Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 15 2009
Obama’s visit pins hope of new era on US
US President Barack Obama will visit Turkey soon, making the Muslim
nation bridging East and West one of the first foreign visits of his
presidency, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced last
Saturday during her less than 24-hour visit to Ankara.
Clinton said Obama had asked her to announce on her visit — the last
stop on a weeklong trip that took her to five countries — that he
would visit in the "next month or so." Clinton said the visit is "a
reflection of the value we place on our friendship with Turkey." The
news about Obama’s decision to visit Turkey has been widely hailed by
the political and diplomatic circles in Turkey, with many saying that
a new era was beginning in the relations with the US, which sustained
considerable damage during the term of former President George
W. Bush. Obama had promised during his presidential campaign that one
of his top priorities would be to work to repair America’s reputation
worldwide, and that one element of that effort would be a speech
delivered in a Muslim capital. His election to the White House was
cheered around the world as a sign that America will be more
embracing, more open to change. Turkey is an ally seen as key to
resolving several US foreign policy problems, including blocking
Iran’s nuclear ambitions and turning around the war in Afghanistan.
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March 7
A group of survivors of a plane crash at Amsterdam’s Schiphol
International Airport visited the wreckage and laid wreaths and
flowers at the site. Survivors and relatives traveled from Amsterdam
and other Dutch cities on six buses, in five private vehicles and four
ambulances, accompanied by eight police escorts, to visit the wreckage
of the aircraft. Many of the survivors are still undergoing treatment
and visited the site in wheelchairs.
The ongoing investigation and trial of Ergenekon, a clandestine
terrorist organization with members from various state agencies
including the military, as well as from politics, the business world,
the academy, media and other civilian sectors, charged with plotting
to overthrow the government, is of prime importance to establishing
the supremacy of law in Turkey, because for the first time ever,
retired generals — formerly untouchable — are being brought before
civil courts, Joost Lagendijk, co-chairman of the EU-Turkey Joint
Parliamentary Committee, said. He was speaking at Columbia University
in a panel discussion titled "Democracy, Islam and Secularism: Turkey
in Comparative Perspective."
In addition to visiting Turkish leaders during her one-day visit to
Turkey, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on the popular
TV talk show "Haydi Gel Bizimle Ol" (Come and Join Us), which focuses
on women’s issues.
Two soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed near
PınarbaÅ?ı in the Central Anatolian province of
Kayseri after taking off from the eastern province of Malatya, the
General Staff announced.
March 8
The roof of a one-story building in the southeastern district of
Dicle, Diyarbakır province, collapsed, killing four children
and injuring one. The roof of the building in the village of Altay
lived in by the Tetiks, a family of seven, collapsed in the morning
hours due to heavy rain.
Despite the US showing considerable awareness of Turkey’s sensitivity
over the issue, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said he believed that
there is still a "risk" that US President Barack Obama may use the
word "genocide" in an upcoming speech for describing the killings of
Anatolian Armenians during World War I. Babacan, speaking in an
interview with NTV, said such a move would only hinder efforts to
reconcile Turkey and Armenia.
TRT Å?eÅ?, a 24-hour Kurdish-language television station,
aired a religious program in connection with the Mawlid al-Nabi
(Mevlid Kandili in Turkish) in the once-banned Kurdish language. Many
in the Muslim world observed Mawlid al-Nabi, a celebration of the
birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. The date for the holiday is fixed at
the 12th day of the Muslim calendar month of Rabi al-Awwal.
Turkish women made a call for equal rights in ceremonies held across
the country to mark International Women’s Day on March 8. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an celebrated the day during his
ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) election rally in
southern Mersin province.
March 9
The excavation of wells located at five sites belonging to the
state-owned Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAÅ?) started in a
search for victims of alleged murders by an illegal group within the
gendarmerie called JÄ°TEM.
The General Staff openly stated that it is not considering supporting
efforts to establish a professional army. In correspondence sent to
the Prime Ministry, the General Staff stressed it was not possible to
establish an army made of all professional soldiers, adding that only
two brigades of the Gendarmerie Command and four brigades of the Land
Forces Command would be made up of all professional soldiers.
With the Turkish lira continuing its plunge, surpassing all-time lows
as investors continued flocking to safe-haven dollar-denominated
investments, and as Turkish industrial production plummeted to
historic lows, the Central Bank of Turkey announced it would begin
intervening in the market by selling $50 million daily for an
indefinite period of time.
March 10
Bone fragments and clothing found during an excavation of wells
located in Silopi, Å?ırnak province, were sent to a
forensic lab for analysis to see whether the remains were
human. NurÅ?irevan Elçi, chairman of the
Å?ırnak Bar Association, said the items were found during
the excavation of wells belonging to BOTAÅ?.
On his way to Iran, President Abdullah Gül said the coming to
power of a new administration in the US opened the way for a new world
order, inviting the countries of the world — including US adversaries
— to heed the change. Gül, who was scheduled to meet with top
Iranian leaders, including the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, in Tehran, also made clear that Turkey would oppose the
neighboring country’s desire to acquire nuclear weapons.
The Ä°stanbul Prosecutor’s Office submitted an additional
indictment in the Ergenekon trial. In the second indictment — a
1,909-page document — 56 individuals are indicted, 21 of whom are
suspects in custody, while 35 were released pending trial.
President Gül hinted that new efforts are close at hand to
resolve the decades-old Kurdish problem, saying Turkey is solving its
own problems. "There are already good things happening. We are
resolving our own internal problems," Gül told reporters at the
Turkish Embassy in Tehran. "These things will be resolved sooner or
later."
March 11
Two more bone fragments were found during an excavation of wells
located in Silopi during a search for the bodies of victims who were
allegedly murdered by JÄ°TEM.
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey
(TÃ`BÄ°TAK) received wide criticism for an alleged censorship
of the founder of evolutionary theory, Charles Darwin, in its popular
monthly magazine, Bilim ve Teknik (Science and Technology). An
executive member of TÃ`BÄ°TAK allegedly intervened at the
last minute to remove a dossier on the theory of evolution from the
March issue, also changing the cover featuring an image of Darwin,
causing the magazine to hit newsstands one week after deadline with a
new cover focused on the topic of global climate change.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the idea of Turkish
mediation between his country and the United States. "There is no need
for mediation," Ahmadinejad told reporters after talks in Tehran with
regional leaders, including President Abdullah Gül. "Our stance
is clear: If there is justice and respect, no issue will remain in the
world," he said.
March 12
A retired colonel being sought on an arrest warrant issued as part of
an investigation into Ergenekon was detained in Ankara by squads from
the Ankara Police Department. Investigators believe the retired
colonel, identified as Mehmet Ã`lger, might strengthen the
suspected link between Ergenekon and the murders of three Christians
at a publishing house in Malatya in 2007.
Data from a cockpit voice recorder (CVR), also known as a black box,
of a Turkish Airlines (THY) passenger jet that plunged into a muddy
field near Amsterdam on Feb. 25 revealed that pilots prevented the
plane from plummeting for six seconds. Five Turks and four Americans
were killed when the Boeing 737-800 plunged into a field short of the
runway at Schiphol Airport.
TÃ`BÄ°TAK announced that it had not censored a story on the
founder of evolutionary theory in its popular monthly magazine Bilim
ve Teknik. TÃ`BÄ°TAK answered recent debates on an alleged
censorship of Darwin in Bilim ve Teknik in a written statement, which
said the problem, as evaluated by the council, was caused by an
executive editor exceeding her authority, which worried both
scientific circles and TÃ`BÄ°TAK.
March 13
There is one doctor for every 653 people in Turkey, where the largest
number of doctors is in Ä°stanbul and the smallest number in the
northeastern province of Bayburt, a study revealed. The Turkish
Healthcare Workers’ Union (Türk SaÄ?lık-Sen)
issued a report mapping physician density throughout Turkey by region
and province on the occasion of Medicine Day, which is celebrated
today in Turkey.
Two people will share the jackpot of Thursday’s drawing of the
state-run lottery game, Turkey Super Loto. No one chose the correct
six numbers out of 54 for the last 12 consecutive weeks, resulting in
a jackpot of nearly TL 49 million. Each one of the two winners, from
Ä°stanbul and Bursa provinces, won TL 24,908,903. The winning
numbers were 2, 5, 29, 38, 41 and 51.
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) described former Parliament Speaker
Bülent Arınç’s disparaging remarks about certain
retired generals charged with plotting to overthrow the government as
"prejudiced and distorted." During a weekly press conference,
Brig. Gen. Metin Gürak, head of the General Staff’s
communications department, was reminded of Arınç’s
remarks. "There is no need to deliberate much on prejudiced and
distorted thoughts and expressions of these kinds of people,"
Gürak said, hinting that Arınç was known to be
anti-TSK and anti-TSK personnel.
Former Parliament Speaker Arınç stood firmly in the face
of a TSK rebuke against him for critical remarks he made in regard to
certain retired generals who are charged with plotting against the
government. In response to the TSK’s statement, Arınç
lashed out, saying: "Nobody should try to teach me the law. A
politician is not a scapegoat. I am no one’s servant."
Turkey’s first high-speed train, running between Ankara and
EskiÅ?ehir, has started to carry passengers. Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an took an inaugural ride at 9:40 a.m. with a
host of other officials and journalists following a ceremony at the
Ankara train station.
15 March 2009, Sunday