Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 09-10-27

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

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Preparations in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to Talats visit to Ankara on the 29th of October

[02] Ercakica on Talats visit to Ankara and on his candidature for the presidential elections

[03] Eroglu said that this is the last chance for an agreement- He has not decided if he will be a candidate for the presidential elections

[04] A delegation of the Republican Turkish Party will participate in the congress of the Swedish Party and will hold contacts with officials of the Swedish Foreign Ministry

[05] Turkish and Russian stock Exchanges sign MoU to enhance cooperation

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[06] From the Turkish Press of 26 October 2009

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Preparations in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to Talats visit to Ankara on the 29th of October

It was found out that the preparatory work before the December 2009 EU meeting was discussed rather than a new situation during the meeting which was held under the presidency of the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu for the solution of the Cyprus problem with the participation of the ambassadors concerned and the heads of the Foreign Ministry departments and officials.

Vatan goes on and writes the following:

According to information acquired by Kibris Postasi from sources in Turkey, which is published on the internet, the following points came forward during these preparatory meetings.

Intensified influential diplomatic initiatives will be undertaken on the Cyprus Issue.

It will be asked mainly from the USA and the UN to play a more influential role for the progress of the negotiations

The appointment of a special representative by the USA and a more influential role in the process by the UN Secretary-Generals special envoy for Cyprus Downer, is important for the future of the process. Efforts will be exerted on this issue.

The presidential elections to be held in April 2010 in TRNC have bound the process to a natural timetable. This process is not without a timetable and it is not open-ended like the Greek Cypriot leader Christofias wants.

Just like Davutoglu said in the TRNC on 2nd September, the process cannot continue forever. In this process a result will be taken in any case. Either a result in the direction of an agreement will come up in the negotiations or the island will enter into a different solution process, a process definitely towards partition, that is, to another model except federation, on a new ground.

Those who do not secure contribution to the solution in the island cannot exert pressure on the Republic of Turkey for opening its ports and airports.

The Republic of Turkey has reiterated its strong will for a solution on every occasion. Within this framework the proposal put forward by Turkey in December 2007 is still valid.

The presidential elections to be held in the TRNC are a natural timetable. The result of this election, the decision the Turkish Cypriot people will make, whatever this will be, will influence this process. Everybody should show respect to the result which will come out.

(CS)

[02] Ercakica on Talats visit to Ankara and on his candidature for the presidential elections

Referring to the meetings which took place at the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday and Saturday regarding the Cyprus problem, Mr. Ercakica said that they are not aware of what has been discussed, however, he said that the Cyprus issue will definitely be discussed during the visit of the Turkish Cypriot leader Talat to Ankara at the week-end.

Mr. Ercakica underlined also the fact that Talats visit to Ankara is not related with the meeting which took place at the Turkish Foreign Ministry and he pointed out that they are in continuous consultation with Ankara.

Mr. Ercakica went on and said that the Turkish Cypriot sides stance on the Cyprus problem is clear from the beginning adding that there is no need for this to change.

Mr. Ercakica evaluated also the issue leaked first to the Greek Cypriot media and then to some newspapers in the occupied areas of Cyprus regarding the report that a proposal was made by the UN for state bonds on the property issue and said that even though there was no official proposal, some thoughts have been discussed in some diplomatic circles adding that they bargained on this issue on a technical level. Mr. Ercakica also said that this issue was not yet included in the negotiation process.

Mr. Ercakica replied also to questions regarding Talats visits to some villages which were described as an election campaign. Referring to the issue that the public is worried whether president Mehmet Ali Talat will be a candidate or not, Mr. Ercakica said that at the moment no decision was taken by Mr. Talat.

(AK)

[03] Eroglu said that this is the last chance for an agreement- He has not decided if he will be a candidate for the presidential elections

Mr Eroglu stated that the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat, has already started the election campaign, and added that he has not decided yet about his own candidacy. We have not even discussed this issue at the party yet. However, the National Unity Party (UBP) will have a candidate for this election, he stated.

Mr Eroglu went on saying that he is not very hopeful as regards the ongoing negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus problem, because of the uncompromising attitude of the Greek Cypriot side, and concluded:

We have come to a situation where it will be said, no more, if not done it is not done. That is, either there will be a solution or there is no solution. And on our part then we may be able to demand recognition of the TRNC. Besides, a recognized TRNC facilities the solution.

(CS)

[04] A delegation of the Republican Turkish Party will participate in the congress of the Swedish Party and will hold contacts with officials of the Swedish Foreign Ministry

(CS)

[05] Turkish and Russian stock Exchanges sign MoU to enhance cooperation

The Turkish and Russian stock exchanges signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday.

The Istanbul Stock Exchange of Turkey (IMKB) and the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) signed a memorandum of understanding to improve Turkish and Russian capital markets and share of information, the IMKB said. The IMKB released a statement in which it said the memorandum aimed to improve relations and cooperation between the two stock exchanges. Also, the memorandum of understanding foresaw forming a common index between IMKB and MICEX.

IMKB is the only corporation in Turkey for securities exchange established to provide trading in equities, bonds and bills, revenue-sharing certificates, private sector bonds, foreign securities and real estate certificates as well as international securities. The exchange was founded as an autonomous, professional organization in early 1986. The stock exchange is home to 320 national companies. All IMKB members are incorporated banks and brokerage houses.

Opened in 1992, MICEX is the leading Russian stock exchange, consisting of shares and corporate bonds about 600 Russian companies with a total capitalization of nearly 24 trillion Rubles.

MICEX consists of about 550 participating organizations and members, which do trading for their clients. In 2006 the volume of transactions on the MICEX reached 20.38 trillion rubles (754.9 billion USD), representing more than 90 percent of the total turnover of the leading stock exchanges in the Russian stock market.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[06] From the Turkish Press of 26 October 2009

a) Kurdish problem

In his column in Milliyet Fikret Bila refers to Prime Minister Erdogan's announcement regarding the time-out taken in the return of the PKK groups. According to rumors in Ankara, writes Bila, Prime Minister Erdogan and Chief of the General Staff Basbug jointly decided to call off the return of the PKK groups after the celebrations held at the Habur border gate during the return of 34 PKK members.

Anyone aware of the political energy that built up in the southeast would not be surprised by the celebrations staged for those returning from Qandil and Makhmur, maintains Kadri Gursel in his column in Milliyet. Arguing that the amassment of thousands of PKK sympathizers at the border for the homecoming 34 PKK members was a political move, Gursel asserts that the PKK will continue to make politics because both sides have already gained what they can through his use of arms. The era of arms is over and now it is time for politics, pens Gursel and adds that the process should be regarded as the "politicization of the PKK." Censuring Erdogan for his statement on stopping the Kurdish overture process and starting over from the very beginning, Gursel warns that the Justice and Development Party, AKP, could lose more than just votes. He concludes that the regional dynamics require the continuation of the process.

In his column in Sabah, Omer Taspinar points out that the alternative to the images witnessed in the joyous reception of 34 PKK militants is war and asks whether this is what Turkey prefers. Noting that the PKK enjoys public support since it is the outcome of the Kurdish issue and not the cause, Taspinar asserts that bringing down the militants from the mountains is Turkey's achievement. "Let us give up the fear of separation," Taspinar says, and adds that nobody can divide a democratic Turkey. Condemning the opposition parties for being unable to put forward any concrete political project, Taspinar maintains that now is the time for political courage and vision.

Taraf carries an interview by Nese Duzel with Seydi Firat, who was the spokesperson for the PKK group that came from Iraq. Despite the "recess" taken in the Kurdish overture, Firat believes that the government will continue to take democratic steps. Pointing out that joint groups consisting of both Kurds and Turks could welcome the groups that will arrive, Firat adds that interruption of the process would harm both the AKP and Turkey.

Alluding to Erdogan's "we can go back to the beginning" statement following the joyous welcome of the PKK group in Habur, Tarhan Erdem maintains that there is no going back to the beginning in an article in Radikal. According to Erdem, the point to return to would be far back from the point where Erdogan launched the Kurdish overture. Erdem points out that the Kurdish overture denotes the beginning of democracy, adding that if Turkey can understand and solve the Kurdish issue, true democracy can be established. Erdem concludes that the only way out is to stick with the Kurdish overture until the very end and urges the prime minister to continue the process.

In a column in Hurriyet Daily News.com, Yusuf Kanli argues that Prime Minister Erdogan postponed the arrival of the PKK group from Europe because his government "could not afford to establish a special tribunal in Istanbul Ataturk Airport" and to allow the group to continue "their planned victory celebrations" on the road to Istanbul, country's biggest city. Kanli points out that despite the outburst of emotional reaction to the government's conduct during the return of PKK members, the Turkish public has "managed to keep their anger within the limits of law and avoided violence." He warns, however, that the Nationalist Action Party, MHP, decision to organize protest rallies could lead to the "explosion of public anger against the government's initiative and to violence. "Once masses go to the streets," Kanli cautions, "the existing public outburst and the unprecedented anxiety regarding the national and territorial integrity of the country might indeed take a violent turn and land the country in very serious internal strife."

Erdal Atabek argues that PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan has won the battle while he is in prison in his article in Cumhuriyet. It is not the PKK but the Republic of Turkey that has surrendered, Atabek maintains, and adds that the Kurdistan project of the Sevres Treaty is being put into action.

Finally, in an article entitled "Perception management during the overture process", Yeni Safak columnist Yasin Aktay criticizes the Democratic Society Party, DTP, for what he describes as the way in which it has compromised a rare opportunity for dialog and peace created by the Government's latest Kurdish overture by holding welcoming rallies for a PKK group from northern Iraq that became the occasion of "uncontrolled joy" to the resentment of a large section of the population. He asserts that most people in Turkey who have had their sons in the army killed in clashes with the PKK see PKK militants "rightly or wrongly" as the murderers of their children, adding that despite its "shallow" quality stemming from being the result of "official propaganda," this perception is a de facto reality and that the DTP cannot hope to develop any effective communication strategies as long as it ignores this perception.

In an article entitled "Becoming brothers with Venizelos or Apo [Abdullah Ocalan]", Vakit columnist Abdurrahman Dilipak poses the question why Turkey should not be able to treat its Kurds as "brothers" seeing how Ataturk made peace with former Greek leader Eleftherios Venizelos following the Turkish War of Independence and how "we were declared brothers with the Anzacs who created a bloodbath in the Battle of Gallipoli."

In an article entitled "Is the KCK replacing the PKK?", Zaman columnist Mehmet Yilmaz questions the reasons behind PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan's frequent references to the Kurdistan Democratic Confederation, KCK, "in the latest statement he issued through his lawyers" and the lack of any mention of the DTP in the said statement. After highlighting parts of Ocalan's statement describing the KCK as "the democratic organization of society on the basis of freedom," Yilmaz asks whether this description does not hold true also for the DTP, why the KCK was established in the first place if the DTP can fulfill the same functions, and whether the KCK is supposed to be the new version of the PKK.

In an article entitled "From overture to disintegration", Zaman columnist Ali Bulac warns of a "grave tendency" whereby what has been a political dispute between Kurds and the Turkish state in the past 25 years is transforming into a rupture between Kurds and Turks following the return of a PKK group as part of the Government's Kurdish "overture." Bulac asserts that the Government appears to have unnecessarily hastened the process started by the Kurdish initiative as a result of foreign pressures and misleading advice received from certain "mentors" at home, adding that an amnesty for the PKK should have been the last step to consider in this initiative. He also criticizes the AKP for excluding Islamic groups and personages from the consultations being held as part of this process.

Finally, in an article entitled "Losing control in the overture process", Milli Gazete columnist Abdulkadir Ozkan cites the developments triggered by the return of a PKK group from northern Iraq to Turkey as evidence that the ruling AKP is not in full control of the ongoing "democratic overture process." He also claims that the enthusiastic welcome given to the returning PKK militants and the way the latter behaved as though they were "victorious heroes" have opened new "social wounds" as well as making it impossible for the people to have any faith from now on in the DTP and the PKK's sincerity in calling for peace.

b) Captain Dursun Cicek's coup document

In his column in Milliyet, Fikret Bila refers to the verification of a coup plan allegedly drawn up by Captain Dursun Cicek. Recalling that Gen Basbug viewed the said plan as a "piece of paper" when the relevant reports were published some time ago, Bila asserts the General Staff chief made this assessment with the reservation that if the document is proved to be true, then necessary steps would be taken. Stressing that nobody should doubt that Gen Basbug would take the necessary steps in line with the requirements of the pertinent Turkish Armed Forces, TSK, law, Bila points out that Gen Basbug, however, would object to turning this incident into a campaign to damage the entire TSK.

In Sabah Nazli Ilicak also refers to the verification of the Cicek document in her column and maintains that all military personnel linked to Captain Cicek should be detected and removed from office. Asking what Basbug should do, Ilicak says that if Turkey is a real democratic country, Gen Basbug should resign or be urged to retire.

Under the banner headline, "Here is that letter," Yeni Safak publishes a front-page report which provides highlights from the "tip-off letter" recently sent to the prosecutors conducting the Ergenekon investigation by an unnamed member of the Turkish Armed Forces, TSK, along with the "original" version of the "anti-reactionary action plan" said to have been prepared by Navy Captain Dursun Cicek. The report asserts that according to the letter, the said action plan was prepared "at the orders of an army general under the auspices of a lieutenant general with the support of a number of CHP [Republican People's Party] deputies."

In an article entitled "An action plan against putschists", Yeni Safak columnist Hakan Albayrak expresses the hope that the Erdogan government will not refrain from adopting a series of measures to "change the status quo radically" if the recently disclosed "terrorist [military] action plan" is proven to have been prepared by the General Staff. He advises the ruling AKP to take the following precautions to ensure the continuation of parliamentary and governmental authority and prevent the TSK from discrediting itself: 1. Arranging for all troops and particularly armored divisions in Ankara to be relocated to places away from the capital. 2 Changing all constitutional articles that could justify the military using its discretion to stage armed interventions. 3. Making the General Staff subordinate to the Ministry of Defense. 4. Making the Gendarmerie Command, which answers to the Interior Ministry "on paper," actually subordinate to the Interior Ministry. 5. Making it possible for the minister of defense to suspend from duty any officers whose names are implicated in coup plans, etc.

Under the headline, "Computers at headquarters reformatted 35 times following disclosure of document," Zaman carries a front-page report which quotes the unnamed TSK member who is said to have sent a letter to Ergenekon prosecutors regarding the "dirty plot against the nation and the Government" prepared by certain military elements that the computers at the General Staff were irreversibly reformatted after the said plot became public property.

In an article entitled "Either resign or apologize", Zaman Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanli calls on the CHP to apologize to the people for its "defense" of the Ergenekon network in the wake of the authentication of the military action plan against the ruling AKP and the Gulen movement. He asserts that certain journalists and commentators also owe an apology to the people for the way they "submitted to the manipulations of military sources" in covering the developments involving the said plan.

Under the headline, "Intellectuals call on gov't to take action against army plot," Today's Zaman runs a front-page report which asserts that "a large number of intellectuals, journalists and jurists have raised their voices once again against military intervention in politics after the discovery of the original copy of an alleged army plot to undermine the ruling party and the faith-based Gulen movement ..."

Finally, in an article entitled "A piece of paper to destroy democracy", Today's Zaman columnist Ihsan Dagi asserts that following the disclosure of the original copy of the anti-government "action plan" attributed to the military, "Gen. Basbug should resign or be dismissed by the government as a new start. This is not a joke; at the heart of his headquarters, someone is plotting criminal activities, according to an authenticated document."

EG/

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