Turkish Daily News, 96-06-15
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
TURKISH DAILY NEWS
15 June 1996
CONTENTS
[01] The United Nations after Habitat
[02] State Dept: Clinton expressed only 'ongoing concern' for Turkish-Greek tensions
[03] Congressional chairman: 'We made a mistake' in aid to Turkey
[01] The United Nations after Habitat
By Yasemin Dobra-Manco
Turkish Daily News
ISTANBUL- TDN interviewed Richard Roth, the well known
CNN United Nations correspondent, who for over three years has
had the tough job of bringing the pressing issues of the UN before
a global audience.
Roth is host of a weekly CNN program called "Diplomatic License"
and does daily and live reports on developments at the UN. On
assignment for Habitat II, he is covering his fourth global UN
conference in two years.
TDN discussed the increasingly shaky image of the UN, its plans
for reform, its financial problems, and the Habitat conference
with Roth. When asked what questions Roth will be examining when
he gets back to UN headquarters in New York, Roth replied that
he has been assigned to a lengthy CNN report on the United States
debt to the UN, which is nearly $2 billion, and adds "We
have done several stories on this already."
Furthermore "As we speak there is a standoff on Iraq and
UN weapons inspectors again," and if that is going on Roth
will be following the developments. There is also a vote on Haiti
on what the peacekeeper mandate should be. Sanctions against Sudan
for the incident related to the attempted assassination of Egyptian
President Mubarak will also be discussed at the UN. Furthermore,
the Security Council will consider a report by the International
Civil Aviation Organization on their investigation of the shooting
down of civilian US planes by Cuba.
A big issue coming up this fall will be whether UN Secretary-
General Boutros Boutros-Ghali will run for reelection and win.
Yet, another issue, perhaps the most important in terms of the
UN, is how to handle the financial crisis. The Secretary-General
might be calling a special session before the General Assembly
meets this fall.
A shaky image and no money
Roth says that the most important crisis facing the organization
currently is money and an image problem. In addition to this some
people believe the UN is losing credibility due to its reluctance
to get involved in certain issues, such as Chechnya.
The correspondent took the United States as an example where the
value and effective role of the UN in world affairs is highly
questioned and in some areas considered a joke. "Diplomatic
License" has already done a program on individuals in the
US who are "conservative, highly paranoid extremists, distrustful
of government," and who have formed groups who believe the
UN is using military force to slowly infiltrate US towns and control
the world in a world federal government of some kind. Of course
they are a minority, but many Americans feel the UN is useless
after its failure to stop the war in Bosnia, Roth explains.
"The average citizen in the street who saw two years of the
Bosnian civil war go on and somehow was told, or believed, that
the UN was supposed to go in and militarily stop the fighting,"
was disillusioned. Roth adds that the UN was not given the amount
of soldiers it requested from countries on the Security Council.
Now taxpayers are wondering whether their hard earned money should
go into the UN.
Roth agreed that the fact that the US is not paying its debt to
the UN is fueling the public's loss of confidence. But the US
wants to see financial reforms before it pays. On the other hand,
the UN is asking for funds first, because it can not even function
with its regular programs.
On the issue of new members joining the Security Council, the
US would like to see new members such as Germany and Japan, Roth
said, but it is worried that too many new members would dilute
the Council and make it similar to the General Assembly, with
a large amount of people speaking and debating with no clear action.
Yet, others argue that such important nations must join, and more
money might then be available, and other parts of the world would
take on more responsibility as well as a leadership role rather
than just committing to more humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, Italy is pushing for membership, while others wonder
why Britain and France have a permanent role, as their stage presence
has changed in 50 years. Yet others say the system has worked,
as there is no world war, so why reform.
Referring to the need for conflict resolution, Ross said, "The
fact is that there have been 100-200 smaller wars...and the real
trend, sort of like the Vietnam syndrome, is that nobody wants
to spill any human blood of their own citizens."
But the problem remains: if the UN continues to be unpopular,
who and what will replace it? Regional groups? Perhaps the UN
will transform into a place where people and leaders can meet
and present their views. The bottom line is that many countries
believe that if they must act, they will act unilaterally.
Presently, the UN is not actively involved in talks on the Middle
East nor Northern Ireland. Roth believes that the UN may be active
and more effective in hot spots where there is no government and
no one wants to go. But "there is no role for the UN that's
been spelled out. There's talk of a stand-by army, but many countries
oppose it." Another problem with the UN is that a lot of
its resolutions are not legally binding.
Other unpredictable areas haunting the UN is "crisis fatigue."
This is in addition to the "donor fatigue" problem.
People have simply stopped caring.
People want more action
Turning to Habitat, Roth stated that this particular conference
is suffering from "conference fatigue" because this
is the seventh conference in four years. Thus, "too many
conferences with too many overlapping themes" and "too
many of the same players appearing." Many conference attendees
believe that participants came to see the sights Turkey had to
offer. A thought is that some talks could have been held at UN
headquarters in New York. Roth asks "If the conference had
been held in an uglier city, I wonder how many would have come?"
and concludes, "This should have been a one week conference."
Because governments felt they had over-stressed themselves, the
turnout was lower. Roth states that also the issues were to broad.
"Although there are benefits down the road," he feels
that if people come here to be more specific, such as to agree
upon a global decision to build 100,000 homes in each city, the
conference could see quicker results.
Before, in the 1950s and 1960s the public was impressed to hear
leaders were gathering at the UN to hold talks, he says. "The
UN has notable goals...but people want more action" whereas
the UN is busy debating and speech making, rather than seeking
tighter goals. He points out that the UN agenda is 100 pages.
Roth also commented that UN diplomats and conference planners
are so far removed [excluding Wally N'Dow] from the perception
of their work, that they do not pay attention to how they present
their work. So much is behind closed doors, that public awareness
is left in the dark, he pointed, out while stressing that dialogue
must come alive. "The big two day mayor's conference started
and ended before the summit. It should have been held during the
conference and should have been widely publicized." This
would have attracted greater media attention.
Turkey benefitted
The CNN UN correspondent believes that Turkey benefitted from
the conference. "It put Turkey on the map -- not because
of an argument over an island or a coalition." Roth says
that it will definitely open the door for Turkey for future conferences.
Any political leaders who may want to have a meeting, he says
"I can see them saying we must have it in Istanbul."
Discussing his own impressions, and those of others, he believes
that "People will go home and say what a stunning city Istanbul
is. What pleasant people. How economically affordable it is. Such
great sights and sounds. And it is a player in the Middle East
and in the neighborhood. It is a country that must definitely
be dealt with."
The lower than expected turnout, Roth explains, was not the fault
of Turkey. "The conference was well run, it just happened
to be the last UN conference." The Copenhagen conference
on social development drew 113 world leaders, he says, but if
the Habitat conference had been held in Istanbul, before the Copenhagen
conference was held, Roth believes "113 leaders would have
been here in Istanbul." Unfortunately, it appears that the
UN conference in China last year wore everyone out. "People
were totally fatigued, from guards to UN officials. I saw it.
People were exhausted," especially due to the Chinese security.
After his first time in Turkey Roth feels it is definitely "a
showcase." He adds, "We put out more video on Turkey
and Istanbul than I'm sure has been broadcast in the 16 year history
of CNN. While a lot of it may be of the conference area, in some
of the other videos you can see the country come alive. All the
good and the bad came out, such as the NGO arrests."
[02] State Dept: Clinton expressed only 'ongoing concern' for Turkish-Greek
tensions
State Dept. closes interpretation gap between itself and White
House
By Ugur Akinci
Turkish Daily News
WASHINGTON- In an attempt to explain away what came across
as a difference of emphasis between the State Department and the
White House on the issue of rising tensions between Turkey and
Greece, department spokesman Nicholas Burns told the press on
Thursday that President Clinton's concern for the tensions was
not anything new, but an "ongoing concern."
President Clinton told the press on Wednesday that he was "very
concerned" about the tensions between the two NATO allies.
A few hours earlier, the State Department spokesman, had down
played the issue and said, "I don't think there is a heightened
prospect of any altercation or confrontation between Greece and
Turkey."
Twenty-four hours later, talking to a group of Turkish and Greek
journalists, Burns said, "I went back and reread the President's
statements and we very much agree with them."
Burns said the problems between Turkey and Greece were "ongoing
and long-lasting" and they can only be solved if Turkey and
Greece "sit down at a table" for peaceful talks. Greece
maintains it has nothing to negotiate with Turkey concerning the
sovereign status of the Aegean islands and islets. After the famous
Kardak/Imia crisis, recent comments by a Turkish officer on the
status of Gavdos island, off Crete, again set off a chain reaction
in Greece that ended with the Greek Parliament arming Defense
Minster Gerassimos Arsenis with "war powers" to be used
in a future altercation.
No danger
Burns emphasized in no uncertain terms that "we do not believe
that there is any reason for the two (countries) to have a military,
armed conflict. We believe that both of them are intelligent,
sophisticated governments and that they will do what they must
to stop that from happening, to stop a confrontation." He
said that although "there is ongoing disagreement and tension"
between the two countries, "I don't think there is a serious
danger of war."
Spark
Yet, TDN sources close to the White House say that the president's
national security staff is indeed "very concerned" that
an unrelated incident may provide the inadvertent "spark"
to ignite a larger confrontation between the heavily armed neighbors.
The State Department acknowledged that much on Thursday when Burns
admitted that "it's hard to predict incidents like that.
I am not willing to make a statement that that won't happen because
anything can happen in that kind of situation."
Burns immediately added that "this situation is not heading
to a war."He said his judgement was based on "a very
careful assessment of the Aegean."
Turkish political instability
Despite the homage he paid to the "intelligence" of
both governments, Burns also noted the instability that reigned
supreme in Turkish domestic politics.He noted that the situation
was "hampered" by "the fact that right now there
isn't stability in the Turkish political system because they are
in a transitional period. There has to be a new government. It's
been a turbulent period politically for both countries, and we
hope after the Turkish government is formed it will provide a
chance for Greece and Turkey to discuss their problems in a more
balanced, stable environment."
Greek concerns
Informed Greek sources that TDN talked to also similarly discounted
prospects of Greece initiating any hostile action against Turkey.
One such source in Washington said Greece could not afford to
be humiliated by backing down before a new Turkish challenge in
the Aegean. During the Kardak/Imia crisis, Athens first said the
Greek flag would never go down on Imia but later on had to lower
it in order to avoid a hot clash. If Turkey stages another showdown
over Gavdos, this time Greece would have no choice but to go to
war, the source claimed.
Other developments
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos reiterated yesterday that
Turkey would under no circumstances receive European Union funding
as long as the issues of Imia and Gavdos remained outstanding,
the Athens News Agency (ANA) reported.
Turkish Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay issued a written statement
saying that the Gavdos issue was a "military-technical"
matter, and not a political one.
Greece and Israel?
Greek and French wire services reported on Thursday that Greece
and Israel will conduct joint naval exercises "to allay concern
created in Athens in the wake of a military co-operation agreement
signed by Israel and Turkey." "Israeli radio,"
was referred to as the source of this news item. The radio report
did not mention the time or the place where the exercises will
be held.
Israel and Turkey signed an agreement on Feb. 23 according to
which each started to utilize the other's airspace for training
purposes. Israeli and Turkish ships are expected to pay "port
calls" to each other. Turkish officials insist such visits
by no means constitute a "naval exercise."
[03] Congressional chairman: 'We made a mistake' in aid to Turkey
Amb. Kandemir praises Callahan and Wilson
By Ugur Akinci
Turkish Daily News
WASHINGTON- A senior leader of the U.S. House of Representatives
admitted that the U.S. Congress had made a mistake in including
anti-Turkish language into the text of the FY'97 foreign assistance
appropriations bill.
The House attached two amendments on June 5 to the bill asking
Turkey to lift its embargo on Armenia and to recognize the "Armenian
Genocide" if it wants to get $25 million in Economic Support
Funds (ESF). The Turkish government immediately rejected the ESF
with these conditions attached.
Sonny Callahan, Republican from Alabama and chairman of the House
Appropriations Foreign Operations subcommittee, said: "Last
week the House sent a strong message to Turkey about something
that took place decades ago and yet we do not chastise or demand
certain apologies from other countries who have committed atrocities,
even in later years." The amendment proposed by Dan Burton
(Republican, Indiana) to limit aid to India at its current levels
due to Indian atrocities in Kashmir was rejected by the House.
"I think that the Congress made a mistake in the language
that we inserted in the bill," Callahan admitted. "I
hope that it will not cause any injury to the fact that Turkey
is a tremendous ally of ours in any NATO endeavor," he added.
Charlie Wilson (Democrat, Texas), a member of the House International
Relations Committee who is retiring this Fall, seconded Callahan.
He said "unwise action" of Congress had "grave
consequences" for Turkish-U.S. relations, despite continuing
Turkish support for U.S. policies in the Middle East.
He noted that "if the Turks wanted to today, they could open
the spigot on the Iraqi pipeline and bust the embargo, just as
an example."
Kandemir
In a letter sent to the U.S. House members who spoke on behalf
of Turkey during the floor debates on June 5, Amb. Kandemir thanked
Wilson and Callahan for their support. "The basis of our
friendship with the United States has never been foreign aid,
even in years past when the amounts were much greater," Kandemir
observed. "Rather, our friendship has been based on shared
interests, interests which are gravely jeopardized by yesterday's
[i.e. June 5] developments."
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