19 17 13

Eagles must
beat Man United
at Old Trafford
or face exit

Ex-general, marginal party leader Turkish artist Sevgi Çaal depicts

Osman Pamukolu threatened to her feminine point of view through
'burn down' private Samanyolu TV tulips in her new exhibition, ‘Seed’

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Visa barriers with Libya abolished in historic visit page04

KÜR AT B AYHAN

Naval junta under Ergenekon

PHOTO

Turkey and UN once

more in quarrel over
Makhmour camp
ERCAN YAVUZ, ANKARA
The return of Turkish citizens of Kurdish
descent from the Makhmour refugee
camp -- built by the United Nations for refu-
gees in 1998 -- who went to Iraq in 1996 due to
increasing acts of terrorism in southeastern
Turkey, has placed the UN and Turkey at log-
gerheads once again, as the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is
reportedly asking that the returnees be granted
refugee rights as specified in international law, a
control, document shows
According to a document retrieved from a CD
seized from the office of retired Maj. Levent
Bekta, who is currently under arrest over sus-
pected links to a large arms cache unearthed in
stanbul's Poyrazköy district, an anti-democratic group
within the Naval Forces Command was under the con-
trol of Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal organization
accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
The CD was found along with many others in
Bekta's office during a police raid in April, which
came after the discovery of munitions on land owned
by the stek Foundation in Poyrazköy the same month.
The CD exposed the group's plans to assassinate
TWO GENDARMERIE OFFICERS ARRESTED IN ERGENEKON PROBE PAGE 05
Turkey's prominent non-Muslim figures and place the
blame for the killings on the Justice and Development
Party (AK Party) as part of an action plan called the
Cage Operation Action Plan. The desired result of the
killings was that an increase in internal and external
pressure on the party would ensue, leading to dimin-
ishing public support for the AK Party.
A document titled “My Agendas” on the same CD
revealed that the assassination plans were directed by
retired Col. Levent Gökta, who is in jail for suspected
membership in Ergenekon, which suggests that the
Naval Forces Command junta was under the control of
Ergenekon. “Send what is in Dilek Bozkaya's posses-
sion to L. Gökta through the lawyer Serdar Öztürk,”
reads a directive on the said document. Both Bozkaya
and Öztürk are currently imprisoned for suspected
Ergenekon membership. Another note on the same
document reads: “We have contacted the Fabricator.
The movement for a more brilliant future needs to be
more active.” Fabricator is an alias for the Workers' Party's
(P) jailed leader Dou Perinçek. The document also men-
tions another Ergenekon-linked plot to launch a bloody
attack on students visiting the Rahmi M. Koç Museum
in stanbul. According to the document, the attack
was to be launched at a time when many students
were visiting the museum. CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
Levent Bekta
ERGENEKON DEFENDANT BALBAY SILENT ON NOTES PAGE 17

KARABAKH TENSION
request which Turkey strongly disagrees with.
Information that Foreign Minister Ahmet

ESCALATES WITH YEREVAN

Davutolu and Interior Minister Beir Atalay pro-
AA

vided regarding the latest developments on the

PHO TO

THREAT OF RECOGNITION
Kurdish initiative revealed that Turkey and the
UN are in the midst of a serious crisis due to the
Makhmour refugee camp. Providing important Armenia has said it could recognize the
information to the deputies of the ruling Justice breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region
and Development Party (AK Party) at the as an independent state if Azerbaijan carries
Kzlcahamam meeting in Ankara, Davutolu out its threat of military action to take back
said there are approximately 12,000 people living the mountain territory, raising tensions in the
in the Makhmour refugee camp and that only long-drawn-out conflict following the latest
half of them want to return to Turkey. Explaining round of talks between leaders of the two
that Turkey is experiencing serious problems with countries. "It should be noted that Armenia
the UN, Davutolu said although UNCHR sup- so far has not recognized the independence
ports the return of the people, they also want of Nagorno-Karabakh for one reason -- so
Turkey to treat them according to the standards that it would not become an obstacle to
international law with respect to refugees. This peaceful negotiations,” Armenian President
has seriously angered Turkey. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17 Serzh Sarksyan's spokesman Samvel
Farmanyan said in a statement on Monday.
"If peaceful negotiations break down and
TAX EVASION military action begins, then nothing stands in
the way of Armenia recognizing the indepen-
Talks over Doan dence of Nagorno-Karabakh." CONTINUED ON PAGE 04

Yayn tax fine get

under way
Settlement talks between Doan Yayn
Holding, Turkey's largest media company
which has been fined TL 4.8 billion for alleged tax
fraud, and the Finance Ministry commenced yes-
terday afternoon.
Doan Yayn was slapped with a TL 693 mil-
lion tax fine by tax authorities in February over the
sale of a minority stake in subsidiary Doan TV
Holding to German publishing giant Axel
Springer, which owns the renowned Bild and
Welt dailies. After failing to provide proper collat-
eral in the given time frame, tax authorities froze
Doan's bank accounts in March in a legal wran-
gle over the tax dispute. After four months, some
of the assets were released, while Doan TV
Holding shares held by the tax office under a pre-
cautionary attachment rose to 53.9 percent. The
company faced worse in September, when tax in-
spectors fined firms controlled by Doan TL 3.76
billion, twice the level of tax arrears, which officials
assessed at TL 1.88 billion after examining ac-
counts for 2005, 2006 and 2007. The amount rose
to TL 4.8 billion including interest. CONTINUED ON PAGE 08
Students acknowledged their teachers with love and a bouquet of flowers as Turkey celebrated Nov. 24, Teachers' Day.
TEACHERS' DAY CELEBRATED ACROSS
THE NATION AMID ECONOMIC WOES
Turkey marked Teachers' Day on Tuesday with events throughout
the country, keeping the economic concerns of its teachers on agenda.
President Abdullah Gül received a group of teachers representing Turkey's
81 provinces at the Çankaya presidential residence yesterday. Education
Minister Nimet Çubukçu visited Antkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa
Kemal Atatürk, with the group of teachers from 81 provinces and with
Ankara Governor Kemal Önal as part of Teachers' Day celebrations. The
CIVIL SERVANTS GO
ON 24-HOUR STRIKE TODAY
TO WARN GOVERNMENT
Numerous confederations of Turkish
civil servant unions are set to take part
in a one-day strike today to warn the govern-
ment that it needs to listen to the demands of
its civil servants. The strike was jointly orga-
nized by the Turkish Public Workers' Labor
Union (Kamu-Sen) and the Confederation of
Public Sector Trade Unions (KESK). The
Public Enterprises and Employers Union
group laid a wreath at Atatürk's tomb. Writing in the Antkabir guestbook,
(Kamu-), the Independent Public Workers'
Union (BASK) and the Confederation of
Public Workers' Rights Labor Union
Çubukçu said she, Turkey's first female minister of education, is working (HAKSEN) will also participate in the strike,
hard, with commitment and determination and in accordance with the ide- which is supported by the Confederation of
als of the Republic of Turkey. The Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-), the
the Ministry of Education also held a program marking Teachers' Day at Confederation of Revolutionary Workers'
the ministry. Successful teachers and students were given plaques and Unions (DSK) and trade unions such as
gifts. The program also included a concert by singer Kutsi. CONTINUED ON PAGE 06 Turkish Doctors Union (TTB) and the
Turkish Union of Engineers and Architects'
Chambers (TMMOB). CONTINUED ON PAGE 07

Featuring news and articles from

‘ 02 TODAY’S ZAMAN

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

‘ Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
‘ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009

WORDS OF WISDOM
PRESS REVIEW

colu m ns
New orders should be established in the world. I will not rest until businesses are in- We are what we repea-
The key to exiting the
Iran, Brazil and Venezuela … can have determi- vesting again and businesses are hiring tedly do; excellence, then, ‘cage’: justice for everyone
STAR BERAT ÖZPEK
ning roles in … establishing these new orders. again and people have work again. is not an act but a habit.
To call the “Kafes [Cage] Operation” plans bro-
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad US President Barack Obama Aristotle ught to light by the Taraf newspaper “horrible” is
not sufcient. According to these plans, killings of
non-Muslim Turkish citizens were to be carried
out and blamed on Islamic factions after which the
message to the rest of the world would be “Christi-
ans are being massacred under an Islamist govern-
ment.” Thus the world would go along with any
coups that then took place here, and the work wo-
CROSS READER uld be covered up. In the above-mentioned plan

FATMA DL ZIBAK

pr ess rou n du p the murders of Hrant Dink and Catholic priest
[Andrea] Santoro as well the murders at a Malatya

AA, NIHAT DAGDELEN

f.zibak@todayszaman.com
publishing house are all referred to as “operations.”
If today we see that the pro-junta factions of Tur-
key have not achieved their goals, the biggest rea-
son for this is the determination and efforts of tho-
Stonng the se political actors within the ruling Justice and De-
velopment Party (AK Party) who, despite the pre-
sence of some status-quo supporting, nationalistic,
DTP n zmir natural-born bureaucrats within their ranks, per-

PHOTO
As Turkey takes determined steps to resolve its sist in pursuing and emerging with a justice-based
long-standing Kurdish problem, with the go- approach towards minorities in Turkey.
vernment aiming to expand the scope of the
rights enjoyed by Kurds, an unfortunate case
which took place in the western province of z- How can the ice melt?
mir, where a pro-Kurdish Democratic Society MLLYET SAM KOHEN
Party (DTP) convoy was stoned by residents, Turkey does not have with Isra-
has led to great disappointment. The fact that el -- as it also does not have with
such an incident took place in zmir, one of Armenia and Greece, two neigh-
the cities with the highest number of migrants boring countries with whom Tur-
from the Kurdish-dominated cities of the East key has good relations, or is at le-
and known for its pro-secular identity, shows ast trying to foster good relati-
how fragile the Kurdish initiative process is and ons -- any direct mutual problems. At the same
how open it is to provocation. time though, the whole Palestinian situation with
“The attack on the DTP convoy in zmir is Gaza at the forefront is beginning to become a de-
not a good sign, and some residents’ posing ning aspect of Turkish-Israeli relations. It seems
with stones in their hands for cameras is not a that Ankara is starting to form this strong correla-
good sign, either,” says Vatan’s Okay Gönen- tion when it comes to relations with Israel. It co-
sin, who is very much concerned about the in- uld be asked just how much of an effect this po-
cident in zmir. About zmir, he says it has a licy is really going to have on the Netanyahu
democratic identity, where the secular and re- administration’s rigid stance when it comes to
publican sensitivity is high, and it is one of the Gaza and Palestinian matters in general. It ap-
cities in Turkey where migrating Kurds seek pears that “Bibi” has absolutely no intent (des-
safety and the means to support their liveli- pite pressure from Barack Obama) to chan-
hood. Gönensin afrms that it is a democra- ge his stance on these matters. If re-activating
tic right for zmir residents to have their views Turkish-Israeli relations is now tied literally to
about social and political developments in the developments on the Palestinian front, this will
country and to make them public; however, help neither bilateral relations nor the disputes
the way that they exercise this right should between the Arabs and the Israelis.
not be through stoning. He says Turkey has
entered a path toward a democratic solution Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali ahin, who was in
to the Kurdish and terrorism problem; hence, We learned our
it is very natural that some circles will try to Moscow on Tuesday, visited the grave of renowned lessons, and now we’re
block this process by laying the groundwork Turkish poet Nazm Hikmet Ran, whose citizenship was memorizing them!
for civil conict. “The trap of a ‘civil conict’ is
always set before the public. Neither zmir re- restored by Cabinet decision earlier this year. BUGÜN NUH GÖNÜLTA
sidents nor the DTP should be easily deceived These days, it is not the answer to the question
by these traps,” says Gönensin. “How was the republic formed?” that is important
Milliyet’s Taha Akyol says it is wrong to
taraf: “Those who held Apo banner are not from among a speech in Parliament earlier this month, led to resignations from
us,” the daily said in the headline of a front-page article yesterday, the CHP. A total of 300 CHP members in Tunceli on Monday anno- to us, but rather the “real responses” to the ques-
evince a hostile reaction to DTP gatherings like tions of “Why did some of those events take place
quoting remarks from a senior leader of the outlawed Kurdistan unced their resignation from the party due to Öymen’s remarks.
the one in zmir because such reactions make after the founding of the republic, and what really
Workers’ Party (PKK), Murat Karaylan. Speaking to the Türkiye CHP leader Deniz Baykal ignored calls for Öymen’s resignation and
coexistence more difcult by escalating Turkish- happened?” Some of the events that took place
daily in an interview, Karaylan said those who held banners in even voiced support for him, the daily said.
Kurdish tension. “What took place in zmir is after the republic was established were actually a
support of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan as a group of PKK mem-
just one of the signs of danger,” he remarks. sort of war. One section of the nation’s people was
bers were surrendering to Turkish security forces in October were vatan: “The most courageous minister,” the daily said in
Yeni afak’s Akif Emre says the stoning embattled. And this clearly displays why it is that
not from the ranks of the PKK. “We investigated those who held the headline of its lead story yesterday, referring to Health Mi-
of the DTP in zmir is the picture of the way the structure of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK)
such banners. They are not from us. The security forces investiga- nister Recep Akda. Although Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Er-
a minority that reduces nationhood to unity is based on an introspective plan. The coup plots
ted them, too. Their identities were not released,” Karaylan said. doan said he would not get an H1N1 vaccination, Akda, who
of blood and race, far from the values which that are being revealed nowadays show plans to
launched the vaccination campaign, has not been demoralized.
make Turkey what it is, defends its homeland. force the people of this nation into various cages.
“Those who claim that a modern nation could
bugün: The daily’s main story yesterday carried the headli- He continues to go door to door to get more people vaccinated
ne “Öymen quake.” It reported that statements of Republican against the H1N1 virus. Akda called on everyone to have an After all, the newly formed structure was the re-
have been retrieved successfully by alienation sult of a revolution, which is why we refer to some
People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Onur Öymen, who defen- H1N1 shot by Dec. 15 saying that getting more people vaccina-
from the values of Anatolia, which see diver- of the changes of the new republic as the “Atatürk
ded the violent way the 1937 Dersim Rebellion was handled during ted against the virus may slow down its spread.
sity as a source of richness, should be asha- revolutions.” Revolutions: They destroy what pre-
med of this picture,” suggests Emre. ceded them and replace them with other systems.

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 NATIONAL W E D N E S D A Y, N O V E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 0 9 TODAY’S ZAMAN 03

STANBUL 12° KONYA 14°

ANKARA 14° ÇANAKKALE 16°
ZMR 19° DYARBAKIR 16°
ANTALYA 22° SAMSUN 18°
ADANA 22° BURSA 16°
ERZURUM 7° GAZANTEP 16°
EDRNE 15° ESKEHR 13°
TRABZON 17° MALATYA 12°
KAYSER 14° KOCAEL 14°

24,000 signatures
collected to eliminate
Swine flu rages on as death toll from BÜLENT
KENE
Quran course age limit
The Association of Human Rights and
epidemic reaches 112 across the nation b.kenes@todayszaman.com

Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MA-
ZLUM-DER) has collected 24,000 signatures
in a campaign to do away with the age limit
imposed on children who wish to attend
Quran courses offered for free at mosques in
the summer months.
In Turkey, children younger than 12 are
not allowed to attend those courses, a topic
of heated debate in the country. According to
most parents, 12 years is too old for children to
learn to read the holy Quran. Courses offered
at mosques are also an opportunity for children
to socialize during the hot summer months.
MAZLUM-DER Kayseri branch deputy
president Mustafa Delice complained that
children who are below the age of 12 and
want to learn to read the Quran are prevent-
ed from doing so by inspectors in mosques.
Saying that obstacles to a religious educa-
The Health Ministry announced on
Monday that the number of deaths
caused by the H1N1 virus, which is wide-
ly known as swine flu, has increased and
now stands at 112 nationwide.
According to a statement from the
ministry, 301 people have been treated for
swine flu at hospitals, 59 of whom have
been treated in intensive care units. Sixty-
three of the swine flu victims thus far had
a chronic disease, and two of them were
pregnant women, the ministry said.
The ministry once again warned peo-
ple in high-risk groups, in particular preg-
nant women, children below the age of 2
and sufferers of chronic diseases, to go to a
hospital when they begin to show symp-
toms of swine flu. “Those not included in
these groups should rest at home when
swine flu symptoms emerge, but they
should immediately consult a doctor if
they have difficulty breathing, chest pain,
a fever persisting for more than three days,
constant vomiting or somnolence.”
The ministry also said the best precau-
tion to take for those in high-risk groups is
to receive a swine flu shot.
Meanwhile, the Samsun deputy pro-
vincial health director, Erdinç Özolu, said
everyone in Turkey will inevitably encoun-
ter the swine flu virus within two years
either through the vaccine or through con-
tact as it spreads rapidly. He also stressed
that nearly 98 percent of all flu cases in
Turkey are swine flu cases. Noting that
Caged meda and
since symptoms of seasonal influenza and
those of H1N1 are almost the same, he
said most people do not even notice he or
cryng conscence
Ahmet Altan, the founder and editor- happened to it, then you should obtain
she is suffering from swine flu. “Swine flu in-chief of the Taraf newspaper, the and read carefully the newspapers for
does not affect everyone seriously. The vi- pride of Turkish journalism, wrote the the last three days. These papers will tell
rus can be overcome by eating fresh fruits following in his Tuesday column: “Tur- you all of our recent history. All of these
and resting. So, although there are around key’s lock is the media. Without open- papers survive not by telling, but by not
200 patients who are being treated at hos- ing this lock, you cannot understand telling. They owe their current status to
pitals, there are most likely thousands of what happened throughout the history what they did not tell or write or see.
cases,” he said. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
of the Turkish Republic. Be it the Der- “Our past and our state of being
sim massacre or the zmir assassina- are hidden in their ‘silence.’ For the last
tion [an attempt to kill Atatürk] or the three days, we have been publishing the
shooting of Ali ükrü Bey or the murder plans of a junta that intended to blow up
of Topal Osman or the Kurdish rebel- dozens of children in a bomb attack, kill
lions or three military coups or the Feb. non-Muslims and human rights advo-

CHAN, ERCAN YILDIZ

tion still stand in Turkey, Delice said: “At a
28 incident. The bloody secrets of these cates and overthrow the government by
time when Turkey is trying to improve its re-
incidents are hidden in ‘what the media creating chaos. Now glance at these pa-
cord of human rights with a democratization
did not report.’ With your permission, pers to see what they write about these
initiative, unfortunately there are still ob-
I would like to ask you a simple ques- plans. Have a look at Hürriyet, Sabah,
stacles to a religious education, and covered
tion: Would there have been any Feb. 28 Milliyet, Vatan, Radikal, Habertürk and
women are not allowed to have access to uni-
without the involvement of the media? Akam [you can include Star and Vakit
versity education. According to current law,
If there had not been TV channels which on this list -- note by Bülent Kene]. The
the age limit continues for Quran courses.” PHOTO
aired the images of a hundred Aczmen- people who read these papers exclu-
Delice asked the government to expand
dis every night, who would appear in sively do not know that there is a junta
the scope of its democratization initiative to
one city after another with their long which had prepared such a terrible plan
get rid of the obstacles to a religious educa-
black robes, or the weird stories told by in this country just eight months ago and
tion and headscarves at universities. The sig-
Fadime ahin -- who disappeared after that the high-ranking members of that
natures will be sent to Parliament by the head
the memorandum -- about her love af- junta are still on active duty.
office of MAZLUM-DER. stanbul Today’s Zaman
fairs with so-called sheiks or the strange “See also the TV channels associ-
raids made to catch them in the act, and ated with them. How many news chan-
if there had not been the newspapers nels covered this news or questioned
Second arrest in who published news stories designed this matter? So why do they refrain from
investigation into according to the memorandums, would
the Feb. 28 generals and their support-
running news stories about this plan?
Do these media organizations think that
13-year-old’s murder ers have been able to attain their goals? an action plan about killing dozens of
A second arrest has been made in con- “Yesterday [Monday], in Hürriyet, children is ‘unimportant’? According to
nection with the kidnapping and mur- Ahmet Hakan noted that three papers, journalistic criteria, can they regard it as
Heavy fog continued to paralyze daily life in stanbul, causing traffic accidents. A 15-vehicle pile-up occurred on Hürriyet, Milliyet and Sabah, ran the ‘unimportant’? Tell me a country where
der of 13-year-old Musa Kang in Erzurum
the TEM highway near Bahçeehir Tuesday morning due to fog, leaving four people injured. same headline, ‘Horrifying oath taken the media would treat such news as un-
earlier this month. The seventh-grader had
left home for school on Nov. 3 and according during Quran course,’ on the same day important. In France, the US, Nether-
to classmates had last been seen in tears as
he was taken away by a young man. Six days
later Kang’s body was found in an abandoned
warehouse in the same province. His cousin
Heavy fog continues during the Feb. 28 period. The same title
in three papers. Do you think it was a
coincidence? Certainly not. Were there
papers which revealed these unethical
behaviors in the media? None, as far as
lands, the UK, Portugal, Poland, Japan
or India? In which of them would such
a plan be regarded as insignicant? We
all know that in all of them, it would
be treated as breaking news. So why is

disruptions in stanbul
S.K. was arrested in connection with the inci-
dent, but police at the time said they were still I remember. Well, as for today, do you it not considered so in Turkey? What’s
investigating the case and possibly more sus- think that it is ‘coincidental’ that these Turkey’s difference? The difference is
pects. According to reports yesterday, a second papers and TV channels are silent about that there is the ‘secret power’ of the
suspect, 16-year-old B.E., has also been taken the Cage plan? The Cage plan is the military in this country, and this secret
Heavy fog continued to paralyze daily life in visibility had decreased to less than 100 meters, the most horrible plan this country has ever power rmly controls the media. And
into custody. B.E. reportedly said in his state-
stanbul, causing traffic accidents and flight de- State Airports Management General Directorate seen. They have even plotted to bomb the media attempt to boost nationalism
ment to case prosecutors that he was the man
lays early Tuesday. The fog caused a 15-vehicle (DHM) announced yesterday. children. The majority of those who pre- in order to reinforce this power and con-
seen walking alongside Kang in security cam-
pile-up on the TEM highway near Bahçeehir Tuesday Four of these flights were sent to Ankara pared this plan are high-ranking military ceal many truths. This is what happened
era footage from the morning he disappeared.
morning, leaving four people injured. The accident start- Esenboa Airport, while the other five were di- ofcers who are still on active duty. Sev- as a rule throughout the history of the
B.E. said he took Kang to the building
ed when a delivery truck driven by Yusuf Bezirci went rected to Sabiha Gökçen Airport. Meanwhile, sev- en of them were arrested. The weapons republic.”
where his body was found, where S.K. was
out of control as its brakes failed, hitting several cars be- eral flights to Stuttgart, Hamburg, Düsseldorf and that were mentioned in the plan were How can one not share what Altan
waiting, but that he then left. B.E. said he did
fore coming to a halt after colliding with another deliv- Bucharest were cancelled. At 7 a.m. DHM officials found in the locations mentioned in the writes and the revolt he feels in the face
not know who committed the murder, but
ery truck. The chain-reaction crash left Bezirci trapped stated that the airport’s flight schedule was back to plan. Ten days after the chief of General of the silence of the caged media? But do
that Kang and S.K. were arguing when he
in his truck until rescuers could extricate him. Including normal after visibility increased. Staff said that those weapons do not be- you think that the powers-that-be in the
left. A search of B.E.’s home yielded the dis-
Bezirci, four people were injured in the pile-up. The stanbul strait was closed by the coast guard to long to the army; it was found that they junta media think like us or revolt against
covery of the clothing worn by the young man
The dense fog also led to flight delays at marine traffic in the morning to prevent any accidents from do belong to the army. The bomb placed these developments? No, this is not the
in the security footage. B.E. reportedly already
stanbul Atatürk Airport early Tuesday morning. the fog at 7:05 a.m. and re-opened at midday, when the in the Koç Museum with the intention case in the least. These days, they are just
has more than 30 incidences of theft on his
Nine airplanes which had been expected to land fog lifted. The city line ferries continued to operate without of killing children was discovered. They busy undermining the credibility of the
criminal record and is addicted to paint thin-
at Atatürk were redirected to nearby airports since any delay or cancellation. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires have made preparations for killing non- hair-rising conspiracy plans which some
ner. Following his testimony, he was sent to
prison. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires Muslims. They have obtained the list of conscientious writers, such as Cengiz
subscribers to the Agos newspaper, and Çandar, Doan Satm, Hasan Cemal,
included this list in the plans. With all Umur Talu, Emre Aköz, Hadi Uluengin
of its details, the plan was seized on the and Mahmut Övür, whom they fail to
computer of an Ergenekon defendant silence, write about in their columns.

Relatives of Bilge suspects housed in Krklareli and was made part of the case le. What
is the media doing about this terrible
plan? It remains silent.”
Although they refrain from publish-
ing news about these junta plans, they
do not hesitate a moment to immedi-
Altan continues: “Nobody in this ately publish all sorts of denials or state-
AA

Relatives of suspects involved in two cameras and safety fences placed woman was happy to leave her vil-
what has become known as the 100 meters from the buildings, while lage, another said there is no place like country can set up a junta or conduct a ments from the General Staff. More-
PHOTO

Bilge village massacre have moved to
housing in Krklareli provided by the
Interior Ministry in an effort to protect
them from attempts at revenge.
Previously housed in tempo-
rary facilities in Mardin for about
six months, the relatives of the sus-
pects, more than 80 people, were
taken to Krklareli early Monday
morning under heavy security.
The apartments where the sus-
pects’ relatives are being housed are
under constant surveillance by the
Krklareli Police Department, with
police maintain a permanent pres-
ence in front of the fences.
The group from Mardin was met
by Krklareli Deputy Governor smail
Gültekin, Krklareli Police Chief
Mehmet Behzat Canbazolu and offi-
cials from the Krklareli Social Services
and Children Protection Agency.
The apartments were furnished
with refrigerators, washing machines
and dishwashers as well as books,
toys and art supplies for the children.
The homes range in size from 90 to
150 square meters. While one elderly
one’s home. The women and children
congregated in the apartments, while
the men carried the items they brought
from Mardin into the houses.
Speaking to reporters, Gültekin
said they will meet the needs of the
people from the Bilge village and
ensure their safety. Forty-four peo-
ple were brutally murdered in Bilge,
located in Mardin province, during
an engagement ceremony on May
4. The cause of the bloodshed was
reportedly an inter-family dispute.
stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
coup without the help of the media. This
is because those aspiring to overthrow
the government rst pave the way for it,
and it is the media which assumes the
primary task in laying the groundwork
for the coup. They do this by showing
something ‘bigger’ than they really are
or by concealing something. Now, take
a closer look at this media. Listen to their
silence about the Cage. You will hear the
hum of the junta inside that silence.”
Altan also wrote about this subject
The apartments where the relatives of the Bilge massacre suspects are in his previous article: “If you wonder
being housed are under constant surveillance by the Krklareli police. why this country has suffered from what
over, they tend to regard their readers
or audience as stupid by publishing the
General Staff’s refutations -- which in
my opinion are not convincing in the
least given the developments -- to the
news stories and discussions they care-
fully avoid. They do one more thing, to
be fair. They do their best to discredit the
media organizations which write about
and question these conspiracies, juntas
and networks. Apparently, this country
will suffer more from these junta gener-
als, the caged media and the journalists
who voluntarily entered that cage.
 04 TODAY’S ZAMAN
Visa barriers with Libya abolished in historic visit
Turkey and Libya announced on Tuesday that
they have mutually abolished visa require-
ments, opening a new era in once-strained ties.
“We have agreed to end visa requirements,”
Libyan Prime Minister al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mah-
moudi announced after talks with Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoan in Tripoli. “We have Eid
al-Adha coming up. As of today, Turkish citizens
can visit Libya and Libyan citizens can visit Tur-
key without having to obtain visas.”
Erdoan, the rst Turkish prime minister to
visit Libya in 13 years, also met with Libyan leader
Muammar Gadda. The prime minister is accom-
panied by ministers of foreign affairs, foreign trade,
energy and transportation in his three-day visit.
The lifting of the visa requirements came
as Turkey works to strengthen trade ties with
Libya. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency,
Zafer Çalayan, the minister for foreign trade,
said Turkey has so far begun projects worth
$21 billion in Libya. He added that Libya has
promised to set aside business worth tens of
billions of dollars to Turkish entrepreneurs.
Libya is a “country of opportunities,” Çalayan
said, emphasizing that there are several areas open
for further cooperation between Turkey and Libya.
Erdoan’s visit marks a turning page in re-
Gül tells Israel to revse settlement
polcy, prove commtment for peace
SÜLEYMAN KURT / ABDULLAH BOZKURT ANKARA
Turkey yesterday gave a conditional
go-ahead to efforts to mend strained
ties with Israel, saying Israel’s hard-
line government must prove that it is
committed to peace with the Palestinians.
President Abdullah Gül, who met with vis-
iting Israeli Industry, Trade and Labor Minister
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, urged Israel to withdraw to
pre-1967 borders and revise its policy of expand-
ing settlements in Palestine, warning that current
peace in the region is precarious. “It is calm today,
but this may not be lasting. There might be unde-
sired developments in the future,” Gül was quot-
ed as telling Ben-Eliezer by sources close to the
meeting. Israel, Gül said, must prove that it
is willing and sincere for peace, stating that
the peaceful coexistence of an Israeli and a
Palestinian state would also be the best way
to address Israel’s security concerns.
Ben-Eliezer is the rst Israeli minister to
visit Turkey, once a close regional ally of Israel,
since relations hit a low last winter follow-
ing an Israeli offensive in Gaza that left more
than 1,400 Palestinians dead in Gaza. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan walked out of
a World Economic Forum session in January
after a heated exchange with Israeli President
Shimon Peres, and Turkish-mediated talks be-
tween Israel and Syria collapsed after Ankara
and Damascus said peace talks cannot proceed
in the Israeli-Palestinian track as war rages on
in Palestine. Relations continued to deteriorate af-
ter Turkey canceled a military exercise last month in
which Israeli pilots were planned to participate and
after Turkey’s state-run TV aired a drama series that
portrayed Israeli soldiers as cruel and repressive.
Ben-Eliezer, known as a proponent of close
ties with Turkey, seeks to restore relations to
the pre-Gaza offensive era and has stated a few
times during his visit that a visit by Gül to Israel
as soon as possible would help mend fences. But
Turkish leaders were cautious towards the invita-
tion, insisting that the humanitarian conditions in
Gaza -- which has not changed much since the
January offensive -- should improve rst.
Yesterday, Gül told Ben-Eliezer that he
would consider whether to visit Israel after a
visit by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutolu
rst. It was not immediately known when
Karabakh tension escalates with Armenian threat of recognition
contnued from page 1
Sarksyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev had talks on Sunday in Munich on the Na-
gorno-Karabakh conict, followed by statements
from mediators that the two leaders achieved
progress. “Some important progress has been
reached,” French mediator Bernard Fassier told
reporters after the talks. “At the same time we
have identied some difculties.”
There was speculation in the Turkish media
that there was a breakthrough during Sunday’s
talks, with Armenia agreeing to withdraw from
regions adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh. But
Farmanyan dismissed the reports on Monday,
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan and Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi (L) cut the ribbon at a hotel
opening ceremony in Tripoli, Libya, late at night Monday.
lations with Libya, which deteriorated sharply
during the last prime ministerial visit 13 years
ago. Then-Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan
was given an unpleasant shock during his visit
to Tripoli, when Gadda reportedly lent support
to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),
which is listed as a terrorist organization by a
Ben-Eliezer (L) and Gönül co-chaired a meeting of the Turkish-Israeli Joint Economic Commission in Ankara on Tuesday.
Davutolu planned to go to Israel. Ankara also
expects Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to
visit Turkey in the near future, sources said.
Ben-Eliezer has said he was in Turkey to clear
up some of the issues over Israeli-Turkish ties and
called on Turkey to resume mediation between
Israel and Syria, but his mission appeared to be
divisive within Israel. Israel’s hawkish Foreign
Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Turkey could
not be considered a mediator because it lost its
impartiality. But Ben-Eliezer said while Lieber-
man might have different thoughts, he was in
Turkey representing the Israeli government.
Speaking late on Monday, Prime Minister
Erdoan said Turkey was ready to resume media-
tion but called on Israel to improve the situation in
Gaza. “If we are assigned once more with such a
mission, we are determined to be mediators again
and to give all the support of which we are capa-
ble,” Erdoan told reporters before departing for
a visit to Libya. But he also complained that the
situation in Gaza remains unchanged.
“Our aim is to make friends, not enemies,”
saying, “Such a question is not being discussed.”
Fassier said he and his co-mediators from the
United States and Russia would start preparing the
next meeting without specifying when it might take
place. “We hope for additional progress in the fol-
lowing weeks and beginning of next year.”
Tensions over the Armenian-populated re-
gion, which broke away from Azerbaijan with
Armenian backing in the early 1990s, are rising
as Armenia pursues a historic thaw with Azer-
baijan’s ally Turkey to the anger of oil-produc-
ing Azerbaijan. In comments broadcast on Sat-
urday, Aliyev warned that Azeri patience was
running thin and that without a breakthrough
AP
PHOTO
large majority of the international community.
“The state of Kurdistan should take its place in
the spectrum of nations under the Middle Eastern
sun. Turkey should not ght against people seeking
their independence,” Gadda was quoted as say-
ing at the time. Senior-level contacts between
the two countries have been rare since then.
Erdoan said. “But we are trying to do this by re-
specting the principle of justice.” He added that
Turkey wanted to help restructure Gaza’s destroyed
infrastructure following the January offensive,
but Israel denied this. “We invited Israel to have
a more positive stance on these issues,” he said.
Optimistic about future of ties
Speaking to a group of reporters at the conclu-
sion of his visit in Ankara on Tuesday, Ben-
Eliezer said he feels optimistic that relations
will be repaired. He denied reports that new
houses were being built in new settlements
since the right-wing government took over the
power in Israel. “We are ready to evacuate settle-
ments and demolish homes built on Palestinian
territories once we achieve peace,” he said.
Eliezer also dismissed reports that Turkish
humanitarian aid was blocked at the border with
Gaza and said more humanitarian aid is owing
to Gaza now than before the Gaza offensive.
He also stressed Israeli government would
like to see more high level visits to his country
soon, Azeri troops were ready to take back the
territory by force.
Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh erupted as
the Soviet Union headed towards its 1991col-
lapse. Some 30,000 people died and more than 1
million were displaced before a ceasere in 1994.
Ethnic Armenian forces took control of the territory
of 100,000 people and seven surrounding Azeri dis-
tricts, including a land corridor to Armenia.
With no peace deal, soldiers on the
frontline continue to be picked off by land-
mines and snipers. No state has recognized
Nagorno-Karabakh as independent.
Turkey signed two protocols in October to nor-
W E D N E S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 0 9
“I am not focusing on what happened 13 years
ago; we are now assessing our current situation. We
are trying to build a different future,” Prime Minister
Erdoan told reporters before departing for Libya.
“This is the main purpose of my visit.” He said he
would review the current situation in political and
economic relations in talks with Libyan authorities.
Libya offers lucrative business opportuni-
ties particularly for Turkey’s construction sec-
tor. Erdal Eren, head of Turkey’s contractors’
association, said since 2005, Turkish companies
have won projects worth $11 billion from Libya
and added that Libya offers $8-10-billion projects
every year. Eren was optimistic that Erdoan’s
three-day visit will soon have positive impacts on
business cooperation with Libya. “For the past two
years, we have been telling our prime minister that
our business volume with Libya has increased and
that political relations should also expand in parallel
to the growth in the business ties,” he told Anatolia.
He said other countries, such as Italy and
Russia, were already very active in expanding po-
litical ties and business cooperation with Libya.
While in Libya, Erdoan will attend a Lib-
ya-Turkey business forum, which will be joint-
ly organized by Libyan and Turkish business
circles. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
TODAY’S ZAMAN, AL ÜNAL
PHOTO
from Turkey but warned that any invitation ex-
tended to the president, the prime minister or
foreign minister of Turkey would not include a
trip to Gaza. “They are welcome to visit Israel
or West Bank but not Gaza,” he underlined.
As for the delays in delivery of Herons, he said
the Israeli side is working hard to resolve problems
with the unmanned aerial vehicles. “Once we solve
problems, we will hand them over immediately,” he said.
Speaking at a meeting discussing economic
cooperation in Ankara earlier in the day, Ben-
Eliezer invited Turkish businessmen to invest
in Israel. “I have felt at home since I came here.
You come to Israel, too, and feel at home.
You have friends in Israel,” Ben-Eliezer told
the businessmen. Defense Minister Vecdi
Gönül, who co-chaired the meeting on
behalf of the Turkish side, said Turkey had a
long-term perspective regarding its relations
with Israel and that it is working to deep-
en ties. “Israel has a special importance for
Turkey. It is important that Turkey and Israel
cooperate more extensively,” Gönül said.
malize its ties with Armenia, severed in 1993 due to
the Nagorno-Karabakh conict, but wants progress
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conict before taking any
further steps to restore relations with Armenia.
In Russia, President Dmitry Medvedev was
expected on Tuesday to urge Aliyev for a peaceful
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Aliyev
was in Ulyanovsk, Russia, on Tuesday to attend a
ceremony for naming the city square after former
Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev and meet
Medvedev for talks on energy cooperation and re-
gional issues. Russia backs the Nagorno-Karabakh
solution efforts and the Turkish-Armenian rap-
prochement. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
NATIONAL
Papandreou to respond to
Erdoan’s letter today
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is to re-
spond today to a set of proposals put forward by his
Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoan, Greek media
reports have said.
On Oct. 30, Erdoan sent a letter to Papandreou, whose
party came to power that same month, expressing Turkey’s
readiness to resolve problems with Greece as part of his
government’s policy of zero problems with neighbors and
outlining a set of proposals for a settlement of Turkish-
Greek disputes, including complicated territorial problems
in the Aegean and Cyprus.
Papandreou has put
the nishing touches on
his letter, and the docu-
ment will reach Ankara by
today, according to reports
in the Greek media, which
also claim the Greek pre-
mier positively responds to
Erdoan’s call to resolve the
problems but also outlines
the Greek position on the
George Papandreou
issues of disagreement.
According to reports,
citing Greek diplomatic sources, Papandreou will mostly
repeat Greece’s traditional arguments concerning the Ae-
gean disputes in his letter and will dismiss Erdoan’s call for
a comprehensive discussion of the territorial disagreements,
arguing that efforts to resolve the disputes in the Aegean
should be limited to resolving disagreements over the de-
nition of its continental shelf.
Often only a few kilometers separate the Turkish main-
land from Greek islands in the Aegean, which has led to
difculties in dening the two countries’ territory. Turkey
says Greek attempts to extend its territorial waters would
turn the Aegean into a Greek-dominated region.
The Aegean neighbors have a shaky relationship and
came to the brink of war three times between 1974 and 1996
over Cyprus and territorial rights in the Aegean Sea. Papan-
dreou championed rapprochement between Greece and
Turkey when he served as foreign minister between 1999
and 2004. Improved relations followed devastating earth-
quakes that hit both countries in 1999 and sparked mutual
sympathy among Greeks and Turks. stanbul Today’s Zaman
Turkey will not have
a new initiative on
Cyprus, Talat says
A new initiative or a breakthrough on the Cy-
prus issue is not expected from Turkey, Turk-
ish Cypriot (KKTC) leader Mehmet Ali Talat told the
Turkish Agency-Cyprus (TAK) on Tuesday, adding,
“Turkey has done what it could do already.”
Any withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Cy-
prus will make Greek Cyprus more uncompromising dur-
ing the peace talks on unifying the island, Talat said.
Talat also stated that the peace talks should be
accelerated and intensive efforts are necessary to get
tangible results from the negotiations, which aim to
find a lasting solution to the protracted conflict in
Cyprus. He also added that other states and institu-
tions’ interest in and contributions to the peace pro-
cess will certainly make a solution inescapable.
“The negotiations will not be halted if an extraor-
dinary thing happens. If the negotiations fail, then it is
important to see the treatment of both sides,” Talat not-
ed. When asked of the prospects of a new initiative or
a breakthrough from Turkey, Talat said Turkey will not
start an initiative on Cyprus. “What else Turkey can do?
The closed ports for Greek Cypriot ships are impossible
to open. They talk about withdrawing the Turkish army.
How does this relate to the peace process? In this stage,
a withdrawal of the army will only harm the negotiation
process.” stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
Parliament speaker
opens Moscow office of
Dialogue Eurasia Platform
Turkish Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali ahin
opened the new ofce of the Dialogue Eurasia
Platform (DAP) in Moscow on Tuesday.
Following the 34th general meeting of the Parliamen-
tary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(PABSEC) in Moscow, ahin cut the ribbon at the open-
ing of DAP’s Moscow ofce. ahin said there have been
signicant developments since the foundation of DAP 11
years ago, while speaking yesterday at the ofcial opening
of the Moscow ofce of DAP before leaving for Turkey.
“DAP is a very important platform attempting to
solve problems among different religions and peoples
through dialogue,” ahin said. “I am here to attend
PABSEC’s meeting and also the opening of the DAP
Moscow ofce. I believe both of them have important
symbolic meanings,” he added.
Noting that he believes DAP will continue to un-
dertake important tasks, ahin said he hopes this new
venue will serve people successfully. “I am also particu-
larly happy to see my Russian friends here. I hope to
meet them again in Turkey,” ahin stated.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, hon-
orary chair of the DAP, Rostislav Rybakov, said the
work of the founders and those contributing to the
platform serve the people. “This will contribute to
the education and morale of the new generation,”
Rybakov said. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
 NATIONAL
Naval junta under Ergenekon control, document shows
contnued from page 1
The plan was exposed in May after a large num-
ber of explosives were discovered in a submarine at the
museum during the investigation into Ergenekon.
After an investigation by the military, they an-
nounced that the explosives at the bottom of the
submarine had been forgotten by commandos.
Ergenekon prosecutors, however, decided that the
ndings of the military investigation were too weak to
ease concerns over the discovery of explosives at the
museum. The prosecutors examined the submarine in
the museum and reached the conclusion that it was
not possible for the commandos to forget that a large
amount of explosives were in a submarine.
The same document also includes condential
information about the private lives, wives, children
Suspicion persists over
suicide of retired navy colonel
Several unanswered questions still remain
over the suspicious suicide of Belgütay
Varml, a retired colonel who killed him-
self by jumping off the balcony of his apartment in
stanbul’s Kadköy district on Nov. 20.
Retired Lt. Col. Tevk Diker, a close friend
of the late colonel, said the documents under
Varml’s possession should be protected. “My
friend was against anti-democratic formations.
He had knowledge about many things as he
served in critical positions. He was patriotic
enough to not be afraid of deciphering what he
knew. He would never work with anyone who
saw himself as superior to the public. … He was
always suspicious. He used to claim that his
phone conversations were being wiretapped. He
often asked me to unplug my phone when we
were chatting,” Diker remarked.
Varml threw himself off his balcony
while his wife and mother were at home. He
hit the concrete pavement below and died at
the scene. His body was taken to the Göztepe
Teaching and Research Hospital after police
and prosecutors examined it.
Star daily columnist amil Tayyar also ques-
tioned the suspicious suicide of Belgütay Varml.
The columnist suggested in his latest column on
Monday that the colonel was not the kind of
person to commit suicide as he was a devout
Muslim. Committing suicide is one of the great-
est sins in Islam. “Let’s see what his colleague
retired Lt. Col. Tevk Diker says: ‘Varml was
killed by Ergenekon. He knew about the Turk-
ish Armed Forces [TSK] secrets. He knew coup
plans. He informed [former chief of General Staff
Gen.] Hilmi Özkök about those plans. Prosecu-
tor Zekeriya Öz should investigate Varml’s al-
leged suicide,” Tayyar wrote.
According to Tayyar, Varml played a signif-
icant role in the exposure of the Ergenekon ter-
rorist organization, a clandestine group accused
of plotting to topple the government. “One day,
the colonel gave me a phone call and expressed
his desire to meet with me. We met in my ofce
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
or girlfriends of a number of high-ranking members
of the military. The document suggests that some
of those members of the military were blackmailed
with that information and urged to work in line with
the ambitions of the Naval Forces Command junta.
Part of the document was dedicated to the jun-
ta’s “friend” organizations. Among those organiza-
tions were groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir and their
leaders, including skender Evrenesolu, Haydar
Ba, Abdullah Aar and smail Yavuz. Most of those
gures are known to be members of hard-core reli-
gious fundamentalist groups.
What is the Cage Plan?
The plan was signed by Lt. Col. Ercan Kireçtepe
and was planned to be put into operation by a team
Suspicions surround the suicide of Belgütay Varml, a retired colonel who killed himself by jumping off the balcony of his apartment in stanbul’s Kadköy district on Nov. 20.
at the newspaper. What had drawn my attrac-
tion was that he changed the appointment date
three times before and called me from different
phone numbers. He also changed the vehicle he
was traveling in several times before he reached
my ofce. When we met, he asked whether we
could talk in a different room. We changed the
room. We left our mobile phones in my ofce
and he checked whether there was any bugging
device anywhere. I must confess, he appeared
paranoid at the time,” the columnist noted.
Tayyar went on to give details of his meet-
ing with the late colonel. “He told me about
his success in an investigation into Naval
Forces Commander Adm. lhami Erdil, his
role in the prevention of the Sarkz [Blonde
comprising 41 members of the Naval Forces Com-
mand. The hoped-for result from the assassinations
of prominent non-Muslim gures and related pro-
paganda would be an increase in internal and exter-
nal pressure on the AK Party, leading to its political
demise, according to the plan.
The action plan would be implemented to lend
support to the suspects arrested so far as part of the
Ergenekon investigation; render ineffective the so-
called psychological warfare waged by the AK Party
and its supporters (against the military); change the
course of the agenda in Turkey; boost the morale of
the junta within the Naval Forces Command; and
win the appreciation and support of the public. The
blame for each of the assassinations by the junta
would be put on the AK Party.
Girl] coup attempt, and how he informed Gen.
Özkök about the attempt. … He then said he
would give me very important documents in
the future. Before he left, he asked where he
could pray the noon prayer. He prayed in a
room we showed him and left,” Tayyar stated.
The columnist said the two met for a sec-
ond time and later a third time. The colonel said
he warned the government (without specify-
ing which government) about the coup plans.
“Varml came to visit me once again and asked
me if I could help him meet with Prime Minister
[Recep Tayyip] Erdoan and Prosecutor Zekeriya
Öz. I told him that I did not have the power to
help him do that and recommended that he leave
a note with the prime minister’s secretary about
TODAY’S ZAMAN 05
The plan was divided into four phases; “Prepa-
ration,” “Raising Fear,” “Shaping Public Opinion”
and “Action.”
The action plan also called the killings of Arme-
nian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, Catholic priest
Andrea Santoro and three Christians in Malatya an
“operation.” The group aimed to generate chaos in
society with those killings, but complained that the
plan failed when large groups protested the killings
in mass demonstrations.
The plan also revealed that the anti-democratic
formation within the Naval Forces Command was be-
ing led by three admirals, identied with their initials
F.Ö., K.S. and M.F.. Bekta, Kireçtepe, Gökta and
Maj. Emre Onat also worked for the junta. All of them
were arrested as part of the ongoing Ergenekon probe.
CHAN
PHOTO
his desire to meet with Erdoan. … Then there
was a period of silence. He did not call me for a
while. When he called again, he asked me if I had
Öz’s phone number. I said no. He said there was
a big ambush. That was our last talk,” Tayyar said.
According to Tayyar, the claims that
Varml’s suspicious suicide could be the work of
Ergenekon need to be addressed.
In the meantime, claims appeared on a
number of Turkish Web sites that Varml was
the “anonymous military ofcer” who sent let-
ters and documents to Ergenekon prosecutors
about a devious military plot to undermine the
Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
Three letters were sent to the prosecutors in
October and November. stanbul Today’s Zaman
Plot colonel takes up
new position at Naval
Forces Command
Col. Dursun Çiçek, whose signature ap-
pears on a military plot aimed at under-
mining the power of the Justice and Devel-
opment Party (AK Party) and the faith-based
Gülen movement, has started serving in a new
capacity at the Naval Forces Command.
The colonel was appointed to the new
position on Sept. 4, 2009. He was previously
employed by the Information Support Unit
of the General Staff.
Çiçek was arrested earlier this month for
suspected membership in a clandestine terror-
ist organization, but was released after a brief
detention. He was also arrested and released
in July. The colonel is believed to have drafted
a plot which included Turkish Armed Forces
(TSK) plans to destroy the AK Party and the
faith-based Gülen movement.
According to the plot, the TSK had a sys-
tematic plan to destroy the image of the AK
Party government and the Gülen movement
in the eyes of the public, to play down the Er-
genekon investigation and to gather support
for members of the military arrested as part of
the investigation into Ergenekon, a criminal
organization accused of plotting to overthrow
the government. Dozens of Ergenekon mem-
bers, including businessmen, members of the
military and journalists, are currently incarcer-
ated while standing trial.
A photocopied version of the plot was rst
published by a Turkish daily in June, but the
General Staff denied responsibility for it, say-
ing it was just a “piece of paper.” The original
of the document, mailed by an unnamed mili-
tary ofcer to an stanbul prosecutor, put an
end to all debates over the plot’s authenticity.
A military investigation is currently under
way into the plot. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
Two gendarmerie
officers arrested in
Ergenekon probe
Two ofcers serving in the Erzincan Pro-
vincial Gendarmerie Command have
been arrested in the ongoing investigation into
Ergenekon, a clandestine network charged
with plotting to overthrow the government.
According to reports, the arrests came in
the past few days during operations into gen-
darmerie accommodation facilities in Erzincan.
One of those arrested was identied as E.E.,
a senior lieutenant who serves as the deputy
chief of the gendarmerie intelligence depart-
ment in Erzincan. Weapons and bullets were
found in his home during the operation.
The other ofcer detained in the operation
was identied as O.E., also from the Erzincan
Gendarmerie Command’s intelligence depart-
ment. Although they served in Erzincan, a special
prosecutor from Erzurum is conducting the probe.
Neither man chose to speak in their initial
interrogations. They have been placed in the Er-
zurum Military Prison after being arrested on
charges of membership in a terrorist organization.
The specially authorized Erzurum Prosecu-
tor’s Ofce announced that three guns whose
origins are yet to be established, bullets for said
weapons as well as a large number of bullets
for Kalashnikov ries were found in the homes
of the two men. Documents, CDs and external
hard disks of the two men were also ceased in
the investigation. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
 06 TODAY’S ZAMAN
‘Republic on its way to becoming real republic now’
SELÇUK GÜLTALI BRUSSELS
German Green Party co-chair Cem Özdemir
has stated that the Turkish Republic has al-
ways exploited the state’s laic structure to stall de-
mocratization, adding that the republic is now be-
coming a real republic thanks to recent reforms.
Speaking to Today’s Zaman about a recent plot
devised by some military ofcers called the Cage
Action Plan that aimed to assassinate minority lead-
ers, Özdemir said it was impossible for a country
that eliminates its religious minorities to be laic. “If
Hakkari ctzens protest DTP
bashng by zmir demonstrators
Citizens in the southeastern province of
Hakkari have protested against an at-
tack on a convoy carrying Democratic
Society Party (DTP) members in the western
province of zmir.
In 11 districts in Hakkari, citizens started pro-
tests late on Monday night. Police had to inter-
vene, and ve protestors were detained. Security
has been tightened in the province as a result.
The protest was against what the deputy
chairmen of the DTP Selahattin Demirta and
Gültan Kanak called the “continuation of or-
ganized lynching attempts directed at the DTP
and Kurds.” The two ofcials made the state-
ment on Monday regarding the attack on Sun-
day in zmir against a DTP convoy.
Residents stoned the DTP members in zmir,
one of the cities with the highest number of migrants
from the Kurdish-dominated cities of the East.
A DTP convoy of 200 vehicles returning to
party headquarters from Adnan Menderes Air-
port, where they greeted DTP leader Ahmet
Türk, who had paid a surprise visit, was stoned
by a group of people. The attackers, a group of
residents holding Turkish ags as well as sticks
and stones, blocked the convoy when it reached
the Üçyol crossroads and harassed the drivers
whom they believed were also Kurdish.
Most Turkish dailies reported the protests
in zmir, showing the photographs of modern,
well-dressed women and men holding stones to
throw at the convoy.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan said yes-
terday before leaving for Libya that such scenes act
as a negative inuence on the democratic initiative.
He was referring to the government’s democratiza-
tion initiative which involves granting more citizen-
ship rights to the country’s Kurds.
“If there is a terrorist organization’s ag
and the posters of the terrorists’ leader in a bus
which belongs to a party, this can’t be sanc-
tioned. Our judiciary is doing what is necessary
in that regard. Such scenes affect the process
negatively,” he said.
Some witnesses in zmir claimed that the
group attacked when vehicles in the DTP convoy
unfurled ags of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK). However, some have expressed the
opinion that the violent protest might have been
planned ahead as the attack occurred along a
road where the Nationalist Movement Party’s
(MHP) zmir ofce is located. MHP members
and members of the Idealist Hearths, an MHP-
afliated youth group, ocked to the scene.
Teachers’ Day celebrated
across Turkey with joy
contnued from page 1
A ceremony marking Teachers’ Day was
held at the Taksim Republic Monument in
stanbul with the participation of stanbul Deputy
Governor Mustafa Altnta, stanbul Education
Department head Muammer Yldz and teachers
from the northern province of Ordu. Following a
laying of wreathes at the monument, one minute
of silence was observed for teachers and Atatürk.
Yldz also wrote a message in the monument’s
memorial guestbook.
A concert was held in Bursa by the orches-
tra of the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality to
celebrate the Teachers’ Day of retired teachers
in the province with the participation of Bursa
authorities, including Bursa Mayor Recep Alte-
pe and Deputy Governor Ali Kamil Baar. The
concert brought Mayor Altepe with one of his
teachers as a surprise to Altepe.
Turkey today was a country which still had its [non-
Muslim] minorities, maybe its membership in the
EU would have gone smoothly.”
Criticizing the application of the principle of
laicism in Turkey, Özdemir said that the republic
has always abused this principle. Noting that the
Cage plan was despicable, he added that there
still remained many questions to be answered
such as whether those who have been spreading
a fear of religious fundamentalism until now have
used laicism to intervene in politics.
He also shared his opinion on the murder
Some zmir residents’ violent protests against a convoy of DTP members drew harsh reactions in the eastern city of Hakkari.
Most of the vehicles’ windows were shattered
during the protestor’s attack.
MHP zmir province head Müsavat
Derviolu said after the events that the MHP
had acted correctly in the face of such “provoca-
tions.” Speaking at the place where the attacks
occurred, Derviolu warned ultranationalists.
“The events in zmir could have been used
to ignite a re. We will not be a tool for that. We
will never allow it,” he said.
Prime Minister Erdoan also said that he
had discussed the issue with Interior Minister
Beir Atalay.
“We cannot allow such scenes anywhere. We
will intervene. You also realize what the protes-
tors represent, what their signs and symbols say.
I don’t have to say it. There is an effort to develop
an environment of conict,” Erdoan said.
The police had red into the air in zmir
to disperse the crowd. However, members of
the DTP have complained that the police were
late in their intervention. They also stated that
small-sized gas tanks and other heavy items
were tossed from the windows of nearby build-
ings. The group did not disperse after the convoy
The zmir Metropolitan Municipality gave
gifts to teachers in the province, including a
note from zmir Mayor Aziz Kocaolu, in honor
of Teachers’ Day.
In a program held at the Konevi Cultural Cen-
ter in Konya, an educational association, the Gaye
Education Volunteers’ Association, brought teach-
ers together. Artist brahim Sadri read poems and
sang his songs during the program.
Meanwhile, Democrat Party (DP) leader
Hüsamettin Cindoruk stressed in a message
that the profession of teaching had never
been fully appreciated in Turkey. He also con-
gratulated all of Turkey’s teachers. Nov. 24
marks the day when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,
the founder of the Turkish Republic, was de-
clared the nation’s head teacher 81 years ago
and the day was adopted as Teachers’ Day
nationwide. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
of his close friend Turkish Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink, who was killed on Jan. 19, 2007 in
broad daylight by an ultra-nationalist teenager.
Saying that he has been following the mur-
der trial closely, Özdemir stated that there was
a deeper structure behind the murder. He said
Turkey has lost a lot of its values due to atrocities
such as the killing of Hrant Dink, the killing of
an Italian Priest in 2006, the incidents of Sept.
6-7 [1955], the exodus of the Greeks and the as-
sets tax [imposed on non-Muslims in the early
republican era]. “What kind of laicité is this?
passed through, and they blocked trafc singing
the national anthem. Meanwhile, residents of
nearby buildings hung Turkish ags from their
windows, observers noted.
Hürriyet daily columnist Ylmaz Özdil wrote
in his column on Tuesday that the protest in
zmir was just a “warning” and that “the worst
might be yet to come.”
In response to a reporter’s question, Erdoan
said at the airport that more people from the
Makhmour camp in northern Iraq and where most
of the PKK members are located will return to Tur-
key as long as they are not involved in terrorism.
The interior minister had recently stressed
that the public will not see “welcome home
celebrations” for members of the PKK who sur-
render to Turkish security forces. Atalay had
previously lambasted the pro-Kurdish DTP for
organizing such a demonstration and celebra-
tion. The return of 34 people -- eight from a PKK
camp, the others from Makhmour -- in late Oc-
tober turned into a show for PKK sympathizers
and supporters in Turkey. The government then
slammed the DTP for blocking the democratic
initiative process. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
Students in the eastern province of Hakkari did not have the luxury of going to the town center, 10 kilometers
from their school, so their present to their teachers was walnuts filled with love.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009 NATIONAL
Turkey, EU
negotiating visa
How can a Turkey purged from its non-Muslims
possibly be laic?” he said.
issuance ease
He said Turkey was just beginning to emerge
from the legacy of the Sept. 12 [1980] coup d’état.
in return for
“Turkey has always been ruled with fear. There
have always been fear mongers speaking of trai-
immigrant deal
tors, external enemies and other forces trying to AYE KARABAT BRUSSELS
destroy Turkey. From now on, the republic is on
its way to becoming a real republic. They tried to Turkey and the European Union are
hold the republic together with fear. But a country negotiating a readmission agreement
cannot stand on its feet with fear, but with a Con- for illegal immigrants in exchange for the fa-
stitution, rule of law and justice.” cilitation of visa issuance for Turkish citizens
seeking to visit EU countries, a top diplomat
from the European Commission has said.
“Once we have a readmission agreement
we will be very open to negotiating visa fa-
cilitation for [Turkish] journalists, academics,
businesspeople and scientists to travel easily
to the EU,” the diplomat, who asked not to
be named, told a group of Turkish journalists
who are on a trip organized by the Delega-
tion of the European Commission to Turkey.
It is estimated that every year almost
72,000 illegal immigrants go to Europe via
Turkey, although Turkey apprehended ap-
proximately 65,000 illegal immigrants in
2008. The readmission agreement envisages
AA, YILMAZ KAZANDIO LU
Bahçeli responds sending immigrants back to their countries
of origin via Turkey.
to DTP with “This is certainly a critical issue,” said the
potentially EU ofcial.
The EU and Turkey have long been at
menacing remark odds over the critical issue. The EU alleges
that Turkey is not doing enough to tackle il-
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) legal immigration coming from the East, es-
leader Devlet Bahçeli yesterday re-
PHOTO
pecially from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the
sponded to the Democratic Soci- Middle East, claiming the country has failed
ety Party’s (DTP) declaration that
to fulll its promises to repatriate illegal im-
residents of Kurdish-dominated
Diyarbakr would reciprocate an attack migrants who pass through Turkey and are
on their convoy in the western city of later detained in EU member states.
zmir, saying, he would confidently go Turkey needs the assistance of the EU to
to Diyarbakr “when the time comes.” establish a reliable system and to ease wor-
Bahçeli was responding to a jour- ries of whether all detained immigrants will
nalist’s question yesterday on DTP be sent back after the agreement is signed.
leader Ahmet Türk’s comment that On the other hand, Turkish ofcials have
Diyarbakr residents might respond
repeatedly stated that the EU is not offering any
to MHP activities in their city the
substantive plan to share the nancial costs.
same way as some MHP members
in zmir did on Sunday when they But according to the same ofcial a new
attacked a DTP convoy with stones. round of discussions will be held on Dec. 4
Bahçeli said Türk’s approach was in Ankara for signing the readmission agree-
“very inappropriate,” saying, “They ment between Turkey and the EU.
[the DTP] should understand that The ofcial stated that the EU as a whole,
they are falling into the trap of the not individual member-states, is negotiating
Justice and Development Party [AK
for the readmission agreement and that the
Party]. I know I will go to Diyarbakr
EU is ready to share the burden.
when the time comes,” but he did
not elaborate on the details of the “This is certainly a critical issue. The EU
circumstances of the time. will grant support to Turkey to tackle the
He said the events in zmir on problem. We have expressed our readiness
Sunday were also a trap set by the to look into all ways and means to help Tur-
AK Party. “Two days ago, I sent orga- key face this problem. Of course, we have
nizational administrators a directive budgetary limitations, but we are ready to
warning them about the AK Party’s
help Turkey,” the EU ofcial said.
possible ploys. The first of which was
The Turkish side complains that nan-
seen in zmir. The MHP doesn’t have
time to throw eggs at people.” cial assistance from the EU for the repa-
On Sunday, a DTP convoy of triation of illegal immigrants heavily favors
2,000 vehicles driving back to party the Greek government. Approximately 70
headquarters from the Adnan Mend- euros are provided to Turkey per person
eres Airport, where they greeted DTP to offset the cost of readmission, hosting,
leader Ahmet Türk, who paid a sur- processing and deporting to the country of
prise visit, was stoned by a group of
origin. However, the EU gives 1,000 euros
people. The attackers, a group of resi-
per person to the Greeks.
dents holding Turkish flags as well as
sticks and stones, blocked the convoy The discussion of illegal immigration
when it reached the Üçyol intersection has also strained Turkish-Greek relations,
and harassed the drivers, whom they as Greece naturally is the rst country en-
believed were Kurdish. Members of tered by people who seek refuge after tran-
the MHP and the Idealist Hearths, an siting Turkish territory. Turkey and Greece
MHP-affiliated youth group, flocked signed a readmission agreement in 2001
to the scene, witnesses said. Most
to manage the ow of people, but Athens
of the windows of the vehicles in the
claims the treaty is not working. Brussels
convoy were shattered during the at-
tack. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires siding with Greece on the issue recently re-
ceived a harsh rebuke from Ankara.
Another point of contention between
Ankara and the EU over illegal immigra-
tion is that Turkey is excluded from treaties
signed by the EU with third countries. For
example, the EU’s ongoing negotiations for
A A , Y IL MA Z K A Z A N D IO L U
a readmission treaty with Pakistan would
impact Turkey, as most illegal immigrants
from Pakistan choose to cross Turkey in
their passage to the EU.
Some experts underline that once there
is a readmission agreement between Turkey
and the EU, the ow of illegal immigrants
to Turkey will decline since there will be the
possibility of being sent back to Turkey if
P H OTO
they are not accepted in Europe.
According to the same top-ranking of-
cial there will be more advantages for Turkey
if it signs the readmission agreement with
the EU, the most important one being visa
issuance facilitation for Turkish citizens.
“As soon as the readmission agreement
is signed, we will offer many new opportu-
nities in terms of visas for your compatriots
wishing to travel to the EU,” he underlined.
The same source indicated that some
member-states say they cannot consider
any visa issuance facilitation with Turkey if
there is no readmission agreement between
the EU and Turkey.
“This issue will affect our bilateral rela-
tions,” the ofcial said.
 BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009 TODAY’S ZAMAN 07

BRAHM
ÖZTÜRK
Ergün: Export problems stem from i.ozturk@todayszaman.com

lack of relatons, not qualty or prce Correctng global

MEHMET EFLEK ÝSTANBUL
mbalances (2)

Minister of Trade and Industry
Nihat Ergün has said business
and diplomatic relations are
neighbors that involved “zero prob-
lems, maximum business cooperation,”
stressed that “[Turkish businessmen]
need to analyze the outside market
well. Hungary currently imports $107
AZZ, UZUN
development of knowledge and tech-
nology is the most important factor for Taking advantage of President Obama’s visit to
improving the welfare of a nation.” He China, I focused on the nature of recent discus-
reminded the audience of the soon to sions around “correcting global imbalances” in
be revealed Strategic Plan for Industry my last column.

key for bettering Turkey’s trade, add-
ing that Turkey’s export problems are
not due to low quality goods or un-
competitive prices.
Speaking at the 2010 Trade and In-
dustry Roadmap breakfast organized
by the Business Life Cooperation As-
sociation (HAD), Ergün spoke about
the importance of civil society organi-
zations in bettering Turkey’s economic
situation, especially noting that the pri-
vate sector, civil society organizations
and government ministries have an im-
portant part to play in creating stronger
business relations between countries to
open up new markets for Turkey.
Ergün, speaking about his minis-
try’s strategy of creating an economic
and political environment with its
billion and exports $107 billion, so it
doesn’t have a trade decit. On the
other hand, Turkey has a trade de-
cit and only makes up $600 million of
Hungary’s exports. Who are they buy-
ing from, and why are they buying it
from there? We produce according to
and meet European Union quality stan-
dards, have competitive prices and are a
very nearby market. We produce just as
well as any other country, but countries
who are exporting to places like Hun-
gary have better relations with them.
It’s easy to see that good relations with
rms, nongovernmental organizations
and politicians will lead to better trade.”
Ergün also spoke about the impor-
tance of research and development for
Turkey’s future and stated that “the
that his ministry is preparing, a plan that
will aim to increase the production and
exports of medium and high technol-
ogy sectors as well as increase the share
of goods with high value-added for low
technology sectors.
In regards to supporting young
technology entrepreneurs, Ergün not-
ed that his ministry was providing TL
100,000 for youths who want to pro-
duce high technology products through
the Technological Entrepreneurship
Support program. “Many people ask
me ‘What if these youths burn through
all of this money?’ My answer is always,
‘If anybody is to lose our money, let it
be our youth’,” Ergün said, adding that
since April 2009, 159 applications have
been submitted and 78 approved.
PHOTO
In the rst article I conned my attention to
the abnormalities of the US in correcting global
imbalances. Today I want to shift my emphasis
more on Asia, and more specically on China.
The following three tables are reproduced
from the paper of Eswar S. Prasad’s article,
published in May, 2009. (“Rebalancing Growth
In Asia,” http://www.nber.org/papers/w15169,
NBER, Working Paper 15169, July 2009.)
In this paper he discusses the issue of re-
balancing growth in Asia. In addition to the
deathly ill economy of the US, as discussed in
previous column, another extreme opposite
case is taking place in Asia. The current global
problems, abnormalities in Asia, symbolized
mostly by China, can be put as follows:
·The share of nal consumption in overall
GDP is not sufcient. Its share in Turkey’s GDP
Minister of Trade and Industry Nihat Ergün is seen speaking at the
2010 Trade and Industry Roadmap organized by HAD. is 35 percent, whereas its share in the US’ GDP
is 71 percent. Under the current conditions, this
is a net welfare transfer to the residents in the
US, provided that this is sustainable.
·Another striking aspect of growth is the
over emphasis on capital-based investment with
less contribution from employment front. The

Minister: New bids will determine nuclear energy tender model
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner
Yldz has said the make-up of bids for the con-
struction and operation tender of Turkey’s rst nucle-
ar energy power plant will be created by the demands
of the interested parties. “If the bids require a system
with public partnership in the plant -- in the best in-
terests of the country -- we have the adequate infra-
structure to form the basis for such a possibility. If not,
we already have a private sector,” the minister noted.
Speaking to reporters in Tripoli on Tuesday,
where he was participating in an ofcial visit as
Civil servants
part of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan’s consortium composed of Russian companies At-
delegation to Libya, Yldz shared his assess- omstroyexport and Inter RAO UES and the Ciner
ment of the possible direction Turkey will take Group’s Park Teknik, which was the sole bidder
in acquiring nuclear energy. in the tender on Sept. 24, 2008. Turkey has had to
He said the eventual decision on whether to in- cancel ve tenders since it rst started its attempts
clude the state as a partner within the new arrange- to have a nuclear plant in the late 1950s.
ment will be determined at a later stage depending The new model must be in compliance with the
on the requests of the interested parties. law and it has to be efcient, the minister noted.
Last week, the Turkish Electricity Trading and When asked if the Council of State’s verdict
Contracting Company (TETA) scrapped the pre- several weeks ago which invalidated some inte-
vious tender process by rejecting the bid from a gral articles in the regulation of nuclear energy
CUR R EN T IS S UE: VOL . 11 NO. 4 2009
power plants helped TETA to scrap the tender
process, Yldz said: “We don’t think this is true.
We don’t believe TETA’s decision was easier to
make after the Council of State’s decision.”
In response to questions over what Russia is
thinking about the renewed tender process, the
minister said the Russians were also closely track-
ing the developments. “We are planning to orga-
nize an ofcial visit to Russia in December,” he
said, although the date has not yet been set and
may be delayed until January. stanbul Today’s Zaman
w w w. i n s i g h t t u r k e y. c o m
rate of real growth in China between 2000 and
2008 is 10.2 percent. Almost 0.9 percent came
from employment whereas 5 percentage points
came from investment and 1.1 from net exports.
·Excessive savings that stem from the sys-
temic limitations and pressures. Gross national
saving rate to GDP exceeds 50 percent. Net
saving is also well above 40 percent.
Therefore, it is obvious that there must
be a “correction” both in the US as well as in
China in order to prevent a meltdown in the
global economic architecture. In that regard,
therefore, the rate of saving must be reduced
in China in order to provide more contribu-
tions to GDP from domestic consumption and
motivate more imports.
Although I agree with this perspective,
Americans should also stop being an abnor-
mal country as much as China. For instance,
if a country such as the US has such big de-
cits, as mentioned above, the cost of life should

go on 24-hour be higher in parallel to that. This means that

Americans should save more and consume less.
To sum up, leaving the paradigm of “lots

strike today of talk and doing nothing in reality” aside, a

real reform should start, with sincere feelings,
contýnued from page 1 in order to create a new and multilateral global
The only civil servant union that announced economic structure that works.
that it would not participate in the one-day strike
is the Civil Servants’ Trade Union (Memur-Sen).
The groups participating in the strike, which com-
bined have roughly 630,000 members, have called
on every civil servant, whether a member of a
union or not, to participate in today’s strike.
The one-day strike is expected to disrupt vari-
ous public services especially in the areas of pub-
AN INSIGHTFUL REFERENCE
lic transportation, education, health and nance. FOR TURKISH POLITICS &
The administration of the confederations that will INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
participate asked people to show patience if any
possible disruption to public services occurred,
announcing that the strike also aimed at securing
higher quality public services for free. They also
asked people to support the strike by not sending New Kurdish Initiative:
their children to school and by trying not to go to
hospitals for non-emergency situations. Ready for a Solution?
The civil servant confederations’ main de-
mand is for civil servants to have the right to be a
member of a union, to go on strike and to engage Muslim Democracies:
in collective bargaining. Confederations contend
that the government always made the nal de- Changes and Challenges
cision during previous collective bargaining ses-
sions and that this had led to the growth of prob-
lems which have been accumulating for years. Turkey in the UN Security
Erdoan: Going on strike is illegal Council
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan
warned civil servants on Monday to not commit
an illegal act. “This action is not legal. [If they par-
ticipate in the strike] then they will have to bear
the consequences,” he said. Legally, civil servants
The Emergence of the ‘Government’s A Research Note on Islam, Democracy, Peacemaking between America and
do not have the right to strike for any reason, and Perspective on the Kurdish Issue and Secularism the Muslim World: A New Beginning?
such an action is grounds for dismissal. ÜMİT CİZRE A H M E T T. K U R U N AT H A N C . F U N K
Asked whether the government has a plan to
The Kurdish Question: The Reasons Democracy in Muslim Contexts: What The Rise and Decline of the Turkish
make an amendment to grant civil servants the right and Fortunes of the ‘Opening’ Africa Can Bring to the Discussion? “Deep State”: The Ergenekon Case
to participate in strikes, Erdoan noted that Turkey is CENGİZ ÇANDAR L E O N A R D O A . V I L L A LÓ N S E R D A R K AYA
a state of law and that every citizen is free to exercise
Mapping the Pathways: Public Globalization and the Crisis of Turkey in the UN Security Council:
his/her rights; however, the prime minister added that
Perception and Kurdish Question Authoritarian Modernization in Turkey Its Elections and Performance
this labor action is illegal. The issues should be solved CEMALETTİN HAŞİMİ HASAN KÖSEBAL ABAN BERDAL ARAL
through talks, and the government will take action ac-
cording to the decisions made during talks, he said.
As a response to Erdoan’s assessments,
KESK General Director Sami Evren stated that Insight Turkey is a peer-reviewed academic journal covered by
major indexing and abstracting systems and databases. Edited by | İHSAN DAĞI
they did not expect the prime minister to under-
We welcome unsolicited manuscripts and article proposals. Middle East Technical University, Ankara
stand the concerns of civil servants. “It is not le- Published by | SETA Foundation for Political,
For subscription and editorial inquiries you may contact us at
gal to use state authority to threaten a democratic Economic and Social Research
insight@insightturkey.com
act. It is the prime minister who does not comply
with international agreements and Article 90 of the
Turkish Constitution.” stanbul Today’s Zaman
 08 TODAY’S ZAMAN WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
BUSINESS

Talks over Doan

Grand Bazaar hit with massive increase in price of gold
ARF BAYRAKTAR STANBUL
The record increase of the price of an
ounce of gold in international markets to
TL 1,170 has adversely affected shop owners
in the Grand Bazaar, who are coming face-to-
face with the possibility of closing their shops.
The decrease in sales of gold due to the
spike in prices along with rent contracts
based on the price of gold have left jewelers
located in the bazaar in a difcult position.
According to Mehmet Ali Yldrmtürk,
a money and gold markets expert with a
Yayn tax fine get
jewelry shop in the bazaar, who spoke with
Today’s Zaman on Monday, nearly all shops
from closure. Yldrmtürk also stated that
on top of this rent problem, the jewelers’
Gold just isn’t selling.” The increasing price of
gold has affected jewelers outside of the Grand
under way
on the busier streets in the bazaar are faced business has decreased almost 75 percent Bazaar even more, according to Cevdet Balaban, contýnued from page 1
with the problem of gold-based rent con- because of the increase in prices, and the owner of Balaban Kuyumculuk in Baclar. Bala- The tax ofce requested that Doan Holding
tracts, and many are thinking of closing their transaction volume of gold has dropped ban, who previously owned a shop in the bazaar, units Doan TV Holding, D Yapim Reklamclk,
shops. Shop owners signed rent agreements more than 50 percent. “There needs to be moved out six years ago. “I closed my shop and Doan Produksiyon and Alp Görsel Communica-
in January 2008 when a kilogram of gold a middle ground to this issue. If these shop am following the spot market for gold on foot. By tions put up a guarantee equal to the total ne of TL
was TL 25,000, but since it has increased to owners leave, then in this environment peo- working on foot, I try to cover my daily costs with 4.8 billion. Doan reacted by launching a court chal-
TL 37,000, many are left without many op- ple will not be lling in the vacancies.” a few transactions.” This spot market for gold lenge to the guarantee requirement. In mid-October,
tions until their rent contracts are renewed Speaking to Today’s Zaman on Monday, has about 30 salesmen who are all in bad shape Doan Yayn said it had provided collateral in the
in January 2010. However, there isn’t much Nedim Altay of Bircan Jewelry in the bazaar due to this increase. He noted that in a week he form of shares in Doan units and 44 properties to
hope that the situation will change or that said the market was “horrible. Since the price of used to sell 250 “quarters,” or 1.60 grams of gold, the tax ofce to cover the ne. The tax ofce then im-
it can change quickly enough to save them gold increased we can only buy gold, not sell it. and now that number had fallen to 50. posed a preliminary injunction on the sale of shares in
three of Doan’s units, and one day after this, Doan
Yayn said the tax ofce had rejected the guarantees.
On Oct. 30, Doan said the company had received an
invitation from the Finance Ministry to hold talks on

gold prces spark ncentve to cash settling the tax nes. On Nov. 4, Doan Yayn said its
units Doan TV Holding, Doan Prodüksiyon, Alp
Görsel letiim and D Yapm Reklamclk would have
talks with the Finance Min-

n ‘under-the-pllow’ nvestments istry on Nov. 24 to discuss a

possible settlement. Doan
Yayn also said that if there

MUSTAFA KRAZLI
The price of gold, which is reach- was no agreement, the
ing record levels virtually every day, court process for the stay of
has attracted the attention of inves- execution would continue
tors and triggered questions as to how long from where it was.
it will keep rising. The tax ne, which is
In yesterday’s trading in the global mar- larger than the combined Aydn Doan
kets, an ounce of gold was worth $1,170. While market value of Doan

PHOTO
a number of analysts believe the surge in gold Yayn and the rm’s parent company, Doan Hold-
will gradually wane in the coming days, many ing, threatens the survival of the Doan media group.
still believe it will continue for some time to Meanwhile, Doan Yayn reported a TL 147.14
come. The current levels have also led to com- million consolidated net loss for the rst nine
ments that the state has to introduce a strat- months of the year, a gure 242 percent higher than
egy to convince individuals to turn the large that posted for the rst three quarters of 2008.
amounts of gold in their possession into cash. Moreover, the Capital Markets Board (SPK), Tur-
These assets are called “under-the-pillow sav- key’s exchanges watchdog, announced in September
ings” in Turkish investment literature to refer that it will le an ofcial complaint against Doan
to any kind of valuable asset that is withheld and three other executives for deliberately causing
from the registered investment environment nancial losses to Doan Holding. The SPK accused
such banks or the stock exchange. several Doan Holding executives, including Doan
The president of the stanbul Gold Ren- himself, of the same charge last year as well.
ery (AR), Özcan Halaç, estimates there are
nearly 5,000 tons of gold in under-the-pillow ‘Doan Yayn’s innocence will be shown’
savings, which corresponds to a fortune of On the other hand, Doan Yayn CFO Soner Gedik
$180 billion at current market prices. “Such asserted on Nov. 12 in an interview with CNBC-e
savings that are kept under the pillow is mon- that his company has been treated unjustly. Doan
ey ‘smuggled’ from the economy,” he said, Yayn’s participation in tax settlement talks did not
adding that this hidden treasury would create prevent the company from appealing to the tax
jobs for millions and an extra dynamism to the court, he recalled, continuing by saying that they
economy if not kept away. expect the tax settlement talks to reveal the compa-
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, A jeweler is seen placing gold bracelets in a storefront display. Gold has increased to $1,170 per ounce and Turks now prefer it over foreign currencies as a means of saving. ny’s innocence and that they hope for an apology.
Halaç said soaring gold prices are making The company also announced yesterday that the
Turks richer but causing damage to the Turk- one step back and two steps forward,” he lieves gold prices will keep increasing in the year to new record heights, citing a recent es- agreed sale of a 29 percent stake of Doan Yayn to
ish gold and jewelry market. People usually commented. The upswing in prices has not coming year, too. timate by the London Bullion Market Associa- Axel Springer, which was announced last week, will
tend to purchase gold as jewelry or as an in- stemmed from an improvement in the jewelry Saraç argued that the global crisis has tion that prices will shortly reach $1,200 per take place providing the tax proceedings and the
vestment tool, he noted and underlined that business but from the investors’ increased ap- caused “a structural change in investor be- ounce. He also claimed that booming com- regulatory proceedings from the Radio and Tele-
the gold trade has recently been for invest- petite for gold and the central bank’s decisions havior” in favor of gold, which is commonly modity prices are also having a positive affect vision Supreme Council (RTÜK) Law are resolved
ment concerns. The price of a quarter gold to increase gold reserves in the search for a regarded as a safe haven in times of war and on global prices. successfully. Doan Yayn had been accused of vio-
coin, which is usually chosen as a gift and safe haven amidst the crisis. economic meltdown. The dollar, oating at its Mehmet Ali Yldrmtürk, an expert in the lating the law in its sale of ownership shares to Axel
which has 1.6 grams of pure gold in it, has Buying gold in the form accessories is lowest level for the last 15 months is also con- gold and money markets, points out that peo- Springer in 2006. RTÜK announced last month that
reached TL 100, and therefore, demand has signicant for the jewelry sector, Kamerolu tributing to the surge in gold prices, he assert- ple usually tend to consider their investment it has given Doan Yayn Holding three months to
shifted to small 1 gram gold bars, which are said, arguing that the increase in gold prices ed. “Besides, investors are estimating that the decisions in the winter months and that this comply with a law limiting foreign ownership of a
generally chosen for investment purposes, will damage the business. “We really wish fear of ination will evaporate in the long run behavior is a part of seasonal factors explain- private radio or TV station. stanbul Today’s Zaman
Halaç noted. gold prices would start falling again and that as a result of the recent quantitative expansion ing the recent rise in gold prices. He said the
For Halaç, the major reasons behind the people would start buying jewelry,” he added. in monetary policies worldwide, and this is demand for gold usually climbs in the summer
soaring gold prices are the global economic Jewelers are only working at around 10 to 20 causing a boost in the demand for gold, which seasons in countries such as Turkey, India and
crisis, the dollar’s rapid depreciation, falling
interest rates, declining production and con-
percent of capacity, he said, underlining that
this sluggish performance is not sustainable.
is widely perceived as a hedge against ina-
tion,” Kamerolu added. Gold prices, which
Egypt due to wedding ceremonies, in which
relatives mostly present gold and jewelry as
‘New mall joint
sumption of gold, and investors’ search for al-
ternative and more attractive investment op-
stanbul Gold Bourse (AB) President Os-
man Saraç, too, mentions the waning dollar
have gained over 30 percent since the begin-
ning of the year, are also supported by the ex-
wedding gifts. “However, since the fasting
month of Ramadan coincided with summer
project of Turkey,
portunities. Alaattin Kamerolu, the president
of stanbul Chamber of Jewelers (KO), said it
and the ambiguities in the global nancial
markets as major drivers pushing up gold
pectation that US interest rates will continue to
stay at low levels for a long time ahead, he said.
this year, people delayed wedding ceremonies
until October and November, and this played a northern Iraq’
was quite hard to predict precisely where gold prices. Given that adverse conditions in the In light of these assessments, Saraç said he role in the rise of the demand for gold in these Barham Salih, the prime minister of Iraq’s
prices are heading. “Gold prices are moving global markets are difcult to correct, he be- believed gold prices will keep increasing next countries,” he argued. stanbul Today’s Zaman Kurdistan Regional Government, on Tuesday
inaugurated the Majidi Mall, one of the most mod-
ern shopping malls in Iraq, noting that the mall is a
joint effort of Turkey and the region.
Delivering a speech during the opening ceremony
of the mall in Arbil, Salih said the region has good rela-
tions with Turkey and will work to develop them further.
The mall is a good sign of improved relations, he said,
adding: “This is a joint work of art of Turkey and the
Daily Monthly Yearly YTD MCAP 1-Y Country Change Level
Close Change (%) Change (%) Change (%) Change (%) (million TL) Av.Volum (%)
region. Several Turkish brands will be sold in the mall,
İMKB-100 45.801 1,3% -2,9% 89,8% 70,5% 258.719 1.555 Hang Seng H.Kong 1,41 22.771,4 66.33 and the architectural plan of the building was drawn
İMKB-30 58.003 1,4% -2,7% 86,5% 65,7% 211.238 1.177 Nikkei 225 Japan -0,54 9.497,7 51.5 52.97 up by Turkish architects, who did a phenomenal job.”
İMKB-IND 33.394 1,1% -4,3% 79,0% 68,8% 69.129 484 Cac 40 France 2,48 3.821,9 47.03 The HEWA Group constructed and heavily in-
İMKB-BANK 102.022 1,7% -3,0% 110,3% 82,2% 120.415 724 DAX Germany 2,60 5.810,4
33.67 vested in the mall, the only shopping center in the
DJIMT 9,80 0,0% -4,4% 50,8% 38,0% - 0,44 FTSE 100 UK 2,30 5.372,4 26,1
Dow USA 1,62 10.470,0 8,5 9.6 region. Arbil Chamber of Commerce Chairman Dara
TurkDEX NASDAQ USA 2,01 1.799,9 Jalil Khayat, speaking during the opening, said the
US$/JP¥ S&P USA 1,79 1.111,0 Native Foreign Native Foreign
57,850 1,58% commercial importance of the region has been steadily
EU€/JP¥ 1,504 -0,20% BOVESPA Brasil 1,41 67.264,2 Number of SharesM.capNumber of SharesM.cap
CE increasing and that the mall will ease the lives of locals.
AT A GLAN
CALENDAR The Majidi Mall is situated on 130,000 square
pected
No data ex Daily Monthly Yearly meters of land. Its parking lot can accommodate
Ticker Price (TL) Daily Change (%) Ticker Price Daily Change (%) Ticker Volumes Price (TL) Yearly Change (%)
Close Change (%) Change (%) Change (%) US$/JP¥ 88,96
EGGUB 65,50 8,26% GRUND 0,52 -7,14% GARAN 133,7 5,4 110,23
2,500 vehicles. stanbul Today’s Zaman
TL / € 2,225 0,6% EU/JP¥ 133,3
RYSAS 3,42 8,23% NTTUR 1,26 -5,26% KOZAA 131,2 4,8 447,73 TL / $ 1,486 -0,1% EU/US$ 1,498
GSDHO 0,86 7,50% CLEBI 12,70 -3,79% ISCTR 129,7 5,4 48,17
KOZAA 4,82 7,11% YKSGR 9,00 -3,74% ARCLK 65,9 4,8 213,06
TEKST 0,95 6,74% FENER 45,00 -3,23% AKBNK 65,6 8,3 77,02 Price ($) Way Change (%) High Low
Light C. Oil 79,46 2,9% 79,58 77,55
Gold 1166,00 2,1% 1166,00 1166,00
Copper 317,05 2,0% 317,90 312,80
ÝMKB 100 ÝMKB 30 ÝMKB IND RETAILER BIMAS CARFA BOYNR KIPA
Mcap TL -- -- -- 6.613,1 4.630 1.157 94 732 P/E: Share price divided by earnings per share is a measure of the price paid for a share relative to the
P/E 2006/12 income or profit earned by the firm per share.
P/E 2007/06t 13,9x 13,1x 11,0x 240,8x 64,3x -85,6x 14,9x -19,6x EV/EBITDA: Enterprise value divided by earnings before interest, tax and amortization; “t” stands for
P/E 2007/09t 9,9x 9,4x 8,3x 298,2x 57,4x -487,6x 5,8x -10,1x trailer and means the data over the last four quarters.
(*) Yesterday's closing(**) Updated at 6 p.m. by GMT+2
EV/EBITDA 2006/12* 9,5x 9,1x 8,3x 325,7x 51,1x -185,8x 4,9x -8,8x
Disclaimer: The information in this report has been prepared by BMD, Bizim Securities from sources believed
EV/EBITDA 2007/03t* 6,1x 4,9x 7,5x 28,9x 42,6x 14,2x 6,0x 40,1x
to be reliable. All the information, interpretations and recommendations covered herein relating to
EV/EBITDA 2007/06t* 6,8x 5,4x 7,4x 30,4x 39,6x 17,1x 5,5x 72,1x investment actions are not within the scope of investment consultancy. Therefore investment decisions
6,5x 5,3x 7,5x 27,7x 37,5x 17,6x 4,8x 34,4x based only on the information covered herein may not bring expected results.
 TRAVEL WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
The Bosporus, stanbul.
CHAN, TODAY’S ZAMAN
PHOTOS
ON ACTIVE SERVICE IN
EASTERN TURKEY: 1918-1921
TERRY RICHARDSON ANTALYA
Toby Rawlinson was no ordinary traveller. In 1918, fol-
lowing the defeat of Ottoman Turkey in World War I,
this British army colonel was one of the ofcers tasked
by Britain to ensure that the terms of the recently signed armistice
were adhered to in the Caucasus and Eastern Anatolia. It was
mission impossible. Britain, exhausted by the four-year conict,
lacked both the resources and the will to enforce a largely un-
willing population, inhabiting what was then a remote, under-
developed part of the globe, to submit to its demands. None-
theless, Rawlinson’s memoir of his post-wartime experiences,
“Adventures in the Near East,” paints a vivid picture of a Tur-
key undergoing the transition from empire to republic.
Across Europe to stanbul
Rawlinson left Britain in mid-February, crossing a wintry Europe in
a “coupe-lit” train compartment shared with a French medical of-
cer, a Transylvanian bishop and a Russian general. In Salonika (now
Thessalonica in northern Greece), where he changed trains, his
machine guns and suitcase went missing and were only found with
much difculty. The 61-hour journey onto stanbul (which he refers
to by its old name of Constantinople, or “Constant,” British-forces
slang for the imperial capital) was hellish. There was no glass in the
windows of the packed compartments; the weather was either cold,
snowy, rainy or a mixture of all three. Worse was the indignity of
having the contents of a tin of condensed milk “horribly sticky stuff
it is too” leak all over him one night from the netting rack above him.
The next morning there was a “somewhat animated conversation”
between Rawlinson and the fellow-ofcer who had placed it there.
stanbul, then under British occupation, impressed Rawlinson
when viewed from the Sea of Marmara. “The situation of the city
is certainly unique throughout the world … it offers a spectacle of
unrivalled splendour … and appears, when the rays of the setting
sun strike its countless golden mosques and minarets, to be a veri-
table city of palaces.” The reality on the ground he found less at-
tractive, though. “On landing … the disillusionment is both sudden
and complete. Filth and squalour are to be seen everywhere, and the
city of palaces … becomes a collection of hovels and ruins, crop-
ping up from a sea of mud.” Although the old walled quarter of
the city disappointed him, Pera (modern Beyolu) was more to
his taste. “Here are ne, though steep, streets, pavements, electric
lights and trams, ne buildings, all the evidence of prosperity and
enterprise which distinguish a modern European capital.”
From the Caucasus to Trabzon
In early March he took a steamer from stanbul to Batumi (in
modern Georgia), then a train onto the Georgian capital, Tbili-
si. The train was guarded by a hundred British infantrymen,
as “the country was infested by bands of Bolshevik and other
classes of brigands capable of any atrocity.” In Tbilisi, Raw-
linson picked up two Ford cars, which he quickly kitted out
with the guns he’d brought from Britain, and hand picked 14
men to accompany him on his mission. After a brief foray into
the much-disputed and snow-bound province of Kars (now
TODAY’S ZAMAN 09
[TURKEY THROUGH A TRAVELER’S EYES]
Beyolu, stanbul
The historic Rüstem
Paa Bedesten
a part of Turkey), Rawlinson returned to Batumi and took a would ever voluntarily select as his residence. The wind there
ship to Trebizond (modern Trabzon). His mission now was blows with terric force, and piercing cold dees all furs. … No
The Pontic Alps, Trabzon
to cross the Pontic Alps -- the lofty mountain range parallel- tree or shrub of any sort can be found within over 50 miles,
ing the eastern Black Sea coast of Turkey -- and liaise with his either to afford fuel or shelter of any kind, and the words ‘dis-
commander-in-chief in the strategically crucial northeastern mal,’ ‘dreary,’ ‘desolate’ and ‘damnable’ suggest themselves
Anatolian city of Erzerum (Erzurum). The city was the base of irresistibly as a concise description of the whole locality.” He the tribal Kurds; in the same way that Lawrence of Arabia was
the Turkish 9th Army and, under the terms of the 1918 armi- did, however, get to meet Kazm Karabekir, who would go on with the Bedouin Arabs, calling them “the nest men it has ever
stice, the British were supposed to oversee the demobilization to become a hero of the Turkish War of Independence. He de- been my privilege to meet.” He later, however, conceded “they
and disarmament of these (and indeed all Ottoman Turkish) scribed Karabekir as “the most genuine example of a rst- are brigands by descent as well as by inclination and training.”
troops. But although Rawlinson was armed with a “rman” class Turkish ofcer that it has been my good fortune to Rawlinson was on the Armenian side of the frontier when he
issued by the sultan to ensure the Turkish military complied meet … although it was my fate to be his prisoner for a long heard that “the conference then proceeding at Erzerum, where
with his requests, the Turkish nationalist revolution was, un- time … he has never ceased to command my respect as an has assembled representatives of the Young Turkish Party …
ofcially, already underway -- making his task nigh on im- individual, and my appreciation as a thoroughly competent were organizing a revolution with the eventual object of estab-
possible given the limited resources at his disposal. Commander.” “Mustapha Kemal Pasha” arrived in Erzerum lishing a Turkish Republic.” He made haste to Erzerum and was
whilst Rawlinson was there, and if anything he was even received cordially by Karabekir, and later by Kemal himself. He
Over the Pontic Alps to Erzerum more impressed by the man who would eventually carve told him the outcome of the conference -- that a national “pact”
Although it was by now mid-April, the famous 2,010-meter Zi- the Turkish Republic from the carcass of the Ottoman Em- had been formed; aimed at ridding Anatolia of the occupying al-
gana Pass was still snow-bound. Today a ne asphalt road and pire, writing, “A man of great strength of character and lied forces and establishing an independent Turkish state. Raw-
tunnel have tamed the pass, a mere 110 kilometers from Trab- very definite and practical views as to the rightful posi- linson’s task was hopeless, and went to Sarkam, then under
zon, but it took Rawlinson and his men a day and a half to cross. tion of his people in the comity of nations … no seeker Armenian occupation, to rejoin his men. He describes this re-
He was captivated by the view from the top after personal fame or advancement, he is mote East Anatolian town, which now boasts one of Turkey’s
of Zigana. “We had our rst view of Anato- imbued with a deep sense of duty which best ski resorts, as thus, “This district … much resembles some
lia, and a very marvelous and beautiful one causes him to place his country’s interests parts of Switzerland, the mountains being heavily wooded and
it was. In the bright morning sun range after before all others.” the valleys green and fertile.” From Sarkam he returned to
range of snow-capped mountains appeared Tbilisi by rail, then took an American destroyer from Batumi to
on every side. …The impression produced On the border “Constant” -- and then, after debrieng, back to Britain.
by this remarkable scene was of an incred- For the next four months Rawlinson traveled
ibly rocky and rugged country, of precipices around the unstable frontier zone between the Go back to Turkey, go straight to jail
and narrow, deep valleys.” Descending incipient Armenian and Turkish republics. Kars Rawlinson, though, was not done with Turkey, nor it with him.
the far side, Rawlinson’s team bivouacked at that time (the spring of 1919) was under Ar- An interview with the Foreign Ofce in London left him with no
in Gumuhane, the next day crossing the menian control -- a control sanctioned by the doubt that they were skeptical about his reports on the strength
Vavok Pass (Vavuk Pass) to Bayburt. terms of the 1918 armistice. The Armenian com- and determination of the Turkish nationalists. Despite this, he
Ahead of them lay the most notorious manders interviewed by Rawlinson were insis- was given a new mission -- to return to Anatolia and contact
pass of all, the Kop (2,302 meters), where tent this permission made it an “absolute neces- Mustafa Kemal indirectly and nd out what his real aims and ob-
“no winter season ever passes without sity that they should disarm the Tartar [Turkish] jectives were. He returned to “Constant” by boat. His return to
many lives being lost … from expo- British army Moslem population.” This could only by the east was delayed by inclement weather and he “enjoyed sev-
sure.” New snow, a savage wind done by force and Rawlinson commented, eral days of hunting with the army hounds, and several rounds
and the steep slope made prog- Col. Toby Rawlinson’s with a feeling of hopelessness, “This of golf on the links which had been established on the hills to
ress up the Kop painstaking. obviously led to ghting; and ghting, the north-west of Pera.” Re-crossing the passes between Trab-
Eventually they unloaded their
memoir of his post-wartime as between Moslem and Armenian, zon and Erzerum in freezing winter conditions, Rawlinson and
eet of six cars and comman- experiences, ‘Adventures in the of necessity led to massacres and his men reached their goal on Boxing Day and were put up in
deered some local Turkish atrocities of all kinds.” Rawlinson a house belonging to the 9th Army -- a house where “we were
troops and 40 oxen to help
Near East,’ paints a vivid picture of also met the local Kurdish tribal destined afterwards to remain so long and suffer so severely.”
drag them up the slope. At a Turkey undergoing the transition chieftains, one of whom made it Victims of political circumstance and diplomatic wrangling be-
last they summited and “en- clear that “if it was decided (by the tween the Allies and the new de facto Turkish Republican gov-
joyed a view which is unsur- from empire to republic. At the time victorious European powers) to ernment, Rawlinson and his men ended up under house arrest,
passable in any country.” endeavor to put them under Arme- and then in prison, from March 1920 until October 1921.
Given the ravages of war,
of his journey the Turkish nationalist nian government, and if European In spite of his incarceration, Rawlinson, who had formed
its high, exposed position and revolution was already underway troops were to support the Arme- such a good impression of fellow military men Kazm Karabekir
the fact that he came down with nians, they would evacuate the coun- and Mustafa Kemal, wrote near the end of his memoirs: “I am
dysentery here, it is unsurprising -- making his task nigh on try with all their goods and herds, and … of the opinion that the inevitable policy of our country must
that Rawlinson had a somewhat impossible given the limited go bodily over to their kinsmen beyond always be to establish friendly relations with Turkey. … I had no
jaundiced view of Erzerum. “It is the Turkish frontier.” Like many Brit- idea of allowing our experiences to be made use of by any anti-
a particularly uninviting spot, which resources at his disposal ons of his period and upper-class, military Turkish party.” Rawlinson later was made a Commander of the
no one who is familiar with that country background, Rawlinson was enamored with Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his sterling wartime service.
 10 TODAY’S ZAMAN
CRACKDOWN
Spain arrests 36 from
group linked to ETA
Spanish police have arrested 36 members of
Segi, an outlawed youth group linked to the
Basque guerrilla organization ETA, in a sweep
which is still underway, court ofcials said on
Tuesday. The operation was carried out across
the Basque Country and Navarra, northern
Spain, on the orders of a High Court judge.
Leaders of Segi, which was declared a terror-
ist group by the Supreme Court in 2007, were
among those arrested, the ofcials said. ETA
was founded 50 years ago during the dictator-
ship of Francisco Franco and has killed more
than 800 people in its campaign for an indepen-
dent Basque Country. Security forces believe it
has been substantially weakened by hundreds
of arrests in recent years in France and Spain but
that it is still capable of ghting. Madrid Reuters
PLEA
Brazil urges West
to work with Iran
Iran’s leader got a welcoming bear hug from the
Brazilian president, who urged Western nations to
drop threats of punishment over the Iranian nu-
clear program and instead negotiate a fair solution.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who
also called for diplomacy to push for peace in the
Middle East and ease tensions between Iran, the
US and other nations, again defended Iran’s right
to have a peaceful nuclear program. Commenting
after talking privately for three hours Monday with
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- the rst Ira-
nian leader to visit Brazil since pro-US Shah Mo-
hammad Reza Pahlavi came in 1965 -- Silva also
said Iran should negotiate with the West to nd a
“just and balanced” solution to concerns over its
nuclear program. Ahmadinejad made no prom-
ises and deantly said Iran would try to improve
its uranium-enrichment technology if it can’t buy
enriched uranium abroad. “If the people ask us to
produce ourselves, we should do it, and the oppor-
tunity we tried to create for the other side will be
lost,” said Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly de-
nied allegations by Washington and its European
allies that Iran is trying to build atomic weapons.
Iran insists its program is aimed only at generating
electricity with nuclear reactors. Brasilia AP
CLIMATE
Denmark minister
tapped for EU post
Denmark on Tuesday proposed Climate Min-
ister Connie Hedegaard as its next European
Commissioner and said it expects her to handle
climate issues at the EU executive. Prime Min-
ister Lars Loekke Rasmussen told reporters He-
degaard’s nomination was made with “the clear
expectation” she would take on the EU climate
portfolio. A nal decision, however, lies with Eu-
ropean Commission President Jose Manuel Bar-
roso who will shortly distribute portfolios in his
next executive that is to take ofce in late January
or early February. All incoming EU commission-
ers face conrmation hearings in the European
Parliament. Hedegaard is currently climate min-
ister in Rasmussen’s center-right government.
Rasmussen sounded upbeat about Hedegaard’s
chance of assuming the EU climate portfolio
saying Barroso “conrmed to me that Connie
Hedegaard will get a position that matches her
experience and her competence.” He said Hede-
gaard will leave her post in the Danish Cabinet
immediately to take charge of the UN-sponsored
conference on climate change in Copenhagen
next month. Hedegaard was appointed climate
minister in 2007 and her main task has been to
prepare for the summit. Copenhagen AP
‘TERRORISM’
UK police under
fire over arrests
The British government’s terrorism watchdog on
Tuesday criticized counter-terrorism police who
arrested and then released without charge 12 men
seized in April raids to foil a suspected al-Qaeda
plot. Lord Carlile, the government’s independent
reviewer of terrorism legislation, said Greater Man-
chester Police should have sought comprehensive
advice from Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
lawyers about the operation in advance. The raids
were launched several hours ahead of schedule in
daylight after a document on the operation being
carried by Britain’s senior counter-terrorism ofcer
Bob Quick into Downing Street was photographed.
Quick resigned the next day. “It was unwise of the
police in this case not to actively seek legal advice
from the CPS during the process of planning the
arrests,” Carlile said. The 11 Pakistanis and one
Briton were arrested in northwest England on
April 8 in an operation aimed at preventing what
Prime Minister Gordon Brown called a “very big
terrorist plot.” Prosecutors said there was insuf-
cient evidence to hold them or bring charges. Po-
lice did not meet CPS lawyers in person until April
15, a week after the arrests and Carlile said advice
might have led to fewer arrests. London Reuters
US pitches unique F-35 fighter jet to Israel
The United States has offered to add Is-
raeli systems and munitions to a new US-
built ghter jet and deliver it to Israel by 2015,
provided a deal is sealed in coming months.
Lockheed Martin Corp, maker of the ra-
dar-evading F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, would
tie in Israeli-built command, control, com-
munications, computer and intelligence sys-
tems for a unique version of the jet for sale to
Israel, Jon Schreiber, a senior Pentagon pro-
gram ofcial, told Reuters Monday.
The United States also would integrate
bombs that use an Israeli precision guid-
ance kit called Spice along with Python 5
air-to-air missiles made by Israel’s Rafael
Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Schreiber
said in an interview.
Filipino villagers search for victims at the scene of a massacre of a political convoy, which included two dozen journalists, on the out-
skirts of Ampatuan, Maguindanao in the southern Philippines on Tuesday.
Phlppnes declares
emergency after 46
klled n poll volence
The Philippine president placed two
southern provinces under emergen-
cy rule on Tuesday as security forces
unearthed more bodies from one of the worst
incidents of election violence in the nation’s
history, pushing the death toll to 46.
Police and soldiers found 22 bodies in a
hillside mass grave on Tuesday, adding to the
24 bullet-riddled bodies recovered near the
scene of Monday’s massacre in Maguindanao
province, said Chief Superintendent Joseno
Cataluna of the Central Mindanao region.
This southern region of the Philip-
pines is wracked by violent political rival-
ries, in addition to a long-running Islamic
insurgency, but the killings have shocked
this Southeast Asian nation. One adviser
to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has
described the massacre as the worst in the
country’s recent history. A media rights
watchdog also says that it appears to be the
world’s worst mass killing of journalists,
with as many as 23 feared dead.
Netanyahu says Hamas prisoner deal might not happen
An Israeli prisoner exchange with Hamas
has not yet been agreed and might not
happen, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said on Tuesday after a cabinet colleague pre-
dicted a breakthrough in the near future. “There
is still no deal, and I do not know if there will be
one,” Netanyahu, whose refusal to disclose de-
tails of the state of the Egyptian- and German-
mediated negotiations has helped stoked specu-
lation about imminent progress, told reporters.
Leaders of Hamas, the group ruling the
Gaza Strip, were in Cairo to discuss the pro-
posed swap of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Sha-
lit for hundreds of jailed Palestinians.
Ofcials close to the talks said on Mon-
day that Israel had dropped its objections to
some 160 prisoners that Hamas wants included
on the release roster. But both sides have de-
In addition, he said, Israel would get a
relatively inexpensive path for hardware and
software upgrades to add future weapons.
On the other hand, the United States
does not plan for now to put an Israeli elec-
tronic warfare system aboard the F-35, which
is in early stages of production.
“Some time in the future, if policy changes,
or things change, that could change as well,”
said Schreiber, who heads the F-35 program’s
international program for the Pentagon.
Dropping plans for incorporating elec-
tronic warfare systems would be a signi-
cant switch for Israel, which bought modi-
ed US-built F-15s and F-16s to incorporate
such know-how. The Pentagon and Lock-
heed Martin are eager to wrap up an F-35
Dozens of gunmen abducted the group
of journalists, supporters and relatives of
a gubernatorial candidate as they traveled
through Amputuan township Monday to
le candidacy documents in the provincial
capital for May 2010 elections.
The gubernatorial candidate, Ismael
Mangudadatu, who was not a part of the
convoy, accused a powerful political rival
from the Amputuan clan of being behind
the slayings. There is a longstanding bitter-
ness between the two families.
Mangudadatu’s wife, Genalyn, and his
two sisters were among the dead.
The bodies found in the grave, about six
feet (two meters) deep, were dumped on top
of one another. They included a pregnant
woman. Grieving relatives helped identify
their loved ones before they were given the
bodies, covered by banana leaves, for burial.
Ofcials were still trying to determine
the exact number of people intercepted by
the gunmen and whether any had survived.
murred at anticipation, disseminated by Arab
media, of an exchange being in place as soon as
Friday, the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha.
Israel had long balked at granting amnes-
ty to Palestinians jailed for attacks that killed
its citizens. While signaling exibility in its
bid to recover Shalit, the Israeli government
is wary of a domestic backlash.
“Should there be such [a swap] we will not
be sparing with a public discussion. We will
not do it as a fait accompli. We will allow the
cabinet ministers, and the public in general, to
discuss the issue,” Netanyahu said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Industry and Trade Min-
ister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who is not a member
of the Israeli security cabinet deliberating the pris-
oner swap, said a deal was “moving toward com-
pletion in the very near future.” Jerusalem Reuters
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009 WORLD
The rresstble
deal with Israel, which is tentatively plan- rse of the
ning to buy an initial 25 F-35s in scal 2012
with an option for 50 more. renmnb
The single-engine aircraft, designed to
OPINION
avoid detection by radar, could play a role in
any Israeli effort to knock out what it regards Barry Eichengreen
as the threat to its existence posed by Iran’s
TODAY’S ZAMAN
nuclear program.
Schreiber said he met Israeli procurement
BEIJING -- China is making a big push to encour-
ofcials in New York last week to discuss a
age greater international use of its currency, the ren-
“roadmap” for the proposed government-to-
minbi. It has an agreement with Brazil to facilitate
government F-35 sale. The United States co-
use of the two countries’ currencies in bilateral trade
developed the F-35 with eight foreign part-
transactions. It has signed renminbi swap agree-
ners -- Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey,
ments with Argentina, Belarus, Hong Kong, Indo-
Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.
nesia, South Korea and Malaysia. Last summer, it
Together, the core group is projected to buy
expanded renminbi settlement agreements between
about 730 aircraft. Washington Reuters
Hong Kong and ve mainland cities, and authorized
HSBC Holdings to sell renminbi bonds in Hong
Kong. Then, in September, the Chinese government
issued in Hong Kong about $1 billion worth of its
own renminbi-denominated bonds.
All of these initiatives are aimed at reducing de-
REUTERS, ERIK DE CASTRO
pendence on the dollar both at home and abroad by
encouraging importers, exporters and investors to
make more use of China’s currency. The ultimate
goal is to ensure that China eventually gains the
exibility and nancial prerogatives that come with
being a reserve-currency country.
No one questions that the renminbi is on the
rise. For the same reasons that the global econo-
my has become more multipolar, the international
monetary system will become more multipolar, with
PHOTO
several currencies sharing reserve-currency sta-
tus. And no one questions, given China’s size and
growth prospects, that one day the renminbi will be
an important international currency.
The question is when. Cautious observers warn
that making the renminbi a true international cur-
rency will take time. Making it attractive for private
and ofcial international use will require China to
build deep and liquid nancial markets. This will
mean the development of more reliable and trans-
parent clearing and settlement systems. It will re-
quire a benchmark asset, a well-dened yield curve,
and a critical mass of market participants. All of these
dimensions of liquid markets take time to build.
Moreover, those markets will have to be open to
the rest of the world. In other words, China will have
to fully open its capital account before the renminbi
can become a true international currency. This will re-
quire putting banks and state-owned enterprises on a
fully commercial footing, and moving to a more ex-
ible exchange rate. In short, it will entail fundamental
changes in the Chinese growth model. All this is a re-
minder that the task will not be completed overnight.
But the United States’ own history suggests that
the process can be completed more quickly than is
sometimes supposed. As late as 1914, the dollar played
absolutely no international role. No central bank held
its foreign reserves in dollars. No one issued foreign
bonds in dollars. Instead, they all went to London, al-
Authorities have said the convoy comprised
lowing British banks to underwrite their transactions
and conducting their business in sterling. Even US im-
porters and exporters requiring trade credits obtained
about 40 people, but Cataluna said at least them in London rather than New York and did their
ve other people were still missing. business in sterling rather than dollars.
Arroyo declared an emergency in the That London rather than New York still domi-
provinces of Maguindanao and nearby nated in 1914, when the US economy was already
Sultan Kudarat, allowing security forces more than twice the size of Britain’s, reected the
to conduct random searches and set up latter’s head start as an industrial power, an exporter
checkpoints to pursue the gunmen. and a foreign investor. This is a reminder that in-
Arroyo said she ordered police and the cumbency is a considerable advantage in the com-
military “to conduct immediate, relentless petition for reserve-currency status.
pursuit against the perpetrators to secure the But this situation also reected the fact that the
affected areas.” The emergency will remain US lacked the market infrastructure needed for the
in place until the president is condent that dollar to play an international role. In particular, the
law and order have been restored in the re- US lacked a liquid market in trade acceptances, the
gion, her spokesman Cerge Remonde said. instrument used to nance imports and exports.
Police and Joy Sonza, head of a small And it lacked a central bank to backstop that market.
private TV station, UNTV, identied at least This changed in 1914 with the creation of the Fed-
three journalists among the dead. eral Reserve System. One of the new central bank’s
Noynoy Espina, vice chairman of the Na- rst actions was to encourage the development of a
tional Union of Journalists of the Philippines, market in trade acceptances. It did so by using repur-
chase agreements to buy for its own account the ma-
said at least 20 other journalists were believed
to be among those killed, based on reports
from union chapters in the area. Ampatuan AP
jority of trade acceptances issued in New York. This
ensured that spreads were low and prices were stable.
As a result of this ofcial support, private inves-
tors gained condence in the new instrument. And,
with their growing participation, the market in trade
acceptances became more liquid.
New York surpassed London as a source of trade
nance by the mid-1920s. At this point, the Fed could
curtail its intervention and give the market over to pri-
vate investors. And where private investors led, central
REUTERS
banks followed. In the second half of the 1920s they
held more of their reserves in dollars than sterling. Thus,
it took barely a decade, from a standing start, for the
new international currency to overtake the incumbent.
PHOTO
Chinese ofcials have targeted 2020 as the date by
which both Beijing and Shanghai should become lead-
ing international nancial centers, with deep and liq-
uid nancial markets open to the rest of the world. By
implication, that is the date by which they want to see
the renminbi become a leading international currency.
Can the renminbi become a major international
currency in as little as a decade? Only time will tell.
But US history suggests that this schedule, while
ambitious, is not impossible.
*Barry Eichengreen is professor of economics and
political science at the University of California,
Benjamin Netanyahu Berkeley. © Project Syndicate 2009.
 WORLD
British panel begins inquiry on Iraq war ‘deception’
AP, LEFTERIS PITARAKIS
PHOTO
Anti-war protesters from the “Stop the War” group, wearing
masks pose for the photographers, outside the conference cen-
ter where the Iraq war inquiry is taking place, in central London.
SAUDI ARABIA
SEEKS TO CURB
FLU AND STOP
PROTEST AT HAJJ
More than 2 million Muslims
gather this week for the annual
hajj pilgrimage to Islam’s holy city
of Mecca, where Saudi authorities hope to
minimize the spread of the H1N1 virus and
prevent any political demonstration.
The hajj, one of the world’s biggest dis-
plays of mass religious devotion and a duty
for Muslims who can perform it, has been
marred in the past by res, hotel collapses,
police clashes with protesters and deadly
stampedes. This year, the mainly Sunni
Muslim kingdom is battling Shiite Yemeni
rebels after they raided its territory, an issue
that raises fears of possible protests by fel-
low Shiite Muslims during the rituals. Saudi
Arabia bans public protests.
In 1987, a rally by pilgrims against Israel
and the United States led to clashes with
Saudi security forces in which 402 people,
mostly Iranians, died. Saudi Arabia, a US
ally which sees itself as Sunni Islam’s guard-
ian, has often been at odds with Shiite Iran,
mainly after the 1979 Iranian revolution.
Riyadh warned earlier this month
against any attempt to politicize the pil-
grimage. The warning followed remarks
by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei to departing Shiite pilgrims
REUTERS, CAREN FIROUZ
PHOTO
A Muslim pilgrim sits outside the Grand
Mosque in the holy city of Mecca on Tuesday.
Afghanistan announcement expected
next week, US President Obama says
President Barack Obama held a “rigorous
nal meeting” with his Afghanistan war
council and is expected to announce his revised
strategy for the eight-year-old conict early next
week. Military ofcials and others expect Obama
to settle on a middle-ground option that would de-
ploy an eventual 32,000 to 35,000 US forces. That
rough gure has stood as the most likely option
since before Obama’s last large war council meet-
ing earlier this month, when he tasked military
planners with rearranging the timing and makeup
of some of the deployments. The president has said
with increasing frequency in recent days that a big
piece of the rethinking of options that he ordered
had to do with building an exit strategy into the an-
W E D N E S D A Y, N O V E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 0 9
In the most sweeping inquiry on the Iraq
war, a panel investigating Britain’s role
in the conict began questioning witnesses on
Tuesday in hearings that critics hope will humble
ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair and expose alleged
deception in the buildup to ghting.
The panel, which opened with a moment of
silence for those who died, will question dozens of
ofcials over several months -- including military
ofcials and spy agency chiefs. It will also seek evi-
dence from ex-White House staff.
Among the most prominent witnesses will
be Blair, who will be questioned on whether he
secretly backed US President George W. Bush
plan’s for invasion a year before Parliament au-
that they could not ignore conict in Iraq,
Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories
and Pakistan. The hajj should “display
the rm resolve of the Muslim nation to
confront attempts that damage its unity
and progress,” Khamenei said.
Interior Minister Prince Nayef, whose
country has been battling al-Qaeda mili-
tants since 2003, said late on Sunday
about 100,000 men are deployed to en-
sure security at holy sites. “We hope we
will not have to resort to force.”
Flu spread
Riyadh is also trying to prevent a spread of
the H1N1 virus as the crowded rituals pro-
vide an environment for transmission of
the disease. At least four pilgrims have died
of the virus since the beginning of the hajj
season. Since the World Health Organiza-
tion (WHO) declared H1N1 a pandemic in
June, experts fear pilgrims from some 160
countries would carry the virus initiating
waves of outbreaks worldwide.
The Arabian Peninsula kingdom, the
birthplace of Islam, has urged Muslims
over 65 and under 12 as well as people with
chronic diseases and pregnant women to
not perform the ritual this year. Several
countries have put restrictions on their pil-
grims and Tunisia has banned citizens from
going altogether. Riyadh has installed devic-
es to detect infections at points of entry and
set up a 300-bed clinic in the Red Sea port of
Jeddah, where most foreign pilgrims arrive.
On the climax of the hajj on Thurs-
day, worshipers spend the day gathered
en masse at Arafat near Mecca. The fol-
lowing day pilgrims begin casting stones
at pillars over three days in a symbolic
renunciation of the devil’s temptation.
Authorities have improved facilities
to ease the ow of pilgrims, particularly
around the area where crowds gather to
throw stones at the pillars. In 2006, 362 peo-
ple were crushed to death there, the worst
hajj tragedy in 16 years. Saudi Arabia has
built a four-story platform around the pillars Muslim pilgrims pray around the Kaaba inside the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca at dawn be-
to expand the access area. Riyadh Reuters fore the start of this year’s hajj pilgrimage on Tuesday.
nouncement -- in other words, revising the options
presented to him to clarify when US troops would
turn over responsibility to the Afghan government
and under what conditions. As White House press
secretary Robert Gibbs put it to reporters on Mon-
day, it’s “not just how we get people there, but
what’s the strategy for getting them out.” Obama
held the 10th meeting of his Afghanistan strategy
review since mid-September on Monday night,
with a large cast of foreign policy and military ad-
visers, to go over that revised information from war
planners. The two-hour Situation Room session
was aimed at discussing “some of the questions
that the president had, some additional answers to
what he’d asked for,” Gibbs said. Washington AP
thorized military involvement in 2003. Critics of
the conict hope to take Blair to task for publicly
promoting a policy of containment even at a mo-
ment he considered regime change inevitable.
“We want to examine the evidence,” said
John Chilcot, the commission’s chair. “We will
approach our task in a way that is thorough,
rigorous, fair and frank.” Bereaved families and
anti-war activists have long called for a compre-
hensive study to consider Britain’s role in a con-
ict that left 179 British soldiers dead and trig-
gered massive public protests. But some worry
the hearings will do little to answer lingering
doubts about Britain’s rush to join the war.
Led by a panel appointed by Prime Minis-
Iran says it is ready for low-enriched
uranium exchange only on its own soil
Iran said on Tuesday it was ready to
exchange its low-enriched uranium
with a higher enriched material, but only on
its own soil, to guarantee the West follows
through with promises to give the fuel. The
Iranian terms mean an effective rejection
of a UN-brokered plan designed to delay
its ability to build a nuclear weapon. Under
the plan, Iran would export its uranium for
enrichment in Russia and France where it
would be converted into fuel rods, which
would be returned to Iran about a year later.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehm-
anparast said Iran had sent its response on
the proposal to the ve permanent members
ter Gordon Brown, the inquiry won’t apportion
blame, or establish criminal or civil liability -- only
offer reprimand and recommendations in hopes
mistakes won’t be repeated in the future.
In the United States, the 9/11 Commission
examined some issues around prewar intelli-
gence, and a Senate select committee identied
failures in intelligence gathering in a July 2004
report on prewar intelligence assessments.
But the Iraq inquiry is envisioned to be a
comprehensive look at the war. Brown set up the
inquiry to address public criticism of three key as-
pects of the conict: the case made for war; the
chaotic planning for the invasion; and the failure
to prepare for reconstruction. London AP
REUTERS, CAREN FIROUZ
PHOTO
of the UN Security Council plus Germany,
saying it wants a simultaneous exchange on
Iranian soil. “Iran’s answer is given. I think
the other side has received it,” said Mehm-
anparast. “The creation of a 100 percent
guarantee for delivery of the fuel is important
for Iran.” Another Iranian ofcial, Ali Akbar
Salehi, head of Iran’s atomic energy agency,
conrmed the details, saying that in Iran’s
view such an exchange was an “objective
guarantee.” Iranian ofcials have accused
the West of breaking past promises to supply
it technology. They say they don’t trust the
West will eventually send back the fuel rods
if Tehran lets its uranium abroad. Tehran AP
TODAY’S ZAMAN 11
From communty
to securty n Asa
OPINION
Fidel V. Ramos
TODAY’S ZAMAN
MANILA -- Visitors are often catalysts for change.
Barack Obama’s just-concluded visit to Asia may be no
different, for his trip left Asia and its leaders wondering
just what sort of regional community they are building.
The modern sense of building a pan-Asian com-
munity began with the traumatic East Asian nancial
and economic crisis of 1997, when all the countries
of the Asia-Pacic region learned the hard way that
national reforms and protections could turn out to be
woefully inadequate. Soon afterwards, a consensus
formed among many Asian leaders that broader coop-
eration and coordination was needed.
Even during that 1997 crisis, this lesson was al-
ready being recognized, for the members of the Asia-
Pacic Economic Community (APEC) remained com-
mitted to trade liberalization, one of the key forces that
helped restart growth in Asia’s economies. Indeed, the
APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in 1997 designated
15 major sectors -- including automobiles, chemicals,
energy assets, and environmental measures -- for early
liberalization. Looking back at Asia’s economic growth
over the past 12 years, it is clear that liberalization of
trade and investment paid off.
Realizing that economics cannot be neatly separat-
ed from politics, APEC soon began to include security
issues in its agenda. In 2002, APEC’s leaders launched
the STAR initiative, establishing a “Secure Trade Area
in the APEC Region.”
STAR safeguards the ow of goods and people
through measures that secure ships, aviation, and
travelers -- thereby enhancing cross-border secu-
rity, customs networking, and protection of corporate
supply chains. This was followed, in 2003-2004, by
heightening security cooperation through the Coun-
ter-Terrorism Task Force as well as the Asian Devel-
opment Bank’s Trade and Financial Security Initiative.
These initiatives have undoubtedly deepened Asia’s
sense of community. But now that community must con-
front its greatest challenge: the rise of China. As China
grows mightier economically and politically, how can
long-term stability in the Asia-Pacic be ensured?
I believe that a shift from Pax Americana to Pax
Asia-Pacica could be the answer. Just as the nations
of Western Europe exploited the Cold War stalemate
to build the European Union, Asia must exploit the
common interests that the United States, Japan, Chi-
na, India, South Korea, Russia, Australia, New Zea-
land and all the Southeast Asian countries have in
securing a peaceful and stable Asia-Pacic.
Under the Cold War “balance of terror,” Western
Europe organized an economic, political, and cultural
community that has now brought about a modern era
of “perpetual peace” on that continent. APEC members,
too, should use the existing umbrella of Pax Americana
to accelerate economic, security, and political integration
before new rivalries emerge to thwart their efforts.
Many of the instruments for greater integration al-
ready exist. There is, to start, the Association of South-
east Asian Nations (ASEAN). But larger groupings --
“ASEAN plus China” and a future “ASEAN plus Japan,
South Korea, and India” -- are being negotiated.
Among the political tasks these broader groups are
beginning to broach are strategies to defeat terrorism
without alienating the region’s large, indigenous Muslim
population. Somehow, too, Asia’s leaders must manage
the pace of globalization. Just as Southeast Asia’s peasant
rebellions of the 1930s were a reaction to the breakdown
of an earlier episode of globalization, so Islamism in Asia
is a response to our new secularist/consumerist societies.
Across Asia, APEC is playing the central role in creat-
ing a Pax Asia-Pacica. Unlike Pax Americana, which has
been imposed by US military force, this will be a peace
among virtual equals. The new Asia-Pacic security ar-
chitecture should emanate from cooperation based not
on a “balance of power” but on burden-sharing to bring
about a “balance of mutual benet.”
Clearly, Pax Asia-Pacica must be built on an un-
swerving commitment to peace among APEC’s most
powerful countries -- the US, China, and Japan. A
productive Chinese contribution would demonstrate
its commitment to being a responsible stakeholder in
the wider world community.
Japan, too, must play an active role in security and
peace-keeping. A crucial factor in ensuring Pax Asia-
Pacica is the synergistic relationship between China
and Japan. In the interest of regional peace, both ma-
jor powers must stop letting historical resentments
obstruct a more harmonious and prosperous future
for the Asia-Pacic region.
Once these political shifts begin, APEC can begin to
transform itself into an Asia-Pacic Community for Eco-
nomic Cooperation and Security. The strategic test will
be for regional organizations -- such as APEC -- to en-
sure that the spirit of cooperation always outweighs the
member states’ competitive impulses. European nations
recognized this a half-century ago, and Asia’s countries
must make that same, self-restricting choice now.
Whatever our shared endeavors, Asians must take
care that they are undertaken through shared responsi-
bilities, shared burdens, shared values, and shared ben-
ets. Only in this way will Asia achieve a higher quality of
life and greater security for all its peoples.
* Fidel V. Ramos is a former president of the Philippines.
© Project Syndicate, 2009
 12 TODAY’S ZAMAN W E D N E S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 0 9 EXPAT ZONE

Language and dance

There are a few popular Web sites available to help foreigners learn
more about Turkish and Turkey. These Web sites discuss topics ranging
from property to poetry and culture, etc. One of the most popular Web
sites for expats who want to start learning Turkish can be found on the
Internet at www.turkishclass.com
Here are some comments received this past week from To-
day’s Zaman readers related to the piece “Traces of Ottoman
Turks” (Nov. 21, 2009):
A Hungarian lady on turkishclass.com wrote this: “Even my name,
Ákos, has Turkish origin. Somewhere I’ve read it means ‘white bird’ in
old Turkish, as ak-kush.”
Here’s another great item mentioned on the Web site. This story is
told by the composer A. Adnan Saygun in his article “Bartók in Turkey”
(The Musical Quarterly, Jan. 1951, pp. 5-9):
“Bartók had set to work for some time studying the Turkish lan-
guage. The words common to the two languages repeatedly became
the subject of our conversation. Having encountered considerable dif-
culties in convincing not only the women to sing but also the men,
whether young or old (for they had a vague apprehension before a
stranger who did not speak their language), I proposed to the Master
that we make up a sentence that would be almost the same in Hungar-
CULTURAL CORNER
CHARLOTTE
McPHERSON
ian and Turkish. Then whenever we again met some people who were
intimidated by the presence of a stranger, I would take over and give
them a little talk about the history of the two peoples in which I would
say that the Hungarians were only Turks who had settled somewhere
else, that they always had spoken Turkish, but that evidently in the
course of the centuries their accent had become more or less different.
After that I would ask the composer to repeat the sentence we concoct-
ed. Bartók would repeat it readily with an anxious smile barely visible
on his lips. Of course, everyone understood it, and after several dis-
quisitions on this subject we quietly set to work. Here is the sentence:
In Hungarian: Pamuk tarlón sok árpa, alma, teve, sátor,
balta, csizma, kicsi kecske van.
In Turkish: Pamuk tarlasinda çok arpa, alma, deve, çadir, balta,
çizme, küçük keçi var.
(Translation: In the cotton eld are much barley and many apples,
camels, tents, axes, boots, and young goats.)”
Another comment on Turkish Class by a Hungarian reads: “I have
to tell you that the Hungarian word for gate is ‘kapu,’ what we got from
the Turkish language from ‘kapisi.’”
More interesting comments from Turkish Class:
An Estonian wrote that grammar for the use of verbs and personal
pronouns is similar in that in Turkish you do not need to write the
personal pronouns before the verb to indicate who did the action. For
example: You don’t have to say: sen okuyorsun; you can just say okuy-
orsun and in Estonian: loed, not sina loed. By the way, the word you
(singular) in turkish is “sen” and in Estonian “sina.”
Quoting eestlane, a user from www.turkishclass.com, said: “The
rst thing I noticed when studying Turkish was that the ending of in-
nitive forms of verbs (-mak) is similar with Estonian because in Es-
tonian the equivalent for -mak is -ma. The second thing was that the
verb ‘olmak’ -- in Estonian is ‘olma’ (actually ‘olEma’ but this is not so
important). The Turkish verb, olmak was actually bolmak in old Turk-
ish; whereas, in Hungarian uses vol- for bol- similarly.”
One of the things I love about watching folk dance when I visit
another country is that in its primitive, tribal or ethnic way it expresses
ancient ceremony and tradition. Nearly every country has its own folk
dance as a part of its heritage.
Dear Charlotte: In your piece on similarities between Hungarian and
Turkish culture you mentioned folk music. Here is some interesting in-
formation I thought you’d like to see. I got this off the Turkish Class Web
site. According to A. Andan Saygun and Laszlo Vikar in their research on
“Béla Bartok’s Folk Music Research in Turkey” (Budapest 1976) it reports:
“Bartok also did eld work in Turkey and during his short visit in 1936 he
collected 87 folk songs, of which twenty were related to the Hungarian
folk songs. … Bartok pointed out in his conclusion that this discovery of
his has international signicance, and it shows that the Turkish and the
Hungarian music has a common origin, which is from Central Asia and
the surrounding area.” From: RuthD (Cambridge)
Language forces us to perceive the world as man presents it to us. ~
Julia Penelope
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please
keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a
help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com

EXPERIENCE WELLNESS IN TURKEY

LEGAL CORNER
BERK
ÇEKTiR

KRISTINA KAMP STANBUL
Interest in natural healing, wellness
and beauty care is increasing around
the world, and this trend denitely
doesn’t stop at Turkey. Just the opposite, the
country has been famous for its natural heal-
TODAY’S ZAMAN
Not forgetting, as well, the hot spring bathing
in the town of Ayder on the Black Sea coast.
And the best news: All of these baths are
known to have healing properties and thera-
peutic effects. Indeed, the spring waters con-
‘Supreme court of
tain loads of mineral salts, such as calcium,
sodium, sulfur, uoride, magnesium and its the Mddle Ages’? A

ing and relaxation practices for thousands of
years and has continued to attract visitors
and residents with an amaz-
While in Turkey, one ing range of health and well-
ness opportunities. This week,
must visit at least one Today’s Zaman provides you
with an overview.
of its world-famous Thus, rst of all, one can
PHOTOS
warm temperatures -- which can range from
20 up to 110 degrees Celsius -- have been
proven to naturally cure illnesses and ailments
dfferent approach
such as rheumatism, arthritis, skin problems,
digestive disorders, circulatory and heart dis-
to ‘women and the
eases, gynecological diseases, and liver and
kidney diseases among many others.
hgh judcary’ (2)
In part one of this article I mentioned an interesting ar-

thermal baths. Turkey denitely not be in Turkey
without visiting at least one
-- due to its location of its world-famous thermal
baths. According to the Cul-
atop a major geothermal ture and Tourism Ministry,
belt -- has more than Turkey -- due to its advanta-
geous location atop a major
1,300 natural baths geothermal belt -- has more
and hot springs and than 1,300 of these natural
baths and hot springs and
is among the world’s thus, is among the world’s top
seven countries for quality and
top seven countries for quantity of thermal resources.
quality and quantity of And although only a
small percentage of this po-
thermal resources tential is actually used today,
public and private investors
are investing more and more to match the
country’s health and wellness tourism re-
sources to the rising demand. Currently, a
good 190 thermal resorts can be found in
49 Turkish cities. All together they attract
a rate of 500,000 “thermal tourists” a year.
Moreover, the Thermal Tourism Cities
Project (TTCP), launched by the Ministry
of Culture and Tourism last year, aims to
make Turkey the top destination in the
world for thermal tourism by 2023.
Wanna give it a try? Well, from Afyon
to Yozgat, the ministry’s Web site (www.
tourismturkey.org) lists already more than 30
recommended destinations, where you can
not only give your body and health a natural
boost but also experience a very special part of
Turkey’s history and culture.
Online travel guides like the Turkey Trav-
el Planner (www.turkeytravelplanner.com)
or the British forum Turkey Travels www.
turkey-travels.co.uk include broad sections
on Turkish spa and wellness tourism. So does
the domestic-run online magazine Spa &
Wellness (www.spawellnessturkey.com) and
the (commercial) forum Spa and Health Ser-
vices (www.shsturkey.com). Just have a look
and get a picture of what is available.
Take a mud bath in Dalyan...
Most of Turkey’s historic thermal locations
are in Aegean region, like the ancient city
of Hieropolis, which was built upon the rich
mineral waters of today’s Pamukkale. Dalyan,
once the ancient Lydian city of Kaunos, still
offers the visitor the great fun of taking a bath
in the rich mineral mud of Lake Köyceiz.
Furthermore, Bursa, Canakkale or Yalova, all
located in the Marmara region, have always
been very famous for their hot springs. The
small town of Termal, near Yalova, for in-
stance, was popular for its pool already in Ro-
man times, then rebuilt by the Ottoman sul-
tans and later even favored by Kemal Atatürk.
NOTE: Today’s Zaman intends to provide a lively forum for expatriates living in Turkey. We encourage you to contact us at voice@todayszaman.com and share your experiences, questions and problems in all walks of life for publication in Today’s Zaman.
...or swim with the doctor
fish in Sivas
The so-called doctor sh, which can be found
in Sivas, are very special. They swim right
next to you and nibble at your skin when you
take a bath in the thermal pool -- an effective
treatment for skin problems, it is said.
Being a predetermined hot spot for tra-
ditional health and wellness practices, it is
no surprise that along with the global rise
of health and wellness trends, other ap-
proaches to healing and wellness have be-
come popular. Natural healing techniques,
which can be found in Turkey today, in-
clude an almost unimaginably wide range
of practices many of which are as old as
mankind and stem from all over the globe.
You have probably already stumbled
across a ood of ads for private clinics in
newspapers or on Web pages. Indeed, a sheer
endless range of hotels, beauty centers or
health clubs offer natural healing treatments
and relaxation strategies, ranging from acu-
puncture and chiropractic to aromatherapy,
ayurvedic massage, yoga and reiki. Gyms and
sport centers offer additional solarium, skin
and hair care, diet and tness programs.
If interested, check the expat Web
site MyMerhaba (www.mymerhaba.com),
which provides an extensive database of
health and beauty centers in its yellow
pages. Search through its member forums,
in particular, for comments, recommenda-
tions, prices and reviews.
Health, however, is surely a matter of
trust, and it goes without saying that you
don’t want your wellness to be in the hands of
an unqualied therapist. Don’t forget: “Natu-
ral” does not necessarily mean “risk free.”
Experts disagree about the actual effec-
tiveness of some alternative approaches to
healing. And while some claim that they are
the future of medicine, others attribute their
popularity to the placebo effect and, more-
over, warn about possible, incalculable side
effects. Take into account also that, accord-
ing to World Health Organization (WHO)
guidelines and their denitions of alternative
medicine, only the practice of acupuncture
is regulated in Turkey. Other approaches to
natural healing are currently not legally rec-
ognized or further regulated by the Turkish
Ministry of Health. Thus, you should always
nd out about international certication and
carefully check what kind of education and
training your physician has undergone.
And last but not least, if you suffer from
any health problem, it is always strongly
recommended that you see a doctor you
trust in order to talk openly about the tech-
niques you might want to try.
ticle I read in Today’s Zaman. It was about the Supreme
Court of Appeals and how it has issued a number of con-
troversial verdicts. Many people believe these verdicts
contradict various international and domestic laws, in-
cluding a constitutional article that ensures equality be-
tween men and women. So is this really the case? Would
it be correct to see the Supreme Court of Appeals as a
trendsetter? One of the court’s decisions takes the virgin-
ity of a woman as the most important thing in a marriage.
Will the court also say that a man must be a virgin, too?
Supreme Court of Appeals and private life
The story is hidden in the details of a recent court decision
of the Supreme Court of Appeals. Let’s read the lines from
Today’s Zaman: “Last week, a 2007 ruling of the Second
Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals annulling a
marriage on the grounds that the woman was not a ‘virgin’
on her wedding night became public, resulting in outrage
and confusion. Jurists also stated that the second chamber
had ignored a medical report attesting to the woman’s vir-
ginity and made its ruling solely based on the man’s testi-
mony. With this decision, the Supreme Court of Appeals
overruled a local court decision that had refused to grant
an annulment of the marriage. The 2007 ruling regarding
the case of a Bolu couple unashamedly reads: ‘Evidence
compiled in the case makes it understood that on the rst
night of the marriage the woman was not a virgin. For this
reason, on the grounds that a characteristic that needs to
be present in a woman was lacking, ruling against the hus-
band’s case instead of ruling in favor of it was a wrong de-
cision.’ The second chamber also ruled for an annulment
of the marriage contract rather than a divorce.”
What is the annulment of a marriage?
Under Turkish law there are three possible ways to end
a marriage. The rst is if one or both spouses die. In the
event of a death of one spouse, the marriage shall end
and the birth registration ofce shall register the liv-
ing spouse as a widow(er). The second way for a mar-
riage to end is through divorce. The third avenue is for
a marriage to be annulled.
The annulment of a marriage is a very extraordinary
way to end a marriage as it limited and only applies if cer-
tain conditions are met. Let me give you a few examples. A
marriage is to be terminated if the following circumstances
are met: If one of the spouses is already married at the time
of marriage, only the second marriage can be terminated,
and there will be no divorce; if one of the spouses is de-
velopmentally disabled and the marriage still takes place,
the marriage can be terminated; if the spouses are found
to be close relatives; if one of the spouses gets married to
the other spouse without knowing a very important fact,
then the marriage can be terminated. This fact should be
of such a nature that the spouse calling for the annulment
of the marriage would have certainly not gotten married to
the spouse if s/he had known this fact. This is the grounds
on which the Supreme Court of Appeals’ decision is based.
What does the high court really want to say? What
should the court have emphasized to avoid misunder-
standings? What went wrong when making the decision?
Currently, a good 190 thermal resorts can be found in 49 NOTE: Berk Çektir is a licensed attorney at law and available to answer
Turkish cities, attracting a rate of 500,000 “thermal tourists” a year. questions on the legal aspects of living in Turkey. Send enquiries to
b.cektir@todayszaman.com The names of the readers are disclosed only
upon written approval of the sender.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended to give basic legal in-
formation. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while
conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner.
 CULTURE&ARTS
Sevgi Çaal spreads seeds
of love with new exhibition
HATCE AHSEN UTKU STANBUL
Growing up abroad as the daughter of a
Turkish family in the 1960s: This can be
the starting point of the story of Sevgi Ça-
al, who has an exquisite and feminine point of
view and who depicts her own world of images in
her newest exhibition titled “Tohum” (Seed).
Moving with her family to New York at a very
young age, Çaal grew up as a stranger in a fore-
ign country during a time when much change oc-
curred. “It was so hard to be a member of a Tur-
kish family in a foreign country; I’m talking about
the ’60s,” says Çaal in an interview with Today’s
Zaman. “It was totally a period of turmoil, whe-
reas my family was very traditional.” This period
was hard in many respects, which also further inf-
luenced Çaal’s professional choices. “On the one
hand, I had to adapt to the external world, and on
the other hand, there was another world at home.
It was forbidden to speak in English, for instance.
And I was a very introverted child.”
From turmoil to tulips
Listening to her intuition, Çaal began painting,
using art as a means to deal with her parent’s repres-
sion. “I began painting when I was 3 years old. I was
a very successful student at school, but I had a broad
inner world,” says Çaal. “I painted without stop-
ping. Painting is what saved me.” Now, meeting her
audience during her exhibition at dem-art art gal-
lery, Çaal says she has used her childhood experi-
ences as inspiration for her delicate artwork. “I grew
up during a period in the United States when there
was a lot of drug use, when there were conicts bet-
ween black and white people and when there was
the tension of Vietnam,” states Çaal when discus-
sing what the US was like growing up. “But painting
always saved me from these issues.” However, she
faced many challenges when she decided to paint.
“My family was also aware that I painted a lot, but
my father, my beloved one, never wanted me to be-
come an artist. He wanted me to work at the United
Nations, but that was his dream, not mine.”
Nevertheless, Çaal gained the support of
her family by working as a translator. “Families
are fearful when they hear their children want to
become artists,” says Çaal. “My parents always
wanted to protect me from the external world
in the US. They always feared that I would go
to extremes, and that they would lose me.” But
molds were not for Çaal, and her passion for art
never died. “I could never t into those patterns
that were offered to me,” she says. Despite her
struggle, Çaal seems to be content with how
her life has turned out. “I am very lucky becau-
se I can express something, I can do something.”
Tulips for signature and
signature for inspiration
Having opened 25 solo shows as well as having par-
ticipated in more than 40 group exhibitions, Çaal
FESTIVAL
U2 to headline UK’s
Glastonbury festival
U2 will headline Glastonbury, Britain’s leading
summer music festival, the Associated Press re-
ported. Quoting festival boss Michael Eavis, AP
said the Irish rockers will play the festival’s main
stage on June 25. It will be U2’s rst appearance
at the event, and comes as Glastonbury celebra-
tes its 40th anniversary. Glastonbury was foun-
ded in 1970 and is held on Eavis’ farm in south-
west England. The festival runs June 23 to 27.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
Sevgi Çaal depicts her own world of images in her newest exhibition titled “Tohum,” on view through Friday at the dem-art Art Gallery in stanbul’s Arnavutköy.
has worked in her own workshop since 1998 after
working with many prominent artists. “My main
theme is fertility and woman,” notes Çaal, while
showing the vivacious and mysterious tulips in her
paintings. “Why tulips? Because they belong to Tur-
key. Besides, the tulip form has always attracted me
because it is so feminine, and the woman is so im-
portant for nature considering there has always been
the concept of a goddess in history.” In this sense,
tulips are symbols in Çaal’s art. “A person who
grows up in another country feels closer to his home
country. Everybody knows that tulips belong to the
Netherlands. No. Tulips belong to Turkey, and pe-
ople should know this,” explains Çaal. “Tulips exist
in Susm, in miniature, in tezhip. It is a ower that
coincides with our own identity.”
Çaal also uses her own name, which is the
Turkish word for love, in her paintings. “I wri-
te love everywhere,” notes Çaal. “We lack so
much tolerance and love. When I sign a pain-
ting, I want to shout this; that’s why I do it this
way. I integrate tradition into my own art, and
this is how my art evolves.”
“If you look at my rst paintings, you will see
some curves that are reminiscent of the human
skin,” explains Çaal. “A human being is not se-
parated from nature. S/he is a part of it. And in or-
der to maintain this entity, we need love. But as we
OPERA
Donizetti’s ‘Don Pasquale’
at Süreyya Opera House
“Don Pasquale,” Gaetano Donizetti’s well-known
comic opera in three acts, is being staged in two per-
formances this week at stanbul’s Süreyya Ope-
ra House. The stanbul State Opera production, di-
rected by Recep Ayylmaz, features a rotating cast
of Ayten Telek, Hande Soner and Özlem Soydan in
the role of Norina and Ali hsan Onat and Kenan
Daaan in the role of Don Pasquale. The perfor-
mances take place 8 p.m. today and tomorrow.
get farther from nature and focus on formalism, we
lose this essence. Actually, this exists in Rumi’s phi-
losophy as well. We are all bound to each other.”
The bronze sculptures of Çaal, despite the
hard and cold material, seem warm and friendly.
“In my sculptures, my main theme is also woman
and love. The woman is the world, and the world is
the woman. The golden balls symbolize love. And
you can see the little tulips as my signature,” expla-
ins Çaal. “And there are no edges on my sculptu-
res; they are very soft, pure and curvy. I believe that
I can reect that warmth in my work.”
“Love, mother and child, fertility,” these are
what Çaal depicts in her sculptures. “My con-
cerns are about human beings and the world,”
she says. “If I only do work in order for people to
like them, then I can’t question anything.”
Maintaining identity
After Çaal returned to Turkey in 1985, she wit-
nessed many shifts in Turkish daily life. “We used
to come to Turkey during the holidays every year
since the 1960s, and I used to adore Turkey. There
was no television, but there was family. But when I
came back to live, it was difcult for me,” she exp-
lains. “The conditions were much harder, but at the
same time items began being imported, and peop-
le were astonished. Turkey has changed a lot, and
EXHIBITION
Kiraz’s paintings mark
Gallery Nev anniversary
Gallery Nev, which has been dominating the
arts scene in Ankara since it opened in 1984, has
been celebrating its 25th anniversary with a se-
ries of exhibitions at its original venue in the ca-
pital since May 2008. The newest and nal show
in the series features a collection of mathematics-
themed canvases inspired by the “number 25” by
artist Serhat Kiraz, who is mainly known for his
installations. The exhibition runs until Dec. 16.
TODAY’S ZAMAN 13
TODAY’S ZAMAN, MEHMET YAMAN
PHOTOS
nowadays I miss the naivety of the people in the
old days.” Raising her children, Çaal realizes how
the mentality remains the same despite the chan-
ges in society. “The world is changing, but here the
mentality is the same. When you look at appearan-
ces, they seem very civilized. But the mentality is so
much the same, and identity is being lost. There’s
adoration for foreigners. The rst thing that we ask
a foreigner who comes to Turkey is: Did you like the
Turkish people? Only a person who does not have
self-condence asks this question.”
“We are now in a period of transition, and
this has lasted a long time. But a good outcome
of this process is in the hands of the youth and
the artists. Every kind of art should be practiced.
Some do gilding, some make sculptures. There
can be nothing more naive and natural than exp-
ressing himself/herself.”
Despite all, Çaal is still positive and keeps her
hopes up. “I am a visionary, and my paintings are
my dreams,” she says. “I am hopeful that some
day love will be understood, and people will get
along regardless of race and religion. Indeed, how
easy it is to be a human being, but how hard it is
as well. When I say this, people tell me to return to
reality. What is reality, is it materiality?”
“Seed” is on view through Friday at the dem-art
art gallery in stanbul’s Arnavutköy neighborhood.
CONCERT
Gutman to perform with
Presidential Symphony
Famous Russian cellist Natalia Gutman will be in
the Turkish capital early next month for two appe-
arances as soloist with the Presidential Symphony
Orchestra (CSO). Under the baton of maestro
Cem Mansur, the CSO will accompany Gutman,
best known for her performances of contemporary
composers, in a program of symphonies by Pro-
koef and Borodin. The concerts are scheduled for
Dec. 3-4 at 8 p.m. at the CSO Concert Hall in Ulus.
The chronicles
of a Turkish
special agent
EMNE YILDIRIM STANBUL
Over the weekend I went to see the newest
sequel in the “Valley of the Wolves” franchi-
se. The minute my friend and I stepped into the the-
ater, we realized that we were the only women in
the audience. The testosterone levels manifesting in
the form of guffaws and sweat in the crowded the-
ater made us think twice as to whether we should
just go back home and perhaps wait for the DVD
release of “Valley of the Wolves: Gladio.” The men
folk were gazing at us with curious eyes, probably
wondering themselves what we were doing there;
after all, we only very remotely resemble avid fans
of the rating monster TV show the movie is based
on. That infamous show, which delves into political
conspiracy theories, has formed into the main hub
for many young nationalist Turkish men nestled in
the comfort of homogenous cultural values, who are
more than ready to believe that foreign powers and
local sellouts want to divide the country.
Watching “Gladio” and all other cinematic clo-
nes, one would primarily wonder, is Turkey so high
up on the list of political global power threats that
keeping it weak and provoking more internal conf-
lict is the primary way to keep it on a leash? Even if
it were as such, what’s the point of inicting a cultu-
re of paranoia, fear and retaliatory violence?
If the makers of “Gladio” provided a stronger
script and a coherent story line that made sense
instead of a jumble of enigmatic political conspi-
racies, then perhaps it would have been easier to
analyze the lm as a work providing a distinctive
perspective of current affairs; however, the only
thing that seems consistent in the movie is the
Bruce Willis attitude of its main character, who
feels that ofng anyone in his way is legit.
The lm starts in a courtroom, where special
agent skender Büyük (Musa Uzunlar) -- a name
that basically alludes to Alexander the Great -- is
on trial for treason. It’s not an easy thing to put s-
kender on the stand -- he shouts at the judges, gets
rid of all his publicly appointed lawyers and cons-
tantly bellows that no one is as patriotic as he is.
Oh, he’s a hero that we all want to be, taking none
of it and talking back like he’s an Olympic god. He
starts to tell his story about how he was deceived by
his superiors: He was a good soldier, so back when
he was young he was recruited by the Turkish di-
vision of Gladio, an international paramilitary or-
ganization rst founded by the NATO states in or-
der to prevent Soviet communism from spreading
throughout Europe. Sure, skender thinks he’s be-
ing a good patriot for his country, as he is sent to
covert operations to stop the Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK) in the ’90s, only later to realize that his
superior Fuat Aras (Mehmet Aras, who looks like
Professor Xavier from “X-Men”) is working for pe-
ople who have other plans for Turkey. It’s a bit too
late when he notices this small fact -- he’s already
assassinated President Turgut Özal, since he was
told that Özal was also trying to divide the country.
Now things get even more muddled up, as we
have a hard time deciphering who’s working for
who, what this Gladio organization is really after and
what the agenda of the Turkish military is. The lm
refuses to take any political side, but seems to very
well take advantage of the current political situation
by transforming skender into the simplistic repre-
sentation of the current Ergenekon trials. Every piece
of information given throughout the lm is so cryptic
that the viewer has a hard time following the plot.
The only consistent element of the lm is sken-
der, who is so comfortable in his gung-ho tough guy
mode that he can personally confront the president
and shout at him in public, physically abuse military
generals or simply anyone he feels he should talk to.
Of course, let’s not forget the supremely shot ac-
tion scenes in which skender jumps around like a
gazelle and uses his weapons like a ninja. This man
knows no bounds, his sole mission is to protect his
country, he’s a hero, and if it wasn’t for him, how wo-
uld all the other young boisterous men in our country
feel safe? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
“Valley of the Wolves: Gladio” is a perfect ci-
nematic package -- probably millions of Turkish
lira were spent on the production. Throughout its
90-minute run it provides all the visceral sensati-
ons to verify the paranoid mind’s political delu-
sions without providing an ounce of logical sen-
se. All we can understand is: There are people out
there who want political power, we don’t know
who they are and what they’re going to do. But
wait a minute; at least we have the right to unleash
our brutal instincts on anyone who doesn’t agree
with us. Don’t you feel better already?
 14 TODAY’S ZAMAN
AP, MURAD SEZER
PHOTO
The lastest development in the Ergenekon case is called the Cage Operation Action Plan, allegedly aimed to intimidate the country’s non-Muslim population by assassinating some of its
prominent figures, a move which would be instrumental in undermining the popularity of the ruling Justice and Development Party.
WOULD YOU DARE TO SAY THIS TO
BARTHOLOMEW AND DINK?
If Western journalists really want to understand what Ergenekon is, they should talk to people other than its sym-
pathizers. Why doesn’t The New York Times talk to Turkey’s Christians, for example? They very well know what
Ergenekon is and what purpose it has. Let me ask Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Çaaptay: Do you have the courage to face
His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and tell him that there is no Ergenekon? Can you do that?
Last Saturday, The New York Times published a news story ti-
tled “In Turkey, Trial Casts Wide Net of Mistrust.” It was about
the Ergenekon gang, our infamous “deep state,” and the case
opened against it. Unfortunately, the story was a completely
distorted account of what really is happening in Turkey.
We all know which sources of “information” are behind this
coverage. They are, before anybody else, Mr. Soner Çaaptay
from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Mr. Ga-
reth H. Jenkins, a freelance British journalist based in stanbul.
Mr. Jenkins was in Washington last week, giving briengs on
Ergenekon and claiming “there is no such organization.”
The New York Times article, which referred to the
views of not just Mr. Jenkins but also a few Turks who
fully agree with him, began with this sentence: “The
question many are asking, inside and outside Turkey, is
whether the Islamic-inspired government is exaggerating
the threat in order to wage a much larger battle against
this moderate Muslim nation’s secular establishment.”
Who are these many people? There is, of course, a huge
division between different segments of Turkish society
about this case. There is a huge propaganda war to white-
wash Ergenekon. If you talk to people who are linked to or
sympathetic to this organization, of course they will convey
this propaganda to you. Why, one wonders, do The New
York Times reporters not talk with human rights defenders
or with the representatives of minorities in Turkey?
Just to point out the mind-boggling pro-Ergenekon
line The New York Times piece had, let me give you an
example. The article mentioned “Ergün Poyraz, who has
written more than ve books critical of the government.” It then
said that this “critical” voice had been silenced by the case.
Well, wouldn’t it be interesting to know exactly what sorts
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ORHAN KEMAL
CENGZ
o.cengiz@todayszaman.com
of books this “critical” Mr. Poyraz wrote? Let me tell you. Some
titles of his books read: “The Rose of Moses --Abdullah Gül,”
“The Children of Moses -- Tayyip Erdoan” and “The AK
Party of Moses.” In all these, the crazy argument is that
Gül, Erdoan and other Justice and Development Party (AK
Party) personalities are actually secret Jews working for the
“elders of Zion” and the state of Israel to destroy Atatürk’s
republic. (For more, see: Mustafa Akyol, “The Protocols of
the Elders of Turkey,” Washington Post, Oct. 7, 2007.)
Moreover, documents unearthed in the Ergenekon inves-
tigation have shown that Mr. Poyraz, the anti-Semitic lunatic,
has written all these books with the materials provided him by
the Turkish gendarmerie intelligence, and he was regularly paid
by the same organization to continue with his “studies.” His ties
with gendarmerie intelligence are now a well-documented fact.
That’s not all. Ergün Poyraz wrote another book titled “Six
Months Among the Missionaries,” which is simply hatemon-
gering rubbish against evangelizing Christians in Turkey. The
book created such an effect and caused a chain of horric events:
Three missionaries were brutally killed in Malatya in 2007. In
other places, there were lynching attempts against Protestants.
So, the favorite “AK Party critic” of The New York Times is
an anti-Semitic, anti-Christian extremist who gets paid by the
deep state for carrying out hate propaganda. Isn’t this bizarre?
Here, Ergenekon is playing a dubious game. While
Thýnk tank cafe´
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
they were trying to convince the Turkish public that the
AK Party is “a puppet of American imperialism,” at the
same time they are lobbying in America and Europe to
convince them that the AK Party indeed has “a hidden agen-
da,” and its whole purpose is to bring Shariah to Turkey.
If Western journalists really want to understand what
Ergenekon is, they should talk to people other than its
sympathizers. Why doesn’t The New York Times talk to
Turkey’s Christians, for example? They very well know
what Ergenekon is and what purpose it has.
Let me ask Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Çaaptay: Do you
have the courage to face His All Holiness Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew and tell him that there is no
Ergenekon? Can you do that?
Minorities in Turkey know the evils here so well. Would
you dare to tell Rakel Dink, the widowed spouse of the slain
Hrant Dink, that Ergenekon is just an urban legend? Do you
have enough courage to say this to the face of these people?
Hrant Dink knew his murderers very well. After re-
tired Gen. Veli Küçük paid a visit to the court in which
Hrant Dink was being tried for “insulting Turkishness,”
Hrant said to his friends that this was not a good sign.
Soon after he was murdered by a 17-year-old nationalist
apparatchik used by the deep state.
Do you know who Küçük is? Do you know JTEM?
Have you heard about the three thousand villages burnt
and destroyed in south eastern Turkey? Have you heard
that we have 17,500 murders attributed to JTEM? Küçük is
the founder of this organization. And he is the one of the
prime suspects in the Ergenekon trial.
Is The New York Times really happy to have contributed to
the whitewashing of this army of fascists?
OPINION
A publc survey:
democratc ntatve
and coup document (2)
SITKI YILDIZ*
The ndings from surveys conducted by MetroPOLL in August
and November show that policies pursued by the ruling party as
well as opposition parties have not attracted the support and approval
of voters. People nd the performance of the administration and op-
position leaders lacking. It seems that the advancement of the process
depends on responsible action on the part of the ruling party
along with Democratic Society Party (DTP) support. Undoubt-
edly, the success of the process will require the support of the
masses. Public support is secured via convincing the people by
relying on the effective use of channels of communication.
Army tested by authentic signature
How democratic can the political regime of a country that fails to face
and question the military coups it suffered be? There are two responses
to this question: A coup is staged in countries such as Turkey to pre-
serve the regime. For this reason, we have to get accustomed to coups.
This means those concerned about the fate of the regime are recog-
nized as having the right to stage a coup any time they want. Second, a
coup attempt should be effectively addressed and prevented regardless
of who leads it and what methods are employed to execute it.
The ght for democracy and rule of law in Turkey in recent times
has been shaped in accordance with the two responses; this struggle
takes on concrete dimensions in discussions over the ongoing Er-
genekon investigation and the democratic initiative. This discussion
became particularly concrete and visible with a controversy surround-
ing an authentic signature, a controversy brought on by a signature
found on a military document detailing a plot to illegally under-
mine the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party),
believed to belong to Ergenekon suspect Col. Dursun Çiçek.
This document, originally a piece of paper, turned into a genu-
ine instrument in three months; it has become a valuable asset over
which the military and civilian prosecutors are ghting. Aside from
who penned the document and other technical and formal discus-
sions, including whether the signature on the paper is authentic or
not, the content of the paper and the venue where it was drafted
should be discussed. The said document is an action plan to ght
reactionaryism; by reactionary movements, the paper refers to the
AK Party and the Gülen movement.
The content of the document, whose authenticity was conrmed
by a forensic report, features detailed action plans. In sum, the overall
objective of this plan is to plot sensational actions to undermine the
image and prestige of the AK Party and the Gülen movement.
This document in fact eroded the image and reliability of the chief
of General Staff and the military. The ndings of the survey state that
one-third of respondents were negatively inuenced by the document
and that they developed negative sentiments towards the military.
Aside from the discourse demanding the resignation of the chief of
General Staff and calling for governmental action to remove him from
ofce, the research ndings show that half of respondents favor the
chief of General Staff retaining his post, whereas 32 percent of survey
participants think he should resign. I think the General Staff and all
political actors should think about this growing public opposition to
the increased involvement of the military in political affairs. The image
of the military and the chief of General Staff were eroded during this
process. Thirty-seven percent of survey participants stated that they do
not believe the military will take adequate measures to purge illegal
and pro-coup actors and entities from itself.
The reference to the Gülen movement in the document should
also be extensively considered. Because the discussion is being made
with reference to civilian-military relations within the context of the
row between the AK Party and the General Staff, the planned actions
against the Gülen movement have remained relatively insignicant.
The revelation of the action plan seeking to eliminate the Gülen move-
ment, the largest civil society organization in Turkey, contributed to the
elimination of probable social upheavals. Thanks to recent develop-
ments, members of this movement are now relieved.
Following the revelation of this coup document, illegal memos
drafted to call for action in an attempt to address alleged reaction-
ary movements as well as the Cage Action Plan, an alleged anti-
democratic formation within the Naval Forces Command planning
to destroy the governing AK Party by assassinating prominent
non-Muslim gures in Turkey and putting the blame for the kill-
ings on the party, the loyalty of the military to democracy and the
rule of law will be questioned further. Regardless of whether these
and other similar documents are authentic, the actual question that
needs to be asked is whether the military will keep interfering in
political affairs. We will get the answer to this question by expe-
riencing developments that will take place in the years to come.
*Professor Stk Yldz is an instructor at Krkkale University’s
department of sociology.
Daðýstan Çetinkaya
dagistancetinkaya@todayszaman.com.tr
 COLUMNS W E D N E S D AY , NOVEMBER 25, 2009
Turksh-Arab dalogue
The Turkish-Arab Dialogue Forum, organized jointly by the stanbul
Kültür University Global Political Trends Center (GPoT) and the Arab
Democracy Foundation, took place last weekend. Several academics, his-
torians and diplomats from Turkey and from many Arab countries par-
ticipated in this scholarly meeting marked by intense and long debates.
At the meeting, in which the Turkish participants chose not to
talk too much, the analyses focused on the probable regional devel-
opments of Turkey’s recent initiatives. While some Arab participants
have said that Turkey must be engaged more in the Middle East, others
have claimed that Turkish efforts are seen as interference in the Arab
countries’ domestic politics. They discussed whether or not the Turkish
system can constitute a model for the Arab world, whether the secular
system is a modernization factor or just a reference for the authoritarian
system which obstructs the country’s democratization. Turkey’s rela-
tions with Israel were vaguely mentioned; however, its relations with
DOU
ERGL
d.ergil@todayszaman.com
We are openng up;
or are we?
A frequently asked question these days is whether the govern-
ments’s democratization initiative will create the expected results.
Those who ask this question should be given the response “What do
your expectations of this cover? What do you think will be opened
and to what extent?” Once a clear answer is given to this question,
the frame and content of the opening will also be claried. However,
there is no such clarity yet on this matter. There is much ambiguity
rather than confusion because this opening, which will shape the
future of the entire society, started as the initiative of certain and
limited leadership and a section in that society. Removal of this am-
biguity is vital for the future of Turkish politics as well as the political
career of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
However, I should note at this point that the need for an open-
ing in politics should be appreciated, that a strong political will should
take action to this end and that the matter should be thoroughly dis-
cussed in Parliament. Once a healthy and efcient discussion is held
in Parliament and an agreement is reached during the deliberations
over the normalization of the regime, if this happens, the renewal and
transformation process will take place rapidly. However, this did not
happen and the AK Party, which has masterfully used the pressure of
the change, realized that it needed to resort to people.
Two things will happen when the opening succeeds. The places of
the state and the nation will be switched. The era of the state’s nation
will be over and it will be replaced by the nation’s state. Secondly, the
dominant powers failing to appreciate their local realities, viewing the
outer change as a conspiracy reacting to any demands on the system,
will be replaced by visionary actors and an approach seeking to inte-
grate with the world and appreciating the needs of the current world.
Turkish political tradition has been shaped by a process where
the state was the central actor. All laws and practices from the Con-
stitution to the bill on political parties ask the people as well as the
political parties to all be the same. The pro-state tradition has im-
posed its own approach and understanding, and for this reason,
diversities remained unnoticed and change was seen as extraordi-
nary and unusual. In such an environment, alternatives were not
considered at all. This led to the isolation of the country and created
an authoritarian regime resistant to change.
Considering that Turkey did not lose a battle, the actor that would
lead to change could not be an external one. This could be an internal
player unwanted by the regime. There is a nice statement suggesting
that those who control the past will also control the future. Up un-
til now, the founding actors have interpreted and written the history
as they wanted. They have tried to administer and shape the future
relying on that teaching. It shaped the conscience of the people and
determined their lifestyles and worldviews. However, this articial per-
ception became outdated in the current conditions because it failed to
meet the needs of the current world and made it impossible for the
people to understand the realities surrounding the globe.
The peripheral actors have become more visible in the politi-
cal space thanks to the accelerating migrations towards urban cities
since the 1960s. They are large in numbers; besides, because they
owed nothing to the state, they were not inuenced by the au-
thoritarian secularism and the ofcial culture of the nationalism that
praised the state rather than the nation. They rst became inuential
in economic life and they acquired the strongholds of the political
elites; this situation was announced as a coming danger posing a
threat to the regime; the holders of this view argued that the repub-
lican regime was slipping away from their hands.
There are two dimensions to the denition of consensual citizen-
ship in Turkey: rst, you have to be a Turk in ethnic origin; secondly,
you have to be part of Sunni Islam. We fail to understand the grave
consequences of this approach because of the ofcial practices for
those who fall outside of these denitions and categories.
We have come to the conclusion based on these internal conicts
and tensions that our republic’s project of nationalization has failed
because of its major aspects and features that exclude the differences
and diversities. In fact, despite all calls for unity and togetherness, we
are part of a society and nation comprised of smaller communities
conicting with each other and holding suspicions of others.
Turkey also fears the possibility that democratization may be an ex-
ternal program imposed by external actors. Some of the holders of this
view are absolutely positive that Western actors are trying to plot a con-
spiracy against our country by making references to democratization in
Turkey. If a nation has become fearful of democracy and now views it
as an external phenomenon, it means that it is ready to surrender its will
and determination to powerful actors. This is even worse than tyranny.
In that case, reason is surrendered to fear and intimidation.
Peace means that enmities will be over. Peace means democ-
ratization and normalization. It also means that relations should be
based on consent and agreement. In short, it means the humaniza-
tion of everything distorted by ideology. We have to drop skepticism
and hopelessness; instead, we must roll up our sleeves to accelerate
the process. This is our debt to ourselves, to the people we made suffer
in the past and to our children who will build our future.
BERL
DEDEOLU
b.dedeoglu@todayszaman.com
Iran were scrutinized. Some participants expressed the opinion that
Turkey may become the “holder of balance” between Iran and Arab
countries, while others said they believe Turkey will increase its regional
power by expanding its inuence to the detriment of Iran’s.
Even if Arab and Islamic identities are often mentioned as common
values, the Arab participants spent a lot of their time displaying their dif-
ferences and demonstrated that the main common denominator in this
region of the world is to have the feeling of being permanent “victims.”
No Comment
Has the EU hred two lackeys?
AMANDA
AKÇAKOCA
a.akcakoca@todayszaman.com
After months of speculation, gossip and squab-
bling the decision by EU leaders to hire Belgian
Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as Euro-
pean Council president and Britain’s Catherine
Ashton as the body’s foreign policy chief was
met with shock and disappointment across
Brussels and other European capitals, with most
people feeling somewhat abbergasted at the
decision to pick a team unlikely to project Eu-
rope’s voice on the global stage.
All the charismatic, well-known, and dynamic
personalities like Carl Bildt, Jean-Claude Junker
and Tony Blair who could really have promoted
the EU in the world were shelved -- too ambitious,
too high-prole or simply from the wrong politi-
cal party. Instead the EU selected two low-prole,
uninspiring personalities. Although I am sure both
of them are very hard working and nice people, at
the same time they are virtually unknown outside
of their countries of birth and their selection says a
great deal about the EU and its vision for the future.
Van Rompuy was selected as Belgian prime
minister just over a year ago. He was chosen for
his reputation as a peace builder who helped
stop Belgium from breaking up. Indeed, being
EU president should be an easier job -- and far
better paid -- as he will no longer have to deal
with the bickering Walloons and Flemish. His
new tasks will be much less demanding, involv-
ing organizing the bloc’s summits, keeping EU
leaders from engaging in unseemly quarrels
and representing the bloc on the global stage.
As for Ashton, who is presently European
commissioner for trade, she was selected as a
seemingly last-minute compromise, and has no
foreign policy experience other than what she has
picked up through her present job. She has never
held a government position and has never been
elected. But let’s look on the positive side, at least
she’s a woman! Following in Javier Solana’s steps
will also be far from easy because everybody loves
him. Solana is charming and charismatic as well
as being respected across the globe. Through this
job and his previous position as secretary-general
of NATO he cultivated friends and allies across
the world. He will be sorely missed and if Ashton
is going to go even half way to lling his shoes
she is going to have her work cut out. She could
Almost all participants pointed out the US or Israel as responsible for the
region’s instability. A few of them added Iran and even the EU to that list.
This common anti-imperialistic language constitutes an important vari-
able in understanding their perception of Turkey. Some participants are
convinced that Turkey’s new approach is simply a role given by the US to
Ankara, and not the latter’s own initiative. Additionally, some discussants
emphasized that if Turkey becomes an EU member, it will have to change
its Middle East policy, anyway, and act in harmony with the imperialistic
European powers. However, some of the researchers believe that Tur-
key’s recent actions and its relations with the US and the EU create a
positive impact in helping to unlock the situation in the region, allowing
the Arab countries to join the international system through Turkey.
All these debates gave us the impression that the Arab countries’
doubtful and mistrustful view of Turkey is not emanating from Turkey
per se. In fact, the academics from the Arab countries have chosen to
EMRE ÖZDEMR
e.ozdemir@todayszaman.com
start, as many women before have done, by get-
ting a makeover and re-style so at least she will
look reasonably stylish!
However, with these two at the EU helm it
would seem that domestic politics will have more
importance than international ambitions, as it is
highly unlikely that either Van Rompuy or Ashton
will be able to dominate the global stage. They
will be more like lackeys than leaders. Of course
this will be good news for European Commission
President Barroso, who may have been worried
about being sidelined by the new additions. He
should certainly be sleeping easier in his bed now,
content in the knowledge that he will continue to
have a considerable role on the world stage. At
least the world knows who he is. It is also clear
that EU member states will continue to remain
in charge for the near future with national lead-
ers continuing to be in control and call the shots.
Sarkozy and Merkel will remain very much in the
driving seat and continue to have considerable in-
uence over the direction of the EU. Furthermore
the choice spotlights a newly powerful role of the
European parliament. The two biggest groups in
the EU assembly -- the centre-right European
People’s Party and the centre-left Socialists --
had insisted on a political balance between the
two new appointments.
As for how these two new appointments will
affect Turkey’s EU membership talks, I doubt very
much there will be much impact at all given the
process has already been hobbled so much it is vir-
tually at a standstill any way. Furthermore, while
Van Rompuy may have declared himself to be
opposed to Turkish membership a few years ago,
making it very clear that he believed the EU to be a
Christian club with no vacancies for any large Mus-
lim states, he is unlikely to repeat such statements
but rather toe the EU line on the issue. As he him-
self has said in the past days, he has no intention of
expressing his personal views on any issues.
As for Ashton, Turkey has nothing to fear
from her. The UK is loyal to the end when it
comes to backing Turkish membership in the EU.
Regrettably it all seems like something of a
wasted opportunity given that one of the aims
of the new Lisbon Treaty was to give the EU a
higher global prole given the EU badly needs a
more effective and coherence common foreign
policy. Of course I may be passing judgment
too early. Perhaps I will be surprised and they
will both dazzle. I really hope so, otherwise the
world stage will continue to be dominated by
the US and Russia, with China and India on
their tails and the EU bringing up the rear.
TODAY’S ZAMAN 15
discuss the political balances, authoritarian institutions and feudal rela-
tions of their countries through Turkey. This reminds us of Turkish aca-
demics at the beginning of the 1990s, who preferred to discuss Turkey’s
problems through the EU process. If one is not able to handle publicly
one’s country’s problems or is not able to decide which parameters will
help to explain those problems, it’s a good start to conduct the discus-
sion through neighbors’ policies. That’s why the Turkish participants’
taciturnity was quite understandable.
Despite the existence of many historical and sometimes bottled-
up problems, Turkey has decided to handle its relations with its near
geography and with all its neighbors simultaneously. This is not some
kind of pressure or imperialism directed against the Arab countries.
This is Turkey’s quest for stability. If human rights or fundamental lib-
erties were adopted as basic values, it would be easier to build con-
dence between Turkey and Arab countries.
YAVUZ
BAYDAR
y.baydar@todayszaman.com
Homework for The
New York Tmes
If you spend a long time as a news ombudsman, as I did, you recognize
a biased story in a snap if you see one. In almost no time, the curtain is
raised intentionally and a tendentious news piece screams into your face.
Such was the case with a story published on Monday. Titled
“In Turkey, Trial Casts Wide Net of Mistrust,” the article told of a
country gripped by widespread panic, due to an ongoing judicial
case. The element that made the story interesting was the fact that
it was found “t” to print by The New York Times.
It came as a less of a surprise to me. The quality of the reporting in
general on Turkey by The New York Times has declined lately, particular-
ly since its hardworking and knowledgeable reporter, Sabrina Tavernise,
was dispatched elsewhere.
Intense care and meticulousness to understand and convey the com-
plexities of Turkey to the international reader left its place to simplistic,
partial and sloppy reporting. The coverage, for example, of the tax eva-
sion case of the powerful Doan Media Group was a journalistic disaster,
so full of oversimplications and distortions on the state of journalism in
Turkey that one wondered whether the editors back home in New York
had left for an extended vacation.
The latest story, signed by Dan Bilefsky, on the Ergenekon case,
makes for a similar reading, leaving a bitter taste. When a reporter is sent
to a country he or she has no clue about, and is deliberately misled, the
result often edges toward propaganda, for this or that cause. Facts are
twisted and, with a shallow analysis, the poor reader is misled, too.
The story smells badly of a homework assignment ignored. It de-
scribes a Turkey experiencing widespread fear and anxiety because
the “Islamic-inspired” government may be “exaggerating” the threat
of a coup. Its formulations are done as if to suit those “fears.” Take
this, for example: “The case has brought into relief the larger strains
in Turkey between a secular elite seeking to hold on to its waning in-
uence and a growing, increasingly assertive population of observant
Muslims. The case is being watched closely in Brussels, headquar-
ters of the European Union, as a barometer of Turkey’s adherence to
Western standards of justice. It comes as the country’s prospects for
joining the bloc seem to be diminishing.”
One may blame the reporter for being manipulated into twisting the
truth. But an editor should warn him that the European Commission
takes the Ergenekon case very, very seriously (as it now does the latest
report on the clandestine military plan, called “Cage”) although it is very
clear and nuanced on its critique over proceedings.
The story’s bias is clearly visible by an almost complete lack of sources
who would be able to explain the real content of the case and others who
are hopeful about its outcome. The reporter obviously did not bother to
speak to the lawyers of the assassinated Hrant Dink’s family, or for exam-
ple, Akn Birdal, a human rights activist (now a deputy of the pro-Kurdish
Democratic Society Party [DTP]), who barely survived with 10 bullets in
his body (the perpetrators are members of Ergenekon).
Since this unfortunate story shines with its lack of the question
“why?” I will sufce to ask some of the questions to the reporter,
with the hope that when he addresses the subject he may do justice
to his readers and no longer insult the highly experienced and deeply
scarred journalists of this country.
Why do the opinion polls suggest that the majority of people here
believe that there is a “lethal deep state” within the state? Why are the
liberal, socialist, democratic, Kurdish, non-Muslim, and “silent” Sunnis
and Alevis segments of society so supportive of the investigation? How
many people have been subjected to investigation and interrogation so
far? How many have been detained?
What are the arguments of lawyers such as Ergin Cinmen or
Kezban Hatemi or Sezgin Tanrkulu, or other human rights lawyers,
about the signicance of the case?
How do you measure a “wide net of mistrust??” How wide is it?
What is the common denominator of those who mistrust? How do they
dene themselves? Is the mistrust false or disguising something else?
If Ergenekon case is -- almost -- false and ctitious, why, then,
do independent and staunchly secular papers such as Taraf continue
to uncover, segment after segment, plans and subversive structures
within the army? Are they stupid?
If Ergenekon is a tool for the government to impose Islamic rule by
silencing the opposition, why, then there is a “wide net of hope” among
those who would not vote for it?
Assume that prosecutors are politicized. There are some 40 indepen-
dent judges supervising the case. They are randomly chosen for duty. If
the detentions are unjustied, wrong or too long; are the judges all bi-
ased? Are they all idiots or lackeys?
Finally, this question: Ergenekon, without a doubt, a maa-
like network, that is yet to be exposed. How did the judicial sys-
tem in the US ght organized crime, what were the proceedings,
how long were the detentions?
If The New York Times is keen on democratization and hu-
man rights in Turkey, it can certainly do better than news unt for
print. Its readers need all the facts; all of them.
 16 TODAY’S ZAMAN W E D N E S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 0 9
LEISURE

move gude
“Kurtlar Vadisi Gladio”
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON
STANBUL: Ataehir 11:00 13:30 17:15
18:30 21:00 22:30 Beykoz Acarkent
Coliseum Site 11:30 14:00 16:30 19:00
21:30 Caddebostan AFM Budak 10:30
11:55 13:20 14:45 16:15 17:40 19:10 20:40
22:10 Kadköy Cinebonus Nautilus
11:00 13:45 15:15 16:30 18:00 19:15 20:45
22:00 Beyolu Yeni Rüya 11:30 14:00
16:30 19:00 21:30 ANKARA: Cinebonus
Bilkent 11:00 12:30 13:40 15:10 16:25
19:10 22:00 Cinebonus Gordion 11:00
In New York job wnners
12:15 ZMR: Cinebonus Konak Pier
10:30 13:15 16:00 18:45 21:30 ANTALYA:
Prestige 12:45 15:15 17:45 21:30
Gregorian Calendar: 25 November 2009 C.E. Hijri Calendar: 08 Dhul-Hijjah 1430 A.H. Hebrew Calendar: 08 Kislev 5770 tv gude
calendar@todayszaman.com
E2
08:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Today is International Day for the Elimination of Vio- from the Netherlands in 1975. Suriname was given a system of motorcade in Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 22, 1963. 09:00 Dedikoducu Kz
10:00 The Martha Stewart Show
lence against Women. The United Nations declared this limited self-government in 1954 and the local government of Af- On this day in 1973 Greek President Georgios Papadopou- 11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
day in 1993, inviting governments, international organizations rican and mixed African-European members started to negotiate los was ousted in a military coup led by Lt. Gen. Phaidon Gizikis. 12:00 The Rachael Ray Show
13:00 Umutsuz Evkadnlar
and NGOs to organize activities to raise public awareness of the for full independence with the Dutch government in 1973. After the tragic events of the student uprising of Nov. 17, 1973, 14:00 The Martha Stewart Show
problem. The date was chosen in remembrance of the three Mi- On this day in 1963 President John F. Kennedy was buried at the National Technical University of Athens, his government 15:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
16:00 The Rachael Ray Show
rabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic who at Arlington National Cemetery. John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assas- was overthrown on Nov. 25 by hard-line elements in the army. 17:00 Dedikoducu Kz
were brutally assassinated in 1961. sination was one of the most shocking public events of the 20th The outcry over Papadopoulos’s extensive reliance on the army 18:00 The Martha Stewart Show
19:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Today is the national day of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This century. Kennedy served in the US Navy during World War II, to quell the student uprising gave Brig. Gen. Dimitrios Ioannides 20:00 Family Guy
21:00 Heroes
day commemorates the founding session of the State National commanding the patrol boat PT-109 and leading his crew to a pretext to oust him and replace him as the new strong man of 22:15 Eastbound & Down
Antifascist Liberation Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina held rescue after the boat was sunk by the Japanese in the Solomon the regime. Papadopoulos was put under house arrest at his vil- 22:40 It's Always Sunny In
Philadelphia
in Mrkonjic Grad on Nov. 25, 1943. Islands. A Democrat, “JFK” was elected to the US House of Rep- la, while Greece returned to an “orthodox” military dictatorship. 23:00 The Tonight Show With
Today is Independence Day in Suriname. This is a national resentatives from Massachusetts’ 11th district in 1946. Kennedy The northwestern city of Edirne was liberated from Conan O'Brien
24:00 Eastbound & Down
holiday commemorating Suriname’s attainment of independence was shot dead by sniper Lee Harvey Oswald during an open-car Greek occupation on this day in 1922. 00:40 It's Always Sunny In
Philadelphia
01:00 Family Guy
01:30 The Jay Leno Show
02:30 The Tonight Show With
Conan O'Brien
03:30 Heroes
CNBC-E
17:55 How I Met Your Mother
18:50 The Jay Leno Show
20:00 Scrubs
20:30 Aliens In America
21:00 Ghost Whisperer
22:00 Le Petit Lieutenant
00:30 The Jay Leno Show

A CHRISTMAS CAROL
wll tweet from restrooms 01:30 Scrubs
02:00 Aliens In America
02:30 Ghost Whisperer
03:15 Le Petit Lieutenant

AP, SETH WENIG

Five new restroom ambassadors will soon be 05:00 Ghost Whisperer
STANBUL: Kozyata Wings Cinecity
Trio 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:15 19:30 21:45 tweeting from toilets at Times Square after beat- GOLDMAX
Bakrköy Cinebonus Capacity 11:45 14:00 ing hundreds of hopefuls for the coveted jobs. 08:20 Scoop
16:15 18:30 21:00 Esentepe Cinebonus 10:00 Year Of The Dog
Astoria 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 They won a contest that included aspiring actors, stu- 11:40 The Crucible
21:00 Nianta Citylife 11:30 13:45 16:00 dents and even a businessman hoping to seed his enter- 13:45 Starter For 10
18:45 21:00 stinye AFM Park 11:15 13:45 15:20 The Godfather III
prise for the jobs to greet and chat with tourists and hoards

PHOTO
16:15 18:45 21:15 ili Megaplex 11:00 18:10 Good Morning, Vietnam
13:10 15:20 17:30 19:45 22:00 ANKARA: of holiday shoppers visiting the Manhattan restrooms. Each 20:15 Lust, Caution
Cinebonus Panora 11:30 13:50 16:10 18:30 22:45 The Man Who Cried
winner will collect $10,000 for six weeks of work. 00:25 The Dead Zone
21:00 ZMR: Agora Balçova 11:00 13:00
15:15 17:30 19:45 22:00 Çili Cinecity Kipa
In addition to welcoming the guests, the ambassadors 02:15 Film Noir
04:00 Stanley Donen's Bedazzled
11:15 13:15 15:15 17:15 19:15 21:15 will comment and blog about their experience on social 05:45 Sunshine State
networking Web sites Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF “We’re going to connect the world with the Times Square MOVIEMAX
MEATBALLS Charmin bathrooms,” said Cody Melton, 31, a comedian
07:40 The Kid & I
STANBUL: Esentepe Cinebonus Astoria 09:20 Silk
11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 Fatih and one of the new ambassadors. 11:15 Enchanted
Cinebonus 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 13:10 Surf's Up
21:00 ANKARA: Cinebonus 11:00 13:00
Although they aren’t sure what to expect when the 14:45 Two Weeks
15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 Cinebonus Bilkent guests stream through the restrooms set up each year by 16:30 Thief: Part 3
11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 ZMR: 18:05 Made Of Honor
toilet paper maker Charmin, the ambassadors believe visi- 20:00 Attack Force
Cinebonus Balçova Kipa 11:00 13:00 15:00
17:00 19:00 21:00 ANTALYA: Cinebonus tors will be grateful for the experience in a city notorious 21:50 Immortally Yours -- Kiss of
the Vampire
Migros 11:15 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 for its dearth of public restrooms. 23:45 The Invasion
“There’s nothing worse than being in New York and 01:30 Scar
YED KOCALI HÜRMÜZ 03:35 Thief: Part 3
STANBUL: Kadköy Rexx 11:15 13:45 having to go,” said Annie Paulson, a 31-year-old cellist
16:15 18:45 21:15 Kozyata Cinebonus who landed a job. “I often find myself buying cups of cof- MGM MOVIES
11:30 14:00 16:30 19:00 21:30 Nianta 08:25 American Heart
Citylife 11:00 13:45 16:30 19:15 22:00 fee that I don’t want in order to feel justified to use a rest-
10:25 Black Caesar
ANKARA: Finansbank AFM Ankamall room in a coffee shop. Or I’ll try to look like I know where 12:00 Zelig
11:10 13:55 16:35 19:15 21:55 ANTALYA: I’m going and walk into a hotel,” she said. 13:25 The Siege Of Firebase
Cinebonus Migros 11:00 13:45 16:30 19:15 Gloria
Other winners announced at the opening ceremony Bathroom stalls in a public restroom built in New York’s Times Square by toilet paper maker Charmin are being prepared for the holiday season. 15:05 Mystery Date
KURTLAR VADS GLADIO of the toilets include a 32-year-old children’s theater 16:45 MGM Craft: 'Some Like It
STANBUL: Maslak TM 11:00 12:15 Hot' by Billy Wilder
teacher, a 32-year-old former office administrator, and they added the ambassador jobs. Christmas until the end of the year. 16:55 The Return Of A Man
13:30 14:45 16:00 17:15 18:30 19:45 21:00
21:55 ANKARA: Ankara Cinebonus an unemployed 68-year-old woman. The lucrative contest drew hundreds of hopefuls as Any video footage uploaded to the Internet from the Called Horse
19:05 Yellowbeard
Panora 11:00 12:00 12:00 13:00 14:10 This is the fourth year Charmin has set up the ap- the US economy is still feeling the effects of the worse site will be family friendly, it added. The ambassadors 20:45 O.C. and Stiggs
14:10 15:15 16:25 16:25 17:30 18:40
18:40 19:45 20:55 ZMR: Bornova Bat proximately 20 restrooms, which will also have iPods recession in decades, with jobless figures at around 10 will banter with guests headed in and out of the toilets 22:40 Grayeagle
00:25 Gun Fever
11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 and televisions within reach of their porcelain seats. The percent. The company estimates about 500,000 people on the second floor of a Broadway building and write 01:50 Lenny
company said it wanted to enhance the experience so will use the toilets which will be open every day except about the experience. New York Reuters 03:45 A Midsummer Night's Sex
Comedy

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Crossword Mr. DploMAT! Cem Kzltu

c.kiziltug@todayszaman.com
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 CONTINUATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009 TODAY’S ZAMAN 17

Former general threatens STV during Antalya rally

TODAY’S ZAMAN
At a rally organized by the Justice and Equality the Ergenekon terrorist organization, which is accused of risks. Realities do not make everyone happy every time.
Party in Antalya on Monday, Osman Pamukolu, plotting to overthrow the government. The station has There may be people like Osman Pamukolu who are
the party leader who is also a retired major general, thre- sought to strengthen Turkish democracy through its bro- upset when they fail to receive interest and start to ut-

atened to “burn down” private television station Saman-
yolu TV (STV). “Whatever they are called, straw or any-
thing else. We will burn it down. We will burn it down
with all its extensions. We do not need great res or fuel
because they are straw. A match will sufce,” Pamukolu
threatened. “Saman” means “straw” in English, but “Sa-
manyolu” means “Milky Way.”
STV was Pamukolu’s target due to broadcasts that
have helped expose plans for a coup d’état by the Tur-
Osman Pamukolu kish military and anti-democratic initiatives devised by
adcasts. Pamukolu’s threats drew a harsh reaction from
STV. Metin Ykar, editor-in-chief of the station, respon-
ded to the threats in a written statement.
“We all know that Turkey is going through hard ti-
mes. Believing that the country is superior to its own life,
STV has shared all plots, plans and everything going on
with its viewers since the very rst day of its broadcasts
and continues to do so. Journalism necessitates this. Res-
ponsibilities on our shoulders oblige us to share the truth
with the public. Indeed, journalism brings with it certain
PHOTO
ter threats when they are upset. Pamukolu is no lon-
ger a member of the military. He is the leader of a po-
litical party. He should learn to show civilian reexes
and become more tolerant. … STV has been apprecia-
ted for its broadcasts since the day it was established. It is
among the country’s most trusted television stations. To
trust is tantamount to stand by and protect. Pamukolu,
who failed to gather more than 40 or 50 people in rallies,
may utter threats, but the public knows very well who is
who,” read the statement. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
The prime minister’s chief foreign policy adviser brahim Kaln

Reports on shift in
foreign policy axes
Turkey and UN once more in ideologically driven,
PM advisor says
quarrel over Makhmour camp SERKAN SALAM ANKARA

The prime minister’s chief foreign policy adviser

has lashed out at criticism that Turkey has under-
gone a change regarding its international relations and

TODAY’S ZAMAN, KÜRAT BAYHAN

contnued from page 1
turned its back on the West, noting that he considers
Speaking to Today’s Zaman, a senior
comments on a drastic change in Turkey’s diplomatic
ofcial who does not want to be identi-
priorities ideologically based.
ed said this is the biggest crisis Turkey has had
“Criticizing Israel for its mistakes does not neces-
with the UN so far. Saying Turkey has always
sarily mean that Turkey has disengaged itself from the
seen the Makhmour refugee camp as suppor-
Western world. The Western countries are working on
ting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) ter-
being effective in the Middle East and in the Caucasus.
rorist organization logistically and has always
For example, France has had historical relations with
complained about it to the UN, the same ofcial
Lebanon and Syria, and it has created strategies for the
said now the UNCHR is asking Turkey to give
Israeli-Palestinian conict. Taking all these steps into
refugee status to the camp’s Turkish citizens.
account, can we say France is turning its back on Euro-
Noting that the UN has always failed to
pe?” brahim Kaln said while speaking to Today’s Za-
block the use of the refugee camp by the PKK

terrorist organization, the ofcial said Turkey’s
response to the UN’s request was harsh. In a
letter of response sent by Turkish authorities,
it reads that the most of the people living the-
re are Turkish citizens and the reason of the-
ir settlement and where they left from for Iraq
is known. “It is impossible to place the return of
people within the international refugee law fra-
mework,” the letter of response reads.
Having had several problems with the
UN regarding the Makhmour refugee camp,
Turkey has drafted its plan on the return of
the refugees following the consultations with
the American and Iraqi administrations. Du-
ring AK Party’s Kzlcahamam meeting, Ata-
lay said refugees will start returning to Tur-
key in groups of 300 to 400 and the govern-
ment will establish a special entrance center
at the Habur border gate. While Atalay said
it is impossible to treat them as international
refugees, he added that they will encourage
the refugees to return to their previous resi-
dences. “However, we will not grant special
additional rights to them,” Atalay said.
While stressing that the public will not see
“welcome home celebrations” for members
of the PKK who surrender to Turkish security
forces and that the security forces will not to-
lerate such celebrations, Atalay said only fa-
mily members will be allowed to meet the re-
turnees. To return to Turkey, Atalay noted, re-
fugees will rst need to appeal to the Iraqi ad-
ministration and then after Iraqi administrati-
on decides on who will return and the time of
the return, the Turkish citizens at the Makh-
mour camp will be able to return to Turkey.
Six PKK members from the Kandil Mountains and 28 refugees who had stayed in the Makhmour camp in northern Iraq surrendered to Turkish aut-
horities in October and were greeted with festive celebrations by crowds at the Habur border gate, which drew harsh criticism.
Turkey and the UN have constantly quar-
reled over the Makhmour camp. While the vi-
olent events were culminating in southeastern
Turkey in 1996, nearly 20,000 Turkish citizens
went to Iraq, inuenced by the PKK, and es-
tablished two separate residential camps in the
Atrush region. Turkey bombed the camps until
1997, claiming that they were being used by the
PKK. As a result, the UN built the Makhmour
camp in 1998. However, it was discovered that
this camp was also used by PKK militants. The
UN attempted to disarm the camp; however, it
failed miserably. After the American invasion of
Iraq, the US also has tried to disarm the camp.
Before the construction of the Makhmour
camp, nearly 3,000 people returned to Turkey.
This is the reason why Turkey is angry with the
UN. When the pre-Makhmour refugees were
returning, the UNCHR was generally silent on
the international rights of those refugees. The
UN said the Atrush camp was not under the
control of the UN but the Makhmour camp
is functioning under the aegis of the UN and
thus the refugees returning from the Makhmo-
ur camp should benet from the all rights that
international refugee law provides.
PHOTO
According to the people who have already
returned from the Makhmour camp, if the Tur-
kish government gives guarantees to the re-
turnees, there will be no one left in the Makh-
mour camp. The government, however, does
not want to provide special privileges for tho-
se returning from the camp. The government
will ease the process for those who want to re-
turn to their prior homes. Those who were born
at the Makhmour camp, and therefore do not
have Turkish citizenship, will be granted Tur-
kish citizenship and they will enjoy all rights
that a Turkish citizen has. Ankara Today’s Zaman
man. But once Turkey began to forge relations with its
close neighbors, such as Russia and Iran, a debate was
surprisingly triggered and claimed Turkey had shifted
its axes of foreign relations towards the East rather than
the West, Kaln noted.
“News claiming that Turkey would turn its back on
the West when it points out Israel’s faults do not reect
the reality and are not based on objective information
but on ideological considerations,” Kaln said, giving an
example: “When George Bush took a step to launch a pe-
riod of reconciliation in US-Russian relations, this was re-
garded as a contribution to world peace or at least as an
expected outcome of real politics. But, when Turkey tri-
es to establish closer relations with Russia, Iran and Syria,
all regional neighbors, the change in Turkish foreign po-
licy is discussed,” the chief adviser added and emphasi-
zed that the countries cannot be ideologically categorized
when they seek to pursue their national interests.
Kaln pointed to the absence of a stable system in
international politics globally and regionally, saying
that no one can claim a peaceful order has been estab-
lished in the Balkans, the Middle East or the Cauca-
sus. “We cannot neglect the problems in these regions.
With our potential power and opportunities, we want
to contribute to the establishment of a peaceful order in
these regions,” he added.
Dwelling on the normalization processes with close
neighbors, Kaln highlighted that one of the goals of re-
cent rapprochement with Armenia is to establish a new
long-lasting stability in the Caucasus.
We are ready to mediate in
Israeli-Syrian peace talks again
Kaln underlined that Turkey is ready to once again me-
diate in peace negotiations between Israel and Syria, talks
which were stopped after Israel’s bloody attacks on the
Gaza Strip earlier this year. “If Turkey is able to play a po-
sitive role in the peace talks, we are ready to join the me-
diation again. But Israel should decide on this,” he noted.
Noting that the stance of the prime minister on the
issue of Israel is clear, Kaln stressed that no one can ar-
gue that this government has a secret agenda based on

Ergenekon defendant Balbay remains silent on notes
BÜRA ERDAL STANBUL
Cumhuriyet daily’s Ankara representative,
Mustafa Balbay, who is accused of “inciting
the people to armed rebellion against the govern-
ment” as a member of Ergenekon -- a clandestine
network accused of plotting to overthrow the go-
vernment -- has refused to answer questions on his
personal notes, which the prosecution says is proof
of the journalist’s participation in coup plans.
Balbay’s cross-examination continued on Mon-
day in the 19th hearing at the stanbul 13th Hig-
her Criminal court, following his defense testi-
mony earlier last week. In his cross-examination,
Balbay simply refused to give full answers to the
prosecution’s questions regarding notes kept in
his personal journal, saying the notes were simply
parts of his “journalistic activities.” The current
trial is one of two separate trials into Ergenekon.
This one is based on the second and third indict-
ments prepared so far in the case, and is referred
to as the “second Ergenekon trial.”
He was also questioned about his defense testi-
mony delivered on Thursday. He told the judges of
the stanbul 13th Higher Criminal Court that he be-
lieved the indictment was riddled with inconsisten-
cies. He said: “I reject all accusations. I haven’t inci-
ted people to unarmed revolt, let alone inciting them
to armed revolt.” Balbay also said that journal entries
allegedly kept by him had been modied, claiming
the entries were not written in the order in which
they were listed in the indictment. In yesterday’s tri-
al, Balbay was asked to clarify what part or parts of
the entries were modied by the prosecution. Ho-
wever, he was unable to do this, saying he could not
remember all the details pertaining to the notes kept
over a lengthy span of time between 1998 and 2005.
In yesterday’s hearing, he also did not respond
to questions about his relationship with certain indi-
viduals, including Ergenekon suspects ener Eruy-
gur, Levent Ersöz and Hasan Atilla Uur, who are
frequently mentioned in his journal entries. He was
also reluctant to elaborate on meetings regularly
held with this group in Ankara’s Kent Hotel.
Balbay was unable to respond to the
prosecutor’s question: “You quoted ener
Eruygur’s words ‘We can break up the Justice
and Development Party [AK Party] in the me-
dium term.’ This appears to be in line with the
Moonlight coup plan [devised by a group of ac-
cused generals]. Why were these illegal plans
shared with you? Did you use these notes that
you took at this meeting in a story?”
Another question asked was: “You wrote: ‘Now
is not the right time for a coup. Not like Feb. 28.
What we should do for now is intimidate them.’ Did
you write a news story about this meeting?”
Yet another question Balbay did not give a res-
ponse to was: “Why were you given National Se-
curity Council [MGK] meeting minutes that are
supposed to be condential? Can you explain
your words, ‘We should eliminate all those in the
MGK?’ Can you explain what this note means: ‘A
search of a house will take place in Manisa. Bülent
Arnç called the prosecutor and told him to be ca-
reful to not break anything in the house for most of
the items belong to his mother.’ You also say you
found this information from someone named e-
ner. Who is this person?” The prosecution also as-
ked the question: “In your notes on a meeting bet-
ween Levent Ersöz and Hasan Atilla Uur, you
stated that ‘media bosses should be pushed.’ Why
did you say these words? What was your purpose
in giving advice to two military ofcers on duty?”
Another question that went unanswered by Bal-
bay was: “In your notes, you said that a new ‘study
group’ had been established to replace the Wes-
tern Study Group [the architect of the Feb. 28, 1997
unarmed intervention]. Can you explain this?”
In his testimony, Balbay also stated that he has
known Mustafa Özbek since 2004. Özbek is the
former head of the metal industry workers’ union
Türk-Metal and is also standing trial as a suspect in
the Ergenekon trial. He stated that Özbek had as-
ked him to lead a new party to be founded by Öz-
bek, but he did not accept as he sees himself as an
integral part of the Cumhuriyet daily.
During this cross-examination, Balbay said the
prosecutors were trying to make Atatürkists look
like terrorists. He continued providing no answers,
or gave evasive answers to prosecutors’ questions.
He was particularly angered when he was asked if
the person mentioned in his notes by the initials .S
was lhan Selçuk. He said it was impossible to not be
exasperated by accusations of terrorism directed at a
journalist over his daily notes. Presiding Judge Kök-
sal engün called on him to calm down. “You will
have to face questions that you nd difcult or irri-
tating. You will need to answer these questions with
calm. Please calm down,” he said.
an Islamic ideology and anti-Semitism. “If we had an
anti-Semitic strategy, we would not have helped the
Israeli-Syrian peace talks.”
Kaln considers the Israeli-Palestinian conict as
the biggest barrier to improved relations between the
Muslim world and the Western world. “From the poli-
tical perspective, it is impossible to reach peace in the
Middle East without any political reconciliation betwe-
en Palestine and Israel. The Palestine issue is the most
signicant issue poisoning relations between Islam
and the West.” He argued that Palestinians have been
treated unequally for more than 50 years and claimed
that Israel will not be able to ensure its security unless
the Palestinian problem comes to an end.
Peace without Hamas impossible
Referring to the policies pursued by nations around the
world to isolate Hamas in 2006 after it won in elections,
Kaln noted that the democratic process was interrupted
and Palestinians dividend into more groups than ever be-
fore. “You may agree or disagree with the policies of Ha-
mas, but a peace proposal which does not include Ha-
mas will not be permanent. When you exclude Hamas,
it means you exclude half of the Palestinian people as
they voted for Hamas. This [fact] should be seen by Isra-
el as well.” He also noted that the international commu-
nity ought to make more effort to ensure the peace pro-
cess progresses. Negotiations cannot last forever, he said.
 18 TODAY’S ZAMAN W E D N E S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 0 9 TODAY’S LEARNING

6th GRADERS 7th GRADERS

READING READING

JUDITH’S BIRTHDAY PRESERVING OUR ENVIRONMENT

REUTERS

AP

TODAY’S ZAMAN
PHOTO
PHOTO

PHOTO
There is a great need to preserve and protect our envi- them again. Everytime we throw something away, we
ronment and its natural resources. I believe that part should think about what will happen to that rubbish,
of being a good citizen and a good neighbor is main- and remember to look around for the recycling bin.
taining or improving the cleanliness of the air, water There are over 600 million cars on our planet and
and land of the locations in which we operate and most people don't think before they use them. Cars
live. The question we must ask is ourselves is, "What produce millions of tonnes of pollution every year.
can we do to help?" How can you help? Try these ideas:
My name is Judith and I live in Ýstanbul, Turkey. My birthday party, and I hope they are hungry! My mum
What do we do with our rubbish? We often burn or Use trains and buses when you can. Use your
mother is an English teacher at a high school. I was born will start dinner with tomato soup. My best friend Lisa
bury it, but this isn't good for the environment. Some of head before you use your car. It helps to reduce the
in Egypt but my parents are from England. I love travel- likes tomatoes so much, I'm sure she will eat two full
this rubbish produces poisonous gases and other types number of cars on our roads.
ling and visiting different countries like my parents. My bowls of soup. For the main course, Mum thinks fresh
of pollution. Recycling is an ecological solution to this Walk more -- it's cheap and healthy.
mother is a great cook. She cooks delicious meals from vegetables and lamb steak with tomatoes would be
problem. When we recycle materials or objects, we use Try recycling -- it's fun and easy.
different parts of the world. My nice, but I don't like lamb. I
friends love eating her speciality; think my friends would love to
fried chicken with an Egyptian eat hamburgers with french
sauce and baked mushrooms fries and coke, but my mother A- Match the vocabulary in column A to its meaning in column B
with yellow cheese. Tomorrow will only cook healthy food at
is my twelfth birthday. I will home. We both agreed that a 1. Reduce a) to keep a building or area in good condition
have a big party, and all my mixed salad, baked chicken 2. Recycle b) a dangerous substance.
friends are invited. Of course my with peas, and fresh fruit juice
mum will make dinner, and she would make a great main 3. Poison c) to make some thing less.
will also make my favourite course for the party. Chocolate 4. Maintain d) to put used paper, glass, etc. in special bins so it can be reused.
dessert, chocolate cake. cake for dessert will be great
5. Pollution e) damage caused to air, water by harmful substances or by waste.
After school my friends will too, but my favourite part of
come to my house for my the party will be the presents!

B- Answer the questions.

1) What did the writer say about our environment in the first paragraph?
_________________________________________________________.

2) What must a good citizen and a good neighbor do?

_________________________________________________________.
Unscramble the words from the reading.
3) What do people often do with their rubbish?
Food Drinks _________________________________________________________.

4) What happens when we recycle materials or objects?

_________________________________________________________.

5) What is the end result of using trains and buses?

_________________________________________________________.

Read and find the correct answers.

a. What does her mother cook with Egyptian sauce and baked mushrooms?
b. What soup will they eat?
c. What is the main course?
d. How old is Judith? VOCABULARY:
e. What cake does Judith like?
A. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words.
average climate damage nature rubbish
Circle either true or false.
1. Many boxers finish their career with brain ________.
a. Judith is from Turkey. true / false.
2. Most plants do not grow in the desert because of the hot and dry ________.
b. Her mother is cooking fried chicken with an
3. The ________ person uses 1,500 to 2,000 calories per day.
Egyptian sauce and baked mushrooms for her birthday party. true / false.
4. Farmers are lucky because they can see the beauty of ________ in every season.
c. The children will go home after school. true / false.
5. The professor has got so much ________ on his desk it's unbelievable.
d. Judith's parents live in Egypt. true / false.
e. Judith is 13 years old. true / false.
f. Judith doesn't like eating lamb. true / false.
B. Circle the appropriate word to complete the sentence.
1. A few policemen were stolen/injured/reduced in the demonstrations.
Complete the sentences.
2. How do I create/waste/exercise a new file on the computer?
a. Judith lives in .........................
b. Judith ................. twelve years old. 3. Regular cleaning may help harm/offer/prevent swine flu.
c. ............................ mum is a great cook.
4. Simple exercises can diminish/recycle/throw your back pain.
d. Judith's ......................... part of the birthday party is the presents.
5. Þanlý Urfa is a mystical city to injure /explore /consume.
e. Istanbul is a big ........................ in Turkey.

Last week’s answer key: 6th GRADES: 1. b.2. c.3. d.4. a.5. e. / 1. F2. T3. T4. F5. F / 1. a loaf of 2. a bar of 3. a bunch of 4. a slice of 5. a cup of 6. a carton 7. a bottle / 7TH GRADES: 1. Take a shorter shower.2. Turn off the TV for an hour.3. Use a rag or
hand towel instead of napkins or paper towels. 4. Don't eat junk food. 1. Plant a tree. 2. Clean up your neighborhood. / 1. a 2. b 3. c 4. a 5. c 6. d
 SPORTS Young leads Titans to victory over Texans
Vince Young guided Tennessee to a 20-17 victory over the Houston Texans
on Monday, as the Titans improved to 4-0 since he took over as starting
quarterback. Titans (4-6) kicker Rob Bironas made a 53-yard field goal with
lless than a minute left, before his Texans (5-5) counterpart Kris Brown missed a
49-yarder in the last second that would have tied the game. Houston Reuters

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009

ATHLETICS

EAGLES MUST BEAT MAN U Germany restores

high jump record
Gretel Bergmann matched a German high jump

OR FACE EXIT FROM EUROPE

record on June 30, 1936. Two weeks later, the 5
feet, 3 inches (1.6 meters) she jumped in Stutt-
Emir gart, Germany, was all but obliterated and she
Preldzic was kicked off the team. Bergmann was Jew-
ish. She would miss that year’s Berlin Olympics.

Fener Ülker faces All is not well with the Black Eagles in Europe. They are languishing at the bottom of Group There was no way the Nazis would allow a Jew
to compete and possibly win. Now comes news

Zalgiris Kaunas B with only one point from four matches and so have to make the impossible possible by that Germany’s track and eld association re-
stored the mark, calling the decision an “act of
beating Man U this evening to avoid bidding adieu to the UEFA Champions League
on the road today justice and a symbolic gesture” while acknowl-
edging it “can in no way make up” for the past. It

TODAY’S ZAMAN, M. BURAK BÜRKÜK

OKAN UDO BASSEY ÝSTANBUL also requested that she be included in Germany’s
Euroleague basketball action is back after
sports hall of fame. This was all a pleasant sur-
a one-week break to give the overworked
The Beikta Black Eagles should be prise for the 95-year-old Bergmann -- a victory
teams and players some breathing space.
brimming with condence ahead of for the strong-willed woman who later changed
Fenerbahçe Ülker, the runner-up in the
their UEFA Champions League Group her name to Margaret Lambert after emigrating
men’s Turkish Basketball League (TBL) last
B match against already qualied Manchester to the United States in 1937. ”That’s very nice
season, faltered in the Euroleague group
United at Old Trafford this evening, after trounc- and I appreciate it. I couldn’t repeat the jump to-
four match against unbeaten Italian leader
ing the Fenerbahçe Yellow Canaries 3-0 in their day. Believe me,” said Lambert, who lives in the
Montepaschi Sienna on Nov. 11 and was
stanbul derby on Saturday. New York City borough of Queens. New York AP
beaten 87-83 in front of its home fans at
stanbul’s Abdi pekçi Sports Arena. The fact of the matter, though, is that United
Fener Ülker dropped to 2-2 after that de- is a more formidable opponent than Fenerbahçe. SOCCER
Hence there are more questions than answers as to
feat and therefore has to beat Lithuanian side
Zalgiris in game ve on the road this evening whether the Eagles’ newly discovered condence US clubs announce

to boost its chances of making the next round
in the competition. Fener lost the match
against Montepaschi Sienna, but not without
a ght. Tarence Kisney banged in 20 points
for Fener, Lynn Greer added 17, Ouz Sava
14 and Emir Preldzic 10. Fener coach Bogdan
Tanjevic will be counting on these sharp-
shooters to deliver the goods again today.
Zalgiris is not in the best of moods after
being beaten 64-52 on the road by Cibona
Zagreb the Wednesday before last, a de-
feat which meant the Lithuanians dropped
to 1-3. Zalgiris is therefore desperate for
victory today to stay alive, and that could
make Efes Pilsen’s job even more difcult.
Mirza Begic, who scored 14 points, and
Travis Watson, who barely missed a double-
double with 9 points and 12 rebounds, were
outstanding for Zalgiris at Zagreb in game
four. These are the players Efes has to keep a
close eye on. In the other Group A game to-
day Asvel Basket hosts Cibona Zagreb.
Elsewhere in the Euroleague today it
is: Union Olimpija vs. Lottomaica Roma
in Group C; BC Khimi vs. Asseco Prokom
and Panathinaikos vs. EWE Baskets in
Group D. stanbul Today’s Zaman
AP
will be enough for them to hand the English side its
rst Champions League defeat of the season.
The Black Eagles, the current Turkish cham-
pions, may have rediscovered winning form in
the domestic league and are sweeping aside op-
ponents with enthralling arrogance. Ask the latest
victims, Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe, and they
will tell you what it feels like being on the receiv-
ing end when Beikta is at issue.
Going getting tougher in Europe
But all is not well with the Black Eagles in Europe.
They are languishing at the bottom of Group B with
only one point from four matches. Their chances
of continuing in the lucrative Champions League
have evaporated into thin air, and even finishing
third the group and continuing in the less presti-
gious UEFA Europa League is a tall order, indeed.
CSKA Moscow, the Eagles’ closest rival, has
four points with only two games left including
this evening’s, and if they earn a point from
their match with German champion VfL Wolfs-
burg this evening and Beikta is beaten at Old
Trafford, that would be the end of the story for
the Black Eagles. In plain language, that would
mean the Eagles bidding bye-bye to all Euro-
pean competitions this season.
But Beikta seems undaunted by the might
of Manchester. “Our morale is sky high,” the
Beikta general manager said before their de-
parture to England on Monday. “We had a very
PHOTO
rebel soccer league
Rebel clubs from the second tier soccer cham-
pionship in the United States and Canada will
compete in a new North American Soccer
League (NASL) from April next year, ofcials
have said. The breakaway league was formed
earlier this month without being named by clubs
previously tied to the United Soccer Leagues
(USL), the structure below Major League Soccer.
Formally announced two weeks ago, the rebel
league has been named to honour the original
NASL, a professional league that operated in the
US and Canada from 1968 to 1984 and featured
soccer greats such as Pele and Franz Beckenbau-
er. “We are paying respect to the players, coach-
es and leaders who were pioneers for men’s
professional soccer in North America,” newly
appointed NASL president Selby Wellman said
in a statement. “Our intention is to offer an elite
Beikta striker Rodrigo Barbosa Tabata (R) battles for brand of soccer and outstanding experience for
the ball with a Manchester United player during their our partners and fans, something the old NASL
Champions League match in stanbul on Sept. 15.
did very well during its day. New York Reuters
desperate for points and so they would “strive for BASKETBALL
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE STANDINGS a result worthy of Beikta.”
lyasova’s 20 points
But Denizli will be missing suspended Czech
GROUP A P W D L GF GA Pts
Bordeaux* 4 3 1 0 6 2 10
stopper Tomas Sivok, injured second-choice not enough for Bucks
Juventus 4 2 2 0 3 1 8 keeper Hakan Arkan, Slovakia striker Filip Ho-
Tim Duncan scored 24 points and had 12 re-
Bayern Munich 4 1 1 2 4 4 4 losko and 18-year-old Turkey junior interna- bounds as the San Antonio Spurs beat Milwau-
Maccabi Haifa 4 0 0 4 0 6 0 tional left back Rdvan imek, whose surname

kee 112-98 on Monday to end the Bucks’ three

pleasant week and are going to England with translates to lightning, while Brazilian-Turkish game winning streak. Reserve Matt Bonner
GROUP B
PHOTO

Thierry
Henry
FIFA calls meeting
to discuss two
World Cup playoffs
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has
called an emergency meeting of its
executive committee ahead of the World
Cup draw in South Africa to deal with
the fallout from Thierry Henry’s hand
ball, violence at Algeria-Egypt games and
match-xing allegations in Europe.
FIFA said the meeting would take place
Dec. 2, two days before the draw in Cape
Town. FIFA’s statement did not reveal the
incidents. However, there were several
examples of fan violence before and after
Algeria’s victory over Egypt in an African
playoff, plus Henry’s hand ball that led to
France advancing at Ireland’s expense.
The committee will also discuss match-
xing and betting scams being investigated
in Germany and parts of central and eastern
Europe. Algeria’s two games against Egypt
came 20 years after riots on and off the eld
marred a meeting of the two African nations
and there was more trouble this time.
Crowds in Cairo hurled stones at the Al-
gerian team’s bus before a rst match in Cai-
ro on Nov. 14, injuring three players. Egypt
won 2-0, forcing the playoff. And in the fol-
lowing days, mobs in Algeria ransacked the
ofces of Egyptian companies. Zurich AP
high morale. This is an advantage for us, no P W
doubt about it,” he noted. Man United* 4 3
Former captain brahim Üzülmez, the hero VfL Wolfsburg 4 2
of the derby against Fenerbahçe on Saturday, CSKA Moscow 4 1
concurred rather philosophically with his gen-
Beikta 4 0
eral manager. “We are not concerned about what
GROUP C P W
Manchester [United] can do or has done. On the
AC Milan 4 2
contrary we are concerned about what we can do
Real Madrid 4 2
and are going to do,” he said. “This is a match in Oly. Marseille 4 2
which we have to give our all and it is a match in
which we must put up a good ght. As a team
FC Zurich 4 1
we are performing well and hope to return from GROUP D P W
England with a good result,” he added. Chelsea* 4 3
Coach Denizli cautious
Porto*
Atletico Madrid
4
4
3
0
APOEL Nicosia 4 0
Beikta coach Mustafa Denizli was more cau-
tious in choosing his words. “We are not going to *Qualify for knockout stages.
England to lose,” he said, which can be translated
as “a draw at Old Trafford would not be a bad Live on Lig TV
result.” But he also noted that his team is more Manchester United-Beikta ...............21:45
Time running out for Bayern Munich in CL
Bayern Munich general director “We have to turn this corner
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has quickly,” Rummenigge told re-
urged the troubled German side to porters. “If we don’t succeed then
lift its game or face elimination at the we will have to look into it.”
Champions League group stage. Dutchman Van Gaal, who took
Time is running out for Bay- over in the close season in an effort
ern and coach Louis van Gaal as to make the team more competi-
the Bavarians cannot afford to tive in Europe, has so far failed to
drop any points in their Group deliver and is under growing pres-
A clash against Israel’s Maccabi sure. Bayern, with only four points
Haifa today. Bayern needs to beat from four games, risks suffering an
Haifa and then Juventus in Turin embarrassing and rare group stage
in December and hope the Ital- exit and with inuential midelder
ians do not overcome Girondins Franck Ribery still injured and
Bordeaux this week. Arjen Robben doubtful, it has a
D L GF GA Pts forward Mert Nobre was allowed to stay behind chipped in with 23 points, including six 3-point-
1 0 7 4 10 in stanbul because his child is ill. ers, as the Spurs managed made it back to back
1 1 7 3 7 The coach is very likely going to eld Brazilian wins to improve to 6-6 this season. Turkish star
1 2 6 8 4 Bobo as the sole striker, with mideld support from Ersan lyasova top scored for Milwaukee (8-4)
1 3 1 6 1 Germans Fabian Ernst, Michael Fink, Rodrigo Tello with 20 points while rookie Brandon Jennings
and of course Üzülmez. In a nutshell, any player added 12, well down on his 25.3 season average
D L GF GA Pts who is elded today has to perform above his natu-
and his 55-point haul against the Golden State
1 1 6 5 7
ral capacity because United is no spring chicken. Warriors earlier this month but that was not
1 1 11 6 7
0 2 8 6 6 For United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, enough to save the Bucks from defeat “We’re
whose team has already qualied, this eve-
0 3 4 1 3
ning’s match is a mere formality. And so Sir
moving the ball really well. We have really
good shooters and when we can get those guys
D L GF GA Pts Alex may eld some reserves while preserving open shots it’s best for us,” Spurs star Duncan
1 0 8 2 10 his regulars for the premiership. told reporters. Other NBA results (home team
0
2
1
2
5
2
2
8
9
2
There are also reports that 21-year-old North-
ern Ireland left back Jonathan Grant “Jonny” Evans
in CAPS): MEMPHIS 116, Sacramento 105;
PORTLAND 122, Chicago 98 and LA CLIP-
1 3 1 4 1
and 28-year-old Bulgarian forward Dimitar Ivanov PERS 91, Minnesota 87. San Antonio Reuters
Berbatov have been sidelined due to injury.
Apart from the lucrative prize money for the GOLF
winner, nothing else is at stake for Manchester
United. But Beikta has everything to play for. Ochoa pips Shin for
LPGA award
Lorena Ochoa edged out South Korean Shin
Ji-yai to become the LPGA player of the year for
a fourth successive time on Monday after Swede
Anna Nordqvist won the season-ending LPGA
mountain to climb. striker Shlomi Arbeitman, who Tour Championship. Mexican Ochoa coolly
Haifa, with no points or goals has scored 10 goals in 10 domes- birdied the nal hole for a ve-under-par 67 at
from four matches, still have an out- tic league matches but has failed The Houstonian Golf and Country Club to n-
side chance of overtaking Bayern with to capitalize on a host of other op- ish alone in second place at 11-under 205, two
two wins in the nal group matches portunities. strokes behind Nordqvist who signed off with a
to grab the Europa League spot. 65. Shin, who led Ochoa in the player of the year
Haifa, which lost 3-0 at home Fixtures at a glance race going into the weather-delayed tournament,
to Bayern in September, will be Group A: Bordeaux vs. Juventus; had to settle for a share of eighth place at six un-
without suspended Brazilian Bayern Munich vs. Maccabi. der after closing with a 73. The bespectacled Ko-
midelder Tiago Dutra, but is Group B: CSKA vs. Wolfsburg; rean, playing with fellow rookie Nordqvist in the
condent it can score itsrst goals Manchester United vs. Beikta. nal group, would have overhauled Ochoa with
of the campaign. Group C: Real Madrid vs. Zurich; a birdie at the last but her chip from greenside
“Maybe the chances I missed AC Milan vs. Marseille. rough slid past the right edge of the cup. Ochoa,
are a sign we’re saving our goals Group D: Porto vs. Chelsea; APOEL who ended her season with three victories and
for the Champions League,” said vs. Atletico Madrid. Berlin Reuters 13 top-10 nishes in 22 starts, had tears in her
eyes as she watched Shin’s birdie attempt from
the edge of the 18th green. Houston Reuters
 Berlusconi honored as 2009 rock star
The Italian edition of Rolling Stone has named Prime Minister Silvio Ber-
lusconi its “rock star of the year,” paying tribute to his “lifestyle worthy
of the greatest rock star.” An illustration of a smiling Berlusconi embla-
zons the cover of the Rolling Stone’s December issue. Rome, Reuters

WWW.TODAYSZAMAN.COM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009

BIG BANG ATOM SMASHER

AP, LAURENT GILLIERON

RECORDS FIRST PROTON HITS

PHOTOS

CERN Director General Rolf-Dieter Heuer (R) and CERN Director for Accelerators
and Technology Steve Myers speak at a press conference in Geneva.
The true test of the Large Hadron Collider will come in the rst two months of
2010, when scientists plan to start deliberately crashing protons into each other to see
what they can discover about the makeup of the universe and its tiniest particles
The world’s largest atom smasher for that experiment, which involves heavy ion
made another leap forward by circu- physics. “This is simply tremendous.”
lating beams of protons in opposite
directions at the same time and causing the rst Control system
particle collisions in the $10 billion machine af- A CERN statement said the simultaneous
ter more than a year of repairs, organizers said. beams and collisions demonstrate the excellent
The true test of the Large Hadron Col- performance of the control system. While the
lider will come in the rst two months of initial collisions were a side effect, intentional
2010, when scientists plan to start deliber- hits could begin within the next 10 days, main-
ately crashing protons into each other to see ly to check how the machine is working, said
what they can discover about the makeup of CERN spokesman James Gillies.
the universe and its tiniest particles. The col- Ultimately, the collider aims to create con-
lisions -- seen by massive detectors -- were a ditions like they were 1 trillionth to 2 trillionths
side effect of the quick advances being made of a second after the Big Bang -- which scien-
by the LHC during its startup phase, which tists think marked the creation of the universe
began on Friday night, said Rolf Heuer, direc- Scientists gather at the European Organization for Nuclear Research data quality satellite control cen- billions of years ago. Physicists also hope the
tor-general of the European Organization for ter of the ATLAS detectors during the restart of the Large Hadron Collider in Meyrin, near Geneva. collider will help them see and understand
Nuclear Research, known as CERN. other suspected phenomena, such as dark
“It’s a great achievement to have come in rooms the size of cathedrals about 100 meters edented complexity and performance,” said Fa- matter, antimatter and supersymmetry.
this far in so short a time,” said Heuer. “But we (300 feet) underground around the collider. biola Gianotti, who represents the Atlas partical The collider was started with great fanfare
need to keep a sense of perspective -- there’s “This is great news, the start of a fantastic physics experiment for about 2,000 other scien- Sept. 10, 2008, only to be heavily damaged
still much to do before we can start the LHC era of physics and hopefully discoveries after tists. “It was standing room only in the ALICE by an electrical fault nine days later. It took 14
physics program.” Collisions were recorded in 20 years’ work by the international community control room and cheers erupted with the rst months to repair and add protection systems to
all four of the main detectors at “experiments” to build a machine and detectors of unprec- collisions,” said Juergen Schukraft, spokesman the machine before it was restarted. Geneva AP

Poice chief Carpenter The real Alice

guilty of 3 counts in in Wonderland’s
Parker-Broderick case book up for auction
A police chief was acquitted of burglary A copy of the book “Through the Looking
charges on Monday but convicted of Glass, and What Alice Found There” that be-
three other felonies in an alleged break-in at longed to the British girl who inspired author Lewis
the home of a woman who carried twins for Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” will be sold at an
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick. A auction next month, the company behind the sale
jury found suspended Martins Ferry Chief Bar- has said. At its Dec. 16 auction, Proles in History
ry Carpenter guilty of receiving stolen property, also will sell a copy of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”
theft in ofce and tampering with evidence. He that belonged to its author, Beatrix Potter. The items
was acquitted on charges of burglary and un- come from the collection of former US professional
authorized used of property or services. football player Pat McInally, the auctioneer said.
Carpenter put his head in his hands after “Through the Looking Glass, and What Al-
the verdict was read in court. Messages seek- ice Found There,” which belonged to the late
ing comment were left for his attorney and for Alice Liddell before it came into McInally’s col-
prosecutors who tried the case. Prosecutors al- lection, has an estimated sales price of $150,000.
leged that Carpenter broke into Michelle Ross’ When she was 10 years-old in 1862, Alice Lid-
home in May, took items related to her preg- dell went on a picnic with her neighbor, the
nancy and the surrogacy, and schemed with Oxford mathematician Charles Dodgson, who
the Police Chief Chad Dojack of neighboring wrote under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. He
Bridgeport to sell them to celebrity photogra- told her a story that later became the classic
phers. Dojack faces trial in January. book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”
Carpenter had testied that he went into His book “Through the Looking Glass” was
the home to check it out because he saw a a sequel. Potter’s copy of “The Tale of Peter Rab-
door open. He said he took photos of a sur-
bit” is expected to sell for up to $120,000, Pro-
rogacy le that contained two ultrasound pic-
les in History said. The auction, which focuses
tures and of a plaster cast of a pregnant stom-
on children’s literature, also includes a rst edi-
ach. He said he showed the photo of the cast
tion copy of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and
to paparazzi and to several other people, but
signed, limited edition copies of author A.A.
said he never discussed selling items from the
Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh” and “The House at
home to the photographers. Jurors deliberat-
Pooh Corner.” The auction is expected to gener-
ed for about 12 hours on Friday and Monday.
ate total sales of $1 million, said Proles in Histo-
Carpenter faces a maximum 10 years in jail
ry (www.prolesinhistory.com). Los Angeles Reuters
when sentenced Dec. 10. St. Clairsville, Ohio AP
AP

RI teenager skips
PHOTO

school, robs bank

Police say a 17-year-old Warwick boy
who skipped school to rob a bank has
been arrested after leaving ngerprints on the
threatening note he passed to the teller. War-
wick police Capt. Sean Collins said the boy
handed a note riddled with misspellings to a
teller, demanding money or “everyone will be
shot.” The teller at Coastway Community Bank
gave the teen money, but he didn’t have much
time to spend it. Police said his image was cap-
tured on surveillance cameras, and his nger-
prints were found on the note. Police said the
teen was arrested six hours after the alleged
theft and faces a rst degree robbery charge.
The teen, whom police declined to identify Alice (Liddell) Hargreaves, the original inspiration for
because he’s a juvenile, was being held at the Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” sits
Rhode Island Training School. Warwick, RI AP in her home in Hampshire, England, in this 1932 portrait.