www.todayszaman.com - June 11, 2008

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Cafés in Turkish shopping malls say ongoing nationwide smoking ban results in unfair competition

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Turkey must win today to remain in contention

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Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Yýldýrým announces that they have failed to reach a new deal with coach Zico

Yo u r Way o f U n d e r s t a n d ý n g Tu r k e y

page08 Asian stocks plummet over inflation and oil COUNCIL OF EUROPE MAY PUT TURKEY BACK ON MONITORING LIST OVER CLOSURE CASE

PACE invites Babacan to urgent session EMRE DEMÝR / SERVET YANATMA, STRASBOURG / ANKARA

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has accused the Constitutional Court of violating the Constitution by exceeding its authority, the limits of which are set by law. He stated that Parliament's legislative powers, granted by the Constitution, cannot be taken away in any way and that Parliament cannot transfer its authority to a third party.

"The Constitution states that legislative power belongs only and exclusively to elected parliaments," he said. "No one can take away the power the Constitution has given to our esteemed Parliament."

Speaking at his party's parliamentary group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Erdoðan shared with his deputies his comments on the Constitutional Court's ruling last Thursday which annulled a Constitutional amendment -- passed in Parliament in May with 411 deputies voting in favor -- that would have ended a long-standing ban on wearing the Muslim headscarf at universities. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

MHP leader Bahçeli targets military, Constitutional Court ERCAN YAVUZ, ANKARA Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli lashed out at remarks by the Turkish Air Forces commander over the Constitutional Court's Friday decision to overturn a government-led reform allowing students to wear Muslim headscarves at university, a ruling interpreted by some to mean the court is positioning itself above Parliament as a legislative organ. Turkish Air Forces Commander Gen. Aydoðan Babaoðlu had said a different ruling would have been surprising and the court's decision was just the "announcement of what is already known."

"The Headscarf problem, which is a sociological fact of the Turkish society, has not disappeared as a result of the constitutional changes that have been reversed. The bleeding wound has been scratched and it has become gangrenous. Turkey's problems can only be solved at Parliament. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

DTP: CONSTITUTIONAL COURT EXCEEDED ITS LIMITS 17

accept the invitation by Strasbourg. The same officials, however, emphasized that the issue is being followed

by Ankara "at highest level as a state affair."

Mevlüt Çavuþoðlu, an AK Party member and the head of the Turkish delegation to PACE, said Turkish parliamentarians have been exerting intense efforts for preventing a possible monitoring decision.

A monitoring process will do serious damage to Turkey and it will be more difficult to get released from that process compared to the past, Çavuþoðlu told Today's Zaman, noting that he believed that PACE is

not aiming to punish Turkey. They aim to help Turkey "overcome ongoing problems without crisis," he added, reiterating that the idea of an urgent debate has not been welcomed at all by Turkey.

"If a decision for holding an urgent debate on a particular country is made, the possibility of that country being put under monitoring procedure is high," Luc Van den Brande, a Belgian member of PACE, told Today's Zaman, noting that the most important reason for holding the debate was the closure case against the AK Party. CONTINUED ON PAGE 04

HÜSEYÝN SARI

Erdoðan accuses the Constitutional Court of acting unconstitutionally

The proposal to hold an urgent meeting came after a state prosecutor asked the Constitutional Court in March to close down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on charges of becoming a "focal point for anti-secular activities." The proposal was introduced at the initiative of the heads of the assembly's five political groups and approved by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Bureau during a recent meeting on May 29.

As of yesterday afternoon, officials at the Foreign Ministry were not able to say whether Babacan would

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PM Recep Tayyip Erdoðan

Parliamentarians at Europe's human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, are preparing to discuss an ongoing closure case against Turkey's ruling party at an urgent session later this month, and they announced yesterday that Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has also been invited to the critical gathering, which observers fear could result in a decision to put Turkey back on a list of countries that require monitoring of their democratic practices.

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TURKISH DEMAND ON TOMATOES ACCEPTABLE, RUSSIAN ENVOY SAYS

Russian Ambassador Ivanovskiy says that Turkey needs to resolve its current political crisis, noting: ‘We do follow the developments with the utmost attention.’

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PRESIDENT BUSH SAYS TURKEY SHOULD JOIN EUROPEAN UNION

Turkey should be allowed to join the European Union, US President George W. Bush said after a summit with the 27-nation bloc's top officials in Slovenia.

Ýstanbul ranks 114th among world cities for quality of life

A new survey has found that Ýstanbul ranks 114th among 215 cities around the world in terms of quality of living. According to Mercer's 2008 Quality of Living survey, European cities dominate the rankings of locations with the best quality of living, while Ýstanbul ranks 114th. Last year Ýstanbul was in 121st place. Zurich retains its 2007 title as the top location for overall quality of living, followed by a tie between Vienna and Geneva and then by Vancouver and Auckland. CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Verdýct takes heavy toll on economy ABDULLAH BOZKURT, ÝSTANBUL Uncertainties in the Turkish political system have started to take a heavier toll on the Turkish economy following a Constitutional Court decision to annul a popular amendment that would have expanded freedoms in Turkey, analysts say. Some foreign investors have decided to exit the Turkish market and turn to alternate markets, and others are having

second thoughts about expanding their businesses, citing market uncertainty. Coupled with international price spikes in oil and food, the future of the Turkish economy is looking increasing grim in the eyes of investors.

Minister of Finance Kemal Unakýtan said: "There is a closure case [against the ruling Justice and Development (AK Party)]. There is no need to hide this.

That creates uncertainty; therefore, economic risks are increasing." Attending a meeting in Amasya yesterday,

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Unakýtan explained, "When economic risks have risen, interest rates also increase." Industry leaders reflect the same attitude. Turkish Confederation of Young Businessmen (TUGIK) Chairman Hazým Sesli said, "We are experiencing uncertainty." Speaking to Today's Zaman, Sesli noted, "Turkey should abandon political tides and steer its direction toward the economy." He also cautioned that recent developments are making foreign and domestic investment very difficult. CONTINUED ON PAGE 07

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Q UOTE OF THE DAY

Occupation forces are now the main obstacle in the way of the Iraqi government and nation.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

CROSS READER

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PRESS REVIEW

columns

W ORDS OF WISDOM

As the ruling party, we have to conform with the rule of law and protect the reliability of our courts.

Science may set limits to knowledge, but should not set limits to imagination.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan

Bertrand Russell

press roundup BÜÞRA ERDAL

Top court’s scarf rulýng prompts AK Party to devýse alternatýve plans A ruling made last Thursday by Turkey's top court to annul a package of constitutional amendments that would lift the country's decades-old headscarf ban on university campuses has prompted the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to devise alternative strategies regarding an ongoing closure case against it.

The Constitutional Court's headscarf ruling was interpreted by many as an indication that the ruling party will be shut down, along with having many of its high-level officials banned from politics for five years.

Radikal's Murat Yetkin states that AK Party officials are in search of new strategies to prevent their party from being disbanded, though none of them is willing to mention the prospect of AK Party closure. "During the party caucus in Ankara's Kýzýlcahamam district in late May, the AK Party shaped, to a great extent, the strategies it will utilize during the court process. Among these strategies looms the prospect of the party moving forward on its path under a new structure and organization," he notes.

Yetkin also mentions the details of some of these strategies. "The AK Party may continue its political activities by taking over an existing but inactive political party rather than establishing a new one. The AK Party's doomsday scenario lies in the prospect of a ban on some of its highranking officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, from belonging to a political party. The party is deliberating on possible figures who could assume different posts in the new party. All efforts made by party officials regarding the possibility of AK Party closure aim at ensuring that the new party will start working like the AK Party within three weeks at the most," remarks Yetkin.

Sabah's Mahmut Övür notes that Turkey's political environment will be the scene of swift developments this summer. "Turkey is focused on certain questions over whether the AK Party will be shut down, whether a new party will be established to replace the AK Party and whether the relations between the AK Party and the main opposition Republican People's Party [CHP] will improve," he says. Övür, envisaging that Prime Minister Erdoðan will first do his utmost in campaigning before the local elections, implies that a victory in the approaching local elections will strengthen the AK Party's standing. "Erdoðan focused on the local elections in a party meeting held the other day. He stressed that the party will not give up its preparations for the upcoming local elections despite the closure risk. He said it is now more important to conquer the strongholds of other political parties," says Övür.

Bugün's Hakan Aygün, on the other hand, states that the real target of the closure case is not the AK Party, but rather Erdoðan himself. He says Erdoðan will be banned from political activity, not the AK Party. "Nowadays no one discusses how the ruling party can be saved from closure; everyone asks whether Erdoðan can be saved.

The real target is Erdoðan," he remarks. Aygün states that AK Party officials are focusing all their efforts on how to enable Erdoðan to return to politics. "They ask themselves whether Erdoðan should return to political life through off-year elections or through general elections," he says. He also hints that those who favor the AK Party's closure will not settle for disbanding the party. "They think Erdoðan is the person who meddled with the country's secular order. Thus, for them, Erdoðan is the real addressee of accusations directed at the AK Party. If all of this is part of a well-thought-out plan, then we can reach the conclusion that they will not settle for closing down the AK Party," notes Aygün.

Coups, justice and judges who don't even see execution as enough ALÝ BAYRAMOÐLU, YENÝ ÞAFAK

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The Young Civilians are carrying on with their "good work." As is well known, during the height of the Ergenekon investigation, they brought the Italian prosecutor Felice Casson, who had previously uncovered the Italian Operation Gladio -- the Italian branch of the NATO "stay-behind" paramilitary organizations -- to Turkey to hold a conference. This past Saturday they hosted a different guest: Javier Pradera. Pradera helped found and also now writes for the Spanish newspaper El Pais, one of Spain's most independent and influential press organs. Speaking at Bilgi University, Pradera explained to the audience how "a newspaper in Spain prevented a coup." When you conjure up Turkey and Spain together in your mind, what are as striking as their shared experiences with coups are their differences in terms of resistance to coups.

Fight between the republic and democracy MEHMET ALTAN, STAR The decision on the headscarf ban by the Constitutional Court -- a decision which in itself was a trampling of the Constitution -- is being analyzed these days from the perspective of what it means for constitutional relations between the Turkish Parliament and the judiciary. In a healthy country, a constitutional court oversees the activities of the parliament and the prime minister from the perspective of the constitution. But in Turkey the Constitutional Court makes itself a partner in national sovereignty. In "healthy countries," what rules above all is "universal justice." But in Turkey justice is not what is really important. What defines the system in Turkey is the "Kemalist republic," which does not in itself embrace any democracy. What exactly is the Constitutional Court protecting? The "Kemalist republic." Alright, but what will happen to the "democratic republic" then? What will happen to democracy? How we will get through this crisis?

Is this is a crisis that can even be transcended?

Gendarmerie forces prevented a young boy from hugging his father, whom he hadn't seen for 22 months as the latter is serving time in prison on charges of gang involvement. Although the boy and his father pleaded with gendarmerie officers to allow them to embrace each other, they were not given permission, greatly upsetting the boy.

zaman:

"Closure case may place Turkey on list of second-class democracies," read the daily's headline yesterday. Luc Van den Brande of the Christian Democrats in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) warned that PACE may once again place Turkey on a list of countries ruled by weak democracies in its plenary assembly, slated for June 26. "PACE will focus on a closure case filed against the ruling Justice and Development Party [AK Party]," he was quoted by the daily as saying. The Council of Europe had taken Turkey off the list of "countries with a weak democracy" in 2004. However, with the AK Party closure case, Turkey may be returned to the list of countries to be "inspected."

vatan:

"They issued flight permit despite 60 deficiencies," read the daily's top headline yesterday, referring to an Atlasjet airplane that crashed on Nov. 30 of last year near an Isparta airport, killing all 57 people on board. According to the daily, a document with shocking information was revealed about the plane. The document claimed that the plane in question, which was leased to Atlasjet by World Focus, was inspected by aircraft engineers before the accident. The engineers found 60 deficiencies in the plane, but Turkey's civilian aviation authority didn't cancel its flight permit.

radikal:

The daily's top story yesterday covered a proposal from ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Ankara deputy Ahmet Ýyimaya to grant Parliament the power to veto Constitutional Court decisions in response to a controversial headscarf ruling last week.

According to Ýyimaya's proposal, a petition from one-third of the members of Parliament would be needed to vote on a veto. A vote of three-fifths of all legislators in a secret ballot would also be necessary for a veto to be issued.

taraf:

"There will be a coup d'état soon," read the daily's headline yesterday, referring to the remarks of retired Gen. Veli Küçük -- who has been under arrest since January within the scope of the Ergenekon operation -- during a 2003 interview with the German daily National Zeitung. "Turkey has not experienced a coup for many years; this is a flaw, but there will be one soon," he reportedly told the German daily. Taraf also noted that Küçük frequently went to Germany and Holland to meet with ultranationalists there. Küçük also had close contacts with retired German Lt. Col. Wilhelm Hillek, who once suggested placing Turks in Germany under quarantine so that Germany would be a more livable place, reported the daily.

The problem does not lie with the single parliament FÝKRET BÝLA, MÝLLÝYET Turkish Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan, speaking at a press conference in which he directed sharp criticism at the recent decision by the Constitutional Court on the headscarf ban, proposed having two parliaments. Toptan's senate recommendation is based on the idea of seeing the number of cases that go to the Constitutional Court reduced and seeing this second parliament as a sort of filter. Turkey has experienced a senate trial in the past, though, and there were some positive contributions made by this senate. The source of the problem we are experiencing today, however, does not derive from Turkey having just one Parliament. At the root of the problem lies the fact that our political system is based on party leadership by one single person, which means there is a lack of democracy within the political parties themselves. This structure also makes the deputies and, thus, Parliament itself completely dependent on a leader. Without changing this structure, you can form as many different parliaments as you want, but the results will be the same.

The cost of neighborhood pressure HÜSEYÝN SÜMER, ZAMAN

turkey ýn the foreýgn press Asýa Týmes

Tehran Týmes

Alarm spreads over Turkey’s troubles The Turkish Constitutional Court's verdict last Thursday overturning the attempt by the government in Ankara to create a legal basis to lift the ban on women wearing headscarves from attending universities, sets the stage for a battle royal between the ruling party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan and Turkey's secular elite comprising the judiciary, the military and the "Kemalists." Erdoðan's Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is fighting a last-ditch battle for survival within a year of its dramatic victory in last

July's parliamentary elections in which it secured an unprecedented 47 percent of the votes polled.

According to top political commentator Ýlnur Çevik, "What we see in Turkey is a coup attempt spearheaded by the judiciary and supported by the elite secularist groups." Çevik forewarned a few weeks ago, "In recent times [in Turkey] military coups have been replaced by post-modern interventions where certain elite civilian groups are encouraged to challenge the elected government and Parliament and impose their will on the nation."

Headscarf decision a blow to religious freedom The decision by Turkey's Constitutional Court to cancel constitutional amendments that would have opened the way for women to wear a headscarf in universities is a blow to freedom of religion and other fundamental rights, Human Rights Watch said on Sunday. The court ruled on June 5 that the Turkish Parliament had violated the constitutionally enshrined principle of secularism when it passed amendments to lift the headscarf ban on university campuses. The amendments were adopted by an overwhelming majority of Parliament. "This decision

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means that women who choose to wear a headscarf in Turkey will be forced to choose between their religion and their education," said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "This is a truly disappointing decision and does not bode well for the reform process." In early February 2008 the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party), supported by the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), passed changes to the Constitution concerning the principle of equality and the right to education.

The Constitutional Court's headscarf ruling has brought scenarios about the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) closure risk to the country's agenda once more. Now several circles in Ankara are deliberating the prospective neighborhood pressures that may emerge if the AK Party is shut down. I am one of those who draw attention to the fact that such hazy circumstances in society should be evaluated well; currency movements should be followed particularly closely during such periods. Opportunists love such hazy circumstances. The past is full of incidents that stand as evidence of the fact that opportunists never fail to make the best use of such situations. We have met dozens of people about whose wealth we had no previous idea. We didn't even know where their wealth came from. But they did their best to tie the hands of bureaucrats and render them helpless.

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Duty ýncumbent on Parlýament and democratýc polýtýcal partýes PHOTO

Large parts of Ýstanbul's Eminönü district, the most hectic part of the historic peninsula, will be closed to traffic as the first leg of the Mahmutpaþa Pedestrianization Project, a YTL 1 million project being undertaken by the Eminönü Municipality in cooperation with the Ýstanbul Chamber of Commerce (ÝTO), kicks off. Eminönü Mayor Nevzat Er said the municipality was aiming to complete threefourths of Eminönü's pedestrianization by the end of 2008, adding that Mahmutpaþa and its surrounding streets constituted the first part of the project.

As part of the project, the historic Mahmutpaþa Hill and a number of adjacent places such as the Aynacýlar and Hacýküçük quarters and the Kefeli Han, Sultan Mektebi, Macuncu and Rastýöçý Streets have been pedestrianized and their infrastructure renovated. Streets closed to traffic have been paved with cobblestones. Ýstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaþ also emphasized that the importance of pedestrianizing certain parts of the historic peninsula, adding that the Eminönü district is one of Ýstanbul's most important historical, cultural and commercial centers as it has the Grand Bazaar (Kapalýçarþý), the Egyptian Bazaar (Mýsýr Çarþýsý) as well as Mahmutpaþa. "Every street and road in these historical districts of Ýstanbul tells a different story in history.

We should ensure that Ýstanbul has the share it deserves from the tourism cake," Topbaþ said. ÝTO President Murat Yalçýntaþ said they were financially contributing to Eminönü's historic transformation. Yasin Kýlýç Ýstanbul

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Major part of Eminönü to be ‘pedestrianized’

BÜLENT KENEÞ b.kenes@todayszaman.com

Parts of Ýstanbul's historical Eminönü district have been closed to traffic as the first leg of a pedestrianization project kicked off yesterday.

No water cuts expected this summer, says Ýstanbul mayor Ýstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaþ has said he does not expect water cuts this summer in the city as there is enough water stored in Ýstanbul's reservoirs, which are the main water source for Turkey's largest metropolitan area.

Answering questions from journalists on Monday, Topbaþ stated that the recent rainfall had not contributed much to increasing the water levels in Ýstanbul's reservoirs, but that the cooler weather had helped to reduce the evaporation rate. The mayor recalled that the reservoirs were at 42 percent of capacity in 2007, noting that this year they are at 38 percent, which, he said, means Ýstanbul will not experience water cuts this summer just as it didn't last year.

Topbaþ said the most important thing in terms of preventing water cuts is using water resources efficiently, adding that this suggestion should be followed not only by Ýstanbulites, but by every individual in the country as Turkey is not water-rich. "We will not cut water supplies this summer. We have said this before. We will solve this problem together. Ýstanbul will have greater water resources in the coming years; however, we need to be more careful until then," he noted.

Topbaþ stated that he would also like to see people in the city using electricity efficiently as the production of electricity has become more expensive due to globally increasing oil prices. "We request this from all Ýstanbulites. All of them should participate in our electricity conservation campaign beginning on June 20. As the municipality we are conducting studies on producing electricity from solar means, wind and even from the currents in the Bosporus and waste." Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

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When institutions that are supposed to solve problems become the source of problems themselves, it becomes impossible to achieve stability and peace in a country. For God's sake, please take a look at the impression being made: The state's institutions, founded by the nation with a social contract and broad consent, are almost fighting with the nation. The loss of time and energy the country has been made to endure -- because of the state institutions under the control of the elitist minority, which has turned a blind eye to a problem of freedom, the solution of which is viewed as reasonable by 80 percent of the population and is of concern to that same 80 percent -- has reached such an extent that it is no longer possible to keep track of how much time and energy has been lost.

The chief characteristic of rulings made by just courts is their ability to evoke a feeling of satisfaction with regard to both the plaintiff's and the defendant's senses of justice. Is it possible to say that the latest ruling of the Constitutional Court -- which annulled a constitutional amendment passed by Parliament with 80 percent support at the cost of violating clear constitutional rules -- created the same effect with regard to the public sense of justice. The Constitutional Court, which not only disregarded the will of 80 percent of the people who supported the constitutional amendment providing for the removal of the headscarf ban at universities but also seized Parliament's legislative powers, has damaged the social consciousness and paralyzed democracy in addition to its disrespect toward Parliament.

The duty of eliminating this horrendous coup, meant to take all parliamentary activities under the guardianship of the judiciary, is undoubtedly incumbent on Parliament itself. However the fact that this duty falls upon Parliament doesn't mean that the political parties, whether they are represented in Parliament or not, must take no initiative and just sit back indolently. The parliament speaker and all the political parties should take urgent action and seek ways to repair the great damage inflicted by the judicial coup, which narrowed the scope of civil politics.

Furthermore, they should take all measures that will prevent any future actions by the same anti-democratic institutions or powers predisposed to imposing limitations on the people's will.

The most recent ruling of the Constitutional Court -- which is obviously acting under the influence and manipulation of some powers that are completely disconnected from people's feelings and needs -- is a graver anti-democratic intervention than the closure of political parties, which are the most indispensable part of democracies. This anti-democratic and unfair judicial intervention that targets rendering Parliament -- the most important institution of democracy -- completely ineffective also seeks to exterminate the institution of politics altogether.

And it is the institution of politics which has to respond to this attack that has fatally injured our democracy. There are no signs suggesting that we could ever be hopeful about the Republican People's Party (CHP), whose fascistic approach is clear as day, and its supporter, the Democratic Left Party (DSP).

For this reason, the responsibility of re-establishing democratic standards, despite all the devastating impacts of the CHP and the state's elitist institutions, is incumbent on the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the Democratic Society Party (DTP), the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) and all other political parties.

Just as preserving Parliament's dignity is the parliament speaker's duty, with the support of all democratic-leaning political parties the complete eradication of the coup Constitution of 1982 -- which falls far short of meeting the country's needs, as it has become a huge bundle of patchwork -- is the duty of all the democratic-leaning political parties, and particularly the AK Party. The AK Party -facing closure as the target of the current constitutional structure dominated by an anti-democratic mindset that is stuck in 1960 -should shake off its deadly silence at once. It should do anything needed to initiate a new process to draft a liberal and civilian constitution that will save the will of the people from ever being interfered with in an anti-democratic fashion again. In order to do this, if it must negotiate with other parties, then it should do it; if it must fight with them, it should also do that; or if it must make a decision to hold early elections with an agenda of forming a new parliament to draft a new constitution, it should do that as well.

This new constitution should act without fear to carry our rotten judicial system, and primitive and archaic non-democratic state institutions, to the positions they normally occupy in a modern democracy. Every day that passes with inaction means drifting further away from the port of democracy. We don't have a single day to waste in regard to completely changing the Constitution on a rational ground of conciliation.

The successive chain of anti-democratic interventions made one after another at the cost of abusing a sacred institution such as the law imposes a historic responsibility on the AK Party and other democratic political parties. This is also a responsibility to evaluate as best as possible this emerging opportunity for a lasting solution for a real democracy by cleaning up the debris of the archaic system in question, now that the current anti-democratic system has hit rock bottom.

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Minister Babacan meets with Obama aides in Washington Foreign Minister Ali Babacan met advisors of the Republican and Democratic candidates for the US presidency before wrapping up his lengthy visit to the United States on Monday.

Babacan met with the campaign advisors to Senator Barack Obama, who recently secured the Democratic candidacy after a close race with rival Hillary Clinton, and Senator John McCain, the Republican candidate. Babacan also met with Clinton advisors; the New York senator withdrew her bid for the nomination over the weekend.

During the term of outgoing President George W. Bush, Turkey-US ties suffered a huge blow in 2003 when the Turkish Parliament rejected a US request for

military cooperation in the Iraq War. Since then, the relationship has seen several disagreements over the Iraq War and US inaction toward the presence of terrorist operatives of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. Relations were put back on track after Bush declared the PKK a "common enemy" and the US military began to cooperate with Turkey in the fight against the PKK in northern Iraq.

The Turkish military has been conducting aerial strikes against PKK targets in northern Iraq since December and in February the army sent troops into the Kurdish-run region to hunt down PKK terrorists there. The US shares intelligence about the PKK to support the operations and Babacan said after talks with US

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that TurkishUS cooperation was under way against the PKK. Babacan's talks with Obama and McCain aides are the first high-level Turkish contact with would-be presidents. Ankara believes Turkey-US ties will remain strong no matter which candidate is elected, but observers say there are some concerns over the fate of ties if Obama is elected, because the Democratic candidate, unlike Clinton or McCain, may not be fully aware of the importance of good ties with Turkey at the beginning.

Iran's nuclear program, Syria, Turkish-American relations and the situation in Iraq were discussed during Babacan's talks with Clinton and Obama aides, the Anatolia news agency reported. The foreign min-

ister also responded to questions on a closure case against his Justice and Development Party (AK Party). He reiterated that it was not clear when the court would hand down its verdict and that in either case, the verdict would be final. He also expressed his views regarding his party's stance on secularism.

Energy issues and the Turkish economy were among other topics discussed. Babacan also touched on efforts in the US Congress to recognize Armenian claims of genocide at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire and said the issue should not cast a shadow over Turkey-US ties. Babacan left Washington for Paris, where he will attend an international conference on Afghanistan. Washington Today's Zaman

PACE ýnvýtes Babacan to urgent meetýng on Turkey contýnued from page 1 Last week, Turkey's Constitutional Court overturned a constitutional amendment that would have ended a ban on the Muslim headscarf in universities, a move that has widely been interpreted as indicating that the court is positioning itself above Parliament as a legislative organ. The headscarf ruling will play a central role in the closure case against the AK Party -- which has been in power since 2002 and was re-elected last July with an overwhelming 47 percent of the popular vote -- on charges of antisecular activities. The chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, who filed the case, is also seeking to ban 71 AK Party members, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, as well as President Abdullah Gül, from belonging to a political party for five years.

In June 2004 PACE decided to end the monitoring of Turkey, declaring that the country had "achieved more reform in a little over two years than in the previous decade" and had clearly demonstrated its commitment and ability to fulfill its statutory obligations as a member state of the Council of Europe. Then, the assembly resolved to continue "post-monitoring dialogue" with Turkish authorities on a twelve-point list of outstanding issues. Only two other countries, Bulgaria and Macedonia, are in the process of post-monitoring dialogue.

Turkey has been a member of the Council of Europe since 1949, when it undertook to honor obligations concerning pluralist democracy, the rule of law and human rights enshrined in the organization's founding statute.

The assembly's monitoring procedure -- which involves regular visits to the country and dialogue with its authorities -- was opened in 1996.

The PACE Monitoring Committee currently has 11 countries under monitoring procedure: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Russian Federation, Serbia and Ukraine.

During the upcoming debate, the assembly is likely to appoint Brande, who is a member of the Monitoring Committee, as rapporteur for Turkey. Brande acknowledged that he was likely to be assigned to the post and added that this would be clear as of June 23.

"There are criteria set for closure of political parties by the Council of Europe's Venice Commission. We see that these criteria are not met in the case against the AK Party," Brande told Today's Zaman, referring to the fact that according to the principles of the Venice Commission, of which Turkey is a member, a political party can only be banned if it advocates the use of violence or seeks to use violence to overthrow the constitutional order.

"An EU candidate needs to obey rules set by the Council of Europe for protection of

NATIONAL

ANALYSIS

Obama may uphold genocide claims Senator Barack Obama may become the first US president to recognize Armenian claims that their ancestors were subject to a systematic genocide campaign at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire, experts say.

Formal backing of the claims by the US administration could mean a major blow to ties between NATO allies Turkey and the United States.

Turkey categorically denies genocide charges, saying instead Turks and Armenians died in a civil conflict during World War I years when Armenians took up arms against the Ottoman Empire in collaboration with the Russian army, which was then invading eastern Anatolia, in hope of creating an independent Armenian state.

"The Armenian issue is just one factor in the Turkish-US ties if everything else goes well," Sedat Laçiner, head of the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (ISRO/USAK), was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. "But if problems emerge, the Armenian question could put oil on fire and we may suddenly see fires engulfing the ties," he added.

US presidents have so far refused to call the World War I events genocide and no US administration has supported efforts in the US Congress to recognize the alleged genocide, fearing it will harm ties with Turkey. But Obama's position may be different. The Democratic candidate for president has pledged to Armenian groups during his election campaign that he will back the genocide claims if elected president.

"Possibilities that Obama will back the genocide claims are still not big, but compared to President George W. Bush, the risk is greater," said Þanlý Bahadýr Koç, an expert on TurkishAmerican relations at the Center for Eurasian Studies Center (ASAM). He said Obama would be under pressure to keep his words to the Armenian groups if he is elected. But there will also be others on his team telling him about the importance of good ties with Turkey. "It is difficult to say who will win in this," he said.

Contrary to Obama, Republican candidate John McCain is known to be opposing efforts for US recognition of the genocide claims. Koç said a problem between Turkey and the US on the Armenian issue is unlikely if McCain is elected. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

OPERATION

Warplanes strike N. Iraq, Iraqi Kurds say

PACE rapporteur plans to visit Turkey in autumn Only a day before an urgent planned debate on Turkey, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will discuss a report concerning "the state of democracy in Europe" on June 25 during the during the assembly's upcoming plenary session later this month. "Constitutional reform is still required in Turkey, with a view to ensuring full compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights," the report notes as a major shortcoming concerning

democracy and human rights. Speaking frankly, it is not possible for a country under the Council of Europe's monitoring to also be a member of the EU. There is, of course, a mutual interaction between the EU and the Council of Europe," Brande said when asked whether a possible monitoring decision by Strasbourg would have any impacts on Turkey's EU bid.

Turkey was given EU candidate country status at the Helsinki summit in December 1999, when it was also noted that it would be required to meet the

Turkey with respect to the separation of powers and the role of Parliament.

Serhiy Holovaty of Ukraine, the rapporteur, also said that he planned to visit Turkey in autumn this year in his capacity as chair of the Committee on the Honoring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee).

Holovaty said he would report back to the committee on progress made by Turkish authorities on the 12 issues men-

same conditions for accession as other countries.

Turkey started an expansive reform process after the summit in order to meet the EU criteria and has been engaged in this process ever since.

The then-coalition government under the late Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit abolished the death penalty in 2002 as a historic step toward the EU. The Copenhagen summit in December 2002 also moved Turkey closer to the EU. The EU Council finally decided that negotiations would start without delay if Turkey met the

tioned in 2004 when PACE had decided to end the monitoring of Turkey, declaring that the country had "achieved more reform in a little over two years than in the previous decade" and had clearly demonstrated its commitment and ability to fulfill its statutory obligations as a member state of the Council of Europe. Then, the assembly resolved to continue "post-monitoring dialogue" with the authorities on a 12-point list of outstanding issues. Ankara Today's Zaman

Copenhagen political criteria by the December 2004 summit, only a few months after PACE had decided to end the monitoring of Turkey.

Turkey began EU membership talks in 2005, but they have been held back by the continued division of Cyprus, slow progress in EU-mandated reforms and frosty attitudes in some EU countries, such as France. The EU froze eight chapters in 2006 in response to Turkey's refusal to grant trade privileges to Cyprus, which Ankara does not recognize, under a customs union pact with the bloc.

Turkish warplanes attacked northern Iraq on Monday, Iraqi Kurdish officials said on Tuesday, bombing a mountainous area that is home to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). There was no confirmation from the Turkish military.

Jabbar Yawar, spokesman for peshmerga security forces in Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region, said the warplanes struck an area near Nerwa Wa Rekan, a village in the northern province of Dahuk, Reuters reported. There were no reports of any casualties. An Iraqi border guard said it was an artillery attack, not a bombing by airplanes.

The Turkish military has regularly attacked PKK targets in the mountains of northern Iraq, where several thousand PKK terrorists are believed to be holed up. The military confirmed aerial strikes on the PKK targets in the Zap region of northern Iraq late on Saturday.

The military launched a major ground offensive across the border in February, signaling a new phase in the conflict, but later withdrew its troops.

The European Union and the United States are keen for NATO-member Turkey, which they say is defending itself against a terrorist organization, to keep its attacks in northern Iraq limited to avoid destabilizing Iraq and the wider region. Ankara says it is pleased with its cooperation with the United States in the fight against the PKK. The US assists Turkish efforts by sharing intelligence about the terrorist group and providing airspace clearance for Turkish warplanes taking part in aerial strikes. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with Reuters

TERROR

Christofias attacks Turkish military for ‘reactionary’ stance Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias has lashed out at the Turkish military, saying hopes for reunification on the divided Cyprus are being undermined by statements from the "reactionary" army.

In an interview published in the Financial Times yesterday, Christofias, who is expected to meet Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in the coming months to restart the reunification process, said progress on a peace deal was hitting a "major obstacle" because of Ankara's insistence that any solution on the island must be based on acknowledging the existence of two "peoples" on the island. Ankara's move had been driven by "a reactionary Turkish military," said Christofias.

The Greek Cypriot leader said Ankara has re-

verted to talking about the island's Greek and Turkish communities as two distinct "peoples" -implying that each is entitled to retain a considerable degree of sovereignty. He said he and Talat recognized that the only basis for a peace deal was to unite Greek and Turkish Cypriots in a single republic that recognized the rights of the two "communities."

However, a statement in April by Turkey's National Council, which talked about the Turkish and Greek Cypriots as distinct "peoples," went against this, Christofias told Financial Times. "If you talk about 'peoples' with a right of self-determination then your philosophy is to divide the island. I am frustrated by this. We need to stick to the philosophy of two communities," he said.

Christofias and Talat met on March 21 and agreed to kick start a process of preparatory talks at the level of committees to pave the way for reunification talks.

The peace talks were originally expected to take place in late June, but were later postponed to an unspecified date after the two leaders, meeting in late May to discuss progress in preparatory talks, said they differed on the timing of face-to-face reunification talks.

Protest over plane Meanwhile, Greek Cyprus has protested to international aviation organizations after a Turkish airliner flew over south Nicosia at a low altitude on Sunday afternoon, leaving local people in panic, Greek Cypriot news reports said.

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"The Civil Aviation Department of the Cyprus Ministry of Communications and Works has taken all the necessary steps and has filed protests with all the international aviation organizations, including the Euro control, regarding an incident with a Turkish aircraft," Nicos Nicolaides, minister of Communication and Works, told the media on Monday.

A Turkish civilian plane flew over south Nicosia for a few minutes on Sunday, around 600 meters above the ground. According to Greek Cypriot reports, it was estimated that the pilot had been told to circle the Ercan Airport on Turkish Cyprus to await landing and had lost his way into Nicosia, which Greek Cypriot officials have said is a frequent phenomenon for planes heading to Ercan. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with wires

Appeals process begins in Fehriye Erdal case Belgium's top court yesterday began hearing an appeal involving a Turkish fugitive wanted in Turkey for suspected involvement in the assassination of a prominent businessman in 1996 and nine other members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), an outlawed leftist group in Turkey. A court in Anvers released fugitive Fehriye Erdal in February for time served. The court also declined to call the DHKP/C a terrorist organization, contrary to earlier rulings throughout the DHKP/C members' lengthy trial process and despite a European Union decision to classify the organization as a terrorist group. The release was appealed by the prosecutor to the Court of Cassation, which will be hear the last phase of the lengthy judicial process over Erdal. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

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Turkey’s attack helicopter saga may come to an end LALE SARIÝBRAHÝMOÐLU ANKARA

Turkey is planning to proceed with its long-standing attack helicopter project by signing another agreement with Italian firm AgustaWestland despite not yet having received export license approvals from the US for the helicopter’s US-made engines and guns, a defense industry source says.

The US had previously agreed to extend technical assistance for LHTECH T-800 engines instead of transferring licenses for the system, but it has not responded yet for the transfer of technology for the guns that are to be mounted on the attack helicopters.

In order to avoid further delays on the project, the Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM) has decided to sign an agreement with AgustaWestland on June 24 to put

the project into motion, hoping to receive the necessary US licenses for both the engines and the guns later, said a local defense industrialist.

After the US refused to transfer software source codes for the attack helicopters, US companies were not able to bid in Turkey’s attack helicopter tender, prompting Ankara to select AgustaWestland as the winner of the project in early 2007. The SSM, AgustaWestland, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and local contractor Aselsan signed contracts worth around $2.7 billion for the production of A-129 attack helicopters in Turkey.

But Turkey and Italian AgustaWestland are now reliant on the US for the installation of engines and guns on the attack helicopters.

In a related development, as Washington has turned down an earlier Turkish request to

buy US made Cobra attack helicopters to meet its urgent needs in the fight against outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has refused AgustaWestland’s offer of off-the-shelf A-129 Mangusta attack helicopters as an interim solution. The TSK turned down the Italian offer because the existing A 129 helicopters would not have met its requirement.

A contract for the acquisition of 51 (plus 41 optional) attack and tactical reconnaissance helicopters (ATAK) for the Turkish Land Forces Command that involves local software development based on the original source codes and hardware as well as the integration of high technology avionics on the helicopters was signed at SSM on Sept. 7 of last year Italian industrial group Finmeccanica, of which AgustaWestland is a part, stated on

Sept. 12 on its Web site that it would supply Turkey with 51 combat helicopters in a deal worth around 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion).

The AugustaWestland A-129 helicopters will form part of Turkey’s ATAK program, Finmeccanica said.

The remaining $1.1 billion of the total $2.7 billion project will be financed by TAI and Aselsan, according to TAI sources.

The SSM Executive Committee decided to start contract negotiations with AgustaWestland during its March 30 meeting last year, eliminating South African firm Denel’s Rooivalk attack helicopter.

TAI will be responsible for the integration, modification, certification and testing of the helicopters, all of which are scheduled to be completed at the end of 58th month following the signing of the contract.

Turkish Greens to establish a new political party CÝHAN

The Turkish Greens will apply to the Ministry of the Interior to form a party. Their platform seeks freedoms, withdrawal from NATO, demilitarization of Cyprus, recognition of Kurdish identity and a new constitution The Greens of Turkey, who have struggled to establish their movement in Turkey since the 1980s, will seek to become a political party at the end of this month, with a platform based upon environmental principles and direct democracy.

This will be the second effort of the Greens to set up a political party; the first came in 1988 and was successful, but the party was closed down in 1994 by the Constitutional Court due to irregularities in the party budget.

In an interview with Today’s Zaman, Greens spokesman Ümit Tahin said the organizational structure of the party will be different from others. “We will of course fulfill the requirements of the Law on Political Parties, but we will have our own rules, such as a 50 percent quota of women members and rotation of party officials. We will not have a leader, but rather one man and one woman spokesperson,” Tahin noted.

The Greens of Turkey, even before becoming a political party, were accepted as an observer in the European Green Parties Council in 2005.

The Greens of Turkey have the same platform as many other global Greens -- ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy, nonviolence, decentralization, communitybased economics, feminism, respect for diversity, global responsibility and future focus.

In their party program, detailed on their Web site, the Greens of Turkey claim that wars were started in order to control water and oil resources in the Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia, while Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq were occupied and Turkey is in the middle of all these problems; thus, they say, international politics based on regional cooperation, peace and friendship is necessary. The Greens of Turkey have pledged to cooperate with the Greens of the world to overcome these problems and not to act on the basis of nationalism.

According to the Greens, Turkey is suffer-

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Tuncay Özkan, who recently sold his neonationalist and ultra-secularist television network Kanaltürk to a businessman close to the government, has announced plans to go into politics as the leader of a political party set up by constitutional law professor Mümtaz Soysal, a former foreign minister and deputy from the Democratic Left Party (DSP).

Soysal, known for his unyielding nationalism, is best remembered in Turkey for his legal battle that indefinitely blocked the record sale of state telecommunications company Turk Telekom during the prime ministry of Tansu Çiller in 1996. A consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Oger Telecom bought a 55 percent stake in the company for $6.55 billion in a privatization auction in 2006, which analysts have said was much lower than what would have been paid had the privatization been completed in a timely manner.

Soysal -- who currently leads the Independent Republican Party (BCP) -- is prepared to his leadership to the former Kanaltürk owner, reports said yesterday. Soysal and founding members will vote on the transfer of the party this Saturday.

The BCP, which uses a Sunflower as its emblem, was founded by Professor Soysal on July 24, 2002. The first regular party congress was held on July 26, 2003 and the second was held on June 24, 2006. Özkan’s anti-government broadcaster Kanaltürk was sold for $25 million to Turkish Koza Davetiye in May, a decision made under pressure, Özkan had said in defense of his move.

The sale of the station to a pro-government group had drawn fierce criticism from secularists. Özkan had said the broadcaster was in a financial bottleneck and further defended himself by saying he was obliged to make the sale to Koza Davetiye as no social democrats wanted to buy it.

The former Kanaltürk owner has accused the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government of trying to create “a media of its own.” He is also the founder of a movement, Kaç Kiþiyiz? (How many are we?), as a platform for nationalist opposition. The movement’s Web site was bombarded with messages of protest against Özkan after the sale.

Koza is the owner of the conservative, progovernment Bugün newspaper. Although a small television station, Kanaltürk was the country’s most outspoken anti-government broadcaster and the unofficial media sponsor of pro-nationalist and secularist demonstrations held in 2007 to protest the government. Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman

American rights group criticizes top court ruling

The Greens of Turkey are planning to become a political party at the end of this month, with a platform based upon direct democracy. ing from human rights violations, military coups and social injustice, all stemming from an authoritarian approach to governing.

The Greens note that their movement began based on civil society organizations but that in recent years the concept of civil society organizations has been abused. The Greens say they will derive their power from real civil society organizations that are working for democracy.

The Greens define the existing Constitution as a product of the 1980 military coup and de-

Funeral held in Kayseri for martyred corporal Cpl. Ahmet Dursun, who was killed Sunday after stepping on a land mine placed by members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Þemdinli district of Hakkari, was buried yesterday in his hometown of Kayseri following a military funeral ceremony.

The funeral was attended by Governor Mevlüt Bilici, Garrison Commander Maj. Gen. Mehmet Veysi Aðar, Deputy Mayor Mehmet Tarýnç, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Kayseri deputies Sadýk Yakut and Ahmet Öksüzkaya as well as military officers, relatives of the martyred and a large number of locals.

The people shouted slogans of

Former Kanaltürk owner set to take over political party

“Down with the PKK,” “Martyrs don’t die” and “All of us are soldiers,” condemning PKK terrorism.

The martyred corporal’s father, Ali, mother, Dursun, brothers Yusuf, Selver, Kadir and Alpaslan, and sisters Ayþe and Saliham wept bitterly throughout the ceremony and embraced the coffin draped in a Turkish flag. Some of his siblings passed out during the ceremony and were treated in an ambulance by medical staff.

The funeral prayer was led by Kayseri Mufti Þaban Ýþlek, following which the corporal was buried in the village of Damýzlýk.

Dursun had only 40 days left to his discharge. Sarýz Today’s Zaman

mand that a new, shorter constitution be created that focuses on basic rights. According to the Greens all types of interference in democratic politics should be banned. They note that the new constitution should emphasize that the freedoms of citizens should not be restricted in the interest of the state. They would also like to see restrictions on and civil monitoring of military expenditures along with the abolishment of the National Security Council (MGK). The Greens also want Turkey to withdraw from

NATO, the Americans to be prevented from using Ýncirlik Air Base and the complete demilitarization of Cyprus. When it comes to the EU the Greens are in favor of continuing with the country’s accession negotiations but pledge to work for an EU based on Green principles.

Regarding the Kurdish question the Greens propose that Turkey must confront the mistakes of the past and recognize the Kurdish identity.

The Greens will discuss the details of the party’s bylaws on June 21 during a meeting in Ýstanbul.

Ýstanbul ranks 114th among world cities contýnued from page 1 The rankings are based on a point scoring index, which sees Zurich scoring 108, while Ýstanbul scores 74.7. Baghdad ranks the lowest among world cities in terms of quality of living, with a score of 13.5. Cities are compared to New York as the base city, with an index score of 100. The survey is conducted to help governments and major companies in placing employees on international assignments.

The survey also identifies the cities with the highest personal safety ranking based on internal stability, crime, effectiveness of law enforcement and relationships with other countries. Luxembourg is

top, followed by Bern, Geneva, Helsinki and Zurich, all equally placed at number two. Chicago, Houston and San Francisco are among the safest cities in the US, all ranking at 53. Baghdad is the world’s least safe city along with Kinshasa (214), Karachi (213), Nairobi (212) and Bangui (211).

Luxembourg scores 131.4 on the index while Baghdad scores 3.8.

Mercer’s study is based on detailed assessments of 39 key quality of living determinants, grouped in such categories as political and social environment, economic environment, socio-cultural environment, health and sanitation, schools and education, public serv-

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ices and transportation, recreation, customer goods, housing and natural environment.

In the meantime, in a separate study by MasterCard, London was selected as the world’s top center of commerce among cities that were rated by how they influence the global economy. The British capital eclipsed second-place New York, which was held back by bond market regulations that affect the volume of listed sales, a more volatile US currency and by a US economy that was considered to be less stable than Britain’s economy, MasterCard said. Istanbul was the 64th city among the 75 rated. Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman with wires

The Institute on Religion and Public Policy has condemned a Constitutional Court decision to uphold a ban on headscarves on university campuses, describing the ruling as a move that curbs individual expression of religious belief.

A statement released June 6 on the institute’s Web site recalled that “an amendment allowing women to wear headscarves in universities was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. A Constitutional Court statement said this proposed amendment violates the principles of secularism set in Turkey’s Constitution.”

The court’s decision had not come as “a major surprise to many within the secular elite, who dominate the political landscape,” the statement, titled “The Grieboski Report,” said, but added, “It does deliver a blow to the AK Party [Justice and Development Party] which currently holds 47 percent of the seats in Parliament.”

The statement also noted that the Constitutional Court has yet to rule on a case that might close the ruling AK Party, which is facing allegations of eroding secularist principles of the country.

“This also sets the stage for a legal and political showdown between the AK Party and the secular political elite. The AK Party promotes itself as a moderate, conservative, pro-Western party that advocates a free-market economy and EU membership, but many of its critics say it is too closely linked with the Islamic community and banned political parties,” noted the statement.

“It is troubling that a democratic nation is using its institutions to attack or ban a legitimate political party for promoting an amendment that is meant to strengthen individual liberty and fundamental rights,” institute president Joseph K. Grieboski said in the statement. “This particular amendment allows for an appropriate public expression of an individual’s faith.”

The statement also shared comments on Turkey’s struggle to define secularism. “Since the establishment of secularism in the Turkish Constitution of 1924 using the French term laïcité, Turkey has struggled to find the best way to balance fundamental rights with the Constitution’s defined secular system.” Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman

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Academic says West knows little of Gülen's contributions

Cyber crýmes threaten unsuspectýng Internet users CÝHAN

‘If you do not secure your wireless modem and Internet connection, don’t be surprised to see policemen knocking on your door to investigate cyber crimes committed from your IP address,’ Say says, stressing the importance of securing your wireless connection Even though the phenomenon of “cyber crime” has become public knowledge and has even made it into the criminology literature in recent years, it still poses a threat to many Internet users.

One of the most common cyber crimes is known as phishing, which is defined by Wikipedia as an attempt to “criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.” The most common targets of phishing are the Web sites PayPal and eBay and online banking sites. Phishing is often carried out by using e-mail or instant messaging to direct users to enter details at a Web site that masquerades as a site the user has come to trust.

One of the most common methods used by cyber thieves for phishing is to imitate the Web sites of banks and direct their victims to these Web sites, which directly send the personal information, bank account numbers and passwords of the victims to the thief. In these kinds of attacks, the users are not aware that the Web site at which they are entering their personal information is fake. They think that they are using the official site of the bank.

After the attackers get their victims’ bank accounts they transfer the money in those accounts to their own bank accounts.

In a phone conversation with Today’s Zaman, Kubilay Say, a cyber crime investigator at the Ankara Police Department, says Internet users should be careful about the Internet address they are using. Say stresses that online banking transactions are done via “secure Web pages” with addresses that begin with http://. If the address of the Web site they are using does not start with this, they may be risking cyber theft.

Say, a rare expert in his field in Turkey, says another common mistake that Internet users make is to do bank transactions from Internet cafes, which are the most dangerous places for online transactions. He explains that Internet cafes are not secure places, adding, “One cyber attacker from Ýzmir goes to Aydýn and uploads a

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Victims of cyber attacks should contact the police so that an investigation can be opened into the crime.

Trojan computer virus to the computers of an Internet cafe there. The Trojan program saves and sends all personal information entered in these computers to the email address of the attacker. With this method, he has transferred money from many people’s bank accounts to his own bank account.”

As for other public computers, such as those at work, school and in the library, Say says jokingly, “You have no choice but trust your IT staff!”

Wireless Internet connections, which have proliferated rapidly in recent years, are also not entirely safe for online transactions. As the number of laptop computers with wireless capabilities has increased dramatically over the

last five years, the number of wireless connection servers and modems has also increased, which makes for a mouthwatering situation for cyber thieves. “If you do not encrypt your wireless modem and Internet connection, don’t be surprised to see policemen knocking on your door for an investigation regarding cyber crimes committed from your IP address,” Say says, stressing the importance of encrypting your wireless connections.

“Because,” he explains, “The police use backtracing methods to find the perpetrators of cyber crimes and they will automatically reach the IP address that hosts the cyber attack.”

Say also warns the users of MSN Messenger, G-talk and other instant messaging

Sabancý University recognizes international studies on Ottoman heritage The third Sakýp Sabancý International Research Awards on Monday recognized studies on “the effects of Ottoman heritage on modern Turkey’s culture, foundations and values” at Sabancý University in Ýstanbul.

Sabancý Holding CEO and Sabancý University board of trustees president Güler Sabancý delivered a speech during the award ceremony, saying, “The Sakýp Sabancý International Research Awards are very important in Turkey, as they are the only awards given for social studies by a university.”

Sabancý said the awards were the idea of late Sabancý Holding CEO Sakýp Sabancý, adding, “Today we are fulfilling his dying wish.” The board of trustees president said Sabancý University aimed to be the ideal university of the 21st century. “Today I see that Sabancý University plays an important role in creating a different perspective for the future, which is also the philosophy of Sabancý Holding,” she said.

Sabancý said 173 researchers from around the world had applied for the awards in the last three years, noting that more than half the research projects were submitted from universities overseas, including such prestigious institutions as Yale and Columbia.

“The interest of these people in Turkey pleases us. It seems that many decent researchers and academics in the world are interested in Turkey.”

Bosporus University Atatürk Institute for Modern Turkish History and Economics department head Professor

Þevket Pamuk noted that modern Turkey’s founders, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his colleagues, were educated in the late Ottoman Empire period, saying: “Modern Turkey rose from the ashes of Ottoman Empire. For this reason, choosing a topic related to Ottoman heritage is very important in this sense.

This year 41 research projects competed in the competition, and the jury, of which I am also a member, decided to recognize five of them.” Pamuk also noted that the research projects presented different perspectives on the Ottoman influence on modern Turkey and its foundations, adding: “Thanks to these valuable research projects, we will be able to evaluate the Ottoman Empire’s sophisticated influence on contemporary Turkey. As a member of the jury I have read these studies with great pleasure.”

Tel Aviv University department of Middle Eastern and African history instructor Amy Singer won first prize for her project titled “Continuity of Ottoman Beneficence.” University of Washington comparative literature department doctoral student Maureen Jackson ranked second place with her study on Jewish performers of classical Ottoman and Turkish music. French Universite de Nice Sophia instructor Olivier Bouquet ranked third with his study titled “The Old Elites of the New Republic: Transformation of Ottoman Bureaucrats’ Families in Turkey (1909-1939).” The first place prize was $20,000, second place took $10,000 and the third place project won $5,000. Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman with wires

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services against cyber attacks. “They first hack your instant messaging address and steal your account. After that they want telephone units or money from you to give your account back. This method has become quite common recently.”

The police do not investigate cyber crimes until they receive a complaint. For this reason, the victims of cyber attacks should report these attacks directly to the police. Say said the rate of cyber crimes in Turkey was considerably lower than in many countries, especially European and Far Eastern countries, where Internet use is more common, adding, “However, the number of these crimes is increasing rapidly in Turkey.” According to Say, the best way protect against these cyber attacks is to raise public awareness against them.

NATIONAL

Doctor B. Jill Carroll, a well-known author and lecturer at Rice University in Houston, has said it is surprising that the West knows little about Fethullah Gülen, a respected Turkish intellectual and scholar.

Carroll, author of “A Dialogue of Civilizations: Gülen’s Islamic Ideals and Humanistic Discourse,” participated on Monday in an Interfaith Voices program, an independent public radio show that promotes interfaith understanding through dialogue. “I am baffled by the fact that Gülen is not known adequately by the West though he has served a great deal to the improvement of dialogue between faiths and cultures for so many years,” noted Carroll.

Carroll said Gülen was in a category with the people who are not only loyal to their own traditions but also who work for a world where people live in peace. “In this sense, he is in the same category with the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mother Teresa,” she remarked.

She also praised Turkish schools, established around the globe with Gülen’s pioneering. “These schools invest in the future and aim at creating a community that offers equal opportunities for everyone.”

“Gülen’s understanding of religion has a liberal and democratic nature. His main objective is to contribute to the education of world children and improve inter-religious dialogue. I was highly affected by Turkish hospitality during my visits to Turkey. I guess this is the ideal behavior that Gülen makes mention of,” said Carroll.

She also noted the Gülen movement has become a global and transnational one.

“Gülen has greatly impacted three generations in Turkey. He also influences considerable masses all across the world with his speeches and deeds. He leads a very modest life.

Thousands of institutions have been established all around the globe by the Gülen movement, but he doesn’t undertake the administration of even one of them. When people see such aspects of this movement, they say ‘these are not Muslims in words, they are real Muslims’,” Carroll said. Ali H. Aslan Washington

Request for tape recordings denied in Malatya murder case A court has rejected a request from lawyers who demanded that government ministries turn over to the court tape recordings relevant to the savage murder of three Christians last year in an eastern province of Turkey.

At the seventh hearing of the case in Malatya on Monday, lawyers for the plaintiffs stated that Transportation Minister Binali Yýldýrým had said the suspects were captured as a result of audio recordings and asked that the court subpoena the records of such activities either from the Ministry of Interior or Ministry of Transportation. But the court rejected the demand on the grounds that it would not add anything beneficial to the case.

All five suspects arrested last year for the murder of three Christians have maintained their innocence, saying that they did not personally kill any of the victims.

Turkish Christians Necati Aydýn and Uður Yüksel and German Christian Tilmann Ekkehart Geske were tied up, stabbed and tortured for several hours before their throats were slit on April 18 last year.

Suspects Salih Gürler (20), Abuzer Yýldýrým (19), Cuma Özdemir (20) and Hamit Çeker (19) said they went to the Zirve publishing house where the victims worked because of threats from alleged ringleader Emre Günaydýn.

Following the testimony of the other four suspects, Günaydýn called them lesser men.

In his court testimony, Günaydýn introduced a new suspect to the case, saying that a bald man came to his father’s sports club and gave him information on the Christian missionaries’ activities in Turkey. Günaydýn stated that he did not know the name of the person but could recognize him.

Some of the victims’ relatives were also present at the hearing on Monday. Their lawyers asked the court to include the children of the victims as injured parties in the case because they had also been negatively affected.

The court approved the request.

The wife of one of the victim’s, Suzanne Geske, also attended the hearing. Ýbrahim Kalim, Geske’s lawyer, said he had a report on his client’s two children, whom, he said, had been emotionally scarred by the incident.

Kali also noted that the report was prepared by a child psychologist and would be presented as additional evidence in a YTL 630,000 lawsuit against the Interior Ministry over its handling of the case. The next hearing is scheduled for July 4. Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman with wires

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BUSINESS

TODAY’S ZAMAN 07

W E D N E S D AY, J U N E 1 1 , 2 0 0 8

Polýcy constraýnts ýn the second half of 2008 MURAT YÜLEK m.yulek@todayszaman.com

The central bank's decision to change the inflation targets for 20082010 was too little too late. The bank will have to find a way to restore confidence while not strangling the economy further.

Complicating the situation further are the global and domestic slowdowns. Consumer confidence is at historical lows in Turkey, resulting in complaints from smaller businesses. Falling private consumption is affecting larger businesses as well; sales of white appliances, for example, have dropped significantly. The construction sector, which feeds many businesses, has also slowed considerably together with the smaller-scale real estate market.

Fiscal policy, which is bound by structural rigidity, is basically in a catch-22. Dependent on privatization revenue, policymakers will have to balance between budgetary constraints, falling domestic demand and rising domestic and global inflation.

Another constraint is increasing repayment problems with consumer loans and overdue credit card payments. The share of non-performing loans (NPL) in the banks' credit portfolio is at healthy levels.

But the upward trend in the ratios calls for prudence. From the point of view of consumer demand, that brings with it a further constraint.

In the presence of slowing domestic demand, the increasing current account deficit is an additional problem. The driver of the current account deficit is clearly the lira, which has appreciated again from its mid-April lows against the dollar and euro.

Add to all that the political uncertainty -- the approaching local elections, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) closure case and the decision of the Constitutional Court on the headscarf issue.

In short, we are going to experience a tense second half.

PHOTO

AP

Against a backdrop of uncertainty in the international and domestic arenas, what are the prime policy constraints in the remainder of 2008?

The Monetary Policy Committee (PPK) raised interest rates by 50 basis points in its May meeting. That was more a demonstration of the central bank's policy independence than a justified action. We know that the rising inflation is simply imported and is not occurring because the economy is heating up. On the contrary, the general consensus (and our forecast) is a slowdown in gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 4 percent this year. There are more pessimistic expectations, such as 3.7 percent GDP growth by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Following 2001, the reduction in Turkish headline inflation stemmed from the strengthening Turkish lira, a very favorable global environment and a responsible monetary policy. The global environment is disadvantageous now, and the strength of this reversal is testing the resilience of the economy to an external inflation shock.

Top Court’s decision taken heavier toll on economy contýnued from page 1 Stressing that the chaotic environment has adversely affected interest rates, he said, "Small and medium-size enterprises are especially impacted by this."

"Investors have been pretty content with the way the AK Party has handled the economy and steered the country toward the EU," said Vlad Milev. Speaking to a Bloomberg reporter, Milev, a Los Angeles-based analyst at Metzler Payden, which oversees about $1 billion in Eastern European stocks, including Turkish equities, said, "The possibility of the AK Party getting banned, essentially putting the prime minister and the president out of business, that certainly can create more volatility." Similar assessments can be found all over the wire services, signaling that the country's economic prospects do not look good against the backdrop of the court case.

In its semi-annual economic outlook report published last week, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned about political uncertainty in Turkey and singled out a closure case against Turkey's ruling AK Party as a major risk factor in Turkish economic prospects. It said Turkey's economic growth rate will be less than 4 percent in 2008, before rising to about 4.5 percent in 2009.The Economist Intelligence Unit , the research arm of The Economist magazine, projected worse numbers for Turkey, saying the growth rate of Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) will go down to 3.2 percent by the end of this year.

International Investors Association (YASED) Chairman Tahir Uysal warned about political instability in Turkey, saying, "The appetite for risk taking by foreign investors is decreasing." Speaking to

Turkey's Employer magazine, Uysal predicted that the Turkish economy will slow down along with other economies in the world.

Against the backdrop of the recent court ruling, Turkish assets fell yesterday as the lira and stock markets continued their downward trend.

The ?stanbul Stock Exchange (?MKB) has lost 27 percent in value since the beginning of the year and the lira has dropped 5 percent against the US dollar. The stock market continued to tumble yesterday, closing 1.04 percent down. The ?MKB benchmark index, the ?MKB-100, declined by 400.61 points from Monday's closing to 38,655. There is other bad news coming from the manufacturing sector. Shrinking demand in May has also resulted in a decrease in capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector, recent data have shown. According to the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat), the rate of capacity utilization in the industry decreased from 83.3 percent in May of 2007 to 82.4 percent in May of 2008.

The central bank has already factored recent political uncertainty into its contingency plans. Turkish Central Bank Governor Durmu?

Y?lmaz said the bank has been watching the closure case filed against the AK Party, adding: "There are uncertainties, and this is a fact of life.

These uncertainties do have an effect on economic activity. Our job here is to estimate the effects of these political developments and to react in accordance with them." The central bank's total deposits have shrunk from YTL 24 billion in April 2007 to YTL 3.7 billion today.

The real estate market is also showing signs of deceleration. The latest OECD report on real estate suggests that property investment will slow. In its assessment of the real estate sector across OECD

DEFENSE

Delivery of spy planes delayed to Turkey A delivery of spy planes to Turkey may be delayed, according to a report published on Bloomberg's Web site.

The report noted Boeing's international airborne surveillance program has contracts to build four aircraft each for Turkey and South Korea and six for Australia; however, plans to deliver them have been delayed until 2010. The new planes have been dubbed the "Peace Eagle," and the contracts are valued at $1 billion for Turkey and Australia and $1.59 billion for South Korea.

Boeing spokesman David Sloan said on Tuesday that delays experienced by Turkey, South Korea and Australia are due to "systems integration" challenges.

The first two planes fitted with electronic warfare systems will be delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force in early 2010, Sloan said in an interview yesterday. The other four will be ready by the end of that year, he said, attributing the delay to the integration challenges.

Boeing said in June that it would record $300 million to $500 million in pretax costs due to delays in the programs for Turkey and Australia. Boeing is discussing delivery schedules for Turkey, Sloan said.

Delivery of the first two Wedgetail aircraft and the flight test schedule were delayed because "integration tasks were more complex than we had scoped, but now we have our arms around it," Pete Neal, operations manager for Boeing's Early Warning and Control business, told reporters last week in Seattle.

The Wedgetail plane is fitted with a 6,000-pound electronic radar and can carry more fuel than a normal 737-700, which allows it to fly for about nine hours, Neal said. It can be refueled midair by tankers and can stay aloft longer if necessary, he said. The plane's radar and surveillance equipment supply target information to fighter aircraft and to ground stations. "If you can't get it now for effectively another two years, then by the time you get them up and running you're talking about a significant delay to a very expensive capital item thought necessary for the security of Australia," said Michael McKinley, a Sydney-based senior lecturer on international relations and strategy at the Australian National University. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with wires

SURVEY

Registry modernization for land under way

member countries, the organization classified Turkey among the second class of countries in which growth is likely to decline. "We decided to stop further investments in Turkey," said Jan de Kreij, CEO of Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim Properties, at a conference organized by the Association of Real Estate Investment Companies (GYODER) last week.

Interest rates are also increasing in the face of higher uncertainty in the market. The compound interest rate for bonds exceeded 20 percent for the first time in 18 months. The rate was 16.2 percent in early 2008. This means the Treasury needs to borrow at a higher rate, which is going to cost an extra YTL 4 billion in interest payments. The Treasury's bond sales yesterday saw higher interest rates, with a total of YTL 3.761 billion in bonds sold at auction.

Turkey's reissued benchmark Jan. 13, 2010 bond yielded an average 21.54 percent and a 5-year floating rate note (FRN) was priced at YTL 102.432 lira, central bank data showed. The Treasury sold a net YTL 922.4 million of the benchmark, or a total of YTL 1.72 billion including non-competitive sales before the auction. The forecast had been YTL 1.5 billion.

The decline in Turkish assets as a reaction to last week's court decision pushed average Turkish bond yields up by 43 basis points to 20.67 percent, the highest since January 2007, according to an ABN Amro Holding index. The decision "increases the probability that the ruling AK Party could be closed down," Berna Bayazito?lu, an emerging-markets strategist in London at Credit Suisse, wrote in a note to investors. "It will provide a significant support'' for the case against the AK Party, he said.

Turkey plans to modernize its land registry system with the use of high technology, officials have said.

The Treasury said on Monday it had secured135 million euros in funds from the World Bank for a digital mapping project to update its land registry system. The Treasury said in a written statement that work on the project had already commenced, noting also that the World Bank had provided the loan for the financing of the Land Registry and Cadastre Modernization Project, to be implemented by the Land Registry and Cadastre Agency (TKGM) and Ministry of Public Works and Settlement.

The World Bank's executive board approved the project on May 1. The loan contract was agreed and signed Monday with a 23.5-year repayment period and a five-year grace period to disburse the funds accordingly.

The objective of the Land Registry and Cadastre Modernization Project is to enhance the "effectiveness and efficiency of the land registry and cadastre services." The objective according to the Treasury will be achieved with the following five aims: renovating and updating cadastre maps to support digital cadastre and land registry information; improving service quality of land registry and cadastre offices; integrating land registry and cadastre information into e-government activities; improving the TKGM's human resources and institutional capacity; and developing policies and capacity to introduce property valuation in Turkey parallel to the best international practices. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

CREDIT

the Mediterranean union would be stillborn. A body without Turkey cannot be defined as a Mediterranean union. I believe everyone understands this," Yalçýntaþ told the Anatolia news agency.

"After assuming the rotating presidency of the EU, France will host the Council of EuropeanMediterranean trade ministers on July 2 and representatives of the business world between July 3 and 4 in Marseille in order to make decisions on financing and implementation of projects regarding the Mediterranean union," Yalçýntaþ said.

"In our meeting with Eurochambres President Simon, we agreed on having four representatives from the northern Mediterranean, four representatives from the southern Mediterranean and a president on a board that would implement projects within the structure of

PHOTO

The head of the Ýstanbul Chamber of Commerce (ÝTO) has said a Mediterranean Union without Turkey would be obsolete from the start.

After a meeting with EU Commission members and Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Eurochambres) President Pierre Simon in Brussels on Friday, ÝTO Chairman Murat Yalçýntaþ -- who also serves as the chairman of the Union of Mediterranean Chambers of Industry and Commerce -- said he and the other participants made important decisions pertaining to the Mediterranean union's commercial dimension as set forth by the EU. "This project must facilitate free trade, cooperation and mutual investment. If Turkey does not join,

M. ALÝ POYRAZ

‘Mediterranean Union without Turkey would be stillborn’

Murat Yalçýntaþ the Mediterranean union. As a candidate country of the EU, Turkey will not receive direct funds from the budget of the Mediterranean union.

CM Y K

However, Turkey will receive funds through joint projects," Yalçýntaþ told Anatolia.

"If it is not a threat to its EU membership process, we favor Turkey's participation in the Mediterranean union. It is more beneficial to be a part of a decision-making mechanism of the Mediterranean union rather than remaining outside of it," Yalçýntaþ noted.

Officially known as the Union for the Mediterranean, the project was initiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and aims at enhancing the EU's relations with its neighbors in North Africa and the Middle East.

The European Council recently approved the concept of a Union for the Mediterranean that would include the member states of the EU and the nonEU Mediterranean coastal states. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

Fitch downgrades Arçelik rating to negative Fitch Ratings has changed its outlook on Arçelik A.S. from stable to negative, citing continued deterioration in the company's financial profile.

The outlooks on the "BB+" long-term local currency issuer default rating (IDR) and "AA+(tur)" national long-term rating have been revised to negative. The revised ratings were announced Monday, with the long-term foreign currency IDR stated as "BB" with a stable outlook.

The 2007 results of Arçelik -- the largest white goods manufacturer in Turkey -- continued to be characterized by negative free cash flow due to additional working capital needs, as well as continued cash dividend payout and expansion capital expenditures in some of its business lines, Fitch noted.

Turkey's Koç Group owns 56 percent of Arcelik, while 21 percent is on the Ýstanbul Stock Exchange (ÝMKB). Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

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08 TODAY’S ZAMAN

W E D N E S D AY, J U N E 1 1 , 2 0 0 8

Saudis call for world summit to curb energy prices es for the summer, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy is pushing for a cap on fuel taxes across the 27-nation European Union.

Oil prices have risen more than 8 percent since the IEA’s last monthly report. Crude for the July delivery rebounded $0.67 to $135.02 a barrel in Singapore in Tuesday’s trading.

Meanwhile, Chakib Khelil, the current president of OPEC in Saudi Arabia, said the organization will make no new decision on production levels until its Sept. 9 meeting in Vienna. Istanbul Today’s Zaman with wires

been poor and that higher prices are needed to choke off demand and balance the market.

The agency lowered its 2008 global demand forecast to 86.8 million barrels a day, down 80,000 barrels from last month, and has been steadily lowering its demand predictions for the past several months as oil prices have climbed.

Lower fuel taxes or higher subsidies, the agency said, would be “absolutely the worst response.” US presidential candidate John McCain has proposed suspending gasoline tax-

ture.” From Europe to Indonesia, truck drivers have been protesting for the last few days, blocking roads and demanding that the price of fuel be subsidized or lowered.

Saudi Arabia is working to prevent “unwarranted and unnatural oil price hikes that could affect international economies, especially those of developing countries,” said Madani, adding that “there is no justification for the current rise in prices.”

The IEA, which is based in Paris, said in a monthly report that growth so far this year has

The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Tuesday lowered its forecast for global oil demand this year amid surging prices for the resource, a day after Saudi Arabia called for a meeting of oil producing and consuming countries to discuss ways of dealing with soaring energy prices.

Saudi Information and Culture Minister Iyad Madani on Monday said the Saudis would work with Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to “guarantee the availability of oil supplies now and in the fu-

AP

Cafés ýn Turkýsh malls demand faýrness ýn smokýng ban

AT A GLAN

June 11 1 COREPER PPI of China (poss.)

2 COREPER

CE

A Turkish man smokes at a shopping mall in Istanbul before the ban. A new law bans smoking in locations such as stadiums and shopping malls. smoke from entering the mall. They have regular restaurant permits and are therefore allowed to have a designated smoking area. Saying that the sector was already struggling because of the general course of the economy, seasonal factors and the recent rise in food prices, Ertem said the smoking ban was really trying the endurance power of indoor food business owners.

He said the partial nature of the ban was simply causing too much ambiguity and asked authorities to deal with the gaps in implementation as soon as possible.

He underlined that the mall management was not in any way opposed to the smoking ban, but to unfair competition. Although he said they were expecting sales to fall for café owners during the transition period, Ertem noted that in this particular case, not the smoking ban itself but the availability of smoke-friendly alternatives outside were the problem. “Either the overall restaurant ban should be rolled back to an earlier date, or indoor cafés should be exempt from the ban until July 19 of next year,” he said.

Atilla Iþýldar, the general coordinator of Ankara’s CEPA shopping mall, said management was eagerly awaiting clarification of the essential principles of how the ban is going to be implemented. “It made things much more difficult for restaurants and cafés that this ban came at a time of overall economic difficulty. Of course, there are seasonal factors, too,” he noted. Iþýldar said his mall had

Bankruptcies, closures expected Ertem said café owners expect the mall’s management to solve the problem. “There is nothing we can do. A business owner I talked to in the morning said their turnover in May was the same as in July of last year, when sales normally fall. They want to see some measures taken,” he said.

Yearly Change (%)

YTD Change (%)

MCAP (million YTL)

1-Y Av.Volum

-8,0%

-12,8%

-30,4%

197.933

1.297

Hang Seng

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-14,5%

-33,3%

141.434

994

Nikkei 225

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-14,7%

69.762

355

Cac 40

-19,4%

-41,0%

75.176

699

DAX

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107

0,55

FTSE 100

İMKB-100

38.655

-1,0%

İMKB-30

46.973

-1,2%

İMKB-IND

34.591

-0,3%

-6,9%

İMKB-BANK

70.818

-1,6%

-12,3%

DJIMT

10,65

-0,9%

-7,4%

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TurkDEX US$/JP¥ EU€/JP¥

Ticker

46.800 1,265

Apple takes wrap off iPhone, cuts price Apple, Inc. on Monday unveiled a next-generation iPhone with faster Internet access that will run on advanced wireless networks and sell for as low as $199 -- half the current entry-level price. Shares of Apple, after strong gains in recent months partly driven by anticipation of the new device, fell 2.2 percent after Apple CEO Steve Jobs indicated the company was going after the mass market with the new model.

It changes the game for all smart-phone makers, Tim Bajarin, head of consultancy Creative Strategies, said of the price and new features. The new phone also marks a dramatic departure for how Apple will make money in its third major business alongside Macintosh computers and iPod media players.

Wireless network companies will no longer pay Apple part of the subscription fees they get from iPhone users, but instead will subsidize the devices up front to make them cheaper. The vast majority of agreements we have reached do not have those followon payments, so you can conclude that the vast majority of carriers do provide subsidies for the phone, Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer, told Reuters.

Cook declined to comment on how the new arrangement would affect Apple’s profit margins, but AT&T, Inc., the exclusive US carrier for the iPhone, said the subsidy would hurt its earnings and margins through next year. It is still a very profitable business.

Now the negative is they announced the elimination of some of the monthly fees, said Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research. But I can’t really imagine the economics really being too much different.

Improved e-mail features for the iPhone are intended to woo business people, while its ability to run on faster networks is key to Apple’s push to gain market share in Europe and Asia. San Francisco Reuters

US eyes new trainer aircraft for Israel

Daily Monthly Change (%) Change (%)

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CALENDAR

PHOTO

Restaurant and café owners whose businesses are located inside enclosed venues and shopping malls have been suffering a 15 to 20 percent drop in turnover since an indoor smoking ban went into force on May 19 have claimed that it is not the ban but unfair competition that is responsible for plummeting sales.

Shopping mall managers say the sharp fall in turnover was mainly caused by eateries located outside shopping malls, where the ban on smoking will not go into effect until next year.

Smokers who spend their time in shopping malls walk out to nearby restaurants that offer a smoke-friendly alternative, a situation mall managers say creates unfair competition.

Managers demand that the smoking ban in all restaurants and cafés, scheduled to take effect on July 19, 2009, should either be moved up to an earlier date or their eateries should be excluded from the indoor smoking ban until that date.

Yýldýr Ertem, the general manager of Ankara’s Armada shopping mall, told the Anatolia news agency that the smoking ban had not taken the principle of fairness into consideration. Ertem said laws should not allow unfair competition to arise. “There are problems even for eateries belonging to the same chain. Imagine, a client is allowed to smoke at the branch of a particular restaurant chain that opens on to the street but not at the branch of the same restaurant chain inside a shopping mall,” he said.

The prohibition on smoking includes enclosed public spaces and buildings, including government facilities, sporting venues, shopping malls and public transport. Hotels are now being required to designate rooms and areas for smokers. Premises that allow patrons to smoke could face fines of up to YTL 5,000 while producers promoting their tobacco products in closed venues could face fines of up to YTL 250,000. The penalty for individual smokers is YTL 50.

The ban will go into force to include restaurants and cafés but not until summer of next year.

Ertem said the way the new ban is being implemented is creating an environment of unfair competition even among restaurants and cafés located inside malls since some of these restaurants have installed windows to prevent

BUSINESS

Country

Change (%)

Level

H.Kong

-4,21

23.375,5

Japan

-1,13

14.021,2

France

-0,50

4.775,6

Germany

-0,51

6.780,6

UK

-0,27

5.862,0

Dow

USA

-0,36

12.250,0

NASDAQ

USA

-0,37

1.972,5

USA

-0,23

1.358,7

Brasil

-1,57

68.193,3

S&P

-2,35% 1,20%

BOVESPA

Price (YTL) Daily Change (%)

Ticker

Price

Daily Change (%)

Ticker

Volumes

70.39 57.32

50.4 42.68

9.47

Native

Foreign

Number of Shares

Native

M.cap

Daily Close Change (%)

Foreign

Number of Shares

Monthly Change (%)

Yearly Change (%)

M.cap

US$/JP¥

107,08

AKENR

11,10

4,72%

TUDDF

8,45

-11,98%

GARAN

279,4

-45,67

YTL / €

1,922

-2,0%

-1,7%

6,9%

EU/JP¥

166,12

ZOREN

5,75

3,60%

GLYHO

0,81

-7,95%

ISCTR

165,1

4,7

-32,58

YTL / $

1,237

-0,3%

-2,2%

-8,1%

EU/US$

1,5513

EREGL

8,70

2,96%

HALKB

6,55

-7,09%

TCELL

85,9

8,7

-30,28

BAGFS

168,00

1,82%

DYOBY

0,41

-6,82%

YKBNK

50,9

2,7

-33,50

CCOLA

12,90

1,57%

TATKS

3,00

-5,66%

IHEVA

49,2

3,4

23,36

ÝMKB 100

ÝMKB 30

ÝMKB IND

P.CHEM.

TUPRS

PTOFS

PETKM

AYGAZ

--

--

11.022,3

6.024,1

2.208,0

1.043,0

766,3

12,3x

12,2x

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11,9x

22,2x

2,7x

8,6x

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8,7x

11,6x

1,4x

EV/EBITDA 2006/12

8,0x 7,9x

8,2x 8,0x

8,4x 7,5x

5,7x 6,3x

6,8x 7,1x

8,2x 5,0x

11,6x 5,9x

1,4x 4,8x

EV/EBITDA 2007/03t

7,3x

7,3x

6,7x

5,8x

6,0x

4,8x

4,4x

5,2x

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8,1x

6,8x

6,8x

5,9x

6,2x

4,8x

4,7x

5,6x

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--

P/E 2006/12 P/E 2007/06t P/E 2007/09t

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Price ($) Light C. Oil Gold Copper

Asian stocks plummet over inflation and oil Asian stock markets sank Tuesday, with China’s most-watched index plunging 7.7 percent, as investors reacted to the country’s latest move to tighten credit and restrain inflation. Across the region, a combination of negative news left investors staggering.

In China, the government ordered banks to keep more deposits on hand. And oil prices remained near record levels, hovering just above $134 a barrel amid concerns over supplies, growing global demand and other geopolitical issues. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 257.34 points, or 7.7 percent, to 3,072.33. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 4 percent at 23,425 in afternoon trading, while Australia’s benchmark index fell 2.8 percent to close at 5,437.5.

Mainland China’s pain spread to Hong Kong, where telecom company China Netcom lost more than 8 percent, while its soon-to-be parent, China Unicom, shed more than 7 percent. In Australia, stocks were weighed down by both Wall Street’s losses and concerns about inflation from U.S. Federal Reserve officials. Elsewhere, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.1 percent at 14,021.17 after dropping 2.1 percent Monday. Taiwan’s benchmark fell 2.5 percent and South Korea’s index sank 1.9 percent. In India, where the market fell 3 percent Monday, the Sensex index was down another 1.8 percent. Shanghai AP

29.61

21,2 7.05

Price (YTL) Yearly Change (%) 3,4

created a designated area on the mall’s terrace, but added, “That is hardly a substitute for the ‘coffee and cigarette’ pleasure.”

He said the mall’s overall turnover had fallen by 40 percent since May, asserting that 20 percent of the decline could be attributed to economic stagnation but that the smoking ban was responsible for the remaining 20 percent.

“Costs are high in the food business, and food prices have been going up. The difference in the ban’s implementation by various facilities should be eliminated as soon as possible,” he said.

A smoker himself, Iþýldar is not against the ban, but like other mall managers, is against “unfair competition” caused by the partial ban. “You can get used to not smoking after a meal within a month or two. If there were equal terms for restaurants, people would get used to the ban in a matter of months,” he said. Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman with wires

The Pentagon told the US Congress on Monday that it was proposing to supply Israel up to 25 T6A Texan trainer aircraft and related gear worth up to $190 million. Principal contractors would include Hawker Beechcraft Corp and United Technologies Corp’s’ Pratt & Whitney unit, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a notice.

The T-6A would slash Israel’s training fuel requirements 66 percent, the agency said. Israel has requested a possible sale of the single-engine turboprop T-6A trainers to replace its Zukit fleet built in the early 1960s, according to the agency. It also would boost operational capability in coalition operations and exercises and contribute to a modern air defense network for the legitimate defense of Israel, the Pentagon said.

The notice to Congress of a potential governmentto-government arms sale is required by law. It does not mean a deal has been concluded. The transaction’s value would be as high as $190 million if all options were exercised, the notice said. Washington Reuters

136,40 878,30 3,57

Way

Change (%) 1,53 -1,83 -1,16

High 137,98 886,60 3,61

Low 133,41 874,90 3,56

P/E: Share price divided by earnings per share is a measure of the price paid for a share relative to the income or profit earned by the firm per share.

EV/EBITDA: Enterprise value divided by earnings before interest, tax and amortization; “t” stands for trailer and means the data over the last four quarters. (*) Yesterday's closing (**) Updated at 6 p.m. by GMT+2 Disclaimer: The information in this report has been prepared by BMD, Bizim Securities from sources believed to be reliable. All the information, interpretations and recommendations covered herein relating to investment actions are not within the scope of investment consultancy. Therefore investment decisions based only on the information covered herein may not bring expected results.

Iran pulls assets out of European banks Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Talaei said Iran has withdrawn a huge sum of its foreign exchange reserves from European banks and has deposited some of it into Asian banks.

“A portion of Iran’s foreign exchange reserves, however, was moved to Asian banks,” he added in his interview with Borna news agency, published on Monday.

According to the official, Iran keeps only the minimum currency it needs for its accounts to remain open in Europe but manages its accounts in Asia in a way that will allow trade transactions to continue.

Iran has abandoned the dollar in oil trading in favor of the yen, citing the weakness of US currency for its decision. Iran has been selling nearly 700,000 barrels of crude oil to Japan on a daily basis in yen since mid-2007, Talaei concluded. Tehran Reuters

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10.06.2008

18:11

Page 1

INTERVIEW

TODAY’S ZAMAN 09

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008

Turkýsh demands on tomatoes acceptable, says Russýan ambassador Russian Ambassador to Turkey Vladimir Ivanovskiy, who stresses that the current tomato crisis between Russia and Turkey is being handled at the highest level, says that Turkey needs firm resolve in its current political crisis. ‘As a diplomat, I think that if in a country crises follow crises, there is a problem with the system. The earlier the modern Turkish society corrects this systemic problem, the earlier it will attain welfare and tranquility,’ explains the ambassador cheaper than the tomatoes coming from other southern countries. So I bought a few kilograms. But as is written in our media, if the crisis is not solved within a short time, the prices will go up and the consumers in Russia will lose from that [situation].

But on the other hand, Russia’s reservations are not simple pretexts. The Russian experts prepared a thick book containing the list of violations the Turkish side made. I won’t enter into the details -that is the duty of the experts and they should come together and solve the problem. To the best of my knowledge, both prime ministers instructed their ministries of agriculture to arrange such a meeting.

The number of the Russian tourists coming to Turkey is steadily increasing and so are their average expenditures. What is your expectation for this tourism season?

My expectations are high. I hope the number of the Russian tourists coming to Turkey will exceed 3 million this year. Turkey is already the Russian nation’s favorite tourism destination -- Turkey is able to appeal not only the tourists coming from Moscow and its surroundings, but from all regions of the country. Russian tourists are able to spend more now. Turkey provides not only sun, beaches, sand, sea and hospitable people that the Russians love, but also shopping malls. And believe me, our tourists are eating Turkish tomatoes, eggplants and other vegetables without any hesitation. If our ministries of agriculture cannot solve this tomato crisis, we will come and eat our share in Turkey.

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MEHMET KAMAN

Upcoming Sochi Olympics

Vladimir Ivanovskiy KERÝM BALCI ANKARA

There are only two Eurasian countries in the world: Turkey and Russia. Both countries have to appeal to both Europe and Asia.

This is a strategic advantage, but only if the right policies are adapted’

Russian Ambassador to Turkey Vladimir Ivanovskiy says the tomato crisis between Turkey and Russia is being handled at the highest level and that the latest phone call between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan dealt mainly with that issue. The ambassador himself finds Turkish demands acceptable and says that Russian tourists coming to Turkey have no reservations in consuming Turkish vegetables.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently gave a speech in Berlin in which he outlined Russian foreign policy toward the West. On the occasion of the June 12 Russian national day, Today’s Zaman interviewed Mr. Ivanovskiy on Russia’s new foreign policy, its economic relations with Turkey and his observations of the domestic political processes in Ankara. The ambassador was hopeful that the current tomato crisis would be solved soon. Giving statistics on the increasing number of Russian tourists coming to Turkey, he told Today’s Zaman, “If our ministries of agriculture cannot solve this tomato crisis, we will come and eat our share in Turkey.”

On June 5, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gave a speech in Berlin and spoke about a Euro-Atlantic Community. Is this a supplement for “Eurasia” and does this refer to a change in Russian foreign policy?

I think I have to make some corrections here.

First of all, the term ‘Euro-Atlantic Community’ is not new to the Russian foreign policy dictionary.

The fact that it was expressed frequently in the president’s visit to Germany [is due to the] location [of the visit]. As you know, this visit was his third visit abroad since assuming the presidential office.

Previously, he visited Kazakhstan and China, and in those countries he spoke about Russia’s foreign policy principles toward the East. When he visited Germany, it was deliberately decided that he should address Russia’s foreign policy toward the West. We have to keep in mind that Russia and Turkey are two Eurasian countries, and both have interests in both continents. But the fact that the speech was given in Germany decided its tone.

In that speech the Russian president claimed Russia was a part of the European identity. He also said that European integration shouldn’t stop at the shores of the Baltic at the borders of Eastern Europe. Is Russia looking for a new kind of strategic relationship with the European Union, or even full membership?

We want EU-Russian relations to be improved.

At the end of this month, there will be a summit between the EU countries and Russia in the Siberian city of Khanty-Mansisk. It is most probable that a

new strategic … [document] will be signed between the sides during this summit. But about full membership in the EU, I can say that it can only be discussed after Turkey becomes a full member. We are not in a hurry, and the EU is not in a hurry about our membership. Let me make a joke here: If one day Turkey, Ukraine and Russia all become members of the EU, our combined population will be greater than the EU. Then we have to ask who joined whom…

Does Russia have a clear policy on Turkey’s bid to become a full member of the EU? Our policy is very clear and has been expressed on several occasions during our official meetings with Turkish diplomats: We do support Turkey’s membership in the union and will congratulate Turkey if it manages to join the EU. But there is a pro-Eurasian lobby in Turkey that advocates Turkey improving its relations with Russia and China, and not with the EU. What would you say to this?

These two positions, I mean, relations with the EU and relations with Russia and China need not contradict each other. That a country wants to be a member of the EU does not mean that it cannot develop relations with other countries. As you remember, I have already said that there are only two Eurasian countries in the world: Turkey and Russia.

Both countries have to appeal to both Europe and Asia. This is a strategic advantage, but only if the right policies are adapted. Already, the two countries are following a two-dimensional foreign policy in that sense, and that is logical.

Oil and gas resources Another Eurasian issue is energy lines. Both Russia and Turkey are bridging Asia and Europe by means of oil and gas resources. This reminds us of the Putin period of energy-based foreign policy. Will there be a change in this policy in the Medvedev era?

Our position is that the world can no longer be a uni-polar or bipolar world. This is true also for energy policies. There should be a balance of powers on energy policies and that should be created among the producing, consuming and transit countries. They should come together and agree on a joint policy, sign an international agreement maybe. Production, consumption and transportation are so interdependent that the system should work in concord; otherwise the world will be dragged into an energy chaos.

You mentioned a possible agreement. Would Russia ask for anything particular to be included in such an agreement?

We demand that the energy-producing companies also be able to participate in its [energy] distribution. At the same time, the distribution companies should participate in production. This would

CM Y K

secure interdependency and cooperation and help the system I mentioned work better. Today, the European countries do not let Gazprom participate in energy distribution schemes in Europe. Only Germany is receptive to the idea. On the other hand, they want European companies to be able to participate in energy production in Russia. Well, this is not acceptable. We will accept foreign energy production companies only if our companies are allowed to participate in distribution tenders.

Russia facing own history The fact that President Medvedev spoke in Berlin should have been moving for the Russians, with all the memories of East Berlin. Last month, another similar event took place in Turkey. You yourself opened a monument dedicated to the Russian soldiers who died at Gallipoli during their stay there after the 1917 Revolution. Can we say that both these events are steps towards Russia’s facing its own history?

That is a beautiful question. I can safely say that this is our ardor of turning to our roots. There can be tragic events there, but these are our history, our roots. We have to face and accept them as they are.

You mentioned the monument in Gallipoli. Learning about those events, that Turkey opened its lands and heart to 200,000 sons and daughters of Russia during one of its hardest years, made me rethink TurkishRussian relations. I said this during the ceremony at Gallipoli: We are grateful to Turkey for this gesture.

And I want to convey the same message to the Turkish nation through your newspaper, also.

If you help Turkey with this tomato issue, they would be grateful to you as well.

On this issue, I can have two positions: I am both a consumer and an ambassador. As a consumer I can say that the more products we have in the Russian market, the lower the prices and the higher the quality will be. As an ambassador though, I have to guarantee that the solution should be found as early as possible and according to the existing regulations and procedures. This issue is being taken care of at the highest level on both the Russian and Turkish sides.

You know, a greater part of the phone speech between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan and his Russian colleague, Vladimir Putin, was devoted to this tomato issue. I am in continuous contact with the officials of the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and hope that the problem will be solved in the near future. I have to say also that I do fully support the demands of the Turkish side.

Do you eat tomatoes in Turkey?

Yesterday I was at the market. I saw that due to the crisis, tomato prices fell significantly. So I profited as a consumer. Ten days ago, I was in Moscow and I saw in the market that Turkish tomatoes were

About a year ago, I conducted an interview with you and we spoke about the Sochi 2014 Summer Olympics. Then, you said that this was a great opportunity for Turkish businessmen. What has happened until now?

Let me repeat that the Sochi Olympics is still a very important opportunity for businessmen and investors. One statistic will help in understanding the magnitude of the opportunities: Turkish cement producers will sell a total of 4 million tons of cement to the projects in Sochi. This will be Turkey’s largest export item. Now, we are working on establishing a roll-on/roll-off ship between Samsun and PortKavkaz in the Kerch Strait so as to carry Turkish goods to Russia. Cargo will be transferred from the Port-Kavkaz to Sochi via rail.

I also know that several Turkish companies have already won some tenders for the construction of the Olympics facilities. There will be further tenders in the near future and I have heard that Turkish companies will be participating. I am sure that Turkey will take part in this process.

As of our general economic relations, I have a hope that this year we will be the strongest economic partner of Turkey. The statistics provided by the Turkish side are breathtaking. If the Commonwealth of Independent States is excepted Turkey is the fifth largest partner of Russia. These are very important indicators. I am really exited when I think of the end of the year. If there won’t be a serious problem, by the end of the year we will reach to satisfactory numbers both in mutual trade and tourism. This is already an unstoppable trend.

Most importantly we have managed to create trust to each other. This takes time, you know. But for the continuation of this dynamic and successful cooperation domestic politics of both Russia and Turkey should continue to be stabilized and sustainable.

So you should be following the latest developments in Ankara. Would you like to comment on the process Turkey is going through?

To put it frankly, we do follow the developments, with utmost attention. But we do not want to intervene in Turkey’s domestic politics. We had this syndrome during the Soviet times and briefly after the Soviet regime was overthrown, but we managed to overcome that. But this does not mean that we are aloof to the developments in Turkey.

Our foreign policy experts, politicians and academics are following and analyzing the developments in Turkey with care and attention.

Not commenting on Turkey’s domestic politics is our official policy, but of course I have my personal observations. As a diplomat who has served in various countries and a bureaucrat who had the chance to observe the Russian experience, I think that if in a country crises follow crises, there is a problem with the system. The earlier the modern Turkish society corrects this systemic problem, the earlier it will attain welfare and tranquility. Let us look at the Russian experience. By the ‘90s, due to the awful events that took place in the country, Russia was on the edge of dissolution. But together with Vladimir Putin’s presidency we managed to unite the society.

This is a still-ongoing process. I hope Turkey will soon create the same unity, but this necessitates time and the will and determination of the political actors.

10.06.2008

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Robert Gates

Myanmar junta frees 15 pro-Suu Kyi protesters

EU and US seek to turn up the pressure on Iran

Myanmar's junta has released 15 activists arrested two weeks ago for trying to march to the house of detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, the former Burma's main opposition party said on Tuesday. "One of them phoned me saying they had been freed last night. I haven't met them in person yet," Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) told Reuters. The 15 were detained while marching from the NLD's headquarters to Suu Kyi's house on May 27 with a banner calling for her release from five years of house arrest. Hours after the arrest, the junta extended the detention order on the Nobel laureate, who has now spent nearly 13 of the last 19 years in prison or under house arrest. The date was also the 18th anniversary of the NLD's crushing victory in a 1990 election that was subsequently ignored by the military, which has ruled since a 1962 coup. There has also been no word on the whereabouts of celebrated comedian and anti-government activist Zarganar since his arrest on June 3 shortly after he made public comments criticizing the government's sluggish response to Cyclone Nargis. Yangon Reuters

President Bush acknowledges the limits of US influence over Tehran and, in the twilight of his presidency appears resigned to leaving the standoff to his successor The United States and the European Union sought on Tuesday to turn up the pressure on Iran to drop its nuclear enrichment program, saying they were ready to go beyond a latest round of UN sanctions.

But President George W. Bush acknowledged the limits of US influence over Tehran and, in the twilight of his presidency, appeared resigned to leaving the standoff to his successor. "I leave behind a multilateral framework to work on this issue," Bush told a news conference after a US-European Union summit at a Slovenian castle.

"A group of countries can send a clear message to the Iranians, and that is: We're going to continue to isolate you ... we'll find new sanctions if need be, if you continue to deny the just demands of the free world, which is to give up your enrichment program," he said.

He stopped short of repeating the US position that all options, including military action, remain open, suggesting that no drastic steps were likely before he leaves office.

"Now is the time for there to be strong diplomacy," Bush said. He met Slovenian leaders, who hold the EU's rotating presidency, as well as European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who has led efforts to get Iran to drop its enrichment program.

LAWBREAKER

Fireman drives trucks 20 years without license

Incentives

diplomacy" during much of his presidency, but has tried to take a more cooperative approach with allies in his second term.

He acknowledges he is unpopular in Europe, as well as at home. "A lot of people like America. They may not sometimes necessarily like the president," he told Slovenia's Pop TV before setting off from Washington.

On climate change, EU policymakers say they have given up trying to get Washington to join with the bloc in signing up now to binding cuts of greenhouse gas emissions.

Bush reiterated on Tuesday that the United States would not agree to cuts until big developing nations made commitments too: "Unless China and India are at table, unless they agree to a goal, unless they agree to firm strategies to achieve that goal, I don't see how any international agreement can be effective."

Money matters are also figuring in Bush's week-long trip.

He confirmed his strong-dollar policy, despite the currency's slump to new lows against the euro recently.

"We believe in a strong dollar and that the relative value of economies will end up setting the valuation of the dollar," Bush told Tuesday's news conference.

Reflecting a seeming indifference among locals to a visiting US president with less than eight months left in office, no demonstrators were seen in the heavily guarded streets of Slovenian capital Ljubljana, near the summit venue. Brdo, Slovenia Reuters

AP

Solana is expected to travel to Iran soon to present a new offer by major powers of

incentives for it to suspend uranium enrichment, but he has played down prospects of a breakthrough.

"Iran with a nuclear weapon would be incredibly dangerous for world peace," Bush said before setting off for Germany.

He is also due this week to visit France, Britain and Italy. All have roles on the Iranian issue.

A statement released after the three-hour summit said the United States and EU were ready to deploy extra measures against Iran on top of existing UN sanctions.

All agree Iran should not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, a possible outcome of its uranium enrichment program.

Tehran insists the program is strictly for civilian purposes. But it remained unclear how far the Europeans, who rarely echo Bush's harsh rhetoric against Iran and have sometimes been reluctant to get tougher, would be willing to go.

Washington has pressed the EU to deny some Iranian banks access to the world financial system. European External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told reporters after the summit: "We want to indeed show to Iranians that we mean it very seriously. ... (We are) particularly thinking of asset freezes."

An Iranian newspaper said Iran was withdrawing assets from European banks and converting some foreign exchange assets into gold and equities to neutralize the impact of sanctions.

Bush was accused by critics of "cowboy

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A firefighter in Japan lost his job after city officials found out he had been driving ambulances and firetrucks for over 20 years without a driver's license, an official in Takaoka City, central Japan, said on Tuesday. "The case came to light when the firefighter in his 40s, who had been working for the city for over 25 years, hesitated to show his driver's license during a regular inspection last week, said Shigeru Sawasaki," a Takaoka City official.

"He was acting awkward when the inspection took place on the 5th," Sawasaki said. And when the inspector took the driver's license and checked, it belonged to a family member. The firefighter, whose name the city declined to announce due to privacy concerns, had been bringing in his father's license and showing it to the inspector while hiding the photo with his fingers, Sawasaki said. "The monthly inspection of driver's licenses started last year and before that, the firefighter had filed a fake license registration number to Takaoka City in 1981," Sawasaki added. Between April 2003 and June 2008, the firefighter, who told city officials he had gone to a driving school but failed the writing exam, drove ambulances 309 times and firetrucks 97 times, Sawasaki said. "In terms of his driving, he has not been in any accidents whatsoever," Sawasaki said, adding that there had been no problem with his work attitude either. Tokyo Reuters

DELUGE

China quake torrent crashes downstream

Japan coastguard vessel collides with Taiwan boat A Taiwan fishing boat sank off disputed islands claimed

by Japan on Tuesday after colliding with a Japanese coastguard vessel, but all crew members were rescued, the coastguard said in a statement. "The coastguard came across the fishing boat in waters close to the islands about 2,000 km (1,200 miles) southwest of Tokyo early on Tuesday," the statement said. The islands are known as the Senkaku in Japan, the Diaoyu in China and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan. When the Japanese vessel tried to approach, the Taiwanese boat moved away on a zigzag course. The two boats collided when the Taiwanese vessel suddenly changed direction as the coastguard attempted to check the name of the fishing boat, the statement said. The boat's 16 crew, one of whom was slightly injured, were taken aboard the coastguard vessel, the coastguard said, and are being sent to the Okinawan island of Ishigaki.

Japan controls the Senkaku islets, which are also claimed by China and Taiwan. Tokyo Reuters

Defense Secretary Robert Gates named new top civilian and military leaders for the US Air Force on Monday as part of a shake-up triggered by mistakes in managing America's nuclear arsenal.

He also halted cuts to the size of the Air Force to ease the stress from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, noting the Army is not the only force under pressure after years of war.

Gates chose Gen. Norton Schwartz, a cargo aircraft pilot with special operations experience, as Air Force chief -- a pick that signals the Pentagon wants the force to focus on supporting the two wars, US officials said.

"This is about the transitioning Air Force," Gates said after talking to officers at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. Gates also selected senior Pentagon official Michael Donley to be secretary of the Air Force, the top civilian official.

President George W. Bush planned to nominate Donley, who would serve as acting secretary beginning June 21 until his appointment is confirmed by the US Senate, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. Langley Air Force Base, Va. Reuters

Upbeat Obama slams McCain on economy Barack Obama seized on record gas prices and a spike in US job losses as he tried to make the ailing US economy the central focus of the presidential campaign, linking Republican rival John McCain to President George W. Bush's unpopular policies.

The Democratic presidential candidate launched a two-week economic tour Monday that will take him to key battleground states in the November election.

Obama wants to shift the focus to the economy rather than national security and foreign policy issues which are McCain's stronger suit. Polls show that the weak US economy has surpassed the Iraq war as the key concern for voters.

In his first speech since Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton suspended her bid for the White House, Obama tried to win over her working class constituency, focusing on home mortgage foreclosures, energy costs and growing unemployment.

Obama spoke in North Carolina, where the working class has been hard hit, but it is an issue that could reverberate across the electorate nationally. North Carolina is not a state ordinarily pursued by Democratic presidential nominees. But it gave Obama a crucial victory in his primary battle against Clinton, and he hopes to put it in play this fall -- or at least force McCain to spend time and money here.

The centerpiece of McCain's economic plan "amounts to a full-throated endorsement of George Bush's policies," Obama told about 900 people in Raleigh.

He took part of his speech from headlines across the United States, noting that the average price of gas had just hit $4 (2.53 euros) a gallon for the first time, far below prices in Europe and elsewhere, but a shock to Americans used to cheap gas. Washington AP

Mass protests in South Korea, cabinet offers to quit South Korea's entire cabinet offered to resign on Tuesday in the face of massive street protests, as its increasingly unpopular president warned that Asia's fourth-largest economy could be heading into crisis.

The protests against the government, in office barely three months, were sparked by public outcry over a deal to widen its market to US beef imports and have cast a darkening cloud over President Lee Myung-bak's plans for sweeping reform.

"The prime minister offered the cabinet's resignation at the regular meeting this morning (with Lee)," a spokeswoman at the prime minister's office said, in what local media said was a response to the mounting anti-government protests.

Tens of thousands of protesters

chanting "Lee Myung-bak go away" clogged the streets of central Seoul in a candle-light rally attended by mothers toting children, radical labor groups, office workers and college students.

Police sealed off roads in the capital, stacking sand-filled shipping containers to block the main street leading to the presidential Blue House and deployed high-pressure water cannons to disperse any violent protesters.

Organizers said 700,000 gathered in Seoul for the largest anti-Lee rally to date. Police put the number at 80,000 while some local media estimated the crowd at 200,000 to 400,000.

"I want to denounce not only the beef deal, but the other policies of the Lee Myung-bak government. I'm just one per-

REUTERS

MISHAP

President George W. Bush, center, flanked by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, right, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, left, waves while watching a Lipizzaner horse exhibition onTuesday at Brdo Castle in Kranj, Slovenia.

Gates picks new leadership for USAF

son, but I think the president will listen to me when I speak loudly with so many others," said protester Sang Mi-ra.

Economic rough patch Lee warned that surging resource prices and slowing growth were pushing the economy towards its roughest patch in a decade.

"Our economy is faced with a serious difficulty, with prices rising and the economy gradually slowing," Lee said in a speech to mark the 21st anniversary of pro-democracy protests that helped end years of autocratic rule in South Korea.

Shortly after he spoke, the government announced that producer price inflation in the world's fifth largest crude oil importer had hit a near 10year high last month. Seoul Reuters

PHOTO

Muddy lake water from a dangerously unstable "quake lake" rushed through the devastated Chinese town of Beichuan on Tuesday and quickly turned into a torrent, after soldiers used explosives to blow away rubble. Brown water, clumps of trees and occasional vehicles swamped low-lying areas of the town, washing away remains of corpses, family mementoes and valuables left under the rubble. Wang Guiru, 43, whose wife died in the quake alongside his father and mother-in-law, said he had hoped eventually to look for their remains. "Now I guess we can never go back," he said stoically. "This is fate. We have to learn to face up to realities." Further downstream near Mianyang, the river had turned into a torrent several hundred meters across, bursting banks in places. "I never thought it would rise so quickly," said Fu Anyun, who stood watching with her extended family of about 12 in a ridge above the river. "We've been waiting and waiting, but when it finally came it was still a shock. Now all we can do is watch and see if our homes our flooded or not."

The water level at the Tangjiashan quake lake, formed by China's most devastating earthquake in decades, dropped by 13 meters (43 ft) on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency said. The Tangjiashan lake, the largest of the more than 30 created when landslides triggered by the quake blocked the flow of rivers, has so far prompted the evacuation of more than 250,000 residents downstream in case the mud-and-rock dam bursts. Jiangyou Reuters

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Thousands of protesters chant slogans at a rally on a street leading to the US Embassy and the presidential Blue House in central Seoul on Tuesday.

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Russia, Ukraine clash over 350-year-old battle A 350-year-old battle became the latest irritant between Russia and its neighbor Ukraine on Tuesday when Russia's Foreign Ministry accused Kiev of using the clash to foment anti-Russian feeling. The ministry said the 1659 battle of Konotop, in which a Russian invasion was repelled, was being distorted to fit the political agenda of Ukraine's leaders, who have angered Moscow by seeking NATO membership. In the battle, a Russian force was defeated when it tried to stop a Ukrainian leader from entering into an entente with Poland and Lithuania -- with whom Russia had waged wars.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has ordered officials to mark the 350th anniversary of the battle this year. "We feel perplexity and regret at the persistence ... with which certain forces in Ukraine are today trying to find ... events and people notable only for the fact that they were in some way directed against Moscow," a ministry statement said. "Playing with history, especially with nationalistic overtones, never leads to anywhere good. In these conditions one must count on the wisdom of the Ukrainian people, who will not let themselves be drawn into an artificial, invented confrontation with Russia." Moscow Reuters

UNREST

Students fight with riot police at Chinese campus Students have clashed with security forces at a People's Liberation Army artillery school in eastern China in a dispute over their degrees, the father of one of the students said on Tuesday. About fifty students were wounded in last week's clashes at the Artillery Corps Institute in Nanjing city, according to an account by parent Liu Qijun, and a Monday report from Radio Free Asia. They said some of the injured had head wounds and were taken to a hospital. "They mercilessly beat the students," said Liu Qijun, whose son Liu Gao studies computer science at the institute and was present during the clashes. "It's all too shady," the father said in a telephone interview. More than 1,000 civilian students who paid at last 50,000 yuan ($7,232) in tuition fees, had reportedly been told they would receive only certificates of graduation rather than formal degrees, as originally promised by the institute.

Graduation certificates aren't recognized by most employers, while formal degrees are increasingly considered crucial to finding a decent posting in China's competitive job market. Beijing AP

REUTERS

Japan's main opposition party plans to submit a nonbinding censure motion against Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in parliament on Wednesday in a bid to pile pressure on a leader whose public popularity has plunged. The censure, likely to be adopted as opposition parties control the upper house, would be the first against a prime minister under a constitution drawn up over 60 years ago. While embarrassing, it will not oblige him to resign or call an election. Analysts say the opposition Democratic Party move would do little more than remind the public of Fukuda's weak leadership in the face of a divided parliament. His support ratings have tumbled to below 20 percent in some polls as he struggles to pass bills, prompting talk that the ruling party may replace him after he hosts a Group of Eight summit next month. The opposition has been pushing for an election but Fukuda rejected this again on Monday. No general election need be held until September 2009 and the ruling bloc is wary of an early poll given the risk of losing its two-thirds majority in the lower house that now enables it to override upper house vetoes in most matters.

Democratic Party officials have said the censure motion would target Fukuda's launch of a confusing national health insurance scheme that has outraged many elderly and long term supporters of the ruling party. Tokyo Reuters

Mars lander struggles to get dirt into onboard lab PHOTO

Japan opposition to submit PM censure motion today

This image shows a view from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Stereo Surface Imager's left eye after a delivery of soil to the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, taken on the 12th Martian day after landing, on June 6.

NASA scientists struggled on Monday to process the soil that the Phoenix Mars Lander scooped from the Red Planet’s surface, finding that the Martian dirt was too clumpy to sift into the spacecraft’s onboard laboratory.

The scientists called it an important day last week when the Phoenix’s robotic arm scraped its first, cup-sized sample from the planet’s surface, but since then have been unable to get any of the clotted soil through a screen into the lander’s Thermal Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA). “What we’ve found is although we had an awful lot of dirt on that screen virtually none of its has made it down into the oven,” said William Boynton of the University of Arizona in Tucson, who is overseeing the TEGA experiments. The mission is searching for signs of water or conditions that could sustain life on Mars. Pictures of the first sample dredged up by Phoenix showed it to be made up largely of dirt clods, which were too large to make it through the small holes in the screen. Scientists spent the weekend vibrating the screen in hopes that the clods would break apart, but very few particles dropped into the instruments. “We now at least

Israel kýlls 3 as ýts leaders mull major Gaza offensýve For months, Egypt has been trying to broker a truce between the two sides. But the cease-fire efforts have faltered over Israel’s demand that Hamas free an Israeli soldier captured two years ago and Hamas’ demand that Israel lift the Gaza blockade Gaza militants bombarded southern Israel with 20 mortar rounds in the space of an hour midday on Tuesday, provoking Israeli ground strikes that killed three Palestinians from the territory’s ruling Hamas group. The violence flared in northeast Gaza just as Israel’s top leadership was debating whether to pursue a truce with Hamas or embark upon a broad military operation against it. There were no casualties on the Israeli side from the mortar barrage.

Since Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza three years ago, militants have been tormenting southern Israel with near-daily rocket and mortar attacks, confounding Israel’s high-tech military with their crude weapons. The rocket fire has intensified since the Hamas militant group took control of Gaza last year.

Israel has so far limited its military reprisals to pinpoint attacks, fearing a broad military campaign would result in heavy casualties for its troops. But with four Israelis killed in rocket and mortar attacks this year, Israel’s leadership is under domestic pressure to do something about the assaults on its territory.

On Tuesday, Israel’s top three officials -Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister

Tzipi Livni -- sat down to discuss what course to take. As they met, Hamas militants launched their mortar barrage. The military said it carried out two ground strikes against the mortar squad after 20 mortars fell on border areas. Hamas said three members of the group’s military wing were killed during Israeli strikes on a mortar-launching squad.

For months, Egypt has been trying to broker a truce between the two sides. But the cease-fire efforts have faltered over Israel’s demand that Hamas free an Israeli soldier captured two years ago and Hamas’ demand that Israel lift a blockade that has confined Gazans to their tiny seaside territory and deepened their poverty. Making good on a promise to former US President Jimmy Carter, Hamas recently allowed the captured soldier, Cpl. Gilad Schalit, to send a letter to his parents, which was delivered to them on Monday.

On Tuesday, Schalit’s father, Noam, told The Associated Press that his son pleaded for his life and appealed to his government not to abandon him. The elder Schalit declined to quote directly from the letter.

Gilad Schalit has not been seen since he was seized in a cross-border raid in June 2006.

An audio recording of his voice and two other

Pakistani lawyers and political workers chant slogans in front of a vehicle carrying deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed.

letters he wrote have been released.

Israeli media speculated that the relay of the letter might signal movement toward freeing Schalit, and implied that could deter Israeli officials from launching a Gaza invasion.

But senior Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad, Israel’s representative to the Gaza truce talks, told Israel’s Army Radio that he saw no connection between the release of the letter and the Israeli leadership’s scheduled meetings on Gaza. A larger group of Cabinet ministers with security responsibilities are to hold further talks on Gaza on Wednesday.

Overhanging any decision will be a new corruption probe against Olmert, which threatens to topple him and possibly his government. Both Livni and Barak are working to unseat Olmert, but a Gaza operation could put any political maneuvers on hold.

This week, Hamas will mark the first anniversary of its violent takeover of the coastal strip from security forces affiliated with moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The group, which has killed more than 250 Israelis in suicide attacks, rejects the Jewish state’s right to exist, but has said publicly that it is interested in a truce to rearm and regroup. Gaza City AP

Anti-Musharraf marchers defy attack threats A top leader of Pakistan’s lawyers movement on Tuesday brushed aside concerns that terrorists have entered Islamabad and might attack protesters demanding the return of judges fired by President Pervez Musharraf.

“No terrorist needs to attack us,” Aitzaz Ahsan told reporters in Lahore, the main city in eastern Pakistan. “If there are any terrorists, they are opponents of Musharraf.”

The lawyers’ so-called “Long March” comes a week after a bomb blast near the Danish Embassy in Islamabad killed at least six people. In the days since, authorities said they detained at least six terror suspects and seized more than 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of explosives packed in three vehicles.

Pakistan’s Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik hinted Tuesday at a link between the suspects and the embassy attack, saying the explosives used were a similar type.

He said the vehicles were from Pakistan’s troubled northwest bordering Afghanistan.

He would not disclose the name of the group behind the plot but identified the suspects, all Pakistanis. Responsibility for the embassy attack was claimed in an Internet posting last week, purportedly from an al-Qaida commander in Afghanistan. Islamabad AP

Report: Gitmo inmates suffering mental damage

ATTACK

Head of Saddam tribe blown up in car blast The head of Saddam Hussein's tribe was killed by a bomb planted on his vehicle north of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said. The blast killed Sheik Ali al-Neda as he travelled along a highway after leaving his home in the late Iraqi president's hometown of Awja. It was Neda, a member of Iraq's minority Sunni Arab sect, who took possession of Saddam's body for burial after the Iraqi leader was executed in December 2006 for crimes against humanity. Gunmen shot dead Neda's brother in 2006. "The bomb appeared to have been fixed to the undercarriage of Neda's car," said Major Hassan Emhimid, a police officer in the nearby town of Tikrit.

"Sheik Neda was the victim of assassination. When he left his house there was a bomb in his car that killed him and a driver and wounded two of his guards," said Major Ahmed Subhi, head of a counter-terrorism unit in Salahuddin province. A spokesman for Salahuddin Governor Hamad al-Qaisi confirmed the sheik, head of the Albu-Naser tribe, had been killed. Awja Reuters

know that the vibrator is functioning,” Boynton said. “It looks like the soil is just too adhesive to make it through when it’s put down as a mass.” He said that if further attempts with TEGA’s vibrator failed to get a sufficient amount of dirt into the machine, the next step would be to try again with a second scoop of soil, this time sprinkling a small amount onto the screen in hopes that it would go through. Boynton said the team was optimistic that this dribbling technique would work and were not ready to give up on the soil samples. “It would be at least a week or two before we would start to get terribly concerned,” he said. “We do have a fair number of things we’re going to be trying.” The scientists don’t know why the Martian dirt has proved so clumpy, saying that the area under the lander could have gotten wet from the spacecraft’s thrusters or melting ice or that salts in the soil could act as a cementing agent.

The $420 million lander spent 10 months journeying from Earth and touched down on Mars 12 days ago. Its three-month mission was proposed after the Mars Odyssey detected frozen water below the Martian surface in 2002. Los Angeles Reuters

AP

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Palestinians mourners carry the body of Hamas militant Mustafa Atala during his funeral in Gaza City on Tuesday.

CM Y K

Over two-thirds of the detainees in the Guantanamo Bay prison are suffering from or at risk of mental problems because they are kept isolated in small cells with little light or fresh air, according to Human Rights Watch.

In a report entitled “Locked Up Alone: Detention Conditions and Mental Health at Guantanamo,” the group says 185 of the 270 detainees at the US military prison for terrorism suspects are housed in facilities similar to “supermax” prisons. They spend 22 hours alone in cramped cells, have very limited contact with other human beings and are given little more than the Quran to occupy themselves, said the report, which is based interviews with government officials and attorneys.

Detainees held in this manner include many that have not been charged with crimes and have already been cleared for release or transfer, according to the report.

“Guantanamo detainees who have not even been charged with a crime are being warehoused in conditions that are in many ways harsher than those reserved for the most dangerous, convicted criminals in the United States,” said Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch. Berlin Reuters

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12 TODAY’S ZAMAN

EXPAT ZONE

W E D N E S D AY, J U N E 1 1 , 2 0 0 8

Merry mýshaps of lýfe The doldrums of day-to-day life can be tiresome. It helps to look for the humor in situations.

Life should be about laughing together and being able to communicate daily in a positive way. Isn't shared humor recognition of shared experience and understanding? What I mean is you've probably been in a situation where you have seen a couple or more people roll their eyes when another person stares in bewilderment at a TV show, demanding, "What's so funny?" The reality is that the one person doesn't "get it" and the others do!

This is a normal experience when you are living in a cross-cultural situation -- some share in the funny, exclusive experience.

Every culture has taboos -- respect taboos. Recognize the boundaries early -- they may surprise you -- and do not cross them. It is not worth taking the risk that your humorous approach will hurt your business partner, friends and family.

We have all heard the saying: Smile and the whole world smiles with you!

Smiles are contagious.

This is why if you are in a cross-cultural working situation or personal relationship, it is so important that all parties understand to some degree how the other views the world. When you

understand and appreciate each other's sense of humor, you will enhance the way you communicate with each other.

It is not easy to live in another culture and try to understand the value system and how others will react to the world and its events.

Telling jokes in an international setting is risky. Let me clarify what I mean -- here's a joke: A police officer in a small town stopped a motorist who was speeding down Main Street. "But officer," the man began. "I can explain."

"Just be quiet," snapped the officer. "I'm going to let you cool your heels in jail until the chief gets back."

"But, officer, I just wanted to say --."

"And I said to keep quiet! You're going to jail!"

A few hours later the officer looked in on his prisoner and said: "Lucky for you that the chief is at his daughter's wedding.

He'll be in a good mood when he gets back."

"Don't count on it," answered the fellow in the cell. "I'm the groom."

Well, did you laugh?

May be it wasn't your type of joke. What may be hilarious to you may not be to the person next to you. Turks love Nasreddin

CULTURAL CORNER

CHARLOTTE McPHERSON Hoca and Temel jokes. The two are quite different: Fictional Temel jokes from the Black Sea coastal region are usually rather dumb and sometimes include off-color gags. On the other hand, Nasreddin Hoca, an Anatolian figure, is much more dignified. The way he gets his message across is unconventional with a profound simplicity.

Probably everyone knows American comedian Jon Stewart, famous for his political satire and host of The Daily Show. Some in his own culture may find him offensive, but the majority find him wildly funny.

Not every nationality uses sarcasm. It is said that it is the lowest form of wit and can be most hurtful.

If you are a fan of slapstick humor with intellectual stimulation, than Mr. Bean is right up your alley. British comedian and actor Rowan Atkinson's claim to fame is as Mr. Bean on the TV

series Mr. Bean. Morticon, on a blog site for Mr. Bean, describes the show as being a hilarious show of ingenuity and very little brain power -- Mr. Bean is about a man named Mr. Bean (Atkinson) with a child-like nature. When faced with life's problems, he'll always be sure to come up with something inventive to assist him. Armed with his teddy and famous green car, Mr. Bean will leave you rolling on the floor!

It's not always easy to know what to do in your host country.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place? Humor can provide a powerful mechanism to facilitate change. We all know there are clearly times when humor is appropriate and inappropriate. If you feel your spirit needs a lift get your hands on the Merry Mishaps of Mr. Bean or some other fun episode and have a good laugh.

"Humour purges the blood, making the body young and lively, and fit for any manner of employment." -- Robert Burton (1577-1640, English clergyman and scholar) Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com

{{ STARTING UP IN TURKEY {{

Accommodation on a

BUDGET

Summer has started and with it the high season for holidaymakers. Turkey, with its scenic landscape, historic and cultural heritage and extraordinary hospitality, is surely one of the most attractive destinations for international travelers. Do you already have plans for this year? Or are you in search of a place where your visiting family and friends can stay? Today's Zaman explains accommodation in Turkey -- especially for those on a budget.

Tourism is still one of Turkey's most important and fastest growing sectors. This, of course, is of tremendous benefit to travelers as much effort by both the public and private sectors is spent in improving access to detailed information about the range of travel opportunities to be found in Turkey. For help with your planning, turn to the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Web site, www.tourismturkey.org, available in 11 languages. The site also contains a list of Turkish tourism offices abroad for you to contact in case you have a specific need or request. A few other Web sites to turn to include: www.goturkey.com, www.welcome2turkey.com and www.exploreturkey.com.

Once you've decided where you'll go, you'll need to find accommodation. Turkey can suit all budgets, from small, family-fun pensions to a wide range of internationally known luxury five-star hotels. A quick Internet search for your destination and the word "hotel" will provide you with many suggestions.

Should you choose to travel in the low season (usually from October to April), many hotels may give you a discounted rate. Smaller places are more open to bargaining, especially if you stay for more than just one night. World-famous guidebook "Lonely Planet Turkey" says "you can expect to spend less than 25 euros for a hotel room … with room rates in Ýstanbul being considerably higher and out East prices being lower." If you are not sure whether the hotelier will really keep his promise, don't hesitate taking a look at the room. Breakfast and the value-added tax (VAT/KDV) are usually included in the price, but ask if not sure.

Youth hostels are not very common in Turkey. The www.turizm.net/turkey Web site notes that some student dormitories (yurt) are open to short-term summer lodgers (aged 18-26 and with an international student card), between July and September, the Turkish summer holiday. The same Web site also notes such accommodation is likely to be "cramped, somewhat dreary and not centrally located." Further information on this option can be obtained from the dormitory administration (Yurtkur General Directorate), reachable through the Turkish Education

LEGAL CORNER

Ministry's Web site, www.meb.gov.tr.

Another option to pursue for those on a budget is camping. Camping facilities can be hard to find, but trekking is growing in popularity and the sector has begun to develop. "There are many amazing places to camp at in Turkey and a number of places where camping is a must as the natural beauty of the landscape is breathtaking. This is especially true of the Aegean coast, where camping is the ultimate way to enjoy the undeveloped but idyllic beauty spots," the turizm.net Web site says. Do note that standards vary greatly, with some sites being a field and others being fully equipped. Prices, likewise, fluctuate from three to 10 euros per night, per tent.

Camping in undesignated spots?

Camping in unmarked spots is not recommended. For your own safety, it is always best to ask the municipality if there are designated camping sites nearby.

Swedes Jan and Klaas, speaking about their experiences, said: "We arrived in Ka?, located on the seaside around Fethiye, at night. We wanted to put our tent up soon, so we just walked up the hills outside the village a bit and to our surprise, in the morning, we found ourselves right next to a helicopter landing pad.

Oops!" Camping in the wilderness without knowing the ground can be dangerous. "It is often more of a hassle than it is worth. … The police may drop by and out in the East, wolves and Kangal sheep dogs may be a real threat," Lonely Planet advises.

The Swedish adventurers got a bit creative after that first night and decided to stop by a private garden that looked more suitable for a tent. "We chatted with one of the owners for a bit and asked him if he'd allow us, for a fee of course, to camp in his garden. He let us set up the tent and didn't even want to take any money for this," they said.

Last but not least, have you heard about the Hospitality Club? If not and you are fond of traveling, subscribe immediately for free at www.hospitalityclub.org. The worldwide online forum aims to bring people together: hosts and guests, travelers and locals. This way, Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling, be it with a roof for the night or even a guided tour through town. With a Web site available in 36 languages, the forum currently has 386,550 members from 219 countries. "The club is supported by volunteers who believe in one idea: By bringing travelers in touch with people in the place they visit and by giving 'locals' a chance to meet people from other cultures, we can increase intercultural understanding and strengthen the peace on our planet." Sounds good, doesn't it? But does it keep its promises?

"Well, I had only good experiences," says Tina of Germany. She and a friend stayed as someone's guests in Ýstanbul. Weren't they afraid to stay overnight at the house of a person they didn't know? "Well, the risk is minimal," Tina says and explains that all members can look at each other's profiles on the Web site, can post comments about their hosts and share their experience with one another. "Also, you can send the address and phone number of your host to your friends and family," she advises. However, this network is ultimately based on trust and, as Tina says: "I think the whole world can learn something from Turkish hospitality."

Indeed, with 11,653 Turkish members offering free accommodation to travelers, Turkey is among the site's top five countries. Ýyi yolculuklar, have a nice trip.

AYTEKÝN GEZÝCÝ

Turkish hotels can suit all budgets, from small, family-fun pensions to a wide range of internationally known luxury five-star hotels. Smaller places are more open to bargaining, especially if you stay for more than just one night

KRISTINA KAMP ÝSTANBUL

BERK ÇEKTiR

Questýons and answers day Today I would like to publish some excerpts from readers' letters. The first letter is concerning the consumer protection law. It reads as follows: "I just read (online) your article in Today's Zaman about consumer protection and have a question. My husband and I purchased a silk prayer rug in Nevþehir three years ago. We recently had it appraised and found out it was not worth what the certificate claimed and that we paid several thousand dollars more than it was worth. We have contacted the dealer, to no avail, of course. My question for you is: Can we file a claim in the consumer court in Ýstanbul or do we have to return to Nevþehir? We live in the States but have friends in Ýstanbul with whom we left the carpet when we were there last month.

Thank you for your help. Sincerely, Sandra" Dear Sandra, I am sorry to hear that you were cheated. I hope that you retained the invoice for this carpet; it will be very strong evidence when reclaiming your money from the seller.

The consumer courts in Nevþehir certainly do have jurisdiction on this matter. On the other hand, consumer law also states that the local court located at domicile of the claimant/consumer also has jurisdiction on cases concerning consumers' rights. In this case, if you have been staying in Ýstanbul for most of your time when you are in Turkey and if you have the domicile in Ýstanbul, then Ýstanbul courts shall have jurisdiction over this matter. However, for easy and fast track claims, I suggest that you start the legal action in Nev?ehir. I hope this helps.

When I am writing about emails coming from readers I use the word "letter" instead of "email."

The reason I do this is that I like the feeling of receiving a letter and nowadays we only receive official letters; only a very few people continue to write letters. In the good old days, we used to receive nice letters instead of invoices. So I will keep using the word "letter," but not "email."

The second letter was sent in from England: "Hi there, I love reading your articles and kept praying that there was a contact of yours somewhere. Well my prayers were answered. I am a British citizen living in England. I come to Ýstanbul many times a year. I am a teacher and considering moving there soon. I have seen an apartment that I really like in the Balat area of Fatih, Ýstanbul. I just want to know if I will be allowed to purchase it and in my name -or is there a ban on this? Please feel free to publish my email if you like. Your urgent response will be most appreciated. Kind regards. Afzal" Dear Afzal, I am glad that you liked Ýstanbul and successfully managed to find a decent building in Balat, because the Balat area has more than once been declared "sold out." Balat is in the borders of the Beyoðlu district and there is an ongoing ban against foreigners buying property in Beyoðlu. There is no indication of a lift of this ban yet. We are expecting Parliament to enact new legislation about foreigners buying property in Turkey, and this may also bring about a solution to the problem in Beyoðlu.

Companies established under the Foreign Direct Investment Law in Turkey can still acquire properties for a few more months. New legislation about foreign companies is also expected to be made soon.

PHOTO

NOTE: Berk Çektir is a licensed attorney at law and available to answer questions on the legal aspects of living in Turkey.

Send enquiries to b.cektir@todayszaman.com. The names of the readers are disclosed only upon written approval of the sender.

NOTE: Today's Zaman intends to provide a lively forum for expatriates living in Turkey. We encourage you to contact us at voice@todayszaman.com and share your experiences, questions and problems in all walks of life for publication in Today's Zaman.

CM Y K

DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner.

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CULTURE&ARTS

TODAY’S ZAMAN 13

W E D N E S D AY, J U N E 1 1 , 2 0 0 8

REUTERS

Three Turkish tenors open Bursa festival

PHOTO

The Bursa Regional State Symphony Orchestra (BBDSO) last night accompanied the "Three Turkish Tenors" for the opening concert of this year's Bursa International Festival at the Kültürpark Open-air Theater, performing what has now become a tradition for the annual festival's 47th edition.

Featuring tenors Hakan Aysev, Efe Kýþlalý and Hüseyin Likos, the concert began a month-long celebration of music and dance in the northwestern province. Julio Iglesias will take to the stage at 9 p.m. at the open-air theater for tonight's concert at the festival. This concert marks the legendary Spanish singer's final live performance in Turkey this summer following outings in Ýstanbul, Ýzmir and Ankara.

The festival, organized by the Bursa Foundation for Culture, Art and Tourism (BKSTV) in collaboration with the Greater Bursa Municipality, is scheduled to run until July 12. It will feature performances by mainly Turkish acts, including poprock singers Nilüfer, Nev and Emre Aydýn, as well as the classical Turkish music duo Yansýmalar.

The St. Petersburg State Ballet Theater will present their production of the two-act ballet classic "Giselle" on the night of June 20 at the open-air theater. British pop singer Kim Wilde will be another performer from overseas at the festival, scheduled to take the stage on June 30.

The festival will wrap up with a five-day folkdance extravaganza, the 22nd edition of the International Golden Karagöz Folkdance Competition, in which 700 dancers from 23 countries are expected to participate. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

Renowned maestro Zubin Mehta will be conducting the Florence-based Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino orchestra at the closing concert of the Ýzmir Festival on July 22 at the Celsus Library in Ephesus.

International festival feeding Ýzmir’s appetite for art

Thornton pursues his first love with band He is an acclaimed actor and Oscar winner for writing the movie "Sling Blade" but most of the time Billy Bob Thornton would rather be pursuing his first love: music. Thornton's band, the Boxmasters, released its first album on Tuesday, a dual CD with one disc of original songs written by Thornton and second with covers of the likes of Mott the Hoople, the Louvin Brothers, the Who and Chad and Jeremy.

Thornton, credited as W.R. "Bud" Thornton partly to distinguish from his movie star status, released four solo albums between 2001 and 2007, but it is this latest incarnation -- as drummer, singer and songwriter for the Boxmasters -that he thinks brings him closest to his true calling. "I've always been committed to music first," Thornton told Reuters. "It just so happened that I accidentally became a movie star. So it's really more like I use the movies to keep me from going broke between records."

The 52-year-old native of Hot Springs, Arkansas, has been playing drums since he was 9.

His Boxmasters bandmates include J.D. Andrew, who co-wrote several songs, and Mike Butler, whose blazing guitar licks pepper the album. Thornton describes the band's music as "Hillbilly British Invasion." "If you take the Beatles and the Stones and the Kinks and the Dirt Band and Mike Nesmith and the Monkees, mix them up with Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash and Webb Pierce and Del Reeves, that's what the Boxmasters are," he said. Chicago Reuters

Highlights at the 22nd festival include a tribute to the late French choreographer Maurice Béjart, a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Giacomo Puccini and a closing concert that will make maestro Zubin Mehta’s dream of conducting a concert at the ancient Ephesus come true The Vienna Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of its founder and conductor Claudius Traunfellner, performed live in Ýzmir on Monday night, opening the biggest annual musical event in the Aegean province. The ensemble, which was in Ýstanbul over the weekend to perform as the opening act of this year's Ýstanbul International Music Festival, featured Romanian pianist Mihaela Ursuleasa as soloist in their Ýzmir concert that drew thousands of festivalgoers to the ancient Asklepion theater in Bergama.

Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuðrul Günay and Ýzmir Governor Cahit Kýraç were also among the audience at the opening.

Speaking ahead of the concert, Minister Günay said it was their biggest wish to see Ýzmir as a city of culture that will reflect the modern face of Turkey to the entire world. "Just like the sky suits the clouds, the clouds suit the rain, the rain suits the grass; Bergama suits Ýzmir, Asklepion suits Bergama and this festival suits very much Asklepion," Günay said.

The 22nd edition of the festival, organized by the Ýzmir Foundation for Culture, Art and Education (ÝKSEV), this year runs until July 22, featuring 10 performances under the slogan "Feeding our appetite for art."

The second act to take the stage at the festival will be the legendary Tokyo Ballet, whose last visit to Ýzmir was 12 years ago during the 10th festival. The company, currently on its 23rd over-

seas tour, will perform the ballet collage "Images of Asia by Maurice Béjart" at the Kültürpark Open-air Theater tomorrow night in what will be a tribute to the late French choreographer Béjart, who passed away last November.

In another shared performance with the Ýstanbul International Music Festival, the Ýzmir festival will host a performance of the concert "Müsenna" -- a Turkish-French joint project that combines European baroque and Ottoman court music in the same performance. The project, commissioned by soprano Çimen Seymen, takes as its point of departure the manuscripts of Ali Ufki -- a 17th century musician and composer in the sultan's service at Topkapý Palace. French baroque ensemble La Turchesca and the Ýzmir-based Cevher-i Musiki ensemble will present the concert on the night of June 21 at the Çeþme Church.

A premiere of Euripides' tragedy "Phaethon," featuring famed Greek singer Mario Frangoulis as soloist, is scheduled for the night of July 3 at the Celsus Library in Ephesus. The Ýzmir Foundation for Culture, Arts and Education (ÝKSEV) Music Museum's garden will host a jazz concert by the legendary jazz trumpeter Maffy Falay and his quintet on the night of July 4.

The festival will pay tribute to Giacomo Puccini on the 150th anniversary of his birth with a special gala concert at the Celsus Library. Opera singers Raffaella Angeletti, Roberta Canzian, Marco Berti and Vladimir Stojanov will be per-

forming a selection of arias from well-known Puccini operas at the gala slated for July 8.

The Virtuosi Italiani under the baton of conductor Alberto Martini, the Ýzmir Festival Orchestra under Anthony Inglis and the Bremen Youth Symphony Orchestra under Heiner Buhlmann are also in the lineup.

The festival will end on a high note this year, with world-renowned maestro Zubin Mehta conducting the Florence-based Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino orchestra at the closing concert. The 85-member orchestra, of which Mehta has been chief conductor since 1985, will be performing a program featuring pieces by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky at the concert slated for July 22 at the Celsus Library in Ephesus.

The Indian-born conductor of international acclaim is known to have always wanted to conduct a concert at the ancient city of Ephesus since he visited Ýzmir years ago. The festival's organizers have for years been trying to arrange a schedule that is suitable for both Mehta and the festival, finally being able to arrange the eagerly anticipated concert for this year's festival finale.

Tickets for the festival can be purchased at www.biletix.com. For detailed program information, visit the festival's Web site at www.iksev.org. Ýzmir Today's Zaman

FESTIVAL

FILM SCREENING

Piano masterpieces to echo at Süreyya Opera

Turkish movies get threeday New York screening

The Ýstanbul-based Milli Reasürans Chamber Orchestra will accompany pianists Alexander Melnikov, Muhiddin Dürrüoðlu and Özgür Aydýn in a concert titled "3 Pianists, 3 Concerti," scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Süreyya Opera House tomorrow night. The orchestra and the three soloists, under maestro Hakan Þensoy, will present concertos

by Beethoven, Bach and Mozart at the concert, which is part of the ongoing Ýstanbul Music Festival.

New York City will be home to a three-day screening of films by Turkish directors starting today. The screening program will feature seven films, including Ömer Vargý's "Kabadayý" (Tough Guy), Sýrrý Süreyya Önder's "Beynelmilel" (Inter-national), Çaðan Irmak's "Ulak" (The Messenger) and Metin Erksan's 1964 classic "Susuz Yaz" (The Dry Summer). The showings take place until June 13 at the Village East and DGA movie theaters.

EXHIBITION

Pinhole photographs on display at Ýstanbul Modern The Ýstanbul Museum of Modern Art is currently showcasing a collection of works by 33 young Adana-based artists at its photography gallery.

Curated by Engin Özendes, the exhibition, titled "Pinhole Photographs," runs until Aug. 24, featuring 67 pieces created via pinhole cameras, which do not use lenses. The first discovery of the principles behind the pinhole camera, a precursor to the camera obscura, can be traced back to as early as 470 B.C.

Rapper Lil Wayne mixes it up on new CD

FESTIVAL

Morisette, Def Leppard to headline Masstival 2008 Alanis Morisette, Whitesnake and Def Leppard will be in Ýstanbul next month headlining the second year of Masstival, scheduled to take place between July 4 and 6 at Parkorman. Held under the slogan "a music festival for the masses," the three-day festival will feature performances from acts from Turkey and abroad, including rockers Redd, Duman and Þebnem Ferah. Tickets, priced between YTL 87.5 and YTL 120, can be purchased at www.biletix.com.

CM Y K

Actors of a certain standing live by an old adage -- "one for the money, one for the work" -- a bit of career calculus where they switch off between working on money-making blockbusters and more artistic, less commercial pursuits.

Rappers, especially in this declining economy, can't afford that kind of luxury, but Lil Wayne comes close on "Tha Carter III" (Cash Money), bouncing between irresistible pop hits and some wild hip-hop experimentation.

The hits are already pretty self-evident. The spacey, synth-filled single "Lollipop" is already a chart-topper, and the club banger "Got Money," with T-Pain, is already starting its run. There's also the much-publicized "Comfortable," a response song to Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" that features smooth soul from Babyface and his own defiant lines. ("To the left, to the left, if you want to leave me, my guest, you can step.")

Lil Wayne could have stopped there, packing the rest of "Tha Carter III" with Dirty South filler, but instead pulls out the creative stops, rhyming over what sounds like a cartoon theme in "La" and a stunningly simple loop on "A Milli." He even calls out Al Sharpton in the sprawling rant "Misunderstood."

Lil Wayne has always been a hit maker, a hired gun who spices up his surroundings. On "Tha Carter III," he shows he is capable of building a memorable landscape on his own, as well, a place where he isn't just the entertaining jester but where he can actually be king. Glenn Gamboa © Newsday, 2008

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14 TODAY’S ZAMAN

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008

OPINION

Constýtutýonal Court’s preventýve regýme change

TARIK ÖZTÜRK

protectýng democracy from the people ÞABAN KARDAÞ*

PHOTO

The Constitutional Court's decision annulling Parliament's amendments to the Turkish Constitution continues to penetrate into every aspect of Turkey's political scene. As the details unfold, the extent and depth of the crisis become clearer every passing day. The decision strengthens the precedent of judicial activism that the judiciary sought to deliberately and aggressively create. Through the judicialization of politics in the recent history of Turkish politics, the court, as well as other higher courts, has endeavored to shape politics and society after their narrow ideological mindset. The court's latest decision, in addition to continuing this trend, also torpedoes the whole constitutional system by claiming a right to act outside its competences as they were laid down in the Constitution. As such it corroborates the fears of those who have viewed the judiciary's latest activism as the biggest threat against Turkish democracy and constitutional order and had been calling it an attempt at a judicial coup. By claiming an unrestricted right to review Parliament's legislative powers, the court negates the meaning of a parliamentary democracy and turns the country into a juristocracy par excellence.

The court has not yet issued its detailed decision, so we do not clearly know what considerations went into the court's decision. According to press reports, some judges already leaked the discussions leading to this decision. These arguments, if they are true, are even more horrifying than the final verdict itself. They reflect clearly that the mindset of the judges sitting in Turkey's highest court is the major obstacle before Turkish democracy. The justices are far from the reality of Turkish politics and an increasingly globalizing world politics.

Preventive regime change!

According to the reports, the members of the court again built their opinion on a subjective reasoning, instead of objective evidence. They considered a hypothetical situation: What if a government that controls the parliamentary majority, thereby being able to amend the Constitution, capitalizes on this advantage and decides to revamp the nature of the regime, say by holding elections every 20 years and in effect establishing an authoritarianism of sorts? Since they deemed such a scenario unacceptable, they opined that under such a situation the court cannot remain aloof of attempts to change the regime through amendments to the Constitution. They further opined that it would then be incumbent on the court to take an assertive stance and protect the constitutional order, a duty they are tasked with by the Constitution. To prevent such a hypothetical scenario from happening in some indefinite time in the future, they found it necessary to act preemptively now and establish a new precedent of constitutional review: As a revision to the 1982 Constitution, the court accepted to review parliamentary amendments on substantive grounds and decided to annul those amendments.

As it was seeking to protect the republic and democracy against likely attempts in the future, the court in effect changed the nature of the regime now!

It is not unusual for Turkish political actors to act on such subjective presumptions. In fact, the whole case for limiting individual liberties, including political, religious and cultural freedoms, is based on this reasoning. The possibility that a religious majority may one day limit the rights of other religious minorities is offered as justification for contravening the rights of the religious majority. The possibility that some people may one day attempt to establish a religiously based rule and undermine the principle of secularism has been enough ground for the secularist Turkish establishment to limit political freedoms without necessarily inquiring whether objective material evidence existed to substantiate those claims. The possibility that cultural and ethnic rights could be used to disintegrate the country was considered a sufficient warrant to deny those rights to Turkish people. That is old stuff for Turkish politics; the phrase "mind reading" best describes this attitude.

The Constitutional Court's decision annulling Parliament's amendments to the Turkish Constitution has demonstrated that the court does not trust other sectors of society in chosing leaders.

Judicialization of politics: a sinister attack on democracy We are now confronted with a more fundamental threat: The same subjective reasoning is being offered as justification for changing the regime preemptively. It is no different from military interventions in politics and has to be objected to accordingly.

However, given the nature of the actors undertaking the coup, it is more difficult to detect. The principle of respect for the rule of law is used to conceal this sinister attack on democracy.

What is therefore more troubling is the indifference of some segments of the Turkish political community. Some cherish this decision because it promotes their political agenda.

Others criticize it as a politically influenced decision but still call on the Turkish people to respect the decision of a judicial body.

Even Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan has failed to respond to this challenge properly. In his proposal to overcome the crisis, he suggests Turkey should consider reintroducing a bicameral system whereby the upper house may review the functions of the lower house. In this way the workload and pressure on the Constitutional Court would be relieved.

However, what these responses fail to see is that the real challenge before the country is not how to constrain the popular will. There is no need for another guardian over representatives of the people, for there are already enough of them. The challenge is to develop effective checks against currently unaccountable institutions, most importantly the judiciary, so that the people are protected against the guardians.

Judiciary: New guardians of the people?

Protecting Turkish democracy from this challenge necessitates that we recognize and confront the source of the problem: the mindset of the Turkish secularist elite at large that continues to treat Turkish people as immature and in need of being guarded by enlightened elites. Given its mission, inner organization, education, ideological makeup and historical/political positioning, the judiciary is opposed to reforms, favoring the maintenance of the status quo. It views itself as the progressive/modernizing force à la 19th century

templates, failing to recognize that in contemporary Turkey a number of powerful social and political actors are now active in civil society and politics. They want to maintain a political structure that was traditionally based on an undemocratic notion of state elites making top-down decisions on the fate of the people.

For a long time, the reasoning that the only guarantor and protector of the survival of the nation and the maintenance of the regime was the military's ongoing supervision over the system was used to justify the military guardianship over politics and society. This self-declared custodian role has been one of the main reasons behind the circumvention of the scope of civilian politics and civil society, hence hindering the democratization process. We see that the judiciary capitalizes on the same argument to reproduce this problematic notion in a new form. In a democratic system, however, the judiciary is not a representative institution, bestowed with the right to decide on political processes. Pretending that it could do otherwise would elevate the judiciary to an autonomous position above civilian politics.

The decisions pertaining to the regulation of society's domestic and international affairs could only be taken by the people and the representative institutions that are eventually accountable to the public. Bracketing the judiciary as an unrestricted "veto player" over the people's will reverses this process and bring us back to where we started: a guardianship regime peculiar to Turkey.

Moreover, to the extent that the court does not trust other sectors of the society and considers itself the main guardian of the founding ideology of the Turkish Republic -- and its protector against revisionist ideologies -- it further isolates itself from the society and dwarfs civilian politics. As a result, secularism and other principles emerge as part of an ideology under the tutelage of the bureaucracy. According to this reading, the regime could be advocated for, reinterpreted and protected solely by the bureaucracy. As a result, other civilian and secular sectors of the society and the role they play against the antiregime forces, in particular, and in the making of the Turkish politics, in general, are ignored by the judiciary.

Today, democracy and the Turkish Republic have been embraced by wide segments of the Turkish society and

If a threat of sorts hypothesized by the court emerges to Turkish democracy, both the vibrant social constituency behind Turkish democracy and the international community will be there to resist it. Whether such a scenario is probable is another question. Implicit in the secularists' argument is the idea that such an attempt to overturn democracy could come from the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) or another party representing the same political position, which may come out of its ashes if the court decides to close down the party later this year. The AK Party's track record so far indicates that it did not seek to manipulate the democratic game. Although it possessed a majority of the votes in Parliament to change the Constitution, it played according to the alternation rule and sought re-election. The people trusted the party's commitment to democracy and elected it for a second term. Apparently, the judges are not convinced of the Turkish people's maturity and acted on a subjective presumption that in the future elections could be halted to change the democratic regime. The court's decision, however, rendered the meaning of popular democracy and elections obsolete. This should be the biggest irony of this legal comedy: preventive regime change by the guardians! * Þaban Kardaþ is an instructor at the University of Utah, the chairman of the Middle East and Central Asia Conference Committee and a research assistant at Sakarya University.

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have become a truly popular project. In a democratic Turkey where popular consensus behind the regime has taken hold, the guardianship by the bureaucracy is not needed. The agents of democracy are not the bureaucracy but the society and its political representatives. Moreover, as Turkey is deeply integrated into the international community, Turkish democracy is anchored into international networks of checks and balances. If we do not object to the judiciary's or any other institution's extra-judicial veto power over Parliament, we further depart from the idea of a democratic Turkey.

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Every Turk ýs a soldýer Last night as I was sitting at a café, an elderly gentleman approached me and asked the ultimate question that I frequently come across: "What will become of us, professor?" When you face such questions you can rest assured that the inquirer already has an answer, but wants to be assured of his or her own conviction. This turned out to be the case, as he was not satisfied with my evasive replies. He was pretty sure that the judiciary was pushed forward by the military and that if the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) was not closed down by the Constitutional Court (meaning if they fail their expected mission), the last resort will be a military putsch. I was awestruck by the clarity in his judgment and his logical conclusion given his premise: The AK Party was treacherous and dangerous for the system.

Then he asked me whether the value (or weight) of my vote was equal to that of an uneducated peasant; the old elitist argument. I was pretty sure that in his mind democracy and rule of law were secondary to the preservation of the secular republic.

What have we done to our people to instill such fascistic inclinations that make them oblivious to a full-fledged democracy based on deliberation and respect for diversity?

Allow me to share an exemplary case with you that reveals the nature of this political culture and the political system it thrives on:

YAVUZ BAYDAR

DOÐU ERGÝL d.ergil@todayszaman.com

Ms. Bulent Ersoy is a celebrated singer. She was born and registered as a male citizen. Later she decided that she had a female soul captive in a male body and decided to undergo surgery to change her sex. She was reborn as a woman right after the military coup of 1980. The head of the junta, now-retired Gen. Kenan Evren, and his entourage decided that this change of sex was "officially" undesirable and cancelled Ms. Ersoy's license to sing in public. The ban on this woman to exercise her art continued for years, only to be revoked by civilian President Turgut Özal. The state had made a choice against the will of an individual as to what gender he or she would stick to!

Ms. Ersoy got entangled in another controversy recently for which she is presently under litigation. In one of the talenthunt TV shows where she was a jury member, she said, " I am not a mother but, if I were, I would not want my son to be sent

to an obscure war waged by others and get killed." She was referring to the internal strife in the Southeast and across the Iraqi border that has been dragging on for a quarter of a century. This was enough to get her into trouble because there is a law against acts of "discouraging people against military service."

The main thesis of the indictment of the prosecutor was the cliché that "every Turk is born a soldier." So anyone who acts against such a dictum or persuades others to decline from military service must be condemned and put away. Any lawyer would know that you can't indict people based on tradition or popular belief. Yet no one is allowed to question the rationale of why thousands upon thousands of young men are drafted for long periods of time rather than training and equipping a more efficient army. What enemies are they conditioned to fight against and to what end? What is the cost-benefit analysis of these military decisions and this military spending? Why? Another cliché is put forward as an answer: "We are an army nation."

The only army nation that history has known is the tribe that produces, consumes and provides security collectively because there is no division of labor due to insufficient development and social differentiation. Turkey long ago surpassed that threshold, yet neither the rulers nor the ruled act as though we left that

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AMANDA AKÇAKOCA a.akcakoca@todayszaman.com

EU’s future ýn Irýsh hands

Rubýn’s Turkey There is nothing peculiar about the neocon mind. Through painful experience we know by now that it sees no shades between black and white, good and evil, useful and useless. For the neocon mind, it is either for or against. You know, that "with us or against us" type of thing.

So, if you read the piece by Michael Rubin, titled "Turkey's Putin Deserves to Go," you will find nothing in it to strike you as new or interesting. You would have to have a truly one-track mind to make yourself believe it.Yet you cannot ignore the fact that, with its utterly misleading nature, such an "opinion" piece can easily present a distorted picture of the very subject it attempts to analyze. The fact that it is published by a major American newspaper only helps increase its destructive magnitude. Those with only basic knowledge about Turkey -- its past and present -- would be led to believe, after reading this neocon piece, that the root of every problem in the country is very simple to detect; it is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, who used his party's past two election victories solely to consolidate an evil and dangerous dictatorship. The neocon article tells us that he has done nothing for the great success the Turkish economy has seen in the past six years (because he had to pursue IMF reform policies) and that he is also entirely responsible for "encouraging the most virulent anti-American and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories."

For its conclusion the neocon article calms us down, saying that it is a good thing that the judiciary is now set to chase Erdoðan out because the West can not afford another Vladimir Putin. "In the U.S. and in Europe, the judiciary is the guardian of democracy. That it is as well in Turkey underlines the maturity of Turkey's democracy," the article concludes with great certainty. You would almost believe it.

But if the author is Rubin, the editor of the Middle East Quarterly and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, you just gasp at the level of "understanding" about what Turkey is all about.

There is a famous quote from an obscure Turkish philosopher, Sakallý Celal (Celal the Bearded), which says: "Such ignorance is only possible through education."

Given that, it is not the article's content per se, but where it was published that should have come as a surprise. But given the agenda and desperation of the neocon camp, perhaps not even that is surprising.

It is no secret that Mr. Rubin is popular with the hard-liner militarist circles in Turkey. He was recently a guest at a seminar organized by top command at the war academy in Istanbul. His views are shared by certain adventurers; it is also likely that he attempts to charm many decision makers who do not entirely share his neocon stand.

The ugliest distortion Mr. Rubin puts forth in his article is certainly his attempt to make uninformed readers believe that the Turkish Constitution is as perfect as the US Constitution and that the judiciary is really engaged in guarding an almost equally perfect democracy. The second ugliest part is that he is covering up the fact that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, partly with help from its opponents, stands for one of the most progressive periods of reform in modern history. Mr. Rubin knows perfectly well that we know, and he is deliberately lying. Those who do not know should also know that.

Turkey is now entering one of it deepest political crises, in which its identity is expected to be questioned and its fundamental structure is likely to be changed -- probably delighting the sense of "schadenfreude" of people like Mr. Rubin and other neocons.

The past six years of AK Party rule certainly cannot be summarized as "one man's delusion of absolute power." This is a sheer lie -- a manipulation. The period in question can only be attributed to excitement for change, half-hearted reforms, flawed leadership, unqualified and insufficient human resources, lack of crisis management, denial of wrongdoings, resistance of EU skeptics, clandestine activities toward a military dictatorship, arrogance, contempt for consensus, poor strategic thinking, short attention spans for political achievements, bad advice and foolish mistakes. These do not amount to dictatorial ambition, and they can only be judged by the voters, not by the courts.

I do not expect Mr. Rubin to understand Turkey. But if he understands that Turkey will go on seeking a full-scale democracy, contrary to his advice, he must understand that the current constitution, badly written and blurred from A to Z, will have to be replaced by consensus with a new one, hopefully close to those found in Western democracies. What the judiciary now uses as a text is a bad ground for defending democracy; it only helps to increase the problems.

If he can, Mr. Rubin also has to learn that the neocons' Saddam-ization of anybody they do not like is almost over. With the upcoming American elections, their "brilliant" ideas will go into the dustbin of history -- hopefully.

One surely hopes that those -- like Mr. Rubin -- who managed to turn the Middle East into a huge mess are only laughed about with tongue in cheek in Ankara. There is nothing serious about them.

tribal structure behind centuries ago. That is why a prosecutor can indict and possibly sentence an artist for questioning a military rationale that is out of tune with the reality of the time.

Let me share with you how a flimsy case was brought against me at a court that dealt with "crimes against the state."

The proceedings took one and half years out of my life with the impending threat of losing my job, civic rights, freedom and reputation because of a sentence I uttered in a public conference on democracy. All I said was the following: "Think of an acute appendicitis case; the patient (the people) is rushed to the hospital where civilian doctors (politicians) anesthetize him, but hesitate to operate. Just before losing the patient, the military doctor comes in and removes the appendicitis without anesthetics because of the urgent nature of the case. The patient cries out in pain, but is relieved of his illness at that moment. That is how military coups take place: Inept politicians are replaced by eager soldiers." Would you believe that I was dragged to court and tried for nearly two years for "insulting the armed forces of the country"? Who in the world with confidence in his role and a belief that what he is doing is right would resort to such stringent and truly unlawful measures?

Headscarf justýce BERÝL DEDEOÐLU b.dedeoglu@todayszaman.com

The justice system and the judges themselves have never really been a topic of conversation. It would be better if they were not. However, as ongoing cases and recent verdicts have become highly political, the judiciary has become part of ordinary political debates. That is why the judiciary, which must be the guardian of democracy and secularism, loses its function, power and credibility. Because of this politicization, daily political life is carried out in tribunals rather than in Parliament or between political parties.

The Constitutional Court has ruled that a constitutional amendment granting equal rights in higher education was unconstitutional. This situation is quite tragicomic. First of all, we should affirm that our current Constitution and laws already guarantee that Turkish citizens are entitled to receive public services regardless of their religion, ethnicity, language and sexual orientation. Moreover, all discrimination is supposed to be punished according to the same laws.

Therefore, it can be seen as unnecessary to carry out a supplementary amendment in order to emphasize the right to equal education.

Nevertheless, there were old verdicts limiting the right to education. Thanks to these, there is an established opinion that the presence of women that wear a headscarf at universities undermines Turkey's secular regime. That is why a headscarf ban has become a de facto rule, if not de jure, in higher education. With the Constitutional Court rejecting constitutional amendments put forth by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), a discriminative approach toward students has now become a de jure rule.

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Hence, the judiciary has decided that discrimination based on the convictions and the style of dress of adults and the majority is constitutional and has also announced how university students should dress. It is obvious that all this is about the AK Party. In fact, the constitutional amendment was perceived as a step of the AK Party's supposed Islamization project. If we follow the same logic, we can even suggest that if one day the Constitutional Court comprises a different kind of judges, those who do not wear headscarves could be banned from universities. It is now possible theoretically. The judiciary is apparently convinced that the danger of Islamization can be fought by establishing a campus dress code. This also proves that the role assumed by Turkey's universities is an unusual one.

Those who believe that the headscarf ban at universities guarantees the permanence of the secular regime have the inner fear that threats against secularism cannot be avoided by using institutions, mechanisms or means other than bans. There are people who believe that social dynamics will never be sufficient to defend the regime when there is a pressure of Islamization on the society; that any precaution will be futile and that democratic channels will not function efficiently. This verdict shows many people are convinced that Turkish democracy is too fragile to protect itself.

The paradox of the verdict is that Osama Bin Laden, for example, would be allowed to enter university campuses but the current Turkish president's wife cannot. The verdict's purpose is to keep women that wear a headscarf at home or to grant them lower class jobs. The contradiction is that those who pretend to defend secularism for the sake of modernity do everything possible to expel women from modern life. It is not possible to understand what is in someone's mind only by looking at the clothes they wear. Not only that, but marginalizing people makes them more radical.

Those happy with this verdict should learn that.

EU leaders are holding their breath as Ireland goes to the ballot box tomorrow to decide on the fate of the Lisbon Treaty. Recent opinion polls have done nothing to calm nerves, with the "yes" camp maintaining only a whisker of a lead. As with many other cases the end result will likely depend on the undecided moderate voters.

Ireland is the only EU state to hold a referendum on the treaty as this is required by its constitution. This is probably a good thing as a number of other countries would probably have voted the treaty down if they had a chance.

Already in Germany and the Czech Republic the governments are facing cases in the Constitutional Court to try and have the decision reversed. In the Czech Republic in particular the EU is extremely unpopular, with opposition to the treaty being led by Czech President Vaclav Klaus.

If Ireland votes "yes" an uneventful passage of the treaty through the remaining 11 EU parliaments is almost guaranteed, even in the UK. If it is a "no" there will very likely be a backlash in the remaining countries and without a doubt this would result in it being doomed in the UK. It would come as a serious blow to EU morale, particularly coming from a country that has been one of the biggest beneficiates of the EU -- gaining from both farm and structural aid over the years, which has helped Ireland evolve into one of the EU's most prosperous member states. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has been quick to warn the Irish not to make a mistake, stating that "Ireland would be the first victim" if it rejects the treaty. This is rich coming from the country that voted down the ill-fated EU constitution in 2005. This time around, French citizens have had their hands tied and won't get a chance to vote.

So why is it proving such an uphill battle to generate strong support for a "yes"? It is the same old story -- voters know very little about the EU, let alone what is actually within the treaty, which basically means they are being asked to support something they do not understand and are therefore naturally suspicious. Campaigns explaining to the man in the street why he should support the treaty have been thin on the ground and what little there has been has been inadequate. It seems that not enough lessons were learned from the "no" votes of France and the Netherlands in 2005. In addition as the treaty has no big project to sell such as the euro or enlargement, this makes it more difficult to grab the public's attention. Furthermore, traditional supporters of previous treaties, such as farmers, have not been won over this time due to proposals to open up the single market to beef imports from Argentina and Brazil, which they oppose.

There is a feeling of decisions being made over the heads of the general public -- a feeling widespread in Europe, where many people feel they should have had a chance to vote on a treaty that in one way or another will affect their lives. For the EU project to be successful it needs to be fully supported by its citizens. According to EU officials there is no plan B; in fact it should be plan C, given that this treaty is really the plan B of the failed constitution. A "no" will turn the upcoming EU summit on June 19 into a crisis meeting as EU heads of state thrash out what to do next. Possible options could be a renegotiation of the treaty, but there is unlikely to be any appetite for that in national capitals given the length of time it took to produce this one. Another option would be to give Ireland a few more opt-outs (such as corporate tax, which is due to be raised) before asking them to vote on it again. Back in 2002 the Irish rejected the Nice Treaty but it was put to a second vote and passed. But this time, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said that was an exceptional situation due to low voter turnout and that he has no intention of holding a second referendum this time around given that a high turnout is expected. The EU could just carry on with current treaties, which would seem very unlikely and be a particularly unsavory road to go down, not least for prospective members such as Turkey, as currently under the Nice Treaty the EU cannot exceed 27 members.

Or EU countries may prefer instead to work in small groups on matters such as taxation, foreign policy and defense.

For the sanity of Europe please make it a "yes" so that this long-running and at times boring story can finally end and the EU can start to concentrate of more important matters.

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16 TODAY’S ZAMAN

LEISURE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008

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Gregorian Calendar: 11 June 2008 C.E. Hijri Calendar: 7 Jumada al-Thani 1429 A.H. Hebrew Calendar: 08 Sivan 5768 calendar@todayszaman.com

E2 Today is the Feast Day of St. Barnabas in Greek Cyprus. St. Barnabas was born in Cyprus of Jewish faith and was named Joseph. Upon converting to Christianity, he sold all his property and gave himself to the service of God. He is thought to have preached in Syria and Cyprus with Paul. St. Barnabas is credited (probably falsely) with the authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews and the so-called Epistle of Barnabas is ascribed to him by many priests. Many Muslims claim that the Epistle of Barnabas is more authentic than the four canonized books of the New Testament.

Today is Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act Day in Australia. Although Australia had agreed to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1965, this act, signed on June 11, 1975, made racial discrimination against the law. This act aims to ensure that everyone is treated equally, regardless of race, color, descent or national or ethnic origin and is one of the foundational laws of modern-day Australia.

Today is national day in Libya. June 11 is one of Libya’s three evacuation days and celebrates the June 11, 1970 evacuation of American forces stationed at the Almallaha base near Tripoli, established following World War II. The day is celebrated every year under the name Eid al-Jala.

The American forces at the Almallaha and Alwatia bases were there mainly to look out for US interests in the re-

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‘88 Minutes’

SUPERHERO MOVIE ÝSTANBUL: Þiþli Megaplex Cevahir: 11:00 12:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 22:00 Caddebostan AFM: 11:40 13:50 16:25 18:40 21:15 Fri/Sat: 23:25 ANKARA: Cinebonus Bilkent: 11:45 13:45 15:45 17:45 19:45 21:45 Fri/Sat: 24:00 ÝZMÝR: Konak AFM Passtel: 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 ANTALYA: Cinebonus Migros: 11:30 13:30 15:30 17:30 19:30 21:30 Fri/Sat: 24:15

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gion and to ensure King Idris’ government’s stability.

Today is King Kamehameha I Day in Hawaii. This public holiday honors Kamehameha the Great (17371819), the monarch who first established the unified Kingdom of Hawaii. Kamehameha is known as the Napoleon of the Pacific for his achievements in warfare and diplomacy. The holiday was first established by royal decree of the ruling great grandson Kamehameha V in 1871. Late 19th century celebrations of Kamehameha Day featured carnivals and fairs, foot races, horse races and velocipede races. Today, Kamehameha Day is celebrated with elaborate events harking back to ancient Hawaiian traditions. The King Kamehameha Hula Competition attracts hula groups from all over the world.

Today is Davis Day among Canada’s miner communities. Davis Day, also known as Miners Memorial Day, is an annual day of remembrance observed in coal mining communities in Nova Scotia, Canada whereby citizens recognize all miners who were killed on the job in the province. Davis Day originated in memory of William Davis, a coal miner who was killed during a protest near the town of New Waterford by striking miners. The closure of Nova Scotia’s last coal mine in November 2001 has somewhat muted the importance of Davis Day; however, it has evolved to become a remembrance day for all

workers killed in mines in the province.

On this day in 1868 the Turkish Red Crescent was founded under the name Ottoman Aid and Support Society for Wounded and Ill Soldiers. The society was established as a requisite of the Geneva Agreement of July 5, 1865. It changed its name to the Red Crescent Society in 1877 and only then began regular work.

On this day in 1933 a law was passed by the Turkish Parliament to outline the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the declaration of the republic. The 10th year anniversary was used by the already strong government of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) to impose its ideological positions on the regime. The famous Tenth Year Anthem secular anthem was composed for the celebrations and was used to counter the then national anthem, abundant in religious connotations.

Today is the birth anniversary of the French underwater explorer, writer and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau (1910-1997). Cousteau invented the Aqualung, which allowed him and his colleagues to produce more than 80 documentary films. Two of his films won Oscars.

Cousteau was a much beloved figure in Turkey, to the point that many believed he converted Islam after realizing a natural phenomenon he discovered in the Strait of Gibraltar was foretold in the Holy Quran. The Cousteau family categorically denies these allegations. By Kerim Balcý

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Sudoku

PHOTO

Novice art buyers and people who appreciate art but can’t always afford to buy paintings or other pieces are the target audience of the Affordable Art Fair, a four-day contemporary art show of up-and-coming and established artists that opens this week in New York City. The fair, now in its seventh year, is held in six cities around the world and this year in New York organizers are offering lectures about collecting and a booth exhibiting the work of recent art school graduates. The fair is open to the public Thursday and closes Sunday. Other venues for the fair are Amsterdam, Netherlands; Bristol, England; and Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia.

Thousands of artworks ranging from paintings, photographs and sculptures to mixed media will be on sale for prices starting at $100 and not exceeding $10,000.

The average piece costs about $3,000.

Laura Meli, director of the New York City fair, calls it “a one-stop shopping experience.” “It’s a way for those interested

AP

Affordable Art Faýr for novýce buyers opens ýn NY

ÝSTANBUL: Maçka Cinebonus G-mall: 11:30 14:00 16:30 19:00 21:30 Fri/Sat: 24:00 Caddebostan AFM: 11:20 13:40 16:00 18:40 21:00 Fri/Sat: 23:20 ANKARA: Cinebonus Panora: 11:00 12:50 15:00 16:00 17:15 18:15 19:30 21:45 Fri/Sat: 24:00 ÝZMÝR: Cinebonus Konak Pier: 10:30 12:45 15:00 17:15 19:30 21:45 Fri/Sat: 24:00

Artist Nurit Basin's “Red Balloons No. 1,” on show at the Affordable Art Fair in New York City. in the arts to get their first exposure to the art world. It’s a way for experienced buyers to see galleries they’ve grown to love and be introduced to new and young artists.

And it’s a way for us to help artists get the exposure that they need to continue to make the beautiful things,” she said.

For the first time this year the fair will feature works by recent graduates of New York’s elite art institutions, including

Parsons The New School for Design and School for Visual Arts. The booth will show about 36 works by 12 students, some of whom finished their pieces as recently as a few months ago. For collectors, the advantage is that they can “buy somebody’s work who ... 10 years from now, could be the next big thing,” said Dan Hall, an independent curator hired to run the booth.

Experts offer some tips for novice buyers:

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Look at a lot of art, even pieces beyond your price range. Baird Ryan, managing director of Art Capital Group, a company that helps people finance their art purchases said looking at a range of art will help buyers become educated about the broader art market and stylistic trends. But most of all, Ryan emphasized, buy what you like and not because you think it will appreciate in value.

Don’t rule out online art auctions, such as on Artnet, where it may be possible to find prints and works on paper by well-known artists such as Marc Chagall, Roy Lichtenstein and Jeff Koons.

Study books and magazines and create a picture library to figure out what you like, whether it’s color, subject matter, still life, people, said Chelsea gallery owner Kathryn Markel, an exhibitor at the Affordable Art Fair. “I always say any idiot with a million dollars can buy good art,” she said. “But it’s hard to be able to find really good things that are reasonable, beautiful and serious at the same time.” New York AP

Cem Kýzýltuð

Mr. DýploMAT!

488

c.kiziltug@todayszaman.com

HARD

HARD

3 1

2 1 3 9 5 8 4 6 7 6 9 5 4 2 7 1 8 3 4 8 7 6 1 3 5 9 2

4

2

7 6 1 2 3 4 9 5 8 3 4 2 5 8 9 7 1 6 8 5 9 1 7 6 2 3 4

3 2

5

9 2 8 7 6 1 3 4 5 5 3 4 8 9 2 6 7 1 1 7 6 3 4 5 8 2 9

5 6

7

3

5

1

488

Crossword

3 9

4

8

6

4

8

9

7

4

8

5

3

6

9 1

5 8 9 7 4 3 6 1 2 1 6 3 2 9 5 8 7 4 2 7 4 1 8 6 3 9 5

1

4 5

9 4 1 5 3 8 7 2 6 6 5 7 9 1 2 4 8 3 3 2 8 4 6 7 1 5 9

8 3

8 3 5 6 2 1 9 4 7 7 9 6 8 5 4 2 3 1 4 1 2 3 7 9 5 6 8

Yesterday’s Solution

8

EASY

2 4

2

3 6

8 3

4

HOW TO PLAY? : The objective of the game is to fill all the blank squares in a game with the correct numbers. There are three very simple constraints to follow. In a 9 by 9 square Sudoku game: Every row of 9 numbers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order Every column of 9 numbers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order Every 3 by 3 subsection of the 9 by 9 square must include all digits 1 through 9

travelers’ s.o.s

EASY

7

8

Hallmark 07:30 The Sign of Four 09:15 McLeod’s Daughters 10:00 Frankie and Hazel 11:45 Vanished 13:30 The Sign of Four 15:15 McLeod’s Daughters 16:15 Frankie and Hazel 18:00 Vanished 20:00 Hostage for a Day 21:30 Jason and the Argonauts 23:15 Acceptable Risk 01:00 Hostage for a Day 02:30 Jason and the Argonauts

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TRT Tourýsm Radýo

7

9

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radýo guýde

1

4 3

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Movýemax

DEATH DEFYING ACTS

7

08:00 Rachael Ray Show 09:00 The O.C. 10:00 The Martha Stewart Show 11:00 The O.C. 12:00 Ellen DeGeneres Show 13:00 Hollyoaks 13:30 Rachael Ray Show 14:30 The Martha Stewart Show 15:30 The O.C. 16:30 Ellen DeGeneres Show 17:30 Hollyoaks 18:00 The Martha Stewart Show 19:00 The O.C. 20:00 Cheers 20:30 Hollyoaks 21:00 Footballers’ Wives 22:15 It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia 23:00 Late Night with Conan O’Brien 24:00 Celebrity Poker 01:00 It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia 02:00 Footballers’ Wives

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CM Y K

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CONTINUATION

TODAY’S ZAMAN 17

W E D N E S D AY, J U N E 1 1 , 2 0 0 8

Erdoðan accuses Constitutional Court of acting unconstitutionally PHOTO

ALÝ ÜNAL

contýnued from page 1 A regime crisis has come about as a result of a disturbed balance between the legislative and judicial powers, a consequence of the Constitutional Court's decision, which experts and the government say has inflicted significant damage on the country's parliamentary democratic system. The move has largely been accepted to mean that the court is positioning itself above Parliament as a legislative organ.

The headscarf ruling also gives a clue about the future of a separate case under way that seeks to close the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) for anti-secular activities and ban 70 of its members, including Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoðan, in addition to the country's president, from belonging to a political party for five years.

"Turkey's principle of 'Sovereignty belongs to the nation' emerged here on April 23, 1920," Erdoðan said in the opening of his speech, highlighting the historical meaning of Parliament. He said Parliament had never been bound to anyone's will other than that of the nation throughout its history.

"This Parliament, which has been the symbol of our independence, has never accepted a custodian or a shadow over it -- nor will it accept such a thing now," Erdoðan told his deputies.

The prime minister also addressed voters and leaders of opposition parties during yesterday's speech. He said he was greeting not only the AK Party and its voters, but every party and individual who listens "to one's conscience" for social peace, national solidarity and democracy.

Erdoðan said none of Turkey's problems were unsolvable. "Individual incidents and seasonal problems cannot change our direction," he said, emphasizing that the nation has already set its course. He said the nation wanted justice in its own country and under its own flag from its rulers. "Nothing more and nothing less: justice and democracy," he said.

Erdoðan accused the main opposition

Republican People's Party (CHP) of "taking initiatives and efforts to weaken Parliament from within."

He said crossing the line of legitimacy in politics and engaging in destructive policies instead of constructive ones benefited neither Turkey's politicians nor its politics as an institution. "We are going through such a test. Undoubtedly, all of this is happening right before our nation's eyes.

This nation is making note of all that is happening today." He said the CHP was engaging in policies against the nation, democracy and universal principles of law, damaging the country.

Erdoðan said although the 1982 Constitution was being vehemently criticized in public debate, all actors and agencies had to abide by it. "The 1982 Constitution is currently in force, and it is binding on us all, whether we like it or not," he

said. He warned that larger problems would emerge if people acted as if the provisions set forth by the Constitution do not exist.

The prime minister said the country could not afford to experience a clash of the three powers, adding that he recommends members of his party frequently refer to the Constitution. "Article 6 of the Constitution defines the concept of sovereignty, Article 7 regulates the authority to legislate and Article 148 describes the duties of the Constitutional Court. We should read all of these not through an ideological lens but under the light of the universal principles of law. We should read them so and implement them accordingly."

He said Article 6 of the Constitution clearly states that "sovereignty belongs to the nation under all conditions." Article 7 entrusts the untranslatable power to legislate on behalf of the Turkish

nation to Parliament.

He said when the legislature makes mistakes, they are blocked by the judiciary. "If not, the nation will block them at the ballot box. But where does a mistake of the judiciary get corrected? We are seeing now that this question is being debated by the public."

Erdoðan said the major party responsible for the situation Turkey is in today is the CHP. "The CHP is the prime cause of this situation, in my opinion. No one has the right to bring the judiciary into a discussion and make it an aside of such a discussion," he said, asserting that the situation was the result of the CHP's tenacious efforts to spark a conflict between the judiciary and the legislature.

The CHP was one of the two political parties that appealed the headscarf amendment shortly after it was passed by Parliament on Feb. 9.

The separation of powers is a fundamental pillar of a parliamentary democracy, the prime minister said, emphasizing that no institution can position itself above the Constitution.

Court must explain reasoning of decision The prime minister also said the Constitutional Court must explain its decision overturning the headscarf amendment.

Erdoðan reiterated that the court was not authorized to examine the content of constitutional amendments and that it should only look at the technical aspects of the reform.

"The Constitutional Court must certainly explain why it examined the content of the reform in the [headscarf] case," he said.

Meanwhile, the AK Party during its group meeting yesterday decided not to call for a parliamentary recess until the Constitutional Court announces its ruling on a case that seeks to have the party closed over allegations that it is working to establish an Islamic state, charges the ruling party strongly denies.

Bahçeli targets military, Constitutional Court decision, saying the judges had exceeded their powers, "The Constitutional Court made a decision about the content of this law passed by 411 deputies of our Parliament even though the Constitution clearly states the court can only carry out procedural examinations."

Bahçeli asked the AK Party to propose solutions, while accusing the CHP of blocking the path of democracy: "The CHP should un-

ALÝ ÜNAL

rious problem. The political institutions have an urgent task to free the democracy from the current deadlock and prevent a regime crisis.

Nothing has priority over liberating the future of the democratic regime," he said.

The MHP leader added that he would participate in a leaders' summit that Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan had proposed.

On Saturday, Toptan slammed the court's

PHOTO

contýnued from page 1 What is prudent is not accepting this deadlock as the 'announcement of what is already known' but having solutions that are acceptable to the society," Bahçeli said.

Bahçeli speaking at the end of his party's group meeting at Parliament, said the Constitutional Court gave ammunition to those wanting to pit the state and the public against each other.

"We are comfortable that we participated in the process sincerely and conscientiously," Bahçeli said, referring to the MHP's support of the headscarf amendment, drawn up by the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and adopted by an overwhelming parliamentary majority on Feb. 9 despite objections claiming it undermined the principle of secularism.

The annulled changes said that only traditional scarves would be permitted at universities, tied loosely under the chin, and that headscarves that cover the neck, chadors and burkas would remain banned.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) filed the court challenge to the headscarf amendment.

Bahçeli warned of an impending regime crisis and polarization in society following the court's ruling to revoke the headscarf amendment.

"This should not be seen a baseless concern and a groundless fear. Turkey faces a se-

derstand that creating tension in Turkey does not bring [the CHP] any benefits. If the democratic parliamentary regime collapses, the CHP would be going under as well."

The MHP leader also said the majority of people who embraced the republic's values sincerely but at the same time desired to live with their religious beliefs had been offended by the Constitutional Court's ruling.

"Articles 148 and 153 of the Constitution clearly state that the court cannot rule in a direction that will lead to a new rule. Therefore, the annulment decision means the court has overstepped its boundaries and interfered with Parliament. The Constitutional Court's decision is political."

Bahçeli criticized the AK Party's reaction to the ruling, calling it shy and fearful.

He also requested Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan share his thoughts with the public on the developments: "He has the responsibility to explain what he thinks. We will evaluate any of his suggestions, if they are legally acceptable."

One suggestion made by the MHP leader on Saturday to resolve the current situation was largely rejected by the AK Party, but Bahçeli repeated his recommendation yesterday: The AK Party members not named in the prosecutor's closure indictment should set up a new party to act like a "clone" of the AK Party and move forward with a new prime minister who would replace Erdoðan.

Constitutional Court exceeded its limits, DTP group leader says Criticizing the Constitutional Court's annulment last week of amendments passed in Parliament to lift a ban on wearing headscarves at universities, Democratic Society Party (DTP) parliamentary group leader Emine Ayna said Tuesday the court exceeded its limits with this decision.

Ayna stated that the decision taken by the Constitutional Court paralyzed Parliament and thus the legislature cannot pass new laws, noting that the court had overstepped its boundaries.

"The reason for this political chaos in the country is the existence of the alliances of different powers against each other in order to capture the state rather than applying the principle of division of powers in politics. The elites, which have the state power in their hands today, have started a war against the ruling Justice and Development Party [AK Party], which has also

tried to capture the state's power. This is the case. It is wrong to perceive this struggle as a struggle against the official ideology of the state.

This is a struggle to have control over the official state ideology. No one from the AK Party, CHP or Nationalist Movement Party [MHP] is interested in democratizing the state. This is absolutely a power struggle," stated Ayna.

In a speech during her party's parliamentary group meeting, Ayna said the 84-year-old modern Turkey is a republic of crises. She noted that the AK Party could not solve any of the country's major problems since it came to power, while the party itself has become one of Turkey's biggest problems. She noted that even though Turkey is defined as a democratic and secular country in the Constitution it has become an anti-democratic and anti-secular country. Ayna also mentioned that the prob-

lems Turkey has been facing stem from its Constitution, which, she said, emphasizes unity of powers rather than separation of powers.

Ayna said religious affairs have become state affairs, adding that state and religious affairs are intermingled. "The state should not intervene in religion, beliefs or cultures; on the contrary, it has to protect beliefs, religions and cultures that are under its control," she stated.

Ayna noted that the action of the Constitutional Court in annulling the constitutional amendments is a structural problem of the state. "The monopolistic, authoritarian, nationalist system cannot govern society anymore.

The status quo and those maintaining it are up against the demands of society for more freedom and more democracy so the system creates chaos in order to eliminate these demands.

Contrary to the first constitution of the republic,

CM Y K

which was inclusive of all cultures in Turkey and used expressions such as the 'society of Turkey,' 'Turkish Republic' and 'citizen of Turkey,' and which put the will of the people first, the 1924, 1960 and 1982 constitutions reduced freedoms one by one. As a result, today's system has developed, which excludes the public from the realm of the state. It is clear that a system which excludes different cultures, which alienates them, cannot survive," she said.

Ayna said while religious rules are rearranged according to the needs of modern times, we cannot change the 1982 Constitution, which was drawn up by a military junta. It includes some untouchable articles, she noted.

She said the Kurdish people of the Turkish Republic want to see themselves in the Constitution, adding that as the DTP they are ready to change the 1982 Constitution. Ankara Today's Zaman

Gendarmerie forces prevented Oðuz Bircan from hugging his father on Monday.

BÜÞRA ERDAL

10.06.2008

PHOTO

T17-11-06-08.qxd

Eight-year-old to be allowed to see father in prison Oðuz Bircan, who made the headlines of many Turkish newspapers yesterday with a picture showing him being pulled away from his father in a courtroom by an officer, will be allowed to see his father, announced Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Þahin yesterday.

On Monday, gendarmerie officers prevented the 8year-old from hugging his father, who has been in prison for 22 years on charges of gang involvement.

The boy's sobs to "let me kiss daddy once" fell on deaf ears, with his photos the next day on the front pages of virtually every newspaper disturbing many.

Under Turkey's strict prison regulations, only close relatives of inmates are entitled to prison visits. Oðuz has never been able to visit his father because his parents are not legally married. Since they have different last names, they are not deemed relatives in the eyes of the law.

The issue was inevitably directed to Justice Minister Þahin, who yesterday spoke to reporters at Parliament prior to his party's parliamentary group meeting. In response to a question on the boy, Þahin said he too was touched by the incident when he saw it in the newspapers in the morning. "I called Prison and Detention Centers General Manager Kenan Ýpek in the morning and told him to make sure that boy can hug his father today. They are working on it. The father is in the Edirne prison, but the family is in Ýstanbul as far as I know. They were trying to locate the family. We will make sure that little child gives his father a hug in prison; we will unite them," he stated. Þahin said his press secretary would make sure to invite the press to the reunion. He also noted that the gendarmerie officers were only doing their job. "It would have been nice if they were a little bit more understanding and let him hug his father. But laws have no compassion, no feelings," the justice minister stated.

News agencies were able to locate the home of the child. Reports that came in yesterday afternoon revealed a real-life drama behind Monday's tearful courtroom scene. The family of six, four children including Oðuz as well as their mother and aunt, live in a single-room house. The family, which literally has no income with their father in jail, has to pay YTL 450 for rent, reports said. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with wires

Bush says Turkey should join European Union Turkey should be allowed to join the European Union, US President George W. Bush said on Tuesday.

"We strongly believe Turkey should be a member of the EU," Bush told a news conference after a summit with the 27-nation bloc's top officials in Slovenia.

Turkey started EU accession talks in 2005, but their progress has been slow, with some EU leaders opposing its membership. French President Nicolas Sarkozy says Turkey does not belong in Europe culturally or geographically and says it should never be allowed to join the 27-nation bloc.

The United States supports Turkey's aspirations to join the EU, but formal declarations of support by Washington have created problems in the past. Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac, accused Bush of intervening in EU affairs in 2004 after he called for Turkish membership in the EU. Chirac said Bush "not only went too far, but also went into territory that isn't his." He then said, "It is not his purpose and his goal to give any advice to the EU, and in this area it was a bit as if I were to tell Americans how they should handle their relationship with Mexico." Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with Reuters

Taksim - 4.Levent subway line to be extended The Ýstanbul subway line between Taksim and 4.Levent will soon reach as far as the Atatürk Automobile Industrial Plaza in Maslak.

The tunnel-digging phase of the line extension project has been completed. Work to install an electro-mechanic system and tracks for the new line has begun, and the line is slated for completion by the end of the year.

When the construction finishes, commuting between Taksim and the Atatürk Automobile Industrial Plaza will take 24 minutes. Normally, it can take up to two hours to get from Taksim to the industrial site by car in rush-hour traffic. Ýstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaþ said that test drives of 92 cars would begin in July. "All our efforts are for raising the level of modernity and welfare in our people's lives," Topbaþ said, noting that the cost of the digging and railing work had reached YTL 780 million.

The mayor said the line would be extended to Hacýosman by 2010, recalling that the tunnel digging for that line was also under way. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with wires

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10.06.2008

15:15

Page 1

18 TODAY’S ZAMAN

W E D N E S D AY, J U N E 1 1 , 2 0 0 8

TODAY’S LEARNING TIME QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It is common sense to take a method and try it.

If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

elementary OSMAN TURHAN

READING

A problem with monkeys

ILLUSTRATIONS

An old woman is walking home, she is carrying a bag of groceries. Suddenly a monkey takes the groceries and runs.

Where does this happen? This happens in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a big city with a big a problem with monkeys. About 700 monkeys live in a forest near Hong Kong. The monkeys come into the city to eat.

The monkeys take bags of groceries from old women. They take bread from babies. They go into apartments through open windows and take fruit from kitchen tables.

In some apartments the monkeys find cans of beer. They open the pop-top cans and drink the beer.

The people of Hong Kong don't want the monkeys in their city. They say, "Hong Kong is not a good place for monkeys. The forest is a good place for monkeys."

But the monkeys don't want to eat in the forest. There is no bread in the forest. And there is no beer!

So, every day the monkeys come into the city.

How can people stop them? Nobody knows!

Activity: Geography and Nature Facts

PART 1: Word Match

Choose the correct words to complete the sentences.

1. Everest is the highest _______ in the world. a) hill b) mountain c) tree d) valley 2. Malta is a small _______ in the Mediterranean. a) city b) river c) island d) village 3. We sat on the _______, playing in the sand. a) valley b) lake c) beach d) rug 4. Tomorrow I'm going for a walk in the ___. I want to see some wild animals there. a) forest b) cliff c) lake d) city 5. The ______ Seine runs through Paris. There are many bridges over it. a) sea b) ocean c) river d) lake 6. I love the autumn when the _______ change color. a) islands b) rocks c) lakes d) trees 7. Red roses are romantic - they are my favorite ______. a) grass b) flower c) beach d) tree 8. In parts of Africa and Latin America, there are ______ with thousands of wild animals like lions and monkeys. a) woods b) forests c) jungles d) deserts 9. This isn't a river - it's very small but fast moving. It's just a ______. Maybe it's safe to drink the water. a) stream b) sea c) lake d) puddle 10. Niagara is a famous ______ in North America. a) mountain b) valley c) waterfall d) cliff

Which words go together?

1. groceries __

a. pop-top cans

2. forest__

b. rice, eggs, bread, milk

3. Hong Kong__

c. animal

4. monkey__

d. trees

5. beer__

e. big city

READING

The Moon The young president issued the challenge in May 1961: To put an American on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade. John F. Kennedy did not live to see his dream become reality; it would be left to one of his political rivals to congratulate the first two humans on the moon, yet politics seemed far from anyone's mind as the world watched Neil Armstrong step onto the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. His words seemed to say it all: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." These words have furthered to fuel the dreams and ambitions of many around the world since they were first uttered nearly 40 years ago.

For millennia, the moon has pulled at the imaginations of humans. That men have walked upon it within the last 40 years does nothing to reduce humankind's fascination with it, and if anything, it has increased it. Recognizing the pull the moon has on all of us, scientists have conducted many studies on the way the moon affects our daily lives. For example, the new moon and the full moon raise

PART 2: Who is it? What is it?

Write the letter of the correct answer on the line.

1. _____ It is a city with a big problem.

a. the people of Hong Kong

2. _____ They live in a forest near Hong Kong

b. Hong Kong

3. _____ The monkeys take it from kitchen tables

c. fruit

4. _____ The monkeys like to drink it.

d. 700 monkeys

5. _____ They don't want the monkeys in their city

e. Beer

the sea tides. Many believe that this indirectly affects life on Earth as all life forms on Earth predominantly consist of water.

The moon isn't just in the sky. It's just about everywhere we look although we may not realize it. That buttery croissant you might have eaten for breakfast was originally a Gallic communion cake inspired by the crescent moon. We've all heard about how the moon is made of green cheese, or that strange little men live upon it, but how many of us knew that the maiden name of Buzz Aldrin's maternal grandmother was "Moon," or remembered that the astronauts brought back 47.7 pounds of the moon on that first mission nearly 40 years ago?

The moon has also been the basis of many legends and religious beliefs since the dawn of time. For example, the moon was thought to be the Great Eternal Mother. In central Asia, it was said that the moon is the Goddess' mirror reflecting everything in the world. Sioux Indians called the moon "The Old Woman Who Never Dies."

In many cultures, the Moon-goddess and the Creatress were one and the same. The moon ruled the sexuality of women and sometimes made them scornful of male-dominated society. St. Augustine berated women for dancing "impudently and filthily all the day long upon the days of the new moon."

Whatever the future of space travel, the first moon landing will continue to inspire humankind to greater heights. Moreover, however much we continue to solve the moon's mysteries, it will remain in our hearts and minds as more than a just lifeless rock perpetually suspended in space.

PART 1: Comprehension

ýntermedýate READING

Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso could draw pictures before he could even talk. As a child, he sat happily with his paper and crayons and drew for hours. His father was a painter. He was very happy that his son liked to draw, but little did he know that one day his son Pablo would be one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.

Pablo Picasso was born in 1881 in Malaga, Spain. He was a very bad student, and he hated going to school.

Instead of studying, he drew pictures.

When he was only eight years old, he finished his first oil painting. It had beautiful colors and Picasso never

advanced

sold this painting.

When Pablo was 14 years old, his family moved to Barcelona. He wanted to go to the school of Fine Arts. To be accepted to the school,

one student had to finish a painting in one month. Picasso finished his painting in one day.

When he was 18, Picasso went to live in Paris. He was very poor at first.

He lived in a small room and worked with only the light of a candle.

Sometimes, he did not even have money for a candle. But Pablo Picasso had a strong personality. He believed in himself. He created one piece of art after another. He met important people, and they began to buy his works. Eventually Picasso became rich and famous.

Picasso was strange in many ways. For instance, he did not want a telephone for a long time. Then one day his son almost died because he

could not call for help. Picasso was also strange because he did not throw anything away, not even an empty cigarette package. He liked to be alone, so he locked his studio. No one could get in. Picasso loved animals. He had a monkey, a goat, snakes, and many dogs. He got married twice, and he was not very close to his family and friends. His work was more important to him than people around him were.

Picasso lived a long and full life.

He never stopped working. He had painted over 200 pictures by the time he was 90 years old. He was still working on the day he died at the age of 91. Picasso left the world the genius of his art.

Answer the questions according to the passage.

1. What challenge did John F. Kennedy make? ________________________________ 2. Who was the first man to walk on the moon?_______________________________ 3. From the reading, what nationality were the men who first walked on the moon? ________________________________ 4. What do all life forms on Earth predominantly consist of?___________________________ 5. What kind of cake was the croissant originally? ________________________________ 6. How many pounds of moon did the first astronauts bring back?_____________________ 7. Whose grandmother had the maiden name of "Moon"?___________________________ 8. What was thought to be the Great Eternal Mother?_______________________________ 9. What were women in past times scornful of? ________________________________ 10. What will continue to inspire humankind to greater heights?_______________________

PART 2: Grammar /Vocabulary Choose the correct part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb..etc) 1. An archaeologist has a_______________with human history. a. fascinating

b. fascinated

c. fascinate

d. fascination

2. My doctor is going to___________some tests on me. a. conductor

b. conduct

c. conduction

d. conductive

3. Your awful exam results___________your not studying enough.

Activity: Phrasal Verb Practice Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the phrasal verbs below.

a. reflection

PART 1: Match the vocabulary with the definitions.

A: Your mother is arriving in half an hour - could you help me with

2. Century__

b. to dispose of

the housework?

3. Move__

c. a period of 100 years

a. impudence

4. Candle__

d. an example of workmanship, especially of artistic production, as a picture or a statue

Activity: Phrasal Verbs

children have left their toys all on the floor!

5. Piece__

e. two times

B: After I've (2) _____________, is it OK if I leave the plates to dry on

6. Strange__

f. To shut or make secure with

the draining board? That way I'll have time to (3) __________ the work surfaces and (4) ___________ -- the children have spilt their breakfast cereal over the floor in there. When you've finished, could

a. scorn

8. Lock__

h. an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and original work in science, art, music, etc.

taken until tomorrow, but it's beginning to smell.

A: No problem! Where are the kids, anyway?

B: They've gone round to Kate's house to make that untidy as well!

9. Twice__

i. unusual, extraordinary, or curious

10. Genius__

j. to go from one place of residence to another

VOCABULARY Specialized Vocabulary Fashion: Ponytail (noun) is a style of arranging hair to resemble the tail of a pony. It gets its name from its resemblance to the undocked tail of a horse or pony. A single ponytail is most commonly gathered at the center back of the head or the base of the neck.

In the summer Jane wears her hair in a ponytail to keep cool.

Entertainment: Feature Film (noun) is a full-length, two hour motion picture feature that usually includes a basic three-act story structure, character arcs, and multiple settings.

Lydia enjoys going to the cinema to see a feature film at least once a week.

Publishing: Letterhead (noun) is a printed heading on stationery, esp. one giving the name and address of a business concern, an institution, etc.

The new clothing company paid a fortune for the design of their new letterhead.

Technology: File (noun) is a collection of data with a name.

Nick had deleted the file on his computer when he finished the accounts job.

Architecture: Revolving door (noun) is an entrance door for excluding drafts from an interior of a building. A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a center shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a round enclosure.

The hotel guests got stuck in the revolving door into the lobby.

Idiom of the Day Throw in the towel MEANING: Give up EXAMPLE: Tyrone was getting beat up so badly that his trainer threw in the towel, ending the boxing match.

b. scornful

c. scorned

d. scornfully

5. The______________students wouldn't stop throwing paper at the new teacher.

7. Throw away__ g. a pointed stick or pencil of colored clay, chalk, wax, etc., used for drawing or coloring

you (5) __________ the rubbish __________ ? I know it won't be

d. reflecting

some hurtful things.

a. a long, usually slender piece of tallow or wax with an embedded wic that is burned to give light

A: Well, if you start in the kitchen, I'll (1) _______ the lounge - the

c. reflect

4. My father was so_________ of my bad exam results. He was so angry and said

1. Crayon __

tidy up / sweep up / wash up / put out / wipe down

B: Sure! What would you like me to do?

b. reflective

Phrasal Verbs Move out meaning: When you move out, you stop living in a particular place and start living somewhere else. example: He used to share a flat with Bill but they argued a lot so he moved out.

Own up meaning: When you own up, you admit a fault or having done something wrong. example: In the old days, if the guilty student didn't own up, all the class was punished.

Slang: All-nighter meaning: A study or work session that goes through the night; studying without sleep ( usually a last-minute course of action ). example: We pulled an all-nighter to finish the report.

Confusing Words In English Abdication vs Addiction Abdication is a noun it means to formally give up a high office, a throne, or an authority; resignation: For example: "The council denied that their decision represented any abdication of responsibility."

Addiction is a noun it means to devote or give oneself habitually or compulsively to something; such as, caffeine or alcohol; but especially to narcotics: For example: "Her previous novel dealt with her recovery from drug addiction."

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b. impudently

c. impudent

d. impude

Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the phrasal verbs below. give off / look into / cut down on / cut down / give up 1. If the trees in the world's rainforests are___________, there will be disastrous environmental consequences.

2. Safety is an important issue for petro-chemical companies. Some of the chemicals they produce ____________ toxic fumes, so they have to ensure they are not spilt or released into the environment.

3. The U.S. government has refused to _____________ the amount of pollution the country produces.

4. It's too easy to criticize governments and companies for polluting - are you willing to ____________ using your car?

5. I think we should spend more money on research to _________ alternatives to using petrol.

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER KEY:

ELEMENTARY: (Part 1) Across: 3) Fishing, 5) Cook, 7) Eight, 9) Restaurant, 10) Early Down: 1) Swimming, 2) Cinema, 4) Loves, 6) Kitchen, 8) Happy (Activity) 1.b 2.a 3.b 4.c 5.a 6.a 7.b 8.c 9.b 10.a INTERMEDIATE: (Part 1) 1. horoscopes, 2. astrologer, 3. sign, 4. calculations, 5.

Zodiac (Part 2) a.2 b.5 c.3 d.1 e.4 (Activity) 1. to mend 2. late 3. to find 4. under 5. smooth 6. light 7. to teach 8. low 9. to stop 10. to pull ADVANCED: (Part 1) 1. a 2. d 3. b 4. a 5. c 6. b 7. d 8. c 9. c 10. a (Activity) 1. Amazon 2. in New York 3. in Athens in 1896 4. laughs best 5. Death Valley 6. 101 years 7. Neil Armstrong 8. Whale shark 9. Armageddon 10. Australia

In cooperation with English Time

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SPORTS

Van Basten outfoxes old friend Donadoni Netherlands coach Marco van Basten outwitted his friend and former teammate Roberto Donadoni to give the Dutch a dream start to Euro 2008. Van Basten, who played alongside Donadoni in the great AC Milan side of the late 1980s and early 90s, sprang a few surprises as he secured a 3-0 win over the world champions in their opening Group C game. Berne, Reuters

PHOTO

AA

REUTERS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008

PHOTO

The Turkish national team during their final training session in Basel.

Dutch light up tournament on and off the pitch

Turkey must wýn today to remaýn ýn contentýon The Turks will need to improve their attacking options against the Swiss today after they were completely outclassed and beaten 2-0 by Group A favorite Portugal on Saturday OKAN UDO BASSEY ÝSTANBUL

Make-or-break, do-or-die, a must-win situation -- you name it; that’s the dilemma facing Turkey as it takes on co-host Switzerland in Basel this evening.

Both Turkey and Switzerland lost their opening Euro 2008 Group A matches on Saturday, hence the loser this evening will have to wait another four years for Euro 2012 - that is, if it will even be able to qualify.

The Turks will need to improve their attacking options against the Swiss today after they were completely outclassed and beaten 2-0 by group favorite Portugal on Saturday. The same applies to the Swiss, who lost 1-0 to the Czech Republic in the opener.

Coach Fatih Terim has been pilloried from all sides by the local sports media for naming outmoded, off-form and convalescing players to his Euro 2008 squad and dropping the likes of Sivasspor’s Mehmet Yildiz, Fatih Tekke who helped Zenit clinch the UEFA Cup, and Ümit Karan, who singlehandedly led Galatasaray to the 2007-08 Turkcell Super League championship.

And on Saturday, Terim started with offform Tuncay Sanli and obscure Mevlüt Erdinç and left superstars Arda Turan and Gökdeniz Karadeniz on the bench. Soccer pundits were hopping mad and everyone was questioning

the wisdom of such a team selection.

So it was no surprise the Turks looked disorganized and incapable of keeping the ball in their match against Portugal. But with the Czech Republic and the Portuguese leading Group A, Turkey has to find a way of scoring against a Swiss side that was knocked out of the 2006 World Cup without conceding a goal.

Another thing that stymied Turkey's attack on Saturday was Terim's decision to select some players out of position in a bid to curtail the influence of star Portugal wingers Cristiano Ronaldo and Simao Sabrosa. That strategy worked reasonably well in stopping any attacks down the flanks, but it also diminished Turkey's ability to hit Portugal on the break. Bayern Munich midfielder Hamit Altintop's energy and passing was wasted at right back as he kept checks on Ronaldo and Sabrosa, while Real Villarreal forward Nihat Kahveci was alone up front and easily marked by central defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Pepe.

Terim said his team has changed significantly in the past two years and needs more time together to gain fluency in attack. “To be able to play aggressive offense, they need to play together for a long time,” Terim said. “And everyone has to be fit.” Turkey struggled with injuries in its warm-up games, losing Hamit , midfielder Emre Belözoglu and defender Servet Çetin at various times. Servet and central defender Gökhan Zan injured their left

knees against Portugal. Gökhan is out of the today’s game, while Servet is receiving intensive treatment. But despite all odds, there is still hope that the Turks can make the quarters by beating the Swiss today and the Czech Republic on Sunday.

Let bygones be bygones In the meantime, Switzerland and Turkey aim to put the ugly scenes that marred their last encounter behind them when they meet today.

Media in both countries have been focusing for weeks on the brawl that followed Switzerland's World Cup qualifying playoff victory in Istanbul in November 2005.

But with the teams facing the possibility of an early exit from the tournament after opening game defeats, they have insisted they are concentrating purely on the present. “Of course, it's not easy to forget what happened in Istanbul,” Swiss midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta said on Monday. “But we are trying not to dwell on it. The only similarity to the situation in Istanbul is that both sides need to win, so Wednesday will be like a final for all of us,” he added. The Turks have steered clear of discussing the Istanbul match at their own news conferences but coach Terim has spoken in the past of his side's desire to put the matter behind them.

“I'm convinced that both sides will give good examples of fair play both on and off the pitch,” he said immediately after December's Euro 2008 draw.

Switzerland lost the Istanbul encounter 4-2 but denied Turkey a place at the 2006 World Cup on away goals thanks to their 20 victory in the first leg in Berne.

Police and security officials said today's game was higher risk than other matches in Switzerland and that more police would be deployed in Basel. However, European governing body UEFA said it was not planning to increase security measures inside the stadium.

Swiss captain Alex Frei will be their biggest absentee after being ruled out of the tournament with a knee ligament injury. His regular strike partner Marco Streller has suffered from a recurring groin problem but is expected to recover in time.

Hugely impressive EURO 2008 GROUP A STANDINGS P Portugal Czech Rep Switzerland Turkey

1 1 1 1

W D 1 1 0 0

0 0 0 0

L GF GA Pts 0 0 1 1

2 1 0 0

0 0 1 2

3 3 0 0

TODAY’S FIXTURES Basel

21:45 Switzerland vs.Turkey

Geneva 19:00 Czech Rep. vs. Portugal Note: All times Turkish and all the games will be aired live on atv and Lig Tv.

Portuguese eye quick route to Euro 2008 last eight Group A favorite Portugal or the Czech Republic could today become the first team to book a place in the Euro 2008 quarterfinals.

The Portuguese, who beat Turkey 2-0 in their opening match, and the Czechs, less than convincing 1-0 winners of the tournament opener against co-hosts Switzerland on Saturday, meet at the Stade de Geneve in Geneva this evening. “Our idea is to play to win and go through,” said Portugal playmaker Deco. It is in midfield that the Czechs will have to make a big improvement if they are to compete with the lively creative partnership of Deco, Joao Moutinho and also rein in star winger Cristiano Ronaldo. The Czech Republic won both teams' only previous European Championship meet-

ing 1-0 in the Euro 96 quarterfinals in England. They would have met in the final four years ago in Lisbon but for the giant-killing exploits of eventual winners Greece.

At the 2006 World Cup, the Portuguese reached the semifinals whereas the Czechs suffered a disappointment they will not want to repeat, winning their opening match only to lose the next two and fail to get out of their group.

Cech barrier Chelsea keeper Petr Cech could prove to be Portugal's biggest obstacle although the Czech back four can also form a formidable barrier. The Portuguese have no injury worries and they are also back to 23 men following the arrival on Sunday of goalkeeper Nuno Espirito Santo to replace the injured Quim as Ricardo's understudy, but

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The Netherlands lit up Euro 2008 on Monday with a landmark performance to stun world champions Italy 3-0 while their wonderful fans delivered an example of colorful, noisy but peaceful support.

It was the Netherlands' first win over the Italians in nine attempts spanning 30 years -their last success coming in the 1978 World Cup -- and Italy's worst-ever defeat in a European Championship.

It also put the Dutch in early control of the fearsome Group C after France were earlier held to a 0-0 draw by unfancied Romania in a dire game in Zurich. “I'm happy and proud but it is only a first step,” said Dutch coach Marco van Basten, a winner of the championship in 1988 as a player, in a news conference.

On Sunday, there had been 157 arrests of mainly German fans after aggressive exchanges with their Polish counterparts in Klagenfurt but up to 40,000 Dutch, clad in their traditional orange attire, swarmed all over Berne without a hint of trouble.

The Netherlands' controversial first goal in the 3-0 win over was correctly awarded despite many observers believing it was offside, organizers UEFA said on Tuesday. UEFA General Secretary David Taylor told a news conference the officials correctly interpreted the laws of the game when Ruud van Nistelrooy scored in the 26th minute, stating Christian Panucci played him onside although the Italian was off the pitch at the time. “The goal was correctly awarded... not many people, even in the game, and I include the players, know this interpretation (of Law 11),” Taylor said.

But there was no controversy about the second five minutes later, a beautifully constructed effort that began with a clearance from their own goalline. Giovanni van Bronckhorst planted an inchperfect diagonal ball for Dirk Kuyt to nod back into the path of Wesley Sneijder, who finished accurately and acrobatically.

coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is unlikely to make changes.

Czech coack Karel Brueckner, who can also choose from a full squad, said the team needed improvements in a midfield lacking the creativity of the absent Tomas Rosicky. “We didn't manage to get the ball to (Jan) Koller and because of that we pretty much kept him out of the game,” Brueckner said, before hinting he may shuffle things around a bit. “A winning line-up can change.” He could pick Marek Matejovsky in the playmaking role in place of David Jarolim. Brueckner may also be tempted to put out a two-pronged attack with Saturday's match-winning substitute Vaclav Sverkos or Euro 2004 top scorer Milan Baros playing alongside Koller, who will hope to exploit his two-meter height against Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho. Ýstanbul/Geneva Today’s Zaman

Italy had more of the game in the second half, with Luca Toni and Fabio Grosso going close but the Dutch sealed their hugely impressive win with another length-of-the-field break that began with a save by Edwin van der Sar and ended with van Bronckhorst heading home in the 79th minute.

The 3-0 defeat was Italy's worst tournament loss since the 4-1 reverse to Brazil in the 1970 World Cup final and it left coach Roberto Donadoni scratching his head.

The game was in sharp contrast to the drab affair earlier in Zurich, where France, World Cup runners-up two years ago, looked desperately short of ideas against a Romanian side who packed their defense and were delighted with a point. France, without injured striker Thierry Henry, were toothless in attack and though Franck Ribery saw plenty of the ball, there was precious little creativity in midfield.

France were also without captain Patrick Vieira but fears that the experienced midfielder would miss the whole tournament eased when French officials said he should be fit to face the Netherlands on June 13. Vienna Reuters

EURO 2008 GROUP C STANDINGS P Netherlands France Romania Italy

1 1 1 1

W D 1 0 0 0

0 1 1 0

L GF GA Pts 0 0 0 1

3 0 0 0

0 0 0 3

3 1 1 0

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Wie qualifies for US Women's Open Despite playing 36 holes on a humid day in high temperatures, American teenager Michelle Wie qualified for the US Women's Open on Monday. Playing on two different courses, Wie carded rounds of 70 and 67 and her 137 total was the second best score and more than enough to qualify her for the Open this month. Rockville, AP

TODAY’S ZAMAN IS AVAILABLE AT THESE FINE HOTELS

Turkey’s provisional squad for qualifying games for the 2009 European Men’s Basketball Championship on Sept. 3-20, has been announced.

Mehmet Okur, who plays for NBA squad Utah Jazz, was not included in the list because of his injury. In addition to Mehmet, Ýbrahim Kutluay, Kaya Peker, Ermal Kurtoðlu and Fatih Solak were also excluded, whereas Kerem was called after a long break. The announced list includes the following names: Ersin Görkem (Antalya Metropolitan Municipality), Ersan Ýlyasova (Axa FC Barcelona), Ümit Sonkol (Banvit), Engin Atsür (Benetton Treviso), Sinan Güler (Beþiktaþ Cola Turka), Barýþ Hersek, Bora Hun Paçun, Ender Arslan, Kerem Gönlüm (Efes Pilsen), Oðuz Savaþ, Ömer Faruk Aþýk, Ömer Onan, Semih Erden (Fenerbahçe Ülker), Cemal Nalga, Cenk Akyol (Galatasaray Cafe Crown), Hidayet Türkoðlu (Orlando Magic), Kerem Tunçeri (Real Madrid), Doðuþ Balbay (Texas Longhorns). The national squad will start its camping period on July 16 in Istanbul. In the qualification games, the national squads will play against France, Belgium and Ukraine. Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman

KORUMAR HOTEL DE LUXE

Gazi Beðendi Mevkii P.K. 18 09400 - Kuþadasý - Aydýn Phone: 0 256 618 15 30 www.korumar.com.tr

Fener Canarýes and coach Zýco part ways

PHOTO

Mehmet Okur dropped from Turkish squad

ALÝ ÜNAL

WWW.TODAYSZAMAN.COM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008

Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Yýldýrým announced on Tuesday that the club failed to reach a deal with coach Arthur Zico, noting that they have already reached an agreement with a new coach. “The club will release the name of the coach next week,” Yýldýrým said. “We've parted ways with Zico. We know who the new coach is. We will sign an agreement in Istanbul next week,” Yýldýrým reportedly said.

Zico, who joined Fenerbahçe two seasons ago, led the Istanbul club to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals this season but lost out to city arch-rival Galatasaray in the domestic Turkcell Super League title race. In recent weeks the Turkish sports media have reported disagreements over a new contract for Zico, who had already signaled that he planned to leave. According to Portuguese media reports, Fenerbahçe is currently in talks with Portuguese national team coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. The reports indicate that Scolari will assume

Arthur Zico

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Phone: +90 252 337 11 22 Zeytinli Kahve Mevkii Bodrum/Muðla www.rixos.com

duty as Fenerbahçe coach after the European Championship in Switzerland and Austria concludes later this month.

Arthur Antunes Coimbra, better known as Zico and often called the “White Pele,” is commonly considered one of the most skilled dribblers and finishers ever and possibly the world's best player of the early ‘80s. He is also known as one of history's greatest free kick specialists, able to bend the ball with pace and accuracy as well as having an extremely powerful shot. The gifted midfielder was named by Pele as one of the top 125 greatest soccer players in March 2004.

Zico, who represented Brazil in the 1978, 1982 and 1976 World Cups and scored 66 goals in 1988 matches for Brazil but never won it, was named World Player of the Year in 1983. Zico has coached the Japanese national team, appearing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and winning the Asian Cup in 2004, before joining Fenerbahçe on July 4, 2006. Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman

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