A
brief overview of 2005
Looks like the whole year has already
passed and is already away... it would also appear that most of the
events that have happened this year are going to have an impact on
upcoming years as well.
Especially wars in Middle East;
trends in Asia and conferences regarding unions of all sorts; and
governments in Latin America shifting to left, all point to
potentially busy days in 2006.
As regards Turkey, people seem to
be a bit confused... there are those claiming that actions which may
lead turmoil have been accelerated... there are also those saying
that Turkey is becoming very important for the world each passing
day, therefore nobody would want to break up... there are those
claiming that a new economic crisis at the door is about to knock...
there are also those pointing that the economy of the country is now
seated in its tracks so firmly that there could not be any crises
any longer... there are those expecting early elections.. and there
are also those responding “what early elections is”...
So we have had a year almost
everyone had something to say and on the other hand almost every
thing had been said. In the upcoming year Turkey would find itself
at a crossroads again and so the country would find itself a new
role and a new direction…
*****
§
Refik Hariri (60) Former Prime
Minister of Lebanon lost his life in a bomb attack in Beirut.
· Erkan Mumcu the Tourism Minister of Turkey resigned his
post and quitted from AKP (Justice and Development Party) as well.
Mr. Mumcu, then as independent deputy of Isparta, joined ANAP (Motherland
Party) and became the 6th Chairman of the party.
· The Iraqi Parliament elected Celal Talabani, the leader
of Kurdistan Patriotic Union of Iraq (IPUK), as the country’s new
Head of State.
· Mehmet Ali Talat the leader of Republican Turks Party (CTP)
won the Presidential election in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
· Jean Paul II the spiritual leader of Roman Catholic
Church died at the age of 84. German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was
announced as the new Pope. The new Pope is known for his opposition
to Turkey’s accession to EU.
· The Grand Chamber of ECHR (European Court of Human Rights), which serves as the appeals
institution for purposes of the said Court, ruled on action filed by
the attorneys of Abdullah Ocalan, the head of terrorist organization,
confirming their claim that “the right to fair trial has been
infringed.”
· The Board of Administrative Cases of the State Council
of Turkey sustained the ruling of the Council’s 10th
Department in vacating a Cabinet action for burial of Yusuf Bozkurt
Ozal (brother of the
late President of Turkey Turgut Ozal) in the yard of Sulemaniye
Mosque in Istanbul.
· Mehmet
Agar as the sole candidate in party elections of the DYP (True Path
Party) won 1,071 votes out of 1,081 and was elected DYP Chairman for
a second term.
· Kemal Dervis, deputy of the CHP (Republican People’s
Party), announced his resignation from the Parliament.
· Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, named
State Minister Ali Babacan as Chief Negotiator for purposes of
relations with EU.
· The
referendum in France on proposed EU Constitution returned “nay.”
There were comments claiming such a referendum outcome from an
important Member State of EU might create risks as regards future of
EU.
· After the referendum in France, in Netherlands as well,
the referendum on proposed EU Constitution returned “nay.”
After two consecutive outcomes of referendum, both negative,
the referendums that had been scheduled in a number of other
countries have been cancelled or postponed.
· State Minister Güldal Aksit announced that Zeki
Ergezen, the Minister of Public Works and Settlements, along with
Sami Guclu, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, have both
resigned their Cabinet posts.
· Public Prosecutor dismisses proceedings against Turkish
novelist Orhan Pamuk: A “decision to dismiss proceedings” has
been made as regards the proceedings against author Pamuk, as
carried out by Sisli Office of Public Prosecutor. The charges
against Pamuk was to “belittle armed forces in public” in an
interview he gave to Die Welt newspaper in Germany on October 20,
2005.
· Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan having joined
Anders Fogh Rasmussen for a joint press conference, then left the
room promptly upon rejection of his request for removal from the
room of the correspondents of “Roj TV”, the media organ of
terrorist organization PKK. Premier Erdogan left Denmark immediately
after leaving the room. Danish PM Rasmussen said, as regards Roj TV,
which Turkey wished to be banned, that he did not have the power to
ban the said channel.
· On July 7, England was shaken by terrorist attacks; 56
persons died.
· On October 3rd, negotiations have been
started between Turkey and EU for purposes of Turkey’s accession
to full membership.
· The trial of Prof. Yucel Askin, Rector of Van
University, was closely followed by the public and it was much
debated. Prof. Askin was released on January 29.
· Tens of thousands died in earthquake that struck
Pakistan on October 8th.
· The
Picasso Exhibition at Sakip Sabanci Museum attracted considerable
attention. This Exhibition is considered to be an important event in
arts for Turkey and thousands of visitors appear to confirm that
view.
· In Turkey,
where almost every body has been a billionaire due to high inflation,
now “kurus”, one hundredth of one Lira, appeared again effective
January 1st. Trillions and quadrillions are no more; it
is kurus again, with YTL the New Turkish Lira.
· February 14, 2005 - Refik Hariri the former Prime
Minister of Lebanon, who has led the economy back to its tracks
after the Civil War, died when a bomb-laden truck exploded in Beirut.
A total of 12 people including guards also died in the bomb attack,
with another 100 persons wounded.
· On April 2, 2005 -
Jean Paul II, the spiritual leader of Catholic world, died at
the age of 84.
· On April 6, 2005 – Prince Rainier of Monaco died at
the age of 81. Prince Rainier, having presided over his country for
56 years, held the title of Europe’s longest ruling monarch.
· On April 7, 2005 – Melih Kibar, the renowned musician,
died at 54. He was being treated for cancer.
Kibar, having composed many national hits including the film
music Hababam Sinifi, and Çoban Yildizi the signal music for
Turkish finals of Eurovision song contest, had composed around 300
songs together with the reputed lyrics writer Cigdem Talu, before
she died in 1983.
· On April 9, 2005 – Crown Prince Charles of England,
in a love affair with Camilla Parker Bowles for some time now – 35
years, actually -, finally got his wish; Prince of Wales married the
woman with whom he fell in love when he was 21. The town of Windsor
hosted these historical ceremonies of matrimony.
· Turkish soccer fans and the public opinion thereof were
shaken by proposals of a fix that came to the players of a team (Akcaabat)
before a match (with Kayseri). It was revealed that the players
rejected the offer no sooner than it was made. It was also revealed
that these same players of this not-so-rich local sports club had
not been paid any allowance for the past four months.
· On April 15, 2005 - A fire that broke out in a hotel in
downtown Paris shook France. Twenty people died, 10 of whom children,
through this fire that started by unknown causes. Another 50 people
have been injured, 11 of whom bearing serious injury. The six-floor
Opera Hotel was home to migrants and asylum seekers, mostly from
Africa.
· On April 19, 2005 – German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
became the new spiritual leader of 1.1 billion Catholics around the
world. The Pope selected the name of Benedict 16th, thus
becoming Pope Benedict XVI.
· On April 26, 2005 – Kemal Dervis, CHP (People’s
Republican Party) Istanbul deputy, was named UNDP Administrator,
through a final choice between Dervis and Minister Hilde Frafjord
Johnson of Norway. Dervis has a term of four years (having started
October 1st) heading this organization with billions of
dollars in development funds.
· On August 21, 2005 – Formula 1, one of the world’s
best-attended sports organizations, closed in Istanbul this year
with good marks. The Finnish pilot of McLaren-Mercedes team won this
very first Grand Prix of Istanbul.
· May 21,
2005 – Greece won the 50th Eurovision song contest,
held in Ukrainian capital Kiev. Gülseren representing Turkey with
song titled “Rimi Rimi Ley” came 13th with 92 votes.
Greek singer Helena Paparizou won first place with 230 points for
the song titled My Number One.
· May 24 2005 – Turkey was shaken by two separate news
of doping. Doping substance was found in test samples from Halil
Mutlu in weight lifting and Tezeta Denersa in track and field.
· May 25, 2005 – Finals of Champions’ League were
played out in Istanbul. Liverpool won the cup, after defeating Milan
with penalty shots.
· June 13, 2005 – Trial of Michael Jackson,the King of
Pop Music,with charges of child molestation ended with acquittal.
· June 25, 2005 – Kazým Koyuncu, the popular singer of
Black Sea music, lost his life in American hospital where he was
receiving cancer treatment.
· July 7, 2005 – England was shaken by terrorist
attacks striking in London. Bombs that went off in three metro
stations and a suicide attack on a double-decker city bus caused
loss of 56 lives, including one with Turkish origins.
· July 11, 2005 – Kenan Onuk, Sports News Coordinator
of Turkish channel NTV and sports writer of Sabah daily, died of
cancer.
· July 12, 2005 – Prince Albert of Monaco was formally
crowned sovereign of Monaco following death of his father Prince
Rainier. A mourning period of three months was declared in the
country following death of 81 year-old Prince Rainier on April 6th.
· July 16, 2005 – Five people died in Kusadasi, Aydin,
Turkey, after an explosion in a minibus, whose passengers included
tourists. Other 13 people were wounded in the incident.
· July 22, 2005- Bombs exploded at three different
locations one after another in Resort town of Sharm el Sheik near
Cairo, Egypt. It was reported that at least 25 persons died and over
100 other people were wounded.
· October 8, 2005 - Bird flu, which could lead to deaths
of millions of people according to a warning issued by WHO, was seen
in Manyas district of Balikesir, Turkey.
It was determined that 2.000 heads of poultry had perished,
including turkeys. The area was quarantined. The EU Commission
announced that the type of virus seen in bird flu incidents in
Turkey was H5N1, which could be deadly to humans.
· October 8, 2005 – Magnitude 7.6 earthquake striking
north of Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, had an impact in India and
Afghanistan as well. 35.000 lives were lost.
· July 28, 2005 – “Trials of Hope” (Umut Davasý),
in Turkey, involving a large number of terrorist assassinations
including assassinations of intellectuals Ugur Mumcu, Ahmet Taner
Kislali, and Bahriye Ucok came to a conclusion. The trial
proceedings had started on August 15, 2000. Through the trial held
in 11th High Criminal Court of Ankara, accused Ferhan
Ozman received aggravated life sentence. State Security Court of
Ankara had previously passed three death sentences and Supreme Court
of Appeals had ratified two of those sentences amending them to
aggravated life sentences and had annulled the death sentence of
Ferhat Ozmen.
· July 30, 2005 – Resignation of Turkish author Adalet
Agaoglu from Human Rights Association on grounds that the
Association was “following a pro-PKK policy” caused debate. The
comments of Agaoglu, as she was one of the 98 founding members of
the Association, divided the founding members to two camps of
differing opinion.
· August 10, 2005 – Syrian citizen Louia Sakra, code
name “Saffet”, determined to be terrorist organization Al
Qaida’s coordinator in Turkey, was arrested through a breath
taking operation. Sakra was apprehended, bearing an ID card made for
an “Ekrem Ozer”, through a joint operation of MIT(Turkish
intelligence agency), MOSSAD, and CIA over the route of Istanbul –
Antalya – Diyarbakir.
· August 19, 2005 – Lemi Bilgin DG and Art Director of
State Theatres of Turkey was dismissed from his posts.
· October 1, 2005 – Antalya, Turkey, Golden Orange Film
Festival; the film “Türev (Derivative)” directed by Ulas Inanc
was selected Best Film, while Sener Sen was named Best Actor for his
role in the film “Gonül Yarasi (Lovelorn)”. Beste Bereket and
Vildan Atasever shared the award for Best Actress.
· October 1, 2005 - Bomb attacks were launched against
areas most densely populated by tourists on the Island of Bali, the
tourism heaven of Indonesia. 32 persons are reported dead; 101
persons wounded.
· October 3, 2005 – It was announced that Australian
MDs Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren won the Nobel Prize for
Medicine. According to the announcement of Nobel Committee of
Karolinska Institute at Stockholm, Sweden, Marshall (54) and Warren
(68) were awarded the grand Prize for their work determining that
“bacteria caused gastritis and ulcer”. The fact that the way was
opened to treatment of ulcer by antibiotics was a leading factor in
the Committee’s favorable decision. Ulcer was for a long time
thought to be caused by life style and stress.
· October 3, 2005 – Accession negotiations between
Turkey and EU have officially started. Jack Straw Foreign Secretary
of UK, currently holding EU Presidency, making the first speech at
IGC said he believed in Turkey’s dedication and commitment. Olli
Rhen Enlargement Commissioner of EU said EU kept its promise for
starting negotiations on October 3. PM R. Tayyip Erdogan said “the
success belongs to the nation and may it all be for the good of all”.
· October 11, 2005 – Another icon of Turkish literature
left our world of mortals. Attila Ilhan one of the grand masters of
Turkish poetry lost his life to a heart attack in his home at
Kanlica, Istanbul. Ilhan was very productive in many different areas
from poetry to short story, novels, plays and political analysis. He
wrote the screenplay for the famous TV series “Kartallar Yuksek Uçar
(Eagles Fly High)”, which had immense national following. With his
dissident character, Attila Ilhan had been detained several times
and a number of actions had been filed against him.
· October 14, 2005 – Prof Yucel Askin Rector of
University at Van, Turkey, was arrested “as a precaution in
consideration of status of evidence and possibility of distortion of
evidence”, on charges of irregularities in procurement of 25
million dollars worth of medical equipment for the Research Hospital
of Faculty of Medicine. Non-jurisdiction decisions have been made in
five of the six suits filed against Askin.
· August 30, 2005 – Katrina, one of the strongest
hurricanes in US history, caused an immense environmental disaster
in that country. Katrina struck the coast of New Orleans and also
caused extensive damage in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama.
Mississippi suffered largest number of deaths, with more than 1.000
lives lost there.
· November 12, 2005 – On the road to World Cup, we lost
it all to Switzerland after a bad game on our part (2-0). Our
national team led by coach Fatih Terim having traveled to
Switzerland with great hope of victory thus caused great
disappointment. Coach Terim and our players heard insult on their
way to lockers. Such behavior on the part of Swiss met strong
reaction. We won the return match 4-2 in Istanbul on November 16
nevertheless we have lost all chances in World Cup.
· November 15, 2005 – Deliberations were held in Qatar
concerning suspension of Turkish Weightlifting Federation from
international competitions for an indefinite period of time. With
the Federation promising that violations would not be repeated, the
sanctions were set at suspension until May 2006 and 100 hundred
thousand dollars in fines.
· November 27, 2005 – Picasso Exhibition at Sakip
Sabanci Museum, in Turkey for the first time for enjoyment of art
fans, saw strong interest from the public. The Exhibition is on till
March 26, 2006.
· November 30, 2005 – French surgeons performed
world’s first partial face transplant. In a successful operation
performed in Amiens in north France, a 38 year-old woman, whose face
had been torn by a dog attacking, received transplants of a nose,
lips, and chin. Jean-Michel Dubernard, one of the operating surgeons,
said the face transplant was a first in the world.
· December
12, 2005 – British Vodafone bought Telsim, a GSM operator in
Turkey, which the country’s Savings Deposits Insurance Fund (TMSF)
had put up for sale. In a televised auction, Vodafone bid against
MTC of Kuwait and won the bid with its offer of 4.55 billion dollars.
· December
14, 2005 – Prof. Yucel Askin Rector of University at Van, Turkey,
and nine other defendants appeared before the judge yesterday at the
3rd High Criminal Court of Van. Despite the Public
Prosecutor’s request for release of Prof. Askin, the court decided
that the Rector would remain in detention. (Askin was subsequently
released on December 29.)
· December 19, 2005 – US President George W Bush
admitted that some of his decisions over Iraq War have led to "terrible
loss", thus acknowledging mistakes for the first time in that
area. Bush reiterated that the intelligence they had prior to Iraq
War proved wrong to a significant extent. US President refused to
provide a schedule for withdrawal of troops from Iraq; he stated
that 2.250 US soldiers and 30.000 Iraqi civilians had died through
the war.
· December 26, 2005 – 169 intellectuals of Turkey
including Yasar Kemal, Cetin Altan, Fazil Say, and Adalet Agaoglu
issued a statement concerning the events that transpired during the
trial of novelist Orhan Pamuk. It was claimed in the statement that
Articles 301 and 305 of Turkish Criminal Code were obstacles to
freedom of expression. Orhan Pamuk had appeared in court on December
16 on charges of publicly belittling Turkish existence.
· General Directorate of Foundations is preparing for
restitution and rehabilitation in connection with a church building,
that of Suryani (Assyrian) Catholic Church in Iskenderun (ancient
Alexandretta) district of Hatay (ancient Antioch). The church
building was converted to a movie theater 50 years ago, with this
movie theater now showing erotic movies. General Directorate of
Foundations is due for creating a team of restoration specialists
for determining the damages sustained by the church building due to
being used as a movie theater for 50 years. Restoration would
commence following the specialist report to be prepared by this team,
and after an approval is obtained from the High Council of Monuments
of Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The property is registered to
the name of “Suryani Catholic Church Foundation”. On March 7,
1956, a delegation of local Suryani Community consisting of 25-30
persons, concluded in a meeting that “the church building
has lost its quality as a temple” and hence decided to rent the
building for use as a movie theater.
· Office of the Prime Minister installed a requirement
for permit for appointment of academic staff. According to this
requirement, assistant professors and associate professors would
need to obtain permission from State Personnel Department and Office
of the Prime Minister for any first time appointment in public
service or for returning to public service (appointment by
“aciktan atama”).
· Bird flu, having appeared in Turkey first in Manyas
district of Balikesir, stayed on national agenda because of poultry
slaughter going on a rampage nationwide. Images of poultry slaughter
met reaction both at home and abroad. Poultry farming and its
economic benefits are important to towns and villages in Anatolia
and hence, due to lack of appropriate preparation, any measures now
against bird flu end up causing losses to ordinary folks.
The appearance is that the poultry is being fought against,
not bird flu. The Government, having closed down inoculation
stations and not having done any awareness work, took the easy way
out, i.e., slaughtering poultry.
· In European Parliament; a motion of amendment was voted
on and adopted, calling on Turkey to acknowledge the so-called
Armenian genocide. The amendment also recommends that such
acknowledgement on the part of Turkey should be a pre-requisite for
accession to EU.
· 500 young persons from all 71 universities of Turkey
boarded war ships from Istanbul departing for Samsun, on the
anniversary of May 16, 1919, when Atatürk departed from Istanbul
for Samsun aboard a ship. War veterans joined the seeing off
ceremonies; the activity was titled “Young Mustafa Kemals
Following the Path of Mustafa Kemal”.
· US Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), in an interview for
Pat Campbell Show in Florida last week, in response to a question as
how to respond to “attacks of radical religious terrorists”, had
said that “the most plausible response would be to take out their
holy sites”. Tancredo had responded “yeah”, when Campbell had
insisted; “do you mean bomb Mecca”? Following reaction of Muslim
communities in US to these remarks, the Congressman issued a
clarification on Sunday saying that he was only throwing out some
ideas concerning how future attacks could be deterred.
· European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) produced its
final decision concerning the matter of not permitting headscarf in
universities, concluding that such regulation did not constitute a
violation of human rights. The Grand Chamber, which serves as court
of appeals for ECHR decisions, ruled yesterday, with overwhelming
participation of 17 judges, that the “headscarf ban” in
universities was “legal”.
· Esat Canan Deputy from Turkish province of Hakkari,
(CHP People’s Republican Party) gave an interview to Roj TV, the
media organ of PKK, which the Government wishes to be closed,
commenting on events in Semdinli. Canan said that; “at the end of
the day, Roj TV also is a TV channel that addresses the people of
the Southeast, promoting the culture of that region, and playing its
music”. In subsequent days, as certain mayors and political
figures wrote letters to Prime Minister of Denmark against any
closure of Roj TV, they heard criticism from general public.
· According
to a written statement from the Soccer Federation of Turkey,
“Almanac of World Football 2006” as published by FIFA with a
preface by FIFA President Joseph Blatter, specified official
language of Turkey as “Turkish, Kurdish”. This record appeared
on page 842 of the Almanac under the title of “Turkey Country
Information”. The Almanac has already been distributed to
Federations and is also due for appearing in the markets soon. It
was indicated in the statement of the Federation that a letter was
sent to Joseph Blatter the FIFA President, requesting that
correction as necessary be made as soon as possible on this very
sensitive issue.
· A large number of new laws came into force in Turkey
pertaining to public agencies and, consequently, municipalities as
well. Regulations that need to be issued under many of these laws,
notably, Laws numbered 5018, 5216, and 5393, have not been issued
yet. These laws introduce important dispositions concerning
municipalities. Because the regulations have not been issued yet,
glitches in transactions at public agencies continue.
· Rauf Denktas 1st President of Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus, while in Turkey as invitee of Deniz
Baykal the Chairman of
CHP (People’s Republican Party), spoke in the Parliament. Rauf
Denktas said, in his speech at the Parliament, these words: “Makarios
had built the matter of Cyprus on a model of Crete. He was saying so
openly. And the last page of the Crete model is the same as the last
page of Annan Plan. Turkey’s rights as guarantor and existence of
TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) are the only obstacles
standing in the way of their taking all of Cyprus.”
· Many laws have been adopted in Turkey aimed at
restructuring the public administration. Certain laws that are being
considered by EU as mandatory and are therefore being dictated to
Turkey, reportedly for purposes of harmonization of laws in EU and
Turkey, have caused controversy because of attempts to put them in
force without first adequately debating them in public. It is
claimed that it is simply not possible for EU officials to
understand concerns in Turkey, because certain problems have never
been experienced in EU countries. The fact that social accord was
not established before the passing of these laws would indicate that
the debate would continue in the future as well.
· US desire to re-shape the world continues, to satisfy
its future needs for energy. One of the projects created for that
purpose is GMP, the Greater Middle East Project. After PM Erdogan
announced that Turkey was a part in the project, the parties that
maintained that GMP could not be our national project began to speak
louder. The nationalist groups say that Turkey manages to co-exist
with the countries named under GMP, with or without this project any
way. They claim that the outcomes of the project have been designed
to serve US interests and that Turkey would be used in this project
as a pawn for US to have its way in the region with minimum cost or
damage to it.
· After a number of administrations in Asia changed
through NGO movements sponsored by the Soros Foundation, it became
clear that the Russians needed to rearrange their back yard. Russia now began to give the impression that it can no longer
compete against US at a world scale. Hence one develops the
impression that Russia is now focusing on having a say on energy
resources of the world.
· Trial of Saddam Hussein has begun. It would appear,
however, that the trial might turn to a process where Saddam Hussein
would be questioning the court, rather than the other way around.
· Developments in Iraq continue with all the Red Lines as
set forth by Turkey being erased one after another. Population
balance in Kirkuk is being changed to favor the Kurds. United States
refuses to take action against PKK while avoiding any other
solutions as well. United States, again, professes opposition to any
independent Kurdistan and yet receives Massoud Barzani of KDP as “President”.
Developments in northern Iraq are being followed with keen interest
in Southeastern Turkey. In case there are further delays in
introducing social and economic policies for the Southeast, it would
appear that support for separatist movements would increase. The
fact that those who favor continuation of existing structures in the
region happen to be in the Parliament as deputies is causing one to
wonder why a solution cannot be found.
· In Latin America; election victories of politicians in
most of the countries in that region opposing US and global
capitalism could lead to a number of developments in new and
different directions in the region and the rest of the world at a
time not too far in the future. If these countries (Bolivia,
Venezuela, Brazil), which are making an effort to establish good
relations with Cuba, happen to quickly take to the route of forming
a number of unions among themselves, then, United States, with that
defeat in its own backyard could find it difficult to establish
hegemony in other parts of the world. That’s why United States
might be prepared to use any means to change the administrations in
these countries. When one considers the fact that the crises that
are being experienced around the world are in fact crises of the
liberal economic order and wild capitalism, it would follow that the
practices in Latin American countries might be taken as examples in
other countries. Then this state of affairs might cause United
States to become concerned and therefore cause it to plan for
creating new spots of tension around the world.
· Afghanistan has not returned to normal after removal of
Taliban from power. One observes that United States is not doing
much for Afghanistan and that the rest of the world has also stopped
having any interest in that region. Former Turkish Deputy Hikmet Çetin,
who happens to be in Afghanistan, says that they are there for
establishing security in capital city only and that they did not
experience any problems in their relations with Afghan public. It
would appear that this atmosphere of mutual sympathy should be well
appreciated as regards Turkey’s foreign trade, however, efforts in
this area appear to be inadequate.
· Osame bin Ladin the leader of Al Qaida could not be
apprehended this year either. In fact, there are those who say that
his capture would diminish reason for US aggression.
· NGOs are in a race for project preparation in order to
benefit from EU funds. There have been complaints that it was not
clear for what reason funds would be offered to which projects,
while it could not be determined which projects have been rejected
for what reason. Many institutions began complaining that, having
spent time and money with the hope that they would obtain funds,
they now feel that they have lost the crummy bulgur at home in
the cellar as they reached out for fine rice in Damietta.
· TRT Turkish Radio – Television Corporation could not
elect a DG yet. Ali Güney is now Acting DG. Güney is reported to
have rooted out many irregularities, including deeply entrenched
employee absenteeism (referred to as “ATM employees”), ever
since he started to work at TRT. Ali Güney, who has held various
posts in the Government, for many years in the past, is seen to have
better chance than any other DG candidate nominated or any that may
be nominated. Ali Güney, having developed many projects for
expanding Turkey’s activity and effectiveness abroad says that TRT
would have a major role to play in Turkey’s effectiveness in a
large geography and that they are trying to be helpful to the
country with awareness of that fact.
|
