Turkish Daily News, 96-06-14

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From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>

TURKISH DAILY NEWS
14 June 1996

CONTENTS

[01] Message to Erbakan: Army not against Refah forming a coalition government

[02] Clinton concerned about Turkish-Greek tension

[03] State Department grateful for Turkish training of Bosnians

[04] Turkey and Croatia to sign military cooperation agreement

[05] The Olympic struggle for human rights?

[06] Wounded Turkey takes on confident Portugal

[01] Message to Erbakan: Army not against Refah forming a coalition government

By Ilnur Cevik
Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Pro-Islamic Welfare Party (Refah) Chairman Necmettin Erbakan has received word from the military that the Armed Forces are loyal to democracy and will not object to him becoming prime minister through the parliamentary system, Refah sources told the Turkish Daily News on Thursday.

According to the sources who asked not to be named, the military feels the center-right politicians are trying to make the Armed Forces their scapegoat and that this will not be tolerated.

Outgoing Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz had virtually nailed an agreement with Erbakan three months ago for a coalition partnership but decided to scrap the deal at the last minute to form a coalition with the True Path Party (DYP). At the time there were speculations that the military had dissuaded Yilmaz from forming the coalition with Erbakan and had forced him into a partnership with the DYP.

The TDN learned from Refah sources that True Path Party (DYP) officials who are negotiating a possible coalition partnership with the Islamists said DYP leader Tansu Ciller should be prime minister for the first six months because the military did not want Erbakan as prime minister to head their Supreme Military Council meetings scheduled for early August.

The military reportedly does not care who is prime minister and thus chairs the Supreme Military Council. The prime minister is the symbolic head of the council but does not take part in the deliberations and decision-making process of the council which decides on promotions, appointments and retirements of top level military officials. Refah was reportedly told as the presence of the prime minister is a mere formality there is no reason why Erbakan or someone else should not lead the council.

Sources said the military prefers to keep a certain distance from Refah but this does not mean it will oppose the party from coming to power as a coalition partner.

[02] Clinton concerned about Turkish-Greek tension

By Ugur Akinci
Turkish Daily News

WASHINGTON- The Clinton administration today put slightly different spins on Greek press reports that a "Greek-Turkish collision is possible." While President Clinton talked in a manner to confirm such reports by saying that he was "very concerned" about escalating tensions, the State Department downplayed the issue and advised skepticism against "those who talk in the background."

Greek Prime Minister Simitis and Defense Minister Arsenis within the last few days have gone on the record claiming that Turkey presented an "immediate threat" to the national security of Greece. The Greek National Security Council recently convened to discuss the military and political measures to be adopted if there is conflict with Turkey. It reportedly endowed Arsenis with the authority to launch an attack on Turkey without even having to consult Prime Minister Simitis.

Burns on ET-1

Greek TV channel ET-1 reported on June 9 that "U.S. State Department officials consider a Greek-Turkish collision probable." Referring to a report published in daily I Kathimerini newspaper, ET-1 went further and said that, according to the same reports, "U.S. State Department officials unofficially use harsh language regarding Turkish policy, saying that the Turks seem to have gone crazy on this issue."

Commenting on the ET-1 broadcast, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said on Wednesday: "I don't think there is a heightened prospect of any altercation or confrontation between Greece and Turkey. I wouldn't pay too much attention to people who are talking on the background about this. I'd pay attention to what we are saying authoritatively on the record."

Burns also implied that political instability in Turkey is a part of the problem. "Turkey needs time to work out its own internal political questions before there could be some stability in the government," Burns said. He said that once that happens, the two NATO allies could discuss how they could resolve some of their problems, he said.

Burns said that working out such problems was completely up to Turkey and Greece. He said that the United States would help if it was asked to, "They know our address." But added that "if they don't want us there, we won't be there."

Clinton

President Clinton, appearing on Wednesday at a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Prodi and European Commission President Jacques Santer, was asked a similar question on the "heightened tension between Greece and Turkey."

After saying that he had not discussed the matter with Santer or Prodi, Clinton added: "but I can tell you that I am very concerned about it. Both those nations are our allies and Europe's allies through NATO, and I believe that the future of the region which they both occupy would be immeasurably brighter if they can resolve their problems, and (would be) immeasurably darker if they cannot.

"And so it's a source of great concern to me, and we have invested quite a bit of time on it in the last few months, and I expect to invest even more time on it in the months (ahead), and if the people decide (on reelecting Clinton), in the years ahead... The resolution of the difficulties between Greece and Turkey is central to having the kind of future for Europe and particularly for the Mediterranean region that we want."

[03] State Department grateful for Turkish training of Bosnians

WASHINGTON- The U.S. State Department praised Turkish efforts to train Bosnians near Ankara and denied that Washington told Ankara to stop its efforts. Ideally, "we would have preferred that the training would have been delayed until the last foreign fighter left [Bosnia]," admitted Nicholas Burns, State Department spokesman. But now that "the Turks started," the United States was determined "to accentuate the positive," he said.

"Turkey is a major supporter of the U.S. initiative. Once the last foreign fighter leaves ... then we will initiate our program. The Turks will be a great part of that," he said.

Grateful

"We are grateful for the support of the Turks," Burns added. "Turks are acting consistent with ... European values. I think that some of the other European countries want to emulate Turkey in this regard."

"We appreciate no further effort by the Turks until the last foreign fighter has left," he said. Previously Burns said there were only four Iranian fighters left, whose names, identities and addresses were given to the Bosnian government.

[04] Turkey and Croatia to sign military cooperation agreement

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Croatian President Franjo Tudjman will visit Ankara by the invitation of Turkish President Suleyman Demirel and the two countries will sign a military cooperation agreement as well as tourism, technology, and science cooperation agreements.

Croatia considers a military cooperation agreement with Turkey very important to its goal of becoming a member of NATO, particularly because Turkey has a lot of experience as a NATO member, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The current cooperation agreement may pave the way for other cooperation agreements between Croatia and Turkey in the defense industry field. Such a cooperation has been made already between Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

President Tudjman will visit Ankara for two days on June 19 and 20 with Defense Minister Gojko Susak and Foreign Minister Mate Granic. During the visit, a protocol will also be signed, which will enable the Turkish International Cooperation Agency to open a bureau in Zagreb.

Recent developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina will be discussed during the talks where the Turkish side will reportedly try to promote the importance of strengthening the Bosnian-Croat Federation.

[05] The Olympic struggle for human rights?

Turkish Daily News

ISTANBUL- "Turkey is dedicated to advancing the cause of human rights despite the presence of malign element- terrorism- pinching the Turkish nation from within and without."

This rather ungainly quote is taken directly from the introduction to a brochure on human rights published by the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs. One of a package of material prepared for participants in the UN Habitat II conference, this heavily qualified and ungrammatical statement is fairly typical of the document as a whole. For a country like Turkey with a more than dubious record in the human rights department and aspirations to host the 2004 Olympics, this government publication is far from unequivocal acceptance of widely accepted standards.

In fact, the tone of the brochure is decidedly defensive. Much of the brochure is concerned with alleged criticisms of the Turkish human rights record by the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) and its supporters. But as a terrorist organization the PKK is certainly not noted for its human rights record, so it's indeed strange that their opinions should carry such weight. Shorter mention is made of other religious and ethnic minorities, again aimed at countering what the Foreign Ministry sees as unwarranted criticism from, apparently, foreign sources.

The unfortunate implication is that human rights are something only demanded by "minority groups", and then only at the bidding of 'outside' forces. Despite giving details of numerous amendments to the Turkish constitution and listing Turkey's many accessions to international treaties, nowhere are human rights referred to as something to which the Turkish population as a whole should be concerned with.

At the Habitat NGO forum however, there was no sign of Turkish people ignoring the human rights issue. In fact many ofthe stalls were occupied with Turkish groups whose sole concern was human rights. Chilling photographs and texts in several languages detail terrible human rights' abuses in several different countries. Turkoman people in Iraq have, not surprisingly perhaps, suffered terribly under the despotic regime of Saddam Hussein. In western China - or eastern Turkistan as it is also referred to - native Turkomens have been removed from positions of authority as the region has been settled by increasing numbers of Han Chinese moved in by the Chinese government. Continued nuclear testing in the region has left many parts uninhabitable and has led to the predictable increases in cancers. Displays showing the results of Russian occupation of Chechenya and the occupation of parts of Azerbaijn by Armenian government forces were equally disturbing.

The Turkish speaking minority from Greece were also represented. Greek government policy has long centered around moving the Turkish Muslim community from Western Thrace to areas where it can more easily assimilated. The closure of schools and mosques coupled with continued harassment by the police and civil authorities has forced many to Turkish Greeks leave. Another Foreign Ministry brochure available to people attending Habitat details these and other human rights abuses.

Groups concerned with minorities inside Turkey received no such official sanction however. This in spite of the government statement reprinted above. On the contrary, foreigners attending the NGO forum complained constantly about the presence of plain clothes policemen. One utterly innocuous seminar on the "colourful life of dark people" -- ie gypsies -- attracted 11 people, two of whom were plain clothes police. While one of the policemen dominated the discussion with loud irrelevant contributions, the other attempted to interview the three Turkish participants and ascertain why they were interested in gypsies.

Outside of Habitat too further Turkish interest in human rights issues made itself evident. The Turkish human rights group IHD organized an "Alternative Habitat" conference, only to find it closed down practically before it started. Further interest was shown by the friends and relatives of the 400 or so people who, since 1979, are alleged to have "disappeared" whilst in police custody. Their silent peaceful protests have been taking place outside Galatasaray school for the past year. Coverage by the press was minimal, with journalists attending dutifully in case of incident.

Last Saturday they were rewarded (sic). Although officially banned the demonstration went ahead anyway with predictable results. A larger than usual but none the less peaceful group of people attempted to sit down in Galatasaray Square but were immediately set upon by the legions of waiting police. Journalists, photographers and even delegates from the Habitat conference were arrested, many being severely beaten in the process. Television pictures of the unwarranted brutality were shown all over the world and photographs were published in many of the world's leading journals. A press conference held the following day to protest at the arrests was also broken up by the police with many arrests.

There were by this time an estimated 1500 people in custody. As releases began - without charge - groups of people congregated outside police stations to welcome their friends. Prominent human rights lawyer Serpil Kaya emerged from her incarceration to find a group of her friends being harassed by the police. On pointing out that they weren't breaking the law she was immediately rearrested. Judging the reaction of shocked delegates to the Habitat conference was not difficult, they were only too happy to express their anger at what they had witnessed. As a spokesman for the NGOs explained in a press conference, "We have witnessed that hundreds of individuals have been beaten, arrested and detained while demonstrating peacefully on the city streets. We will not forget what we have seen."

During the whole length of the Habitat conference another demonstration has been going on, largely unnoticed. Teams of runners have been jogging along the Bosphorus bearing Olympic flags. Turkey's bid for the 2000 Olympics failed to make much impression. The Habitat conference is one of the first major international events to be staged in Turkey. The current bid for the 2004 Olympic games has been making good use of Habitat to show the international community what Turkey is capable of. Those efforts now appear sadly wasted.

Until a Turkish government can make a statement regarding human rights that is both unqualified and is seen to be put into practice it is most unlikely that the international community will see fit to trust Turkey with another event of major significance. After the events of the past two weeks the effort required to bring the 2004 games to Istanbul would seem to be more herculean than olympic.

[06] Wounded Turkey takes on confident Portugal

By Keith N. Dearn

Turkish Daily News

ANTALYA- Following the heartbreaking goal five minutes from time which dashed Turkey's hopes in its opening Euro 96 match against Croatia on Tuesday, coach Fatih Terim maintained a spirit of optimism in his statements to the press.

"Nothing has been lost," he said. "We still have a chance to make the quarterfinals." Fighting words, but in its second Group D appearance against Portugal this evening Turkey is right up against the wall. A second defeat means curtains for its hopes of further progress. The mathematics of this group are such that losing against Portugal would give that country plus either Croatia or Denmark an unassailable lead over Turkey whatever happens in the subsequent match between the latter two. A draw for the Turks would keep their chances alive, but they would then require victory in their final fixture against Denmark.

Fatih Terim is still saying that he will leave the national team job after this tournament to take over at Galatasaray. One of the possible successors being tipped by the media is, astonishingly, the Gambling Man Christoph Daum, the German coach who departed in disgrace from Besiktas before the end of the domestic League season. Terim's team selection on Tuesday was worthy of that master of the lunatic risk himself and, although the players in the main did him proud, the coach must know that he has to make changes once again. This time there is no alternative to risk-taking -- Turkey has to go all out for three points against Portugal.

What will Terim do? Here we, along with the rest of the sporting media are guessing. We believe that he will probably stay with the same defensive formation, which means keeping Rahim Zafer and young Vedat Inceefe in the team, to allow Ogun Temizkanoglu to move into a more attacking role once again.

Despite that late goal, the problem against Croatia lay not in defense but in midfield and up front. In the second half, there was a yawning gap in the center of midfield where Tugay Kerimoglu failed to establish himself as playmaker. Tugay should either go or be relegated once again to a supporting role. In our opinion, Terim has two options here. He may move Sergen Yalcin to a more central position. Sergen did not have a bad game against Croatia, though we do not share the opinion of some that he was the star of the team. His problem was that he spent most of the 90 minutes wide on the left, whence he had little influence in setting up attacks. The other alternative, probably the likelier one, is the return of captain Oguz Cetin. Terim may also be tempted to add more speed and bite by bringing in Tayfun Korkut.

The coach's other problem is at the heart of the attack. Hakan Sukur worked hard against the Croats but was tightly marked and received virtually no support where it mattered, in the penalty area. Terim must find a way of giving him that support and this could mean a place in the starting lineup for Hami Mandirali at the expense of Arif Erdem. Hami is, in any event, worth having around for his usefulness in dead ball situations.

What of the opposition? Some pundits rated Portugal as the best side in the competition after the opening round of matches, even though it was, somewhat unluckily, held to a draw by Denmark. I wouldn't go that far. I have not seen every minute of every game and, in any case, I do not believe any one side has yet emerged as dominant. What I would say is that of those I've seen, Portugal was by far the most fun to watch, playing with a youthful swagger, invention and bravado that nobody else quite matched. For certain the Portuguese midfield is more mobile and more innovative than the Croatian one, which makes Terim's team selection even more important.

But Portugal has its problems, too. Against the Danes, the defense showed that it can be caught napping even by quite a moderate attacking side. And the Portuguese strikers failed to turn superiority into victory. It is no accident that coach Antonio Oliveira has had his players practicing shooting skills in training. Nevertheless Turkey will need to keep a tight grip on the likes of Rui Costa, Ricardo Sa Pinto and, perhaps most of all, Joao Vieira Pinto, who seems to have lost a shade of the aggression which took him to Atletico Madrid and later to Benfica but who is still capable of coming good on the big occasion. Although Domingos Oliveira appears not to have fully recovered from a serious injury which kept him out of the latter part of FC Porto's domestic campaign and probably will not be a starter, he is a dangerous second-half wild card should Oliveira need one.

Oliveira is not a man who speaks overmuch to the press, but his assistant, Joaquim Teixeira, told journalists on Wednesday that major changes are unlikely for this game. "When you are playing well, it is best not to change anything," he said, "and in our last game we did well." Predictably, Teixeira promised to attack the Turks: "We are more developed technically, we have good attacking players, so it is natural if we take the game to them."

Turkish defender Alpay Ozalan has been selected for a special fair play award by Czech Soccer Association President Frantisek Chalovsky because he did not bring Goran Vlaovic down illegally from behind in the match against Croatia but instead allowed him to run on and score. This is part of the Euro 96 Fair Play and Charity Project. The fanatical Turkish fans who will pack the City Ground, Nottingham once again this evening will not be looking for fair play so much as victory. Who knows? Portugal is, make no mistake, a very tough nut to crack but Turkey has cracked tough nuts already on its way to these finals and there is no lack of courage and willpower in the team. Now it's up to Fatih Terim to harness that courage and apply it in productive ways.

PROBALE TEAMS

Turkey: 22-Rustu Rencber, 4-Vedat Inceefe, 3-Alpay Ozalan, 15-Tayfun Korkut, 8-Ogun Temizkanoglu, 13-Rahim Zafer, 10-Oguz Cetin, 17-Abdullah Ercan, 19-Tolunay Kafkas 7-Hami Mandirali, 9-Hakan Sukur.

Portugal: 1-Vitor Baia, 3-Paulinho Santos, 16-Helder, 5-Fernando Couto, 13-Dimas, 18-Folha, 10-Rui Costa, 19-Paulo Sousa, 20-Figo, 15-Dominguez 63, 9-Sa Pinto.

Standings

         P W D L GF GA Pts
 Croatia 1 1 0 0 1  0  3
 Denmark 1 0 1 0 1  1  1
Portugal 1 0 1 0 1  1  1
  Turkey 1 0 0 1 0  1  0

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