, 50-3-2 (38 KOs). “I’m just
doing my job, to give a good fight. My goal is to give
happiness and enjoyment to the people who are al-
ways watching us.”
Cotto began the contest strongly behind a stiff
left jab, but his opponent found his range in the sec-
ond round and scored knockdowns in the third and
fourth. In the second half of the bout, the Puerto Ri-
can champion, bloodied and bruised, mostly circled
and retreated hoping to survive until the final bell.
But a Pacquiao barrage prompted referee Ken-
ny Bayless to halt the fight after 55 seconds of the
12th round. ”Miguel Cotto has always been a coura-
geous fighter,” said Arum.
”He was just in with a guy tonight who showed
me ... that he is certainly the best fighter of this
era and maybe of all time.” Pacquiao had bruising
around his eyes and a bandage around his head
after his left ear was drained of blood by doctors fol-
lowing the fight.
Cotto did not appear at the post-fight news con-
ference as he was taken to hospital for precautionary
scans. Cotto said in a statement he was OK. “I know
I’m cut, I know I’m swollen. I just had a fight, that how
I’m supposed to look,” he said. “I did my best. I just
fought the best fighter I ever fought. I hope the fans
enjoyed a great fight.” Las Vegas Reuters
way: it made the 60-year-old rock legend
forget where he was. The Boss bellowed
“Hello, Ohio!” to his fans at the Auburn Hills
Palace in Michigan. Springsteen referred to
the neighboring state several times in the
following 30 minutes until E Street Band gui-
tarist Steve Van Zandt whispered in his ear.A
visibly embarrassed Springsteen grinned and
said such a mistake was “every front man’s
nightmare.” The Detroit Free Press says
Springsteen rocked the forgiving audience
for nearly three hours with new and old hits
including a complete performance of his al-
bum “Born to Run.” Auburn Hills, Mich. AP

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