Sunday’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 31 2008

US ships with aid for Georgia pass through Turkey, stirring
controversy

US ships carrying humanitarian aid passed through Ä°stanbul’s
Bosporus Strait on their way to Georgia last week, leading to a debate
on whether they were in compliance with terms of an international
convention that regulates passage through the straits.

On Aug. 22, a US Navy ship passed through Ä°stanbul’s Bosporus
Strait. The guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul was the first of three
US Navy ships that will carry supplies such as blankets, hygiene kits
and baby food to Georgia via the Turkish Straits to help the country
following its war with Russia over the breakaway republic of South
Ossetia. On Aug. 24, another US Coast Guard ship passed through the
Dardanelles Strait. The vessel "Dallas" entered the Dardanelles Strait
from the Aegean Sea. A maritime pilot was taken to the ship and a
Turkish Coast Guard boat escorted the ship. Countering criticism from
some media organs and the main opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP), Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an said last Saturday
that the passage of all military ships through the Turkish Straits was
in compliance with terms of 1936 Montreux Convention. A day before the
prime minister’s remarks, the Foreign Ministry last Friday made clear
once more that foreign-flagged military ships are passing through the
Turkish Straits to the Black Sea in line with the notices conveyed to
Turkish authorities and in compliance with the 1936 Montreux
Convention.

Aug. 23

The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), linked to the Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK), said in a statement posted on their Web site that their
militants carried out a suicide bombing in the southern city of Mersin
on Aug. 19 and a car bomb attack in the Aegean port city of
Ä°zmir on Aug. 21, wounding 29 people in total.

Police detained 29 foreigners and three Turks during a peaceful
protest against plans to build a nuclear power plant near the Black
Sea port city of Sinop. Police officers confirmed the detentions
during what they called an unauthorized protest.

Aug. 24

Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists kidnapped two people in the
eastern province of Bingöl, the General Staff said in a written
statement.

A US Coast Guard ship carrying humanitarian aid passed through
Ä°stanbul’s Bosporus Strait on its way to Georgia. The USS
Dallas carried blankets, hygiene kits, baby food and other supplies as
part of an ongoing US aid effort to help Georgia recover from its
brief war with Russia.

A festival aimed at displaying Turkish culture, informing and
entertaining attendees and children and serving as a scientific,
artistic and cultural resource was held in New York with the
participation of over 25,000 people. The New York Turkish Festival was
organized by the Turkish Cultural Center (TCC) New York in Central
Park, attracting Turks, Americans and tourists from various countries.

Aug. 25

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan said he believes it is time to
restore relations between Yerevan and Ankara, Azerbaijani media
reported, citing an interview he gave to Austrian Der Standard
newspaper. Sarksyan told the Austrian newspaper that his country is
ready to restore relations with Turkey without any
conditions. "Armenia has always been loyal to its declared political
line," he was quoted as saying, while adding that "today there is a
situation in our relations which is not profitable for anyone. I think
there is no sense or need of being eternal enemies."

Turgay Avcı, the foreign minister of the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (KKTC), reacted harshly to a reported unilateral move
by the Greek Cypriot administration to launch offshore oil and gas
exploration in waters surrounding the divided island of
Cyprus. Exploration of oil by the Greek Cypriot administration is a
violation of the legal rights of Turkey and the KKTC over Exclusive
Economic Zones (EEZ) in the region, Avcı said in a written
statement.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev suggested that Turkey should be
elected as the next term president of the Conference on Interaction
and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). The Kazakh
president’s proposal came in Almaty, where the third ministerial level
meeting of the CICA was being held.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) killed one soldier during a clash
in Turkey’s Southeast. The soldier was killed in Batman province, some
1,000 kilometers (620 miles) southeast of Ankara.

A third round of talks between the government and civil servants’
unions ended with the unions failing to reach an agreement with the
government over a wage increase. The Turkish Statistics Institute
(TurkStat) declared the food poverty line, which consists of the total
minimum amount of money required to buy the necessary food for
subsistence, as YTL 255. Civil servant unions are not satisfied with
this decision and reject YTL 255 as the minimum subsistence level.

There will be no delay, cancellation or postponement in a tender for
the construction and operation of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant,
scheduled for Sept. 24, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Hilmi
Güler said. "Bidding envelopes of participating companies will
be opened on that day. We have no time to lose," he said. The minister
was speaking to the press in Ankara after briefing those in attendance
on the latest developments in the race for a nuclear energy power
plant.

Aug. 26

Foreign Trade Minister KürÅ?ad Tüzmen sent a
warning signal to Russia over customs barriers incurred on Turkish
trucks that carry exported goods to this country while crossing the
Russian border. "It really bothers us to see that our trucks are kept
at customs for three weeks now and it will make no sense if these
trucks are allowed to pass after a week. If we feel annoyed, we cause
annoyance," he said, adding that the situation is creating serious
tension in the relations between the two nations.

Three village guards and 10 terrorists from the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) died in a clash in the eastern province of
Bitlis. The guards were inspecting the area around the Ä°kizler
village in the Mutki region when they came across a group of PKK
terrorists.

Aug. 27

Newly appointed Land Forces Commander Gen. IÅ?ık
KoÅ?aner, who handed his former post of gendarmerie commander
over to Gen. Avni Atilla in a ceremony in Ankara, lamented that
certain laws are being amended so as to harmonize with the EU in a way
that denies Turkey’s terrorism problem and hinders its fight against
terrorist organizations. KoÅ?aner, speaking at the handover
ceremony, stressed that the amendment of Turkish laws in disregard to
Turkey’s terrorism threat is a great obstacle to the country’s fight
against terror.

Turkish troops killed 16 outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
terrorists in clashes in the Southeast, authorities said. Five
pro-government village guards were also killed. The Office of the
Governor of Bitlis province said 14 terrorists were killed in a clash
with the military, which was being aided by village guards, near the
town of Mutki. Five guards were also killed. Two other terrorists were
killed near the city of Mardin.

Outgoing Chief of General Staff Gen. YaÅ?ar
BüyükanÄ&#x B1;t clearly stated that the passage of US
and NATO military ships through the Turkish Straits is in compliance
with terms of the 1936 Montreux Convention, which regulates passages
through the straits. Büyükanıt’s remarks on the
issue came as he was speaking to reporters at a reception held at the
Land Forces Command.

Aug. 28

Gen. Ä°lker BaÅ?buÄ? took over the duty of chief of
general staff from Gen. YaÅ?ar Büyükanıt in
a handover ceremony held at the General Staff headquarters in
Ankara. President Abdullah Gül, Parliament Speaker
Köksal Toptan, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an,
Constitutional Court President HaÅ?im Kılıç
and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) President Mehmet Ali
Talat attended the ceremony, along with ministers, deputies, chairmen
of higher judicial organs, generals, admirals and high-level
bureaucrats.

The wife of Constitutional Court Deputy Chairman Osman Paksüt
testified at the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office as part of an
ongoing investigation into Ergenekon, a criminal network suspected of
plotting a coup against the government.

Sabancı Holding Chairman Güler Sabancı was named
Turkey’s most powerful woman for the third time in a row on the Forbes
2008 list of the top 100 women based on career, economic impact and
media coverage. On the overall listing, Sabancı ranked 75th.

The government finally disclosed its proposal for wage increases for
civil servants, offering a total raise of 7.6 percent for 2009, which
drew negative reactions from unions. Civil servants unions asked for
time to evaluate the proposal.

Inteltek Internet Technology Investment Consultancy, a subsidiary of
the Ã?ukurova Group, offered the lowest percentage bid in a
tender for Ä°ddaa, a soccer betting company that allocates a
percentage of its revenues to form one of the main income resources of
the Turkish soccer clubs.

The Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions’
(Türk-Ä°Å?) monthly Hunger and Poverty Line Survey
for August 2008 set the necessary monthly salary for a family of four
to feed itself adequately at YTL 730. The new hunger indicator
represented an increase of about YTL 12 over the previous month.

Aug. 29

Foreign Trade Minister KürÅ?ad Tüzmen announced
that Turkey will begin implementing reciprocal measures on Monday in
response to a recent increase in security measures leveled by Russia
against Turkish exporters. Speaking to the press after he received
Iraqi Planning and Development Minister Ali Baban and a delegate of
Iraqi officials in Ankara, Tüzmen said the obstacles against
Turkish trucks attempting to pass through Russian borders were
completely against World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. "These
hindrances fall under the definition of ‘trade barriers,’ which are
strictly forbidden by international agreements," he said.

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Hilmi Güler called on
the Turkish people and the international community to take a stand
against exorbitant oil prices with a wave of demonstrations and
organized activities. Güler was addressing the well-attended
9th International Energy Arena, organized under the slogan "The
Strategy of Tomorrow for Oil" by the Strategic Technical and Economic
Research Center (STEAM), in Ä°stanbul. He said the masses must
stop being indifferent to high fuel prices, adding, "As a person who
experienced those times, I would prefer that a form of effective
activism emerge in Turkish society similar to that of 1968 and later
years."

31 August 2008, Sunday