Author: Kanayan Tamar

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 13 2010

Cyprus, Ergenekon, Kurdish issue covered most by foreign media

Turkey continued to be a growing focus of interest for the foreign
media in 2009 and received extensive coverage from international media
outlets for its foreign policy and domestic political developments,
the Prime Ministry’s General Directorate of Press and Information
(BYEGM) has pointed out in a report.

According to the report, in 2009 over 1 million stories, comments and
programs were published about Turkey by foreign media outlets followed
by the BYEGM. The Cyprus situation was the top issue covered by the
foreign press, followed by political developments in Turkey, Turkey’s
relations with Middle Eastern countries and the Armenian issue,
including Turkish-Armenian ties.
In 2009, the most news articles on Turkey were written by
Ä°stanbul-resident German journalist Kai Strittmatter for the
Süddeutsche Zeitung and Tages Anzeiger newspapers, as in 2006 and
2007. German journalist Gerd Höhler, who filed the most news stories
on Turkey in 2008 for the papers Frankfurter Rundschau and Kölner
Stadt Anzeiger, came second in 2009. After being second behind
Strittmatter in 2007, Arab journalist Usame Abdalaziz, who writes for
Al-Ahram, dropped back to 11th both in 2008 and 2009. Sixteen out of a
total of 25 journalists with the most news articles on Turkey in 2009
were residents in Turkey. These 16 journalists wrote 10 percent of the
total number of news stories on Turkey published with a byline in
2009.

According to the BYEGM report, foreign media coverage of Turkey last
year predominantly focused on the Kurdish issue, new detentions and
the ongoing hearings in the Ergenekon case along with new munitions
caches unearthed during excavations in various parts of the country
connected to the probe, claims of the illegal wiretapping of members
of the judiciary, including the Supreme Court of Appeals, statements
made by military officers on various occasions and an alleged plot to
assassinate Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç and its related
developments.

Among the items that drew the greatest foreign media attention
concerning Turkey’s foreign policy were Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
ErdoÄ?an storming out of a World Economic Forum panel discussion after
a heated exchange with Israeli President Shimon Peres over Israel’s
onslaught in Gaza, and subsequent developments; Barack Obama paying
his first official overseas visit to Turkey after being sworn in as US
president; an Alliance of Civilizations meeting held in Ä°stanbul;
ErdoÄ?an’s official visits to the US and a number of Middle Eastern and
regional countries during the year; Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu’s
busy schedule of official visits abroad; the signing of the
intergovernmental agreement on the Nabucco natural gas pipeline
project in Ankara; the historic rapprochement protocols between Turkey
and Armenia; and developments concerning the normalization of
diplomatic ties and the opening of the shared border between the two
countries.

13 February 2010, Saturday
AYÅ?E KARABAT ANKARA

PARLIAMENT MAY SET UP COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE UNSOLVED MURDERS

Today’s Zaman
Feb 11 2010
Turkey

Family members of individuals who were assassinated for political
reasons who have voiced demands for the perpetrators and real
masterminds behind the killings to be brought to justice should be
supported, Parliamentary Human Rights Commission Chairman Zafer Uskul
stated on Tuesday, noting that Parliament should set up a research
commission to look into these.

Relatives of a number of figures assassinated in shady murders that
have remained unsolved for many years attended Monday’s hearing in
the trial of suspects in the murder of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian
journalist fatally shot by an ultranationalist teenager outside the
Agos weekly in 2007.

Nukhet Ä°pekci, the daughter of journalist Abdi Ä°pekci, who was killed
in 1979; Sezen Oz, the wife of prosecutor Dogan Oz, who was killed in
1978 while investigating illegal structures inside the military and
other state agencies; and Filiz Ali, the daughter of socialist writer
Sabahattin Ali, who was killed in 1948, attended the Dink trial on
Tuesday to show their support for Dink’s family. The families said in
a joint statement: "We are a growing family in a country where lives
are taken incessantly. We do not want this family to grow anymore."

Uskul on Tuesday afternoon expressed support for the families, saying:
"It should be researched what can be done about this. Too much time
has passed since some of these murders. However, what they say in
unison is important. They are saying, ‘Illuminate the Dink murder,
so we can at least feel some peace.’ Of course, all of these murders
should be explained, but solving the Dink murder will give them some
peace of mind. I think setting up a research commission in this regard
could be effective."

Relatives of a number of people assassinated in shady murders that
have remained unsolved for many years attended Monday’s hearing of
the trial of the Hrant Dink murder suspects.

Families of victims of unsolved murders went to Parliament
yesterday, where they submitted a petition for the establishment
of an investigative commission. The group met with the Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) group at 10:30 am and then with members
of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission at 11. At 12, they came
together with Republican People’s Party (CHP) group members, followed
by meetings with the Democratic Left Party (DSP), Parliament Speaker
Mehmet Ali Å~^ahin and the Peace and Democratic Party (BDP). The
families who were at Parliament yesterday include relatives of
writer Ali, killed in 1948; prosecutor Oz, killed in 1978; journalist
Ä°pekci, killed in 1979; Police Chief Cevat Yurdakul, killed in 1979;
academic Cavit Orhan Tutengil, also killed in 1979; journalist Umit
Kaftancıoglu, killed in 1980; Sevinc Ozguner, killed in 1980; union
leader Kemal Turkler, killed in 1980; writer Ä°lhan Erdost, killed
while in police custody in 1980; journalist Cetin Emec, killed in 1990;
Kurdish writer Musa Anter, killed in 1992; journalist Ugur Mumcu,
killed in 1997; poets Nesimi Cimen, Metin Altıok and Behcet Aysan and
musician Hasret Gultekin, burnt to death in the 1993 Sivas Massacre;
writer Onat Kutlar, killed in 1994; archaeologist Yasemin Cebenoyan,
killed in 1994; Hasan Ocak, killed while in police custody in 1995;
journalist Metin Göktepe, beaten to death by police in 1996; and the
Dink family. The family of Necip Hablemitoglu, a scientist killed in
2002, was also present. Hablemitoglu’s murder, initially blamed on
religious groups, is now believed to be linked to the coup-plotting
group Ergenekon.

Dink murder trial Dink was shot by an ultranationalist teenager,
but the ensuing investigation revealed that a number of officers,
including those of senior ranks, knew about a plot to assassinate
Dink. A gang operating according to a chain of command was revealed
to be behind the murder.

Currently, there are 20 suspects in the trial, but Dink family lawyers
believe the real person or group that manipulated these individuals
has evaded justice. Also, none of the police officers who failed to
act despite being tipped off about the plot were punished, further
adding to suspicion that there might be groups inside the security
forces protecting the perpetrators. Dink’s family also claimed that
Dink might have been killed as part of the Cage plan, an alleged
military plot to foment chaos in the country by killing non-Muslim
intellectuals and bombing mosques with the ultimate aim of toppling
the democratically elected Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
government.

Meanwhile, concerns about the safety of a witness whose identity is
being withheld for security purposes also emerged during Monday’s
hearing, when the police department and the court briefly blamed each
other for the absence of the witness, who was supposed to take the
stand that day. Some of the statements made during this confusion
revealed information about the witness’s ethnic identity and the
level of his Turkish skills. This witness, in earlier testimony to
the prosecutors, had claimed that contrary to police findings shots
were fired at the murder scene not only by Ogun Samast, the hit man in
the case, but also Yasin Hayal, who is currently accused of directing
Samast to kill Dink.

STATE COMMISSION FOR PROTECTION OF ECONOMIC COMPETITION AND OSCE YEREVAN OFFICE TO CONDUCT MONITORING OF COMPETITIVENESS

ARKA
Feb 10, 2010

YEREVAN, February 10, /ARKA/. David Harutunian, chairman of Armenia’s
State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition, said today
the anti-trust agency and the OSCE Yerevan Office will join efforts to
find out how economic competition is protected beyond the capital city.

Speaking to journalists after a meeting with head of the OSCE Yerevan
Office, Sergey Kapinos, he said they discussed a set of cooperation
related issues. He said the anti-trust body and the OSCE Yerevan
Office will sign soon a cooperation memorandum.

The two men singled out decentralization of the market and boosting
small and medium businesses as an effective means to improve the
competitiveness level. Sergey Kapinos said the OSCE Yerevan Office will
help the Commission to assess the competitiveness level in regions.

"CRUSADE CAMPAIGN" AGAINST HERITAGE HAS REACHED ITS PEAK

Tert.am
14:43 ~U 10.02.10

Heritage Party once again reassures the public that it will
consistently continue the political, social, and legal struggle
against the "hypocritical Armenian-Turkish Protocols, the Madrid
Principles, anarchy and corruption governing Armenia, as well as the
establishment of true democracy in the name of our country, protection
of human rights, and of gain to future generations’ Homeland, a free
and strong Armenia," according to a press release issued by the party.

In the release, Heritage Party states, with regret, that the "crusade
campaign" launched by Armenian authorities against Heritage Party MPs
who make up the party’s core, and Zaruhi Postanjyan, in particular,
has reached its peak. The party has even been asked to stop its
political activities.

NEW PARAMETERS FOR TV PROGRAMS: ‘WHAT OUR CHILDREN MUST NOT WATCH’

Tert.am
20:06 ~U 09.02.10

In a press conference today, President of the National Commission on
Television and Radio (NCTR) Grigor Amalyan presented the new parameters
of TV programs to the public. Earlier the commission had proposed a
new bill which stated that films and TV programs that have explicit
sexual content or explicit scenes of violence and horror must be
broadcast only between midnight and 6 am.

Amalyan explained those parameters with a single phrase: "That is
what our children must not watch."

He also recalled that some public hearings had been held over the
issue, adding that representatives from NGOs, the church, the National
Academy of Sciences, the universities, the cultural sector, and the
field of psychology had participated in the hearings. The working
group had also examined the international experience in this issue.

Amalyan said that all programs and films that may harm teenagers’
development or negatively affect their rearing must not be broadcast
on local airwaves.

The President of the National Commission on Television and Radio,
referring to fines, said those TV channels that will not follow the
new parameters, will be warned twice and then, if in case of a third
attempt, be deprived of their broadcast license.

PANIC IN ARMENIAN RULING CIRCLES – AZERBAIJANI MP

news.az
Feb 9 2010
Azerbaijan

Aydin Mirzazade The Armenian president and defence minister are
visiting Europe to show Russia their displeasure at its latest moves
on the Karabakh conflict.

This is what MP Aydin Mirzazade, a member of the board of the ruling
New Azerbaijan Party, said in an interview yesterday with 1news.az.

"Of course, there’s a reason why Sargsyan flew to Great Britain and
Ohanyan to France on the same day. I think the Armenian leadership
wants to show Russia that it is offended, since Russia is taking a
more realistic position on the Karabakh conflict and processes in
the South Caucasus," the MP said.

"It is clear that neither Britain nor France would be able to provide
substantial support to the Armenian regime. The fact that Sargsyan
and Ohanyan are going to Europe is not only a show for Russia’s
benefit, but is designed for the domestic Armenian audience to show
that Armenia has an alternative to Russia’s support. One can sense
a degree of panic in the ruling circles of Armenia that the time has
come to return the occupied lands of Azerbaijan," Mirzazade said.

"Yerevan has realized that none of the world’s leading powers will
sacrifice their national interests for the sake of tiny Armenia. It
is time for real politics, in which the interests of major powers
are a long way from the nationalistic plans of Armenia – an isolated
country which has no economic attraction or prospects," the MP said.

President Serzh Sargsyan makes it clear that Defence Minister Seyran
Ohanyan is the second person in the ruling hierarchy, according
to Mirzazade.

"This fact shows that history is repeating itself and the chain [former
President] Kocharyan-Sargsyan-Ohanyan has been formed. They are all
complicit in the genocide in the Azerbaijani village of Khojaly. The
ruling elite of Armenia is associated with the blood of the innocent
civilians of Khojaly," Mirzazade said.

YEREVAN, BAKU EXPECTED TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS TO OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS

news.am
Feb 8 2010
Armenia

Armenia and Azerbaijan have not yet submitted to the mediators their
proposals concerning the points of the Madrid document they have not
yet reached an agreement on, Yuri Merzlyakov, Russian Co-Chairman of
the OSCE Minsk Group, told the APA News Agency.

As regards the regional visit the mediators spoke of at the
Armenian-Azerbaijani-Russian presidential meeting in Sochi, Merzlyakov
pointed out that the Co-Chairmen will think of visiting the region
after they have received the conflicting parties’ proposals.

NEWS.am reminds readers that at the Sochi meeting on January 25
Merzlyakov stated that the sides are supposed to submit to the
mediators their proposals concerning the points of the Madrid document
they have not yet reached an agreement on within two weeks.

news.az, Azerbaijan
Feb 6 2010

Turkish-Armenian relations had significance for USA
Sat 06 February 2010 | 05:48 GMT Text size:

USA had more interests with Turkey in the fields of foreign affairs,
security and commerce, compared to its interests with Armenia.

The president of a leading Turkish-US business association said on
Friday that Turkey would be the party to be blamed by USA if the
process initiated after the signing of protocols between Turkey and
Armenia failed.

Speaking to AA, retired ambassador James Holmes, President & CEO of
American-Turkish Council (ATC), said that USA had more interests with
Turkey in the fields of foreign affairs, security and commerce,
compared to its interests with Armenia.

Commenting on the recent Turkish-Armenian protocols, Holmes said he
was "hopeful, but also concerned" about the process that started after
the signing of the protocols.

He said concerns would be over once the protocols were ratified by the
parliaments of both countries.

ATC head also said he knew about the US capital’s historical working
method on such issue, and claimed that USA would most probably blame
Turkey if the process between the two countries failed.

Noting that Turkey could not separate the Upper Karabakh issue from
its relations with Armenia and risk its strategic interests with
Azerbaijan, Holmes said new steps were needed in these two issues,
rather than expecting Turkey to assess them separately.

Holmes said Turkish-Armenian relations had significance for USA,
Russia, France and Azerbaijan as well.

Turk Net

US AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY: ARMENIAN COURT RULING POSTIVE STEP IN RATIFICATION PROCESS

armradio.am
05.02.2010 13:58

US Ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey reconfirmed Washington’s position
on the Armenian Constitutional Court ruling on the Armenia-Turkey
Protocols. In an interview with Sabah, the American diplomat spoke
about the process of normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations, the Armenian
court’s decision, issues relating to the recently banned Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK), and the matter of Cyprus.

Asked whether the Protocols "are dead," Jeffrey said, "No. Nothing’s
dead. With its decision, the Armenian Constitutional Court gave a
green light to ratifying the Protocols."

"We are working with Turkey every day. We are attempting to make
progress in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In truth,
those are two separate processes. However, Turkey doesn’t see it that
way. There are a number of conflicts that must be resolved in the
Caucasus. They can move forward in different speeds, but they’re all
important. They are parallel processes…" said the ambassador, adding
that there are no restrictive clauses in the Armenian court’s ruling.

"Certain statements in the Constitutional Court’s ruling have made
Turkey uncomfortable; however, we consider that decision to be positive
and see no restrictive clauses in that. We believe that both parties
approach their obligations assumed under the Protocols seriously,"
said Jeffrey.

U.S. WILL BE DISAPPOINTED IF ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS RATIFICATION FAILS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.02.2010 13:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ If Ankara does not step towards ratification
of Armenian-Turkish Protocols by late March, the process will
gradually become more complicated, David Phillips, chairman of the
Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC) in 2001-2004 said in
Yerevan, when commenting on the possibility of ratifying the Protocols
by April 24 (the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day).

As the expert noted, although no terms were set for ratification
of the protocols, there is actually a deadline, after which the
goodwill disappears. "Everybody understands that the current process of
Armenian-Turkish reconciliation and the ratification of the Protocols
can not last forever," he said.

According to Mr. Phillips, no linkage should be seen between
ratification of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols and recognition of
the Armenian Genocide.

"I think the United States will be disappointed if ratification fails.

The U.S. had a key role in this dialogue and the Obama administration
will urge Ankara to ratify the Protocols. Although Turks like saying
that they never do anything under pressure, but based on my experience
with the Turks, I can state the opposite," he said.

David L. Phillips was the Chairman of TARC in 2001-2004. The commission
failed over Turkey’s refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide and
avoid meddling with the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process.

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.