Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 08-08-08

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] An opinion poll conducted in occupied Cyprus shows CTP as the first party with 22.9%, but 35.5% are undecided

[02] The Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation stressed the need for a law against human trafficking in occupied Cyprus

[03] Mehmet Cakici stated that the use of the passports of the Republic of Cyprus is a communal right.

[04] Kalyoncu stressed the importance of holding a referendum for a possible agreement to be reached to the Cyprus problem.

[05] The Commanders of the Turkish occupation army in Cyprus whose terms in office have ended paid farewell visit to Turkish Cypriots officials

[06] KTOS urges the Turkish Cypriot Football Federation to approach warmly FIFAs proposal to become member of KOP

[07] Two persons who were using false Bulgarian passports and wanted to cross to the free areas in order to go to Germany were arrested

[08] The investigations regarding the murder of Mustafa Akmandor continues

[09] Turkey to upgrade Pakistani F-16s as US sanctions ease

[10] Turkey to cooperate with Japan in Iraqs energy projects

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[11] Two dimensions of coup attempt

[12] From the Turkish Press of 7 August 2008

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] An opinion poll conducted in occupied Cyprus shows CTP as the first party with 22.9%, but 35.5% are undecided

According to the opinion poll if elections were to take place in occupied Cyprus at the time the poll was conducted, the results would have been as follows:

Republican Turkish Party (CTP):                 22.9%
National Unity Party (UBP):             15.4%
Freedom and Reform Party (ORP):         6%
Democratic Party (DP):                  4.1%
Social Democrat Party (TDP):            2.1%
Undecided:                                      35.5%
Other parties:                          14.2%

The paper also publishes the results of more questions answered in the opinion poll, according to which 82% of the polled persons, support the governments EU policy, 70% believe that Mehmet Ali Talat is the leader who will lead to the solution of the Cyprus problem, 50% do not trust the current government, 72% do not trust the opposition and 47% believe that the current situation in occupied Cyprus is as good as it was five years ago.

(CS)

[02] The Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation stressed the need for a law against human trafficking in occupied Cyprus

Afrika refers also to the same statements and reports that Mr Goynuklu said that the occupied area of Cyprus is one of the centres of the East and Central Europe for trafficking of women. He argued that the fact that the women who work in the night clubs pass through health control is tantamount to the acknowledgement by the state that prostitution is taking place. Referring to the fact that the passport of those women is confiscated by the police, he noted that preventing one violation of human right with another violation is out of the question.

The paper refers also to statements on the same issue by Romans Mapolar, one of the lawyers who contributed to the preparation of the above-mentioned draft-law. He said that the expression sexual service to the community which is included in the draft-law has been misunderstood and it should be re-arranged. The paper criticizes the use of this expression noting Look at what those who prepared the Draft Law for the Human Trafficking and Human Smuggling have put in this law in this country where prostitution is supposed to be forbidden.

(ITs)

[03] Mehmet Cakici stated that the use of the passports of the Republic of Cyprus is a communal right.

(CS)

[04] Kalyoncu stressed the importance of holding a referendum for a possible agreement to be reached to the Cyprus problem.

He claimed that the Turkish Cypriots have made activities in the past in the name of a referendum, they acquired this right as a result of their activities and after the referendum tangible developments took place in the relations of the TRNC with the world. Noting that the planned referendum will be conducted in line with the UN resolutions, Mr Kalyoncu referred to the importance of the de facto acceptance of an agreement adopted by the two peoples who live in Cyprus, having the support of the international community within this framework.

He expressed the belief that the Turkish Cypriots will vote yes for an agreement which will be protecting their interests and argued that there is possibility for the Greek Cypriots to say no showing as pretext the fact that the demographic structure in the occupied part of Cyprus has changed.

Mr Kalyoncu said that in case there was no agreement it would be very difficult for the TRNC to become a member of the EU. He noted that they want to lift the obstacle of Cyprus which is in front of Turkey and strengthen Turkey in its EU accession negotiations.

(ITs)

[05] The Commanders of the Turkish occupation army in Cyprus whose terms in office have ended paid farewell visit to Turkish Cypriots officials

Speaking during the visit to Mr Soyer, General Kivrikoglu stated: Always and in every place I will continue to be the voice of the Turkish Cypriots. He also said that the occupation forces did their duty not only for providing peace and tranquillity to the Turkish Cypriots but to the whole island and to the region. He also thanked Mr Soyer for the support the self-styled government had provided to the personnel of the Turkish occupation forces during their stay in Cyprus. Referring to the launching of the negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus problem, General Kivrikoglu stated that they hope the negotiations are aimed at bringing a just, lasting and undiluted solution which will protect the rights of the Turkish Cypriots, their sovereignty and political equality and that Turkeys guarantees will continue.

On his part Mr Soyer stated that the Turkish commanders worked in cooperation with the government during their term in office for the development of the Turkish Cypriots and for the solution of the Cyprus problem and added that the Turkish occupation army in Cyprus have been successfully continuing their duties by providing peace and security to the Turkish Cypriots. Mr Soyer also said that the Turkish occupation army gives support to the Turkish Cypriots, at a time the economy is going through a difficult period.

On the Cyprus problem Mr Soyer said that in the new partnership state the Turkish Cypriots will have their own state on the basis of political equality in a solution which could be achieved at the negotiations, Turkeys guarantees in the island will remain.

(CS)

[06] KTOS urges the Turkish Cypriot Football Federation to approach warmly FIFAs proposal to become member of KOP

(CS)

[07] Two persons who were using false Bulgarian passports and wanted to cross to the free areas in order to go to Germany were arrested

[08] The investigations regarding the murder of Mustafa Akmandor continues

[09] Turkey to upgrade Pakistani F-16s as US sanctions ease

Parallel to the easing of long-standing sanctions against Pakistan by the US, Turkey has begun to increase defence industry relations with this country, starting with a plan to upgrade the US-made Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters in the inventory of the Pakistani Air Force.

Pakistani and US sources told Todays Zaman that around 36 Pakistani Block 15 (oldest version) F-16 A/Bs will be upgraded by the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TA0). The Pakistani F-16s will receive a mid-life upgrade that primarily involves replacement of avionics and structural modifications bringing them close to Block 40 standards. The US recently gave permission for these upgrades. Belgium s SABCA and Netherlands Fokker were also bidders in the tender for the upgrade of the Pakistani F-16s. But the Turkish option gained prominence when Islamabad used its preference in favour of Turkey, Turkish defence industry sources said.

Under the deal, two or three Pakistani F-16s are expected to be upgraded at the TAI facilities, while the remaining F-16s will be upgraded in Pakistan, either at the Sargodhi F-16 base in Punjab or in Kamra, around 50 kilometres outside of Islabamad, at the Pac-Kamra aircraft factory.

Despite close political ties between the two countries, Turkish-Pakistani defence industry relations have not grown, due mainly to restrictions on US-made weapons in the Turkish military's inventory requiring Washington's permission for sales to and upgrades for third countries. Meanwhile, the US has completed a delivery of 14 second-hand F-16s to Pakistan under a foreign military sales deal signed in 2005.

Local defence contractor Aselsan has long been a strategic partner of Islamabad for the production of army field radios at a military facility in Pakistan.

Aselsan will also provide the Pakistani navy with four gyro-stabilized 25 millimetre guns under a deal signed almost a month ago.

Meanwhile, local contractor Havelsan sold Pakistan a $28 million tactical simulated range Electronic Warfare (EW) system to deter surface-to-air threats and for use in electronic warfare. Turkey and Pakistan earlier agreed to cooperate in research and development on a broad range of defence projects, including the joint production of cluster bombs. There have been ongoing talks on the progress of cooperation in various areas.

Some of the areas identified as potential fields for cooperation in defence, research, technology and production include:

Nuclear, biological and chemical detection, protection and decontamination equipment produced in Turkey

81 millimetre mortar ammunition

Production of cluster bombs with 300 to 400 bomblets each for different missions

Production of precision-guided munitions

Detection systems for use against improvised explosive devices

Precision-guided bomblets for conventional munitions

Cooperation in the sale and production of 122 millimetre short-range and long-range multiple rocket launcher ammunition. Turkey's Roketsan and the Turkish Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKEK) are proposing sales and joint production with Pakistan.

[10] Turkey to cooperate with Japan in Iraqs energy projects

Turkish State Minister for foreign trade offered Japanese companies to work together in Iraq in energy projects.

Turkish Petroleum Corporation and other Turkish oil companies could collaborate with Japanese firms as consortiums to develop oil production fields and open new fields, Tuzmen told the A.A following his meeting with a group of Japanese businessmen and Japan's Liberal Party lawmakers.

Tuzmen said giant projects to rehabilitate and reconstruct Iraq's oil refineries would start in the near future. He said companies should join forces in order to have influence in Iraqi energy market.

Iraq's electricity infrastructure will be rebuilt. We can also cooperate on it, he said.

Tuzmen said Turkish companies had logistic advantages in Iraq, stating that Turkish firms, especially construction companies, were experienced in Iraq's reconstruction works.

Several foreign companies are seeking opportunities to become partners with Turkish firms. Works of Turkish companies in construction field are quite obvious. Now we have to shift it to energy and other sectors, he said.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[11] Two dimensions of coup attempt

According to the indictment prepared by the Istanbul chief prosecutor with regard to the Ergenekon case: "The attack plans aimed to provoke. They included Fener Patriarch Bartholomew, Armenian Patriarch Mutafyan and Jewish businessman Ishak Alaton.

Some other names were also included." If the allegations are true, the goal of the organization was to ensure a civil war broke out. The plan of Cumhuriyet publisher and columnist Ilhan Selcuk, who is charged with serving as the civilian administrator of the organization, is to "let the fights grow so that the military will have to intervene (Zaman, Aug. 4, 2008)." The Ergenekon organization seeks to topple the government. Because they are convinced that this will not happen through democratic means, former Istanbul University Rector Kemal Alemdaroglu says, "This job cannot be done through democracy." When elections and democracy are discarded, old methods left from the Unionist (Ittihatci) leaders are naturally considered -- and this is of course a coup.

The point that needs to be underlined is that the entity called Ergenekon was verified by the National Intelligence Organization (M0T); but like the General Staff, MIT also asserts that they have no connection or relation to this organization or entity. Of course this does not necessarily mean that Ergenekon was not organized within the army and that it does not have extensions in it. But as an institution, the army has nothing to do with this; in other words, Ergenekon attempted to do something inside the army. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this "something" was a coup attempt. Therefore, it is possible that the upcoming supplemental indictment is related to this.

This picture can be drawn when these two points are combined: There is an entity outside of the institutional identity of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK); the goal of the entity is to cause turmoil and chaos and force the TSK to stage a coup in this chaotic environment. We can call this the creation of a suitable environment for a military coup.

Apparently the strategy was to stage a coup. The tactics were prepared based on a pretty simple logic: As noted by Selcuk, it was based on forcing the military to stage a coup with a fait accompli. First, the relevant external attempts would be made and the military would necessarily follow, anyway. Such horrible and terrorizing provocations would be carried out and such shocking assassinations and murder would be committed that the military would have to intervene because when internal safety is at stake and the government is paralyzed, unable to maintain law and order, relying on its own resources and opportunities, interference by the military would be inevitable.

This is one side of the coin. Of course, when the murders and assassinations committed in the near past are considered, the conclusion of this case is pretty important for the illumination of the near past because some circles -- especially religious -- were blamed for the murders and assassinations, the perpetrators of which were never identified. They were accused of crimes they did not commit and thanks to this, some other circles polarized the society to obtain political advantage.

Undoubtedly, the Ergenekon case is not all about this. In other words, there is one dimension of this operation that concerns foreign policy and is not discussed adequately. As is known, a National Security Council (MGK) secretary said a while ago that Turkey would draw a new road map that would exclude the US and the EU and that it might get closer to Russia, Iran and China. At the same time, a speech by then-Russian President Vladimir Putin was posted on the General Staff's Web site while the chief of general staff was on an official visit to the US.

All this led to the emergence of a view that a group inside the state which may be considered an important actor -- and not the state itself -- was eager to move Turkey from its Western orientation to the axis of Russia-Iran-China. As the operations become more conclusive and deeper, it becomes apparent that the entity called Ergenekon was really inclined toward Russia and that those who executed this operation were called "Eurasianists."

Considering all this, one cannot help but ask: Did the operations not seek to eliminate this group in addition to destroying their internal extensions? If so, it may be said that the US should be pretty content with these operations.

[12] From the Turkish Press of 7 August 2008

a) Columnist Urges Government To Solve Kurdish, Cyprus Issues:

Columnist Hasan Cemal addresses the government, saying if you want to solve Turkey's problems and introduce democratic change, that is, if you want to realize the EU project, you must tackle the issues head on. In an article in Milliyet, Cemal says that if we are to advance along the EU road, first and foremost the Kurdish and Cyprus problems must be resolved. Cemal also argues that Turkey's economic problems are linked to the EU process, as foreign investors will not favour a country that is not democratic and that is afflicted by instability and terrorism. Cemal explains that the Kurdish problem does not consist of the PKK alone, it also concerns the rights of the Kurdish community in Turkey.

In an article entitled "Kirkuk is not a joke", Milli Gazete columnist Hasan Unal warns of the possible implications for Kirkuk of the local administrations bill expected to be passed by the Iraqi parliament today. He accuses the AKP of withholding support from Turcomans in a manner which suggests that it is reciprocating the foreign support it received against the closure case heard by the Constitutional Court, adding that the AKP's policies have faced Turkey with serious risks to its interests in Cyprus and northern Iraq as well as in relations with Armenia.

b) Civilian-Military Relations:

Commenting on the recent statement issued by Republican People's Party, CHP, Deputy Kilicdaroglu that the army is collaborating with the AKP and that the car allocated to General Buyukanit is evidence to this collusion, Ergun Babahan charges that the CHP is displaying a two-faced attitude with regard to civilian-military relations. In his article in Sabah, Babahan explains that the CHP, which defended the 27 April memorandum issued by the army, is now criticizing the military and "waging a struggle for secularism" on the basis of an armoured vehicle purchased for a general. It is wrong to continuously force the military to make statements on political matters, Babahan remarks.

"Ilker Basbug, the Kurdish problem, and the big picture," headlines Murat Yetkin in a column in Radikal. Pointing out that the army is focused on the solution of the Kurdish problem, Yetkin says that the CHP may have been disturbed by the cooperation forged between the AKP government and the army in the struggle against the PKK because this pushed to the background the AKP practices regarding secularism. When the attention was again diverted away from the AKP closure case with the Ergenekon indictment, and the AKP case ended with non-closure, the CHP was upset and stepped up its criticism of the military, Yetkin explains. According to Yetkin, when the question of secularism is weighed against the threat of separatism, one can say that "in the big picture the Kurdish issue is most prominent." Yetkin also argues that Basbug can be expected to maintain the same relations with the government as Buyukanit in the struggle against the PKK.

In an article entitled "The proof is here", Yeni Safak columnist Fehmi Koru argues that for the Turkish Armed Forces, TSK, to abandon the practice of denying accreditation to certain news media outlets would be the most unequivocal and resolute move toward normalization in military-civilian relations, adding that the TSK used the concepts of "friend" and "foe" in defining its relations with the news media during the 28 February process and that for this reason, the discontinuation of the said practice during General Ilker Basbug's term as chief of staff would amount to a "paradigmatic change" in military attitude toward journalists.

c) Survey shows AKP first:

A report entitled "AKP on the rise, CHP, MHP on the decline" outlines the results of an A&G survey which reflects the impact on the electorate of the Ergenekon probe and the Constitutional Court's decision not to close down the AKP. The survey suggests that the AKP is set to obtain 35,3 percent of the vote, followed by "indecisive voters" with 25,9 percent, the CHP with 13,2 percent, the Nationalist Action Party, MHP, with 10,1 percent, and the Democratic Society Party, DTP, with 4,6 percent.

d) Rector appointment crisis:

In a report entitled "Academic storm over rector picks," Turkish Daily News details the events that ensued the appointment of 21 university rectors by President Abdullah Gul. The report says: "Among 21 rector nominations, a few stood out by the replacement of figures fiercely critical of the government and others with the instalment of academics close to the ruling AKP."

In Hurriyet in English, Oktay Eksi maintains that the new rector promotions raise question marks. In his editorial, Eksi charges that Gul did not receive high marks for his choices, given that the recent appointments led to "mass resignations" in protest against his selections.

Vatan's Gungor Mengi also comments on Gul's choice of university rectors, terming this a "missed opportunity" for the AKP which could have used this as an opportunity to make a new beginning following the recent court ruling not to ban the party. The AKP is continuing to do as it pleases as though nothing has happened, Mengi notes, recommending that universities rid themselves of the influence of the President's Office and the Higher Education Council, and elect their own rectors.

In an article entitled "A complete purge is not easy but a purge is under way already", Vakit columnist Selahaddin Cakirgil relates how what used to be institutions of higher learning [Dar-ul Funun] in the Ottoman Empire were turned into universities that functioned as a mouthpiece, he claims, for the Kemalist regime and were "purged" of elements perceived to be opposed to the official ideology of the state at various points in Republican history including particularly the military coup on 27 May, 1960. Cakirgil goes on to laud President Gul for starting a counter-purge by not appointing "putschist" professors as university rectors.

EG/

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