12 footballs and a pump may mean a vote for the UN Security Council

The goal is to see Turkey, which is a candidate for the position, be chosen as a member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2009-2010 period. The European group of which Turkey is a part also includes Austria and Ireland. Â

Austria has already achieved the support of other EU countries in this effort. As for the island nation of Ireland, it is depending on the "spirit of solidarity" from the many tiny island nations that fill the United Nations. As for Turkey, it continues to go from door to door trying to round up support.

Of course, everything has its price, even the votes to be cast in the United Nations General Assembly. When it comes to larger countries, the price usually means reciprocal support in the official chambers of the United Nations General Assembly. But, when you are dealing with a smaller nation, things can change. Smaller countries may ask for things from Turkey along the lines of "a football" or "building a stable."

The latest example of something like this comes from the tiny island nation of Tuvalu. Tuvalu authorities provided an extremely interesting answer to Turkish representatives who came knocking at their door looking for support. They said "Our children love to play football. But we don't really have many standard footballs here..." ankara moved immediately into action, giving these orders to the Turkish Embassy officials nearest to Tuvalu: "quickly procure some footballs. And also, a football pump. And then send them off..."

The unusual request from Tuvalu did not take long to become the subject of joking in the hallways of the Foreign Ministry. Diplomats are now reportedly asking each other "What will we do if Tuvalu doesn't vote for us?" The answers are varied: some are saying "We'll carry off a secret MIT operation to steal their pump," while other are commenting "We'll send over the Turkish national team and humiliate them."  But no doubt the most interesting suggestion has been this: "We could send a knife-wielding representative of the Turkish Republic to Tuvalu..."

But no, it's not what you are thinking. Turkey is a peaceful country. And thus a knife would never be used against a Tuvalu which had not voted for us. No, the knife would just be used to slash the footballs that had been given to this tiny island nation. So, we began in Tuvalu, and let's continue on from there. There are other requests from this nation from Turkey. They also want for Tuvalu passports to be printed in Turkey.

Some nations have asked for "stables" to be built, while others say they need "VIP vehicles". There are other strange requests which have been coming in to Turkish representatives trying to round up support for Turkey's Security Council bid in the United Nations. There are some nations which say "Are animals are hungry, please help us build stables," while other say "help us set up a bazaar site." Some have even said that they would like a "VIP vehicle" to help host foreign dignitaries coming to their nation. And Turkey continues to fulfill these requests, which have been coming in to Turkish Ambassadors for the past three years.

Palau: A VIP vehicle was sent so that Palau could transport official guests of the state president

Zimbabwe: A bazaar site was constructed

Antigua, Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent, St Kitts: 50 computers were donated to each of these nations

Niger: A water cleaning facility was built, drinking water and sewage water lines were built, educational materials were donated, and all sorts of medical supplies were sent

East Timor: Medical supplies and vaccines were donated

Ghana: "Technical training in "nation management"

Kyrgyzstan: Medical supplies worth $328,000 were sent over

Gambia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Angola: Military training provided by Turkish corporals

The Philippines: Two doctors and nurses sent over, medical supplies donated

Ethiopia: Drinking water facilities constructed, wells built

Mauritania: Agricultural areas set up

Afghanistan: Hospitals and schools constructed, as well as necessary supplies for these units...

Despite the assistance, a vote is not guaranteed. While the Foreign Ministry in ankara works hard to see that these wishes are mostly fulfilled, it is also trying hard to avoid there being links made between these actions and the vote for Turkey's place on the UN Security Council. But after all this unusual work, what are going to be the results? At this point, Turkey looks on paper to be "guaranteed" for its membership on the Security Council. But Turkish diplomats say that they are still not "sitting comfortably." And the reason for this is that the final vote is actually going to be cast in secret. In other words, it is possible that any of these above mentioned nations could actually cast their vote for the temporary membership on the UN Security Council for a different candidate nation.

In the end, we will all just have to wait and see what the outcome is to this fall's vote at the United Nations New York headquarters. Until then, keep guessing...