ispanyolca/ ispanyolca ders / ispanyolca kurs 8

chubascos
showers

despejado
clear

lluvia
rain

niebla
fog

nublado
cloudy


It's sunny
It's raining
It's snowing
It's windy

Hace sol
Está lloviendo
Está nevando
Hace viento

a-the sol
esta lyo-byendo
esta ne-bando
a-the byento



What a lovely day!
What awful weather!

¡Qué día más bueno!
¡Qué tiempo tan malo!

ke dee-a mas bweno
ke tyempo tan malo


What will the weather be like tomorrow?
¿Qué tiempo hará mañana?
ke tyempo a-ra ma-nyana

Do you think it's going to rain?
Do I need an umbrella?

¿Cree que va a llover?
¿Necesitaré paraguas?

kre-e ke ba a lyo-ber
ne-the-seeta-re pa-ragwas


When will it stop raining?
¿Cuándo parará de llover?
kwando pa-rara de lyo-ber

It's very hot
Do you think there will be a storm?

Hace mucho calor
¿Cree que va a haber tormenta?

a-the moocho kalor
kre-e ke ba a a-ber tor-menta


Do you think it will snow?
¿Le parece que va a nevar?
le pa-rethe ke ba a nebar

What is the temperature?
¿Qué temperatura hace?
ke tem-pera-toora a-the

ispanyolca/ ispanyolca ders / ispanyolca kurs 8

ispanyolca ispanyolca ders ispanyolca kurs 7

ispanyolca ispanyolca ders ispanyolca kurs 7

The wine list, please
La carta de vinos, por favor
la karta de beenos por fabor

Can you recommend a good wine?
¿Puede recomendarnos un vino bueno?
pwe-de reko-mendar-nos oon beeno bweno

A bottle...
A carafe...
of the house wine

Una botella...
Una jarra...
de vino de la casa

oona bo-telya...
oona kharra...
de beeno de la kasa



of red wine
of white wine
of rosé wine

de vino tinto
de vino blanco
de vino rosado

de beeno teento
de beeno blanko
de beeno ro-sado



of dry wine
of sweet wine
of a local wine

de vino seco
de vino dulce
de vino de la tierra

de beeno seko
de beeno dool-the
de beeno de la tyerra


Albariño smooth white wine from Galicia

Alella dry, medium-dry white wines from Cataluña

Alicante strong country reds and Fondillón, aged mature wine

Cariñena mainly red wines, best drunk young, from Aragón

Cava good quality sparkling white wine from Penedés

Cigales light, fruity, dry rosé wines from Castilla-León

Jumilla strong, dark red wines from Murcia

Lágrima one of the best of the Málaga wines, very sweet

La Mancha firm whites and reds from Castilla-La Mancha

Málaga fortified, sweet, dark dessert wine

Navarra full-bodied reds from Navarra

Penedés fine reds, rosés and whites. Home of Cava

Ribeiro young, fresh, white wines from Galicia

Ribera del Duero fruity rosés and deep distinguished reds from
the banks of the river Duero in Castilla-León

Rioja some of the finest red wines of Spain: full-bodied, rich and
aged in oak. Also good white Riojas aged in oak

Valdepeñas soft, fruity, red wines and white wines

ispanyolca ispanyolca ders ispanyolca kurs 7

ispanyolca / ispanyolca ders / spanisch / ispanyolca kurs 6

What work do you do?
Do you enjoy it?

¿En qué trabaja?
¿Le gusta?

en ke traba-kha
le goosta


I'm...
a doctor
a teacher
a secretary

Soy...
médico(a)
profesor(a)
secretaria

soy...
me-deeko(a)
pro-fesor(a)
se-kreta-rya

I work in...
a shop
a factory
a bank

Trabajo en...
una tienda
una fábrica
un banco

traba-kho en...
oona tyenda
oona fa-breeka
oon banko


I work from home
I'm self-employed

Trabajo en casa
Trabajo por cuenta propia

traba-kho en kasa
traba-kho por cwenta pro-pee-a


I have been unemployed for...
...months

He estado en el paro...
...meses

e es-tado en el paro...
...meses


It's very difficult to get a job at the moment
Ahora es muy difícil encontrar trabajo
a-o-ra es mwee dee-feetheel en-kontrar traba-kho

What are your hours?
¿Cuáles son sus horas de trabajo?
kwales son soos o-ras de traba-kho

I work from 9 to 5
from Monday to Friday

Trabajo de nueve a cinco
de lunes a viernes

traba-kho de nwe-be a theenko
de loo-nes a byer-nes


How much holiday do you get?
¿Cuánto tiempo tiene de vacaciones?
kwanto tyempo tye-ne de baka-thyo-nes

What do you want to be when you grow up?
¿Qué quieres hacer cuando seas mayor?
ke kye-res a-ther kwando se-as ma-yor

ispanyolca / ispanyolca ders / spanisch / ispanyolca kurs 6

ispanyolca / spanish / spanisch / ispanyolca kurs 5

I will confirm... by letter by fax
Lo confirmaré... por escrito por fax
lo konfeer-ma-re... por eskree-to por faks

I'm staying at Hotel...
Me quedo en el Hotel...
me kedo en el o-tel...

How do I get to your office?
¿Cómo se va a su oficina?
komo se ba a soo ofee-theena

Please let ... know that I will be ... minutes late
Por favor, dígale a ... que voy a llegar ... minutos tarde
por fabor dee-gale a ... ke boy a lyegar ... mee-nootos tar-de

I have an appointment with... at ... o'clock
Tengo una cita con... a las...
tengo oona theeta kon... a las...

Here is my card
Aquí tiene mi tarjeta
a-kee tye-ne mee tar-kheta

I'm delighted to meet you at last
Es un gran placer para mí conocerle(la) por fin
es oon gran pla-ther para mee kono-ther-le(la) por feen

ispanyolca / spanish / spanisch / ispanyolca kurs / ispanyolca ders 5

ispanyolca / spanish / spanisch / ispanyolca kurs 4

Do you have a list of accommodation with prices?
¿Tiene alguna guía de hoteles y apartamentos con precios?
tye-ne al-goona gee-a de o-teles ee a-parta-mentos kon prethyos

Is there a hotel here?
¿Hay algún hotel por aquí?
a-ee al-goon o-tel por a-kee

Do you have any vacancies?
¿Tiene alguna habitación libre?
tye-ne al-goona abee-tathyon lee-bre

I'd like (to book) a room... double
Quería (reservar) una habitación... doble
ke-ree-a (re-serbar) oona abee-tathyon... do-ble

single with bath with shower
individual con baño con ducha
eendee-beedwal kon banyo kon doocha

with a double bed twin-bedded
con cama de matrimonio con dos camas
kon kama de matree-monyo kon dos kamas

with an extra bed for a child
con una cama supletoria para un niño
kon oona kama soo-pleto-rya para oon neenyo

A room that looks... onto the garden onto the sea
Una habitación que dé... al jardín al mar
oona abee-tathyon ke de... al khardeen al mar

We'd like two rooms next to each other
Quisiéramos dos habitaciones contiguas
kee-sye-ramos dos abee-tathyo-nes kontee-gwas

We'd like to stay ... nights from ... till...
Quisiéramos quedarnos ... noches del ... al...
kee-sye-ramos kedar-nos ... no-ches del ... al...

I will confirm... by letter by fax
Se lo confirmaré... por escrito por fax
se lo konfeer-ma-re... por eskree-to por faks

ispanyolca / spanish / spanisch / ispanyolca kurs / ispanyolca ders

Mourners bury German victim of publishing house attack in Turkey, police detain 11th suspect

MALATYA, Turkey: Singing hymns in Turkish, mourners on Friday buried the German victim of this week's attack at a Christian publishing house, while local media reported police had detained an 11th suspect in the slayings.

The killing of the German and two Turks — who had converted to Christianity — highlighted the country's uneasy relationship with its minorities. Christians expressed fear that growing nationalism and intolerance could lead to more violence against them.

Police detained five people Wednesday at the scene of the attack Wednesday in the eastern city of Malatya, including one man who jumped out of the window to avoid arrest. Another five suspects were detained Thursday. Private Dogan news agency and other media reported that police detained an 11th suspect on Friday in Istanbul. Police there would not comment on the reports.

Hurriyet newspaper reported that some of the suspects told police they had carried out the killings to protect Islam. Police did not comment on the report.

The three victims were found with their hands and legs tied and their throats slit. Their faces were bruised, and the ropes had cut into their wrists.

On Friday, the Hurriyet reported that at least one victim had also been stabbed many times.

"There were so many stab wounds that we couldn't count them," Hurriyet quoted Dr. Murat Ugras as saying. "It was clearly torture."

German victim Tilmann Geske was buried at an Armenian cemetery in Malatya, overgrown with weeds. His wife and three children — aged 13, 10 and 8 — were among the mourners, who sang in Turkish to guitar music and prayed for forgiveness for the attackers. His youngest, Miriam, wept as dirt was shoveled onto his coffin.

Rev. Ahmet Guvener, the pastor at a church in the city of Diyarbakir, prayed for tolerance.

"We are part of this country, we are not foreigners here," Guvener said.

The attack added to concerns in Europe about whether the predominantly Muslim country — which is bidding for European Union membership — can protect its religious minorities.

Christian leaders said they worried that nationalists were stoking hostilities against non-Turks and non-Muslims by exploiting growing uncertainty over Turkey's place in the world.

The uncertainty — and growing suspicion against foreigners — has been driven by the faltering EU bid, a resilient Kurdish separatist movement and by increasingly vocal Islamists who see themselves — and Turkey — as locked in battle with a hostile Christian West.

"Our lives are in danger because of this mind-set," the Rev. Ihsan Ozbek, pastor of the Kurtulus Church in Ankara, told a news conference in Malatya. He said there was a "witch hunt" under way against Christians and other minorities.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who as Vatican secretary of state is Pope Benedict XVI's top aide, called the attack "an insane act by a fanatic minority."

"We must not waste the fruits of the pope's visit to Turkey, which has really brought us closer," Bertone was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA.

The pope visited Turkey in November, promising greater understanding and dialogue with Islam.

Nationalists, who have long dominated public debate in Turkey, have also begun to call for Turkey to withdraw its EU bid and make its own way in the world. Some young men indoctrinated with a vision of Turkish greatness — and with a view of the West as intent on keeping the Islamic world weak — view non-Muslims with suspicion.

"The problem is our education and our media," Mustafa Efe, head of Mujde FM, or Miracle FM, a Christian broadcasting station, said after traveling to Malatya to meet Protestant pastors. "They always say Christianity is dangerous because Christians are trying to break up Turkey."

Christians make up just a fraction of 1 percent of Turkey's population of 71 million.

"There is this general atmosphere of fear — that Turkey will be segmented," said Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a human rights lawyer who represented one of the slain Christians, Necati Aydin, 26, in an earlier court case. Aydin was charged with insulting Islam and spent a month in jail after he was found distributing Bibles in the Aegean city of Izmir.

Christians and other minorities have watched Turkey's struggling EU bid with alarm. Many worry the papacy of Benedict XVI, who when he was still a cardinal spoke against Turkey's bid for membership, would only contribute to their problems.

ispanyolca / spanish / spanisch / ispanyolca kurs 3

Leave me alone.Déjame en paz. (DAY-hah-may en PASS)
Don't touch me!¡No me toques! (noh may TOH-kayss!)
I'll call the police.Llamaré a la policía. (yah-mah-RAY ah lah po-lee-SEE-ah)
Police!Policía! (poh-lee-SEE-ah!)
Stop! Thief!¡Alto, al ladrón! (AHL-toh ahl lah-DROAN!)
I need help.Necesito ayuda. (ne-say-SEE-toh ah-YOU-dah)
It's an emergency.Es una emergencia. (ayss oo-nah AY-mayr-HEN-syah)
I'm lost.Estoy perdido/a (ay-STOY payr-DEE-doh/dah)
I lost my purse/handbag.Perdí mi bolsa/bolso/cartera. (payr-DEE mee BOHL-sa / BOHL-so / cahr-TAY-rah)
I lost my wallet.Perdí mi cartera/billetera. (payr-DEE mee BOHLcahr-TAY-rah / bee-yay-TAY-rah; the last may also be said as beel-yay-TAY-rah)
I'm sick.Estoy enfermo/a. (ay-STOY ayn-FAYR-moh/mah)
I've been injured.Estoy herido/a. (ay-STOY ay-REE-doh/dah)
I need a doctor.Necesito un doctor. (nay-say-SEE-toh OON dohk-TOHR)
Can I use your phone?¿Puedo usar su teléfono? (PWAY-doh oo-SAHR soo tay-LAY-foh-noh?)

ispanyolca / spanish / spanisch / ispanyolca kurs 2

Hello (informal).Hola. (OH-lah). For the formal equivalent of hola see good morning, good afternoon, good evening below.
How are you? (informal)¿Cómo estás? (KOH-moh ehss-TAHSS?)
How are you (formal)¿Cómo está usted? (KOH-mo ehss-TAH oo-stehd?)
Fine, thank you.Muy bien, gracias. (mooey BYEHN, GRAH-syahss)
What is your name? (informal)¿Cómo te llamas? (KOH-moh tay YAH-mahss?)
What is your name? (formal)¿Cómo se llama usted? (KOH-mo say YAH-mah ooss-TAID?)
My name is ______ .Me llamo ______ . (may YAH-moh _____ .)
Nice to meet you.Encantado/a. (EHN-kahn-TAH-doh)
Please.Por favor. (POHR fah-BOHR)
Thank you.Gracias. (GRAH-SYAHSS)
You're welcome.De nada. (day NAH-dah)
Yes.Sí. (SEE)
No.No. (NOH)
Excuse me. (getting attention)Disculpe. (dees-KOOL-pay)
Excuse me. (begging pardon)Perdón. (pair-DOHN)
I'm sorry.Lo siento. (loh SYEHN-toh)
Goodbye.Adiós. (ah-DYOHSS)
Goodbye. (informal)Hasta luego. (AH-stah LWAY-goh)
I can't speak Spanish [well].No hablo español [bien]. (noh AH-blow EHS-pahn-YOL [BYEHN])
Do you speak English?¿Hablas inglés? (AH-blahss een-GLAYSS?) (informal); ¿Habla usted inglés? (AH-blah oos-TAID een-GLAYSS?)
Is there someone here who speaks English?¿Hay alguien que hable inglés? (eye ahl-GYEN kay AH-blay een-GLAYSS?)
Help!Ayuda! (ah-YOU-dah!); Socorro! (soh-COH-row!)
Good morning.Buenos días. (BWAY-nohss DEE-ahss)
Good afternoon.Buenas tardes. (BWAY-nahss TAR-dayss)
Good evening (when it's dark)Buenas noches. (BWAY-nahss NOH-chayss)
Good night.Buenas noches. (BWAY-nas NOH-chayss)
I don't understand.No entiendo. (noh ehn-TYEHN-doh)
Where is the toilet?¿Dónde está el baño? (DOHN-day ehss-TAH ehl BAHN-yoh?)

ispanyolca / spanish / spanisch / ispanyolca kurs 1

Palabras Para Preguntar / Questions to ask
A dónde Where to
Cómo How
Cuál What (singular)
Cuáles What (plural)
Cuándo When
Cuánto/a How much
Cuántos/as How many
De dónde Where from
Dónde Where
Para qué What for
Por qué Why
Qué What
Quién Who (singular)
Quiénes Who (plural)

Dear visitors from now on I am going to add some basic spanish/ispanyolca lessons to help who learns this very beatiful language.
Sevgili ziyaretçiler bugünden itibaren blogda basit İspanyolca dersleri, ispanyolca gramer konularini, ispanyolca kelimeleri, ispanyolca kurslari ile ilgili bilgileri bulabileceksiniz.

¿Esta O Ser? "ser" is used to indicate more permanent aspects of people or things, such as:
Identity
Yo soy Carla. ("I am Carla")
Profession
Il es un profesor. ("He is a teacher.")
Origin
Nosotros somos de Costa Rica. ("We are from Costa Rica.")
Religious or political affiliation
Tú eres católico ("You are Catholic?")
Time of day or date
Son las ocho. Es invierno. ("It is 8 o'clock. It is winter.")
Posession
La casa es de Juana. ("It is Juana's house.")
Nationality
Yo soy alemán. ("I am German.")
Physical aspects or characteristics of something
Las sillas son verdes. ("The chairs are green.")
Essential qualities of something or someone
Soy viejo. Eres antipatico. ("I am old. You are unpleasant.") "estar" is used to indicate more temporary aspects of people or things, such as:
Location
La silla esta en la cocina. ("The chair is in the kitchen.")
Condition or emotion that is subject to change
Estoy enfermo. ("I am sick.")
Personal observations or reactions, how something "seems" or "feels"
La cocina esta limpia. ("The kitchen is (seems) clean.")

ispanyolca Hint-Avrupa dil ailesine bağlı Romans dillerinden biridir. Dünyada en çok konuşulan üç dilden biridir. İspanyolca Latince'den geliştirilmiş ve Cebelitarık ve Bask gibi farklı bölgelerde konuşulan yerel dillerin etkisiyle bugüne gelmiştir. Bu nedenle Latince'den türeyen diğer dillere dilbilgisi ve sözcük dağarcığı açısından benzer. Dil üzerinde bir diğer önemli etki ise Endülüs Emevileri döneminden dolayı Arapçadandır.
Kristof Kolomb'a yolculukları sırasında İspanyol kraliyet ailesinin destek olması nedeniyle 16. yy.dan sonra Amerika'nın keşfiyle dil bu kıtaya hızla yayılmıştır

Turkish military says next president must be loyal to secular principles

Turkey's secularists, led by the military, fear that if Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan — or someone close to him — wins the presidency next month, the government will be able to implement an Islamic agenda without opposition.
"As a citizen and as a member of the armed forces, we hope that someone who is loyal to the principles of the republic — not just in words but in essence — is elected president," Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, the military chief of staff, told a televised news conference in the first comment by the military on the upcoming presidential elections.
"The president who will be elected will also be the top commander of the Turkish armed forces," Buyukanit said. "I carry the hope that someone with such attributes will be chosen."
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's seven-year term ends May 16. Parliament, which is dominated by lawmakers from Erdogan's party, will elect the new president early next month.
The prime minister has not yet said whether he will stand. His party was expected to announce its candidates for the position this month.
The military commands widespread respect in Turkey, however, and Buyukanit's comments were clearly intended to persuade Erdogan not to stand.
At a rally in Ankara planned for Saturday, thousands are expected to march to the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern, secular Turkey, to protest the idea of an "Islamist" taking over the post.
"Erdogan was told in very polite and diplomatic language not to become president," said Nihat Ali Ozcan, an analyst with the Economic Policy Research Institute in Ankara.
The position of president is largely ceremonial, but the head of state has powers to block legislation and makes key appointments. In the absence of a strong opposition, Sezer has blocked a record number of government-proposed bills he viewed as threatening Turkey's secular foundations as well as the appointment of several officials. Many were rejected for alleged Islamist tendencies.
Erdogan, 53, denies his party has an Islamic agenda. Since coming to power in 2002, his government has promoted Turkey's European Union membership bid, which resulted in the start of accession talks in October 2005.
The army is nevertheless suspicious of Erdogan because of his Islamic past. In 1999, Erdogan spent four months in prison for reading a poem at a political rally which the courts deemed to be inciting religious hatred.
The military, which regards itself the guardian of Turkey's secular values, has staged three coups since the 1960s and has remained influential after ceding control to civilian governments. In 1997, the military led a campaign that pressured an Islamic government — which Erdogan belonged to — out of power for what they saw as an excessive Islamist bent.
__

U.S. urges Turks to show restraint on border problem with Iraq

WASHINGTON: A top U.S. State Department official urged Turkey on Thursday to show restraint in responding to attacks inside the country by Turkish Kurds operating from Iraqi territory, a senior State Department official said.
Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried issued the call for calm to Turkish Ambassador Nabi Sensoy after the Turkish military sought government approval to launch cross border raids into Iraq to root out guerrillas from the Kurdish Workers Party of PKK, the official said.
The official asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the record.
Earlier State Department spokesman Sean McCormack acknowledged the legitimacy of Turkey's concern.
"Turkey faces a real threat from the PKK," he said. "It's a terrorist organization. It has killed innocent Turkish citizens. It has killed Turkish military. And it's a problem that needs to be dealt with."
But, he said, the Turkish and Iraqi governments should work together to try to resolve the problem. He noted that retired Army Gen. Joseph Ralston is trying to assist the two countries in reaching an accommodation.
"The focus should be on trying to resolve this in a cooperative way, in a joint way, rather than to resort to unilateral actions," McCormack said.
Hostilities between Turkey and Iraq would put the United States in the middle of conflict between two close allies and would deflect attention from the U.S. effort to bring stability to Iraq.
Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq, said recently that Iraqi Kurds would retaliate for any Turkish interference in northern Iraq by stirring up trouble in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast.

Turkey's president says Islamist threat to secular establishment at highest level / istanbul-bilbao

ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey's staunchly pro-secular president said Friday that the threat Islamic fundamentalism poses to the country's secular establishment has reached its highest level — a warning directed at the Islamic-rooted prime minister, who may stand to replace him in May.
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer was addressing officers of the country's military, the self-appointed guarantor of the secular regime, in one of his last speeches before he steps down as president.
"For the first time, the pillars of the secular republic are being openly questioned," private NTV television quoted Sezer as saying during a speech at the War Academies in Istanbul.
He appeared to be referring to members of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted party who have questioned the definition of secularism.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul disagreed with Sezer.

"I don't think the regime is in danger," Gul told reporters in an apparent response to Sezer's comments.
Sezer argued that internal and external powers were working together with the aim of changing the regime.
"Foreign powers want to transform Turkey into a moderate Islamic republic," Sezer said without elaborating.
His words appeared to be aimed at Erdogan's government and against the European Union, which has been pressuring Turkey into curbing the pro-secular military's powers.
Turkey's secularists fear that if Erdogan — or someone close to him — wins the presidency next month, the government will be able to implement an Islamic agenda without opposition.
Sezer's seven-year term ends May 16. Parliament, which is dominated by lawmakers from Erdogan's party, will elect the new president early next month.
The prime minister has not yet said whether he will stand. His party was expected to announce its candidates for the position this month.
"As a citizen and as a member of the armed forces, we hope that someone who is loyal to the principles of the republic — not just in words but in essence — is elected president," Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, chief of the military, said Thursday.
Buyukanit's words were widely interpreted as a warning to Erdogan not to run.
The military views itself as the protector of Turkey's secular identity. The fiercely secular generals have staged three coups between 1960 and 1980, and in 1997 led a campaign that pressured a pro-Islamic government out of power.
The EU has repeatedly called on Turkey to limit the role of the military in state affairs.
At a rally in Ankara planned for Saturday, tens of thousands are expected to march to the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern, secular Turkey, to protest the idea of an "Islamist" taking over the post.
Sezer spoke of increased measures that were "rolling back" the gains of the secular republic, and said these were increasing tension in the country.
"The appointment of Islamic-minded officials to state positions is enough to understand where Turkey is being taken to," Sezer said.
Erdogan's government denies it has an Islamic agenda, but pro-secular Turks say the government is slowly moving the country toward increased religious rule.
Since taking power, Erdogan showed his commitment to future European Union membership by enacting sweeping reforms that allowed the country to start accession talks in 2005.
But he has also stoked secularist concerns by speaking out against restrictions on wearing Islamic-style head scarves in government offices and schools and taking steps to bolster religious schools. He tried to criminalize adultery before being forced to back down under intense EU pressure. Some party-run municipalities have taken steps to ban alcohol consumption.
Although largely ceremonial, the presidency has become a symbol for secularism under Sezer.
A former Constitutional Court judge, Sezer has vetoed a record number of laws he deemed to be in violation of the secular constitution and has blocked government efforts to appoint hundreds of reportedly Islamic-oriented candidates to important civil service positions.

istanbul-bilbao

Royal gives her support to Turkey's bid for EU accession

By Delphine Strauss in Paris

Ségolène Royal has declared her support for Turkey's bid to join the European Union, becoming the only main contender in France's coming presidential election to endorse an enlargement deeply unpopular with voters.

"In the end, Turkey has a vocation to join Europe, provided it satisfies the membership criteria, which are not just economic and financial but also democratic," the Socialist party candidate said in a new book, extracts of which were published by Le Monde yesterday.

Her support offers a glimmer of hope to Turkey's troubled bid for EU membership which, even if it clears all technical hurdles, depends on the outcome of a French referendum promised by President Jacques Chirac in 2004 as a condition for opening negotiations.

Ms Royal added strong qualifications, saying Europe first needed a pause to stabilise its borders and "prove its concrete utility in the daily life of those it already unites".

Yet her position is sharply at odds with all other leading presidential contenders. Nicolas Sarkozy, candidate of the centre-right UMP and frontrunner in the opinion polls, has repeatedly insisted that "Turkey's place is not in the EU". François Bayrou, the europhile centrist, has echoed that opposition, arguing that Ankara's membership would end the dream of EU political unity.

"We should not make an argument of geography against Turkey: Europe is not a territory . . . but a political project," Ms Royal said. She argued Europe would gain from a show of unity between civilisations, while the prospect of EU entry would assist Turkish democrats in enacting reforms and "also help them in their combat against this state negationism that is the refusal to recognise the Armenian genocide".

Ms Royal has previously been pilloried for refusing to state an opinion on Turkey, saying her position would be "that of the French people". But now she appears to be taking risks in departing from that stance.

Opinion polls show most French voters oppose Turkish membership. Many feel previous enlargements of the EU have reduced Paris's influence and economic edge in Europe, and there is also distrust of Turkey's record on human rights, fuelled by France's 450,000-strong Armenian community

The French National Assembly enraged Ankara last year by voting for legislation that, if enacted, would make it a crime to deny that Armenians were the victims of genocide in the last years of the Ottoman Empire. Armenians say as many as 1.5m people died in 1915-1918, while Turkey says that hundreds of thousands of both Armenians and Turks died, largely as a result of civil war and famine.

Ms Royal, who wants to revive French enthusiasm for Europe by pressing for minimum social standards, said her reasons for delaying Turkish membership related "not to Turkey but to Europe". In a jibe at the UK's backing for Ankara, she said: "Who today are the warmest supporters of maximum enlargement? Those who reduce Europe to a big market with the least regulation possible."

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
istanbul-bilbao

Thaw in Turkey's EU membership talks process / istanbul-bilbao

By Daniel Dombey in London and Vincent Boland in Ankara

Turkey's faltering bid to join the European Union made rare progress yesterday, when Ankara and Brussels resumed formal negotiations for the first time since the talks were partially frozen in December.

The beginning of the talks on enterprise and industrial policy was marked by a conference in Brussels attended by Ali Babacan, Turkey's chief negotiator.

It was only the second negotiating topic - or "chapter" - to be opened since Turkey's membership process began in 2005 and the first since the EU decided in December to freeze talks in eight areas because of a dispute over Cyprus.

"It is crucial to show the citizens of Turkey that the accession process is moving forward," Mr Babacan said, calling for "sustained political will on both sides".

In all, the two sides will need to conclude negotiations in 35 chapters before Turkey can become an EU member. The Commission and Germany, the holder of the rotating presidency of the EU, hope that up to three other chapters can be opened in June, in the aftermath of the French presidential election. Yesterday Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German foreign minister, proclaimed that the talks were back on track.

But expectations are low that the two sides can overcome mounting frustration with each other, spurred by EU concerns about Ankara's uneven record on domestic reform and rising anti-EU sentiment in Turkey.

Commission officials see 2007 as a year of "muddling through" ahead of Turkish elections and a Cypriot poll next year. Talks planned for coming months are on relatively "easy" topics that are neither politically sensitive nor subject to much EU law.

Even so, Commission officials worry that the possible election of Nicolas Sarkozy, the French presidential candidate, who is opposed to Turkish membership, could make progress more difficult.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
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Turkish prime minister wants to avoid tensions before presidential elections / istanbul-bilbao

ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey's premier wants to avoid tensions before presidential elections next month, he said Tuesday, with secularist circles strongly opposing his possible candidacy.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of the Islamic-rooted government, has not said whether he will run for president in May.

There is strong opposition from secularists to an Erdogan candidacy because the position — although largely ceremonial — is regarded as a bastion of secularism, and many do not want to see his wife, who wears an Islamic-style head scarf, move into the presidential palace.

"Our real goal is to focus on our country's development without tensions in our country," Erdogan told reporters before flying to Syria for a one-day visit to watch a friendly soccer match between Turkey and Syria.

"As the ruling party, we have a strategy and we will announce our candidates when the time is right."

Some secularist groups, including some unions and associations, planned to organize demonstrations in the coming weeks to declare their opposition to an Erdogan presidency.

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, a staunch secularist, will step down in May. Political parties were expected to announce their candidates after mid-April. The new president will be elected by parliament, where Erdogan's Justice and Development Party holds the majority.

On Monday, Erdogan addressed supporters during a party meeting in the central Anatolian city of Eskisehir. Some supporters want to see him rise to the top of the state in a show of force of the country's political Islamic movement, but others want to him to be prime minister for another term. His party is likely to lead polls in November.

The new president will likely be a lawmaker from Erdogan's party and is widely expected to work in harmony with the government.

Sezer, a former Constitutional Court judge, vetoed a record number of laws he deemed violated the secular constitution and has blocked government efforts to appoint hundreds of reportedly Islamic-oriented candidates to important civil service positions.

Sezer has often cautioned against "the threat of Islamic fundamentalism," an apparent reference to the appointment of Islamic-minded officials to key civil service positions and statements by officials in Erdogan's party questioning the definition of secularism.

Erdogan's government denies it has an Islamic agenda, but pro-secular Turks charge the government is slowly moving the country toward increased religious rule, threatening the secular state that was founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923 from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.

The Associated Press
Published: April 3, 2007 / istanbul-bilbao

Kurdish leader warns Turkey not to intervene in Kirkuk / istanbul-bilbao

BAGHDAD: Turkey must not interfere in the Kurds' bid to attach Iraq's oil-rich city of Kirkuk to the Kurdish semiautonomous zone, the top official in Iraqi Kurdistan said in remarks broadcast Saturday.

Otherwise, Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said, Iraq's Kurds will retaliate by intervening in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast, where insurgents have battled for decades to establish their own autonomy.

Barzani, president of the 15-year-old Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq, issued the warning after last week's endorsement by the Iraqi government of a decision to relocate and compensate thousands of Arabs who moved to the city as part of Saddam Hussein's campaign to push out the Kurds.

The government's decision was a major step toward implementing a constitutional requirement to determine the status of the disputed city by the end of the year. The plan will likely turn Kirkuk and its vast oil reserves over to Kurdish control, a step rejected by many of Iraq's Arabs and Turkmen — ethnic Turk who are strongly backed by Turkey.

"We will not let the Turks intervene in Kirkuk," Barzani said in an interview with Al-Arabiyah television. "Kirkuk is an Iraqi city with a Kurdish identity, historically and geographically. All the facts prove that Kirkuk is part of Kurdistan."

Some in Turkey have hinted at military action to prevent the Kurds from gaining control of Kirkuk.

Turkish leaders are concerned that Iraq's Kurds want Kirkuk's oil revenues to fund a bid for outright independence, not just autonomy. The Turks fear that would encourage separatist Kurdish guerrillas in Turkey, who have been fighting for autonomy since 1984. The conflict has claimed the lives of 37,000 people.

"Turkey is not allowed to intervene in the Kirkuk issue and if it does, we will interfere in Diyarbakir's issues and other cities in Turkey," Barzani said. Diyarbakir is the largest city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast.

Asked if he meant to threaten Turkey, Barzani responded that he was telling Ankara what would happen "if Turkey interferes." He said Turkey had military and diplomatic clout, but that the Kurds had survived through the Saddam Hussein regime and that what happened in Kirkuk was "none of their (Ankara's) business."

When asked about the Turkmen minority in Kirkuk and Turkey's concern for its ethnic brethren, Barzani shot back:

"There are 30 million Kurds in Turkey and we don't interfere there. If they (the Turks) interfere in Kirkuk over just thousands of Turkmen then we will take action for the 30 million Kurds in Turkey."

"I hope we don't reach this point, but if the Turks insist on intervening in Kirkuk matter I am ready to take responsible for our response," Barzani said.

The ancient city of Kirkuk has a large minority of Turkmen as well as Christians, Shiite and Sunni Arabs, Armenians and Assyrians. Turkmen were a majority in the city during the Ottoman Empire.

Barzani said the independence and statehood for Kurds, who live in Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq was a "legitimate and legal right."

"But I am against the use of violence to reach this goal," he continued.

The Associated Press
Published: April 7, 2007

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US struggles to avert Turkish intervention in northern Iraq / istanbul-bilbao

· Ankara claims Kurdish rebels preparing attacks· Operations could wreck American peace strategy
Simon Tisdall in AnkaraFriday March 23, 2007 / The Guardian

The US is scrambling to head off a "disastrous" Turkish military intervention in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq that threatens to derail the Baghdad security surge and open up a third front in the battle to save Iraq from disintegration.
Senior Bush administration officials have assured Turkey in recent days that US forces will increase efforts to root out Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) guerrillas enjoying safe haven in the Qandil mountains, on the Iraq-Iran-Turkey border.

But Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, MPs, military chiefs and diplomats say up to 3,800 PKK fighters are preparing for attacks in south-east Turkey - and Turkey is ready to hit back if the Americans fail to act. "We will do what we have to do, we will do what is necessary. Nothing is ruled out," Mr Gul said. "I have said to the Americans many times: suppose there is a terrorist organisation in Mexico attacking America. What would you do?... We are hopeful. We have high expectations. But we cannot just wait forever."
Turkish sources said "hot pursuit" special forces operations in Khaftanin and Qanimasi, northern Iraq, were already under way. Murat Karayilan, a PKK leader, said this week that a "mad war" was in prospect unless Ankara backed off.
Fighting between security forces and Kurdish fighters seeking autonomy or independence for Kurdish-dominated areas of south-east Turkey has claimed 37,000 lives since 1984. The last big Turkish operation occurred 10 years ago, when 40,000 troops pushed deep into Iraq. But intervention in the coming weeks would be the first since the US took control of Iraq in 2003 and would risk direct confrontation between Turkish troops and Iraqi Kurdish forces and their US allies.
Several other factors are adding to the tension between the Nato partners:
· The firm Turkish belief that the US is playing a double game in northern Iraq. Officials say the CIA is covertly funding and arming the PKK's sister organisation, the Iran-based Kurdistan Free Life party, to destabilise the Iranian government.
· US acquiescence in plans to hold a referendum in oil-rich Kirkuk in northern Iraq. Turkey suspects Iraqi Kurds are seeking control of Kirkuk as a prelude to the creation of an independent Kurdistan.
· Plans by the US Congress to vote on a resolution blaming Turkey for genocide against the Armenians in 1915. Faruk Logoglu, a former ambassador to Washington, said that if the resolution passed, relations "could take generations to recover".
· Record levels of Turkish anti-Americanism dating back to 2003, when Turkey refused to let US combat forces cross the Iraq border.
The US is already fighting Sunni insurgents and Shia militias. Analysts say a surge in violence in northern Iraq, previously the most stable region, could capsize the entire US plan. But pressure on the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is also growing as a result of forthcoming elections. Military intervention was narrowly avoided last summer when he said that "patience was at an end" over US prevarication. Now conservatives and nationalists are again accusing him of not standing up to Washington.
"If they are killing our soldiers ... and if public pressure on the government increases, of course we will have to intervene," said Ali Riza Alaboyun, an MP for Mr Erdogan's Justice and Development party. "It is the legal right of any country to protect its people and its borders."
US support for Iranian Kurds opposed to the Tehran government is adding to the agitation. "The US is trying to undermine the Iran regime, using the Kurds like it is using the MEK [the anti-Tehran People's Mujahideen]," said Dr Logoglu. "Once you begin to differentiate between 'good' and 'bad' terrorist organisations, then you lose the war on terror." But he warned that military intervention might be ineffective and could be "disastrous" in destabilising the region. A recent national security council assessment also suggested that senior Turkish commanders were cautious about the prospects of success.
Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state, said last week that the US was acting to assuage Turkish concerns. "We are committed to eliminating the threat of PKK terrorism in northern Iraq," he said.
General Joseph Ralston, the US special envoy dealing with the PKK issue, was less upbeat, admitting that "the potential for Turkish cross-border action" was growing. "We have reached a critical point in which the pressure of continued [PKK] attacks has placed immense public pressure upon the government of Turkey to take some military action. As the snows melt in the mountain passes, we will see if the PKK renews its attacks and how the Turkish government responds ... I hope the Turks will continue to stand by us."
But a Milliyet journalist, Kadri Gursel, said: "The US attitude has really pissed off the government and the army. The US really doesn't understand how exhausted and fed up they are."

Unease as Erdogan mulls bid for presidency / istanbul-bilbao

The contest to become Turkey's next president moved into a decisive phase yesterday amid evidence of growing unease in secular circles about the possibility that the country's neo-Islamist prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, would seek and win the post.
Mr Erdogan, Turkey's most openly devout Muslim prime minister in 20 years, has not yet said whether he will seek the nomination of his ruling Justice and Development party. His indecision is starting to paralyse the political landscape, overshadowing the more important general election that Turkey must hold by November.
The outgoing president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, has convened a meeting of the National Security Council for April 10, six days before the formal process of electing a new president begins. According to Murat Yetkin, a columnist for Radikal newspaper, Mr Sezer wants the council, an important policy-setting forum, to discuss the likely impact of Mr Erdogan's presidency on Turkey's secular constitutional system.
Economists at Raymond James Securities in Istanbul said this week the speculation about Mr Erdogan's candidacy had "raised the stakes" in the presidential contest by clouding his party's prospects in the general election. He would almost certainly be elected by parliament if he decided to stand, and would have to stand down as party leader.
The prime minister began talks with senior party figures yesterday. The move coincided with a poll in an anti-government newspaper suggesting that a large majority of the population did not want him to become president. Much of the secular establishment, including the military, is said to be opposed to his candidacy.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
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Turkey chafes at exclusion from EU celebration / istanbul-bilbao

ANKARA: Turkey took a swipe at Germany on Tuesday over a decision to exclude candidate countries from the European Union's 50th birthday celebrations in Berlin next weekend.
"It would have been meaningful, in terms of demonstrating once again the unity of the European family, if Germany had invited candidate countries," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a short statement.
Leaders of the 27 member states will attend a gala concert and dinner, street parties and a short summit meeting at which a Berlin Declaration on the bloc's achievements and future is to be signed.
Turkey and Croatia are in negotiations to join the European Union; Macedonia has official candidate status; and other western Balkan states, Serbia, Bosnia and Albania, are waiting in the wings.
But EU enlargement has become unpopular in some older member states, especially in France, where elections are scheduled for his spring, and Austria and Germany.
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany is opposed to Turkish membership in the EU, though she has also pledged to respect previous agreements between the bloc and Ankara.
Asked about Ankara's statement, a German government spokesman said: "This is a celebration of the members of the European Union. No candidate countries were invited, whether it be Turkey or others."
An EU diplomat in Ankara said the decision was not intended as a snub but reflected the EU's preoccupation with its own internal divisions, including over the wording of the planned anniversary declaration.
Turkey, a relatively poor, overwhelmingly Muslim country of 74 million people, began EU entry talks in October 2005, but faces long and difficult negotiations.
Last December, the EU suspended talks in 8 of 35 "chapters" or policy areas because of Turkey's refusal to open its ports and airports to traffic from Cyprus, an a EU member and a country that Turkey does not recognize.
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A cautious welcome for the gringo / istanbul-bilbao

George Bush's new-found sympathy for social justice in Latin America has prompted a copycat tour from Hugo Chávez

IN THE twilight of George Bush's presidency, the word “surge” has come to mean a belated attempt to make up for past mistakes. That applies to Iraq, but also to Mr Bush's week-long, five-country tour of Latin America, which ended on March 14th. His longest trip to the region seemed designed to correct the impression that the United States is too busy battling terrorists to pay much attention to the struggles of Latin American democracies to overcome poverty and drug-fuelled crime.
Mr Bush did not have much new to offer, except in vocabulary: he talked of “social justice”, and of health, education and aid. He visited markets and Mayan ruins, and ate barbecues and guacamole. Predictably, he was greeted with angry (but mainly small) demonstrations. More importantly, he showed that the United States has partners in the region, even among left-leaning governments.

Venezuela's Hugo Chávez did his best to prove the opposite. In a counter-tour which seemingly grew on the hoof to take in a matching, but different, five countries, the populist strongman mocked the American president as a “political corpse” in a Buenos Aires football stadium, denounced the United States as the “most murderous empire in all of history” at a press conference in Port-au-Prince and called capitalism “hell” in a flood-struck town in Bolivia.
In this motorcade joust Mr Bush came out ahead. That is not because the United States is the bigger benefactor but because nowadays its designs in Latin America are less imperial than those of Mr Chávez.
Mr Chávez has one objective: to forge a united anti-American block under his leadership. Mr Bush had several aims. In Brazil, it was ethanol. Aware at last that oil is climate-changing and controlled by unfriendly potentates like Mr Chávez, Mr Bush wants to cut the United States' future petrol consumption by a fifth in ten years. Brazil is already there: 40% of the fuel in Brazilian cars is made from sugar cane.
Mr Bush and Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, agreed to promote ethanol production and use across the region, and to co-operate on research. By fixing purity standards, they hope to make ethanol a globally tradable commodity. But Mr Bush refused to talk about the high tariff that protects American corn farmers, whose ethanol is more costly and carbon-emitting to produce than Brazil's.
There was no visible progress on the Doha round of world trade talks, though the American trade representative, Susan Schwab, spent an extra day in São Paulo to talk to Brazilian officials and industrialists. And Lula, somewhat mystifyingly, insisted that “we're going firmly toward finding the so-called G-spot for making a deal.”
Far from the confrontation desired by Mr Chávez, relations between the biggest powers of North and South America are coming to resemble those between the United States and Europe: there is a recognition on both sides that the overall friendship counts for more than any disagreements on detail. Lula is to visit Mr Bush at Camp David on March 31st.
“This level of presidential diplomacy is unheard of,” points out Paulo Sotero, director of the Brazil Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC. “It's very important for Brazilians to be recognised in a special way by the United States vis-à-vis the rest of the continent.”
For Uruguay's leftish president, Tabaré Vázquez, hosting Mr Bush was a tacit message to neighbouring Brazil and Argentina, two of his partners in the Mercosur trade grouping, not to take his small country for granted. Uruguay recently signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with the United States. Mr Vázquez would like that to lead to a free-trade deal, though many in his government, not to mention the United States' Congress, do not.

Mr Bush's seven-hour stopover in Bogotá was the first visit by an American president to Colombia's capital since 1982. That was intended to show that American aid to fight the drugs trade and leftist guerrillas, combined with the tough security policies of President Álvaro Uribe, are making the country safer. Even so, 20,000 troops and police were deployed to secure Bogotá's normally tranquil streets.
In Guatemala, the mood was soured by the arrest in Massachusetts this month of hundreds of illegal workers, many of them Guatemalan. Oscar Berger, the president, told Mr Bush that deportations of illegal migrants should end.
Mr Bush said he hoped an immigration reform bill can be approved in the Senate by August. Until then, the American plan to fence out illegal immigrants will cast a shadow over what ought to be a warm friendship between Mr Bush and Felipe Calderón, Mexico's new conservative president. “The United States has a lot to do to regain respect in Latin America,” Mr Calderón bluntly remarked.
Mr Bush tried. He boasted that he had doubled aid to the region, to $1.6 billion. That is only because of an accounting quirk in 2001. The United States has ramped up aid to a few countries, via Plan Colombia, AIDS programmes and the Millennium Challenge Account (for the poorest). But it has cut development aid to a larger group, notes Joy Olson of the Washington Office on Latin America, a left-leaning NGO. Overall, Mr Bush has spent more than his predecessor, Bill Clinton.
Mr Chávez is outspending and out-promising Mr Bush. He said that Venezuela's cheap-oil deals with its neighbours total 200,000 barrels a day (worth perhaps $1.6 billion a year); in addition, he has announced aid totalling some $5.5 billion. Jamaica, added to his tour (along with Haiti) at the last minute, was promised cheap natural gas. Argentina's president, Néstor Kirchner, thanked Mr Chávez for helping “at the most critical moments.”
But most of Mr Chávez's neighbours are not enthusiastic about his leadership nor willing to turn their backs on the United States. Lula's coming trip to Camp David is a sign that Brazil will not be bullied into an anti-American axis. Mr Bush wisely ignored Mr Chávez's taunts. No one will miss the United States' lame duck president more than the Venezuelan.

From The Economist print edition

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Turkey’s housing sales down in 2006 as prices rise / istanbul-bilbao

Prices in the Turkish housing market surged last year, causing sales to decelerate as a consequence. A recent study using data provided by the Land Registry Office revealed that 1,377,533 properties were sold across Turkey in 2006 while some YTL 38 billion was earned from these sales.

According to the figures, housing sales had increased by 10.16 percent in 2003, 19.5 percent in 2004 and 12 percent in 2005. However, 2006 witnessed a dramatic slowdown with only a 1 percent increase. On the other hand, the revenue pulled in from these sales rose by 14.7 percent, largely thanks to the buoyant prices. Real estate agents claim the 1 percent increase doesn't reflect "real sales," adding that market fluctuations in May and June 2006 caused the market to shrink by 20 percent.

Ankara All Real Estate Agents Chamber (ATEM) Chairman Hacı Ali Taylan opined that the increase in the number of houses sold in 2006 was artificially inflated and could be traced back to two reasons: The first is “sales by arrangement,” in which landowners sell their properties to family members to be able to use lower-interest housing loans for other purposes. The second might be that many properties had been sold the year before, but deed transfers were not completed until 2006. Taylan also claimed the increase in total sales was not because of the increase in prices. “That was because unit values were added per square meter for property taxes. Showing property values higher than the real value to be able to get a higher loan from the bank is another reason,” Taylan said. Meanwhile, the data indicated the most valuable properties in Turkey are in İstanbul. Last year, 188,578 houses were sold in İstanbul, with buyers paying YTL 12.4 billion in total to the sellers. This shows that sales dropped by 8.7 percent compared to 2005 in İstanbul, whereas total sales realized jumped by 30 percent.

The picture in the capital, however, was somehow reversed. In Ankara sales decreased by 5.7 percent and 134,735 units of real estate were sold in 2006. Moreover, the revenue earned from these sales also dropped by more than 32 percent. As a result, landowners in Ankara were able to earn only YTL 3.99 billion from these sales.

In İzmir, the number of properties transacted contracted from 82,494 to 78,028 while the money earned reached YTL 2.4 billion after a slight increase. Antalya, the subject of considerable foreign interest, the number of sales stayed nearly stable, yet there was a drastic decline in revenue. A total of 50,751 units were sold in the city in 2005, dropping to 50,707 in 2006; yet, revenue decreased from YTL 2 billion to YTL 1.7 billion. istanbul-bilbao

http://www.todayszaman.com

Turkey adopts EU criteria for Turkish coffee

Turkey's attempts to harmonize with European Union laws for the accession process now include world-renowned Turkish coffee.


Turkish coffee will have to meet certain criteria in order to be eligible as a European export product under a newly issued decree from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The decree sets standards regulating the amount of caffeine and humidity and gives coffee producers one year to comply with the new standards.


Previously, kokoreç -- a popular snack made of grilled lamb intestines -- was cleared for EU takeoff with regulations setting hygienic standards for preparation.

As part of its efforts to set EU standards in the Turkish food sector -- seemingly one of the most challenging areas in the harmonization process -- the Agriculture Ministry has drafted the Coffee and Coffee Products decree. The decree introduces new standards for pest management, the use of agrochemicals, packaging, labeling, transportation, storage, sampling and analyses made during coffee cultivation and processing. Raw and roasted coffee beans, grinded coffee and coffee extract, soluble coffee, instant coffee or instant coffee extract fall under the scope of the decree.

The ministry's draft is based on directive 1999/4/EC of the European Parliament and the Council relating to coffee extracts and chicory extracts, setting standards for hygienic cultivation, processing, storage, delivery and retail of coffee and coffee products.

The draft begins by defining what is considered as coffee. Seeds from Coffea arabica Lyn, Coffea canephora or Coffea robusta, Coffea liberica and similar coffee plant varieties -- picked, defruited, dried and sorted by various methods are defined as coffee in the draft. The draft also defines roasted coffee beans as "raw coffee beans roasted in accordance with standard roasting procedures."

Caffeine amount limited

The decree sets standards coffee as defined in the text should possess. The maximum caffeine content is set at 0.2 percent in coffee based dry matter and decaffeinated raw beans, at 0.1 percent in decaffeinated roasted or ground coffee and at 0.3 percent in soluble coffee extract and in soluble coffee. The minimum amount of caffeine raw beans should contain is 0.8 percent while the maximum amount of humidity allowed is 14 percent.

Raw coffee beans shall possess the right color, taste and aroma typical of the plant and be completely cleaned of dead insects or the remains of rodents. The total maximum rate of rotten, moldy seeds and other substances allowed is 5 percent of the total weight of the sample. The dry matter content soluble in water must be not less than 22 percent by weight in the case of decaffeinated roasted coffee beans and decaffeinated grinded coffee. Names such as Turkish coffee, Espresso or filtered coffee will be allowed for marketing uses and retailing in accordance with the processing method. Ercan Yavuz Ankara

‘Blue Eyed Giant’ on the silver screen / istanbul-bilbao

How do you know Nâzım Hikmet? Romantic, communist, a man of struggle, fragile… Anyone who knows about him will probably believe that he possesses maybe not all but at least one of these characteristics.



What everybody hopes to see in "Mavi Gözl Dev," which debuted on Friday, is on which of these identities the movie focuses on. This expectation was in fact the movie's basic problem even before it was completed. It should be admitted that having Biket İlhan as director and Metin Belgin as scenarist raised the expectations of an "ideal Nâzım" result. The movie may not be an entire success in this respect, but at least it comes close. Moreover, the movie does not capture the "human Nâzım," making for a foggy picture and a spineless plot.

Let's admit that Yetkin Dikinciler, playing the part of Nâzım, perfectly portrays the aristocratic creation of the avant-garde poet of Turkish poetry. Dolunay Soysert is also a "Piraye" who includes you in her sorrow every time you look at her. Rıza Sönmez playing Raşid (or Orhan Kemal) and Ferit Kaya as İbrahim Balaban deserve to be remembered for years for their performances. So what leaves the viewer with the feeling that something is missing if the cast is so strong? Simply the ambiguity of the movie. The scenario was rewritten eight times. The structure of the movie is sometimes sacrificed for the sake of agreeing with reality. Writings about Nâzım were so thoroughly researched that there is nothing unnecessary in the movie, but the script is not so timely.

The movie starts with Nâzım's transfer to the Bursa Jail in the beginning of 1941. It features the poet's hunger strike and subsequent amnesty which arose from the campaigns that were started for him in France over his imprisonment between 1941 and 1950. The director didn't neglect to use flashbacks to highlight the process that took Nâzım to jail, however, it is not easy to say that these flashbacks necessarily enrich the movie. The scenario not only portrays the life of the poet in jail, but also the visits by Piraye and the love triangle that arose from the visits of Münevver, the poet's cousin. Still, the viewer expects more than routine jail visits from a movie that features the darkest period of Nâzım. For example, the letters Nâzım wrote in jail could have other functions than being mise en scene. Or the director could know that many viewers would expect to see a scene in which Nâzım alone leans against the wall and cowers. We cannot gain insight into the inner world of the poet. Wouldn't it contribute to the authenticity of the movie if it also featured the time when he could not write poems in jail? For as anyone may say, there is a potential "arabesk of Nâzım" in this country and this movie, at least in the final scene, includes that arabesk approach. Let's not skip that.

Although it is far from meeting the expectations of most of us, "Mavi Gözlü Dev" is tolerable as it is the first movie ever to feature the life of a contemporary Turkish poet. Without expecting a masterpiece, you can watch the story of a poet. The movie leaves the viewer with somber sentiments. Though it may not be clear whether these stem from the life story of Nâzım Hikmet or the movie falling under the mark.

10.03.2007
M. İLHAN ATILGAN İSTANBUL
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New poll shows Turkish women aren't happy / istanbul-bilbao

Scratch the surface a bit and it emerges that many Turkish women are less than satisfied with their lives. A poll conducted prior to March 8, International Women's Day, revealed a striking level of unhappiness felt by Turkish women.

The poll, carried out by Public Research Center , asked 1,044 rural and city women to share their views on topics such as marriage, family and the status of females in Turkish culture. The picture that emerged was not a pretty one. To the question "Are you happy?" just 42.4 percent of the 1,044 women polled answered "yes," while 31.6 percent answered "no," and 25 percent declined to answer.

A full 64 percent of women polled indicated that their most serious struggles were financial. Within the category of cost of living problems, women also named fatigue, violence, the lack of certain modern house appliances, lack of education, harassment at work or on the street, social discrimination in favor of men, lack of confidence, variety of health problems and economic dependence as other major problems.

Also evident from the results of the poll was that Turkish women had many personal problems. Outside of the cost of living category, women also complained about not being able to live as they wanted, not being able to take a good holiday, having their husbands consort with other women and not feeling beautiful or stylish.

Future not looking so bright

In terms of their thoughts about the future, the outlook of Turkish women also appears grim. When asked whether they were optimistic about the future, 40.6 percent replied "no," while 33.7 percent said "yes."

In another section of the poll, women were asked to share their self image. Asked to define themselves according to three choices given on the poll, 42 percent defined themselves as "problematic," while 26.2 percent defined themselves as "modern and happy." Women who rejected the first two choices were asked by pollsters to define themselves as they wished, leading to some striking answers.

Some of the responses given were: "I am a hard laborer," "I don't know what I am," "I am a slave," "I am a sick, tired and ruined shadow of a person," "I am a servant," "I am a pathetic being on the verge of going mad," "I am a human who is on her feet 15-16 hours a day," "I am an unfortunate woman" and "I am someone who was destroyed by the comfort in her father's home."

Turkish women unhealthy

In addition to the mental state of Turkish women, the poll also brought to light the general health status of Turkish women as being "extremely bad."

To the question of "Can you say 'I am completely healthy?'" 50 percent of the women polled answered "no," 35.6 percent answered "yes," and 14.4 percent didn't know.

Among health problems listed by those polled were aches and pains, gynecological problems, psychological problems, tooth and eye problems, and stomach and intestinal discomfort.

As to the general value accorded to the status of women in Turkish society, 60.2 percent believed women weren't valued in Turkey, 21.6 believed they were and 18.2 percent declined to answer.

In terms of the total number of hours spent working per day, Turkish career women appear to get the short end of the stick: 66.2 percent of housewives in the survey said they worked six to eight hours a day around the house, while working women had heavier labor loads -- 33.3 percent of working women polled said that between work and home duties, they worked 10-12 hours a day. Twenty-seven percent said they worked 13-15 hours a day.

Women were also polled whether or not the marriages they had dreamed of when young had come true, with 32.2 percent answering "no," 30.2 answering "yes," and another 37.6 percent declining to respond.

Some of the general opinions expressed by the poll shed an dark light on their thoughts about marriage and family in modern Turkey. Here is an overview of some of the comments received:

"The family structure has been shaken in Turkey." "There will be more and more divorces." "I am unable to meet the desires of my children." "If I knew what I know now, I would never have gotten married." "There is a fight every day in our home because of money." "I have nothing to wear, I am ashamed." "Why do they say mothers carry heaven on their backs?" "We've been destroyed, what about our daughters?" "Don't you see the disaster that has happened to us?" "High prices and poverty are crushing our spirits." "Our biggest source of entertainment is television, and football is a must," "Equality is only on paper," "I think feminists are right" and "Women everywhere are excluded."

09.03.2007
Today’s Zaman İstanbul

Turkish nationalism: Waving Ataturk's flag / istanbul-bilbao

There has been a lethal upsurge in ultra-nationalist feeling in Turkey

SITTING in an office plastered with Ottoman pennants, portraits of Ataturk and the Turkish flag, Kemal Kerincsiz, a lawyer, says his mission in life is to protect the Turkish nation from “Western imperialism and global forces that want to dismember and destroy us”. In the past two years Mr Kerincsiz and his Turkish Jurists' Union have launched a slew of cases against Turkish intellectuals under article 301 of the penal code, which makes “insulting Turkishness” a criminal offence.

Mr Kerincsiz has confined his nationalism to the courts. But elsewhere new ultra-nationalist groups, some of them led by retired army officers, have been vowing over guns and copies of the Koran to make Turks “the masters of the world” and even “to die and kill” in the process. In January one of Mr Kerincsiz's targets, a Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor, Hrant Dink, was shot dead by a 17-year-old, Ogun Samast, because he had “insulted the Turks”. The murder, in broad daylight on one of Istanbul's busiest streets, was a chilling manifestation of a resurgence of xenophobic nationalism aimed at Turkey's non-Muslim minorities and the Kurds—plus their defenders in the liberal elite.

The upsurge threatens to undo the good of four years of reforms by the mildly Islamist government led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Indeed, it is partly in response to these reforms—more freedom for the Kurds, a trimming of the army's powers, concessions on Cyprus—that nationalist passions have been roused. The knowledge that many members of the European Union do not want Turkey to join has inflamed them further (the EU partially suspended membership talks with Turkey in December because of its refusal to open its ports and airspace to Greek-Cypriots).

Another factor is America's refusal to move against separatist PKK guerrillas who are based in northern Iraq. If the United States Congress delivers its pledge to adopt a resolution calling the mass slaughter of the Ottoman Armenians in 1915 genocide, Turkey's relationship with its ally would suffer “lasting damage”, says the foreign minister, Abdullah Gul.

Murat Belge, a leftist intellectual who is being hounded by Mr Kerincsiz, sees disturbing similarities between the racist nationalism espoused by the “Young Turks” in the dying days of the Ottoman empire (who ordered the mass slaughter of its Armenian subjects), and the siege mentality gripping Turkey today. The perception, now as then, is that Western powers are pressing for changes to empower their local collaborators (ie, Kurds and non-Muslims), with the aim of breaking up the country. “This social Darwinist mindset that implies it's OK to kill your enemies in order to survive” has been perpetuated through an education system that tells young Turks that “they have no other friend than the Turks,” says Mr Belge. And it has been cynically exploited by politicians and generals alike.

Mr Erdogan and Deniz Baykal, the leader of the opposition Republican People's Party, have proved no exception. When more than 100,000 Turks gathered at Mr Dink's funeral chanting “We are all Armenians”, Mr Erdogan opined that they had gone “too far”. Both he and Mr Baykal have resisted calls to scrap article 301, though there have been hints that it will be amended.

The politicians are keen to court nationalist votes in the run-up to November's parliamentary election. Mr Erdogan also hopes that burnishing his nationalist credentials will help him to coax a blessing from Turkey's hawkish generals for his hopes of succeeding the fiercely secular Ahmet Necdet Sezer as president in May.

Yet a recent outburst by the chief of the general staff, Yasar Buyukanit, suggests otherwise. He declared that Turkey faced more threats to its national security than at any time in its modern history and added that only its “dynamic forces” [ie, the army] could prevent efforts to “partition the country”. These words, uttered during an official trip to America, were widely seen as a direct warning to Mr Erdogan to shelve his presidential ambitions.

Others do not rule out possible collusion between nationalist elements within the army and retired officers who are organising new ultra-nationalist groups (one is said to be training nationalist youths in Trabzon, where Dink's alleged murderers came from). “The real purpose is to sow chaos, to polarise society so they can regain ground [lost with the EU reforms],” argues Belma Akcura, an investigative journalist whose recent book about rogue security forces known as the “deep state” earned her a three-month jail sentence. It would not be surprising if their next target were a nationalist, she adds.

Meanwhile prominent writers and academics, including Mr Belge, continue to be bombarded with death threats. Some are under police protection. Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel prize-winning author whom Mr Kerincsiz took to court over his comments about the persecution of the Armenians and the Kurds, has fled to New York.

Where will matters go from here? This week one court banned access to YouTube after clips calling Ataturk gay appeared on it; and another sentenced a Kurdish politician to six months' jail for giving the PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, an honorific Mr. But a private television station also withdrew a popular series, “The Valley of the Wolves”, that glorifies gun-toting nationalists who mow down their mainly Kurdish enemies, after the channel was inundated with calls for the show's axing. The battle for Turkey's soul is not over yet.

Mar 8th 2007 | ISTANBUL AND WASHINGTON, DC
From The Economist print edition

Turkish military chief flexes some political muscle

By Vincent Boland in Ankara

The head of Turkey's armed forces used a visit to the US this month to fire a warning shot across the bows of his political masters at home.

Turkey was facing more threats to its national security than at any time in its modern history, General Yashar Buyukanit said, but its "dynamic forces" - its soldiers - would prevent any attempt to "break up the country".

Within days, the government in Ankara dropped a tentative plan to open official lines of communication with the civilian Kurdish leadership in northern Iraq - a controversial initiative but one that many countries are urging.

The government's acquiescence on an important foreign policy issue represents a decisive victory for military over political thinking. It also highlighted the continued influence of the military a decade after the generals ousted an Islamist government without firing a shot - an event that has become known as the "post-modern coup".

Despite legal and constitutional changes in the past four years to reduce their visibility in public life, to give civilian leaders a bigger say in matters of national security and to make the armed forces more accountable to parliament, the Turkish general staff can still influence and change government policy in a way that would be impossible in other European countries.

Cengiz Aktar, a professor at Bahcesehir University, says Gen Buyukanit's Washington speech was meant to send a signal to the end-of-term government and the nation at large that the military retained a pre-eminent role on national issues such as the threat of separatism. "If there was the slightest will on the part of the political leadership of Turkey to talk to the Kurdish leaders in Iraq, that will has now gone," he says.

Turkey has a history of military interference in its political affairs It is one of the legacies that most compromises its attempt to join the European Union.

In addition to the February 1997 coup there have been three coups d'état since 1960, complete with tanks on the streets, mass arrests, new constitutions and generals in uniform assuming top political positions. These interventions were sometimes welcomed by Turks, who regard the military as the country's most trustworthy institution.

Reforms to the status of a status-obsessed military since 2002 were accepted by the general staff because they were necessary to secure the opening of EU entry talks. Now, some observers say, Gen Buyukanit is testing the revised constitutional arrangements to see where the new border between the politicians and the military in Turkey lies.

"It's his attempt to understand the new parameters," says Omer Faruk Genckaya, an associate professor of political science at Bilkent University.

In particular, some observers say, the generals are worried that the constitutional changes have weakened the national security council - which was once dominated by the military and is now run by a civilian - without strengthening the political or civilian alternatives. This, they believe, has occurred at a time when Turkey's neighbourhood - it shares a border with Iraq, Iran, Syria, Georgia and Armenia - is going through profound upheaval.

Omer Taspinar, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, says Gen Buyukanit's prominence in recent weeks reflect the weakness of politicians as much as the new-found confidence of the military. "In the political vacuum created by inept politicians, both in power and in opposition, the general staff is once again filling a void and increasingly becoming a barometer of Turkey's stance," he wrote last week.

Gen Buyukanit has clashed with the government before, on issues from internal security to Cyprus. He seems certain to do so again in the run-up to presidential and parliamentary elections this year - as long as he feels the military is a better judge of the public mood than politicians. "Until politicians become more honest about the problems Turkey is facing, the military will always see a role for itself in society," Prof Genckaya says.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

The Long View: Demographics may show the consolations of old age

By Chris Brown-Humes

Populations in many parts of the developed world are shrinking. The ratio of pensioners to workers is rising. Economic and corporate profits growth must slow and financial markets sell off.
That is one view of how demographic change will play out in the next few decades. While a number of trends counter the economic impact of ageing, things do not seem particularly encouraging. Baby boomers are starting to retire in the developed world at a time when many families are having fewer children.
According to the UN, in the US, Japan and Europe – 70 per cent of the world economy – there will be as many people over 60 as of working age in 20 years’ time. In other words the ratio will shift to 50:50 from 30:70 at the start of this decade.
In certain parts of the globe the trend is particularly bad. Japan, Italy and Germany are well known for their adverse demographic profiles – Japan’s population is set to shrink from about 127m last year to 100m in 2050. Compare also China’s demographic profile with that of India. In the former, thanks to its one-child policy, population growth will be 6 per cent by 2050, while India’s is expected be 44 per cent.
As for emerging markets, while the populations of the Asia Pacific region and Latin America are set to grow robustly up to 2050, those of nearly all of central and eastern Europe will shrink – the notable exception being Turkey. Countries with high dependency ratios and falling populations could experience weaker economic growth and poorer investment returns. Lombard Street Research noted in a report last year: “In any economy, output growth can be treated as a function of changes to the labour force and of productivity growth. Further, the returns on financial assets over the long term tend to be related to output growth. Demographics can play a vital role in affecting a country’s output growth and so indirectly the return on financial assets.”
But the issue isn’t clear cut. Russia’s population may be shrinking, but in recent years its enormous resources and wealth along with the rising affluence of its middle class have made it an attractive investment destination rather than a place to avoid.
There is another aspect to the debate, which is the link between demographics and savings. This is based on the life-cycle theory that young people borrow, the middle-aged save and the elderly run down their savings. When a large proportion of the population is middle-aged, savings are high as people prepare for retirement. Equally, when the supply of savings is high, their price falls. In bond markets, this should mean lower yields. But the opposite is also the case: when the supply of savings is low – which could be the case when the number of retirees is high – yields should go up. So a rising dependency ratio could mean higher global bond yields.
As for equity markets, the price of shares should fall as baby boomers retire and cash in their savings. That process is exacerbated if there are fewer people of working age to buy them.
Things may not turn out so badly. According to Standard Life Investments, there are at least three reasons for economic growth not to be hit as badly by demographic change as pessimists fear. The first is the rapid growth of the developing economies, led by Brazil, Russia, India and China. The so-called Bric economies could be bigger than the G6 by 2035 in dollar terms, and 50 per cent bigger than them by 2050.
Second is migration. The US has relied on net immigration for many years to lift economic growth. More recently, UK economic performance seems to have benefited from an influx of workers from eastern Europe. Of course migration is a zero sum game: one country’s gain is another country’s loss in pure numerical terms. But that does not mean the net economic effect of migration is zero: it has the potential to lift the growth rate in some economies, just as it can improve labour market efficiency and cut unemployment.
Third is the increased willingness of retirees to work. A recent survey showed that 63 per cent of Japanese retirees planned to work at least part time. In any case, people are having to work longer as retirement ages are increased to offset burdens on state pension systems.
One final factor to consider is the accuracy of demographic projections. The UN sometimes changes its forecasts. For example, in 2000 it projected Spain’s population would be 31.3m in 2050. By 2004, its forecast for that year had climbed to 42.5m.
In spite of such positives, Richard Batty, global investment strategist at Standard Life Investments, says: “We would still expect global GDP growth to slow,” he says. “Specific examples include the US, where commentators are talking about trend growth rates slowing from 3-3.5 per cent to 2.5-3 per cent in, say, the next two decades. Similarly, the EU Commission has warned of slower trend growth ahead – around 0.5 per cent less than the current 1.5-2 per cent trend growth rates assumed.”
The basic message seems to be: do not exaggerate the impact of demographic change. Instead, look closely at regional and country allocations while not forgetting the positive impact that many (high-spending) retirees will have on sectors such as travel and leisure and healthcare.
chris.brown-humes@ft.com
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

Islamic gathering in Pakistan not aimed at Shiites or Iran, says Turkish premier

CAIRO, Egypt: A string of meetings in Pakistan on Sunday for leaders of key Muslim Sunni nations are not aimed at forging an alliance against Shiite Iran, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Pakistan will host a meeting of foreign ministers from seven Muslim nations on Sunday to discuss how to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and bring peace to Iraq and Afghanistan. Media reports in the Arab world suggested, however, that Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf aims to establish up a Sunni alliance to confront rising influence of Shiite Iran in the region.
"This is not designed to isolate any country," Erdogan told the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera television network Saturday. "It should not be taken from this (point of view)," he said in the interview recorded earlier Saturday in Istanbul, Turkey.
Musharraf has toured the Middle East and Asia to garner support for a Muslim initiative to stem the deepening conflicts that are destabilizing parts of the Islamic world.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia will gather in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Sunday to lay the groundwork for a summit of Muslim leaders at an unspecified date in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The goal of the summit is "a new initiative to address the grave situation in the Middle East, in particular the Palestinian issue, and for harmony in the Islamic world," the Pakistani foreign minister has said in a statement.
Musharraf visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey and Iran in recent weeks to seek common ground for his initiative. He did not invite Iran or Syria for the meeting in Islamabad on Sunday.
Erdogan said Iran and Syria will be invited in a later stage.
Pakistan's foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslan denied the conference aims at forming a Sunni alliance.
"It is not for Sunni countries, they are Islamic countries," she told Al-Jazeera, according to its Arabic translation of her comments broadcast Saturday by the channel on another show.
Musharraf has not announced concrete proposals to stabilize the Middle East, and it remains unclear how his ideas might relate to the efforts of the so-called Quartet — the U.S., the European Union, Russia and the U.N. — to revive its "road map" plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Iraqi vice president pledges cooperation with Turkey against Kurdish separatists

ANKARA, Turkey: Iraq's vice president on Wednesday assured Ankara of his country's support for Turkey in its conflict with Kurdish separatist rebels.

Turkey is pressing neighboring Iraq and its ally, the United States, to crack down on rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, who launch attacks on Turkey from bases in northern Iraq.

The group has been waging a bloody war in southeast Turkey since 1984 in a conflict that has claimed 37,000 lives.

Turkey has not ruled out military incursions into Iraq to hunt separatist Kurds, despite warnings from Washington, which fears that such a move could lead to tensions with local Iraqi Kurdish groups, an important ally of the U.S. in Iraq.

"We cannot struggle against foreign organizations," a translator initially quoted Adil Abdul-Mahdi — one of Iraq's two vice presidents_ as saying during a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.

But Abdul-Mahdi's statement, in Arabic, appeared to come as a surprise to Gul who questioned whether there may have been a translation error.

The Iraqi vice president then corrected his statement saying: "It is out of the question for us not to struggle against foreign organizations."

Abdul-Mahdi said Iraqi forces would do their best to prevent attacks on Turkey from Iraqi soil.

Iraqi Kurds, accused by Turkey's military of supporting separatist Kurdish guerrillas, have been urging Turkey to consider political solutions to deal with the guerrillas, saying any incursion would amount to interfering with Iraq's internal affairs.

The United States has been trying to address Turkish concerns in countering the PKK through mediation led by retired Gen. Joseph Ralston, a former NATO supreme allied commander.

But Turkish officials have accused Washington of not doing enough to help counter separatist Kurdish rebels operating inside neighboring Iraq.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said no action has been taken to expel the PKK from bases in northern Iraq or to cut off financial support to the rebel group. The group is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

Cyprus to go ahead with oil and gas exploration despite Turkey's opposition

ATHENS, Greece: Cyprus' president said Wednesday his government would press ahead with an offshore oil and gas exploration program, dismissing strong objections from Turkey.

But Tassos Papadopoulos warned that it was uncertain whether possible fuel deposits off the island's southern coast would be sufficient for commercial exploitation.

"We will exercise our sovereign rights," Papadopoulos said. "If (Turkey) wants to break international law in an act of provocation, I believe the international community must judge this."

"The exploitation of deposits, if they are located in commercially exploitable quantities — and this is a major if — will be handled accordingly," Papadopoulos said after talks with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

Angering Turkey, Cyprus opened international bidding last week for 11 offshore areas, with a number of international firms showing interest. The divided island's internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government has also signed deals with Lebanon and Egypt to mark out Mediterranean sea boundaries.

Papadopoulos accused Turkey of engaging in "threats and provocations" by warning Cyprus not to go ahead with the project.

Karamanlis said it was "self-evident" that EU member Cyprus had the sovereign right to conduct offshore exploration.

He said Turkey, as a candidate for EU membership, was "obliged to maintain good neighborly relations and conform to international law."

The island has been divided into a Greek Cypriot controlled south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north since a Turkish invasion in 1974. Turkey — which does not recognize Papadopoulos' Greek Cypriot government — has said the exploration project would conflict with Turkish rights in the area, as well as those of Turkish Cypriots.

Turkish officials said they could proceed with their own exploration plans, threatening tension with Greece. Both countries came close to war in 1987 because of a dispute over oil rights in disputed areas of the Aegean Sea.

US genocide bill angers Turks

Simon Tisdall
Friday February 16, 2007
The Guardian

It seems an odd way to treat a friend. Washington's relations with Turkey, a key Nato ally, have been on the slide since 2003 when Ankara's parliament refused to allow US troops to transit into Iraq. That infuriated the Bush administration. Ensuing chaos in Iraq and the impetus the occupation has given Kurdish secessionism infuriated Turks in their turn. Iran and Hamas are other points of strain. One recent poll found that 81% of Turks disapprove of US policies.

Now the relationship is heading for a potentially spectacular rupture following the decision of the US House of Representatives' newly installed Democratic leadership to follow France in endorsing a bill officially recognising as genocide the 1915 killings of Christian Armenians by Muslim Turks. As matters stand, there is sufficient bipartisan support to pass the measure if, as expected, it is put to a vote in the next few weeks.

The genocide label is an ultra-sensitive issue in Turkey. It has long claimed that mass killings at the time by both sides were part of the civil upheavals accompanying the collapse of the Ottoman empire. "If this measure is adopted it will create a very serious problem in US-Turkish relations," a senior Turkish official said yesterday. "You cannot put Turkey in the same shoes as the Nazis." Armenia (and the Armenian diaspora) should accept a proposal by Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to set up a joint commission to study what happened, the official said.

But politics in Ankara and Washington are stoking confrontation. A presidential election is due in Turkey in May, followed by parliamentary polls this autumn. Neither Mr Erdogan, tipped as the next president, nor other candidates can ignore intense national feelings stirred by the genocide debate. At the same time, the Democratic speaker, Nancy Pelosi, like other House members from California, has a vociferous Armenian-American constituency to placate. When Turkey's foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, was in Washington last week, she refused to meet him. "Local politics must not be allowed to poison strategic ties," Mr Gul said later. Passage of the bill would create a "nightmare".

Calls are already being heard in Turkey for a downgrading of bilateral military cooperation, including logistical assistance to US forces in Iraq. General Yasar Buyukanit, chief of the Turkish general staff, went to the Pentagon this week to spell out the possible damaging consequences.

"Turkey is playing the security card against the genocide bill," wrote columnist Mehmet Ali Birand of the Turkish Daily News. That meant reminding the Americans of Turkey's contributions in Afghanistan and Kosovo, its supportive ties to Israel - Ehud Olmert was in Ankara yesterday - and the way it "actively participates in communications between Iran and the US".

The White House opposes the bill but may be unable to stop it. Meanwhile, the US is urging Turkish "outreach" to Armenia in the wake of the Hrant Dink murder.

But new reasons for killing off the resolution are emerging every day. One is that a surge in anti-Americanism following its passage could translate into a Turkish decision to ignore Washington and send its troops into northern Iraq, with potentially disastrous consequences for US efforts to stabilise the country.

The senior Turkish official said there was no plan to intervene and no link to the genocide bill. But Ankara is increasingly impatient over US reluctance to suppress armed PKK separatists who launch raids into south-east Turkey from Iraqi Kurdistan. And according to Asli Aydinbas, of Sabah newspaper, a "limited and defined" Turkish military intervention in Iraq is already on the cards.

"The US government believes passage of the Armenian resolution would make a cross-border operation more likely," he said. "Even a debate on the floor of the House of Representatives would end Washington's power to deter such an operation." Seen this way, the genocide bill could spark a whole new bloodbath.

US-Turkey relations set to worsen over Iraq and Armenian 'genocide'

By Guy Dinmore in Washington and Vincent Boland in Ankara

Turkey's strained relationship with the Bush administration is likely to worsen after its foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, failed to make significant progress on Ankara's main objectives in Washington this week.
Disagreements, centred on Iraq and a resolution proposed in the US Congress that would officially recognise the mass killings of Ottoman Armenians as genocide, threaten to intensify anti-American sentiment in Turkey, while raising concerns in the US about a possible Turkish military intervention in northern Iraq.
Analysts suggest the disputes could undermine US efforts to enlist Turkey's support in isolating Iran, an issue that Dick Cheney, US vice-president, is believed to have raised.
Mr Gul's week-long visit to the US had three main aims: to get a firm US commitment to act against anti-Turkish PKK militants in northern Iraq; to postpone a referendum due this year on the status of Iraq's Kurdish-claimed and oil-rich city of Kirkuk; and to lobby against the Armenia resolution.
"Gul will not leave Washington a very happy man," said Bulent Aliriza, analyst with the CSIS think-tank. "Relations will take a hit."
Mr Gul told reporters that the proposed genocide resolution - which is backed by key lawmakers, including Nancy Pelosi, Democratic speaker of the House - posed a "real threat" to US-Turkey relations.
"It really is a nightmare for us and for you. It will overshadow and spoil everything between us," he warned.
Ms Pelosi signalled her position by not being available to meet Mr Gul.
The White House is also unhappy with the resolution, but it remains uncertain how far President George W. Bush will go to lobby against it.
Several countries, notably France, have already adopted a similar stance on recognising the killings of Christian Armenians by Ottoman troops as the empire collapsed in 1915. Armenians say it was genocide. Turkey denies this and says they, and hundreds of thousands of Muslim Turks, died as a result of civil war, displacement, disease and hunger.
Anxiety has been heightened by the murder in Istanbul on January 19 of Hrant Dink, a prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist. Mr Dink was well known among the Armenian diaspora in the US, especially in California, the home state of Ms Pelosi.
On Kirkuk, US officials say it is for the Iraqi government to decide whether to proceed with the referendum to decide its status.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

US-Turkey relations set to worsen over Iraq and Armenian 'genocide'

By Guy Dinmore in Washington and Vincent Boland in Ankara
Published: February 9 2007 02:00 | Last updated: February 9 2007 02:00

Turkey's strained relationship with the Bush administration is likely to worsen after its foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, failed to make significant progress on Ankara's main objectives in Washington this week.

Disagreements, centred on Iraq and a resolution proposed in the US Congress that would officially recognise the mass killings of Ottoman Armenians as genocide, threaten to intensify anti-American sentiment in Turkey, while raising concerns in the US about a possible Turkish military intervention in northern Iraq.

Analysts suggest the disputes could undermine US efforts to enlist Turkey's support in isolating Iran, an issue that Dick Cheney, US vice-president, is believed to have raised.

Mr Gul's week-long visit to the US had three main aims: to get a firm US commitment to act against anti-Turkish PKK militants in northern Iraq; to postpone a referendum due this year on the status of Iraq's Kurdish-claimed and oil-rich city of Kirkuk; and to lobby against the Armenia resolution.

"Gul will not leave Washington a very happy man," said Bulent Aliriza, analyst with the CSIS think-tank. "Relations will take a hit."

Mr Gul told reporters that the proposed genocide resolution - which is backed by key lawmakers, including Nancy Pelosi, Democratic speaker of the House - posed a "real threat" to US-Turkey relations.

"It really is a nightmare for us and for you. It will overshadow and spoil everything between us," he warned.

Ms Pelosi signalled her position by not being available to meet Mr Gul.

The White House is also unhappy with the resolution, but it remains uncertain how far President George W. Bush will go to lobby against it.

Several countries, notably France, have already adopted a similar stance on recognising the killings of Christian Armenians by Ottoman troops as the empire collapsed in 1915. Armenians say it was genocide. Turkey denies this and says they, and hundreds of thousands of Muslim Turks, died as a result of civil war, displacement, disease and hunger.

Anxiety has been heightened by the murder in Istanbul on January 19 of Hrant Dink, a prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist. Mr Dink was well known among the Armenian diaspora in the US, especially in California, the home state of Ms Pelosi.

On Kirkuk, US officials say it is for the Iraqi government to decide whether to proceed with the referendum to decide its status.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007