Mehmet Ali Birand - English

The northern Kurdish administration made its choice in the short, medium and long run. In the short run it is important to protect Iraq’s integrity and continue its influence in the central administration. But developments in the medium run, after the withdrawal of U.S. forces, scare the Kurds. And they are right in being scared. This year there will be local and general elections. It is not clear how the administration of the country will be structured and whether the Sunni and Shiite will favor devoting themselves to driving the democratic system or whether each will try to keep the other under control. In case the Shiite exercise pressure on the Sunni and Kurds, in order to obtain control over the country internal conflict will arise.

This possibility is what worries the Kurds.

Internal pressure from the Shiite and external pressure from Iran increases the danger of Kurds losing what they have obtained so far. Under these circumstances, the only country on which Barzani can lean up against is Turkey.

Turkey, in the long run, will become an indispensable ally for northern Iraqi Kurds. Barzani and Kurdish leaders are well aware of the situation and slip, as much as possible, into reconciling politics with Ankara, instead of fighting. Even if geographical facts constrain this rapprochement, the presence of 15 million distant and close relatives of northern Iraqi Kurds living in Turkey gives Ankara a certain weight. But what’s left is the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, issue. Barzani knows that as long as the presence of the PKK persists there will be no healthy cooperation. But Ankara won’t understand that it cannot fight the PKK on its own.

PKK lost function

Talking to northern Iraq authorities you’ll understand that the PKK has lost its function in the region and entered a period of hurting rather than providing an advantage for Barzani.

The PKK has provided Barzani some prestige among Kurds in Turkey and influence in Ankara. But the PKK and Kurdish terror organizations linked to the PKK could not be kept under control are in contrast with the Barzani administration’s benefits in the long run. The PKK has grown a lot and has started to bite its protecting hand. To tell the truth, Barzani does not want the PKK to withdrawal completely out of Qandil. For he knows that he does not have the power to do so. They counted 3,500 dead in the fight with the Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK, in the period of 1992 to 1996. For a population of four million this is a high percentage. Besides, everybody knows that the PKK cannot be driven out of Qandil’s mountains that easily. Therefore they are waiting for a signal from Ankara in order to take certain control over PKK’s operations and enhance relations with Turkey. Neither Barzani nor Talabani have a concrete solution regarding the PKK. Both know that the PKK is a fireball. They also realize that it cannot be totally destroyed. In the back of their minds lies the idea of "Instead of destroying, keep under control." They believe that the PKK should neither destroy nor be completely destroyed. They have to keep such an important balance, and better expressed perform required fine acrobatic calculations. Because they lack strength to act on their own they want to act together with Turkey. They don’t have a concrete plan but a general strategy for an action plan. If you study statements of northern Iraqi leaders and those who have a say in the administration you’ll find the main points of this strategy.

w For the past few months it has been voiced that an international Kurd conference idea keeps gaining strength. This conference, where the PKK will be kept out, but DTP admitted, will call on the PKK for a cease-fire and lay down guns. This way they will take on an international attitude.

w Turkey will forgive PKK members who have not shed any blood. They will not show reaction to leaders who visit other countries. Öcalan will be transferred into an environment where he can see others (this has already started), instead of being kept in solitary confinement. It will also lift limitations on the Kurdish education and cultural activities with communication being the foremost.

w The PKK will have to leave camps along the border and be allowed to stay in Qandil as long as they put down their weapons.

The filling in of the lines of this general outline are still worked on through informal contact between the Turkish foreign ministry, MIT bureaucracy and the Arbil administration. But the TSK does not join this activity. The Kurdish administration says that as long as the chief of the staff does not participate in this activity there will be no result obtained. Despite the persistent wish of TSK participating in this activity there has been no result achieved as yet.

The one who is the most annoyed in this activity and showing brisk reaction is the PKK. It realizes that the initiative will get out of hand. The Arbil-Ankara rapprochement poses the biggest threat for the terror organization. Even if it is not able to stop this course it tries to slow it down. It tries to annoy Turkey by increasing terror. You’ll see as the Arbil-Ankara rapprochement increases, bomb attacks will also increase in northern Iraq. This is the situation right now. If tomorrow new conditions arise we might find ourselves in brand new negotiations.

Being lost in daily events and especially the Ergenekon trial has prevented us from seeing the big picture. For example, I wasn’t able to share with you developments in Iraq. Last week Iraq’s foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, visited Ankara and interesting decisions were made. I also talked to experts following the subject closely. The situation has become clearer. Iraq is calming down a bit more compared to former days. For example there are no longer reports of inhuman treatment. U.S. forces are in control of the situation but since a gradual withdrawal from the region is about to start, all focus is on Iraq’s security forces.

The police are still split. They are split among the Sunni and Shiite and each group works for its own account. Therefore people don’t trust the police very much. The Shiite and the Sunni each use their own police.

The armed forces are slowly reviving.

Compared to the police the Iraqi Armed Forces are more disciplined. There is no split like in the case of the others. There is still sympathy for the Sunni and the Shiite but they don’t take sides. The armed forces use this sympathy as internal security becomes gradually more effective.

The point attracting my interest the most is whose influence is greater in Iraq’s daily administration. I’m not talking about the weight of 120,000 men in the armed forces of the United States. They naturally put their mark on the country with their high firepower.

The power I’d actually like to touch upon is Iran ...

Iranians manage to play an extremely influential role in Iraq’s daily life without sending a single soldier and without firing a single bullet.

Tehran’s weight on the Shiite increases with each passing day.

Iranians improve their religious connection and organic relationship. Messages to some extent from Qum and to some extend from Tehran reach their target in Baghdad.

Reports prepared by U.S. intelligence are very striking. These reports summarizing the names and activities of new armed groups established in Iraq by the Iranian Ministry of Interior point to the fact that Tehran has been developing its presence in Iraq in an unpreventable way.

According to estimates, Iran with serious action within five to six years will be able control the country’s Shiite segment and even wipe out traces of the U.S. invasion.

Washington is aware of this situation. But it is not certain what type of strategy it will apply in opposition. To be more precise, it is expected that Obama take office and deal with this issue.

Iran gives Kurds a dirty look
The only place in Iraq where Iran does not have a say is the Kurdish region in northern Iraq. It’s not only that Iran does not have a say but at the same time it watches the Barzani-Talabani relationship with suspicion. It also voices concern that Barzani supports the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and therefore PEJAK Ñ a branch of the PKK that operates in Iran. Stories in some Iranian newspapers recently are full of traces showing that Tehran does not at all sympathize with the administration in northern Iraq.

With the start of the withdrawal of the United States from Iraq there will be an end to the comfort of the Kurdish administration. Washington will not leave Barzani and Talabani up to anyone, it will for sure give them necessary support but in everyday life the Kurds have obtained some power over the past four to five years and it is a fact that their influence will come to an end.

If we were to make an estimate in the medium and long run, we could say that Iran’s control over Iraq will increase, the Kurdish administration will lose to an important extent its ability to act and face an "Iran issue."

To tell the truth, Iraq and the northern Iraq administration are facing a future full of uncertainty. It is not for sure whether Iraq will remain or not as a whole once the United States withdrawals. As a matter of fact according to some intelligence evaluations of the Sunni and Shiite dispute will grow, with the support of Iran, the Shiite sovereignty will expand and solemnly remain in northern Iraq. With such a possibility, the Barzani and Talabani pair is facing heavy pressure from Iran.

These days the most frequently asked question and discussed topic in northern Iraq administration circles can be summarized as "Is Turkey in the long run a trustworthy neighbor in view of northern Iraq? Or should Turkey not be trusted?" We all should discuss this question.

The latest example for how foreign policy changes according to circumstances is the relationship between Ankara and Arbil, which the northern Iraq administration calls its capital.

Up until a few years ago the relationship between Ankara and Arbil was tense. To get into contact with Barzani was considered acknowledging northern Iraq and thus relations persistently would be conducted through Baghdad. This way it was said that Iraq’s territorial integrity was respected and Turkey got the message across that it does not advocate a potential independence of northern Iraq. This approach is desired by the Chief of Staff and the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, while the Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK, only adjusts itself.

After a while, it was understood that this type of politics did not work. Arbil did neither take orders from Baghdad nor pay attention to given messages.

In the end the Foreign Ministry convinced the TSK. The agreement between the United States and Turkey regarding information sharing signed in November 2007 and Washington wanting to open channels with Barzani made things easier. A new period has started with Davutoğlu pioneering the "Barzani rapprochement."

Ankara and Arbil have changed their former aggressive attitude and viewed developments differently.

This time Baghdad has started to feel uncomfortable.

The establishment of a dialogue between Barzani and Turkey has attracted attention in some circles in the Iraqi capital. During Maliki’s last visit to Ankara some experts in the delegation openly expressed their discomfort. A delegation member said, "We have encouraged Turkey to contact the northern Iraqi administration. But this has gone too far. We feel like there is something prepared without our knowledge behind Baghdad’s back. If a triple (Ankara, Arbil, Baghdad) rapprochement is to be executed we shall act accordingly," and mentioned that Maliki is right in being suspicious.

I do not presume that Turkey is playing games behind Baghdad’s back. Baghdad’s reaction seems exaggerated to me. But in the long run it seems a further rapprochement between Ankara and Arbil is unavoidable.

I’ll save this subject for tomorrow.

The daily Milliyet has done a great thing. It asked the company A&G, headed by Adil Gür, to conduct a survey regarding Ergenekon. It was the perfect timing and subject to test the waters. I was interested in answers to two questions. One question being how much do you believe in Ergenekon. Take a look at how interesting the results are.

Do you believe in the existence of Ergenekon

Yes, I do 61.7 %

No, I don’t 20.3  %

I’ve been waiting not to write this article for days now. I’m waiting for prosecutors to take action and start an investigation in order to catch this man by his neck and refer him to court. Those who took people who apologized to Armenians into custody by referring to Article 301 and those who wish to punish people who sent a congratulatory messages in the Kurdish language É I am waiting for them to take action. With a hero’s affection, theater actor Atilla Olgaç said, in a TV show on Kanaltürk called, "Orada Neler oluyor," that during the Cyprus operations he shot a young Turk of Greek descent in the head because the guy insulted him. Olgaç also said that he killed 10 people in this war. Nowadays there is a new trend forming in which people kill in the name of patriotism and praise themselves later on É This gentleman known as "Kılıç" in the TV series Kurtlar Vadisi is an example for this trend É Atilla Olgaç talked about what kind of Turkish hero he is.

He proudly announced the murder he committed probably not knowing that it is a crime to kill a hostage, that people are convicted thereof, that this type of crime is perceived as a crime against humanity and thus the statue of limitations does not apply. It is natural that this confession has the Turks of Greek descent and the Greeks in an uproar. And they are very right about it.

I’d do the same if I were in their place. Because for years now the Turks of Greek descent have been looking for hundreds of missing young men. These people claim that these young men were killed by the Turkish military and buried somewhere in Turkey or on the north side of the island. Turkey has denied this for years but cannot free itself from international allegations and inspections. Atilla Olgaç in his own words talking about missing Turks of Greek descent posing an example for the first time has caused old allegations to flare up again.

As you see, this person has opened Pandora’s Box in a devastating way without even noticing it. Of course, after hell has been raised he got scared and denied everything by saying, "My words have nothing to do with reality, it’s a scenario." He says he made it up in order to show the wickedness of war. Of course nobody believes him. If he came out and said, "I did this in order to attract attention and publicity," it would have been more persuasive.


Will prosecutors ignore this person?

This incidence is very serious. Prosecutors need to take action and refer Atilla Olgaç to court charging him with a crime against humanity. He himself has admitted the murder he committed. "I did not mean it," should not be valid. Even if he lied for publicity purposes he should be tried in court. This is not a game. Nobody can speak nonsense words that get the country in trouble on an international basis. Will prosecutors who have started an investigation based on 301 and insulting Turkishness regarding those who apologized to the Armenians stand by in view of the above scene?

If we are so vulnerable in respect to insulting Turkishness then in fact the words of this man should be perceived as a crime and be punished, and if his words are made up he should be punished again. For what he did is in fact an insult on Turkishness.

I have written about it numerous times. The bill for statements made by the prime minister confusing Israel and Jews in order to criticize Israel has finally arrived before us. Now try to sort it out.

A letter written by the most powerful Jewish lobby arrived in Ankara. Articles started to appear in the paper in succession. Turkish Jews are very much annoyed and have spread this annoyance. Murmurs in Jewish financial circles can be heard now. Israel has not made much fuzz about the prime minister’s attitude yet. On the contrary, Israel exhibited signs of understanding. But it is obvious that if this campaign continues their attitude will surely change.

Things have come so far because of the prime minister’s negligence and boorishly used words in respect to Jews that have been abused by extremely pious groups. They have threatened Turkish Jews and demonstrated with green flags. The government confined itself to only observing. Now everybody from President Gül to government spokesman Cemil Çiçek apologized and are reassuring the Turkish Jews.

For it is too late É This is what trust is like. It can’t stand boorishness. Once broken it will not be the same. You’d have to spend much more effort and prove yourself much more. One other victim of the prime minister’s hurtful language is the Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas. To fix the broken vase is again the president’s duty. I don’t know whether or not it is for the sake of winning the favor of Hamas or to continue as the only country able to establish dialogue with Hamas in the region. For it is time to pay attention.

I am a person in favor of and applauding the prime minister’s intervention in disputes in the Middle East. Besides I believe that the prime minister needs to pay attention to his statements and stop choosing hurtful words.

You may not like American lifestyle. You may slam American politics. You may even say that America with its intervention in international politics in recent years, especially regarding Iraq, has caused great distress. And you may be right with all this. But there is one subject where America is considered above blame. That is the country’s loyalty to democracy, self-confidence and the power for self-perpetuation. You won’t see this chain of quality in any other country in the world. Not long ago, I’ve seen it myself. Banners that stated that blacks and dogs were not allowed into restaurants, I’ve seen them myself. I watched blacks being treated like dirt. Today the same American can see the world change and elect a black president. This is what’s called generosity, maturity. You can’t help but admire them.

Every American election passes as a different democracy show. You’ll watch competitors shaking hands as soon as one of them becomes elected whereas they were slamming each other during election campaigns. During the race everything is lawful. They might throw mud at each other but when the final period is placed there is an end to everything. Did you notice the relationship between Obama and the opponent party leader Bush after it was understood that Obama had been elected?

Neither did Obama talk in purple prose about taking over a ruin from the former administration. Nor did President Bush hold a speech saying that the new president would ruin the country. They embraced and behaved with due respect. Let’s remember former Bush-Al Gore elections. Millions of votes were used and in the end Bush won by a court order and only a few hundred votes. You can’t help become crazy. Al Gore did not spend a word after the decision was announced. Contrary to what we see in our country, he did neither say he would give him a hard time at the White House, nor did he try to boycott the White House. He shook hands with Bush, accepted the decision immediately and withdrew from the scene. My God, how mature... What kind of self-confidence does he exhibit here? The Americans show great care in order to continue with their system. It is impossible not to admire them. It is discussed whether or not Obama’s election as president will have an impact on Turkey. Obama will have a positive impact on the world. And this will impact Turkey positively. If we are afraid that the Armenian issue will come to the forefront its better if we improve our relations with Armenia, instead of arguing.

The public prosecutor of Ankara is on the verge of deciding whether or not to refer those who started and joined the "I apologize" campaign to court in violation of Article 301, which penalizes "insulting Turkishness."

According to press releases, if the chief prosecutor decides to pursue an investigation then permission is needed. I can’t even understand why the chief prosecutor would investigate complaints. Could there be anything worse than inflicting a heavy blow on the incontestable right of freedom of a society to announce its view point?

Anyway the Turkish judiciary has still not changed its mind. It will happen but will take some time. I don’t believe that Minister of Justice Şahin will shut his eyes to the court case regarding the campaign. This approach neither suits the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, nor Şahin ... No, this primitiveness needs definitely to be stopped and a message needs to be delivered to the public. We don’t deserve such a conception and approach. Enough now.

An interesting atmosphere has developed in recent weeks. We reacted with such harsh criticism to the Ergenekon investigation it seems like the administration as well as the judiciary decided to do some fine tuning in order to "calm down some extremes and criticisms." It was accentuated that ambiguity was growing because the prosecution fell short and could not prepare the indictment in time.

Attention was raised when a few generals were released after the Chief of General Staff Gen. Başbuğ met with the Prime Minister Erdoğan and the impression came up that the situation would slow down. It was put forth that fine tuning would step in.

But the opposite became true.

The 11th detention wave surprised many. Especially the names of detained people were a sign of a deepening of the Ergenekon investigation. Now, for a moment let’s stop here and try to evaluate this development.

Prosecutors are careful people.

Especially if Prosecutor Öz, who received much criticism up until now, decided on a new wave and pressed the button, something must underlie this decision and he must have sufficient, persuasive evidence in hand. Otherwise the risk of such a new wave could not be run.

Despite all allegations and general sense, I can’t and I don’t want to believe that all these people within this detention campaign are taken into custody on directives issued by the administration. It is a crime and cannot be hidden for long. In the end it will be audible and cost the political authority much. The administration can direct with statements, indirectly and secretly, but that’s all. But if it steps outside of this, then it should accept the risk.

Prosecutors care about their future. They would not sacrifice themselves easily for a political party.

Detentions still continuing in view of these findings, I reason that "the prosecution is about to finish preparing the indictment and perceive the evidence in hand as sufficient." I prefer to wait for the indictment.

In the end, if this case comes to a point where it satisfies the conscience of the public, the Ergenekon file will be a gain for democracy. Otherwise we’ll face a big loss.

For exactly 45 years now I have been monitoring Turkey’s foreign politics. To tell the truth, Ankara had no such thing as a general approach. Be it within NATO or the United Nations the Turkish delegates take a glimpse of the American delegates and vote respectively. There was no need for getting exhausted and spending efforts on new politics.

The Balkans and Caucasus are split between the United States and Russia according to their sphere of influence. Turkey also votes or takes an approach within its alliance lines. Turkey’s approach regarding the Middle East conflict was even weirder. They did not want to get their hands dirty. Turkey would turn its back on the Arab and take a negligent approach.

In case of any event Turkey would monitor the situation and Ankara would publish a statement written in a bombastic way, not comprehensible or understandable by anyone, calling "for an inducement of common sense to parties involved." Not engaged with the ball, generally uncommitted. They did not want to get their hands dirty. Only with respect to Cyprus or the Aegean was their interest expressed. Turkey is undergoing a basic change in recent years. The former attitude does not exist anymore. On the contrary, we are facing an involving attitude. It rolls back its sleeves as one of the biggest countries in the region and intervenes, even at the cost of taking risk, in different conflict areas.

It plays the role of a catalyzer. Behaves extremely active. The interesting thing about this is that we see a political approach that is unlike Sarkozy’s model of glitter, fame and glory taking place backstage without stealing anyone’s role.

The Prime Minister takes time and makes phone calls for hours if necessary. If that doesn’t work he travels internationally to find a solution. The foremost visible person in this new approach is Ahmet Davutoğlu. Trusted by the Prime Minister and by now accepted by the Foreign Ministry, he is the architect of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP’s foreign policy and extremely successful.

No matter what anybody says or how much it is criticized, the AKP takes in this respect a satisfying approach. Maybe we underestimate it but today Turkey has taken on small and huge roles in almost every event in the Middle East, Caucasus or the Balkans.

Lebanon, Palestine, Georgia, Afghanistan... wherever you look there is a trace of Turkey. Countries that do not act at all, don’t take risks, won’t get their fingers burned. Turkey maybe takes some risks but also attracts attention.

Turkey's role in the region
In efforts during the Gaza cease-fire operation Turkey was very effective behind closed doors.

Interesting enough that Turkey’s most valuable negotiation card is Hamas.

The Prime Minister does not defend Hamas without reason. His approach gives him a card that no other country has. Besides, Turkey also believes that Hamas is right. He draws attention to that the isolation of a political movement elected by people, that has been pushed into a corner and beaten up, which would only create more problems.

Turkey’s other important card is to keep its promise and not show off, to assure countries with which it established a relationship, to not to speak only to attract the media but stay in the background, which is mentioned among the best-liked approaches taken by Ankara.

Turkey’s name was never mentioned before. For it was out of sight. For the first time Turkey’s presence and contributions are being mentioned in the international press. Maybe this is not mentioned as necessary or adequate to its contributions but it doesn’t escape the attention of specialists who can read between the lines.

As you might guess, to come out with the Hamas card, visits to Middle East countries and opposing anti-Semitism in a brisk way, all is taken as a sign of Turkey starting to change its direction. Is it maybe true?

Ahmet Davutoğlu speaks clearly in this regard. He says, "Could taking care of problems in the region count as changing direction? Could we turn our backs on a fire right next to us? Turkey’s priority is still the European Union and relations with the United States. In addition, these active politics will draw Turkey closer to Europe and America." As far as I’m concerned, he is completely right.

I have touched on this subject but it is so important that I’d like to draw your attention once again. Extremely pious segments in Turkey are continuing to use the current opportunity and to spread anti-Semitism.

Benefiting from Israel’s inhuman deeds in Gaza they abuse the events and have come to a point as far as hunting for Jews. Reactions to Israel have reached an extremely dangerous point where Turkish Jews, who have nothing to do with military movements, receive life threats or where they are not allowed into restaurants.

But what increases the severity of this course is the attitude of the AKP administration and especially of the prime minister.

Erdoğan’s sensitive approach in Israel matters is understandable. And so are his reactions, bearable up to some extent.

But his words are so harsh and his pace so fast that his approach stimulates radical pious groups and paves the way for them to take action. Even provides an opportunity. Because Erdoğan does not come out saying, "Fellows don’t confuse Jewish with Israel’s military movement. You have no right to target Turkish Jews. These attempts will be severely punished," it seems like he shuts his eyes to such deeds or even winks to them.

As if this is not enough, even the fund drive to our Palestinian brothers is continued with anti-Semitist slogans.

There is a truth that the prime minister does not know or secretly denies.

Israel is used to harsh reactions. Even Foreign Minister Livni says they understand Erdoğan’s reactions and that it is only natural that leaders behave this way to calm down the public.

But there is a limit to this understanding.

Erdoğan responded to the opposition that wants to break relations with Israel by saying, "We are leading a state." He responded with a verbal reaction meaning to break relations is something different.

By saying, "We are statesmen," he showed that he will not step in the opposition’s trap.

But I repeat once more, there is a limit to everything. The prime minister does the right thing by not breaking relations with Israel but on the contrary, he often slams Israel down in a brisk way that relations on their own come to a breaking point.

The public’s reactions and brewing Jew hunt may get out of control someday and the prime minister will find himself in a position where he must break relations under pressure from the public. Even if relations don’t break it will be perceived worse.

We all know what Israel is and means in this region. Even bad relations, not to speak of breaking relations, with Israel mean to break our relations with the United States. Especially if this is carried out by an administration like the AKP that is a repeat offender the same day there would be a campaign started all around the world saying, "Erdoğan wants to tear Turkey from the West, drag it into the darkness of the Middle East and turn it into Iran." In short, such a situation would mean burning bridges between the AKP and the secular democratic Western society.

I could already say that some in Washington are all ears listening to developments in Turkey carefully.

I don’t want to believe that Erdoğan will behave amateurish. He is not an imprudent person who would sign his own suicide. What I’m trying to do here is draw attention and show that the prime minister walks on thin ice.

It is in Turkey’s benefit to defend Israel’s right to live (even if the state of Israel does it already for itself) not to confuse Semitism and Israel politics, and to strictly oppose the cold-blooded attitude toward Palestine.

The Palestinians have the same right to live as the state of Israel.

Turkey is obligated to continue these two politics. The weight of our country in the region grows because of this. Putting more weight on one or the other will disturb all balances.

On top of it the bill would be way too high. Such a development would not be good for anything.

In respect to politics, the AKP would be labeled pious and amid an economic crises badly needed international funds for Turkey would vanish in no time. The bill would not only be paid by the AKP, but by the whole country.

And I, assuming the prime minister know all these facts, want to warn him by saying, "Be careful, the ice you’re walking on is getting thinner and thinner. There are even breaks to be seen in some parts."

This year in June there will be a European Parliament election. Among the candidates for nomination is Ali Yurttagül from the German Greens Party, whom I know very well. Yurttagül, who still is the political counselor for the Greens group, has worked in the European Parliament since 1985. Since that date no other person of Turkish origin could enter the Parliament, except elected politicians. Neither from Turkey nor those of Turkish origin who grew up in Europe. Yurttagül’s education and experience have a big share in his success.

Yurttagül’s election important for Brussels
The Greens have in recent years exhibited great effectiveness of their power in the European Parliament regarding Turkey. Yurttagül has a big influence in this effectiveness. Especially after elections in 1987 when Özal was elected in Turkey, the Greens and Yurttagül’s efforts played an important role in reviving relations with TBMM, meaning taking the decision draft for a Combined Parliament Commission out of the fridge and offering it for presentation. The Greens may criticize harshly from time to time but they are the only group that is persistent in Turkey’s membership.

Yurttagül’s election is not only important for Turkey but also for Brussels. Commission members will change in 2009. With great possibility Olli Rehn will no longer be the commissioner for expansion. The situation is not different in the European Parliament. Names like Cem Özdemir, Joost Lagendijk, Vurak Öger, Swoboda that are well-known in Turkey, are not candidates in the upcoming elections. If Yurttagül is not elected there will be nobody left in the Parliament who has monitored Turkish politics for the past 20 years. I hope that Greens in Germany are aware of the situation and support Yurttagül as necessary for him to become elected.

I tried to follow Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Brussels through the Turkish media coverage and I have very negative impressions. The impression in the Turkish media was that Erdoğan talked about the Gaza crisis more than Turkey-European Union relations, praised Hamas and fiercely criticized Europeans. I got curious and talked to the representatives of nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, following the visit and members of the European Commission and the parliament. Then I asked the following question:

"What was the impression you had with Turkish Prime Minister? Did he end your doubts? Did he defend Hamas? Answers I got were quite different from what we have read in the Turkish media coverage.

The EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn clearly said, "If Turkey-EU relations are to make a jump whenever he comes here, Erdoğan should come more oftenÉ"

The European Commission stressed that Hamas and the Gaza crisis were not the focal point of official talks and they rather concentrated on mutual relations. "Erdoğan mentioned about the Gaza crisis on his first day during an NGO meeting but didn’t dwell on it," said a commission source adding, "Erdoğan came here to convince both the commission and the parliament and he succeeded. That is to say Erdoğan showed that the EU project is not in the freezer, he will not give up on the EU project and the lingering period is over. He convinced the commission. Now the expectation is that he should make up his mind over the Nabucco project and if there would be any progress in negotiation chapters. Meaning, until proven otherwise this was a positive trip and a new process has begun."

All observers in Brussels agree that the Russian-Ukrainian natural gas crisis urged Europe to diversify energy sources and Turkey is seen as a savior in this aspect. Turkey’s star is shining and it should use this opportunity.

During technical meetings in Brussels tomorrow and the day after, we will see if Turkey could use this opportunity. If Mr. Prime Minister says, "You convince Greeks and made the energy chapter to be opened, we’ll adopt a positive approach toward Nabucco," or in other words, if he reaches a point of a deal or a blackmail, the situation seems to change.

A commission official who said, "We see the Greek veto is unnecessary. However, if Turkey transforms into a condition openly, we cannot do it. Let us solve this," continued, "If Turkey makes a move in Nabucco and two negotiation chapters, we may take a turn in a brand new process." In summary, Mr. Prime Minister expressed his intention. Let’s see if solid steps to galvanize this policy will follow.

We hosted Güney on conditionÉ
The state-owned TRT-2 channel interviewed Tuncay Güney; an interview that is still being discussed. The channel is being criticized for not taking pains over rebut.

I partially do not agree with such criticisms.

The timing of the Güney interview was perfect and it was a quite successful example of journalism. If the TRT-2 on that day hadn’t allowed Güney to appear on the screen, we were to have him at the 32. Gün (32nd Day), in the next Thursday evening. We were in contacts with him but Güney preferred TRT.

The reason is self-evident.

To appear on the state’s television is something prestigious. So, a comment like, "if a person appears in an interview on a state television he may not regarded as a guilty one," may not be wrong all along. The story could’ve been read more carefully but this is not important. Moreover, as the TRT General Director İbrahim Şahin put, if the TRT’s functions are shifting from the functions of a state institution to that of real journalism, I may say, "This is a good start." The only unfortunate thing was that it was live so there was no way of filtering Güney’s unproven claims.

We hosted Güney at Kanal D. But the 32nd Day did not broadcast live. We limited the airtime with 1 to 1.5 hours; therefore got a chance to intervene if he made any accusation. In fact, when the interrogation tapes were revealed, we had to exclude the parts on how he was tortured, which this could be a response to the criticism that "Güney doesn’t look like he has been tortured." Because Güney was telling how he was tortured with police clubs. Even we couldn’t have guts to see the tape. Besides other guests at the program were journalists having background information about Güney and following the incidents very carefully. They questioned Güney. We didn’t steer a middle course.

We were honest with Güney and so let him know that we will scrap off the part if he makes any accusations by violating laws.

In the end, the TRT did a right thing by having a timely interview with Güney. They lost the control and let him talk freely for four hours. This was their only fault. Besides, TRT cleared the way for him to express his worldviews as if he is an opinion leader. I wouldn’t know if the channel tried to ease the prosecutors’ job but if they had watched our previous two interviews with him, TRT wouldn’t have been trapped. Inexperience or a deliberate choice may be something to be criticized.