Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 06-08-30

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] More accusations by the spokesman of the Turkish Cypriot leader against the Greek Cypriots.

[02] Turkeys maneuvers to promote its puppet regime through Formula 1 under investigation by FIA.

[03] Canan Oztoprak is visiting the Moldovan Republic today for contacts.

[04] The military courts in the occupied by Turkish troops part of Cyprus are very busy. Greek Cypriot and French citizen the new victims.

[05] Official says that 38.437 illegal workers were registered within a year in the occupied area of Cyprus.

[06] Another imam was arrested for giving Koran lessons without permission.

[07] The Cyprus problem on the agenda of the UN Secretary-General ´s talks in Turkey. He will not meet Sezer.

[08] Lukoil seeks refinery site in Samsun.

[09] Turkey, Iran signed accord for gas exports to Europe.

[10] Turkish Atomic Energy Agency signs protocol with Belgian firm for cyclone plant.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[11] Columnist in RADIKAL assesses the presence of Talat and Rauf Denktas at the Turkish army headquarters during the change of leadership as meaning a lot. More comments on the leadership of the new Chief of Staff.

[12] Columnist compares the Turkish Hizbullah, which was created by MIT against the Kurds, with the Lebanese Hezbollah.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] More accusations by the spokesman of the Turkish Cypriot leader against the Greek Cypriots

The stance, views and methods of the Greek Cypriot side make reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem more difficult. They cause lack of confidence and anger within the Turkish Cypriots, he alleged.

Mr Ercakica alleged also that the approach, the actions and the statements of the Greek Cypriots on the issues of Mr Talats handing over the cup to the winner of Formula 1, the purchase of TRNC Telsim by Vodafone and the use of the TRNC in sending humanitarian aid to Lebanon, have nothing to do with the ideals of humanism. He also claimed that the Greek Cypriots exert efforts and pressures to prevent political leaders or high ranking bureaucrats from various countries who visit Cyprus from meeting with Turkish Cypriots.

Asked whether or not Mr Talats visit to Ankara was a working trip, he said that the Turkish Cypriot leader visited Turkey upon an invitation he had received, that during his meeting with President Sezer he exchanged views with him on the Cyprus problem and other issues.

Responding to another question, he said that the stance of the Turkish Cypriot side regarding the procedure, which began with the UN Secretary Generals deputy, Ibrahim Gambari to Cyprus, has been reiterated to Mr Gambari by Mr Talat during a telephone conversation they had and expressed the opinion that a positive report by the deputy of the UN Secretary General would accelerate the procedure.

Mr Ercakica said that the UN has contributed so that the stagnation in the Cyprus problem be overcome and that there are still some problems in the procedure. He expressed the belief that intervention by the UN in the procedure would be useful and added that they expect more visits and contacts after Mr Gambari submits his report to the Security Council.

Referring to the arrests of Greek Cypriot journalists in the occupied areas, Mr Ercakica alleged that if the Greek Cypriot journalists behaved with the responsibility and professionalism which their Turkish Cypriot colleagues show when they visit the free areas of the Republic, there would be no problem. If the military zone was violated on purpose this is a provocation, if not it shows that they do not know their job, he claimed.

(I/Ts.)

[02] Turkeys maneuvers to promote its puppet regime through Formula 1 under investigation by FIA

The International Motoring Federation or FIA has announced it will investigate the prize-giving ceremony at Sunday's Formula-1 Turkish Grand Prix where President Mehmet Ali Talat presented the trophy to the winner of the race Felipe Massa.

Replying to the Greek Cypriot Sides reactions on the issue, the Turkish Motorsports Organization said that regulations in the F-1 protocol makes it possible for the winning trophy to be presented by any international personality.

A spokesperson for the FIA said that a full investigation had been launched and expressed concern that the political neutrality of the motor sports governing body may have been compromised.

Commenting on the issue, the Director of the Turkish Motorsports Organization Baran Asena said that his organization did not act in violation of racing protocol as regulations clearly state that the award could be presented by any international personality.

President Talat is an international personality he said, making it clear that the move was not politically motivated.

Mr Talat was introduced at the ceremony as the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

(Tr. Note: Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is the puppet regime the Turkish Republic has set up in the territories of the Republic of Cyprus with the force of 40,000 Turkish troops after killing 1% of the population of Cyprus and forcing 1/3 of the Greek Cypriot population out of their ancestral homes and properties).

[03] Canan Oztoprak is visiting the Moldovan Republic today for contacts

Mrs Oztoprak, who is to visit the autonomous Gagauz region as guest of the Department of Gagauz Culture, will be attending the opening ceremony of the Suleyman Demirel High School.

She will also attend the signing ceremony of a cooperation protocol in the field of culture.

[04] The military courts in the occupied by Turkish troops part of Cyprus are very busy. Greek Cypriot and French citizen the new victims

A Greek Cypriot and a French tourist, who were detained in Gazimagusa (occupied Famagusta) yesterday while filming a military restricted area in the closed city of Maras (occupied Varosha) have been ordered by a military court to pay 400 New Turkish Liras fine.

21 years old Andonis Zinon and 23 years old Jeremy Francis Pierrepoint Cetto were released after paying the fine.

[05] Official says that 38.437 illegal workers were registered within a year in the occupied area of Cyprus

He noted that as a result of the efforts for registering the illegal workers in the occupied part of Cyprus, the illegal work force is to a great extent under control and that the social insurance institutions have become economically stronger.

Mr Gurpinar pointed out that within the period of August 2005-July 2006, 38 thousand and 437 persons were registered and that a special inspection program began since 17 July under the coordination of the ministry for more effective controls. During the inspection conducted in 15 days within the framework of this program, 270 illegal workers were found. It was also established that illegal workers have been employed at 46 constructions.

(I/Ts.)

[06] Another imam was arrested for giving Koran lessons without permission

(I/Ts.)

[07] The Cyprus problem on the agenda of the UN Secretary-General ´s talks in Turkey. He will not meet Sezer

The Secretary-General will reportedly not meet with Turkish President Sezer, who is opposed to sending Turkish Troops.

ZAMAN Daily learned that Annan informed Ankara that he would only meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, although his itinerary has not yet been confirmed.

The Cyprus problem, along with developments in Lebanon, is expected to be among the topics of discussion between Annan and Turkish officials.

[08] Lukoil seeks refinery site in Samsun

The company entered the business of fuel distribution in Turkey, and applied to the Energy Market Regulatory Board to establish a refinery, later announcing that Zonguldak was selected as the site. The Turkish government offered Samsun as an alternative after the company requested land and tax incentives for the investment.

Lukoil General Manager Fikret Aliev announced that they are continuing their search for an alternative site and said they have not yet made their final decision.

Emphasizing that they are planning an investment of nearly $3 billion, Aliev said the refinery will have the capacity to process 8-10 million tons of crude oil annually.

Hosting the delegation, Samsun Governor Hasan Basri Guzeloglu highlighted Samsuns richness and noted that the importance of this investment will emerge as its infrastructure and criteria for investments are examined.

[09] Turkey, Iran signed accord for gas exports to Europe

The agreement for the use of the Turkish infrastructure will increase significantly Iran's export capacity. Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh pointed out in a statement to the media the importance of the 'Nabucco' project envisaging the construction of a 3,300-km pipeline that will transport 90 million cu.m. of natural gas from Azerbaijan and Iran, through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Austria by 2011.

[10] Turkish Atomic Energy Agency signs protocol with Belgian firm for cyclone plant

Turkish Atomic Energy Agency (TAEK) signed a protocol with the Belgian IBA firm for establishment of the cyclone center in Saraykoy. The project is worth 20 million USD.

With cyclone technology, not only nuclear medical treatments will be simplified, but also medicines, manufactured by radioisotopes, will be sold at a cheaper price. Nuclear materials will be produced in this center and can be used in diagnosing some cardiovascular diseases and treating tumors.

Turkey is actually spending 150 million USD on this technology per year.

Speaking in the signing ceremony, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Guler said that Turkey would be among the 30 countries producing radioactive medicines after the proton accelerator becomes operational.

"We will manufacture medicines in this plant that will be established in 18 months. And, we will save 100 million USD as we won't import medicines. Also, treatment and research centers will be set up in the 100,000-square meter area in Saraykoy," he added.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[11] Columnist in RADIKAL assesses the presence of Talat and Rauf Denktas at the Turkish army headquarters during the change of leadership as meaning a lot. More comments on the leadership of the new Chief of Staff

Murat Yetkin argues that the two commanders adopted a firm approach towards terrorism, domestic issues and external problems and notes: However, expecting tense relations between the military forces and the government on foreign policy issues during the Buyukanit era would be wrong. Naturally, there would be disagreements, but the tension leading to a crisis seems to be a remote possibility.

However, Cyprus could be an exception. The invitation extended to the `TRNC President´ Mehmet Ali Talat and his predecessor Rauf Denktas to attend the hand over ceremony, and the fact that General Buyukanit stresses during his speech that `troops will not be withdrawn from Cyprus until lasting peace is established´, by themselves say a lot.

Under the title: General's remarks: Be ready for a tense winter! Turkish Daily News newspaper (29.08.06) publishes a commentary by Cuneyt Ulsever, who discerns the following messages from the statements made by Gen. Yasar Buyukanit and Gen. 0lker Basbug at the handing-over ceremony at the Land Forces Command last week.

1-- In Büyükanit's speech, his failure to thank the government was seen as impoliteness by some commentators. Others noted that there was no such tradition. The government had put forward Buyukanit's promotion to become chief of general staff after Ozkok, contrary to tradition. The government's sensitive gesture definitely deserved a thank you; however, in my opinion, by refusing to repay a debt, Buyukanit gave an indication of his future actions.

Some commentators claimed that Büyükan1t's early appointment was the result of a secret agreement between the general and the government, with Büyükan1t promising not to create too much trouble when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes his bid for the presidency next year. By refraining from thanking the government, Buyukanit declared for all to hear that no such agreement exists.

When coupled with the serious statements made against fundamentalism, Buyukanit's failure to thank the government gives the impression that he may adopt a stance against Erdogan if he decides to run for the presidency in May 2007.

2-- Buyukanit's speech also showed that he intended to get back at the intense smear campaign initiated against some commanders and especially himself when the time comes.

The payback is aimed at those who included his name in the famous Semdinli indictment and those who distributed leaflets in front of the Office of the Chief of General Staff. Some groups believe this disinformation campaign was initiated by a group of Fetullah Gulen supporters within the police department. They believe that these Fetullah supporters have become very powerful and are now targeting the military. If this payback process unveils such claims, the resulting clash will create serious tension in the country. Let's not forget the fact that while there are plenty of people who are furious at Fetullah Hoca, there are quite a few people who follow his teachings.

3-- The claim that separatists and fundamentalists are using democracy to prevent the military from performing its duties threatens to trouble pure democrats.

I personally believe that the Turkish military from time to time exceeds its authority and intervenes directly in politics, harming the fragile rule of law in the country, which is the symbol of our democracy.

Istanbul BUGUN newspaper (28.08.06) publishes a column by Lale Sariibrahimoglu under the title: "Political authority and soldiers", by which it is argued that in Turkey there is a mixed system. Writes, inter alia, Lale Sariibrahimoglu:

Every sensible person knows that in democracies it is the political authorities that bear the main responsibility for the management and solution of a country's internal and external problems.

The military and civilian bureaucracies express their opinions to the government but leave the decision-making to the political authority. One basic reason for this is that in democracies governments and opposition parties, that is the elected officials, are accountable to taxpayers; they suffer defeat at election time if they cannot account for their actions. We, on the other hand, have a "mixed" system in which appointed officials and the political authority try to govern the country as virtual adversaries. These concepts came to my mind and I realized that we have a long way to go as I listened to Land Forces Commander Gen Yasar Buyukanit's remarks, broadcast live on some television stations, last Friday afternoon, that is on 25 August, as he turned over his office to Gen Ilker Basbug. Buyukanit will start a two-year term as Chief of the General Staff on 30 August. As a person who yearns for democracy I was deeply dismayed by Basbug's and especially Buyukanit's comments. In truth I knew that Buyukanit had never come to terms with the reforms that were undertaken recently within the framework of EU adaptation laws to reduce the influence of the military--who have the status of appointed officials--on politics and that he saw them as an attempt to render the TSK [Turkish Armed Forces] ineffective long before he implied these in his speech on Friday. However what surprised me most was the vindictive and threatening tone of his speech even though a Western diplomat who knows the TSK well had earlier warned me that a TSK commanded by Buyukanit will raise its voice and take revenge on circles it describes as "reactionists" and those who have criticized the TSK in the name of democracy.

I would also like to convey an observation I made as I watched the live broadcast. Both commanders expressed their thanks to President Sezer and his wife and other commanders and their wives and even their children and grandchildren but did not express any thanks to Prime Minister Erdogan who represents the political authority and who is their superior at least on paper. This is obviously sad but it also gives us clues that relations between the political authority and a Buyukanit-led TSK will be more strained. I would like to be mistaken in this prediction and hope sincerely that the political authority and the military will put me to shame over time. In the meantime Buyukanit has made Gen Ergin Saygun, who was his chief of staff when he was Commander of Land Forces, his deputy--that is he ensured that Saygun was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff. In this regard let us recall that Saygun headed the J5, that is the Strategy Department [of the General Staff], during the period that ended with the overthrow of Necmettin Erbakan's coalition government in 1997. This department led the postmodern coup that overthrew the coalition government.

In an article entitled "A grave situation" in VAKIT newspaper (29.08.06) columnist Abdurrahman Dilipak comments on General Buyukanit's speech at the handover ceremony that marked his replacement of Ozkok as Chief of Staff. After noting how the speech was hailed as a "signal" by certain circles. Dilipak blasts Buyukanit for what he describes as his exclusive attitude toward the speaker of parliament, the prime minister, and the defense minister and claims that Buyukanit's position is not one where he is supposed to engage in "ideological score-settling" with the Government or make "covert threats" against the political authority. He also urges the Erdogan government to make an "early diagnosis" of the "political cancer of the regime" signified by Buyukanit's remarks and to lose no time in restructuring the General Staff and making it subordinate to the Ministry of Defense to prevent "metastasis."

On his part commenting on the change of command at the General Staff in Ankara yesterday, Derya Sazak in MILLIYET (29.08.06) argues that the new commanders under Gen Yasar Buyukanit will maintain their distance from the government. In his column in the paper Sazak argues that the general elections and the election of the new president will be the most critical development in 2007 and wonders whether the military forces will interpret PM Erdogan's initiative to be elected as president as a matter that concerns the protection of the secular republic. Sazak claims that a difficult era has started for the ruling AKP [Justice and Development Party] and notes: Problems like deployment of troops in Lebanon, cross-border operation against the PKK, the Cyprus issue, and the EU process will be on Turkey's agenda. Meanwhile, the government is trying to maintain its position in the Western league against Syria and Iran. As for the United States, it is trying to force Turkey to become a side in the regional disputes. It seems that the military forces and the civilian authorities will have to trust each other more so than in the past in the near future.

Finally, writing in the The New Anatolian newspaper (29.08.06), Ilnur Cevik believes that Gen Yasar Buyukanit will bring his own style of leadership to the military forces, but he will not seek confrontation with the government. In his column, he asserts the following: He comes to office at a crucial time when major decisions are needed on various Middle Eastern issues. Turkey has to chart some important foreign policy goals and this cannot be done without the contributions of its military. That is where Gen. Buyukanit will make a strong impact.

[12] Columnist compares the Turkish Hizbullah, which was created by MIT against the Kurds, with the Lebanese Hezbollah

At a time when people are talking about Lebanese Hezbollah, which made headlines with the Israeli attack into Lebanon and is gaining popularity in Arab countries with anti-imperialist structures and anti-democratic administrations, another Islamic formation in Turkey, Turkish Hizbullah, is starting to be debated as well. In a rather interesting manner, Turkish Hizbullah started to be debated when the contents of damaged computer hard disks coming from the U.S. were deciphered and partly revealed. It was interesting that the two almost identically named movements made headlines at the same time, because Turkish Hizbullah not only carried out perhaps the most brutal murders in world history, but was also debated because of claims that it was used by the state against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Ties between the state and Turkish Hizbullah were disclosed by state officials themselves. The single featured in common between Lebanese Hezbollah and Turkish Hizbullah, other than their names, is that both were born and grew larger in Iran.

Turkish Hizbullah came to the forefront for the first time during a jewelry store robbery in 1984. A figure involved with the robbery, Irfan Cagirici, was also related with the assassinations of many intellectuals, including journalist Ugur Mumcu. According to the testimonies of suspects, the organization was set up in 1983. The southeastern wing of the group emerged in 1991. The group had two subgroups, called Ilim and Menzil, which were organized in two different bookstores. Ilim followed the Iranian model, under which the movement emerged and grew larger for some time, and adopted the organization style of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. It advocated violence as a method and therefore attacked the Menzil group, which distanced itself from violence, leading to its elimination.

The founder of Turkish Hizbullah, Huseyin Velioglu is a graduate of Ankara University's Political Sciences Faculty and comes from a background in Akinci Genclik (Youth), one of the first political Islamist movements. He is also known as sympathetic to the ultranationalist Ulku Ocaklari (Nationalist Hearths Grey Wolves) movement. He laid the groundwork for Hizbullah, which was to commit brutal murders, with the Ilim bookstore he opened in Batman.

Claimed to be under state control against the PKK (and also called Hizbu-Contr for being involved with a number of unsolved political murders), Turkish Hizbullah was clearly mentioned for the first time in the official records of a parliamentary commission set up to investigate the 1996 Susurluk scandal, which revealed clandestine links between the state and the mafia, by then Police Intelligence Department head Hanefi Avci. Asked about the Hizbullah murders, Avci said, "These incidents in Diyarbakir were committed primarily by the Gendarmerie Intelligence Agency (JITEM) while I was there. I think this was something that everybody knew, but nobody could ever say back then." Arguing that all the generals in JITEM knew about the group, Avci added that he also warned Cem Ersever, who is claimed to be one of the figures that supported the group and was slain in an unsolved murder, about the issue.

Posting Avci's statements on his website atin.org, former deputy Undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Mehmet Eymur made contributions to these statements. "Turkish Hizbullah is out of control today and is structured in line with Islamic principles," he said. "The primary target of the group isn't the PKK anymore but the Turkish Republic."

Eymur argued that not all the activities carried out on behalf of the group are in favor of the state and that the disclosure of those in favor of the state lead to murders, as in the case of Cem Ersever. According to Eymur, all the activities that are claimed to be carried out in favor of the state were ordered from above.

We should also note that these statements of Eymur and Avci were made when the bloody dimension of Hizbullah had yet to be brought to light. In its report, the parliamentary commission probing the unsolved political murders talked about the links between the state and Hizbullah. While Hizbullah was active, the response of former MIT Undersecretary and Gendarmerie Commander Teoman Koman to a question about Hizbullah was very interesting. "Which one?" he said. "There's one Hezbollah in Iran and there are people with high religious sensitivities that want to protect themselves against the PKK pressure."

Then Batman Police Chief Ozturk Simsek also made the following interesting statement about Hizbullah: "How can we probe Hizbullah? Their headquarters is right next to the JITEM building."

The official statements about Hizbullah aren't limited to that. Former Air Forces Commander Faruk Comert also said that he had previously warned that that the state used Hizbullah and that was wrong.

Then Deputy Prime Ministers Husamettin Ozkan, Devlet Bahceli and Mesut Yilmaz wanted to see the video recordings of murders that were seized in an operation in January 2000. However, they had to stop watching almost at once, as the recordings weren't something a normal person could stomach. Hizbullah killed 52 persons in similar ways and buried them under the houses they lived in. Hizbullah used to commit the murders in public with Takarov-style guns and with a single bullet to the neck and attack people, whom they alleged to have committed "immoral actions," with cleavers. Hizbullah killed Deputy Mehmet Sincar as well.

Claimed to be under state control for a long time, the group started to clash with the state in Van on February 14, 2000 and dozens of security forces were killed in these clashes. The person that started the anti-Hizbullah operations, Diyarbakir Police Chief Gaffar Okan, was among the victims of the group.

Velioglu's funeral ceremony in Batman was attended by hundreds of people. The group was able to hide itself for a long time and it emerged lately under the name the Mustazaflar Association in Diyarbakir. They brought hundreds of thousands of people to the Diyarbakir city square chanting slogans supporting the Prophet Muhammad. The computer hard disks that were seized in an operation in Beykoz and were damaged with automatic guns reveal new information about the group, such as its links with the National Intelligence Organization (MIT).

We should also note that 400 of the persons convicted because of their involvement with brutal murders were released under an amnesty which was passed to end the armed activities of the PKK.

/SK

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