Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

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Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

Hacker Decries U.S., Israel On Vietnam Memorial Site

By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 20, 2007; Page A03

A computer hacker promoting Turkish nationalism posted a video and message on a U.S. Vietnam memorial Web site in recent days, blocking one of the site's search functions while defacing the site with a statement against the United States and Israel.

Users of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site -- at http://www.thewall-usa.com-- who searched for U.S. casualties by date were sent to an all-red Web page adorned with a symbol from the Turkish flag, a short video, and messages in Turkish and English. The English messages attacked Kurds, the United States, Israel and Armenia.

Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

According to translations, the Turkish message read: "Is there any equal or likeness to our martyrs at Gallipoli?" It is an apparent reference to the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915 during World War I, during which soldiers from the Ottoman Empire repelled an Allied operation to capture Istanbul, suffering heavy casualties of more than 250,000. The video called it a "story written in blood."

A "Turk Defacer" took credit for the hack, which users reported yesterday to the FBI, the National Park Service and the 4/9 Infantry Manchu (Vietnam) Association, which maintains the site. The message was removed and the search function restored by last night.

Jim Olberding of Ames, Iowa, said he found the message yesterday while researching Vietnam casualties. Olberding -- a Vietnam War veteran whose son is an Army captain with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan -- said the message offended him. "They're attacking American veterans," he said.

The site -- a memorial to veterans and a historical repository that gets heavy traffic around Memorial Day and Veterans Day -- was attacked days after the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington was defaced with an oily substance. Officials with the 4/9 Infantry Association said they received 200 e-mails from users alerting them to the hack. The group's leaders were in Memphis over the weekend to celebrate the association's 10th anniversary and did not know when the hack took place. The nonprofit bought the Web site about eight years ago to ensure that it would endure.

"These kinds of groups are opportunistic and are going to do whatever they think they have to do to get their message out," said Cheryl Criteser, the association's secretary-treasurer. "I've gotten death threats, I've gotten all kinds of negative stuff from other countries. I just figure they're wackos."

A spokesman for the Turkish Embassy in Washington said yesterday that the hack did not seem to be part of an organized group.

Staff writer Jill F. Bartscht and staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/19/AR2007091902172.html

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Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

US Department of State, DC

Interview With Murat Akgun of NTV
R. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs

Ankara, Turkey
September 20, 2007

QUESTION: Mr. Burns, good morning and welcome to the NTV studio.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Thank you very much.

QUESTION: It's not a secret that the Turkish public is expecting a
step or steps from the United States of America against the PKK as
soon as possible, especially in northern Iraq. Do you think that we
can see such steps in northern Iraq in the short term?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: We are Turkey's greatest supporter on the
PKK. We are against the PKK; we classify it as a terrorist
organization; we do not give it any support; and we entirely
sympathize with the Turkish people, the Turkish government. There was
just an attack two days ago. A soldier was killed here in Turkey and I
believe over 150 people have been killed this year by the PKK
alone. And so we've got to work with Turkey and we want to work with
Turkey to try to end this threat. Part of the answer will be working
with the Iraqi leadership, specifically the Kurdish leadership in
northern Iraq, to try to get them to give political support to the
effort to stop the PKK. But we support Turkey entirely on this issue.

QUESTION: Last week there was a question to you from a journalist in
Washington, if I'm not wrong. The question was can we see a step or
steps from the US against the PKK in the next six months and then you
said I believe so. If this is the correct answer as I remember it,
what are you waiting for for some steps, especially in the military
field in northern Iraq?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, I think that the imperative here is two
steps. First is to isolate the PKK diplomatically, convince the
European countries not to allow the PKK to establish political front
organizations in European capitals and is to brand the PKK and
castigate it internationally as a terrorist organization. We the
United States have contributed to that goal with Turkey, working with
the Turkish government, and will continue that. The second is -- are
there concrete measures that can be taken to protect the Turkish
people and to protect the Turkish military from cross-border attacks?
We are working with the Turkish government and the Iraqi government to
try to create that environment where the PKK will no longer be able to
attack. So we want to be helpful and we're working with the Turkish
government towards that end.

QUESTION: Are we still in the first step, Mr. Burns?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: No, I think we've...we've been in the first
step for ten years. We are in both the first and second phases. And
both of them are important.

QUESTION: You were talking about cooperation between Iraqi authorities
and Turkey and especially Kurdish leadership and Turkey, but now there
are two important questions. First, Iraqi authorities have no power
everywhere in the country and second, the Kurdish leadership do not
even qualify PKK as a terrorist organization. In this case, what kind
of cooperation do you expect between Turks and Kurds?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, I think there has to be political
dialogue, frankly, with the Iraqi leadership and the Turkish
government and the two have to talk. Hopefully the Turkish government
and the United States government can convince the Iraqi leadership
that this particular organization is a violent organization, it
doesn't deserve to have any political support whatsoever, and it has
to be kept away from the border areas with Turkey so that it cannot
launch its strikes across the border. That is primarily a political
question. So discussions are important. The United States can help to
facilitate these discussions. We have our own discussions with the
Iraqi government. I know that Prime Minister Maliki was here in Ankara
just a couple of months ago. I know that he said some very critical
things about the PKK when he was here and it was good to see that.

QUESTION: But on the other hand, during the visit of Mr. Maliki we
couldn't even succeed to sign an agreement concerning the fight
against terrorism.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, there's no question that Turkey deserves
help from the United States. We are your ally. We are your friend. As
a victim of terrorism, and we are a victim of terrorism, we sympathize
entirely with the Turkish people and Turkish government so you should
consider us your closest collaborator in this fight against the PKK.

QUESTION: When you say that the United States of America is also the
victim of terrorism, I just remembered the statement of the Prime
Minister of Turkey the day before yesterday. He said that even the
Pentagon could not handle the terrorism. How do you evaluate this
remark?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, I think that first of all I had a very
good meeting with Prime Minister Erdogan yesterday and I think that
we, all of us, realize that the fight against terrorism is not going
to be easy, that there are times when we'll have successes and there
will be times when we'll have setbacks, but we've got to have a
consistent effort. And it had to be universal. It has to be all
democratic countries working together so in that respect I think
there's a great connection between Turkey and the United States
because we both need to struggle against terrorism, which is affecting
both of our peoples.

QUESTION: Well, there's a discussion among the public in Turkey
whether Turkish armed forces should make an operation into northern
Iraq or not, if there is not enough cooperation between the Iraqi
Kurdish leadership and Iraqi central authorities and Turkey. Do you
think that it's going to be a legitimate right of Turkey to make an
operation against PKK targets?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: We hope there will be adequate consultations
and cooperation with the Iraqi government that will make it
unnecessary for Turkey to take such an action. Obviously Iraq is a
country that has experienced incredible trauma over the last four and
a half years. We don't want to see anything develop that would further
destabilize Iraq and so our vast preference would be to see the kind
of trilateral cooperation among Iraq, Turkey and the United States
that will make such an operation not necessary. And that's the goal of
our policy.

QUESTION: I will have one more question concerning Iraq. There are
press reports that the United States of America will withdraw forces
from Iraq next year more and more and according to the same reports
the Washington administration would like to use some harbors and bases
in Turkey. During your visit to Ankara did you have any specific
request concerning this issue to the Turkish authorities?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I didn't have...I did not have any specific
request to the Turkish authorities and I can just tell you that
President Bush spoke last week, a week ago, about our policy in
Iraq. He was very clear that the United States will maintain our
military forces in Iraq and that we intend to be successful there.

QUESTION: Iraq is not the only issue in the Middle East or among our
neighbors. I would like to ask a question about Iran. How would you
evaluate the cooperation between Iran and Turkey due to the fact that
they are two neighboring countries?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, first of all, we believe that Iran is a
serious threat to peace. Iran is funding most of the Middle East
terrorist groups and arming many of them. Iran is also trying to
achieve a nuclear weapons capability. So Iran is a dangerous
country. We want to work diplomatically, hopefully peacefully, with
surrounding countries to try to isolate the Iranians. And, frankly,
the United Nations has decided on sanctioning Iran so we are very
pleased that Turkey is implementing the sanctions passed by the United
Nations. We don't believe there should be a business-as-usual attitude
between any country and Iran because we need to pressure Iran
economically so it will be more inclined to negotiate on this nuclear
question.

QUESTION: There was very strong, hard statements from the French
President and the French Foreign Minister concerning the nuclear
capacity of Iran. Mr. Kouchner even mentioned the possibility of a war
against Iran. Is it an option - a war between Iran and western
countries or an operation of the United States of America if they do
have nuclear weapons?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, there's no question in our minds that the
achievement by the Iranian government in the future of a nuclear
weapons capability would change the balance of power in the Middle
East in a very negative way - for Turkey, for the United States, for
all of the European countries - so all of us want to stop the Iranians
from doing so. We have said, we Americans, that we wish to pursue
diplomacy, that we wish to work with other countries to try to
convince the Iranians that they need to stop. Now, one way to do that
is through negotiations. We've offered negotiations with Iran. Iran
had turned us down twice in the last year. We've said that we'll sit
with Russia and China and the European countries, we the United
States, together, talk to the Iranians and try to figure out a
diplomatic way forward, but the Iranians have said no to the
negotiations and they continue their nuclear research programs. That's
why we've turned to sanctions, economic sanctions, at the Security
Council. And we would like all countries to support those sanctions.

QUESTION: Do you still believe that there is risk of war in the area
because of the nuclear capacity of Iran in the short term or mid-term?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, we hope very much to prevent a war. We
hope very much that through a tough-minded policy of leverage of
sanctions against Iran the Iranians will understand they are isolated
in the world. Name the countries that support Iran in this quest for
nuclear weapons - maybe Syria, maybe North Korea, maybe Belarus, maybe
Cuba. There are very few countries supporting Iran in its quest for
nuclear weapons in terms of its political aspirations. But most of the
countries of the world are arrayed against Iran and advocating that
Iran stop its nuclear weapons development and so it's important that
Iran listen to the voice of the international community and understand
how isolated it is.

QUESTION: A question about Syria - there was serious tension between
Israel and Syria in recent days. There was a protest from the Turkish
government to Israel. What kind of role may Turkey have concerning
the tension between Israel and Syria and in general concerning the
Middle East process, including the peace conference at the end of next
month in Istanbul?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well I think in general Turkey is a unique
country in the Middle East and has influence in the Middle East
because Turkey can talk to nearly everyone and we appreciate the fact
that Turkey has a good relationship with Israel. We appreciate the
fact that Turkey is so close to some of the moderate Arab states. In
the case of Syria and Iran, both of those countries are supporting
terrorism and both of them are supporting Hezbollah which is a
negative influence in the region and so we appreciate the fact that
Turkey is a country that can send strong messages and communicate with
countries to try to convince them to turn away in the case of Iran
from a nuclear weapons program, in the case of Syria, from its support
for terrorism.

QUESTION: About Cyrus, there were elections in Turkey and Greece and
now we're going to have elections in the Greek part of Cyprus by the
beginning of next year. What's going to happen? Do you see the chance
of the development of a permanent solution at the end of 2008 in
Cyprus?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: We hope there can be progress in Cyprus. It's
been far too long. It's been so many decades where there has been no
peace in Cyprus...

QUESTION: I'm asking about a solution...

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, we believe that the United Nations should
restart its effort to find a peaceful solution and a just solution to
the problem of Cyprus. The United States of course will be involved in
this, as will Turkey, as will Greece and many other countries. We
think it's very, very important that there be progress this year if
that's possible. Now we know that Mr. Papadopoulos and Mr. Talat met
recently. I don't know if that meeting produced many positive
results. I had very good discussions here in Ankara with the Turkish
authorities. We are working with Turkey; we are working with Greece;
and I look forward to meeting the Cypriot leader, President
Papadopoulos, as well as Mr. Talat to see if we can push this process
forward.

QUESTION: Last question concerning Turkish-Armenia relations. We know
that the Washington administration wants Turkey to take some steps to
normalization relations between the two countries but how about the
Armenian responsibility? Don't you think that Armenia should also do
something? For example withdraw its forces from Azerbaijan's occupied
territory?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: We have been concerned to see that since 1991
there has been no normalization of relations between Turkey and
Armenia. Turkey is an ally; Armenia is a friend. So we wish to see
progress there. Obviously this is up to the two countries to work out
and it's going to be a two-way street as any relationship is in
international diplomacy but our hope would be that there could be a
normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia, that the border
could be opened, there could be normal commerce and trade and a
peaceful relationship. That may take some time, it may be difficult,
but it's a necessary step in our view. And we hope to see the same
kind of changes here within Turkey that will make this a place where
minorities such as the Armenian population can live here in a peaceful
way and contribute to Turkish society.

QUESTION: Mr. Burns, thank you very much for answering my questions.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: It's a pleasure. Thank you very much.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg203271.html

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Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

Tricky transition in Kurdish Turkey

Diyarbakir, Turkey (Charles RoffeyFlickr)


The predominantly Kurdish southeast is going through a crucial transition. Kurdish secular nationalism, while remaining a powerful force, is now being challenged by a resurgence in Islam.

By Dorian Jones in Diyarbakir, Turkey for ISN Security Watch (24/09/07)

In an unprecedented move, newly elected Turkish President Abdullah Gul made his first trip as head of state to the predominantly Kurdish southeast section of the country. The reaction of the people was equally unprecedented, with thousands cheering and throwing roses - Gul means "rose" in Turkish - wherever he went.

The visit came only weeks after Gul's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) secured a surprise election victory in the region, winning 53 percent of the vote in the July general election. The Kurdish nationalist Democratic Society Party (DTP) was pushed into second place.

For more than two decades, southeast Turkey has been devastated by a vicious and bloody war between the separatist Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) and the Turkish government. The conflict has claimed over 30,000 lives and displaced over a million people. Until now, the region was widely considered a bastion of secular Kurdish nationalism.

The pro-Marxist PKK and the DTP - both of which have dominated the region's politics - are overtly secular. But the capture of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999, along with the withdrawal of most of its forces to neighboring Iraq, have weakened the party. Now, a resurgence in Islam is filling the gap.
Rising anger brings more adherents

Last year, around 100,000 demonstrators protested in the regional capital Diyarbakir against the cartoon depictions of the prophet Muhammad published in the Danish daily Jllyands-Posten in September 2005. While there were similar protests across Turkey, they were dwarfed by those in Diyarbakir. Even the organizers of the demonstrations seemed taken aback by the level of anger among the protesters.

"During the cartoon crisis, we wanted to show our anger so we organized a meeting. We thought only a few people would turn up. But to our shock thousands came, so we decided to organize a protest and over 100,000 people attended," Serdar Bulent Yilmaz, one of the organizers, told ISN Security Watch.

Yilmaz, who also heads the Islamic human rights group Ozgur Der, said the protest was part of a wider trend in the region influenced by national and international factors.

"There is a growing anger towards the West, especially with Israel [and] the US and what's happening in the Middle East. It's fueling the rise in religion, which is becoming stronger in response to a societal need to fill a gap here.

"This gap has been created by the backwardness of our society, the mass migration into the cities caused by the fighting between the state and Kurdish separatists that has resulted in a moral degeneration," Yilmaz said. "People are looking for answers which religion can only give. [...]"
Islamic sects re-establishing influence among Kurds

While DTP candidates were pro-secular during last July's general election as in previous polls, they courted the religious vote during the campaign. In a traditional meeting with Diyarbakir's religious leaders, it was expected to be a forgone conclusion that they would offer their support to the DTP. Traditionally, Kurdish nationalism trumps religion. But to the party's surprise, for the first time in recent elections, the religious leaders said they would not support any party.

That decision was seen by DTP officials as a sign that the leaders were switching allegiance to the Islamic-rooted AKP. Many of Diyarbakir's religious leaders, as in the rest of the region, belong to ancient Islamic sects or tariqats.

A centuries-old and intrinsic part of Kurdish cultural life, tariqats have re-asserted their influence over the region by offering free education and housing to the poor - moves that are welcomed in a highly underdeveloped region.

The groups have been banned in Turkey since the 1920s, and their members do not admit to their involvement in the sects. Mohammed Akar, who says he is closely linked with the sects, tells ISN Security Watch that the tariqats are seeking to build bridges.

"The main religious sects have entered a positive phase. They have learned more about democracy and how to voice their concerns using democratic tools," Akar said.

"Especially with the democratic reforms introduced under pressure from the European Union [they have] created a space of freedom. [...] [T]hese religious societies are reaching an understanding of living together with the West and in particular being very supportive of the EU membership process."
Radical Islam also taking root

But while these moderate Islamic groups may well be seeking dialogue with the West, the region is also witnessing a resurgence of radical Islamic groups.

On the main street of the Ofis district of Diyarbakir, Islamic music blasts from a former clothing shop. On the windows are pictures of dead Palestinian children. Now the venue, run by a radical Islamic association, offers cheap food and anti-Western religious propaganda to the city's poor.

In the last few years, numerous such organizations have sprung up, running publishing houses, charities and foundations. Many are suspected to be linked to the illegal Hizbollah group.

This Hizbollah is not believed to be connected with the similarly named group in Lebanon, but according to the Turkish police, it does have ties with Iran.

In the 1990s, the group was responsible for hundreds of deaths in the region. Most victims are believed to have ties with the PKK, referred to by Hizbollah as the "party of the infidel." Liberal intellectuals and moderate Islamists were also targeted. Many of the victims were filmed and recorded being tortured before execution.

There were numerous allegations of the Turkish state's tacit, if not direct, support of Hizbollah because of its anti-PKK stance. But when it spread its operations to the rest of Turkey, and was blamed for the assassination of the head of Diyarbakir's police Gaffar Okkan, within in a year the Turkish state had arrested or killed most of the group's leadership in 2001.

But in the last few years, it is believed that Hizbollah followers have re-invented themselves, adopting a non-violent approach. Akar, who has closely followed their activities, says the group's true nature remains unclear.

"They have buried their guns, shaved off their Muslim beards and dress in a western way. But the guns still remain, I just hope their guns stay buried."

Even if their guns remain buried their vehement anti-Western message remains. They are engaged in a war for the hearts and minds of the Kurdish people.

The outcome of that battle remains undecided among local Islamic intellectuals, who spoke to ISN Security Watch on the condition of anonymity.

"Kurdish people are religious people, but they don't like radical Islam. [...]Kurdish people like and respect other religions, like Armenians, Assyrians or other Christians and xxxish cultures. That's because for a thousand years we have lived with them here."

But others are not so sure.

"Kurdish people are religious people. They don't want their religion to be alienated or destroyed by the complete secular values of the west. If the radical movements increase, that will be because of [the policies of the West]."
The Iraq factor

The future of Iraq is widely seen as a key factor to dictating the politics of the region. But the presence of US forces in Iraq is still popular among many Turkish Kurds because of the protection they offer to the neighboring Iraqi Kurdish population. Since the end of the first Gulf War, US forces have protected the Iraqi Kurdish enclave on the Turkish border.

At Diyarbakir's main mosque, the Olu Cami, widespread support for the US can still be found.

"The US is protecting the Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan. They are friends of the Kurdish people. Without the Americans and the West, Kurds can never be free. Leave the Americans alone, they protect our rights," Erkan Dogan, a 45-year-old shopkeeper, told ISN Security Watch

But dissenting voices can also be heard.

"The US gives charity with one had but attacks with the other. They are oppressing the Islamic world, the poor, women, children," Mehmet Guney said.

"Israel and the US are faithless, and enemies of Islam. Islam will rule the world; it is the only true faith."

Such dissent could to grow as radical Islamic groups continue to take advantage of the on-going carnage in Iraq and the deepening conflict in the Palestinian Territories. But Akar fears for a premature US withdrawal from Iraq.

"If the European Union process ends, and US abandons Kurds living in Iraq, then everything can change, there can be chaos and you could see a radicalization of Muslims; people could even look to Iran like Hamas in Palestine."

The predominantly Kurdish southeast is going through a crucial transition. Kurdish secular nationalism, while remaining a powerful force, is now being challenged by a resurgence in Islam. But what direction that resurgence will take is a battle that is being waged between moderates and radicals. With the region bordering Iran, Iraq and Syria, the outcome of that struggle could be far-reaching.


Dorian L Jones is an Istanbul-based correspondent reporting for ISN Security Watch. He has covered events in Northern Iraq, Turkey and Cyprus. He is also a radio documentary producer.

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=18157

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Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

Ankara: What We Expect From Americans!

TURKISH PRIME MINISTER CALLS FOR URGENT US ACTION AGAINST SEPARATIST KURDISH REBELS
By Lily Hindy, Associated Press Writer

Associated Press Worldstream
September 28, 2007 Friday 4:44 AM GMT

Turkey's prime minister urged the United States to act against Kurdish
rebels who have escalated attacks on his country from bases in Iraq,
warning that continued inaction was harming U.S. relations with its
key Muslim ally.

Turkey has become increasingly frustrated with the U.S. for failing to
live up to promises to tackle separatist guerrillas from the Kurdistan
Workers' Party or PKK, who have been fleeing across the border into
Iraq's predominantly Kurdish northern provinces. Turkey massed troops
on its border with Iraq earlier this year, and officials are debating
whether to stage a military incursion.

"Our expectations are very clear on this point. The Iraqi authorities
and the U.S. must urgently take concrete measures beyond simply
paying lip service ... unfortunately so far we have not seen any
concrete steps," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday
at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Under a proposed counterterrorism pact with Iraq, Turkey wants its
troops to have the right to pursue the rebels across the border,
according to Turkish media. But the agreement, which was expected to
be signed on Thursday, has yet to be approved.

The U.S. considers the PKK a terrorist organization, but officials
have been reluctant to act for fear of widening the Iraq conflict
and increasing violence in what has been Iraq's most stable region.

Iraqi officials, already weary of what they see as domestic challenges
to their sovereignty, including the U.S. detention of Iranians in the
north and the recent killing of at least 11 Iraqis by U.S. security
contractors, are not eager to see yet another foreign force crossing
over their border.

Relations have been strained between Washington and Ankara for years,
mostly over the Iraq war. Turkey, a strategically important NATO ally,
refused to allow U.S. troops to use its territory to invade Iraq in
2003 and a recent opinion poll found only 9 percent of Turks had a
favorable view of America.

Erdogan voiced support for a timeline on the withdrawal of foreign
troops from Iraq.

"If coalition forces announce a timeline, then Iraqi forces will take
responsibility ... if there's a timeline and training they'll take
control," he said.

The issue of a troop withdrawal has been a big factor internationally
and in the U.S. where support for the war has largely dissipated,
leaving President George W. Bush struggling to make a case for a
continued U.S. troop presence in the country.

Erdogan said he would consider letting the United States withdraw from
Iraq through Turkey. He said he would have to "assess the situation"
at the time.

Bush administration and U.S. military officials have said while Iraqi
forces are making some gains, they are not yet ready to assume full
security responsibilities.

Erdogan also reiterated strong opposition to a U.S. congressional
resolution introduced in January that would recognize the killings
of Armenians in the early 1900s as genocide.

Historians estimate up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey, however, denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying that
the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil
war and unrest. The United Nations has not recognized the killings
as a genocide.

Similar resolutions have been introduced in the U.S. before, but
were always kept from a full vote by congressional leaders. The Bush
administration has tried to quash the current resolution because of
pressure from Turkey.

"Should this draft reach the floor, and the Congress of our ally pass a
unilateral, political judgment of no legal bearing on such a sensitive
and controversial issue which is directly related to my country's
national conscience, it will seriously impair Turkish-American
relations with wide-ranging implications in our overall cooperation,"
said Erdogan.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg204063.html

Erdogan enlists U.S. xxxs’ support for opposing the Armenian Genocide Resolution
28.09.2007 15:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey’s Prime Minister has used a meeting with representatives of the U.S. xxxish community to discuss ways of denial of Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman in 1915. Meeting with representatives of groups including the Conference of Presidents, the Appeal of Conscience, the Foundation, the Anti-Defamation League, the American xxxish Congress, and Bnai Brith International in New York late Wednesday Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the genocide recognition claims as “baseless and not supported by any scientific or historical grounding.”

"The Prime Minister also recalled Turkey’s call to Armenia to establish a joint commission to study historical facts, and stated that Turkey expected the xxxish community to confirm its support," a statement issued after the meeting said. Following the meeting, Abraham Foxman, the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), said that “at times there could be disagreement between friends, referring to the League’s had accepted the events of 1915 as being tantamount to genocide.”

However, Foxman said that the issue should not be the subject of a resolution of the U.S. Congress.

"We believe that a matter between Turkey and Armenia related to history should be tackled between the two parties, not in the U.S. Congress or the parliament of any other country," he said. "This is not a political matter and those in the Congress are not historians," he said.

"I believe that we should focus on the future, not the past. If the xxxish community, the United States and the Congress are willing to assist they should bring together Turkey and Armenia for the grandchildren of the two parties,” he said, NTV MSNBC reports.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=23507

Babacan: PKK, Armenian resolution pose danger to US ties

Today's Zaman
22.09.2007

Turkey's strategic relations with the United States are facing risks
from the terrorist threat posed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK) in Iraq and resolutions pending in the US Congress on
Armenian genocide claims, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has said.

Babacan, on a visit to the United States, said it was not possible to
explain to the Turkish people why the PKK still launches attacks on
Turkey from its Iraqi bases. "We expect the United States and the
Iraqi government to take urgent and concrete steps in handing over the
PKK terrorists to justice," he said in a speech to the Chicago Council
on Global Affairs on Thursday, according to excerpts published by the
Anatolia news agency.

Ankara has long been pressing the United States to take action to
eliminate the PKK presence in Iraq and the lack of steps so far
despite Turkish appeals is straining the two countries' decades-old
alliance. The situation is further complicated by two resolutions
pending in the US Congress that urge the US administration to
recognize Armenian claims of genocide at the hands of the Ottoman
Turks in the beginning of the last century, claims strictly rejected
by Turkey.

Babacan said a third party should not play the judge in a dispute like
this and reminded that Armenian allegations have never been confirmed
legally or historically. "Slanders targeting Turkey have always showed
up in the political arena," he said in his speech. "We want the US
Congress to not take any side in historical matters like this and we
want common sense to win in the end. This is a matter between Turks
and Armenians and can be resolved by frank and sincere dialogue
between the two sides."

Turkey's hopes that the resolutions will be blocked in the Congress
received a major blow last month when an influential US xxxish group,
the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), revised its long-standing stance and
said the World War I events amounted to genocide. Other xxxish groups
still stick to their position of not supporting the genocide charges.

In Chicago, Babacan met with representatives of US xxxish groups
including the ADL and the American xxxish Federation. In the meeting,
Babacan reiterated that passage of the resolutions would harm both
Turkish-US relations and Turkish-Israeli relations. Representatives of
the xxxish groups, including those of the ADL, insisted at the meeting
that they were against the resolutions in the Congress. They also
raised concerns over Iran's nuclear program, while Turkey said its
recent energy deal with Iran should be considered as part of its
policy of diversification of energy sources. In his speech at the
Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Babacan said Turkey has been urging
Iran to be transparent about its nuclear program and said Ankara could
play a role in passing the international community's messages to Iran
as well as Syria, emphasizing that isolating these two countries would
be wrong.

The foreign minister also gave assurances that Turkey would continue
its efforts to become a member of the European Union, saying Turkish
membership will prove the clash of civilizations thesis to be wrong.
He also said Turkey was in a process of fast transition, emphasizing
that it is seeking to become the tenth biggest economy of the world by
2023 and that people are already speaking of Turkey as "Europe's
China."

22.09.2007
Today's Zaman İstanbul

Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/de...ay&link=122847

[Siamanto]

Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

The Jerusalem Report
October 15, 2007

TREASURING TURKEY?

by Alon Liel


Diplomacy sometimes resembles physics. Even the hardest materials can
only stand a given amount of pressure and the same is true of
bilateral relations. The Israeli-Turkish bond, so meaningful and
stable during the 1990s, is now under severe pressure, and if things
are not quickly reversed, we could soon see some serious cracks.

Although the two countries had cooperated secretly on intelligence
issues since the late 1950s, the 1990s were unprecedented in
Israeli-Turkish relations, due mainly to the progress in Israel's
acceptance in the Middle East. The 1991 Madrid peace conference led
to the upgrading of ties to ambassadorial level.

The 1993 Israeli-Palestinian declaration of principles completely
broke the ice between Ankara and Jerusalem, generating high-level
visits and a series of military and economic agreements. In early
1996, the two countries signed a free trade agreement that was
followed by a decision to grant Israel a contract to upgrade 170
Turkish army tanks. The 1990s also witnessed a constant growth in the
volume of Israeli tourism to Turkey, and a meaningful increase in
bilateral trade. After the horrific earthquake in the Istanbul region
in August 1999, Israel was quick to provide massive and effective
help. By the end of the 1990s, Turkish public sympathy towards Israel
was at an all-time high. That this should be the case in a powerful
Muslim state was a major regional coup.

The first decade of the 21st century, however, has been very
different. The deterioration of ties with Israel started with
then-education minister Yossi Sarid promising in April 2000 to teach
Israeli children about the genocide allegedly committed by the Turks
against the Armenians during the First World War, a highly
inflammatory and sensitive issue in Turkey. Soon afterwards, the
second Palestinian intifada broke out, and the high Palestinian death
toll roused anti-Israeli feelings throughout the Muslim world.

At the height of the intifada, in November 2002 an Islamist leader,
Recep Tayip Erdogan, won an overwhelming victory in Turkish
elections. Eighteen months later, outraged at the Israeli
assassination of two senior Hamas leaders, Ahmad Yassin and Abdel
Aziz Rantisi in March and April 2004, Prime Minister Erdogan started
describing Israeli policy towards the Palestinians as "state
terrorism." Things continued to go wrong. During 2004, Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon rejected an offer from Erdogan to mediate between Israel
and Syria. A Turkish proposal to sell water to Israel was scuttled by
the Treasury, and large water projects granted to Israeli companies
in southeast Turkey collapsed. The years 2005-6 saw repeated media
stories about Israeli companies granting military assistance to the
Kurds in northern Iraq, much to the annoyance of the authorities in
Ankara, troubled by the demands of their own Kurdish minority.

During July and August this year, things went from bad to worse. This
period was dominated by tension between Ankara and major xxxish
organizations in the United States, which decided to change their
attitude towards the Armenian tragedy, defining it, for the first
time, as "genocide," and thereby triggering Turkish protests to
Jerusalem, misguidedly seen as somehow responsible for the xxxish
organizations' conduct.

All these new tensions came to a head on the night between September
5th and 6th, when Israeli warplanes allegedly attacked Syria,
Turkey's friendly neighbor, in unexplained circumstances. On their
way back, according to the Turks, the Israeli aircraft violated
Turkish airspace without notification or explanation. The new Turkish
Foreign Minister, Ali Babacan, described the Israeli attack as
"unacceptable" and one of his senior diplomats euphemistically
labeled Israel's subsequent conduct as "unprofessional." It seemed as
if Israel had forgotten that its ties with Turkey are based on a
close military bond, and that compromising that special link could be
extremely counterproductive.

If the attack on Syria had a convincing explanation - media reports
have said it was against a plant making nuclear devices with North
Korean input - why did Israel's best friend in the Middle East not
receive a good, real-time briefing on it? Israel needs to change its
mindset on Turkey. It must come to terms with the fact that since
July 2007, with the election of Abdullah Gul as president, the
Islamist "Justice and Development" party is in total control of the
Turkish political scene. Turkey's ties with the Islamic world are
constantly improving and all Israel needs to do to lose its special
status in Ankara is to supply the pretext.

Will the reported attack on Syria provide the excuse? In order to
prevent this from happening, Israel must make a special effort to
regain Ankara's confidence. Losing Turkey's friendship could have
devastating regional implications for Israel and possibly even for
the U.S., which seems likely to further insult the Turks by not
inviting them to the planned Middle East peace conference in the
fall. American and Israeli statesmen need to focus not only on how to
punish Iran and Syria for their misdeeds, but also on how to avoid
losing Turkey, which has been one of the West's staunchest allies
since World War II.

Dr. Alon Liel, a former Foreign Ministry director general, served as
Israel's charge d'affaires in Turkey during the 1980s.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg204212.html

[Siamanto]

Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

ISLAMIST TURKEY WILL HAVE TO FORGET THE EU

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.10.2007 18:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "I am a devout Catholic. However, I do not let
religion interfere with politics. I understand the fear in some Turks'
hearts. If Turkey wants to be a part of Europe, state and religion
should be separate," PACE President Rene van der Linden said

"If Turkey inclines towards becoming an Islamic state, EU membership
will be a dream," he said.

He made four significant warnings in a period when the debates on
both the headscarf and secularism are already hot.

"First, if Turkey is inclined to be an Islamic state, forget the
EU. Second, if the change in the constitution is not compatible with
the European Agreement, we will take it under investigation at the
Venice Commission. Third, those that feel subject to pressure to wear a
headscarf should apply to the European Court of Human Rights. Fourth,
Universities objecting to the ban on wearing headscarves can also
apply to the European Court of Human Rights," he said in an interview
with Sabah newspaper.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=23552

[Siamanto]

Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

France, Turkey agree to mend fences despite EU spat

Agence France Presse
Oct 5 2007

ANKARA (AFP) — France and Turkey said Friday they would work to mend fences and seek closer cooperation, despite lingering disputes over Ankara's EU membership bid and the Armenian massacres of the Ottoman era.

"We share a desire to improve our ties in every field... I see our talks today as the beginning of a new impetus in bilateral relations," Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said after talks with visiting French counterpart Bernard Kouchner.

Kouchner was the highest-level French official to visit Ankara since Nicolas Sarkozy, a staunch opponent of Turkey's bid to join the European Union, was elected president in May.

Sarkozy argues that most of Turkey's territory is in Asia and that the idea of a united Europe would be diluted if its borders stretch that far. He has instead proposed a close partnership agreement with Turkey.

Ankara has slammed Sarkozy's stance, insisting that full membership is the the only objective of its accession talks.

Pledging that Turkey would pursue its democratic reforms to catch up with European norms, Babacan stressed that "we expect the EU to stay loyal to the promises that it has made to Turkey."

Kouchner said the talks had laid the ground for an extensive dialogue on Turkey's EU aspirations.

"Our relations had cooled a bit. I hope they will warm up in the coming days," he said.

Kouchner said he hoped a French bill passed in October 2006 calling for jail sentences for those who deny that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against Armenians during World War I would not stand in the way of improving ties.

Turkey has threatened unspecified measures against the bill, which followed a 2001 French parliament resolution, which had already poisoned bilateral ties, recognising the killings as genocide.

In a newspaper interview published Friday, Kouchner insisted that Turkey's EU accession talks were an "open-ended" process that did not guarantee membership.

Sarkozy told Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York last month that the negotiations would lead to closer ties between Turkey and the EU, "even though we disagree on the ultimate goal of these talks," Kouchner told Milliyet.

"Therefore, everything is open-ended today," he said, adding that a debate on the future of Europe was also needed.

Turkey conducted far-reaching reforms to win the green light for accession talks in October 2005 despite strong opposition in European public opinion, notably in France.

Last year, its bid took a serious blow when the EU, in response to Ankara's refusal to grant trade privileges to Cyprus, suspended talks in eight of 35 policy areas candidates must negotiate.

Kouchner said France wants to cooperate with Turkey in the field of energy in particular and would try to overcome Turkish opposition to the participation of Gaz de France (GDF) in the Nabucco pipeline project to carry natural gas from the Middle East and Central Asia to the EU via Turkey and the Balkans.

"This is a very important issue for France and I hope for speedy progress," he told Milliyet.

The Turkish gas company BOTAS is reportedly blocking GDF's inclusion in the project in retaliation for the Armenian genocide bill.

Kouchner said France also backs a strong Turkish role in resolving regional issues such as the turmoil in Iraq, the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, the instability in Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Kouchner was to meet Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul before wrapping up his visit late Friday.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j3VVJo3zrK5x39yDZ3wSsDcgvJ9g

[Siamanto]

Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

WILSON CONFESSES US NOT DOING ENOUGH ABOUT PKK

Turkish Daily News, Turkey
Oct 5 2007

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson late Wednesday condemned the
latest terrorist attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK), admitting the attacks showed that the United States was not
doing enough to fight the terrorist group.

"I condemn those attacks and other terrorist attacks that are occurring
on a daily basis throughout the world. They are reminders that none of
us is doing enough or working as effectively as we should to combat
terrorism," said Wilson, who attended a fast-breaking (iftar) dinner
hosted by the Confederation of Turkish Businessmen and Industrialists
(TUSKON) in Istanbul.

The ambassador said he mourned for all the victims of the terrorist
attacks in Turkey including those brutally murdered last weekend in
Şırnak and this week in İzmir.

"I am saddened that Turkey's allies, including the United States,
are not doing, or are not seen as doing, all they should now on the
PKK," he added.

"I am determined, and (U.S.) President (George W.) Bush is determined,
that we will be more effective in the future with our Turkish allies
in preventing terrorism here and elsewhere," he said.

Wilson emphasized that the struggle against terrorism was a defining
issue of the 21st century all over the world and said: "We must
not let terrorists and our other enemies divide us; that is their
objective. We must stand together, and we must prevail."

On the genocide resolution before the U.S. House of Representatives,
the ambassador repeated that the Bush administration strongly opposed
it and was working against it with speed and energy.

"Political determinations on these events will not honor the past as
much as dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation among Turks
and Armenians will," he said and expressed belief that the resolution
will not pass.

"Whatever happens, and I hope and believe this resolution will not pass
in the House, it will have no effect on the policy of the United States
government, and the imperative for the United States and Turkey to work
together on our many vital common interests will not change," he added.

Wilson met with Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan yesterday. The
meeting was closed to the press.

-----------
Copyright 2007, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of Groong readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact Turkish Daily News Online at
http://www.TurkishDailyNews.com for details.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg204828.html

[Siamanto]

Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

THE PROBLEM: COMMON HISTORY AND PARTICULAR IDENTITY
By Dogu Ergil

Today's Zaman, Turkey
Oct 7 2007

"Identity" has become the center of focus of both politics and
social science lately. Until recently, we were talking about national
identity in particular and "Western" and "non-Western" identities in
general. However, today we are talking about multiple identities both
as individuals and as groups. For some, this is a great danger to the
unity of the nation; for others, it is an awakening for coming to terms
with the plural realities of our own lives as well as our society's.

Nonetheless, how we learn history and how our collective lives
are shaped by it is very important in our personal and collective
development. For example, we Turks were educated believing that:

1- We migrated from Central Asia and settled in Anatolia as if it
was a vacant piece of land. Such a belief is based on the premise
that there was no fusion of cultures and mixture of races.

2- We are a uniform nation with no diversity or hierarchy; state and
society are one entity.

3- We are an oppressed nation (totally disregarding our imperial
past that dominated continents and a sundry of conquered peoples)
that has been delivered from the yoke of Western imperialism through
the War of Independence (1919-1922). So being on constant watch for
foreign intervention and sinister plans to divide our country has
been a national preoccupation that has reached the dimensions of
collective paranoia.

Our educational system has been influenced by these assumptions and
fears. The Turkish history curriculum revolves around developing a
unified national identity and provides few opportunities for students
to examine diversity within or outside the country. The creation of
a sense of national identity is at the core of the social studies
curriculum from the earliest years of schooling all the way through
high school. This takes place not only through overt nationalism
or patriotic indoctrination, but through repeated and systematic
attention to national origins that is built on semi-mythical stories
of victories and larger-than-life heroes. Defeats, failures and the
failing leaders are deliberately omitted, creating a void in the face
of reality that does not correspond with this glorified narrative.

Schools avoid issues of cultural, religious and ethnic diversity and
thus do little to help students move beyond the bonds of their own
political/religious communities and build transcendental visions of
living together in harmony. A more productive way of incorporating
diversity into the history curriculum would involve attention to
the reality of interlocked communities with ethnic and religious
differences in the nation's past. This could help promote pluralism
and democracy.

Teachers and their pupils repeatedly use first person pronouns like we,
us and our when discussing the nation's past. The events they select
as historically significant are those that established the country's
political origins, marked it off as unique from other nations and led
to its current demographic makeup, which is ethnically and religiously
rather homogeneous. However, the story they tell of the nation's
past is one that denies progress. While history is turned into a
fabricated fiction, problems that have been lingering from the past
cannot be solved because they are not understood at all. Take the
Armenian and Kurdish problems: There is no place for them in Turkish
historiography -- that is why both issues have become dilemmas for
us that are hard to comprehend and hard to deal with.

The end result is the syndrome of "split social consciousness and
multiple histories." It is no wonder that Kurds and Armenians or even
those of Turkish origin who identify themselves as Muslims first have
a different historical narrative than the one taught in school.

It is not history education that dwells on diversity as a historical
reality, but this artificial uniformity that threatens national
solidarity that could have been born out of citizens' consensus,
living together and respecting differences. On the contrary, minority
students encounter alternative and politicized accounts of the
national past in their homes and communities. This bifurcation born
out of a common history lived through the prism of particular group
experiences divides the lives and minds of many students/citizens
creating identities that are mutually exclusive. This is not only
painful on the individual level, it is harmful for national unity in
that it bolsters sectarian perspectives.

Indeed, students who are confused with this bifurcation, particularly
those from minority backgrounds, eventually come to reject national
identification because the official story of the past excludes or
minimizes their own backgrounds. Nor does this kind of narrow history
help students develop an understanding of the perspectives of people
from backgrounds other than their own.

If Turkey is going to be a pluralist democracy, it must promote a
national identity that encourages inclusiveness and diversity that
do not dismiss other identities important to its citizens. It would
also mean a greater emphasis on events that have led to broader
participation in the nation's life by groups omitted from history
and narratives of national development.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg204998.html

[Siamanto]

Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

KURDISH REBELS KILL 13 TURKISH SOLDIERS
By Dan Murphy

Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1008/p99s01-duts.html

Oct 8 2007

Attacks near Iraq border raise tensions with potentially crucial
Middle East peacemaker.

Cairo - The Associated Press reports that members of a separatist
Kurdish group killed 13 Turkish soldiers near the country's southern
border with Iraqi Kurdistan on Sunday, raising tensions at a border
that separates America's staunchest allies in Iraq, the Kurds, with
Turkey, another key US ally.

Turkey has been pressing Iraq and the United States to hit the bases
of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq, and has
considered a unilateral military operation across the border to root
out the rebels.

An operation to track down the rebels was under way, and troops
shelled areas near the border to try to prevent rebels from reaching
their bases in northern Iraq, the statement said.

Turkey signed a counterterrorism pact with Iraq in September and had
demanded it be allowed to send its troops to Iraq's north to pursue
the Kurdish rebels. But Iraq did not agree to the demand under pressure
from the leaders of its semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

"We are not concerned with this issue because these clashes and
shelling happened inside Turkish territories. This is a Turkish
internal problem," Jamal Abdullah, a spokesman for the government of
Iraq's Kurdish region, said after Sunday's attack.

The Guardian newspaper of Britain says pressure is growing on Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan to take unilateral action in northern Iraq,
since many Turkish leaders believe the semiautonomous Iraqi Kurds
are protecting the Kurdish separatists.

The Turkish cabinet met today amid heightened pressure to hit back
at Kurdish separatists in Iraq after 13 soldiers were killed in an
ambush yesterday, and two more today.

Three others were also wounded today in the separate attacks in
south-eastern Turkey, which followed yesterday's death toll, the
worst the Turkish military has suffered at the hands of Kurdish forces
in years.

Mr. Erdogan has come under intense pressure from the military to be
allowed to hit PKK bases in northern Iraq. But the US and Iraq have
urged him to hold his military in check for fear that a big incursion
would destabilize northern Iraq, an area of relative calm compared
with the rest of the country.

In an editorial, Lebanon's Daily Star argues that Turkey could become
a crucial player in Middle East peacemaking efforts, as long as steps
are avoided that might alienate them.

Given the webs of countries that do and do not talk to one another in
or about the Middle East, no one is better-placed than the Turks to
defuse tensions by opening up new channels of communication. Turkey
is on good terms with both the United States and Israel, and although
its bid to join the European Union is an uncertain prospect, its
relations with several key European countries are solid. In addition,
Ankara has strengthened ties in recent years with both Damascus and
another of Washington's favorite whipping boys, Tehran.

Since it is both an increasingly crucial source of foreign investment
for Iran and controls the taps for much of Syria's water resources,
Turkey is obviously capable of helping to coerce its neighbors.

They must, however, have an incentive to do so if anyone expects them
be helpful. Further isolation is likely only to make them feel more
threatened - and therefore more determined to undermine US and/or
Israeli policies across the Middle East.

The US relationship with Iraq's Kurds has also been strained of late,
with Kurdish officials in northern Iraq protesting against the US
detention of five Iranian diplomats that had been visiting Iraq at
the request of the Kurdish regional government.

On Monday, Iran opened border crossings with Iraqi Kurdistan that had
been closed for weeks in protest of the detentions, the Associated
Press reports.

The Iraqis have found themselves caught between two allies as they
struggle to balance the interests of their main sponsor the U.S.

military and Iran, a major regional ally. Iran holds considerable
sway in Iraq as both countries have majority Shiite populations and
many members of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ruling Shiite
bloc have close ties with Tehran.

The border points, which had been shut down on Sept. 24, were reopened
after a Kurdish delegation traveled to Iran to complain the region
should not be punished for something the Americans did. Iraqi and
Iranian authorities have claimed that the detained Iranian, Mahmoud
Farhadi, was in Iraq on official business and demanded his release.

Meanwhile, US-Turkish ties are also being strained over a bill now
in the US Congress that would label the massacres of ethnic Armenians
in what was then Ottoman Turkey a "genocide," Reuters reports.

The Bush administration opposes a genocide resolution, but Congress
is dominated by the Democratic Party, and, according to Turkish media,
the Foreign Relations Committee will take up the issue on October 10.

"(The bill) would harm our strategic relationship ... and also
damage efforts to develop relations between Turkey and Armenia,"
the state-run Anatolian news agency quoted [Prime Minister] Tayyip
Erdogan as telling Bush in a telephone call.

Some political analysts say Ankara might consider restricting the
U.S. military's use of Incirlik Air Base, a logistics hub for the
Middle East, if Congress passes the bill.

Some Turkish politicians say the country has options to make life
difficult for the United States if the resolution passes, according
to a report in Today's Zaman, a Turkish English-language newspaper.

"We are not helpless if this resolution is passed," said Onur Oymen,
senior lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party
(CHP) and former diplomat, in a phone interview with Today's Zaman
yesterday. He noted that Turkey had responded to a US decision to
impose a military embargo on Turkey following the Turkish intervention
in Cyprus in 1974 by blocking US access to all bases in its territory.

According to Oymen the US may lose a major route for logistics
supplies for US troops in Iraq if Turkey decides to stop cooperating
with Washington on Iraq, another possible measure to retaliate a
congressional approval of the "genocide resolution."

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg205081.html

........

WILSON CONFESSES US NOT DOING ENOUGH ABOUT PKK

Turkish Daily News, Turkey
Oct 5 2007

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson late Wednesday condemned the
latest terrorist attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK), admitting the attacks showed that the United States was not
doing enough to fight the terrorist group.

"I condemn those attacks and other terrorist attacks that are occurring
on a daily basis throughout the world. They are reminders that none of
us is doing enough or working as effectively as we should to combat
terrorism," said Wilson, who attended a fast-breaking (iftar) dinner
hosted by the Confederation of Turkish Businessmen and Industrialists
(TUSKON) in Istanbul.

The ambassador said he mourned for all the victims of the terrorist
attacks in Turkey including those brutally murdered last weekend in
Şırnak and this week in İzmir.

"I am saddened that Turkey's allies, including the United States,
are not doing, or are not seen as doing, all they should now on the
PKK," he added.

"I am determined, and (U.S.) President (George W.) Bush is determined,
that we will be more effective in the future with our Turkish allies
in preventing terrorism here and elsewhere," he said.

Wilson emphasized that the struggle against terrorism was a defining
issue of the 21st century all over the world and said: "We must
not let terrorists and our other enemies divide us; that is their
objective. We must stand together, and we must prevail."

On the genocide resolution before the U.S. House of Representatives,
the ambassador repeated that the Bush administration strongly opposed
it and was working against it with speed and energy.

"Political determinations on these events will not honor the past as
much as dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation among Turks
and Armenians will," he said and expressed belief that the resolution
will not pass.

"Whatever happens, and I hope and believe this resolution will not pass
in the House, it will have no effect on the policy of the United States
government, and the imperative for the United States and Turkey to work
together on our many vital common interests will not change," he added.

Wilson met with Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan yesterday. The
meeting was closed to the press.

-----------
Copyright 2007, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of Groong readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact Turkish Daily News Online at
http://www.TurkishDailyNews.com for details.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg204828.html