www.todayszaman.com - June 20, 2008

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Students depict landmarks of their hometowns in Pinhole Photographs, on display at Ýstanbul Modern

FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008 WWW.TODAYSZAMAN.COM YTL 1.50

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Ziraat Bank General Manager Can Akýn Çaðlar says interest rate hikes are no good for banks

Depleted Turkey faces tall order against Croatia

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

page10 Israel-Hamas truce begins, doubts remain REACTION PHOTO

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TÜSÝAD calls for a ‘natýonal conventýon’ on a new constýtutýon

SELÇUK GÜLTAÞLI, BRUSSELS European Union term president Slovenia and the bloc's executive commission have both made clear that the EU's position on the closure case against Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has not changed. A spokesman for the Slovenian presidency of the EU said the bloc's position was "clear and unchanged" on the court case against the AK Party, clarifying earlier remarks by the country's foreign minister, Dimitrij Rupel. Rupel had said after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Ali Babacan, on Tuesday that there was no link between the closure case and Turkey's accession talks, sparking comments in the Turkish media that the EU is softening its stance toward a possible closure. CONTINUED ON PAGE 04

TÜSÝAD says a comprehensive discussion on the drafting of a new constitution including not only the ruling political party, but civil society, academics and the judiciary would be a good first step toward finding a solution to Turkey's ongoing political crisis useless and effectively starting a crisis for Turkey's parliamentary democracy. The convention, TÜSÝAD suggested, would be made up of 50 members, three-fifths of whom would be representatives from political parties. The rest of the members would be representatives of civil society organizations and the academic world from various segments of society. The convention could work for 18 months, TÜSÝAD suggested, to draft a new constitution for Turkey that would meet international standards. Speaking to journalists about TÜSÝAD's proposal later in the evening, Çiçek recalled that the AK Party had had neutral academics draft a more democratic constitution free of the military undertones of the current one, which was prepared after a coup d'état in 1980. He added that at the time his party had been accused of attempting to undermine the regime. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

SECURITY

TURKEY ASSURES US OVER INTELLIGENCE SHARING WITH IRAN LALE SARIÝBRAHÝMOÐLU, ANKARA

NGOs made a declaration at Dolmabahçe Square in order to draw attention to workers deaths in Tuzla shipyards.

TÜSÝAD CALL RAISES SUSPICIONS AMONG NGOS

Erdoðan says shipyard deaths overshadow sector success

A proposal put forward by TÜSÝAD has been met with suspicion by nongovernmental organizations. The attendance of UNDP head Kemal Derviþ, Turkey's economy minister during the 2001 economic crisis, at the TÜSÝAD meeting on Thursday and his delivery of a long speech have made NGOs suspicious vis-à-vis the goal of TÜSÝAD's proposal, specifically whether it wants to facilitate Derviþ's political comeback. NGOs such as the Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions (Türk-Ýþ) and the Confederation of Turkish Real Trade Unions (Hak-Ýþ) were invited to TÜSÝAD's High Consultative Council meeting held yesterday but decided not to attend at the last minute. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

UNDP head Kemal Derviþ praised Turkey's growth momentum on Thursday, saying, "This growth performance was related to capacity utilization and the skill of overcoming crises."

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investors

forum

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UNDP head Derviþ praises Turkish economy

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has said fatal accidents at shipyards in Ýstanbul's Tuzla district have recently overshadowed Turkey's success in the shipbuilding sector. Erdoðan was speaking at a meeting held yesterday at Ýstanbul's Dolmabahçe Palace with a number of ministers and representatives from shipyard unions to discuss recent worker deaths at the notorious Tuzla shipyards. He stated that the fatalities in the Tuzla area have overshadowed Turkey's success in the shipbuilding sector. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

Top CEOs give vote of confidence for Turkish economy

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CEOs of multibillion dollar multinational companies, along with top leaders of the IMF and World Bank, express optimism over the continuing growth of the Turkish economy, reaffirming that they will continue investing in Turkey.

Featuring news and articles from

dispute

Turkey's most influential business organization, the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (TÜSÝAD), on Thursday proposed holding a convention for a new constitution that would bring together all segments of the political spectrum and society. The proposal was welcomed by the government, government spokesperson and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek indicated in the evening. TÜSÝAD's suggestion comes amidst a constitutional crisis caused by the Constitutional Court's recent annulment of constitutional amendments passed in Parliament that would have ended a long-standing ban on wearing the Muslim headscarf in institutions of higher learning. The move led many commentators to conclude that the court had overstepped its authority and that it has actually taken over the role of the legislature, rendering Parliament

EU SAYS POSITION UNCHANGED ON AK PARTY CLOSURE CASE

Christofias: Half of Turkish troops should leave Cyprus Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias has accused Turkey of meddling in ongoing negotiations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and called on Ankara to halve its troop presence on the divided island.

Turkey has recently assured the US administration that none of the information passed by Ankara to Iran regarding the outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) included information received from the US to assist Turkey's own attacks on the PKK presence in northern Iraq. Recent acknowledgements by civilian officials and military officers that Turkey has been engaged in intelligence cooperation with Iran regarding the PKK and that both countries have been conducting simultaneous and coordinated operations against the PKK within their own borders, have been a source of concern across the Atlantic. CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

PROTEST

MASSES TO RAISE VOICES IN UNISON AGAINST ANY COUP BETÜL AKKAYA, ÝSTANBUL

Turkish nongovernmental organizations are to hold a silent rally this weekend in protest of recent "coup attempts," a move that comes in the wake of a May ruling by the Constitutional Court annulling a constitutional amendment package that would have lifted a long-standing headscarf ban on university campuses. Several nongovernmental organizations have announced that they will meet on June 21 in Ýstanbul to express their stance against coup attempts by several institutions that have resorted to anti-democratic practices. CONTINUED ON PAGE 06

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04 TODAY’S ZAMAN

F R I D AY, J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 0 8

Former PM stuns European Parliament with party closure remarks Statements made by former Prime Minister Mesut Yýlmaz in favor of closure of political parties as well as in defense of the Turkish military's dominant role in politics have shocked many members of the European Parliament. Yýlmaz, currently an independent deputy in Parliament, participated in a conference in Strasbourg late on Wednesday. Titled "What Is Happening in Turkey?" the conference was planned by Daniel Cohn-Bendit, chairman of the Greens, and Joost Lagendijk, co-chair of the EUTurkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, in order to discuss the ongoing domestic turmoil in EU candidate Turkey. Yýlmaz and Ufuk Uras, deputy and leader of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP), were guest speakers at the conference.

"Although party closure is a primitive penalty, this implementation needs to be protected vis-à-vis Turkey's realities. Closing a party is not a solution in today's world. However, you should understand Turkey's conditions. Turkey is facing a grave danger," Yýlmaz was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. He also suggested that Turkish society has been influenced by the regime in Iran in recent years and blamed the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) for the domestic turmoil in the country. Marios Matsakis, a Greek Cypriot European Parliament member, responded to Yýlmaz's remarks, saying that the latter's stance is not understandable to Europeans, reported the Star daily. "The military is losing its place in politics and trying to gain it back," he was quoted by Star as stating.

"Turkish generals do not wish to rule the country. And those who want to do so are being eliminated. But as long as the dangers of separatism and fundamentalism remain, the military cannot be expected to return to its barracks," Yýlmaz was quoted by Star as saying in his reply to Matsakis. German member of the European Parliament Cem Özdemir told Star that Yýlmaz's stance would not be accepted by Turkish voters, while Uras expressed his unease over Yýlmaz's remarks. During the conference, Uras said Turkey could not be compared to Iran. "Turkey is not Iran and Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdoðan is not [late Ayatollah] Khomeini," he noted. Speaking to Star following the conference, Uras said Yýlmaz's remarks demonstrated that the former prime minister has

been trying to cast himself as a political alternative to the current leadership. "I would have responded more harshly, but I didn't want to argue in front of foreigners," he said. "There is talk about a 'national consensus government' and the option of an interim regime in the event the AK Party is closed. I wish success to dear Mesut in his political life, but he is no longer seen as having much reliability or credibility by society. The picture that he described does not accurately represent Turkey," he said. In 1997, the Turkish government was overthrown in what is known as the Feb. 28 process, in which the president asked Yýlmaz to form a government after Necmettin Erbakan, the leader of the Welfare Party (RP), stepped down, under pressure, from the post of prime minister. Ankara Today's Zaman

PHOTO

Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias has accused Turkey of meddling in ongoing negotiations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and called on Ankara to halve its troop presence on the divided island. Christofias, speaking in Brussels on Thursday at a think tank discussion on the Cyprus reunification process, said interference by Turkey is harming efforts to end the 34-year division of Cyprus between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The Greek Cypriot leader stated that Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat should be allowed to negotiate independently without having to check with Ankara for final approval. "The continuation of the status quo is harming ... all Cypriots," Christofias said. "So I request Talat to [come and] sit together [to negotiate] without any commitments from the outside, from foreign countries and forces." Talat and Christofias agreed at a key meeting in late March to resume reunification efforts in Cyprus. Technical committees bringing together officials from Turkish and Greek Cyprus have been working since then on contentious matters to pave the way for direct talks between the leaders. But the Greek Cypriot side has been dissatisfied with the course of the technical talks, claiming that Turkey is meddling in the process. Christofias stated that as a gesture of goodwill, Turkey should remove half of its troops stationed in Turkish Cyprus. He said the number of troops stood at 43,000. "We could really as soon as possible solve the problem, but ... unfortunately we are dependent on the will of Turkey. Turkey is key. A country which has in Cyprus 43,000 well armed soldiers has to take some decisions," he said. The Greek Cypriot leader, whose election win against former Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos earlier this year boosted reunification hopes on the island, also said Turkey should drop its demand to remain a "guarantor" of the security of Turkish Cypriots, saying that once a reunification deal is reached the European Union would guarantee the rights of ethnic Turks on the island. Neither of his demands is expected to be welcome in Turkey, which says its troops guarantee security for the Turkish Cypriots, who were subject to a massive ethnic cleansing campaign by the Greek Cypriots seeking unification with Greece in the 1960s and '70s. The Turkish Cypriot leaders also oppose any troop withdrawal, saying the Turkish Cypriots do not feel safe in the absence of Turkish military presence. Christofias and Talat were expected to start

AP

Half of Turkýsh troops should leave Cyprus, says Chrýstofýas

Christofias (R) and Talat (L) speak to the media after a meeting in late May.

‘AK Party closure may harm Cyprus reunification efforts’ Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias expressed concern on Thursday over a possible decision by Turkey's Constitutional Court to close down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Speaking in Brussels, he said he was concerned that attempts to outlaw the AK Party for alleged Islamist activities could hurt the Cyprus peace process. Many observers fear the case against the AK Party undermines Turkey's democracy and could bolster the military's influence. "This

reunification talks this month but disagreements later emerged between the two as to the date of the meeting. Christofias said yesterday he will meet Talat this month and in July to assess whether direct peace talks can start soon. "We want to pass to this phase of our common efforts but we must not work for the sake only of these face-to-face negotiations. We have to prepare ourselves ... because if we fail

will be a very important step backwards for the people of Turkey and the accession process," Christofias said. "We want the military to return to their camps." The AK Party, soon after its first election victory in 2002, launched a taboo-breaking Cyprus initiative and, reversing a decades-old policy, backed a UN plan to reunite Cyprus, agreeing to a unified Cyprus state of the Turkish and Greek Cypriots and eventual troop withdrawal from the island. But the plan, approved by the Turkish Cypriots, was rejected by the Greek Cypriots.

this is a very, very serious failure," he said. Nominally, both sides support reunification as a bizonal, bicommunal federation but there are deep-rooted disagreements on how it will work in practice. Christofias said there had been some "misunderstandings and contradictions" which needed to be clarified with the Turkish Cypriot leader. "It is really time to

solve the problem," he said. Turning back to Turkey, Christofias accused Turkey of seeking a solution that would include a separate state in northern Cyprus, something unacceptable for the Greek Cypriot side. He said main sticking points in the ongoing preparatory talks remain property rights, security arrangements for both communities and how to share power under a federal state. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with wires

US official urges Turkey to face past regarding Armenians A top US diplomat has urged Turkey to come to terms with its painful history regarding the suffering of Anatolian Armenians during World War I, also calling on Armenia to relinquish its territorial claims on Turkey. Remarks by Ambassador Dan Fried, US assistant secretary of state for European affairs, came on Wednesday during a hearing at the US House Foreign Affairs Committee. The senior diplomat also hinted that the US administration rejects the use of the term "genocide" to describe the early 20th century deaths of Ottoman Armenians for political considerations. The United States supports the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey, Fried noted, giving an address at an event titled "The Caucasus:

Frozen Conflicts and Closed Borders." When he was insistently asked by pro-Armenian members of Congress Adam Schiff and Diane Watson why he didn't use the term "genocide," Fried said the US administration hasn't used that term as a policy, although acknowledging presence of painful incidents. He also noted that usage of this term would not make any contributions to Turkish-Armenian relations or to Turkey's come to terms with its history, the Anatolia news agency reported. "Reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey, however, will require dealing with sensitive, painful issues. Turkey needs to come to terms with a dark chapter in its history: the mass killings and forced exile of up to 1.5 million Armenians at the end of the Ottoman Empire. That will not be

easy, just as it has not been easy for the United States to come to terms with dark periods of our own past. For its part, Armenia must be ready to acknowledge the existing border and disavow any claim on the territory of modern Turkey, and respond constructively to any efforts Turkey may make," Fried told the committee in remarks aired on the US State Department's Web page. Armenia claims Ottoman Turks killed up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War I, toward the end of the Ottoman Empire, and labels the killings genocide. Turkey says the killings occurred at a time of civil conflict in which both Armenians and Turks were killed and that the casualty figures are inflated. Earlier this week, President Abdullah Gül said that Turkey is a country at peace with its

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history, while noting that Turkey has opened all of its archives to researchers seeking to investigate the controversial episode. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 during a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, an ally of Ankara. The move hurt the economy of the small and landlocked Armenia. In 2005 Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan sent a letter to then-Armenian President Robert Kocharian, inviting him to establish a joint commission of historians and experts from both Turkey and Armenia to study the events of 1915 in the archives of Turkey, Armenia and any other country believed to have played a part in the issue around the world. No positive response has yet been made to this offer. Ankara Today's Zaman with wires

NATIONAL

REACTION

EU says position unchanged on AK Party closure case contýnued from page 1 The spokesman, however, said Rupel is of the view that there was no link between the case and Turkey's EU accession process at this moment, while the court case is still going on. "Once the ruling is made, the EU will carefully examine it and give the necessary reaction," he was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. Describing the case as "very unusual," the spokesman said the EU expected the final verdict to be in line with EU principles. The EU Commission, the guardian of EU treaties, also made clear that it is not at all indifferent over developments in candidate countries. Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn's spokeswoman, Krisztina Nagy, stated that their position was still the same regarding the closure case. Stressing that she was only speaking on behalf of the commission, Nagy said, "The closure of political parties is not business as usual." She reiterated that the outcome of closure cases should be compatible with democratic principles, rule of law and the guidelines of the Venice Commission. "As a spokesperson for the commission, I can only speak on behalf of the commission. The commission's position has not changed and it is the same as expressed by Commissioner Rehn in his speech to the EU-Turkey joint parliamentary committee on May 27. He said: 'We cannot be indifferent to what is happening in candidate countries, least of all on events that affect our shared democratic values. Certainly, the closure of political parties is not business as usual in the EU, and the outcome of any such case should be compatible with the democratic principles and the rule of law, including the guidelines of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe'," she stated. The closure case against the AK Party is feared to deal a blow to Turkey's decades-old membership aspirations by strengthening the position of opponents of Turkey's accession in Europe in arguing that Turkey's democracy is not mature enough for membership. EU officials have said on several occasions that the bloc cannot turn a blind eye to developments in Turkey if the AK Party is eventually closed down. European opponents of Turkey's membership are also hoping that rejection by Irish voters of a reform treaty for the 27-nation bloc will be a further blow to Ankara's membership hopes. The rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in a weekend referendum in Ireland means no further expansion is possible, say critics. A senior official of the EU, however, rejected the interpretation, saying Turkey's ongoing accession negotiations cannot be linked in any way to Ireland's rejection of the EU reform treaty. "The Irish traditionally look positively to enlargement. It will now be so wrong to show Europe as a closed society. Turkey is an EU candidate country and is not a hostage to Ireland's 'no,'" European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen said in remarks published yesterday in the German daily Bild. "Definitely no," Verheugen said, when asked by Bild whether Turkey should eventually be left out of the bloc despite ongoing membership negotiations.

TALKS

Assad skeptical about meeting Olmert in Paris Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Thursday he needed to see more progress in Turkey-mediated indirect peace talks with Israel before agreeing to a meeting with the Israeli prime minister. There is speculation the two could meet on the sidelines of a summit of European and Mediterranean countries on July 13 in Paris. "This is not like drinking tea," Assad, in India on a four-day visit, said when asked if he would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Paris. "The meeting between me and the Israeli prime minister will be meaningless without the technocrats laying the foundation, without reaching the final stage." Israel and Syria concluded a second round of indirect peace talks on Monday and agreed to continue the negotiations over the fate of the Golan Heights in July. Syria is demanding Israel return all the waterrich plateau, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war. Israeli officials have repeatedly said a peace deal depends on Damascus distancing itself from Iran and severing ties with groups such as Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbullah. Calling the Turkey-mediated talks "some glimmer of hope," Assad said the Israeli government needed do more if it wanted a meeting between him and Olmert. "Only sending signals without real results is meaningless," he said. "The last few weeks we had some glimmer of hope after indirect negotiations with Turkey's help." Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on Tuesday that Israel and Syria would hold a new round of peace talks mediated by Turkey in July after two earlier rounds of indirect talks ended successfully. Ankara Today's Zaman with Reuters

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NATIONAL

TODAY’S ZAMAN 05

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Prime Ministry strongly denies journalist’s claims PHOTO

contýnued from page 1 "Turkey has been doing its best to control its borders with Iraq [against PKK infiltration]. Our second priority is the border with Iran. There have been serious clashes between the Iranian security forces and the terrorists. We have been conducting simultaneous and coordinated operations against the terrorists with Iran. We [both] stage operation, they (Iranians) on their soil, and we on ours," Land Forces Commander Gen. Ýlker Baþbuð told reporters on June 5. Washington has feared that the highly valuable real-time intelligence regarding the PKK presence in northern Iraq that the US has been providing to Turkey since November last year might have been shared with Iran, which also faces a terrorist threat from the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), the Iranian branch of the PKK. Today's Zaman has learned, however, that the Turkish Foreign Ministry has assured the US that Ankara has not shared any US-supplied information with Iran. PJAK is a militant Kurdish nationalist group based in northern Iraq. PJAK was originally set up as the women's wing of the PKK and it later engaged in fighting with Iranian security forces. PJAK militants are also based in northern Iraq's Kandil Mountains, home to the headquarters of the PKK, which also border Iran, while remaining active in Iranian territories. The US has been seeking new sanctions against Iran over its uranium enrichment activities, which the US alleges are intended for the development of clear weapons, a claim Iran denies. The US has imposed several restrictions on Turkey regarding its use of its real-time intelligence, including not passing this information to third parties. "The US intelligence supply to Turkey is also restricted to northern Iraq. The US supplies Turkey with intelligence information on the PKK not for Iran, but for northern Iraq," a Western diplomatic source noted. Turkish jets reportedly used, though briefly, Iranian airspace during their incursions into northern Iraq to hit PKK targets in the Kandil Mountains several months ago. Meanwhile, Turkish sources told Today's Zaman that Turkish military's intelligence cooperation with Iran is at the level of colonels, but not generals, due to Turkish generals' reserve regarding establishing high-level dialogue with the Iranian mili-

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Turkey assuages US fears over ýntellýgence cooperatýon wýth Iran

tary. Turkey's intelligence cooperation with Iran is believed to be operational rather than political, asserted one Western diplomat.

Turkey, US at odds over Iranian gas The US need for assurances from the Turkish government that highly sensitive US real-time intelligence was not passed to Iran has highlighted an ongoing distrust between the two allies following Turkey's insistence on going ahead with additional gas deals with neighboring Iran. Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Güler told reporters on June 17 Turkey's priority is to safeguard Turkish interests. Güler was responding to local media speculations that US Ambassador to

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Turkey Ross Wilson had warned him about Turkey's energy cooperation with Iran, hinting that the US might stage a military strike against Iran. Güler declined to comment about the details of his meeting with Wilson, but noted that such messages may come up during his talks with US officials. "But we explain to them that our priority is to safeguard Turkey's interests and that such projects started before this government and will continue in the future," Güler told reporters. Iran is Turkey's second-largest gas supplier after Russia. However, since 2004 Iran has intermittently halted its gas supply to Turkey during severe winter conditions. As a solution to this problem, Turkey and Iran have been discussing the construction of a new pipeline.

The Prime Ministry's press office yesterday denied allegations that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan told a foreign businessman whose business partner in Turkey is the head of the Doðan Media group that he had the "wrong partner" for investing in Turkey. Fatih Altaylý, a journalist from the haberturk.com Internet news site, recently wrote that the Petrol Ofisi (PO) oil company, owned by Aydýn Doðan, the head of a media conglomerate known for its antipathy toward the government, had been refused a license to operate a refinery, but that the Çalýk Group, an energy holding known for its closeness to the government, did receive a license. Altaylý claimed that Doðan had asked CEO Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer of the OMV group, Doðan Holding's Austrian partner in PO, to talk to the Erdoðan since, as a foreign investor perhaps he could convince him to issue a license for PO. Altaylý claimed that Ruttenstorfer said that during their meeting Prime Minister Erdoðan told him: "You have chosen the wrong man in Turkey as a partner. You cannot get any permission for investment from us as long as you are partners with Doðan. Do not even try to imagine getting a refinery license," adding that he could have gotten a license if he had partnered up with Çalýk energy. Altaylý also claimed that Ruttenstorfer later repeated his story in notarized statement at the request of Doðan. The Prime Ministry's statement said: "The points made about the prime minister are completely fabricated and false. The story, whose source was clearly the vast imagination of the author, is completely false." The statement said the accusations were "baseless" and "impossible to believe." It added, "The article was based on entirely baseless, unfounded and purposeful speculation." It continued: "There is only one element of truth in the story. It is true that the prime minister spoke with the OMV CEO on Feb. 12, 2008 at the annual European Roundtable at the Prime Ministry upon his request. All claims and speculation beyond this in no way reflect the content of the said meeting" Ankara Today’s Zaman

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Vakit daily says property seizure meant to ‘gag us’ A representative from the Vakit daily has claimed that a recent seizure of property at its Ankara office is part of an effort to pressure the paper to curtail its criticism of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which, he said, is closely linked to Doðan Media Group. At a press conference at Vakit’s Ankara bureau yesterday, Sedat Arseven, Ankara representative of the daily, said the act of seizure, which included computers, was illegal because the law does not permit confiscation of equipment used while performing the duties required by someone’s profession. Arseven claimed that his newspaper has been outspoken in its criticism of the opposition and therefore pressure has been exerted on it to keep the paper quiet in this regard. He last month published an ex-

cerpt from a private conversation that CHP SecretaryGeneral Önder Sav had had with a governor. “Our Ankara office came into the limelight after we published the inappropriate conversation between Sav and the governor,” Arseven said. In their conversation Sav had asked the governor how the CHP could be more organized in its opposition efforts directed at the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The CHP had alleged that the government bugged Sav’s private office without authorization, but this was proven false when Vakit revealed the source of the conversation transcript the CHP had based its accusations upon. Vakit published part of a conversation between Sav and Bolu Governor Mehmet Ali Serindað after

one of its reporters called the CHP secretary-general to ask for comments on controversial remarks he had made criticizing Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. Sav was speaking on his cell phone with Serindað when he received the call on another line and said: “Just a moment. I have a guest.” He set his cell phone down but forgot to end the call with the journalist. He then continued his conversation with the governor. Vakit said its reporter had been able to record the conversation for 42 minutes. Vakit’s property has been seized in relation to a court case won by Oktay Ekþi, the chief columnist of the Hürriyet daily, owned by the Doðan Media Group, and president of the Press Council, an umbrella organization for journalists. A court

in Ankara required Vakit to pay YTL 4,000 to Hürriyet and YTL 3,000 to Ekþi in compensation for a report published in Vakit on June 9, 2005. The ruling was appealed, and the appeal process was ongoing at the time of the seizure. Ekþi and Hürriyet had accused Vakit of libel when it said in 2005 that Doðan Media Group was pressuring Ömer Dinçer, then an undersecretary to the prime minister and accused of academic plagiarism by Hürriyet at the time. “Ekþi does not need the money coming from the seizure of our property. If they had taken our refrigerator we could live without cold water but they did not do that; they took our computers,” Arseven said, adding that this was a clear message to them to “shut up.” Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman with wires

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Experts: Maýntaýn balance between freedoms and respect for values The key to ending unnecessary and frequent blocks on access to certain Internet sites in Turkey is a fine balance between individual freedoms and public values, participants in a workshop on Internet bans said yesterday. “Web site content is a major discussion around the world,” said workshop participant and sponsor Füsun Sarp Nebil, the founder of turk.internet.com. She said the discussion was about defining the border between societal values and individual freedoms. Popular video-sharing Web site YouTube had been banned by court order in Turkey for one-anda-half months when it was lifted on Tuesday night -- only to be reintroduced at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning through another court decision. The Web site was banned yet again for hosting a video insulting Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. The bans on YouTube have been frequent in the past few months, sparking serious debate over a law that regulates Web site content and Internet publishing, which has been criticized for restricting freedom of expression. The frequent YouTube bans are a major embarrassment for Turkey internationally, as they place the country alongside China, Pakistan and Thailand, the only other countries to ban YouTube so far. By mid-April, 321 Web sites were banned under the Internet Publications Law and another 102 under other laws in Turkey. A two-day workshop sponsored by Ankara Bar Association and turk.internet.com was held on June 18 and 19 to discuss online censorship in an attempt to produce possible solutions in Abant, in the northwestern province of Bolu. Internet experts, Web site owners, judges, prosecutors, representatives of higher courts, officials from Internet and communications-related state agencies, such as the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), as well as bureaucrats from the Justice and Transportation Ministries attended the workshop to discuss Turkey’s YouTube problem, which seems to be growing larger. Nebil cited as a major problem with existing Turkish legislation relevant to the topic that Web site owners were not given a chance to defend their Web site content. “We organized this workshop to create awareness. We are discussing a different system to impose blocks on Web sites. We are talking about what systems other countries use to monitor Internet content.” She said the law was also very problematic in that its description of “obscenity” was ambiguous. As a remedy, Web site owners attending the

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Court acquits child chorus members of separatism charges A court on Thursday acquitted three teenage members of a Kurdish chorus accused of conducting terrorist propaganda for outlawed group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) by singing a separatist song at a music festival in the United States. Lawyer Baran Pamuk told The Associated Press his clients, aged between 15 and 18, were cleared of the charges after the court in Diyarbakýr in southeastern Turkey ruled that the three had “no intention” of spreading propaganda on behalf of the terrorist PKK. Six younger members of the chorus, being tried separately by a juvenile court, were also likely to be acquitted during a hearing set for July 3, Pamuk said. “Prosecutors have, however, launched an investigation into their choirmaster,” Pamuk noted. The nine were members of a 15-person choir from Diyarbakýr, the largest city in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast. They were charged after returning from a tour of the United States in October for singing a song called “Ey Raqip” (Hey Enemy) at a music festival in San Francisco. The song is regarded as a separatist song. They could have faced five years in prison if convicted. In his clients’ defense, Pamuk told court the children did not even understand the words to the song, which was composed in the 1940s. The PKK has been fighting for self-rule in mainly Kurdish areas of southeastern Turkey since 1984. The resulting violence has killed tens of thousands of people. A majority of the international community, including the US and the EU, consider the PKK a terrorist organization. Ankara Today’s Zaman with AP

Gendarmerie officers ‘knew of plot months before Dink killing'

A two-day workshop sponsored by the Ankara Bar Association and turk.internet.com was organized on June 18 and 19 to discuss Web site censure issues in an attempt to produce possible solutions in Abant in the northwestern province of Bolu. workshop suggested partial bans that would block only the illegal content and not the entire site. Experts also suggested that the authority to ban access to Web sites be given to specialized courts only, to avoid arbitrariness in Web site ban rulings.

Officials explain reasons for bans The major reason for most of these bans, Telecommunications Authority Internet Department head Osman Nihat Þen explained, were complaints filed by individual citizens. Under the law, the police must relay these complaints to prosecutors, who are in turn legally obliged to act on them and launch court processes. The courts, in turn, have to rule in accordance with the current Internet publishing laws, which criminalize ambiguously defined offenses, such as insulting Atatürk or encouraging suicide or gambling. In other words, most of the time, it is Turkish citizens who ban YouTube. He also said that 10,103 complaints had been registered with the Telecommunications Authority as of June 16. One hundred seventy of these complaints caused a Web site to be blocked by court decision, and 314 more sites were blocked automatically after complaints were received, without

resorting to a court. Warnings were issued to 22 Web sites, and inappropriate content was removed, Þen added. “We do not have the authority to block Web sites promoting the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK]. Even when there are complaints about this kind of content, we cannot remove them. There are also videos insulting the prime minister, Islam and the Turkish flag. Those videos cannot be interfered with, because the law does not say anything about those issues. Turkey behaves like an ostrich, sticking its head in the sand. We have to implement the law,” he said. In a telephone interview with Today’s Zaman yesterday, attorney Özgür Eralp from the Ankara Bar Association said: “We have started an initiative in this organization to raise awareness of communications, Internet and the law. There are 60 participants from different professions, including lawyers, prosecutors, representatives of the Justice Ministry and the Transportation Ministry, under five working groups [on different topics] including ethics, techniques and laws. We are preparing a report on what we have done and discussed. The prosecutors causing the bans are also present at our workshops,” Eralp said. “The meetings are proceeding in a positive at-

mosphere. The organization is particularly important in the gathering of different poles of the debate, parties that are both supportive and critical,” said turk.internet.com’s Nebil. Noting that it is not just Law No. 5651 that is under discussion at the meetings but that other laws restricting Internet freedom are being examined as well, Nebil added that they are planning to establish associations with the help of NGOs and the state to inform the public about use of the Internet. “The workshops also deal with the education of state authorities in technical issues,” Nerbil stated.

What does Turkey’s Internet regulation legislation say? Law No. 5651 on Internet Publishing is the legal basis of Web site bans in the Turkish Constitution. The law’s Article 8 allows for blocking access to broadcasts for the following reasons: inciting violence, online sexual exploitation of children, encouraging drug use, obscenity, prostitution, enabling means to gambling and crimes stated in Law No. 5816 regarding insulting Atatürk. The Telecommunications Authority can block Web sites with a court decision or at its own initiative.

Masses to raise voices in unison against any coup A representative from the Young Civilians, a Turkish nongovernmental group noted for its use of sarcasm in protests, stated that a march has been planned in cooperation with several NGOs and civilians for Saturday from Ýstanbul's historical Tünel to Taksim Square in protest of anti-democratic initiatives. "The march has been named '70 million steps against coups' and it will begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday. It will be a silent march so there will be no flags, banners or slogans. We will be dressed in white from head to toe and will say 'no' to coup attempts. We think that Turkey is currently going through a protracted judicial coup which started with the release of an e-memorandum on April 27 of last year and continued with the highly contentious 367 criteria instituted last year by the Constitutional Court for presidential elections," said Young Civilians' Tansel Parlak during a phone

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interview with Today's Zaman. The release of the memorandum, written by Turkish generals as a warning to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and posted on the Turkish General Staff Web site on April 27, 2007, as well as the controversial 367 quorum ruling of the top court that halted last year's presidential elections in Parliament were interpreted by many as an intervention in Parliament's scope of authority, thus as coup attempts. "The latest leg of these coup attempts was the Constitutional Court's annulment of constitutional amendments that lifted a long-standing ban on wearing a headscarf at universities. We will raise our voices against such anti-democratic practices on Saturday and we will not turn a blind eye to the top court's overstepping its authority and ignoring the will of the people. With Saturday's march we will show that we stand by our Parliament," added Parlak. The Constitutional Court drew ire from a large

segment of the society when on May 5 it annulled a package of constitutional amendments that would lift the headscarf ban in universities. Pýnar Kara from the Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUMDER) said Saturday's march will bring many people from various ideological backgrounds together. "Unfortunately, there are at present attempts to stage a coup in our country. We don't want to experience coups. It is the public that suffers most from the consequences of coups. We will participate in this march to show that the public is against coups and we will show that the public wants stability, not a military intervention. The march will be geared toward any single group or ideology; rather, there will be people from all ideologies and identities. This is a march of people who advocate democracy and freedom," she said. Kara also criticized frequent intervention by certain institutions in Parliament's affairs.

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"The ruling party garnered a considerable share of votes in last year's elections. But some institutions, including the Constitutional Court, continue to ignore the will of the people and annul parliamentary decisions. On Saturday we will express that the public will not remain silent in the face of such acts, which are not compatible with democracy," she remarked. The AK Party received almost 47 percent of the entire national vote on July 22 of last year, and now holds 341 seats in the 550-strong Parliament. Halil Aksoy, provincial chairman of the proKurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) in Ýstanbul, said his party will participate in the march to express its outrage against anti-democratic practices. "Turkey has suffered from several coups through its history. We have witnessed repeated coup attempts in the last couple of months. Such attempts distort the political atmosphere and the anti-democratic effects of coups stay for a long time," he noted.

Two gendarmerie officials accused of negligence of duty for failing to act on warnings before the assassination of a journalist testified in court yesterday that they were informed about the plot about six months before the murder. Hrant Dink, an Armenian-Turkish journalist, was shot dead in broad daylight outside the office of his newspaper, Agos, in Ýstanbul on Jan. 19, 2007, by a nationalist teenager. The ensuing investigation revealed that a group of ultra-nationalist youths were behind the murder. Strong evidence suggested that some members of the group had ties with the police department in Trabzon, the hometown of the plotters. Some gendarmerie officers later confirmed that they had been tipped off about the plot to kill Dink before the murder was committed. “A noncommissioned gendarmerie officer, O.Þ., told me in August 2006 that Yasin Hayal, who was allegedly involved in the Dink murder, had plans to murder the Turkish-Armenian journalist. We wanted to share this information with former commander of the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command Col. Ali Öz, but he covered up the issue, saying he would discuss it with us later,” said one of the gendarmerie officers, H.Y. Another gendarmerie officer, H.Ö.Ü., said he was informed by O.Þ. about the plot to murder Dink six months before the assassination. “But I didn’t have the chance to interfere in the incident, because our unit just deals with terrorist activities. However, Dink’s murder is an incident related to public peace,” he added. Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman with wires

PM hears father's plea for justice, case opened The father of Baran Tursun, a university student killed by police gunfire in Ýzmir in 2007, said a letter he sent to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has been instrumental in an Ýzmir prosecutor’s opening a case against police officers suspected of withholding evidence. In a press conference on Wednesday at the Ýzmir branch of the Association of Contemporary Lawyers, Mehmet Tursun thanked Erdoðan for forwarding his letter pleading for justice to the Ýzmir prosecutor. “Our prime minister accepted the letter I sent him as a notification and forwarded it to the Karþýyaka Chief Prosecutor’s Office. I express my gratitude to him,” Tursun said, adding that he was pleased the prosecutor had opened a case against 10 police officers suspected of withholding evidence related to Baran’s death. The student lost his life during a police chase on Nov. 24, 2007. After ignoring police officers’ calls to stop his vehicle, his car crashed in Ýzmir’s Karþýyaka district. Emergency doctors treating the young man found a bullet lodged in his head. An Ýzmir prosecutor had filed a case against the local police officer accused of fatally shooting the 20-year-old, seeking up to 25 years’ imprisonment on charges of firstdegree murder. Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman with wires

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need to balance their interest rate policies between very tight and very loose fiscal approaches. He explained, "Monetary authorities have to allow a temporary upward move in inflation within reasonable limits, but going beyond those limits and over-loosening monetary policy could bring a resurgence of inflationist sentiment and an inflationary trend." Speaking at high consultative council meeting of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (TÜSÝAD) in Ýstanbul on Thursday, Derviþ said, "Contrary to expectations, we have not seen a decline in the real economy." He added, "Yes, we will witness a slowdown, but that will be over soon and an accelerating growth trend will

again kick in for the global economy." Derviþ also said he will not return to active politics in Turkey. "My business is economics," he told a group of reporters. From March 2001 to August 2002, Derviþ was Turkey's minister for economic affairs and the Treasury, without party affiliation. He was responsible for Turkey's recovery program after the devastating financial crisis that hit the country in February 2001. In August of 2002, after the crisis was overcome, he resigned from his ministerial post, joined the Republican People's Party (CHP) and was elected to Parliament in November of the same year. Derviþ was a CHP deputy for Ýstanbul from November 2002 to June 2005. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

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The head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said on Thursday that central banks in many countries have decided to increase interest rates to cope with inflationary pressures. Kemal Derviþ's statement apparently indicated his support for a recent decision by the Turkish Central Bank to hike interest rates by 50 base points. Derviþ also praised Turkey's growth momentum. "This growth performance was related to capacity utilization and the skill of overcoming crises," he said. Turkey should have a growth rate around 7 percent between 2010 and 2015, he added. Derviþ cautioned, however, against overly tight fiscal and monetary policies. He said central banks

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UNDP head Derviþ praýses Turkýsh economýc growth

Turkish media to top $12.5 bln by 2012 The value of the Turkish media and entertainment industry will reach $12.5 billion by 2012, a recent study claims. The recently published "Entertainment and Media Outlook" prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) projected an annual growth rate of 16 percent for the sector, the value of which has climbed to $7 billion in 2008. The PwC report also estimates an annual 6.6 percent growth rate for the global industry, predicting a total global market value of $2.2 trillion by 2012. Turkey is the most promising nation in the field of newspaper publishing, the report argued. The rate of growth in publishing will be 7.8 percent annually and will reach $1.185 billion by 2012, PwC estimates, with circulation increasing from 3.35 million in 2007 to 3.725 million in 2012. Turkey is also cited as the fastest-growing country in terms of Internet usage. Six million Turks currently have Internet subscriptions, and this figure is expected to double by 2012. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with wires

Bank of Nova Scotia opens office in Turkey The Bank of Nova Scotia said on Wednesday that it is opening a representative office in Turkey, adding to the handful of such offices the bank has established around the globe. Its Ýstanbul office will conduct trade finance and correspondent banking businesses for Turkey, central and eastern Europe, and Israel, and the office should facilitate growth in other businesses such as precious metals trading, the bank said. Scotiabank, Canada's third-largest bank by market capitalization, also has representative offices in Russia, Brazil and Vietnam. They are typically entry points in a new country or region and eventually grow to offer more services. Toronto Reuters

Falcon Trade to enter Turkish market Falcon Trade Corporation, an independent provider of financial solutions for crossborder trade, has announced that it plans to enter the Turkish market. In a written statement released on Monday Falcon Trade CEO Will Nagle said, "Falcon already has a strong base in the Middle East and Asia, so Turkey makes sense for us geographically," adding, "What's really exciting about Turkey, however, is the sophistication of the import export sector." Falcon Trade provides services including structured financial and logistics assistance for a wide range of customers in diversified industries in numerous markets. The company appointed Gamze Sarýoðlu, the trade finance manager at Turkish bank Yapý Kredi, as its representative in the Turkish market. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

OBG to hold 16th Bussiness Roundtable The Oxford Business Group will hold its 16th Business Roundtable with the Turkish government on June 25, 2008, at the Hyatt Hotel in Ýstanbul. The meeting will bring government leaders and corporate decision makers together to discuss economic opportunities in Turkey. Organizers said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan would be participating in the event, along with State Minister for the Treasury Mehmet Þimþek and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan. The meeting will be chaired by Daniel Thorniley, the senior vice president of the Economist Intelligence Unit. Industry representatives expected to attend the forum include Sabancý Holdýng Chairman Güler Sabancý, BauMax CEO Martin Essl, Calvin Klein Jeanswear Europe President and CEO Gaetano Sallorenzo, EnerjiSA Vice Chairman Bernhard Raberger, Schneider Electric Turkey General Manager Turhan Turhangil, Unilever Turkey Chairman Ýzzet Karaca and Tofaþ CEO Ali Pandir. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

Anti-competition probes launched into steel An investigation into unfair competition involving steelmakers Erdemir and three ArcelorMittal subsidiaries may conclude before the end of this year, the president of the Competition Board has told Reuters. An investigation into the companies was launched in April after complaints of vertical agreements. The scope of the investigation has been broadened since then, Competition Board President Nurettin Kaldýrýmcý told Reuters in an interview, without giving further details on the nature of the probe. If the companies are found to have breached competition laws, they could face heavy fines. "The board has taken into consideration the developments in the sector of the past year and other complaints and has increased the scope of the investigation," he said. Ýstanbul Reuters

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IMF, WB and top CEOs gýve vote of confýdence for Turkýsh economy ment (FDI); yet it attracted a record $22 billion of FDI in 2007, making Turkey the fifth largest recipient of FDI inflows among developing countries and 16th in the world. With the very strong growth performance over the last six years, Turkey's economy is now the 17th largest economy globally and sixth among European nations. "We are planning to widen operations of a number of our companies in Turkey. We believe that there is great investment potential in Turkey. Therefore, we are determined to fully assess the potential in Turkey that is relevant to our sectors," noted the statement. Companies represented at the meeting included Alshaya, American International Group (AIG), ArcelorMittal, Cisco Systems, Danone Group, Eldorado Gold Corporation, Fiat SpA, Finmeccanica SpA, Hyundai Motor Company, Indesit Company SpA, ISCAR Ltd., ITOCHU Corporation, MANGO, Nortel Networks Corporation, Novartis International AG, Nunhems B.V., Toyota Motor Corporation and Unicredit Group. Sector representatives included the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (TÜSÝAD), the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TÝM) and the International Investors Association (YASED).

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CEOs of multibillion dollar multinational companies, along with top leaders of both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, have expressed their optimism over the continuing growth of the Turkish economy, reaffirming that they will continue investing in the dynamic, emerging economy. The Investment Advisory Council for Turkey (IAC), which convened in Ýstanbul on Wednesday, noted in a written statement, "First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky and Vice President of World Bank Graeme Wheeler expressed the importance of the continuation of microeconomic reforms and Turkey's successful strategy aiming at macroeconomic discipline." CEOs and high-level representatives of 18 multinational companies, bringing in annual revenues of nearly $700 billion and having 1.5 million employees as of the end of 2007, were in attendance at the fifth meeting of the IAC at Ýstanbul's Four Seasons Hotel. The IAC statement noted that the council appreciates how much the Turkish government has done to transform Turkey's investment climate since their first meeting in 2004. The IAC said in 2004 Turkey was attracting around $1 billion a year in foreign direct invest-

• Accelerate energy sector reforms, including automatic cost recovery pricing, diversification, deregulation and privatization. • Move forward with labor market reforms that further enhance flexibility while protecting workers. • Improve infrastructure, particularly transportation and information/communication technology as well as appropriate contractual and legal framework for public-private partnership and the build-operate-transfer model. • Further strengthen the implementation of legislation on intellectual property rights in accordance with international standards. • Reduce barriers to further penetration of broadband Internet and PC adoption. • Improve customs procedures. • mprove public administration practices by enhancing transparency, predictability and efficiency. • Strengthen measures to reduce informality, including combating tax evasion. • Encourage the growth of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to drive employment and expand their role in the formal economy. • Enact and implement the new commercial code to improve corporate governance and accounting standards.

Members of the council emphasized the need for continued monetary policy vigilance and budgetary discipline, as well as the benefits of adopting prudent fiscal management. They also noted the importance of additional measures to improve labor market flexibility, such as liberalizing short and fixed-term employment, improving quality of education and making it easier to do business. Company representatives said their operations in Turkey represent some of their most globally competitive facilities in terms of productivity, the quality of the labor force and positioning as a hub for regional business activities. They noted that they have plans to increase business in Turkey. "We believe there is still an enormous potential for investment that has yet to be realized in Turkey and we stand ready to pursue this potential in our own operations," they stated. The IAC called on the government to implement the following measures to further improve the investment climate: • Improve education and training, particularly in foreign language skills and technical education based on public-private cooperation, geared to private sector needs. • Enhance dialogue between industry and universities to promote entrepreneurship, leadership and management skills.

No-bid contracts for US oil firms raise eyebrows Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power, the New York Times reported yesterday. The news is especially troubling to Turkey, as Iraq's Oil Ministry excluded Turkey's state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) from an April list of 35 companies qualifying to bid in tenders to develop the nation's oil and gas fields. The New York Times said Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP -- the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company -- along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, were in talks with Iraq's Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq's largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat. "The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations," the paper reported. According to report, the US companies were awarded with "no-bid contracts," which are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India. The New York Times stressed: "There was suspicion among many in the Arab world and among parts of the American public that the United States had gone to war in Iraq precisely to secure the oil wealth these contracts seek to extract. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

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INFLATION PHOTO

Wage hike expected for civil servants in Turkey The Finance Ministry is planning rate increases in salaries paid to civil employees after the actual inflation figure exceeded the central bank's target last month. There are currently 2.5 million civil servants and 600,000 pensioners who retired from governmental agencies in Turkey and any adjustment would cost the government billions, experts say. The central bank's inflation target for 2008 was 4 percent and the government had announced at the beginning of the year in its national budget plan that it would raise civil servants' salaries in accordance with the target rate and that any difference in the actual rate would be reflected in their salaries as necessary. But the central bank's latest inflation expectation survey showed that inflation will likely hit 10.7 percent by the end of the year. Thus the Finance Ministry is working on wage increases adjusted for actual inflation. The significant difference between the target and the survey results poses a problem for the Finance Ministry, which does not want to relax its fiscal discipline. Finance specialists say a 1 percent increase in inflation would cost the Finance Ministry about YTL 250 million in terms of a wage hike alone. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

ZB general manager: Interest rate increases are no good for banks The general manager of the state-owned Ziraat Bank has said any interest rate increase will do banking sector no good, particularly considering the negative effects of ongoing fluctuations on banks' balance sheets, exacerbated by increasing interest rates. Çaðlar held a press conference in Antalya yesterday in connection with the opening of Ziraat Bank's first agricultural banking branch. He dismissed the argument that increases in interest rates will prove beneficial to the banking sector. "This is utter nonsense. The liabilities of the

Yearly Change (%)

YTD Change (%)

MCAP (million YTL)

1-Y Av.Volum

İMKB-100

38.007

-0,3%

-10,6%

-17,8%

-31,6%

194.901

1.300

Hang Seng

İMKB-30

46.104

-0,4%

-12,1%

-19,6%

-34,6%

139.129

998

Nikkei 225

İMKB-IND

34.457

-0,2%

-9,1%

-8,3%

-15,1%

69.213

353

Cac 40

Daily Monthly Change (%) Change (%)

Close

CALENDAR

AT A GLAN

CE

(TCMB) June 20 pectation Survey of Ex r PMI of cto se ing Manufactur d Euro Germany an of Britain dence index Cons. Confi .) ss (po 1 COREPER 2 COREPER

of all banks. All banks are now holding considerable stocks. When interest rates increase, you will suffer considerable losses if you have variable interest rates. All of these have already been estimated for this year. For instance, we have not attained the level of profitability that we attained last year. Although the sector has performed relatively well for the first three months -- there were several tax lawsuits won against the Finance Ministry -- we will see the real effects in the balance sheets for June and September," he said. Concerning a proposed bill to cap credit card interest rates, Çaðlar said the banking sector is sensitive to such debates. He explained that the

banking sector are priced over 30 to 40 days. Today, no one deposits money for one year or six months. We only see deposits for between one and three months. As the maturity date for these deposits arrives quickly, you have to price them over new interest rates. You set prices for 10 years in housing loans and these prices are effective for 10 years. On the other hand, the typical maturity date for consumer loans ranges between 24 and 36 months, while you have to use the same interest rate for them. Similarly, commercial loans are provided with a maturity date of 12 to 18 months. "Moreover, the ongoing financial fluctuations have had negative effects on the balance sheets

ALÝ ASLAN KILIÇ ANTALYA

İMKB-BANK

68.522

0,5%

-15,6%

-25,4%

-42,9%

73.015

703

DAX

DJIMT

10,75

-1,4%

-7,7%

-2,7%

-9,3%

108

0,55

FTSE 100

TurkDEX US$/JP¥ EU€/JP¥

Ticker

46.200 1,232

Country

Change (%)

Level

H.Kong

-2,26

22.797,6

Japan

-2,23

14.130,2

France

-0,06

4.616,1

0,39

6.755,4

Germany UK

-0,26

Dow

USA

0,00

0,0

NASDAQ

USA

0,30

1.956,9

USA

-0,01

1.337,7

Brasil

-0,22

66.943,9

S&P

-0,38% -0,20%

BOVESPA

Price (YTL) Daily Change (%)

Ticker

Price

Daily Change (%)

Ticker

Volumes

1,67

245,0

70.39 42.68

7.1

9.5

Native

Foreign

Number of Shares

Native

M.cap

Daily Close Change (%)

Foreign

Number of Shares

Monthly Change (%)

Yearly Change (%)

M.cap

US$/JP¥

108,02

0,42

7,69%

HURGZ

-4,02%

GARAN

-47,61

YTL / €

1,898

0,5%

0,0%

9,2%

EU/JP¥

167,39

SKBNK

2,25

6,64%

DOAS

3,56

-3,26%

ISCTR

96,2

4,7

-32,58

YTL / $

1,224

0,4%

-0,1%

-5,6%

EU/US$

1,5495

BAGFS

177,00

6,63%

SAHOL

4,20

-3,23%

TCELL

52,3

8,3

-33,50

GLYHO

0,86

6,17%

YKSGR

16,90

-2,87%

IHEVA

34,5

3,2

15,33

SNGYO

4,02

5,79%

TUPRS

26,50

-2,75%

MIGRS

34,2

20,3

-8,71

DYOBY

ÝMKB 100

ÝMKB 30

ÝMKB IND

P.CHEM.

TUPRS

PTOFS

PETKM

AYGAZ

--

--

10.375,8

5.421,7

2.273,7

1.028,8

745,1

12,1x

12,0x

11,4x

7,0x

8,1x

12,1x

21,7x

2,6x

P/E 2007/06t

8,4x

10,8x

10,6x

5,0x

6,0x

8,9x

11,4x

1,3x

P/E 2007/09t EV/EBITDA 2006/12

7,9x 7,8x

8,1x 7,9x

8,3x 7,5x

5,3x 5,9x

6,0x 6,3x

8,3x 5,1x

11,4x 5,7x

1,3x 4,7x

EV/EBITDA 2007/03t

7,3x

7,2x

6,6x

5,4x

5,3x

4,9x

4,3x

5,1x

EV/EBITDA 2007/06t

8,0x

6,8x

6,7x

5,5x

5,5x

4,9x

4,6x

5,5x

Mcap YTL

--

P/E 2006/12

CM Y K

Price ($) Light C. Oil Gold Copper

134,10 887,30 3,75

Tüzmen urges Sri Lanka, Turkey to increase trade Turkish State Minister Kürþad Tüzmen has spoken strongly in favor of boosting the trade volume between Turkey and Sri Lanka. "Turkey's trade volume of $100 million with Sri Lanka must be increased," Tüzmen told a delegation of Sri Lankan businessmen in the southern province of Mersin on Thursday. Speaking at the meeting, Tüzmen said Turkey and Sri Lanka had had good relations for decades. "We must carry relations with Sri Lanka to higher levels. We have a trade volume of $100 million, $44 million of which is Turkish exports to Sri Lanka," Tüzmen said. Sri Lankan State Minister for Trade Gamini Lokshnon Peiris said Sri Lanka shared common characteristics with Turkey. "In these days when Turkey is getting closer to EU membership, Turkey is not putting aside its ties with Asian and African nations. Thus, Turkey is pursuing a successful policy," Peiris said. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with wires

FINANCE

29.61

21,4

5.741,9

TRADE

57.32

51

Price (YTL) Yearly Change (%) 3,2

outstanding credit card debts at some banks have reached YTL 3-4 billion. "When the issue of capping the interest rates on credit cards is discussed at Parliament, this leads to a steep decline in the shares of banks. This is only one example of how the banking sector is affected; consider also the fluctuations, political uncertainty and rising interest rates. Banks have a stock of security worth of YTL 170 billion, 70 percent of which with fixed rates of return. When interest rates increase, their rate of return will decrease. When investors realize this, they rush to sell the shares they hold. Seventy percent of all shares in the stock exchange are controlled by foreign investors," he said.

Way

Change (%) 0,07 0,34 2,67

High 135,28 888,00 3,75

Low 133,16 886,90 3,65

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.

Conference to explore issues of Turkish banking The Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM) has organized a conference on the Turkish banking system, scheduled for June 25-27. To be hosted at the Cevahir Congress Center in Ýstanbul, the "Congress of the Turkish Banking System: Vision 2023" will focus on the banking system from national and international perspectives. Participants will assess the current conditions in the financial sector, make determinations by exploring potential risks, provide recommendations and projections for the next 15 years and prescribe goals. Notable speakers will include State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Nazým Ekren, Banking Regulation Supervision Agency (BDDK) head Tevfik Bilgin, Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) President Ahmet Ertürk and Ýstanbul Chamber of Commerce (ÝTO) Chairman Murat Yalçýntaþ. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

T09-20-06-08.qxd

19.06.2008

18:25

Page 1

SHOPPING

TODAYS ZAMAN 09

FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008

Debut for big brand bebe in Turkey

Mid-season sales at Aldo and Sephora A surprise sales campaign is on offer from both Aldo, which offers shoes in a variety of styles that reflect world trends, and Sephora, one of the world's most important cosmetic chains. The new collections have accessories featuring wooden beads, animal designs and leather details get their inspiration from African tribes. Featured in this season's collection are natural colors like beige and cream, pastel tones like light pink and blue, as well as bright, lively colors such as orange, purple and red.

The world famous clothing line bebe, which is now in Turkey thanks to Unitem Holding, has opened its first store at Istanbul's Akmerkez. Bebe offers up clothing and accessories that feature a blend sophistication, self-confidence and trendiness. This is clothing and accessories for women who know how to take care of themselves. Go to www.bebe.com

REYHAN YAZICI*

P Trend it like Beckham with dVb shades This season, Harvey Nichols Ýstanbul presents the 2008 spring-summer creations from dVb, the fashion label brought to us by world famous couple David and Victoria Beckham. Sunglasses from dVb await fashion-conscious customers who want to look at the world through a different lens this summer at the Kanyon Shopping Center's Harvey Nichols Ýstanbul store. Victoria Beckham, the creator of this label, worked with British eyeglass designers in order to make dVb an even stronger line of creations. With a wide range of colors and shapes, the models in the dVb spring-summer collection for 2008 offer customers dynamic looks, while promising to make the mirrored red-lens pilot model the most memorable of the season. For those who want to stay the center of attention on the beach or by the pool, there are oversized models in pink-blue or yellow-green combinations, strong colors, colored lenses and oversized models as well as more classic models in black with oval lenses. Head over to Harvey Nichols Ýstanbul at the Kanyon Shopping Center this summer.

Suit up and step out in

Pierre Cardin

ierre Cardin is without doubt one of the three bestknown clothing brands in the world, appealing to all those seeking practical and chic but high-quality clothing. This season is no different, as Pierre Cardin continues to produce great designs. With its 2008 spring-summer collections, Pierre Cardin offers special options in both sports and classics for men and women and puts a definitive mark on the season. The summer clothing on offer uses cuts and colors favored the world over, with fabrics, tones and designs especially chosen with the characteristics of the season in mind. Of course, it is no coincidence this line of clothing also boasts the use of technologically advanced fabrics to help wearers enjoy a cooler summer, whatever the temperature. Everything down to the smallest detail in these collections has been chosen and designed to make the person wearing the clothing feel as comfortable as they look chic. The women's suits offered up by Cardin are not only perfect for work, but are also great anytime looking chic is the greatest concern. The Pierre Cardin men's collection has maintained its classic lines and character while embracing a younger, social and active look, bringing together the Pierre Cardin male we know so well with a more modern profile. Fabrics in this Pierre Cardin line are lighter than ever, keeping in tune with the heat of the season, while the high-quality stitching and careful selection of textiles are as always expected of Cardin clothing. You can find wool-linen or wool-silk mixes the "coolwool" suits that keep wearers cool in the summer and warm in the winter, allowing them to be worn across the seasons. These suits boast double button, double-breasted jackets, with slim-fit forms that highlight the waist, as well as hand-stitched pockets. There are so many options in this collection, with clothing for everything from a day at the office to a night out on the town. And of course, the enduring sense of quality and style that marks Pierre Cardin as unique.

*Reyhan Yazýcý is a fashion designer.

Life's a beach thanks to Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols Ýstanbul brings a special stamp to 2008 beach fashion this summer, with some of the world's best known designers and brands. For women who want to be stunning on the beach without making concessions on personal comfort, shining collections from designers Melissa Odabash and Missoni await at the Harvey Nichols Istanbul store in the Kanyon Shopping Center. In the meantime, Emamo's bikinis, decorated with colorful stones, are also a guarantee that all eyes will be on you this summer at the beach. Or try the delicate sandals and beachwear in soft pastel tones from Diane Von Furstenberg, for women who value chic and comfort together.

ONUR ÇOBAN

Jean dresses: sunlit style to evening elegance All the colors of summer at Casio Casio watches presents its Baby-G series 2008 models for women who follow fashion closely. The BabyG model watches offer users a series of features that are meant to make life easier. These characteristics include five different alarm modes and repeat functions, a light which illuminates the entire watch face and makes it easy to see, a chronometer, as well as a stopwatch. These watches are tough, which makes them great for outdoor enthusiasts, as well as being waterproof to 100 meters. Baby-G model watches in the Casio collection come in orange, white and yellow color alternatives, appealing to women who want fashion and function. Retail price: YTL 149.

Evening wear, known as "abiye" in Turkish, remains an indispensable essential: satin, silk, chiffon and lace all combine to make the wearer look as stunning and stylish as possible. However, designer Reyhan Yazýcý's new eveningwear collection contains denim, something of a first. Yazýcý, who introduced her denim evening dresses at the 11th exhibit of handcrafs for the Ýstanbul Employment Courses program, says she saw a great deal of interest, although many were at first surprised. "It may be the first time, at this exhibition, people have seen denim used in eveningwear dresses, since it is generally associated with more sporty, casual clothing." She notes that one advantage of these dresses is that they combine comfort with chic. Yazýcý adds that the "pazen" (cotton flannel) and French lace used in her creations works very well with denim. "What's important is to

PHOTO

BÜNYAMÝN KÖSELÝ ÝSTANBUL

Innovative designer Reyhan Yazýcý's new eveningwear collection contains denim, which she uses with lace. use the right fabric in the right designs. Of course denim is generally chosen for casual outfits. And French lace is an indispensable de-

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tail in eveningwear. So what we did was to combine these two materials, without exaggerating them too much, in one dress. And what

we got in the end was a great collection." Currently the fashion world is experiencing a certain sense of "no limits," adds Yazýcý, meaning one can see fabrics and materials that appear to be total opposites brought together in the same creation. Her eveningwear dresses carry this sense of "no limits" and "opposites" one step further: These are dresses that encapsulate the idea that women must be comfortable, whatever they wear. The linings of and beaded detailing on these dresses have been designed not only with aesthetic needs in mind, but for the wearers' ease of use. As for another important characteristic of these dresses, the Anatolian motifs they contain, Yazýcý notes: "The cotton flannel I have used in these dresses is a favorite of Anatolian women. It is quite practical, and it doesn't easily stain. It works very well for active lifestyles." Yazýcý also notes that special techniques have been used in these evening dresses to create the appearance of both silver and gold in the fabric.

18:47

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10 TODAY’S ZAMAN

F R I D AY, JUNE 2 0 , 2 0 0 8

Canada: Fifth foot washed ashore in grisly mystery

PHOTOS

Zimbabwe's run-off presidential election next week is very unlikely to be free and fair, a group of southern African ministers said on Thursday, in the strongest regional condemnation yet of pre-poll violence. "There is every sign that these elections will never be free nor fair," Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe told a news conference. He was speaking on behalf of a peace and security troika of nations from the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Tanzania is also current chairman of the African Union. Membe said he and the foreign ministers of Swaziland and Angola would write to their presidents so that they do something urgently so that we can save Zimbabwe. SADC is sending monitors to Zimbabwe for the June 27 vote. Membe said their judgment on the conduct of the poll was based on evidence from 211 observers already inside the country. Some of the observers saw two people shot dead in front of them on June 17, Membe said. President Robert Mugabe is accused by opponents, Western countries and human rights groups of orchestrating a campaign of killings and intimidation to keep his 28-year hold on power in the once prosperous country, its economy now in ruins. Harare Reuters

REUTERS

ELECTION

Zimbabwe vote cannot be fair, regional ministers

A fifth foot has bobbed ashore near Vancouver in a grisly mystery that has gripped Canada. The discovery of four right feet and now a left foot has spawned wildly contrasting theories about their origin, ranging from murders by biker gangs to the floating remains of Asian tsunami victims. Police are investigating a possible link to a plane crash in the area in February 2005. But it is also possible that the feet come from suicide victims or fishermen who went overboard off Alaska. The first four feet were all wearing trainers that appear to have protected them from the salt water and kept them afloat. Police have not revealed what type of shoe the fifth foot was in. Terry Smith, the chief coroner of British Columbia, called the finds baffling. "This one stretches everyone's imagination but we really need to remember that these remains are someone's loved one. I'm reluctant to treat this as some sort of crime thriller," he said. The feet have all been found on islands in the Strait of Georgia, off Vancouver, near the mouth of the Fraser River. "The most logical thing would be that they washed down the Fraser River -- two of them have been found at the mouth - and they dispersed from there," said Curtis Ebbesmeyer, a Seattle-based oceanographer who is an expert on currents. © The Times, London

ATTACK

Myanmar junta gang hits Suu Kyi birthday rally Pro-junta thugs broke up a rally by supporters of Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday, detaining three people among a crowd chanting for her release on her 63rd birthday, a senior opposition member said. At least six truckloads of Swan-ArrShin, or "Masters of Force," gang members waded into the crowd outside the dilapidated headquarters of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) in the former capital, Yangon, one witness said. "We saw some of them slapping and beating NLD members," one witness said. Senior NLD official Win Naing later told Reuters that three people had been taken away. Police cordoned off roads leading to the rally where the NLD members had shouted slogans demanding freedom for Suu Kyi and more than 1,300 political prisoners believed to be behind bars in the former Burma. Suu Kyi's confinement in her lakeside home in Yangon was extended in May despite international pleas to the generals to end her latest stretch of detention, which began in May 2003. The Nobel peace laureate has now been confined for nearly 13 of the past 19 years, with her telephone line cut and all visitors barred apart from her cook and occasionally her doctor. Yangon Reuters

CASE

New charges after Aussie toddlers starve Australian prosecutors on Thursday upgraded criminal charges against the parents of 18-month-old twins who apparently starved to death. The emaciated, decomposing bodies of the boy and girl were found in their cots by their 11-year-old sister in the family's home in the Queensland state capital of Brisbane on Monday. Police said the toddlers had been dead for up to nine days. The 28-year-old father and 30-year-old mother of the two children faced Brisbane Magistrate's Court on Thursday, charged with failing to provide necessities of life. But prosecutors later upgraded the charges to also include two counts of murder and torture. The couple were denied bail and were remanded in police custody until their next court appearance on Aug. 4. The case has shocked the country and sparked calls for Australians to build a stronger sense of community, to allow neighbors to be more aware of problems with children in their neighborhood. The twins' sister found the bodies of the toddlers on Monday after noticing a strong smell coming from their room. Canberra Reuters

FINANCING

Obama to forgo public funds for poll campaign US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Thursday he has decided to forgo public financing of his election campaign against Republican John McCain. The decision frees him up to collect money privately, which could be a help to him strategically ahead of November's election. During the Democratic primary contest to pick his party's candidate, Obama smashed records for fund-raising, largely on the success he achieved in raising money over the Internet. "We've made the decision not to participate in the public financing system for the general election," Obama said in a video statement e-mailed to reporters. Obama said the decision meant his campaign would be forgoing more than $80 million in public funds during the final months of this election. But the move allows him to raise as much private money as he can. "It's not an easy decision, and especially because I support a robust system of public financing of elections," he said. But the public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken and we face opponents who've become masters at gaming this broken system. Obama said his rival McCain's campaign and the Republican National Committee were fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest groups that can make unlimited donations. Washington Reuters

WORLD

Palestinian police loyal to Hamas play soccer at the Hamas headquarters in Gaza on Thursday after both sides halted fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Brian Cowen

Israel-Hamas truce begýns, duratýon ýn doubt For Hamas, suspending hostilities should spell some relief from an Israeli-led blockade and may help them gain legitimacy in the West and reconciliation with Abbas, who is in the mids of US-sponsored peace negotiations with Olmert Israel and Hamas halted fighting in the Gaza Strip on Thursday but, with wider peace prospects hazy, both sides voiced doubt over how long the Egyptian- brokered cease-fire might hold. Just before the truce went into effect after dawn an Israeli missile strike killed one Palestinian gunman and wounded another near the border fence with Israel in the central part of the Gaza Strip, medical workers and militants said. The truce began at 6 a.m. (11 p.m. EDT) after another day of cross-border violence. Dozens of improvised Palestinian rockets and mortar bombs hit south Israel, without causing serious damage and Israeli air strikes had wounded several Gaza gunmen. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Sydney Morning Herald that the truce pact was the militant group's last chance to avoid another Israeli military incursion into the Gaza Strip. "I think the strategy of Hamas, which does not want to recognize Israel's right to exist in the first place, and the extremism, and the fanaticism, and the religious dogmatism, is the enemy of peace," Olmert said. In a speech on Wednesday, Olmert had warned the agreement with Hamas, which seized the territory from Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah forces a year ago, was "fragile and likely to be short-lived." For Hamas, suspending hostilities should spell some relief from an Israeli-led blockade and may help them gain legitimacy in the West and reconciliation with Abbas, who is in the midst of US-sponsored peace negotiations with Olmert. Hamas's armed wing said in a statement

An Israeli soldier solves crossword puzzles near the Sufa border crossing outside Gaza. published just as the cease-fire began, that it is "fully ready to launch a military strike that would shake the Zionist entity if they did not abide by all the items of the calm." The truce comes as Olmert also pursues a prisoner swap with Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and indirect talks with Syria, as well as floating a suggestion of peace with Lebanon. Some of his many critics see all that as part of the prime minister's efforts to defend his political position in the midst of a corruption investigation that could cost him his job.

'National responsibility' Western officials said Israel planned to allow in a slightly higher number of truckloads of goods starting on Sunday, provided the truce was still in place. The Palestinians have demanded the full flow of imports restored.

Hamas rules Gaza but smaller Palestinian armed groups have in the past defied its ceasefire calls. The most recent Gaza truce, in November 2006, broke down quickly. UN envoy Robert Serry said a truce between Hamas and Israel and a possible reconciliation between Hamas and Abbas could provide conditions for UN peacekeepers in Gaza. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh voiced confidence all factions would respect Thursday's deal out of a sense of "national responsibility." On an unusually conciliatory note, Haniyeh told reporters the truce could offer "comfort" to Israelis who have suffered shelling from Gaza. But Hamas made clear it was ready to resume attacks. The truce does not cover the occupied West Bank, where Abbas holds sway and where Israeli troops regularly operate. Bloodshed there could potentially trigger reprisals from Gaza. Jamila al-Athamna, a Palestinian woman who lost 19 relatives to an Israeli tank shell in 2006, voiced hope that the calm will help both Palestinians and Israelis. "I hope things will be good and that people will no longer sleep on fear and horror. I hope there will no more rockets, no more gunfire and no more drones in skies," she said. Cairo is also mediating on the return of an Israeli soldier held in Gaza for almost two years. Israeli officials said the reopening of the Rafah border crossing that lets people travel between Gaza and Egypt depended on a deal to free Gilad Shalit. Another Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, said Shalit's release depended on Israel freeing Palestinian prisoners. Gaza Reuters

Ireland pleads for time to remedy EU reform treaty Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen insisted ahead of a European Union summit on Thursday it was premature to offer remedies for Ireland's "No" vote to an EU reform treaty that could sink the project. Most of the other eight countries still to endorse the treaty have vowed to go ahead with ratification, but delays in the Czech Republic and Poland added to a cloud of uncertainty over a pact which backers say is vital to overhaul the bloc. EU leaders will also try to surmount differences on how to tackle surging food and fuel prices after France led complaints that Brussels' inaction was a factor in the Irish vote, but a French call for a cap on fuel tax was roundly dismissed. Cowen and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said after talks that Ireland should not be pushed into a corner on the treaty and both stonewalled questions about the prospects of persuading the Irish to vote again. "We also agreed it is necessary for Ireland to have time now to analyze last week's vote and explore options," Cowen said. "It is far too early yet for anybody to put forward proposals," he added. Britain gave the treaty a boost by completing parliamentary ratification on Wednesday, winning Prime Minister Gordon Brown praise from President Nicolas Sarkozy on a stopover in Paris. But no early solution was in sight for salvaging a treaty designed to give the Union stronger leadership, a more efficient decision-making system and a bigger global role. Brussels Reuters

Iran says it is ready to negotiate on nuclear incentives Iran said on Thursday it was ready to negotiate over a new package of economic incentives put forward by major powers seeking to persuade Tehran to curb its nuclear work. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told a news conference in the Ugandan capital Kampala that the six -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany -- should also take a serious look at Tehran's own proposals. "We have informed them of our readiness to negotiate. The package given by the P5+1 countries is currently under consideration and at the appropriate time Tehran will give its reactions," Mottaki said. "We also have what we call the Iranian package which we have sent to the P5+1 countries and we hope they consider it as we consider theirs," added Mottaki, who was in Uganda for a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

The EU's top diplomat, Javier Solana, presented Tehran on Saturday with a new package of economic benefits designed to persuade it to curb its nuclear work and said Iran should stop uranium enrichment during negotiations to implement the offer. Iran said on Tuesday uranium enrichment was its "red line" and would continue despite the enhanced offer of incentives. The package is a revised version of one rejected by Iran in 2006. Western powers, which who suspect Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as cover to build an atomic bomb, have told Iran it will face more sanctions if it spurns the offer. As a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran insists it has the right to master the complete nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium enrichment, for peaceful purposes. It says it

CM Y K

REUTERS

19.06.2008

PHOTO

T10-20-06-08.qxd

wants nuclear power only to generate electricity. Mottaki said the United States should stop lecturing Iran on its nuclear ambitions. "America is not in the position to be happy or unhappy with our peaceful nuclear activities. It is a country that is currently testing a fifth-generation nuclear bomb," he said. "America should limit itself to its borders and stop interfering with other nations. The time for ordering other nations is over. We will continue to realize our rights definitely, " he added. The incentives package offers Iran the chance to develop a civilian nuclear program with light water reactors -- seen as harder to divert into bomb-making than the technology Tehran is now developing -- and legally binding fuel supply guarantees. It also offers trade and other benefits, including the possibility of Iran buying civil aircraft from the West. Kampala Reuters

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INFANTICIDE

Man jailed for cocaine death of teething son A man whose teething infant son died after apparently sucking on his father’s cocaine-tainted fingers has been sentenced to life in prison. Dennis Ray Driver, 26, was convicted on Wednesday of felony murder for the overdose death of his 8-month-old son, Dennis Jr. The jury also fined Driver $10,000. Driver said he fell asleep at his apartment on Dec. 28 with his son lying on his chest. When he awoke, the baby wasn’t breathing. The infant died the next day at a hospital. Driver had told investigators that he had chopped up cocaine and the baby later sucked on his fingers, prosecutor Murray Newman said. Newman said he didn’t believe Driver fed the cocaine to his son. “We weren’t trying to prove that he intentionally caused the death,” he said. “This sends a message to parents to protect their children from any contact with illegal drugs.” Newman said medical testimony showed that a trace amount of cocaine could have caused acute cocaine toxicity in the baby, who had metabolized cocaine in his bloodstream and undigested cocaine in his stomach. Defense attorney Hattie Shannon said her client was disappointed with the verdict and the sentence. Driver maintained his innocence throughout the trial, she said. Newman said Driver had at least eight previous convictions, including six that were related to cocaine. Houston AP

PROVOCATION

Russia warns Georgia over peacekeepers Russia warned on Thursday it might have to use force against Georgia if Russian peacekeepers were attacked again in its southern neighbor. General Lieutenant Alexander Burutin, first deputy of the military general staff, told reporters in Moscow that peacekeeping troops in Georgia showed considerable restraint when they were detained earlier this week. “In the future we cannot guarantee that our servicemen will act in this patient way. Their patience is not limitless. The consequences will be grave and there could be bloodshed. Responsibility for that will be entirely on the Georgian side,” Burutin said. Georgian police on Tuesday detained a group of Russian soldiers who they said were transporting weapons without permission. They later released them. Russia has had peacekeeping troops in Abkhazia since the end of a separatist war in the 1990s, and the region is a source of friction between the two countries. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday warned his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili in a phone conversation that Moscow would not stand for “provocations” against its peacekeepers. Moscow alleges Tbilisi has been preparing to attack Abkhazia, but Georgia’s pro-Western government, which has been promised eventual NATO membership, says it has no plans, and accuses Moscow of trying to annex the region. Moscow Reuters

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Iraq launches crackdown in southern city of Amara Iraqi security forces launched a crackdown on Shiite militias in the southern city of Amara on Thursday, the latest drive in Prime Minister Nuri alMaliki’s campaign to restore order to Iraq. “The operation started this morning,” Maj.Gen. Tariq Abdul Wahab, the commander of the offensive, told Reuters. “We have already arrested some wanted men. We can’t disclose who, but the operation is moving smoothly.” Amara, home to 250,000 people, is a stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Witnesses saw police raiding houses of suspected militants, backed by US troops in armored vehicles blocking roads. Two senior police sources and a source from the governorship of Maysan province told Reuters that amongst those arrested were the city’s mayor, Rafea Abdul-Jabbar, and a member of the municipal council. Security forces appeared to meet no resistance and residents said they had not yet heard a single gunshot. Sadr has ordered his fighters not to resist. Iraqi troops and police have been tightening their grip on Amara for days. They have urged militias to hand over medium and heavy weapons, such as rockets and mortars. Calling the operation the “Omen of Peace”, a statement from Maliki’s cabinet said it will “impose law in the province and confront the outlaws.” It added that a big cache of weapons had been discovered in the city in the past few days. Local police spokesman Col. Mahdi al-Asadi

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An Iraqi army soldier stands guard with a rocket-propelled grenade in Amarah, 320 km southeast of Baghdad. said a curfew had been imposed on Maysan province until further notice. Iraqi police and troops patrolled the streets of Amara and US helicopters hovered overhead. Many residents stayed home and some shops were closed. Traffic jams built up on Amara’s outskirts as police searched vehicles entering the city. Maliki has previously sent the Iraqi army, with US support, into Mahdi Army bastions in Baghdad and the southern oil city of Basra, and launched a campaign against al-Qaeda Sunni Arab insurgents in the northern city of Mosul.

Maliki had given “outlaws” and “criminals” in Amara until Wednesday to surrender their heavy weapons before the crackdown. A security source has said militants were instead dumping them in rivers, streets or farms. Analysts say Sadr’s conciliatory stance shows he is pursuing a twin strategy -- trying to regain control of his unruly militia whilst avoiding confrontation with the government. The anti-American cleric has at times seemed on the verge of declaring war on security forces, but last Friday urged his men not to fight them, saying

PLEDGE

S. Korean leader vows to ban US beef imports South Korean President Lee Myung-bak pledged on Thursday to keep US beef out of South Korea unless Washingtion bans meat from older cattle, a move designed to defuse a political crisis sparked by health concerns that has derailed his plan to boost US ties and reinvigorate the economy. In a nationally televised address, Lee said he will “ensure that US beef older than 30 months will not be put on our dinner tables as long as people don’t want it.” The South Korean leader said he told US President George W. Bush during a phone call earlier this month that South Korea “would not be able to import US beef” if his demands banning beef from older cattle were not accepted. His comments came as the top trade officials of the two countries held their latest talks on Wednesday in Washington where Seoul was seeking to restrict beef shipments of cattle younger than 30 months, which are believed to be less at risk of mad cow disease. The meeting ended inconclusively and the sides agreed to meet again Thursday, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said. South Korea suspended imports of US beef after the first American case of mad cow disease appeared in December 2003, closing what had been the third-largest foreign market. Seoul AP

REJECTION

Sweden says no to asylum for Chinese Uighur Sweden denied asylum Thursday to a Chinese Muslim who was released from Guantanamo Bay after the US acknowledged he was not a terrorist. Adel Abdu AlHakim, who belongs to a minority group of Turkicspeaking Chinese Muslims called Uighurs, fled China in 1999 to avoid persecution. He ended up in Pakistan, but was swept up in the US dragnet for terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and was taken to the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After he was released in 2006, Al-Hakim went to Albania -- the only country that would accept him. In its ruling, the Swedish Migration Board acknowledged that Al-Hakim could not be sent back to China. But the board said he had no reason to seek refuge from Albania. His Swedish lawyer, Sten De Geer, said he will appeal. Describing the decision as “an unparalleled scandal,” De Geer said Albania will not allow Al-Hakim’s wife and children, who are still in China, to join him. Al-Hakim applied for asylum in Sweden in November, when he visited to attend a human rights conference in Stockholm. Stockholm AP

only a select group of the Mahdi Army would confront US -- not Iraqi -- forces. That contrasts sharply with the earlier Baghdad and Basra operations, when government forces met fierce resistance from Mahdi Army fighters. Hundreds were killed in Basra and other southern towns. Fighting raged in Baghdad for nearly two months. But government control has been largely restored since Sadr and the ruling Shiite alliance agreed a truce in both cities. Analysts say Sadr, knowing he would lose an all-out military confrontation with a government backed by immense US firepower, is seeking alternatives to stay on the scene. He is also trying to resist intense pressure from some of his own commanders to respond forcefully to government crackdowns, who see them as a provocation and an attempt to marginalize their movement before Oct. 1 provincial elections. By backing out of a fight, Sadr may be seeking to concentrate instead on backing candidates at the ballot box. Maliki has been criticized in the past for lacking resolve to stabilize Iraq -- especially in cracking down on fellow Shi’ites. But he has gained a measure of respect at home and abroad for the offensives, which have helped reduce violence to the lowest level in more than four years. The campaigns also underscore the government’s desire to take more control of security from 150,000 US troops in Iraq. Amara Reuters

Mississippi flood levees strain, Bush visits Iowa

REUTERS

19.06.2008

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Residents row boats along a flooded street in Fengkai, west of Guangdong province. The rain and floods, concentrated in Guangdong and neighbouring Guangxi, have killed at least 176 people and left 52 missing since the start of the annual flood season.

China, fearing flood, moves 70,000 from quake areas Rain and floods, concentrated in China's heavily industrialized south, have killed at least 176 people already this year and left 52 missing as authorities struggle to shelter millions made homeless by the 7.9 magnitude quake that struck the province on May 12 China has evacuated more than 70,000 people near the epicenter of last month’s devastating earthquake to avoid further casualties from landslides and other disasters during the annual flood season. Rain and floods, concentrated in China’s heavily industrialized south, have killed at least 176 people already this year, and left 52 missing, as authorities struggle to shelter millions made homeless by the 7.9 magnitude quake that struck the southwestern province of Sichuan on May 12. Authorities in Aba prefecture had moved 72,000 people living in “highly dangerous terrain” in Wenchuan county, the epicenter of the quake, to safer areas ahead of downpours on Wednesday night, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday. “The three-day mass relocation concluded at 8 p.m., just two hours before heavy rain hit the county,” Xinhua quoted local disaster prevention authorities as saying. It did not explain why the already devastated area was still home to so

many people, whether they were living in tent cities or in homes, or where they would be evacuated to. Authorities had started to evacuate another nearly 40,000 residents from other regions of the prefecture on Sunday, the report said, without elaborating. China suffers floods, droughts and other disasters across its huge landmass every year. The State Flood Control and Relief Headquarters said the death toll so far was significantly lower than for similar periods in previous years. Since the earthquake struck, killing more than 69,000, Wenchuan county alone had experienced nearly 5,000 “secondary geological disasters,” including hundreds of major landslides and mudslides, Xinhua said. State television showed footage of villagers carrying belongings and picking their way gingerly down steep mountain paths. The death toll in China’s flood season, which has forced the evacuation of about 1.66 million people and damaged or destroyed 9,000 square miles of crop-land, had risen to at least 176

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people by Thursday, 50 days before the Olympic Games open in Beijing. Rainstorms and floods had been recorded in nine provinces, from Yunnan in the far southwest to Zhejiang in the east, where 2,000 people were evacuated in Pingyao city as waters threatened to engulf their roof-tops. More than 800 residents were trapped and awaiting relief in Liyang, a village in the mountains of the Guangxi region, east of Yunnan, where roads and power lines had been cut since Monday, the China Daily said. Floodwaters near Foshan, a manufacturing hub in Guangdong’s Pearl River Delta, were subsiding slowly as rains eased, but teams of engineers and troops remained on standby along the banks of the swollen Beijiang river. Some economists have said the cost of this year’s flooding appears no greater than in previous years, but add that thousands of hectares of lost crops could add to price pressures as China battles inflation that has been driven by soaring food costs over the past year. Sanshui Reuters

The Mississippi River surged past levees and spilled into farms, small towns and parkland on Thursday, adding to billion-dollar losses that have ignited global food inflation fears. More than two dozen levees on the key U.S. commercial waterway have either overflowed or been breached, causing grain and meat prices to soar on concerns about short supplies. Corn prices retreated early on Thursday, having set record highs for two weeks on flooding that has submerged or stunted crops on millions of acres (hectares). Political pressure was growing to provide relief. President George W. Bush was due to travel to Iowa later on Thursday to survey flood damage in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City and meet with emergency workers and state and local officials. Republican presidential candidate John McCain, an Arizona senator, were also expected in the state to inspect the damage and the response. His Democratic rival in the November presidential election, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, visited earlier this week. In Quincy, Illinois, along the Mississippi, the largely volunteer effort to fill and stack sandbags continued. Jeff Steinkamp, chief engineer of Quincy, where the flooded river is expected to crest at 32.2 feet (9.8 meters) today, said days of sandbagging levees had paid off so far. “Everything is holding for now. So far, so good,” he said. The Army Corps, which operates river locks and dams, said 23 levees along the Mississippi had failed this week. It said 48 levees protecting more than 285,000 acres (115,335 hectares) of cropland from Dubuque, Iowa, to St. Louis, Missouri, were overflowing or at high flood risk. The latest levee to be overtopped was close to the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, north of St. Louis, that protected about 4,000 acres (1,619 hectares) of parkland. Another two-dozen levees are at risk of being swamped by floodwaters, the Army Corps said. Levee breaches upstream temporarily lower the river’s level downstream. Quincy Illinois

‘Afghan and NATO forces rout Taliban in Kandahar' Afghan and NATO-led forces killed or wounded hundreds of Taliban on Thursday in an offensive to clear the militants from the outskirts of Kandahar city, according to the provincial governor. NATO spokesmen in Kabul said it was too early to say whether Taliban fighters, including many who escaped during a mass jail break last week, had been routed from positions among the orchards and farms of Arghandab district, northwest of Kandahar. On Thursday, Afghan and mostly Canadian NATO forces attacked enemy positions, having used helicopter gunships at the start of what had shaped up to be one of the biggest battles in Afghanistan in recent years. NATO has said the offensive, which began on Wednesday, was expected to last until the weekend, and it estimated that some 600 Taliban fighters had slipped into the Arghandab valley. Kandahar provincial governor Assadullah Khalid told a news conference that the Taliban had been driven out, and troops were searching villagers’ houses for fighters left behind. “The Taliban have been cleared totally from Arghandab district,” Khalid said. “They have suffered hundreds of dead and wounded and many of their casualties are Pakistanis,” he said. Defense Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimi also said Arghandab district had been retaken, and 56 insurgents killed. Azimi said two Afghan army officers had been killed and two wounded. Kandahar Reuters

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EXPAT ZONE

Everybody wants ýt sometýme, or do they? Have you ever wondered why so many cultures have marked the human body? Tattooing has come to be regarded as an art form. When my cousin came back from serving in the Navy years ago, he showed me his arm. It was the first tattoo I had ever seen. I didn't know what to think! He had done it simply love for a sweetheart, with a heart and arrow and their initials etched into his arm -- that's truly wearing your heart on your sleeve. In Western cultures, for different reasons, an increasing number of youth and young adults have been getting tattooed. Visitors to Turkey are often surprised to see all the tattoo studios and the young Turks with tattoos. Tattooing began centuries before the Western "punk" hairstyle/body-piercing fashion that has also spread to Turkey. -- During early Egyptian civilization tattooing was popular and spread to other civilizations. -- Japanese clay figurines bear evidence of the tattooing craft and Japanese men began adorning their bodies with elaborate tattoos in the late third century. -- Ancient Polynesians etched tattoos on their bodies to mark their spiritual beliefs. -- Samoans actually ritualized the art. -- Traces of tattooing date back as far back as 7000 B.C. in Çatalhöyük. You may have gone to a "henna night" (kýna gecesi) where

henna is used for ornamentation purposes (mainly on the hands and feet) before the wedding. That can be considered a tattoo night of sorts. Henna leaves are probably the earliest known temporary tattoo that was used extensively in the ancient cultures of the Middle East and Asia. The leaves are dried in the sun, ground to a fine powder and later mixed with water to produce a semi-permanent dye. Henna is believed to be healthy. It's not a new fashion: Evidence exists that henna was used for decorating the hands in ancient times. Back to our original question: Why have so many cultures marked the human body? To learn more about techniques and the history, visit this Web site:http://www.smithsonianmag.com/historyarchaeology/tattoo.html?c=y&page=5 To this day tattoos are increasingly popular and are created by inserting coloring beneath the surface of the skin. People have been getting tattoos for centuries for numerous reasons ranging from medicinal, status symbols, expression of speech and for magical or appropriate societal, political or religious significance. Mind you, criminals were also tattooed! Tattooing seems to be more than a form of self-expression or fashion statement. In many cases, it seems to have sprung up independently as a per-

CULTURAL CORNER

CHARLOTTE McPHERSON manent way to place protective or therapeutic symbols upon the body, then as a means of marking people out into appropriate social, political or religious groups (a type of identification card), or simply as a form of self-expression or fashion statement. Here are just a few examples. The Maori people of New Zealand believe the head to be the most important part of the body. Maori people embellished the face with elaborate tattoos unique to each individual, acting as a form of identification. The Greeks and Romans used tattoos to show their allegiance. Tattoos seem to have been largely used as a means to mark someone as "belonging" either to a religious sect or to an owner in the case of slaves or even as a punitive measure to mark them as criminals. The fashion was also adopted by Roman soldiers and spread across the Roman Empire until the emergence of Christianity, when tattoos were felt to "disfigure that made in God's image" and so were

{{ e x pat p r o f ý l e {{

KATHY HAMILTON

JULIA KONMAZ ÝSTANBUL

PHOTOS

Multinational twists and turns led Gerard and Mireille Ollivier from Brazil to France, where they met in Paris at a business school, to now living in Turkey part-time while operating a hotel in the quiet town of Finike. Mireille's father worked in Brazil, which is where she lived until she was 18. Gerard was born and raised in Bretagne, on the west coast of France. After meeting in Paris, they married in 1973. Until the end of 2006 Mireille worked as the commercial director of the French railways and Gerard was employed as a managing director specializing in business restructuring and reorganization. Three years ago they decided to retire from their jobs and pursue a dream of settling in Turkey. Since then they have split their time between the two countries, spending March through November in Turkey and moving back to Paris during the winters. To them, life in Finike is much more quiet and pleasant than in the 11th district of Paris, near the Bastille, but by spending winters there they are able to partake of favorite French wines and food while catching up with family and friends. Their first trip to Turkey, in 1977, was actually an impromptu visit. They had originally planned to go to Colombia, where Mireille's father was working at the time. With visions of free accommodations and a free car to use while there, it was to be a vacation that would cost them little money. But, her father returned to France several months earlier than expected and the Olliviers were left wondering where to go instead of Colombia. On a whim they opted for a visit to Turkey and they went to Ýstanbul, Ankara, Ürgüp and Antalya. At that time Antalya was a fishing village with just one hotel and Kuþadasý was not yet overrun by tourists. They returned again in 1978 and 1979 and they met Turks who became close friends. Together with one of their friends they bought a 25-meter gulet built on the Black Sea that they rented out to Club Med for blue cruises. It was then that they decided they would one day move to Turkey, but little did they realize that it would take them almost 30 years before they were finally able to do that. Gerard explains: "We were still working in Paris, but we decided to have our own house in Turkey. So, we spent two years coming on holidays and looking for land, from Bodrum to Antalya. We finally found it in the little harbor of Finike, by a river and in the heart of an orange grove. In 1993 our house was finally finished -- 500 square meters, eight rooms, a big garden and a swimming pool. It was like heaven. In 2000 we bought a boat to use as a restaurant in the harbor of Finike, mostly just for fun since we like fish and it was a good way to be thought of as a true resident. However, it was harder and harder for us to just be there seven weeks out of the year, plus we were fed up with our jobs in Paris. We wanted to make our home into a boutique hotel and in 2006 we received permission to start the business." Finike is a small town situated on the Lycian coast, between the sea and the mountains and nestled amid orange groves. Speaking about the local economy, Gerard said: "A small orange grove of about 5000

Gerard (R) and Mireille Ollivier in their hotel in Finike. square meters gives a net annual income of about YTL 10,000 without a lot of work involved. That is why Finike has been preserved from mass tourism: No one wants to sell his land. It remains a true town, not a collection of bars, shops, discos and restaurants." Gerard and Mireille opened their hotel, the Villa-Hôtel l'Orangeraie, just two years ago. They were immediately selected for inclusion in the Nisanyan guide "Small Hotels of Turkey." Situated in the heart of the orange groves of Finike, alongside the river, the six guest rooms are surrounded by a 3,500 square meter garden bursting with orange trees, bougainvilleas, roses and palm trees. With no neighbors nearby, it is just five minutes by car to the city center and harbor. Their clientele so far has been fairly evenly divided between Turks, Americans and French-Belgians. In addition to the relaxing setting, the hotel offers cuisine that is a fusion of Turkish and southern French food. Just under two hours from the Antalya airport, Finike is an excellent starting point for visits to Lycia. It is a half hour drive from Arykanda in the mountains, as well as Lymira and Myra. In an hour one can easily reach the Kekova archipelago, or Kaþ, Olympos, Phaselis and Adrasan. Recounting their experience in bringing the hotel from dream to reality, Gerard shared one of the many humorous stories that have happened to them. "The hotel is by a river and for many years we used the river for all of our water needs.

But, often the pump or the filter was out of order or there would be no electricity, which meant no water. I was fed up with this system and asked the municipality to let us have water. The mayor agreed that if I paid for the pipes the water would be turned on. Six months later we had steady, clean water from the city. But, one year later I still had not received a single bill from the city. Before leaving one August I asked the housekeeper to find out what had happened. When I returned in October she told me there was a problem, but she didn't know what it w as. So I went to the city hall and met with the man in charge. He too knew there was a problem but did not know anything except the problem was with the real estate director of the municipality. So I went to see him and he explained that he could not give me authorization for a water contract with building permission for our hotel. However, I knew that my friend in Kaþ had taken care of all the administrative procedures for me. I then went to the mayor who confirmed that without building permission he could not supply me with water after all. But, he said there was no problem at the moment, but there was no guarantee for the future of our water supply. I had been invited to my friend's house that same evening and I asked him then how he had built my house without permission. He said it was a mistake and that he had gotten all the necessary paperwork done. Unfortunately it was impossible to find a copy of the papers in his files. The next day I returned to the real estate director and he searched through his records, which are filed by surnames, but to

no avail. At the city hall everyone knows me as simply Gerard. The man in charge of water had requested authorization from the real estate director for a water contract with the last name of Gerard. Or course, there was no record of any authorization being issued to anyone with this name. I then had him check under my actual last name and happily there was a contract for me under my surname, Ollivier. Two days later it became another funny story to relate to friends." His advice to foreigners wanting to open a business in Turkey is two part: "First of all, learn Turkish and second, learn Turkish. Supposing that the business idea is good, it is not difficult at all to start a business in Turkey. But, you have to speak with your personnel, your customers, your suppliers. Even if you have help from Turkish friends or Turkish employees, it is crazy to imagine that you can do any business in any country without speaking the local language. The second piece of advice would be to respect the Turkish law. Some foreigners consider Turkey to be some kind of Wild West where everything is possible. It is not. If you do not respect the laws, one day or another you will have a lot of problems, even if in the first years nobody says anything. Of course you have to know the laws, or to be able to understand your accountant when he explains it to you. And we come back again to the Turkish language…" For information on the Villa-Hôtel l'Orangeraie, visit: http://www.orangeraie-de-finike.com.

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

Wavýng the star and crescent all the way to Taksým: healthy natýonalýsm?

French couple hosts guests from all over ýn theýr Fýnýke hotel KATHY HAMILTON ÝSTANBUL

banned by the Emperor Constantine (A.D. 306-373). Parents everywhere have to deal with teen whims (or are they a whim?). Tim Russert, moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press" television program, died at the age of 58 on June 13. In a Father's Day rerun interview on Larry King, Mr. Russert shared about how he, as a father, had always feared his son would come home with a tattoo. One night his son did just that! When Tim asked to see the tattoo he was moved to tears because his son had had the initials of his grandfather and father tastefully tattooed on his upper arm in a small box. In this case, the tattoo reflected those he loved. Some people get tattoos because they want to stand apart from the crowd and be noticed. The only tattoo I ever had was with the kind that you could do on yourself by just wetting the bubblegum wrapper and pressing it on your skin. It was washed off with the next bath! Share your opinion or personal story about tattoos with me.

Rarely in my life have I been a flag-waver. I'm not just saying that I'm not a particularly nationalist person (which I'm not), but that I literally almost never get a chance to wave a flag. Growing up in the bosom of a secular humanist American family, we didn't have many flags hanging around, and the ones we might have had we didn't really "wave" per se. In fact, I even remember one Fourth of July when, en famille, we gathered in our backyard in Los Angeles to BURN the American flag in order to underscore our freedom to do so. At the time, the US Supreme Court was threatening to officially ban flag-burning and other kinds of flag desecration (including museum shows where flags were part of floor displays and such, which would mean people might actually have to step on a flag), and even though we as a family were not normally inclined to try and burn a flag or make a floor mosaic out of one, the freedom to be able to do such an odd thing seemed important at the time. But somehow, this whole ambiguous past history of mine with flags seemed to fall away a few nights ago in Ýstanbul, as I felt my hands gripping onto and waving a red-and-white star-and-crescent flag from the window of my husband's car and watched my two kids lean out the car's sunroof as we raced from Etiler for Taksim for a midnight victory lap. After all, Turkey had just beaten the Czech Republic 3-2 in a thrilling last-minute volley of goals in the Euro 2008! I know it is completely different when you are waving a flag to celebrate a country's sporting victory as opposed to when you are doing it at a nationalist rally or some angry, war-related event. And the flag-waving that night was definitely the former, not the latter. Still, an exquisite tingle of daring ran up my spine as I clutched my flag, standing near the mad, throbbing crowds of Taksim at midnight, watching the red flares being lighted up and looking on as throbbing, testosterone-driven crowds of young men did the "horon" in the middle of the street. It felt strange but somehow right to be here in the middle of this celebration, brazenly but also innocently nationalistic, holding up a flag for a country that is not technically my native one but which I have called home for the past decade or so. And this might sound strange too, but somehow it was a huge relief to be able to wave the flag out the window of car and in Taksim without having to think about things like Iraq or Vietnam or any of the other things I tend to think about when I wave (have I ever?) an American flag. It's strange, but for the past few years, there's been almost no such thing as a "psychologically unencumbered" waving or displaying of the American flag for me. It has seemed too tied up with so many other matters, the latest one being of course Iraq. And Sept. 11. For a while, especially right after Sept. 11 in the US, the American flag was kind of adopted as a sign of supporting the troops and thus supporting the war, and though in my family there was a move to, as my mother called it, "reclaim the flag," it never really got off the ground. Suddenly, post-Sept. 11 in the US, the flag became the domain of everyone who was "for" the war and it simultaneously became a "no man's land" of sorts for those who opposed it. Which is sad really, because in the end, as I was reminded last night in Taksim, it's really just a piece of cloth, unambiguously fun to wave, great to feel proud about and an important part of a soccer victory celebration when you are applauding the work of a national team. Maybe that's what America needs in order to be able to bring back "unencumbered" flag-waving: a strong national soccer team that can go and, you know, maybe beat the Brazilians 3-2? Miracles can happen…

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.

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TODAY’S ZAMAN 13

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Ýstanbul to host World Music Day concerts

High school students experiment with pinhole photography technique RUMEYSA KIGER ÝSTANBUL

The Ýstanbul Museum of Modern Art is currently home to a collection of photographs by 33 aspiring young photographers using the 2,500-year-old "pinhole" technique, based on the camera obscura principle. Titled "Pinhole Photographs," it involves 67 photographs depicting the historical landmarks of the young artists' hometowns: the Mediterranean provinces of Adana, Mersin, Hatay and Osmaniye. The exhibition is the result of a two-year effort under the leadership of Turkish literature teacher Nuri Gürdil. "In 2003 I at-

tended a [photography] workshop by Ahmet Selim Sabuncu at Çukurova University and was confronted with the idea of taking photographs through a pinhole," Gürdil revealed at a press conference in the museum on Tuesday, adding that his experiments with the technique actually began after his camera was broken. Gürdil founded photography clubs in Adana Adasokaðý and Tepebað high schools where he taught and tried to convince his students that they didn't actually need state-of-theart cameras to take pictures. The biggest problem facing the clubs was the lack of cameras, since most of the students simply could not afford one. "It took two months to persuade my students that we could actually make a black box and take photographs without lenses. Of course it is very difficult to believe this in a period in which one can take photographs even with cell phones," Gürdil said. Eventually, one of the students brought a pinhole camera to the club and they experimented, taking their shots. "Thank God we were able to get some images that day with the black box. Otherwise, this exhibition might not have been possible," said Gürdil, recalling that it was an arduous and lengthy process to achieve proper images via the pinhole technique. "Sometimes, in order to take just one picture, we had to wait over an hour." The exhibition also showcases handmade pinhole cameras created by the students from boxes formerly containing tea, halva and even fragrance. The cameras have a pinhole in one end and a piece of film or photographic paper taped onto the other. Erdal Koçak, one of the students among the group, said it took him two months to set up his camera. "Since my father is a carpenter, I chose to craft it out of wood. When I first made it, I was very curious as to whether it would actually work, but in the end it really did," he said, pointing proudly to his pinhole camera. Exhibition curator Engin Özendes explained that the students' photographs were frames difficult to catch with a pinhole and that she was attracted by the expressive styles when she first saw the pictures during the 5th Photography Days event at Near East

University in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). "I would never have guessed that the photographers were this young," she admitted. Saying that the students were contributing to the process of urbanization through this exhibition, Özendes also underlined that the collection was being displayed at Ýstanbul Modern due to their high aesthetic as well as representation of a very important period in the history of p hotography. Sponsored by Mustafa Nevzat Medicine Company with support from Visa Renkli Ufuklar, Mas Press and Marshall, the exhibition will be on display until Aug. 24. For more information, visit www.istanbulmodern.org.

Ýstanbul will tomorrow host a series of street concerts by several bands to mark World Music Day (also known as Fête de la Musique), an international celebration of music taking place annually on June 21, the summer solstice. The event, which will feature performances by seven music groups, is an effort of the music and opera directorate of the agency which oversees preparations for 2010, when Ýstanbul will be assuming the title of European Capital of Culture. Called "Müzik Duraklarý" (Musical Stops), the event will follow the routes of two methods of public transport that are commonly used by commuters in Ýstanbul, namely the tram in Beyoðlu and the ferries. The concerts will be the first leg of a broader series titled "2010'a Gider iken" (En Route to 2010), the agency said in a written statement. Renowned orchestra conductor Cem Mansur, who heads the music department of the agency, said the series was aimed at making music, and arts in general, part of daily life in Ýstanbul. Noting that World Music Day -- which was launched in France in 1982 -- will this year be celebrated in around 350 cities in 120 countries across the globe, Mansur said he believed Ýstanbul would become one of the most colorful locations for these celebrations in the year 2010. Saturday's "Müzik Duraklarý" gigs on the European side will kick off with a concert by the Ýstanbul Metropolitan Band at 5:15 p.m. in Taksim Square. In the meantime, the Turkish funk-reggae band Hariçten Gazelciler will be at the Kabataþ pier for a 30-minute gig that will start at 5:30 p.m. The Ýstanbul Metropolitan Band, at 6:45 p.m., will board the Taksim-Tünel tram, performing a half-hour concert on their way to Galata. A performance by trumpeter Cana Çankaya at 7:15 p.m. in Tünel Square will follow. Meanwhile on the Anatolian side, accordion player Muammer Ketencoðlu and his orchestra will be opening the event at 7 p.m. at the KadýköyKaraköy pier. The Dinar brass-band will take the audiences on a 25-minute ferry trip from Kadýköy to Karaköy, where they will be treated to a concert by the band Aylak Martý. The event will wrap up with a concert by the Ahýrkapý Roma Orchestra at 9:30 p.m. in Ayasofya Square. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

Guns N' Roses’ new songs hit the Web Nine tracks purportedly from Guns N' Roses' 14-years-in-the-making album "Chinese Democracy" were leaked online Wednesday by the Web site Antiquiet.com, Billboard music magazine reported yesterday; however, the band rapidly took action to have the links removed, the report said. Six of the songs had previously been leaked in unfinished forms, including "Better," "The Blues," the title track, "Madagascar," "IRS" and "There Was a Time." But the new versions that leaked Wednesday appeared to be much closer to completion and featured new touches like organ and tambourine on "IRS" and a beefed-up chorus with multi-tracked vocals on "Madagascar," according to Billboard. The three previously unheard songs were "Rhiad and the Bedouins," "If the World" and a track whose title is unknown. "Chinese Democracy" was last on Interscope's release schedule in March 2007. But even if its release is drawing near, "Chinese Democracy" will likely go down as the album with the most troubled birth in rock history. Work began on the album way back in 1994, and since then, front man Axl Rose has spent a reported $13 million in production costs, Billboard said. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

Sotheby's to auction works by Damien Hirst

ALBUM

CONCERT

Ulaþ Özdemir breathes new life into Alevi songs

Köse and Focan play jazz standards at Nardis club

Baðlama player Ulaþ Özdemir's newest studio album, "Bu Dem" (This Breath), is now out under the Kalan Music label. The album features deyiþ, the traditional poetry of the Alevi-Bektashi folk minstrels, performed on the traditional forms of the saz in the southeastern Maraþ region: the dede sazý and the cura. Most songs in the album were reinterpreted by Özdemir, who worked with his father to collect this repertoire.

Turkish jazz musicians Sibel Köse and Önder Focan will next week appear as a duo at Ýstanbul's Nardis Jazz Club, presenting a selection of jazz standards. Köse, one of the best jazz vocalists in Turkey, and Focan, whose 1998 CD "Beneath the Stars" made him the first Turkish artist to release an album on the legendary Blue Note label, will be onstage at 9:30 p.m. at the concert on June 25. Tickets, priced at YTL 25, can be purchased at Nardis box office.

FESTIVAL

Journey from classic to contemporary with Kremer Famed Latvian violinist and conductor Gidon Kremer, accompanied by his ensemble, Kremerata Baltica, will be onstage tonight at Ýstanbul's Hagia Eirene Museum as part of the ongoing Ýstanbul Music Festival. The ensemble will present a program that features Arvo Pärt's "Cantus in Memoriam Britten," Benjamin Britten's "Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge, Op. 10" and Beethoven's "Violin Concerto in D Major." The concert starts at 8 p.m.

EXHIBITION

Derinlikler Gallery presents work by 26 master painters The Derinlikler Art Center in Ýstanbul's Teþvikiye district hosts a mixed exhibition that features a selection of the works of 26 master Turkish painters. Works of art by Devrim Erbil, Erol Akyavaþ, Fikret Otyam, Ýbrahim Balaban, Komet, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboðlu, Burhan Doðançay, Cihat Burak and Nuri Ýyem are among the featured works at the exhibit that runs until July 12. Open every day between 9 a.m.-7 p.m. except Sundays. Tel.: (212) 227 2664

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Sotheby's will auction a series of new works by British artist Damien Hirst, including a trademark animal preserved in formaldehyde that is expected to fetch up to 12 million pounds ($23.6 million). Hirst, one of contemporary art's most bankable stars, said he chose to sell his latest work in the auction room rather than the gallery because "the world's changing." The 43-year-old also based his decision on the success of a 2004 auction, also hosted by Sotheby's, which raised 11.1 million pounds from the sale of objects he designed for the defunct Pharmacy restaurant in London. “After the success of the Pharmacy auction, I always felt I would like to do another auction,” Hirst said in a statement. The main lot in the auction, to be held in London on Sept. 15 and 16, is "The Golden Calf," a bull in a glass tank of formaldehyde with its head crowned by a solid gold disc and its hooves and horns cast in 18-carat gold. The work, which Sotheby's said united the artist's preoccupation with "science, religion, beauty and death," is estimated to realize 8 to 12 million pounds. The sale, called "Beautiful Inside My Head Forever," will also include paintings, cabinets and preparatory drawings. It coincides with the 20th anniversary of the Freeze exhibition in London which launched the careers of curator Hirst and some of his fellow "Young British Artists." London Reuters

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PHOTO

ÝSA ÞÝMÞEK

FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008

Same dýscussýons, allegatýons precede mýlýtary meetýng MAZHAR BAÐLI*

In the last few years discussions have been held and allegations have been brought up on the private lives of some military bureaucrats at the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in the months of June and July. Every single detail of these bureaucrats, including their DNA and family history, is discussed; however, nothing changes in connection with these discussions. Some even assert that the discussions seek to manipulate some facts. In other words, these reports and rumors are part of a campaign to create public opinion supportive of predetermined results and outcomes. I have no information as to why this is the case or who is staging these allegations. It is also impossible to believe that such a strong institution, known for its ability to collect intelligence, is actually weak on this matter. More importantly, why are there frequent and heated discussions on changes in the command posts of the military bureaucracy whose rules and standards have been well grounded and identified beforehand? On what criteria is a plan or decision made to specify who will assume military office? What separates arbitration from the rule of law? Do the said discussions make any contribution to these appointments? If the rules and laws are all set and if all are doing their jobs, why are some other factors involved in the process? It is possible to offer many other questions; what is apparent is that the military bureaucracy does not consider itself equal to other types of bureaucracy. I should also note that the

military bureaucracy should come to the awareness that nowhere in the world do the self-considerations of the military suffice to determine its place on the political stage. Civilian legislation and a set of regulations are strongly needed to govern the military bureaucracy simply because the rationality that the military bureaucracy relies on and the rationale of the civilian sphere and social structure are distinct.

Military bureaucracy, society and history It is not possible to design the civilian sphere using military rationality; however, it is possible to design the military bureaucracy with civilian rationality. It should also be noted that the military sphere should be designed by civilian rationality because the overall experience so far requires this. But why has this not been the case in Turkey? Why does the General Staff assume the responsibility and duty in every political case to respond and take action in an attempt to deal with the incident? Why does it issue statements against administrations in power and even against opposition parties? Turkey is a country that experiences the same problems encountered all over the world. However, the way these problems are brought to the political agenda restricts their discussion to a metaphoric sphere and rhetoric, blocking the domination of civilian rationality. In order to emphasize a certain ideology, clichés are used, clichés such as: the society actually has no problems, the problems are created by external actors; we have enemies that seek to curb our economic

growth; the entire world envies us; we are surrounded by enemies; the public suffers from unawareness so much so that it votes for those who scratch their bellies; Turks have no friends other than Turks; and the EU seeks to partition our country. However, this refers to a sociologically unethical situation. The only way to reinforce or strengthen societies, states and even individuals is to make sure that they are open to criticism. The logic of this is pretty simple. Institutions that can be criticized are able to become aware of their shortcomings more easily and take more effective actions to correct them. Those who cannot stand criticism do not want to strengthen criticized institutions. If even families' sacrificing their sons for the sake of this country's survival cannot prove their loyalty, what is there that will? If there is a crisis of confidence, citizens should not be the ones to blame. What created this crisis are a series of shady, non-transparent incidents wherein justice has yet to be applied such as the Þemdinli case, a November 2005 bombing in Þemdinli in which two noncommissioned officers were caught red-handed bombing a bookstore owned by a former member of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); developments behind the Hrant Dink incident in which a prominent journalist of Armenian origin was murdered; operations by the military to create special files or a black list on individuals' patriotism; friendship and close relations with supreme judiciary actors; and the Ergenekon case, a shady gang whose members allegedly perpetrated a number of attacks and bombings to create

h.gulerce@todayszaman.com

Koç raýses the expected voýce Change is necessary for societies and organizations that can withstand the test of time. Nations with destroyed hopes, lost horizons and an exhausted will to live are relegated to being destroyed. Will the process relating to the closure case against the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) bring change or chaos? This is the most crucial question at the moment. Some groups seem to be risking the death of the patient after a successful operation. People with this mentality seek to impose a form of rule they approve of on the society instead of heralding a social change toward what is better and nicer. But, can this be possible if one considers the current level of development of humankind in terms of human rights, freedoms and universal values? To put it differently, can a Turkey that is inhabited by stereotyped people whose differences have been eliminated exist independently of the world? Moreover, can we arrive at a social consensus while a political party that has secured 47 percent of the national vote is insulted and beaten openly before the eyes of half of the nation and while the people who serve the nation are rendered ineffective through false accusations? The attempt to shut down the AK Party has triggered a process of change, whatever its outcome may be. Yes, nothing will be the same. Today, there is not much chaos in sight, but if we just sit and watch the events, we will be in a true mess and complete disorder only a few months from now. Some groups insist that the AK Party should be closed, that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan should be arrested, that he should not be allowed to run in elections as an independent candidate, that President Abdullah Gül should be removed from office and that State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdüllatif Þener should lead the party so that their wishes are fulfilled. It is obvious that the patient cannot survive such an operation even if it is successful. The Turkish economy cannot withstand the aftershocks of such an operation. The Republican People's Party (CHP) is waiting intently, but this deadly blow to politics as a whole will destroy the CHP as well. Constitutional institutions will suffer an eroded image that will be unrestorable for years to come. All anti-democratic methods are politically evil plots, and the masterminds of such plots never know their outcomes. The real purpose of these groups that try to destroy democracy is well known: to reclaim the strongholds they think they have lost and to strengthen the status quo. The increased emphasis on democratization in the course of the country's EU membership has scared them to the bone. They now invoke the protectionist spirit of the Constitution. Actually, what we are currently going through is a sort of conjuration. Will the AK Party management be able to manage this crisis well? One can see that Prime Minister Erdoðan and senior party executives have adopted it as a strategy to accelerate the litigation process and end the uncertainty as soon as possible. Also, Erdoðan and senior party executives were perfectly sure that the Constitutional Court would not annul constitutional amendments that lift the ban on wearing a headscarf on university campuses. For this reason, they did not choose to go through the constitutional amendments that would make party closures difficult and extend freedoms further. Now, many people assume that the AK Party must be on to something that others aren't privy to. Everyone sees that Turkey is being crippled with a lapse of reason that risks the country's progress toward democracy and modernization. You cannot proceed with an operation knowing that you will lose the patient. What we need is common sense and common wisdom. Mustafa Koç, the chairman of the Koç Holding executive board, was speaking at the opening of a meeting of the High Consultative Council (YÝK) of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (TÜSÝAD) and finally voiced the argument expected from business circles: "The country is losing time with debates and conflicts, and we are wasting our energy. We believe we need to accept our problems and try to solve them by discussing them and view diversity as a treasure. However, diversity and discussions should not be used to waste the country's energy. Rather, they should be employed as a driving force for development and as leverage to achieve our goals. For this reason, dialogue and agreement are not empty words for us but vital concepts that will tailor our future. But first we must get rid of this lapse of reason." Yes, we must save ourselves from this lapse of reason.

dagistancetinkaya@todayszaman.com.tr

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ALÝ AKBULUT Chief Executive Officer

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*Professor Mazhar Baðlý is an instructor at Dicle University.

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Daðýstan Çetinkaya

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chaos that would eventually lead to the overthrowing of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government. It is only natural that there are individuals with bad faith in every institution. What is not normal or ethical is any allegation that a society or institution is bad in its entirety. In short, making generalizations on history and society is appealing to people. However, it is ontologically contradictory to reality and ethics because attempting to read history and society based on prejudices and judgments is an ideological stance. Even though it is impossible to discuss or inquire free of judgments and values, deliberately acting judgmentally includes unethical references. Currently, the impact of the said prejudices and stereotypes on the assessment and evaluation of social events is a heated matter of discussion. In other words, social scientists are focusing on research methods to get rid of judgments and values inclusive of cliché statements and accusations. The success of this inquiry is debatable, but it is obvious that in the present world, thinking in reference to a narrow set of prescriptions, seeking to understand the values of other groups through our values and failing to evaluate social events as multi-factorial facts is not sociologically adequate. In the final analysis, what we call a society is a text that can be reconstructed in every separate reading and everyone has a different method of reading. However, Turkey has a structure that remains highly principled on this matter.

OPINION

ABDULLAH BOZKURT OKAN UDO BASSEY FATMA DEMÝRELLÝ EMRAH ÜLKER KERÝM BALCI YONCA POYRAZ DOÐAN ÝBRAHÝM TÜRKMEN YASEMÝN GÜRKAN PINAR VURUCU HELEN P. BETTS FARUK KARDIÇ YAKUP ÞÝMÞEK BEYTULLAH DEMÝR HAYDAR DURUSOY ALÝ ODABAÞI

Public Relations Contact Information: Publication Type: Periodical, Daily Headquarters: Today’s Zaman, 34194 Yenibosna, ISTANBUL. Phone Number: +90 212 454 1 444 Fax: 0212 454 14 97, Web Address: http://www.todayszaman.com, Printed at: Feza Gazetecilik A.Þ. Tesisleri. Advertisement Phone: +90 212 454 82 47, Fax: +90 212 454 86 33. Today's Zaman abides by the rules of press ethics.

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COLUMNS

TODAY’S ZAMAN 15

F R I D AY, J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 0 8

Is modernýsm lýmýted to change alone? Since the architects of the change placed before us as "modernization" since the 19th century are Westerners, they have determined the criteria and models of this change. Our intellectuals, scientists and ruling elite have settled for simply translating this modernism, the definitional framework of which was drawn up in certain Western capitals. Namely, they chose to become the consumers of modernism. We should accept that we have not made any contributions to the development of modern processes other than with our God-given natural resources, raw materials and our status of being a market only. The "Turkish heroes" exalted in the last two centuries have been found praiseworthy on account of their success in establishing the Western modernism in Turkey. Universities, educational institutions, curricula, state institutions and the media operate to serve the modernization policy. The degree to which we have understood and internalized the Western mindset, approached the Western institutions and of course the extent to which we have become disconnected from the traditional understanding and institutions that belong to our own past are considered the criteria for our ability to change and participate in

ALÝ BULAÇ a.bulac@todayszaman.com

modern life. This process is unquestionable; even attempting to take a critical approach to it, let alone opposing it, is enough to have your most fundamental rights and freedoms limited and to be branded as a "bigot," "obsolete" and a "religious extremist." But in reality there are questions to which no complete answers have yet been provided: Are Islamic societies really unwilling to change? Are they so perfectly content with their current conditions? Are they taking a critical approach to modernity because they want to repeat the history and already lived experiences the same as before, because everything in their past was "extraordinarily good and perfect"? We have to answer these questions very prudently. The change that occurs in the world of creation is realized

YAVUZ BAYDAR

when a desire and force emerge, manifesting themselves in the form of a demand. Social change depends on the same laws. When a desire and a will appear in the internal dynamics of a society, this turns into power, and the change occurs. So what is essential is the manifestation of a desire and a will. A society that wants change will manifest this through a will and desire it. This is the indispensable condition for change. Considering we take this to be an accurate conclusion, we can state this: As the project of change that came from the West (modernism or modernization) is outwardly mechanical and peremptory, it is cut off from internal dynamics. And perhaps for this reason, society has viewed the change processes dubiously and acted reluctantly toward participation in the development and improvement policies imposed by the state, because initially, the Ottoman ruling elite, namely the palace, decided to participate in the modern life, since the time of Sultan Mahmud II. And while making that decision, they did not feel the need to consult with the people. Because of this, Turkish modernization is authoritarian by nature; closed to democratic discussion and civil participation.

No Comment

CHINA, REUTERS

ETYEN MAHÇUPYAN e.mahcupyan@todayszaman.com

y.baydar@todayszaman.com

Cycle of democracy and coup

Access? What the heck for? These days, wherever you turn, you face the judiciary. In a restless, expanding and opening "young" Turkey, sadly mismanaged, the only way to regain some form of old-fashioned control goes either through loopholes or ambiguous formulations in law and misinterpretations thereof by the judiciary. Those who insist that a "slow-motion coup" is already under way claim to find new evidence every day. Unfortunately, Turks are unable to chase away fear. Those who seek freedom are frightened by those who fear that freedom will bring instability. Ragýp Zarakolu is a tough-minded publisher of books. A leftist, a human rights activist and the owner of Belge Publishing House, Zarakolu focused on books about the late Ottoman Empire, particularly on the mass deportations and killings of Ottoman Armenians in 1914 and 1915, in the last decade of the empire. Needless to say, he was charged many times and was acquitted in most of them. When the infamous Article 301 was discussed, his name often popped up in the cases mentioned. Up until three days ago, there was relative relief in Turkey and elsewhere that, after the recent amendments, Turkey would not see new indictments on "insulting Turkishness" or prison sentences handed down in such cases. This relief did not last long. After a lengthy trial, Zarakolu was sentenced to four months in prison (converted to fines). The reason for the verdict was what the court found to be "insults to Turkishness" in a book by George Jerjian, titled "The Truth Will Set Us Free." This has naturally ignited a new debate. Weren't the changes to the law supposed to work retroactively? The "changed" Article 301 makes it compulsory for prosecutors to seek the approval of the Ministry of Justice to file lawsuits against people. Zarakolu's lawyers say the verdict proves the changes were only cosmetic, while the court says there was no need to seek approval because the case had been initiated before Turkey approved the changes. You can almost hear people engaged in expanded freedom in Turkey sigh in desperation as the legal experts say that, if brought to the European Court of Human Rights, Turkey will once again be found on the wrong side of justice. By now many observers have become convinced that both the legislation and the law enforcement in Turkey are experts at creating "legal knots" that place the country unjustly amongst the most repressive places in the world. The most spectacular issue for some time now has been YouTube. There is certainly more than that. A hasty and badly formulated Internet Law is causing a lot of headache and misery for the users here, while it gives a large playground for prosecutors and judges to ban access to Web sites and blogs. Hundreds of sites (over 320) have been blocked since January, and Turkey has succeeded in placing itself amongst the ranks of China, Thailand and Pakistan, as an "Internet hater." Turkish authorities often ban sites without even informing the site owners and without giving them the chance to defend themselves. Also, Today's Zaman reported yesterday: "The Ankara's Prosecutor's Office has sought to expand the scope of this ban by having a worldwide access ban placed on videos deemed offensive by Turkish authorities. Indeed, a person living in Turkey can access censured sites by changing their computer's proxy settings. Turkish prosecutors also want videos considered insulting to Atatürk to be erased altogether. In order to do this, they want YouTube to open a representative office in Turkey, obtain a security and authorization certificate, all required licenses and become a taxpayer under Turkish law. YouTube officials have no intention of opening such a branch. They say YouTube was not established in Turkey and is not subject to Turkish law." Ankara press prosecutor Nadi Türkaslan insists that YouTube will not be "reopened" unless "the insults against Atatürk, religion, the Turkish flag and the Turkish army are lifted from the global databases of YouTube." This reflects only the strong and persistent desire of the authorities to maintain the lack of access to the flow of information on the Internet. There are also concerning claims coming in that Turkish authorities are putting Google under "severe pressure" to share its information and the e-mail passwords of all users in Turkey. One certainly expects Google to clarify that. The headache must have become unbearable. For two days, state authorities met with legal experts, NGOs, Web site owners and telecom representatives to discuss this troubling practice. An agreement seems to have been reached that the authorities must inform the banned sites about the decision and ask for the removal of the content in question. If the material is not removed, only access to the specific content (and, not, as is the practice now, the entire website) will be blocked. Can we be optimistic about this agreement? Given the law and the mentality of the law enforcers, I have to remain pessimistic. On the contrary, I expect a hardening of the climate because of the political situation. The Internet has become an important and feared tool in the free flow of ideas, and "control freaks" will stretch the law beyond its limits in the totalitarian hope that the likes of YouTube and Google will give in to pressure in the end.

The second parameter of the Turkish modernization is that it defines itself as non-religious. Since the 19th century, it has been claimed, through right or wrong analogies between Islam and Christianity, and Islamic and European history, the religion in this land has been an "obstacle" preventing us from developing. According to this claim, now that Europe achieved its development by "getting out of religion," even by adopting a stance against religion, as seen in the example of France, our modernization too should have been formulated in a non-religious fashion and even by assuming a stance against Islam. If it is "not possible to take religion completely out of the cultural and social bounds" -- which is another formula -- then let's make reforms in the religion and "protestantize" Islam. Those who purported this idea had basis: Max Weber's thesis that the Protestant ethics constituted the spirit of capitalism and motivated development and progress in Europe. But Weber's thesis was wrong from its foundation, because Protestantism formed after capitalism; in other words, it was not Protestantism that created capitalism, but capitalism that gave birth to Protestantism.

New refugee challenges NICOLE POPE n.pope@todayszaman.com

Ahead of World Refugee Day, UN agencies publish their latest figures and provide an opportunity to reflect, briefly, on the growing number of uprooted people scattered around the planet. Media attention then moves on to the next crisis, and 37.4 million displaced people -11.4 million officially recognized as refugees -- are left to live their broken lives away from the glare of publicity. Women and girls face rape in overcrowded settlements, divided families long for news of missing loved ones and children's futures are blighted by uncertainty. The Convention on the Protection of Refugees, adopted in 1951 in response to the tragedy of World War II and its aftermath, is increasingly inadequate to address the problems of the rising tide of displaced people; yet, in the current political climate, most politicians admit that if the convention were to be reopened for discussion, some of the limited protections it offers could even be curtailed further. Legally, a refugee is someone who is outside his/her country "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion," but today's conflicts are often so random and broad in their impact that individuals are often hard pressed to prove they meet requirements. Developed countries, challenged by multiculturalism, are increasingly unwilling to accept refugees for resettlement, but the financial assistance they provide for them to be looked after in their own region is woefully insufficient. Amnesty International, in a recent report on the

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situation of displaced Iraqis, deplored the overwhelming international apathy and accused governments for painting a rosy picture of the security situation to encourage "voluntary" returns. In some cases, European governments even deported failed asylum seekers back to Iraq. As a result, Pakistan and Iran shelter the bulk of 3.1 million Afghans, while some 2.3 million Iraqis live in Syria and Jordan. Of nearly 20,000 refugees awaiting resettlement in Turkey, more than 40 percent are Iraqis, but since Ankara has still not lifted the geographical restrictions it imposed on the convention, it is not bound to shelter any of them permanently. Turkey is under pressure from the UN and the EU to introduce a proper asylum law, but little progress has so far been made. Although an agreement was signed for several reception centers to be created with EU funding, these have yet to be created. Applicants who register for refugee status are assigned to a "satellite city" and left largely to their own devices. They face restrictions on travel and have to report regularly to the authorities for signature. Meanwhile, illegal migrants caught trying to enter the country are sometimes turned back before they even get a chance to declare their status. Greece, criticized by the UNHCR, and Turkey have been pushing illegal migrants across each other's borders. Ankara also forced a group of migrants, including Iranians who were official refugees, to swim across a river at the Iraqi border, causing four deaths. While compassion for refugees erodes rapidly, the UN is already warning that new challenges such as climate change and a global food crisis will force new populations to leave their homes. Environmental disasters and famine were not among threats listed in the Convention on the Protection of Refugees, but the global community may soon have to find a way of dealing with these human tragedies which, like wars, are largely man-made.

The daring and recklessness of the stagers and promoters of the ongoing coup process shed light on what the supporters of the current regime would lose in the event of failure of the coup attempts. Looked at through the prism of classical modernist expectations, an unusual development has recently taken place in Turkey. The conservative segments embraced secularism based on grassroots dynamism and displayed eagerness for integration with the world. Is there any better news for a democratic government? But this is not good news for the Turkish bureaucracy because this transformation of conservatives creates a politically vicious cycle: If democracy dominates Turkey, the conservatives will become the leaders of this country. Meanwhile, these administrations will probably be eager to make Turkey a full member of the European Union. Subsequently, EU membership will strengthen democracy in the country, and the conservatives will become more powerful. In other words, Turkey is inevitably becoming a modern democratic country being taken to the EU by a conservative administration. And this is what the bureaucracy is strongly opposed to. The bureaucratic actors and their supporters within the secular bloc favor continuation of the current military guardianship under the pretext of democracy. This is the reason for the urgency of the ongoing coup process, because the social transformation in Turkey seems to be irreversible. The tendencies towards secularization in the conservative segment coincided with the separation of a group in the secular segment from Kemalism and its evolution into a democratic mentality. This created an opportunity for two inherently distinct groups to hold talks and negotiations. There are two fundamental consequences of this encounter. First, there emerged an atmosphere of integration with the world where the adherents of these two distinct worlds were able to meet and talk. These adherents, who held that they were from different cultures, started living in the same places, using the same furniture items and sending their children to the same schools. With the economic consequences of this socialization, the country has witnessed the emergence of a new middle class, bringing different identities together. Secondly, this situation was reflected in the political sphere. The support that the secular democrats extended to the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) should be taken as the product of the last 10 years and the result of Turkey's preference for an open society. Increased dialogue between intellectuals from both sides would naturally have consequences on the political stage as well. Therefore, it could be argued that the democratic development that will gain greater stability through the AK Party rule and the EU bid has a social meaning and foundation. And this actually reveals that the process is irreversible -- unless effective measures are taken. The rationale for the insistence on putting emphasis on the coup should be sought with regard to this fact. On the other hand, whether the coup will be successful depends on the actions of the social actors. For this reason, the coup promoters are seeking support from universities, media organs and the Republican People's Party (CHP) to present a future coup as product of normalization and a social demand. However it is not that easy to manipulate society by relying on the power of the media in Turkey. So the coup's success requires an additional factor: that the AK Party makes mistakes to justify the coups. There are basically two types of possible mistakes: The AK Party may resort to making arrangements that are favorable only to itself and its supporters and react with harshness and reference to religious identity. Secondly, it may become distant and indifferent to the public's demands and rely on cooperation with the state actors. It seems that the AK Party administration is actually prone to this second option and fails to appreciate the dire consequences of this. The ultimate end will most probably be the party's closure, and subsequently "national coalitions" will be attempted after dissolution of the parliamentary group. However it is impossible to stop the ongoing social dynamic. In the event the AK Party falls short of dealing with this tension and the energy that has emerged, Turkey will inevitably fall into the inevitable cycle of democracy following a brief period of transition.

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FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008

LEISURE

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Gregorian Calendar: 20 June 2008 C.E. Hijri Calendar: 16 Jumada al-Thani 1429 A.H.Hebrew Calendar: 17 Sivan 5768 calendar@todayszaman.com

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Experts confýrm ‘Rembrandt Laughýng’ ýs a self-portraýt The auction house thought the tiny portrait was a 17th century Rembrandt knockoff, and valued it at just 1,500 pounds ($3,100). But the British buyer who paid about 1,500 times that apparently knew what he was doing. Experts have confirmed “Rembrandt Laughing” -- bought for a bargain price of 2.2 million pounds ($4.5 million) at an English auction house in October -- is in fact a self-portrait by the 17th century Dutch master himself, depicted with his head tilted back in easygoing laughter. “That picture’s clearly worth between 15 and 20 million pounds,” or $30 million to $40 million, said William Noortman from Noortman Master Paintings, specializing in Dutch and Flemish masters. “I’m very surprised it didn’t make more at auction,” he said Wednesday. The 24.1-by-16.5-centimeter painting now hangs in the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam through June 29, on loan from the anonymous Briton who bought it at the auction by Moore, Allen and Innocent in Gloucestershire and had it cleaned and examined by British experts. Rembrandt made the self-portrait around 1628, when he was in his early 20s and still in his hometown of Leiden. Already he was earning his reputation as an artist, and was experimenting with a mirror and his own face to capture expressions. “It has an incredible presence,” said Ernst van de Wetering, head of the Rembrandt Research Project and an authority on the Dutch master. “The light has the most natural quality of light you can think of. I love that, and I love the naturalness of the laughing,” Van de Wetering said.

The 1628 self-portrait "Rembrandt Laughing" by Rembrandt. The painting previously had been in the hands of an English family for more than 100 years, according to Moore, Allen and Innocent. Some had assumed it to be by one of Rembrandt’s students or a Rembrandt imitator. Van de Wetering said he thought the auction house’s low evaluation had been based on poor photographs that showed little of the painting’s luminosity or depth. But in a 23-page analysis published Friday in the Kroniek van het Rembrandthuis, the museum’s publication, Van de Wetering described why Rembrandt was almost certainly

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the creator of the little work. Brush stroke, contour, materials and the monogram all point to the master’s hand. The auction’s winner may have suspected the painting was a genuine Rembrandt from the monogram RHL, painted in a rare style that the artist only used for about a year. It stands for Rembrandt Harmenszoon of Leiden. The auction house wrote the signature as “HL” in its assessment. The initials become more compelling proof when considering that they were painted onto the wet paint of the background. Experts also were confused by the shape of the laughing Rembrandt’s body. The clothing -- a woolly blanket, metal armor and glossy shirt -- appear amorphous, lying in lumpy folds with little description of the anatomy below. Yet the contour has a character of its own, one that is repeated in some of his later works. “If you look at this contour, it has a certain autonomy,” Van de Wetering said, adding that it may have been one of the first times Rembrandt tested out this way of painting the body. The thin copper plate on which the piece is painted matches in size and type with others used in other Rembrandt paintings. X-rays reveal a second painting underneath -- its content and composition also consistent with other Rembrandt works. It is unclear where the painting had been before around 1800, when a Flemish engraver made a reproductive print and attributed the original to the Dutch painter Frans Hals without realizing the face in the picture was that of Rembrandt. “After that there is silence about the painting; we don’t know where it stayed,” Van de Wetering said. Amsterdam AP

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War. During the Civil War the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond chose to join the Confederate States of America. These leaders gradually pushed for the creation of a new state. After two years of legal maneuvering, West Virginia was formally admitted to the United States of America on June 20, 1863. June 20 was informally celebrated across West Virginia during the following six decades until the West Virginia legislature gave the holiday formal recognition in 1927. On this day in 1997, Turkish poet and author Cahit Külebi (b. 1917) passed away. Külebi has an important place in contemporary Turkish poetry due to his attachment to folk poetry traditions. Külebi’s poetry is enriched with simple, but ironic language, rich in original descriptions of the places and culture he observed during his childhood and youth. By Kerim Balcý

Argentina dates from 1812 and it is composed of three equally wide horizontal bands colored light blue, white and light blue. In 1818 a yellow “Sun of May” was added to the center. On June 8, 1938, President Roberto Ortiz sanctioned a law declaring June 20 as Flag Day -- a national holiday. The date was set to commemorate the anniversary of Argentine politician and military leader Manuel Belgrano’s death. In 1957 the National Flag Memorial was inaugurated in Rosario to commemorate the creation of the flag, with official Flag Day ceremonies customarily conducted in its vicinity since then. Today is West Virginia Day -- a holiday celebrated every June 20 in the American state of the same name. The day commemorates the anniversary of the creation of the state by the secession of several northwestern counties of Virginia during the height of the US Civil

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Today is World Refugee Day. The UN General Assembly designated June 20, 2000 as World Refugee Day to recognize and celebrate the contributions of refugees throughout the world. Since then World Refugee Day has become an annual commemoration marked by a variety of events in over 100 countries. The day was first observed internationally in 2001, although previously many countries had celebrated their own refugee days. The UN established the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1950 and this body has since been active in assisting the world’s refugees and other displaced peoples. This year the UNHCR will commemorate World Refugee Day with the theme of “security and protection” to draw the public’s attention to the millions of refugees worldwide who are forced to flee their homes. Today is Flag Day in Argentina. The national flag of

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Broadcast Areas: 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:

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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

Ambulance: 112 Fire: 110 171 Police: 155 156 Maritime: 158 Unknown numbers: 118 Turkish Airlines: 444 0 849, U.S. Embassy: 0312 455 5555 U.S. Consulate: 0212 2513602-3-4 Russian Embassy: 0312 439 2122 Russian Consulate: 0212 244 1693-2610 British Embassy: 0312 455 3344 British Consulate: 0212 293 7540 German Embassy. 0312 455 5100 German Consulate: 0212 334 61 00 French Embassy: 0312 455 4545 French Consulate: 0212 292 4810-11 Indian Embassy: 0312 438 2195 Pakistani Embassy: 0312 427 1410 Austrian Embassy: 0312 419 0431-33 Austrian Consulate: 0212 262 9315 Belgian Embassy: 0312 446 8247 Belgian Consulate: 0212 243 3300 Egyptian Embassy: 0312 426 1026 Egyptian Consulate: 0212 263 6038 Israeli Embassy: 0312 446 3605

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CONTINUATION

TODAY’S ZAMAN 17

F R I D AY, J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 0 8

TÜSÝAD call raises suspicions among NGOs

cy, exhaust the agencies that keep our system on its feet and attempt to isolate Turkey from the rest of the world? What should we make of the effect of this blind fight on the state of politics?" He continued: "We do not think that this or that segment of society has less of a responsibility in the situation we are in today. To the contrary, we believe that many politicians in our country are experiencing an 'eclipse of the mind' at an intensity never seen before in any period during the country's history." Koç said short-term, narrow-minded and parochial discussions were draining Turkey's energy without reason. He stressed that TÜSÝAD did not want to underrate the importance of the current discussions that have polarized not only the state of politics but the entire nation, but said they believed that differences and discussions could be carried out in a constructive way that would help Turkey to reach its targets. "But first we have to get rid of this mental eclipse," he said.

Sit down and talk Koç said even leaders of countries that have been at war with each other for many years could, at some point, stop fighting, sit down together and talk about their problems. "When such is the case, is there any justifiable reason that politicians in the same country do not talk to each other and do not look for solu-

Mustafa Koç

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Mustafa Koç, chairman of the TÜSÝAD High Consultative Council, warned on Thursday at a meeting of his organization in Ýstanbul, "We are spreading political disagreements that occur in a critical atmosphere to every segment of society, turning political polarization into a social division." Koç said Turkey and its society have been undergoing constant transformation for more than 80 years, noting that the world has also been changing at a dramatic speed in the same period. He added that Turkey's only option was to change to catch up with the world, noting that this was an exhausting process, but asserting that Turkey has so far been very successful in this process. He acknowledged that Turkey has recently seen fierce discussions but said: "[Turkey] has managed to preserve the elements that make up a nation, sharing both our worries and our proud moments. Thanks to this, we have managed to become a 'developing' country, after being considered 'underdeveloped.' Now we are aiming even higher." Koç said all the people of the country would like to see Turkey promoted to the league of developed nations but added: "Then how will we explain recent political discourses and actions that put the achievements that we have gained with difficulty over so many years at risk, that erode our democra-

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TÜSÝAD calls for national convention on new constitution

tions to their problems through dialogue?" he asked. Koç emphasized that polarization in the political arena was being transformed into social separation. "How can we adopt provocative discourses in the most sensitive of times despite our short-tempered national character that is ready to burst into flames at the slightest spark? How can our hearts allow us to dismiss in one second agencies that we have established with tremendous effort? How can we risk exhausting the regime and its fundamental

contýnued from page 1 The NGO's negative reactions to TÜSÝAD's proposal stemmed from a variety of reasons, with some claiming that that TÜSÝAD wants to appear as the sole initiator of a new constitution. Another reason derives from a closure case filed against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). NGOs suggest that with the ruling party facing closure, the political will to draft a new constitution does not exist. In addition, Derviþ's participation in TÜSÝAD's Thursday meeting has raised suspicions about whether a new political formation is on the horizon. Türk-Ýþ President Mustafa Kumlu said his union would cooperate with TÜSÝAD on constitutional changes, but not on drafting an entirely new constitution. "We advocate change in the constitution. We submitted a draft constitution to Parliament last year, penned with the participation of 83 other nongovernmental organizations, but it is currently not compatible with our union's principles to be part of an initiative to prepare a new constitution that goes beyond constitutional changes," he said. Turkish Public Workers' Labor Union (KamuSen) Chairman Bircan Akyýldýz said his association is not interested in TÜSÝAD's call. "Our union participated in all of the efforts exerted by various NGOs to draft a new constitution. However, we are not interested in what TÜSÝAD is trying to do. Everyone in Turkey is trying to create a new constitution. What is important is Turkey's needs," he stated. Salim Uslu, the president of Hak-Ýþ, criticized the chairwoman of TÜSÝAD for her demands to "respect the law" in the closure case against the AK Party. "Respect for the law is one thing, and criticizing the judiciary's impartiality is another; the impartiality of a judiciary that makes a ruling in favor of party closures is being criticized. They are interfering in the political scene through the constitutional convention," Uslu said, recalling that three-fifths of the members of the constitutional convention members would be chosen from Parliament. He said Parliament was only one year old and that they could not draft a new constitution even if they called themselves a convention. "Turkey, of course, needs a new democratic constitution; however, this cannot be done by bypassing Parliament," Uslu noted. Civil Servants' Trade Union (Memur-Sen) President Ahmet Gündoðdu said that TÜSÝAD had adopted a new stance after seeing that all institutions and corporations had adopted similar attitudes. "This new initiative to slap the people's will and politics is like threatening someone with death and then making offering them malaria [as a compromise]. What is incumbent on all people is to protect democracy. TÜSÝAD's criticism of the government and the opposition at the same time, and its backing of the judiciary are two-faced attitudes. … TÜSÝAD's criticism of the government by calling the situation 'an eclipse of the mind' while not saying anything against the judiciary reveals its double standards," Gündoðru emphasized. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

pillars? Have we really lost ourselves this much? Democracy, at the same time, is a method for finding a common mind. The only way to do that is through dialogue and compromise." He underlined that the economy should be shaped not according to the upcoming local elections, but in accordance with approaching global threats. "In this time of global crisis and political ambiguity, we should not compromise the credibility of our inflation targets, our IMF fiscal discipline or our EU anchor." Koç expressed concern that Turkey is moving toward a "no-win" game: "There will be no winner but, unless something is done, the whole country will lose a lot." He said trying to make others more like ourselves was a waste of time. "We have to learn to live in harmony together and accept our differences as our wealth. The first step to ensure this consensus is a change of constitution. Establishing consensus on a constitution that alleviates all worries and fears, which has no loopholes that can lock up the political process and which maintains our fundamental values could be a first step to the resolution of our problems. We believe that discussing a comprehensive constitutional change not only with the participation of our politicians but with civil society, academics and judicial organs would be a good start." Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

TÜSÝAD head Yalçýndað ingores constitutional violation, blames politicians The head of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (TÜSÝAD), the country's most influential business organization, said yesterday at a meeting of the group's High Consultative Council that politicians are to blame for the current crisis in Turkey, making no mention of a recent antidemocratic ruling of the Constitutional Court. "We stated earlier that what needs to be done is to both show respect to the judiciary and at the same time realize an initiative that would ensure full democracy for all. However, unfortunately, what changed was only a worsening of the situation," TÜSÝAD President Arzuhan Doðan Yalçýndað said, blaming the short-term game plans of politicians for the situation. However, she failed to criticize a ruling of the Constitutional Court that annulled a constitutional amendment that would have removed a ban on the Muslim headscarf at universities. The ruling has been seen by many as overriding Parliament's legislative authority. She said that politicians have not planned the medium or long term, let alone the year ahead. "We can see that no one has thought about where Turkey will be after all this that has

happened and what will happen. But the question of what kind of a Turkey we will see next year stands there with all its might right before us. For us, the answer to this question is obvious. If the situation continues like this, after a year, we will have a Turkey that is very difficult to manage," she said, adding that the unexpected economic developments in the world combined with political instability were likely to produce results that would turn all short-term plans upside down.

‘Learn lesson from court decisions’ Ignoring experts and observers' assertions that the Constitutional Court's headscarf decision was a violation of the Constitution and the principle of separation of powers, Yalçýndað said: "We should try to get over these days without exhausting our democracy, our political and social structures and our constitutional institutions. We should keep our responses and reactions measured. We should act with the awareness and responsibility of being faced with a binding decision under the current legal system. Most certainly, there can be discussions in the society, and these can include criticism of Constitutional Court decisions. But responses

that amount to denouncing Turkey's highest court are not acceptable. What needs to be done is to learn one's lesson from this decision. For us, the lesson to learn from this [headscarf] decision is this: The principle should be looking for balanced solutions without damaging the system." She also said a new constitution was needed. "What we are talking about here is not the talk of constitutional changes that always emerges in difficult times directed at overcoming problems of the day. Nor are we talking about a practical constitutional change based only on a parliamentary majority. We are talking about a document with real social consensus. We believe that such a document would not be formed through negotiations of a couple of months, but with serious effort that would take one to one-and-a-half years." Yalçýndað also reiterated that Turkey's economy was facing the risk of a slowdown in growth, higher inflation and potential damage to the maintenance of fiscal discipline. She also urged the government to not cut off ties with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "It is of vital importance to keep the anchors of the IMF and the EU alive in a way that would build confi-

dence in international financial markets," she said. In response to a question from journalists on whether she was upset by the Confederation of Turkish labor Unions (Türk-Ýþ), Confederation of Turkish Real Trade Unions (Hak-Ýþ), Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions (DÝSK) and Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) which announced that they would not join yesterday's High Consultative Council meeting at TÜSÝAD, she said it would have been great if the two unions had participated. "Good and beautiful things get axed pretty fast in Turkey," she added. The unions last week announced they would not be attending the meeting. According to sources, they would not attend in protest of the participation of Kemal Derviþ, the head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) who in 2001 became Turkey's economy minister after a 22year career at the World Bank. Turkey in 2001 was facing its worst economic crisis in modern history. Sources closes to the unions said they understood Derviþ had plans to come back to the Turkish political scene and accused TÜSÝAD of facilitating his comeback. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

Testimony of PKK's Sakýk reveals ties between PKK, Ergenekon

Erdoðan: Shipyard deaths overshadow sector success PHOTO

"Turkey has achieved considerable success since 2002 in the shipbuilding sector. While there were only 37 shipyards in Turkey six years ago, there are currently 87 shipyards. The increasing demand in the shipbuilding sector in Turkey is striking. But accidentrelated deaths at these shipyards have reached a dramatic level and overshadowed our success," he said. Minister of Labor and Social Security Faruk Çelik, Ministry for Industry and Trade Zafer Çaðlayan, Transportation and Communications Minister Binali Yýldýrým, Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertuðrul Günay, head of the parliamentary commission inspecting accidents at shipyards Mehmet Domaç, Ýstanbul Governor Muammer Güler, Ýstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaþ and Shipbuilders Union Dok Gemi-Ýþ President Necip Nalbantoðlu attended the meeting. Nalbantoðlu said after the meeting that Erdoðan had directed harsh warnings to shipyard owners of what would happen if they fail to provide safe working conditions for their workers. "I don't want any further work-related accidents or deaths in Tuzla. Do your best to prevent further fatalities at your shipyards; otherwise, your punishment will be very harsh," he quoted Erdoðan as saying. Nalbantoðlu also said the reason behind the deaths at the shipyards is a lack of education and training. "The shipbuilding sector has boomed in Turkey since 2002, but shipyard owners didn't train their workers about work-related accidents. Most of the fatalities at these facilities were caused by falls from platforms and electrical shocks. Can't such deaths be prevented? Surely they can," he added. A total of 98 workers have died in work-related incidents at the Tuzla shipyards in the past seven years, largely due to electrical shocks and falls from platforms. The number of fatalities from work-related accidents at the shipyards has exceeded 20 in just the past eight months.

TURGUT ENGÝN

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PM Tayyip Erdoðan says fatal accidents at shipyards in Ýstanbul's Tuzla district overshadowed Turkey's success in the shipbuilding sector.

Workers at the Tuzla shipyards staged a oneday strike on Monday in an attempt to prevent further fatalities. They drew attention to unsafe working conditions at the shipyards and called on authorities to take the necessary measures to prevent further work-related accidents there. But Erdoðan said during the meeting with ministers and representatives from shipyard unions that shipyards provide employment opportunities for thousands of workers. "Currently around 100,000 people are employed in Turkey's shipyards. Tuzla has recently become the 'heart' of Turkey's shipbuilding sector. Turkish shipyards received a total of 265 shipbuilding orders in the first five months of this year. This figure was around 83 in 2002. Turkey is in fifth place among all world countries for most shipbuilding or-

ders. But successive worker deaths at shipyards sadden us all and as you understand, we cannot remain silent in the face of such fatalities," he added. Erdoðan said everyone should fulfill their responsibilities to prevent further fatal accidents at the shipyards. "Precautions should be taken. There are 47 shipyards in Tuzla, but most of them don't have licenses. This is unthinkable. We need to solve this problem. We need to decide on a roadmap to solve this problem and take steps accordingly," he noted. Erdoðan stated that he is determined to solve the problems faced at shipyards, adding that his government is ready to do everything necessary to this end. "If the problem is with regulations, we may amend them. If it is with inspections, we may step them up. We consider the resolution of this problem a necessity in terms of respect for human life. A system

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not based on this respect can be accepted by neither the public nor the private sector. There are great and successful shipyards in our country. The shipyards that lack safe working conditions should take these successful and safe shipyards as examples," he remarked. He also warned shipyard owners that their facilities may be shut down if they fail to provide safe working conditions for workers. "There isn't a shipyard on earth where no work-related accidents occur, but it is up to us to reduce such accidents to a minimum. Everyone is obliged to do their best to comply with safety regulations," he said. The Ýstanbul Directorate of the Labor and Social Security Ministry earlier this week ordered the temporary closure of the Nur Ýstanbul Shipyard in Tuzla as it had no occupational safety measures in place to prevent serious accidents among its workers. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with wires

A former leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) testified to the prosecutor leading an investigation into the Ergenekon gang, a criminal network believed to have been carrying out preparations to overthrow the government, about links between the terrorist organization and the gang, the Hürriyet daily reported yesterday. Þemdin Sakýk wrote a letter to prosecutor Zekeriya Öz, who heads the Ergenekon investigation, saying that he wanted to tell the prosecutor about ties between the PKK and the gang and added that he wants to take advantage of witness protection and "active repentance" laws. The government has been urging PKK members to avail themselves of Article 221 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The article stipulates the release of PKK members who turn themselves in without any punishment, as long as they have not been involved in any armed clashes with security forces or any other terrorist attacks against Turkey. Öz took Sakýk's testimony 10 days ago in the southeastern city of Diyarbakýr where Sakýk has been held in custody. According to recent reports, Sakýk's 14-page testimony included information on M.Ç., the vice president of Kuvayý Milliye, a neo-nationalist organization. M.Ç., previously detained in the southern province of Antalya for carrying a firearm and ammunition, was stopped in Ýstanbul's Pendik district by the police during routine road checks. M.Ç. was detained on the grounds that he was suspected of being a member of the Ergenekon gang; he was also carrying a gun without a permit. Including M.Ç., 50 people have been arrested as part of the Ergenekon operation. Retired Gen. Veli Küçük and Workers' Party (ÝP) leader Doðu Perinçek are also among those taken into custody. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with wires

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18 TODAY’S ZAMAN

F R I D AY, J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 0 8

TODAY’S LEARNING TIME

QUOTE OF THE DAY

OSMAN TURHAN

elementary Activity: MUCH or MANY

ILLUSTRATIONS

Choose many or much before the nouns listed below. 1) ..................................... pupils 2) ..................................... time 3) ..................................... money 4) ..................................... dollars 5) ..................................... milk 6) ..................................... children 7) ..................................... water 8) ..................................... fun 9) ..................................... dogs 10) ................................... people

True (T)or False (F) 1.Kim hates to see blood. ____________________________ 2.She works in a U.S hospital. ____________________________ 3.There are three types of blood. ____________________________ 4.Type A blood is special. ____________________________ 5.Hospitals keep the blood in blood banks. ____________________________ 1.Some people can't stand the sight of blood. They hate to see their own blood, and they don't want to look at anyone else's blood, either! 2.Liz Kim doesn't mind the sight of blood. She is used to it. Liz is a nurse, and she sees blood every day. She works in a US hospital. It's her job to take blood from blood donors. 3.Hospitals keep blood in blood banks. Liz says, "Hospitals need to have blood ready for emergencies. People may need blood for a lot of reasons. For example, someone might come to the hospital after a car accident and need blood. Also, a doctor might have to give blood to a patient during surgery. In this country, about four million people need a blood

READING

Blood types transfusion each year." The new blood has to be a good match for the patient's own blood type. 4.The four main blood types are A, B, AB, and O. People with type A can give blood to people with type A or AB. People with type B can give blood to people with B or AB. People with type AB can give blood only to other people with AB. However, they can receive A,

B; AB, or O type blood. They're lucky! Type O blood is special: People with type O can give blood to anyone. But they can receive blood only from other people with type O. n (Type A )^ J ^( TypeB )

“No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.” AlIce Walker

advanced READING

Are you ready for a job interview? You didn't sleep a wink last night. You've checked your suit at least 50 times to see if the tie matches. Your hair is clean and perfectly combed. That dash of cologne has you smelling perfect. All the necessary papers are securely tucked away inside your briefcase. You check your watch- there's one small problem. The interview is scheduled for 11:30, and it's 7:00! All you can think about is landing the job at the prestigious law firm. That possible junior partnership in 5 years. Lots more money. Job security. Of course, none of this will come if you don't survive the interview. What can you do to prepare yourself mentally for an important interview? How should you prime yourself for any type of question? Use the info you already have about the company, and try to integrate it in the interview. Managers generally

hire the person who has a broader view of the company or business. Try to learn everything you can about all the executives at the company. Learn about the issues that will confront the company in the future. Be ready to show enthusiasm when asked about potential company problems, and how they might be rectified. Be ready to speak up assertively. Show him or her that you want to be part of the process. Be prepared to show them a softer side- you don't always need to be the leader. Practice dialogue with a friend. Make sure that you can listen for a period of time without cutting off the speaker. Practice asking constructive questions. Try being positive all the time. Managers want positive energy in their employees. Never criticize a former manager.

Vocabulary Exercise

c.to dress d.to clean 6.broad ______________ a.empty b.narrow c.opinionated d.wide 7.to confront _________ a.to bankrupt b.to challenge c.to enrich d.to expand 8.to rectify ___________ a.to lengthen b.to lose c.to solve d.to change 9.assertively _________ a.carefully b.loudly c.confidently d.quickly 10.to cut off __________ a.to interrupt b.to slice c.to anger d.to criticize

"Not many people give blood. In the United States, only one out of twenty adults gives blood. Some people can't give blood for health reasons. Some are too nervous. Many people just never consider it. "Giving blood helps others," says Liz Kim. "It's also good for your heart. Please, think about it!"

ýntermedýate READING

PART 1: True (T) or False (F)

From street to art galleries

1.Jean-Michel's mother supported his ability and interest in drawing when he was still a child. _____ 2.Jean-Michel graduated from high school with success even though he had nowhere to go and sometimes slept on the streets. _____ 3.Jean-Michel's art was a mixture of eastern art and Indian-American art. _____ 4.When Jean-Michel started to date Madonna, she wasn't a famous singer. _____ 5.Jean-Michel died of a drug overdose when he was still at a young age. _____

Jean-Michel Basquiat, who was born in New York in 1960, was the son of a Haitian father and a Puerto Rican mother. As a child, he liked drawing pictures, and because they were good, his mother encouraged his interest. At the age of 18, Basquiat left home and quit school just before he was due to graduate. He had nowhere special to live. Sometimes he would sleep in a park. Sometimes he would stay with friends. He played in a band, and started doing graffiti, tagging walls and subway cars with the signature "SAMO". But he also painted-curious mixture of words and images, of western art and the traditions of Haiti, Puerto Rico and Africa. It seemed to many that he was searching for some kind of identity. Basquiat's paintings were first shown in a joint exhibition in 1980, and immediately people started to get interested-very interested. Soon he was surrounded by

agents, gallery owners, journalists and many other people who were desperate to make him famous and make money out of him. His fame spread like wildfire and everyone was talking about him. There were exhibitions of his work all over America. He dated the (not yet famous) pop star Madonna and became a great friend of Andy Warhol, one of the giants of the New York art scene. In 1986 he went to the Ivory Coast in Africa. In 1988 he had simultaneous exhibitions in Paris and New York. But that was the year when it all came to an end. Jean-Michel died of a drug overdose at the age of 27. Basquiat is still remembered today, not just because he was the first black artist to have real success in the white world of art, but also because he was a fascinating, beautiful man. Even though he was successful, Jean-Michel lived in a room with only two pieces of furniture: a bed and television.

PART 2: Antonyms Match the words on the left column with their antonyms on the right column. 1.Quit _____________ a.Failure 2.Simultaneous _____ b.Start 3.Success __________ c.Hopeful 4.Famous __________ d.Asynchronous 5.Desperate ________ e.Unknown

Choose the correct word above to complete each sentence below. Some can be used more than once. to, with of, at, about, like, on, for 1)My friend is good ……. playing basketball. 2)She complains …………bullying. 3)They are afraid ………..losing the match. 4)She doesn't feel ………working on the computer. 5)We are looking forward ……….going out at the weekend. 6)Laura dreams ………..living on a small island. 7)I apologized ……….being late. 8)Do you agree …………staying in a foreign country? 9)The girls insisted ………..going out with Kerry. 10)Eddy thinks …………climbing trees this afternoon.

VOCABULARY POP QUIZ Fill in the correct phrasal verb or confusing word. Part 1 1.He __________ with the rent and was asked to leave the flat. 2.The pain __________ after he took the tablets. 3.Because we are two different individuals, we rarely will __________ things the same way. 4.As I do not number myself among the members of beach culture, I am not likely to be found spending my leisure time near the __________. 5.Don't touch that bird. It's __________. 6.A number of people have __________

Activity: How should you answer these questions? Circle the correct answer. 1.We've got so much work on and it's all got to be finished by Wednesday. Would you mind working all weekend? a) Sure. It's ten o' clock. b) Sorry. I'm in the middle of something. Get it yourself. c) It's my office too, you know, but I'll try to be quieter. d) I'm afraid I can't. It's my parents' thirtieth wedding anniversary and we're having a big party for them. 2.The phone's ringing. Could you get it? a) Sure. It's ten o' clock. b) Of course. I'll pick you up at about eight. c) Sorry. I'm in the middle of something. Get it yourself. d) It's my office too, you know, but I'll try to be quieter.

Activity: Verb + ing = Gerund

Specialized Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks with the correct letters. 1.to not sleep a wink __________ a.to sleep well b.to dream a lot c.to get no sleep d.to go to bed late 2.dash _________________ a.large piece b.smell c.speed d.small bit 3.to tuck away __________ a.to put to bed b.to put your shirt in c.to put in a small place d.to hide 4.prestigious ___________ a.respected b.huge c.well- known d.infamous 5.to prime _____________ a.to exercise b.to prepare

3.Would you mind moving elsewhere to talk. I cannot concentrate. a) Sure. It's ten o' clock. b) It's my office too, you know, but I'll try to be quieter. c) Sorry. I'm in the middle of something. Get it yourself. d) Of course. I'll pick you up at about eight. 4.Could you come back at 3.00? a) Fine, absolutely no problem. b) Sorry. I'm in the middle of something. Get it yourself. c) Sure. It's ten o' clock. d) Of course. I'll pick you up at about eight. 5. Could you come back at 3.00? a) Sorry, I can't make Tuesday. How about Wednesday? b) Sorry. I'm in the middle of something. Get it yourself. c) Sorry I've got another appointment at 3.00. d) Of course. I'll pick you up at about eight.

Phrasal Verbs: in the accident. 7.This is the __________ test of the semester! 8.Have you seen his ________ painting? 9.What's the ___________ of this book? 10.Have you ever won a __________ in a competition? Fill in the blanks with the correct specialized vocabulary, slang or idiom. 1.Karen is doing a textiles degree she wants to be a ___________ in the future. 2.Michael's flat is on the top floor, he lives in the ___________. 3.I wouldn't marry Jane ___________. 4.We bought this house ___________ it was so cheap. 5.I don't like my daughter's boyfriend he treats her badly he is a ___________.

Idiom of the Day Cook the books MEANING: illegally change information in accounting books in a company EXAMPLE: The accountant was cooking the books for over a year before he was caught.

OOZE OUT meaning: When something oozes out, it appears or leaks; it flows slowly. example: Blood was oozing out from the wound. EASE UP meaning: When something eases up, it becomes less intense. example: I wondered if I would ever catch Mike but he started to slow and I kept seeing him closer and closer as he grew tired, and then eased up when I got near.

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER KEY:

ELEMENTARY: (Reading) 1.F 2.F 3.T 4.T 5.F (Activity) 1.hear 2.listen 3.listen 4.listen 5.listening 6.hear 7.heard 8.hear 9.listen 10.hear INTERMEDIATE: (Reading) 1.c 2.b 3.c 4.b 5.c 6.c 7.a 8.c 9.b 10.a (Activity) 1.of 2.for 3.at 4.for 5.of 6.by 7.up 8.for 9.in 10.through ADVANCED: (Reading) 1.b 2.c 3.d 4.b 5.c 6.a 7.d 8.d 9.c 10.c (Activity) 1.c 2.d 3.d 4.c 5.b

Slang: JERK meaning: A mean or unlikable person example: Tony is such a jerk -- he stole my lunch money! Confusing Words In English: SHADE VS SHADOW Shade is a noun it means protection from the sun, a dark area outside on a sunny day. For example: It's too hot. I'm going to find some shade. Shadow is a noun it is the dark area created by something else on a sunny day. For example: That tree casts a large shadow.

In cooperation with English Time

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SPORTS

Hiddink hails streetwise Russia Russia's streetwise soccer was enough to beat Sweden 2-0 and reach the Euro 2008 quarterfinals but they need to convert more of their chances to make real progress, coach Guus Hiddink said on Wednesday and Russia now faces Netherlands on Saturday. Innsbruck, Reuters

FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008

Contenders line up for shot at Euro 2008 title The emergence of Netherlands and Spain as title contenders, a superb display by Croatia, Turkey’s comeback victories and a scrap for survival by world champions Italy were among the highlights of the opening phase of Euro 2008. The first 24 matches of the tournament produced 55 goals but, perhaps more importantly, almost every one of the 16 finalists came with a positive, attack-minded approach that has produced a memorable and outstanding group stage. As expected neither of the co-hosts Austria or Switzerland made it to the last eight, although at least the Swiss won their first match in three European finals with a consolation victory over already-qualified Portugal who fielded a reserve side. Greece also went out, ending their unlikely four-year reign as European champions in the more familiar position of being bottom of their group. They scored just one goal and failed to collect a point even against a second string Spain side. France also finished bottom of their group. Koebi Kuhn, the 64-year-old coach of Switzerland, and Czech Republic manager Karel Brueckner, 68, also stepped down, the latter after the most remarkable match of the opening phase. With 75 minutes played against Turkey, the Czechs were coasting to a 2-0 victory and a place in today's quarterfinal against Croatia in Vienna. Just 15 minutes later they were out. Turkey struck three times in the closing stages with two goals in the last four minutes from captain Nihat Kahveci, to secure an unlikely and astonishing comeback. Turkey takes on Croatia in the last eight today, attempting to end the 100 percent record of Slaven Bilic's men. Marco Van Basten's exciting Dutch side, though, have emerged as favorites after winning all three matches including a 3-0 victory over world champions Italy and a 4-1 win over France. Russia set up a Euro 2008 quarterfinal with coach Guus Hiddink's native Netherlands after a deserved 20 win over Sweden in Group D on Wednesday completed the lineup for the last eight. The Italians flirted with elimination but, after beating France 2-0 on Monday, made the last eight and are unlikely to play as badly against Spain as they did against the Netherlands and Romania. Basel Reuters

Depleted Turkey faces tall order agaýnst Croatýa OKAN UDO BASSEY ÝSTANBUL

Comeback king Turkey will be vying for a Euro 2008 semifinal berth this evening, but standing in its way is a dangerous Croatian side aiming to at least match its biggest soccer success, when it reached the semifinals at the 1998 World Cup in France. Forget about the semifinals for a moment because we will deal with that at the appropriate time. For Turkey, though, it has been a rollercoaster ride to this evening’s Euro 2008 quarterfinals against Croatia. After losing 2-0 to Portugal in their Group A opener the Turks came from one goal down to beat co-host Switzerland 2-1 in game two at Basel last Wednesday, with Arda Turan scoring the matchwinner deep into injury time. There was more to come as the Turks pulled off an extraordinary rescue with a 3-2 win over the Czech Republic on Sunday after trailing by two goals with 15 minutes to go. Turkey coach Fatih Terim, sounding philosophical, said: “The darkest hour comes just before dawn. We don't give up,” a day after the miraculous victory over the Czechs. This means Terim needs another big achievement from Turkey in beating pre-match favorite Croatia and sending them packing from the tournament. But everyone is asking: Will the Turks pull off another victory against Croatia today or will they rely on another late fightback? Galatasaray midfielder Mehmet Topal provided the answer, saying Turkey plans to take control from the start today. “We do not want to repeat that any more. We want to take the initiative from the beginning,” Mehmet stated in Vienna. “We have been disappointing in the first half of our matches but I think this happened be-

Forward Nihat Kahveci will be masterminding the Turkish strike force today.

Remaining quarters fixtures 21:45 (today): Croatia vs. Turkey; Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna 21:45 Saturday: Netherlands vs. Russia; St. Jakob Park, Basel 21:45 Sunday: Spain vs. Italy; Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna

SOCCER Probable teams Turkey (4-4-2): 1-Rüþtü Reçber; 22-Hamit Altýntop; 2-Servet Çetin; 15-Emre Aþýk; 3-Hakan Balta; 10-Gokdeniz Karadeniz; 18-Kazým Kazým; 6-Mehmet Topal; 14-Arda Turan; 17-Tuncay Þanlý; 8-Nihat Kahveci

Brazil held by Argentina as Paraguayans falter Arch-rivals Brazil and Argentina drew 0-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday but moved closer to leaders Paraguay who lost 4-2 in Bolivia. Ecuador and Colombia also played out a goalless draw in Quito, leaving the Colombians as the only unbeaten team after six matches in the 10-team group. Brazil coach Dunga, whose side lost 2-0 in Paraguay on Sunday, was jeered and insulted by a 52,000 crowd at Belo Horizonte's Mineirao Stadium as Argentina dominated the second half. The top four teams qualify directly for South Africa in 2010 and the fifth plays off against the fourth team from the CONCACAF region. Rio de Janeiro Reuters

Croatia (4-4-2): 1-Stipe Pletikosa; 5-Vedran Corluka; 3-Josip Simunic; 4-Robert Kovac; 22-Danijel Pranjic; 11-Darijo Srna; 10-Niko Kovac; 14-Luka Modric; 7-Ivan Rakitic; 19-Niko Kranjcar; 18-Ivica Olic.

SWIMMING

Michael Phelps enters nine events at US trials

DISCIPLINARY SITUATION Suspended Turkey: 23-Volkan Demirel first match of two, 7-Mehmet Aurelio one match. Croatia has no suspensions. Misses next match if booked Turkey: 15-Emre Aþýk 3-Hakan Balta, 18-Kazým Kazým, 20-Sabri Sarýoðlu, 17-Tuncay Þanlý, 6-Mehmet Topal, 14-Arda Turan, 4-Gökhan Zan. Croatia: 4-Robert Kovac, 16-Jerko Leko, 14-Luka Modric, 3-Josip Simunic, 11-Darijo Srna, 6-Hrvoje Vejic, 8-Ognjen Vukojevic.

American Michael Phelps, eyeing Mark Spitz's Olympic record of seven gold medals at a single Games, has entered nine individual events in next week's US trials. Winner of six gold and two bronze medals at the Athens Games, Phelps will have to qualify alongside other hopefuls in Omaha, Nebraska for each event in which he hopes to compete at the Beijing Olympics in August. His name was down for the 100, 200 and 400-meter freestyle, the 200 and 400 individual medley, the 100 and 200 backstroke and the 100 and 200 butterfly in heat sheets issued by USA Swimming. New York Reuters

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cause we were trying to spot our opponents' weak spots so we could attack them in the second.” Sabri Sarýoðlu echoed the views of his teammate. “Against Croatia we will start aggressively, at a hightempo,” said the Galatasaray defender. Reaching the semifinals for the first time would be a terrific achievement under any circumstances, but particularly given the selection problems Terim has to contend with. Midfielder Tümer Metin, who has a groin strain, only did light training on Wednesday and remains doubtful for the game in Vienna, while captain Emre Belözoðlu (hamstring) and defender Servet Çetin (knee) missed the session completely. “Emre is not in a position to be able to train on a pitch although he can train in the hotel swimming pool and fitness center,” said a team spokesman. Galatasaray defender Emre Güngör, carried off on a stretcher in the second half against the Czechs, will miss the rest of the finals with a calf strain. To add to Turkey's woes, UEFA has banned firstchoice goalkeeper Volkan Demirel for two matches after he was sent off for shoving Czech forward Jan Koller in an off-the-ball incident, and 2002 World Cup keeper Rüþtü Reçber will take Volkan's place today. Volkan’s two-match ban and the $42,150 fine imposed on the Turkish Soccer Federation will be heard on Monday, Euro 2008 organizers UEFA said on Thursday. Defensive midfielder Mehmet Aurelio is also suspended after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament, meaning Gökdeniz Karadeniz could come into central midfield. D-Day has finally arrived. The Turks, despite a string of injuries to key players, have to overcome all odds by beating the Croats to continue their Euro 2008 journey. It is incumbent upon Turkey to make the impossible possible today!

Croats appear overconfident The Croats are gloating and they expect to extend their unprecedented winning streak in today’s quarters. “We have a better team and quality players, and we can beat Turkey,” midfielder Niko Kranjcar said in Vienna. Croatia won all three group games for the first time at a European Championship in its third appearance. “Our quarterfinal berth may be a surprise for some, but it isn't for us,” coach Slaven Bilic said. “Our original goal was to reach the quarterfinals, but now that's not enough. We will do everything to beat Turkey. We have the strength and the quality to do it.” Today’s match will be Croatia's first game against Turkey since a 1-0 win in the opening game of Euro 1996 in England. Croatia went on to reach the quarterfinals in its first appearance as an independent nation since splitting from Yugoslavia four years earlier. Since then, Croatia has never gone beyond the group stage at the European Championship, and has never won three consecutive matches in a major tournament. At Euro 2008, it beat co-host Austria 1-0, three-time champion Germany 2-1 and Poland 1-0 with a reserve team to spare its main players for the match against Turkey. “The three victories in the group stage give us confidence that we can go through to the semifinals,” defender Vedran Corluka said. “Turkey is good, but we are better.” Bilic praised the Turks for reaching the quarterfinals after two incredible comebacks, against Switzerland and the Czech Republic. “The way they managed the comebacks in those games was impressive,” Bilic said. “But, the way they trailed in those games also tells us something. Their strength is obviously somewhere in between.” Two Croatian reserves have been ruled out today. Defender Dario Knezevic has a knee injury, while striker Igor Budan has a foot problem. Bilic said midfielders Darijo Srna and Ivan Rakitic are likely play today despite having minor injuries. The coach will be able to count on Ivan Klasnic -- who became the first player to take part in a European Championship after a kidney transplant -as he returned to the squad late Wednesday after a scheduled medical checkup in Germany with the doctors who performed his surgery in 2007. Klasnic scored in Monday's 1-0 win over Poland. “He's one of our strongest assets for the next game,” Bilic said. Who is better, Turkey or Croatia? We will know after Italian referee Roberto Rosetti blows the whistle for kickoff at 9:45 p.m.

Live on atv and LÝG TV 21:45 Turkey vs. Croatia

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