PRESIDENT GUL ENCOURAGES ‘NEW CLIMATE’ IN CAUCASUS

Today’s Zaman
Oct 30 2008
Turkey

President Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday night that a constructive
new attitude is needed in the Caucasus.

"We need to be constructive and supportive. Everything has changed in
the Caucasus. Everybody is ready to review old attitudes. In my visit
[to Armenia], I presented a new climate. When there is a new climate,
problems can be solved," he said in response to reporters’ questions
as to whether he expects concrete steps to be taken between Turkey
and Armenia following his visit to Armenia in September.

At a reception on the occasion of the Turkish Republic’s 85th birthday
at the Cankaya presidential palace, Gul said he is hopeful and expects
new developments.

Gul broke a taboo when he visited Armenia to watch a soccer match
between national teams of the two countries. Talks between officials
of Turkey and Armenia, which have had no formal ties since 1993,
are under way to re-establish relations. Armenian Foreign Minister
Eduard Nalbandian said this week that the two countries could announce
"extraordinary decisions" at any time, emphasizing that there was no
real barrier to efforts to normalize ties.

In regards to a question about the start of official talks with Iraqi
Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, previously accused of supporting the
outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Gul said Barzani is the head
of an officially recognized region in Iraq. A Turkish delegation
recently had talks with Barzani in Baghdad to discuss cooperation
against the PKK.

Journalists also asked Gul about the absence of opposition leader Deniz
Baykal at the reception. "This is an issue concerning him," Gul said.

Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Baykal, most CHP deputies,
Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Zeki Sezer and all deputies of
the DSP were continuing to boycott Gul in a fashion similar to last
year’s Republic Day celebrations, when they said Gul’s candidacy for
the presidential post posed a danger to the secular order of the state.

Some secularists in Turkey oppose Gul because his wife, Hayrunisa Gul,
wears a headscarf. Some of the deputies’ wives who wear headscarves
avoid attending receptions to reduce tension over the issue.

Spouses attend Republic Day celebration

Some officials attended to the reception with their spouses at
the Cankaya presidential palace on Wednesday evening commemorating
the founding of the Turkish Republic. Among them was the Parliament
Speaker Köksal Toptan, whose wife doesn’t wear a headscarf. Foreign
Minister Ali Babacan and his wife, who wears a headscarf, also attended
the reception.

Gul paid special attention to athletes who won medals in various
competitions. He congratulated the youngest champions, European chess
champion Cemil Can Ali Marandi and Batuhan DaÅ~_tan, who holds the
third place in the world chess championship in the 11-year-olds group.

Among the other attendees were Cem Foundation Chairman Ä°zzettin Dogan,
businessman Aydın Dogan, writers Alev Alatlı and Dogan Hızlan,
Flying Broom women’s group general coordinator Halime Guner and
poet Hilmi Yavuz. Several representatives from media organizations
were at the reception, including Bulent KeneÅ~_, editor-in-chief of
Today’s Zaman.

–Boundary_(ID_S6k+d1LKdwLPddEmvoMIMQ)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress