www.todayszaman.com - June 26, 2008

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Bill Clinton backs Obama through a spokesman

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Gülen says he was pleased with the acquittal decision of the court and reject the claims of Khomeini likeness

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Sandy, Cathy Rosen share secrets to a happy marriage as they mark their 50th anniversary in Ýstanbul

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

THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2008 WWW.TODAYSZAMAN.COM YTL 1.50

AP

Eurobarometer: Turkish trust in EU on the rise page09

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DEFYING BAGHDAD, IRAQI KURDS CONTINUE TO SIGN OIL DEALS WITH FOREIGN FIRMS

Kurds’ oil deals shake Iraq integrity Iraqi Kurds have signed fresh agreements with South Korea and a Canadian company, defying stiff opposition from the Iraqi government and deepening a dispute with Baghdad that is feared to undermine Iraqi unity.

In a statement posted on its Web site, the Kurdish administration said yesterday that stateowned Korea National Oil Co. has been awarded two production-sharing contracts for the Qush Tappa and Sangaw South blocks near the cities of Arbil and Sulaimaniya. The deal with South Korea came a day after the Kurdish administration announced

the signing of two production-sharing and exploration deals with Canadian Talisman Energy Inc. The new deals came despite strong objections from the Baghdad administration, which has declared the deals illegal. With efforts to pass a national oil law so far unsuccessful due to disputes between the Kurds and Baghdad, the Kurdish administration has been licensing exploration acreage under its own legislation since 2003, and about 20 production-sharing contracts have been signed to date with 15 companies and consortia.

Analysts say an agreement governing oil revenue

sharing is the glue that will keep Iraq together.

Nihat Ali Özcan, a political analyst and a lecturer from the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV), speaking to Today's Zaman yesterday, noted that the issue has three dimensions: legal, economic and political.

"The legal aspect of the issue is the ongoing vagueness in absence of a hydrocarbons law; the economic aspect is about interests and profits of the Kurdish administration and the foreign companies involved. The third aspect, the political aspect, is very important because it leads to the

creation of long-term expectations that might have certain consequences in the distant future through some advantages gained simply from an economic commodity," Özcan said.

"The regional administration aims at indirectly gaining support from political actors in the international community in the future. Companies party to agreements with the regional administration will put pressure on their own governments indirectly on behalf of the Kurdish administration because their interests lie with the administration being politically powerful," he emphasized. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

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Parliament may open investigation into military tender ERCAN YAVUZ, ANKARA Though military expenditures in Turkey are usually subjected to limited scrutiny, Parliament may open an investigation into a $3.4 billion military tender, the second most expensive military tender in the country's history.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Adana deputy and retired general Kürþat Atýlgan submitted a question motion to Parliament this week, requesting that a parliamentary investigative commission be set up to review the tender. The query comes at a time of increased pressure from the European Union for stricter audits of military spending.

On Tuesday, Turkey officially began a $3 billion project to manufacture a gunship helicopter in cooperation with the Italian rotorcraft company AgustaWestland. A ceremony was held at Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAÝ) in Ankara to celebrate the launch of the project.

TAÝ will manufacture 51 (plus 41 optional) Tactical Reconnaissance and Attack Helicopters (ATAK-T129) for the Turkish Land Forces (TSK) with AgustaWestland, which will provide the engines, flight control systems and the aircraft position monitoring systems.

In January 2007, Atýlgan submitted a query to Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül, claiming that there were too many dubious points in the tender process, in which only AgustaWestland and South African Denel were short listed.

Atýlgan claimed that Denel had mysteriously increased its offer during the last round of the tender process, despite having presented the best offer in the previous round. CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

ALÝ H. ASLAN, WASHINGTON A senior US official expressed criticism of a closure case against Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), saying a ban would be "unfortunate," and voiced concerns over possible damage from the case to Ankara's relations with the European Union.

In what appears to be a clear message of opposition from the US administration to the court case, Matthew Bryza, the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said in a speech at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy that "a democracy requires that voters determine their country's political future, and Turkey's voters made clear decisions during elections twice in 2007."

"Turkish leaders, including President Abdullah Gül and PM Tayyip Erdoðan, have underscored the crucial importance of maintaining the separation of mosque and state through the constitutional principle of secularism as a central element of Turkey's democratic system," Bryza said in his speech. CONTINUED ON PAGE 04

Erdoðan's meeting with Gen. Baþbuð raises speculation YUSUF BULUT, ANKARA German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday cut slices of döner, a famous Turkish specialty, at a Berlin summer festival organized by Germany's CDU and CSU parliamentary groups to convey a message of friendship ahead of the Germany-Turkey Euro 2008 semifinal match.

German and Turkish leaders call for calm

The head of an organization that represents about 2.7 million Turks who live in Germany had warned ahead of Wednesday's Euro 2008 semifinal match between the two countries was likely to cause tension between the opposing sets of supporters. "It is going to be a very emotional game," said Kenan Kolat, head of the Turkish Community. "Little things can happen. If there are unfair or wrong calls from the referee, then feelings will be running high -- on both sides." CONTINUED ON PAGE 09

Israel closes Gaza crossýngs after rocket attack Israel closed its border crossings with the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period on Wednesday, calling the move a response to a Palestinian rocket salvo that breached an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire.

The crossings were to have opened at 8 a.m.

(6:00 a.m. British time) to allow for imports, increased in scale under the truce, to reach the impoverished territory. But Israeli military liaison offi-

US more assertive against possible AK Party ban

cial Peter Lerner said they would stay closed until further notice. "Any reopening will be in accordance with security considerations," he told Reuters. On Tuesday, Islamic Jihad militants fired several rockets into southern Israel, breaching a five-day-old Gaza truce in what they called retaliation for the Israeli army's killing of one of their commanders in the occupied West Bank. The

cease-fire deal does not cover the West Bank. Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers, accused Israel of bad faith in closing the crossings, where restrictions were tightened a year ago after Hamas group took over the territory.

"The closure by the occupation is a violation of the deal for calm in Gaza," Abu Zuhri said, referring to Israel. Further stoking tension, Islamic Jihad threat-

ened more attacks on Wednesday for what it called a shooting by Israeli troops of a Palestinian farmer as he worked his field in the village of Khuza, near the Gaza border. Palestinian medical officials said the man was wounded in the leg but there was no independent confirmation that he had been shot by Israeli forces.

In Tel Aviv, an Israeli military spokeswoman said she had no knowledge of any such incident. CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Featuring news and articles from

A meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan and Land Forces Commander Gen. Ýlker Baþbuð late Tuesday has given rise to much speculation, with many alleging that the meeting made definite Baþbuð's nomination as the new chief of general staff and others claiming that the prime minister requested that the military refrain from interference in political and civilian life.

Erdoðan met with Gen. Baþbuð at the prime minister's official residence, and a written statement released by the Prime Ministry Press Center said the two discussed measures to be taken against terrorist activities in the days ahead and recent developments in the country. But several circles have already ascribed various different meanings to the meeting. Many said Erdoðan's meeting with Baþbuð hints that the prime minister has already acknowledged the latter's prospective nomination as the new chief of general staff, pointing to the timing of the meeting, only a month before the Supreme Military Council (YAÞ) gathers on Aug. 1.

YAÞ decides the promotions and retirements of Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) personnel. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

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02 TODAY’S ZAMAN

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F OOD FOR THOUGHT

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Q UOTE OF THE DAY

You can't protect yourself with a wall, but with politics. ... What will give Israel security ... is making a democratic Palestinian state.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy

CROSS READER

FATMA DÝÞLÝ

f.disli@todayszaman.com

’

T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 0 8

PRESS REVIEW

columns

W ORDS OF WISDOM

We are strong, courageous and believe in our success. We are not wary of Germany.

National team coach Fatih Terim

Envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own.

A real acquittal: Gülen case MEHMET KAMIÞ, ZAMAN

Harold Coffin

Fethullah Gülen taught the people of this nation to think big. He showed that many things which in the past could only be accomplished by certain factions of Turkish society could in fact be done by all Turks. He gave the regular people of Anatolia the feeling that they could succeed. He advised those who listened to his words that they should have their children educated not at Quran courses, but at high schools. By asking some formidable business figures in Turkey to fund new schools, he saw to it that the up and coming generations of Turks would receive good educations on a world standard.

Despite the wide variety of chaos and polarization hindering Turkey from developing, Gülen insisted on sticking to dialogue and peace. He accepted everyone living in this nation and extended his hands to help them. And because of all the schools he helped open up around the world, the Turkish language has now become a world language. And while everyone celebrated the general picture painted by the recent International Turkish Language Olympics in Ankara, we also realized just how thirsty we had become for success.

Yesterday, one of the most meaningless court cases in Turkish history resulted in a decision for acquittal of Gülen. Those who have never done anything for Turkey have made sure over the years to let no good deed for the country go unpunished, but in the end, the truth always emerges.

press roundup

We have a newly born trauma

ENJOY TODAY’S ZAMAN AT THESE TOP HOTELS

Even Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy leader Dengir Mir Mehmet Fýrat himself might not have predicted that the remarks he recently made to The New York Times about the revolutions of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the nation's founder, would occupy the agenda so much and make him the target of harsh criticism. Fýrat, who said the revolutions realized in the 1920s caused trauma among the Turkish public as they were told to change their religion, language and dress overnight, continued to be at the center of heated debates in the Turkish media yesterday.

Radikal's Ýsmet Berkan relates the eruption of a storm of debates over Fýrat's remarks to a tendency in Turkey to dwell on the person who said something rather than what he/she said. "If we had taken a look at what was said first, we would have seen that Fýrat's analysis was a very simple and even banal one for the Turkey of 2008," says Berkan, who agrees with Fýrat about the traumatizing effect of the revolutions on Turkish society. However, he notes, the traumatic effect of the revolutions was seen in 1927 and several years following, and it is ridiculous to talk about the continuation of this effect to the year 2008, something which Fýrat did not say or mean. When it is so obvious what Fýrat meant with these remarks, Berkan questions why he has drawn so many negative reactions for uttering these remarks. In his view, the reason for this is nothing but a widespread tendency to engage in mind reading. "No one should blame another; everyone is reading each other's minds in this country. First, seculars read Fýrat's mind and added some adjectives to his remarks, which he actually did not say, and wrongly interpreted his remarks as 'Atatürk revolutions traumatized people.' However, although it was certain that Fýrat meant the Atatürk revolutions, it is not appropriate to put words in his mouth," explains Berkan.

Sabah's Emre Aköz, a sociologist, focuses on the correctness of Fýrat's analysis of the traumatizing effect of the revolutions on the public. He says Fýrat's analysis is only half correct because it is impossible to make such a generalization since Turkish society is not homogenous. "Turkish society is composed of classes and segments. While the changes called 'Atatürk revolutions' were hailed by a certain segment of society, they disturbed another segment and caused negative reactions," states Aköz. As an example, he cites the adoption of Latin letters to replace Arabic ones and says that this revolution traumatized the staff of publications the most because they had to throw all their clichés into the rubbish bin and get new ones; however, this revolution did not bring any changes for villagers, most of whom were illiterate at that time.

Bugün's Ahmet Taþgetiren complains about the limited understanding of freedom of expression among the segments of society that lashed out at Fýrat for making the remarks in question. "Somebody voices his/her opinion, another person counters it. The scope of public debate is expanded in this way.

Nobody has the right to judge another for his/her ideas. Criticizing someone like this is generally seen in the arena of psychological warfare," states Taþgetiren.

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MHP leader Bahçeli’s illusion ÞAMÝL TAYYAR, STAR Judging from the speech made by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli yesterday before his parliamentary group, it appears that Turkey really is heading straight into a regime crisis. The miraculous formula being put forward by Bahçeli would see Prime Minister Erdoðan bid farewell to politics, unable to return as a deputy, not even as an independent candidate. Just for a moment then, let's imagine that Bahçeli is correct and that within this scenario, Turkey really is on a dangerous path and the regime really is under threat. If that really were the case, we would want to ask Bahçeli: Could Abdullah Gül really have been elected president without the support of the MHP? Likewise, would Parliament have approved of the constitutional changes aimed at lifting the headscarf ban without the MHP? Viewed from this angle, if in fact there is some crime here, and if in fact the democratic regime really is at risk right now, then the MHP is just as guilty as the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), as it too has been one of the main instigators in these processes. You cannot, as the popular Turkish saying goes, be "hem suçlu hem güçlü," or "both guilty and bold."

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on Tuesday posed for a photo ahead of yesterday's Euro 2008 semifinal match between Turkey and Germany.

taraf:

The daily's headline story yesterday covered the Euro 2008 semifinal match between Turkey and Germany, which will be played on Wednesday night, and how soccer changed the entire agenda in Turkey, which is dealing with economic problems, coup debates and a closure case filed against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Turkey's morale has been boosted with the successive victories of the Turkish national team in the Euro 2008 matches, and the country expects its team to win in Wednesday's match as well, reported the daily.

yeni þafak:

Surprise us again, read the newspaper's lead headline yesterday, addressing the players of the Turkish national team, who were set to play a semifinal match against Germany on Wednesday night. Turkey has been focusing on this match, which

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will be played in Basel. The national team aims to defeat the Germans and play in the final match. Turkish expats from all over Europe flocked to Switzerland to support our team. Turkey is missing nine of its players due to either injuries or suspensions. National team coach Fatih Terim was quoted by the daily as saying: "We will have 11 players on the field. We have managed to make it to this point and aim to go to the finals."

sabah:

Alone for two hours, read the daily's headline yesterday, referring to a meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan and Land Forces Commander Gen. Ýlker Baþbuð late on Tuesday. A statement released by the Prime Ministry after the meeting said Erdoðan and Baþbuð talked about the fight against terrorism and the latest developments in Turkey. This surprise meeting led to a rash of speculation in Ankara on its content, said the daily.

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NATIONAL

TODAY’S ZAMAN 03

T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 0 8

ÝSTANBUL ANKARA ÝZMÝR ANTALYA ADANA ERZURUM EDÝRNE TRABZON KAYSERÝ

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KONYA ÇANAKKALE DÝYARBAKIR SAMSUN BURSA GAZÝANTEP ESKÝÞEHÝR MALATYA KOCAELÝ

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PHOTO

CÝHAN

‘More Turkish firms need to invest in socially responsible projects’

Panelists focused on financing sustainability, with participants from the business world, the Environment Ministry and financing firms.

Even though socially responsible projects have increased by more than 300 percent in the last 10 years around the world, Turkey is lagging behind, according to a manager at the Turkish bank that started the first environmental investment fund in Turkey. Özgür Temel, the group manager of the capital markets department at Turkey's Ýþ Bankasý, said only six firms (Turkish Industry and Development Bank (TSKB), Zorlu, Arçelik, Aygaz, Eczacýbaþý and TOFAÞ) out of 300 corporations registered on the Ýstanbul Stock Exchange (ÝMKB) are beneficiaries of the fund.

"The fund is open to all firms, except cigarettes and arms production companies, and ISO14000 standards provide a base for the selection of companies," Temel said on Tuesday, speaking at the closing panel discussion on "Financing Sustainability; Opportunities and Challenges" of a 10-day seminar titled "Sustainable Public Policies and Business Practices for Black Sea Countries," organized in Ýstanbul by the Hungary-based Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC).

20,000 Turks die annually from medical malpractice Every year 20,000 people in Turkey die due to medical malpractice, Professor Metin Çakmakçý, the director of the Anatolian Health Center (ASM) Medical Services has said. Noting that this number could increase to 50,000, Çakmakçý added, "Some 6,000-10,000 people die in traffic accidents annually.

Unfortunately, the number of deaths caused by medical error is two times more than that of traffic accidents."

Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the ASM Ataþehir Medical Center in Ýstanbul, Çakmakçý said: "The health system is in a bad state worldwide.

This is also the case in Turkey. The way

the system is designed leads to medical staff committing mistakes. This situation must be scrutinized," he said, suggesting that health services should be improved. The professor also added that patients often encounter errors and that the most common error is incorrectly prescribed medication.

Established through a partnership between Anadolu Vakfý (Anatolia Foundation) and Johns Hopkins Medicine in 2005, the ASM opened its second satellite clinic, called the ASM Ataþehir Medical Center. The construction of the center's hematological oncology unit is currently under way. Çaðlar Avcý Ýstanbul

Lake Eðirdir’s fishermen offer boat tours to stay afloat The fishermen plying their trade on Lake Eðirdir, near Isparta in Turkey's south, used to being home a fine catch of perch and crayfish, but declining stocks have forced them to turn to tourism to make ends meet.

Eðirdir is the second-largest freshwater lake in Turkey, but pollution has decimated fish stocks. The Isparta Governorship is introducing 100,000 perch fry in an effort to boost the ailing fishing trade, but these will take at least two years to reach maturity.

The decline of fishing in the lake has left thousands of people unemployed, said Mehmet Büyükkeskin, himself a fisherman. "I have been working on this lake for 45 years. I cannot forget those fertile days of the lake.

We were born into water and we were

fed by water. We used to sail into the lake and fill our nets with fish. There was action. There used to be almost 300 fishing boats here, but now it cannot be more than 50," he said ruefully.

Noting that a fishing cooperative was established in 1972 and that he was one of the first members, Büyükkeskin added: "Carp, perch and crayfish used to thrive in Lake Eðirdir once upon a time. Perch and crayfish were even exported. I put both my children through school on the money I earned on the lake. The good old times … I used to sail home with a boat full of fish; now I strive to make a living offering boat tours for a trivial amount of money. But the season for boat tours is only one or two months long here." Mesut Mercan Isparta

CM Y K

Temel also said the fund was not available to firms supporting nuclear energy projects in Turkey.

A panel participant from Zorlu Holding, one of Turkey's largest corporations and producer of the biggest wind power plant in the country, said the corporation has completely shifted its energy projects from fossil fuels and natural gas to environmentally friendly sources.

Zorlu Energy Group head Murat Sungur Bursa said as a result his company has been included in Ýþ Bankasý's environmental investment fund.

Bursa said the company is not planning to get into coalbased energy projects or take part in any tenders for nuclear power plants, either.

REC Executive Director Marta Szigeti Bonifert pointed out that four out of the six firms selected by Ýþ Bankasý have received the European Business Award for the Environment from REC-Turkey.

This year the REC offered its traditionally central and eastern European-based seminar series in Turkey to contribute to efforts to save the Black Sea, which is vulnerable to the effects of inland human activity. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

KERÝM BALCI k.balci@todayszaman.com

August wars start early The August wars have started early.

Last time, the early appointment of Yaþar Büyükanýt had stopped any speculation on whether he would be prevented from the much aspired post of chief of general staff. This time, it seems, the prime minister has made an even earlier move. On Tuesday Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan met with Büyükanýt's natural successor, Gen. Ýlker Baþbuð, and most probably gave him his assurances that the "psychological August warfare" won't harm his position at the side of the elected government.

If I am right, that is a clever move -- especially at a time of "leaks" from within the army lines on Gen. Baþbuð's personality and anti-democratic activities [or planned activities] of the army rank and file. The Prime Ministry has already made a declaration about the content of the meeting and closed the window of speculation. The two men spoke about the issues on the agenda and the future form of anti-terrorist activities.

"The issues on the agenda" may be anything.

The dominant issue on Turkey's agenda is the Euro 2008 championship games. Should the two agree on going to the finals together? What a striking and reconciliatory move that would be! I hope that, as you read this article, the Germans have already opened Turkey's way to the finals.

Forgive me my German friends, but rest assured that if you play in the finals, we will all support you. This is a promise.

Other issues on the agenda are wrongdoings of the army command, namely, not being able to control the rank and file that prepared sophisticated plans on how to deal with perceived surging threats from the Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

These plans included dragging members of the judiciary to the line of the army, meetings with prominent personalities and a carrot-and-stick mechanism to control the media. Baþbuð's at-first-deniedbut-later-confirmed meeting with Constitutional Court Deputy President Osman Alifeyyaz Paksüt was speculated to be a realization of plans to "drag the judges to the ideological line of the army."

Did the current prime minister and future chief of general staff speak about these issues on the agenda?

If they did, did the prime minister ask Baþbuð to convince Paksüt and his friends already "dragged to the line of the army" to vote for his party not to be closed in return for further assurances?

We cannot know. But we know very well that the August wars are not only about who the chief of general staff will be but also which officials will be sent into retirement, dismissed from the army lines and, of course, promoted. Being assured of being the next chief of general staff is not enough for Baþbuð; he would also like to eliminate rival names within the ranks of the army and prepare the future line of succession so as to guarantee that the ideological position of the future command centers of the army would be securely secular.

These are all natural intricacies of any bureaucratic organization. Bureaucratic organs are established for certain aims, and as soon as they are created, they prioritize their survival as an aim even more important than their original raison d'être. For the Turkish military, survival is to survive within the general ideological framework of the founding old guard.

I assume that Prime Minister Erdoðan and tobe-Chief of General Staff Baþbuð spoke not only about Baþbuð's personal future but also of the "survival" of the army as the guardian of the secular Kemalist regime of Turkey.

This does not mean that the meeting reached the point of the famous Dolmabahçe meeting between the prime minister and current Chief of General Staff Büyükanýt, which changed the mood of relations between the army and the government within minutes. That was a meeting between two established authorities; this one is between a prime minister whose future is insecure and unknown and a commander who can either occupy the top position of the army hierarchy or be sent into retirement. The realities of the speakers surely influence the content and mood of the speech.

The August wars have started early, but it seems that the prime minister is trying to reach an early peace, also.

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T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 0 8

Lobbyýng for arms Lobbying for arms is a costly business for taxpayers. While this has always been the case, the situation worsens for taxpayers in countries that are not ruled by democracies because the absence of democratic rules hinders transparency, accountability and good governance, resulting in the wasting of the country's economic resources.

Despite some improvements in its democratic standards as a result of certain military and civilian reforms that have taken place in the recent past, Turkey's military, in particular, and civilian institutions, in general, are not subject to the scrutiny required by good governance, through which taxpayers can know where their money has been going.

Since the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) still enjoys an autonomous and privileged position in Turkish society that prevents them from being overseen by civilian authorities, I will focus on the negative impact of the absence of an accountable military sector and the repercussions for an already-fragile economy.

Under the 2003 and 2004 military and civilian reforms, Turkey's previously military-dominated National Security Council (MGK) was civilianized with the appointment of a civilian as its head.

The Turkish military's budget has become subject to the oversight of the Court of Auditors on behalf of Parliament. But neither of these reforms was significantly felt on the ground due to the absence of a strong will within Parliament for putting them into force.

Moreover, a regulation required for the Court of Auditors to inspect state-owned immovable property, such as real estate, used by the military has not been passed by Parliament despite its adoption in 2004 of an amendment under which

LALE SARIÝBRAHÝMOÐLU loglu@todayszaman.com

secrecy over military assets was lifted with an amendment to Article 160 of the Constitution.

Parliament has not established a commission to oversee the arms purchases currently being made by a committee composed of the prime minister, the chief of general staff and the minister of defense.

Debates at Parliament's Budget and Planning Commission over the Defense Ministry's budget have also fallen short of an intense and detailed discussion on the military's budget. Extra budgetary funds earmarked for defense are not open to the public, either.

Thus, the lack of the democratic oversight of the military sector causes serious deficiencies in furthering democracy in Turkey.

Adding to the problem is the ongoing military-initiated plans to remove the current ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) from power. The AK Party is currently facing possible closure by the Constitutional Court on charges of anti-secular activity.

What has been frustrating is the absence of a political will within Parliament and the government for implementing even existing laws that are vital not only for furthering democracy, but also for directing economic resources to social sectors, such as education and health.

Civilian oversight of the military will also considerably de-

crease suspicions in the minds of many Turks that arms purchases are not done correctly and that unnecessary purchases of arms have been negatively affecting their economic situation.

Mehmet Altan of the Star daily rightly stressed in his June 24 column that the problem lies in taboos regarding both military procurement and the commission fees going to defense industry lobbyists.

He recalled that in Turkey the arms sector is never discussed before the public in a transparent fashion.

"Whose hands is the arms sector in? How much do they get in commissions? The public does not know. That issue is a taboo," he said in his article.

It is true that another core problem within the Turkish arms sector is the secrecy surrounding commission fees. There are no known laws that regulate such fees, prompting speculation that there have been unnecessary payments to lobbyists.

As long as this secrecy is not dispelled, we will continue paying high prices for arms, regardless of their real value.

I know, for example, one case that is still the subject of a pending court case. A retired colonel sued a Turkish businessman for not paying him the $4,000 commission fee that he agreed to pay in return for arranging meetings with bureaucrats dealing with arms.

Those fees are later reflected in the price of the arms that Turkey has been buying, making them more costly.

In order to prevent such unnecessary and illegal costs, some Turkish bureaucrats have urged defense contractors not to use middlemen for arranging meetings with them and instead contact them directly regarding any legal questions on a project.

the closure case against the AK Party, Bryza said the US supports the Turkish government as it pursues democratic reforms but added that it takes time to build democracy. "Political ideologies must adjust to broader societal change. It took our country nearly a century to abolish slavery, and only now, 145 years later, has an African-American emerged as a top presidential candidate."

"In Turkey, some political leaders argue they are trying to adjust the vision of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to a new era," he said, in apparent reference to the AK Party. "Their opponents contend these efforts aim to undermine Kemalism and the constitutional principles of secularism, democracy and the rule of law." The closure case against the AK Party, he said, is "where these arguments [have] come to a head."

Bryza also appeared to be playing down charges leveled against the AK Party by its secularist opponents that it has a hidden agenda to turn Turkey into an Islamic state. "I don't know what hidden agenda any human being has. It's unknowable. We in this administration have judged the government of Turkey by its actions, by the reforms today and by the level of cooperation we are currently enjoying in all these issues," he said.

His remarks follow comments by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the closure case last week. Rice described US relations with the AK Party as "excellent" and praised the AK Party for "reaching out" to Turkey's Kurds and religious people. In a recent speech, President George W. Bush underlined US support for Turkey's EU membership, saying in a speech in Slovenia that Washington strongly believes Turkey should be a member of the bloc.

Bryza held out hope that the current tension in Turkey will be resolved. "Ultimately, we are confident our Turkish allies will rely on their Anatolian traditions of pragmatism and tolerant faith, combined with a modern embrace of scientific learning, to resolve the current controversy in a way that strengthens Turkish democracy," he said.

Armenian president plans to invite Gül to World Cup qualifying match Serzh Sarkisian, the president of Turkey's estranged neighbor, Armenia, has said he plans to invite Turkish President Abdullah Gül to Yerevan to watch a soccer match together between the two countries' national teams.

"I intend to take new steps toward establishing relations with Turkey. I will probably invite Turkish President Gül to Yerevan to attend a soccer match between the Armenian and Turkish national teams," Sarkisian, who was sworn into office in April, was quoted as saying by Armenian media earlier this week at a meeting with members of Moscow's Armenian community.

In November, Turkey was pitted against Spain, Belgium, Bosnia, Armenia and Estonia in group five of the European qualifying competition for the 2010 World Cup finals in

South Africa. Armenian media said that the Armenian and Turkish national teams would play a match in September in Yerevan.

While there was no official response to reports on Sarkisian's remarks in Ankara, a senior US diplomat has welcomed them in Washington.

"It's an amazing development. Both leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan seem to be pragmatic, practical and ready to explore each sides needs when it comes to a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement," Matt Bryza, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, told reporters. Armenia's position on the establishment of relations with Turkey is exact, and there can be a closed border between neighbor states in the 21st century, Sarkisian also said. Ankara Today's Zaman with wires

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contýnued from page 1 His reference to the closure case against the AK Party is a break from the administration's stance of refraining from mentioning it in the prepared texts of officials' speeches. In a question and answer session that followed the delivery of his address, Bryza was asked to comment on a possible halt in Turkey's accession process with the EU in the event the AK Party is closed down and the implications for the US of such a setback in Turkish-EU ties.

"Were that scenario to play out with regard to EU accession, that would harm US national interest" because the US quest is for a constantly modernizing and reforming Turkey. "We do believe that with that accession goal not on the horizon, again it would be more difficult for Turkish leaders to take those steps, decisions," he said.

As for the US's own relationship with Turkey, he said it would be "quite unfortunate if the way a political debate is resolved is through banning a party" and added, "Obviously that's not according to the standards of the EU." But he signaled US reluctance to toughen criticism of the case further. "It's up to Turkey to work that out. It's not appropriate for the US to set any ultimatum or threats," he said.

The AK Party faces closure on charges of becoming a focal point of anti-secular activities. The prosecutor in the case also seeks a political ban on dozens of its senior officials, including Prime Minister Erdoðan and President Gül -- a former member of the party. The EU, which Turkey aspires to join, has said any decision to close the AK Party would have serious implications. But the case poses a dilemma for Brussels, as any decision to suspend accession talks with Turkey in protest of a ban on the ruling party would also badly damage prospects for the resumption of the membership process, given the widespread public opposition to Turkey's entry. Commenting on a heated debate over secularism in Turkey that eventually brought to the fore

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Germany bans PKK affiliated-satellite broadcaster Roj TV The Denmark-based Roj TV television station, one of the main propaganda tools of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has been banned in Germany because of its support for the PKK's terrorist activity against Turkey.

German officials announced on Tuesday that Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble had banned the station's broadcast activities in Germany as of June 19. Announcing the ban, the Interior Ministry said Roj TV was a mouthpiece of the PKK, which has been outlawed in Germany and has used armed force in pursuit of autonomy for ethnic Kurdish regions of Turkey.

German officials said Roj TV had encouraged viewers to become PKK members. Roj TV's production company in Germany, VIKO Fernseh Produktion GmbH, based in the western city of Wuppertal, was dissolved at the same time as the ban was issued on June 19. German officials said an inquiry into Roj TV that began in September had led to a raid of VIKO's offices on May 7.

Mesopotamia Broadcast A/S, a Danishbased private broadcasting company known to be Roj TV's parent company, has also been prohibited from operating in Germany.

In addition to Roj TV, several so-called cultural groups in Europe have been used as propaganda tools by the PKK. Turkey frequently criticizes European countries for turning a blind eye to PKK activities in their territory and has urged, so far in vain, Denmark to revoke Roj TV's broadcast license in that country.

Since December of last year, the Turkish military has been regularly attacking PKK positions in the mountains of northern Iraq, where several thousand PKK terrorists are believed to be based.

The European Union and the United States are keen for NATO-member Turkey, which says it is defending itself against a terrorist organization, to keep its attacks in northern Iraq limited to avoid destabilizing Iraq and the wider region.

The EU, which Turkey aims to join, has meanwhile urged Ankara to boost the language and cultural rights of its Kurdish citizens and to do more to develop the economy of Turkey's Southeast, long hamstrung by the PKK conflict.

Late last month, Parliament passed a bill allowing the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) to broadcast programs in languages other than Turkish, paving the way for broadcasts in Kurdish, Arabic and Farsi.

TRT will now be able to allocate one of its channels to 24-hour broadcasts in Kurdish. Commentators say the latest move is an attempt to attract viewers in the mainly Kurdish Southeast away from Roj TV. Ankara Today's Zaman with wires

Belgium to retry DHKP/C members

Matthew Bryza, the deputy assistant secretary of state, appears to be playing down charges that the AK Party has a hidden agenda to turn Turkey into an Islamic state, saying any such hidden agenda is ‘unknowable.’

Pro-Armenian senator delays US ambassadorial nominee’s confirmation US Senator Barbara Boxer has secured a onemonth delay in procedure for confirmation by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee of the administration's nominee for US ambassador to Armenia, Armenian media reports say.

Boxer, a Democrat, secured the delay in response to the State Department's delay in providing timely written responses to the eight sets of written questions submitted to career diplomat Marie Yovanovitch, current ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic, by members of the panel, influential Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Communications Director Elizabeth S. Chouldjian said, PanARMENIAN.Net reported yesterday. Last week, during her confirmation hearing before the Foreign Relations Committee, Yovanovitch responded to a salvo of questions

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posed by Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, who blocked the Bush administration's previous nominee over his refusal to call killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the last century "genocide," in line with the US administration's policy.

Nevertheless, Yovanovitch rejected use of the term "genocide" to describe the early 20th century deaths of Ottoman Armenians out of political considerations, saying that using the term would contradict the US administration's policy on the issue.

Boxer released a written statement in which she criticized US policy on the Armenian issue, especially taking into consideration the fact that the administration has called killings in Darfur genocide, but refused to do so in the Armenian case. Ankara Today's Zaman with wires

Belgium's Supreme Court of Appeals has rejected the controversial acquittal of seven members of an outlawed Turkish terrorist organization by an appeals court in February.

On Feb. 7 an appeals court in Anvers acquitted seven members of the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), including the group's leader, of terrorism charges. The DHKP/C, like the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), is classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union, of which Belgium is a member, and the United States. The court convicted three others, including Fehriye Erdal, a suspect wanted in Turkey in connection with the 1996 assassination of a prominent Turkish businessman, of possession of firearms and falsified identification, but released them for time served. The leader of the terrorist group was among those acquitted.

While acquitting the DHKP/C members of terrorism charges, the Anvers Court of Appeals had ruled that the group had no intention of committing terrorist acts in Belgium and added that it was not up to the court to assess how the suspects felt about terrorism in general. The court also declined to take into consideration their terrorist activities in other countries. The ruling led to criticism that Belgium could turn into a safe haven for terrorists who had committed terrorist attacks in other parts of the world. Within weeks of the ruling, state prosecutors appealed the verdict to the Supreme Court of Appeals. The state prosecutors said the decision was full of ambiguity and incertitude and emphasized that a clearer decision was expected from the judiciary. Reminding the Supreme Court of Appeals of crimes committed by the defendants both in Belgium and other countries, they said a ruling that ignored these crimes could not be accepted.

In its annulment ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Appeals said the defendants could be tried in Belgium for their terrorist activities in other countries. It also defined the DHKP/C as "a terrorist organization, criminal organization and a gang," the Anatolia news agency reported.

The retrial will take place before an appeals court in Brussels, Anatolia said, noting that the defendants could now receive different sentences, as all decisions made to date have been rendered invalid by the annulment of the Supreme Court of Appeals. Ankara Today's Zaman with wires

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Parliament may open investigation into military helicopter tender contýnued from page 1 He stated that Denel’s bid was $350 million below that offered by its Italian rival, but that the company increased its offer by $700 million in the final round, which is also a violation of the public tender law. Atýlgan in his query to Gönül noted that as such the Treasury should have called for payment of the bid bond Denel had submitted to participate in the tender.

He also said the technical points awarded to the Italian company during the technical evaluation were too low to be eligible for the contract.

All political parties in Parliament with the exception of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) support the formation of a parliamentary commission to investigate claims about the tender put forward by Atýlgan.

Parliament will decide on June 30 whether to discuss the parliamentary investigation request.

Atýlgan, speaking to Today’s Zaman, stated that there are a large number of aspects that deserve closer investigation in the ATAK helicopter tender.

“In order for these details to be fully understood, Parliament needs to set up an investigative commission and put an end to speculation. These suspicious points will not vanish unless this commission is set up. How can it be that South African Denel, which had the best offer, increased its bid in the last round … knowingly causing its own elimination. Denel’s move led to the Italian company, which had offered to take the contract for $350 million more, winning the tender,” he said, noting that the defense minister has not given satisfactory answers to these questions.

He also stated that the contract had been revised many times since it was awarded last summer, claiming that the military simply

According to the contract between Turkey and Italian helicopter manufacturing company AgustaWestland, Turkish Aerospace Industries will manufacture 51 (plus 41 optional) Tactical Reconnaissance and Attack Helicopters (ATAK-T129) for the Turkish Land Forces. seemed too eager to pay off the Italian company. He said under the contract, the first helicopter would be delivered in seven years, making it impossible to tell how many engine updates there would be until that time. Atýlgan stated that Agusta would get 67 percent of the contract fee at the beginning of the process, something never seen before in the history of the country’s military purchases. “Parliament should really get its hands on this tender, which many say has too many hazy areas.”

Questions awaiting replies Atýlgan’s query directed to Gönül included the following questions: “Are the allegations accurate that the standard contract text was changed eight times after it was awarded?

Has remittance of the bid bond sum been called for by the Treasury in accordance with the law when that company violated legislation on tenders? Is it normal for a company to increase its bid amount in the final round for best and final offers? Are all design and development costs that are supposed to be covered by AgustaWestland being covered by Turkey? Is it true that 67 percent of the contract had already been paid to the company even before the delivery of the first helicopter? What are the details of the delivery and payment schedule? Can it be said confidently that this has been a fair tender? Has the public interest been served? Has the state sustained financial damage?”

In his response, Gönül admitted that

Turkish Baha’i community concerned for Baha’is in Iran The Turkish Baha’i community, like other Baha’i communities around the world, is voicing its concern about the fate of seven Baha’is who were recently arrested in Iran.

Six members of the Baha’i Iranian community were taken into custody on May 14. According to information provided by the Baha’i community in Turkey, they were members of the national coordination group that helped see to the minimum needs of Baha’is in Iran. They were in their homes in the morning they were arrested.

Government intelligence agents entered and spent up to five hours searching each home before taking them away.

Another member of the national coordinating group had been arrested in early March in Mashhad. The Baha’i community in Iran has often been subject to persecution in Iran.

“We protest in the strongest terms the arrests of our fellow Baha’is in Iran, Their only crime is their practice of the Baha’i faith,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.

Dr. Susan Merter, the foreign relations press coordinator for the Turkish Baha’i community, said that all over the world the Baha’i community is appealing to the international community and human rights groups to protect the rights of the Baha’is arrested in Iran. She said they had met with some Turkish officials to this end, but she did not give details.

The Baha’i faith is the religion founded by Bahaullah in 19th-century Persia.

Baha’i teachings emphasize the spiritual oneness of humanity and the underlying unity of the major world religions. There are an estimated 6 million Baha’is around the world in more than 200 countries, approximately 10,000 of them in Turkey.

The city of Edirne is one of the holy cities of the Baha’is because Baha’i leaders were exiled there for a brief period during the Ottoman era. Ankara Today’s Zaman

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there had been revisions to the tender announcement, but he said this was completely legal before the final draft of tender specifications has been prepared.

He said the Treasury had not called for payment of the bid bond from Denel, adding that the company’s actions had not created a situation necessitating that.

Gönül also replied that the payment schedule, which involved Turkey taking on all the design and development costs of the project, was completely in harmony with the ATAK project’s tender specifications as well as other military programs currently under way.

He also maintained that the schedule of payments for the tender were no different from other payments the military has made.

FEHMÝ KORU f.koru@todayszaman.com

Welcome to the trauma-less country Apart from a chance meeting and a quick chitchat, I haven’t had the opportunity to get to know New York Times Ýstanbul correspondent Sabrina Tavernise. This is against my custom. I have been frequently referred to by foreign papers, and many foreign correspondents have made my acquaintance very early on. Not Ms. Tavernise.

This lack of social intimacy didn’t affect my appreciation for her journalistic work, and when I came across Arthur Schulzberger Jr., publisher of The New York Times in Washington, D.C., I conveyed my sincere feelings on how lucky he must have felt to have a correspondent in Turkey as meticulous as Ms. Tavernise. Her pieces datelined Turkey carry great understanding and thoughtfulness toward Turkish people and politics.

Many in the Turkish media don’t share my view of her. Not a single day passes without someone in one of the major papers coming up with a column denouncing her for an analysis in The New York Times.

Her latest piece, “In Turkey, Bitter Feud Has Roots in History,” is a case in point, in which she was trying to describe that what we are witnessing in politics now bears traces of footprints from the early Republican era. She conducted interviews on the street and discussed the issue with some intellectuals and politicians. It was a thorough piece of journalism.

Some didn’t like it at all. She has been in the paper ever since as a journalist pushing the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) agenda. While they direct their accusations at her, they also direct their fury at her source, who claimed that Turkish society had been traumatized: “Overnight they were told to change their dress, their language. Their religious ways were dismantled.”

Her source is Dengir Fýrat, deputy chairman of the AK Party, who himself is on the list of politicians who would be banned from politics if and when the AK Party is closed down by the Constitutional Court. When he used the word “trauma,” he was referring to a unique timeframe in our history, the time when the founding fathers of the Turkish Republic were transforming the people who were multi-cultured subjects of Ottoman Empire into the citizens of a nation-state.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of modern Turkey, forced new ways by adopting some harsh measures that have not been taken in any other society for fear of backlash. He was successful in his method, since only a small fraction of Turkish society resisted change and made their unhappiness known. The changes took place within a very limited period of time but caused a lot of anxiety and trauma, nevertheless.

With a change of alphabet from Arabic script to Latin script, all sectors of society became illiterate overnight. What a psychological shock people of the time must have lived through. Some intellectuals isolated themselves in their own society, some left the country and sought sanctuary in different parts of the world. Mehmet Akif Ersoy, the poet of our national anthem, went to Egypt in protest.

“Trauma” isn’t a word strong enough to depict the psyche of the Turkish public when they were forced to change with reforms introduced in early the republican era. This doesn’t make those reforms, the fruits of which we enjoy today, any less valuable, but it is a description of what really happened at the time.

The reforms of that era are considered “revolutionary,” and we call them “Atatürk’s revolutions.” Every revolution, from the French to the Iranian, created traumas in the societies they occurred in. With the introduction of new ways for the sake of European Union membership, Turkish society is experiencing a new wave of trauma -- a trauma in reverse. A book by Esra Özyürek -- incidentally, she is the daughter of Mustafa Özyürek, second-in-command of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) -- “Nostalgia for the Modern” (Duke University Press, 2006), portrays a new mindset in which the modern-day Turkish family and its members turn themselves into representatives of staunch Kemalism after they feel a threat coming from new ways introduced by the AK Party.

I think we can easily call their feelings “trauma in reverse.”

Tavernise opened up that chapter in our history to make us understand present-day Turkey. What we are witnessing today in politics is an attempt to get over and leave behind our traumatic past, which would enable us to adopt changes more easily.

It was easier in a time when many major foreign papers were represented in Turkey by our own.

Mehmet Ali Kýþlalý, a veteran journalist who is the closest newspaperman to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and whose articles are a must-read in understanding what the military thinks at the moment, represented both The New York Times and the Time group of magazines single-handedly for years. You can easily surmise that in those “golden times” there would be no heated debate, no war of nerves, since Kýþlalý hadn’t written anything of that sort.

I am sure you have noticed that a war of nerves has been started in Turkey with the piece written by Ms. Tavernise that cornered Fýrat and harmed his party’s position, but the Times correspondent is accused by some in the Turkish press of serving the AK Party. A contradiction, eh? Yes, but who cares about contradictions as long as both axioms serve the purpose.

The purpose of demoting the AK Party.

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British magazine Prospect features Gülen as cover story

Gülen: I’m pleased wýth court decýsýon

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Gülen said that the case brought against him was full of hearsay and had no merit.

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Abdullah Gül was cited as visiting Turkish schools abroad while he was foreign minister, an act that allegedly violated the secular principles of the Constitution. The previous decision by an appellate court and the upholding of the verdict by the Penal General Committee refuted the allegations that Gülen is “establishing an illegal organization in order to change the secular structure of the state and found a state based on religious rules.” Legal experts argue that the case against President Gül has no standing in the court with this new verdict.

Gülen reiterated that the case brought against him was full of hearsay and had no merit. He said evidence included in the case was doctored and that the court recognized that the prosecutors failed to prove their case against him.

Gülen admitted, however, that he had suffered a great deal of pain in the last decade because of the baseless allegations, which, he said, had prevented him from concentrating on his studies and continuing with his book writing.

He also dismissed allegations that he is similar to Iranian religious leader Khomeini. “I am not Iranian, I’m not like Khomeini. I have never carried his claims. So my return is not like a return of Khomeini,” he stated. He stressed that he is not a public person who loves to make appearances. “I never had similarities to Khomeini in terms of character, religious order or country,” he said, adding, “I will return to my country when the conditions are ripe, and it is going to be in my own humble, modest way, without making a big deal out of it, without having any major public appearances.”

Gülen also emphasized his love for his country. “I have soil samples from every corner of Turkey in my room. I try to get relief by smelling a handful of dirt brought from my homeland,” he noted, adding, “After all, I’m a child of Turkey.” Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman

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In an exclusive interview given to the Web site Herkul.org, Gülen said he saw the good news [about his acquittal] as a blessing from God. He noted, however, that "we will be more pleased when we are told to enter into heaven safe and sound." He said he only has God to thank for this good news Turkish intellectual Fethullah Gülen has said he was pleased by a court decision on Tuesday that cleared him of all allegations by upholding an earlier decision to acquit handed down by the Ankara 11th Criminal Court.

The Supreme Court of Appeals Penal General Committee upheld the acquittal in a vote of 17 to six.

In an exclusive interview given to the Web site Herkul.org, Gülen said he saw the good news as a blessing from God. He noted, however, that “we will be more pleased when we are told to enter into heaven safe and sound.” He said he only has God to thank for this good news.

Gülen also commented on the news that he has taken the top spot in a survey of “The World’s Top 20 Public Intellectuals,” organized by the US Foreign Policy magazine in cooperation with British magazine Prospect. In the survey, closely watched by millions all over the world, Gülen won the vote by a landslide. He said he will accept the recognition on behalf of all the people who made contributions to the movement and as a reward for their sincere endeavors.

He noted that the judges’ decision at the General Penal Committee showed their integrity of character, emphasizing the fact that they decided according to their consciences. “Therefore they stood by the ruling made earlier by the Supreme Court of Appeals,” Gülen added. He said he was encouraged by the decision. “This proves there are still judges in Turkey who are not afraid to rule according to justice despite all the pressures brought upon the court.”

Gülen pointed out that with this decision, visiting Turkish schools associated with the Gülen movement would not be considered a crime. He was referring to the closure case filed by the chief public prosecutor against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in which President

Colombia and Turkey can get rich via cooperation, says former Colombian President Samper though Colombia is a self-sufficient country in terms of oil, they produce ethanol from sugar cane for use as auto fuel. “Ten percent of the fuel cars use in Colombia is ethanol made of sugar cane. Bio-energy production is important for us in this context. We do not export oil because our daily production is no greater than 1 million barrels daily, and this is enough for only domestic usage.”

Samper said there are large biofuel factories in Colombia producing ethanol from sugar cane. “This is not a new technology for us, though; even 20 years ago you could see cars using alcohol in Colombia.”

Samper said the Turkish businessmen he met at TUSKON were very interested in this technology.

He noted that there are numerous areas on which

Turkish and Colombian businessmen can cooperate.

“Turkish businessmen can go to Colombia and invest in this business [ethanol],” he said. Answering a question about which fields were feasible for Turkish businessmen to invest in, Samper said the biofuel business would be the most advantageous. “We are also very interested in tourism investment,” he added.

Samper also visited the Mediterranean province of Antalya, a center of tourism in Turkey, on Wednesday to talk with Turkish tourism sector representatives about investment possibilities for businessmen from his country.

According to Samper, another area that Turkish businessmen view with interest in Colombia is shipbuilding. He said Colombia does TODAY’S ZAMAN

Former Colombian President Ernesto Samper has said there are many similarities between his country and Turkey, noting that the two could greatly benefit by strengthening economic ties and trade.

“Among all of the European countries, Turkey is the most similar to Colombia, and Colombia is the most similar Latin country to Turkey among all of the Latin American countries,” said Samper, during a visit to Today’s Zaman on Tuesday.

Samper stated that Turkey and Colombia, as developing countries, are at the same economic level.

“We are in the same league. We, as Colombia, have been struggling alone to become wealthier for a long time, but we are still poor like Turkey, so we can get rich by working together,” he noted.

Samper was hosted in Turkey by the Latin American-Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (LATSÝAD), which aims to improve political and economic relations between Turkey and Latin American countries. LATSÝAD also seeks to play a leading role in bringing Turkish companies to Latin America. Emphasizing the importance of the economic relations between Colombia and Turkey, Samper said in Colombia one poor man cannot become rich even though he works hard but two poor people can get rich by working together. He stated that Colombia and Turkey, which have much in common, can work together in order to be two of the richest countries in the world.

The former Colombian president also visited the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), meeting with members of the organization on Tuesday. Samper said even

Former Colombian President Ernesto Samper on Tuesday paid a visit to Today’s Zaman headquarters where he talked about bilateral relations between Turkey and Colombia.

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not have any restrictions on foreign investment. “As Colombia we are also interested in textile investment,” he noted. Samper said in the 1990s the majority of investment that Colombia was receiving was from European countries but currently American investments outnumber those from Europe.

Samper also talked about Colombia’s privatization history, which is very similar to Turkey’s.

“Colombia privatized everything it could in the last 20 years,” he stated, adding: “Colombia’s privatization policy is quite conservative; we did not favor foreign companies buying the public companies, rather the companies involved in these privatizations partnered with Colombian companies.”

The relations between Turkey and Colombia have been limited so far due to the geographical distance between the two countries. Another reason is the lack of communication between them.

“The reason behind us not getting acquainted with one another is the fact that we thought we were so different, though we are actually so similar,” he noted. Samper said this gap between Turkey and Latin America is not as big as is thought. “We aren’t as uninformed about the Turks in Latin America; there are some descendants of the Ottoman Empire in Latin America. Even though they are Algerians, North Africans and Syrians, we generally call them ‘Turkos,’ which means sons of the Turks, namely sons of the former Ottoman Empire,” remarked Samper.

Samper was the president of Colombia between 1994 and 1998 and the 16th secretary-general of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) -- an international organization of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power blocs -- between 1995 and 1998.

The latest issue of Prospect, a UK-based magazine, has featured Fethullah Gülen, a well-respected scholar of Islam, in its cover story.

The article, titled “A Modern Ottoman,” described Gülen as “the modern face of the Sufi Ottoman tradition.” Gülen recently came out at the head of a list of “The World’s Top 20 Public Intellectuals” organized by Prospect in cooperation with US magazine Foreign Policy. The centerleft British monthly pointed out that “millions of people inside and outside Turkey have been inspired by Gülen,” adding that he is influenced by Sufi thinking, insists on friendship among people of all faiths and that “no one should be seen as an outsider.” The magazine cited “a combination of charisma, good organization and an attractive message” as reasons for his overwhelming support worldwide. It said, “What Gülen says is that you can be at home in the modern world while also embracing traditional values like faith in God and community responsibility -- a message which resonates strongly in Turkey.”

The article, written by Ehsan Masood, a London-based journalist and a frequent writer on the Muslim world, says: “Fethullah Gülen leads a global movement inspired by Sufi ideas. He promotes an open brand of Islamic thought and he is preoccupied with modern science,” noting that he publishes an English-language science magazine called The Fountain. It states, “He and his movement are at home with technology, markets and multinational business and especially with modern communications and public relations.”

Gülen’s thinking is certainly influenced by Sufi ideas, the magazine said. “For example, a reader who wants to truly understand the Quran needs to invest his heart as well as his intellect.” Another idea Gülen shares with Sufism is that “God, humanity and the natural world are all linked and might even be part of a single entity, a sort of cosmic trinity.”

The British monthly drew attention to a recent international conference, held at the House of Lords, and said Gülen’s ideas to marry science and religion, his large body of work on interpreting Islam for the modern age and his role in Turkish politics were discussed at this conference.

It also claimed the movement has more than 500 elite schools in dozens of countries, but said that a few can also be found in Africa, China and the US. The magazine points out that many of his followers are from the middle class. It says: “Gülen reassures his followers that they can combine the statist-nationalist beliefs of Atatürk’s republic with a traditional but flexible Islamic faith. He also reconnects the provincial middle class with the Ottoman traditions that had been caricatured as theocratic by Atatürk and his ‘Kemalist’ heirs.”

This is not the first time for the British magazine to feature a Turk. Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk ranked fourth in Prospect and Foreign Policy’s “The World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” poll. Prospect is a general interest monthly magazine with a circulation of approximately 27,000.

The 13-year-old magazine received worldwide attention in October 2005 when it published its list of the world’s top 100 public intellectuals for the first time and listed Noam Chomsky as the top public intellectual of 2005.

Another alleged money transfer scandal shakes CHP The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has allegedly transferred money to the Halk TV station, considered to be the party’s propaganda organ, the Yeni Þafak newspaper reported yesterday.

According to the daily, the CHP transferred the sums of $700,000 and YTL 500,000 to Halk TV in the last three-and-a-half years to pay the station’s fees for a satellite system and Digitürk, one of the two main cable TV providers in Turkey. The main opposition party also paid for the devices and equipment used by the station.

The allegations over money transfers to Halk TV come only weeks after another illegal money transfer scandal from the CHP to local TV station Kanaltürk had shaken the party.

Kanaltürk had been unable to account for the transfer of money amounting to $3.5 million from the CHP to the TV station, which led the Finance Ministry to send a dossier to the Constitutional Court and the office of the Supreme Court of Appeals chief prosecutor asking them to launch an investigation into the CHP’s accounts.

The top court is still investigating the CHP’s money transfer to Kanaltürk. According to Article 69 of the Constitution and Article 67 of the Law on Political Parties, political parties cannot engage in commercial activities. If the Constitutional Court finds the contract and money transfer between the CHP and Kanaltürk in violation of the Constitution, CHP officials will face up to one year in jail. Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman with wires

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BUSINESS

TODAY’S ZAMAN 07

THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2008

Tüzmen calls on Spanýsh contractors to ýnvest ýn Turkey HÜSEYÝN SÜMER MADRID

Foreign Trade Minister Kürþad Tüzmen has invited Spanish contractors to Turkey, saying that Turkey wants to cooperate with Spain in the construction business.

Spain has been amongst the countries hardest hit by ongoing world market turbulence caused by the US subprime mortgage crisis.

Tüzmen, currently on a formal visit to Spain, met with David Taguas, the president of the Association of Spanish Contractors (SEOPAN), in Madrid on Wednesday and in a speech at the meeting said Turkish

contractors had earned $1.4 billion by working in foreign countries in 2002 and $20 billion in 2007. There are 22 Turkish companies among the world's 225 largest contracting companies, he added.

The minister said Spanish contractors could visit Turkey after the summer season this year to jointly work on projects in the Middle East, the Gulf, the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, Central Asia and North Africa as a way out of the grips of the mortgage crisis.

"The contracting business is well developed in Spain, and Turkey ranks third in the world with its experience. We want to establish cooperation between Spanish and Turkish contractors by uniting our

experience with Spanish capital. I invite all Spanish contractors and SEOPAN members to Turkey," he said.

Meanwhile, Tüzmen emphasized that Turkey will attract investment of $40 billion in the contracting business and $120 billion in the energy business in the coming years and will become a center of investment.

"We have planned to attract investment for highways, power plants, renewable energy and alternative energy production facilities. I mean there are a lot of fertile areas both inside and around Turkey to invest in."

Tüzmen said Turkish businessmen exporting iron and steel to Spain are facing unfair competition and added measures to be taken against this would be

‘Turkey's recent stand-by performance favorable’ A team of economists and analysts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed a report on Turkey's performance in the last two stand-by agreements, stating that Turkey performed quite well regarding the length, commitments and efficient use of the financial assistance. The contents of the report have not yet been officially disclosed, but a summary of its conclusions was divulged by sources close to the IMF. The report was a product of a 10-day study by the IMF team working with Turkish officials from the Treasury, Ministry of Finance and central bank in Ankara.

The report also noted that Turkey had been unable to complete its stand-by agreements until the last two, the same sources said. The detailed report on the IMF's review, including an in-depth analysis of events of the last seven years, will be publicized after approval is given by the IMF managerial board, which is expected in July.

The IMF team did not include economists from the IMF Turkey desk; however, the desk did provide the team with information needed for the review.

The team also used data from the relevant national and international institutions. The IMF will prepare similar reports for Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Latvia, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain, all of which had recently benefited from IMF loans. Essentially, the report assesses whether the funds have been properly utilized. Ankara Today's Zaman

Digital camera prices to rise 20% with new tax Digital cameras will be 20 percent more expensive at July's start, as they were recently placed within the scope of the Private Consumption Tax (ÖTV).

In amendments to the law on the collection of public debts published in the Official Gazette on June 6, digital cameras were added to the list of goods covered by Customs Tariffs Statistics Protocol (GTÝP) No. 8525.80, which includes home appliances, cosmetics, caviar, guns and other items. The relevant article in the amendment stipulated that television cameras, digital cameras and any other types of image-recording devices were subject to the 20 percent tax. Meanwhile, according to officials from the Revenue Administration, cameras that can shoot video will also be included within the scope of this law.

An official from the administration pointed to the recent, dramatic increase in digital camera sales, adding that similar products were already subject to ÖTV. Demand for such electronic devices, most of which are imported from abroad, is expected to sharply decline after the amendment goes into effect. Ankara Today's Zaman

Employment grows in manufacturing industry The Turkish manufacturing industry saw a 1.7 percent increase in the number of people employed as well as a 2.5 percent increase in working hours for the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, a report from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) has noted.

According to TurkStat's report, titled "Employees and Working Hours in the Manufacturing Industry for First Quarter of 2008," the number of people employed in the sector grew by 2.4 percent in the public sector and 1.6 percent in the private sector, while working hours went up by 5.2 and 2.3 percent, respectively, for the public and private sectors.

In the public manufacturing industry, the biggest decrease in the number of employees was seen in the production of paper and related products, with a drop of 28.9 percent, followed by the production of radio, TV and communication devices with 16.3 percent and production of chemicals with 12.2 percent. The highest growth in employees was in the manufacturing of electrical equipment and devices, with an increase of 17.1 percent. Ankara Today's Zaman

CM Y K

beneficial for the sector.

Taguas then expressed his prospects regarding commercial relations with Turkey, saying that Turkey and Spain should cooperate strategically not only in politics but also in the economic and commercial spheres. He said SEOPAN is exerting efforts to boost cooperation with Turkey and that the two countries could work in North Africa, a region with a significant deficiency in infrastructure. Taguas noted that SEOPAN has worked on projects in Western Europe and Latin America and added that Tüzmen's invitation has been accepted. "I am ready to support this offer. We need to seal this deal as soon as possible. I would be very glad to

cooperate," he said.Tüzmen also noted that Spanish industrial conglomerate Essentium will establish two cement plants in Osmaniye and Bilecik at a cost of around 400 million euros. These two factories will produce a total of 4 million tons of cement annually.

According to the minister, the trade volume between the two nations hit 6.5 billion euros as of the end of 2007. Turkey's exports grew by 111 percent between 2002 and 2011, whereas its imports rose by only 80 percent in the same period, he added. "Our aim is to achieve a trade volume of 10 billion euros by 2010, and I have full confidence that this number will easily be reached," the minister stated.

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PHOTO

ÝSA ÞÝMÞEK

08 TODAY’S ZAMAN

T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 0 8

BUSINESS

CONGRESS

TMSF head suggests changing fund's name

Presýdent Gül advýses gov’t to adopt a more austere stance on reforms President Abdullah Gül has recommended that the government adopt a more sensitive and austere approach to the implementation of the economic and political measures necessary to protect the Turkish economy from the ongoing crises and fluctuations of the global economy.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 15th World Congress of the International Economic Union at Ýstanbul's Lütfi Kýrdar International Convention and Exhibition Center, Gül said the world was going through a period of major increases in the prices of food, raw materials and energy and a period of global economic uncertainty, emphasizing the importance of taking steps to minimize the risks involved in this period.

He said all governments and regional and international economic and political institutions should sincerely join forces to address these urgent problems.

The president maintained that the global liquidity crisis that arose in 2007 had had a limited impact on Turkey. This situation clearly showed that Turkey has covered an important distance in terms of retaining sound macroeconomic balances and its stable financial system, he said, adding that it was vitally important for the government to continue carefully implementing economic and political measures to minimize and eliminate the negative effects of the foreign stocks needed for sustainable growth and stability.

"If this is achieved, Turkey will not only have surmounted the obstacles before it, it will also have consolidated its position as center of attraction in the region," he said.

Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) President Ahmet Ertürk has recommended that the name of the fund be changed to the Turkey Deposit Insurance Fund to avoid confusion among those in other countries.

The fund's acronym would remain the same with the change -- the word "savings" translates to "tasarruf" in Turkish -- and those outside of Turkey would no longer be confused as to which country the institution belongs, Ertürk noted. Such a change would require an amendment to the law that outlines the basic pillars of the TMSF, he added.

Ertürk was speaking yesterday at the Turkish Banking System: Vision 2023 congress, organized by the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM), in Ýstanbul. He said the establishment of an insurance system after the 2001 financial crisis had significantly contributed to regaining people's confidence in the Turkish financial industry. The fund has thus far focused on cleaning up the mess from previous financial troubles and has been successful to a certain extent, he added. Ýstanbul Chamber of Commerce (ÝTO) Chairman Murat Yalçýntaþ also addressed the audience at the well-attended congress. He said the financial sector and the commercial sphere have always had intertwined relations in which nothing happens in one without affecting the other. This is a necessary condition for the development of both sectors, he stated.

Yalçýntaþ recalled the periods prior to the 2001 crisis when financial institutions were putting most of their money in high interest yield Treasury bonds. But in the end, the financial sector sustained at least $40 billion in losses, according to even the most conservative estimates.

"We expended such large amounts to remove the debris of the crisis instead of passing it off to the public," he said. The year 2002, however, marked the start of a new era, with lessons learned from the mistakes of the past and a more disciplined stance in the political sphere. The sector has become much stronger, he noted, adding that the capital inflows from abroad have contributed a great deal to the expansion of business. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with wires

Turkey's economy. He said it had seen a steady trend of growth since the first quarter of 2002. "The Turkish economy grew by 7 percent on average between 2002 and 2007, and reaching a gross domestic product of $659 billion."

"The recurring problem of high inflation that results in great economic and social costs has been overcome and inflation has dropped to single-digit numbers after many years.

Even though this seems like a paradox, Turkey has achieved an important success by lowering the inflation rate parallel to its tremendous economic growth," he said.

Gül also emphasized that global factors, structural reforms, macroeconomic policies, and Turkey's EU accession talks all contributed positively to Turkey's amazing performance.

"The public's commitment to financial discipline has gained strength as a result of the economic program implemented after 2001 and the fragility of the financial system has largely been eliminated," he said, recalling that the institutional and legal infrastructure needed for the foundation of a strong financial system was now established enough to make Turkey's growth last.

Stressing that tight monetary policies implemented had no limiting effect on growth and that the improvements in public balances and the positive developments that secured price consistency had made important contributions to the growth process, Gül said, "With the achievement of political andmacroeconomic stability and the creation of a convenient investment atmosphere, Turkey has become a center of attraction for foreign investments." Ýstanbul Today's Zaman with wires

Gül devoted a large portion of his speech to the ongoing global economic troubles, noting that the declining global economic performance was exacerbated by factors such as illegal migration, growing violence and organized crime. "Naturally, the contribution of the business world and these companies to recovering the funtioning of the global economy is both a moral debt to humanity and a clever attitude for their own existence," he said, requesting that the financial resources be allotted to the worldwide efforts to increase the global welfare and to conduct a more just distribution, instead of being wasted on wars, conflicts, and corruption.

The president also assessed recent developments in

OPINION

Trichet: Speculators not to blame for oil price highs The head of the European Central Bank said Wednesday that he did not believe speculators should carry most of the blame for skyrocketing oil prices that have propelled euro-zone inflation to record highs.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet also called on oil producers to stick to their promise to increase output, saying this was "absolutely essential" to ease supply worries. "I'm not sure, frankly speaking, that speculation is the major culprit for what we are observing," he told the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee. "It seems to be that the major issues are associated with supply and demand." He blamed an unexpected surge in demand from oil in emerging economies that producers failed to anticipate. The remark suggested that he sees high prices as a continuing problem rather than a brief spike or speculative bubble. This chimes with comments made by the chairman of oil giant BP PLC, Peter Sutherland, who earlier this month said oil companies never expected oil demand to climb so fast and, as a result, failed to make the investments needed to clear the current supply bottleneck. But the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has insisted that they are pumping enough oil to meet current demand and higher prices are caused by speculators moving into oil markets after the slide of the U.S. dollar against other currencies. Brussels AP

Inflation threatens stability everywhere in the world, says CB governor to 7 percent in the last year. Also, in developed countries, the current inflation rate is the highest in the last 18 years.

And the average inflation rate in developing countries has risen to double digits for the first time in years," he noted.

Central banks all over the world have displayed varying approaches in their fight against inflation, Yýlmaz said. He also noted that what generated the difference in policies in the central banks was the difference in consumer habits.

"In developing countries, where food expenditures have a great share in the consumption chart, the tremendous rise in food prices causes inflation to rise faster," Yýlmaz said, adding that the banks of these countries have been adopting more austere monetary policies in order to meet the predetermined inflation rates.

Yýlmaz said it is impossible to sustain stability in an economy riddled with high inflation and that sustainable development is impossible without stability in the economy, adding that the countries which make concessions on their price stability targets for short-term developments may damage both stability and development.

Following President Gül, Central Bank of Turkey Governor Durmuþ Yýlmaz also gave an address. He underscored that the entire world is faced with a great risk from inflation. "The rise in rates of inflation has started to threaten economic stability in many countries. The negative impact of the big increases in consumer good prices is being felt by all countries. In many countries, the inflation rates have risen above the level of price stability," he said.

Recalling that 18 developing countries had applied the inflation estimation regime between 2006 and 2008, Yýlmaz noted that 12 of these countries met the estimated inflation rates in 2006, right after the regime began, adding that these countries had declined to five in 2007, and as of May 2008, only Brazil, one of the 18 countries, had met the inflation target. "All the other 17 countries, including Turkey, have exceeded the inflation threshold," he said.

He emphasized that of all eight developed countries implementing the inflation estimation regime, only Canada remained below the predetermined inflation threshold as of May 2008. "Looking all around the world, we see that the average inflation rate in nearly 160 countries has gone up

International Economy Association (IEA) President Guillermo Calvo recalled that the theme of the congress was the challenge of globalization, adding that this topic was chosen in a period when short-term interest rates had increased and long-term interest rates had decreased in the US. Calvo said in his presentation, titled "Lessons to Be Taken from the Recent Financial Fluctuations," that the main difficulty of financial globalization is developing global financial foundations which will replace the capital lenders and prevent global financial crisis by keeping financial control over the global finance market. Calvo stated that establishing a global central bank could be a remedy to these problems, noting that it is difficult to actually to this because of political concerns.

Dani Rodrik, a professor at the Harvard School of Business, said during his speech titled "One Economy, Many Remedies" that different formulas should be applied for different structural reforms. "The reforms made by ignoring the historical and cultural characteristics of the countries harm these economies rather than being a remedy for them," he noted.

MONETARY

Daily Monthly Change (%) Change (%)

Close

CALENDAR

AT A GLAN

CE

prior June 26 uncement Time Anno tual ac forecasts 1 R COREPE

Yearly Change (%)

YTD Change (%)

MCAP (million YTL)

1-Y Av.Volum

İMKB-100

37.573

0,8%

-6,0%

-17,3%

-32,3%

191.679

1.300

İMKB-30

45.631

0,9%

-6,4%

-18,7%

-35,2%

136.724

1.000

İMKB-IND

34.270

1,3%

-5,4%

-7,8%

-15,5%

68.424

353

Cac 40

İMKB-BANK

67.037

0,5%

-7,9%

-24,7%

-44,1%

70.822

702

DAX

DJIMT

10,85

1,4%

-3,1%

0,0%

-8,4%

109

0,55

FTSE 100

EU€/JP¥

45.600 1,218

Change (%)

H.Kong

Hang Seng

0,80

22.635,2

Japan

-0,14

13.829,9

France

1,21

4.528,0

1,09

6.607,0

UK

0,51

5.663,3

Dow

USA

0,23

11.840,0

NASDAQ

USA

1,42

1.930,8

USA

0,99

1.327,3

Brasil

1,04

64.834,0

S&P

1,05% -1,30%

BOVESPA

Fed likely to keep key rates unchanged

Level

Germany

Nikkei 225

TurkDEX US$/JP¥

Country

70.39 57.32

51.2 42.68 29.61

21,5 7.1

9.6

Native

Foreign

Number of Shares

Native

M.cap

Daily Close Change (%)

Foreign

Number of Shares

Monthly Change (%)

Yearly Change (%)

M.cap

Ticker

Price

Daily Change (%)

Ticker

Volumes

US$/JP¥

108,08

PEGYO

1,67

7,74%

EGSER

1,05

-4,55%

GARAN

105,8

3,3

-47,28

YTL / €

1,898

-0,4%

-2,5%

7,7%

EU/JP¥

168,37

SNGYO

4,50

6,64%

ARCLK

4,42

-4,33%

ISCTR

58,0

4,5

-36,28

YTL / $

1,218

-0,6%

-1,6%

-6,9%

EU/US$

1,5575

DYOBY

0,41

5,13%

TAVHL

8,05

-3,01%

IHEVA

47,5

3,2

17,52

GLYHO

0,84

5,00%

BAGFS

163,00

-2,98%

VAKBN

35,1

1,9

-54,05

TUPRS

28,00

4,67%

SASA

0,37

-2,63%

YKBNK

22,3

2,6

-36,41

Ticker

Price (YTL) Daily Change (%)

ÝMKB 100

Price (YTL) Yearly Change (%)

ÝMKB 30

ÝMKB IND

P.CHEM.

TUPRS

PTOFS

PETKM

AYGAZ

--

--

10.512,1

5.755,8

2.257,4

966,4

699,4

11,9x

11,8x

11,2x

7,1x

8,5x

12,0x

20,3x

2,4x

8,3x

10,6x

10,4x

5,0x

6,3x

8,8x

10,6x

1,2x

EV/EBITDA 2006/12

7,8x 7,7x

8,0x 7,8x

8,2x 7,4x

5,4x 5,9x

6,4x 6,7x

8,2x 5,1x

10,6x 5,3x

1,2x 4,5x

EV/EBITDA 2007/03t

7,2x

7,1x

6,6x

5,4x

5,6x

4,8x

4,0x

4,8x

EV/EBITDA 2007/06t

8,0x

6,7x

6,7x

5,6x

5,8x

4,9x

4,2x

5,2x

Mcap YTL

--

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

CM Y K

Price ($) Light C. Oil Gold Copper

136,73 888,30 3,80

Way

Change (%) -0,01 0,12 -0,28

High 138,75 894,80 3,80

Low 136,07 884,40 3,79

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.

When the Federal Reserve concludes a two-day meeting Wednesday, it is widely expected that the central bank will express more concerns about inflation and in that way signal that rate increases could be on the way. However, at the same time, private economists are widely in agreement that the Fed will not actually start raising interest rates, given how weak the economy is at the moment. "The Fed is caught between a rock and a hard place," said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University. "The economy seems to be slipping into a recession at the same time that inflation is getting worse." There was more bad news Tuesday when the Conference Board reported that its gauge of consumer sentiment dropped in June to the lowest reading in 16 years as soaring gas prices, rising unemployment and sinking home values continued to batter Americans. The opposing forces of weak growth and recession put the central bank in a bind. Its main policy tool -- changes in interest rates -- can only address one of those problems at a time. The Fed can cut interest rates to spur consumer and business spending and economic growth or it can raise interest rates to slow spending and growth and ease inflation pressures. Washington AP

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NATIONAL

TODAY’S ZAMAN 09

T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 0 8

Turkish trust in EU on the rise, according to survey Trust in the European Union has risen in Turkey by six points since last autumn, with 31 percent of Turkish respondents in the latest Eurobarometer survey indicating that they "tend to trust" the EU. The Eurobarometer report, based on fieldwork done between March and May, said a minority of respondents in Germany (43 percent), Austria (38 percent), the UK (29 percent) and two candidate countries, Turkey (31 percent) and Croatia (37 percent), expressed confidence in the EU. The survey shows the EU is generally trusted in its member states. The highest trust-levels were noted in Cyprus (71 percent), Estonia (66 percent) and Belgium

(63 percent). According to the results of the survey, many people trust the EU more than their country's own national institutions. Turkish trust for the European Commission increased to 23 percent from 17 percent last year, while trust for the European Parliament saw a five point increase to 25 percent.

Eurobarometer, a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973, also offers some indicators regarding domestic politics. Turkish respondents indicate a decreased trust in their government, with 47 percent expressing trust, down from 63 percent in 2007. Additionally, the Turkish respondents' trust in the Turkish Parliament

decreased to 47 percent from 64 percent last year.

Almost half of Turkish respondents (49 percent) see Turkey's potential accession to the EU as a good thing, but this is low compared to the 71 percent of Turkish people who regarded EU membership positively three years ago. On the other hand, 58 percent of Turkish respondents said Turkey would benefit from being a member of the bloc, a five-point increase.

Turkish respondents also believe in "common European values": "Among the candidate countries, respondents in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Croatia agree the most that there are no European values, only Western ones. In contrast,

Turkish respondents are convinced of the existence of European values."The survey also asked the Europeans to state their short-term expectations on aspects related to their lives in general and their households' financial situation as well as the economic and employment situation in their country.

Unemployment is the highest concern in Portugal (49 percent), Hungary (41 percent), Greece (40 percent) and candidate countries Turkey (55 percent) and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (61 percent).

For the most important issues facing Turkey, Turkish respondents selected rising prices and inflation.

This was also a concern for respondents from Sweden,

the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom.

Only 17 percent of the Turkish respondents said "things are going well," compared to 72 percent of the Turkish respondents who think "things are not going well." At the end of 2007, only 13 percent thought "their lives have been going worse" compared to 43 percent this year.

Although terrorism remains far from being a top priority issue in EU member states, this is not the case in Turkey. Despite a significant drop of 33 points, terrorism remains a significant concern in Turkey, with 44 percent listing it among the important issues facing Turkey. Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

German and Turkish leaders call for calm contýnued from page 1 Up to nine first-choice Turkey players could be out due to injury and suspension for the match at St. Jakob Park in Basel, Switzerland. While Germany -- which has won 11 matches against Turkey, drawn three and lost three -- is expected to have a full squad of 23 players to choose from.

Police patrols in major cities across Germany were beefed up from Tuesday, as German and Turkish fans readied for their teams' first match up in a major tournament in five decades.

In Oberhausen, in the heavily industrial Ruhr River Valley where hundreds of thousands of Turkish laborers settled in the 1950s and 1960s at the invitation of the then West German government, an open-air broadcast of the match has been scrapped due to security fears and lack of space.

Police in the region say up to 15,000 fans could have attended the event and they weren't sure if they would have fit into the area or kept safe.

"We are prepared for anything," said Ulrich Fassbender, a police spokesman in nearby Essen.

Germany's top security official, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, hopes that all will be peaceful after the match. "May not only the best team win on Wednesday, but German-Turkish friendship as well," Schaeuble told the B.Z. daily.

While many of the estimated 2.7 million Turks, or Turkish-Germans, are fully integrated in society, many others speak German poorly and live in large Turkish-speaking communities that have little in common with the country where they reside.

Studies show that some 20 percent of Turkish children never finish school, while 42 percent only finish the equivalent of 10th grade.

Since the two teams qualified, Turkish and German flags have fluttered side by side from balconies and car windows from Cologne to Berlin, reflecting a spirit of togetherness, especially by young Turks born or raised in Germany and families whose members hail from both sides.

"It will be a great evening of soccer. As long as it's peaceful," said Handan Atak, a Turkish citizen who has lived in Duesseldorf since she was 13 and has a German son-in-law. "So far, we have watched all the games together." Berlin AP

It all starts with a dream...

Ýstanbul trash to fuel factories New recycling facilities set up by the Greater Ýstanbul Municipality will turn an estimated 14,000 tons of trash collected on a daily basis from the populous city into fuel for local factories.

The Kemerburgaz Fuel Production Facilities, built in by the Greater Ýstanbul Municipality with ISTAÇ AÞ and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBÝTAK), occupy a 3,100-square-meter plot.

The plant, which cost close to YTL 3.5 million to build, has the capacity to process 20-25 tons of trash per hour. The Kemerburgaz plant will see some of its waste transformed into fuel for cement factories, while other waste is recycled into manure for farming.

Speaking at the opening ceremony for the plant on Monday, Ýstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaþ said, "These facilities recycle one ton of waste a day, turning it into fuel for factories, while also recycling plastic to transform it into an economically valuable material that poses no threat to the environment."

Topbaþ emphasized the importance of the contribution to the economy made through the recycling of waste. "Our goal is that by the year 2023, a complete end will have been put to the uncontrolled storage of waste and trash through recycling all waste in Ýstanbul into energy and fertilizer," he stated.

In the meantime, a special process aimed at recycling plastic waste is being utilized at another facility with the capacity to process five tons of plastic-based waste per day. Plastic waste products go through cleaning, breaking down, grinding and melting stages, finally being turned into granular form. The plastic granules produced by these facilities, which were built at a cost of YTL 1 million, are later recycled into products such as trash containers, trash bags, road surfaces, flower pots and hangers. Yasin Kýlýç Ýstanbul

Today’s doctors, lawyers, engineers, businesspeople, executives…

Weren’t we all kids at one point?

Bank Asya grew and developed to serve yesterday’s children.

It has financed thousands of projects by channeling your savings into production.

It has become a partner in its clients’ success stories. If you want one of these success stories to be your own, come to Bank Asya, Turkey’s youngest bank operating under interest-free banking principles, and let us introduce you to solutions customized to meet your company’s needs.

Make your dream of growing a reality, on your own terms.

CM Y K

25.06.2008

18:57

Page 1

10 TODAY’S ZAMAN

T H U R S D AY, JUNE 2 6 , 2 0 0 8

CORRUPTION

CASE

Briton loses high court bid to block EU treaty Britain's High Court rejected a lawsuit on Wednesday that sought to halt the country's approval of an EU reform treaty. Businessman Stuart Wheeler had brought the case to try to force the government to block the ratification of the Lisbon treaty, which seeks to streamline decision-making in the 27-member bloc. "We have found nothing in the claimant's case to cast doubt on the lawfulness of ratifying the Lisbon treaty without a referendum," the judge, Lord Justice Stephen Richards, said in his ruling. He also refused Wheeler leave to appeal, saying: "We are satisfied an appeal has no prospect of success." Wheeler immediately said his lawyers would take the case further and apply to the Court of Appeal for permission to challenge the verdict. The Lisbon treaty is already in jeopardy because it was rejected this month by Irish voters in a referendum and must be adopted by all 27 EU members to take force. The treaty replaces an EU Constitution that was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005. This time around, Ireland has been the only country to allow its voters a say in a referendum. The British government had promised a referendum on the EU constitution before it was scuppered, but says it did not need one on the Lisbon treaty, and parliament has now approved it for ratification. London Reuters

AP

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition party in Zimbabwe, gestures at a press conference in Harare on Sunday. Tsvangirai announced he was withdrawing from the presidential run off election against President Robert Mugabe set for June 27.

Zimbabwe authorities ruled on Wednesday that a June 27 presidential vote would go ahead despite the withdrawal of the opposition and a storm of international condemnation.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who pulled out of the contest against President Robert Mugabe because of attacks on his followers, said the vote was a sham and called for the African Union, backed by the United Nations, to lead a transition in Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai spoke at a press conference at his home after leaving the Dutch Embassy where he took refuge after announcing the pull-out last Sunday. But he returned to the embassy later. Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Chairman George Chiweshe said

Tsvangirai’s withdrawal last Sunday had been filed too late to have any legal effect. “Accordingly, the commission does not recognize the purported withdrawal. We are, therefore, proceeding with the presidential election runoff this Friday as planned,” he stated Tsvangirai told reporters during the brief news conference: “I am asking the AU and SADC (Southern African Development Community) to lead an expanded initiative supported by the UN to manage what I will call a transitional process.” The opposition leader said the election would not be accepted either by Zimbabweans or the world. He called on the AU to discuss the crisis next weekend at a summit in Egypt.

Pressure has mounted both inside

Býll Clýnton backs Obama, but through a spokesman Two weeks after his wife ended her White House bid, former Democratic President Bill Clinton offered a faint voice of support for Barack Obama -- through a spokesman.

Clinton, who gave the Democratic presidential candidate’s energy policy faint praise over the weekend, has not yet said in public that he would support Obama.

“President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States,” Clinton’s spokesman Matt McKenna told Reuters in a one-sentence e-mail. He gave no further details. Obama said on his campaign plane that he had not spoken to Bill Clinton yet because the former president has been in Europe. “But we’re looking forward to setting up a long conversation,” the Illinois senator told reporters as he traveled to Los Angeles. “He’s as smart as they come. He’s a great strategist. We’re going to want him campaigning.

Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton spoke on Sunday night and one of

the things they discussed was Obama and former President Clinton connecting, a campaign official said.

On Sunday, Bill Clinton made his first public address since his wife ended her presidential campaign on June 7 after Obama clinched enough support to be the Democratic nominee in the November election. The only time he mentioned Obama during a speech to the US Conference of Mayors was when Clinton said he preferred the Democrats’ energy policy to that of Republican rival John McCain. The former first lady has endorsed Obama, urged her supporters to rally behind him and is scheduled to campaign with him on Friday in Unity, New Hampshire.

But her husband, the last Democrat to be US president, has not yet done so and ignored journalists on Sunday when asked when he might publicly endorse Obama.

Meanwhile, Hollywood stars have thrown their support and abundant cash behind Obama, whose historic White House bid could easily become the stuff of

movies. The fundraising gala on Tuesday in Los Angeles marked a decided push by Obama to shore up private funding for his race against McCain roughly a week after the Democrat backtracked on a promise to use public money for his presidential race.

That decision leaves the Illinois senator, who has already shattered fundraising records by raising $287 million by the end of May, free to raise and spend hundreds of millions of dollars for the general election.

Obama’s campaign refused to say how many millions he and the Democratic National Committee raised at the gala, but Democratic officials put the number at close to $5 million (around 3.2 million euros). They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the numbers publicly.

Obama, the son of a Kenyan father and a mother from Kansas, rose from near-obscurity in a matter of years to topple Hillary Clinton, who had once appeared to be the all-but-certain Democratic nominee, and could now become the first black US president. Washington Reuters

Pakistani former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

Court orders delay in election in Sharif’s district

AP

NUKES

PHOTO

UN nuclear inspectors conclude visit to Syria UN nuclear investigators wound up a four-day visit to Syria on Wednesday after checking an alleged atomic site bombed by Israel in September. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sent the team after receiving US photos of the al-Kibar site that prompted it to put Syria on its proliferation watch list in April. The IAEA has criticized Washington for waiting until long after the Israeli raid to brief the UN nuclear watchdog about its suspicions that Syria, with North Korean help, had almost completed a reactor that could have yielded plutonium for bombs. Syria denies pursuing any clandestine nuclear project and says the Israelis hit an ordinary military structure being built in the northeastern desert near the Euphrates River. A senior diplomat familiar with the Vienna-based IAEA said the visit by the three senior inspectors, which included a trip to al-Kibar, was going well, but declined to elaborate. Syrian officials and statedominated media have kept silent about the IAEA mission since it beganlast Sunday. The UN nuclear watchdog agency has declined comment. Vienna Reuters

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday postponed a special parliamentary election in a Lahore district to give it time to decide whether to allow former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to run. The government filed an urgent appeal earlier in the day to overturn a verdict barring Sharif’s candidacy and to postpone today’s vote in his district. The court will hear arguments Monday on Sharif’s eligibility, said Justice Musa K. Leghari, head of the three-member panel. The court did not set a new date for the election.

By-elections in five other parliamentary districts set for today were not affected by the ruling.

Sharif was barred from running in February elections because of convictions related to the 1999 military coup that ousted him from power.

The elections commission later allowed him to contest the by-elections, but the Lahore High Court ruled Monday that he was ineligible to run in those polls. The Lahore ruling highlighted a rift between Sharif’s party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, and its larger partner in the governing coalition, the Pakistan People’s Party. The parties have argued over how to reinstate senior judges fired last year in a purge by President Pervez Musharraf, bringing their coalition to the verge of collapse.

Sharif’s party has refused to appeal the Lahore court ruling, saying the judiciary -- stocked with replacement judges appointed by Musharraf -was illegitimate. But the People’s Party strongly condemned Monday’s ruling against Sharif, and Attorney General Malik Abdul Qayyum appealed it to the Supreme Court. Islamabad AP

Employee kills 4 people at US plastics factory

AFTERMATH

More bodies found after Philippines tragedy Some 50 bodies were found 100 km (60 miles) from a giant capsized ferry in the Philippines on Wednesday, and Washington said it would send an aircraft carrier to help with typhoon relief efforts. Typhoon Fengshen tore into the center of the country at the weekend, toppling the MV Princess of the Stars, with 865 passengers and crew on board, as well as a coal tanker and eight fishing vessels, and displaced hundreds of thousands. The overall death toll from the sixth typhoon to hit the Philippines this storm season could reach around 1,100, while the damage bill to homes, bridges and roads has been put at nearly 1 billion pesos ($22.4 million). The United States, the Philippines' former colonial master, pledged to send an aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, to aid in the relief effort in the storm battered archipelago of more than 7,000 islands. The main focus of the rescue effort has been the seven-story ferry where hundreds are still feared trapped. Sibuyan Island Reuters

and outside Africa to call off the vote since Tsvangirai withdrew. Mugabe, 84, is now certain to be elected to extend his 28-year rule.

Human rights organizations, Western powers and Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change accuse the veteran leader of launching a campaign of murder and intimidation after he and his ZANU-PF Party lost elections on March 29. Tsvangirai fell short of the absolute majority required for outright victory in that vote.

Southern African leaders were holding an emergency meeting in Swaziland on Wednesday and Kenya stepped up African pressure for intervention, saying the country risked a Rwanda-style disaster. Harare Reuters

AP

Japan's finance minister will return 20 percent of one month's salary to try to regain public trust after 600 ministry officials were found to have taken cash and coupons from taxi drivers on late-night rides home. The 600 were among more than 1,400 bureaucrats from 20 ministries who admitted to taking gifts in a scandal that media have dubbed the "Pub Taxis" affair. "It's a bad custom, especially when it comes to accepting money and goods, which is outrageous," Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told reporters. One Finance Ministry official received up to 1 million yen ($9,278) from taxi drivers over five years, Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told a news conference. Japanese bureaucrats typically work late into the night and often find they cannot get home by train or subway. "It is truly regrettable that a large number of ministry employees were involved in this, and I deeply apologize to the people," Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said in a statement. The taxi affair and other talk of wasteful public spending comes as Japan struggles to rein in its public debt and contemplates raising the 5 percent sales tax, a politically touchy possibility. Once admired as the cream of Japan's elite, finance and other ministry bureaucrats have come under fire in recent years after a series of scandals. Several other top finance ministry officials will also return part of their salaries to atone for the scandal. Tokyo Reuters

Zimbabwean authorities reject opposition pullout PHOTO

Japanese bureaucrats punished over taxi scandal

WORLD

PHOTO

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In this Sept. 5, 2005 file photo, former US President Clinton, right, carries a young girl as he and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Obama, visit Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Houston. The former president said through a spokesman on Tuesday that he is committed to helping Obama.

Republican candidate McCain: Only World War III would justify draft Only World War III would prompt Republican presidential candidate John McCain to bring back the military draft, McCain said. Many Americans are fearful the US government will be forced to reinstitute the draft given the prolonged Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Asked on Tuesday about that possibility by a potential voter in Florida during a telephone town hall meeting, McCain said: “I don’t know what would make a draft happen

unless we were in an all-out World War III.” The United States ended its last military draft in 1973 in the waning years of the Vietnam War, moving to an all-volunteer military force. McCain, a Vietnam veteran, said the draft during that conflict weighed most heavily on lowerincome Americans, and that this should not be repeated. “I do not believe the draft is even practicable or desirable,” McCain said. Costa Mesa, Calif. Reuters

An employee shot and killed four people at a plastics plant before killing himself early on Wednesday, police said. The shooting happened after an employee at Atlantis Plastics had an argument with a supervisor, Henderson police Lt. David Piller said. Two other people were injured and were flown to hospitals in Evansville, Indiana, Piller said. He said the employee used a handgun he retrieved during a break and that the victims were scatted around the plant.

“It appears the shooting was random at this time,” Piller said. Police did not say if the supervisor with whom the employee argued was among the victims.

A woman who answered the phone at a number for Atlantis Plastics declined to give her name and would only say that the company would not comment until a scheduled news conference.

Names of those involved have not been released.

Hours after the shooting, police had set up a roadblock on the street leading to the plant, which is in an industrial area on the southern side of Henderson. Other employees at the plant were sent home. Henderson, Kentucky AP

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TODAY’S ZAMAN 11

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Three US soldiers killed in N. Iraq, fighting in south

LAWSUITS

Israel closes Gaza border crossings after latest rocket attack contýnued from page 1 “We will respond to every Zionist violation at the suitable time,” Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Hamza said. After the rockets on Tuesday, Hamas urged smaller Palestinian factions to hold their fire and said it wanted the cease-fire preserved.

A statement issued by Hamas’s military wing said Egypt would renew attempts to broker a deal under which a captive Israeli soldier, seized by Gaza mil-

itants exactly two years ago, would be exchanged for Palestinians in Israeli jails.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday, said Cairo was “exerting efforts” for the soldier, Gilad Shalit.

Israel wants the opening of Gaza’s key border with Egypt to be conditional on a deal for Shalit’s release, and Olmert aides said he received assurances on the issue during his talks with Mubarak at

Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said last week Shalit’s release depended on Israel freeing jailed Palestinians, though the Olmert government has balked at many of the names on the list. “The ball is in the Occupation’s court, and if they are interested in a deal they will have to meet the conditions of the Resistance,” said Abu Ubaida, a Qassam brigades spokesman. “If not, the captured soldier will never see the light of day.” Gaza Reuters REUTERS

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called the Italian judiciary a cancerous growth on Wednesday, saying biased prosecutors had pursued him since he entered politics 14 years ago. Crossing his wrists like someone in handcuffs, Berlusconi said: "Many prosecutors would like to see me like this." Media mogul Berlusconi said he had spent 174 million euros ($271 million) on legal fees in a series of cases linked to a business empire which ranges from private television to insurance services and AC Milan soccer club. Critics of the conservative billionaire accuse him of being "obsessed" with a hatred of the courts. They say he is abusing his power to get a law passed that would suspend a long-running corruption case against him and British lawyer David Mills. His latest attack on the judiciary, in a speech to a shopkeepers' conference, was met with boos and whistles. Berlusconi won a third term in May promising to crack down on crime. But he has spent much of his time since battling with prosecutors and judges. The clashes have undermined a truce between the government and center-left opposition, whose leader Walter Veltroni called Berlusconi's latest "outburst embarrassing." President Giorgio Napolitano worries the current climate "could rekindle a dangerous rivalry between politics and justice." Berlusconi, the 71-year-old leader of the center-right People of Freedom party, accused the courts of "subverting" his government via "crazy and unfounded accusations." Rome Reuters

PHOTO

Berlusconi counts cost of legal battles

TALKS

Merkel says shares Georgian concerns Germany shares Georgia's concerns about Russian actions in the breakaway region of Abkhazia and is ready to play an active role in settling the dispute, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday. Speaking at a news conference with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in Berlin, Merkel backed the presence of Russian peacekeepers in the region but said alternatives could be explored. "We support, I want to say this very clearly, the territorial integrity of Georgia and we share the concern about specific steps from the Russian side," Merkel said. "We also say that from all sides there must be considered reactions, that there can be no intensification of the conflict and that the Russian peacekeeping mission should continue until new variants can be found in talks." Tensions between Georgia's prowestern government and Moscow have risen in recent months over two pro-Russian regions -Abkhazia and South Ossetia -- that broke away from Georgian control in the 1990s. Georgian police detained a group of Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia earlier this month, accusing them of transporting weapons without carrying the correct documents. Berlin Reuters

REPORT

Hundreds die of torture in India every year About four people have died or been killed in police custody every day in India between 2002 and last year, a large number tortured to death, the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) said on Wednesday. An equal number of people are killed in the custody of the army in insurgency-hit areas, many cases go unreported and the guilty go unpunished, the ACHR said in its report, "Torture in India 2008: A State of Denial." Hundreds are killed, dozens are paid compensation but only three to four persons are convicted each year," Suhas Chakma of the ACHR said on Wednesday.

India is in a worrying state of denial about torture.

In India, the police and security forces are often accused of using violence to extract confessions from suspects, a charge denied by the Indian government. India's Home Ministry says most deaths in custody are caused by illness, suicides and accidents.

The ACHR says India needs to probe all suspected deaths of torture. The ACHR also accused India's Maoists, who say they are fighting for poor farmers in the country, of a poor human rights record. New Delhi Reuters

Palestinians carry the body of Islamic Jihad commander Tarek Juma Abu Ghali during his funeral in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Israeli politicians strike deal to avert early polls Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday staved off a threat by a key coalition partner to bring down the government, giving him at least a few more months to pursue peace agreements with the Palestinians and Syria. But the last-minute political understanding could bring his political demise later this year.

In a pre-dawn deal reached early on Wednesday, Olmert’s Kadima Party told the Labor Party that it will hold primary elections by Sept. 25. The primary is likely to oust Olmert as Kadima leader. The deal came a month after Olmert’s popularity was dealt a severe blow by a US businessman’s testimony in a corruption case against the Israeli leader. The businessman said he handed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Olmert in cash-stuffed envelopes, in part to finance a lavish lifestyle that included a penchant for fancy hotels and cigars. The Labor-Kadima agreement prompted Labor to rescind its support for a motion to dissolve the parliament which had been expected to pass later on Wednesday. Labor’s leader, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, threatened after last

month’s dramatic court testimony to force new elections unless Olmert resigned or agreed to Kadima primaries.

The compromise allowed both Olmert and Barak to save face. Olmert can remain in office and keep his coalition intact, while Barak can tell supporters that he is forcing Kadima to change its leader.

Kadima officials say Olmert has not ruled out running in the party primary, hoping to clear his name after a cross-examination of the American businessman, Morris Talansky, slated for July 17. But opinion polls show Olmert to be extremely unpopular -- both within the party and among the general public -- and unlikely to win.

His likely successor would be Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni or Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz.

Livni, the chief peace negotiator with the Palestinians, is expected to push forward with US-backed efforts to reach a final peace deal before President Bush leaves office next January. The more hawkish Mofaz, a former military chief, would most likely slow down or break off the talks with both the Palestinians and Syria. Jerusalem AP

SCARCITY

A roadside bomb killed three American soldiers and an interpreter north of Baghdad, the US military said Wednesday, and Iraqi police reported 14 Shiite gunmen were arrested after fighting south of the capital. American soldiers using specially trained dogs sifted through the wreckage on Wednesday of an office in Sadr City where a bomb killed 10 people, including four Americans working to restore local government in the former Shiite militia stronghold.

Also Wednesday, US soldiers in Baghdad killed three gunmen who fired on an American convoy that had stopped along the side of the road just west of the city’s airport, the US said. No further details were released.

Iraqi police said six members of a family were killed early Wednesday when a US jet destroyed a house 15 kilometers (10 miles) north of Tikrit. US officials made no mention of civilian deaths and said the house was attacked after American troops took small arms fire. Elsewhere, a car bomb killed three people and wounded seven about noon Wednesday in Baghdad’s Karradah district, witnesses and police said.

The roadside bombing that killed the Americans occurred about 10:45 p.m.

Tuesday in Nineveh province, where alQaeda in Iraq and other Sunni extremist groups remain active. The US statement contained no further details. Their deaths brought to at least 4,109 the number of US military members who have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

At least 25 service members have died this month. May’s death tally of 19 was the lowest monthly toll of the Iraq conflict. The fighting in the south broke out before dawn near Nassiriyah, 320 kilometers (200 miles) south of Baghdad, as Iraqi forces were conducting house-to-house searches for Shiite militants.

Nassiriyah police chief Brig. Gen. Sabah alFatlawi said 14 suspects had been arrested but that sporadic clashes were continuing. The area is a stronghold of the Mahdi Army of anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and has been plagued by power struggles between rival Shiite factions -- some with close ties to the Shiite-led national government. Internal Shiite rivalries may have been behind Tuesday’s deadly blast inside the district council building in Sadr City, al-Sadr’s Baghdad stronghold. The bomb went off inside a councilman’s office ahead of an election to choose a new chairman of the council.

The acting head of the council, Jawad alItabi, said American investigators were searching the building Wednesday along with sniffer dogs looking for clues. He said 12 people were being detained for questioning, including 10 security guards. Two of the US dead were soldiers, the military said. The US Embassy said the dead American civilians included one State Department and one Defense Department employee.

An Italian of Iraqi origin who was working as an interpreter for the Americans also was killed, according to the Italian Foreign Ministry. The State Department identified one of the slain Americans as Steven L. Farley of Guthrie, Okla. He was believed to be the first member of a provincial reconstruction team to be killed in Iraq.

Farley’s son, Brett, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his father feared the situation could become dangerous after the council ousted a Sadrist member. “It was today that they were scheduled to vote on electing a new chairman, a pro-democracy chairman, and he told me pointedly that it was the biggest moment that they had faced over there,” Brett Farley said. Baghdad AP

FAO boss warns food prices will remain high The head of the UN's food agency on Wednesday warned that food prices will remain high and called for a boost in production. Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Jacques Diouf said prices are expected to remain high due to climate change, continued demand for bioenergy, low food stocks and greater demand in emerging countries such as China and India. Diouf said the problem will not be solved without increasing food production and called on world leaders meeting in Japan next month to address this issue. "Our message is we should increase investment in agriculture," Diouf said, adding that other matters in need of attention include those related to water control, storage and rural roads. In the short-term, it is important to provide emergency food and to try to save the next growing season by ensuring adequate access to seeds, fertilizers and animal feed, Diouf said. Earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who is chairing a July 7-9 summit of the Group of Eight industrial nations, said he would focus on issues such as boosting agricultural production and access to clean water. Innsbruck AP

North Korea nukes, Iran to dominate Japan G-8 meeting that starts today

West plans to pursue twin track in Iran ongoing nuclear program dispute

hancement of border security in Afghanistan, The foreign ministers of the world’s top and condemnation of Zimbabwe’s holding of a industrialized countries are meeting in presidential runoff election despite widespread Japan this week, but much of their attention violence. But North Korea’s possible declaration will be focused across the water on communist of all its nuclear programs to China on North Korea. The effort to strip North Korea of Thursday and the planned deits nuclear weapons program is struction of the cooling tower at likely to dominate the two-day its Yongbyon nuclear complex -Group of Eight meeting starting reportedly on Friday -- promised today in Kyoto. “Japan would to steal the limelight. “First and like to see the G-8 foreign minforemost is North Korea,” said a isters intensify their efforts in Foreign Ministry official who nonproliferation,” Japanese spoke on condition of anonymity Foreign Minister Masahiko because of ministry policy.

Komura said. Other top issues North Korea could turn over a the Japanese hosts are planning report on its nuclear programs to discuss are efforts to stop Iran Masahiko Komura as soon as Thursday. Tokyo AP from enriching uranium, en-

bombs. Its deputy foreign minister was quotWestern powers will continue a twin ed as saying the world’s fourth-largest oil track policy of sanctions and diplomacy producer would withdraw assets from toward Iran over its nuclear program, the Europe in the face of tightening sanctions EU’s top diplomat said on Wednesday, deagainst the country. Another senior official, spite Tehran’s warnings it could backfire.

Parliament Speaker Ali Britain told Iran it will suffer Larijani, warned the West growing economic and politiagainst “provoking” the Islamic cal isolation if it makes the Republic. British Foreign “wrong choice” and fails to Secretary David Miliband comply with UN demands on stressed the importance of a curbing sensitive atomic acdiplomatic solution: "The tivities. But Tehran remained diplomatic track has to work -defiant in the long-running the alternatives are appalling," standoff over nuclear work it he wrote in a commentary in the says is designed to generate International Herald Tribune electricity but which the West newspaper. Geneva Reuters fears is aimed at making David Miliband

CM Y K

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EXPAT ZONE

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‘A dog ýs for lýfe…’

A few days later, I was gazing down from my terrace when I saw the same boys with another kitten, which they appeared to be holding upside-down. "Çocuklar (children)!" I yelled, but they were heading my way anyway. "A dog was playing with it," they said as a small bundle of fur clambered up onto my shoulder and sat there shivering.

"What do you want me to do? Just check it's OK, or keep it?"

"Keep it," they chorused and my heart sank, knowing that my existing cats would reject this interloper.

An hour later and there was a tiny tortoise in my courtyard. There was no obvious way it could have got there by itself. "Çocuklar!" I bellowed, and the boys came running again.

"My brother threw it through the cat door," one of them said sheepishly.

I took the tortoise to the garden of a nearby hotel and left it there with a strawberry to feast on. Later I was telling the vet the story. "Don't bring any tortoises to Kayseri," he warned. "People want us to drain their blood so that they can drink it as a cure for some illness or other…"

Pat Yale lives in a restored cave-house in Göreme in Cappadocia.

PHOTO

Sandy (R) and Cathy Rosen celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in Ýstanbul.

Get marrýed, stay young ESRA MADEN ÝSTANBUL

"There is consensus that the overall US divorce rate had a brief spurt after World War II, followed by a decline, then started rising in the 1960s and even more quickly in the 1970s, then leveled off in the 1980s and declined slightly," the Americans for Divorce Reform suggests. They also say the current trend indicates that 40 or 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce. Among some 2 million visitors Ýstanbul hosted in recent months -- the number was 1,922,123 in the first four months of the year, and it must have increased with the coming of the summer tourism season -- there is a couple from the US who proves that it is not impossible to remain committed to the "sacred institution of marriage," as religious discourse refers to it.

Sandy and Cathy Rosen are celebrating their 50th anniversary in Ýstanbul with 36 people, siblings and their spouses, friends and grandchildren. I arrived a bit early to the meeting with the American couple from San Francisco. The whole group was having lunch, and I was a little hesitant to interrupt their conversation and meal. Sandy and Cathy were as lovely and friendly as could be, yet what is more surprising is that they seemed too young to be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Later I found out that Sandy was 20 and Cathy was 18 when they got married. "I feel young," Sandy says, after I failed to hide my wonder at their energy and good nature. She

adds that being together with family and friends is another secret of remaining young.

As for their professions, they are both attorneys. But Cathy is retired, while her husband is still working. They have four children and six grandchildren. All of them, except for one of their daughters, who is about to have another baby, are present for the couple's 50th anniversary, along with their Turkish friends.

‘What’s not to love?’

Wendie Rusell and her daughter Alex were also at the table when we had our brief conversation. Wendie is a friend of Cathy's; they used to work together as lawyers. It was not her first time in Ýstanbul, unlike her daughter Alex, who said she loved the city. Wendie had visited the city with her father, and she is another fan of Ýstanbul. The organizer of the 50th year party is the Akbayrak family, whom the Rosens met some decades ago at the same hotel where they are having their celebration, the Kybele Hotel in Sultanahmet. "We met in a fish restaurant. It was called Kumkapý Restaurant at that time. We have been friends ever since," Sandy says about Akbayrak family.

Having visited the city many times before, when the couple is asked how they like Ýstanbul, they quickly respond, "What is not to love?"

Cathy says, "We love it and we wanted to share it with others." Ýstanbul, for them, is just great and there is nothing to dislike about the city. The best tourist destinations in the city are the Sultanahmet district and Topkapý Palace, ac-

cording to Sandy. "The view of the Bosporus and Ýstanbul is fascinating," he says while walking to Sultanhmet Mosque from the Kybele Hotel to take photos.

Secret of five Ls and two Ps

‘Go Obama, go Turkish soccer team!'

Sandy and Cathy Rosen are following the agendas of both the US and Turkey. When the presidential election in America came up, they did not even hesitate to give their answer, "Go Obama." Bush has been the worst president ever in the history of the US, Sandy says, adding that they "despise," rather than hate him. Ian, the Rosens' only son, supports his dad, explaining: "Bush changed the history of war.

People think there is one rational solution for a problem, which is wrong. Bush's actions were not the only rational solution."

Sandy is following the Euro 2008 football championship currently being held Switzerland and Austria, which is not that popular among Americans. "I watched the Turkey-Croatia match. It was the best soccer match I have ever seen," he says.

The best part -- and probably the first question to come to mind -- comes last: What is the secret of staying together for 50 years? Cathy's is quite systematic, as if she had thought about it beforehand: Five "Ls" and two "Ps." The five Ls are love, like, loyalty, lust and longevity. The two Ps are patience and passion. "Not taking your spouse for granted is also of crucial importance to maintain a marriage for such a long time," Cathy adds.

Sandy was simpler in his definition of the secret of a longer marriage. There are three principles: A patient woman is rule number one. The second is humorous: "At least one party wants to stay married." Cathy seemed too busy with her lunch to respond to her husband's second rule, which he said while looking at her. But the third was perhaps the best of all: "I wanted to get the grand prize when I was a child, and I never gave up," Sandy says, again looking at his wife.

Even with a short conversation, there was a lot to learn from the couple. But all in all, seeing the whole family and their close friends together having traveled so far, one can easily see that the Turkish folk saying "bekarlýk sultanlýktýr" (there is no sovereignty like bachelorhood) does not necessarily apply to everyone.

Kangal dogs on the podýum ÝSMAÝL YILDIZ ÝSTANBUL

The 10th International Kangal Festival will be held on July 11-13 in Kangal, a town in Sivas province famous for the dog breed of the same name.

Preparations for the festival have already begun in Kangal, the homeland of Kangal dogs for centuries. The festival, held annually since 1999, will host a variety of activities in addition to the dog contest, to be held on the second day of the festival.

The dogs, coming in from many cities, will be competing by gender and age in order to be selected as the best in their category by the Kangal Research Center.

After being separated into categories of "Kangal herd dogs" and "Kangal watchdogs," the contestants will face the jury. Dogs from 0-5 months old will be in the puppy category while those aged 6-12 months will compete in the young dog category. Kangal dogs older than 1 year of age will compete as adults and all dogs will be separated according to gender.

Registration has already begun, organizers say, noting that many domestic and foreign tourists are expected to attend.

The throwing of javelins, horseback riding and fireworks will also entertain visitors in addition to music.

About Kangal dogs: Also called the Anatolian shepherd, the Kangal dog is the national breed of Turkey, bearing a well-deserved reputation in Turkey and foreign countries, which even have associations of Kangal dog-lovers.

The Kangal dog is trained to live with the flock and act as a livestock guardian dog, fending off wolves and jackals. The Kangal dog's protectiveness and gentleness with small children and animals has led to its growing popularity as a guardian for families as well, as it attaches itself to its owners with extreme devotion. They have been used by the Turkish military since 1975 and have proven to be more easily trained than other breeds of dogs.

The Anatolian Shepard has a sizeable and strong body; the male dog's body weights 50-60 kilograms on average while the female dogs are generally between 41-59 kilograms. The male dogs tend to be around 74-81 centimeters tall while the females grow to be 71-79 centimeters.

The Kangal can sell for anywhere between YTL 1,000 and YTL 4,000, dependent on breed and age. Dog lovers have been known to pay up to $15,000 for pure breed trained Kangal dogs.

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

CM Y K

ÝSMAÝL YILDIZ

CAVE LIFE PAT YALE

PHOTO

Luckily, the recent enthusiasm for huskies seems to have died a death. There were few sights more depressing to a dog-lover than seeing these cold-climate dogs, bred to pull sledges through snow, tied up on short chains in the blazing sunlight. But still, there are too many other dogs tied up and left without shade or adequate drinking water. Worse, there are too many small puppies snatched from their mothers before they were ready to be weaned.

The same is true of kittens, of course, and as the owner of 10 much-loved cats, I find this particularly distressing. Recently, four small boys have developed a great interest in my cats, dropping around regularly to see if they can help me feed them. Then last week they knocked on my gate to show me a small ginger kitten they had found. "What should we give it to eat?" they asked, before trotting away again with a carton of milk to see them through the night.

ONUR ÇOBAN

Some years ago, a whiz kid in British advertising came up with the slogan, "A dog is for life, not just for Christmas," in response to the unhappy tendency for friends and relatives to buy puppies as presents for children, regardless of whether the children could look after them or whether their parents wanted them to have an animal in the first place.

If only someone could come up with something similar here.

When I first came to Göreme, virtually nobody kept a dog as a pet. A few villagers looked after street cats and some people had working dogs, but only the foreigners kept dogs that were treated as pets. Recently that has started to change, as more and more people are cottoning on to the pleasures of dog ownership. The trouble is that few of them know anything about caring for pets.

Nor, since their parents viewed animals in wholly utilitarian terms, can they fill in the gaps for them either.

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CULTURE&ARTS

TODAY’S ZAMAN 13

T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 0 8

Linguist Püsküllüoðlu laid to rest in Ankara Well-known Turkish linguist Ali Püsküllüoðlu, who died on Tuesday at the age of 73, was buried yesterday at Ankara’s Gölbaþý Cemetery following noon prayers at the Küçükesat Mosque. The prolific poet, linguist, dictionary writer and publisher, best known for the more than 20 dictionaries he compiled, died of respiratory failure at the Ankara University Hospital, news agencies reported.

Born into a family of farmers in the southern province of Adana in 1935, Püsküllüoðlu worked as a farmer, a newspaper boy, ticket salesperson at cinemas and finally as a law clerk before settling as a journalist and later a publisher in Ýstanbul in the 1950s. Püsküllüoðlu also served as a publishing and promotion expert with the Turkish Language Society (TDK) from 1960 until 1983. Known for the radio and television programs he produced on literature and Turkish language at the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), Püsküllüoðlu was also a prolific poet whose works have been translated into English, Arabic, French, Russian, Swedish and Serbo-Croatian.

Püsküllüoðlu published the first edition of the “Öz Türkçe Sözlük” (Pure Turkish Dictionary) in 1966 in an attempt to rid the Turkish language of loanwords and non-Turkish words of foreign origin. Among the more than 20 dictionaries he wrote were the “Yaþar Kemal Dictionary,” a glossary of the unfamiliar words the famous writer uses in his works; the “Dictionary of Loanwords in Turkish Language”; the “Slang Dictionary of Turkish”; and the “Dictionary of Literature,” in which he gave definitions of literary terms used in both Turkish and world literature. Ankara Today’s Zaman with wires

‘Made of Honor’ made of stone EMÝNE YILDIRIM AMSTERDAM

In the late ’80s Patrick Dempsey was the hero of me and my friends. In almost every teen comedy he starred in, he was a shy, intelligent, expressive but not so good-looking nerd that finally succeeds in making all his love interests realize he was the right man for them. He was never rich, he was never good-looking and he was utterly tortured, but he had a soul and most importantly he was very tender. During his time Dempsey competed with the likes of Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe.

Cruise and Lowe were dream boys, but Dempsey was the real thing. When Dempsey sulked, which was mostly the case, you wanted to offer him a shoulder. Almost two decades later, I don’t know how, Dempsey transformed himself into the complete opposite of what he first set out to be. First in TV show “Grey’s Anatomy” and now in the newly released romantic comedy “Made of Honor,” Dempsey is being addressed as Mr. Dreamboat, the unreachable debonair with exceptionally good looks.

The premise of “Made of Honor” sets out to be a comedy goldmine. Tom (Dempsey) and Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) have been best friends since university. Tom is a millionaire playboy who beds half of the female population of New York but prefers to hang out with Hannah on the weekends for those special things in life. They go antique shopping together, they go out for coffee, they escort each other to social occasions and they seem to know each other inside out. When Hannah leaves for Scotland for a six-week business trip, Tommy boy finally realizes that he’s been wasting all this time on pointless casual affairs and wants to be with Hannah. Lo and behold, Hannah announces that she is engaged to Colin (Kevin McKidd), the heir of Scotland’s largest whisky distillery, when she returns to NYC and furthermore, she wants Tom to be her “maid of honor” at the wedding to take place in Scotland. He is after all her best friend if not a maiden. In order to steal the bride from the inside, Tom decides to play along with his newly appointed maid-of-honor role and

discover his “feminine” side during the process.

All fair play, we manage to have a couple of chuckles as we watch the supposedly alpha-male Dempsey learning the ins and outs of organizing a bridal shower, preparing the dresses for the bridesmaids, bequeathing advice regarding the wedding ceremony, etc. We all love to watch the main character finding himself in embarrassing situations all in the name of love. Tom also has a testosterone pumped showdown with groom-to-be Colin during the traditional Scottish games before the wedding; dressed in kilts, Colin and Tom compete in throwing logs, throwing hammers, throwing javelins and a tug-of-war with a rope. All in vain, Tom cannot beat the sturdy Colin. This montage sequence reminded of “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and made me wish that Hugh Grant could have been there. At least we could have laughed at his usual pathos.

Do I even need to mention that Hannah finally

realizes that Tom is the right guy for her once he busts her wedding on horseback!? You would think that even Hollywood has enough sense to let go of some clichés. Apparently not.

Apart from the weak screenplay, the main problem with “Made of Honor” is the acting and lack of chemistry. Watching Dempsey putting all his effort in being an aloof and inexpressive hotshot feels like a betrayal. This man used to have enough lines in his face to make him spring out from a Bukowski novel; how does he suddenly become a carefree wealthy pretty-boy who has no troubles in life? We don’t even know what this guy’s job is throughout the film. And hence the lack of expression in Dempsey’s face also makes you wonder whether this Tom guy is really in love with Monaghan’s Hannah. Monaghan does her best to come up with a cute-yet-intense aura for a woman who has a hard time admitting that she’s in love with her best friend, but the stale script

does not give her much to work with. Whether you are a man or a woman, you expect a romantic comedy to hold that very specific element that gives soul to a story, namely the verbal banter creating the anticipation for their unison.

In real life there are very interesting dynamics between men and women who have formed good friendships; for example, that comforting intimacy where you don’t have to pretend to impress the opposite sex, similar to that of siblings. One would be surprised at the list of things men and women confide to each other that they might not reveal to their own gender. Now that is truly comedic material, material that was insightfully used in a film such as “When Harry Met Sally” but not at all exploited by “Made of Honor.”

If you like romantic comedies, Dempsey or Monaghan, do not see this film. First watch “Can’t Buy Me Love” and then “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.”

Trust me, you’ll have a jolly good time.

Kanye West wins two prizes at BET Awards Rap star Kanye West picked up two prizes on Tuesday at the BET Awards, an event honoring black recording artists, actors and athletes. The only other multiple winner was the hip-hop duo UGK, consisting of Bernard “Bun B” Freeman and the recently deceased Chad “Pimp C” Butler. In all 15 awards were handed out during a three-hour show mixing the heroes of contemporary hip-hop and old-school R&B. Alicia Keys, flying high with a successful worldwide tour, a chart-topping album and an upcoming film, won the prize for best female R&B artist. Teen sensation Chris Brown, who topped the US singles chart last year with “Kiss Kiss,” was named best male R&B performer. West, whose third album, “Graduation,” was one of 2007’s top-selling releases, was named best male hip-hop artist and shared a second BET prize with R&B singer T-Pain for their collaboration on the hit single “Good Life.”

UGK, whose album “Underground Kingz” topped the charts last summer, won the BET prize as best group and shared the award for best video with the hip-hop duo Outkast for their work together on “International Player’s Anthem (I Choose You).” The prize for best female hip-hop performer went to Missy Elliott, who has not had an album out since 2005 but has a new CD set for release in August. The eighth annual BET Awards was presented by the BET (Black Entertainment Television) Networks cable group, which carried the three-hour show live. Los Angeles Reuters

Grogan working on ‘Marley & Me’ prequel

PHOTO

REUTERS

Michelle Monaghan (L) and Patrick Dempsey share the title roles in the comedy “Made of Honor,” which opened last week in movie theaters in Turkey.

FESTIVAL

CINEMA

Flowers of ‘Dream Garden' to bloom at Hagia Eirene

Kaplanoðlu's award run for ‘Egg' not over yet

The Borusan String Quartet and well-known pianist Hüseyin Sermet will today present a selection of masterpieces by German romantic composers at the Hagia Eirene Museum in what is one of the final concerts at the ongoing Ýstanbul International Music Festival. Titled "The Dream Garden," the concert program features pieces for piano and strings by Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Schumann. The performance will start at 8 p.m.

Turkish filmmaker Semih Kaplanoðlu's international award-winning feature "Yumurta" (Egg), the first installment in his Trilogy of Yusuf, has clinched the best film title in this year's Seoul Inter-national Film Festival, Turkish movie Web site sadibey.com reported. The 2007 Turkish-Greek co-production, starring Nejat Ýþler and Saadet Iþýl Aksoy, won the Grand Prix in the festival's ninth edition, which was held in the South Korean capital on June 5-11.

CONCERT

Goran Bregovic to cap Ýstanbul concert series Goran Bregovic, the acclaimed Bosnian musician known worldwide for the scores he composed for Emir Kusturica's films, will be giving the closing concert of this summer's Most Open-air Concert Series in Ýstanbul. Wrapping up a series that will feature performances by Sezen Aksu, Haris Alexiou, Candan Erçetin and Zülfü Livaneli, Bregovic will be on the Cemil Topuzlu Open-air Theater stage on the night of Aug. 5. Ticket price: YTL 45 - YTL 110

‘Viva La Vida’ is second best debut of 2008 CINEMA

Ceylan's ‘Monkeys’ set for Karlovy Vary outing "Üç Maymun" (Three Monkeys), the Cannes best director prizewinning drama by Turkish film director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, will be featured at this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The dark family secrets drama will be the only Turkish title featured in the festival, scheduled to unroll its 43rd edition from July 4-12 in the famous spa town of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. The film will be featured in the festival's Open Eyes section.

CM Y K

“Marley & Me” author John Grogan is working on a prequel to the million-selling memoir about his dog. “The Longest Trip Home” will be released in October by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, the publisher said on Tuesday.

“It is the powerful, often hilarious story of a son in the making, and of growing up in a loving, but comically old-school Catholic family,” said a statement issued by Morrow. “From his troublemaking childhood to his courtship of a fiery blonde named Jenny, Grogan writes about how he came to terms with who he is and what he believes.” “Even before ‘Marley & Me’ was published, I knew this was the story I wanted to tell next,” Grogan, 51, said in a statement. “‘The Longest Trip Home’ is a story very close to my heart.” A film version of “Marley & Me,” starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, is slated for release in December. New York AP

Coldplay’s new album “Viva La Vida” will debut at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 album chart with over 720,000 copies sold in its first week, the second-best opening week of 2008, according to the trade magazine’s Web site. Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III” was the top album debut of the year after it sold a spectacular 1 million copies earlier this month.

Two back-to-back blockbuster sales are a boost to the sluggish music industry, which has had little to celebrate with declining sales. “Viva La Vida” follows 2005’s “X&Y,” which also debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200, with 737,000 copies sold in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That album sold 3.2 million copies in US. Los Angeles AP

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14 TODAY’S ZAMAN

SELAHATTÝN SEVÝ

THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2008

MUHAMMED ÇETÝN

Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Islamic scholar, has come in first on a list of the top 100 living public intellectuals in a survey organized by the British magazine Prospect and Foreign Policy, a US publication. The results apparently surprised the organizers: The top 10 individuals in the poll were all Muslim intellectuals, two of whom were Turkish citizens. The rankings are already generating discussion and their implications are relevant to many people from different backgrounds, cultures and societies, whether they are Muslim or not. Here we should acknowledge the editors of the journals and those who conducted the survey for permitting the selection of these nominees, for not interfering with the voting process and for sharing its results with the whole world.

Even a cursory reading of what has been written about the rankings reveals several points about the winner of the survey, the other highly ranked individuals and the reactions to their ranking.

Prospect's editor, David Goodhart, admits to not having heard of Gülen before and feels Gülen's supporters "made a mockery" of the poll, but that the result "flagged up significant political trends" in Turkey. From this, we might conclude that the results of the poll and the reactions to it "flagged up" a regrettable gap in Western journalists and editors' knowledge of Turkey and the Middle East.

Nevertheless, since Gülen was included among the nominees by the editors, it must mean that he was already known at least to some and acknowledged for his contribution to faith, dialogue, education, culture and peace.

The fact that he is still not known among certain spheres in the West could be attributed to several causes: Until 2004, there was not much interest in Gülen and his movement academically. Since then, there have been a number of conferences and hundreds of academic articles written on the Gülen movement and its contribution to global societies. Another factor is the lack of acknowledgment given to him by "enlightened" intellectuals in his own country. They would like to see Gülen as just a preacher or an ordinary "mosque imam." They can no longer, however, deny Gülen's immense contribution to the thought and action of the movement. So, to see him only as "religious leader," rather than as a prolific writer, a social initiator, a promoter of interfaith dialogue, an intercultural reconciliatory opinion-maker, an activist, a peaceful progressive civil society mentor and an authentic Islamic scholar is an injustice to Gülen and the public.

Western commentators' analyses of the results and the voting process also show a further lack of understanding of the Middle Eastern context. For example, while the organizers attributed the results to "a sustained campaign by Gülen's followers" after the Zaman newspaper publicized the poll, could that ever account for the position of Orhan Pamuk at No. 4? Pamuk's views on faith and Sufism, for example, do not seem to sit easily with those of Gülen. Are Pamuk's supporters also reading Zaman? The Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi came in 10th. Are

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Foreýgn Polýcy rankýngs and Fethullah Gülen Zaman readers supposed to have organized a stream of voters for Ms Ebadi? Why? The high rate of return to the survey in Turkey and the Middle East can be accounted for by a number of factors. Within the Gülen movement, for example, the rate of computer literacy and access to computers is very high. Yet another reason for the high return rate is that the movement's participants are educated members of the urban middle class: They have technical and cultural competence and a strong economicfunctional position, which make them more likely to mobilize. The participants prioritize individual achievement in the private sphere and expansion of the freedom of expression, democratic participation and self-government in the public domain. These days communication through information networks in social movements is strong and participants in such networks are often more committed than those who have formal membership in political parties.

But the cases of Ebadi, Pamuk and the seven other Muslim intellectuals remain inexplicable to the poll's organizers. Could it be that a certain view of the Muslim world as "backward," "downtrodden," and "stuck in the Middle Ages" is being challenged? The results show that the Muslim world is not on the wrong side of the great "digital divide." It has embraced this branch of modernity with zeal and competence. It is clear from these results that Muslims will gladly, enthusiastically and fearlessly participate in all kinds of open voting, given half a chance. This is not the time for onlookers and poll organizers to lurch into a half-baked conspiracy theory and refuse to heed what the Muslim world is telling them: that the people prefer peaceful and even democratic influences and are eager participants in all kinds of civil society activities.

The use of certain words in hasty analyses by journalists may lead to a cross-cultural failure in understanding or even to misunderstanding Gülen and his movement. For example, "Gülen is both revered and reviled in his native Turkey." We know how the protectionists "revile" him, but terms such as "revere" also have some connotations and implications inappropriate for a faith-inspired civil society initiative coming from a Muslim background. The participants in the Gülen movement appreciate Gülen for his knowledge, scholarliness, sincerity, integrity, commitment to altruism, profound concern and compassion for others. It should not be ignored that all these qualities come from his Islamic education and upbringing. However, they do not result in any sacred celebration of Gülen or any others in the movement.

In spite of the slim knowledge of the poll's organizers, so far the Gülen movement has been better -- that is, more objectively -- studied abroad than in Turkey. Because a protectionist elite prevails in Turkey's academic institutions, free scholarly discussion within Turkey still seems a rather distant ideal. Freedom of speech in Turkey, especially in academia, is not what it is in the West. Nevertheless, the great majority of people in Turkey know and appreciate Gülen and the movement despite the polemics of the protectionists. This fact is often overlooked. Commentators would do well to turn their attention to the results of surveys and research on the movement done by independent scholars and institutions.

M. Fethullah Gülen

LORD MALLOCH BROWN*

For a long time Robert Mugabe has kept alive the falsehood that Africa and much of the rest of the world remains on his side in what he claims is a colonial dispute with Britain and, to a lesser extent, Europe. The events of the past few weeks have transformed that view. It is unequivocally clear that the world is united in its condemnation of the violence perpetrated by Zimbabwe's leaders. This is now Mugabe and his regime versus the world.

African leaders have one by one come out and shown their opposition to what Mugabe is doing: Tanzania, Senegal, Rwanda, Botswana, Angola, South Africa and Zambia most recently. Last week an open letter signed by more than 40 African leaders, including many former presidents, former secretary-generals and civil society leaders called for an end to the violence.

African leaders know that Mugabe's rule is now illegitimate by his own constitution, by the South Africa Development Community (SADC) principles of elections and by the African Union, which requires that its members are democratically elected. And Africans are ashamed. Kofi Annan wrote that "Zimbabwe is tarnishing the reputation of Africa." Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga called Zimbabwe "an eyesore."

The UN Security Council was also this week unanimous in its verdict that "conditions do not exist for free and fair elections right now in Zimbabwe. There has been too much violence, too much intimidation." Among the 15 Security Council members who unanimously signed up to the statement were China, Russia and South Africa, three countries previously reluctant to join in this kind of international condemnation of Zimbabwe.

What has brought this decisive change in world opinion? The facts speak for themselves. Eighty-four opposition supporters are confirmed murdered, 2,700 injured, 34,000 displaced. Tragically, these grim figures continue to grow, even despite the opposition Movement for Democratic Change's (MDC) withdrawal from the vote. It is no longer an election campaign. It is a campaign of violence and intimidation against innocent men, women and children whose only crime is to wish to express their democratic right to vote. To do so as they did on March 29 in the election that, according to the African observers, the MDC rightfully won.

And it is a campaign that takes place against a catastrophic economic background. Inflation is estimated at 2 million percent. Zimbabwe has just reaped its worst harvest in 60 years. Electricity and water shortages last for days at a time in some areas. Meanwhile the ruling ZANU-PF government has suspended life-saving NGO humanitarian activities. Even hunger has become a political weapon. Europe has a critical role to play in bringing change to Zimbabwe. The EU's existing targeted measures of travel bans and asset freezing against Mugabe and 130 senior ZANU-PF leaders must be deepened and broadened to include a wider range of individuals involved in perpetrating the violence. Beyond this the EU must consider how best it can ratchet up the pressure without adversely affecting ordinary Zimbabweans. The British marketing company WPP has properly decided to divest its stake in a local advertising company responsible for ZANU-PF advertising. But is it right that a European company continues to print the banknotes that allow Mugabe's regime to keep the machinery of state oppression going while feeding the intolerable habit of hyperinflation? Most importantly, Europe must work to support the African and global leadership demonstrated by the SADC, the African Union and the UN. Europe must do more to build a global effort to isolate and delegitimize Mugabe's regime: to document human rights abuses and seek remedies and to force Mugabe's regime to allow the emergence of a government that represents the will of the people.

In recent weeks Mugabe and his inner circle have succeeded in uniting the world against them. They have put themselves beyond the pale. They have scorned international norms and values. And they should know that they must face the consequences.

Daðýstan Çetinkaya dagistancetinkaya@todayszaman.com.tr

Thýnk tank cafe´ Owner on Behalf of Feza Gazetecilik A.Þ

ALÝ AKBULUT Chief Executive Officer

EKREM DUMANLI Editor-in-Chief

BÜLENT KENEÞ

Ankara Representative Diplomatic News Editor Business News Editor Culture & Arts Editor Features Editor Chief Copy Editor General Manager Chief Marketing Officer Deputy Chief Marketing Officer Brand Marketing Responsible Manager and Representative of the Owner

A call on Europe to support Zimbabwe

*Lord Malloch Brown is the UK Foreign Office minister for Africa, Asia and the UN.

Established on January 16, 2007 NO: 0499 Thursday, June 26, 2008

Executive Editor Managing Editors

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

T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 0 8

Turks are back wýth a lýttle scar Hours before the Turkey-Germany match in Basel, here is my wildest UEFA finals cup scenario: Turkey beats Germany and Russia beats Spain. Turks and Russians, the two nations the Europeans have historically feared the most, play the final. Advice to my European friends: Don't be shocked. This is a little dose of globalization coming home to roost.

The success of the Turkish national soccer team in UEFA 2008 continues to create joy and excitement around the world. It is not only the Turks in Turkey and Europe who take pride in the team. The same joy is expressed by people from around the globe. After the game with Croatia was over (no one believed it was over!), messages began to pour in from Sarajevo, Cairo, Baku, Kuala Lumpur, Skopje and many other places. These nations, bound by a common history and cultural heritage, saw in the Turkish national team something of their own. This, too, is a little of a dose of globalization for the Muslim world.

But of course, it is not just the Turkish soccer team that has created this excitement. Rather, it is what Turkey has been doing in recent years with its democracy, rule of law, economy, stability, foreign policy and young and dynamic population. Turkey has be-

HÜSEYÝN GÜLERCE

ÝBRAHÝM KALIN i.kalin@todayszaman.com

come a center of attraction because it can speak to the dreams and imaginations of millions of people around the world. It can create excitement and thus attract the best minds, ideas, students, tourists, businessmen, projects, investments, journalists and others. The problem is that anti-reformists in Turkey are not happy with any of this because they feel an existential threat in the rapid development and opening up of Turkey, a Turkey in which, they feel, they will lose their privileges to decide the country's future.

What Turkey needs now is full democracy, not a retreat in the face of an anti-freedom, anti-law and anti-reformist judiciary and militant secularism. Turkish democracy cannot recoil into a state of moribund docility which will certainly kill off all the creative energy and excitement that fuels the Turkish nation. As the UEFA matches have shown

so far, the game is not over until it is over. So far, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan opted for a policy of "no action" in order to not raise tensions with the judiciary and the military. But not doing anything until the last moment could be too risky. Both the prime minister and his party -- and with them the Turkish democracy -- may lose.

Until the forces of democracy prevail, Turkey's so-called soulsearching will not go anywhere. Some Westerners seem to miss the point. They think the battle in Turkey is between religion and secularism, between religious conservatives and progressive secularists, between history and the future, between yesterday and tomorrow. Anyone who knows something about Turkish society and history will shrug at these simplistic categorizations.

But they creep in. Consider the latest piece in The New York Times by Roger Cohen ("The Fight for Turkey," June 23). Cohen believes there is soul-searching in Turkey and that it is taking place between "proud secularists and pious Muslims." In the middle of this fight and while trying to modernize and become a member of the EU, Turkey is also faced with the problem of "ascendant political Islam." Cohen approves of the Constitutional Court's decision to ban women's right to wear a headscarf at uni-

EMRE ÖZDEMÝR

No Comment

e.ozdemir@todayszaman.com

versities. He thinks this is a good way to secure Turkey's secularist credentials. And he ends with calling for an "occasional dose of secular fascism" to keep the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) -- and other forces of democracy - streamlined.

I am at a loss as to how Turkey will maintain its democratic credentials and move forward with an "occasional dose of secular fascism." It is this "secular fascism" that has delayed Turkish democracy for decades, created all kinds of irrational internal threat perceptions, led to the stigmatization of Kurds, Alevis, religious conservatives, non-Muslim minorities, leftists and reformists, and created the sense of insecurity and mistrust that many citizens feel towards the Turkish state today. It is only by overcoming secular fascism that Turkey will move to a full and mature democracy.

The Turks are back on the stage of history but with a little scar. The scar is the democratic deficit that fuels the current crisis. It is not full democracy that we should fear. We cannot refrain from the courage to debate everything openly and with a fresh mind from Atatürk and secularism and to Islamism and the military. Turks have the means to engage in such a constructive debate. And they have been doing it with considerable success. "Secular fascism" is the last thing we need.

ANDREW FINKEL a.finkel@todayszaman.com

h.gulerce@todayszaman.com

When can Gülen return and how?

The polýtýcal ýnquýsýtýon

The ruling in favor of Fethullah Gülen's acquittal is both a historic decision and an indication of a new era opening in Turkey.

It's a historic ruling because it tells us that the republic is overcoming one of its most deep-seated fears. Religious people have no malicious intentions in serving the religion, the nation, the homeland and the state through civil society efforts that are an indispensable part of democracy, and they can never be considered a potential danger. Religious people have no problems with democratic secularism because this secular understanding is a guarantee of the freedom of religion, thought and speech. This understanding will get stronger following the ruling in the Gülen case.

It's a historic ruling because people viewed as a potential danger have broken free from the yoke of being unable to express themselves. They will no longer be accused of founding a gang or forming a terrorist organization when five of them gather to read and discuss a book. In this regard, the acquittal decision for Gülen relates to not only himself but also to the millions who want to serve the religion and the Holy Quran and compete in doing good. From now on, those who attempt to penalize the selfless people of Turkey, and Gülen in particular, through extra-judicial decisions will hit a wall formed by this historic ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

It's a historic ruling because the people who carry out their global educational and dialogue efforts based on Gülen's teachings and advice will serve with greater enthusiasm and excitement and with hearts that are at peace. And they will no longer face questions abroad such as "You are very good people, your services are great, but why is your leader and guide still a debated figure at the official level in his own country?"

It's a historic ruling because it has allowed our people to take a deep breath at a time when Turkey is going through a tense period amidst various troubles and when social tension has heightened, thereby creating a comforting effect on consciences and making the entire country feel better. It has constituted a very essential step for the long-sought unity between the nation and the state and for the meeting of the judiciary with the national conscience. It has given birth to an atmosphere that inspires hope for our future.

The decisions to acquit, made by the 11th Ankara High Criminal Court, the 9th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals and finally by the General Assembly of the Criminal Chambers of the Supreme Court of Appeals, have paved the way for a new era in Turkey. Now it is possible to hold fast to dialogue and tolerance and make a new move in search of sound ground for social conciliation and agreement. This acquittal decision is an encouraging decision on the path of dialogue.

Following this acquittal, if the Constitutional Court rules against the closure of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Turkey will literally get off the ground. The judiciary, currently at the heart of fiery debates, will re-earn people's confidence to a large extent. And in that case, I believe, the prime minister will take new steps in the name of dialogue and tolerance in the political sphere.

Lastly, some people say, "This decision has granted Gülen the visa needed to return to Turkey." There was no legal hindrance that prevented Gülen from returning to Turkey during the eight-year trial process. However, this acquittal is important since it will render all debates likely to arise upon his return completely null and void.

When can Gülen return and how? There are millions of people in Turkey who love Gülen. They love him for God's sake and nothing else. They see his work as a rejuvenating move that will take Turkey to the place it deserves in the world. That's why they find it reasonable and provide their full support. They have missed him very much and Gülen has also missed them and his homeland very much. I visited him last month and saw that he had more health problems than before. I know how badly he longs for his homeland's soil. However, it's up to him to decide to return. We can state with certainty that Gülen, if he decides to do so, will silently return like an ordinary person; he has nothing to do with pompous crowds greeting him at the airport. He will return with humility, peacefully and with a huge love.

I believe that he will get back to us whenever his health condition allows him to. This wish is at the same time a call made to him from the heart on behalf of his lovers.

I have only been a prosecutor once in my life, and a pretty villainous one at that. It was the year I lived in Turkey as a boy and I played (to indifferent reviews) the role of Henry VIII's greedy minister, Thomas Cromwell, in the school production of "A Man for All Seasons." With a leer and a sneer I oversaw the trial and execution of Sir Thomas More, the saintly chancellor who obeyed his conscience and not the king by refusing to give his approval to the break with the Catholic Church and the royal divorce.

For those of you who missed my performance, the drama revolves around More's legal efforts not to incriminate himself. He refuses to swear an oath and leaves the world to interpret his silence as best it can. "Is there a man in this court -- is there a man in this country! -- who does not know Sir Thomas More's opinion?" Cromwell asks.

But in the end, in order to secure a conviction, he persuades one of More's pupils to bear false witness. To clinch the conviction, he makes up a quote.

Whether because of or despite my experience on the stage, I failed to become a lawyer. I certainly didn't become an actor. I became a journalist instead. As such, I have relived the difficulties of getting people to say the thing everybody knows they really mean. On the other hand, I am also alive to the problem of quoting people when they say things they don't really mean.

What did Hilary Clinton really intend when she spoke on the campaign trail about Robert Kennedy's assassination? Not (as many interpreted) that she hoped someone would take a shot at Barack Obama, but (if you listened to her whole remarks) that primary campaigns used to go on through the summer -- including that of Robert Kennedy, who was only just gathering momentum in June. What did Michelle Obama mean when she admitted to being proud of her country for the first time because of her husband's success? Not that she was ashamed of it the other 364 days of the year, as some Republicans have tried to suggest. And what does President George W. Bush ever mean when he opens his mouth? His famous remark, "[Our enemies] never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we," should not be taken at face value.

It's hard enough to get people to say controversial things on the record, and journalists are under no special obligation to protect those in the public eye from making fools of themselves or from indiscretions. However, even important people are often careless or imprecise with language, and while journalists have a duty to report, they have an obligation to be fair and not to condemn their subjects with the cunning of a Stalinist troika in a mode of legal discourse that would not have been out of place in the Spanish Inquisition. Hrant Dink, the Armenian newspaper editor, was injudicious in the way he described the Turkishness in his blood -- but anyone with any sense understood that he intended the very opposite of the hate and rancor attributed to him in the headlines of the Turkish press. That interpretation was gleefully picked up by the state prosecutor, and his real sentence was administered by a young, hot-headed assassin.

Now, we see the deputy leader of the ruling party being drawn and quartered by those same newspapers for saying that the dress reforms of the 1920s in Turkey were a type of trauma (Atatürk himself referred to them as "revolutions") as a way of explaining to a foreign audience why the headscarf issue is so sensitive in Turkey. They behave like Torquemada waiting to pounce.

Indeed, if you look at the charge sheet against the two political parties the courts are now trying to shut, you see it displays a similar eye for detail. Individuals are charged with remarks plucked from newspapers out of context and stood on their head that might just mean that the person uttering them was unpatriotic.

Individuals are being charged not for their opinions (to which in any case they should be entitled) but for what the prosecutor assumes are their real opinions.

They are being accused not for what they have done but what, as Thomas Cromwell might have said, everyone knows they really want to do.

Best chance yet for a Cyprus settlement HUGH POPE h.pope@todayszaman.com

NICOSIA--No one has ever lost money betting on the failure of the Cyprus peace process. But this year the best chance in decades to end this conflict has quietly crept up on local and international policy makers, and the European Union now has one last opportunity to undo past mistakes.

The first to switch direction were the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey, both eager to get closer to the EU. In 2004 the 250,000 Turkish Cypriots voted out their hard-line leader, Rauf Denktaþ, and agreed to the so-called Annan plan, a United Nations-mediated, EU-approved plan for a new Cyprus federation and a Turkish troop pullout. The troops have been in place since 1974, when the Turkish military intervened to head off a planned Greek Cypriot coup designed to unite the island with Greece.

The 750,000 Greek Cypriots, though, voted overwhelmingly to reject the Annan plan. Perversely, they were immediately rewarded for this intransigence with full EU membership. Then the law of unintended consequences kicked in. EU membership has empowered Greek Cypriots to believe that they can at last negotiate a fair deal with the Turkish Cypriots, who are backed

by Turkey's military might. At the same time Greek Cypriots began to fear that the uncompromising policies of their hard-line leader, Tassos Papadopoulos, were going to create a Kosovostyle Turkish Cypriot state on their doorstep.

So in February the Greek Cypriot electorate voted in pragmatic communist Dimitris Christofias, who campaigned for concessions with the Turkish Cypriots. Since coming to power he has broken many taboos, backed by an even more strongly pro-settlement opposition party, the Democratic Rally. He has accepted that Greek Cypriots may share responsibility for the conflict. He sent a wreath and a representative to the funeral of an exhumed Turkish Cypriot killed in the 1960s communal violence and met Turkish visitors who entered Cyprus directly from Turkey. On April 3 the two sides opened a new crossing in the heart of Nicosia's old city.

Christofias' initiatives went beyond mere confidence building. He accepted that there will be a Turkish Cypriot Constituent State after a settlement. He told his people that a deal wouldn't bring the return of all Greek Cypriot refugees dis-

CM Y K

placed during Turkey's 1974 intervention. And he said he is ready to accept that 50,000 of the Turkish immigrants who have since moved to the north can stay in their adopted homeland.

This newfound taste for compromise is driven as much by economic necessity as by political pragmatism. The Greek Cypriot business community as well as the liberal media realizes that by normalizing relations with Turkey, the island could relaunch a sagging tourism sector and better profit as a hub for financial and other services. Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinians and especially the Syrians -- until this decade, the Greek Cypriots' anti-Turkish torchbearer in the Arab world -- are increasingly turning to Turkey, with the biggest and most dynamic economy in the region. And most Greek Cypriots now accept that compromise is the only way to get compensation for lost property and win the withdrawal of the 25,000 to 43,000 Turkish troops from the island.

This is remarkable progress, suggesting the two sides could hammer out a deal within the next 12 months. On March 21 they formed 13 working groups and technical committees to discuss the basis of a settlement. On May 23 Christofias and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat, agreed on the outlines of a future agreement. They managed, linguistically at least, to square the circle between Greek Cypriot demands for unity and Turkish Cypriot demands for autonomy. One diplomat believes the two leaders "seem to have it all stitched up already."

Walking the balmy streets of Nicosia, it's hard to feel the dispute in Cyprus. Amid honey-stoned British colonial villas and palm treelined roads full of gleaming sports cars, the island looks more like a prosperous East Mediterranean emirate than a frozen conflict. Yet the status quo is as deceptive as ever.

With the island's Greek Cypriot part now in the EU, failure in these talks will come at a cost of internal problems for Europe as EU-member Cyprus and NATO-member Turkey seek more institutional ways to punish each other: a new risk of new military tensions between Turkey and Greek Cypriots in the Mediterranean, long years of alienation in EU-Turkey relations and more political confusion and nationalism in Turkey as it loses its EU compass.

In short, it's time for European leaders to put Cyprus on the front burner. What better way to demonstrate the EU's relevance after the Irish rejected the Lisbon Treaty than by bringing peace to Cyprus? Spreading democracy and prosperity has been the EU's most noble goal and biggest success.

It can do so again by helping Christofias and Talat get right in 2008 what everyone got so badly wrong in 2004.

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CONTINUATION

TODAY’S ZAMAN 17

T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 0 8

Turkey, which has had tense relations with the Iraqi Kurds over their suspected intentions for an independent state over the past few years, has currently taken steps to improve dialogue with Kurdish officials. But new actions by the Kurds in the direction of expanding their economic and political leverage in northern Iraq have the risk to cast a shadow over the fragile prospects for rapprochement.

Ankara's ties with the Kurds have been uneasy since the US-led Iraq war in 2003 due to their tolerant stance towards the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, in recent days, has reiterated once again that the PKK is not a terrorist organization, raising eyebrows in Ankara and throwing into doubt the recent improvement in ties.

The signing of the new deals came as officials from the Iraqi central government and the Kurdish administration are holding talks in Baghdad to resolve differences over the national oil law, which has been stalled for more than a year now. In the absence of a national law regulating the sector, the Iraqi Oil Ministry deems oil deals signed by the Kurdish government to be illegal and threatens to exclude and blacklist companies that sign deals with the Kurds.

"What matters for us is the implementation on the issue by the central government.

Agreements that are not accepted as legitimate by the central government cannot be accepted as legitimate by the international community, and thus by us as well," officials from the Foreign Ministry, who requested anonymity, told Today's Zaman.

Hasan Selim Özertem, a researcher from the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (ISRO/USAK), has underlined that all of these developments should be evaluated without ignoring the fact that the United States still cannot maintain order in Iraq although that was its main reason for invading Iraq in 2003.

"This situation is particularly reflected in the dispute between the central government and different ethnic and religious groups. Despite intense efforts, the central government is not able to be entirely effective," Özertem, the editor of the USAK Energy Review newsletter, told Today's Zaman on Wednesday. The Kurdish administration contends that provinces or regions with oil reserves have the right to decide development, but wide opposition favors maintaining central government control.

Norway's DNO, Canada's Western Oil Sands Inc. and Heritage Oil Corp., Swiss-based Addax Petroleum Corp. and Britain's Febru Sterling Energy PLC are among the foreign companies currently operating in northern Iraq. Turkish company Genel Enerji, a unit of Çukurova Holding A.Þ., is also one of the companies.

"Deals made by the regional administration are not large in size, while the companies party to these deals are either small or medium sized.

Large companies such as Chevron and Exxon Mobil are waiting for the adoption of the hydrocarbons law in order to move into the northern region for business," Özertem said.

"As the central government gets stronger, it has a more powerful say in the region and its oil reserves, but there is still a long time before this happens due to the overall situation in our neighboring country. In the meantime, the administration in northern Iraq will continue improving its economic capability and expanding its political activity by taking advantage of the political vacuum," he added.

These contracts are governed by an oil and gas law passed by the Kurdish administration that entered into force in August 2007. Kurdish officials say they will adhere to the commitment to forward petroleum revenue from the Kurdish region for Iraq-wide revenue sharing when a federal revenue sharing law is in place.

The northern region was largely neglected by Saddam Hussein, but the Kurdish administration's deals have resulted in about 10,000 barrels per day of oil production at present. Iraq sits on an estimated 115 billion barrels and also has an estimated 112 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, making it one of the most petroleum-rich countries in the world.

Under the agreement, South Korea's Korea National Oil Co. will own 60 percent of the Sangaw South block and 80 percent of the Qush Tappa block, with the remainder held by the Kurdish government.

As for Talisman, the Canadian company has committed to pay $220 million for rehabilitating the communities in which they will operate. The deal calls for Talisman to join a productionsharing contract secured by Canadian-based WesternZagros in 2006 to explore and then pro-

PHOTO

contýnued from page 1

REUTERS

Kurds sign oil deals, raising concerns over Iraqi unity

duce oil and gas in the Kalar-Bawanoor Block in southern Sulaimaniya province. When the contract was amended last February, WesternZagros and the Kurdish government were seeking a third party for a 40 percent stake.

WesternZagros holds 40 percent and the Kurdish government 20 percent. Ankara/Ýstanbul Today's Zaman

Turkýsh leaders ýn campaýgn blýtz to reassure busýness communýty tant steps for democracy. He noted that the most important of these steps had been implementing the Copenhagen criteria and starting accession negotiations with the EU. He said the government had also implemented important economic reforms that "past governments had not dared to do."

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan also participated in the round table meeting in Istanbul, where he talked about political and economic developments in Turkey, European Union reforms, democracy and progress in fundamental rights and the rule of law.

The meeting was held in closed session after the prime minister's address. Sources quoted Babacan

as saying, "Economic reforms will be easily passed to the extent the political atmosphere allows."

Addressing participants in a session titled "Turkey's Place within the New Geopolitical Landscape," Babacan reaffirmed Turkey's commitment to continue on the course toward EU membership regardless of certain political issues such as Cyprus and relations with France and Germany.

Responding to a question on the closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), he said, "We do not know when or in what direction the court will make its ruling, but the important thing is legitimacy." Ýstanbul Today's Zaman BAHAR MANDAN

public debt with respect to gross domestic product (GDP). "Privatization programs are moving forward at full speed," he added. The meeting, titled "The Future of Economy and Business," focused on issues such as economic reforms in Turkey, measures to strengthen the economy, spreading prosperity throughout the country, Turkey's progress on the path to EU membership, Turkey's plans for becoming an energy gateway for Europe and the timetable for further privatization.

Erdoðan said Turkey had been going through a major change in the past five-and-a-half years and pointed out that the government had taken impor-

PHOTO

Top government leaders of Turkey were in Istanbul yesterday to give a unified message of unwavering support for economic as well as political reforms to the international business community. Speaking at a business forum, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan tried to reassure international audiences and alleviate growing skepticism over the Turkish economy amid increasing political uncertainty coupled with soaring energy and food prices worldwide.

Addressing an audience at the Economist Conferences 16th Business Round Table Meeting in Ýstanbul at the Hyatt Regency Hotel yesterday, Erdoðan vowed to bring Turkey into the top 10 world economies by 2023 -- the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Turkish Republic.

He noted that his government is determined to continue with the reform process despite obstacles in accession talks with the European Union.

"We are looking at a bright future, a very different picture," Erdoðan stated. He said five years from now we'll see a different Turkey which is better integrated with the world and more developed.

"Turkish people want this to happen," he added.

He cited the reasons behind Turkey's success story as "democratization, respect for national sovereignty and the people's will, effective foreign policy and a stable environment." He said his government will follow strict fiscal and monetary policies and will focus on financial transparency. "Price stability is important for us," he noted, adding, "Our objective is to expand economic welfare to all segments of society."

The prime minister also mentioned that Turkey has a $277 billion trade volume today and said they intend to increase this figure to $500 billion by 2013. He emphasized that the competitiveness of the business sector must be improved by increasing productivity and focusing on technological innovation. "Our work to improve the investment climate in Turkey is continuing," he added. Erdoðan also talked about the decreasing

Ministry takes the side of freedom on 301 applications BÜÞRA ERDAL ÝSTANBUL

A recent amendment to the infamous Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) appears to be bearing fruit in practice, as the Justice Ministry has prevented a number of 301-related cases from being opened since the change was made.

The amendment to Article 301, which previously criminalized "insulting Turkishness" and has long been seen as an obstacle to freedom of speech in Turkey, made it obligatory for prosecutors to secure approval from the Justice Ministry before launching cases on 301-related charges. Preliminary findings show that the ministry has tended to uphold freedom of speech in its decisions on such requests.

In the past, the article in question had been heavily disputed, particularly with respect to the charges filed against Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was assassinated after he was brought before the court.

By amending the controversial article the Turkish government had hoped to allay concerns frequently raised by European Union officials about the status of freedom of thought and expression in Turkey, which hopes to join the EU. The system of securing permission to file cases included in the amendment was aimed at preventing abuses of Article 301.

Since May 8, 2008, when the amendment to Article 301 went into effect, 60 such applications for permission have been filed by prosecutors with the Justice Ministry. The ministry deliberated on seven cases in the first month and refused permission on six, citing freedom of expression as defined by the European Convention on Human Rights. In some cases the ministry also argued that there were no grounds for an investigation on the basis of the new text of Article 301.

The Justice Ministry did authorize an Ýstanbul prosecutor to launch an investigation into insults against the police department, concluding that the remarks in question were beyond the limits of reasonable criticism.

Under Article 159 of the TCK, which was in effect until 2005, prosecutors had had to obtain permission from the Justice Ministry before launching any probe on charges of "insulting Turkishness." Article 301, which went into effect in June 2005, had canceled this requirement, and an unprecedented increase was seen in the number of cases filed under Article 301.

Many intellectuals and celebrities, including author Elif Þafak, Dink and journalist Perihan Maðden, stood trial under this article, and Parliament felt the need to tackle the issue. With the amendment that went into effect in May, the phrase "insulting Turkishness" was replaced with "Insulting the Turkish nation." The maximum jail term that could be sought under the article was decreased and a paragraph concerning the aggravating circumstance of "committing the offense in a foreign country" was removed from the text.

Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights

Addressing an audience at the Economist Conferences in Ýstanbul yesterday, PM Tayyip Erdoðan vowed to bring Turkey into the top 10 world economies by 2023.

"Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.

"The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or the rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary."

PM Erdoðan’s meeting with land forces commander leads to speculation contýnued from page 1 Baþbuð is widely expected to succeed current Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaþar Büyükanýt when the latter retires in August. This expectation even grew stronger after Erdoðan invited Baþbuð to his residence for a meeting.

Many others, however, claimed the meeting had a deeper meaning than what is visible or attributed to it, citing a previous meeting between Erdoðan and Büyükanýt.

Erdoðan and Büyükanýt met on May 4, 2007, only a few days following the release of an e-memorandum posted on the General Staff's Web site on April 27 warning the government over upcoming presidential election.

The gathering was held at Dolmabahçe Palace in Ýstanbul and lasted more than two hours. It was not announced on official schedules and was closed to the press. No public statement was made after it, which gave rise to specu-

lation that Erdoðan had threatened Büyükanýt with a report prepared about the general's wife's excessive spending in an attempt to put a stop to military pressure on the government while trying to elect Abdullah Gül president.

The allegation, voiced by former Culture Minister Birgün Fikri Saðlar, was later brought before the judicial system. Büyükanýt said he had never been subjected to such a despicable insult and decided to take the issue to the court. "I was subjected to unbelievable claims. The issue has been conveyed to the judiciary," he stated.

Some circles now wonder whether a similar conversation could have taken place between Erdoðan and Baþbuð during Tuesday's meeting to prevent the military from interfering in political issues.

It is also rumored the two met to discuss a comprehensive cross-border operation into northern Iraq to

stamp out outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists there. Erdoðan reportedly asked Büyükanýt about the new tactical reconnaissance attack (ATAK) helicopters at a ceremony held on Tuesday at Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) to introduce ATAK helicopters, which went into production this week, to the press.

Büyükanýt allegedly replied by saying that the prime minister would be briefed by Baþbuð, and then the latter paid a visit to the prime minister to give him information on the ATAK helicopters. Some circles interpreted this meeting's proximity to the ceremony as preparation for a large-scale cross-border operation against PKK targets in northern Iraq. Another factor that makes people speculate about the meeting is an alleged military plan to reshape society that the Taraf daily exposed last week.

A leaked army document published in Taraf

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showed that the TSK had devised a comprehensive plan of action to interfere in politics and civilian life. The army's plan went into force in September 2007 and is composed of a series of "measures" against the government, which the military deems the source of a "religious reactionary movement." The plan also emphasized that it was necessary to bring universities, presidents of the higher judiciary, members of the presss and artists into line with the TSK because they have the power to influence public opinion, and to ensure that these individuals act in the same way as the TSK. According to some, Erdoðan invited Baþbuð for a meeting to discuss this action plan and warn the TSK not to attempt to influence civilian and political life in Turkey.

The Prime Ministry Press Center, on the other hand, released a written statement soon after the

meeting to dissipate speculation over the gathering.

"Our esteemed prime minister held a meeting with Gen. Baþbuð this evening at his residence. The meeting was held upon the invitation of the prime minister. The two discussed measures to be taken in the fight against terrorist organizations in the days ahead and some recent developments in the country," read the statement.

Speaking to journalists yesterday, Baþbuð also stressed that he and Erdoðan met at the prime minister's initiative. "The meeting was held upon the invitation of the prime minister and with the permission of our chief of General Staff. We discussed counterterrorism methods and what measures should be taken in our fight against terrorism and terrorist organizations in the coming periods. Speculation about our meeting that has appeared in some press organs do not reflect the truth," he said.

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18 TODAY’S ZAMAN

T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 0 8

TODAY’S LEARNING TIME

QUOTE OF THE DAY

elementary READING

Enjoy your vegetables "Tomorrow I'm going to pick them, and then we can eat them" said Mrs. Green, looking at the plants.

But early the next morning, her little son ran into the kitchen and shouted, "Mother, Mother!

Come quickly! Our neighbor's ducks are in the garden and they are eating our vegetables!"

OSMAN TURHAN

Mrs. Green always loved gardening so she had a small garden behind her house. In the spring she planted some vegetables in it. She watered them regularly and she looked after them very carefully. She even built a tall fence and painted it in bright colors. She loved her garden and the vegetables because they looked very nice.

Mrs. Green ran out to see the ducks that had walked under the fence and entered her garden. It was too late, all the vegetables were gone!

First, Mrs. Green got very angry. But when she saw her neighbor, she calmed down. Her neighbor felt so sorry that she couldn't look at Mrs. Green.

She didn't know what to say.

Then, a few days later, the neighbor brought Mrs. Green a parcel. There was a beautiful, fat duck in it, and on it was a piece of paper with the words, "Enjoy your vegetables!"

ILLUSTRATIONS

Activity: SCHOOL VOCABULARY

Part 1: Comprehension Questions; Circle the best answer.

1.Where was Mrs. Green's garden? a.near her house. b.in front of her house. c.behind her house. d.next to her house.

2.When did Mrs. Green plant her vegetables? a.in the summer. b.in the winter. c.in the autumn. d.in the spring.

3.Why did Mrs. Green's son shout? a.because he wanted to eat vegetables. b.because there were ducks in their garden.

c.because he hated the ducks. d.because he was in the garden.

4.There were no vegetables left in the garden because ____________. a.thieves stole them. b.some animals ate them. c.neighbor's ducks ate them. d.neighbor stole them.

5.Mrs. Green was ____________ when her son shouted? a.in the bedroom b.in the garden c.in the kitchen d.in the livingroom 6.Mrs. Green was angry _________. a.so she shouted at her neighbor. b.because the vegetables tasted bad.

c.but she calmed down later. d.but she shouted at her neighbor.

7.Mrs green ____________ to protect her garden from animals? a.painted the fence b.built the fence c.planted vegetables d.did nothing 8.What was in the parcel? a.some vegetables b.a chocolate cake c.a fat duck d.none above 9.The ducks walked ____________ the fence and entered the garden. a.under b.over c.onto d.behind 10.How did Mrs. Green's neighbor feel? a.excited b.anxious c.angry d.sorry

Match a word from above to its meaning below. board - classroom - exam - break - pupil caretaker - timetable - paper - staff - pencil case 1.the time between the lessons - ................

2.a list which shows when lessons begin and end - .......................................................

3.a large thing where the teacher writes with a piece of chalk or pen - ......................

4.the material that you write and draw on - ......................................................................

5.a small bag for your writing instruments - ......................................................................

6.a word for a child in a school - .................

7.the area where the children and a teacher have their daily lessons- .................

8.the person who cleans the school .........................................................................

9.a formal written, spoken or practical way to find out what the student has learned .........................................................................

10.the people who work at a school .........................................................................

Part 2: True (T) or False (F)

“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.”

Robert Frost

advanced READING

Why do cats purr?

As a cat owner, I sometimes question my sanity. Why exactly do I own one of the little critters? So I can vacuum the floor 10 times a week? So I can clean its malodorous litter box everyday? So I can enjoy watching its balls of hair blowing across the living room floor? It really offers no advantages to me. It can't fetch the newspaper. It only comes when I feed it. I sometimes feel that cats were made to do three thingseat, sleep and use the litter box.

The only thing that interests me about my cat is its purring. Why do cats purr?

What is the physical process inside their little bodies that creates this distinctive sound? I decided to do a little research on the internet, and this is what I found.

Cats not only purr when they are content, but also when they are under duress. When you take your cat to the vet, it usually purrs. Purring occurs most frequently when a mother cat is nursing her kittens.

Scientists have proved that cats produce their purr through intermittent signaling of the laryngeal

and diaphragmatic muscles. Cats purr during both inhalation and exhalation with a consistent pattern.

There is a growing study being conducted on the association between the frequency of cats purrs and the healing of their muscles and bones. Because cats have adapted to conserve energy via long periods of rest, it's possible that purring is a low energy mechanism that stimulates muscles and bones without a lot of energy. Scientists are trying to learn how they could duplicate something similar to this for astronauts who suffer from bone density loss and muscular atrophy during extended periods at zero-degree gravity.

It has been proven that a cat's purring will alleviate certain bone abnormalities that are common in dogs.

Although it is tempting to say that cats purr because they are happy, it is more plausible that cat purring is a means of communication and a potential source of cat healing.

You must excuse me now- my little bundle of joy just went to the toilet on the carpet.

Vocabulary Exercise

c.to stay the same d.to become smaller 6.to stimulate _____________________ a.to deaden b.to lengthen c.to cut d.to arouse 7.to duplicate _____________________ a.to erase b.to copy c.to invent d.to research 8.atrophy _________________________ a.strength b.exercise c.degeneration d.disease 9.to alleviate ______________________ a.to increase b.to sleep c.to create d.to relieve 10.plausible _______________________ a.invalid b.insane c.irrational d.believable

1.Mrs. Green didn't have a big garden. _____________________________________ 2.The ducks didn't eat all the vegetables. _____________________________________ 3.Mrs. Green got angry at her son. _____________________________________ 4.She painted the fence in dark colors. _____________________________________ 5.The note was on the parcel. _____________________________________

ýntermedýate READING

New Orleans New Orleans often has been called the most unique city in the United States. It is one of the oldest cities, and is located in Louisiana State. The Mississippi River winds around and through it.

New Orleans is famous for its food, architecture, celebrations, and especially its music. It is said to be the birthplace of jazz. For years, it has been a popular destination for tourists from around the world, particularly at Mardi Gras time.

New Orleans was named after Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, Regent of France. Because the city was on the Mississippi River, it became an important port for shipping, and played a large role in the slave trade. By 1840, with more than 100,000 residents, New Orleans was one of the largest cities in the country. By the early 1900s, New Orleans was an exciting place.

Its nickname, "The Big Easy", was thought to have come from musicians who said how easy it was to find work. Others said it meant the city was more carefree than the city of New York.

New Orleans was built mostly on higher ground along the river.

A drainage and pump system, devised by an engineer A. Baldwin Wood, allowed the city to grow into low-lying areas. But by the late 1900s, people realized that these low-lying areas were at risk. In 1995, a flood from heavy rain proved that the pumping system was not good enough.

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused the worst civil engineering disaster in American history. Floodwalls failed, and 80% of New Orleans was flooded. Even though most residents had been evacuated before Katrina hit, thousands who stayed behind had to be rescued, many by helicopters.

More than 1500 people died. Most of the city has reopened to residents, but some badly damaged areas are still not ready to be lived in. Before Katrina destroyed so much of the city, 485,000 people lived in New Orleans. In June 2006, the population was less than 230,000. Workers continue to clean up and rebuild this special city.

Activity: Vocabulary Builder Match the given words with their definitions listed below. a.Fault ___________________ b.Stick ___________________ c.Crash __________________ d.Badge __________________ e.String __________________ f.Move ___________________

g.Wizard _________________ h.Curse __________________ i.Stare ___________________ j.Scare ___________________ 1.look at with fixed eyes 2.any feature that is regarded as a sign of status 3.a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention

4.possessing or using or characteristic of or appropriate to supernatural powers 5.a collection of objects threaded on a single strand 6.an evil spell 7.a serious accident 8.a sudden attack of fear 9.the act of deciding to do something 10.a small thin branch of a tree

Part 2: Vocabulary Match the words on the left with correct meaning on the right.

1.Unique ______________________ 2.Wind ________________________ 3.Architecture __________________ 4.Destination ___________________ 5.Duke ________________________ a.design and style of buildings b.move in a curving or twisting way c.title of a member of a noble or royal family d.only one of its kind e.place a person is going to

Part 1: True (T) or False (F) 1.New Orleans' nickname is "The Big Apple." _______________ 2.New Orleans got its name from the title of a French nobleman. _______________ 3.In the mid 19th century, New Orleans was one of the biggest cities in the U.S. _____ 4.People in low-lying areas of New Orleans were always very safe because of an excellent pumping system. _______________ 5.Many people left New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina hit. _______________

VOCABULARY

Activity: THINGS IN THE KITCHEN Match a word from above to its meaning below. knife - sink - bowl - butter - yoghurt funnel - flour - oven - spice - whisk 1.a wide round container open at the top …………..

2.a type of powder or seed (used to give flavour to food) …………

3.soft yellow fat made from cream

………….

4.part of a cooker with a door …………

5.thick liquid food prepared from milk (bacteria is added to it) ……………

6.a basin in the kitchen ……………

7.a utensil for stirring eggs …………..

8.white or light brown powder (used for making bread and cake) …………

9.it is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom ………….

10.you use it for cutting ………….

Phrasal Verbs:

Specialized Vocabulary Fashion: Luxury Brand (noun) a luxury brand or prestige brand is a brand for which a majority of its products are luxury goods. It may also include certain brands whose names are associated with luxury, high price, or high quality.

Aysha visited Akmerkez and was amazed with all the luxury brands for sale.

Entertainment: Concept (noun) the concept is the meat on the idea's bones. Taking what may initially be an abstract notion, the concept instills the beginning of the story and characters.

The initial concept of the film was first thought of 20 years before the film was actually made.

Publishing: Freelancer (noun) an independent contractor hired to work on a book, design or marketing plan.

Some newspapers use freelancers for the daily news stories.

Technology: Bandwidth (noun) is the amount of information that one can send through a connection, measures in bits-per-second (Bps). A standard page of English text contains about 16,000 bits.

Most large companies use a high-bandwidth internet connection to receive information.

Architecture: Pagoda (noun) is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia.

Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist, and were often located in or near temples.

Fill in the blanks with the correct letters.

1.malodorous _____________________ a.colorful b.large c.smelly d.refreshing 2.to fetch _________________________ a.to retrieve b.to rebate c.to return d.to revere 3.under duress ____________________ a.sheltered b.in a relaxed manner c.in a stressful situation d.in bed 4.intermittent _____________________ a.loud b.periodical c.obvious d.difficult to see 5.to adapt to ______________________ a.to make necessary changes b.to sleep for a long period

Idiom of the Day Smell a rat MEANING: be suspicious, feel that something is wrong EXAMPLE: I smell a rat.

There is something wrong with his relationship to the bankers.

FREAK OUT meaning: When you freak out, you react in an anxious, excited and wild manner to something. example: My parents would freak out if I talked to them about this.

GIVE IN meaning: When you give in, you admit that you are defeated or cannot do something; you yield. example: He's very stubborn. He won't give in no matter how much you try to persuade him.

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER KEY:

ELEMENTARY: (Part 1) 1.It is an unlucky number. 2.13 3.fingers and hands 4.he was killed table (Part 2) a.hotel b.fingers c.lucky d.table (Activity) 1.a 2.b 3.b 4.a 5.b INTERMEDIATE: (Part 1) 1.d 2.c 3.b 4.d 5.d 6.a 7.c 8.d 9.d 10.d (Part 2) 1.e 2.a 3.b 4.d 5.c (Activity) 1.g 2.d 3.b 4.a 5.i 6.h 7.e 8.c 9.f 10.j ADVANCED: (Reading) 1.d 2.a 3.a 4.c 5.b 6.c 7.c 8.a 9.c 10.b (Activity) 1.b 2.b 3.a 4.b 5.a

Slang: HOG meaning: To selfishly claim all of something; to eat or take everything. example: Peter was hogging the food like he hadn't eaten in days.

Confusing Words In English: SENSIBLE VS SENSITIVE Sensible is an adjective meaning 'having common sense' i.e. 'not stupid' For example: I wish you would be more sensible about things.

Sensitive is an adjective meaning 'to feel very deeply' or 'to hurt easily' For example: You should be careful with David. He's very sensitive.

In cooperation with English Time

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SPORTS

Woods undergoes successful knee surgery Tiger Woods underwent reconstructive surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn ligament in his left knee, an operation described as a success by his doctors. “We were confident going into this surgery and I am pleased with the results,” Dr. Thomas D. Rosenberg said in a statement issued by Woods' management team. Edina, Minnesota, Reuters

THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2008

Visionary passing Arshavin was outstanding in the 2-0 group win over Sweden and again versus the Dutch, where

PHOTO

Spain hammered Russia 4-1 in the group stage of Euro 2008 but it should be a very different game when they meet again in today's semifinal after the latter's fortunes were transformed by the return of Andrei Arshavin.

Spain won the first clash on June 10 thanks to enterprising attacking, loose Russian defending and a hat-trick by David Villa but it is the losers who now have momentum on their side.

With each match, Spain's buildup has become slower and their attacks less dangerous.

They barely threatened in their goalless quarterfinal with Italy which they won on penalties.

However, Russia have gone the other way by tightening up at the back and surfing a wave of attacking improvement that culminated in their fully-deserved and highly entertaining 3-1 victory over Netherlands in their quarter-final.

Suddenly, Innsbruck seems a long time ago.

“If we think Russia will be the same as the opening match we will be very mistaken,” warned Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas. Russia's progress has much to do with the efforts of playmaker Arshavin, who was suspended for the first two games, and striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, who has rediscovered the form that played such a key part in his country making the finals.

AP

Russýa, Spaýn battle for Euro 2008 fýnal spot

The Russian team gathers before a training session at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck.

Probable line-ups Russia (4-4-2): 1-Igor Akinfeyev; 22-Alexander Anyukov; 2-Vasily Berezutsky; 4-Sergei Ignashevich; 18-Yuri Zhirkov; 11-Sergei Semak;15-Diniyar Bilyaletdinov; 17-Konstantin Zyryanov; 20-Igor Semshov; 10-Andrei Arshavin; 19-Roman Pavlyuchenko.

Spain (4-1-3-2); 1-Iker Casillas; 15-Sergio Ramos; 5-Carles Puyol; 4-Carlos Marchena; 11-Joan Capdevila; 19-Marcos Senna; 6-Andres Iniesta; 8Xavi; 21-David Silva; 7-David Villa; 9-Fernando Torres.

Kickoff: 21:45 (live on atv and LÝG TV).

Venue: Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna.

Capacity: 50,000.

Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium).

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his direct running, great ball control and visionary passing tore holes in both defenses. Three-goal Pavlyuchenko has regained his appetite for the fray and the lightweight Spanish centre backs will have to be on top of their game to keep a hold on him. Free-running and sharp-passing midfielders Konstantin Zyryanov and Igor Semshov, together with virtual wing-backs Alexander Anyukov and Yuri Zhirkov, add more threat.

“The way we play, with technical skill and flair, it's always joyful to see that,” said Russia's inspirational Dutch coach Guus Hiddink.

Hiddink's main worry is the absence of suspended center-back Denis Kolodin, who helped reorganize the defense into a unit that has conceded only one further goal after the Spain defeat.

Vasily Berezutsky is likely to replace him and together with Sergei Ignashevich must keep constant shackles on Villa and Fernando Torres to keep Spain at arm's length.

After their enterprising display in the opener Spain have slowed their midfield play to the point where Italy happily sat with eight men behind the ball patiently watching the short passing that was neat but desperately lacking in penetration.

Only when Fabregas comes on, usually after an hour, does there seem to be any zest and their coach Luis Aragones knows they have to find new ways to threaten if they are to progress.“It will be difficult to surprise Hiddink, but we will try,” he said. Ýstanbul/Vienna Today’s Zaman with wires

Fener confirms Luis Aragones to be coach The Fenerbahçe Yellow Canaries have announced that they are set to hire Spain coach Luis Aragones on a two-year contract after the Euro 2008 championship.

The Ýstanbul club said on its official Web site on Wednesday that it had contacted Aragones and his four assistants, with an agreement set to be finalized after the end of the tournament.

“Our club has made a two-year preliminary contract with Luis Aragones, who is currently the coach of the Spain national team, to be our soccer coach in the new season,” Fenerbahçe said.

Aragones had said last week he was unaware of any agreement to coach Fenerbahçe but said his agent was trying to secure him a job as a club coach. The timing of the announcement was a surprise given that the 69-yearold Aragones was preparing for Spain's Euro 2008 semifinal against Russia in Vienna, Austria, tonight.

The surprise move by Fenerbahçe was reminiscent of Chelsea's announcement this month that it had hired Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. The Portuguese Soccer Federation said the Premier League club had lacked respect for making its announcement while Portugal was still playing at Euro 2008.

Scolari later said Portugal's 3-2 quarterfinal loss to Germany had nothing to do with the affect his move had on the players, but Fenerbahçe knows that Spain could meet Turkey in Sunday's final if the teams win their semifinals. Aragones has been Spain coach since 2004.

He took the country to the second round of the 2006 World Cup with three group-stage wins in his first major tournament, but lost to France in the second round.

The Fener move comes after it failed to reach a new contract deal with former Brazilian international Zico. Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman

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US judge blocks Gatlin’s bid to compete A federal judge has blocked a bid by banned Olympic 100-meter champion Justin Gatlin to compete in this week's US athletics trials for the Beijing Games. Judge Lacey Collier dissolved a 10-day restraining order that would have allowed the 26-year-old Gatlin to take part in the trials in Eugene, Oregon, starting on Friday. Pensacola, Fla., Reuters

AP

WWW.TODAYSZAMAN.COM THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2008

PHOTO

Rigobert Song

Marat Safin stuns Djokovic on Center Court

Third seed Novak Djokovic became the highest men's casualty at Wimbledon on Wednesday when he was demolished 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 by inspired Russian Marat Safin in the second round. Australian Open champion Djokovic was outplayed by the 28-year-old former world number one who produced one of his best performances on a surface he claims to hate. From the moment Djokovic double-faulted to hand Safin a break of serve in the fifth game of the Center Court clash the 21-yearold Serb struggled to raise his game. Former champion Lleyton Hewitt showed no ill effects from a recent hip injury to book his place in the

Trabzon Storm sýgns Galatasaray defender Song Galatasaray’s Cameroon central defender Rigobert Song has joined the Trabzon Black Sea Storm. According to a report posted on the Trabzonspor official Web site, club General Manager Mahmut Aksu traveled to France, where he completed the transfer deal with Song. The report further said Song signed a two-year deal with the Black Sea side after both sides reached agreement on all aspects.

Prior to joining Galatasaray in 2004, Song had been all over the place. He played for Metz, Salernitana, Liverpool, West Ham, Cologne and Lens. The 32year-old Song became an instant fan favorite after his transfer to Galatasaray and formed a strong defensive partnership with Croat Stepjan Tomas at the heart of the defense.

During the 2006-2007 season, he struggled to find a place in the team after an altercation with thenGalatasaray Belgian coach Eric Gerets during a Turkcell Super League game.

Although Song apologized for the incident both publicly and privately, Gerets did not back down and the

player remained punished. With the arrival of septuagenarian German coach Karl-Heinz Feldkamp, Song once again became a vital member of the squad. But the emergence of young Turkey international Emre Güngör as a solid defender for Galatasaray pushed Song to the bench in the second half of the 2007-08 season.

A key player for the Cameroonian national team for over a decade, Song played in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups. He is their most capped player ever. Apart from retired French star Zinedine Zidane, Song is the only player to have been sent off in two different World Cup tournaments -- against Brazil in 1994 and Chile in 1998. He also holds the record as youngest player ever to be sent off in a World Cup, aged 17.

Song's father, Paul Song, died when Rigobert was young. Hence, he never really knew his father but nevertheless dedicates all his success to him. Song has three children (a son and two daughters).

His nephew, Alexandre Song, is a defender for English Premiership side Arsenal. Ýstanbul Today’s Zaman

Formula Two to be revived as F1 feeder series Grand Prix racing's governing body team boss Flavio Briatore, with races held said on Wednesday it planned to at grand prix weekends in Europe. The revive the defunct Formula Two category costs in GP2 are well above the FIA budget as a low-cost feeder series for Formula target, with an estimated 1.5 million euros One from 2009. Inviting tenders for the per car per season the current going rate. A series, the International Automobile quarter of the 2008 Formula One grid is Federation (FIA) said it would be used as made up of GP2 graduates, including the an inexpensive platform to last three champions in develop emerging driver Germany's Nico Rosberg talent for Formula One. “It is (Williams), Britain's Lewis hoped this can be achieved Hamilton (McLaren) and within a budget of around Germany's Timo Glock 200,000 euros ($311,600) a (Toyota). “I can't think what car per season,” the FIA cars they expect to run for added in a statement after a 200,000 euros because there World Motor Sport Council are people spending that kind Meeting in Paris. Formula of money in karting in Two was the recognized Europe,” one unidentified Bernie Ecclestone feeder series for Formula GP2 team boss told the One from the early years of autosport.com Web site. The the world championship through to the FIA also said it would enter “a wideend of 1984, when it was replaced by ranging consultation” with the Formula Formula 3000. That in turn gave way at One teams to review the governance of the end of 2004 to the Renault-powered the sport as well as technical regulations GP2 series, set up by Formula One for the championship and improved supremo Bernie Ecclestone and Renault efficiency measures. London Reuters

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third round with a 7-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory over Spaniard Albert Montanes.

The 2002 winner, taken to five sets by Robin Haase in his opening match, enjoyed a less strenuous workout against Montanes, a claycourt specialist who came into the match with just two previous wins on Wimbledon's grass. In women’s action Czech Nicole Vaidisova, the women's 18th seed, survived a second set scare to overcome Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 and reach the third round. Vaidisova, a quarterfinalist last year, won the first set comfortably but then went off the boil as Stosur, ranked 98, slowed the pace. London Reuters