Turkish Daily News, 96-06-07

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

TURKISH DAILY NEWS
7 June 1996

CONTENTS

[01] Questions multiply as coalition crumbles

[02] Not just words: Habitat brings tangible results

[03] US Congress cripples foreign aid to Turkey

[01] Questions multiply as coalition crumbles

By Kemal Balci
TDN Parliament Bureau

ANKARA- The resignation of the Mesut Yilmaz-led government following the Constitutional Court's cancellation of the vote of confidence in the coalition has led to two new crises. Two questions need answers: When does the statutory 45-day period of government formation begin? Which parties will form the new government? So far, no answers are available.

What will happen in Turkey if the political ship fails to acquire stability with a new election is another open question.

Also a subject of controversy is when President Suleyman Demirel will make use of his constitutional power to dissolve Parliament.

Eyup Asik of the True Path Party (DYP) has claimed that the 45-day period began March 12, the date of the vote of confidence that was subsequently ruled unconstitutional. Asik argues that since a new government has not been formed, the president now has the right to dissolve Parliament for the formation of a caretaker government.

Most politicians, however, say that the period starts as of the resignation of Yilmaz's minority government. In this case, if a new government cannot be formed within 45 days, Demirel will set up a caretaker government at any time after July 20 which he deems appropriate and thus take the country to election within 90 days.

Despite the consensus on the date, parties naturally differ wildly over who will form the new government. On every occasion, the Welfare Party (RP), which holds the majority of seats in Parliament with 158 deputies, says that it is ready for coalition with any party. Pointing out that he can set up a coalition with the DYP and the Motherland Party (ANAP), RP leader Necmettin Erbakan leaves his doors open to reconciliation. Erbakan would prefer the new government to be a long-term one but he would not object to the idea of leading a government that will last until an early election to be held in the autumn.

By opening his party to any coalition, Erbakan aims to please his party grassroots which have not seen their party in power for years and long to enter an early election with the advantage of being in power. He would also like to soften the opposition to his party which is being distanced from government for its Islamic views.

The DYP has 135 seats in Parliament and is in difficult position because its leader is being discredited steadily. The DYP -- locked in combat with ANAP -- has little choice. Thinking fast, Ciller seems to be preparing for a caretaker government with the RP, a party which she has always seen as dangerous and vowed never to cooperate with. Even if she feels that such a decision would lead to defections from her party, Ciller is preparing to say 'yes' to alliance with the RP as a tool to rid herself of her party opposition in the next election. Since she does not look warmly on a third person becoming prime minister, Ciller is making calculations for the formation of a coalition among her DYP, ANAP and the Republican People's Party (CHP).

ANAP Chairman Yilmaz is fueling the formation of the RP-DYP coalition in order to put the DYP leader into difficult position. He expects resignations from the DYP. If the number of defections from ANAP reach 30, he aims to cooperate with the rightist party they would found and use it as an intermediary in the establishment of a center-right party.

Eyup Asik said that the new party could be called the Justice Party (AP) and could house all DYP members except those who are close to Ciller and Yalim Erez. He pointed out that he and his colleagues could run in the elections with this new unification in the right.

ANAP is preparing to delay the formation of the new government as much as it can. The party feels that early elections should be held instantly at a time when Ciller is weak in order to secure solidarity within ANAP or under an election alliance with what may be called the AP.

The Democratic Left Party (DSP), realizing that the support it has given to the Motherpath has led to loss of popular support, is preparing not to take part in any government until elections and thus follow the strategy of growing while in opposition.

The other parliamentary leftist party, the CHP, is ready to participate in any coalition to stop the erosion of its popularity and gain some strength for elections. Thus, the CHP is banking on running in the elections while in power to win more votes and surpass the nationwide election hurdle.

The smallest rightist party, the Grand Unity Party (BBP), is ready to back the RP should it set up a coalition under Erbakan's premiership.

In a statement after presenting his government's resignation, Yilmaz said he had not allowed the government to be toppled by the RP censure motion in a bid to leave the possibility for a new rapprochement between his ANAP and the DYP. It has been observed that Yilmaz has not completely closed the doors on the DYP for the formation of a Ciller-free government.

[02] Not just words: Habitat brings tangible results

ISTANBUL- Many thousands of words are being spoken at the Habitat II conference, and specific, direct results are not expected until next week, with the issuance of the "Habitat Agenda," the "global plan of action" for implementing the plans made here. Also possible is an "Istanbul declaration," which is being drafted for consideration during the "high-level segment" of the meeting next week, in which heads of state and/or government will participate.

This does not mean that the "spirit of Habitat" has not already had practical effect. Several items of work carried out in preparing the conference have been finalized in the past few days and announced during the meetings:

Reflecting the "partnership" between governmental and other bodies which is a rallying cry of Habitat II, two nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and a U.S. official agency have announced a "long-term effort ... to improve the lives of over 6.8 million children and families in 40 countries."

The agreement brings together capital input from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the technical assistance and field presence of PLAN International and the Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF). PLAN has been involved in nearly 40 countries for almost 60 years, while CHF is a 40 year old organization with a current presence in 32 countries.

One of the most meaningful activities -- in that it honors success -- is the "Best Practices" awards, at which 12 initiatives "in improving the living environment" were honored Tuesday with Awards of Excellence. The initiatives were undertaken by governments, local authorities, grassroots organizations or other social actors and proved effective in solving some of the most pressing economic, social and environmental problems facing an urbanizing world.

The process of winnowing the winners from more than 800 submissions received from all continents and regions was underwritten by the governments of the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden, the municipality of Dubai, and the Together and Kellogg Foundations; and the Dubai and Tokyo municipal governments sponsored the 12 awards, which U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali presented during Tuesday's plenary session of the conference. Exhibits about them are on display at the Salipazari Docks area in Istanbul.

The Habitat conference's parent organization, the U.N. Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS) in Nairobi, Kenya, has released a 500-plus-page book which Dr. Wally N'Dow, the UNCHS chief and conference secretary general, called a "wake-up call to the global community on the dangers that await us ... if we do not resolutely address" the problems of urbanization.

"An Urbanizing World: Global Report on Human Settlements 1966" contains "as much recommendations as analysis," N'Dow said. The process of analyzing the problem, N'Dow said, "is getting to be `old hat'; most people know" what the problems are. But while much attention is paid to "how are we going to make the years ahead, the 21st century, more livable," he acknowledged that the nations of the world "are woefully unprepared, whether developed or developing."

UNCHS has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) to continue and expand the process of preparing "Local Agenda 21," partnership-based action plans for environmentally sound, "sustainable" development of urban areas. More than 1,500 cities in 49 countries are already involved.

"Local Agenda 21" calls for "stakeholders" -- all the governmental levels and private bodies involved in an urban area -- to identify and survey processes which effect the environment, draw up a plan" to safeguard it and then implement and evaluate the plan. Besides broadening the effort, the new agreement calls for establishing a "Best Practices Database," a "Best Practices Roster of Experience" and "Yellow Pages for Sustainable Urban Development" -- activities designed to ensure the wide dissemination of "how-to" information.

One of the "Local Agenda 21" success stories cited when the new agreement was signed concerned Bursa, Turkey, where Mayor Erdem Saker described to media representatives a multifaceted program guided by a council of 600 participants and 50 voluntary working groups.

[03] US Congress cripples foreign aid to Turkey

By Ugur Akinci
Turkish Daily News

WASHINGTON- The U.S. House of Representatives, bowing to pressure from the Armenian-American lobby voted 301 to 118 on Wednesday to stop President Bill Clinton from sending economic aid to Turkey on the grounds that Ankara is blocking the flow of humanitarian aid to Armenia.

Reacting almost immediately to the move by the House of Representatives blocking the $25 million Economic Support Fund (ESF), the Turkish ambassador in Washington announced that Turkey has decided not to accept the amount in question.

Ambassador Nukhet Kandemir said the refusal, which is said to be the first of its kind in the annals of Turkish-U.S. relations, was decided by him in accordance with the authority delegated by Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay.

"If both of the anti-Turkish amendments are accepted, you are authorized to reject the ESF assistance," Gonensay reportedly told Kandemir during a phone conversation they had on Wednesday.

During his visit to Washington in March, President Demirel told President Clinton at the White House that passing any resolutions in Congress regarding the "Armenian genocide" may lead to a rift in Turkish-U.S. relations.

Foreign Minister Gonensay and Defense Minster Sungurlu, who visited Washington soon after Demirel, also gave the same message to their American counterparts.

Kandemir's letter explaining Turkey's decision was delivered to Secretary of State Warren Christopher and House Speaker Newt Gingrich by hand at 11 p.m. on Wednesday evening.

Copies were also furnished to Republican Bob Livingston of Louisiana, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Republican Sonny Callahan of Alabama, chairman of the Appropriations Foreign Operations Subcommittee. Both Callahan and Livingstone have been strong supporters of Turkey during the floor debates.

"Following the developments regarding foreign aid appropriations for 1997, and under the instructions of my government, I would like to inform you that Turkey has decided to refrain from accepting the ESF assistance which the administration requested for it in the foreign aid appropriations budget," Kandemir told Warren Christopher.

"The substance of the U.S.-Turkish relationship is based on mutual interests and common values, and not foreign aid," Kandemir told Christopher -- as well as Gingrich -- in his letter. "We hope this gesture will help neutralize the adverse influences of anti-Turkey lobbies who work to impair such friendly and mutually beneficial relations which have existed between our two countries for over half a century," Kandemir concluded.

The first amendment

The first amendment introduced to the House of Representatives by Democrat Peter Visclosky of Indiana will scrape the proposed $25 million ESF altogether unless Turkey opens the humanitarian aid corridor to Armenia.

The defenders of the amendment like Democrat Lynn Woolsey of California, Democrat Frank Pallone of New Jersey, Republican John Porter of Illinois, Democrat David Bonior of Michigan, Democrat Robert Andrews of New York and Republican Richard Zimmer of New Jersey said the fact that President Clinton has waived the "Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act" for Turkey without telling Congress made the Visclosky amendment even more necessary. The House adopted the amendment by a vote of 301-to-118.

Porter said, since the U.S. assistance to Armenia is now routed through Georgia due to Turkish embargo and thus costs the U.S. taxpayers more, Turkey should shoulder the increased cost in question.

A congressional source told TDN that he was disappointed with the way the amendment was defended since all speakers gave examples of extensive suffering in Armenia while totally ignoring the similar suffering of the 1 million Azeri refugees expelled from their homes by the invading Armenian forces. "That was a bad case of double standards," the source said.

The second amendment

A second amendment which takes off $3 million from the proposed $25 million ESF unless Turkey recognizes the "Armenian genocide" was also accepted 268-to-153. Proponents of the amendment like Porter, Democrat Nancy Pellosi of California, Pallone and Democrat Eliot Engel of New York repeated the well-known arguments supporting the "Armenian genocide" thesis.

Appropriations Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chairman Callahan said while he had no doubts as to the reality of the "atrocities" committed against the Armenians by the Ottomans, "this is 1996, not 1923."Callahan, like Republican Jim Bunn of Oregon, Republican Robert Livingstone of Louisiana, Democrat Robert Wise of West Virginia, and Republican Dan Burton of Indiana argued that the measure would just end up alienating a very trustworthy ally, in an era when Turkey is both fighting Islamic fundamentalism and beefing up its ties to Israel and the West.

Burton said he had been examining the allegations for the last 13 years and he concluded that there was a diversity of opinion among historians on whether or not the events of 1918-23 were indeed "genocide." It did not make sense to punish a longtime ally for the acts that another government committed 70 years ago, he said.

Livingstone pointed to the double-standards involved by mentioning that only Turkey was being penalized for human rights violations of the distant past.

Why didn't Congress penalize Britain, Russia, China and other countries for similar events that those governments committed 70, 80 or 100 years ago, Livingstone wanted to know.

Callahan said such measures "restricts harshly" the president's options to carry out foreign policy.

The bill also limits foreign military loans (FMF) to Turkey with $148 million to be provided at regular market rates. Greece gets $103 million in accordance with the arbitrary 7-to-10 ratio instituted after the 1974 Turkish intervention in Cyprus.

India and blacks

An interesting development during the House discussions took place when Dan Burton offered another amendment to freeze aid to India at its previous-year's levels due to human rights violations committed by Indian soldiers in Kashmir and Punjap.

Some of the same House members, like Democrat Gary Ackerman of New York, who vehemently criticized Turkey just a while earlier, this time defended India's imperfect but struggling democracy despite the State Department's irrefutable evidence of oppressive tactics employed in Kashmir. Just because an allegation is repeated over and over again, it doesn't mean that it is true, Ackerman suggested -- a wisdom he didn't apply to put a similar critical distance between himself and the Armenian arguments.

Democrat Alcee Hastings of Florida also made waves when he reminded his colleagues that while it was proper to talk about human rights violations in far flung corners of the earth, nobody paid attention to the fact that rights of black Americans were violated as well right here at home as demonstrated by the recent burnings of black churches all over the South.

Replacement parts only

Reuters reported that the bill does not allow Turkey to use $148 million for any new military purchases. "Turkey would be eligible for $148 million in loans to be used only for replacement parts for U.S.-made military equipment," the wire service said.

The bill is next headed for a debate at the U.S. Senate.

Turkey disappointed with administration

In a late-night press conference Kandemir had with Turkish journalists on Wednesday following the voting in the House, he expressed his disappointment with the insufficient help provided by the administration. "This time, the administration could not show the necessary effort to counter the congressional initiative (to cut assistance to Turkey)," he said.

In reply to a question, Kandemir said he thought his rejection letter came as a surprise to the administration.

Military assistance

Kandemir said perhaps one should reject the $148 million worth of military assistance provided as well. "But the military thinks differently since they know best about their needs. The needs of the military can again be best evaluated by the military," Kandemir said.

Lobbies

When asked if Turkish lobby firms as well as large grassroots organizations like the ATAA (Assembly of Turkish American Associations) have failed to do their jobs properly, Kandemir defended both of them. He said the ATAA has sent many letters to congressional leaders explaining Turkey's stance. The lobby firms did their best against the well-entrenched ethnic lobbies, a job made all the more harder in an election year, he said.

Impact on OPC?

Kandemir said he didn't think the House voting would change anything in Turkey's foreign policy. "But it could have some effect on Operation Provide Comfort," he nevertheless admitted."We were distressed with statements made on the House floor which were not at all friendly toward Turkey. Our reaction should not be labeled as 'tension' in Turkish-U.S. relations.But we were not pleased either," Kandemir said.

Lobby firms in turbulence

The House voting which attached Armenia-related conditions to fiscal year '97 assistance to Turkey caused eyes to turn to the lobby firms Turkey hired in Washington. "What have they done lately?" is one refrain heard commonly these days around the U.S. capital. But, "what have they been paid lately?" might be a better question indeed.

TDN learned that recently there have been problems with paying the two lobby firms in Washington, Capitoline-Manning and Fleishman Hillard. The former worked on Capitol Hill while the latter performed public and media relations tasks. Fleishman has not been paid since the end of March and Capitoline since the end of April, the respective dates on which their renewable contracts officially ended. The directives authorizing the payments are said to be sitting on the desk of State Minister Ali Talip Ozdemir, due to directive backlogs reaching back to September 1995, when the Ciller government collapsed. Now that the current coalition government has collapsed, some observers claim that these firms might end up waiting a little while longer before they are finally and properly compensated.

A Turkish observer in Washington close to the official circles told TDN his personal belief that the ultimate solution to Turkey's lobbying problems lies in cultivating strong local grassroots organizations, and not hiring mega-firms for whom Turkey's interests are just another account among many, instead of being a lifelong personal commitment. "Until we have our own grassroots organized, Greeks and Armenians will continue to beat us to the punch," the observer said.

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