Daily News excerpts

[kurdeng at aps.nl]

    US: We don't and won't take sides in internal Turkish politics

   State Dept. says Grossman flap is overblown, RP says US intervention
   "normal"

   By Ugur Akinci

   Turkish Daily News
     _________________________________________________________________


   WASHINGTON / ANKARA- Responding to a TDN question on a recent flap
   caused by a letter Ambassador Marc Grossman sent to the Speaker of the
   Turkish Parliament Husamettin Cindoruk, a U.S. State Department
   spokesman Nicholas Burns said "we have not, nor will we take sides in
   internal Turkish politics."

   The letter Grossman sent to Cindoruk to applaud the constitutional
   amendments also had attached a July 25 statement by Burns giving
   credit to Ciller for her "victory," as well as other parties in the
   parliament.

   The prime minister alienated Cindoruk at the most recent congress of
   her party (DYP) by referring to the "dinosaurs" within the DYP, which
   some observers claimed was a reference to such party founders as
   Cindoruk and President Demirel. The same observers claimed that by
   such a letter, Grossman signalled he was siding with Ciller against
   the old-guard of the DYP. Cindoruk interpreted the enclosure of Burns'
   statement as Grossman's meddling in Turkey's internal affairs. The
   story was headlined by daily Hurriyet, on the front page.

   "I can tell you that these reports have absolutely no substance or
   truth to them," Burns said. "Ambassador Grossman, one of our finest
   foreign service officers, has sent a congratulatory letter to the
   leaders of all political parties that supported the series of
   constitutional amendments that were approved on July 23 and which
   expanded democracy and political participation in Turkey.

   "In my July 25 press briefing I conveyed the department's
   congratulations to the Grand National Assembly and to the leaders of
   all the political parties ... that supported these amendments, in
   addition to noting the prime minister's role -- as is appropriate, of
   course -- in securing the passage of these amendments. So my statement
   was directed to the Grand National Assembly and to all political
   parties, and we see passage of these amendments as a victory for the
   Turkish people and for all political parties in Turkey."

   When TDN followed up with a question on the peculiar timing of the
   congratulatory letter, sent one month after the amendments were
   actually passed by the Turkish Parliament, Burns said, "I think that
   we have shown that we are interested in Turkish democracy, that we are
   not involving ourselves in the internal debates within Turkey's
   democracy, that we are not favoring one political party over another.
   We have great respect for the Turkish political system and the Turkish
   people, and we wouldn't do that, and that everything that Ambassador
   Grossman did was consistent with everything I've just said."

   Sidelined Islamists say 'nothing unusual'

   A leading politician of the Islamist Welfare Party (RP), which tried
   to obstruct the constitutional amendments because they retained the
   safeguards for Turkey's secularism, said his party had not received a
   congratulatory letter which U.S. officials said had been sent to the
   political parties as well as the Parliament Speaker.

   Sevket Kazan, the deputy RP chairman, commented that "the United
   States habitually intervenes in the domestic and foreign affairs of
   Turkey... and it will be a surprise only when it can continue doing so
   when the Welfare is in power."

   "It is only too well known that the United States closely monitors
   personages in power in Turkey, or those who are likely to come to
   power...The United States also guides Turkey's domestic and foreign
   policies.

   Operation Provide Comfort (which protects Iraqi Kurds with a
   Turkey-based Western air force) and the Cyprus negotiations are
   examples. We as a nation know this very well; so the fact that such a
   letter has been sent should be viewed in this context," the Islamist
   politician said.

   As for Cindoruk's reply, Kazan said, "He is a statesman who, from time
   to time, upholds national dignity before everything else," but rapped
   the Parliament Speaker for replying not on behalf of Parliament as a
   whole but only on behalf of those parties which endorsed the
   amendments.

   Yasin Hatipoglu, another senior RP deputy sent a letter to Cindoruk,
   saying it was improper for anyone, "particularly an ambassador" to try
   to negate his (Cindoruk's) personal contributions to the passage of
   the amendments.

   "The Turkish nation is not a tribe of Apaches," fumed the Islamist
   deputy in his letter.

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 * Origin: APS Amsterdam (aps.nl), bbs +31-20-6842147 (16:31/2.0)