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Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD-US)

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CONTENTS

• TURKEY SPELLS OUT CONCERNS TO U.S. OVER TALL AFAR

• AKP BLOCKS AMENDMENTS TO TURKISH PENAL CODE; EU OFFICIALS WARN OF REPERCUSSIONS FOR ADULTERY

• EUROPEAN LEADERS SIGNAL LACK OF CONSENSUS ON GIVING A DATE TO TURKEY

• IRAQI GROUP KIDNAPS 10 US-TURKISH FIRM EMPLOYEES

• SURVEY: “TURKEY AMBIVALENT ABOUT EU AND U.S.”

• EU ASSEMBLY DELAYS VOTE ON TURKISH CYPRIOT FINANCIAL PACKAGE

• GREEK CYPRIOT SCHOOL TO OPEN IN TRNC; TURKISH CYPRIOT PM: “ANNAN WILL LAUNCH A NEW CYPRUS INITIATIVE WHEN PAPADOPOULOS BECOMES MORE COOPERATIVE”

• GUL TRAVELS TO NEW YORK FOR UN MEETINGS

• OSMAN OCALAN: WE HAVE LAID DOWN OUR ARMS

• TURKEY EXPECTS TO SURPASS GROWTH TARGET FOR END-2004; ERDOGAN: “THE NEW LIRA WILL BOOST CONFIDENCE IN OUR CURRENCY”

• CENTRAL BANK CUTS INTEREST RATES

• TURKISH STATE RAILWAYS CHIEF FIRED FOLLOWING TRAIN ACCIDENTS

• TUSIAD HIGHLIGHTS

TURKEY SPELLS OUT CONCERNS TO U.S. OVER TALL AFAR

Following days of repeated US land and air strikes against the town of Tall Afar, mostly Turkmen-populated city, Foreign Minister Abdulah Gul warned the United States last week that it would stop cooperation with Washington in Iraq if an operation in Tal Afar were not stopped. Gul also warned against changes in the demographic structure of Iraq, adding that forced changes in the country would endanger peace and security there. The foreign minister's warnings came amid reports that great waves of Kurds, as many as 500 a day, were flowing into Kirkuk. The census in mid-October will provide basic data in deciding who will have the right to control the city, which has six percent of the world's known oil reserves. Turkmens claim that the return, supported and partially financed by Kurdish political parties running northern Iraq, is an attempt to eventually pave the way for a Kurdish administration over the city. Turkey has iterated repeatedly that the protection of Turkmen rights was a high priority.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul phoned Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday night, urging the United States to take measure to stop civilian casualties, which he said created deep worry for both the Turkish state authorities and the people. Gul condemned what he called "the excessive use of force against civilian populations" in the town. Powell reportedly assured in return that U.S. forces were targeting insurgents and not the Turkmen population and told Gul that Turkish concerns would be taken into consideration. The US officials said their air and ground assault last Thursday killed up to 57 "terrorists".

Earlier in the week, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman was called to a meeting by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at which Turkish officials reiterated Turkey’s concerns over the US land and air strikes in Tal Afar. Edelman denied reports carried in the Turkish media that the objective of the military action was to drive out the Turkmen community so that the US's Kurdish allies in Northern Iraq can gain control of the city.  Washington has said that the strikes are targeting militants in the region. However, Turkey has contended that many of those killed have been Turkmen civilians. The Turkish foreign ministry had said the previous week that that the US-led operations had caused 50,000 Turkmen to leave their homes. Edelman said Turkey and the United States would cooperate to send speedy humanitarian assistance to the area. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul ordered authorities to contact both the relevant Turkish organizations and the United States to arrange the needed assistance for the town.

Speaking at a press conference last Wednesday, US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that the recent US military operation in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar was aimed against domestic and foreign terrorist elements in the region. Asked about Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s recent remarks warning, Boucher said, “We’re working very closely with Turkey on all issues concerning Iraq, and the Turkish government has reiterated that it wanted to continue its cooperation with us in Iraq.” He further added that Ankara attached great importance to its cooperation with Washington.

Turkey’s National Security Council (NSC) released its bulletin in the weekend, also stating that the Iraqi Kurds were trying to change the demographic structure of Kirkuk in their favor, which may lead to tension and clashes in the future. The bulletin noted that Turkey was pressing the United States and the Iraqi interim government to take measures to eliminate the presence of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK/Kongra-Gel) in northern Iraq. /NTVMSNBC-Turkish Daily News-Anatolia News Agency-AFP-Aksam/

AKP BLOCKS AMENDMENTS TO TURKISH PENAL CODE; EU OFFICIALS WARN OF REPERCUSSIONS FOR ADULTERY

Turkish government announced on Thursday to shelve the entire amendment package to the Turkish Penal Code that was being debated in Parliament and which was hailed in European capitals as part of Turkish reform efforts to meet EU criteria. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) initially announced it had dropped the adultery proposal but on Thursday it came up with another proposal under the name of "sexual infidelity" and sought the support of the main opposition Republican Peoples' Party (CHP), which refused to back it. Finally, the government decided the put the entire amendment package on hold.

The chief of the joint Turkish-EU Commission, Joost Lagendjik, warned that a key European Commission report scheduled to be issued next month on Turkey's readiness to start membership talks could turn out to be negative or conditional if the Turkish government pushes its plans further to criminalize adultery. The commission report could either place scrapping of the adultery amendment to the Penal Code as a condition to be fulfilled before a Dec. 17 summit meeting where EU leaders will decide whether or not to let Turkey to begin accession talks, Lagendjik said. Or, in its recommendations section, it could say, "The negotiations cannot start unless this problem is resolved." "Insisting on this would mean, 'Do not take Turkey into Europe'," he said.

"We learned with concern about the delay that took place in the Turkish national assembly for the adoption of this code, and we understand this delay is due to attempts to reintroduce adultery as a criminal offense," European Commission spokesman Jean-Christophe Filori told a briefing in Brussels. Filori said the new penal code was vital if Ankara was to meet the criteria agreed upon in Copenhagen in 1992 and added that making adultery a criminal offense would send the wrong signal over Turkey's European credentials.

Prime Minister Erdogan was defiant in the face of the EU warning. "The European Union is not indispensable for us," he said, accusing European Commission spokesman Flori for interfering in Turkey's domestic affairs. Erdogan told party members that Turkey had done all it needed to do to meet the political criteria for starting EU entry talks, adding, "Let nobody try to pressure Turkey by using the EU membership [as an excuse]." Turkish markets on Monday also reacted to the growing tension between the European Union and Turkish government over adultery clause.

Erdogan will travel to Strasbourg and Brussels this week. He will meet with EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen and address the European Parliament on Thursday. /Turkish Daily News-NTVMSNBC/

EUROPEAN LEADERS SIGNAL LACK OF CONSENSUS ON GIVING A DATE TO TURKEY

German main opposition leader Angela Merkel sent a letter on Friday to leaders of other European center-right parties in an effort to galvanize opposition to Turkish membership to the EU. Among the letter's recipients were the prime ministers of Italy, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal and Greece. Merkel's Christian Democrats argue that admitting Turkey would overstretch the EU both culturally and financially, and that the country should be granted a "privileged partnership" rather than full membership. In February, Merkel took her suggestion of a special partnership to Turkey, where it was dismissed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Rejecting Merkel's stance on Turkey's EU bid, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said although it was clear that the accession negotiations with Turkey would last longer than the ones with other candidate countries, the European Union should fulfill its promise to Turkey, which was made some 40 years ago for its participation in the European Union. The German Chancellor dismissed the "privileged partnership" offer by Merkel. He said Turkey's participation would contribute to Europe's security, he added.

"It would be inconceivable for us to remain silent on a question which at the end of the day, however long the process may take, cannot be agreed without parliament's assent," European parliament's president Josep Borrell told the legislature in his inaugural address. "Whatever decision we take it is our responsibility to show the Muslim world we're not closing off our borders and thinking in terms of clash of civilizations," Borrell said. He said the 732-member assembly -- the EU's only directly elected institution -- would issue an advisory opinion after the executive European Commission reports on whether Turkey has met the bloc's criteria on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. That report is expected on Oct. 6. EU leaders then will decide in December whether and when to start negotiations in December.

The head of the largest political group, Hans-Gert Poettering of the conservative European People's Party, who is personally opposed to starting entry talks, said in an interview that a majority of his group were now in favor. "About 50 percent are for and 50 percent against, with a slight majority who takes a positive view," Poettering told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. An overwhelming majority of EPP deputies from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Britain supported starting talks with Turkey, and the trend among Nordic conservatives was also towards a "yes", he added. The German and French members of his group were strongly opposed to Turkish membership, Poettering stated. Martin Schulz, leader of the second largest group, the Party of European Socialists, acknowledged in Tuesday's debate there were also differences within his own faction.

Meanwhile, European Commission spokesman Jean-Christophe stated on Monday Turkey has made significant progress on reforms to prepare itself for membership of the European Union but must do more to implement standards required by the bloc. "Big progress was made in Turkey in the past years, there is a new spirit in this country. There have been impressive reforms," Jean-Christophe Filori told a news briefing.

Turkey is unlikely to join the European before 2015, EU enlargement commissioner Guenter Verheugen said in an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung. But he told the daily that reforms already undertaken by Turkey were a sign that the predominantly Muslim country and key NATO member was capable of meeting EU membership criteria. "There remain doubts as to Turkey's long-term secular and democratic credentials," he wrote in a letter to fellow EU commissioners, who are set to decide next month whether or not to recommend the start of EU entry talks with Turkey.

The European Union's draft constitution effectively diminishes Turkey's chances of joining the 25-nation body, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, father of the draft charter, said. In an interview with the International Herald Tribune, Giscard, who presided over the 18-month convention that drafted the charter, suggested that a key provision of the constitution, known as double-majority voting, could kill Turkey's effort to join because the country's projected population at the time membership talks would be complete -- in 10 to 15 years -- might exceed that of every other member state.

In a letter to his fellow commissioners, the bloc's agriculture chief, Franz Fischler, said Turkey was culturally "oriental" and geographically Asian. Its accession would make bust the EU farm budget and open "a geo-strategic Pandora's Box," he contended in the letter, which was made public on Friday. /Star-Anatolia News Agency-Turkish Daily News-Reuters-AFP/

IRAQI GROUP KIDNAPS 10 US-TURKISH FIRM EMPLOYEES

Al Jazeera television reported over the weekend than a militant Iraqi group has kidnapped 10 employees of a U.S.-Turkish company and threatened to kill them if the company does not withdraw from Iraq within three days. The television showed a video tape issued by the Abu Bakr al-Seddiq Battalions showing 10 men sitting on the ground and holding up captors.

Earlier on Saturday, a Turkish television station reported that a Turkish truck driver was killed in an attack in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Three other Turkish truck drivers were kidnapped on a motorway in the Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, Iraqi police said on Friday. It gave no more details. At least three more Turkish truck drivers have been killed by their abductors in Iraq in recent months. Several others have been released after their employers agreed to pull out of Iraq. Turkey seeks close cooperation with the U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces to provide safety for Turkish companies and their workers operating in the neighboring country. A set of security precautions were announced by Ankara earlier this month, including traveling in truck convoys and keeping contact by mobile phones. /Turkish Daily News-Reuters/

SURVEY: “TURKEY AMBIVALENT ABOUT EU AND U.S.”

According to the 2004 Trans-Atlantic Trends Survey sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Compagnia di San Paolo of Turin of Italy,  Turks seriously question the global leadership roles of the United States or European Union. Half of the Turks polled saw global U.S. leadership as "very undesirable," the survey said.

More than 90 percent thought the Iraq war was not worth the loss of life and other costs. On a scale of 100, Turks gave an approval "thermometer reading" of only 28 degrees for the United States -- the lowest in the survey of Washington's 10 European allies. They managed a 52-degree rating for the EU. France and Germany merited only 34 and 46 degrees respectively.

However, with regards to the EU membership, 73 percent of the respondents were in favor, citing economic benefits as the main reason. "The Turkish public does not seem to view the EU as a foreign policy or security alternative and remains ambivalent about the EU assuming a global security role," said the survey. It said only 40 percent believe the EU should become a "superpower." compared with a European average of 71 percent. One area where Turks outdo Europeans and Americans is in readiness to use force to stop a civil war, ensure oil supplies or "remove a government that abuses human rights," said the survey. Seventy-four percent of the respondents argued that military action "is the most appropriate way to fight terrorism." /AP news/

EU ASSEMBLY DELAYS VOTE ON TURKISH CYPRIOT FINANCIAL PACKAGE

The European Parliament postponed a debate and vote on a European Union Council regulation that is designed to provide financial aid to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in October, the Anatolia news agency reported. The assembly ruled that the regulation should be debated at the foreign relations commission, initially on Oct. 2, and later at the general assembly on Oct. 25-28, where it will be voted upon. Head of Parliament's Foreign Relations Commission Elmar Brok said no one objected to the regulation, but time was needed to look into the ways of delivering the assistance. A spokesman for the socialist group said they wanted the regulation to be handled in October to enable them to produce a better review of it.

The council sought to reward the Turkish Cypriots with a financial aid package after the Greek Cypriots voted against a U.N. plan aimed to reunite the island. The European Commission subsequently drafted a regulation that envisages $259 million in financial aid to the TRNC and which allows the export of Turkish Cypriot agricultural products to Europe. /Turkish Daily News/

GREEK CYPRIOT SCHOOL TO OPEN IN TRNC; TURKISH CYPRIOT PM: “ANNAN WILL LAUNCH A NEW CYPRUS INITIATIVE WHEN PAPADOPOULOS BECOMES MORE COOPERATIVE”

Turkish Cypriot government announced on Sept. 13 its decision to open a secondary school for Greek Cypriot children living in the north of the island. The school, in Rizokarpasso in the far north of the island will open Monday to serve 12 secondary students, Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Serdar Denktas said Sunday. There is already a primary school in the region, with two teachers and nine students for the area’s 300 or so Greek Cypriot inhabitants. The Greek Cypriot administration in the south had been asked to nominate teaching staff for the new school, Denktas said.

Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat said over the weekend that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan would launch a new initiative on Cyprus when Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos ceases to “avoid meetings.” Speaking before TRNC Cabinet meeting, Talat said that Annan had requested Greek Cypriot leadership to clarify and finalize its stance on the Annan plan. /NTVMSNBC-Cumhuriyet/      

GUL TRAVELS TO NEW YORK FOR UN MEETINGS

Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on Friday departed to the United States for a ten-day visit to push for Turkey's bid to become a Security Council member by 2009 and to hold bilateral meetings with more than 30 counterparts and top United Nations and European Union officials. Gul is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Thursday. His meetings on the sidelines of the General Assembly activities include talks with Secretary-General Kofi Annan, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. He is expected to discuss the situation in Iraq, the Middle East and Cyprus with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. He is also scheduled to meet with both his Armenian and Azeri counterparts, but Foreign Ministry officials said no trilateral meeting was expected because of conflicting schedules. Gul is also set to meet with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and a number of Arab foreign ministers, including those of Bahrain, Palestine, Libya, Egypt and Algeria. /Turkish Daily News-Turkiye/

OSMAN OCALAN: WE HAVE LAID DOWN OUR ARMS

Osman Ocalan, who formed a new group in northern Iraq, known as the Patriotic Democratic Party (PWD), after splitting off from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK/KONGRA-GEL), was quoted in a interview in Vatan daily that he and his group had laid down their arms and sought to become a political party. "We have no intention of taking up arms again on this or that condition. We have dedicated ourselves to conducting politics democratically," he said in the interview. Osman Ocalan also claimed that the United States would not launch an operation against the bases of outlawed PKK members in the region. Osman Ocalan, 46, is the youngest brother of Abdullah Ocalan, who led the outlawed PKK until he was captured, convicted of treason and sentenced by a Turkish court to life imprisonment on Imrali Island. Osman Ocalan, code-named Ferhat, had been an active member of the outlawed PKK for years and became number two in the illegal armed group after his elder brother's incarceration. He is being tried, in absentia, by a Diyarbakir court on charges of "Giving orders to determine the strategy and activities of an illegal organization," and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. /Turkish Daily News/

TURKEY EXPECTS TO SURPASS GROWTH TARGET FOR END-2004; ERDOGAN: “THE NEW LIRA WILL BOOST CONFIDENCE IN OUR CURRENCY”

Turkey's economy is expected to grow at least 8.8 percent in 2004, beating the year-end target of five-percent, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener said. "If the economy continues to grow in the last quarter as well, then yearly growth is expected to reach 10 percent," he added. Last year, the economy expanded by 5.9 percent, exceeding forecasts of five percent. The Turkish government announced last month that it would soon hold talks with the IMF on drawing up a new stand-by deal when the current one expires in February 2005.

Speaking at a press conference on the re-denominated Turkish currency due to be introduced early next year, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the new lira would boost confidence in the nation’s currency, adding that he hoped the nation would be patient during this process. Erdogan stated that the government would begin to introduce the new lira to the public next month. /Milliyet-AFP/

CENTRAL BANK CUTS INTEREST RATES

Central Bank on Wednesday cut its rate for overnight borrowings from 22 percent down to 20 percent. According to a statement issued by the bank just prior to the opening of markets Wednesday morning, the move was prompted by expectations of further falls in inflation and continued monetary and fiscal discipline. However, the Central Bank also noted that August’s inflation figures, released early September, had been higher than expected, tipping the inflation rate just above 10 percent on a year on year basis. /NTVMSNBC/

TURKISH STATE RAILWAYS CHIEF FIRED FOLLOWING TRAIN ACCIDENTS

Turkey's transportation minister fired the Turkish State Railways chief official Wednesday amid accusations of mismanagement following three deadly train accidents over the past two months. Suleyman Karaman had been the highest ranking official implicated in a court case following three accidents that left 60 people dead and hundreds injured. His deputy, Ali Kemal Ergulec, was also fired. Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim authorized the firings, but has ignored calls to resign himself. The government has launched investigations into the accidents, and several engineers are currently on trial for allegedly driving carelessly and causing death. Prosecutors have asked to file charges against Karaman for alleged poor management. /Turkish Daily News/

TUSIAD International, chaired by Aldo Kaslowski, paid a visit to Ukraine on September 15-16. On the sidelines of the visit, TUSIAD co-hosted a meeting with its Ukranian counterpart Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE)

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