ATAA Delegation Holds High-level talks in Ankara (Photo Album)
Mehmet Celebi, ATAA Midwest Region Vice President - The annual ATAA delegation this year visited Ankara and Bulgaria on June 10-23. The Ankara part of the visit began on Monday, as the ATAA delegation began its day with the traditional wreath laying ceremony at the tomb of modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. ATAA President Dr. Kaymakcalan later signed the guest book on behalf of ATAA and the visiting delegates.

After the ceremony, the delegation made its way to the Presidential Palace where it was received by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. President Sezer expressed his gratitude for the visit, and said that he truly valued what the Turkish American community was doing to promote Turkey in the US and he always looked forward to meeting with the ATAA to exchange ideas.

Dr. Kaymakcalan restated ATAA's mission to represent the interests of the Turkish American community, promote US-Turkish relations, our Turkish heritage and Turkey. He explained that that although Turkey's image had improved dramatically in the eyes of US officials and Americans in general, there was still much that needed to be done in areas such as public relations and promotion of Turkey's interests in the US. Dr. Kaymakcalan told President Sezer that Turkey's previous public relations and advertising activities were concentrated in New York City and Washington DC, but that the time had come to move that effort to other large cities and the rest of the country.

Responding to a question by the President about views on a possible strike against Iraq, delegates shared their observation that the US Administration was serious about eradicating terror and that Iraq posed a serious threat to its region and the world due to its possession of weapons of mass destruction. President Sezer reiterated that Turkey is fully supportive of the fight against terror, but he reiterated that he also wanted US officials to be sensitive about Turkey's concerns regarding Iraq.

The delegation then met with State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel and the press. Dr. Gurel indicated that the Turkish American community, under the leadership of ATAA, plays an important role in representing Turkey's interests in the US. Dr. Kaymakcalan then relayed to him ATAA's message, and once again expressed concern about a lack of a systematic public relations campaign for Turkey in the US.

At the next meeting with US Ambassador Robert Pearson and Mrs. Pearson the delegation was shown a power point presentation on Turkish-American relations and Turkey. Ambassador Pearson indicated that the US truly appreciates her relations with Turkey, and values the contribution it is making in the war against terror. In response to a question on the rejection of a bill in the US Senate to give $228 Million to the Turkish military taking over ISAF, he said that the US would approve that bill, but since the Administration wanted to rush it through, it was attached to another bill, which was voted down. After the presentation and a question and answer session, the Ambassador hosted a cocktail reception at his residence for the delegation.

The next day, meetings were held with the Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Ugur Ziyal, former Turkish Ambassador to the US, Ambassador Baki Ilkin, who hosted a luncheon in ATAA's honor at the Ankara Palace, and Interior Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen. The Minister briefed the delegation on various issues involving the internal security of Turkey, and spoke about current issues as reported in the press. For example, on the issue of drug trafficking, he said that although Turkey sits on one of the heaviest traveled drug-trafficking routes in the world, due to Turkey's determination and hard police work, it has won praise from the US and other nations for the prevention of drug trafficking. Finally, Mr. Yucelen addressed the issue of torture and ill treatment and said that Turkey has come a long way in this area, and that in the last year, there has not been a single complaint of torture or police brutality brought to either a Turkish court or the European Court of Justice. The group then moved on to the Secretariat General for EU Affairs to meet with Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Volkan Bozkir. Ambassador Bozkir briefed the group on Turkish-EU relations, and the prospects of Turkey's EU membership.

On Wednesday morning, the group met with the Turkish Grand National Assembly's (TGNA) Foreign Affairs Committee headed by Mr. Kamran Inan and several members of the TGNA and members of the Turkish-USA Interparlia-

mentary Friendship Group. The Chairman thanked the ATAA delegates for their hard work in promoting Turkey. He said that he realized that Turkey lacked in the area of public relations abroad, but he hoped that the Parliament would act rapidly to rectify the situation. He also said that the TGNA had formed a "Turkish-USA Friendship Group" consisting of 150 MP's, and that he is pleased with ATAA and the Turkish American community's efforts in bringing more members to join the "Turkish Caucus" in the US House of Representatives. He said that he is very encouraged that 42 US Members were members of the this Caucus. On a question concerning Turkish application for EU, Mr. Inan said he believed that the EU would never accept Turkey as a full member, and that the government was wasting its time with false hopes. In a response to those remarks, Van representative Mr. Huseyin Celik said that he disagreed with his hometown representative Mr. Inan, and said that the proposed changes in Turkish laws should be made not to accommodate the EU, but rather because they are changes that are to the benefit of the Turkish nation and Turkey as a whole.

The next meeting was with the President of the Turkish Parliament, Mr. Omer Izgi. Mr. Izgi welcomed the group and briefly spoke with the press, then spent about an hour discussing several issues of concern to Turkey. Mr. Izgi spoke about the abolishment of the death penalty, and his party's, the Nationalist Movement Party, position on the issue. He said that the stories that run in the press are inaccurate and that Turkey had passed important laws on this issue in 2001, and that in reality; the death penalty has been abolished in all cases except for death penalties issued for crimes related to terrorism and in wartime. He highlighted that the death penalty still exists in Greece's books much the same way as it does in Turkey. He said that Greece will eventually remove the death penalty completely from its laws, and so would Turkey. He said that he was very disturbed that the EU is focusing so much on this issue, while many other important issues were still pending. He also added that making this issue a "pre-requisite" to EU admission talks was unacceptable to him. Noting that the European Court of Justice was nearing a decision on the Ocalan case, he added that the Turkish Government was awaiting the outcome before any decision would be made on the death penalty issue. Speaker Izgi also referred to the TGNA's efforts to be more active on Armenian allegations against Turkey.

The delegation held further meetings leaders of parties represented in the Turkish parliament, including, Saadet party leader Mr. Recai Kutan, AKP party leader Mr. Tayyip Erdogan, and DYP party leader Dr.Tansu Ciller.

The delegation was then received by Deputy Prime Minister and MHP party leader, Mr. Devlet Bahceli. Mr. Bahceli talked about Turkey's role in the fight against global terrorism, Turkey's leadership of the peace-keeping force in Afghanistan, and the political and economic situation in Turkey. Mr. Bahceli said that he valued US-Turkish relations, and the work ATAA and the Turkish-American community does to strengthen this relationship. He mentioned that Turkey was fully behind the US in its war against global terrorism, but also wanted the US to be cautious about Iraq and Turkey's sensitive situation with its southern neighbor.

The day ended with a cocktail at the residence of the Israeli Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr. Moshe Kamhi. Born and raised in Beyoglu, speaking fluent Turkish, Mr. Kamhi briefed the delegation on Israeli-Turkish relations, and the importance of Turkey's role as a peacemaker in the Middle East and the region. He also mentioned that Israel was ready to help in any way it can to ensure that Turkey improved its trading status with the United States, because the economic and political stability of Turkey was beneficial to both Israel and the US.

The Ankara part of the delegation program ended with a visit to the Secretariat General of the National Security Council. General Tuncer Kilic, Secretary General of the NSC, briefed the group on a variety of issues, including Armenian genocide allegations, Turco-Greek relations and Cyprus. The presenters briefed the delegates on the policies of the Turkish Government in these areas, and emphasized their awareness of Turkey's inadequate representation in the US. The evening culminated with a dinner-buffet consisting of traditional Turkish cuisine and desserts.

(The Bulgaria portion of the trip will be covered in the August 1st issue) Photo Album