U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney confers with Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit at his official residence in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, March 19, 2002. Turkey, a key ally, is the final stop of Cheney's 10-day, 12-country tour of Arab states and Israel to build support for President Bush's war on terrorism.

U.S. Offers Aid to Turkey to Lead Kabul Peace Force
$228 million promised during VP Cheney's Ankara visit
MICHAEL R. GORDON New York Times, ANKARA, Turkey, March 19 - The United States has offered Turkey $228 million in aid to seal its agreement to assume command of the international peacekeeping force in Kabul, the Afghan capital, American and Turkish officials said today.

After meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney tonight, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said the Bush administration had promised the funds to defray Turkey's expenses in Afghanistan and would formally seek approval from Congress this week.

Under the new arrangement, Turkey would lead the force while a German colonel would assume the second level of command. Mr. Ecevit said he was hopeful that the remaining details would be worked out.

The offer of American assistance follows weeks of quiet negotiations among American, British and Turkish officials over the future of the peacekeeping mission in the Afghan capital.

Britain now commands the peacekeeping force of nearly 5,000 in Kabul. The purpose of the force is to stabilize the capital and support the interim Afghan government of Hamid Karzai.

Before the international force moved into the capital, security was provided by the Northern Alliance, which is one faction in the transitional government.

Britain has been eager to hand over responsibility for the force. The United States, which has declined to dispatch peacekeeping troops, had no interest in the command. As a Muslim nation, Turkey was a logical candidate. American and British officials lobbied Turkey to accept the mission.

Turkey had several concerns, and money was just one of them. It was also concerned about the scope of the mission, the specific nature of its responsibilities in Kabul, the type of equipment that would be made available and the duration of the mission.

The United States offered the financial aid to ease those concerns. An American official confirmed that the funds consist of $28 million in direct aid and $200 million in debt relief.

The Turks have also been assured that their mission will be a narrow one: the force they will command will be used only in and around the Afghan capital. Plans to expand the force throughout the country have been put aside.

Mr. Cheney also offered other gestures of support. He reiterated American backing for Turkey's admission to the European Union, affirmed Turkey's importance and emphasized the contribution Turkey's forces could make to stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan.

In his evening meeting with Mr. Ecevit, Mr. Cheney also discussed Iraq, the problems of weapons of mass destruction and the recent diplomatic moves in the Middle East.

Turkey has warned against a military campaign to topple the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein. The Turkish concern is that his overthrow might lead to the breakup of Iraq and, in particular, an independent Kurdistan. That, Turkey fears, might prompt Kurds in Turkey to seek a country of their own. Turkish officials also say the Persian Gulf war of 1991 cost Turkey many billions of dollars in lost trade and other revenue. But Turkey would be important base of operations for an American military campaign against Iraq. The United States used air bases in Turkey to fight the gulf war and now uses them to carry out air patrols of the no-flight zone over northern Iraq.

Many analysts predict that Turkey would acquiescence in an American campaign against Iraq, but not without considerable incentives and persuading. In the meantime, Turkey's leaders reassured their public that war was not at hand.

"Cheney underlined that there will not be an operation against Iraq in the near future," Mr. Ecevit said.

Swedish Parliament: "We Can’t Say there was Armenian genocide"
Swedes agree with Turks and confess that 2000 decision was a mistake
Serkan Demirtas, Cumhuriyet (Turkey), March 27, 2002 - Swedish Parliament has announced that its recognition of the "Armenian genocide" in the year 2000 on the basis of "United Nations resolutions" was a mistake since the U.N. has never recognized the "Armenian genocide."

The Swedish Parliament said it will not reach a decision on the alleged Armenian, Assyrian and Keldani "genocides" that were allegedly committed before 1948, and that such claims are better studied by historians. The Parliament has also admitted that it made a mistake back in 2000 by recognizing the "Armenian genocide" on the basis of United Nations resolutions, since the U.N. has never confirmed any such genocide. Swedish Parliament gave full support to the Turkish thesis that the terms of the 1948 U.N. Genocide Convention cannot be projected back to events that took place before that year. However, the Parliament also noted that Turkey did not take the sufficient positive steps in human rights and is still far away from satisfying the "Copenhagen criteria."

Murad Artin, the leftist member of Swedish parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission, submitted a proposal to the Commission, urging for the General Assembly to vote and recognize the Assyrian, Armenian, and Keldani "genocides" perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire during First World War.

The Swedish Foreign Affairs Commission in a report it issued stated the following [translated by Turkish Times from the Turkish news story]:

-- There is no official Swedish position that characterizes the events that took place during the Ottoman Empire as a "genocide"...
-- The Commission while discussing the motion 1999/2000:U651 has referred to a 1985 U.N. resolution. Further research has revealed that there does not exist any U.N. resolutions that address the Armenians, neither in 1985 nor in any other time. The situation of the Assyrians and Keldanis are the same. Therefore the Commission should never have formulated the statements pertaining the "Armenian genocide" in those terms.
-- The Commission believes in the importance of discussing the massacres suffered by Armenians, Assyriand and Keldanis. For this purpose there needs to be open and unconditional historical research.
-- The status of human rights and democracy in Turkey today is not satisfactory. Turkey does not satisfy the "Copenhagen criteria" necessary to secure full membership [in the EU]. According to some observers, there are signs that human rights situation is deteriorating for some groups in Turkey.

Amb. Logoglu Visits Boston
Erkut Gomulu, ATAA VP New England-The Turkish American Cultural Society of New England (TACS) was honored to host Ambassador O. Faruk Logoglu and Mrs. Mevhibe Logoglu between March 14 - March 16 who made their first visit to Boston. Ambassador Logoglu's intense program in Boston consisted of meetings with the prominent academicians and scientists in the area universities, businessmen and members of the Turkish American community. Ambassador Logoglu also visited Harvard University Center for Middle Eastern Studies and gave a lecture entitled "Turkey in the 21st Century" at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Ambassador Logoglu's program in Boston included the New England premiere of the documentary, "Desperate Hours" at Brandeis University, and the concert by PALS Children's Chorus, "Tales from the Silk Road", featuring the world premiere of Mehmet Ali Sanlikol's composition, "Ergenekon: An Ancient Turkish Legend" at New England Conservatory.

ATAA/TACS Grassroots & Leadership Conference: "Making Connections and Building Bridges" also took place for the first time in Boston, on March 16, during the visit of Ambassador Logoglu.

In honor of Ambassador Faruk Logoglu and Mrs. Mevhibe Logoglu's visit to Boston, and on the occasion of the ATAA/TACS Grassroots & Leadership Conference, ATAA and TACS-New England organized a dinner reception on Friday, March 15 at Boston's elegant Marriott Hotel at Copley Place. Opening remarks of the dinner were presented by Erkut Gömülü, President of TACS-New England and Vice President - Northeastern Region of ATAA; Dr. Orhan Kaymakçalan, President of ATAA; and Ambassador Faruk Logoglu. Also representing ATAA at the dinner were Güler Köknar, Executive Director, Vural Cengiz, Treasurer, and Osman Tat, Assistant Director of Public Affairs.

Enchanting music of Guitar Duo: Bilgehan Tuncer and Devrim Eldelekli, local and talented musicians from Berklee College of Music captured the guests and Collage Dance Ensemble performed a two-parts dazzling dance show. First part entitled "Breaking the Rules: Anarchy in Social Dance" featuring The Original Can-Can and Rock and Roll, Jitterbug and Bop, which were all unconventional dance styles took place in different eras of history, created by teenagers seeing dance as a resistance against authority. The second part of Collage's show, "Eastern Tides", has won the best choreography award of Boston Moves 2001 by Ahmet Lüleci's choreography, who is also the founder and artistic director of Collage Dance Ensemble. Mr. Lüleci's unique choreography reflects traditional dance movements of Turkey, including Zeybek and Blacksea dances, and dance movements of Eastern European countries such as Hungary, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The well attended night gave the opportunity to the Turkish American community in the region to meet with Ambassador and Mrs. Logoglu, ATAA President Dr. Kaymakçalan and other ATAA representatives.

Amb. Logoglu Lectures at Fletcher School
Erkut Gomulu, ATAA VP New England-On Thursday, March 14, Ambassador Faruk Logoglu delivered a lecture entitled "Turkey in the 21st Century" at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University. The lecture, organized by The Program in Southwest Asia and Turkish Studies at Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and the Turkish American Cultural Society of New England (TACS), was covered in The Fletcher School News by the following article: "Turkey is definitely in a tough neighborhood"

Turkish Ambassador to US speaks at Fletcher
Ben Ball, Office of Public Affairs-As the war in Afghanistan continues with its various twists and turns, Turkey, an important US ally, is pledged to continue to play "the lead role," according to the Turkish Ambassador to the United States.

Speaking to Fletcher students on Mar. 14, Amb. Osman Faruk Logoglu said: "We are at the forefront of the war, as a friend, as an ally, and in reciprocation for the United States' understanding of our own fight against terrorism."

Turkey, which currently has some 270 troops in Afghanistan, is negotiating with the United States and the United Kingdom to take over command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) based in Kabul. Logoglu stated that under Turkish command, that force could grow to 4,500 troops from over 10 countries.

Referring to the mandate of that force, Logoglu said "the general preference is for a force that is limited to Kabul. My feeling, however, is that Afghanistan is a whole country. If you are going to do a good job, you need a large force -- 25,000 at least."

Logoglu told his audience that a Turkish-led ISAF would help to ensure peace on the ground while rebuilding the country. "Turkey is eminently poised to prepare an army for Afghanistan, to build agriculture in Afghanistan. These are areas in which we can play a significant role," he said.

No stranger to peacekeeping operations, Turkish generals previously led the UN force in Somalia. Logoglu stressed the importance of a Muslim country to take a leadership role in Afghanistan as a symbolic gesture to that largely traditional society.

"Turkey has an excellent resonance with the people of Afghanistan," he said. "Turkey is a country where democracy, Islam, and secularism coexist."

Still, the Turkish Ambassador admitted that Turkey's role in the war on terror does not have unanimous domestic support. "There are people in Turkey who oppose sending troops, but the majority decided to do it. This was decided by the parliament," he said.

Logoglu also addressed the difficulties Turkey must face as a front-line state in the war on terror. "Turkey is definitely in a tough neighborhood," he cautioned. "There is not one conflict in the world today which is not in Turkey's vicinity. Turkey is at the epicenter of all these conflicts. We will have to resolve our issues with our neighbors in spite of our neighbors."

One of those difficult neighbors is Iraq, which Logoglu warned is a sensitive issue for the region. He said that US intervention in Iraq would "cause the region to experience a lot of difficulties. This will upset the balance of all Iraq's neighbors. In a larger economic and political sense, this could be a major problem for the region."

Logoglu told his audience that "there is still time" to coerce the Iraqi regime into accepting UN-mandated weapons inspectors. "If that doesn't happen, what will occur? I cannot say at this moment. It will depend upon [Vice President] Cheney's visit," Logoglu said.

Turkish customs chief says he is battling corruption
Orhan Coskun, ANKARA, March 15 (Reuters) - The chief of the Turkish customs office said on Friday he was striving to erase the image of a service so tainted by corruption and bribery that it deters crucial foreign investment in Turkey. Turkish officials and the World Bank both acknowledge that a widespread impression of entrenched corruption deters many foreign investors from doing business in Turkey, where foreign cash is particularly needed after a damaging financial crisis.

"As customs officials, we want to remove the stains, we want to be cleared," Customs Undersecretary Nevzat Saygilioglu told Reuters in an interview.

There are tales of corruption affecting many state bodies in Turkey, but stories of the bribes needed to expedite passage of crucial shipments through customs are the most urgent concern for many businessmen. As part of its pledges to the International Monetary Fund in return for a $16 billion loan package, Turkey has promised to make the country more attractive for foreign investment.

Saygilioglu, a career bureaucrat and at the customs authority for over a year, acknowledges that his department is flawed but denies any systematic corruption.

"There is nothing organized, whether in the center or the provinces, with people inside or outside. What happens is individual behavior," he said.

A recent survey of customs officials showed that around 40 percent of employees said there was corruption of some type in their organization. Changes to working practices, a new ethics code, police investigations and education campaigns were all working to eradicate a culture of corruption and bribery, Saygilioglu said.

"Where there is bureaucracy there is bribery. People feel obliged to give something in order to complete legal work. We have reduced this a lot. Automation is one of the important methods," he said.

He said police investigations were under way in many cases. "There are a range of operations in the customs under different names. The people concerned will either be exposed or fired from public service, depending on what the judges and prosecutors decide," he said.

Turkey is struggling to recover from a financial crisis last year that sparked the deepest recession since 1945 and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Kenan Evren Chair Inaugurated in FAU
The Turkish Times with wire services-Florida Atlantic University (FAU) inaugurated the "Kenan Evren Eminent Scholar Chair in Turkish Studies" at a ceremony held in Boca Raton and attended by ATAA President Dr.Orhan Kaymakcalan, Treasurer Vural Cengiz and Southeastern Region Vice President Guney Adak together with other members of the area Turkish American community.

The endowment of the Chair was spearheaded by S¸heyla GenÁsoy, president of Fort Lauderdale's Turkish American Business, Education and Cultural Development Committee and supported by donations from Turkish Americans as well as through donations from the Kenan Evren Foundation.

Kenan Evren, former president of Turkey and the program's namesake, Gen. Alexander Haig, former U.S. Secretary of State, and other dignitaries joined FAU President Anthony Catanese and Turkish Culture Minister Istemihan Talay in announcing the Kenan Evren Eminent Scholar Chair in Turkish Studies.

U.S. former Secretary of State and former commander of NATO European Allied Forces Alexander Haig, Democrat Party Florida Congressman Robert Wexler who is the chairman of the Turkish Friendship Group at the U.S. Congress, and Turkish Ambassador to the United States Faruk Logoglu also attended the ceremony.

The Kenan Evren Eminent Scholar Chair was established with $600,000 in private donations and an anticipated $400,000 state grant. Evren, president of Turkey from 1983 to 1989, is credited with strengthening political and economic ties between Turkey and the United States. Through a $1 million endowment, FAU will sponsor economic research and hold conferences for those interested in economic relations between Turkey and the United States, and particularly relations with Florida. But it was clear that those who spoke want to strengthen more than business ties between the countries.

"This is a nation that is playing an increasingly important role on the world stage, as demonstrated most recently by Vice President Cheney's pledge of $228 million to enable Turkey to assume command of the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan," said Catanese.

Haig said a lack of knowledge about Turkey has resulted in bad U.S. decisions regarding the country, such as a 1970s embargo. The U.S. relationship with Turkey has never been as important as it is now, Haig said. "It is the anchor of stability in Central Asia and the Middle East, in a world of confusion," he said.

Speaking through a translator, Evren joked that his nation's strategic geography comes with a price.

"I sometimes feel jealous of countries like the U.S. and Great Britain that have two neighbors," he said. "When you have two neighbors, you have two problems. When you have eight neighbors, you have eight problems."

Evren soon became serious.

"I don't want to name any names right now, but we have neighbors who would love to export their religious beliefs," Evren said.

Turkey's citizens are mostly Muslims, but the democratic government is secular. Evren stressed differences between the religious beliefs of the majority of Turkey's citizens and the followers of Osama bin Laden. Evren's hopes Turkish students who study at FAU will "show that we are not like those fundamentalists."

S¸heyla GenÁsoy, president of Fort Lauderdale's Turkish American Business, Education and Cultural Development Committee, said bin Laden and others like him try to influence poor Turkish young people by paying for an education that stresses extremist beliefs.

That is why her organization hopes to establish a scholarship program to send poor Turkish students to FAU.

If more Americans learn about Turkey, she said she will consider the new FAU program a success.