Turkey News: January 25-31, 2010

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CONTENTS:
       � Turkey-Afghanistan-Pakistan Summit Focuses on Stability
       � Two Draft Bills Arrive in Parliament for Kurdish Initiative
       � G�l urges Medvedev to Push for Peace in Karabakh
       � Turkish Foreign Minister Says Turkish-Chinese Relations Are at Historic Turning Point
       � Papandreou Invites Erdoğan to Athens, Calls for Better Ties

Turkey-Afghanistan-Pakistan Summit Focuses on Stability

Afghanistan's neighbors met in Turkey on Tuesday seeking a "single voice" before a London conference to set a timetable for handing security over to Afghans and find ways to negotiate peace with the Taliban.

Low-level talks with the Taliban have been going on behind the scenes for years, analysts say, but there can be little progress while the insurgents believe they are winning the war. Underlying the need for peace, a suicide attack in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday led to casualties among Afghan civilians and foreign troops, a security source said.

The Taliban have launched hundreds of suicide attacks in the last three years in order to demonstrate to Afghans that their government and its Western backers cannot bring security.
A core goal is creating an atmosphere of reconciliation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a key ally of the United States in its battle to crush the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and destroy the al-Qaeda network in tribal areas near the Afghan-Pakistani border.

Asked if Turkey is considering having talks with Taliban's civilian officials, Engin Soysal, a former Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan, said this is about "Afghan ownership." "Afghan ownership is the key word. This should be an Afghan-driven initiative," Soysal explained, referring to a speech made by Afghan President Hamid Karzai during his Nov. 19 inauguration.

In Istanbul, another important endeavor on the agenda was cooperation in the field of education. According to the joint statement of the Ministers of Education of the three countries, they have a memorandum of understanding to establish mechanisms in the areas of vocational training, exchange programs, scholarships, training teachers, fighting illiteracy and overcoming gender disparity.

Senior Pakistani railway officials were also in attendance at the summit to talk about the details of a Turkey-Iran-Pakistan line. The countries had agreed in March of last year to conduct container train service from İstanbul to Islamabad via Tehran in the first phase of their plan and passenger train service in the second phase. The first train arrived in Islamabad from İstanbul on Aug. 14.

Hosted by President Abdullah G�l, the summit was home to another cooperation initiative, called the "Summit of Friendship and Cooperation in the Heart of Asia." Aside from the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan, high-level officials from neighboring countries such as China, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan also attended the meeting.

Among those attending the Istanbul meeting were China's foreign minister, Iran's vice-president, Russia's deputy foreign minister, Britain's foreign minister and the deputy to US special envoy Richard Holbrooke. Officials from Tajikistan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, NATO and the European Union were also in Istanbul. Ministers from some 60 countries then met in London on Thursday to further galvanize support for Afghanistan. /Today's Zaman/

Two Draft Bills Arrive in Parliament for Kurdish Initiative

Parliament late Thursday began discussing a draft law on the establishment of a new Under-Secretariat for Public Order and Security that will run under the Interior Ministry. A draft law on the establishment of an independent human rights institution was also sent to Parliament.

The draft law on the new under-secretariat is expected to be passed in Parliament soon. The new Under-Secretariat for Public Order and Security will strategize and produce anti-terror policies. It will not be operational. The human rights institution, meanwhile, will handle complaints about discrimination, torture and human rights.

Speaking at the general assembly Thursday, Interior Minister Besir Atalay said the under-secretariat will also follow the international developments on terror issues. He said the under-secretariat was not a bureaucratic formation but an information pool, which would contribute to the solution of the terror problem in the country. "Turkey is not the old Turkey. It is a stronger country and will thus solve its terror problem," Atalay said.

The draft law on the establishment of a new Under-Secretariat for Public Order and Security drew criticism from the opposition parties. Bekir Aksoy, Ankara Deputy of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said during the discussions that the existing organization was sufficient to combat terror and the projected under-secretariat would create chaos. Atilla Kart of the Republican People's Party (CHP) asked, "Doesn't the government trust in the institutions that run under its authority?"

Meanwhile, a draft law on the establishment of an independent human rights institution was sent to Parliament Thursday. The members of the institution will be elected by the Council of Ministers, according to the draft bill. The institution will be charged with following the human rights violation cases in other institutions and filing complaints with the prosecutor. It will follow up with the complaints and their results.

The body will comprise of 11 members, including one chairman, one vice president and nine members. The representatives of the related human rights institutions, universities and some other experts specialized on the issue will equally be represented in the unit. Meanwhile, speaking at the chief police officers' meeting Friday, Atalay reiterated the government's determination to end terrorism and the significance of the AKP's Kurdish initiative to end the terror problem. /Hurriyet/

G�l Urges Medvedev to Push for Peace in Karabakh

President Abdullah G�l urged his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to push for a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia during a phone conversation on Saturday.

According to diplomatic sources, G�l also expressed Ankara's feeling of unease with the Armenian Constitutional Court ruling containing preconditions and restrictive provisions on the normalization protocols between Armenia and Turkey. G�l urged Medvedev to play a 'more active role' with Yerevan in order to keep the normalization process on track.

"We hope no one wants to risk the protocols. Peace and stability in the Caucasus is desirable for everyone," G�l said. "We need a clarification as to whether the court ruling will shadow or restrict the protocols."

Medvedev in reply said, "We appreciate Turkey's peace efforts for the Caucasus. We closely follow the parties [Azerbaijan and Armenia]. No one has the right to derail the protocols." The Russian President promised to be in close touch with Yerevan and continue pushing the normalization efforts. Having discussed the main common interests and cooperation opportunities, Medvedev confirmed his upcoming visit to Turkey was set for the second week of May when he will co-chair the first meeting of the bilateral cooperation council. The Russian Embassy to Ankara in a written-statement said, "This visit will play a key role for Turkish-Russian relations in the future." /Hurriyet/

Turkish Foreign Minister Says Turkish-Chinese Relations Are at Historic Turning Point

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday that Turkey-Chinese relations have been going through a historic change. Davutoglu and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi held a press conference after holding a meeting in Istanbul.

"There are several business opportunities between Turkey and China in several areas," Davutoglu said. "We have to develop a joint perspective in bilateral relations."

Turkey and China, two active members of the G-20, could make great contributions to the global economic system. "Turkey and China will have a close cooperation in issues including Afghanistan, the Middle East, Iraq and other matters in Eurasia," Davutoglu explained.

Davutoglu and Yang also discussed transportation, energy policies and a Silk Road railway project. "I hope that China will make comprehensive investments in Turkey and send more tourists," Davutoglu added. "I believe that Turkish-Chinese relations would boost peace and security." The Prime Minster of China is expected to make a visit to Turkey in the near future. /Anadolu Ajansi/

Papandreou Invites Erdoğan to Athens, Calls for Better Ties

While addressing members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Tuesday, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou publicly invited his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to pay an official visit to Athens.

Ahead of his address, Papandreou paid a courtesy visit to PACE President Mevl�t �avusoğlu, an Antalya deputy of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) who was elected as the new president of PACE on Monday.

"I invited Prime Minister Erdoğan to visit Greece. I hope we can make further progress on religious minorities in Turkey including the Ecumenical Patriarchate. I have nothing against Turkey or the Turkish people. I am a proponent of Turkey's EU membership. EU membership will create a strong incentive for Turkey to make reforms. Let us create better relations based on a common European vision and our common values and practices," Papandreou told PACE, while suggesting that Turkey has continuously violated the rights of Greek Cypriots.

The remarks by Papandreou came after he responded on Monday to a letter sent by Erdoğan on Oct. 30, 2009, during the same month Papandreou's Socialist Party came to power. In his letter, Erdoğan had expressed Turkey's readiness to resolve problems with Greece as part of his government's policy of "zero problems with neighbors" and outlined a set of proposals for a settlement of Turkish-Greek disputes, including complicated territorial problems in the Aegean and Cyprus. /Today's Zaman/