Sunday’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 7 2008
TSK’s `institutional’ visit to incarcerated Ergenekon suspects draws ire
A visit paid last Wednesday by a member of the Turkish Armed Forces
(TSK), Kocaeli Garrison Commander Lt. Gen. Galip Mendi, to two
suspects in the Ergenekon terrorist organization case, retired
Gen. Å?ener Eruygur and retired Gen. HurÅ?it Tolon, who
have been under arrest since July for alleged involvement in the
Ergenekon gang, has sparked a debate on whether the TSK was trying to
influence the judicial process in an ongoing legal case.
"This visit, paid to two retired generals who had served in the TSK
for a long time, was made on behalf of the TSK," said a statement from
the General Staff, issued just minutes after Gen. Mendi’s meeting with
the two terror suspects. "As is known, today, as in the past, the TSK
fully respects and trusts the judiciary," the statement said. The
TSK’s visit to the two terrorism suspects took place just hours before
a meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an and newly
appointed Chief of General Staff Gen. Ä°lker
BaÅ?buÄ?. The Ergenekon terrorist organization was
allegedly planning to instigate a coup in 2009, during which
Gen. BaÅ?buÄ? would be the chief of general
staff. Ergenekon suspects, according to various documents seized
during the operation, thought that former Chief of General Staff
Gen. YaÅ?ar Büyükanıt was not warm to the
idea of a coup. Critics said that with this visit, the TSK stood up
for the Ergenekon suspects and that its attitude is very likely to
influence the course of the Ergenekon case. The retired generals,
Eruygur and Tolon, are accused of being members of the Ergenekon gang
which is suspected of orchestrating various murders and attacks with
the intention of creating chaos that would trigger a coup.
Aug. 30
Turkey celebrated the 86th anniversary of Aug. 30, Victory Day. A
parade was held at the Atatürk Culture Center in
Ankara. President Abdullah Gül, Parliament Speaker
Köksal Toptan, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an,
Chief of General Staff Gen. Ä°lker BaÅ?buÄ? and
other state officials observed the parade.
Turkey threatened to restrict imports from Russia in a trade dispute
that has seen hundreds of Turkish trucks carrying exports held up at
the Russian border for weeks. Turkish Justice Minister Mehmet Ali
Å?ahin complained about the restrictions on Turkish exports to
Russia and suggested his country could do the same to Russian
exporters. "Reciprocity is essential in foreign affairs," Å?ahin
was quoted as saying by state-run media. "If another country is
engaged in unfair conduct against us, that gives us the right to do
the same thing."
The government announced the price floor for hazelnuts: YTL 4 for this
year’s harvest — nearly YTL 1 lower than last year — leading to
harsh criticism from more than 750,000 farmers in the Black Sea
region, who find the price "unacceptable." Minister of Agriculture and
Rural Affairs Mehdi Eker announced the new pricing at a press
conference in Ankara.
Aug. 31
Four Turkish soldiers and two outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
terrorists were killed after PKK terrorists launched a rocket attack
on a military outpost in the eastern province of Bingöl.
Georgia’s Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili arrived in
Ä°stanbul to meet with his Turkish counterpart. Turkey’s Foreign
Ministry says Tkeshelashvili and Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan
were to discuss the "latest developments in Georgia, regional issues
and bilateral ties between Turkey and Georgia."
Sept. 1
Close to 1 million first graders and 700,000 kindergarten students
began the new school year, one week before older students, to
participate in an orientation program meant to ease adaptation to the
school environment.
Turkish exports in August surged by 27.5 percent over July to $10.9
billion, bringing the 12-month total to $129.5 billion. The
industrial, agricultural and mining sectors recorded the highest
volume of exports, while iron and steel manufacturing saw the biggest
increase in exports, followed by the chemical and machine components
sectors.
The Ä°stanbul edition of the Human Race — the world’s biggest
daylong event, sponsored by Nike and held in 25 locations around the
world — took place in Ä°stanbul. State Minister Murat
BaÅ?esgioÄ?lu started the race on the Asian side of the
Bosporus Bridge in Beylerbeyi, and about 10,000 runners participated
in the 10-kilometer run, which ended in KuruçeÅ?me on the
European side.
Some 22 individuals with suspected links to Islamic militant group
al-Qaeda who were detained in simultaneous operations across
Ä°stanbul last Friday were ordered to appear in court. The
suspects were sent to the courthouse in BeÅ?iktaÅ? after
they were interrogated at the Ä°stanbul police counterterrorism
department.
Sept. 2
The Transportation Ministry and General Directorate for Highways
completed preliminary studies to determine the spot for a third bridge
over the Bosporus to link Ä°stanbul’s Asian and European
sides. The government had previously announced that a location for the
third bridge had been determined but was not released so as to avoid
any land speculation. According to a report that the highways
directorate sent to the Prime Ministry, the third bridge will be
constructed between Tarabya on the European side and Beykoz on the
Asian side, north of the two current bridges.
A non-combatant US ship steamed through the Turkish Straits, heading
toward the Black Sea, only hours after one of two US Navy ships that
last month transited the straits to carry humanitarian aid to Georgia
sailed back toward the Mediterranean late on Monday.
Turkey’s Naval Forces Commander Vice Adm. Metin Ataç met with
Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky, commander of the Russian Navy, on Monday
morning, the Turkish General Staff announced in a brief statement
posted on its Web site. The meeting took place on the frigate TCG
Kemalreis, which was navigating in international waters on the Black
Sea, the statement said. "The parties exchanged opinions concerning
issues that interest both countries’ naval forces and recent
developments in the region," it added.
A prosecutor in Ankara started an investigation into a raid of the
headquarters of the Workers’ Party (Ä°P) as part of a probe into
the Ergenekon crime gang, accused of orchestrating various murders and
attacks with the intention of creating chaos that would trigger a
coup. Prosecutor Abbas Ã-zden said judicial procedures,
specifically Article 134 of the Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK), were
ignored when computers in the Ä°P office were confiscated as
backups were not made and given to Ä°P officials.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Mehdi Eker said trucks
transporting Turkish produce have not had a problem getting through
Russian customs at the border. Eker said there is no indication of
Turkish produce trucks being delayed at Russian border crossings and
that his ministry had never given confirmation of such delays. Eker
noted that some Turkish trucks may have recently been delayed at the
border but said this was temporary.
Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Jeddah signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will provide for cooperation in
the economic, political and security spheres. The signing of the MoU
took place at the first foreign ministerial-level meeting during which
a "senior level strategic dialogue" mechanism between Turkey and the
GCC was put into force.
Two Turkish troops were killed and at least two were injured when PKK
terrorists attacked a gendarmerie outpost in the eastern province of
Bingöl’s KiÄ?ı district with long-range weapons.
Sept. 3
A moderate earthquake rumbled through eastern Turkey, causing damage
to buildings in the southeastern province of Adıyaman. The
quake registered 5.1 on the Richter scale and occurred at 5:22
a.m. (0222 GMT) with its epicenter in Samsat. There were no reports of
casualties.
A third US Navy ship carrying humanitarian aid transited the
Dardanelles on its way to Georgia. The USS Mount Whitney is the third
US Navy vessel to take supplies such as blankets, hygiene kits and
baby food to Georgia following its war with Russia over South Ossetia.
Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders launched talks for reunification of
the divided island, saying they were hopeful that it would not take
too long to reach a settlement. "We are confident we will succeed in
concluding a comprehensive agreement as soon as possible, and
hopefully this year," Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat told
reporters after meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias
for nearly two hours in the UN buffer zone dividing Nicosia. He said
he was confident because the talks did not start from scratch. "I
don’t think the negotiations will last long," he said.
Kocaeli Garrison Commander Lt. Gen. Galip Mendi paid a visit to
retired generals Å?ener Eruygur and HurÅ?it Tolon, both
terror suspects in the Ergenekon case. A statement issued by the
General Staff underlined that the visit was made "on behalf of the
Turkish Armed Forces."
President Gül announced that he will watch a World Cup
qualifying game between the Turkish and Armenian national teams in
Yerevan on Saturday.
Sept. 4
Turkey announced that it sent two military observers to South Ossetia
to participate in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe’s (OSCE) mission there.
Both the European Union, which Ankara aspires to join, and Turkey’s
NATO ally the United States welcomed President Gül’s decision
to respond favorably to Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan’s invitation
to visit Yerevan to watch a match between the national football teams
of the two estranged neighboring countries. Both Brussels and
Washington also expressed expectations of a complete normalization of
relations between Armenia and Turkey, which have not had diplomatic
ties since the early 1990s.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an received praise for
Ankara’s efforts to broker peace talks between Syria and Israel at a
four-way summit in Damascus to discuss the Middle East peace, attended
by Turkish, French, Syrian and Qatari leaders. Syrian President Bashar
Assad, host of the summit, said Turkey was the only country taking an
initiative to initiate indirect talks between Syria and Israel after
an eight-year freeze. French President Nicolas Sarkozy also praised
Turkish efforts for peace between Israel and Syria. He said Ankara has
done an excellent job and expressed European backing and
acknowledgement for the Turkish initiative.
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov refrained from criticizing
President Gül for making a visit to Armenia, saying it is a
decision that should be left up to Turkish authorities. "It is not
possible for Azerbaijan to get involved in this issue one way or
another," Mammadyarov told reporters.
Sept. 5
Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an expressed satisfaction over President
Gül’s acceptance of an invitation from his Armenian counterpart
to watch a World Cup qualifying soccer match between the Turkish and
Armenian national teams in Yerevan. "President Gül’s decision
to accept or reject an invitation from Armenia will have a
considerable impact on the improvement or deterioration of Turkey’s
image in the international arena. If he had declined to go to Yerevan,
everyone would have criticized Turkey for refusing to improve ties
with Armenia. If Armenia had ulterior motives when inviting Gül
to the soccer game, then Gül spoiled their plan by accepting
the invitation," stated ErdoÄ?an, who spoke to reporters on a
plane en route to Ankara from Damascus.
07 September 2008, Sunday