Denktas Makes Landmark Visit to Southern Cyprus
Crucial negotiations to reunify Cyprus to start on January 16
NICOSIA (Reuters), December 29, 2001 - Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas crossed to the southern side of divided Cyprus for the first time in more than a quarter of a century on Saturday to dine with his Greek Cypriot rival, President Glafcos Clerides.

Amid unprecedented security Denktas crossed the United Nations-controlled "green line" dividing the capital Nicosia at 2000 hours, in a bulletproof limousine stripped of flags and emblems.

"Happy New Year," Denktas called out to hordes of journalists as he was welcomed by Clerides on the terrace of his two-storey home on the southern outskirts of the capital.

Billed as a social event, diplomats see the meeting between the two leaders, who have negotiated inconclusively for the best part of the past 35 years, as a vital step in improving the climate ahead of crucial negotiations to reunify Cyprus which start on January 16.

Denktas entered the south through Nicosia airport, now a United Nations base, instead of the Ledra Palace checkpoint normally used for crossings between the two sides.

Police escorting Denktas along the route to Clerides' home cordoned off streets bustling with late night shoppers. Greek Cypriot students and refugee groups protesting against the visit were kept at a distance.

The dinner menu included fish soup, fish and ladies' fingers, a local sweet pastry.

The dinner was in return for one hosted by Denktas for Clerides at his residence in northern Nicosia on December 5. That gathering followed a breakthrough meeting at which the two leaders agreed to start intensive talks to resolve the conflict, which remains a key source of tension between NATO allies Greece and Turkey and risks complicating European Union enlargement.

EU issue deepens divide
Cyprus has been effectively partitioned since Turkish forces [intervened in] its north in 1974 in response to a brief Greek Cypriot coup engineered by the military then ruling Greece.

The island is a frontrunner for EU membership. Turkey, which supports a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in northern Cyprus, has warned that it might "annex" the territory if Cyprus is admitted to the EU still divided.

Brussels is expected to announce by the end of 2002 which candidates will be included in the next expansion, due by 2004. EU member Greece has warned it could block an enlargement which does not include Cyprus.

Bicommunal groups which pin their hopes on grassroots diplomacy issued an urgent call on Clerides and Denktas to work toward a settlement. "The tensions which are a result of the conflict continues to poison our lives... we have had enough of pain and suffering," a petition by a bicommunal group, "Hands Across the Divide" said.

Not all welcomed the event. Students and refugee groups slammed the dinner as a sellout. "The invitation by the President of the Republic to invite the occupation leader for a social dinner fills us with shame and indignation," said one leaflet handed out to drivers in Nicosia streets on Saturday.

Another pamphlet showed a picture of Denktas with the caption: "Terrorist or interlocutor?"

Turkish General to U.S.: "Don't Target Iraq"
By Selcan Hacaoglu, December 25, 2001, ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey's top general argued against targeting Iraq in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, saying Tuesday that it could lead to an undesired Kurdish state on Turkey's borders.

Turkey supports the current war on terrorism and served as the launching pad for attacks against Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War and host U.S. and British warplanes enforcing a no-fly zone above northern Iraq since then.

Although Turkey's parliament on Tuesday extended that mission's mandate for six months as it did for years, Washington would still need Turkey's consent to use Turkish bases to stage possible attacks on Iraq.

"Is there any new mistake committed by Iraq? Or accounts of 10 years ago are being settled?," Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu, chief of the general staff, told reporters Tuesday evening. His comments reflected skepticism about Iraq emerging as a possible target.

Advocates of attacking Iraq argue that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is trying to restart programs to build weapons of mass destruction, which U.N. inspectors tried to dismantle after the 1991 Gulf War. Inspectors have not been allowed into Iraq since departing ahead of U.S. airstrikes in late 1998. Kivrikoglu indicated that if Saddam is ousted, Iraqi Kurds would take advantage of a power vacuum to set up a Kurdish state which may boost aspirations of autonomy-seeking Kurds inside Turkey.

"Nobody would like this country (Iraq) to fall apart and the emergence of new ethnic states," said Kivrikoglu.

President Bush has said the U.S. war against terrorism would not be limited to Afghanistan, but has not said what country might next become a U.S. military target. Iraq has emerged as one possibility, along with Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Turkey Reopens Embassy in Kabul
Louis Meixler, The Associated Press, KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Turkey, NATO's only Muslim member and a leading candidate to provide peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan, reopened its embassy on Monday in a bid to highlight growing stability in the country.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, left, and Mufit Ozdes, center, the Turkey's newly appointed ambassador to Afghanistan stand as a Turkish army officer salutes the raising of the flag during the cere-mony to reopen the Turkish Embassy in Kabul Monday, Dec. 17, 2001. (AP Photo/Amir Shah)

Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, after an opening ceremony with the new Turkish ambassador Mufit Ozdes, said the post-Taliban regime could help stabilize and bring peace to the region.

Cem said meetings with President Burhanuddin Rabbani and Defense Minister Mohammad Fahim ``have given me hope that the new Afghanistan will be a strong Afghanistan.'' Both Rabbani and Fahim will be replaced by an interim government on Saturday.

The Afghans have decided ``to give up war and to take up peace,'' he said. ``We are ready to show every kind of support, in every field,'' he said.

Like most other countries, Turkey refused to recognize the Taliban regime after it seized Kabul in 1996, and withdrew its ambassador.

Turkey was the first country to announce the reopening of its embassy in Kabul after the collapse of the Taliban regime last month. Since then, several other countries, including the United Kingdom and Italy, have restaffed embassies. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul, shuttered since 1989, was reopened Monday as a liaison office.

Turkey has long regarded Central Asia as its sphere of influence and quickly joined the U.S. campaign against terror, presenting itself as a Western-oriented nation that has an overwhelmingly Muslim population. Turkey's government is staunchly secular. In Kabul, Cem visited the Ataturk Pediatrics hospital, a 120-bed facility that is supplied by the Turkish government.

Cem also traveled to the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, where Turkey plans to reopen its consulate soon. Mazar-e-Sharif has a large population of Uzbeks, a group that has close ethnic links to Turks.

Although his visit shows that stability is beginning to return to the area, security was high. Cem was accompanied by six members of the Turkish special forces who wore combat uniforms and carried assault rifles. Cem left Kabul before nightfall to spend the night in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Turkey Criticizes EU on Terror List
PKK and DHKP-C are not on terrorism list
Ben Holland, The Associated Press, ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Turkey on Saturday Dec 29 criticized the European Union's failure to include militant leftist and Kurdish groups that have carried out attacks in Turkey on its list of terrorist organizations.

The European Union's omission of the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, and a militant leftist group that is leading a hunger strike against prison conditions was incomprehensible, according to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.

"Beyond comprehension"
"Nobody has any doubt that these are terrorist organizations," Ecevit said. "The fact that the EU has not included these two groups on its terrorism list is beyond comprehension."

The EU made public Friday a list of organizations accused of terrorist activity, including the Basque separatist organization ETA and the Greek far-left group November 17.

The list was part of an EU anti-terror package that includes a freeze on the assets of radical Palestinian groups and measures to deny safe haven to terrorists and enhance cooperation against terrorism among the 15 EU member countries.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it understood the EU was working on a further list of groups that ``comprise a threat to EU candidate countries,'' which would address Turkish concerns over Kurdish and leftist groups.

European Commission spokeswoman Beata Gminder said the EU list was a "work in progress and something that will be looked at regularly," but could not confirm whether any move was being made to add the PKK.

Turkey, which aims to join the EU, has long criticized the bloc for not acting strongly enough against Kurdish, Islamic and leftist groups plotting attacks in Turkey.

Turkey fought a 15-year war against the autonomy-seeking PKK in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast. Some 37,000 people, mostly Kurdish rebels and civilians, have been killed as a result of the fighting.

The EU has called on Turkey to grant wider cultural rights, including the right to education and broadcasting in their native language, for Turkey's estimated 12 million Kurds.

Turkey accuses EU countries of providing safe havens for a group recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.

The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front or DHKP-C, also mentioned by Ecevit, has carried out assassinations and attacks in Turkey in the past three decades. The group is leading a hunger strike that has seen over 40 people starve to death.

Cyprus leaders to resolve missing persons dispute
Michele Kambas, NICOSIA, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Cyprus's two rival leaders have agreed to try to resolve the fate of more than 2000 people missing in years of strife on the divided island, aides said on Monday.

The fate of more than 2000 people who disappeared in intercommunal strife in the 1960s and a Turkish [intervention] in 1974 is one of the most emotive issues complicating the Cyprus problem. [TT's note: Turkey intervened in the island in accordance with the 1960 London and Zurich agreements in order to stop the ethnic-cleansing of Turkish-Cypriots by the Greek-Cypriots.]

President Glafcos Clerides, the Greek Cypriot leader, and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas discussed the missing people during a landmark dinner last Saturday, a preamble to intensive talks over divided Cyprus starting on January 16.

"Clerides and Denktas have looked positively upon the need to deal with the missing persons and have agreed to work on solving this humanitarian issue," the Cypriot government spokesman's office said in a statement.

Government officials declined to give further details.

There are some 1,500 Greek Cypriots missing since 1974, and 800 Turkish Cypriots from intercommunal clashes dating back to the early 1960s.

The Cyprus problem is a permanent irritant in Greek-Turkish relations and could complicate European Union enlargement.

Denktas crossed the United Nations "green line" dividing Cyprus for the first time in decades on December 29 to dine with Clerides, who lives in the south of Nicosia.

The two leaders have negotiated inconclusively with one another for decades. They worked together on the issue of missing persons in 1974 and 1975, while at the United Nations' urging in 1997 they agreed to exchange information on missing persons' whereabouts.

That agreement would have led to the opening of mass graves on the two sides. Its implementation stalled amid disputes on the number of people who disappeared during the Turkish [intervention in] Cyprus, and those who vanished in the Greek Cypriot coup five days before the 1974 [intervention].

Rep. Houghton:Turkey's support is crucial to success in Afghanistan-and beyond
The Turkish Times - U.S. Congressman Amo Houghton of New York issued a statement in the Congressional Record hailing Turkey's support in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. Rep.Houghton said the U.S. should be greatful for its longtime friend and ally Turkey who has been one of the few nations to stand with the U.S. publicly and actively since the earliest moments after September 11th.

Rep.Houghton pointed out that Turkey, a country that is no stranger to terrorism, has lost more than 30,000 of its citizens during its fight against internal terrorists over the space of a decade. Praising Turkey for becoming the third nation after the United States and Britain to commit ground forces in Afghanistan, Rep.Houghton said that Turkey's dedication of a 90-person special operations group to the ground effort is more than symbolic. "These troops have engaged in short and long term reconnaissance missions. They have served as guides for other allied forces. They provide military assistance to humanitarian relief efforts. They work to protect citizens from harm. Turkey's knowledge of Afghanistan and its longstanding links to anti-Taliban forces make this small unit an important cog in our coalition machine," said the Congressman.

Rep.Houghton concluded his statement by saying " As important as Turkey's decision was to send troops to Afghanistan, it should not surprise anyone. Turkey has been with us for 50 years in peace and in conflict. They stand with us together, and for that we should be greatful."

New Tradition of the New Republic: New Year
Gokhan Akcura - The celebration of new year is a recent innovation in Turkey. TheOttomans did not celebrate the new year, their Islamic calendar being completely different from the Julian calendar of the Christian world.

However, the season was recognized as one of celebration, since the the Greek Orthodox community celebrated Christmas on 24 December and the Gregorian Armenians on 7 January. The idea of celebrating new year itself, however, was introduced by Europeans, and the first evidence of Turkish Muslim participation in the event goes back to 1829, when the British ambassador in Istanbul held a grand new year's eve ball on a ship in the Golden Horn.

Several Ottoman statesmen were invited, and after performing evening prayers in the reception hall at the Naval Arsenal, they were rowed out to the ship for the ball. They enjoyed themselves until the early hours of the morning. Commander-in-chief Husrev Pasa declared afterwards, "It was an infidel business, but what could we do? State duty called and we were obliged to participate."

In the districts of Galata and Beyoglu, with their large Christian Ottoman and European communities, the festive week which began with Christmas and ended with new year was impossible to ignore. Although 31 December was a secular festival for Europeans, some Christians, particularly the Greek Orthodox, commemorated it as the day of Christ's circumcision with celebrations similar to those of Christmas.

It was traditional among the Ottoman Greeks to have a dinner with turkey as the main dish, to dance and generally enjoy themselves. Another custom was to bake new year bread, a round flat loaf containing mastic from the island of Chios and the words New Year written on it. Ottoman Armenians celebrated new year, which they referred to as Gagant, a word meaning a banquet. All the family would gather together on New Year's Eve for a meal lasting late into the night.

Days in advance the Armenians of Istanbul began shopping and cooking for new year. The principal dishes at the meal were stuffed vine leaves, stuffed mussels, turkey and anugabur (wheat pudding with dried fruits and nuts). Hasene Ilgaz, former parliamentarian, recalled her childhood days around 1915 and new year celebrations of her family's non-Muslim neighbours in an interview with Berna Tuna published in Hurriyet newspaper many years later: "The days which we looked forward to joyfully were the religious festivals. For us there was no such thing as new year, but as this event approached we were made aware of the fact by the preparations of neighbours and friends, and gifts sent to our house. These included eggs with colourfully painted shells, new year cakes, perfumes, and lavender flowers. They brought them with the explanation that it was their holiday, and we would reciprocate by offering them Turkish delight, new year pudding, poppy syrup and similar refreshments." Now let us see how new year became a national affair.

This began when the Julian calendar was officially adopted by the three-year-old Turkish Republic in 1926. At that time the day after new year, 1 January, was not a public holiday. But in 1927, by coincidence, new year's day fell on a Friday, then the weekly day of rest. New year was celebrated enthusiastically until the early hours as a result.

That night, for the first time, the electricity company turned off the electricity for one minute at midnight, starting a custom that was to continue for many years. The next new year's eve was of particular significance for those wishing to try their luck on the gambling tables. Nightclubs were packed, but the most popular venue was the nightclub which had been opened at Yildiz Palace by Senor Maryosera, who set up roulette tables for the evening.

There had probably never before been so much gambling in a single night in Istanbul, unhampered by any legal restrictions. The new year entertainments of Beyoglu, which had been viewed enviously from afar up till then, now quickly spread around the country. Magazines began to publish special new year issues, night clubs to organise balls, and the national Aircraft Lottery to hold special draws. People fell to celebrating new year as if it had been an old friend, slightly surprised at the ease with which they became habituated to it. A draft for a new law on national feast days and public holidays proposed that the afternoon of 31 December and 1 January be added to existing public holidays. The law was passed, both making up a national deficiency and enabling everyone to officially sleep off the effects of the previous night's celebrations!

On the day after this first day's holiday, a reporter for Son Posta wrote, "This year, new year's eve passed cheerfully, despite falling at the end of the month and just after the bayram feast day. The nightclubs of Beyoglu had more customers in a single night than they had had all the rest of the year, and made enough money to make up for a whole year's losses. Yesterday morning the streets were as deserted all day as they are on census days. Those who took the opportunity to enjoy themselves and drink until 10 o'clock in the morning could not recover sufficiently to go out on the streets." At new year in 1938 Ataturk replied indirectly through the Anatolian News Agency to new year greetings messages he had received: "Many telegrams have been received from citizens all over the country expressing sublime sentiments and kind regards on the occasion of new year. Ataturk is greatly moved by this, and has asked the Anatolian News Agency to convey his thanks and wishes of happiness to all." Next new year was overshadowed by grief after Ataturk's death in November. Turkish writers were astonished at the speed with which Turkish people had embraced new year. Peyami Safa, for instance, wrote, "I cannot for the life of me understand the meaning of new year's eve. What is there to be so overjoyed about? First of all, the world and people become a year older, the universe becomes a year older, yet they call it the 'new year'." Everyone gets a year nearer to death, but they are delighted, as if losing a part of life were a cause for celebration.' Novelist Refik Halid Karay was more pragmatic: "We should expect neither more good nor bad from the year. If the world is miserable and turning its back on us, then we can take our revenge in this way: By making do with that world, and enjoying our share of its pleasures as far as possible! To put it in philosophical terms, to be opportunist. Let us be opportunist and cheerful. Let us practise at being so."

Nurullah Atac, who was not an opportunist and notorious for his cynicism, was in a mood of rare sentimentality when he spoke of new year in 1949: "The evening of the last day in December begins with hope in our hearts. Even if the voice on the radio does not read out the number on our lottery ticket which promised so much and which we kept so carefully, we still believe that the next day will usher in a period of happiness. This sweet dream lasts for a few days, until we get used to the new year, and forgetting that it is new begin to build delightful visions for a time twelve months hence. A dream of a few days... Is that so little? Is what we call happiness more than a dream, a fairytale which we have invented ourselves, for ourselves, and within ourselves?"

Over the intervening half century our love of new year's eve has increased steadily to the point where we hardly know how we ever managed without it. (Gokhan Akcura is an author.)

Whisky Down the Toilet. Some members of the Turkish Parliament have poured bottles of whisky given to them as New Year presents down the Parliament’s toilets. Turkish privatization minister gave each MP a bottle as a New Year present. Some pro-Islamic MPs took offence. According to the Sabah newspaper, the toilets in the parliament building smelled of whisky. The whisky was produced by the state monopoly Tekel which is due for privatisation. Some of the MPs from the Saadet and Ak parties returned their gifts, the paper reports.

Presidential Pardon. Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has officially pardoned a hunger-striker recently released from prison for medical treatment. Erdal Dogan had been released for six months to undergo medical treatment following a hunger strike lasting 168 days, but the effects of the self-imposed fast, where he and other prisoners refused all forms of nourishment other than sugar and water, had severely affected his mental faculties. Under the Turkish constitution, the president may pardon prisoners if they are deemed to be suffering a "lasting illness".

Top Web Site for Turkish Cinema. If you like movies in general, and Turkish cinema in particular, http://www.turkfilm.net is the only place to go. This unusually comprehensive and regularly updated work-of-love is owned and maintained by our very own Ercument Akman of Washington D.C. Highly recommended. Good job Erju!

Northern Watch extended. The Turkish Parliament voted to extend for six months a mandate allowing US and British warplanes stationed in Incirlik AFB, near Adana, southern Turkey, to patrol the no-fly zone in northern Iraq. Al-Thawra, a leading Iraqi newspaper, deplored the vote as "short-sighted." Allied planes take off from Incirlik air base to monitor the zone established to protect Kurds. Parliament has extended the mandate for the patrols every six months since the end of the 1991 Gulf War when the zone was established.

Turks hold DM 31 Billion. Turks living in Germany hold about 31 billion deutsche marks ($14.2 billion), including 10 billion hidden under mattresses, buried in clay pots or locked away in safes, analysts estimate. Much of it is cash sent home by the 2 million Turks who live and work in Germany. "Our hope is that some of the money that’s fled the system returns," said Durmus Yilmaz, deputy director of the money markets department at the Turkish central bank. "`If some 8 to 10 billion marks enter the banking system, it will show confidence." Turkey is trying to lure money back into the system by selling euro-denominated bonds that can be purchased with currency from any of the 12 euro-member nations.

$113 a month. Turkish government announced a new monthly minimum wage of TL 163.5 million lira ($113), angering trade unionists who say the sum is too little to live on.

Greece to buy Turkish bank. Turkey’s bank regulator approved the sale of the insolvent Sitebank to Greece’s NovaBank SA, in the latest phase of an International Monetary Fund-backed effort to restructure the troubled banking sector. Sitebank was taken over by the regulator in July, during Turkish financial crisis. It has 15 branches and was Turkey’s 58th-largest bank in terms of assets last year.

Archaeologists Find Celts in Unlikely Spot: Central Turkey. "The remains of Galatian Gordion, archaeologists conclude, reveal that the Celts, although they came as mercenary soldiers, bringing along their wives and children, were looking beyond warfare and pillage. They put down deep roots, revived Gordion and created an ambitious, thriving society ... The excavations of Galatian Gordion are part of research at the site, 60 miles southwest of Ankara, being led by the University of Pennsylvania Museum in conjunction with the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto." To read the full New York Times article please go to www.nytimes.com

Library of Congress, Turkey, a Country Study. A great introduction to Turkish history, culture, politics, and more. lcweb2.loc.gov