TRKNWS-L Turkish Daily News (February 28, 1996)

From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>

Turkish News Directory

CONTENTS

TURKISH DAILY NEWS / 28 February 1996

[01] Ankara pleased, Greece angry with EU

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Turkey on Tuesday welcomed the defeat of Greek attempts to adopt a common condemnation of Turkey during the European Union foreign ministers' meeting.

"The European Union has taken up, during Monday's meeting, the situation between Turkey and Greece. Greece, despite its attempts, was unable to get the support of the other fourteen European Union members (in getting a statement that would express solidarity with Greece and condemn Turkey)," a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said.

"Turkey welcomes the reaffirmation of the European Union's fourteen members to carry out their obligations toward Turkey within the framework of customs union," the statement added.

However, Ankara also maintained that the EU's financial assistance to Turkey -- which still runs the risk of being blocked by Greece -- should be released as soon as possible.

"We expect the European Union to take the decision for the implementation of the financial assistance, an indispensable factor... in the customs union, as soon as possible," the statement said.

Despite diplomatic statements that various European Union countries "warned" Greece not to prevent the EU from carrying out its obligations -- namely, not to block the financial assistance -- Ankara appeared uneasy that the amount was not yet released.

The expectation is that the sum of Ecu 375 million will be released next month, by an Association Council meeting between Turkey and the Fifteen scheduled for March 26.

Greece is saying that it would like the meeting to be postponed, saying it coincides with the Greek National Day.

Turkey's expression of pleasure follows a marathon meeting on Monday between Greece and its European Union partners, when the former pushed in vain for a EU condemnation of Turkey and a declaration of solidarity with Greece.

Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos' attempts to get the EU's general affairs meeting to make a declaration supporting Greece has failed, mainly due to the objections of Britain, France and Italy, wire dispatches reported from Brussels.

"Waterloo for Greece" said Greek daily Apoyevmatini, comparing the Greek diplomatic defeat to Napoleon's nemesis in the Battle of Waterloo, which had taken place twelve miles south of Brussels.

Even the Greek minister's proposal for a compromise declaration -- one that nevertheless said that the EU urged respect of borders and that the Aegean crisis should be solved at international tribunals -- was rejected when Britain announced that it would veto any declaration on the matter.

Greece also lost face when a document titled "European Union Declaration" -- a leak made by the Greek diplomats before the end of the meeting -- was disowned by the European Union's presidency.

The document, distributed to the members of the press, said that the European Union was "concerned" with the tensions in the Aegean and that the matter should be taken up at international tribunals.

It was later revealed that the so-called "declaration" was a presidency's summary on the situation in the Aegean, which was discussed during dinner Monday.

"The presidency itself has stated that the said draft was no validity," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

The European Union urges dialogue on both sides, Susanna Agnelli, the foreign minister of EU term-president Italy, said in a press conference.

"We have told Greece that the best solution is talks. Threats serve no benefit," Anatolia news agency quoted Agnelli as saying.

According to diplomatic sources, Britain and France urged Greece not to force the EU into a legal battle with Turkey over the financial assistance. Ankara says that the withholding of the assistance would be a violation of the customs union accord -- which might go as far as European Court of Justice.

EU in waiting

Despite the prevention of a statement in the lines Greece wanted, reports from both Brussels and by diplomats in Ankara indicate that the European Union is "concerned" with the future of its ties with Turkey.

The European Union is waiting for the establishment of the new government in Ankara and the new government's policy toward Greece and the European Union.

The EU's concern stems from various statements made by the Welfare Party, particularly during this party's coalition negotiations with the Motherland.

Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, before departing for Rome on Monday, acknowledged the European concern, saying: "The coalition talks between the Refah and the Motherland have harmed Turkey both domestically and abroad." In Italy, she also pushed for the release of European Union aid due to Ankara under the customs union, urging the EU not to allow Greece to "abuse its EU membership," Turkish diplomats said.

Ciller made no comment to waiting reporters on her way into Dini's offices but was expected to make a statement later, Turkish sources said.

Speaking to Italian television earlier, Ciller said that Turkey should participate in the upcoming European Union summit in Florence and the inter-governmental conference.

"It is necessary that Turkey's views should be obtained," Ciller said. "Italy can play an important role in line with Mediterranean solidarity."

Greece angry

Opposition parties attacked Greece's new socialist government on Tuesday for failing to obtain firm support from its European Union partners in its latest row with Turkey, Reuters reported.

The conservative New Democracy party said the government's approach during one of the EU foreign ministers meetings on Monday "led the country to a painful defeat," and warned that the road was now open for Turkey to dispute Greek territory.

"The government accepted that we have territorial disputes with Turkey. The road has opened for Turkey to raise issues whenever it wants, to provoke and create problems which it then asks to be solved in a dialogue without agenda," it said in a statement.

Foreign Minister Pangalos told Greek reporters after the meeting that Greece was unhappy with the weak EU endorsement and that Athens was no longer obliged to refrain from blocking a further strengthening of EU-Turkey ties.

"We will use all means at our disposal to protect our national sovereignty," government spokesman Dimitris Reppas told reporters on Tuesday."

[02] Turkish power firm to tender for Middle East grid link next month

ANKARA- Turkey's national power company TEAS will invite bids to build part of a Middle East power grid link next month, a senior official said Tuesday.

Mustafa Turhan, chairman of TEAS, said that the $22 million contract would build a transmission line to connect the Turkish and Syrian networks.

"We already have a line to connect us to the Iraqi network. We will have completed our part of the five-nation grid link as soon as we get connected to Syria," Turhan told the semi-official Anatolia news agency.

Earlier this month, the European Investment Bank (EIB) agreed to provide a credit facility worth $20 million for financing part of the proposed power link between Turkey and four Arab states.

The loan, to be supplied to Turkey's national power company TEAS, will be used to finance an energy transmission line between Ataturk Dam on the Euphrates and Turkey's Syrian border.

Turkish officials said the transmission line would also provide communications services.

The grid link, which also involves Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Egypt, was first discussed in 1989.

Energy experts estimate that the first phase of the project, linking Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Egypt, will become operational by 1997. A further connection will be made between Syria and Iraq by 1998 and between Turkey and Iraq by 2002.

Turkey will finance $46.4 million (7.4 percent) of the estimated $623 million project.

Experts say it will be possible to connect the five states with Gulf Arab countries which have a surplus, and even to link these countries with Europe through Turkey.

TEAS Chairman Turhan said power savings worth around $50 or 60 million will be made every year after the project becomes fully operational.

Construction work on the Jordan-Egypt line is under way. Bidding has been announced for the Jordan-Syria line.

All financing, except the Turkish lines, will be supplied by the Arab Fund.

[03] US includes Syria on list of drug traffickers

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- The U.S. State Department has included Syria on its list of countries that produce and allow the transit of illegal drugs, the Anatolia news agency reported on Tuesday.

In a letter to leaders of the U.S. Congress, President Clinton said that the State Department list named Syria, Iran and Lebanon as major illegal drug-producing and drug transit countries. Two new countries, Belize and Cambodia, were added to the list this year and no countries on the 1995 list were removed from this year's list.

U.S. sources estimated that Syria's income from drug smuggling was $2 billion. They claim that Syria uses separatist organizations for drug smuggling and also supports terrorism.

Lebanon is producing drugs in the Bekaa valley, which is under Syrian control, according to these sources.

The U.S. president's letter said that Turkey and its neighboring countries play a key role as a major transit route for much of the southwest Asian heroin moving to western and central Europe along the so-called Balkan route. The U.S. knows that some of this heroin also flows to the United States, but thus far information has been limited and U.S. authorities have traced only relatively small quantities.

Clinton said that his government will be looking further into this issue over the next year to determine if heroin that transits Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, the former Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Croatia, the former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, or other European countries on the Balkan route significantly affects the United States.

[04] Interior minister issues press release denying torture claims

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Interior Minister Teoman Unusan issued a press release on Tuesday denying claims that sixteen young people were tortured after being taken into custody in Manisa during security operations against the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C).

Unusan said that police had found evidence supporting the arrests. The sixteen people are accused of arson attacks, writing leftist slogans on walls and distributing DHKP/C pamphlets.

The minister noted that those arrested saw their relatives regularly after the first three days of the investigation, and that Manisa State Hospital's office of Forensic Medicine issued reports every 48 hours which proved that no torture had occurred.

The press release said that the office of the chief prosecutor in Manisa began investigating the charges of torture on Dec. 28, 1995 at the request of the detainees' families although the original investigation had been conducted properly.

Unusan said that officials had interviewed the people who claimed to be tortured, as well as the police officers and doctors involved. The detainees were examined by three different doctors who found no sign of torture.

The minister said that two police inspectors were assigned to investigate the issue at the request of Sabri Ergul, Izmir deputy of the Republican People's Party (CHP). Ergul made a speech in front of the provincial police directorate building denouncing the security forces, and raised a banner which said "There is torture in this office" at the building's entrance.

Unusan criticized Ergul's actions, saying that it was unnecessary to make speeches about the investigation and improper to accuse people before the investigation is concluded.

Meanwhile, Sabri Ergul and 16 colleagues have proposed a parliamentary investigation into the claims of the 16 young people that they were tortured while in police custody, the Anatolia news agency reported on Tuesday. The proposal, which was presented to the office of the parliament speaker, said doctor's reports which proved the youngsters had been tortured had been hidden and not included in the investigation documents.

The deputies said that official papers and reports documented the use of beating, electric shocks and cold showers against the 16 youths.

Ridvan Budak, chairman of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions (DISK), sent a message to Ergul saying torture was one of the most important obstacles preventing Turkey from becoming a Western country. Budak said DISK would always support Ergul's struggle against torture.

The CHP deputy affixed a report entitled "There is torture in Turkey," to the entrance of the Prime Ministry building on February 16. The report included documentation and evidence regarding the claims of the sixteen young people.

[05] Stock-taking time on both sides of the Aegean sea

By Semih D. Idiz

Turkish Daily News

It appears Greece has once again thrown itself against a wall in terms of its political ambitions in the European Union concerning Turkey.

Reports from Monday's session of the E.U. foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels indicate that demands by Athens to have a statement condemning Turkey -- including remarks about how Europe's borders end at the Greek islands in the Aegean -- floundered on the "rocks of reality."

Of course Athens is still threatening to veto E.U. credits to Turkey, but there are messages from Brussels it cannot hope to overlook.

What are these "rocks of reality" that Athens has been trying to defy?

For one thing, the agenda of the two-day E.U. meeting indicated from the start that the topics to be taken up by the foreign ministers would include a debate on how to anchor in Europe the republics of the former Yugoslavia. This is necessary for the E.U. in order to ward off the nightmarish prospect of another Bosnia, a matter of particular importance to Germany, a key member of the Union, and new arrival Austria.

Then there was the "Mediterranean security aspect" to be discussed, which is of vital importance to E.U. term president Italy, as well as France and Spain -- all three very important players in the Union.

In short, one of the aims in Brussels was clearly to explore the means of bringing stability and security to the volatile Balkan peninsula and Mediterranean region.

One must also not forget Great Britain, another key E.U. player, which has important NATO and WEU concerns -- and for which Turkey is not just an indispensable country in this context, but also a more reliable ally in many respects than others.

In retrospect, one wonders what led Athens to expect that these key countries would permit Greece to politically batter Turkey, a vitally important Balkan and an equally important Mediterranean country.

This is especially so when, unlike the E.U. Commission and the European Parliament, these countries -- both individually and collectively -- have to consider the "global picture" for the sake of broader interests that are of vital importance to the whole of Europe.

Greece has to learn sooner or later that it does not live in a political vacuum, where its only concern -- perhaps obsession more than concern -- is Turkey. It also has to know that success or failure against Turkey -- whether this be in the area of culture, the economy, diplomacy, sports, or whatever -- is not a sound measure on which to base a national policy, especially when all that such a policy will do in the long run is incite enmity on the other side.

Ten or 15 years ago the man or woman on the street in Turkey did not think much about Greece. When he or she did so, this would be in the context of music, food or dance, in other words the nicer things in life. The agreeable familiarity of these things on the Greek side was pleasing to Turks. Feelings of anger or enmity against Greeks -- despite Cyprus -- would not be the first thing to come to Turkish minds.

Now, however, the same man and woman on the street is slowly coming around to an opposite view. It is hard to see what Greece stands to gain from pushing them to this.

History is history, and there are reasons for everything. But in this day and age, when not just a century but a millennium is about to end, the way to proceed should be forward, not backward.

Turkey is looking forwards because it has nowhere else to go.

It has to look to Europe, and a future in Europe. This has been the case since the time of Selim and Napoleon, no matter how painful the process has at times been.

There have been serious fits and starts, of course. The Janissary "two steps forward one step back" march has unfortunately been a factor of Turkish history. But the direction has been no less constant than those of other Balkan countries -- most of which are no better off than Turkey today, and many much worse off.

One recalls the Greek foreign minister of a few years back: a gentleman by the name of Michelis Papaconstantinou, a man of a radically different constitution than Mr. Theodoros Pangalos.

Papaconstantinou was in Istanbul with Prime Minister Konstantin Mitsotakis for a Black Sea Summit. He had a small "off the record" chat with some Turkish journalists after the formal interview was over.

Some years have elapsed so the exact words are not available to memory. But the spirit of what he was saying was unmistakable. What he said in effect was this:

"Just look at the environment the two countries are in: an environment where they appear to be the only countries with any hope of going anywhere for the foreseeable future. Can you imagine the stupidity of this rivalry in this environment, especially when measured against what the two countries could gain -- to great mutual benefit -- if they established a spirit of cooperation?"

It is true that angry remarks about Greece have been uttered recently on the Turkish side. This is inevitable given Athens's openly declared intention to harm Turkish interests in Europe -- in other words to effectively try and block this country's future at an important moment in its history.

But now that things are falling into their true perspective, the time has come for both sides to sit down and take stock of the situation. The bottom line is that things just can not go on this way, because neither country has anything to gain and everything to loose from the present course If Greece does not want to listen to a Turk on this, then it should listen to people on its side such as Michelis Papaconstantinou.