Turkish Islamist press 27 May 05

BBC Monitoring
27 May 05

The following lists selected reports carried in the Turkish Islamist
press on 27 May:

Yeni Safak

Under the banner headline, “OYAK lies in wait,” Yeni Safak publishes a
front-page report which asserts that the Army Mutual Aid Association
(OYAK) has announced a plan to submit takeover bids for three major
Turkish concerns, the Turkish Telecom, the Erdemir Iron and Steel
Works, and the Tupras oil refinery.

In a 700-word article entitled “Crushing nationalism with nationalism”
on page 9, Yeni Safak columnist Mustafa Karaalioglu blasts Justice
Minister Cemil Cicek for his remarks accusing the organizers of a
dissident conference on the Armenian issue of “backstabbing the
Turkish nation” and charges him with aligning himself and the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AKP) with those circles in the country
that are “violently opposed” to the Government’s efforts to qualify
Turkey for EU membership and promote democratization and individual
freedoms.

In a 900-word article entitled “I have questions” on page 13, Yeni
Safak columnist Ahmet Tasgetiren asks whether Professor Halil Berktay,
one of the organizers of the postponed symposium on the Armenian
issue, would have accepted the Armenian accusations of genocide and
apologized to the Armenians if he had been prime minister of Turkey in
1915, whether he would have agreed to pay damages to Armenia, and how
his administration would have dealt with Armenian territorial demands
from Turkey. Tasgetiren also asserts that there is a virtual consensus
among those able to view the developments involving the Armenian
conference objectively that the academic quality of the meeting was
rendered doubtful by the announcement that the participants would
consist of people opposed to the “official” opinion on the Armenian
issue.

Vakit

Under the banner headline, “491bn dollars for massacre,” Vakit
publishes a front-page report which accuses the United States of
allocating some 491bn dollars for military purposes “in order to carry
out more massacres and atrocities” in the name of “bringing freedom
and democracy.” Published along with the report is a cartoon showing
an amazed bystander looking at a changed US flag where the stripes
have been replaced with three smoking guns.

Also front-paged in Vakit is a report entitled “Commonsense in
parliament,” which lauds the National Assembly for adopting a motion
by a group of AKP deputies calling for an amendment to Article 263 of
the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which prescribes up to three years of
imprisonment for those holding Koran classes in their homes.

Another front-page report, entitled “My relatives wear headscarves. I
am a first-hand witness to the headscarf problem,” quotes Deputy Prime
Minister Abdullatif Sener as saying that the headscarf issue could be
solved only through a changed perception of Islamic headdresses (on
the part of the Establishment). This report is expanded into a
700-word interview with Sener on page 8.

According to a 450-word report entitled “Anti-US intellectuals to
march to Incirlik” on age 6, a group of intellectuals opposed to the
United States use’ of Incirlik Air Base for logistical purposes
against Iraq and Afghanistan are going to Adana today to hold a
demonstration in front of Incirlik Air Base calling for the closure of
the base. According to the report, this activity has been organized by
the Global Peace and Justice Commission and the East Conference Group.

In an 800-word article entitled “Where are we headed?” on page 11,
Vakit columnist Abdurrahman Dilipak asserts that “the atmosphere ahead
of the Bush-Erdogan meeting on 8 June is very tense,” adding that
Erdogan is anxious because he knows that if he does not accept Bush’s
demands, the US president will “set the wheels in motion” for a new
government in Turkey. He goes on to accuse Cemil Cicek of defending
the undemocratic “28 February mentality” in “trying to retain the
obstacles to freedom of faith and freedom of speech in the new TCK.”
He also criticizes Cicek for his stance on the dissident conference on
Armenian claims with: “Has it fallen to us to defend the murders
committed by the Committee of Union and Progress?”

Zaman

Under the headline, “Turkey becomes a venue for international events,”
Zaman publishes a front-page report which asserts that Turkey is
attracting international publicity as well as raking in millions of
dollars by hosting such events as last year’s NATO Summit, the
European Champion Clubs’ Cup Final, and Formula 1.

In a 900-word article entitled “Apologetics or evidential defence” on
page 16, Zaman columnist Alev Alatli compares the organizers of the
postponed conference on Armenian claims to Christian apologists who
further their cause through “selective perception,” i.e. through
ignoring facts that contradict their arguments and “eloquently
exaggerating” others that suit their purposes. She also asserts that
there is nothing surprising abut the way in which the planners of the
meeting are using the “excuse” of “freedom of speech” and “academic
freedom” to justify such conferences given that they all espouse
Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

In a 700-word article entitled “Either union or progress” on page 17,
Zaman columnist Etyen Mahcupyan accuses Turkey’s administrative
“elite” of announcing to the world that this country is not a
democracy in obstructing the Bogazici University conference on the
Armenian issue. He also argues that no social progress can be achieved
on the basis of the state’s concept of “union.”

Milli Gazete

Under the banner headline, “We need the spirit of conquest,” Milli
Gazete publishes a front-page report which warns that the government’s
privatization policy entails the “giving away” of “our national
assets” to “foreigners” and that “our national values” face the threat
of an “imperialist occupation.” The report calls for participation in
the Conquest and Youth Festival being held by the Felicity Party in
Izmit tomorrow.

In a 500-word article entitled “Faith and implication” on page 13,
Milli Gazete columnist Necat Cavus provides a “summary” of Samuel
Huntington’s recent speech at a conference in Istanbul and asserts
that “we should not let charlatans like Huntington discourage and
confuse us” by getting across the message that Turkey cannot become an
EU member because it is “dependent” on the United States and that “it
should assume an active role as a US base in the United States’
operations against Islamic countries.”

Dunden Bugune Tercuman

In an 850-word article entitled “To be able to look into the future”
on page 11, Tercuman columnist Cengiz Candar argues that the
“possibility” of a Nicolas Sarkozy era in France and of a Christian
Democratic government in Germany led by Angela Merkel “does not
automatically mean” that Turkey will lose its EU prospects, adding
that both Sarkozy and Merkel attach importance to consolidating
trans-Atlantic relations and it is highly possible that Ankara’s
efforts to improve its relations with Washington will eventually cause
Sarkozy and Merkel to change their attitude towards Turkey.