17 06 Yellow Canaries

earn revenge and

win Group H

The Council of State prevents parts

of a recently adopted GMO regulati-
on from fully entering into effect
‘Losses incurred by pharmacies as
a result of price changes to be com-
pensated by medicine companies’
19
Yo u r Wa y o f U n d e r s t a n d  n g T u r k e y
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 WWW.TODAYSZAMAN.COM TL 1.50

page08 Fitch upgrades Turkey's rating two notches to ‘BB+'

PRISON ROW

PRO-KURDISH DTP
NO LONGER SUPPORTS
DEMOCRATIC INITIATIVE
The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party
(DTP) has retracted its support for the govern-
ment's efforts to settle the long-standing Kurdish
question through a massive democratization pack-
age, claiming that the efforts were aimed at “elimi-
nating” the party and mral, referring to the jailed
leader of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK), Abdullah Öcalan. Deputy Chairman of the
Democratic Society Party (DTP) Selahattin
Demirta announced during a program broadcast
live on NTV on Thursday that the DTP would not
lend its support to the Kurdish initiative under
existing conditions. “The Justice and Development
Party's [AK Party] plan is aimed at eliminating
mral and the DTP. There is no plan at hand for the
Davutolu warns of global
clash after mnaret ban
SELÇUK GÜLTALI, BRUSSELS
A weekend referendum in Switzerland to ban
the construction of minarets is reminiscent of
Europe's religious intolerance and sectarian
wars of the Middle Ages, Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutolu has said, warning that it could spark clashes
on a global scale if sufficient measures are not taken.
“The issue is too serious to be dealt with by mere
statements,” Davutolu told reporters on his way from
Athens, where he attended an Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting,
to Brussels late on Wednesday. “I am very concerned.
We must take this issue very seriously. It is not some-
thing to be underestimated as an individual case.”
Swiss voters adopted the ban in a referendum on
Sunday, defying the government and parliament,
which had rejected the right-wing initiative as violat-
ing the Swiss constitution, freedom of religion and a
cherished tradition of tolerance. The result of the vote
drew protests from Turkey, which said it had violated
the freedom of religion. Davutolu, who discussed
the matter with his Swiss counterpart, Micheline
Calmy-Rey, this week in Athens, said the fact that
such a result came from one of Europe's best edu-
cated and elite societies is a signal that the result
cannot be underestimated. “This is a symptom and it
should be taken very seriously,” he said, calling the
ban on minarets a threat to European culture as well.
The Swiss referendum result, criticized by the UN
and the Council of Europe, proved to be a divisive
issue across Europe. A majority seemed to criticize
the result, while far-right parties as well as French
leader Nicolas Sarkozy have spoken in favor. In
Italy, junior coalition partner the Northern League
called for legislative changes to allow referenda in
more areas than currently allowed. “Who can say
for sure that mosques in Europe are safe now?
Fifteen years ago, hundreds of mosques were burned
down in Bosnia,” Davutolu said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 04

CHAN
DTP to support,” Demirta remarked. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

COURT TO START DTP CLOSURE CASE HEARINGS PAGE 17

PHOTO
CASE

04
FOUR SOLDIERS TESTIFY
TO CIVILIAN PROSECUTOR
OVER ASSASSINATION PLOT
KADR KÖKTEN, STANBUL
Four members of the military were detained on
Thursday for plotting to assassinate admirals at AMBASSADOR ÜZÜMCÜ
the Naval Forces Command. Lieutenants Ali Seyhur
Dili, Burak Anaç and Fatih Gökta and noncom-
TO OVERSEE CHEMICAL
missioned officer Burak Özkan were taken to the
stanbul Beikta Courthouse early in the morning.
WEAPONS BAN
Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, the
They were questioned there by prosecutor Süleyman
newly appointed director-general
Pehlivan about the alleged plot. Three of the soldiers
of the Organization for the
were released after their interrogation, while one of
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,
them was transferred to an stanbul court for arrest.
said on Thursday that he is proud
In July seven naval lieutenants were arrested
of his new position and will work
on charges of plotting to assassinate two admirals,
to promote the organization.
Metin Ataç and Eref Uur Yiit. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

ENTERPRISES

TURKISH MULTINATIONALS' Wheelchair-bound people joined a demonstration held in Bursa yesterday on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

INVESTMENT ABROAD UNEMPLOYMENT IS Approximately 8.5 million disabled citizens in Turkey -- about 12 percent of the overall population -- face various difficul-
ties, the biggest problem being unemployment. Mahmut Kaçar, general secretary of the Civil Servants' Trade Union

08
SLOWS DUE TO CRISIS
BIGGEST PROBLEM (Memur-Sen) and chairperson of the Turkish Health Union (Salk-Sen), said statistics show that labor participation of the
OF DISABLED disabled remains at 22 percent compared to a general labor participation rate of 50 percent in the country. “The right to
work, which is the best indicator of social participation and which is a basic human right, remains a problem for disabled
SERKAN AHN, STANBUL citizens,” he stated yesterday on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. CONTINUED ON PAGE 06

The surge in Turkish multinational companies' MAN WITH NORMAL HEARING DEAF COMMUNITY LEADER FOR 3 YEARS PAGE 06
foreign direct investment that started in the
1990s has been impeded by the global economic
downturn, with a 62 percent drop in Turkish out-
flows in the first nine months of 2009 compared to
the first nine months of 2008, a recent report has ‘TURKEY NEEDS 277 NEW Turkey balks at providing Afghan combat troops
PLANES BY 2028 TO KEEP
shown. The first-ever survey of Turkish multina-
tional enterprises investing outside Turkey, which ABDULLAH BOZKURT / ERCAN YAVUZ, ANKARA remarks by James Jeffrey, the US ambassador in Ankara, 750 to around 1,800 in response to the task of taking over

UP WITH AIR TRAFFIC’

covers 2007 data as the most recent and accurate
figures, was released yesterday. The survey was
jointly conducted by Kadir Has University, the
Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEK), and the
Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International
Investment (VCC) at Columbia University in New
York within the framework of the Emerging
Market Global Players Project, an international
collaborative effort led by the VCC. CONTINUED ON PAGE 07
Turkey's domestic flight
traffic has increased threefold
since 2003, and the country will
need 277 more planes by 2028 to
meet the skyrocketing demand
for domestic flights, Airbus
representatives have revealed.
Despite an official US request for the contribution of
further troops and more flexibility on the Afghanistan
mission, Turkey has signaled it is not willing to change its
mission's parameters currently set out in this war-torn
country. “We have not changed nor reduced the number
of caveats we had drawn up for our troop's mission in
Afghanistan,” said Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül when
asked by Today's Zaman how he responds to Wednesday's
that the US wants more Turkish troops in Afghanistan.
The remarks came shortly after US President Barack
Obama's announcement to boost US forces by 30,000.
“Turkish troops in Afghanistan will continue not to
engage in clashes in Afghanistan,” he stressed, adding
that the rules of engagement regarding involvement
in conflicts and military operations still stand.
The top defense official also acknowledged that the
level of Turkish troops in Afghanistan has increased from
from France for a year the leadership of the Kabul
Regional Command for the NATO-led International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on Oct. 31. He clarified
that all Turkish forces in Afghanistan are combat troops
in the sense that they are ready to fight but emphasized
they are under strict orders not to get involved in fighting
or clashes. Turkish forces have not suffered any casu-
alties in Afghanistan so far and have established cor-
dial relations with the local population. CONTINUED ON PAGE 04

Featuring news and articles from

‘ 02 TODAY’S ZAMAN

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

‘ Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
‘ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009

WORDS OF WISDOM
PRESS REVIEW

colu m ns
I declare here that with the grace of God, the Expansions of [Israeli] settlements are To die and part is a less ‘Civilized and peace-
Iranian nation will produce 20 percent fuel contrary to international law and the evil; but to part and live, loving’ Switzerland!
and anything it needs itself. provisions of the roadmap. there, there is the torment.
STAR MUSTAFA ERDOAN

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad George Lansdowne Swiss approval of a national refe-
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon rendum banning the building of
new minarets on mosques in the-
ir country was greeted with surpri-
se not only in Turkey and the Isla-
mic world, but in different spots ac-
ross the globe. It is really a striking to consider that
around 60 percent of the Swiss population, a nation
CROSS READER of people known historically as being “civilized and

FATMA DL ZIBAK

pr ess rou n du p peace-loving” and whose new (1999) constitution’s
preamble lists “freedom and democracy” as their ba-

AA, TURGUT ERTURUL

f.zibak@todayszaman.com sic ideals, would show such intolerance to Muslims
composing only around 6 percent of the national
population. When examining the Swiss constituti-
on, which guarantees freedom of religious belief and
conscience (Article 15) and forbids all kinds of discri-
A promsng move
As prosecutors conducting an investigation into Ergenekon,
mination including that based on religion, (Article 8),
and which even charges its various states and can-
a clandestine network charged with plotting to overthrow tons with taking precautions to preserve the peace, it
is clear that the writers terming this latest referendum

PHOTO
the government, will question three generals who are men-
tioned in a journal as detailing plans to stage a coup d’état, a “step backwards” for the Swiss are not incorrect.
everyone is becoming more optimistic about the improve-
ment in democracy in Turkey, where those responsible for
coups have so far escaped punishment. The generals, for- The punishment
mer Land Forces Commander Gen. Aytaç Yalman, for-
mer Air Forces Commander Gen. brahim Frtna and for- for lying
mer Naval Forces Commander Adm. Özden Örnek, all of
RADKAL AKF BEK
whom retired in 2004, are expected to testify to Ergenekon
Is an attempted coup a worse crime that telling lies
prosecutors on Saturday on coup plans nicknamed “Moon-
to the people of the nation? I don’t think so. Three
light,” “Blonde Girl” and “Glove” mentioned in a journal,
former military commanders are to give testimony
allegedly kept by Örnek, detailing plans against the Justice
during the coup investigation. I am speaking of re-
and Development Party (AK Party). Analysts who find the
tired commanders Aytaç Yalman, Özden Örnek
move a promising one -- because it is a new thing in Tur-
and brahim Frtna, who were in the top ranks of
key to ask coup conspirers to account for their actions -- hail
the military in 2004. I would like to offer them a fri-
the fact that Turkey is ridding itself of the coup mentality.
endly reminder. Attempted coups and the super-
Calling the fact that the generals will testify to pro-
vision of junta-like activities within the ranks of
secutors an exciting development, Milliyet’s Hasan Ce-
the military constitute serious crimes of a constitu-
mal says if Turkey wants to be a country that is democra-
tional nature. But lying to a prosecutor or a judge,
tic and governed by the rule of law, and if the military is
trying to mislead the court and lying to the public
to operate within the boundaries of the law, it is inevitab-
are much worse crimes. Even little white lies abo-
le that those who plan coups be brought before justice.
ut someone’s age or health, if they affect the out-
Questioning the motivation behind the military mem-
come of a trial, are villainous. Do I really need to
bers making the plans, Cemal refers to famous historian
explain more here? Trying to block the path of jus-
Cemil Koçak, who explained: “There lies a belief behind
tice is much worse than attempting a coup, taking
the motivation to stage a coup that suggests only military
part in coup plans personally, or the least of tho-
personnel can save, defend and administer this country.
se crimes, just sitting back and watching it all hap-
Nobody can achieve this other than members of the mi- pen. Don’t forget that simply remaining silent is
litary. Those who are opposed to the military are traitors. enough to make you a tacit accomplice to a crime.
This mentality is still evident in the military today.” What this trial is giving us is a test in the face of lies.
Having heard that Adm. Örnek will deny being the
owner of the coup diaries in his testimony, Sabah’s Naz- Chinese people visiting the town of Safranbolu in
l Ilcak says that many of the things written in Örnek’s
diary have already been confirmed by then-Chief of Ge-
the northwestern province of Karabük were happy to Should the pens
neral Staff Gen. Hilmi Özkök. In addition to this, she experience a traditional Turkish henna night that had
says four experts commissioned by the Ergenekon pro- be silenced?
secutors revealed that the diary was authentic and be-
been organized for them on Wednesday evening. YEN AFAK FEHM KORU
longed to Örnek. “Turkey has changed. The Nokta ma- Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoan is by
gazine was forced to close due to ‘financial problems’ af- yeni afak: “We are all Muslims,” the daily said in tablished his own party. Tekin said it was not an honorable acti- no means the first Turkish politician
ter it published Örnek’s coup diaries on March 29, 2007. the headline of its main story yesterday, quoting a banner carri- on for some CHP members to side with Sargül and support his to complain about the media, nor will
Many of our colleagues back then claimed that the diari- ed by protestors in Switzerland who demonstrated against a mi- party when they are still members of the CHP. He called on them he be the last. Even in countries whe-
es were a fabrication. Much water has passed under the naret ban imposed on the country after a referendum on Sunday. to resign from the CHP immediately, reported the daily. re democracy runs smoothly, politici-
bridge since then, and those waters are now slowly clea- Carrying minaret mock-ups in their hands, around 5,000 protes- ans focus on the media, if for no other
ning the coup mentality in Turkey,” says Ilcak. tors walked from a cathedral to a mosque in Geneva. Erika milliyet: In its main story yesterday, the daily repor- reason than that the media has the power to distract
According to Vatan’s Okay Gönensin, the recent ap- Forster-Vannini, a member of the Swiss Council of States, pro- ted that Turkey said “no” to the US administration, which had people. Still, you can be sure that even if the colum-
pearance before the judiciary of military personnel en- mised the protestors that the minaret ban would be abolished. demanded additional troops from Turkey for deployment in nists who Erdoan criticized as writing “too much and
gaged in coup plans is the turning point for real democ- conflict zones in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Er- too quickly” wrote their columns only once a week
racy and Turkey’s rise in civilized society. In order for the akam: “Leave the CHP,” was the headline of the daily’s doan, who will meet with US President Barack Obama at the and spent a good half day on those columns, the tab-
completion of the judicial process regarding the case of lead story yesterday, quoting remarks from the Republican White House on Dec. 7, is expected to tell Obama that Turkey leau that would emerge would still not please Erdo-
coup generals and the end of military interventions, it is People’s Party (CHP) stanbul provincial branch head, Gürsel Te- cannot allow the deployment of its soldiers in conflict zones. an. There is actually a conflict of interests between
necessary to bring the perpetrators of the Sept. 12, 1980 kin, who lashed out at CHP members siding with Mustafa Sar- Erdoan is expected to tell Obama that using Turkish soldiers politicians and journalists, and for this reason the ac-
military coup before the court. “The military administra- gül, the mayor of stanbul’s ili district. Recently, after challen- against Muslims will cause damage instead of benefits and that tors can easily switch sides on each other. I only wish
tion of Sept. 12 has to give an account of the damage it ging CHP leader Deniz Baykal for the chairmanship, Sargül es- Turkey cannot accept such a thing. that politicians could be a bit more tolerant, and I wish
did to the country, and the torture of thousands of peop- that Prime Minister Erdoan could show a bit more
le during that time,” suggests Gönensin. patience about the criticism aimed in his direction.

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 NATIONAL
stanbul 2010 ads inspire the world
ESRA MADEN ÝSTANBUL
TODAY’S ZAMAN
Advertisements to be used dur-
ing the publicity campaign for
stanbul 2010: European Capital
of Culture project were introduced yes-
PHOTO
terday in a press conference in stanbul’s
Çraan Palace. The advertisements re-
leased outside Turkey highlight stanbul
as the world’s most inspiring city while
the local adverts focus on the rediscovery
of the city by its residents.
The foreign campaigns will take place
in 20 countries, 12 of which are European,
and use an iconic photograph of stanbul
showing a silhouette of the city’s histori-
cal peninsula in a photograph taken by fa-
F R I D A Y, D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9
mous photographer Rainer Stratman and a
publicity lm. The photograph, formed by
merging around 30 photographs together is
on display at distinctive spots in European
cities, including the Gare du Nord train sta-
The iconic photograph
is currently on display
at the Gare du Nord
train station in Paris.
tion in Paris and Piazza San Marco in Ven-
ice. The heads of the creative team for the
campaigns, Hakk Msrlolu and Paul Mc-
Millen, presented the lms and the iconic
photograph of stanbul at the meeting.
STANBUL
ANKARA
ZMR
ANTALYA
ADANA
ERZURUM
EDRNE
TRABZON
KAYSER
“stanbul has been the most inspir-
ing city in the world throughout history.
You can see different re ections of this
inspiration in the work, studies and lives
of artists, intellectuals, politicians, think-
ers and leaders across the world,” ekib
Avdagiç, the stanbul European Capital
of Culture 2010 Agency executive board
chairman said in his opening remarks.
The local stanbul 2010 campaigns,
focusing on the rediscovery of stanbul by
its residents and on the energy of the city,
include publicity lms, announcements on
printed media and online campaigns. “We
invite everyone, not only stanbullites, to
share the energy of stanbul and to discover
the city once more,” Avdagiç said.
TODAY’S ZAMAN 03
14° KONYA 11°
10° ÇANAKKALE 16°
17° DYARBAKIR 10°
18° SAMSUN 16°
15° BURSA 15°
3° GAZANTEP 9°
13° ESKEHR 11°
14° MALATYA 4°
9° KOCAEL 14°
BÜLENT
b.kenes@todayszaman.com
What s (not)
freedom of the press?
HYDERABAD – The Hürriyet newspaper’s
chief columnist, Oktay Eki, who is adept in
creating appellations for people whose ideas
he does not like, described a group of jour-
nalists, including me, as “virtue ghters” in
his column yesterday. It has become clear
that Eki, who previously called editors-
in-chief whose ideas he did not agree with
“media imams,” has thoroughly crammed
his mind -- one already rife with aging ideas
-- with distorted religious terminology.
We know well what virtue means to
Eki and his kind, who are unyielding de-
fenders of every antidemocratic military
intervention and who serve as voluntary
propagandists of every psychological war-
fare operation waged against society for
the continuation of a military guardianship
over democracy. As you may immediately
recall, he had the virtue of running edito-
rials titled “Let us know about the scoun-
drels,” which heartlessly targeted his own
fellow journalists after a media memoran-
dum prepared by the junta of the postmod-
ern Feb. 28, 1997 coup. But if you think that
Eki’s virtuous, antidemocratic re exes
were recently acquired, you are wrong. His
are obviously innate. Indeed, a brief exami-
nation of his past performance is sufcient
to show that he invariably and steadily
sides with and lends support to antidemo-
cratic interventions with a view to protect-
ing the interests of a small elite group, the
military guardianship over democracy and
the oligarchic bureaucratic establishment.
For instance, he was among the enthu-
siastic supporters of the military coup of May
27, 1960, which overthrew the elected gov-
ernment and executed the legitimate prime
minister of the time. He readily reaped the
rewards of his unconditional support for
the coup generals when they appointed
Eki a member of the Constituent Assem-
bly, established after the coup. Becoming a
sort of member of Parliament through ap-
pointment, not by election, Eki was entitled
to signicant retirement benets, including
a large pension and other privileges, which
he continues to benet from even today.
Although he has never acted to defend the
rights of journalists who were dismissed
from their jobs, he is virtuous enough to op-
pose all sorts of legislation that would ease
the lives of journalists facing nancial prob-
lems, arguing that these are in fact “privileg-
es.” For instance, while he receives a good
pension from the state and happily benets
from many privileges normally granted to
high-ranking public servants, he has the
sense of virtue to harshly raise his voice
against some bills proposed by an organiza-
tion of journalists to bring relief to members
of the press without causing an extra bur-
den on the state. Wise enough to be toler-
ant about the privileges enjoyed by his own
boss, Eki is strongly against the modest
facilities to be introduced for his colleagues.
Being the lifelong chairman of the Press
Council, which today has come to represent
only the Doan group as it has offended all
other media groups with its biased activi-
ties, Eki has never been observed showing
any loyalty to his profession or fellow jour-
nalists. But no one can have any suspicion
about his loyalty to the protection of the
interests of his ofcial or visible and unof-
cial or invisible bosses. To follow up the
commercial affairs of their bosses and exert
pressure on governments, institutions and
judicial organs using their media power to
this end is among the virtues of Eki and his
kind. Accordingly, they do not like strong
governments in the least. They are fond of
weak coalition governments which they
can bend to their will and seize any public
land, bank or property they like without any
resistance or problem. There are plenty of
examples of how they destroy governments
KENE
that resist their demands. It is for this reason
that it is an honor for Eki and his kind to
be on intimate terms with the coup gener-
als and junta members that grant such in-
termediate regimes to them.
Also, for them, it is part of freedom of
the press to defend military coups, to por-
tray coups as a democratic right, to afford
protection to the bloody Ergenekon terrorist
organization and its members, to threaten
singers and writers such as Ahmet Kaya
and Orhan Pamuk, to pave the way for
the eventual murder of Hrant Dink and to
advertise many leading gures as targets.
Interestingly, they have managed to lure
some international organizations, includ-
ing the World Association of Newspapers
and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the
World Economic Forum (WEF) to support
their distorted conception of freedom of the
press. I think the reason why institutions
that are nancially sponsored by the Doan
group, such as WAN-IFRA and the WEF,
fell in love with this distorted mentality is the
same as why Eki is enchanted by military
coups and antidemocratic practices. Eki
and his kind, who we must appreciate are
skillful in maintaining on an international
level the corrupt economic relations of the
press sector to which they were accustomed
in the past, are also virtuous enough to call
their colleagues whom they do not approve
of “poverty-stricken knights.”
I would like to once more remind in-
ternational organizations who are mate-
rially and spiritually under the in uence
of Eki and his squad what freedom of
the press is and is not, by quoting from
a recent article by Ergun Babahan of the
Star newspaper. I fully agree with Baba-
han on this point, which Eki implicitly
criticized in his virtuous article:
“Freedom of the press is not freedom
to become richer by using the power of the
media. It does not give you freedom to see
yourself above the nation and the elected
government. It is also not the freedom to
impose your own views on the government
and Parliament as seen in many legislative
activities, and in particular a bill concerning
the Radio and Television Supreme Council
[RTÜK]. It is also not freedom to acquire
public banks or petrol stations inexpensive-
ly while weak governments are in power. It
cannot be regarded as the freedom to turn
a blind eye to coup threats or afford protec-
tion to pro-coup people. It cannot be treated
as a concept that is construed to protect the
interests of a single media group. It cannot
be used as immunity from litigation in the
event of tax evasion or from refraining from
fullling one’s nancial responsibilities to
the state. It is never a right to make Hrant
Dink, Ahmet Kaya and many others targets
just because they are Armenian or Kurdish
or disliked. It does not include ignoring or
obscuring documents and information
about conspiracies devised by a treacher-
ous junta within the army to create chaos
in society. It also does not include disre-
specting the people’s right to be informed
or misusing this right to manipulate them.
It cannot be accepted as failure to see plans
to murder non-Muslim minorities under
the Cage operation while treating the court
decision for wiretapping 10 judges who are
suspected of being linked to the Ergenekon
network as fascism. It can never be con-
strued to mean that ‘we will do our best to
close down your ruling party if you do not
act according to the wishes of our boss’.”
The Doan group has enjoyed all these
freedoms, none of which can be considered
part of freedom of the press. The same group
is today using its nancial strength and me-
dia power to mislead international organi-
zations. As seen in the last WAN-IFRA and
WEF meetings, they are successful at this.
 04 TODAY’S ZAMAN
Davutolu warns of global clash after Switzerland’s minaret ban
contnued from page 1
“Millions of Muslims are expecting the
European leaders to show a clear stance and
they have the right to do so.” Calmy-Rey has
said her government is “very concerned” over
the referendum result, underlining that limita-
tions on the coexistence of different cultures and
religions “also endangers our security.” She said
provocations risk in aming extremism.
Davutolu also announced that Turkey and
Greece agreed to deepen cooperation in several
areas and described a meeting on Wednesday
Turkey balks at provdng
combat troops n Afghanstan
contnued from page 1
Ambassador Jeffrey indicated that, on
the other hand, the US expects Turkey
to be “more exible” on the denition of tasks
to be carried out by their mission in Afghanistan.
“We want fewer caveats from everybody, we
want more exibility in carrying out the mission,”
Jeffrey said. Turkey, just like any other NATO
member country which contributes troops, has
been implementing its own caveats that re-
strict where their troops can be deployed and
their range of tasks. The Turkish defense min-
ister signaled, however, that changing those
caveats is out of the question for now.
The issue is likely to be on the agenda of a
White House meeting between Obama and
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan on Dec. 7.
Sources said Erdoan will tell Obama that troop
numbers could be increased but that Turk-
ish soldiers will not engage in combat mis-
sions. Diplomatic sources also revealed that
Ankara is disturbed by Jeffrey’s announce-
ment, made at a press conference without
prior consultation with Turkish authorities.
While refusing to change the rules of en-
gagement in combat operations and sticking to
the policy of staying clear of con ict, Turkey has
expressed that it is willing to do more in train-
ing, humanitarian aid and assistance with de-
velopment for the Afghan people. The written
statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Min-
istry in response to Obama’s announcement
said all international community members
have acknowledged today that the problems
in Afghanistan will not be resolved by mere
military tactics. It noted that Turkey has been
advocating this policy all along and placed
special emphasis on the subject while also
hailing Obama’s speech as very positive.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry also announced
that the successful example of the Vardak Pro-
vincial Reconstruction Team will be expanded
to cover other provinces in the country. Since
2001, Turkey has been providing development
assistance through the Turkish Cooperation and
Development Agency (TKA) in Afghanistan
in areas ranging from education to health and
from developing human resources to enhanc-
ing the government’s institutional capabilities.
Military is opposed
to further involvement
Today’s Zaman also learned that the chief of
General Staff submitted a written report to
the Prime Ministry painting a bleak picture
in Afghanistan. Noting that the situation in
the country is worse than in 2001, the report
strongly advised against the involvement of
Turkish forces in combat operations, saying the
local population is increasingly turning against
NATO troops and viewing them as an “en-
emy” rather than a “savior” from the Taliban.
Ministry to launch public diplomacy drive
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has
launched a comprehensive restruc-
turing to make the public more aware of
the country’s foreign policy de-
velopments, keeping pace with
technological developments,
Turkey’s growing clout in inter-
national politics and the reality
that decisions made in foreign
policy affect domestic affairs.
In this vein, final preparations
to implement a new structure at
the Foreign Ministry to oversee
public diplomacy, with the goal
of acquainting the public with the latest
decisions and developments in Turkey’s
foreign policy, are almost complete.
The Foreign Ministry started a similar proj-
with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou
in Athens as a “very good start” for better ties.
According to Davutolu, he and Papandreou,
who is also the foreign minister, agreed to step up
dialogue by introducing regular high-level political
talks between the two countries to boost economic
and cultural ties and resolve problems regard-
ing Cyprus, Aegean disputes and the situation of
minorities. They also agreed to increase Turkish-
Greek cooperation in Europe, the Balkans, the
Middle East, the Black Sea area and the Mediter-
ranean region. Ankara and Athens will also explore
Turkey is currently undertaking the leadership of the Kabul Regional Command for the NATO-led International Security Assistance
Force with 1,800 troops. This file photo shows a Turkish soldier playing with Afghan children in a war-torn Afghan village.
A Turkish military report warned that
civilian casualties from NATO operations
accounted for 20 percent of the total civil-
ian death toll in the country, suggesting this
would hamper NATO operations in the future.
While stressing the Turkish troops’ in-
volvement in development projects valued
at more than half a billion dollars so far, the
report in contrast says more than 100 times
this amount has been spent in combating the
Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorists. It under-
lined that the local Afghan population’s
appreciation of Turkish troops should be
analyzed carefully by NATO management.
The military report points out that curtailing
heroin trafcking in the country has resulted in
the creation of 800,000 unemployed people, and
it criticized the lack of social projects aimed
at providing employment opportunities.
ect three years ago with a seminar in the capi-
tal that considered similar experiences in the
Netherlands, Germany, the US, Canada and
Israel. However, there was no follow-up,
and the project was halted due to a lack of
attention. To better explain Turkey’s for-
eign policy priorities to the international
community and to win support from the
public, the ministry has decided to estab-
lish a public diplomacy wing. The effort
will be coordinated by Namk Tan, depu-
ty undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry.
The Foreign Ministry will also
expand its presence on social-net-
working Web sites such as Facebook and
Twitter, including the creation of a Face-
book fan page for Foreign Minister Ah-
met Davutolu. Süleyman Kurt Ankara
possibilities for cooperation in global issues, such as
global warming. “There was a complete meeting of
minds. They [the Greek side] said the same things
as us, as if they had listened to us before,” he said.
Afghanistan, neo-Ottomanism
Davutolu, who was attending a NATO meet-
ing in Brussels on Thursday, also signaled
that Turkey would not send more troops to
Afghanistan for combat missions, despite a
US request to that effect. “We don’t see the
problem in Afghanistan as purely a military
Parliament approval
needed for combat troops
Kürat Atlgan, a deputy from the opposi-
tion Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)
and a former general, told Today’s Zaman
that any combat operation needs the Turk-
ish Parliament’s approval, which he said is
quite unlikely. “Involvement in combat op-
erations goes against the national interests
of Turkey, and there is pretty much agree-
ment with the government and the mili-
tary on this issue,” he said, adding that any
political decision would otherwise invite
the wrath of Parliament just like it did in
2003 when Parliament refused to allow US
troops to pass through Turkish territory
to open a northern front against Iraq.
Atlgan warns that if Erdoan bows to
Wilders cancels Turkey visit after criticism
A planned visit to Turkey by a delega-
tion from the Dutch House of Repre-
sentatives, the members of which would have
included right-wing lawmaker Geert Wilders,
has been cancelled following statements by
Ankara that it would not welcome Wilders,
whose views of Turkey are considered here to
be “racist and unacceptable.”
Wilders outraged Muslims by com-
paring the Quran to Adolf Hitler’s “Mein
Kampf” and calling for an end to Muslim
immigration to the Netherlands. Ankara
has said Wilders’ presence among the delega-
tion would overshadow the visit and that would
be unfair for positive Turkish-Dutch relations.
The issue was put to a vote in the
Dutch parliament on Wednesday, and all
parties opted to cancel the visit, which
F R I D AY, D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9
matter,” he said, calling for a “comprehensive
perspective” to deal with the difficulties there.
The foreign minister also criticized media
comments describing his political vision as “neo-
Ottoman.” “I have never used that phrase. It is not
something that we embrace,” he said of the term,
which is certain to raise suspicions towards Tur-
key’s new foreign policy in countries in the Bal-
kans and in the Middle East, which were a part of
the Ottoman Empire until the 20th century. “Those
who use this term either do not understand what it
means, or they have bad intentions,” he said.
TODAY’S ZAMAN
PHOTO
pressure from the White House to send
combat troops to Afghanistan when he
visits the US, it would mean that the gov-
ernment would most likely be rebuffed by
Parliament even though his ruling Justice
and Development Party (AK Party) en-
joys a majority. “We will see many AK
Party deputies breaking ranks with their
own party,” Atlgan said. Talking to To-
day’s Zaman on condition of anonymity,
one government official has said Turkey
may be willing to go as far as allowing its
troops to secure towns and villages only
after other NATO combat troops have
cleared these places of Taliban or al-Qaeda
elements. “Depending on how negotiations
go in the Washington meeting, Turkish
troops may be involved in patrolling places
cleared of terrorists,” the same source said.
was scheduled for January, Dutch daily
NRC Handelsblad reported.
“We deeply regret the fact that this
will make an effective dialogue impos-
sible, but if the Turkish government re-
fuses to meet with us, the most essential
parts of our schedule will not be able to
go ahead,” Harm Evert Waalkens, leader
of the delegation, was quoted as saying.
In response to criticism on the issue
by a member of Wilders’ party at a meet-
ing of the European Parliament’s Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs, State Minister
and Turkey’s chief EU negotiator Ege-
men Ba said in Brussels on Thursday:
“Wilders has freedom of expression. I have
the right not to listen to those who confuse
criticism and insult.” Ankara Today’s Z a m a n
NATIONAL
Ambassador Üzümcü to
oversee chemical
weapons ban
Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, the newly appointed
director-general of the Organization for the Prohi-
bition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said on Thursday
that he is proud of his new position and will work to
promote the organization.
He is the rst Turkish national to become the chief of an
international organization working in the security eld.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has launched a new diplo-
macy campaign that engages the public, and as one of its rst
steps, it organized a video conference with Üzümcü. He par-
ticipated from the Turkish Embassy in the Netherlands, where
the OPCW is located.
Üzümcü is the Per-
manent Representative
of Turkey to the United
Nations in Geneva and
will take up his new role
in July next year on a four-
year term. He is a career
diplomat and former
Turkish ambassador to Is-
rael, which is one of only
seven nations around
the world who have
not joined the chemi-
cal weapons convention.
Üzümcü said that efforts
Ahmet Üzümcü
to get Israel to join the
organization will continue.
“There are seven countries who have not signed
the agreement yet and three of them are in our area,
Israel, Egypt and Syria. The others are Angola, North
Korea, Myanmar and Somalia.” Üzümcü said that
the last country who joined was Iraq and the orga-
nization is working on a plan to eliminate chemi-
cal weapons from this country. “The US and British
forces eliminated some of them and after making plans for
the rest, we will continue the elimination process,” he said.
He said that although the OPCW is a young organization, it
is a very successful one since the number of members has already
reached 188 countries since it was established 12 years ago and it
has been able to destroy more than half the chemical weapons in
the world. He said that by 2012 the member states will be totally
clear of chemical weapons. “Unfortunately, although highly
successful, the organization is not well known. I will work to
promote it, to increase its effectiveness on many levels. I am
hoping to work on those issues,” he said. Aye Karabat Ankara
France honors Yaar Yak
with Legion d’Honneur for
helping bilateral relations
France has decorated prominent Turkish politi-
cian Yaar Yak, a former foreign minister, with
the award of Officier de la Légion d’Honneur (Officer
of the Legion of Honor) for his contributions to bilat-
eral relations between France and Turkey.
French Ambassador to Turkey Bernard Émié on Wednes-
day hosted a reception at the embassy residence to present the
award to Yak on behalf of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Delivering a speech at the ceremony, Émié described Yak as
a “perfect team player” between the two countries due to his
intense efforts, his commitment and his personality.
“The French president, the grand master of the or-
der, has decided to decorate you with the insignia of
this order, which is an expression of gratitude felt for
your commitment in service of Turkey’s interests in its
relations with France,” Émié said in his speech.
Yak, 71, was a career diplomat, until he became
involved in politics with the establishment of the rul-
ing Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in 2001.
He was the foreign minister of the 58th government, be-
tween November 2002 and March 2003, led by the then-
prime minister, President Abdullah Gül. He has been
the chairperson of the European Union Harmonization
Committee in Parliament since 2002. Since January
2008 he has also served as chairman of the Turkey-
France Parliamentary Friendship Group. Ankara Today’s Zaman
Lady Ashton admits need for
debate on Turkey’s EU bid
The European Union’s new foreign affairs chief has
said there is a need for a more careful look into the
course of affairs regarding Turkey’s ongoing negotiation
process to become a full member of the bloc.
Britain’s Catherine Ashton spent two hours on
Wednesday answering questions from European Parlia-
ment members on how she plans to represent the EU on
the global stage. Ashton responded to questions dur-
ing an informal session of the European Parliament’s
Foreign Affairs Committee which was attended by hun-
dreds of EU parliamentarians, diplomats and the media.
Ashton ducked a series of policy-specic questions,
including where she stands on the issue of Turkey joining
the EU although Turkey’s eventual EU accession is a stated
aim of the bloc, news reports said “On Turkey, last time I
looked there were 33 chapters [in the accession talks] of
which Turkey has closed one. There are different views in
the European Council on the whole view of enlargement
and how best to progress with Turkey. We will have to dis-
cuss that, but it has been a long time and only one chapter,
so we will have to discuss that,” Ashton, was, however,
quoted as saying in the same news reports.
The EU’s outgoing trade commissioner, who has
little foreign affairs experience, also ignored a ques-
tion about the recognition of East Jerusalem as the
Palestinians’ capital, an issue EU foreign ministers
may discuss next week. Ankara Today’s Zaman with wires
 NATIONAL
General Staff closely monitored coefficient move, paper shows
EMRE SONCAN ANKARA
A position paper sent to the deputy chief
of General Staff by the General Staff’s de-
partment of intelligence has shown that top army
brass closely monitored developments related to
a move by the Higher Education Board (YÖK) to
abolish the use of a coefcient system for Turkey’s
university admission exam.
The paper was signed by Brig. Gen. . Ylmaz, Lt.
Gen. .H. Pekin, Col. N. Ylmaz and Maj. O. Ylmaz,
and was submitted to Gen. Aslan Güner, the deputy
chief of general staff, on Aug. 21. According to the
paper, the abolishment of the coefcient system was
aimed at allowing conservative individuals to expand
their presence in the public sphere and, in this way,
damage the unity of the country and society. The
YÖK appeals
ruling on
coefficient
The Higher Education Board (YÖK)
has appealed a ruling of the 8th
Chamber of the Council of State to
retain the current university examination
score calculation method that makes it more
difcult for graduates of vocational high
schools to enroll in a program of their choice,
saying the only authorized body to decide
the calculation method is YÖK.
The Council of State last week decided
to block a decision issued by YÖK’s General
Council in July after the stanbul Bar Asso-
ciation asked it to ensure the continuation
of the system in which a lower coefcient is
used to calculate the scores of graduates of
vocational high schools on Turkey’s univer-
sity admission exam, the Student Selection
Examination (ÖSS). The system is consid-
ered by many a form of clear discrimination
against graduates of vocational schools.
The lower coefcient used for the scores
of vocational school students is a remnant
of the Feb. 28, 1997 unarmed military in-
tervention, which led to the collapse of an
Islamic-rooted government, and was intro-
duced in an attempt to keep students from
religious imam-hatip schools -- classied
as vocational schools -- out of universities.
Opponents of the coefcient rule say it is
discriminatory and unfair.
YÖK’s petition against the ruling was
sent to the Council of State on Wednesday.
In the petition, YÖK criticized the Council of
State, nding that “students of regular high
schools and vocational high schools are not
equal.” The petition also stated that accord-
ing to the Constitution and legislation rel-
Vocational high school students giving up on university dreams
TANJU ÖZKAYA / HEMRE KÖSE STANBUL
Non-attendance at college prep courses has
spiked among students who attend vocational
high schools, in an apparent sign of student exasper-
ation over a recent Council of State ruling to retain
the current university admission system that makes
it more difcult for graduates of vocational schools to
enroll in university programs of their choice.
For most, it’s virtually impossible to perform
well on university entrance exams without enroll-
ing in a private college preparatory course, a der-
shane, along with the normal high school curri-
cula. For long hours after school and on weekends,
high school students attend extra classes, reading
through test prep books and solving practice exam
questions in a bid to secure their spots at a good
university -- and their futures. But in the face of the
Council of State decision, many vocational high
school students and even their parents are won-
dering if there’s even a point anymore in trying,
seeing as how the system is set up against them.
Vocational high school enrollment had soared
after the Higher Education Board’s (YÖK) General
Council announced in July that it was lifting the
coefcient system, but the Council of State blocked
the ruling and private college preparatory courses
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009
system uses a lower coefcient on the Student Se-
lection Examination (ÖSS) to calculate the scores of
graduates of vocational high schools.
In July, YÖK’s General Council decided to
abolish the coefcient system, a move welcomed at
the time by many who interpreted it as a ground-
breaking step to end long-standing discrimination
imposed on vocational school graduates, includ-
ing those from religious imam-hatip high schools.
The lower coefcient was a byproduct of the
Feb. 28, 1997 postmodern coup, which led to the
collapse of an Islamic-based government, and was
introduced in an attempt to keep students from
religious imam-hatip schools -- classied as voca-
tional schools -- out of universities. The system has
been the subject of strong criticism in Turkey as it is
considered unfair towards graduates of vocational
evant to YÖK, only YÖK has the authority
to decide on matters concerning the system
of transition to higher education from high
school. YÖK’s petition also said the Coun-
cil of State ruling had no legal basis and the
high court should have overturned the appli-
cation of the stanbul Bar Association in the
rst place. The petition said the ruling was a
violation of a number of rights guaranteed by
the Constitution such as the right to an edu-
cation, equal opportunity in education and
the right to self-improvement. The petition
also stated that vocational training should
be encouraged, not discouraged or punished
with the lower coefcient.
YÖK’s petition also dismissed the
stanbul Bar Association’s accusation that
the move to abolish the lower coefcient
was ideological. The petition reiterated that
the only way to improve vocational training
in Turkey was to eradicate discrimination
towards students and graduates of these
schools. YÖK stated that the reason the co-
efcient practice was being removed was
economic and social rather than ideological.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, shortly
after YÖK completed the appeal process,
YÖK President Yusuf Ziya Özcan told
members of the media that they were
prepared for obstacles and had devised
alternative systems. If the appeal is not ac-
cepted, YÖK will employ a new method
of calculation. He did not say directly but
implied that the difference in the coef-
cients used to form scores of regular and
vocational high school students might be
Yusuf Ziya Özcan’s YÖK has appealed a Council of State decision to retain a university admissions method
as small as 0.01 percent. stanbul Today’s Zaman
that places vocational high school grads at a disadvantage, challenging the court’s jurisdiction on the matter.
With the system set against them, many vocational high school students are beginning to wonder why
they should bother with the stress and hassle of college preparatory classes.
say that students at these high schools are drop-
ping out of college prep courses at alarming rates.
Students who had joyfully enrolled in college prep
courses are now reconsidering their decisions.
The situation is also concerning for the thou-
sands of teachers employed at college prepara-
high schools who want to study at universities.
The 8th Chamber of the Council of State, how-
ever, ruled last month to retain the system. The rul-
ing sent shockwaves across the country, with many
observers lashing out at the council for violating
the principle of equal opportunity in education.
In the paper, the department of intelligence
recommended that the General Staff follow de-
velopments related to YÖK’s coefcient move.
“We have reached the conviction that the
move is aimed at increasing the number of in-
dividuals who have adopted a conservative life-
style in the public sphere. … The demand for
dershanes [weekend or evening schools special-
izing in preparing students for national exams]
will directly increase with the abolishment of the
coefcient system. In addition to the stanbul Bar
TODAY’S ZAMAN, KÜRAT BAYHAN
PHOTO
tory institutes, many of which are planning meet-
ings to gure out how to address the situation.
Muammer Saripek, the manager of Meslek Der-
shane, Turkey’s only dershane that caters exclu-
sively to students of vocational high schools, says
that non-attendance has soared to 30 percent
Association and the Education Personnel Union
[Eitim-], students or parents of students at-
tending high schools other than vocational high
schools may appeal the move,” noted the paper.
The Council of State ruling came four months
after the stanbul Bar Association appealed to the
council against the YÖK decision on the coef-
cient system. The bar stressed in its lawsuit that
YÖK’s move would be unjust toward students
who graduate from high schools other than vo-
cational high schools, Anatolian high schools and
science schools. “This move will provide ‘unde-
served’ gains for a certain group of students,” the
bar claimed. The bar appealed the decision after
the honorary president of the Supreme Court of
Appeals, Sabih Kanadolu, said publicly that the
Council of State would settle the coefcient matter.
CHAN, AL ÜNAL
PHOTO
with the Council of State decision. “Our school
consists solely of vocational high school attend-
ees. Parents are confused over the matter -- they
sent their children here out of hope, but now
they’re rethinking their moves,” he said.
Similarly, Mustafa Altnsoy, the head of the
stanbul Provincial Education Directorate’s Private
Dershane Division, said that there was unanimity
amongst the educational community that the Coun-
cil of State’s decision was a negative one. “We know
that the dershanes and the private educators at these
schools are victims in this situation as well. Families
and students are full of anxiety. There will be a seri-
ous drop in enrollment due to this,” he said.
Ömer Öcal, a guidance counselor at the
Snav Dergisi Dershane, explained that follow-
ing the original YÖK decision their school had
opened special courses for students of vocational
high schools and that following the Council of
State’s move, enrollment had already dropped
by 20 percent. “Parents are telling us, ‘If our chil-
dren once again lose the right to attend univer-
sity, we’ll have no choice but to pull them out
of these classes.’ This is also a serious blow to
student motivation, and it’s upsetting to see the
children who are staying in class working away
even though they have no hope,” he said.
TODAY’S ZAMAN 05
HÜSEYN
GÜLERCE
h.gulerce@todayszaman.com
Communty meda
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan’s harsh criti-
cism of some columnists has reignited a debate over
relations between the government and the media. The
prime minister criticized a Milliyet daily writer who
said, “Politicians need to talk less,” by saying, “Actu-
ally, people like you need to write less.”
Like all leaders, Erdoan has people who like him and
people who dislike him. If you are in the limelight and in
a position where you can take action, then you are bound
to be criticized. I can understand why the prime minister
lambastes some columnists. He isn’t referring to those
who make respectful criticisms. Unfortunately, there are
some rude and disrespectful writers that degrade and in-
sult their targets in their articles. There are editors-in-chief
that never say anything about these articles and always
nd some way to defend themselves. I can explain what
I mean by giving one example: Hürriyet daily columnist
Ylmaz Özdil. There is no other man in the world that
writes as profanely and indecently as he does. He per-
sonies a particular breed of columnists in Turkey.
He does not insult just individuals, he insults mil-
lion. Indeed, he does not insult them, he basically swears
at them. It was him who called those who voted for the
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) “jarheads.”
When the possibility of giving deputies a red license plate
was being debated, he had the nerve to write, “The red li-
cense plates of deputies in the Turkish Parliament should
be attached to the a-- of those who support them [the AK
Party].” (Aug. 25) I was embarrassed to write the word
out completely. I apologize to our readers but I wanted to
be able to explain the level of shamelessness. Now, how
can this man have anything to do with journalism?
Who allowed this person’s articles to be published in
the Hürriyet daily? Who presented him as the daily’s third-
page charm? Erturul Özkök. Where do they nd these
“hitmen”? Does the public not see the situation at hand?
What upsets me is that the prime minister is taking
them seriously. The majority of people commends and
supports the prime minister for his courage in pursu-
ing democratization, his stance against juntas and his
leadership. Believe there are even people who pray that
Erdoan won’t stoop to their level. What’s the purpose
of showing a reaction and calling people “enemies of
the nation and state?” Just as Republican People’s Party
(CHP) leader Deniz Baykal and Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli were wrong in declar-
ing the prime minister a “traitor” and a “divider,” it was
wrong of the prime minister to declare a portion of col-
umnist enemies of the state and nation.
Turkey is passing through perhaps its most criti-
cal days in the past 100 years. We want our prime
minister to remain calm and silent during this histori-
cal turning point. We want him to know how to put
up with criticism and refrain from hurting anyone’s
feeling even if he is hurt. There are many people that
offend but we don’t want him to offend anyone.
Let’s get back to the essence of the ties between the
ruling power and the media. The media’s (press’) rela-
tionship with the ruling power has been problematic
since the beginning of the republic. The media is the most
important pillar of the military tutelage regime. The me-
dia has played a role in every coup preparation and has
always defended junta supporters. And the media outlets
have always received compensation for their services.
There has always been talk about a free and objective
press but this was always wanted only for “laic-Kemalist
elites.” These elites saw themselves as the real guardians
of this country and formed a community around this com-
mon view. It is for this reason that the media we are talking
about is truly a “community media.” Even when defending
democracy they worked by way of limiting the freedom of
religion and conscience to make the public sphere a place
that provides privileges and prots only to themselves.
But in the end, they ruined it for themselves. They
were, just like the army, unable to fulll their real duties
because they were too busy dealing with the country and
engineering the society. They tore their own community
away from the developing and progressing world. They
dropped down a level. They ultimately became a media
that solely wrote about whatever it was their community
members needed to read and hear. It is for this reason
that they are doomed to have their Özdils and Çölaans.
As the waves of democratization shake all pillars, it
will become obvious that they too will no longer be able
to remain standing.
Ba: New sanctions will
remove desire to join EU
If new sanctions are placed on Turkey for not opening
its air and sea ports to Greek Cypriot trafc, Turkish so-
ciety will lose any desire to further pursue EU member-
ship, Egemen Ba, Turkey’s chief EU negotiator, has
said. Speaking at a meeting organized by the Turkish
Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUS-
KON) and the Centre for European Politics (CEP) on
Thursday, Ba said Turkey has always been an effec-
tive broker among its neighbors. Answering a question
on possible new sanctions if Turkey fails to open its ports
to Greek Cypriot vessels, Ba said Turkey is already
affected by sanctions. “The EU decided to freeze eight
negotiation chapters and forbade the closure of any ne-
gotiation chapters in 2006 due to the Cyprus stalemate.
These sanctions are extreme. The two leaders of the is-
land are already meeting weekly to nd a lasting peace
settlement to the con ict. New sanctions over this will
signicantly reduce the will of Turkish society to pursue
EU membership,” Ba said. stanbul Today’s Zaman
 06 TODAY’S ZAMAN
Man with normal hearing deaf community leader for 3 years
A 33-year-old man whose parents are deaf
and who learned how to speak when his
cousin came to live with them has been running
the Turkish Federation for Persons with Hearing
Disabilities for the past three years in order to
increase the standard of living for the deaf and
the hard of hearing.
Speaking with the Anatolia news agency, Er-
cüment Tanrverdi said because both his mother
and father are deaf, he began his childhood “in a
silent world.” Although he himself can hear just
ne, because his parents don’t communicate orally
Tanrverdi rst learned to communicate through
sign language. “First, my mother took me to the ta-
ble and, pointing at the bread, showed me the sign
for bread. In this manner she showed me the signs
for everything else I needed to know and thus my
family taught me sign language,” he said.
Eventually, however, they had to face the fact
that Tanrverdi was not deaf and would need to
communicate with others in the world, he ex-
plained. As a solution, one of his cousins came
to live with him and in this way he learned spo-
ken Turkish as well. While they lived in stanbul,
Tanrverdi’s parents were both members of as-
sociations for the deaf and he always went along
with them to meetings and other events. After
some time, because of his ability in both sign
Unemployment s bggest
problem of dsabled
contnued from page 1
Kaçar reminded listeners of the Dis-
ability Act, which was passed in July
2005 to solve employment problems that
disabled people face along with a number of
other issues. But he said the law has not been
put into practice in all sectors.
The Labor Law and the Regulation on the
Employment of Disabled People states that em-
ployers in the private sector employing more than
50 employees in their workplace must ensure that
at least 3 percent of their employees are disabled.
This gure is 4 percent for public institutions. If
they do not meet this quota, they have to pay a
ne of TL 1,519 per month, which is collected in
a levy fund and used for projects focusing on vo-
cational training, rehabilitation and employment
for disabled people. In order to encourage com-
panies to hire more disabled people, the Treasury
also pays half of the insurance premiums for every
disabled person hired in addition to the manda-
tory number. However, despite all these incen-
tives, employers are still reluctant to hire disabled
workers. The total amount in the levy fund was
TL 4.8 million according to 2005 gures.
Lawyer Meysun Güler Eryldr, who heads
the commission on the disabled at the Bursa
Bar Association, also stated that laws should be
implemented as soon as possible to solve the
problems of the disabled.
“Problems of the disabled are not solved
merely by having appropriate laws [on the
books]. These laws should be implemented.
And people at workplaces from the top to the
bottom should know about the rights of the
disabled,” Eryldr said.
In Bursa, disabled people held a demon-
stration in their wheelchairs to attract atten-
tion to their problems.
One of their signs read “We don’t want to be
Three Turkish newspapers suspend membership in int’l press body
Three Turkish newspapers have suspended
their membership in international media or-
ganization the World Association of Newspapers a
nd News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in protest of the
organization’s report on press freedom in Turkey.
The Sabah, Zaman and Star newspapers an-
nounced yesterday that they were freezing their mem-
bership in the international body, accusing WAN-IF-
RA of being one-sided in a report on freedom of the
press and consulting only with members of Turkey’s
Doan Media Group when drafting the report. These
three newspapers also say their objections to the part
of the WAN-IFRA report on press freedom in Turkey
were ignored by the report writers.
The report, titled “Press Freedom World Re-
view - June-December 2009,” harshly criticized the
Justice and Development Party (AK Party), accusing
the party of working to undermine freedom of the
press in Turkey. “In Turkey, the government con-
tinued its campaign against the in uential Doan
Group, which owns, among other media, the top-
Born to two deaf parents but with no hearing difficulties of his own, Ercüment Tanrverdi’s skills in both spoken Turk-
ish and Turkish Sign Language have made him a leader in the push for better lives for the deaf and hard of hearing.
language and spoken Turkish, he was elected the
president of the Turkish Federation for Persons
with Hearing Disabilities. Tanrverdi has served
in the post for three years now, while also work-
ing as a manager at the stanbul Metropolitan
Statistics show that one of the biggest problems facing Turks with disabilities is unemployment, with the labor participation of this segment of society
hovering around 22 percent compared to a general labor participation rate of 50 percent.
remembered only on Dec. 3.”
The International Day of Persons with
Disabilities was marked in various provinces
in Turkey. In Antalya, there were celebrations
in the town square.
Mehmet Karavural, head of the Associa-
tion of the Disabled in Turkey, expressed that
selling daily Hürriyet newspaper and CNN Turkey,
with a massive new tax ne of 1.7 billion euros in
September for allegedly evading taxes, charges
which experts say are groundless. In February, the
group had already been ned 345 million euros on
similar grounds. Tensions with the prime minister,
Recep Tayyip Erdoan, reached a new level in 2008,
when the Doan media began to cover a German
criminal investigation into a Turkish Islamic charity
linked to the government,” read the report.
On Tuesday, heads of the Sabah, Zaman and
Star groups released a statement at the World
Newspaper Congress in Hyderabad, India, criticiz-
ing the report for being biased. The three news-
papers expressed profound disappointment in the
WAN-IFRA statement concerning Turkey.
“We had expected a more objective and un-
biased position by such internationally acclaimed
platforms as WAN and the [World Editors’ Forum]
WEF. We nd it misleading on the part of WAN and
the WEF not to consult Turkish members of WAN,
AA, E C V E T ATK
P HOTO
Municipality’s Center for People with Disabili-
ties. Tanrverdi is married to a deaf woman he
met 11 years ago at a deaf community event and
the couple have a daughter who can hear. “Our
daughter is 8 years old. She uses sign language
disabled people face many difculties. Among
those, he said, was the difculty to obtain pros-
theses and necessary aids to make their lives
easier because of the new social security law.
“The duties and responsibilities of the state
are on the shoulders of the families now,” he said.
Meanwhile, a supportive note for the dis-
apart from the Doan Group, while preparing an
overview of the status of media freedom in Tur-
key. It is worrisome that the committee reviewing
the status of Turkish media is evidently unaware of
what is actually a threat to the freedom of the me-
dia in Turkey,” read the statement, signed by Bülent
Kene on behalf of the Zaman Media Group, Suna
Vidinli for the Sabah Group and Ergun Babahan on
behalf of the Star Group.
In early September, the Doan Media Group
-- Turkey’s largest media company -- was slapped
with a ne of TL 4.8 billion, the highest ever im-
posed on a Turkish company, for tax evasion during
a time period covering 2005, 2006 and 2007. Inspec-
tors said the ne was imposed due to their ndings
that Doan companies had concealed prots from
share transfers among partner companies and had
avoided paying corporate tax and value-added tax
(KDV) on the revenue from the transfers. Since
then, Doan newspapers have claimed that the ne
was “political,” resulting from the holding’s critical
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009
to communicate with her mother and she speaks
spoken Turkish with me,” he explained.
Video conferencing system major
step in improving life for deaf
“Not enough is done in Turkey to develop sign lan-
guage and there aren’t enough translators; more
needs to be done. There must be someone who un-
derstands sign language in every institution, be it a
hospital or another place. As a federation, we want
for there to be sign language translators at every
public institution,” Tanrverdi said. The federation
president explained that they were working with
public institutions to improve the life of people with
hearing disabilities, noting the creation of a video
conferencing system in collaboration with Türk
Telekom as a major step. This will change the lives
of those with hearing disabilities, he said.
One of the most important difculties facing the
deaf is being able to use emergency services and the
video conferencing system is an important step in
this regard. “Our citizens with hearing disabilities
will be able to benet from a 24-hour translation ser-
vice. Through these interpreters they will be able to
reach and communicate with ambulance, reghting,
police, gendarmerie and other emergency services,
which is a critical step in providing essential life ser-
vices,” he said. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
TO DAY’S ZAM AN, KÜR AT BAYHAN
PHO TO
abled came yesterday from Parliament Speaker
Mehmet Ali ahin. He said Turkey has made
some progress in improving the quality of life for
the disabled but that there is still work to do. “We
will make more progress in that regard as we will
take more measures to improve the rights of the
disabled,” he said. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
approach to the AK Party government. The govern-
ment, however, denies the claims, saying it is not a
party to the tax ne controversy.
The statement also expressed the signatory jour-
nalists’ expectation that WAN-IFRA will conduct more
thorough research and consult all parties before issu-
ing a statement. “Equating a tax evasion case [which is
under judicial review -- with the accused party seeking
settlement] with media freedom is an oversimplica-
tion of the matter. We hereby request our statement of
dissent to be published at the end of the WAN state-
ment concerning Turkey,” added the statement.
The WAN-IFRA report made its way into
Doan newspapers on Tuesday. The Hürriyet
daily alleged that Turkey had been placed on a
“warning list” along with China, Russia, Cuba,
Pakistan and Yemen. The daily also reported that
the tax ne against Doan Yayn was politically
motivated and was aimed at “silencing” Doan.
None of those statements, however, were includ-
ed in the WAN-IFRA report. stanbul Today’s Zaman
NATIONAL
Ömer Dinçer:
Pharmaceuticals
to compensate
pharmacy losses
Labor and Social Security Minister
Ömer Dinçer announced yesterday
that according to an agreement the minis-
try signed with representatives of medicine
companies, these companies must compen-
sate pharmacies’ nancial losses -- which are
estimated to be TL 800 million -- caused by
the lowering of medicine prices that result-
ed in harsh criticism from pharmacists and
which led them to close their pharmacies to-
day to protest the decision.
“We have signed an agreement. They
[the medicine companies] promised to pay
the cost incurred due to the price changes.
Every loss related the price change of medi-
cines will be compensated,” noted Dinçer
during a press conference yesterday. He
also added that if the medicine companies
would not pay for the losses, the govern-
ment would take the necessary steps, say-
ing: “I hope pharmacies will not take their
frustration with this agreement out on citi-
zens. If they do, we will abolish the agree-
ment.” The minister stated that the new
price list regulations will be approved dur-
ing the council of ministers meeting on Fri-
day and will be implemented in 2010.
With the new price regulations resulting
in the decrease in medicine prices, medicines
will be offered for lower prices. In Turkey,
where the state is the only authority that sets
medicine prices, a reference price is deter-
mined in comparison to medicine prices in
European Union countries. Before the new
price regulations, the prices in Turkey were
80 percent of this reference price. With the
new regulations, medicine prices will be 60
percent of the reference price. The minister
yesterday underlined that for some medi-
cines the percentage may be 66 percent if it
seems necessary. The new regulations will be
valid for approximately 3,000 different kinds
of medicine in 2010. The minister also em-
phasized that the ministry will check market
prices every three months, and if medicine
expenditures exceed global budget goals, the
ministry has the authority to adopt further
decreases in medicine prices.
It is believed that the new price regulations
will be instrumental in helping the state save
TL 3.3 billion each year; however, pharmacists
claim that TL 800 million of this will be taken
from them and demand that medicine compa-
nies subsidize the pharmacies’ losses, which
has yet to be accepted by the medicine compa-
nies. The medicine sector in Turkey has grown
by 40 percent in the last two years despite the
ongoing global nancial crisis.
The deputy president of the Association
of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Compa-
nies (AFD), Engin Güneri, stated that the
price cut will result in nancial losses for
pharmacies, adding that the regulations will
affect the prices of approximately 3,000 medi-
cines .“Under the new regulations there may
be some issues related to offering different
types of medicines to patients, which will cre-
ate lots of problems for people who urgently
need medical treatment,” claimed Güneri.
Furthermore, the Social Security Institu-
tion (SGK) has announced in a written state-
ment on Tuesday that the institution will
“reconsider” contracts with pharmacies that
will participate in the one-day closure on Fri-
day to protest the recent decision. “We will
reconsider our contracts with pharmacists
and civil society organizations that prevent
citizens from accessing medicines by closing
their doors on Friday. We thank pharma-
cists who will continue to offer medicine and
serve citizens on Dec. 4 as they have been
doing for years,” says the statement. Talks
with representatives of pharmacies and La-
bor and Social Security Minister Dinçer have
been going on in order to nd a resolution
for 3,000 of the numerous pharmacies ex-
pected to go bankrupt due to the new price
regulations after the price cuts.
Akda: Pharmacy boycott
will not affect medicine supply
Health Minister Recep Akda yesterday ex-
pressed his belief that the closure of some 24,000
pharmacies on Dec. 4 to protest the reduced
medicine prices will not disrupt the medicine
supply and will not lead to any major problems
for citizens. People will be able to nd medicine,
adding that he thinks some responsible phar-
macists will not participate in the protest.
“Our citizens will continue to buy medi-
cine. The social security system in Turkey is a
well-established system. The Labor and So-
cial Security Ministry and the SGK have been
working on the problem. I do not think any
serious problem will occur,” stated Akda in
the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, where
he paid a visit after the invitation of his Uz-
bek counterpart. stanbul Today’s Zaman
 BUSINESS
Ergün: Investment assistance office to be established in Jordan
Minister of Industry and Trade Nihat Ergün
revealed yesterday that an ofce to assist Tur-
kish investors in Jordan will be established, comp-
lementing the free trade agreement signed betwe-
en the two countries on Tuesday.
The minister, on a diplomatic mission to Jor-
dan along with President Abdullah Gül, met with
Jordanian Minister of Industry and Trade Amer
Al-Hadidi along with Ghazi Shbeikat, the minister
of labor, to discuss the recently signed free trade
agreement between the two countries.
Ergün, who spoke at the meeting, noted that
The Donbass Arena stadium, located in Ukraine, and constructed by Turkey’s ENKA, was inaugurated in August 2009. The stadium, with a capacity of 50,000, is regarded as one of the best in Europe.
Turkish multinationals’ investment
abroad slows due to crisis, survey shows
contýnued from page 1
As the main reasons behind the ear-
lier surge in Turkey’s outward foreign
direct investment, the report cited both econo-
mic and political factors, enumerating the do-
mestic economic crisis of the early 2000s, rising
labor costs and the developing private sector
chasing prots, along with the emergence of
independent Turkic republics in Central Asia
after the collapse of the USSR. Turkey’s foreign
direct investment increased from $1 billion in
1990 to $12.2 billion in 2007, taking Turkey to
72nd place among all outward-investing co-
untries in 2007, the report showed.
However, this uptrend has been interrupted
with the eruption of recent global nancial crisis,
the report asserts, explaining: “The current global
economic contraction has had a severe negative
impact on Turkey’s outward investment, as can
be seen from provisional September 2009 data
from the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey.
Turkish out ows in the rst nine months of 2009
fell by 62 percent from the rst nine months of
2008, to $853 million from $2.26 million.”
Global motor vehicle production drops by 22.9 percent
Global motor vehicle production decreased
by 22.9 percent in the rst nine months of
this year compared to the same period in 2008,
re ecting the hit the automotive sector took du-
ring the global economic crisis.
A statement released yesterday by the Auto-
motive Manufacturers Association (OSD) based
on data obtained from the International Organi-
zation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA)
reviewed global and regional production gures
for passenger and commercial automobiles in
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009
economic development must have the private sec-
tor as its base, adding: “A country cannot become
rich through the building of factories by the govern-
ment. Wealth can only come about through entrep-
reneurship.” Speaking about the difculties that
Turkish workers in Jordan face, Ergün highlighted
that the delay in processing workers’ permits along
with high taxes on real estate were creating unne-
cessary hardship for Turkish investors.
To solve these problems, Ergün continued, his
ministry will establish an ofce in Jordan to help
Turkish investors overcome hurdles in investing.
Top 12 Turkish multinationals
have $15.7 bln in foreign assets
Covering 12 largest Turkish multinationals, the
survey revealed that these companies jointly
held just over $15.7 billion in foreign assets in
2007, a gure 32 percent higher than in 2006.
The report showed that Turkish multinati-
onals lagged behind their counterparts in many
emerging markets, with only ENKA naat ve
Sanayi A.., Turkcell letiim Hizmetleri A..
and Çalk Holding having over $2 billion in fore-
ign assets in 2007. According to the report, ran-
king the multinational enterprises on the basis
of their foreign assets, ENKA, which operated in
the infrastructure sector, ranked rst with $3.9
billion in foreign assets, accounting for appro-
ximately 25 percent of the total foreign assets of
the selected 12 multinational companies. Turk-
cell came in second on the rankings with just
over $2.3 billion in foreign assets, accounting for
another 15 percent of total foreign assets of the
largest multinational enterprises and followed
by Çalk Holding with just a little more than $2
the rst nine months of 2009.
The statement noted that automobile produc-
tion decreased by 19.5 percent for a total of 32.5
million units produced thus far. Light commercial
vehicle production shrank to 7.1 million units, a
decrease of 33.8 percent compared to 2008. Heavy
truck production and bus production dropped by
29.2 percent and 23.3 percent, respectively.
The statement also mentioned regional variations
in motor vehicle production, highlighting the succes-
ses and disappointing performances in the BRIC co-
“The ofce will employ people who know Turkish
and can help Turkish investors in any way possib-
le. The Jordanian Investment Promotion Agency
has given orders to start the establishment of this
ofce and is working to shorten the processing pe-
riod for work permits. They’ve also accepted that
taxes are high on real estate and have promised to
decrease these taxes,” he said.
Speaking on the free trade agreement bet-
ween the two countries, Ergün noted that Jor-
dan may experience some difculties after the
agreement, but said the two economies must be
billion in foreign assets. Total foreign assets of
these companies as a percentage of total assets
of them were about 10 percent in 2007, incre-
asing by a slightly lower rate than total assets
between 2006 and 2007.
The largest 12 Turkish multinational enterp-
rises covered by the survey employed 72,334
workers abroad in 2007, increasing by 37 per-
cent compared to 2006, a rate more than twice
of the growth rate of total employment of these
companies in the same period. This gure is 27
percent of total employment of the companies.
The leading company on the list of 12, ENKA,
became the rst on the list of foreign emp-
loyment, with a signicant number of 33,676
workers. Çalk Holding, the second on the list,
employed 9,134 workers abroad in 2007.
The 12 multinationals had just over $11.9
billion in foreign sales, representing a 37 percent
rise over 2006. Foreign sales accounted for 13
percent of total sales of these companies in 2007,
growing by a slightly higher rate than total sales.
According to the report, the Turkish mul-
tinational companies had 248 foreign afliates
untries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China. According
to the statement, Brazil’s motor vehicle production
dropped by 11.4 percent, with a staggering 63.5 per-
cent decrease in Russia. India and China were the
stars during this period, as their production grew by
1.4 percent and 22.0 percent, respectively.
The 27 nations making up the EU experi-
enced a decrease of 25.6 percent, whereas the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAF-
TA) region’s production shrank by 41.6 percent.
Other European nations, a category which inc-
TODAY’S ZAMAN 07
as open as possible to increase competition and
thus welfare. Ergün pointed to the example of
the automobile sector: “In the ’80s we were clo-
sed to the outside world and produced tin can
cars at the price of Mercedez Benz’s automobi-
les. Now we are one of the top economies in the
world and produce at European quality levels
and at competitive prices.”
Ergün highlighted that his ministry will be
working with Parliament to make the free trade
agreement and the lifting of visa requirements ef-
fective in 2010. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
TODAY’S ZAMAN
PHOTO
(branches, subsidiaries, etc.) in 61 countries. Of
these, 76 percent were located in Europe. Asia
came in second, with just under a fth. The sur-
vey noted that there appears to be a trend of ex-
pansion towards Africa, the Middle East, Aust-
ralia and Latin America. Koç Holding ranked
rst on the list of companies with most foreign
afliates with 55 foreign afliates in 28 countries,
followed by ENKA with 42 foreign afliates in
nine countries. Sabanc Holding came in third
with 33 foreign afliates in seven countries.
The survey revealed that most of the outward
investment from Turkey by 2007 had been made
by publicly traded companies. There are only
two companies that are not publicly listed, Çalk
Holding and state-controlled Turkish Petroleum
Corporation (TPAO), in the list of the survey.
Among the 10 multinational companies on the
list that are also listed on the stanbul Stock Exc-
hange (MKB), Turkcell is also listed on the New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Anadolu Endüst-
ri Holding A.. on the London Stock Exchange
and Eczacba Group on the Frankfurt and Düs-
seldorf Stock Exchange. stanbul Today’s Zaman
ludes Serbia, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan,
suffered the most from the economic crisis,
shrinking by 55.7 percent to 1.2 million units.
According to the statement, the effect of the
economic crisis was most felt in the rst quarter of
2009, with a decrease in production of 36.2 percent
compared to the same quarter last year. In the se-
cond quarter of 2009, a 24.7 percent decrease was
experienced. Third-quarter results revealed that
the shrinking of production was slowing down
with a decrease of 5.4 percent. stanbul Today’s Zaman
Natural gas imports
total 28.78 bln cubic
meters in 10 months
Turkey has imported 28.78 billion cubic meters
of natural gas in the rst 10 months of the year,
while the country’s natural gas production stood at
580.48 million cubic meters in the same period.
Turkey, importing almost all its natural gas ne-
eds, consumed 37.7 billion cubic meters of natural
gas last year. This gure was rst estimated to be
some 40 billion cubic meters; however, due to price
hikes in natural gas and the negative impact of the
global economic crisis, the estimate was reduced to
some 35 billion cubic meters.
Consumption, on the other hand, is expected
to be 31 billion cubic meters by year’s end, consi-
dering recent production and import data, meaning
Turkey will be required to pay for unused gas due to
a “purchase or pay” stipulation in agreements with
both Russia and Iran.
Turkey imported 3.16 billion cubic meters of
natural gas in January, 2.88 billion cubic meters in
February, 3.17 billion cubic meters in March, 2.57
billion cubic meters in April, 2.6 billion cubic meters
in May, 2.7 billion cubic meters in June, 3.08 billi-
on cubic meters in July, 3.08 billion cubic meters in
August, 2.86 billion cubic meters in September and
2.69 billion cubic meters in October.
On the other hand, 68.13 million cubic meters
of natural gas were produced in January and 59.10
million cubic meters in February. In March, 65.93
million cubic meters were produced, while in April
this gure was 63.06 million cubic meters. May saw
a drop, registering production of 58.10 million cubic
meters of natural gas. This trend continued in June
(57.01 million cubic meters), July (53.75 million cu-
bic meters), August (51.21 million cubic meters) and
September (48.34 million cubic meters). October
marked a turnaround and saw 55.86 million cubic
meters produced in the month. stanbul Today’s Zaman
New law to put an
end to unlicensed
construction
Minister of Public Works and Settlement
Mustafa Demir stressed that a new law ma-
king the rounds in parliament would eliminate
the notion of allowing unlicensed constructions.
The new law, which is currently being drafted
by the Public Works, Transportation, and Tou-
rism Comissions, would “bring a completely new
zoning system” that would bring together vari-
ous ministries to put forward sanctions and pu-
nishments on allowing unlicensed construction
by municipalities.
Demir spoke in parliament yesterday, stating
that local governments, planning and construc-
tion licensers, groundwork and bodywork res-
ponsibilities of local administrations should be
all subject to specic responsibilities and sancti-
ons, highlighting that if these do not exists, then
Turkey will have skewed urbanization, unhealthy
construction, and abuse by administrators.
He continued by stating that “We haven’t
been successful at stopping unlicensed cons-
truction in the past, because governments and
administrators of public works did not take res-
ponsibility or put forward sanctions for allowing
these constructions to continue. Municipalities
will not do anything about unlicensed buildings
or constructions unless they will also be punis-
hed for it…People outside of Turkey do not un-
derstand what we mean when we say ‘unlicensed
buildings.’ It doesn’t make sense to them. We are
now a developed country and we will put an end
to unlicensed construction in rural and urban are-
as with this new law.” stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
Commission to meet
to determine 2010
minimum wage
The Minimum Wage Determination Com-
mission will meet next week to set the mini-
mum wage for the new year.
The meeting, which will take place at the Mi-
nistry of Labor and Social Security next Thursday,
represents the rst of several meetings to determi-
ne the minimum wage for 2010, according to an
Anatolian news agency reporter. The commission
consists of 15 representatives, made up of ve labor
representatives from the Confederation of Turkish
Labor Unions (Türk-), ve employer representa-
tives from the Turkish Confederation of Employers’
Unions (TSK) and ve government representatives.
The minimum wage will be determined by a
majority vote in the commission, taking into acco-
unt the social and economic status of the nation, the
cost of living index and the general status of those
currently living on the minimum wage.
Last year, when setting the minimum wage
for 2009, the parties involved in the commission
could not come to an agreement, resulting in only
employers and the government bargaining for the
2009 minimum wage. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
 08 TODAY’S ZAMAN F R I D AY, D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9
BUSINESS

Sanset reaches 10 percent market share in one year Fitch upgrades

BRAHM TÜRKMEN ÝSTANBUL
Sanset Gda, a subsidiary of Toksöz Holding
operating in the food and beverage sector,
has increased its market share from virtually noth-
ing to 10 percent in one year thanks to efcient
marketing teams and the vision of establishing its
own distribution channels.
Sanset bought the renowned chocolate brands
Tadelle, Sarelle and Sagra from the Savings Deposit
Insurance Fund (TMSF) in 2007 and invested over $10
million to improve the production processes and in-
crease efciency during the next year. The company
replaced all the ingredients with completely natural
products while preserving the avor and taste cus-
tomers are accustomed to. The investments lost no
steam in 2009, when Sanset spent another $15 million
to establish its own distribution channels and improve
product quality through research and development.
Toksöz Holding General Manager Ahmet Tok-
söz shared his assessments about the recent perfor-
mance of Sanset and its targets and expectations for
the coming year at a press conference held in stanbul
on Thursday. Toksöz said the company had halted
production for one year after purchasing the brands
in 2007 in order to rst create the “perfect products”
without laying off any workers. “To promote our
product, we conducted an intensive advertising and
marketing campaign in 2009,” he said.
Sanset recruited 200 university graduates to join
its marketing team this year and focused on one-to-
one communication with market channels while cre-
ating large distributors in 10 provinces. The company
started delivering its products with its own trucks
instead of using the infrastructure of current distribu-
tors. “The newly formed logistics channel only deliv-
ers our products, and this has substantially boosted
the availability of Sanset’s chocolates in the market,”
Toksöz said, noting that this was the primary cause
for the company’s success in reaching a 10 percent
market share in just one year. Toksöz said the rm
will continue its strategy of strengthening its own
marketing and distribution channels in the coming
year and added that new staff recruitment is right
around the corner. According to recent surveys, Ülker
is by far the largest player in the market, with a 50
percent share. It is followed by Nestle, Eti and Sanset.
Originally involved in the pharmaceuticals busi-
ness, Toksöz Holding decided to venture into the food
and beverage industry with a surprise move by pur-
chasing several traditional brand names of the choco-
late market. Toksöz says Sanset approaches chocolate
manufacturing with the accurate and highly sensitive
production techniques necessary for pharmaceutical
production. He also said that all items used in the pro-
duction of Sanset’s chocolates are carefully selected
from high quality and totally natural materials, adding
that no genetically modied organisms (GMOs) are
utilized. Chocolate makers usually use lecithin from
genetically modied soybeans, Toksöz said.
Turkey’s sovereign
rating two
notches to ‘BB+’
International credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has
upgraded Turkey’s long-term foreign currency Is-
suer Default Rating (IDR) to “BB+” from “BB-”; the
long-term local currency IDR to “BB+” from “BB”; and
its country ceiling to “BBB-” from “BB.” It has also reaf-
rmed Turkey’s short-term foreign currency IDR at “B.”
The company announced the upgrade decision in a
statement on Thursday. “The upgrade re ects Turkey’s
relative resilience to the severe stress test of the global
nancial crisis and some easing in prior acute constraints
related to in ation, external nances and political risk,”
the statement quoted Edward Parker, the head of
emerging Europe in Fitch’s Sovereigns team, as saying.
In its comments, the company statement applauded

Airbus: Turkey Turkey’s relative resilience to the global nancial crisis

on the grounds that the credit fundamentals and debt

REUTERS
tolerance of the country has been stronger than previ-

needs 277 new ously thought. Although the global crisis triggered a se-
rious recession in the Turkish economy, Fitch argued, it

planes by 2028
Turkey’s domestic ight trafc has
increased threefold since 2003, and
the country will need 277 more planes
by 2028 to meet the skyrocketing de-
mand for domestic ights, Airbus repre-
sentatives have revealed.
Speaking at a press conference at
the Ritz Carlton stanbul, Airbus Direc-
tor of Market Analysis Andrew Gordon
and Executive Vice President of Sales to
Europe, CIS and Latin America Christo-
pher Buckley revealed their company’s
predictions for the growth of Turkey’s
air trafc.
Gordon highlighted that Turkey’s air
trafc had more than doubled since 2000,
a growth of 115 percent. He continued by
saying that by their predictions Turkey
will again double its air trafc by 2028.
As for air trafc from domestic ights,
Gordon revealed that “Turkey has tripled
its domestic air trafc since 2003. Turkey
is one of the fastest growing nations in
terms of their growth in domestic ights,
and we expect that in the next 20 years,
domestic ight trafc will grow on aver-
age 10 percent per year.”
He added that they predict that Tur-
key will need 277 new planes -- worth
$28.3 billion -- to meet the increasing de-
mand from tourism and to replace aging
planes with efcient and environmen-
tally friendly planes. Gordon added that
in order to relieve stress on and to sup-
port growing airports, bigger planes will
be needed. Increasing fuel costs and en-
vironmental impact are also causing air-
lines to purchase more fuel efcient and
minimum environmental impact planes.
Gordon added, “One of the main
reasons for this increase in passen-
gers traveling through Turkey is its
ideal geological location for travel-
ing between the West and the East.”
Buckley also revealed that Airbus had
delivered a total of 399 planes in the
rst 10 months of 2009 and hoped to
deliver 490 by the end of the year. As
for their backlog orders, Buckly stated,
“We have 6,000 orders in our backlog,
and we hope to make deliveries on
these orders within six to seven years.”
stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
PHOTO
has not caused a balance of payments or nancial crisis.
“In contrast to previous shocks, Turkey has been able to
implement counter-cyclical scal and monetary policies
without sparking an exchange rate crisis, and interest
rates have fallen to single digits for the rst time in its
modern history,” the statement admitted.
In addition, Fitch’s statement read, the govern-
ment’s ability to borrow from the domestic debt market
at record low yields as well as issue $3.75 billion in euro-
bonds this year were also noteworthy. Defying all odds,
Turkey also stayed away from an International Monetary
Fund (IMF) bailout, it did not need to support its bank-
ing industry and there has been no signicant pick-up in
dollarization or capital ight, Fitch asserted.
Fitch sees positive outlook
Fitch forecasts Turkey’s gross domestic product (GDP)
will contract by 6 percent in 2009 and then rally to a
growth of 4 percent in 2010. Moreover, it believes the
recession has enabled the country to attain a better mac-
roeconomic balance. “Turkey’s history of relatively high
and volatile in ation has been a source of macroeco-
Top management at the Mitsubishi Group is open to PSA Peugeot Citroen’s taking a more than 50 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corp, if conditions are right. nomic instability and a rating weakness. But in ation has
fallen to a modern low of 5.1 percent, from an average
of 10.4 percent in 2008 and the oating exchange rate
and in ation-targeting regime has performed well dur-
Peugeot and Mtsubsh ing the crisis. The exchange rate has adjusted to a more
competitive level and Fitch forecasts the current account
decit [CAD] to narrow to 2.1 percent of GDP in 2009,
Motors seek deeper tes
French carmaker PSA Peugeot an industrial viewpoint and it would allow among the only players to have a car on sale.
from 5.7 percent in 2008,” the statement noted.
As another factor in uencing Fitch’s decision to
upgrade the rating, the resilience of the banking sector
against the global shocks, was also taken into account.
Debt tolerance and sovereign ratings are also supported
Citroen could buy a large stake in Peugeot to solve its problems of size, but it “For Mitsubishi Motors, Peugeot would be
by high GDP per capita (which is above the “BBB” range
Japanese peer Mitsubishi Motors would come a bit early in the business cycle. the ideal partner,” said Okasan Securities auto
Corp as part of a plan to deepen ties to ride Mitsubishi remained expensive with an analyst Yasuaki Iwamoto. “It would be tough median), high levels of human and physical capital, a
out the industry’s worst ever slump. enterprise value to sales ratio of 0.64 against for Mitsubishi to shoulder R&D costs for envi- favorable business climate and governance, deep local
Mitsubishi Motors shares closed 13.4 per- 0.2 at Peugeot, he said. ronmental technologies on its own and, if you capital markets and a good modern debt service record.
cent higher on Thursday after the Nikkei busi- Peugeot’s interest in Mitsubishi Motors, look at the global auto industry, there is a lim- Despite all these good indicators, the public nances
ness daily reported Peugeot, Europe’s second- ranked seventh of Japan’s eight carmakers by ited pool of partners to choose from.” of the country were not so good, Fitch argued. For in-
biggest carmaker, may take a 30-50 percent January-October production, is in line with the Both Peugeot and Mitsubishi have so stance, Fitch forecasts the central government budget
stake for up to 300 billion yen ($3.4 billion). recent push by new chief executive Philippe far attempted to compete with bigger rivals decit (on IMF denitions) will widen to 7.6 percent of
Peugeot shares were up 0.3 percent by 0955 Varin to create a more global car company. Va- through non-equity tie-ups, even as others GDP in 2009 and 5.6 percent in 2010, from 3 percent in
GMT. Both companies conrmed they were in rin, who took on the role in June, has said this sought deeper alliances to weather the slump 2008. Additionally the European Union-dened gen-
talks to strengthen their existing relationship, could be achieved by various means, including brought on by the global downturn. eral government debt will likely increase to a peak of 48
which would create a leader in electric vehicles, alliances with other carmakers. For Mitsubishi Motors, the deeper talks with percent of GDP at end-2010, from 39.5 percent at end-
with Mitsubishi saying a capital tie-up was pos- Peugeot, ranked eighth in the world by Peugeot mark a reversal of its attempt to stick it 2008, compared with the 10-year “BB” range median of
sible. A Peugeot spokesman declined to com- sales volume last year, will face increased com- out on its own with the backing of the powerful 41 percent. According to Fitch, this situation will entail
ment on how long talks could last. petitive pressure from domestic rival Renault Mitsubishi group, since dissolving its equity ties a scal nancing requirement of around 19 percent of
The Nikkei said top management at Mitsubi- SA which is looking to beef up its synergies with the former DaimlerChrysler group in 2005. GDP in 2010, partly re ecting the relatively short aver-
shi were ready to accept a majority acquisition of with 10-year equity partner Nissan Motor Co. The maker of the Pajero sport utility vehicle had age maturity of domestic debt.
the company by Peugeot if conditions were right. That Franco-Japanese alliance is looking been counting on strong growth in Russia and Another anomaly affecting Turkey’s rating, for Fitch,
CM-CIC analyst Guillaume Angue said to lead the industry in the unproven electric China to lead a recovery, but the Russian mar- was a gross external nancing requirement, which in-
in a note the alliance would make sense from car segment, where Mitsubishi Motors is ket collapsed this year. Tokyo Reuters cludes the CAD and the amortization for medium and
long term debts. This requirement, according to Fitch’s
calculations, amounts to $66 billion in 2010 (plus $48
billion short-term), compared with foreign exchange re-
serves of $75.4 billion. For 2009, on the other hand, the
risks of external nancing have eased considerably, the
statement asserted. stanbul Today’s Zaman

Daily Monthly Yearly YTD MCAP 1-Y Country Change Level

Close Change (%) Change (%) Change (%) Change (%) (million TL) Av.Volum (%)
İMKB-100 47.898 3,9% 5,6% 96,1% 78,3% 268.208 1.557 Hang Seng H.Kong 0,80 22.289,6 66.33
İMKB-30 60.758 4,1% 5,8% 94,1% 73,6% 219.519 1.174 Nikkei 225 Japan 0,38 9.608,9 52.97
51.3
İMKB-IND 35.005 2,4% 4,1% 90,3% 77,0% 72.475 494 Cac 40 France 0,74 3.803,6 47.03
İMKB-BANK 107.204 5,4% 7,4% 117,0% 91,5% 125.362 714 DAX Germany 0,40 5.799,8
33.67
DJIMT 10,30 3,0% 4,9% 54,7% 45,1% - 0,44 FTSE 100 UK 0,48 5.337,9 26,2
Dow USA 0,41 10.440,0 8,5 9.6
TurkDEX NASDAQ USA 1,00 1.805,6
US$/JP¥ S&P USA 0,45 1.113,8 Native Foreign Native Foreign
60,850 4,15%
EU€/JP¥ 1,505 -0,50% BOVESPA Brasil 0,95 69.056,5 Number of Shares M.cap Number of Shares M.cap
CE
AT A GLAN
CALENDAR
pected
No data ex Daily Monthly Yearly
Ticker Price (TL) Daily Change (%) Ticker Price Daily Change (%) Ticker Volumes Price (TL) Yearly Change (%)
Close Change (%) Change (%) Change (%) US$/JP¥ 87,25
VAKBN 3,50 6,71% GRUND 0,52 -7,14% GARAN 113,4 5,5 114,12
TL / € 2,251 -0,5% EU/JP¥ 131,59
DGZTE 3,34 4,37% MERKO 1,28 -3,76% ISCTR 110,3 5,5 50,94 TL / $ 1,491 -0,7% EU/US$ 1,5079
HURGZ 1,79 4,07% ECZYT 4,46 -2,19% KOZAA 58,0 5,0 472,73
ANHYT 3,76 3,87% CIMSA 6,80 -2,16% VAKBN 47,1 3,5 199,15
SISE 1,62 3,85% GLYHO 0,71 -1,39% AKBNK 38,7 8,5 82,38 Price ($) Way Change (%) High Low
Light C. Oil 78,97 -0,5% 79,67 78,69
Gold 1211,50 1,5% 1211,50 1211,50
Copper 324,40 1,0% 324,70 319,20
ÝMKB 100 ÝMKB 30 ÝMKB IND RETAILER BIMAS CARFA BOYNR KIPA
Mcap TL -- -- -- 6.809,1 4.668 1.307 97 738 P/E: Share price divided by earnings per share is a measure of the price paid for a share relative to the
P/E 2006/12 income or profit earned by the firm per share.
P/E 2007/06t 14,4x 13,6x 11,5x 247,9x 64,9x -96,7x 15,3x -19,8x EV/EBITDA: Enterprise value divided by earnings before interest, tax and amortization; “t” stands for
P/E 2007/09t 10,3x 9,8x 8,7x 307,0x 57,9x -550,7x 6,0x -10,2x trailer and means the data over the last four quarters.
(*) Yesterday's closing(**) Updated at 6 p.m. by GMT+2
EV/EBITDA 2006/12* 9,8x 9,5x 8,7x 335,3x 51,5x -209,8x 5,0x -8,9x
Disclaimer: The information in this report has been prepared by BMD, Bizim Securities from sources believed
EV/EBITDA 2007/03t* 6,3x 5,0x 7,7x 29,8x 42,9x 16,3x 6,1x 40,4x
to be reliable. All the information, interpretations and recommendations covered herein relating to
EV/EBITDA 2007/06t* 7,0x 5,6x 7,7x 31,3x 40,0x 19,6x 5,6x 72,6x investment actions are not within the scope of investment consultancy. Therefore investment decisions
6,7x 5,4x 7,7x 28,6x 37,9x 20,2x 4,9x 34,7x based only on the information covered herein may not bring expected results.
 SHOPPING
Winter fashion for men at Reebok
The new EX-O-FIT PLUS model Reebok, designed for men,
will be a popular item this winter season. Reebok’s EX-O-FIT
PLUS, which features an ankle strap, is available in white,
black and brown. The new model is bound to be a popular
choice for men that like to look sharp and sporty. EX-O-FIT
PLUS can be found at Reebok stores for TL 158.
Noviderm’s miracle
cream for dry hands
Créme Mains Moisturizing
Hand Cream moisturizes and
repairs hands that have been
irritated by the frequent use of
antibacterial soap. It also re-
lieves hands that have been
subject to cold and dry weat-
her conditions. Créme Ma-
ins Moisturizing Hand Cre-
am repairs the layers of skin
that have been damaged and
provides an intense moisturi-
zing effect. The te on lm in
the formula protects the skin
against all external effects, its
avocado oil relieves dryness
and tension and relaxes the
skin and the glycerin ingredient provides lasting moistu-
re. Not only does Noviderm Créme Mains Moisturizing
Hand Cream heal tension, cracks and redness, it also mo-
isturizes hands without making them greasy. Noviderm
Créme Mains Moisturizing Hand Cream (40 ml) TL 20.
Don’t let your lips chap!
The cold and arid weather of the winter months can cause dry
lips, making them a defenseless target of the effects of harsh
weather. But you can have awless and healthy lips with ef-
fective regular treatment. Blistex, a leading lip care brand, pro-
vides a very effective solution. Blistex Lip Relief Cream SPF
10 -- Instant Relief to Chapped Lips is designed to provide
a quick solution for chapped lips. Its formula contains camp-
hor and thymol which penetrate and soothe hurting lips, re-
turning them to a more natural, supple state and help make
them look healthy and replenished. Blistex Lip Relief Cream
SPF 10 -- Instant Relief to Chapped Lips: TL 6.50
Bella Gloria New
Year collections
What do you say about purchasing a Bella Gloria Good
Luck necklace or a Bella Gloria diamond ring as a New
Year’s gift for the one you love? The Bella Gloria New
Year collections are available once again for those who
like Bella Gloria. The prettiest and most meaningful pre-
sent you can buy for that special person on New Year’s is
a Bella Gloria Good Luck necklace or a Belle Gloria dia-
mond ring. Fourteen karat gold good luck necklaces and
diamond rings designed at affordable prices for the New
Year’s can be found at bellagloria.com. Customers can
purchase 14 karat, 18 karat and diamond-studded items
from authorized shopping Web sites in installments.
Shiny hair with John
Frieda Collection
Frizz-Ease 100% Shine Spray -- 100%
Glistening Fine Spray provides instant
shine and gloss to every type of hair and
leaves hair frizz-free with its strong for-
mula. It is easy to use and can be car-
ried in a purse, allowing you to renew
the hair’s shine any time and any whe-
re. All you have to do is spray it on your
hair. This spray will be the next essen-
tial item in your purse after your per-
fume and you will want to carry it with
you everywhere you go. This product
can be found at Boyner and perfu-
me chain stores such as Sevil as well
as some pharmacies. John Frieda Col-
lection Frizz-Ease 100% Shine Spray
-- 100% Glistening Fine Spray: TL 24
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 TODAY’S ZAMAN 09
Winter is here and it’s now time for care
Flormar’s cosmetics allow you to treat your skin while using makeup.
Flormar Pretty Powder gives your skin a natural matte look with its
non-greasy formula. Price: TL 6.50. Flormar Pata cream is so light you
can barely feel it. Its cover-up effect will leave you skin feeling flaw-
less and natural. Recommended for oily skin but is appropriate for all
skin types. It can be used wet or dry. Price TL 11.50
CUSTOMIZED
TODAY’S ZAMAN, MÜHENNA KAHVEC
JEWELRY
DELIVERED TO
YOUR HOME
PHOTOS
Arda ler is the only craftsman
who is known throughout
the Grand Bazaar for
embroidering red gold
GÜLZAR BAK ÝSTANBUL Turkey’s jewelry market, is a unique piece made with red
gold and rubies. Because ler creates customized jewelry,
Despite his young age, Arda ler is a trades- he only ever makes one of each piece and refuses to repli-
man who conducts his job with skill. ler cre- cate any of his work. Although ler does not have a physi-
ates personalized jewelry. All a jewelry ent- cal shop in the Grand Bazaar, he is known to the shop-
husiast has to do is explain the necklace, earring or keepers and customers, who can nd him through word
ring of their dreams to ler and voila! It will be done. of mouth. Jewelry lovers may visit him at his workshop,
ler will rst sketch the piece of jewelry desired by his and his hardcore fans simply invite him to their own home.
customer and share this drawing. If the customer appro- He generally showcases his latest creations during visits to
ves of what they see, he’ll lock himself into his workshop his customer’s homes. He is quite popular with well-to-do
and put his magic hands to work. During the preparati- women who have “gold parties” (altn günleri) in Turkey,
on state, the customer must go in for a “tting,” as tho- as they examine his work and make purchases. Among
ugh they are having a special dress made. Depending on those who purchase his rings, which are each works of art
the type of jewelry and the features of the stones being that could be displayed in art exhibits, are wives of busi-
used, there may be a need for more than one visit. And - nessmen and ministers. He says that he has also delive-
nally the customer walks away with the exact type of je- red the orders of many artists to their own homes. ler,
Because ler creates customized welry they want, for much cheaper than its market value. whose designs resemble that of his jewelry designing co-
ler is the only craftsman who is known throughout unterpart Sevan Nianyan of the Grand Bazaar, is called
jewelry, he only ever makes one of the Grand Bazaar for embroidering red gold. ler emroi- “Sevan no.2” in the Grand Bazaar. ler’s family is one
ders red gold, which is also known as Ottoman gold, cre- which had made a name for it’s self in jewelry design. His
each piece and refuses to replicate ating modernized Ottoman and Byzantine jewelry. The father was one of the Grand Bazaar’s nest foundry men,
any of his work. Although “Hürremin gözyalar” (The tears of Hürrem) necklace, however he has since retired. He and his two brothers are
which allowed for ler to make a name for himself in the keeping their father’s legend alive in the Grand Bazaar.
ler does not have a physical shop
in the Grand Bazaar, he is known
to the shopkeepers and customers, Socialites’ favorite new jewelry: ebony rings
who can nd him through word The tropical ebony tree has been valued since anci- with ebony. He discovered the story of ebony while rea-
ent times. Many kings used ebony thrones and canes. ding about general history. He ordered some from abro-
of mouth. Jewelry lovers may visit Some even drank out of ebony cups, as they believed ad and rolled up his sleeves to work with the rare wood.
that it would counteract the effects of poison. Ebony, He has since become an expert in carving it. His uni-
him at his workshop, and his which is currently widely used in the making of furniture que ivory rings have become popular among stanbul’s
and instruments, is very difficult to carve. This in com- socialites. ler says that it takes him three to four
hardcore fans simply invite him to
their own home
bination with its rarity makes it a very valuable item.
Arda ler is the only jeweler in Turkey who can work
months to make one ring, saying that ebony, although
wood, attracts the same attention as ruby or red gold.
Fashion week by Galata Tower Tween women now in Turkey
Next week will be Galata Fashion No doubt one of the rst labels that
Week, when famous fashion desig- comes to mind when thinking of
ners will be showing their new lines on the men’s suits in Turkey is Damat Tween. But
hill next to stanbul’s Galata Tower. The if you think that Tween only produces men’s
fth edition of the event, which runs Dec. clothing, you are wrong.
9-13, is sure to bring a festive atmosphere
as always to the Galata area.
This brand has opened Turkey’s rst mo-
nobrand men and women’s Tween clothing sto-
Fashion week allows visitors to enjoy and
purchase designs by well-known designers
re in City’s, a shopping center in Nianta. And
women who might be unhappy that they will
at reasonable prices. Eagerly awaited, the co- only be able to purchase their Tween clothing in
ming fashion week has prompted Beyolu Nianta should also know that they will even-
Mayor Ahmet Misbah Demircan to say, “Be- tually be able to buy Tween at other locations.
yolu is on the way to becoming Milano!” Speaking after the store’s opening at
Galata Fashion Week is organized with City’s, Orka Group CEO Süleyman Orakço- tity, and, in fact, when you purchase a piece
rol, Hakan Yldrm, Özlem Suer, Meh-
the cooperation of the Beyolu Municipa- lu announced that the Tween women’s collec- from the Tween collection, you can even learn
tap Elaidi, Cem Lokmanhekim and Gül
lity and the Fashion Designers’ Associati- tion will also eventually be sold at a variety of how many other people have it.
A as well as young designers such as
on. There are 27 fashion designers parti- different stores in the future. Orakçolu noted The Tween 2009-2010 women’s collec-
Gamze Saraçolu, Simay Bülbül, Bihter
cipating this year, and in addition, a new that the high demand abroad for Tween to cre- tion is simultaneously masculine, modern
Aida Pekin, Özlem Kaya, Özgür Mah-
collection from the brand Twist is to be ate a women’s clothing collection is what trig- and dynamic. The feeling that denes the
sur, Müge Ersin, Rana Canok, Aye De-
presented here for the first time. Visitors ged the company to create a women’s collecti- Tween collection for men can be felt in the
niz Yein, Çidem Akn, Öykü Thurston,
will also have the chance to sample new on last year. He noted that “the time has come women’s collection, and you can even nd
Zeynep Erdoan, Ümit Aybek, Asl Gü-
kinds of coffee from Kahve Dünyas. for us to share our women’s clothing with fas- certain shirts and jackets that are also avai-
ler and Nazl Çetiner. Some other yo-
Some of the more well-known fas- hion lovers in Turkey.” The Tween collecti- lable in the men’s collection but which are,
ung names being watched for the futu-
hion designers whose work will be on on for women was created with the idea that of course, designed for women. Perfect for
re include Zeynep Tosun, Özlem Ah-
display and up for sale at Galata Fashi- women want unique pieces of clothing. Thus, a woman who wants to dress like her hus-
akn, Beste Gürel, Yasemin Özeri and
on Week are Bahar Korçan, Arzu Kap- each piece for this collection has its own iden- band and be a real pair! Esra Keskin stanbul
Zekiye Koçarslan. Burcu Hilal stanbul
 10 TODAY’S ZAMAN FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 WORLD

BASES

CHAN
Japanese party
Mogadishu blast kills 14,

PHOTO
may leave gov’t
The leader of Japan’s tiny Social Democratic

including three ministers

Party threatened on Thursday to leave the rul-
ing coalition if her views on a US military base
were ignored, the latest sign of strains that are
complicating policy decisions. Prime Minister
Yukio Hatoyama has formed an awkward
coalition with the pacist Social Democrats,
whose support he needs to pass legislation,
It was the worst attack in the lawless Horn of Africa nation since Sept. 17,
but whose stance on Tokyo’s security alliance when hard-line al Shabaab insurgents struck the main African Union military
with Washington clashes with that of many
in his own party. Japan is under pressure
base in Mogadishu with twin suicide car bombs and killed 17 peacekeepers
from the United States to implement a plan

REUTERS, FEISAL OMAR

to shift a US Marine base from the centre of
a city on the southern island of Okinawa to a
more remote part of the island. But the Social
Democratic Party (SDP) supports the view of
local people who want it moved off the island.
SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima told party
Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks
members that if the government decided to
during a question-and-answer show at a Russian
go ahead with the existing plan, “the Social state TV channel in Moscow on Thursday.

PHOTO
Democratic Party and I will have to make an
important decision.” Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama, who heads the main coalition Putin: Russia to
party, the Democratic Party of Japan, said he
would take the SDP’s views seriously. “But it take tough action
is a diplomatic negotiation, so there is another
party involved,” he told reporters. Tokyo Reuters against terrorism
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed on
VOTE Thursday that the Russian government will
step up the ght against terrorism following a deadly
Hondurans say ‘no’ train bombing that killed 26 people last week. Putin
to restoring Zelaya admitted that the threat of terrorism remains “very
high” and promised that the authorities would act
The Honduran Congress ended hopes of re-
“very harshly” to root out militants.
versing a coup that has isolated one of the
“We have enough resolve and rmness for
poorest countries in the Americas, voting
that,” he said, opening a question-and-answer
against reinstating ousted President Manuel
session broadcast live by Russia’s state television
Zelaya despite intense international pressure
and radio. The bombing last Friday of the Mos-
to do so. The vote on Wednesday was part of
cow-to-St.Petersburg express train fueled fears
a US-brokered deal to end Honduras’ crisis
that Russia could face another wave of terror at-
that left it up to Congress to decide if Zelaya
tacks outside the volatile North Caucasus region
should be restored to ofce for the nal two
following years of relative calm and ofcial claims
months of his term -- and lawmakers voted
that Islamic militants had been defeated.
against the idea by a resounding 111-14 mar-
On Wednesday, hundreds of Russians protest-
gin. Zelaya, who listened to the proceedings
ed against terror in both Moscow and St. Peters-
from his refuge in the Brazilian Embassy, said
burg after Chechen rebels claimed responsibility
even before the vote that he wouldn’t return A wounded man is carried by residents after an explosion at the Hotel Shamo in Mogadishu on Thursday. The explosion tore through a gradua- for attack on the train. Putin’s televised comments
for a token two months if asked. He said he tion ceremony at the hotel and killed at least 14 people including three government ministers, witnesses and senior government sources said.
sent another strong signal that he remains the
should have been reinstated before Sunday’s
dominant force in Russian politics, overshadow-
presidential election and urged governments
REUTERS, ISMAIL TAXTA

A bomb tore through a graduation few minutes before the explosion.” ing his designated successor, President Dmitry
not to restore ties with the incoming adminis-
ceremony at a hotel in the Somali cap- Dubai-based Al Arabiya Television said Medvedev. Medvedev has never made a similar
tration of Porrio Lobo. “Today, the lawmak-
ital on Thursday and killed at least 14 one of its cameramen, Hasan al-Zubair, had appearance since his March 2008 election.
ers at the service of the dominant classes rati-
people including three government ministers, also been killed. Suspicion for the blast im- Putin’s marathon performance, which was simi-
ed the coup d’etat in Honduras,” Zelaya said
witnesses and senior government sources said. mediately fell on the al Shabaab group, which lar to previous call-in shows he did when he was
in a statement released after the vote. “They
It was the worst attack in the lawless Horn killed Somalia’s security minister and at least president, is being closely watched for clues to wheth-
have condemned Honduras to exist outside
of Africa nation since Sept. 17, when hard-line 30 other people in a suicide bombing at a hotel er he plans to regain presidency in Russia’s 2012 elec-
the rule of law.” The Obama administration
al Shabaab insurgents struck the main African in the central town of Baladwayne in June. tions. By law, Putin had to shift into the premier’s seat
and some Latin American governments had
Union military base in Mogadishu with twin Somali government ofcials say al in 2008 following two consecutive terms in ofce, but
urged Honduran lawmakers to reinstate Zela-
PHOTO

ya, who was seized and own out of the coun-
try on June 28, generating worldwide calls for
his reinstatement, foreign aid cuts and diplo-
matic isolation. But Honduras’ interim lead-
ers have proven remarkably resistant to dip-
lomatic arm-twisting since the June 28 coup,
rejecting near-universal demands that Zelaya
be restored to his ofce before the previously
scheduled election. Now lawmakers have
even snubbed international demands that he
be allowed to serve the nal two months of
his presidency. Tegucigalpa AP
CASE
Fort Hood shooting
suspect charged
An Army psychiatrist who may face the death
penalty after the mass shooting at Fort Hood
was charged on Wednesday with 32 counts of
attempted premeditated murder relating to the
scores of soldiers and two civilian police of-
cers injured in the attack, military ofcials said.
Maj. Nidal Hasan has already been charged
with 13 counts of premeditated murder after
the Nov. 5 shooting in a building at the Texas
Army post where soldiers must go before be-
ing deployed. Army ofcials have said he was
armed with two pistols, one a semiautomatic
capable of ring up to 20 rounds without re-
loading. The additional charges come less than
24 hours after Hasan’s civilian attorney was
Britain planning on Iraq started
notied that the Army plans to evaluate Hasan
to test his competency to stand trial as well
as his mental state at the time of the shoot-
after 2002 meeting, inquiry told
suicide car bombs and killed 17 peacekeepers.
The UN-backed government of Presi-
dent Sheikh Sharif Ahmed controls little
more than a few streets of the coastal capital.
In the days ahead of Thursday’s attack, resi-
dents said it had apparently been planning a
fresh offensive against the rebels. The bomb-
ing showed once again the insurgents’ ability
to strike the government at will, and it will
heighten frustration in the country’s fragile
administration over delayed pledges of mili-
tary and nancial support from donors.
A Reuters reporter at the Shamo Hotel
said it was packed with graduates from Bena-
dir University, their parents and ofcials when
the powerful blast tore through the ceremony.
“Human esh was everywhere,” he said.
Senior government sources said Health
Minister Qamar Aden Ali, Education Min-
ister Ahmed Abdulahi Waayeel and Higher
Education Minister Ibrahim Hassan Addow
all died in the blast. Sports Minister Sale-
ban Olad Roble was injured. Ali Yasin Gedi,
vice-chairman of Mogadishu-based Elman
Peace and Human Rights Organization,
said more than 40 people were wounded,
British military chiefs began planning for po-
Graduates line up at a ceremony in Shamo
Hotel shortly before a blast ripped through the
ceremony in Mogadishu on Thursday.
including the dean of Benadir’s medical col-
lege, who Gedi said had been evacuated by
plane to neighbouring Kenya.
“The bomb seems to have been planted
before the ceremony started,” Gedi told
Reuters. Another witness, medical student
Mohamed Abdulqadir, said at least nine stu-
dents and a lecturer had also died. “A lot of
my friends were killed,” he told Reuters. “I
was sitting next to a lecturer who also died.
He had been speaking to the gathering just a
soldiers dead and triggered massive public protests.
Shabaab has hundreds of foreign ghters in its
ranks, and the United States accuses the ex-
tremist group of being al-Qaeda’s proxy in the
country. Western security experts say the na-
tion has become a safe haven for militants, in-
cluding jihadists from overseas, who are using
it to plot attacks across the region and beyond.
Al Shabaab has threatened to strike
Uganda’s capital Kampala and Burundi’s
capital Bujumbura because both nations
contributed troops to the 5,200-strong AU
peacekeeping force AMISOM. Kenyan secu-
rity forces say they are on high alert on their
frontier with Somalia after al Shabaab ghters
seized several small towns on the Somali side
of the border in recent weeks.
Fighting has killed at least 19,000 Soma-
lis since the start of 2007 and driven another
1.5 million from their homes, triggering one of
the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies.
The anarchy has also spilled into the waters
offshore, where heavily armed Somali pirates
have made tens of millions of dollars in ran-
soms by terrorizing strategic shipping lanes
in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, which
links Europe to Asia. Mogadishu Reuters/AP
Settlers resist Israeli building
freeze order, block inspectors
AP, DAN BALILTY
since then the presidential term has been extended to
six years and Putin is eligible to run again in 2012.
The train bombing was the rst deadly terrorist
strike outside the North Caucasus since the bomb-
ings of two airliners and a Moscow subway station
attack in 2004. Russian investigators say a bomb was
place under the train tracks and traces of explosives
and a crater were found at the disaster site. Top
government ofcials were among those killed. “We
have done a lot to break the spine of terrorism, but
the threat is still here,” Putin said. “The entire so-
ciety, all of us must be aware of that threat.”
I’m here to stay
Putin also said he would not leave Russian poli-
tics any time soon, telling a questioner asking
about his departure: “Do not hold your breath.”
Putin’s future has been the subject of specula-
tion since Medvedev replaced him as president
in May last year. Some analysts have predicted
he will quickly return to the Kremlin while oth-
ers have suggested he could gradually leave
politics. Asked during an annual marathon
question and answer session with the Russian
people whether he was planning on taking part
in Russia’s next presidential election in 2012, he
said “I will think about it.” Moscow AP
Jewish settlers pressed on Thursday with their

ing. John Galligan, Hasan’s attorney, told The

Associated Press on Wednesday that Army
ofcials notied him late Wednesday that the
“mental responsibility” exam would take place
in the next 45 days. Galligan said the military
rejected his objection to the evaluation, al-
though he had pointed out that Hasan remains
tential involvement in an American-led inva-
sion after a 2002 meeting between former President
George W. Bush and ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair,
an inquiry probing the UK’s participation in the war
heard Thursday. Admiral Lord Michael Boyce, who
was chief of the defense staff at the time, said a small
The ve-person panel is expected to offer recom- refusal to abide by a government-ordered
mendations by the end of next year -- but was not freeze on building in West Bank settlements, and
set up to apportion blame or hold anyone liable for blocked inspectors from entering one such com-
the con ict. Boyce said there was “absolutely no munity to enforce the edict. Leaders of the settlers
contingency planning” for military action in Iraq in met with Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, who
2001, but by September 2002 -- after the Crawford was expected to try to placate them with tax breaks
PHOTO

in intensive care at a San Antonio military hos-
pital recovering from gunshot wounds that left
him paralyzed. “I’m incensed at the way the
military is handling this, serving additional
charges on my client when he’s in the hospital
and defense attorneys are not present,” Gal-
ligan told the AP by phone from his ofce near
Fort Hood, about 150 miles (240 kilometers)
southwest of Fort Worth. Fort Worth, Texas AP
group of people were involved in the planning,
which began after the former US president and the
British prime minister met in Crawford, Texas in
April 2002 -- a year before parliament authorized
involvement. “We started ramping up our think-
ing on the whole subject, of what we could provide
if we were asked,” he said. The inquiry is the most
extensive examination yet of the war, and Blair is
expected to testify early next year. The US-led war
-- deeply unpopular in Britain -- left 179 British
meeting and another between Blair and Bush that and promises to mitigate the freeze. The meeting
month at Camp David -- they were planning for comes a day after Israeli police arrested the mayor of
a large-scale British contribution to the war effort. a West Bank settlement and three other activists for
“We were looking by now at the most large-scale defying the 10-month building freeze Netanyahu
option,” he said. Kevin Tebbit, who was permanent announced a week ago. Netanyahu said the order is
secretary at the Ministry of Defense until 2005, told meant as a condence-building gesture to get peace
the inquiry that Britain would not have serious in- efforts with the Palestinians back on track. The deci-
uence on the United States until it had commit- A Palestinian woman reacts as she carries a toddler, sion has drawn re from the right- ank of Netan-
ted troops. He said military chiefs hadn’t pushed for while Jewish settlers move the belongings of a Pal- yahu’s coalition and put him at odds with some key
British involvement in the war. London AP estinian family from a house in East Jerusalem. supporters of his political base. Jerusalem AP
 WORLD F R I D A Y, D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9 TODAY’S ZAMAN 11

New momentum
for Afghanstan
Obama aides defend Afghan scale-up as skepticism mounts

REUTERS, JASON REED

Top US ofcials said the rst of 30,000 new US critical -- and, in my view achievable,” he said. Obama’s war
troops would arrive in Afghanistan in two to three But US commanders were keeping options open
OPINION Obama’s speech made him the architect of a new
weeks but also made clear plans to start bringing the sol- on the timing of a troop drawdown. Gates said they
phase of the Afghan war as the United States strug-
Anders Fogh Rasmussen diers home in 18 months could slip. would review progress in December 2010 and nal
gles with record federal decits, high joblessness and
One day after President Barack Obama unveiled his decisions on when to begin the withdrawal would
the ongoing economic bailout.
TODAY’S ZAMAN high-risk strategy for the Afghan troop increase, Defense depend on that assessment.
Some 40.8 million Americans watched the nationally
Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary He said Washington would not abandon Afghani-
televised prime-time speech, down about 10 million from
Today, foreign ministers from the 44 coun- Clinton faced skepticism from lawmakers of a big escala- stan if the security situation appeared untenable. “We’re
his two televised addresses in February on health reform,
tries in the NATO-led mission in Afghani- tion of the unpopular and expensive war. not just going to throw these guys into the swimming
PHOTO audience gures showed on Wednesday.
stan are meeting to discuss the way forward “This is a huge commitment. It’s the right com- pool and walk away,” he said.
Pentagon ofcials forecast the cost of the 30,000
for the mission. 2009 has not been an easy mitment. And it gives us the forces to turn this thing Obama acknowledged that Americans were war-
troop increase for scal 2010 at $30 billion to $35 billion,
year for Afghanistan or for the countries around,” Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the military weary after the bloody, six-year con ict in Iraq. But he
Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House of Representatives depicted the Afghan campaign as vital to US security higher than previous estimates.
sending troops. But a new phase of the in-
Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday. and said it was aimed at defeating the Taliban and Many of Obama’s fellow Democrats have
ternational effort is now beginning.
Obama’s plan will bring the US troop strength in Af- preventing further attacks by al Qaeda, which was voiced doubt about escalating the costly con ict,
Three days ago, President Obama made
ghanistan to almost 100,000 in a buildup ofcials hope will behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. while Republicans have complained the drawdown
an important speech, in which he laid out
secure the country after eight years of war and allow US The top Republican on the Senate committee, John date ties the military’s hands.
America’s strategy for this mission. He made
soldiers to start pulling out by the summer of 2011. McCain, voiced doubt about the withdrawal plan, echo- The debate carries clear risks for Democrats before
a substantial commitment of resources, in-
Gates, testifying at the Senate Armed Services Com- ing fears it could allow Taliban militants to wait out the US midterm elections next year in which Republicans hope to
cluding over 30,000 US forces. And he made
it clear to any doubters that the US is deter- mittee, said the rst new US forces would be sent in two troop surge and reassert themselves later. take chunks out of Democratic majorities in both chambers
mined to do what it takes to nish the job. to three weeks, starting an 18-24 month “extended surge.” “A date for withdrawal sends exactly the wrong of Congress. Obama faces re-election in 2012.
But this is not just President Obama’s Gates said the aim was to shift responsibility for se- message to both our friends and our enemies,” said “Like everything else, it depends on how it goes,”
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L), US Sec-
war. We all face the same threats from what retary of State Hillary Clinton and Chairman of the curity to the Afghans themselves. “Beginning to transfer McCain, Obama’s defeated Republican rival in the Democratic Senator Paul Kirk, a former chairman of his
is happening in Afghanistan: from terrorism, Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen testify. security responsibility to the Afghans in summer 2011 is 2008 presidential election. party, said of Obama’s Afghan strategy. Washington Reuters
from drugs, from extremism. This is an Alli-
ance effort, and we will nish it together. At
this very important moment in the evolution
of our operation, NATO will demonstrate its

REUTERS, DAVID GRAY

unity and its strength once again.
There will be a substantial increase, in
2010, in the number of soldiers provided
by the non-US members of NATO: at least
5,000, and probably several thousand more.
That is on top of the 38,000 or so non-US
NATO allies face US
troops already on the ground. But this isn’t
just about troop numbers. It is about strat-
pressure on Afghan troops

PHOTO
egy. And our strategy is very clear: to trans-
fer lead responsibility for running their own
country to the Afghans, as soon as possible.
That means transition, where Afghan
Europeans have been in less of a hurry to commit new forces to an uncertain, 8-year
forces take the lead, and our forces move military campaign that is increasingly unpopular at home because of rising casualties.
into a supporting role. I am pressing Allies
and partners to fully resource and nance NATO foreign ministers discussed the issue on Thursday and will also continue today A local woman on a crutch shouts at Chinese soldiers wear-
ing riot gear in China’s Xinjiang region in this July 7 photo.
our training mission. That is how we’ll make

REUTERS
transition to Afghan leadership a reality, Washington’s NATO allies faced
sooner. And I’m condent that, when the Af-
ghan people, and citizens in troop contribut-
pressure on Thursday to commit
more troops and money to the war
China sentences
ing nations, see transition happening, start- in Afghanistan, supplementing President 5 more to death

PHOTO
ing next year, they will see the progress they Barack Obama’s announcement of an in-
need to continue to support this mission. crease in US troops. for Xinjiang riots
But transition is not a code word for exit Obama’s envoy said on Thursday that
A Chinese court on Thursday handed down
strategy. It means transition to a different America’s NATO allies have been strongly
a further ve death sentences to people con-
role. First, our soldiers will start to partner supportive of the administration’s plans for
victed of murder and other crimes during ethnic
with Afghan forces, at all levels; from the eld the war in Afghanistan despite its unpopu-
rioting in the far western Xinjiang region in July in
to the headquarters, to pass on the knowl- larity in Europe, Richard C. Holbrooke,
which almost 200 people died.
edge they need to stand on their own feet. the US special representative for Afghani-
The ofcial Xinhua news agency reported that
And when the conditions are right -- when stan and Pakistan said he expected Euro-
a court in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s regional capital, also
they have the capabilities and the condence pean governments soon to contribute more
jailed two defendants for life.
-- we will move to the next phase, where forces to join the 30,000 fresh US troops
Judging by their names, the ve people given
Afghan forces take the lead in planning and that will be deployed to Afghanistan under
the death penalty all appeared to be Uighurs, a Tur-
carrying out operations, with NATO forces Obama’s new strategy.
kic minority that calls Xinjiang its homeland.
backing them up. That is the way forward, “We have been very gratied by the
“Trials in ve other cases connected with the
and I’m condent we can start next year. strong support of our European allies for
riot will be heard by the court on Friday [today],”
Foreign ministers will discuss all of this President Obama’s policy,” Holbrooke
Xinhua cited court sources as saying.
today. But they will not just discuss the mili- told journalists.
Last month, China executed nine people con-
tary operation. They will also focus on the European leaders have welcomed
victed of violent crimes in the ethnic unrest between
broader political strategy. And that includes Obama’s Afghanistan strategy, which in-
Uighurs and majority Han Chinese.
what we expect from the new Afghan gov- cludes sending 30,000 more US troops to
In Xinjiang’s worst ethnic violence in decades,
ernment. Good governance is the best way join the ght against a Taliban insurgency.
Uighurs attacked Han Chinese in Urumqi, after tak-
to suck the oxygen away from the Taliban. But they have been in less of a hurry to
ing to the streets to protest against attacks on Uighur
After all that we have committed to this mis- commit new forces to an uncertain, 8-year
workers at a factory in southern China in June that
sion, we have the right to insist on it. military campaign that is increasingly un-
left two Uighurs dead.
President Karzai has made some very popular at home because of rising casualties.
Han Chinese in Urumqi sought revenge
clear and welcome statements. I’m pleased NATO foreign ministers discussed the issue
two days later.
to see that corruption investigations are al- on Thursday and will also continue today.
The violence killed 197 people, mostly Han
ready underway. It’s a good start, and it will NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh
Chinese, and more than 1,600 were wounded, ac-
help to establish the credibility the Afghan Rasmussen said on Wednesday he expect-
cording to ofcial gures. Beijing Reuters
people and the international community ed US allies to provide at least 5,000 extra
need to see. The conference to be held in troops and probably a few thousand more
January in London will be very important in -- still short of the 10,000 troops and train-
ers Pentagon ofcials had sought.
Syria says Iran bus
this regard as well, to establish a new con-
tract between the Afghan government and NATO ofcials said about 1,500 of the
5,000 would be election reinforcements
blast an accident,
the international community.
I am condent that soon, we will see sent in earlier this year. At the same time, at least three dead
new momentum in this mission. In 2010, the Netherlands and Canada plan to with- A blast ripped through a bus carrying Iranian
there will be substantially more forces on draw combat forces of 2,100 and 2,800 in pilgrims in Damascus on Thursday, killing at
the ground, focused on defending the Af- 2010 and 2011 respectively. least three people in an incident Syria said was an
ghan people. We will start handing over US ofcials say Washington is now accident and not a terrorist attack.
lead security responsibility to Afghan forces, seeking up to 7,000 more troops from al- “There was no terrorism factor behind the bus
district by district, where conditions allow. lies to supplement the US increase. Italy incident,” Syrian Interior Minister Said Sammour
There will be clear commitments, and I ex- said on Thursday it would send up to said. “The bus entered a petrol station to have one
pect clear action, by the Afghan government 1,000 more troops. of its burst tires in ated and the tire exploded. Three
to earn the support of the Afghan people. A senior US ofcial said the United people were killed.”
There will be more development assistance, States had put forward its views on what NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen holds a news conference at the alliance headquarters in Brussels. Witnesses said earlier a bomb had hit the bus
starting with the $5 billion pledged by Japan. it believed other countries were capable of near the Shiite shrine of Sayyeda Zainab, killing six
And the civilian side of the whole effort will providing, either militarily or nancially. Britain, which has the second largest troop Germany has signaled a willingness to people and destroying the rear of the bus and caus-
be stepped up as well, not least through the “The decision on whether they will is contingent in the war zone, plans to boost its do more police training but said it could ing damage to nearby buildings.
EU Action Plan. up to them,” he said. “We expect that other commitment by 500 to 10,000, and NATO of- not commit more troops before a strategy “Body parts are still scattered around the bus,”
In the end, it comes down to this: When allies will look very seriously at how they cials said others that have announced plans review early next year. one of the witnesses told Reuters from the Sayyeda
the Taliban comes to take the son of the Af- can contribute to that effort.” to send more troops were Georgia (900), Po- France said on Monday it did not plan Zainab area in Damascus.
ghan father to ght on their side, what will “This is the time to think about how we land (600) and Slovakia (250). to send more troops but President Nicolas The blast took place as Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief
that father do? If he sees that the Taliban can do better, and perhaps do more, not the Portugal is keeping its pledge made Sarkozy responded to Obama’s speech by nuclear negotiator, was visiting Damascus for meet-
have no chance of winning; if he sees that time to gure out how we can do less.” earlier this year to send 150 troops from its saying it would look at helping to train Af- ings with Syrian ofcials.
his life is getting better; and if he believes in “rapid deployment” force to join 100 mili- ghan forces. Syria has been hit by bomb attacks in recent
his government; then he will say no. And the
Italy plans increase tary trainers in Afghanistan, Defense Min- Sarkozy said he would review his po- years. A car bomb attack on a security complex near
insurgency will lose. It’s as simple as that. Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La RUSSA ister Augusto Santos Silva said. sition after the NATO meeting and a UN- Damascus airport killed 17 people in September
Those are the conditions we have to create, said in an interview published in Thurs- Albania said it would send its rst 35 sponsored conference in London on Jan. 28. 2008. That attack was blamed on Lebanon-based
and I think that, next year, we will start to day’s Corriere della Sera newspaper that combat troops, as well as 50 trainers and Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Baj- extremist militant group with links to al-Qaeda.
see the light at the end of the tunnel. Italy would send around 1,000 additional other military personnel to join 250 already nai said Budapest would consider the US re- Syrian security forces deployed in the
soldiers to Afghanistan, raising its total in Afghanistan. quest for more troops, but a decision was not area, a popular destination for Shiites from
*Anders Fogh Rasmussen is the NATO secretary- force to around 3,700. But the response elsewhere has been cautious. likely immediately. Brussels Reuters/AP Iran and Lebanon, and were investigating
general. the blast. Damascus Reuters
 12 TODAY’S ZAMAN F R I D AY, D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9 EXPAT ZONE

Out of place
There is truth in the French proverb that says, “A man who
knows two languages is worth two men.” Although knowing
a second language can help you land a job and understand an-
other culture, you may nd you feel out of place at times.
These days, bilingual skills are in high demand. These skills
can be used in nearly any occupation, especially translation, in-
terpretation and foreign language teaching.
Just the other day a person asked me if I knew if her friend,
who plans to move to Turkey and is qualied to teach Chinese,
would be able to nd a teaching position. I said that I was pretty
sure she could. I told her about an elementary school that offered
English, German, French and Chinese.
It’s common knowledge that people who can speak two
languages are more adept at learning a new foreign language
than their monolingual counterparts. Many Turks have studied
English but most have not had much opportunity to practice
speaking English with native English speakers in Turkey.
On the other hand, many foreigners come to Turkey and study
Turkish. If you were to consult language centers offering Turkish
classes which level has the lowest enrollment, you would quickly re-
alize that few students actually reach an advanced level of Turkish.
CULTURAL CORNER
CHARLOTTE
McPHERSON
When sitting around talking with other foreigners who are study-
ing Turkish, they make comments about how difcult they nd Turk-
ish. Most say it’s just so opposite to English. Those who reach an upper
intermediate or higher level nd they have gaps in their vocabulary.
For example, it becomes obvious when they have to take the car to the
mechanic or do some ofcial work for a residence permit or whatever.
This is true for anyone who is studying another language. I
remember recently speaking with some Turkish friends in Eng-
lish about the subject of music. As we spoke I realized that they
were more comfortable talking about music in Turkish than in
English. They did not know all the music terms in English be-
cause they had not studied this subject in English.
According to Edward Said’s autobiographical memoir “Out of
Place,” Said lived “between worlds” in both Cairo and Jerusalem.
After moving to America, he felt out of place as well. Apparently, he
was uent in French, English and Arabic. I believe it may have been
Said who said that even though he knew both Arabic and English
and each could seem like his rst language, neither was.
One of the areas that foreigners struggle with when learning
Turkish is the use of proverbs and the special usage of words.
These expressions are often used in certain settings. They reveal
insights into family, friendship and society.
I remember the rst time I heard the word “estafurullah,”
which can mean “I ask pardon of God” or “Don’t mention it”
or “no trouble at all,” depending on the situation. I didn’t know
what to think. Many of us who’ve studied Turkish found just try-
ing to say this word tricky, but then knowing when the appropri-
ate time to say it was even trickier.
Many Turkish words and phrases reveal something about the
culture. This is one of those -- it can be seen to be giving a reply but
really saying nothing.
Maybe you have noticed that leave-taking in Turkish is not so
straightforward. Another one of those words which can be a tongue
twister in the early stages of your Turkish language learning when
you are used to just saying the simple one-syllable English word
“bye” is the word “Allahasmaladk.”
I wonder how many of you in the beginning stages of language
learning were concentrating so hard on making the right impression
with your Turkish friend or business contact that, instead of saying
“Allahasmaladk,” you said “Güle güle,” which is supposed to be
said by the one staying, not the one leaving.
Seran Doançay, in her research on Turkish proverbs, differenti-
ates between atasözü (what ancestors say) and deyim (sayings). You
can read the full report at http://www.wpel.net/v6/v6n2Dogancay.pdf
A couple of other practical cultural insights that will help you along are:
Don’t interrupt others or nish their sentences.
Let others be “right” most of the time.
Learning about the culture and the language is the key to success.
In the process you needn’t be too hard on yourself when you make
mistakes. Most people appreciate that you are trying, so don’t give up!
You learn something every day if you pay attention. ~Ray LeBlond
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please
keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is
a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com

Çukurova

TODAY’S ZAMAN
University new
favorite for
Erasmus students

PHOTOS
Çukurova University has become a favorite
destination for students participating in the
EU-nanced Erasmus student exchange program.
The university recently held it’s rst-ever
Erasmus Day on campus, which provided a venue
for international students studying at the school
to introduce the different countries and universi-
ties they have came from. Speaking at the event,
during which stands were set up representing dif-
ferent nations and universities, Professor Erbu
Keskin, the head of Çukurova University’s foreign
relations division, recalled the difculty they’d
encountered in trying to bring an Italian student
to the university’s medical school in 2004, saying:
BEFORE “[In contrast], recently in the medical school alone
there are seven Italian students studying.”
Keskin said that stanbul was an easy choice for
international students, but that it had taken time for
the university to attract students. Noting that things
have improved since, Keskin says: “Now, there are
seven Italians in the medical school, out of a total 20

BURSA
international students in the faculty. In the univer-
sity as a whole there are 50 students studying here
as part of the Erasmus program.”
International students exhibit different be-
havior and live different lifestyles to many Turk-

ULU CAMİ’S
ish students, Keskin said. “When they rst started
coming they were subject to a lot of prejudice. Fe-
The interior of the
male students were judged for the clothing that
Ulu Cami in Bursa
they wore. But now the campus and surroundings
have gotten used to it. While these students used

NEW LOOK A MUST SEE

ÜLKÜ ÖZEL AKAGÜNDÜZ BURSA
Green Mosque next in line…
Even if you’ve seen the Ulu Cami (Great
Mosque) in Bursa before, consider that The Ulu Cami in Bursa was
you haven’t. This masterpiece, which at- saved by a meticulous op-
eration that involved the
tracts visitors from all parts of Turkey, was under
most sympathetic resto-
a thick layer of tar and oil paint, and we didn’t ration process of recent
even know it. The pulpit, for example, was black- years, but will the Green
ened because of the layers of synthetic varnishes Mosque be as fortunate?
Semih rte
that were used to make it look shiny. Some wise It is currently unclear who
guy painted the walls of the mosque with oil paint will lead the restoration, which has been put
in 1983, making it unable to breathe. out to tender. Noting that it is very risky to
give the restoration of unique works to new
Whoever that pragmatic person was also paint-
people in the business for a cheap price,
ed the hand-carved decorations on the müezzin’s rte said: “Restorations do not tolerate
(the person who makes the call to prayer) mahfel mistakes. Once you remove something you
(gathering place) with white paint. How do you cannot bring it back.”
think it would feel to witness the uncovering of a
16th century design and style masterpiece of leath-
rte decorates
erwork decorations from under a layer of oil paint? mosques in Chechnya
AFTER
avail. As a result of analyses, the team discovered
that the coatings on the domes were from after
1855 and that the decoration had fallen apart
during the restoration that took place after the
earthquake. The mosque experienced its most
unfortunate event when all the walls, domes and
giant columns supporting the domes were plas-
tered with oil-based paint in 1983. “It was hard,
very hard, to remove that paint,” rte said.
Muezzin’s mahfel:
The most exciting moments of the restoration
happened in the muezzin’s mahfel. The date 1549
according to abjad calculation was inscribed un-
der a two-verse poem in the mahfel. It became
possible to see the poem and the wooden orna-
ments on the stairwell only after the dirt, varnish
and nishing touches from the recent period were
removed. Leatherwork ornaments were uncov-
to be viewed like aliens, we see that they’re now
received much more normally,” he said.
Emphasizing that the number of Çukurova
University students that have gone abroad as part
of an exchange program had reached 400, Kes-
kin continued: “Nations that know about Adana
and our university want to increase the number
of exchange students sent here. Now we’re send-
ing 400 students abroad. If the grants provided in-
crease, we could send 4,000 students a year.”
Çukurova University numbers among the top
ve Turkish universities that send students abroad,
the professor noted. “As part of our internship pro-
gram, a total of 300 students will go to different Eu-
ropean countries. Before now we had approached
the issue with the attitude that our students can go
wherever they are able, but now that European cit-
ies have come to know Adana and our university
and began choosing to come here, we can also be
selective,” he emphasized. The students who had
learned about different schools and countries as
part of Erasmus Day are now better equipped to
make an informed decision about where they want
to go abroad next year, he said. Ömer Sar Adana
TODAY’S ZAMAN

Let’s ask Semih rte, who is an expert on architec-
tural ornamentation, because it was Irte who no-
ticed the tiny speck of red behind the “eyelet” carv-
ing and uncovered the beautiful decoration. More
precisely, it was he and his team that uncovered the
mosque’s true face and enabled it to be reunited
with its real color, texture and lost ornamentation.
Before After
kündekari, it is considered the biggest and most
artistic of its kind. The pulpit was never dam-
aged when it was used as a shed in the 1855
earthquake, when the domes of the mosque
collapsed. When mosque ofcials decided to
rte is also working on the decoration of six
mosques built in Ottoman style in Chechnya,
where things have started to improve after
the election of its youngest president (Rama-
zan Kadirov, 33). Some new mosques were
opened last month and more will follow be-
cause rte and his team have rolled up their
ered from under the oil paint that was painted
over the triangle formed by the stairs leading to
the muezzin’s place. rte, who started to remove
the paint after noticing the extraordinary red color
called zencefre, said: “I insist that the decoration
here is the most magnicent decoration of the
PHOTO

Let’s take a closer look at the meticulous operation
that began in 2006 with the support of the Bursa
Chamber of Commerce and continued for three
years. This restoration was the most comprehensive
since the 1855 earthquake.
Pulpit:
The pulpit was one of the most successful pieces
of the restoration. The date 1399 according to
abjad calculation was inscribed on it, meaning
it is as old as the mosque. Made from a wal-
nut tree with woodworking techniques called
cover the walls with synthetic varnish to make
it look shiny and attractive, the ornamented and
carved surface became completely covered with
tar. After the color of the wood and the mag-
nicent carvings were exposed in a process that
took six months, the pulpit was returned to its
original 600-year-old appearance and covered
with a glassy surface to protect it from well-
intentioned paint brush strokes in the future.
The signature of Devakl Abdülaziz, the master
of amazing geometrical ornamentation, can be
clearly seen from behind the glass covering.
sleeves to work on three mosques, the work
on which will finish in August.
The hand paintings
on top of the coating:
According to one story all the domes of the
mosque collapsed in an earthquake. According
to another, two domes survived the earthquake.
Considering the possibility that two of the domes
were authentic, the team began searching for
original decorations dating from 1399, but to no
16th century. The motifs we admire are all here.
Rumis [split leaves], cloud motifs, hatayis [stylized
blossoms], nutgrass leaves. I looked very carefully,
but I couldn’t nd a signature. But this work car-
ries the spirit of the 16th century master ahkulu.”
The mahfel has also been covered with the glassy
substance. But is that a solution for curious and
inquisitive people? When rte saw a man touch-
ing the decorations by slipping his ngers through
a ve-centimeter opening that was made to allow
the piece to breathe, he was angry and felt it was
necessary to close that opening as well.
Adana’s Çukurova University currently hosts
50 students enrolled in the Erasmus program.

NOTE: Today’s Zaman intends to provide a lively forum for expatriates living in Turkey. We encourage you to contact us at voice@todayszaman.com and share your experiences, questions and problems in all walks of life for publication in Today’s Zaman.
 CULTURE&ARTS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 TODAY’S ZAMAN 13

Erwin Wurm brings absurdist

take on sculpture to stanbul

REUTERS
RUMEYSA KIGER STANBUL tures’ and expressions of ‘frozen time.’ Simply by freezing a
gesture for just one minute, Wurm reveals levels of meaning
Austrian artist Erwin Wurm is bringing his unique ab- that are not apparent at ‘normal’ speed. Photographs help to
surdist exploration of sculpture to stanbul in two ins- capture sculptural situations and to make still images of them.

tallments, the rst a show at the Akbank Art Gallery
which opened last Wednesday, and the second a spot in the
Contemporary stanbul art fair, running through Dec. 6.
The exhibition is focused on “Wurm’s textile works, the
clothing of our daily lives which he uses for his sculptures
and wall-sculpture pictures,” explains Gisela Winkelhofer,
the curator of the show at Akbank Art Center in an intervi-
ew with Today’s Zaman. She says, “Turkey has a long tradi-
tion of producing fabrics and clothing,” adding that this was
why she decided to center the show on the artist’s textile pie-
ces. However, she notes that Wurm’s exhibition in the Con-
temporary stanbul event will also focus on his video work.
Asked about her selections for the Akbank show, the cu-
rator explains, “I am presenting six pieces, including three
wall-sculpture pictures created in 2007, one ‘mind bubble’ as
well from 2007 and two sculptures, human beings without he-
ads, the bodies are pressed in dressed boxes, from 2008.”
Meanwhile at Contemporary stanbul, his sculpture-video
projection installation “I Love My House, I Don’t Like My
Time” (2003), featuring a house that is made of fat, another ins-
tallation that features a talking house, called “Am I a House?”
(2005), and his latest video “Tell” (2007/08) will be presented.
“In ‘Tell’ two people are sitting in a car and discussing ordinary
things about their daily lives, but at the end something very
strange happens. But I do not want to let you know the ‘happy
AP
PHOTO
This can also be done in lm: a man stands motionless from
sunrise to sunset, and this period of time captured on lm
transforms him into a sculpture that is more rmly xed and
more constant than even the sun that moves across the sky
during the day,” she says, adding that Wurm’s penetrating
and ironic approach turns cars into “weird” objects that curve
and twist, lean up against walls, or, as he shows on lm, dri-
ve up the walls of buildings and turn the horizontal and the
ending’ of the story,” said the curator. vertical on their heads. Humor plays an important role in the
Wurm became known to a wider creation process of the artist. “‘Humor is a weapon,’ he once
audience through his “one-minute said,” Winkelhofer points out. “Wurm knows how to make
sculptures” and his “fat sculptures.” use of it peaceably, but also very pointedly. For him a world
“Whenever Erwin Wurm dips into devoid of special objects would be a very sad prospect. If
the innite reserves of the world of everything was just reduced to the bare bones then we would
real objects, and turns one of them be frozen in the icy silence of a joyless existence,” she added.
into a sculpture, then the object he Erwin Wurm For Wurm everything can become a sculpture: actions,
has chosen is transformed into so- written or drawn instructions and even thoughts, Winkelhofer
mething new, with its own particular signicance,” Winkel- noted. “Wurm has worked for over 25 years on a multifaceted
hofer explained. “Cars, potatoes, cucumbers and items of œuvre that can be interpreted as a ‘continuous research on the
clothing are just some of the objects from the real world that concept of sculpture.’ His sculptural cosmos traverses diverse
he has ‘treated’ in his sculptures, turning their meaning and imaginative worlds, taking its inspiration from various formal
thereby producing new images,” she stated. options and confronting us as viewers with ever new images,”
According to the curator the idea of performance plays a she explained. “The effect of Wurm’s work is aimed rst and
key role in this process. “Wurm transforms what seem to be foremost at the emotions of its viewers, who encounter their al-
banal situations, gestures and actions into ‘one-minute sculp- ter egos -- sometimes to a greater degree than they might like.”

Festival on Wheels
PHOTO

selection hits the road

The Turkish capital’s homegrown Festival
on Wheels traveling lm festival rolls out
its 15th edition today in Ankara, offering cinep-
hiles a ne selection of independent and mostly
art-house lms for the following week.
Running through Dec. 10 on its home ground
with screenings at the Bat Theater, the festival

Beyonce leads will later travel to the eastern Black Sea city of Art-
vin for a week-long run from Dec. 11-17, where it
will hand out prizes to the winners of its interna-

Grammys, Taylor tional competition at a ceremony on Dec. 16. The

festival will head overseas for its nal leg, which

Swift close behind will run from Dec. 18-20 in Skopje, Macedonia,
and feature a program of largely Turkish lms.
Two Turkish titles, the documentary “ki Dil
R&B singer Beyonce led the eld of
Bir Bavul” (On the Way to School), by co-directors
Grammy contenders with 10 nominati-
Orhan Eskiköy and Özgür Doan, and youth dra-
ons on Wednesday, closely followed by teen
ma “Bornova Bornova,” directed by nan Temelku-
country sensation Taylor Swift with eight, and
ran, are among the 10 entrants running for the gold,
both will compete for coveted album of the year.
silver and bronze Bull Awards in the festival’s inter-
Hip-hop band Black Eyed Peas, R&B singer
national competition. They are joined by eight ot-
Maxwell -- making a return to the music busi-
her lms from seven countries, including French-
ness after an eight-year absence -- and rapper
Korean lmmaker Ounie Lecomte’s “A Brand New
Kanye West each earned six nods.
Life,” “Adieu Gary” by France’s Nassim Amaouc-
In a list that re ected youth and a drop-off
he, “Castaway on the Moon” by South Korean Lee
of veteran super groups like U2, glam singer
Hey-jun, Irish Margaret Corkery’s “Eamon” and Ro-
Lady Gaga and rapper Jay-Z each earned ve
manian Corneliou Porumbiou’s “Police, Adjective.”
Grammy nods apiece.
Other programs in the lineup include “Anti,” a
Swift, 19, whose “Fearless” album is the biggest
high-prole selection of lms with a stance against
seller in the United States in 2009, will compete with
capitalism, war, nationalism, militarism, sexism
Beyonce for album of the year along with the Black
and authoritarianism; “Turkish Cinema 2009” and
Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews Band and Lady Gaga,
“Germany 30 Years Before & 30 Years On.”
who has gone from obscurity to worldwide fame this
For more information on the festival and
year with her debut album “The Fame.”
the full program, visit the festival’s Web site at
Both Swift, a big winner at the Country Mu-
www.festivalonwheels.org. Ankara Today’s Zaman
sic Association and American Music Awards
last month, and Beyonce were also nominated
for two other key Grammys -- record of the year
and song of the year. 1001 Documentary
“Taylor is a phenomenon in entertain-
ment,” Neil Portnow, president of the Recor-
fest opening today
ding Academy told reporters. “She has really stanbul lmgoers will be getting a kick out of
struck a chord with people. I am not surprised” documentaries for the next seven days as the
at the number of nominations. stanbul International 1001 Documentary Film Fes-
Swift has never won a Grammy, while Be- tival gets under way today for the 12th year in a row.
yonce is a 10-time winner in her solo career and A selection of 61 international and 34 national
her earlier turn in the trio Destiny’s Child. Her documentaries is offered in this year’s festival, run-
latest solo album “I Am...Sasha Fierce” produ- ning through Dec. 11 at the French Culture Center,
ced the hit singles “Halo” and “Single Ladies.” the Tark Zafer Tunaya Culture Center, the Pera Mu-
The six nominations for multi-ethnic Los An- seum and the Muammer Karaca Theater in Beyolu
geles band Black Eyed Peas followed their chart- and the Nazm Hikmet Culture Center in Kadköy.
topping album “THE E.N.D.”, whose singles “Boom Midnight screenings will be held at the Tütün Depo-
Boom Pow” and then “I Gotta Feeling” enjoyed a su (tobacco warehouse) in Tophane.
record-breaking 26-week run in the US charts. Organized annually by the stanbul-based Asso-
Veteran Bob Dylan, 68, was nominated for ciation of Documentary Filmmakers in Turkey (BSB),
best Americana album for “Together Through the 1001 Documentary Film Festival does not feature
Life” and best solo rock performance for his a competitive section but instead offers a wide selec-
“Beyond Here Lies Nothin’” album which de- tion that this year includes such programs as “Side
buted at No.1 in the US album charts in May. C: Documentaries on Music,” “Roviros Manthou-
U2, whose latest album “No Line on the lis: From the Window of a Master,” “Tales of Anato-
Horizon” was given a huge promotional push lia,” “ICAIC: 50 Years of Cuban Documentary Film-
earlier this year, won Grammy nominations for making” and “Stroll through Beyolu,” among ot-
best rock album and best rock song but were hers. Side events include a master class with Greek
shut out of the most prized categories. documentary maker Roviros Manthoulis, panel dis-
Winners in all categories of the 52nd annu- cussions with lmmakers and seminars. For a full list
al event will be announced at a televised awards of lms and screening program, check the festival’s
ceremony on Jan. 31. Los Angeles Reuters Web site: www.1001belgesel.net. stanbul Today’s Zaman
 14 TODAY’S ZAMAN
SCANDAL AT WAN-IFRA / WEF
CONGRESS IN HYDERABAD
YAVUZ
BAYDAR
y.baydar@todayszaman.com
HYDERABAD -- I spent the last three days in Hyderabad, In-
dia, trying to talk some sense into the entire leadership of the
World Association of Newspapers (WAN-IFRA) and World Edi-
tors Forum (WEF). The reason was that due to a scandal a crisis
erupted at the annual WAN-IFRA and WEF congress, the larg-
est organization of media proprietors and editors, as some media
groups walked out in protest and returned home.
As widely reported by the Turkish media, the reason was found
in part of the group’s annual statement about freedom of the press
around the globe, the part on the state of press freedom in Turkey.
It became immediately obvious that the inclusion of Tur-
key in the group of five most restrictive countries (which
were condemned for violating press freedom) as well as the
almost exclusive focus on the tax evasion case against the
Doan Media Group was a result of ill-informed, superficial,
biased and sloppy work done by the organization.
The WEF, which is the ank of the organization representing
editors and journalists and not owners, had unethically and unusu-
ally invited the daughter of the owner of Doan to make a presenta-
tion at its board meeting in Hyderabad, and was entirely indifferent
to non-Doan afliated editors and journalists. This was a scandal.
I contacted, constantly, the leaders and managers of the or-
ganization over the past few days, pointing out the fact that the
manner in which the Doan case was treated would alienate the
rest of the Turkish media and leave WAN-IFRA and WEF alone
with one group, causing profound problems of credibility and
representation for the organization in the future.
The entire leadership remained, at times in a patroniz-
ing manner, indifferent to the dissenting views conveyed to
them. The result became a total disrespect for the reasonable
objections voiced. Their position remained unchanged.
For the record, I would like to share with the readers, what I, in
despair, wrote to them, before I also left Hyderabad. It is as follows:
“As I understand, the inclusion of the recent tax evasion case in
the latest WAN- IFRA annual statement as a ‘major threat to press
freedom’ caused, among the Turkish members [other than those af-
liated with Doan] of WAN-IFRA, widespread discontent and led
to a joint, written protest. I, too, felt rather disturbed.
“As a journalist for over 30 years, and as an independent
ombudsman in the Turkish media landscape for over a de-
cade, until now a keen supporter of WEF as a pluralistic, fair
and credible platform in the international scene, please allow
me make a few comments about the case.
“I nd the perspective with which WAN-IFRA approaches
the Turkish government vs. Doan Media tax evasion case par-
tial; its judgment utterly simplistic and its wording problematic.
This is a case whose arrival has been rather inevitable, in which
there are no innocent parts, and no ‘pure’ victims.
“As outside observers, it must have seemed clear to you, that
while the Turkish state, governments and parliaments have been
known to keep the leash on Turkish media with various methods,
Turkey’s media proprietors have been notoriously on the record as
cutting secret or open deals with circles of power, casting alliances
with undemocratic elements, with state or non-state actors, often
defying the law in order to crash their rivals and exercise irregulari-
ties to expand their businesses beyond the limits of law.
“There are various elements missing in the WAN-IFRA 2009
statement about Turkey. While I agree that the quantity of cases
led against journalists should indeed cause increased concern,
I would have wished to see rm demands for amendments to
various laws in Turkey, laws that continue to curb freedom of
expression both in the media and the Internet.
“I would also have wished to see WAN-IFRA note, with increas-
ing satisfaction, that despite certain limitations, Turkish journalists,
those who write columns in particular, continue to expand the do-
main of free speech, boldly challenging and breaking all taboos, un-
covering organized crime disguised as political engineering.
“Indeed, from that lucid perspective, the Turkish press
Thýnk tank cafe´
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Friday, December 4, 2009
Owner on Behalf of Feza Gazetecilik A.Þ
ALÝ AKBULUT
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EKREM DUMANLI
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BÜLENT KENEÞ
Managing Editors OKAN UDO BASSEY
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EMRAH ÜLKER
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Business News Editor ÝBRAHÝM TÜRKMEN
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Public Relations Contact Information: Publication Type: Periodical,
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Fax: +90 212 454 86 33. Ankara Bureau Phone: +90 312 207 42 02
Today's Zaman abides by the rules of press ethics.
Turkey’s inclusion in the group of the five most restrictive countries as well as the almost exclusive focus on the tax evasion case against the Aydn
Doan (above) owned Doan Media Group at this year’s annual WAN-IFRA and WEF congress was a result of ill-informed work done by the organization.
enjoys and practices enormous freedom, unprecedented in
republican history. This includes Doan outlets, too.
“But, sadly, the case of tax evasion against Doan has
come to the fore as ‘the case’ of a threat to press freedom,
overshadowing the legal limitations to our work I mentioned
above, and I find it deeply troubling.
“My concern is the fact that not the full picture, but only a se-
lected part of it has been highlighted. This may be misleading for
our international colleagues, it may as well damage the credibility of
WAN-IFRA in the eyes and minds of colleagues in Turkey.
“It is a complex case.
“If you ask any headhunter of international reputation what
the most troubled sector in Turkey is, the unanimous answer you
will receive will be: the media. It has remained a battleeld for
various political powers, and greedy, ruthless media barons, who
fought against media regulation by using their media power as
weapon. A ‘jungle mentality’ prevailed. It has, at times, brought
good journalism to the brink of extinction.
“It is well known that Mr. Aydn Doan, through his me-
dia empire, controls around 65 percent of ad revenues in Tur-
key. By any decent democratic standards, it is unacceptable.
Mr. Doan has been known to be constantly on the move,
expanding his empire by any means necessary. He set ugly
patterns in which he cut deals with weak coalitions during
the ‘90s in his favor and used dirty methods to weaken his
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009
TODAY’S ZAMAN
PHOTO
rivals’ competitive power and to destroy their media outlets.
“Depending on whether his demands were met or not
met, he hired and fired colleagues and encouraged char-
acter assassinations, solely to further increase his person-
al business interests. The intent was a monopoly.
“Mr. Doan was, too, in the lead to cleanse all trade union activ-
ity and afliation from his media companies, and those who argued
otherwise were red arbitrarily.
“Mr. Doan also red a number of columnists -- including an
independent news ombudsman -- all of whom wished to remain
loyal to the principles of journalism, in order to serve public interests,
rather than the interests of a greedy owner.
“There is enough material and testimony to prove how
Mr. Doan, for an overwhelming segment of Turkey’s de-
cent press corps, came to symbolize the path that led to the
end of editorial independency, a key to credible journalism in
the service of democracy. He is seen as the stumbling block,
rather than supporter, of a pluralistic, diverse, free media sec-
tor, which would operate lawfully, and fairly.
“Any random choice and arbitrary reading of translat-
ed material -- books, interviews with other media owners
and journalists -- would prove the case.
“I would particularly recommend the recent, very popular books
by Mr. Emin Çölaan -- a columnist known for his ercely critical
views of the current government -- who was red because of his
OPINION
opinions. In his two consecutive books he describes in detail all the
‘shady dealings’ of Mr. Doan with the government, deputies and
other gures of power, for sheer business interests.
“It is my conviction, that Mr. Doan wished to continue
the same pattern with the current government, and when his
demands were not met he used his media power as a weapon
against it, since approximately 2004 until very recently. A study
of his in uential print and TV outlets in this period would prove
easily of the polluted journalism he promoted.
“When journalists and opinion makers in other media were
targeted -- such as the late Hrant Dink, assassinated by nationalist
thugs -- and many had to live with body guards, the Doan family
remained totally indifferent. Their concept of press freedom and free
speech was apparently limited to the ownership interests.
“Doan flagship Hürriyet is the paper solely responsi-
ble for the deadly witch hunt against Nobel laureate Orhan
Pamuk, who had to leave the country because Hürriyet
launched a campaign against him for his views about Kurds
and Armenians slaughtered in Anatolia.
“There are many examples like these.
“In short, the record of Doan on press freedom is not that
bright.
“I am among those writers in Turkey who say that a cor-
rupt press can not credibly uncover corruption in any democ-
racy. A corrupt media, in fact, undermines democracy. The
brief history of Turkey’s media owners has shown us time
and again that this view is very valid.
“My concern, therefore, differs in what is said in the
WAN-IFRA statement: I demand that legislation is amended
in order to stop corruption and the utilization of media for
interests other than decent journalism.
“Unfortunately, I note with sadness that the current WEF
board member from Turkey, as well as other colleagues on
the payroll of Doan, prefer to present this case in a way
which would indicate that media companies should be enjoy-
ing impunity from tax evasion. It is to be noted with dismay
that WEF lets itself be manipulated this way.
“We all know that media companies are to be treated as any
other company, and also be subject to coverage in the media.
The way Doan presents the case internationally is also an ex-
ample of a media group abusing its power.
“This case is a giant symptom of a malady in Turkish media.
Attempts to deal with irregularity, unlawful behavior and corruption
must be much more carefully monitored, with respect to the judi-
ciary and with the root causes of this malady in mind.
“The root causes of the tax evasion case, as well as the case
of irregularity in stocks and print paper imports led against
Doan must be sought and highlighted. This is, I believe, the
duty of WAN-IFRA, which must not be fearful of being critical of
its members who may act out of law and ethics. It is imperative,
too, that WAN-IFRA exercise great caution about legal process-
es, with wisdom on the complexities they may present.
“It should also be noted that both the EU Progress Report
and the latest resolution presented to the European Parliament
-- prepared by Ms. Ria Oomen-Ruijten -- emphasize the issues
of abuse of power by media owners and the need for a new, clear
legislation on several elds. They cover property concentration,
foreign investments and shares, and job security not to mention
articles such as 301 and the infamous Internet Law.
“There are various points which should be brought to your at-
tention: Media proprietors in Turkey must be banned from entering
public tenders, in order to end ‘carrot and stick’ relations between
media companies and governments. In order to strengthen plural-
ism and fair competition in Turkish media sector, the set of recom-
mendations by the Council of Europe (No. [R. 99] 1) titled ‘Mea-
sures to Promote Media Pluralism’ (dated Jan. 19, 1999) must
be brought to and kept in constant attention for the Turkish
government and Parliament. Cross-ownership must be either
banned or severely restricted. The Turkish Parliament without
delay must pass a Trade Union Law. The market share for for-
eign actors in the Audiovisual segment must be raised from ap-
proximately 25 percent (currently) to at least 51 percent.
“We need a clean, bold, diverse and independent media
in Turkey, a country in a dynamic transformation toward a
full-scale democracy.
“We shall struggle for legal guarantees of our freedom, we
will challenge restrictive power circles, we will defy attempts at
censorship, we will go on breaking taboos and encourage wide
public debate, we will ght for ethical behavior; but in order to
be able to do all that we have to ght corruption in the media,
which is the primary cause for self-censorship and abuse of me-
dia power in today’s Turkey, more than anything else.
“These thoughts may be of use as addendum to your state-
ment, because they re ect a widespread belief among Turkish
journalists, which also explains the fact that almost none of them
has showed any solidarity with the group in question.”
Yavuz Baydar was a former president of the International Organization of
News Ombudsmen (ONO).
Daðýstan Çetinkaya
dagistancetinkaya@todayszaman.com.tr
 COLUMNS F R I D AY, D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9
Why s Erdoan feared?
The re ection of the Cage Operation Action Plan, which was
discovered as part of the Ergenekon investigation, in the media
has created a real shock. Even fanatical secularists who believe
the army must stage a coup to overthrow the Justice and De-
velopment Party (AK Party) had difculty accepting what they
read in the plan. While the operation foresaw the systematic at-
tack and killing of non-Muslims on the one hand, on the other
it planned to detonate secretly placed explosives in the Rahmi
M. Koç Museum while hundred of students were visiting. If we
were to compare it to another incident, we could say this attack
would have been equal to the Sept. 11 attacks that targeted the
World Trade Center in New York. The difference would be that
the attacker would not be an external ideological movement but
this country’s own army. At this point, it’s very hard to say the
incident was wanted by an uncontrollable group within the army
because not only are the plans that have been uncovered linked
to each other but they feature the same hierarchical signatures.
Turkey is right in having trouble accepting this reality. For
several decades the army was said to be the most progressive
institution in the country and the guardian of “democracy.” But
the dynamic of change in Muslim society and the coinciding EU
EKREM
DUMANLI
e.dumanli@todayszaman.com
What wll be the fate
of ths ntatve?
As you read the title, you may think that I am referring to what
was initially called the Kurdish initiative before having its name
changed to the democratic initiative. No, this article is not about
that initiative. I would like to recall another process that has made
the word “initiative” fashionable in politics. Ahead of the last elec-
tion, Republican People’s Party (CHP) members and supporters
visited the places where mainly conservatives lived and posed for
photos with them. We had not encountered this before. This situ-
ation later came to be known as the “chador initiative.” Women
wearing chadors had CHP badges pinned to their clothing, and
they were being registered as party members in ceremonies. Even
Deniz Baykal took part and gave an all-encompassing speech.
Some drew attention to the timing of the chador initiative, la-
beling it an effort to attract conservative votes to the party. But,
to criticize the CHP’s efforts at an early stage would mean adopt-
ing a biased approach to the matter at hand. The CHP deserved a
chance at least. We needed time to see how the party would use
that change because the situation that the chador initiative created
was important. Gürsel Tekin, the head of the CHP’s local organi-
zation in stanbul, and Kemal Klçdarolu, who was then running
for the ofce of stanbul mayor, were the pioneers of the initia-
tive. They were posing in front of cameras with women wearing
chadors and men with beards -- who are ostensibly pious.
Even Nur Serter, a symbol of secularists’ annoyance and
who is famous for “persuasion rooms” in her career, did not
show any sign of being disturbed by being with women wear-
ing chadors. Tekin discussed an interesting incident, which we
repeated in this paper. The event was as follows: Tekin, Sert-
er and several party ofcials visited a family whose child was
slain. The woman wore a chador, while her two daughters wore
headscarves. Obviously, they were visiting a religious house.
When they entered the hall of the house, they saw a big picture
of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk hanging on the wall, and Tekin said
to Serter, “It does not make any sense to categorize the people
of this country and create enemies,” and added, alluding to the
picture of Atatürk, “Where would this picture t in with your
categorization?” to which Serter nodded in agreement.
As you will remember, some CHP members were strongly
against the chador initiative. You will also remember that we
were supportive of it. Today’s Zaman described it as a “mental-
ity revolution” and lent support to it in its headline stories and
on the rst page. Some leftist hardliners even labeled us “neo-
CHP supporters.” Why? Because we supported that initiative.
Weren’t we, as journalists, supposed to lend support to the right
moves? What mattered was whether the move reinforced hu-
man rights and democracy, not who did it, right? Some people
did not care about it. They thought that even if the initiative
were a right step, we would invariably oppose it. But, at that
time, the CHP candidate for mayor of Kocaeli promised to es-
tablish a Quran course in every neighborhood. CHP ofcials
even gave away headscarves in some provinces.
Elections are long past. Unfortunately, the CHP has already
forgotten about the chador initiative. Perhaps, it may remem-
ber it before the next election. Yet, such initiatives should not be
started right before election time but should be maintained all
the time. The CHP should be able to embrace all people so that
politics may become all-encompassing. Meanwhile, the CHP has
also offended the Alevis. Klçdarolu, who has been receiving
overwhelming support of the Alevis and the Kurds, lost some
support during the Dersim debates. I think Klçdarolu lost the
chance of being the leader of the CHP some day.
Unfortunately, the CHP was unable to continue the initiative.
Neither Klçdarolu nor Tekin can embrace people in the suburbs.
The tablet of Sheikh Edebali that Baykal cited was lost inside the
headquarters of the party. During the initiative, it was even ru-
mored that a mosque would be established inside the headquar-
ters. Or was it really established without informing the public?
Never mind. If only the CHP could revert to the secularist concept
of tolerating different faiths and embrace Alevis, Kurds and con-
servatives and become a party for Turkey in its entirety.
Isn’t this a good development: The CHP raised its voice against
the ban on minarets in Switzerland, describing it as a “grave breach
of freedom of religion and conscience and human rights.” Wouldn’t
it be better if the party becomes just as sensitive inside the country?
ETYEN
MAHÇUPYAN
e.mahcupyan@todayszaman.com
process has removed this illusion. Turks faced the reversed real-
ity for the rst time and had trouble believing what they saw.
However, psychological resistance continues among secularist
groups. This segment of society not only “sees” less because the
major dailies censor evidence that is against the army but also
dislike the political meaning of what they see. After all, each
component of the Ergenekon coup attempt relies on the men-
tality of “coaxing” the secular segment and Western modernist
circles. The aim of the Cage plan was to blame the Muslim seg-
ment for all the killings that would take place. They believed
that in this way they would be able to make the government il-
legitimate and convince the West about the existence of a “pro-
religious danger” in Turkey.
It is not difcult to understand the reason for this kind of a coup
No Comment
Combatng prejudce
NICOLE
POPE
n.pope@todayszaman.com
The shock waves caused by the Swiss decision to ban min-
arets show no sign of abating. There can be no silver lining
to the disastrous referendum results that have brought out
into the open the growing wave of intolerance sweeping
through Europe. One can only hope that out of the lively
debate it has ignited around the world, and above all with-
in Switzerland itself, some solutions will emerge.
Economic fears, concerns about immigration and basic
xenophobia are undoubtedly among the factors that fuelled
the yes vote in Switzerland. But this is no random racism.
Sikh symbols or Buddhist temples never seem to generate
the same controversy as Muslim headscarves and minarets.
Examining the fears that lie behind gut reactions is crucial
before effective strategies to combat them can be developed.
Condemning discrimination is only a rst step, which has to
be followed by concrete measures to address the concerns
that were raised. Why does Islam appear so frightening?
For people like me and my foreign colleagues who
have lived in Muslim societies for many years, Muslims
are the friends, neighbors, colleagues we encounter in
the course of our everyday life.
Many Westerners who have less exposure to the out-
side world and do not interact with Muslims regularly view
Islam largely through shocking headlines in newspapers.
The Sept. 11 attacks marked a watershed, which has been
followed by a steady drip-drip of shocking stories. People
stoned in Somalia, women ogged for wearing trousers in
Sudan or banned from driving in Saudi Arabia, to cite just
a few examples, have all contributed to creating a nega-
tive image for Islam as a whole. Incidentally, these per-
ceptions are not limited to Europe; they are often re ected
in the political debate here in Turkey as well.
delirium. The authoritarian regime in Turkey is falling apart in a
way that perhaps cannot be reversed. Steps and reforms to be taken
with the establishment of democracy will signal the formation of
a new “republic,” causing military ofcials to lose their privileges.
Nor is it surprising that secularists did not foresee the de-
velopments that are happening today. They thought religious
people were categorically narrow-minded, against modernism
and incompatible with universal rights and freedoms. But this
assessment, which was semi-true in the early years of the repub-
lic, evolved into an ideological manipulation and concealed the
new reality of the changing society. There are numerous signs
for those who want to see the new reality, with the most recent
one being the message Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan
delivered on Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrice). In between
the concrete messages that he delivered, opening an indepen-
dent, civilian, supervisory Human Rights Institution, setting up a
Anti-Discrimination Commission that will handle human rights
complaints, ratifying the optional protocol of the UN Conven-
tion against Torture and implementing a National Prevention
Mechanism and Independent Police Complaint Mechanism
against torture were mentioned. These are not common parts of
Afghanstan, Ap
Media sensationalism may be partly to blame, but, as
we all know, peaceful people going about their daily lives
without bothering anyone rarely make front-page news.
The events that do, however, re ect an extremist interpre-
tation of Islam have unfortunately come to represent the
religion in the eyes of many uninformed Westerners.
How else can one explain that while the burqa is al-
most unknown in Switzerland, it was chosen to gure
prominently on the posters urging citizens to support the
ban on minarets? No matter how well integrated the local
Muslim community may be, many Europeans look beyond
benign symbols of religion, such as the minaret, and see
the Taliban, executions by stoning and widespread attacks
on women’s basic rights.
We all know that these human rights violations do
not represent Islam as a whole, but we cannot deny they
do take place. Moderate Muslims have so far failed to
counter their impact in the West.
It is always easier to spot double standards in other
cultures than in your own. Westerners are more in-
clined to see the damage caused by the Taliban’s hard-
line approach than the impact on civilians of their own
policies in Afghanistan, for instance. Similarly, Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan can condemn excesses
committed by Israelis against Palestinians while ap-
pearing blind to the horrors of Darfur.
Micheline Calmy-Rey, Switzerland’s foreign minister,
has asked her Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutolu, to
help foster dialogue and better understanding. Turkey is well
placed to play a role in bridging cultural differences, but in
order to play it effectively it must also be willing to address
discrimination at home and elsewhere in the Muslim world.
Self-righteousness or a blame game of “your dis-
crimination and human rights violations are bigger than
mine” can only serve to reinforce prejudice and widen
the gap. In the face of increased polarization, no one can
afford to be complacent. Democrats of all backgrounds
must work together to ght discrimination and human
rights violations wherever they occur.
TODAY’S ZAMAN 15
a normal “holiday greeting message.” This was perhaps the rst
time Erdoan included democratic reforms in a holiday message.
But Erdoan’s ideological discourse was even more radical.
Noting that the goal is ending terrorism and increasing dem-
ocratic standards to the highest level, the prime minister said:
“We cannot walk toward the future until justice and freedom are
indisputable. We cannot continue on our path until beliefs and
ideas are freed from pressure.” As for the following words, they
clearly showed why the army wants to stage a coup: “Every per-
son in this country should be able to see himself as a rst-class
citizen, everyone should be able to feel that way. This is a debt
and responsibility the state owes to its citizens. … There is no
country in the world that has collapsed, divided or dissolved for
giving more democracy and granting more freedoms to citizens.
… It is no one’s business to try to have the current Turkey accept
some unfortunate events that took place in the past and prac-
tices that con ict with human dignity and principles of reason.”
It was the rst time Turks heard such words from a prime
minister. Those who thought these words would never be spo-
ken fear the approaching democracy and are therefore carrying
out killings and planning coups.
AL
BULAÇ
a.bulac@todayszaman.com
Afghanstan
quagmre
Even before he was elected president, Barack Hussein
Obama signaled that he would withdraw American troops
from Iraq and shift their weight to the Afghanistan-Pakistan
line. Thus some observers believed there was a very slim
possibility of a large overhaul in America’s attitude toward
its foreign policy, especially towards the Muslim world af-
ter Obama’s election. The gilded speeches he delivered in
Ankara and Cairo became mere rhetoric. Extending an olive
branch to the Muslim world on the one hand while continu-
ing to invade Afghanistan and corner Iran on the other hand
failed to convince anyone.
America is trying to withdraw its troops from Iraq, but
this does not mean it will leave Iraq alone or give up its he-
gemonic plans over the Muslim world. It is now becoming
evident that the observers, among which the writer of this
article is included, were right.
News in the media shows the Obama administration
has a new strategy that was created after an approximately
three-month-long preliminary study. According to this new
strategy, America is getting ready to send an additional
30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan. The strategy aims to ensure
the safety of settlement units, the defeat of the Taliban, the
return of clans to their areas, providing job opportunities
for Taliban members who give up their arms and training
Afghan security sources to make the national army an insti-
tutional power. It is for this reason that US ofcials are not
content with the current military strength and want NATO
member countries to deploy an additional 10,000 troops
as well, which will increase the total number of additional
troops deployed to 40,000. The plan is to complete the grad-
ual military buildup within six months. The US currently has
71,000 troops in Afghanistan.
Although the operation has come at a heavy price, it is
obvious that the US and NATO have not achieved much suc-
cess in Afghanistan. Aside from some media organizations
that function like propaganda mechanisms, neutral observ-
ers indicate that the Taliban is becoming increasingly strong
and winning more support from the society in Afghanistan.
The obligation of Pakistan to launch a war against Afghans
due to US persuasion and compulsion has caused a surge in
American and NATO opposition among Asian Muslims. This
opposition does not stay conned to America and NATO but
ultimately evolves into an opposition to the West over these
two actors. It is not difcult to guess the danger this poses to
global peace in a world where ties are intertwined.
The occupation of Afghanistan and the con ict between
the Pakistanis and the Afghans are not the only reasons for
the increasing opposition to America and NATO; it is also
the killing of high numbers of innocent civilians by Ameri-
can and NATO forces.
If a bullet were to be shot at American forces from a vil-
lage, soldiers would not hesitate to destroy the entire village.
Wedding parties, hospitals, shopping areas and madrasahs
are being bombed and innocent people are being killed, and
this causes hostility to increase.
There is a simple truth that American and NATO of-
cials need to know. Recent history has clearly taught us that
the Afghans will never come to heel and never raise a white
ag. America is trying to walk down an entirely wrong road.
It will not be easy to keep a political party that won power
in an election riddled with fraud standing and to restructure
the police and army by using the American model, which is
completely foreign to the Afghan society’s historical fabric,
as a reference. There is nothing comparable to this project in
the heart and history of the Afghan people.
Every rational person believes Obama needs to pay at-
tention to what the famous American lmmaker Michael
Moore said: Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires.
Just as the US had to leave Vietnam -- where it maliciously
fought for 12 years -- after causing the Vietnamese to pay un-
fairly heavy costs, it will eventually have to leave Afghanistan
as well. Every prudent American that has a heart must work
much harder to prevent their leaders and the lobbies that en-
courage war from continuing this meaningless, destructive and
barbarous war so that no more innocent Afghans are killed.
 16 TODAY’S ZAMAN F R I D AY, D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9
LEISURE

move gude
“Viaggio Secreto”
NEEL HAYAT
STANBUL: Bakrköy AFM Carousel
11:15 13:50 16:20 19:00 21:30 Beyolu
CineMajestic 11:30 12:45 13:45 15:00 16:15
17:30 18:45 20:00 21:15 22:30 Beyolu
AFM Fita 10:30 11:40 13:00 14:20 15:40
17:00 18:20 19:40 21:00 22:20 23:40 Levent
Cinebonus Kanyon 11:15 12:00 13:45 14:30
16:30 17:15 19:15 20:00 22:00 22:45 24:45
Ataehir 10:30 12:45 15:00 17:15 19:30
21:45 24:00 Caddebostan AFM 10:40 12:00
Gregorian Calendar: 04 December 2009 C.E. Hijri Calendar: 17 Dhul-Hijjah 1430 A.H. Hebrew Calendar: 17 Kislev 5770 tv gude
calendar@todayszaman.com
E2
08:00 Dedikoducu Kz
Today is King Tupou I Day in the Kingdom of Tonga. On problem of where “truth” is to be found. His belief in the participate in the conference with representatives from Den- 10:00 The Martha Stewart Show
11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
this day in 1845 George Tupou I was installed as the king of importance of heroic leadership found form in his book “On mark, Holland, Norway and Sweden. However, unable to 12:00 Umutsuz Evkadnlar
the country. He served as king up until his death on Feb. 18, 1893. Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History.” persuade representatives from the warring nations to take 14:00 The Martha Stewart Show
15:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Today is the birthday of Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881). On this day in 1877 French scientist Charles Cros’ theory of part, the conference failed to negotiate an armistice. 16:00 Dedikoducu Kz
Carlyle was a Scottish essayist, satirist and historian whose the phonograph was read in public by the French Academy of Today is the birthday of Rainer Maria Rilke, the Austro-Ger- 18:00 The Martha Stewart Show
19:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
work was hugely influential during the Victorian era. Sciences. Just a week before, American scientist Thomas Edison man poet and novelist. Born in 1875, Rilke is regarded as one of 20:00 Family Guy
Though raised as a Calvinist Christian, Carlyle lost his faith had demonstrated the first phonograph. It is believed that the the most important and influential modern poets because of his 21:00 Heroes
22:15 Later With Jools Holland
over time but did not give up the Calvinist ethic. This ex- two scientists had been working independently. precise, lyrical style, his symbolic imagery and his spiritual reflec- 23:00 The Tonight Show With
plains his influence on the philosophers of the Victorian era On this day in 1915 Henry Ford, a wealthy American tions. Particularly famous for his “Duino Elegies” and “Sonnets to Conan O'Brien
24:00 Later With Jools Holland
who were seeking meaning in a secular, post-enlightenment businessman, set sail for Europe aboard the Ford Peace Ship Orpheus,” Rilke’s poetry explored and celebrated the relationships 01:00 The Jay Leno Show
world. His first major work was “Sartor Resartus” (The Tailor on a diplomatic mission to end World War I. The trip was between joy and suffering, life and death and finitude and tran- 02:00 The Tonight Show With
Conan O'Brien
Retailored), a book that simultaneously commented on its part of a peace conference sponsored by Ford in Stockholm. scendence. He died in 1926, leaving as his epitaph, “Rose, oh pure 03:00 Heroes
04:00 Family Guy
own formal structure and forced the reader to confront the Also on the ship were American pacifists who planned to contradiction, joy of being No one’s sleep, under so many lids.”
CNBC-E
17:55 The Simpsons
18:50 The Jay Leno Show
20:00 Merlin
21:00 One Tree Hill
22:00 Animal
00:00 The Jay Leno Show
01:00 Merlin
Sundance lfts curtan 02:00 One Tree Hill
03:00 Animal
05:00 One Tree Hill

GOLDMAX
06:35 The In-Laws

13:20 14:40 16:00 17:20 18:40 20:00 21:20

23:15 Kozyata Cinebonus Palladium
11:00 12:15 13:30 14:45 16:00 17:15
18:30 19:45 21:00 22:15 23:30 ANKARA:
on 2010 competton flms 08:20 The Hustler
10:40 Almost Heroes
12:15 Dog Day Afternoon
14:25 He Was a Quiet Man
16:05 Mona Lisa Smile
18:05 Donnie Brasco

REUTERS, DANNY MOLOSHOK

Cinebonus Bilkent 11:45 14:15 16:45 19:15 The Sundance Film Festival on edition, looked for work that took risks and had 20:15 Airplane!
21:45 24:15 Ata On Tower 11:00 12:00 13:00 21:45 Identity
Wednesday listed the 64 films that a fully realized story to tell.
14:15 15:15 17:30 19:45 22:00 24:00 ZMR: 23:15 Girl, Interrupted
Alsancak Karaca 12:15 14:30 16:45 19:00 will compete for awards at the up- The festival puts 16 films into compe- 01:20 Soul Plane
21:15 AFM Bornova Forum 11:00 13:30 coming premiere event for independent tition from each of four categories -- US 02:45 Piñero
04:20 Murder On The Orient
16:00 18:30 21:15 23:45 Cinebonus Konak films, which for 2010 has a new director and documentaries and dramas and world doc- Express
Pier 11:30 14:00 16:30 19:00 21:30 24:00
three opening night offerings. umentaries and dramas.
ANTALYA: Lara Prestige 11:30 12:45 13:45
The festival, backed by Robert Redford’s Among the dramas this year are titles such
MOVIEMAX
15:00 16:00 17:15 18:15 19:30 20:30 21:45 07:20 Scary Godmother
22:45 Cinebonus Migros 11:15 13:45 16:15 Sundance Institute in Utah, has long been a as “Howl,” starring James Franco and telling Halloween Spooktakular
08:15 Midnight Clear
19:00 21:45 24:15 AFM Laura 12:00 14:15 launch pad for first-time filmmakers and some of the early career of poet Allen Ginsberg, and 10:05 Garfield
16:45 19:15 21:45 23:45 11:30 Nights In Rodanthe

TÜRKLER ÇILDIRMI OLMALI:
GÖREV AFRKA
STANBUL: Bakrköy Cinebonus Capacity
11:00 13:00 15:15 17:30 19:45 22:00 24:15
Beyolu CineMajestic 11:30 13:45 16:00
17:45 18:30 19:45 21:00 21:45 23:00 Beyolu
AFM Fita 10:40 12:50 15:10 17:30 19:50 22:10
ili Megaplex Cevahir 11:00 12:00 14:15
15:20 16:30 19:00 21:30 23:00 Ataehir 10:00
12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 24:30 Kadköy
Rexx 11:15 13:15 15:15 16:15 17:15 18:15
19:15 21:15 ANKARA: Cinebonus Bilkent
11:30 14:00 16:30 19:00 21:30 24:00 Ata On
Tower 11:00 13:15 15:30 17:45 20:00 22:00
24:00 Cinebonus Panora 11:00 13:20 15:30
17:40 19:50 22:00 ZMR: Agora Balçova
11:00 13:15 15:30 17:45 20:00 22:15 Konak
AFM Passtel 11:15 13:45 16:00 18:30 21:15
ANTALYA: Lara Prestige 12:30 14:45 17:00
19:15 21:30 Cinebonus Migros 11:45 14:00
16:30 19:00 21:30 24:00
VIAGGIO SECRETO
STANBUL: Beyolu Pera 12:00 14:15
16:30 18:45 21:00
of the best low-budget movies shown in art
houses, including current Oscar hopeful “Pre-
cious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.”
The film selection for the upcoming
Sundance, which runs Jan. 21-31, did not
change greatly under new director John
Cooper and features a typical mix of offbeat
dramas such as “Holy Rollers,” about an
Hasidic Jewish man who becomes a drug
dealer, and serious-minded documentaries
like “Casino Jack & The United States of
Money” by Oscar-winner Alex Gibney.
“My job is to stay on point, stay on focus
and show the best and most original content
we can find,” said Cooper, who while new in
the festival’s top job for 2010, has long been one
of its key programmers and executives. “We
looked at pretty much everything, and asked
‘Why do we do this?’ and a lot of things got put
back in place because they work,” he said.
One change is to ditch the usual opening
night premiere and replace it with one drama,
A Sundance Film festival sign near Main Street in Park City. Over 110 feature-length films
from 31 countries were selected to be screened at the 2010 festival, which will begin Jan. 21.
one documentary and one program of short
films in competition to represent each of the
festival’s three main groupings.
Cooper said that among his favorite
things to do at Sundance is listen to people
discuss the films, their art and craft, and he
hopes the change will jump-start the buzz
PHOTO
“happythankyoumoreplease,” about the lives
13:15 Glass House: The Good
of six young New Yorkers. Mother
Documentaries are among the most closely 15:00 The Missing
17:25 Bury My Heart at Wounded
followed films at Sundance and Davis Guggen- Knee
20:00 I Am Legend
heim, director of Oscar-winning global warm- 21:55 Stuck
ing film “An Inconvenient Truth,” hits the 2010 23:35 The Return
01:05 In Search of a Midnight
festival with “Waiting for Superman,” about Kiss
US public education. 03:10 Motives 2: Retribution
05:25 Bury My Heart at Wounded
Other nonfiction films to watch will likely Knee
be “I’m Pat _______ Tillman,” about the foot-
ball player and US soldier who died from MGM MOVIES
07:20 Witness for the Prosecution
friendly fire in Afghanistan, and “Benazir Bhut- 09:20 The Train
11:35 Dead Man's Gun Season
to,” about the slain Pakistani politician. 2/5: Sisters of Mercy
Cooper said festival organizers looked 12:25 Dead Man's Gun Season
2/6: Hangman
more broadly than ever around the world 13:15 Thieves Like Us
that annually spreads across snowy sidewalks for international films, and among the dra- 15:20 The Party
17:00 The House On Carroll
of Park City, Utah, the mountain town east of mas are India’s “The Falling” and Green- Street
Salt Lake City where the event is held. land’s “Nuummioq.” World documentaries 18:55 The Scalphunters
20:45 The Talking Of Pelham One
include “Space Tourists” from Switzerland Two Three
Risk-taking at Sundance and German title “Kick in Iran.” The fes- 22:30 Reversal of Fortune
00:25 Manifesto
He said festival programmers, who chose from tival will feature 113 feature-length films 02:05 The Party
more than 9,800 films submitted for the 2010 overall from 31 countries. Los Angeles Reuters 03:45 The Scalphunters
05:30 The Talking Of Pelham One
Two Three

COMEDYMAX
07:00 3rd Rock from the Sun

Crossword Mr. DploMAT! Cem Kzltu

c.kiziltug@todayszaman.com
07:30 Ugly Betty
08:30 The Middle
09:00 The Cosby Show
10:00 According to Jim
950
ACROSS presidential sister Squares,” 11:00 Everybody Loves Raymond
1 They may candidate of 10 South end? essentially 12:00 The Office
be nuclear 1968 11 Afternoon 38 Roadblock 13:00 The Game
or biological, 49 Place for a drink place 39 They may 13:30 Ugly Betty
informally concubine 12 Pessimist’s have private 14:30 The Middle
5 Variety 51 More than hypothetical entries 15:00 The Cosby Show
show lineup is? 13 Margins of 42 French 16:00 According to Jim
9 Good 52 It might hold victory, in seasoning 17:00 Everybody Loves Raymond
conductor? up your horse races 43 “Stop 18:00 3rd Rock from the Sun
14 Light as a pants 21 Native already!” 18:30 The Game
feather 56 Red Sea American 44 Sweetly
15 Checked 19:00 The Cosby Show
peninsula shelter melodic
item 58 Eurasia’s __ 22 Young newt 45 Produced, 19:30 Ugly Betty
16 Ridge found _ Mountains 26 Like some as a literary 20:30 The Middle
in rugged 59 West meatballs work 21:00 According to Jim
mountains German 29 Big klutz 46 Corrects 21:30 Everybody Loves Raymond
17 Jack-o’- capital 30 Do-it- texts 22:00 The Office
lantern 60 Brief tussle yourselfer’s 48 Descendant 23:00 Californication
feature 61 Microbe buy 50 Wedding 23:30 Weeds
18 Light brown 62 Not new or 31 Void souvenir 00:00 The Middle
19 Eaten at mint 33 A way to 53 It leaves in
(Var.) 63 Ruhr Valley fish spring?
20 Like many city 34 Many vodka 54 Physical
presents
23 Monopolize
24 Police club
64 Does some
tailoring
65 Some teens
35
36
bottles
Thinners
Divisor for
55
injury
Some shade
providers
rado gude
used in India in the 1960s any number 57 Filled up on
25 In some way
27 Type widths
28 Racing
DOWN
1 Move from
side to side,
37 Opening in
“Hollywood Sudoku TRT Toursm Rado
00:00 Identification and
Programming
vehicle (Var.) as animal PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER 00:25 Music
32 Word on a tails HARD EASY 07:25 Identification and
door 2 Sister of
HARD

7 4 2 1 9 3 5 6 8 Programming
33 Book Mark? Moses
34 Dukes 3 Snow 6 5 8 3 4 5 6 2 8 6 5 9 8 4 7 3 2 1
07:30 Music
08:30 News (English,
35 Missive formations 8 1 3 6 5 2 9 4 7 French, German)
leading 4 Electronic
to military instrument, 1 7 1 9 7 4 5 6 8 2 1 3
08:40 Live Broadcast
service informally (English, German, Russian)
1 3 6 7 2 9 8 5 4
38 “Going to 5 Extraordi- 10:30 News (English, French,
the dogs,” nary tennis 1 3 6 3 4 9 7 2 8 5 4 3 1 7 9 6 German, Greek, Russian)
e.g. server 4 6 7 9 8 5 1 3 2
10:45 Live Broadcast
40 Amalgamate 6 ___-Cola (English, German, Russian)
41 Cotton 7 Diamond 3 7 6 4 8 3 9 1 2 7 6 4 8 5
12:30 News (English, French,
processor cover 5 2 8 3 1 4 6 7 9 German, Greek, Russian)
42 Pick 8 Drunken 12.45 Live Broadcast
44 Imitate daze 7 6 2 9 3 4 7 (English, German, Russian)
EASY

47 Satirical 9 Zsa Zsa’s © 2009 Universal Uclick 6 4 5 9 2 7 3 1 8

15:00 News (English, French,
www.upuzzles.com
German, Greek, Russian)
6 5 1 9 1 4 2 3 7 1 5 8 9 6 4
15:15 Live Broadcast
1 9 8 3 6 4 2 7 5
(English, German, Russian)
4 2 6 7 3 1 8 5 9 18:30 News (English, French,
8 6 6 7 3 8 7 1 9 2 8 5 6 4 3 German, Greek, Russian)
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5 8 3 4 9 6 1 2 7
8 3 8 9 7 9 6 1 5 7 3 4 8 2
(English, French)
21:30 News (English, French,
8 5 2 6 4 9 7 3 1 German, Greek, Russian)
2 9 8 1 7 2 5 3 7 4 8 1 2 5 9 6
21:45 Live Broadcast
(English, Greek)
23:58 Identification

HOW TO PLAY? : The objective of the game is to fill all the blank squares in a game Every row of 9 numbers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order Broadcast Areas:
Alanya FM 94.4
with the correct numbers. There are three very simple constraints to follow. In a 9 Every column of 9 numbers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order Ankara FM 100.3
by 9 square Sudoku game: Every 3 by 3 subsection of the 9 by 9 square must include all digits 1 through 9 Antalya FM 92.1
Ayvalk FM 101.1
Bodrum FM 97.4
Fethiye FM 103.1
stanbul FM 101.6
travelers’

Ambulance: 112 Fire: 110 171 Police: 155156 Maritime: 158 Unknown numbers: 118 Turkish Airlines: 444 0 849 U.S. Embassy: 0312 455 5555 U.S. Consu- zmir FM 101.6
Kalkan FM 105.9
late: 0212 2513602-3-4 Russian Embassy: 0312 439 2122 Russian Consulate: 0212 244 1693-2610 British Embassy: 0312 455 3344 British Consulate: 0212
s.o.s

Kapadokya FM 103.0
293 7540 German Embassy: 0312 455 5100 German Consulate: 0212 334 61 00 French Embassy: 0312 455 4545 French Consulate: 0212 292 4810-11 Indian Kuadas FM 101.9
Marmaris FM 101.0
Embassy: 0312 438 2195 Pakistani Embassy: 0312 427 1410 Austrian Embassy: 0312 419 0431-33 Austrian Consulate: 0212 262 9315 Belgian Embassy: Pamukkale FM 101.0
Trabzon FM 101.5
0312 446 8247 Belgian Consulate: 0212 243 3300 Egyptian Embassy: 0312 426 1026 Egyptian Consulate: 0212 263 6038 Israeli Embassy: 0312 446 3605
 CONTINUATION FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 TODAY’S ZAMAN 17

Colonel’s action plan also in operation in Bursa Four soldiers testify to

A military plot that features the signature of
Col. Dursun Çiçek had been put into operation
in the northwestern province of Bursa to undermi-
ne the power of the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AK Party) and the faith-based Gülen move-
ment, the Yeni afak daily reported on Thursday.
According to the report, the gendarmerie wire-
tapped phone conversations of around 250 indivi-
duals in Bursa as part of the plot, named the Action
Plan to Fight Reactionaryism and exposed by a Tur-
kish daily in June. According to the plot, the Turkish
Armed Forces (TSK) had a systematic plan to destroy
the image of the AK Party government and the Gü-
len movement in the eyes of the public and to play
down the investigation into Ergenekon.
The armed forces also hoped to gather support
for members of the military arrested as part of the Er-
genekon probe. Dozens of Ergenekon members, inc-
MHP to start rallies
luding businessmen, members of the military and jo-
urnalists, are currently incarcerated while standing
trial. The wiretap records were compiled in a way to
show that the individuals were members of an illegal
organization. Members of the judiciary and bureauc-
rats were urged to support the implementation of the
plot. They were promised to be appointed to higher
positions if the plot was successful.
The individuals whose phone conversations
were wiretapped would also be accused of commit-
ting such crimes as rigging tenders and abusing mi-
nors. These individuals would be linked to an illegal
organization, which would kick off a major operation
against several innocent people.
Another Turkish daily reported on Wednesday
that the same plot had also been put into operati-
on in eastern Erzincan. Two secret witnesses, in-
terrogated recently by an Erzurum public prosecu-
tor, claimed that they were offered a bribe by three
members of the military -- one major, a lieutenant
colonel and a sergeant major -- to plant weapons at
the addresses of followers of Fethullah Gülen. The
three members of the military were arrested and
put in jail last month.
Çiçek’s plot also aimed to portray followers
of the Gülen movement as being engaged in ille-
gal acts. “We will enable the discovery of weapons,
ammunition and documents at the addresses of
Gülen’s followers as if they were members of a ter-
rorist organization. The movement will be named
‘Fethullah’s Armed Terrorist Organization’ [FSTÖ],
and investigations into its members will be carried
out by military prosecutors,” read the plot.
Col. Çiçek was arrested last month for suspec-
ted membership in a clandestine terrorist organiza-
tion but was released after being brie y detained. He
civilian prosecutor over
was also arrested and released in July.
As the controversy continues over the recent de- assassination plot
cision of the Council of State to overturn a Higher
contnued from page 1
Education Board (YÖK) decision to abolish the unfair
Three of them, lieutenants Sinan Efe No-
coefcient system used to calculate Student Selection
yan, Faruk Akn and Alperen Erdoan, were on
Examination (ÖSS) scores, the name of a lieutenant
active duty in the Gölcük district of northwestern
-- smail Hakk Pekin -- has been mentioned both
Kocaeli province and were arrested on July 21 by
in a newly discovered plan, which shows top army
court order after being detained. There were cla-
ofcers were closely monitoring developments rela-
ims that the lieutenants were in close contact with
ting to the abolishment of the coefcient system, and
Maj. Levent Bekta, who was arrested in April for
plans for establishing Web sites to engage in psycho-
suspected links to a large cache of ammunition
logical warfare against civilian groups.
unearthed during excavations on land owned by
Lt. Pekin is among the military ofcials who un-
the stek Foundation in stanbul’s Poyrazköy dist-
dersigned a document that planned to establish 42
rict. That discovery came as part of the investi-
Web sites as part of psychological warfare against
gation into Ergenekon, a clandestine organizati-
“dangerous” civilian groups, which were categorized
on whose suspected members are currently stan-
as “reactionary,” “separatist,” “pro-Justice and Deve-
ding trial on charges of having plotted to overt-
lopment Party” and “anti-TSK.” stanbul Today’s Zaman
hrow the government.
In the meantime, news portals announced yes-
terday that one major and another soldier whose
rank was not made public were released from pri-
son before Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrice). Se-
veral members of the military were arrested last

AA, YILMAZ KAZANDIOLU

month on grounds that they had contributed to the
against Kurdish preparation of a plot which detailed a plan to as-
sassinate prominent non-Muslim gures in Turkey
initiative on Dec. 13 and place the blame for the killings on the Justice
and Development Party (AK Party) as part of an
ERCAN YAVUZ ANKARA action plan called the Cage Operation Action Plan.
The killings were intended to increase internal and
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a external pressure on the party, leading to diminis-
staunch opponent of governmental efforts hing public support for the AK Party.
to settle the country’s decades-old Kurdish qu- The lawyers for two colonels and a major also

estion through peaceful and democratic means,
plans to launch the rst of a series of rallies to
protest the government’s initiative with a gathe-
ring on Dec. 13 in the Turkish capital.
The main theme of the rallies will be “Experience
and Keep Alive a 1,000-year-old Brotherhood.” MHP
supporters will convene in Ankara’s Tandoan Squa-
re on Dec. 13 and voice their opposition to the Justice
and Development Party’s (AK Party) plans to solve the
Kurdish issue with a democratization package.
The AK Party announced its ambition to settle the
Kurdish question without resorting to military means
and in a peaceful manner in the summer months. The
party has not announced the full context of its democ-
ratization package yet, but it is believed that the go-
vernment will grant broader cultural and political rights
PHOTO
yesterday appealed the arrest of their clients, who
were put in prison on Nov. 27 over similar charges.
TSK expels jailed colonel
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have expelled a
major who is currently serving time in jail for char-
ges of aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.
Col. Aydn Yeil was arrested in 2006 af-
ter a voice recording allegedly featuring his voi-
ce was leaked to the press. The recording revea-
led the close ties between the colonel and Cabbar
Çiçek, a member of the terrorist Kurdistan Wor-
kers’ Party (PKK). The colonel’s dismissal came
The police had to intervene when PKK supporters took to the streets in Hakkari to celebrate the anniversary of the foundation of the before the Supreme Military Council (YA) con-
terrorist group. Again, most of the demonstrators in these violent protests were minors.
venes today to decide on promotions and dismis-
sals in the armed forces. According to observers,

DTP no longer supports

to the country’s Kurds to thaw the ice between the sta-
te and Kurdish citizens in Turkey. However, two oppo-
sition parties -- the MHP and the Republican People’s
Party (CHP) -- have reiterated their opposition to the
initiative since it was rst announced.
The MHP’s anti-Kurdish initiative rally will be the
party’s greatest rally in Ankara since 2005. The party
was planning to hold its rally in a Mediterranean city,
but the prospect of the emergence of any acts of pro-
vocation discouraged the MHP to do so. The nationa-
list party will emphasize during its Ankara rally that the
Kurdish initiative is aimed at destroying the national
unity of the country and damaging its unitary structure.
Gül to attend
climate conference
Kurdish initiative
contnued from page 1
The deputy chairman asserted that
the governing party was threate-
ning the existence of the DTP and Öcalan
with the efforts it had exerted to settle the
Kurdish question. Öcalan is serving a life
sentence in a prison on mral Island, loca-
ted off the coast of stanbul.
The DTP has so far failed to distance it-
self from the terrorist organization, drawing
the ire of Turkey and many European co-
untries. The party and its supporters have
Interior Minister Beir Atalay said that
so far 153 people who had participated in
the demonstrations had been detained. He
also added that the aim of the demonstrati-
ons was to sabotage the “National unity and
brotherhood project.”
Atalay is the coordinator of this project
which is also known as the democratization
initiative, launched by the government at the
end of the summer to solve Turkey’s decades-
old Kurdish question. The government chose
“More freedom for everyone” as the slogan of
and are using Öcalan’s new conditions as a
pretext on which to demonstrate.
The chairman of the DTP Ahmet Türk
on Wednesday at press conference portrayed
Öcalan’s living conditions as the priority of the
Kurdish people and urged the government to
improve them immediately, warning that any-
thing to the contrary would drag the country
into clashes. Some DTP deputies also met with
the minister of justice, Sadullah Ergin, on Wed-
nesday. Ergin said that Öcalan’s prison condi-
tions are tting to the norms of the United Na-
the TSK decision to expel the colonel may set a
precedent in the dismissal of other members of
the military who were put behind bars as part of
an ongoing probe into Ergenekon.
Coup personnel
unlikely to be
expelled at YA
Today the Supreme Military Council (YA),
which makes decisions on the promotions of
members of the military as well as dismissals, is ha-
ving its winter meeting, but none of the military of-
cers implicated in an alleged plot to overthrow the
government are expected to be discharged.
The YA meeting will be chaired by Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan. Traditionally, the

in Copenhagen kept complaining about the conditions of

President Abdullah Gül is planning to travel to
Copenhagen to attend the UN Climate Chan-
ge Conference, in which the world’s big emitters of
climate-warming gases will meet for talks in the hope
of striking a deal to replace the United Nation’s Kyo-
to Protocol when it expires in 2012. Sources said Pre-
sident Gül will participate the meeting in its second
week. He is expected to be in Copenhagen on Dec.
17-18, the nal days of the meeting.
Haluk Özdalga, chairman of Parliament’s Envi-
ronment Commission, hailed the president’s decisi-
on to go to the conference, as world leaders are cal-
led upon to support a new deal to stop climate change.
Özdalga said, “This is a good sign showing
Turkey’s growing support for the ght against glo-
bal climate change.” Danish Prime Minister Lars
Løkke Rasmussen sent invitations to 191 world le-
aders to attend the Dec. 7-18 conference in Co-
penhagen. “Your personal attendance is a pivo-
tal contribution to a successful outcome,” says the
letter from Rasmussen, who will chair the talks ai-
med at reaching a new global accord to replace the
1997 Kyoto Protocol. stanbul Today’s Zaman
imprisonment of the terrorist leader, clai-
ming the Kurdish initiative will not be suc-
cessful unless his conditions are improved.
In the meantime, a delegation from the
Ministry of Justice went to mral yesterday
amid demonstrations across the country to
protest Öcalan’s conditions of imprisonment.
He was the sole inmate until recently, but
ve other convicts have now been transferred
to the island and three more will follow and
he was placed in a different cell.
Öcalan’s lawyers claim his new cell is
six-and-a-half square meters, compared
to the old cell’s 12 square meters. The new
cell’s window is reportedly high and can-
not be looked through unassisted. Öcalan,
in his latest meeting with his lawyers last
week, warned that his new prison condi-
tions are harming his health and he feels
that he is at the bottom of a well.
Since his statement to his lawyers the-
re have been demonstrations across the co-
untry to protest his new living conditions.
the initiative and it frequently underlined that
it will never consider discussing the issue with
tions and the Council of Europe and are even
above them.“However, if there are still comp-
December YA meetings focus on the needs of
the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), while promoti-
the PKK, saying the only party with a voice in laints, we will examine them and if there is any ons and dismissals are decided during the August
this process is the nation itself. basis, we will change them,” he said on Thurs- meetings. However, the December 2007 YA me-
However, Öcalan wants to be a part of day. DTP deputy and member of the Parlia- eting was a signicant exception as some ofcers
the process and the DTP are also pointing mentary Commission for Human Rights Akn were expelled from the military.
out him as the partner of the government for Birdal suggested the establishment of a sub- Today’s YA meeting takes place at a time of seri-
the process. There are some suggestions that committee to examine Öcalan’s conditions of ous accusations against a group inside the military ac-
Öcalan and the PKK fear losing their powers imprisonment. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires cused of having plotted to stage a coup d’état against
the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) govern-
ment. These accusations are based on evidence acqu-
ired in the investigation into Ergenekon, a clandestine
Court to start DTP closure case hearings group whose members are accused of being involved
in illegal plans to overthrow the government. A go-
The Constitutional Court will on Tuesday start hearing the case of the Supreme Court of
Appeals vs. the Democratic Society Party (DTP), which demands the party’s closure on vernment ofcial who does not wish to be named has
charges of separatism. In November 2007 the Constitutional Court announced it had stated that the government does not have any expec-
accepted an indictment from Supreme Court of Appeals prosecutors to shut down the tation that the dismissal of these generals will occur
DTP. The prosecution claims that the DTP has ties to the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ during the meeting, saying as a rule, expulsions do not
Party (PKK). The indictment also calls for banning from politics 220 DTP members, inc- occur during ongoing investigations. Ercan Yavuz Ankara
luding deputies Ahmet Türk, Aysel Tuluk, Sebahat Tuncel, Osman Özçelik, brahim Bini-
ci, Sevahir Bayndr and Fatma Kurtulan. The DTP has 20 members in the 550-seat Par-
liament. To shut down the DTP, the Constitution requires that at least seven of the 11
members of the Constitutional Court vote for its closure. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
Swine flu kills 46 in four
days, raising death toll
to 241 in Turkey
The Health Ministry announced on Thurs-
day that the number of deaths caused by
the H1N1 virus, which is widely known as swi-

Council of State places limits on parts of GMO legislation
The Council of State has ruled to prevent
parts of a recently adopted regulation add-
ressing the control of food and feed products con-
taining genetically modied organisms (GMO)
from fully entering into effect.
In response to a lawsuit led on Oct. 26, the
common council of the 10th and 13th chambers of
the Council of State stopped the execution of parts
of the new regulation on grounds that there is a
need to clearly draw a framework for the import,
export, use and inspection mechanisms of GMOs.
The Council of State evaluation also indicated
that the Ministry of Agriculture, which has been
sued over the issue, has already been working on
a bio-security law.
“The developments show that there needs to be
a new legislation,” the Council of State announced.
“When public health and security are concerned, the
regulation does not have enough legal support.”
The new regulation went into effect on Oct. 26 af-
ter publication in the Ofcial Gazette, but drew wi-
despread opposition from agricultural organizati-
ons, consumer associations and political opposition
parties, which claimed that the regulation places the
nation’s health at risk by making the import of GMO
crops in Turkey free. GMOs can be produced by gene
cloning methods in which a non-native gene is intro-
duced and expressed in a new organism. Until today,
genetically modied soybean and corn have been en-
tering Turkey due to an absence of legislation.
Turkey does not yet have a bio-security law, set-
ting rules and regulations for GMOs; hence, the go-
vernment says it wants to take these crops under su-
pervision until a comprehensive law comes into effect.
Critics say the regulation does not restrict or
ban the import or use of GMOs but only intro-
duces some criteria for their import and that it
has shortcomings and runs counter to internati-
onal standards about the use of genetically mo-
died crops. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
ne u, has increased from 195 to 241 in the last
four days across Turkey. A report released by the
ministry last week highlighted that the best way
to protect against swine u is vaccination. The
ministry noted: “It is of crucial importance to be
sensitive about personal protection measures.
Practicing good personal hygiene and washing
one’s hands often are among the main ways to
decrease the possibility of contracting the virus.
Anyone who is sick should not go to work or
school, but should instead rest at home.” The re-
port also stressed that people should avoid close
contact with others. stanbul Today’s Zaman
 18 TODAY’S ZAMAN F R I D AY, D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9 TODAY’S LEARNING

10th & 11th GRADERS

* QUOTE OF THE DAY
Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.
Cecil B. DeMille

Dear Readers,
I hope you have had a festive, happy and
healthy eid. Everyone has returned to school
and classes have resumed. It is quite natural
for many of us at this time to feel a little de-
motivated about doing homework. It will not
take long before you get into the routine of
school and homework so be positive and think
about the coming school holidays. Try your
hardest during the next two months to try and
keep up with all your school responsibilities
and you will notice how time really does go by
so much quicker.
This week in our essay writing competi-
tion we have an interesting topic. I want to
encourage Year 10 and 11 students from
around Turkey to please submit their essays.
Your views are important to our readers.
Editor

The ýmportance of breakfast

to have a healthy lýfe
READING-PET EXAM PRACTICE
People who have breakfast regularly
are lucky ones as having big potential
of being healthy. Research shows
people who have a morning meal
tend to take in more vitamins and
minerals, and less fat and cholesterol.
The result is often a fit body, lower
cholesterol count, and less chance of
being overweight.
"That one act [of eating break-
fast] seems to make a difference in
people's overall weight," says
Melinda Johnson, RD, a spokes-
woman for the American Dietetic
Association (ADA). She says break-
fast can hold off hunger pangs un-
til lunchtime and make high-calo-
rie vending machine options less
enticing. Not only that, researchers
at the 2003 American Heart
Association conference reported
that breakfast eaters are signifi-
cantly less likely to become obese
and get diabetes compared with
nonbreakfast eaters.
Another study in the
International Journal of Food Science
and Nutrition showed that people
who consumed breakfast cereal every
day reported feeling better both
physically and mentally than those
A. READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER THE TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS.
who rarely ate cereal in the morning. 1. By getting more vitamins, you are likely to get fat. _____
For kids, breakfast appears to en- 2. If you want to have a fit body, you should eat breakfast. _____
hance alertness, attention, and per- 3. Having breakfast prevents people from having pains because of hunger. _____
formance on standardized achieve-
4. Regular breakfast may result in diabetes. _____
ment tests, reports the ADA.
To get the full benefits of break- 5. It is suggested to eat food like cornflakes for breakfast. _____
If kids eat breakfast, they will be more naught at school. _____
WRITING
fast, it is recommended that a meal 6.
contains carbohydrates, protein, 7. Having different food items in breakfast is necessary. _____
and a small amount of fat. They say 8. It is significant to have breakfast at a fixed time. _____
that because no single food gives 9. Some people prefer sleep to breakfast. _____ Weekly Essay Competition
you all of the proteins and vitamins
10. It you want to lose weight qucikly, it is recommended to omit breakfast. _____ This weeks' essay question:
you need, eating a variety of foods is
essential to good health. Do you agree with the following statement?
Yet, even with so much scien- Professional athletes (such as football stars) and en-
B- MATCH THE WORDS WITH THEIR SYNONYMS. tertainers (such as singers and actors) are paid too
tific evidence that breakfast does
1. Fit a. Advise much money for the work that they do.
the body good; many people still
make excuses not to eat in the 2. Pang b. Adapt Requirements of essays:
morning. They say they do not Maximum number of words: 250
3. Enhance c. Important
have enough time and do not feel Essay format and use of formal written English
4. Alertness d. Well-built Must be submitted by the following
hungry. For these people, it is sug-
gested to tailor breakfast. 5. Recommend e. Improve Thursday of each week's English Corner
"When I'm getting ready in the 6. Obese f. Attentiveness Must have student's full name, school and city
morning, I don't really want to spend 7. Significant g. Overweight
time to have breakfast because that
8. Tailor h. Pain
would mean sleeping less time," says
one of the experts. "So I bring my VOCABULARY
breakfast with me, and I know I have
PROVERB Complete the following sentences with the best option.
an hour when I'm reading emails in
Cross the stream where it is shallowest. 1. Oh my God!I've __________ my ticket.
the office when I can eat it. By that
time, I'm hungry because I've been Don't make difficulties for yourself by doing things the hard way. a) loose b) lost c) lose
up for a couple of hours." Find the simplest means of achieving your object.
2. There were some __________ wires hanging
out of the wall.
a) lose b) loose c) lost

3. Steven gave me some good _________.

a) advice b) advise c) advising

4. His doctor __________ him against smoking.

REUTERS

FCE EXAM PRACTICE a) advice b) advise c) advised

Read the article about firefighters and fill in the blanks with one suitable word. 5. It's common __________ in the States to tip
PHOTO

FIREFIGHTERS
Fires are to blame (1) _____the loss of countless
lives and billions of dollars every year. Firefighters
help protect people and their property (2) ____injury
and damage. They put their life on the line every
time they respond to a call.
While on duty, firefighters must be ready to respond
in a (3) ____ of minutes to just about and disaster
that may occur. At (4) _____ fire scene, a senior fire
officer takes command and directs the jobs of all
the personnel at the scene. Some (5) _______ oper-
ate hose lines to hydrants while others manually op-
erate the pumps to send water to the hoses. Teams
of firefighters also operate ladders used to reach
distances high in the air.
In addition to (6) ________ and handling fire calls,
firefighters provide emergency medical services as
well. The majority of calls that firefighters respond to
involve emergency medical situations. Firefighters
the hairdresser.
a) practice b) practise c) practical
receive a great deal of emergency medical training.
Many fire departments require that all the employ- 6. The new government has promised all citizens the
ees be certified emergency medical technicians. right to ________ their religion.
When they are not helping someone in need, firefight- a) practising b) practice c) practise
ers spend much of their time at fire stations. Each
fire station (7) _____ employs full-time firefighters 7. The ____________ in the hills can change very
usually has a dormitory facility where firefighters can quickly, so take suitable clothing.
sleep when working long shifts. When the alarm a) whether b) weather c) wuthering
sounds in the fire station, firefighters rush into ac-
tion, (8) _________ of time of the day or weather. 8. I'm wondering _________ to have the fish or the beef.
In the line of duty, firefighters encounter a (9) a) weather b) wuthering c) whether
_______ of harmful substance. They are highly
trained to deal with these substances. They of- 9. Hey, John! Come and sit here _________ me.
ten are exposed to high temperatures, smoke, a) besides b) beside c) next
and a variety of harmful gases. In some cases,
they are exposed to radioactive and hazardous 10. Do you play any other sports _________ football
materials that have a long-term negative (10) and basketball?
________ on their health. a) next b) beside c) besides

Last week’s answers: 1. Will Durant 2. Daniel J. Boorstin 3. William Butler Yeats 4. Gilbert K. Chesterton 5. George Washington Carver 6. Malcolm Forbes 7. Victor Hugo 8. Michel de Montaigne 9. Walt Disney 10. Carl Rogers
 SPORTS
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009
SOCCER
Roberto Carlos to
play with Ronaldo
Brazil World Cup veteran and Fenerbahçe left
back Roberto Carlos said he has reached a deal
to play for Brazilian club Corinthians in 2010,
joining former Brazil teammate Ronaldo. Ro-
berto Carlos told Record Radio Wednesday
that he will leave the Fener Yellow Canaries
to play at least two seasons with Corinthians.
Brazil’s second most popular club behind Fla-
mengo, Corinthians signed Ronaldo this year
and is expected to have the striker back next
season. Roberto Carlos was Ronaldo’s team-
mate with Brazil at the 1998, 2002 and 2006
World Cups. Roberto Carlos is expected to
be ofcially introduced to Corinthians fans
on Dec. 20. The Brazilian defender played for
Corinthians’ rival, Palmeiras, before moving
to Europe in 1995 to join Inter Milan and then
Real Madrid. stanbul Today’s Zaman with wires
CRICKET
Sehwag puts India
in strong position
Virender Sehwag plundered his second succes-
sive century to put a rampant India in control
of the third and nal test against Sri Lanka on
Thursday. The explosive opener cracked 151 not
out and shared in a scintillating 221-run open-
ing wicket stand with Murali Vijay (87) to guide
India to 260 for one at tea in reply to Sri Lanka’s
rst-innings 393 on the second day. Sehwag tore
into the bowling on a Brabourne Stadium pitch
that offered bounce as he lashed 19 fours and
ve sixes in a spectacular innings for his 17th test
century. Vijay, playing in only his second test,
had a few tentative early moments but displayed
a range of shots in front of the wicket once he
settled to register his maiden test 50. Rahul Drav-
id (17) was at the crease with Sehwag after Vijay,
a replacement for Gautam Gambhir after the
regular opener withdrew from the test to attend
his sister’s wedding, fell lbw to left-arm spinner
Rangana Herath. Mumbai Reuters
GOLF
Appleby and Hend
share lead at Open
Stuart Appleby and Scott Hend shot 6-un-
der-par 66s to share the lead after Thursday’s
rst round of the Australian Open. Hend,
who played in ideal morning conditions at
the oceanside links-style New South Wales
Golf Club, had eight birdies and two bogeys.
Appleby, playing in the more difcult and
wind-swept afternoon eld, could have held
the outright lead but had a three-putt bogey
on the 18th. Fellow Australians James Nitties
and Peter Wilson were tied for third with 67s.
Australians Adam Scott and Stephen Allan
and American David Oh were a further stroke
back after 68s and tied for fth. Appleby had
a poor season on the US PGA Tour, nishing
137th on the money list and sinking to No. 150
in world rankings. “I started a lot of rounds of
golf really excited about what was going on
and nished the day just going, ‘What hap-
pened?’,” he said. “All year I wasn’t able to get
that nal bit of condence.” Sydney AP
SOCCER
Barca opens up
five-point lead
Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored
to give Barcelona a 2-0 victory at Xerez to
open up a ve-point lead over second-place
Real Madrid in the Spanish league. On the
same day that FIFA opened a disciplin-
ary case against Henry for a blatant hand
ball that helped put France into the World
Cup, the Barcelona striker turned Maxwell’s
pass through the hands of goalkeeper Re-
nan Soares in the 46th minute for his second
league goal. Ibrahimovic chipped over Renan
in injury time to make up for missed chances
by Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta. It was the
Sweden striker’s ninth league goal. Barcelona,
which played on Wednesday to make up for a
missed league round when it competes at the
Club World Cup, has 33 points from 13 games.
Madrid, which plays on Saturday against Al-
meria, has 28 from 12 games. Sevilla is third
with 26 points, one better than both Valencia
and Deportivo La Coruna. Xerez remained in
last place with seven points. Jerez AP
Lindsey Vonn in the groove for more success
American Lindsey Vonn renewed her love affair with the Canadian Rockies by
clocking the fastest time in training for a season-opening World Cup downhill
doubleheader this weekend. Taking advantage of ideal conditions, Vonn flashed
down the Olympic layout in a time of one minute, 52.30, crossing ahead of
Austrians Maria Holaus and Andrea Fischbacher. Lake Louise, Alberta, Reuters
Shaq O’Neal eclipses
former teammates as
Eagles have golden Cavs block out Suns
Shaquille O’Neal contributed to a bal-
anced offensive display to help the Cleve-
opportunity to go to top
land Cavaliers beat the Phoenix Suns 107-90 on
Wednesday, the center scoring 12 points with
nine rebounds against his former team.
Seven Cavaliers players returned double-g-
ures scores, including reigning league MVP LeB-
for first time this season
A Beikta win this evening would mean that the team would lead Fenerbahçe by
ron James, who narrowly missed a triple-double
with 12 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Playing in his franchise record 724th
game, center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a team-
high 14 points. The defeat was a second
straight heavy loss for the Suns (14-5), having
two points. And this is almost a carbon copy of last season, when Beiktas nished suffered a 126-99 thrashing at the hands of
sixth at the winter break but rebounded in the season’s second half to clinch the title the New York Knicks the previous day.
Channing Frye led Phoenix with 22 points
CHAN
OKAN UDO BASSEY STANBUL
but the high-octane Suns’ offense was tamed
as they failed to score 100 points for a second
The Beikta Black Eagles have a
straight night after reaching three gures in
PHOTO
good chance of climbing to the top of
every game this season before the Knicks loss.
the Turkcell Super League if, as ex-
Other NBA results: Washington 104,
pected, they beat newcomer Diyarbakrspor
at home in a crucial week 15 match at
Milwaukee 102; Orlando 118, New York 104;
stanbul’s nönü Stadium this evening.
Atlanta 146, Toronto 115; Dallas 117, New Jer-
sey 101;Oklahoma City 117, Philadelphia 106;
Going into this match, the Black Eagles
Chicago 92, Detroit 85; Memphis 97, Minne-
trail the league-leading Fener Yellow Canar-
ies by one point after their hard-fought 1-0 sota 95; Sacramento 110, Indiana 105; Houston
away victory over Sivasspor last Sunday. And 102, LA Clippers 85. Cleveland, Ohio Reuters
with Fenerbahçe idle until Saturday, when it
plays Eskiehirspor away, Mustafa Denizli’s
Eagles will strive to seize this golden oppor- Chelsea bundled
tunity to go to the top of the Super League
for the rst time this season. out on penalties by
And if the Eagles top the league, even for
24 hours, it will be a remarkable comeback for
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers dumped 10-man Chel-
a team that was declared dead and buried not
sea out of the League Cup 4-3 on penal-
too long ago. Only a few weeks ago, in week
ties after a quarternal thriller ended 3-3 fol-
eight to be more accurate, the Eagles had gar-
lowing extra time at Ewood Park.
nered only nine points and were trailing then-
In a roller-coaster match that saw the
unbeaten Fenerbahçe -- with 24 maximum
Premier League leader twice fall behind only
points -- by 15. Then-second-place Galatasa-
to grab a dramatic 122nd-minute equalizer,
ray Lions had 19 points and led Beikta by 10.
it was left to teenager Gael Kakuta to uff
Beikta the late starter the decisive penalty kick.
A Beikta win this evening would mean Big-spending Manchester City beat a young
that the team would lead Fenerbahçe by two Arsenal team 3-0 in the other quarternal to set
points and Galatasaray by four. And this is up a mouth-watering clash with holder and lo-
almost a carbon copy of last season when cal rival Manchester United in the last four.
Beiktas nished sixth at the winter break last
The Beikta Black Eagles during their last practice session for this evening’s Turkcell Super With manager Sam Allardyce absent af-
December but rebounded in the season’s sec-
ond half to clinch the league championship.
League week 15 match against Diyarbakrspor in stanbul’s BJK nönü Stadium. ter undergoing heart surgery, Blackburn went
ahead when Croatian striker Nikola Kalinic
Coach Denizli has warned his boys in CSKA Moscow in stanbul next Tuesday. sidefooted home in the ninth minute.
black and white against complacency. “We Turkcell Super
Long-term injury victims, second choice Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti respond-
had only six points at the end of week six; keeper Hakan Arkan striker Filip Holosko,
League standings ed with a triple substitution at halftime and
now we trail Fenerbahçe by only one,” he will also be absent today. P W D L GF GA Pts the gamble paid dividends three minutes later
said. “It is necessary to continue our winning
Fenerbahçe 14 10 1 3 26 13 31 when striker Didier Drogba headed in with al-
ways without being intoxicated with victory,” Cash-strapped Diyarbakr most his rst touch of the ball.
he added rather philosophically.
Beikta 14 9 3 2 17 6 30
The Beikta Black Eagles are now in sev-
Bursaspor 14 9 2 3 28 12 29 Salomon Kalou, sent clean through with
There was joy at the Beikta camp when enth heaven after a string of victories. But Galatasaray 14 9 2 3 31 18 29 only goalkeeper Paul Robinson to beat,
Brazilian striker Bobo appeared for training the same cannot be said about cash-strapped Kayserispor 14 8 4 2 22 10 28 calmly slotted in four minutes later to make
on Wednesday. The striker has recovered pauper Diyarbakrspor, whose players re- G.Birlii 14 6 4 4 20 15 22 it 2-1 to Chelsea but Blackburn leveled when
sufciently from an injury to his left knee fused to show up for training on Tuesday stanbul BB 14 6 4 4 16 22 22 keeper Hilario completely missed an intended
during the Sivas match. The club doctor said because they have not been paid. Trabzonspor 14 6 3 5 26 20 21 cross by Brett Emerton. Kalou then limped off
Bobo is as t as a ddle, and so he is very “Maybe they [the players] are right, but Eskiehirspor 14 5 6 3 18 13 21
injured in the 73rd minute, leaving Chelsea
likely to make the starting XI this evening. the timing is wrong,” Diyarbakrspor Chair- Antalyaspor 14 6 2 6 19 16 20
Gaziantep 14 5 4 5 18 17 19 with only 10 men. London Reuters/AP
Defender brahim Toraman trained with man Çetin Sümer said of the training boy-
a special mask after breaking his nose in his cott. “We are trying everything possible to Ankaragücü 14 4 5 5 18 16 17
Kasmpaa 14 4 3 7 19 23 15
team’s 1-0 UEFA Champions League victory
over Manchester United at Old Trafford last
remedy the situation,” he added.
The morale of the Diyar players has hit
Diyarbakr 14 4 3 7 15 23 15 Tiger Woods:
Manisaspor 14 3 5 6 11 15 14
Wednesday. Toraman will be missing today’s
match, but he will be playing with that mask in
rock bottom and that, indeed, will only make
Beikta’ job easier. Kickoff is at 8 p.m., and
Sivasspor 14 3 1 10 14 24 10 ‘Personal failings’
Denizlispor 14 1 4 9 10 23 7
the crucial Champions League match against the referee will be Bülent Yldrm. let family down
With a public apology and another ap-
peal for privacy, Tiger Woods acknowl-
edged on Wednesday that he let his family
down with unspecied “transgressions” that
he regrets with “all of my heart.”
Fener Yellow Canaries earn revenge and win Group H “I have not been true to my values and
the behavior my family deserves,” Woods
said on his Web site following a magazine
He who laughs last laughs loudest! And so nishing by the Fener strike force, the Canaries report of an alleged affair.
it was when the Fenerbahçe Yellow Canar- could have scored a hatful of goals. But that sin- It was his longest statement since a mid-
ies beat Dutch Eredivise leader Twente 1-0 in
GROUP H standings gle goal was still enough because it gave Daum dle-of-the-night car crash outside his Florida
their penultimate UEFA Europa League Group H P W D L GF GA Pts and the Canaries all that they wanted -- revenge, home last week set off the greatest media scru-
Fenerbahce* 5 4 0 1 7 3 12
match at Enschede on Wednesday night. group leadership and bragging rights. tiny of Woods’ career and his 5-year-old mar-
Twente 5 2 1 2 4 5 7
With Albania’s FC Sheriff and cellar-dweller Sheriff Tiraspol 5 1 2 2 4 4 5 “We had plenty of scoring positions, but unfor- riage to former model Elin Nordegren. He did
Steaua Bucharest sharing the spoils after a 1-1 S.Bucharest 5 0 3 2 2 5 3 tunately we could not nd the second goal,” Daum not go into detail and said he would deal with
draw, victory meant the Canaries being guaran- *Qualifies for Round of 32 said after the match. “Twente put on a good ght, the his “personal failings” with his family.
teed group leadership with one game still to go. players gave their all and so it was an exciting 95-min- “Those feelings should be shared by us
This was also a grudge game because ute encounter [including injury time],” he added. alone,” he said.
“ ying Dutchmen” Twente laughed all the for nothing as the Canaries proved beyond rea- The enigmatic German coach was very Shortly after the investigation of the car ac-
way home when they beat Fenerbahçe 2-1 in sonable doubt who the real boss is. careful not to gloat because he has been around cident ended on Tuesday with a $164 citation
stanbul on Matchday 1 on Sept. 17, forgetting A header goal by Uruguay defender Diego Lu- long enough and therefore knows that they for careless driving, Us Weekly reported that a
that there was still the return leg to play for. gano from a corner kick by Brazilian captain-play- won a battle but not the war. In other words, Los Angeles cocktail waitress claims she had a
It was therefore incumbent upon the Canar- maker Alex De Souza 19 minutes from time gave the there are still many rivers to cross in this sea- 31-month affair with the world’s No. 1 golfer.
ies to win on Wednesday to settle the score, and Canaries a well deserved victory. Twente seemingly son’s Europa League competition. About three hours before Woods’ state-
Christoph Daum’s men did exactly that. Talk that had more ball possession in mideld, but it was the Commenting on Spain striker Dani Gonzalez ment, the magazine released what it said was a
the Twente attacking options were tantalizing, Canaries who had the more glaring scoring chances. Güiza, who protested vehemently after he was voice mail -- provided by the waitress, Jaimee
that it was the undisputed league leader and that And had it not been for the superb goalkeep- substituted in the 81st minute, Daum said, “Güiza Grubbs -- that Woods left on her phone three
it had won 10 Eredivise matches in a row counted ing of Twente’s Sander Boschker and the erratic has to be more respectful.” Okan Udo Bassey stanbul days before his accident. Thousand Oaks, Calif. AP

WWW.TODAYSZAMAN.COM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009
France striker Thierry Hen-
Therry Henry ry could be banned from
the start of the World Cup
handball could nals next year after FIFA President
Sepp Blatter said his blatant hand-
ball against Ireland would be inves-
lead to World tigated by the world body.
If FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee
Cup ban rule against Henry, who handled the
ball in the buildup to France’s crucial
goal in the playoff in Paris last month
that saw the French secure their place
in the nals, they could impose a
match ban that could see him miss the
start of the nals in South Africa next
June. “The disciplinary committee will
open a case into the behavior of Thi-
erry Henry in the match against Ire-
land,” Blatter told a news conference.
“It is not a question of it being Thi-
FIFA president says there will be no extra referees
FIFA has rejected the use of extra match officials at next year’s World Cup
despite the uproar over Thierry Henry’s handball that helped France qualify
at the expense of Ireland. FIFA President Sepp Blatter said that “there is no
change for referees” at the World Cup from June 11 to July 11. Cape Town, AP
erry Henry or another player. But it was
blatant unfair play and was shown all
over the world. “I am not saying that
Thierry Henry will be punished, what
I am saying is that he will be examined
by the disciplinary committee.”
The disciplinary committee does
have the power to ban the player
and the fact a case has been opened
against him suggests he could well be
REUTERS, MIKE HUTCHINGS
sanctioned with a ban from France’s
next competitive matches which will
be at the nals. Blatter said the disci-
plinary committee will also investi-
gate trouble at the World Cup match
between Algeria and Egypt and that a
working group would be set up to look
at the future of the World Cup qualify-
ing competition and whether playoffs
should continue. Cape Town Reuters/AP
PHOTO
George Mazarakis, producer of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World
Cup Draw broadcast, gives journalists a preview of the draw
stage in Cape Town. The draw will take place today.
World waits
on fickle fate of
World Cup draw
Hundreds of millions of football fans are expected to
follow the World Cup draw today, knowing that pure
luck of how teams are picked from the four pots will go a
long way to deciding who wins the trophy in 2010. FIFA
secretary general Jerome Valcke and actress Charlize Theron
will casually swirl the little balls around the pots and draw
them out to decide the make-up of the eight four-team
groups that will play the rst round of next year’s event.
Just how ckle the draw can be is illustrated by what
awaits host nation South Africa. Bafana Bafana is seeded in
the draw as hosts, so will avoid the world’s top teams. But
it might still get a challenging set of opponents like France,
the United States and Chile. Then again, it could get a more
benign draw like New Zealand, Uruguay and Slovenia.
The only restriction upon the draw is that no two teams
from the same geographical confederation can be drawn
into the same group, barring European teams. “The draw
can produce anything,” World Cup chief executive Danny
Jordaan told The Associated Press, hoping for a kind draw
for the hosts. “We hope on the luck of the draw. It is impor-
tant for us as the host nation that our team must progress
in the second round and we will keep our ngers crossed.”
France will be particularly anxious after it just missed out
on being seeded and might have to play powerhouses like
Spain or Brazil in the opening group stage. “I just hope that
we won’t end up in the toughest group,” said French federa-
tion president Jean-Pierre Escalettes.
Inevitably, one of the groups will be dubbed the “Group
of Death,” indicating a tricky combination of four strong
teams left to ght it out for a top-two place that will bring a
berth in round two. Today, four of the world’s top 14-ranked
teams could be thrown together if France is drawn with
Spain, Cameroon and the United States. “We hope for
a group where you feel like it gives a good opportunity to
move forward,” said US coach Bob Bradley.
The draw will be conducted from four pots, each
containing eight teams. The groups for 2010’s rst
round will be formed with one team from each of those
four pots. Pot 1 contains the seeded teams, and the
three other pots are based on geography. Pot 2 will
have the Asian and CONCACAF teams, Pot 3 will have
teams from Africa and South America, and Pot 4 will
have the eight unseeded European teams.
It remains to be seen if South Africa will be helped or
hindered by the rule which prevents it facing another African
team in the rst round. While the weaker African teams have
been regarded as a relatively kind draw in the past, they are
expected to perform more strongly on their home continent
in 2010. After a series of disappointing recent results and a
belated change of coach, the South African public is ques-
tioning how its team will perform as hosts.
Because South Africa is seeded, it will avoid the world’s
top teams: Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands, defending cham-
pion Italy, Germany, Argentina and England.
Along with France, the other European team in Pot 4
that all the top teams will hope to avoid is Portugal, led by
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo and with strong perfor-
mances in recent World Cups and European Champion-
ships. The draw ceremonies have
become more lavish in recent
times. Today’s event, under
the iconic Table Mountain,
is billed as an African cel-
ebration. Cape Town AP
FIFA President
Sepp Blatter
REUTERS
PHOTO