Featuring news and articles from

MYSTERY
Pope: Turkey, ts people
cant be held responsble
for bshops murder
Dink famly lawyer
Hakan Karada found
dead n hs apartment
Pope Benedict XVI said on
Friday that the brutal kill-
ing of a leading Catholic bishop
in Turkey should not be al-
lowed to hinder dialogue about
Islam or stain the image of Tur-
key and its people.
Turkey and the Turkish peo-
ple cannot be held responsible,
he told reporters on a plane taking
him to Cyprus for a three-day visit,
marking the rst by a pontiff to the
ethnically divided island nation.
We are still awaiting a full
explanation, but we don't want
to mix up this tragic episode with
Islam. It is a case apart which sad-
dens us but should not be allowed
to darken the dialogue [with Is-
lam] in any way, the pope said.
Muslims are our brothers despite
our differences, he added. Papal
Apostolic Vicar in Anatolia Bishop
Luigi Padovese, an Italian and a
leading proponent of Christian
dialogue with Islam, was stabbed
to death by his Turkish driver on
Thursday. It was the pope's rst
comment on the killing of Pado-
vese, who was to have participated
in the pope's trip to Cyprus.
The pontiff also said he did not
believe the killing of Padovese was
politically or religiously motivated.
Cyprus, an island divided between
ethnic Turks and Greeks, is viewed
by the Vatican as a bridge between
Europe and the Mideast. The
pope's visit is expected to be a key
test of whether the pope has found
his diplomatic feet after his link-
ing of Islam to violence during a
speech in Germany led to outrage
in the Muslim world -- and nearly
forced the cancellation of a trip to
Turkey in 2006. CONTINUEDONPAGE 17
A lawyer for the co-plain-
tiff in the trial over Turk-
ish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink's murder was found dead
in his stanbul apartment in an
apparent suicide yesterday. No
ofcial report on the cause of
death of Hakan Karada has yet
been released.
Karada's body was taken
from his house in Cihangir to
the Council of Forensic Medicine
(ATK) for an autopsy. Ogn Sa-
mast, an ultranationalist teenager
and prime suspect in the Dink
murder trial, had threatened
Karada in the courtroom during
one of the hearings. According to
initial reports, Karada's girlfriend,
with whom he shared the apart-
ment, discovered the body when
she walked into the apartment.
Reports said she found Karada's
body hanging from the ceiling.
Police sent the body to the ATK
morgue after conducting an inves-
tigation of the scene.
Relatives of Karada traveled
to the ATK in the afternoon, and
told press they were in a state
of disbelief over the alleged sui-
cide. Uncle Habip Karada told
reporters: I just saw him yester-
day; he did not have any suicidal
issues. He said he had a case that
he had to attend to and left say-
ing, Hope to see you in the after-
noon'. Karada was the lawyer
of a co-plaintiff in the Dink as-
sassination trial. CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
Although having so far insisted that
the Israeli administration is best posi-
tioned to lead an investigation into the
Israeli naval forces' raid which led to the killing
of the nine people on an aid flotilla in the east-
ern Mediterranean, Washington may have to
reconsider its options upon learning that a US
citizen was among those nine people.
The presence of a 19-year-old man with
dual US-Turkish citizenship among the dead,
announced by the US State Department on
Thursday, potentially complicates the Obama
administration's attempts to remain neutral in
the crisis. State Department spokesperson
Philip J. Crowley said the victim, Furkan
Doan, who was born in upstate New York,
had died of gunshot wounds, but he declined
to confirm reports that he had been shot multi-
ple times in the head. Crowley said US consular
officials had seen Doan's body in a morgue in
Israel before it was taken to Turkey but had not
known he was a dual citizen at the time.
Doan's father, Ahmet, told Turkey's
Anatolia news agency that he had identified
his son's body and that he had been shot
through the forehead. He said the family was
not sad because they believed Furkan had
died with honor.
I feel my son has been blessed by heav-
en, he said. I am hoping to be a father worthy
of my son. US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton said on Thursday that no decision had
yet been made about how to handle Doan's
death but renewed calls for
Israel to conduct a
prompt, impartial, credi-
ble and transparent in-
vestigation that con-
forms to international
standards and gets to
all the facts sur-
rounding this
tragic event.
CONTINUEDONPAGE 04
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ISRAELS MASSACRE AT SEA
Pope greets faithful as he enters the Church of Agia Kyriaki Chrysopolitissa.
Citizen's death may push US to
review probe options into raid
10 07
Over 114 people are killed in a fire
that razed a crowded Dhaka area as
rescuers scramble to pull bodies
Formula 1s boss wants to double
rent of the race track, threatens to
stop organizing the races in stanbul
Yo u r Wa y o f Un d e r s t a n d n g Tu r k e y
SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2010 WWW.TODAYSZAMAN.COM TL 1.50
page04ObamasaysM|deaststatusquounsusta|nab|e
03
Afghan student
takes poetry title
at 8th Turkish
Olympiads
Peace activists said that the Israeli forces
who attacked them on a ship planning
to go to Gaza to deliver humanitarian
aid were saying one minute, referring
to a previous crisis between Turkey and
Israel at the Davos summit last year.
06
s
t
a
t
e
m
e
n
t
Israeli forces attacked us
saying one minute'
Israel's prime minister, defense minister
and chief of General Staff are among
the prime suspects in an investigation
initiated by the stanbul Bakrky
Prosecutor's Office into Monday's
military operation against an aid flotilla.
05
j
u
s
t
i
c
e
Turkish prosecutors
go after Israeli politicians
A recent poll has shown that many in
the nation perceive the Israeli naval
attack on an aid flotilla headed for the
blockaded Gaza Strip that left at least
nine activists dead as an attempt to put
the Turkish government on the spot.
06
s
u
r
v
e
y
Poll: Israeli attack aimed to
put Turkish gov't on edge
Turkey pays
final respects to
murdered Gaza
peace activists
The nine peace activists murdered by Israeli commandos in international waters as they tried to bring humanitar-
ian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip as part of a flotilla have been laid to rest in their hometowns. Thousands of
people gathered in each of the provinces where victims were laid to rest on Thursday and Friday, carrying Turkish
and Palestinian flags, chanting slogans protesting Israel and its bloody attack and exclaiming, God is great.
Among the slain activists was Furkan Doan, a 19-year-old Turkish-American who settled in the central Anatolian
province of Kayseri a couple of years ago after returning to Turkey from the US with his family. CONTINUED ON PAGE 06
The US has so far insisted that Israel is best positioned to lead an investigation into the bloody takeover of
a Gaza-bound aid ship. But the death of an American citizen adds a new element because any time a US
citizen is killed overseas, the government has the option to open its own investigation into the case
DRIVER CHARGED WITH MURDER, PROBE ONGOING PAGE 17
Thousands gathered at stanbul's Beyazt Mosque to pay their final respects to slain activist Cevdet Kllar. He was laid to rest following a funeral prayer.
Furkan
Doan
EYES ON GAZA SHORES AGAIN AS NEW SHIP STEAMS ON PAGE 04 ERDOAN SAYS NO AID CONVOY ACTIVISTS MISSING PAGE 05

FOOD FOR T HOUGHT

We should try to revive the
Palestinian nations violated
rights and end the siege of Gaza.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya US President Barack Obama

QUOT E OF T HE DAY
Bring everybody together to figure out how can we
get a two-state solution where the Palestinians and
Israelis can live side by side in peace and security.
Only those who will risk
going too far can possibly
find out how far one can go.
T.S. Eliot
TODAYS ZAMAN PRESS REVIEW 02
columns
Constitutional
Courts legal test
Jewish
fundamentalism
Bullets in
Furkans head
Blockade
MUSTAFA NAL ZAMAN
ZLEM ALBAYRAK YEN AFAK
ADEM YAVUZ ARSLAN BUGN
ERDAL AFAK SABAH
The Constitutional Court is fa-
cing a great and historic test.
It will either make a reck-
less ruling about the fate of the
governments constitutional re-
form package or it will abide
by the law. Neither the court nor Turkey can
stand yet another reckless ruling, and I hope the
members of the court are aware of this. Parlia-
ment demonstrated the will to amend Turkeys
coup-era Constitution. The nations will fore-
saw structural changes to the high judiciary.
Since the package failed to get 367 votes in Par-
liament, the last say has been left to the nation,
which will issue the final decision on the pac-
kage by voting on it in a referendum. There is
no guarantee that the nation will absolutely say
yes or no. Does the judiciary not say that
it makes all its rulings in the name of the na-
tion? While trying to block the package from
being presented to the nation, the Republican
Peoples Party (CHP) made a political mistake.
It should have tried to take it to a referendum
instead of doing the exact opposite. From this
point on, what is legally and politically right is to
leave the last say on the package to the nation.
I do not want to sail into anti-
Semitic waters and place our Je-
wish citizens, who condem-
ned Israel in the wake of its at-
tack on an aid convoy, into a dif-
ficult situation, but the patholo-
gical aggressiveness upon which the Israeli sta-
te is established, its security paranoia and reck-
less acts of violence are no different than the
Sept. 11 attacks. While Sept. 11 is taken to mean
technologys dive into the heart of globalization
and money and a sudden death, the deaths cau-
sed by Israel through the use of technology, mo-
dern opportunities and money have always me-
ant a slow, systematic and painful death. The for-
mer was named global fundamentalist terror,
but the latter is self-defense. Ever since 1948,
the US has turned a blind eye to Israeli atrociti-
es because Israel draws its legitimacy from global
values and balances. If the world today can wel-
come Israels Jewish fundamentalism and terro-
rist acts carried out by Israel, the reason for this is
the fact that the markets, technology and globali-
zation are important elements of Jewish identity.
Five bullets were retrieved from the body of
19-year-old Furkan, who joined the Gaza aid
convoy from Kayseri. Four of the bullets were in
his head, while one of them was in his body. An
autopsy report says the bullets came from above.
This means the Israeli commandoes opened fire
from a helicopter. Furkan was a high school stu-
dent. There was nothing in his hand to defend
himself. While traveling to Gaza, which has been
forgotten by humanity, he was labeled a target
and shot to death. What about Cevdet Kllar?
He had only a camera in his hand and was taking
photos. He was shot in the forehead. Where are
the so-called renowned press organizations of
the world? We do not expect a reaction from the
press in Turkey. It is a member of a minority that
fears damaging Turkeys relations with Israel. Jo-
urnalists are killed, kept in detention for days,
their belongings are seized, they are left naked,
they are tortured, but the press remains silent in
light of all of this. If the press does not awaken
the world in such a situation, why does it exist?
The Israeli blockade of Gaza is about to leave
three years behind. During these three years,
Gazans paid a very heavy cost. Seventy percent
of Gazans live under the poverty line; more than
60 percent survive on aid; unemployment is at
around 40 percent. During the blockade, Israel
arbitrarily prepared a list of banned products
and prevented many materials from entering
Gaza. According to the latest list, made public
by the BBC, all construction materials -- inclu-
ding iron, steel and cement -- are banned. This
is not all, however, because the import of hor-
ses, donkeys and goats is also forbidden. On top
of this, the import of musical instruments, lap-
tops and A4 paper is also banned. Furthermo-
re, the import of frozen foods, fruits, vegetables,
chocolate, nuts and jam is also banned. Tea can
be brought in, but coffee is forbidden. How can
such a reckless siege be sustained? How can the
world remain a bystander to this torture, which
international law terms collective punishment?
turkey n the foregn press
Israels interception of a flotilla trying to break
the blockade of Gaza has been a boon to Ha-
mas and vastly improved prospects of at least ea-
sing the 3-year-old closure of the territory. Befo-
re Israels deadly raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish
vessel this week, the Islamic militant rulers of the
impoverished Palestinian territory had reached a
dead end in their desperate attempts to pry open
the borders. But that was before Israel sent com-
mandos to try to stop the six-ship flotilla carr-
ying tons of aid on Monday, prompting a violent
confrontation that led to the deaths of nine pro-
Palestinian activists. The widespread outcry over
the showdown at sea has forged a growing in-
ternational consensus that the blockade cannot
be sustained. Hamas, once internationally isola-
ted, can now count on the backing of Turkey, a
powerful NATO ally with strong ties to the West.
Turkeys Deputy Prime Minister Blent Arn
said on Friday economic and military coope-
ration with Israel would be reduced to a mini-
mum in the coming period, as a reaction to the
Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla, which
resulted in eight Turkish fatalities. In the latest
in a series of escalating harangues against Is-
rael and steps taken to express Turkish anger
over the incident at sea, the deputy prime mi-
nister said ties to Israel would not be cut enti-
rely, as Turkey cannot ignore a country it re-
cognizes, he said, but all ties, including de-
fense contracts, would be reconsidered. On
Thursday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tay-
yip Erdoan sharply criticized Israel for its re-
action to the Mavi Marmara raid, saying that
Israel stands to lose its closest ally in the
Middle East if it does not change its mentality.
Israels deadly sea raid a boon to Hamas Turkey to minimize ties to Israel
A baseless argument
Opponents of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
have pointed accusing fingers at the party, which they hold respon-
sible for a bloody Israeli attack on an international aid convoy bound
for Gaza that left nine Turkish activists dead earlier this week. Ac-
cording to some, the government should have stopped this civilian
initiative, which was launched by the Humanitarian Aid Foundation
(HH) and was aimed at breaking the three-year blockade on Gaza.
Analysts pointed to various reasons behind this argument, such as
a traditional opposition to the AK Party, an attempt to weaken the
party and an effort to make it abandon its pro-democratic stance.
Bugns Glay Gktrk says the traditional opposition to the
AK Party of some circles lies behind their arguments holding the
government responsible for the tragedy; however, the underlying
reason behind these arguments is a deep antipathy toward tho-
se behind this aid initiative. In her view, Turkeys elites are distur-
bed by the fact that the majority of those on the convoy are pious
people and that the profile of the participants naturally creates a
perception of a religious aspect.
Appealing to these circles, she asks: If you are disturbed by
the emerging Islamic picture, why dont you try to change this
picture? Why werent any of you on board that ship? Why didnt
you go to Taksim Square to protest the Israeli barbarism? Why
didnt you join those who protest the crime against humanity that
is being committed in Gaza and who tried to break the blocka-
de by risking their lives? Why didnt you do the same thing du-
ring the Serbian massacre of Bosnians? Why didnt you take your
place among those who rushed to Sarajevo while it was in pain
due to artillery fire? Why did you leave Palestinians desperate and
alone with a bandit state for decades?
Referring to some circles who think there should be a dif-
ferentiation between what is Islamic and what is humani-
tarian, which means an opposition to what is Islamic, she
says there is a belief behind this argument that Islam contradicts
what is humanitarian; however, she notes, there is belief at the
root of conscience and in all cultures.
Yeni afaks Fatma K. Barbarosolu dwells on the argu-
ments of those who say the government should have prevented
the aid convoy from traveling to Gaza and explains how such
an argument is groundless. Can a government that claims to
be democratic prevent a humanitarian aid convoy? Can go-
vernments prevent the cooperation of civil society? If it wants,
it can do this. Then lets ask, can a government which makes
democratic initiatives prevent a civilian organizations efforts to
aid the oppressed? For such a thing to happen, the government
should give up its democratic stance or the civilian organizati-
on should prove that it is not civilian, explains Barbarosolu.
Considering this, it was impossible for the government to pre-
vent the aid convoy from sailing to Gaza, she says, noting that
holding the government responsible for the tragedy would only
mean a legitimization of Israels barbarism.
According to Stars Hidayet efkatli Tuksal, the aim of tho-
se who hold the government responsible for the aid convoy tra-
gedy is to weaken the AK Party government. As their efforts to
get rid of the AK Party through coup plans failed, they are loo-
king for other ways to achieve this, she says.
sabah: I condemn PKK terrorism, the daily said in
the headline of its main story yesterday, reporting that north-
ern Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, behind closed doors
in Ankara, condemned the violence perpetrated by the out-
lawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Visiting Ankara for the
first time in six years, Barzani said his administration was ready
to cooperate with Turkey in the fight against terrorism. I do
not want to see the killing of Turkish and Kurdish youth, he
said, adding that he meant Kurdish soldiers in the Turkish
Armed Forces (TSK) in his reference to Kurdish youth.
radikal: Civilian prosecutor probes Israel, the daily said
in the headline of its major story yesterday, reporting that the Ankara
Public Prosecutor Offices had applied for the testimonies of those
individuals who were brought back to Turkey on Wednesday after
being wounded in an Israeli attack on an aid convoy. The daily said
the testimonies of those who survived the attack, forensic reports on
the victims and medical reports on the injured may put three Israeli
officials in the position of being defendants in Turkey. These leaders
are Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister
Ehud Barak and army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi.
yeni afak: Murderers fail to scare anybody,
read the headline of the dailys front page story yesterday,
quoting remarks from Yeni afak columnist Hakan Al-
bayrak, who was on board the aid convoy that was at-
tacked by Israel early this week. Albayrak, who returned
to Turkey on Wednesday, said the Turks were never afraid
of the Israeli soldiers who attacked them, exclaiming
One minute, a reference to Prime Minister Recep Tayy-
ip Erdoans rebuke of Israeli President Shimon Peres in
Davos last year over Israeli atrocities in Gaza.
press roundup
FATMA DL ZIBAK
f.zibak@todayszaman.com
CROS S READER
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S AT U R D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 0
The Washngton Post The Jerusalem Post

WORDS OF WI SDOM
Ali Ekber
Yaradlm,
an activist on
the Gaza aid
convoy, who
was claimed
to be among
the dead after
Israels brutal
attack on the
ship, is alive
and returned
to Ankara
yesterday.
His relatives
were overjoyed
when they
met him at the
airport.
03 TODAYS ZAMAN
S AT U R D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 0
NATIONAL
STANBUL 26
ANKARA 29
ZMR 28
ANTALYA 30
ADANA 32
ERZURUM 29
EDRNE 28
TRABZON 24
KAYSER 32
KONYA 31
ANAKKALE 24
DYARBAKIR 39
SAMSUN 27
BURSA 29
GAZANTEP 36
ESKEHR 27
MALATYA 37
KOCAEL 27
We need
closure over the
otlla attack
Unlike at any other time in the past, Israel is in a
tight corner as a result of its violent attack in in-
ternational waters that claimed the lives of nine
Turks, including a 19-year-old Turkish-American.
International outrage does not seem to be subsiding
anytime soon, and one would think it in the inter-
est of the Israeli government to work with the inter-
national community to emerge from this increasing
isolation.
Yet we have not seen signs of repentance from
Israeli ofcials, a situation that in my opinion con-
tinues to iname further uproar. People need closure
over the unjustied attack initiated by the Israelis,
and they need it now. The global consciousness will
not rest until some sort of price is exacted from Israel
over the incident.
It is up to responsible governments and respect-
able international organizations to pressure Israel
into working with world bodies to investigate and
prosecute those at fault for ordering the attack on
unarmed civilian ships. The current policy of denial
and shifting the blame to the peace activists will fur-
ther isolate Israel and invite the wrath of people in
many countries.
If proper restitution is not given to the victims,
vital Israeli national interests will be seriously hurt in
the region, which is growing increasingly hostile to
the warmongering and highly militaristic policies of
the Jewish state. For one, it is on the verge of losing
Turkey, once its valuable ally, to petty, shortsighted
policies intended to score points at home. But losing
Turkey is something Israel simply cannot afford to
do, as this would have implications that extend far
beyond Turkey.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan
was right when he delivered a historical speech in
Parliament this week. No one should test Turkeys
patience, he said, stressing that Turkeys hostility
is as strong as its friendship is valuable. We have
all seen what happened in the 24-hour period after
the attack, as a Turkish diplomatic push secured a
strongly worded United Nations Security Council
statement condemning Israel and had the EU revise
its weak statement to reect a stronger demand for
the hostages release.
I toured Ankara on Thursday, interviewing de-
cision makers in Parliament and the government. I
got the feeling that the Turkish government was just
beginning to squeeze Israel over the incident. We
will see more action from Turkey down the road in
response to the killings of its citizens. Israels unre-
pentant behavior and constant denial in the face of
the great tragedy that took place on the high seas
simply keeps fueling the Turkish drive to punish it.
Turkey has many tools at its disposal to use
against Israel. Diplomatic maneuvering is just one
aspect of this. There might be a grand realignment of
Turkish state policy vis--vis Israel at the upcoming
National Security Council (MGK) meeting sched-
uled for the end of the month. With this act Israel
accomplished one thing no other issue in Turkey
has managed to do: It generated a bipartisan spirit
in Parliament and brought about great consensus
among the public against the Israeli aggression.
The damage control Israel is engaged in at pres-
ent will only work if we see substantive change in
its governments policy in Gaza. The lifting of the
blockade of the Gaza Strip would send a positive
signal to the international community that the Jew-
ish state is willing to work with it. An ofcial apolo-
gy over the attack, which took place in international
waters, would help reinforce the feeling of repen-
tance by the Israeli government, thereby reducing
public outrage and the immense pressure placed on
governments all around the world.
But most importantly, it is in Israels interest to
work with the international community to secure
an independent, impartial and fair commission to
investigate the conditions surrounding the attack.
Without the help of respectable world bodies in
steering this inquiry, there will be no closure. Israels
very existence will be put into question not only in
the usual places -- Iran and Hamas-ruled Gaza --
but in others as well. That is something Israel simply
cannot afford to confront on its own.
Afghan student takes poetry
title at 8th Turkish Olympiads
Latest Ergenekon
detentions came
after directions
to hide docs
As the latest detainees in the Er-
genekon case testify to civilian pros-
ecutors, details of Tuesdays detention
operation are continuing to emerge. One
of the suspects said he received a phone
call from his boss advising him to hide a
laptop and condential documents short-
ly before he was detained.
The surprising admission came from
Hakan Vural, the driver of Tlay Bekar.
Bekar is the lawyer for former Justice Min-
ister Sey Oktay. Vural, Bekar and Oktay
were detained on Tuesday along with four
other individuals. The detentions were at
the behest of civilian prosecutors oversee-
ing the investigation into Ergenekon -- a
criminal organization accused of working to
overthrow the government -- on suspicion
that the suspects were attempting to inu-
ence the course of the Ergenekon probe.
From a legal wiretap, prosecutors un-
derstood that the suspects were planning to
destroy evidence related to the Ergenekon
case. Bekar called her driver on the phone
and ordered him to hide her laptop and sev-
eral documents in her house and ofce. Vural
conrmed the phone call in his testimony.
After the phone call, a court issued
search warrants for the suspects homes
and ofces. Police raids at 12 addresses
in several Turkish cities revealed pieces
of evidence that the suspects were work-
ing to inuence the course of the Er-
genekon probe. Seven individuals were
detained after the raid and are still being
questioned by prosecutors. They are ac-
cused of evidence tampering. After the
interrogation is completed, the detain-
ees will either be released or referred to
a court for arrest. stanbul Todays Zaman
Afghan student Shaira Osmani has
placed rst in the nals of the po-
etry division of the Eighth Interna-
tional Turkish Language Olympiads, held
in Konya on Thursday.
The event was attended by thousands,
some of who overowed from the venue and
had to watch the event from large screens set
up outside. Among the high-prole spec-
tators were singers Erhan Gleryz, Uur
Ilak and Mustafa Demirci as well as poli-
ticians, bureaucrats and local administrators
including Konya Governor Aydn Nezih
Doan and Konya Mayor Tahir Akyrek.
The top three students accepted their awards
from Doan and Akyrek.
A 10-member jury composed of aca-
demics and poets awarded top honors to
Osmani for her Mehlika Sultan, from
among the students from 12 countries who
took part in the competition. vezmurat
Altyev from Turkmenistan and Mama-
cakip Kizi Aysulu from Kyrgyzstan placed
second and the third, respectively.
The Olympiads, organized by the In-
ternational Turkish Education Association
(TRKEDER), bring hundreds of foreign
students to Turkey each year from Turkish
schools worldwide. This years Internation-
al Turkish Language Olympiads, which in-
clude 750 students from 120 countries, has
been promoted with the slogan, We are
speaking the same language.
The event started with the crowd sing-
ing the Turkish national anthem, fol-
lowed by a folk dance performance. I was
amazed with their performance in enthu-
siastically reciting the poems and their tal-
ent in using Turkish, said Gleryz, one of
the jury members. Ilak joined Gleryz in
expressing his appreciation for the organiz-
ers of the event and also of those who edu-
cate students around the world. I thank all
those who made this real, he said.
Professor Emine Yeniterzi of Seluk
University also lauded the initiative. I
thank all of those who have opened these
schools, despite so many difculties, she
said, adding that it is such a self-sacrice to
move to a remote part of the world to edu-
cate the next generations without expecting
any worldly gain whatsoever.
ABDULLAH
BOZKURT
a.bozkurt@todayszaman.com
AYDIN HIZLICA KONYA
Afghan student Shaira Osmani was awarded first place in the finals of the poetry category of the Turkish Olympiads.
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Former Justice Minister Seyfi Oktay
TODAYS ZAMAN 04 NATIONAL
SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2010
US President Barack Obama has called the
bloody takeover of a Gaza-bound aid con-
voy by Israeli commandos a tragedy, declin-
ing to condemn Israel until all facts of the case
are revealed by an investigation and expressing
hope that the incident could somehow provide
an opening to boost Middle East peace efforts.
Obama, speaking during an interview with
CNNs Larry King on Thursday, said it was time
to tell all parties involved that the status quo is
unsustainable. He added: We have been trying
to do this piecemeal for decades now and it just
doesnt work. Youve got to have a situation in
which the Palestinians have real opportunity and
Israels neighbors recognize Israels legitimate
security concerns and are committed to peace.
The US president said Israel has legitimate
security concerns about the Hamas-ruled Gaza
Strip, but he emphasized that Israels blockade
of Gaza is preventing people from pursuing
economic opportunities.
The US has refrained from condemning Isra-
el, contrary to most of the international commu-
nity, after Mondays bloody takeover which killed
nine activists including one Turkish-American. It
also says Israel is best positioned to lead an in-
vestigation, despite widespread concerns that an
Israeli investigation could never be impartial.
Obama reiterated the US position, echoed in
a UN Security Council statement earlier this week,
saying Washington condemned all the acts that
led up to this violence, and demanded an inves-
tigation. It was a tragic situation. Youve got loss
of life that was unnecessary. And so we are calling
for an effective investigation of everything that hap-
pened, Obama said. And I think that the Israelis
are going to agree to that -- an investigation of in-
ternational standards -- because they recognize that
this cant be good for Israels long-term security.
When asked if its premature to condemn
Israel, he said, I think that we need to know
what all the facts are.
Heres what weve got. Youve got a situation in
which Israel has legitimate security concerns when
theyve got missiles raining down on cities along the
Israel/Gaza border. Ive been to those towns and
seen the holes that were made by missiles com-
ing through peoples bedrooms. So Israel has a le-
gitimate concern there, said Obama. On the other
hand, youve got a blockade up that is preventing
people in Palestinian Gaza from having job opportu-
nities and being able to create businesses and engage
in trade and have opportunity for the future.
The US president also said he saw a positive role
for Turkey in efforts to break out of the current im-
passe. I think whats important right now is, is that
we break out of the current impasse, use this trag-
edy as an opportunity so that we gure out how can
we meet Israels security concerns, but at the same
time start opening up opportunity for Palestinians,
work with all parties concerned -- the Palestinian
Authority, the Israelis, the Egyptians and others --
and -- and I think Turkey can have a positive voice
in this whole process once weve worked through
this tragedy -- and bring everybody together to g-
ure out how can we get a two-state solution, where
Palestinians and Israelis can live side-by-side in
peace and security, he said. stanbul Todays Zaman
Turkey and Israel have had their disputes --
some of them very heated -- throughout their
62 years of bilateral relations, but the Gaza otilla
incident brought things to a dangerous point, per-
haps only one step short of war. The low-density
cold war that recently started between two pivotal
nations in the Middle East is likely to intensify in
the foreseeable future. Throw away all the previ-
ous strategic maps of the region. Open rivalry be-
tween Israel and Turkey might have major impli-
cations for both countries, and also other players
in the region, rst and foremost the United States.
Things did not come to this point out of the
blue. Changing attitudes in both Israel and Tur-
key paved the way. The Olmert governments de-
cision to storm Gaza viciously in late 2008 while
Turks were enthusiastically working to help them
broker a peace deal with Syria infuriated Ankara.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoans infamous
one minute rebuke to Shimon Peres at Davos
was reciprocated by the low chair humiliation
of Ouz elikkol, Turkeys ambassador to Israel.
Benjamin Netanyahus coalition government al-
most completely shut its doors to international
advice, including that emanating from Ankara, on
its controversial policies vis--vis the Palestinians.
Turkey had its change of government ear-
lier, in 2002, with the Justice and Development
Party (AK Party) led by Erdoan taking over. In
the Israeli-Turkish relations context, the changes
in Turkey have been more profound. It is no se-
cret that Turkeys current ruling partys leadership
and core electoral base have traditionally cared
about the plight of the Palestinians. However it
would be too simplistic to explain Turkeys asser-
tive stance on some of the Israeli governments
policies through the AK Partys ideology alone.
Thanks to the media revolution, a thriving civil
society, increased economic stability, improve-
ments in education and other democratic trends,
the Turkish public has overall been more involved
in foreign affairs in the last decade. In particular,
the dramatic footage of Israels Gaza incursion
depicting human tragedy has been largely instru-
mental in inuencing Turkish public opinion to
the detriment of Israel and its main ally, the US.
From left to right, conservatives to liberals, Turks
have been united in their humanitarian stance.
Hence public demand is one of the main reasons
why the Erdoan government has made ending the
blockade in Gaza a signature foreign policy goal.
Increasingly condent and visibly nostalgic
about the Ottoman role as a major world power,
Turks certainly want and like for their govern-
ment to have more say in the international arena.
The Erdoan governments ambitious and dynamic
foreign policy ts and represents those needs. They
traveled all over the world, set the bar higher and
higher, and nally secured temporary membership
at the United Nations Security Council, declaring
they would tackle injustices in the world. In this
spirit, Ankara is playing the devils advocate in the
Iran nuclear crisis. In addition to the economic loss
in the event of sanctions or a war, they complain
that Tehran does not get fair treatment from the
West. They point out the lack of concern about Is-
raels suspected nuclear program, whereas there is
a big fuss about Irans highly scrutinized activities.
Turkeys soft approach to Iran has further
infuriated the Israelis because they consider the
Tehran regime to be their most dangerous enemy
in the region. Interestingly, some Sunni Arab re-
gimes, who feel threatened by Shiite Iran, privately
join Israel in their criticism of Turkey. The problem
for them is that Turkey has won the hearts of the
Middle East man on the street. Erdoan may be
more popular than many of the local rulers. And
this public support alone will ensure Ankara stays
in the game for a long time and plays it by its own
rules rather than being a subordinate power. This
will challenge and eventually change the Middle
East equation. It is ofcial that Turkey has a chair at
the table now, at the expense of Israel if not the US.
Turkey and Israel might hurt each other while
playing hardball. Israel has the ability to make
Turkey suffer in the West, especially in the US.
Turkey can make life increasingly difcult for
Israel in the region. Iran would be the foremost
strategic beneciary of such a scenario. Therefore
it is not in the interest of the US to let this happen.
The problem is that the Obama administration
has relatively limited leverage over the current
leaderships in Turkey and Israel. Ankara does not
bow to American pressure on getting tougher on
Iran. The Israeli government is not enthusiastic
about US efforts to revive the Middle East peace
process. But still, the US is the best equipped to
be a moderator that both countries would accept.
The international consensus on the need for
Israel to ease conditions in Gaza was only bol-
stered in the aftermath of the otilla incident. Israel
justiably gets the most blame for employing dis-
proportionate force and collective punishment in
its ght against terror. Washington is said to have
begun to review its own policy about the blockade
and urge Israel to change its policy. The road to
a comprehensive resolution to Palestinian-Israeli
conict starts in Gaza. A signicant improvement
in the Gaza situation would be a win for Ankara
and might secure the AK Party another term in
the 2011 general elections. I am sure that was not
among the Israeli governments intentions. The law
of unintended consequences is certainly at work.
Obama says Mideast status quo unsustainable
The law of unntended consequences
We are open to different ways to assur-
ing it is a credible investigation, including
urging appropriate international participation,
Clinton told reporters at a joint press conference
following talks with Indias visiting minister of ex-
ternal affairs, S.M. Krishna. The US has resisted
widespread international calls to condemn Israel
for the operation and has said it believes Israel is
best positioned to lead an investigation.
But the death of an American citizen adds a
new element because any time an American citi-
zen is killed overseas, the US government has the
option to open its own investigation into the case.
If we think a crime has been commit-
ted, then working with the host government
we have the option of our own investigation,
Crowley said. Asked if the FBI had gotten in-
volved, he said: At this point, no.
Israel has thus far rebuffed calls for any inter-
national role in a probe of Mondays incident in
which commandos boarded several ships head-
ing to the blockaded Gaza Strip with humani-
tarian supplies. Israel says its forces encountered
erce resistance on board one ship, resulting in
the violence that claimed the nine lives.
It is our standard practice after military
operations, especially operations in which there
have been fatalities, to conduct a prompt, pro-
fessional, transparent and objective investiga-
tion in accordance with the highest internation-
al standards, Israeli government spokesman
Mark Regev said on Thursday. Israeli Foreign
Minister Avigdor Lieberman, however, sug-
gested that international observers could pos-
sibly be attached to an internal Israeli probe.
He told the Ynet news website that he has
proposed setting up a commission of inquiry,
headed by a respected former Israeli Supreme
Court judge. If theyll ask to include foreign
observers, well include them, Lieberman said.
In Washington, Crowley said that over a
period of weeks prior to Mondays commando
raid, US ofcials had advised Israeli ofcials to
take a cautious approach to the aid otilla. And
he said ofcials from Israel and other countries
have been contacted since Monday to advise re-
straint in any such confrontations in the future.
While stressing that US authorities in Tur-
key had met with Doans father to express con-
dolences and to offer US consular services, Clin-
ton also said that two other American citizens
had been injured -- one in the raid and the other
during a subsequent protest -- and the US was
seeking information about all three from Israel.
Protecting the welfare of American citi-
zens is a fundamental responsibility of our
government and one that we take very seri-
ously, Clinton said. We are in constant con-
tact with the Israeli government attempting to
obtain more information about our citizens.
In her comments, Clinton did not identify
the two Americans who had been injured.
But the State Department has conrmed
that one of them, Emily Henochowicz, 21, lost
an eye after being hit in the face by a tear gas
canister shot by an Israeli border policeman
during a demonstration in Jerusalem against
the raid. She remains in hospital, Crowley said.
A broader problem for the Obama admin-
istration is what to do about the Israeli block-
ade of Gaza that the otilla was trying to break
through. The administration supports Israels
view that measures must be taken to prevent,
or at least minimize, the smuggling of weapons
into Gaza that could be used to attack Israel.
But Clinton said in her remarks to reporters
that the administration is searching for new an-
swers. We are evaluating ways of expanding the
ow of humanitarian assistance to the people of
Gaza while protecting Israels legitimate security
interests, she said. She cited no examples of alter-
natives to the blockade. Ankara AP with Todays Zaman
Ctzens death may push US
to revew Israel probe optons
contnued frompage 1
Mourners hold Turkish flags and posters that read Our honor, our martyr, Furkan Doan as thousands attend the funeral of Furkan Doan, 19.
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An Irish ship loaded with humanitarian aid was head-

ing to Gaza on Friday, defying Israeli warnings that it will
never be allowed to reach the blockaded coastal strip.
A spokeswoman for activists on board the MV Rachel Cor-
rie trying to run the blockade said they would continue their
voyage despite growing Israeli threats to intercept the ship.
The Rachel Corrie -- named after an American college
student crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer while
protesting house demolitions in Gaza in 2003 -- fell behind
the original Freedom Flotilla due to mechanical problems
while the rest of the convoy was en route to Gaza four days
ago. It has been reported that the ship has been steaming
towards Gaza since Thursday. The Guardian daily reported
that Martin OQuigley from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity
Campaign said on Friday that the ship is currently 150 miles
from Gaza and about 80 miles from the previous intercep-
tion point. We expect to be in Gaza late Friday night, early
Saturday morning. ... Were on our way to Gaza, Jenny
Graham, an activist and member of the crew, told Reuters
by telephone. Mairead Maguire, the Nobel Peace Prize
Laureate is also on board the Rachel Corrie, which is carry-
ing more than 1,000 tons of aid and supplies to Gaza.
There are six British and Irish citizens, ve Malaysians,
including a member of parliament, and three journalists.
Israel, facing an international outcry over its naval opera-
tion on Monday, has vowed to stop the Rachel Corrie.
According to some media outlets, the crew is some-
times unable to communicate with the outside world and
has accused Israel of scrambling communications. The
1,200-ton Rachel Corrie is carrying wheelchairs, medical
supplies and concrete. Israel will not allow the aid ship to
reach Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
told senior cabinet ministers late on Thursday. According to
a participant in the meeting, he said Israel had made several
offers to its organizers to direct the ship to an Israeli port
where the aid supplies would be unloaded, inspected and
transferred to Gaza overland, but the offers were rejected.
Netanyahu has ordered Israeli forces to exercise cau-
tion and politeness in handling the ship. He gave orders to
prevent the ship from reaching Gaza but he also instructed
his forces to act with sensitivity and to avoid harming the
people on board, the participant said, speaking on condi-
tion of anonymity as the meeting was closed to the press.
Netanyahu said attempts to persuade the vessel to
dock at the Israeli port of Ashdod for inspection had been
rejected. But the Rachel Corrie activists said Israel had not
communicated with them on any matter.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman also said on
Thursday that Israel would not allow its Gaza blockade to be
breached. No ship will reach Gaza. The Rachel Corrie will not
reach Gaza, he told Israel Radio. Derek Graham, another ac-
tivist, however, said he would be open to an escort from the
United Nations. Were willing to let the UN come and inspect
the cargo. We will accept an escort from the UN, he said.
When asked if any such offer had been made, he said,
Our communication is pretty limited but we would hope
there would be people working on that as we speak.
Only if they board us, we will be showing that we
are not aggressive people, we are sitting showing we have
nothing in our hands and will tell them where exactly [the]
crew are, Graham said. Graham said he had received sup-
port from the Irish government. stanbul Todays Zaman with wires
Eyes on Gaza
shores again as Rachel
Corrie steams on
AL
ASLAN
a.aslan@todayszaman.com
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Samast had said to Karada
in the courtroom, Youd better
visit the prison one day, his re-
mark accompanied by a threaten-
ing hand gesture. Karada led an
ofcial complaint with the judge
to which Samast objected, say-
ing he had no intention to threat-
en him and had only warned
Karada not to insult him.
The rst state ofcial to make
a statement on Karadas death
was Deputy Prime Minister Bl-
ent Arn, who was notied of the
news by journalists only minutes
after Karadas body was found.
It is a most saddening incident.
The cases relationship to Hrant
Dink makes us all wonder. Some-
times such things occur when an
important issue is on the agenda.
Perhaps this was done ahead of
the referendum with the intent
of bringing such matters into the
limelight or to increase concerns
about terrorism. It should be
viewed from all angles, he said.
Dink was fatally shot by Sa-
mast outside the Agos weekly in
2007, but the masterminds of the
assassination have still not been
found. Three years after his death,
Dinks family and friends and
rights organizations continue to
voice anger that the mystery sur-
rounding the the journalists mur-
der has yet to be unraveled.
Lawyers representing the co-
plaintiffs in the Dink trial have
long alleged that the murder was
the doing of Ergenekon, a clan-
destine gang charged with plot-
ting to overthrow the government.
Dink family lawyers have also pe-
titioned the 14th High Criminal
Court to contact the prosecutors
investigating Ergenekon to request
a copy of documents that describe
the organizations plots against re-
ligious minorities in Turkey. Such
a document, called the Cage Op-
eration Action Plan, was found last
November during a police raid on
the ofce of retired Maj. Levent
Bekta, a suspect in the Ergenekon
investigation. This document
speaks of Dinks killing as an op-
eration. stanbul Todays Zaman
NATIONAL TODAYS ZAMAN05
S AT U R D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 0
CONDOLENCES
I wish Gods mercy upon our
people who set sail with the intention
of putting an end to the human tragedy
in Gaza and who were martyred in the
unfortunate attack they suffered, and I
convey my condolences to their families,
our nation and humanity.
FETHULLAH GLEN
Turkish prosecutors go after Israeli politicians
Looking at the developments that have taken place in
the last 72 hours we can say that Israel is starting to see
the facts of life. I am not talking about the UN Security
Councils harsh condemnation of Israel, the pressure put
on Israel to release those who were in detention or the
pressure imposed on Egypt to open the Rafah border to
Gaza, which it keeps closed because of pressure from Israel.
Israel has started to pay the price for messing with
Turkey, less than 72 hours after the incident occurred. It has
already humiliated itself. The points mentioned above are
initial evidence of this. Israel is paying the price for misread-
ing the new geopolitical facts of the Middle East.
This is how things work. This incident has shown the
entire world the difference between managing a state
and acting like bandits. Those who cant fulll the re-
sponsibility of being a state have no right to raise a ag.
It seems Israel is going to face consequences for
some time to come.
Pay close attention to the sentences in the statements
that were issued by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan
following his telephone conversation with President Barack
Obama. Israel is facing the risk of losing its only friend in
the Middle East, that has made the most contributions to
regional peace until now. The steps that it will take in the
coming days will determine its position in the region.
This message indicates that if Israel continues to act like
a bandit, its position in the region will be re-evaluated. Take
note that this announcement was made after an hour-long
conversation with the US president.
Israel a headache for Obama
In a meeting of his partys parliamentary group, Erdoan
said: This incident is a milestone. Nothing will be the
same after this. We hope this is true. The shortcut to
nding a solution to problems in this region on a rea-
sonable platform is for the White House to say, Thats
enough to Israel.
The Obama administration cannot uphold a global
mission by protecting a rogue state. We will see if it real-
izes this situation and whether it will be able to take the
necessary steps. If the Obama administration has not been
able to provide a meaningful contribution to global peace
during its year-and-a-half in the White House, it is because
of the Israel factor.
It is evident that Obama will not be able to make prog-
ress if he tries to keep Israel happy and does not do or say
anything that will upset her. The state terror that we saw in
the Mediterranean has ruined the international reputation
of the Obama administration.
The entire world knows that if Iran had committed this
kind of thuggish act in the Persian Gulf, America would
ensure that all hell broke loose. The difference between the
attitude America would have in that kind of a case and the
attitude America has today is ruining the Obama adminis-
trations reputation in the Muslim world.
You can talk about a model partnership in Ankara
and communicate messages of peace and compromise to
the Muslim world in Cairo, but its your attitude on the kill-
ing of 1,400 people in 22 days, the starvation of 1.5 million
people and the act of banditry in the middle of open waters
that will determine your meaningfulness and value.
You cannot be a leader in the world by trying to have
the murderer investigate the murder.
The world is different now. Ten years ago the US could
shape the world by itself. But things are different today. An
American administration that succumbs to Israels bratty,
capricious, arrogant and rogue behavior cannot have su-
perpower impact in the Middle East.
Was it about to have that impact in Afghanistan? In
Palestine? Or in Iran?
American administrators should read the book The
Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, penned by Harvard
professors, over and over again and then take the necessary
steps. Otherwise, words will have no meaning in the geog-
raphy spanning from Morocco to Pakistan. The only force
that has a positive message and image in many respects
in the eyes of people who live in this geography is Turkey.
It is against Americas own interests to neglect Turkey and
rush to Israels defense. The outcome of events that have
happened are evidence of this. If they dont believe us, then
they can ask Gen. David Petraeus.
Moreover, this degree of strategic blindness would
even leave the crows in the White House yard surprised.
Israels prime minister, defense minister
and chief of General Staff are among the
prime suspects in an investigation initiated by the
stanbul Bakrky Prosecutors Ofce into Mon-
days military operation against a Gaza-bound
civilian aid otilla that left nine peace activists, all
of whom were Turkish citizens, dead.
The stanbul Bakrky Prosecutors Ofce has
started a probe into Israels attack. Commandos
stormed one of the main ships in the six-vessel
otilla, killing nine and injuring dozens of un-
armed civilians in international waters. Prosecu-
tor Mehmet Tatan, who serves at the Ankara
Prosecutors Ofce Directives Bureau, is also aid-
ing the Bakrky prosecutors. He listened to the
testimonies of some of the wounded who were
brought to Ankara by a Turkish air ambulance.
Among the prosecutors evidence are the au-
topsy reports of the eight Turkish citizens and one
US-Turkish dual citizen who were killed in the at-
tack. If the prosecutors ofce can compile enough
evidence against Israel at the end of its probe, it will
charge Israeli ofcials with various crimes, including
murder, injury, taking hostages, attacking Turkish
citizens on the open seas and piracy. The main sus-
pects in the investigation thus far are Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak
and Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.
Prosecutor Tatan interviewed all the in-
jured on Wednesday in a hospital in Ankara ex-
cept for intensive care unit patients. Tatan will
send the testimonies to the Bakrky Prosecu-
tors Ofce and the Ministry of Justice.
Some 500 activists who were aboard the o-
tilla vessels were brought to Turkey on Wednes-
day. The survivors were examined at the Council
of Forensic Medicine (ATK) to provide more evi-
dence about the attack. The detailed autopsy nd-
ings will also be used as evidence against Israel.
The reports will include information on the cause
of death and the form of death by rearms, such
as if they were shot at close range. The ATK is also
running tests to see whether any chemical weap-
ons were used against the peace activists.
Turkeys foreign and justice ministries are also
closely following the investigation, which might
end up with the indictment of those responsible
for the raid. The trial of these suspects will be based
on the international Law of the Sea Convention
and universal principles regarding a fair trial. To
demonstrate that Israels intervention was illegal,
the prosecutors will emphasize that the ships were
in international waters, that the people aboard
had waved a white ag of surrender, that the ships
were carrying humanitarian aid, that the passen-
gers did not threaten Israel and that no permission
for intervention was given by the ships captains
or countries under whose ags they were sailing.
Concrete evidence, such as ring at the victims
at close range, and the testimonies of victims will
also be included as evidence. If in the meantime
an investigatory committee is set up in Israel, the
prosecutors ofce will also make use of that com-
missions ndings. stanbul Todays Zaman
PM Erdoan says no aid
convoy activists missing
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan
has said there is currently no one miss-
ing among the peace activists whose o-
tilla was attacked by Israeli commandos as they
were sailing toward the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Erdoan visited volunteers injured in Mon-
days bloody assault at the Atatrk Teaching and
Research Hospital in Ankara on Thursday evening.
Speaking to reporters at the hospital, Erdoan
ruled out claims that some people who had been
part of the aid convoy were still missing. This is
out of question. There is nobody missing from the
list of passengers given to our government. Pre-
viously we were unable to locate ve passengers
but we have now learned which hospital [in Israel]
they are being treated at, Erdoan said.
Israel says nine people were killed in the at-
tack but there were claims that ofcial Israeli re-
ports on the number of casualties were untrue.
Earlier, Blent Yldrm, chairman of Turkish
charity the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (HH),
which took the initiative to organize the otilla,
said: Until now they have returned nine dead
bodies, but our list is bigger. There are people
missing. Yldrm was on the main passenger
ship, the Mavi Marmara, which the Israeli navy
attacked at the start of its raid.
Nineteen injured activists were taken to the
Atatrk Teaching and Research Hospital after
Turkey sent three air ambulances and three pas-
senger planes to Tel Aviv on Wednesday to bring
back the detained Turkish volunteers. All of them
were own home from Israel on Turkish planes
early on Thursday after Turkey gave Israel an
ultimatum, threatening to review the state of its
ties with the Jewish state unless each and every
Turkish national was safely returned. A total of
470 people returned to stanbul, including 466
activists and four deputies who had traveled to
Tel Aviv to bring them back.
Although ofcials had previously said two
injured activists had been left in Israeli hospitals
since their injuries were too critical to allow them
to travel, Erdoan said there were currently ve
activists receiving treatment in Israel.
In line with Erdoans remarks at the hospi-
tal, two air ambulances ew to Tel Aviv to bring
back the remaining injured volunteers yesterday.
Mehmet Ali Zeybek, Ahmet Aydan Bekar and
Uur Sleyman Sylemez were brought to Turkey
yesterday and welcomed at the Etimesgut Mili-
tary Airport in Ankara by Health Minister Recap
Akda and Turkish Ambassador to Israel Ouz
elikkol, whom Turkey recalled in protest over the
Israeli raid on the Turkish ship. Ofcials said two
other injured activists, Osman Kur and elebi
Bozan, were still in Tel Aviv and that doctors have
yet to decide when they can return to Turkey.
Responding to the question of whether Tur-
key plans to provide naval escorts for future aid
convoys to Gaza, Erdoan said: No. We are not
declaring war, so we wont provide warships to
accompany them. This is not in question.
Erdoan visited every injured activist
being treated at the hospital, speaking with
each of them. When we listened to our in-
jured brothers, we better understood the tor-
ture they were exposed to. Our brothers were
all injured by rearms, Erdoan said. Noting
that prosecutors had taken video testimonies
from the surviving activists, he renewed Tur-
keys determination to pursue its rights with-
in the framework of international law.
When Erdoan asked one of the patients, Mu-
rat Takn, whether he was in pain, he said, All
pain went away when we saw you. Takn told
the prime minister that the Israeli soldiers beat him
on the ship and red rubber bullets at him. We
are proud of you, Irish activist El Mehdi El Hamid
El Hamdi told Erdoan. With the prime ministers
permission, the activist kissed Erdoans forehead
to express his gratitude. stanbul Todays Zaman
Israel s
facng realty
GRKAN
ZENGN
g.zengin@todayszaman.com
Dink family
lawyer found dead
in apartment
With the prime ministers permission, El Hamdi kissed Erdoans forehead to express his gratitude.
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contnued from page 1
Hakan Karada
Arn rules out cutting
ties with Israel entirely
While Turkeys Deputy Prime Minister Blent Arn
said on Friday that his country would not termi-
nate its relations with Israel entirely in the wake of that
countrys attack on an international aid convoy carrying
humanitarian aid to Gaza early this week, he says those
relations may be reduced to a minimum. Arn told private
television station NTV that Turkey was assessing deals
with Israel in the clearest sign yet that it may signicantly
scale back its ties with once close ally Israel. He noted that
many military and economic agreements had been made
with Israel and that these were now on the table for dis-
cussion. We are serious about this subject, Arn told the
news channel in an interview. We may plan to reduce our
relations with Israel to a minimum, but to assume every-
thing involving another country is stopped in an instant, to
say we have crossed you out of our address book, is not the
custom of our state, he said. Ankara Todays Zaman with wires
Captivity in Israel just like Guantanamo, say survivors
Peace activists claim Israeli forces attacked them saying one minute
Report urges
Turkey to stick to
reforms, EU bid
Turkey is a constructive force in its region
and should recognize that the key to con-
tinuing this role is commitment to democratization
at home and adherence to universal values in for-
eign policy, according to a newly released report.
The report, released by the Transatlantic
Academy on Thursday, warns against popu-
lism, saying it undermines Turkeys image
and its contribution to its neighborhood. It
also recommends that Turkey remain commit-
ted to the EU accession process, acknowledg-
ing its importance both for Turkeys domestic
transformation and for Turkeys regional role
and relevance. It also says Turkey needs to seek
increased trade and investment with European
markets while continuing to promote economic
ties with the neighborhood and beyond.
The report, Getting to Zero: Turkey, Its
Neighbors and the West, follows a yearlong
study on the recent activism and assertiveness
of Turkish foreign policy, which it says has
caused political waves throughout Europe, the
United States and Turkeys immediate neigh-
borhood, and how this transformation affects
the transatlantic relationship.
It also says Turkey should acknowledge that
achieving zero problems with neighbors will re-
quire careful management of complex relations
which necessitates a frank and constructive ap-
proach to all parties and recommends that An-
kara seek to broaden cooperation with the US,
taking advantage of the Obama administrations
openness to fresh ideas, and reafrm Turkeys
transatlantic commitments within a coherent re-
gional and foreign policy framework.
It recommends that the EU not break its
promises it made to Turkey and, turning to the US,
advises Washington to support Turkeys EU mem-
bership through quiet diplomacy, indicating to Eu-
ropeans that the proposal of privileged partnership
instead of full membership lacks credibility. The
report also asks the US to step up involvement
in the Cyprus peace process. The Transatlantic
Academy is an initiative of the German Mar-
shall Fund of the United States, the ZEIT-Stif-
tung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius of Germany,
the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the Lynde and
Harry Bradley Foundation. stanbul Todays Zaman
Poll: Israeli attack
aimed to put Turkish
govt on edge
A recent poll of Turkish public opinion has
shown that many in the nation perceive an
Israeli naval attack on an aid otilla headed for the
blockaded Gaza Strip that left at least nine activists
dead and dozens wounded on Monday as an at-
tempt to put the Turkish government on the spot.
According to the results of the survey con-
ducted by the Ankara-based MetroPOLL Stra-
tegic and Social Research Center, 45.3 percent
of respondents said Israel aimed to put Recep
Tayyip Erdoan on the spot domestically and
internationally. On the other hand, 33.2 per-
cent of respondents said they thought Israels
aim was to prevent the broaching of the Gaza
blockade, which has left more than 1.4 million
Palestinian men, women and children trapped
in the Gaza Strip, an area of land just 40 kilo-
meters long and 9.5 kilometers wide.
There is a public perception that Israels
operation aimed at wearing out Prime Minis-
ter Erdoans government. As we heard in the
news, the Israeli soldiers shouted one minute
as they attacked, said zer Sencar, who heads
MetroPOLL. The phrase one minute is as-
sociated with Erdoans confrontation last year
with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Davos
over the Israeli attack on Palestinians in Gaza.
The fact that Israel conducted the operation in
international waters can be interpreted as a taunt.
This daring act was allegedly carried out with their
soldiers shouting one minute, Sencar said.
Sencar also said that the fact that 21.5 percent
of respondents said that they couldnt think of a
reason behind the Israeli attack indicates that the
public needs more time to evaluate the incident.
Another question posed to participants in
the survey was, Do you nd Turkeys reaction
to Israel sufcient?
In response, 33.2 percent of the respondents
said Yes, I nd it to be enough, while 60.6 per-
cent said No, I dont nd it sufcient; nearly 6
percent did not respond or had no opinion.
The public is in such a state that they al-
most want war against Israel. I think this is
widespread in almost all levels of society, Sen-
car said and added that the continuation of rela-
tions with Israel after the Davos incident made
the Turkish public uncomfortable. The govern-
ment has taken the actions that it is supposed to
take so far, but the public wants more.
The poll was conducted on May 3 by telephone
amongst a random national sampling of 996 adults
residing in cities, towns and villages. The margin of
error for the overall poll was 3 percentage points,
with a condence level of 95 percent.
Survivors of Israels otilla attack in the Medi-
terranean have started sharing their accounts
of the Israeli militarys killings as well as their ex-
perience as captives in the hands of Israeli soldiers,
comparing their treatment to the treatment of ter-
ror suspects held in Guantanamo.
Anne De Jong, a Dutch activist on the Mavi
Marmara -- the main passenger ship in the otilla --
said that she felt like she was waking from a horrible
nightmare. Saying that they suffered mistreatment
while they were detained, De Jong said, What we
went through while we were jailed brought Guanta-
namo to our minds, in remarks to Dutch television
channel NOS. She also said Israeli ofcials attempt-
ed to force the prisoners to sign certain documents
to be used as evidence against them, noting that
she and other activists resisted this. Emphasizing
that claims that the activists on the unarmed civil-
ian humanitarian aid ship Mavi Marmara attacked
Israeli soldiers were completely false, De Jong said
the Israeli army opened re on the ship. People
fell to the oor when they started shooting. It is a
huge lie that people attacked the soldiers or pro-
voked them. She also said the soldiers used force
and violence when detaining the activists. She said
they were not allowed access to lawyers, noting that
90 people had only 10 minutes to talk to a lawyer.
She said she was frightened by what happened, but
she would continue to support Gaza until the entire
world is aware of the tragedy in Gaza.
Sarah Colborne, a Briton who was also aboard
the Mavi Marmara, said the Israeli military refused
to help the wounded. In a press conference in Lon-
don yesterday, Colborne said, I couldnt quite be-
lieve [the Israelis] were doing what they were doing
-- none of us anticipated it. She said prior to the
raid, those on board were told to put life jackets on
while an emergency medical room was set up as a
precaution -- but that nothing could have prepared
her for what happened next.
She said she was woken early in the morn-
ing by the sound of the Israeli military speeding
towards the ship, followed by gunre. I could
hear the sounds of bullets ying, thats the thing
I remember, and the whirr of helicopter blades as
people dropped down on to the roof.
She said her fellow activists broadcast a plea to
the Israeli soldiers to stop the attack and help the
injured, but instead they targeted individuals by
pointing red laser sights from their guns over the
activists heads. Two hours passed before the rst
critically injured passengers were allowed off the
boat, she said. She also said Israels tally of nine
dead was not accurate and claimed more were
still missing and that the gure would later rise.
Irish citizen al-Mehdi Abdulhamid al-Harra-
ti, who was injured during the raid, said on Friday
that if the activists who were injured during the
attack and later died had not been forced to wait
aboard the ship for hours before receiving medi-
cal treatment, they may have survived. Speaking
to the Anatolia news agency, al-Harrati said that
Israeli troops attacked them with weapons, tear
gas and electrical shocks.
They were shooting randomly with live bul-
lets. I saw that many people were wounded by
the Israeli troops, al- Harrati said.
Al- Harrati said he was handcuffed and beat-
en by Israeli forces and that some of the activists
were thrown overboard.
Peace activists said on Thursday that the Israeli
forces who attacked them on a ship planning to
go to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid were saying
one minute, referring to a previous crisis between
Turkey and Israel at the Davos summit last year.
The Mavi Marmara, carrying 500 supporters
and $20 million in humanitarian aid, began its jour-
ney from stanbul to Gaza on May 22 in a show of
solidarity with the Palestinian people and in a bid
to break Israels years-long blockade of the Gaza
Strip. However, the ship was stormed by Israel
forces early Monday morning with marines board-
ing from dinghies and rappelling from helicopters.
At least nine peace activists were killed and dozens
were injured during the attack.
Following Turkeys ultimatum to Israel, hun-
dreds of activists deported from Israel returned to
a heros welcome in Turkey early on Thursday.
Recai Kaya, who was on board the Mavi Marma-
ra, said on Thursday that Israel forces attacked
them brutally and handcuffed the peace activists
while saying one minute to try and humiliate
them, referring to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdoans walkout in Davos.
During a panel discussion on Gaza at the
World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos on
Jan. 29, 2009, Erdoan -- who has so far not hesi-
tated to voice his anger and feelings of offense over
the disproportionate use of force by Israel leading
to the deaths of hundreds of civilians -- walked off
the stage in protest of a moderator who did not al-
low him to speak in response to Israeli President
Shimon Peres, who made remarks supporting the
Israeli offensive in Gaza.
Israel took revenge on Erdoans Davos walkout
by hurting us, Kaya pointed out. Kaya noted that
when some people asked for permission to go to the
restroom, Israeli troops deliberately made them wait
for nearly 24 hours. Despite the brutal treatment by
the Israeli troops, everybody was determined not to
back down. Our only regret is that the humanitarian
aid could not reach Gaza. Kaya called on the govern-
ment to help them get the aid to its destination.
We think of our loved ones rather
than ourselves, activists say
Ycel Veliolu, a reporter from the Anatolia news
agency who was on board the Mavi Marmara when
it was raided, described the aftermath of the attack
from outside the Forensic Medicine Institution in
stanbul on Thursday. Veliolu said the most violence
had occurred on their ship and that their hands had
been tied by the Israeli commandos. Veliolu also
stated that when the ship was being towed to the
Israeli port of Ashdod, they thought they wouldnt
get back to Turkey alive because there were many
supporters of Israel at the port. My wife is pregnant.
We couldnt contact our loved ones because Israel
imposed a media blackout. We thought of our loved
ones who we had left in Turkey rather than ourselves
despite our brutal treatment, said Veliolu.
More than 500 activists who were brought to
Turkey were examined on Thursday by 120 forensic
medicine experts and their assistants.
Al-Jazeera cameraman: Israelis
suffer from fracture wounds
Al-Jazeera television cameraman Andre Abu
Khalil, who was also on the Mavi Marmara, said
that after the initial Israeli assault on the vessel, four
Israeli troops, suffering from fracture wounds,
were held below deck by the activists. He said other
commandos, trying to scale the ship, opened re to
break up a human chain of about 20 Turkish men,
who were using slingshots, water hoses and metal
pipes to try to hold off the boarding party.
Abu Khalil said the line disintegrated after the
troops shot one of the men in the neck and anoth-
er in the head. In all, the cameraman counted 40
wounded passengers, many with bullet wounds to
the legs, apparently to disable them. Others were
shot in the eyes, stomach and chest. On the lower
deck, Abu Khalil said, someone using a loudspeak-
er told the Israelis: Your soldiers are ne, and
theyll be released if you provide us with medical
help for the wounded. An Israeli-Arab legislator
who participated in the otilla acted as a mediator.
She raised a white ag and wrote in Hebrew on a
piece of cardboard, according to the cameraman.
Israel commandos had various types of
handguns. I was shot. Two Israeli doctors tried to
remove the bullets from my body with pincers. It
was a kind of torture. My mind is in turmoil, said
Musa oa, one of the peace activists.
Other activists Edda Manga, Mattias Gardell
and Dror Feiler also described the aftermath of the
commando attack. Around 15 ships belonging to Is-
rael surrounded the Mavi Marmara to frighten the
peace activists on board. They also added that Israeli
forces deliberately shot two people in the forehead.
Israeli troops open re one meter away
Mustafa Bakrhan, who is one of the injured
peace activists, noted that Israeli commandos
opened re one meter away. While blood was
owing out of my body, they [Israeli troops]
continue to damage me. Regardless of my health
situation, they handcuffed me, said Bakrhan to
express his feelings in the aftermath of Israels
attack on the ship. Bakrhan underlined that
when the Mavi Marmara was around the Medi-
terranean island of Cyprus, they were being fol-
lowed by foreign ship, referring to Israels prep-
aration for attack on the ship. We saw Israels
boats at 12 p.m., but they attacked us at 4 a.m.,
early morning Monday. Is their aim not obvi-
ous? They wanted the world not to be informed
about their attack. They attacked to us without
any warning. Even though 50 people tried to
prevent Israeli troops from attacking people,
they were determined to continue their torture.
They opened re on me one meter away.
Turkey pays fnal respects to
murdered Gaza peace actvsts
His cofn, brought to his home in Kay-
seri for burial yesterday, was draped
with Turkish and Palestinian ags. Doans fa-
ther and grandfather accepted condolences in a
tent set up in front of the family home. Photos of
Doan and Turkish ags hung from the walls of
other homes on the street.
The funeral prayer held for Doan was at-
tended by thousands of people, including dep-
uties, mayors, politicians and members of the
press. Thousands chanted slogans in protest of
Israel following the prayer. Mourners carried
Doans cofn on their shoulders the enter 2
kilometers to the cemetery where he was bur-
ied. Placards held by mourners included mes-
sages like Israel, the bullets that you red at
Furkan are in my heart. I did not die, Our
honor, our martyr and Furkan, dont worry,
our prayers are with you.
Another slain Gaza activist, 54-year-old
etin Topuolu, was brought to the southern
province of Adana for burial. Adana Deputy
Governor brahim Avc and other Gaza peace
activists met the cofn at the local airport, where
a ceremony was held to honor Topuolu.
Speaking at the ceremony, Humanitarian Aid
Foundation (HH) member Ahmet Kurt said the
activists had sailed to break the Israeli embargo
and to free the people of Gaza from their prison.
Topuolus wife, idem, who was also part
of the otilla, said she was proud of the prime
minister and the nation for their support them.
I will take part in the otillas heading to Gaza
from now on with my son, she said.
Topuolu was buried following a fu-
neral prayer joined by thousands, including
Topuolus family, Adana Governor lhan
At, Justice and Development Party (AK
Party) Adana deputy Vahit Kirii and several
other state ofcials. Thousands carrying Turk-
ish and Palestinian ags chanted slogans in
protest of Israel before the prayer.
People also showed up in the thousands at
Adyaman Airport yesterday to await the arrival
of the cofn carrying murdered 43-year-old activ-
ist Fahri Yaldz. Many people shed tears as they
hugged other activists who were aboard the Mavi
Marmara when the deadly attack took place.
Yaldzs relatives were visibly distraught, with
some of them rushed to Adyaman State Hospital
after their condition worsened due to the stress
of the incident. The victims body was taken to
his house followed by a long convoy of vehicles.
He was later laid to rest following a funeral prayer
attended by thousands. Some of those in atten-
dance at the funeral said the eastern province had
never before seen such a large crowd.
The body of another activist that fell victim to
Israels commandos, 39-year-old Ali Haydar, 39,
was taken to his hometown in the southeastern
province of Diyarbakr yesterday. Hundreds turned
out to show their respect and accompanied the am-
bulance that was carrying his body to the morgue
where his remains were kept until the funeral
prayer. Bengi was laid to rest following funeral
prayers at a Diyarbakr mosque in the afternoon.
The body of slain activist brahim Bilgen, 61,
arrived at his home in the southeastern prov-
ince of Siirt after midnight yesterday. Thou-
sands of Siirt residents, including Siirt Governor
Musa olak and the AK Party Siirt deputies Af
Demirkran and Ylmaz Helvacolu, welcomed
the hearse on the highway and stayed awake
until the funeral prayer. Bilge was buried follow-
ing a funeral prayer in the afternoon.
zmir received the body 47-year-old peace
activist Cengiz Songr and ve survivors from
the otilla on Thursday evening. The group was
welcomed by a large crowd that chanted slogans
including Murderer Israel will account for this
and, The ship of freedom will drill the embar-
go. Many shed tears as Songrs daughters read
aloud letters they had written for their father.
Murdered peace activist Cengiz Akyz, 41,
was brought to his hometown in the southern
province of Hatay to be laid to rest. Thousands
welcomed him at the Hatay Airport. A long
convoy of cars accompanied the car taking
Akyzs body to the mosque in the skenderun
district, where a funeral prayer was held. The
crowd of mourners spilled out of the mosque
complex into the street; participants included
AK Party deputy Orhan Karasayar and may-
ors. Akyz was buried rest in skenderuns
Bekbele following the prayer.
Another funeral ceremony was held in stanbul
for slain activist Cevdet Kllar, 38, who was the
HHs online editor. Thousands gathered at Beyazt
Square to protest Israel. Kllar was buried follow-
ing a funeral prayer at Beyazt Mosque.
The ninth victim, Necdet Yldrm, 32, was
laid to rest in stanbul on Thursday. Thousands
attended his funeral prayer. stanbul Todays Zaman
TODAYS ZAMAN NATIONAL 06
S AT U R D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 0
Thousands of people gathered in each province where the nine victims were laid to rest on Thursday
and Friday, carrying Turkish and Palestinian flags, chanting slogans to protest Israel.
contnued from page 1
YONCA POYRAZ DOAN lSTANB|
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DLEK HAYIRLI / YASN KILI lSTANB|
YASN YACI THEHAGE
Turkeys electricity
consumption,
production up in May
Sharp drop in food
prices lowering
annual inflation rate
Alanya Chamber of
Commerce supports
employment in region
Russian firm to
pay $7 bln to govt
for nuclear plant
A key indicator of economic activity, electric-
ity consumption in Turkey grew by 9 percent
in May over the same month of last year, while the
amount of electricity generated was also up by 9.3
percent during the same period.
According to Turkish Electricity Transmis-
sion Company (TEA) statistics, May saw
16.67 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electric-
ity consumed, up from 15.3 billion kWh in the
same month of 2009, registering a year-on-year
increase of 9 percent. Electricity consumption
totaled 83.08 billion kWh in the January-May
period of 2010, a gure 6.5 percent more than
consumption levels of one year earlier. January
2010 saw 17.3 billion kWh of electricity con-
sumption, while this gure was 15.7 billion kWh
in February, 17.02 billion kWh in March, 16.3 bil-
lion kWh in April and 16.67 billion kWh in May.
Electricity production was also on the rise in
the fth month of the year. Growing by 9.3 percent
compared to the same month of 2009, the amount
of electricity produced totaled 16.77 billion kWh last
month. Of this amount 6.62 billion kWh of electricity
was generated by power plants owned by the Electric-
ity Generation Holding Company (EA), 1.05 billion
kWh by plants owned by EAs partners and 349.1
million kWh by plants whose operating rights were
transferred from EA to the private sector.
The amount of electricity generated from hy-
droelectric power plants surged by 41.7 percent in
May 2010 from May of last year. During the same
period, electricity produced by individual rms was
up by 42 percent. stanbul Todays Zaman
The Turkish Central Bank has cited a
sharp drop in the price of food in the Turk-
ish market as the major factor behind the May
return to the one-digit mark in annual ination.
Data released by the Turkish Statistics In-
stitute (TurkStat) on Thursday show that Tur-
keys annual ination returned to the one-
digit mark in May, declining to 9.10 percent
from Aprils ination rate of 10.19 percent.
In the release of a report following the lat-
est meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee
(PPK), the central bank said the ination g-
ures were in line with their expectations and
that the current decline in the price of unpro-
cessed food would lead to relatively lower an-
nual ination gures in the months to follow.
The price of unprocessed food declined by 8.6
percent in May over the previous month.
The central bank said the reason that
the drop in consumer prices in May over
April -- 0.36 percent -- remained limited
was due to an upward trend in gold prices
in parallel with global markets. The increase
in gold prices had a 0.3 percent share in an-
nual ination as of May. A seasonal rise in
produce harvesting was the major factor
behind the decline, with a drop in red meat
prices as another contributing element,
coming on the heels of the completion of
tenders for red meat imports.
The central bank cited a 5.6 percent de-
cline in the producer price index (PPI) for
the agriculture sector in May over the pre-
vious month as a main factor behind a 1.15
point drop in annual PPI. The industrial sec-
tor also saw a 0.08 percent drop in the same
period, which was reected in various sub-
sectors. Ankara Todays Zaman
Alanya Chamber of Commerce and Indus-
try (ALTSO) will provide employment to 10
students who graduate from Akdeniz Universitys
faculty of management and the Alanya Vocational
School with top degrees each year, Kerim Aydoan,
the chairman of the chamber has said.
Faculty Dean brahim Gngr said Alanya-based
businessmen have played a more important role in the
establishment of both the faculty and the vocational
school than the state and indicated that they aim to
double the number of students at the faculty and the
school each year. No one with a university degree will
be left unemployed in Alanya, a district in the southern
province of Antalya, the dean stated, adding that the
faculty will ll a gap especially in tourism sector.
Aydoan said they would organize training pro-
grams within the year to meet the stafng needs of
hotels in Alanya. He also gave a guarantee of pro-
viding a job to 10 high-ranking graduates from the
management faculty and vocational school in the
district each year. stanbul Todays Zaman
A consortium led by the state-controlled Rus-
sian builder AtomStroyExport, which will con-
struct Turkeys rst nuclear power plant in the coastal
town of Akkuyu, Mersin, will pay a total of $7 billion
to the Environment and Forestry Ministry during the
agreed period of 60 years in operation.
According to the agreement, the company will pay
the ministry to offset its impact on deforestation and
erosion, as the power plant is to be constructed in a
currently forested area. A total of $1 billion will be paid
up-front in cash while remaining $6 billion will be paid
in installations of $100 million per year over the next
60 years, the extent of the companys operating rights.
Turkey and Russia signed an agreement for the
construction of a nuclear power plant in Akkuyu
during Russian President Dmitry Medvedevs ofcial
visit to Turkey in May. The agreement was recently
sent to Parliament for approval. The translation of
the deal to Turkish from English was completed by
lawyers working at the energy and foreign ministries
over the past two weeks. The nuclear agreement is
expected to be discussed in Parliament next week
and to get nal approval by July 1 at the latest.
According to the protocol the two sides agreed on,
the Russian rm will pay all the costs of construction
for the nuclear plant, which is estimated to cost around
$20 billion. The rm will be able to transfer up to 49
percent of its shares to another rm.
BUSINESS
S AT U R D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 0
TODAYS ZAMAN 07
Israelis expected to resume trips once relations normalize
Minister imek: Constitutional
reform crucial for employment
$2 bln to enter state coffers
through public property sales
Tourism Minister Erturul Gnay comment-
ed in Ankara on Friday that he had faith the
majority of Israeli tourists who recently cancelled
their holiday trips to Turkey -- as a reaction to the
clash that erupted after Israeli commandos killed
nine Turkish peace activists on an aid ship en
route to Gaza earlier this week -- would reverse
their decisions in a few weeks time.
Speaking to reporters about the current impasse
with the Israeli government, Gnay said: We hear
that the current government in Israel is calling on
Israelis to avoid visiting Turkey. And yes, such a
stance could lead to a decline in the number of tour-
ists from this country [traveling] to Turkey. But Tur-
key is a global tourism brand famous for its hospi-
tality and tolerance. Asserting that Turks would not
hesitate to extend that same traditional tolerance to
Israeli tourists, who cannot be held responsible for
their governments unreasonable and brutal acts,
Gnay said he believed many Israelis would contin-
ue with plans to visit Turkey after reconsidering their
cancellations once the current tension between the
governments of the two nations eases. At the end of
the day, he said, Turkey offers them the opportunity
to enjoy a comfortable, cheap and safe holiday.
Gnay added, however, that the Turkish tourism
industry is able to compensate for any minor loss in
the number of visitors from the small Middle Eastern
country. I do not think a decline of a few thousand
in the number of tourists coming to Turkey as a result
of the Israeli clash will have a negative impact on our
tourism sector, which attracts millions of people from
all around the globe each year, he emphasized.
Gnay also stressed that the anger of the Turk-
ish public was not directed at the Israeli people. Is-
raelis are our guests just like tourists from any other
country, and it is our responsibility to host them and
send them home safe and sound, he said. Besides,
we also know that most Israelis disapprove of this
government, which is always provoking problems
in the Middle East; the present government in Israel
has inicted severe harm to Middle East peace and
to the future of the Israeli people.
Asked to comment on a recent ination report
showing that domestic holiday packages experienced
the highest monthly increase in price over other goods
and services, Gnay said increased interest in such
packages could be the main factor behind the sky-
rocketing prices. Some tour operators could deliber-
ately increase prices to make higher prots from the
current interest than they could otherwise, he said.
In comments regarding a recent tour bus
accident that resulted in the deaths of 15 pas-
sengers in Antalya, Gnay said his ministry was
working on strict and specic measures to en-
courage tour operators to increase tourist trans-
portation safety. Ankara Todays Zaman
Turkey needs to reform its current Constitu-
tion to deal with its high unemployment prob-
lem, Finance Minister Mehmet imek has said.
Speaking yesterday at a meeting organized
by the Belgian-Turkish Businessmens Associa-
tion (BETAD), imek noted that a constitutional
reform package recently introduced by the gov-
ernment targets expanding rights and freedoms,
improving democracy and ensuring Turkeys
conformity to European Union norms. It is not
to Turkeys advantage to maintain the status quo
while the whole world changes. The constitution-
al reform package will directly affect employment.
It is important for Turkeys respectability and sta-
bility. Interest rates cannot be lowered in an un-
stable environment, resulting in the failure to at-
tract investment [to the country], which will block
improvement in employment rates and economic
growth, imek said, stressing that democracy
and development go hand in hand.
The Turkish economy will be among the top
three in the EU and the top 10 in the world, he
predicted. imek also criticized credit rating
agencies that downgraded the ratings of Tur-
keys economic performance. For some reason,
credit rating agencies always act cautiously when
evaluating Turkeys economic performance.
They failed the test during last years global -
nancial crisis. Countries and companies these
agencies deemed unlikely to go bankrupt went
bankrupt during the crisis, he said while speak-
ing about agencies that continue to rank Turkey
as a country investors should hold off on despite
recent positive indicators. stanbul Todays Zaman
After long searching for sources to increase rev-
enues, the Finance Ministry recently decided
to sell 264 plots of public property in 62 provinces,
valued at a total $2 billion. Following approval by the
Supreme Privatization Board (YK), the privatization
process for the public land began on Thursday. The
264 public properties will be sold within the next two
years. Announcing that they have started preliminary
studies for the privatization, acting Privatization Ad-
ministration (B) Chairman Ahmet Aksu said they
expected a large percentage of the privatization to be
nalized before the end of this year.
The B has put together a team to follow the
privatization. The team is rst expected to meet with
the representatives of local administrations to discuss
the privatization plans. According to the YK, the
Finance Ministry will be the sole entity authorized
to carry out and nalize the sale of land during the
stipulated time period. Among the public properties
projected to be up for privatization are plots of land
in stanbuls Tuzla, Kkekmece and Bahelievler
districts. Some of these areas are currently in use as
public recreational areas. Prime Minister Recep Tayy-
ip Erdoan presides over the YK, which also in-
cludes Finance Minister Mehmet imek, Economy
Minister Ali Babacan, Transportation Minister Binali
Yldrm and State Minister Cevdet Ylmaz.
The government expects to use the money
from land privatization on projects to increase
employment in Turkey. The Finance Ministry,
which had earlier introduced an ofcial campaign
to make better use of national property during the
year 2010, has recently accelerated the privatiza-
tion of public land. Ercan Baysal Ankara
Formula Ones commercial rights
holder, Bernie Ecclestone, who won
all operating rights for stanbul Park
for seven years in 2004 and who had guaran-
teed to hold Formula One races there during
this period, wants to double the annual rent of
the race track, threatening to stop organizing
the races in stanbul otherwise.
The current contract outlines rent of $13.5
million annually through 2011.
Todays Zaman has learned that Ecclestone
spoke with State Minister for Sports Faruk Naz
zak and Finance Minister Mehmet imek
last Saturday, during the stanbul Grand Prix.
Ecclestone stayed rm on his demand for
$26 million per year and said: I leave it up
to you. India and Arab countries are all ready
to take your place. zaks response was to
say: This is stanbul, one of the worlds most
beautiful places. So is this racecourse.
Youth and Sports Director (GSGM) Yu-
nus Akgl, who was present at the meeting,
said Ecclestone was adamant in his demand.
After these talks, both sides understand the
positions of all involved, and the process
will be concluded within two months, Akgl
noted to Todays Zaman. Turkey is de-
nitely fond of hosting these races, and all this
haggling is taking place for this. However,
paying $26 million for this organization every
year is a big burden. The gure is very high.
Weve approached the deal from a different
angle. Our last offer was that he relinquish
the operating rights to stanbul Park, and we
guaranteed that the track would be reserved
for the organization for three weeks before
and during the races. In return, we wanted
him to come up with a new offer, Akgl
said. He admitted that if Ecclestone insists on
a high annual fee for the races, Turkey would
have to end its Formula One adventure.
GSGM has ofcially asked the stanbul
Chamber of Trade (TO), the owner of
stanbul Park, for permission to take over the
operating rights of the course, he stated.
The stanbul Park course is idle for al-
most the entire year, except for a few small-
scale events, and has been ever since it was
constructed, Akgl noted, because the oper-
ating company asked for extremely high fees
for use of the course. If GSGM undertakes
the operation of the course, it will open it up
for events by the automobile and motorcycle
federations, along with a number of auto
races including the MotoGP.
stanbul Parks groundbreaking cer-
emony was held in 2002 by Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoan. Construction was
completed in two years with a total cost of
over $260 million. It was leased to Eccle-
stone for a fee of $3 million per year.
F1 boss wants $26 mln for
stanbul lap or no deal
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Tourism minister Erturul Gnay addresses crowd in An-
kara. Gnay said a decline in number of Israeli tourists
to Turkey will not have a negative impact on tourism
A sharp drop in the price of food was the ma-
jor factor behind the May return to the one-
digit mark in annual inflation, CB has said.
MEMDUH TALICALI lSTANB|
Bernie Ecclestone
Aviewof stanbul ParkwhichhashostedFormulaOneracessince2004. TheFormulaOnecommercial rightsholder BernieEcclestonedemands$26millionof annu-
al rent for the race track, threatening to stop organizing the races in stanbul otherwise. Ecclestone met with ministers zak and imek on this issue last Saturday.
SMAL ALTUNSOY ANKAPA
TL /
TL / $
US$/JP
EU/JP
EU/US$
92,42
112,81
1,2204
Light C. Oil
Gold
Copper
74,81
1219,75
297,85
Native Native Foreign Foreign
Number of Shares M.cap Number of Shares M.cap
8,8
29,0
9.7
54.2
47.54
34.83
52.46
65.17
Close
Price ($) Way Change (%) High Low
Daily
Change (%)
Monthly
Change (%)
Yearly
Change (%)
TurkDEX
US$/JP
EU/JP
Close
Daily
Change (%)
Monthly
Change (%)
Yearly
Change (%)
YTD
Change (%)
1-Y
Av.Volum
MCAP
(millionTL)
Country Change
(%)
Level
PEGYO 0,66 4,76%
TUPRS 30,75 4,24%
ENKAI 5,55 3,74%
ASYAB 3,54 3,51%
EGGUB 74,00 3,50%
Daily Change (%) Price (TL) Ticker
ISAMB 1,86 -7,46%
GRUND 0,52 -7,14%
FENER 48,00 -4,00%
GARAN 6,65 -2,92%
NTHOL 1,00 -2,91%
Daily Change (%) Yearly Change (%) Price Price (TL) Ticker
GARAN 314,7 6,7 5,85
ISCTR 223,6 4,9 17,24
DOHOL 118,8 1,1 8,74
FENER 76,6 48,0 0,52
ISAMB 65,9 1,9 -25,30
Ticker
P/E: Share price divided by earnings per share is a measure of the price paid for a share relative to the
income or profit earned by the firm per share.
EV/EBITDA: Enterprise value divided by earnings before interest, tax and amortization; t stands for
trailer and means the data over the last four quarters.
(*) Yesterday's closing(**) Updated at 6 p.m. by GMT+2
Disclaimer: The information in this report has been prepared by BMD, BizimSecurities fromsources believed
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investment actions are not within the scope of investment consultancy. Therefore investment decisions
based only on the information covered herein may not bring expected results.
Mcap TL
P/E 2006/12
P/E 2007/06t
P/E 2007/09t
EV/EBITDA 2006/12*
EV/EBITDA 2007/03t*
EV/EBITDA 2007/06t*
MKB100 MKB30 MKBIND RETAILER BIMAS CARFA BOYNR KIPA
1,62 19.786,7
3,24 9.914,2
1,44 3.552,0
1,20 6.052,8
-0,23 5.151,3
2,25 10.249,5
2,43 1.879,6
2,58 1.098,4
-0,16 62.942,9
Hang Seng H.Kong
Nikkei 225 Japan
Cac 40 France
DAX Germany
FTSE 100 UK
Dow USA
NASDAQ USA
S&P USA
BOVESPA Brasil
MKB-100
MKB-30
MKB-IND
MKB-BANK
DJIMT
55.407 0,4% 1,9% 58,6% 4,9% 321.203 1.957
69.462 0,6% 1,9% 57,7% 3,7% 253.793 1.297
40.897 0,3% 2,6% 54,9% 7,9% 91.409 782
127.279 -0,1% 1,7% 69,7% 6,5% 153.756 706
11,00 0,9% 2,8% 32,5% -0,5% - 0,55
55,775 1,97%
1,5875 -0,16%
1,921 -0,1%
1,566 -0,5%
-- -- -- 8.906,3 6.414 1.334 175 984
17,1x 16,2x 14,2x 324,3x 89,1x -98,7x 27,7x -26,4x
12,2x 11,6x 10,8x 401,6x 79,5x -562,2x 10,8x -13,6x
11,7x 11,3x 10,7x 438,6x 70,8x -214,2x 9,1x -11,8x
7,2x 5,7x 8,9x 38,6x 58,5x 16,8x 8,9x 51,0x
8,0x 6,4x 8,8x 40,5x 54,5x 20,2x 8,1x 91,8x
-1,6x 6,2x -0,8x 37,0x 51,6x 20,8x 7,1x 43,9x
1,4% 75,25 73,97
-0,1% 1219,75 1219,75
-2,0% 308,45 297,60
Volumes
No data expected
CALENDAR AT A GLANCE
08 TODAYS ZAMAN BUSINESS
S AT U R D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 0
New US security
strategy hardens
economic resolve
President Barack Obama has deployed a
time-honored US political strategy by cast-
ing his economic goals in terms of national se-
curity, and it may boost his chances of success in
cutting the massive US decit.
Calls for economic renewal and scal discipline
are woven throughout Obamas new National Se-
curity Strategy, released last Thursday, in which he
emphatically states Americas strength in the world is
determined by domestic prosperity.
Echoing President Dwight Eisenhowers charac-
terization of the US interstate highway and federal
education in the 1950s as national security priorities,
Obama links sustaining power abroad to curbing the
budget decit, boosting the economy and reforming
energy policy, education and innovation.
I think this will help (his agenda), particularly
in dealing with the decit problem, said said Law-
rence Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for Ameri-
can Progress, a Washington-based think-tank. He
is laying the foundation for an argument that as part
of our decit reduction I have got to reduce defense
spending and this will make us safer, said Korb,
Obama is pushing lawmakers to act on his pol-
icy agenda and has gathered a bipartisan debt com-
mission to recommend ways to cut the $1.4 trillion
budget decit and be more disciplined in the future.
It is due to render its opinion by Dec. 1. The solu-
tion is likely to incorporate a mixture of spending
cuts and tax increases. The discussion of the need
to make hard choices in general ... and promising to
give citizens all the facts so that they could judge the
costs of ongoing military operations, sounds like
the administration is stockpiling talking points for
cutbacks in the security budget, said Lou Crandall,
chief economist at nancial research rm Wrightson
ICAP in Jersey City, New Jersey. Defense spending,
at $660 billion, accounted for almost 18 percent of
the federal budget in scal year 2010.
Obamas debut declaration of national security
goals, required by law of every president, extends a
bipartisan hand by leaning on Eisenhowers justica-
tion for expanding the federal government by citing
national security. The Republican presidents 1956 law
clearing massive federal spending on statewide high-
ways was called the National Defense Highways Act.
Likewise, federal funding of education was approved
under the National Defense Education Act of 1958.
Channeling Eisenhower
In fact, Obama in December directly invoked
his predecessor during a speech at West Point
outlining a new Afghan strategy which was itself
a coded reference to budget cuts. Im mind-
ful of the words of President Eisenhower, who
-- in discussing our national security -- said,
Each proposal must be weighed in the light of a
broader consideration: the need to maintain bal-
ance in and among national programs, Obama
told the assembled US Corp of Cadets.
Obamas defense document emphasizes soft
power, distinguishing it from the focus on ghting
terrorism and preemptive war laid out in President
George W. Bushs defense strategy after the Sept. 11
attacks on the United States. In contrast, Obamas
vision carries the clear imprint of an administration
governing in the wake of the 2008-2009 global nan-
cial crisis, which forced him to aggressively expand
public spending to restart growth. Obamas $787 bil-
lion emergency stimulus package, together with the
impact of the worst recession in 50 years and the cost
of ghting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has pushed
the US national debt above $12 trillion.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton explicitly
connected decit reduction with national security
in remarks after the Obama strategy was released.
We cannot sustain this level of decit nancing
and debt without losing our inuence, without
being constrained in the tough decisions we have
to make, Clinton said, adding that it was time to
make the national security case about reducing
the decit and getting the debt under control.
Sustaining condence of foreign investors in the
might of worlds only superpower is also vital to
nancing its debts. Foreign creditors hold $3.9 tril-
lion of US government debt, led by Chinas $895
billion stake, which potentially saps US leverage
over a powerful rival with whom it could clash.
This is particularly true of Taiwan, where China
claims sovereignty and which the United States has
pledged to defend. It affects the whole image of the
United States and of US power around the world if
the US is heading toward becoming an economic
basket case, said Reginald Dale, senior fellow at
the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a
Washington think-tank. Washington Reuters
Doubts over global economy resurface as G20 gathers
Leading policymakers expressed concern on Fri-
day about the health of the world economy even
as they closed ranks behind the euro zones efforts to
tackle a debt crisis that has rattled global markets.
Speaking before two days of talks bringing to-
gether the worlds top 20 developed and emerging
economies, South African Planning Minister Trevor
Manuel said he could not think of a more challenging
time than the present for the Group of 20.
The meeting of G20 nance ministers and
central bank governors was an opportunity to take
decisions to banish the specter of a double-dip re-
cession, Manuel said. Its important that we all
understand just how fragile the recovery is, he
told reporters in this southern port city.
As well as a 110 billion euro bailout for Greece, the
16-member euro zone is slinging a nancial safety net
under other heavily indebted countries that use the
single currency. Together with money from the IMF,
the support could total 750 billion euros ($910 billion).
Investors rst responded enthusiastically to the
rescue package, but the euro has since slumped on
concern that about the ability not only of Greece, but
also countries such as Portugal and Spain, to plug
holes in their budgets. First, I dont think the Greece
problem is over yet. We are not out of the woods,
Youssef Boutros-Ghali, Egypts nance minister, told
Reuters. Second, I dont think they got off lightly.
The measures they have been required to implement
are fairly tough. And there are in some areas doubts
whether they are able to continue implementing such
tough measures, Boutros-Ghali, who also heads the
IMFs policy-steering committee, said.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the
G20 shared a commitment on the need for common
standards across global nancial markets that will
constrain some of the risk-taking that helped fuel the
2007/08 nancial crisis, the worst since the 1930s.
Fierce opposition from Canada, among others,
has torpedoed the idea of a global bank levy to pay
for any future bailout. Rich-country taxpayers had
to fork out trillions of billions of dollars to rescue
banks felled by the crisis. Instead, nance ministers
will work on a menu of options for their political
leaders to endorse at a summit in Toronto at the
end of the month with a view to making more spe-
cic commitments at a follow-up summit in Seoul
in November. Different countries banking sectors
are in different situations. So there wont be a a
one-size-ts-all policy, Sakong Il, chairman of the
presidential committee for the G20, told reporters.
G20 governments, with the support of the IMF,
would assess the spillover effects of each members
proposed policies, Sakong said. He acknowledged
that this could make big global banks shift some of
their business to take advantage of less onerous rules,
a concern also expressed by Geithner. Risk doesnt
respect national boundaries. Its going to move to
where the constraints are weakest, Geithner told
CNBC. stanbul, S.Korea Todays Zaman with Reuters
BP made promising strides in its latest bid
to capture some of the oil spewing from
its ruptured deep-sea well in the Gulf of
Mexico, while President Barack Obama called off an
overseas trip and prepared for another visit on Fri-
day to the spill-stricken US Gulf Coast.
After failing days ago to plug the well, BP Plc
managed on Thursday to shear away the gushing
well pipe a mile (1.6 km) below the ocean surface,
then lowered a containment cap over the jagged
hole left atop the crippled wellhead assembly in its
latest bid to curtail the oil ow. The placement of the
cylindrical apparatus was conrmed by the US disas-
ter response chief, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen,
in a statement describing the move as a positive de-
velopment but only a temporary and partial x.
It will be some time before we can conrm that
this method will work and to what extent it will mitigate
the release of oil into the environment, Allen said.
Once the containment cap is rmly in place
over the wellhead, the plan is to start funneling at
least some of the escaping oil and gas into a large
hose that would carry it from the bottom of the
Gulf of Mexico to the surface, where it would be
collected in ships and safely removed.
Crude oil has been pouring unchecked into the
Gulf of Mexico at up to 19,000 barrels a day since
an explosion April 20 that demolished a BP-con-
tracted drilling platform off the coast of Louisiana,
killing 11 crewmen and unleashing an environ-
mental disaster of epic proportions. There was no
immediate comment on the status of the wellhead
containment operation from BP ofcials.
But BP chief executive Tony Hayward wrote in
a column published on Friday in the Wall Street
Journal that the latest approach should enable us
to contain and collect the majority of the oil and
gas owing from the well. Hayward added that
he expected to have the new containment system
in place in the next few days.
Such was the case with the doomed Deepwater
Horizon exploration rig, which was owned by Trans-
ocean Ltd, while Halliburton Co was working to seal
the well when the blowout occurred.
A live video feed of BPs underwater robots work-
ing at the blowout site showed dark clouds of material
belching from around the containment cap.
With television news footage increasingly lled
with images of toxic black goo lapping into fragile
marshlands and coating sea birds, Obama has come
under growing political pressure to take more deci-
sive action on the crisis.
Obamas trip on Friday to the Gulf Coast, his
third to the region since the rig explosion, will include
discussions with real people, including residents
and business owners affected by the calamity, the
White House said. His attention needs to be here,
said Windsor Semexant, a New Orleans church pas-
tor visiting a BP ofce in Venice, Louisiana to seek
cleanup work for members of his congregation. The
whole world is watching the oil spill.
Louisiana is the state hardest hit so far by oil,
although the spill also has fouled beaches in Mis-
sissippi and Alabama. Government shing restric-
tions across much of the region have idled many
thousands of sherman, shrimpers and other sea-
food workers. Tourism also has suffered.
Birds coated in oil
In a vivid sign of the spills impact on wildlife, oil driven
ashore on Thursday by strong winds tarred an island
nesting site for brown pelicans in Louisianas seafood-
rich but ecologically fragile Barataria Bay. Wildlife ofcials
said 60 birds at the Queen Bess Island Pelican Rookery,
including 41 pelicans, were found coated in oil before
they were captured and taken to a rehabilitation center.
The brown pelican, Louisianas state bird, was re-
moved from the federal endangered species list last
year. A bird that feeds by plunge-diving for sh in the
open surf, the brown pelican has been among the hard-
est hit birds in the Gulf. Government forecasters said
part of the far-ung oil sheen had crept within 6 miles
of Floridas Gulf Coast panhandle and was expected to
reach the white, sandy shore there in days.
The US National Center for Atmospheric Research
projected that the oil slick would be driven by wind and
currents around the Florida peninsula by early summer
and up the East Coast, possibly as far as North Carolina.
Two US lawmakers have called on BP to suspend
shareholder dividends until the full costs of the oil spill
cleanup are calculated. London-based investment bank
Evolution Securities said in a research note: We believe
BP will bow to political pressure in the US and suspend
dividend payments for the remainder of 2010.
Ratings agencies Moodys and Fitch Ratings
downgraded BPs credit ratings on Thursday and said
they might cut them further on rising concerns over
clean-up and legal costs. Fitch said clean-up costs
alone could exceed its worst-case scenario of around
$5 billion in any one year. Venice Reuters
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BP puts contanment cap on
gushng Gulf well ppe
Barack Obama
A view of the beach covered in oil on the south part of East Bay. BPs recent efforts to shear
away the gushing well pipe a mile (1.6 km) below the ocean surface were welcomed by the US.
CINEMA
SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2010
TODAYS ZAMAN09
Handyman and ex-con Arkin aims to re-
pay a debt to his ex-wife by robbing his
new employers country home. Unfor-
tunately for Arkin, a far worse enemy
has already laid claim to the property
-- and the family. As the seconds tick
down to midnight, Arkin becomes a re-
luctant hero trapped by a masked Col-
lector in a maze of lethal invention --
the Spanish Inquisition as imagined by
Rube Goldberg -- while trying to rescue
the very family he came to rob.
Directed by: Marcus Dunstan
Genre: horror
Cast: Josh Stewart, Michael Reilly Burke,
Andrea Roth, Juan Fernandez, Karley Scott
Collins, Madeline Zima, Robert Wisdom
THE COLLECTOR
A TV reality showtitled Ev (The House), aired
live, is interrupted when a gun wielding man
intrudes on the set and takes the contestants
hostage. His aimis to change the rules of the
show: thewinner of thecontest inthefinalewill
kill thecontestant whoms/hewantstovoteoff
and this will be aired live on TV.
Directed by: Alper zyurtlu, Caner zyurtlu
Genre: thriller
Cast: Deniz Celilolu, Kerem Atabeyolu,
Alpay Atalan, Ece emiolu
EV (THE HOUSE)
Elias (Ricardo Scamarcio), a young man
from a country on the Mediterranean co-
ast, is among a group of illegal immig-
rants hidden inside a boat en route to
Europe. When immigration authorities
stage an inspection, Elias jumps ship
along with a number of other immig-
rants, only to end up on the clothes-
optional beach of a luxury resort on the
southern coast of France. Elias is hun-
ted by immigration police and must avo-
id them if he wants to survive in a place
where he cant speak the local langua-
ge. Luckily, he is presumed to be a la-
borer by the few guests who notice him
in the resort. Then he meets a traveling
magician who gives Elias a job as a tem-
porary assistant and invites him to visit
him in Paris. When the magician leaves
the resort, Elias decides to make his
way to the fabled city, which is the be-
ginning of a long journey across Europe.
Directed by: Costa Gavras
Genre: drama
Cast: Riccardo Scamarcio, Odysseas Papas-
piliopoulos, La Wiazemsky, Tess Spentzos
EDEN A LOUEST
(EDEN S WEST)
In the 1960s, Richard OBarry was the
worlds leading authority on dolphin tra-
ining, working on the set of the popular
television program Flipper. Day in and day
out, OBarry kept the dolphins working
and television audiences smiling. But one
day, that all came to a tragic end. This is
the amazing true story of how Psihoyos,
OBarry and an elite team of activists,
filmmakers and freedivers embarked on
a covert mission to penetrate a hidden
cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and
deadly secret. The mysteries they unco-
vered were only the tip of the iceberg.
Directed by: Louie Psihoyos
Genre: documentary
Cast: Richard OBarry, Simon Hutchins,
Mandy-Rae Cruickshank, Kirk Krack, David
Rastovich, Scott Baker, Charles Hambleton
THE COVE
Adapted from Muriel Barberys
bestselling novel, French director
Mona Achaches debut feature Le
Hrisson (The Hedgehog) is an insightful
tale of unconventional friendship involving
three very different people, all living in the
same Parisian apartment block. Though the
lm has an inclination to try to say too much
about life in its limited timeframe (expected
from rst-time directors), it still manages to
maintain a touching thread of compassion
and social critique throughout.
Paloma (Garance Le Guillermic) is a
rather eccentric but extremely intelligent
11-year-old. In the rst scene, we watch her
lming herself with her fathers old Hi-8
camera, declaring that she will commit su-
icide on her 12th birthday. Now, of course,
such a statement is more of a resentful re-
volt against her surroundings rather than an
absolute decision. Paloma, who is
extremely percep-
tive and erudite compared to your regular
11-year-old, sees through her familys pre-
tensions and is quite upset with the adult
worlds hypocrisy. This typically Parisian
bourgeois family (all our stereotypes are ful-
lled) is composed of a father too busy with
work to notice his family, a neurotic mother
whos obsessed with shopping and swallo-
wing antidepressants and an older
sister whose adolescent pretense
transforms into a hiatus of sel-
sh prissiness. Who can re-
ally blame Paloma for year-
ning for an exit from a family
who doesnt really see her
and thus takes comfort in ca-
tegorizing her as just an oddball?
Palomas adventures with her new ca-
mera take on an interesting shift when she
adventures outside the connes of her at
to lm those of her apartment building.
Theres Rene (Jo-
siane Balasko), the
middle-aged conci-
erge who happens
to be more than
she seems. Worn
out and bitter,
Renes cha-
racter takes the
lms title, as
she is, in fact,
very much rened and ele-
gant under her shell -- she
keeps a massive library in
her small abode. And then
there is the new neighbor,
the charismatic Mr. Ozu
(Togo Igawa), a retired and rich
businessman whose optimist Zen
outlook on life not only pulls Paloma out of
her self-imposed suffering but also nds
a way through to Rene.
Rene and Ozus mutual love
of literature and philosophy slowly
blossoms into an unlikely friendship
and perhaps even a romance. The
lms most signicant sequences are
the small but weighty conversations that
these two have. The compassionate look in
Ozus eyes reects brilliantly on Rene, who,
beneath her spiky exterior, is a fragile and lo-
ving woman. Of course nothing is easy at rst,
as Rene is suffocated by the fact of their dif-
ferent socioeconomic statuses. It is understan-
dable; to all the other tenants in the block, she
is invisible, just a janitor. Thus, here comes the
beauty of this lm as we watch the three main
characters rise above -- in the most lovingly
comical way -- the customs set by contempo-
rary urban society and tentatively reach a po-
int of truthful human relationships.
The question remains whether Paloma
will at the end kill herself or not -- her overtly
intellectual and dead-serious nature
will be challenged with the genuine
rapport between the three characters.
Perhaps she nally learns to see the
light in other people and allow others
to see it in her. Surely, life is always
more complex and present, despite our
notions, and the surprising nale (though a
bit too sudden) will push the tough little girl
to grow up and understand the value of life.
Yes, it is a clich -- but then again it is true,
and such an endnote works for this exquisite
lm, which will likely cause a ow of well-
earned tears in the audience.
It must be mentioned that Josiane Balaskos
performance is a good reminder of true screen
acting. Her mimicry and that discreet twinkle
in her eyes, mixed with wisdom and stoicism,
are the right ingredients that lure the viewer
into sympathizing with her. She creates one of
those rare situations where you would just like
to be her companion in real life.
Movies like Le Hrisson, with their
subtle buildup of emotions and realistic app-
reciation for life with its trials and tribulati-
ons -- and most importantly, the notion that
loving someone precedes the value of being
loved -- are rare gems in an environment
where brainless lms monopolize the inter-
national market at an exponential rate. So-
metimes its the smallest things that resonate
in the grand scheme of events.
EMNE YILDIRIM lSTANB|
The Hedgehog reveals
the beauty under the spikes
Singapore film festival aims to be Asias Cannes
Singapore hopes to become the Cannes
of Asia in 2011 when it stages the Scre-
enSingapore lm festival, which will premiere
Asian lms and previews of US blockbusters
and hopefully attract Hollywoods A-list.
Scheduled for June, organizers say it is ideally
placed between the Cannes lm festival in France
and the big Hollywood summer lm season.
Asia is going to be the primary source of
growth in the lm and entertainment business
in the years to come as the focus of the industry
shifts from the mature American market to
areas outside of the United States, said Greg
Coote, chairman of ScreenSingapore.
Major studios have been looking to Asia for
opportunities to expand in this young and exci-
ting market, said Coote. As a gateway providing
an ideal springboard to the region, Singapores
strong infrastructure and lead, in fast establishing
itself as a hub for digital distribution, make it well-
placed to hold this signicant event, he said.
ScreenSingapore will run for seven nights
and will also aim to serve as a platform for lm-
makers and businesses to buy and sell content,
ideas and technology.
We hope to promote greater collaboration bet-
ween the East and the West. For example, link the
lmmakers to the media nanciers, so as to create
more Asian media and Asian content for the worlds
consumption, Cassandra Tay, director of commu-
nications at Singapores Media Development Aut-
hority, told local media. Singapore Reuters
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Crmes, les and
blunders: attackng
the Freedom Flotlla
There exists a strong international consensus
that the Israeli attack on the humanitarian pe-
ace convoy was a agrant violation of interna-
tional law amounting to a crime against hu-
manity. The attack on the Mavi Marmara and
other vessels forming the Freedom Flotilla
took place in international waters where fre-
edom of the seas confers an unrestricted right
of navigation. The Israeli use of force against
unarmed ships carrying humanitarian supp-
lies to the people of Gaza was unlawful in its
essence, and, as well, grossly disproportiona-
te and excessive. It was in a context in which
these ships were carrying 10,000 tons of food,
medical equipment and building materials to
bring a small measure of relief to the 1.5 mil-
lion Gazans who have been enduring an un-
lawful and harsh blockade since mid-2007,
causing increasing hardships to the entire ci-
vilian population. The blockade is a brazen
instance of collective punishment imposed
on the people of Gaza, evidently in vindictive
response to the vote of January 2006 that bro-
ught Hamas an unexpected victory in a free
and fair election. From a legal perspective the
blockade was a criminally unlawful Israeli po-
licy that violated the unconditional prohibiti-
on against collective punishment contained in
Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The peace convoy was intended to bring
Gazans needed goods and materials, as well as
to show international solidarity on the part of
these 700 or so idealistic activists drawn from
50 countries who volunteered for the journey,
never realizing that they were risking their li-
ves. That some of these activists are dead, wo-
unded or lying beaten in Israeli jails is tragic,
and at the same time highlights the unwilling-
ness of the political leadership in Tel Aviv to
abide by either international law or elemen-
tal morality. This unwillingness was reinforced
by the cruel Israeli refusal after the incident to
inform families and diplomatic representatives
of the names of the casualties. Israel isolated
those detained, deprived them of all evidence
of what had take place, while its ofcials oo-
ded the media with a distorted version of the
events, completely silencing the more authen-
tic narratives of the victims of Israeli Defense
Forces (IDF) violence. It was a cynical case of
managing news by disseminating ridiculous
distortions as if facts, such as the absurd cla-
im that the heavily armed attackers were the
ones acting in self-defense. The UN Security
Council in its presidential statement of May 31
unanimously condemned the attack and cal-
led for an impartial investigation; most impor-
tantly, all members of the council except the
United States demanded an end to the bloc-
kade. Only time will tell whether there is eno-
ugh muscle behind the demand to achieve the
humanitarian outcome that was the objective
of the peace convoy and is the uncompromi-
sing demand of world public opinion.
This condemnation of the Israeli attack and
its handling of the aftermath is the easy part of
an assessment. What is more difcult to gu-
re out is why the Israeli leadership decided to
confront this widely publicized humanitarian
mission with such crude violence when it could
have easily upheld its blockade without provo-
king such a restorm of protest and opposition.
Israel could have waited until the convoy was
closer to shore and then escorted or accompa-
nied the ships to either an Israeli or Gazan port,
dealing with the activists humanely in the pro-
cess. Instead, it deliberately attacked and boar-
ded the lead ship, the Mavi Marmara, ying the
Turkish ag. From start to nish Israel acted as
its own worst enemy, with a bewildering reck-
less disregard of its own national interests. Why
would Israel want to provoke outrage in Tur-
key, the one important country in the region
with whom it had a long record of strong coo-
peration and friendship? Similarly, why would
Israel act in such a manner as to make it exce-
edingly awkward for the United States and EU
countries to step forward in their usual manner
as protectors of Israel in the face of widespread
international hostility, especially among Islamic
countries? And beyond this, why would Israel
hand the Palestinians such a major public rela-
tions victory in the struggle for the high moral
ground in the unresolved political conict bet-
ween these two long suffering peoples?
These questions have no obvious ans-
wer. The widely admired Israeli journalist Ami-
ra Hass argued that the incident demonstrated
that the Israeli political leadership had shown
that it has lost its common sense, which me-
ans that its grasp of political reality is so shaky
that it inexplicably acts against its own best in-
terests. This is a frightening interpretation as it
suggests a disposition to act both recklessly and
unlawfully, conrming Israel as an exceedingly
dangerous loose cannon with respect to the
entire Middle East, which could drift at any po-
int into a devastating regional war. It gives an
added darkness to Israels militarist posturing
with respect to Iran. Other explanations invol-
ve seeking to convey to the Palestinians and ot-
her potential adversaries that Israeli behavior
will never be shaped by respect for internatio-
nal law or the authority of the UN and that any
external criticism will be ignored and its sour-
ce vengefully attacked. The fury vented toward
Richard Goldstone after he submitted a sober
fact-nding report critical of Israels behavior
during its three-week one-sided mass attack
(so-called Operation Cast Lead) on a defense-
less Gaza between Dec. 27, 2008 and Jan. 18,
2009 in important ways pregured the excessi-
veness of the Mavi Marmara attack.
There are no present indications that Israel
will pay a heavy geopolitical price for its heavy-
handed crimes. Clearly Tel Aviv can live, has
long lived, with a slap on the wrist by the UN
and most of the nations in the world. Its main
protector, the United States, has already fallen
into line, refusing to condemn Israels behavi-
or just as it stood by Israel, thereby abandoning
its alleged support for the rule of law, by deno-
uncing the Goldstone Report. In this respect,
none of the outrage arising from the attack on
the peace convoy will deprive Israel of the im-
punity it has enjoyed when it engages in be-
havior that violates international criminal law.
Perhaps, the most signicant long-lasting in-
ternational effect will be to strain relations with
Turkey for the foreseeable future, and this will
certainly alter the regional balance.
More important so far as the Palestinians
are concerned is what happens at the grassro-
ots level throughout the world. It has been ap-
parent for some time that the Palestinians and
their supporters had turned away from armed
resistance to the Israeli occupation and were
relying on a variety of soft power instruments to
pursue their primary goal of self-determination
and an end to occupation. Arguably since the
Lebanon War of 2006, and certainly since Ope-
ration Cast Lead in 2008-09, the Israelis were
losing the legitimacy war to the Palestinians.
This legitimacy war is waged on a global battle-
eld and features the campaign of boycott, di-
vestment and sanctions (BDS) that is likely to
surge in the wake of the grim experience of the
Freedom Flotilla. We need to remember that it
was a similar anti-apartheid campaign that led
to the collapse of the racist regime in South Af-
rica in the early 1990s. This line of thinking was
reinforced by the Turkish foreign ministers
statement in the Security Council that a nation
that follows the path of lawlessness and crimi-
nality would lose its legitimacy as a respectab-
le member of the international community. It
is notable that these were the words of Mr. Ah-
met Davutolu that received the most attention
in media commentary around the world.
The ebb and ow of a legitimacy war are
often difcult to discern. Historians have sug-
gested that Britain lost India when its soldiers
massacred Indian civilians at Amritsar in 1919,
although it took almost 30 years of struggle,
Gandhis inspired leadership and the impact
of World War II to achieve independence. Si-
milarly some have insisted that when the So-
uth African police shot unarmed demonstra-
tors in the back at Sharpesville in 1960 they
lost the legitimacy war that eventually led to
the downfall of apartheid in 1994. Ironically,
Israeli historical memory must be reminded of
the crude British naval interception of the Exo-
dus carrying Holocaust survivors in 1947 that
sparked the collapse of British colonial admi-
nistration of the Palestine Mandate a year la-
ter. We cannot, of course, tell whether the
Mavi Marmara incident will prove in retros-
pect to be a similar tipping point, which may
take years or even decades to work its way out
in the form of Palestinian liberation and Zio-
nist collapse. What we can discern even now
is that the Palestinians have gained intense
support in many sectors of world public opi-
nion and that this has the potential by way of
a massive soft power mobilization to change
the balance of forces that has for so long kept
the Palestinians in painful captivity. One can
only hope that the lurid bloodshed in the
Mediterranean on the early morning of
May 31 will catalyze a massive popu-
lar movement that can nally bring
peace and justice to both peoples in
whatever form they freely choose.
*Richard Falk is a professor eme-
ritus of international law and
practice at Princeton University.
TODAYS ZAMAN WORLD
S AT U R D AY, JUNE 5, 2010
10
The Obama administration has signicantly expanded the
deployment of US military Special Operations forces aro-
und the world against al-Qaeda and other groups, the Washing-
ton Post reported on Friday. US Special Operations units are now
deployed in 75 countries, compared with about 60 at the begin-
ning of last year, the newspaper reported, citing senior military
and administration ofcials who were not identied.
President Barack Obama took ofce in January 2009. Plans
exist for pre-emptive or retaliatory strikes in numerous
places, meant to be carried out when a plot has been iden-
tied or after an attack has been linked to a specic group,
the newspaper said. In addition to units that have spent ye-
ars in the Philippines and Colombia, US Special Operations
teams were also operating in Yemen and elsewhere in the
Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, the Post reported.
Such units were deployed as a front-line counterterro-
rism weapon for the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, at-
tacks. But Obama has made these forces a far more integrated
part of his global security strategy, the Post reported. Obama has
asked Congress for a 5.7 percent increase in the Special Opera-
tions budget for scal year 2011, for a total of $6.3 billion. Speci-
al Operations commanders have also become a far more regu-
lar presence at the White House than they were during the Bush
administration, the Post reported. We have a lot more access,
one military ofcial was quoting as saying. They are talking
publicly much less but they are acting more. They are willing
to get aggressive much more quickly. A Pentagon spokesman
was not immediately available to comment. US ofcials said last
month that a senior US military commander, Gen. David Petra-
eus, issued a secret order last year paving the way for an escalati-
on of covert operations across the Middle East and the Horn Af-
rica. Petraeus heads the US militarys Central Command, which
oversees American military operations in that region. The order
authorized US Special Operations units to work with local secu-
rity forces to counter al-Qaeda and other threats, ofcials said.
Trip to Indonesia, Australia shelved
Meanwhile Obama, grappling with the worst oil spill in the
nations history, has abruptly scrapped a trip to Indonesia and
Australia for the second time this year. The president informed
the leaders of both countries of the news in phone calls Thurs-
day night, offering his deep regret and pledging to reschedule
soon, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs announced in
a statement just after midnight. Obama was to depart on a we-
eklong trip to both countries, along with a quick stop in Guam,
on June 13. Asked the reason for the delay, Gibbs told The As-
sociated Press that Obama was staying home to deal with im-
portant issues, one of which is the oil spill. Washington Reuters/AP
US widens Special Operations against al-Qaeda
OPINION
TODAYS ZAMAN
Richard Falk
At least 114 people were killed in a re
that razed a crowded, centuries-old
Dhaka neighborhood overnight as res-
cue workers scrambled on Friday to pull bodies,
many charred beyond recognition, from smoul-
dering debris. The blaze, which broke out abo-
ut 10.30 p.m., was the worst to sweep through
the Bangladeshi capital in almost four decades.
The conrmed death toll from the re is
now 114 and may rise, Muhibul Haque, dist-
rict commissioner of Dhaka, told Reuters. He
said more than 40 people were being treated for
burns in hospital, with 12 in critical condition.
Fuelling the ames, which some witnesses said
rose up to six-storys high, were chemicals from
illegal, home-based factories in the Kayettuli ne-
ighborhood, one of the most densely populated
in Dhaka and in the heart of the city.
It seemed like hell broke loose, said a wa-
iling woman, looking for her daughter and son
in what remained of the area, home to seve-
ral multi-story blocks and tin-roofed dwellings.
Some had been turned into chemical factori-
es despite a law banning their presence in re-
sidential areas. Burning chemicals from stores
within or beside the living quarters spewed on
the streets like lava from a volcano. There was
hardly any safe place to step out, added one
survivor. Television channels put the death toll
at up to 150, including a dozen people who died
in hospital. The countrys police chief, Nur Mo-
hammad, said it was difcult to give an exact
casualty toll until search and rescue operations
were nished, likely on Friday afternoon.
Some families lost up to eight members,
witnesses said, and many residents were trap-
ped trying to rush out of buildings. Flames le-
apt up to the sixth oor of buildings. It was a
huge inferno, said a Reuters witness. The bla-
ze, believed to have been caused by an explosi-
on at a electrical transformer, was the worst in
the capital since 1971, the re brigade said.
I never have had such a harrowing ex-
perience in my 40 years here, said a doctor
at the burns unit of the Dhaka Medical Col-
lege Hospital, as patients crammed the cor-
ridors and sobbing relatives searched for lo-
ved ones. Hospitals, strained by the high ca-
sualty toll, began handing back corpses to re-
latives able to identify them. Some of the bo-
dies lying in the morgue are charred beyond
identication, one police ofcer said.
Fireghters said narrow streets and the
density of the buildings hampered access and
the chemicals in the area helped the re spre-
ad quickly. The government has ordered an in-
vestigation to determine the exact cause of the
re. Jahangir Kabir Nanak, State Minister for lo-
cal government, said the lack of proper re es-
capes in many buildings contributed to the high
death toll. We should have better planned ho-
mes and wider roads to save lives, he said.
The government declared Saturday a day
of mourning and said it would pay 20,000
taka ($290) towards the cost of each buri-
al. I have no words to console them, said
Home Minister Sahara Khatun while visiting
the hospital late on Thursday. Dhaka Reuters
Bangladesh blaze kills 114,
death toll set to rise
Pipon (2nd L) and his sister Kakoli (L) mourn for the loss of six members
in their family after their house was burned down by a fire in Old Dhaka.
Shopkeeperstry tocontrol thefireset onabusduringaprotest todemand
an end to emergency rule near the Dhaka University campus in Dhaka.
Aviewof the damaged buildings in Old Dhaka on
Friday after afirerazedacrowdedneighborhood.
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Barack Obama
11 TODAYS ZAMAN WORLD
S AT U R D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 0
Japanese rulng party
pcks Naoto Kan for
PM before electons
P
H
O
T
O


A
P
The United States might be trying to disentangle itself from
Iraq, but there is no shortage of contenders to take its place.
A battle between Iraqs neighbors for inuence in Bagh-
dad is being played out between Iraqs Sunnis, Shiites and
Kurds, complicating efforts to stitch together a government
three months after an inconclusive parliamentary election.
Failure to reconcile their rival interests could yet
delay the government for months to come, further
testing stability as all but 50,000 US troops withdraw
over the hot Iraqi summer.
The train leading to the formation of an Iraqi govern-
ment will depart from Saudi Arabia, passing through Iran,
Turkey and Syria, before reaching Baghdad, an Iraqi politi-
cal analyst said on condition of anonymity.
The United States is not alone, he said.
The March 7 vote was narrowly won by the cross-
sectarian Iraqiya alliance, led by former Prime Min-
ister Iyad Allawi and heavily backed by Iraqs once-
dominant Sunni minority.
But Iraqiya polled too few votes to form a government
on its own, and now the race is on to secure a governing
majority in the new 325-seat parliament after the Supreme
Court on Tuesday certied the results.
All sides say there is room for all in the next govern-
ment, but key is who leads it and takes the powerful
post of prime minister.
Washington says it wants a government that respects
the will of the voters, hoping for a broad coalition reecting
Iraqiyas victory and aiding stability as the US military cuts
troop numbers from just under 90,000 to 50,000 by Sept. 1.
But Iran has other ideas.
Improved security
Mainly Shiite Iran is backing a Shiite-led government of
Prime Ministers Nouri al-Malikis second-placed State
of Law and the third-placed Iraqi National Alliance of
anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The two announced an alliance in principle on May 4.
But analysts say Iran is lukewarm on the prospect of Maliki
staying on as prime minister, fuelling a dispute between the
two blocs over who should head the government.
Tehran faces competition from Saudi Arabia, which
sees itself as the bastion of Sunni Islam and is alarmed at ris-
ing Iranian inuence and the dominance of Iraqs previously
disempowered Shiite majority since the 2003 US invasion.
Saudi Arabia is backing Iraqiya and Allawi.
Gala Riani of IHS Global Insight said the deadlock in
Iraq was the result of political immaturity, weak rules and
the salience of ethno-national and sectarian identities.
Certainly Iraqs neighbours have all in one way or
another exacerbated these divides by playing on them and
using them to their advantage to ensure that the balance of
power in Iraq does not tip against them, Riani told Reuters.
Having a friendly government in Baghdad is ...
seen as critical to their sense of security and to some
degree even stability.
Overall violence in Iraq has dropped sharply from the
all-out sectarian war of 2006/07, but the situation is fragile,
and a spike in civilian casualties over the past two months
suggests insurgents are trying exploit the power vacuum.
Allawi has warned Iraq risks greater sectarian bloodshed
if Sunni-backed Iraqiya does not lead the next government,
which will likely preside over the lucrative revival of Iraqs
stagnant oil industry on the back of multibillion-dollar deals.
Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal is reported to have accused
Maliki last month of trying to hijack the election, to deny
the Iraqi people their legitimately elected government.
Maliki, who has often accused unnamed Gulf Arab
countries of supporting Sunni Islamist insurgents in
Iraq, shot back, saying Prince Turki was behaving as if
he is part of the Iraqi conict.
It was a telling comment.
The Iraqi issue is not purely a domestic Iraqi issue,
said Iraqi analyst Nabeel Yasin. Regional and international
players are active. This has complicated the Iraqi issue and
made it very difcult to predict what might happen.
Kurdish question
US troops are set to leave Iraq by the end of 2011, and ideo-
logical arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran look well placed to
expand the inuence garnered since the 2003 invasion.
But they are not alone.
Syria too, accused by Maliki of harboring Baathist allies
of Saddam Hussein, is keen to keep him out of government.
Turkey is watching closely Kurdish aspirations in
the neighboring, semi-autonomous Kurdistan region
of northern Iraq.
The next Iraqi government will face continued tensions
over the disputedregions adjacent to Kurdistan, including the
oil-richcityof Kirkukthat has longbeencovetedbytheKurds.
Turkey wants a strong government in Baghdad that can
rein in the Kurds. Syria also has a Kurdish minority.
Maliki has criticised efforts to internationalize Iraqi
politics and condemned Allawis warning of bloodshed.
Those who threaten violence and civil war, and call for
foreign interference not only violate national sovereignty
but pave the way for internal battles, for regional and in-
ternational conicts on the Iraqi stage, he said on Tuesday.
Allawi says Iraq became an international issue
with the US invasion, and the world must now guar-
antee Iraqi democracy.
Calling on the international community to full its ob-
ligations in Iraq does not mean we are opening the door to
interference, he told Iraqi television late last month.
Mdeast rvals
ve for nuence
over Iraq govt
OPINION
TODAYS ZAMAN
Waleed Ibrahim
Finance Minister Naoto Kan, a scal conser-
vative with an image as a challenger to the
status quo, was elected as Japans next pre-
mier on Friday, as the ruling party tries to re-
pair its fortunes ahead of a national election.
Kan, 63, will become Japans fth prime
minister in three years, taking the helm as
the country struggles to rein in a huge public
debt, engineer growth in an ageing society,
and manage ties with security ally Washing-
ton and a rising China. The Democratic Party
of Japan picked Kan by an overwhelming ma-
jority to succeed unpopular Prime Minister
Yukio Hatoyama, who quit this week ahead
of an upper house poll expected in July that
the ruling bloc needs to win to avoid policy
deadlock. He was later voted in by parlia-
ments powerful lower house.
With all of you, I would rst would like to
compile rm policies or plans to rebuild Japan
... ahead of the upper house election, Kan
said in his acceptance speech before leaving
the stage and pumping his st in the air.
Kans rise to the top job could spell
bolder steps ahead to rein in a public debt
that is already twice the size of the econ-
omy, although he faces opposition from
many in his party ahead of the election.
Hatoyama, his voter ratings in tatters, re-
signed on Wednesday just eight months af-
ter the Democrats swept to power pledging
to cut waste, wrest control of policy from
bureaucrats, and give consumers more cash
so as to stimulate domestic demand.
His abrupt departure has raised concerns
among investors that the government will delay
efforts to thrash out plans, due out this month,
to cut public debt and craft a growth strategy.
Battling deation
Financial market players generally welcomed
Kan as Japans next leader. His selection im-
proves the ruling blocs prospects at the polls,
though many wondered how much would
change. If Hatoyama had remained the party
would have had a big loss at the election and the
political situation would have been chaotic, said
Hiroyuki Nakai, chief strategist at Tokai Tokyo
Research.
But with Kan in charge now, the sense of
stagnation in politics and the economy is reced-
ing somewhat, even though much will depend
on the makeup of the cabinet. Kan, a former
health minister who got his start in politics as a
grassroots activist, has forged an image as a scal
conservative and occasional central bank critic
since assuming the nance post in January.
He was among the few cabinet ministers to
urge early debate on raising Japans 5 percent
sales tax, a step economists say is vital to fund
the huge social welfare costs of a greying society.
Kan was likely to pick a scal reformer, Deputy
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, as his nance
minister, a move that would be welcome for
bond markets worried about too much debt.
Kan said in a statement that he would work
with the Bank of Japan to beat the deation be-
deviling Japans economy. As nance minister,
Kan has pressured the central bank to do more
in the battle against deation, although for now
the government and BOJ seem to be on the same
page. He also said he would keep Japans policy
to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by
2020 from 1990 levels.
Financial markets will be watching the
new leaders comments on currencies as well.
[Kans] appearance of being in favor of a weaker
yen is being viewed positively by the stock mar-
ket. For the Nikkei to move much over 10,000,
we need currencies to move towards a weaker
yen, said Kenichi Hirano, operating ofcer at
Tachibana Securities.
Unlike many recent premiers, Kan does not
hail from a political dynasty. That could appeal to
voters weary of leaders born with silver spoons
in their mouths who proved inept at governing.
He got his start in politics as a grassroots
student activist, later joining small political par-
ties before helping to found the then-opposition
Democratic Party in 1996. Tokyo Reuters/AP
Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan (2nd right in the background), is surrounded by his supporters before kicking off their rally in
support of his nomination as prime minister on Friday.
Acivil group member takes part in a march against
outgoing Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyamas policy.
RAMPAGE
PM Cameron offers
support after killings
British Prime Minister David Cameron vis-
ited Cumbria on Friday to offer government
support to local communities reeling after a
quiet taxi-driver gunned down 12 people in
Britains worst shooting rampage for years.
Derrick Birds three-hour killing spree on
Wednesday through towns and villages in
one of Britains top tourist spots stunned the
country and has left authorities struggling
to determine his motives. Cameron and
Home Secretary Theresa May visited a hos-
pital where most of the 11 people wounded
in the attacks were treated before meeting
Cumbrias chief constable and other police
ofcers who dealt with the aftermath of the
shootings. Obviously, people here in west
Cumbria have suffered the most appalling
tragedy and it will have a huge impact on
the community, Cameron said after the
meeting. I wanted to come here to show
the government wanted to listen, wanted
to show how much it cares about what has
happened here. He repeated his view that,
while there should be a full debate about
Britains tough gun control laws, there
should not be a knee-jerk response to the
tragedy. Whitehaven, England Reuters
CASE
US concerned about
jailed Kuwaiti blogger
The US State Department has said it had con-
cerns about the case of a Kuwaiti blogger on tri-
al for allegedly insulting Kuwaits head of state
and had raised the matter with the Kuwaiti
government. Separately, the sister of blogger
and journalist Mohammad Abdul-Kader al-
Jassem said the charges against him were po-
litical and called for his release. Al-Jassem, who
faces up to 18 years in prison if convicted ac-
cording to his lawyers, was detained on May 11
after a complaint against him was issued by the
ofce of Kuwaits Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ah-
mad al-Sabah. We are concerned about this
case and have raised our concerns with the
government of Kuwait, US State Depart-
ment spokesman P.J. Crowley told Reuters.
The ability of citizens and journalists of any
country to freely and vigorously discuss, de-
bate and critique the actions of governments
does not threaten national interests, he
added. It ... makes governments better and
more accountable. Washington Reuters
SURVEY
Swedish center right
extends lead in poll
Swedens center-right government extended
its lead over the Social Democrat-led opposi-
tion ahead of a September general election, an
opinion poll showed on Friday.
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldts four-
party coalition government gathered 50.9
percent support in the survey, carried out by
Demoskop in tabloid Expressen, against a
combined 44.3 percent for the Social Demo-
crats, Left and Green parties. Reinfeldts Mod-
erates have now overtaken the Social Demo-
crats as the biggest party, the poll showed. The
center-right had previously trailed the
opposition in all but a handful of polls since
taking power in 2006. The Moderates were
backed by 34.5 percent against 29.9 percent for
the Social Democrats, showed the poll of 1,177
voters, carried out between May 26 and June 2.
Support for the Social Democrats, which ruled
Sweden for most of the post-World War II era,
dropped 3.9 percent from the previous Dem-
oskop poll in early May with the Moderates
rising by the same amount. Stockholm Reuters
Finance Minister Naoto Kan will become Japans fth prime minister in three years,
taking the helm as the country struggles to rein in a huge public debt, engineer growth
in and ageing society, and manage ties with security ally Washington and a rising China
The United States does not see North Korea
preparing any new provocations for an at-
tack on the South but is prepared for a confron-
tation, the top US military commander in the re-
gion said on Friday. A North Korean envoy said in
Geneva on Thursday that war could erupt at any
time on the Korean Peninsula and that the Norths
troops were on full alert and readi-
ness to promptly react to any re-
taliation. Admiral Robert Willard,
head of the US Pacic Command,
said there were no signs North Ko-
rea was preparing a nuclear test or
moving troops towards the South,
a major US ally. Right now were
not seeing indications that North
Korea is intending the next provo-
cation, Willard told reporters in
Singapore on the sidelines of a ma-
jor security conference. The rhetoric from North
Korea is not unusual. But I think everyone in the
region is watching North Korea very closely given
their unpredictability. Willard said the United
States was prepared for a confrontation with the
North despite strains on US forces from wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq. Pacic Command is very
ready. Were prepared for any
contingency in this region, he
said, adding the United States
was working with South Koreas
military in terms of their own
readiness, training and exercise
needs. South Korean President
Lee Myung-bak was to address
the Singapore conference later on
Friday and would urge the world
to respond rmly to the Norths
aggression. Singapore/Seoul Reuters
US commander says Korea war
unlikely but they are prepared
Hundreds of Afghan tribal elders and no-
tables were set to make a formal call for pe-
ace with the Taliban later on Friday, the nal day
of a traditional assembly that they said was a last
chance to end a nine-year war. Afghan President
Hamid Karzai called the peace jirga to win nati-
onal support for a peace plan consisting of offering
an amnesty, cash and job incenti-
ves to Taliban foot soldiers while
arranging asylum for top gures in
a second country. The participants,
chosen to reect Afghan tribes,
politics and geography, had reac-
hed a broad consensus that there
was no alternative to seeking pe-
ace with the Taliban since neither
US-led NATO forces nor the weak
Afghan army could guarantee se-
curity to Afghans, organizers of
the jirga said. Delegates re-assembled under a big
tent and began submitting their recommendati-
ons for peace. Everyone wants peace, but the-
re is slight difference on the mechanism on how
to go ahead and start the process, said Mawlavi
Abdul Majid, an MP from northern Badakhshan
province. Some want no pre-conditions, whi-
le some press for conditions, like
not amending the constitution,
womens rights and democracy,
he said. The Afghan government
is keen that the gains made sin-
ce the overthrow of the Taliban in
terms of civil liberties and womens
rights are not compromised in any
overtures towards them. But the-
re were few signs that the Tali-
ban, which has grown into a po-
werful ghting force. Kabul Reuters
Afghan tribal leaders urge peace
with Taliban to end 9-year war
Robert F. Willard Hamid Karzai
P
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TODAYS ZAMAN EXPAT ZONE 12
S AT U R D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 0
The story A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is considered a prime
example of Hemingways craftsmanship and insight into the
human condition. However, insight into the human condition
is a subject for another day. The title ts my piece for today on
my rst impressions of Turkey.
Have you ever wondered why very few public launderettes
exist in Turkey? Have you noticed how windows are always be-
ing cleaned and shoes polished?
I want to share with you a few of my rst impressions regarding
Turkey, impressions which many newcomers still face today.
When I rst came to Turkey I wondered why there were not
any public launderettes, as hardly anyone had their own wash-
ing machine. Such an item was a luxury item, and the majority of
people were washing their clothes in the bathtub. The other op-
tion was for the individual, if he could afford it, to give his clothes
to the local dry cleaner. No launderettes existed. As I spent time in
the culture, the reason behind this became obvious.
Turks cannot bear to have their washing done in a machine
where other peoples clothes have previously been washed; usu-
ally, until you marry you live at home and your mother looks
after you. In comparison to the West, not many young or un-
married people have their own apartments. If a student goes off
to university and lives in a dorm, a relative or close friend of the
family nearby would assist the student.
This is very different from the average Westerner who leaves
home when they have reached university age and have decided
to stand on their own two feet. Its the whole idea of individual-
ism versus group-orientation.
A couple of years ago a Todays Zaman reader wrote to me
and asked if I could explain why her Turkish in-laws refused to
wash kitchen dish towels with non-color undergarments. She
added, It is all going to be washed with laundry detergent and
the hottest water in the machine!
Another person asked me why her Turkish maid does not see
the importance of using hot water when cleaning her oors. She
added, It seems she thinks water cleans -- even cold water!
Melissa wrote about how frustrated she feels when she goes to
the sports center -- one woman shouted at her for dropping her tow-
el on the oor and another one seems to be the pool policewoman
(really just another member) who takes it upon herself to ask anyone
who is about to enter the pool if they have showered. Melissa says
she nds this aggravating as she always has her morning shower
then gets in her private car and goes straight to the sports center.
Everyone has their own ideas of cleanliness.
I think one of the rst things that I found rather disgust-
ing was the thoughtlessness of individuals who wanted to have
a clean home but did not care about the public domain. Before
moving to Turkey, I never thought that I had to be watchful for
things that may fall from the sky -- I quickly learned that you have
to watch out for those breadcrumbs and such being shaken out
of a tablecloth from someones balcony or window. The rst few
times this happened to me I wondered why I even bothered to
wash my hair in the morning if I had to walk somewhere.
Clean windows are a priority -- not just in the home but in cars
and buses, too. A friend reported his observation of an incident
which had taken place in Kadky at a political rally, when a major
party was parading in front of masses of people with its leaders in
a lavishly decorated coach. This time instead of music blaring from
speakers, a band was marching in front of the bus. While the band
marched on, the bus driver decided to stop and clean the windows.
The culture does have a minor obsession with cleanliness, but
the same sensitivity is not always shown by some to what belongs
to others. Individual apartments may be spotless but the outside of
the building and the corridor a mess.
I am continually surprised by the amount of dust that collects
on shelves. It seems dust here can penetrate into anything in a
house, even when the windows are closed.
Got guests coming? Youd better get busy and clean the windows!
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005. Please
keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to
you, Todays Zamans readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
NOTE: Todays Zaman intends to provide a lively forum for expatriates living in Turkey. We encourage you to contact us at voice@todayszaman.com and share your experiences, questions and problems in all walks of life for publication in Todays Zaman.
A clean, well-lghted place
Even though we try to shelter our children as much as pos-
sible from bad news, it is inevitable that they will be ex-
posed to it at home, on the playground or at school. The
recent attack on the aid otilla has made headlines and
people nd themselves taking sides and arguing about who
provoked the situation and who overreacted. Regardless of
sides taken or theories thrown about, the cold hard fact is
that several people were murdered. At home, my son has
had many questions about the incident, questions that I am
at a loss to explain in terms that a child can understand.
As we watched the news together, like many other
viewers, I tried to piece together the facts from differing
news sources. This has brought up many queries from my
son, who wonders why anyone, or any country, would feel
that it is permissible to attack ships laden with aid supplies.
He knows that killing is wrong, so why, he has asked, does
one side claim it is justied to commit what is to him clearly
murder? Another of his many questions is, how does this in-
cident differ from the pirate attacks on cargo and cruise ships
in other parts of the world? From the news he sees that there
is a great inconsistency between the actions of countries and
the outcry about those actions by the rest of the world. How,
he has asked me, are the actions of one country in our region
different from those of the Somali pirates farther away?
One important lesson that he has learned from
school is that if one student is bullying another student,
the teacher will isolate the offending child from the oth-
ers until they begin to behave better toward their peers.
He has seen that this is a somewhat effective method of
stopping, or at least easing, the incidents of bullying from
some children. Why, he wondered, does the world not
do the same when one country oversteps its bounds. In a
childs mind, the solution is simple enough -- he knows it
works to some extent at school, and therefore, to him, the
same principles should apply in the adult world.
For many young children, the world they grow up in
usually seems to be dened for them in simple, straight-
forward terms. At school and at home, they learn to distin-
guish right from wrong and understand the consequences
of transgressions. It can come as an unpleasant surprise later
on in life when they learn that there are, in fact, many gray
areas that are not so clearly dened. The lessons we learned
in school no longer apply in the complex world in which we
live. Unfortunately, right and wrong end up no longer being
as cut-and-dried as they once were. To a child, as well as
for many adults, this can be confusing as political strategies,
military responses and the actions of the handful of rogue
countries that ignore societal norms come into play.
As I have found, there are no easy answers to my
sons questions about this latest in a series of aggressive
moves by one international player. How do we explain
injustice, prejudice, inequality and violence to children?
Conicting news reports from all sides make it difcult
for parents to nd ways to help their children make
sense of a world where rational thoughts and actions
appear to y out the window. I wonder if there is any
way to make it easy enough for a child to understand
the complexities of foreign policies and the tradeoffs
made in order to stay ahead in the political game.
While I try to shield my son from some news reports, I
feel that he is now at an age where he can begin learning
more about the wider world. Even though we talk about
the news stories, there are still many confusing issues and
topics that we come across that cause me to struggle to
nd explanations that are suitable for a child. I do not
want him to blindly accept what any one person says is
true, and I hope that I am able to help him learn that it is
important to check facts before rushing to a conclusion.
In the same way, I want him to realize that we cannot rel-
egate blame to an entire country, race or religion based on
the actions of a government, individuals or the military.
As we all know, the actions of a government may or may
not reect the attitudes of the general population.
For my part, my son and I will continue to watch the news
together while I try to answer his questions honestly. I will con-
tinue to struggle to nd ways to explain ghastly actions to a child.
Send comments and questions to k.hamilton@todayszaman.com
Explanng
the news
EXPAT PARENT
HAMILTON
KATHY
CULTURAL CORNER
McPHERSON
CHARLOTTE
BEWARE OF THE DRAFT
With warmer weather our
household fan wars began. I
would turn on the fan only
to have my husband turn it
off after I fell asleep. I would
turn it back on, he would
turn it off, no matter how
hot and stuffy our bedroom
was. This had been going
on for the past three years,
since we moved in together.
How did your ancestors
conquer half of Europe and
Asia if they were scared of
drafts and sweating?,
I asked in exasperation
When I picked up my parents from the
airport a few weeks back, I expected them
to look exhausted after the long transat-
lantic ight. Only their second visit to Turkey from
America, the long plane ride was still something
they were unaccustomed to. After we exchanged
excited greetings, my dads expression soured as he
recounted what had happened on their ight from
New York to stanbul. My dad, coming from the
cooler climate of Michigan, sweats and feels hot
in weather that would have someone from Florida
running for their winter coat. Like most Michigan-
ders we keep our house on the cool side, even dur-
ing chilly winters. In the summer, each room has
ceiling fans that are turned on high throughout the
day and night. It was only natural for my dad, in
the stuffy airplane, to have his air vent turned up
to full blast. The Turkish man behind him, without
asking my dad rst, would reach up and turn off his
vent. Angrily, my dad would twist it back on. This
passive-aggressive vent war lasted until my dad
turned around and threatened him. The Turkish
man pretended to be asleep, but left the vent alone
after that. My dad was too angry to sleep. What
had happened? Was this guy a freak, or was there
some kind of cultural misunderstanding?
Luckily for my dad, he wasnt sitting in front
of a lunatic. This unfortunate situation could be
chalked up to just another example of the Turkish
fear of drafts. I am sure that almost every expat
has at one time been in a stuffy, overcrowded bus
or dolmu and reached over to open the window
only to have it slammed shut by someone else. I
wish I could say that it were only the old ladies
and old men that ee from air circulation, but this
phobia aficts young and old alike. My rst few
years in Turkey I drove the citizens of stanbul
crazy by sitting near the window in the dolmu,
holding the window open for dear life. I pretend-
ed not to understand Turkish when asked to close
the window and kept my ngers on the latch in
case anyone should try and close it anyways.
Add sweat to the mix and the two worst fears
of most Turks become apparent. While sitting in a
drafty space alone is bad in their book, sitting in a
drafty place while sweating is the ultimate way to get
sick. In the kindergarten I rst worked for we would
have to change the shirts on all of the children after
each recess break, because the kids had sweated.
I naively thought this was so the school wouldnt
smell, but I later learned how wrong I was. Added to
this, almost all of my Turkish friends -- young and
old, male and female -- wear undershirts, or atlet.
These are to catch or prevent sweat, I am still unsure
of which. My husband, who surprisingly doesnt
wear an atlet, still changes his pajama shirt once or
twice during the night if he sweats. To my Michi-
gan character, this is strange and laughable. I ask
my husband, friends and coworkers why we dont
use fans, air conditioning or fresh air to prevent our-
selves from sweating instead of changing clothes so
frequently. No one will even try this as a solution.
The problem got worse for me while pregnant.
Hormone uctuations and weight gain made me
feel hotter and sweatier than ever, even in the dead
of winter. Even when it snowed, I felt comfortable
only when walking outside in a light sweater. In our
new house I rarely turned the heat on, only realizing
how cold it must be when guests would drop by and
not take off their jackets. When my husband was
home after his training in Antalya was completed,
I reluctantly allowed the heat to be turned on and
suffered until the onset of spring.
With warmer weather our household fan wars
began. I would turn on the fan only to have my
husband turn it off after I fell asleep. I would turn
it back on, he would turn it off, no matter how hot
and stuffy our bedroom was. This had been go-
ing on for the past three years, since we moved in
together. How did your ancestors conquer half of
Europe and Asia if they were scared of drafts and
sweating?, I asked in exasperation. Images of Sley-
man the Magnicent on the Hungarian campaign
wearing an undershirt ashed through my mind.
Was Genghis Khan afraid of drafts as he marched
across the steppes? Where did this fear come from?
stanbul is not that cold of a place. Damp, yes, but
as cold as Michigan, no. I come from German and
Irish stock, so maybe my nonchalance regarding
cold and drafty places is in my blood.
Turks probably think that we Americans are
crazy for drinking ice-cold drinks in the dead of
winter, and a lot of research has proven them
right on this issue. There are lots of other things
that they probably laugh at as well when living
as expats in America. Its funny these little things
that amuse or irritate us expats. For my dad, hav-
ing his vent turned off by the man sitting behind
him really irked him, even when I explained the
man probably did it thinking he was preventing
my dad from getting sick. Even our cats, both
born here in Turkey, dislike drafty places in our
house. My parents, used to sleeping with their
own cats, left the guest bedroom door ajar for our
cats to enter. The rst night both slept in between
my parents. My dad, hot as usual, reached over to
turn on the oscillating fan and both cats ran out
of the room like their lives depended on it. Each
night the same scenario repeated itself, with both
cats only staying in the room as long as the fan
was off. My dad was shocked, as his cats back
in Michigan sleep contentedly under the ceiling
fans. Our Turkish cats carried Turkish traits!
Tourists and expats alike quickly realize the
Turkish fear of drafts and sweat. While some of us
view it as ridiculous, many of us also become accus-
tomed to and even accept some of this rationale. I for
one confess to wearing an undershirt on occasion,
to both collect the sweat on a hot day or keep me
warmer on a cold one. Its amazing that the longer
I live in Turkey, the more customs I adopt. I used to
love walking barefoot but now wear house slippers
like its second nature. I have gotten used to stuffy,
overheated rooms and am now quite cold when I go
back to the US and our drafty, over-air conditioned
places. The last summer I was in the US, I brought a
jacket to wear inside the shopping mall. I wonder if
the reverse is true and if Turks who lived in the US
return to Turkey and drink ice in their water in win-
ter, walk barefoot in the house or sleep under fans. I
am sure that the same things we nd strange about
them, they nd weird about us as well.
ELLE LOFTIS lSTANB|
[ DIARY OF AN EXPAT BRIDE ]
CULTURE&ARTS
SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2010
TODAYS ZAMAN13
This years stanbul International Music Festi-
val opened on Thursday evening with a gala
concert by the Borusan stanbul Philharmonic Orc-
hestra in the historic Aya rini Museum.
The fact that this 15-million-plus metropolis ne-
eds more concert and performance halls was high-
lighted once more during the gala, when Blent Ec-
zacba, the board chairman of the stanbul Foun-
dation for Culture and Art (KSV), pointed out in his
opening speech that one of the citys major concert
halls, the Atatrk Cultural Center (AKM), has still not
been renovated and put back into use.
[As the KSV], we are working towards imp-
roving the events we offer in light of our funda-
mental goal [of improving the art sphere in stan-
bul]. One of our most urgent needs in achieving
this is for stanbul to have concert halls that are ca-
pable of meeting the requirements of major events.
In this context, we are deeply saddened that the
AKM, which boasts the most inclusive opera and
ballet stage in our city, has still not been given back
to us, said Eczacba, referring to the stalled re-
novation project for the AKM, which was origi-
nally slated to reopen early this year to host stan-
bul 2010 European Capital of Culture events.
However, like the citys other major art instituti-
ons such as the stanbul State Symphony Orchestra,
the State Opera and Ballet and the State Theater, the
music festival has had to shift its programs to alter-
native venues since the closure of AKM in late 2008.
Thursdays opening ceremony at the Aya rini,
one of the festivals regular venues, marked a special
night for contemporary Turkish classical composer-
musicologist Yaln Tura, who received the festivals
lifetime achievement award.
During the concert that followed, Turas orchest-
ra suite Anadoludan (From Anatolia) was given its
world premiere by the Borusan Philharmonic under
the baton of maestro Grer Aykal. The performan-
ce was aired live on giant screens erected on Cadde-
bostan Beach and in Tnel Square as well as on the
orchestras website, www.borusan.com.
Celebrated Romanian pianist Radu Lupu,
considered by music critics the best Schumann
player of the present day, is tonights guest at the
festival, making his rst-ever appearance in Tur-
key when he takes to the stage at Aya rini to pre-
sent a program of concertos and symphonies by
Schumann and Mahler accompanied by the s-
tanbul State Symphony Orchestra. Running thro-
ugh June 30, the 38th stanbul International Mu-
sic Festival offers 21 events ranging from sympho-
nic and chamber music performances to vocal
concerts and jazz adaptations. stanbul Todays Zaman
A selection of works by contemporary Tur-
kish artist Fikret Atay went on display this
week at Viafarini Docva, one of Milans leading
independent art spaces, the art gallery represen-
ting the artist announced on Thursday.
The exhibition, brought together by indepen-
dent curator and art critic Gabi Scardi, opened on
Thursday and runs until Sept. 11, the stanbul-
based Outlet Art Center said in a written statement.
Atays solo show at Viafarini includes his vi-
deo work Tinica, made in 2004 and exhibited
as part of the 10th stanbul International Bienni-
al, as well as Gooaall (2009), one of the latest
productions of the artist, which focuses on the
conict between tradition and modernity. The
artists brand new photography project, the co-
untry for old man! also premieres in the Milan
show, the statement said.
The 34-year-old Atay has held solo shows
at prestigious contemporary art spaces including
Bonner Kunstverein in Germany, Site Gallery in
the UK, Hammer Projects in Los Angeles, la Ma-
ison de lArchitecture in Paris, the Museo de Arte
Contemporneo de Castilla y Len in Spain and
the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New
York, among others. He participated in the inter-
national biennials of Lyon, Alexandria, Sydney,
stanbul and Cetinje. Atays work is included in
the collections of several prestigious galleries
worldwide, including the Tate Modern.
Conceived as a project room, the Viafarini
exhibition space has been promoting Italian con-
temporary art since 1991 through solo and group
shows. Viafarini aims at strengthening the position
of Milan as a production center for contemporary
art by hosting Italian artists as well as producing
site-specic projects of internationally recognized
artists, among them Martin Creed, Adrian Paci and
Julian Opie, who was in stanbul early last month
for his rst ever show in Turkey. stanbul Todays Zaman
Festival opening
highlights stanbuls
need for concert halls
Fikret Atays work on
display at Milan gallery
Emma Shapplin, the famed French soprano known
throughout the world for her unique combination of
vocal approaches of opera with modern electro, rock
and pop inuences, will be in stanbul next week for
a concert at the Turkcell Kurueme Arena on the
Bosporus. Shapplin, who released her third album,
Macadam Flower, in late 2009, will be onstage on
the night of June 11 to present songs from her wide
repertoire. Tickets can be purchased via Biletix.
Nefes (Breath), a contemporary dance show cho-
reographed by the late Pina Bausch in 2002, will be
staged as part of the stanbul 2010 European Capital
of Culture program. Bausch designed the choreog-
raphy based on a three-week stay in stanbul in 2002
at the invitation of the stanbul theater festival. With
music by Mercan Dede, Burhan al and Tom Wa-
its, the show will be staged three times, from June
22-24, at the Muhsin Erturul Theater.
Emma Shapplin to sing
for stanbul audiences
Pina Bauschs stanbul
to be reborn with Nefes
CONCERT DANCE
Eikte, or Sur le seuil (On the Threshold), a
theater play written in French by contemporary
Turkish playwright Sedef Ecer, will be staged next
week at the French Cultural Center in Taksim as
part of the ongoing stanbul International Theater
Festival. The play, featuring a mixed cast of Turkish
and French actors with Serra Ylmaz and Tilbe Sa-
ran in the leading roles, will be staged Tuesday and
Wednesday at 7 p.m. Admission is free of charge.
Ten lms from the Turkish Film Critics
Associations (SYAD) 2009 selection of its annu-
al 20-piece list of Best Foreign Films of the Year
will be screened this month in a special program
at the Beyolu movie theater on stiklal Street. The
program, running from June 11-24, will offer such
lms as Hunger, District 9, Avatar, The
Wrestler, Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Milli-
onaire and Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.
Ecers French-language
play at French Institute
SYAD selection on batch
screening in Beyolu
THEATER FILM SCREENING
It had been a decade since Linda Green-
law shed the deep ocean for a living. Her
days as a swordsh-boat skipper, publicized by
Sebastian Jungers 1997 bestseller, The Perfect
Storm, were a long-ago memory.
Instead, shed turned to writing books such
as The Hungry Ocean and All Fishermen Are
Liars. Her life was largely onshore, on a Mai-
ne island, sticking with small-boat shing near
land. It was safe and comfortable; she had adop-
ted a teenager. But she yearned for what she cal-
led true, hardy saltwater adventure.
So when an old friend asked her to be cap-
tain of a 63-foot swordsh boat bound for the
Grand Banks off Newfoundland,
she jumped at the chance. And all
of us book readers should rejoice.
Her chronicle of that seven-week
adventure, Seaworthy: A Sword-
boat Captain Returns to the Sea,
is fascinating.
Hanging over the tale is a nag-
ging question: Being 48 and out of
the business for 10 years, how wo-
uld Greenlaw and her 5-foot-3 fra-
me stand up to the physical and psychological
demands of the job?
The answer: beautifully. Her competitive re
still burned as her boat joined others
on the water; her age and experien-
ce had brought wisdom. Greenlaws
writing sweeps the reader along not
only for the incidents at sea but also
for her candid reections about them.
She does have plenty to tell: her
arrest after the shing gear acciden-
tally drifts into Canadian water, the
exploits and personalities of her four
crew members, a storm that almost
washes one of them overboard, the silly humor
that can redeem a bad day at sea.
She tells us the ins and outs of this way of
life, like how a newbie crew member nibbled the
still-beating heart of a swordsh to avoid bad
luck, and the importance of a load of terric bait:
Four grown men stood behind me and admired
the frozen mackerel with oohs and aahs more
appropriate to a bunch of guys looking at a copy
of Playboy magazine.
Her book wont make many landlubbers jump
up and sign on for that kind of adventure. But
theyll be delighted to have ridden along with her
from the safety of their armchairs.
Seaworthy: A Swordboat Captain Returns to the
Sea, by Linda Greenlaw, published by Viking, $25.95
in harcover ISBN: 978-0670021925. Malcolm Ritter AP
Book review: Captains return to sea makes a good read
s
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The curious story of Jewish-American
novelist Henry Roth has taken one last
turn. Fifteen years after his death, the
author who wrote one of Americas great immig-
rant novels has been resurrected with the pub-
lication of his nal work, An American Type.
From a manuscript of Roths last writing,
which sat untouched for years, a young cti-
on editor at the New Yorker, Willing Davidson,
shaped what will be Roths posthumous parting
shot -- an autobiographical story about arriving
at adulthood and falling in love.
An American Type, in US bookstores on
June 7, is his sunniest novel, those most familiar
with his work say. It was edited from a manusc-
ript of nearly 2,000 pages written by an elderly
arthritic Roth during the late 1980s.
Roth in many ways thought a lot about him-
self, but in this book he turns his attention outward,
Davidson, 32, told Reuters. In doing so, he disco-
vers a lot of comedy and joy in life around him.
The novel reintroduces his alter ego Ira Stig-
man -- also the hero of his earlier novel Mercy
of a Rude Stream -- as he travels across the Uni-
ted States and courts his eventual wife M., based
on his real-life spouse Muriel Parker. Set in 1938
and mapped largely from his journals written at
that time, it is perhaps one of the last rsthand ac-
counts of the United States during the depression.
Roths last novel is a rst for Davidson, who
took on the project four years ago when the pa-
pers were handed over to the New Yorker from
former Roth editor Robert Weil. It was a little
daunting because I didnt know if I could do it,
if there was a novel there. I tried to look for a
narrative arc and then cut way and rene, and
then cut away, said Davidson, who insists the-
re is not enough material left for another novel.
Writers block
Henry Roth is best known for his rst book, Call
it Sleep (1934), about a Jewish immigrant family
arriving in New York in the early 1900s. He is ne-
arly as well known for the sixty years of writers
block that followed. After receiving scant atten-
tion on its rst release, its re-publication in the
1960s sparked its popularity. The book has since
sold millions of copies worldwide.
A second novel was expected soon after Call
it Sleep but Roth, in a frenzy of self-loathing,
burned all but one chapter. He had a colorful life
-- later working in a mental asylum in Maine, and
as a waterfowl dresser, a Latin tutor -- but kept
pen from the published page until his later years.
He was reclusive and troubled. Memories of
incest and depression hampered his writing. Not
until the publication of Mercy of a Rude Stre-
am in 1994 did the largely forgotten author re-
appear. The four-volume autobiographical novel
-- parts of which were published after Roths de-
ath in 1995 -- was edited from a rst batch of
manuscripts written in Roths later years. The se-
cond batch made up An American Type.
Robert Weil, who spent six years editing Mercy
of a Rude Stream, said it was time to hand over the
baton for Roths last, very different, novel. He was
galloping the last legs of his life and he wanted to
write something with a sweeter sound to it, Weil
said. I felt An American Type needed a different
sensibility. Willing understood its purpose.
Much of Roths journals and correspondence is
today kept at the Center for Jewish History in New
York. In one letter written in 1964, a friend, Ted Bo-
okey, wrote to Roth: Like it or not, enry, you are
going to be a remembered episode in American and
world literature. Imagine the crap, the falsifying, de-
luging crap, thats going to be written about you.
On a thousand typewriters the myths are raining.
For some time the typewriters had gone quiet,
but with the publication of this last novel they can
again, for a while at least, sound. NewYork Reuters
Author Henry Roths
hero resurrected in final novel
From a manuscript
of Roths last writing,
which sat untouched
for years, a young ction
editor at the New Yorker,
Willing Davidson, shaped
what will be Roths
posthumous parting
shot -- an autobiographical
story about arriving
at adulthood and
falling in love
Gooaall by Fikret Atay
Author Henry Roth
in an undated photo
taken by Hugh Roth. P
H
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S
TODAYS ZAMAN 14
dagistancetinkaya@todayszaman.com.tr
Dastan etinkaya

Thnk tank cafe

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Saturday, June 5, 2010

S AT U R D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 0
The never-ending row between Tur-
key and Israels Likud government
under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
has escalated to a whole new level since Is-
raeli commandos raided the Mavi Marma-
ra, a Turkish humanitarian aid ship headed
to Gaza, in international waters, killing nine
Turkish citizens and injuring 38 others.
Immediately after the unfortunate
incident Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutolu convened the United Nations
Security Council for an emergency meet-
ing to discuss the matter. Similarly, at the
Turkish foreign ministers initiative, the
NATO council gathered and, along with
its condemnation, urged Israel to release
all the participants in the Freedom Flo-
tilla captured during the raid. Moreover,
the Organization of the Islamic Confer-
ences (OIC) executive council convened
to formulate the 57 member states com-
mon response to Israels aggression.
Concurrently, the Arab League member
states also convened to condemn the
Israeli attack on the humanitarian aid
ships headed to the Gaza Strip, which
has long suffered under the Israeli block-
ade. All major international and regional
organizations unequivocally condemned
Israel, demanded the immediate release
of the captured and insisting on a thor-
ough investigation into the raid.
The Israeli foreign minister, on the
other hand, remained rather silent on the
day of the raid. The next day, in a phone
call to the UN secretary-general, Avigdor
Lieberman complained about the in-
ternational communitys reaction. The
hypocrisy and double standards taking
root in the international community re-
garding Israel is to be regretted, he la-
mented. In the past month alone 500
people were killed in various incidents
in Thailand, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq
and India, while the international com-
munity remained silent and passive and
generally ignored the occurrences, while
Israel is condemned for unmistakably
defensive actions, he continued. The
subject of yesterdays incident was the
basic right of Israeli soldiers to defend
themselves against an attack by a gang
of thugs and terror supporters who had
prepared clubs, metal crowbars and
knives in advance of the confrontation.
This time, even the US administration
was unable to defend the Israeli govern-
ments actions. The State Department an-
nounced that contrary to what was argued
by the Israeli ofcials, there was no tie be-
tween the Humanitarian Aid Foundation
(HH) and al-Qaeda. Similarly, the Obama
administration said the Israeli blockade
on Gaza was no longer sustainable and
that the Israeli government had to de-
velop another approach regarding Gaza.
All in all, the way the Israeli govern-
ment managed -- or, more accurately,
mismanaged -- this international crisis
has raised questions not only about the
viability and legitimacy of the Israeli
blockade on Gaza, but also about the
utility of the Israeli foreign minister. Af-
ter all, whatever Israel does directly im-
pacts the non-Israeli Jews around the
world as well as the Israeli Jews, and the
Israeli foreign minister is the primary
person who is supposed to be capable of
determining the nature of that impact.
Non-Israeli Jews between a
rock and a hard place
Aside from the Palestinians themselves, the
group most affected by Israels unrelent-
ing aggression is Jews who do not condone
Israels hawkish policies. On the one hand,
both liberal and Orthodox Jews around the
world and especially in the United States
have raised their opposition to the brutal
policies of consecutive Israeli governments
toward the Palestinians living either in the
West Bank or in Gaza. When Israeli troops
invaded Gaza in the rst days of 2009 and
killed some 1,400 civilians, mostly wom-
en and children, among those crying out
against Israels invasion were prominent
Jewish scholars and opinion leaders. Simi-
larly, they joined the masses in condemning
Israels destructive blockade of Gaza, which
has long nurtured instability in the region
and paralyzed the so-called peace process
between Israelis and Palestinians. Again,
most recently, when the Israeli commandos
attacked the humanitarian aid otilla headed
to Gaza, Jews -- in Turkey, the US, Europe
and elsewhere -- were among the rst to
condemn Israel. They too joined the masses
in front of Israels embassies to protest Israeli
piracy and banditry in international waters.
On the other hand, the very same Jews
around the world and in the United States
have long been victimized by the common
antipathy rapidly growing against Jews due
to successive Israeli governments constant
breach of international laws and norms,
complete heedlessness of international
public opinion and continued violence un-
leashed upon Palestinian civilians. This
phenomenon in a way resembles the pitiful
case of Muslims around the world who are
reduced to potential suspects allegedly sym-
pathizing with such terrorist groups such as
al-Qaeda and the Taliban. However just as
the terrorist nature and activities of al-Qaeda
and the Taliban should not dene Muslims
in general, those of the Israeli government
should not determine the common public
perception of Jews, wherever they may be.
It is questionable, though, to what
extent it is possible under the current cir-
cumstances for an ordinary man on the
street to distinguish between hawkish and
dovish Jews. Either hawkish or dovish,
and regardless of their nationality/citizen-
ry, all Jews seem to be staunch supporters
of the state of Israel (though not neces-
sarily its every policy), although Israel is
simply another state/country other than
their own. Imagine a Country X whose
senators, congressmen, ministers and or-
dinary parliamentarians do not shy away
from publicly prioritizing the interests of
Israel over those of Country X. Imagine
a Country X where those in charge make
substantial cutbacks in funding to educa-
tional, scientic and social programs that
benet their very Country Xians while
they either cannot or do not even think
about slightly holding back Country Xs
monetary, military and all other forms of
assistance to Israel. And imagine a Coun-
try X where politicians categorically re-
ject any policy proposal, even if it greatly
serves the interests of Country X, unless
they serve those of Israel, let alone consid-
ering conict against them. CONTINUED ON PAGE 17
Notes that imprisoned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
leader Abdullah calan had his lawyers write on May
28 included a declaration of war. The war declared be-
gan with the attack on the Naval Supply Support Com-
mand in skenderun on May 31. A few hours before the
attack, Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara
ship, creating suspicions of a link between the two inci-
dents. Israel ensures its security by taking advantage of
conicts and problems between countries in the region.
The increasing inuence of Turkey, which has created
a circle of consensus in the region, isnt serving Israels
interests. As a result, Israel wants to hit Middle East
power balances right in the heart by creating instabil-
ity in Turkey. The PKK is ghting this war on behalf of
Israel to ruin Turkeys delicate internal balances.
This is not the Kurds war
The war the PKK has declared and is ghting is not com-
patible with the PKKs aims. First of all, the Kurds have
no interest in this war. To the contrary, it will increase
unease in the region and among Kurds living in Turkeys
western regions, as they will once again have to confront
terrorism. Second, the PKK has no interest in this war.
The PKKs members, who have been waiting for a gen-
eral amnesty to be issued and have been dreaming of
starting a normal life, are going to pursue a meaning-
less war in the mountains. calan, the very person who
declared this war, expressed this view. He said, This
process has no benet for the Kurds, the Kurdish Com-
munities Union [KCK] or the state. He even predicted
that the PKK would be defeated and dissolved -- in other
words eliminated -- in this war. International and re-
gional balances are not as they were in the 1990s. The
PKK does not stand a chance. So then what does it want?
This war appears to be the product of delicate balances
within the PKK itself; the organization is using this war to
deal with its internal power struggle. On the surface, this
war is being waged to make the state deal directly with the
organization. This war is a not a war that has a strategy or
a political objective; it relies on the organizations tactical
priorities. These tactical priorities have nothing to do with
the Kurdish problem that has brought about the PKK
problem. It is specically underlined that this war will end
if the government at least unofcially addresses illegal or-
ganizations such as the KCK and the PKK and calan.
This war that has been declared is as foolish as children
who misbehave just to draw attention to themselves.
The excuse for the moderate war, as described by
terrorist or PKK rhetoric, is the refusal of the Turkish
Republic to directly deal with the PKK leadership and
especially calan in solving the problem. The govern-
ment ignored the Peace and Democracy Partys (BDP)
proposal to sit at the table with the PKK and bar-
gain, which it defended on a legal basis. Terrorism re-
emerged because the government declined in the face of
the organizations insistence on its sitting at the table,
addressing the leader and bargaining. Let me re-
peat this again. The only goal of the recurring terrorism
is to force the state to deal directly with the PKK. Once
the PKK nds a state authority that agrees to at least un-
ofcially talk with them, it is going to start negotiating,
lay down its arms and dissolve itself. We might then ask,
Why isnt the state agreeing to address the PKK and
stop the bloodshed? There are a couple of reasons. The
rst reason has to do with the PKKs ability to represent
Kurds. The PKK has the ability to represent one-third of
the Kurdish community, particularly in the Southeast.
Taking the PKK as a legitimate party will automatically
make it the representative of all Kurds. When it is not
taken as a legitimate party and it starts to express itself
through violent means, the organization becomes mar-
ginalized. Kurds are more sensitive about the Pales-
tinian cause than Arabs and the rest of Turkey. Kurds
will have no respect left for a PKK that attacks Turkey
simultaneously with Israel. As a response to the insis-
tence on being addressed, we could ask, Why isnt
it enough to address the BDP, which is a legal party?
Second, addressing the PKK would mean politi-
cal suicide for the government. Any government that
agrees to negotiate with a terrorist organization will
be torn into pieces by the opposition, even if it is for a
noble purpose like stopping bloodshed. There would
be no trace of that party left in the next elections.
The third reason is the most crucial: Even if the PKK
is taken as a party, terrorism will continue. As with all il-
legal organizations, the PKK has hierarchy and discipline
issues. These problems became evident in the recent at-
tacks at Readiye and Saryayla. Even if the government
decided to deal directly with members of the organiza-
tion, including calan, theres no guarantee that the ter-
rorism would end. Wed then be left with the question
of Which PKK? There would be a marginal organi-
zation saying, Our leader sold us out and shedding
blood and attacking everyone just to be able to prove
their cause. In brief, it is virtually impossible to solve the
terrorism problem by addressing the organization.
PKK ghting with the AK Party
When speaking about the attack in skenderun that
killed Turkish soldiers, BDP deputy Emine Ayna said,
This war is no longer going to take place in just Kurdis-
tan. This in fact is not a comment but a clear threat. BDP
Co-Chairman Selahattin Demirtas comment upon his
return from the US was even sharper; he said there may
be a couple of skenderun-like incidents every day.
The length of the statement that came from the
KCKs executive council does not explain the logic be-
hind this war, but it does include a very important detail.
This time the PKK is waging a war directly against the
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government,
not the Turkish Republic or the Turkish Army. There are
some segments of the text that carefully highlight that
this war is against the AK Party. It is important to focus
on this very critical detail. The Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) and the Republican Peoples Party (CHP)
also need to realize that they are adopting a stance and
making judgments about a war that has been launched
against the AK Party. The PKK is ghting a war not against
the state but against a political party that is in power. The
PKK is using force to threaten the competition that par-
ties normally pursue with propaganda and campaigns to
effect change in their favor. Remember that the AK Party
is one of the two political powers with relatively close
representative capabilities over the Kurdish population.
It is the rst time that the Kurdish problem is being
dealt with at such an advanced level. The AK Party has
taken great risks and major steps to expand language
and identity rights for Kurds. In two years, the govern-
ment has achieved 10 times more than what has been
achieved throughout the entire history of the republic.
Isnt the success of TRT-6, a step that has raised the
bar for Turkey, meaningful enough on its own? Tur-
key is heading down a course in which all remaining
problems are going to be solved. The only disruptions
are the PKKs attempts to put on a show, such as at
Habur, and its insistence on being addressed. Will
the war the PKK started contribute to solving the
Kurdish problem or impair it? The objective answer to
this question alone is enough to explain the situation.
The AK Party government is ghting a war all by
itself without any weapons on all four fronts. The only
advantage to being right is doing the right thing at the
right time and being the representative of those who
seek peace and serenity in the region. American neo-
cons, Israeli bandits and Ergenekon supporters who are
wasting all of their energy in courtrooms are trying every
method to destroy the AK Party. All of these groups are
the ones that are going to benet from the dirty war that
the PKK is ghting. If the AK Party loses face, Israels ter-
ror will declare victory. American neocons who thrive on
wars and conict will have a larger sphere of inuence.
Ergenekon supporters will rst heave a sigh of relief and
then start making new plans to return to the old days.
What will the Kurds win? Nothing. In fact, both as
citizens of this country and as Kurds, they will lose a lot.
Does Israel need a
foregn mnster?
MEHMET KALYONCU*
[
RETHINKING ISRAELI POLITICS
]
MMTAZER
TRKNE
m.turkone@todayszaman.com
WHO IS THE PKK
FIGHTING FOR?
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COLUMNS
SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2010
TODAYS ZAMAN15
No Comment
PHILIPPINES, REUTERS
Glen sends condolences to martyrs, crtczes method
Turkey and the
Mddle East -- how
does Lebanon t
nto the equaton?
Turksh
passport
The mportance of Barzans vst
The Wall Street Journal published an interview with Fethullah Glen yes-
terday. In this interview, Glen reveals a perspective that is different from
those expressed by the Turkish public opinion about the latest Gaza in-
cident. The interview comprises many other topics in addition to Glens
approach to the matter at hand. The section dealing with Gaza can be
assessed from three angles: First, concerning the method followed prior
to the horrible attack on the ship carrying humanitarian aid volunteers,
he criticizes it, saying diplomatic channels should have been exhausted.
Second, he criticizes the manner in which Israeli soldiers interfered, saying
that it was ugly. Third, he expresses regret for our citizens who died in the
attack, to whose families he offered his condolences.
The bloody intervention Israel conducted against the humanitar-
ian aid vessels that set sail to puncture the over three-year embargo on
Gaza, an open-air prison for 1.5 million Palestinians, has angered all of
us as a nation. Rallies that are being held one after another and the fu-
neral prayer of the martyrs in the courtyard of stanbuls Fatih Mosque
are indicative of our nations reaction to the incident.
Indeed, protests against this violent attack that took the lives of
nine of our people were not restricted to Turkey. The whole world
united to condemn Israel, including the UN Security Council, West-
ern media, the Israeli press, the Arab League, NATO and the Jews
who, carrying Turkish ags in New York, lambasted Israels violent
attack. The subject is still a major news story on international net-
works such as Al Jazeera, the BBC and CNN.
Glen was among those who shared the sorrow for the loss of
life in Israels violent attack. In his condolences message, published
in our paper, Glen drew attention to the human tragedy in Gaza:
I ask for Gods mercy for our people who set sail with the inten-
tion of putting an end to the human tragedy in Gaza and who were
martyred in the unfortunate attack they suffered, and I convey my
condolences to their families, our nation and humanity.
Although the aid initiative came to our agendas after Israels bloody
operation, Glen was concerned about it from the very moment it was
rst announced. He was worried that this step, though taken in good
faith, may bring about a negative result. Given Israels reaction to similar
situations, there was substance to his concerns. Indeed, even before the
ships set sail, he told the people close to him that it was difcult to predict
Israels reaction and that diplomatic means should rst be exhausted. If
this could not be done, other ways should be sought in order to avert any
crisis that could result in bringing Turkey to the brink of war.
He was right in having such concerns, as Israel has turned into
an unpredictable country that could set the whole world on re over
the most insignicant of reasons. We speak here of an administration
that devastated Lebanon just because two of its soldiers were being
held captive there and declared war against the occupied Gaza and
slaughtered 1,500 people, including 400 women and children, just be-
cause one of its soldiers was taken prisoner by Hamas and attempted
to teach Turkey, one of its closes allies in the region, a lesson by ar-
ranging for the Turkish ambassador to sit on a lower sofa. Given this,
one could reasonably expect trouble for an aid initiative launched as if
to challenge this country. The fact that some deputies from the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) decided not to attend the
convoy despite a previously made announcement to this effect implies
that these concerns and the possible outcome were shared by others.
Indeed, in the interview he gave to The Wall Street Journal, Glen
voiced his views associated with these great concerns. His remarks
were the voice of common sense. Noting that he found ugly the at-
tack against civilians in international waters and the incidents that
followed, Glen stressed that the state and the Humanitarian Aid
Foundation (HH), which initiated this move, should have pressed
for diplomatic means, considering the problems that children, women
and the elderly may face and even lose their lives and the risk of war.
What should be done after these tragic incidents in the rst instance,
for Glen, is to make sure that a transparent and independent investi-
gation is conducted by the United Nations to reveal the truth.
One point should be noted so that his views can be correctly under-
stood. As far as I am told and as can be concluded from the interview, this
interview was not planned with the Gazan crisis in mind. A request for
the interview had been made several weeks before the incident and the
written responses had already been sent. When the reporter and Glen
met for a short time for the photography session, the Gaza issue was dis-
cussed briey as it was the top agenda item at the time. It is wrong to see
this interview as having been given with specically this event in mind.
Despite continuous worldwide condemnation of Israels attack
on the Gaza otilla, one should not forget that a stable Lebanon
is as relevant to nding lasting peace in the Middle East as is a
two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
Turkey, a nation in mourning, paid respect to the innocent vic-
tims of the Mavi Marmara, whose bodies were repatriated yesterday.
This happened in a remarkably decent, somber mood. Turkeys gov-
ernment made it clear that the justied public outrage in Turkey will
be channeled into diplomatic action, not violence.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on New York and United Nations
headquarters. What happened to the Gaza otilla cannot be re-
paired by just another resolution or statement of intent. If the
UN and in particular its Security Council have any real impact on
world affairs, the time has come to prove it now.
Coming back to the subject of Turkey-Lebanon relations, Leba-
nese Prime Minister Saad Hariri whilst on a recent trip from Beirut to
Washington could have opted for a nonstop ight but instead decid-
ed to have a political stopover in Turkey. Ankara has become a hub
of regional activity and a much sought-after source of advice, and in
many instances even a proactive partner in a number of processes.
Solving one conict may not necessarily help solve another.
In the case of the Israeli-Palestine confrontation, and trying to
re-establish lasting peace in Lebanon, we must concede a high
degree of interconnectivity.
Can Turkey become an even more accepted and welcome
regional player by expanding its range of close partners in the
foreign policy-making arena to include Lebanon more pro-
actively? Is this process in the interest of Turkey, the nation-
state? Will it facilitate Turkeys EU accession, too?
With regards to maintaining the momentum, we have to
say that Turkey has embarked on a wide-ranging mission to put
into practice what the government declared its core aim when
it comes to foreign policy: zero problems with neighbors. Leba-
non is a logical choice to implement exactly that. Of course, not
all other undertakings in the region and beyond have come to
fruition, but the list of recently approached countries is never-
theless impressive, with examples being Armenia, Iran, Iraq,
Palestine, Syria, the United States plus Latin America, Spain
and Russia. Shuttle diplomacy works well, it seems.
When it comes to analyzing whether this vast amount of
newly established or continued international relations ben-
et the Turkish nation-state and its image both at home and
abroad, I would say yes. Turkey has been transformed from
an inward-looking, often isolated country to a fully integrated
part of the regional as well as global community.
Finally, trying to determine whether a proactive foreign policy,
including closer relations between Beirut and Ankara, facilitate EU
accession, one must state that Turkeys foreign policy seems to be
more coherent and straightforward than what we hear from Brussels
itself, with some regarding Baroness Catherine Ashtons debut on
the foreign policy-making scene a near disaster.
Turkeys present foreign policy began in earnest well before
having been given a start date for EU accession talks and is not a
result of that process. Turkey understands that not every step in the
international arena has to be benecial for its EU accession, as this is
still an open-ended undertaking. It should not be detrimental, either,
though, as Brussels closely watches Ankaras endeavors.
The relations between Turkey and Lebanon could be built
around improved trade, access to more and better travel oppor-
tunities and increased tourism. Both civil societies should be en-
couraged to meet more frequently, if need be with nancial sup-
port from both governments. A strong Beirut-Ankara axis could
help Syria and one day Iraq join forces to make certain that a
majority of states in the region want nothing but peace.
The sad dimension in all of this is that a former very close
ally that ofcially is still a close ally -- Israel -- seems to have
unilaterally cut ties with Turkey. Not Ankara, but Israel is re-
sponsible for an escalation of misunderstandings and recently
overstepped the mark by killing innocent Turkish citizens who
were on board the Mavi Marmara. Perhaps a solid bloc of re-
gional peacemakers guided and promoted by Lebanon, once
ready, and Turkey as its westernmost outpost could become
the blueprint for wider peace in the Middle East.
Back in the day, it was of almost no value. In
fact, if we were to say it was just a few piec-
es of paper, we would not be embellishing.
When abroad, it was not carried proudly and
no one liked for their navy blue passport, which
had Republic of Turkey written on it, to be
visible because we did not have a brand, a g-
ure, value or movement that was amicable for
the rest of the world. We did not hold interna-
tional sports championships, world-changing
scientic discoveries or an economy or political
power that was to be respected.
And the government that issued these
passports did not stand behind them. If some-
thing were to happen to you while abroad
or someone were to victimize you, you had
no sense of security that someone had your
back. You also did not hold the belief that the
states ambassadors and consuls stood behind
that navy passport either.
There wasnt a country that respected and
exempted visa requirements from that navy
passport anyway. It was not enough to be in
possession of one in order to enter a country.
Entering the smallest and most ordinary of
countries required that you took your passport
with you to the consulate, only to go through
a grueling process. But what hurt most was the
lack of trust in a state behind you and that other
countries did not view you in a positive light.
But things slowly began to change. The rst
was the opening of Turkish schools throughout
the world. Teachers began to sign up to an en-
dearing movement in the face of many difcul-
ties. They increased the prestige of the Turkish
passport. Before then, Turkey was not even vis-
ible on the world map because it had done noth-
ing endearing or meaningful. Educational efforts
in Central Asia, Africa and the Far East so that
children there would receive a good education
were an important booster in the Turkish pass-
port gaining importance.
Perhaps for the rst time, entering Africa
with a Turkish passport connoted respect.
The atmosphere created by those who went
to Central Asia and the Far East in order to
help led to Turkish passport holders being
seen in high esteem and to people in far away
lands looking at our country in a more posi-
tive light. This little navy book became a glim-
mer of hope for those who had been exploited
because those carrying that passport brought
nothing but goodness their way.
The majority of people who rushed to
help the Gazans, who have been conned to
hunger and poverty by Israel with the help of
Egypt, held passports belonging to the Republic
of Turkey. When those people who were met
with Israels bullets realized, perhaps for the
rst time, that the passport they held had great
meaning, both those who pulled the trigger
and those who were shot at came to realize the
meaning of that passport.
The words of Turkish Foreign Minister Ah-
met Davutolu a few days ago, when he said that
not even a single Turkish citizen would be al-
lowed to remain on Israeli soil or be questioned
by Israel, were another reinforcement to that
end. It made the Turkish identity one that the
world respected. Most importantly, the words
The government of the Republic of Turkey is
capable of protecting its citizens rights in every
corner of the world. It has always demonstrated
this and will continue to do so. No one should
attempt to test Turkeys resolve on this matter,
reminded that passport holder of who he was.
Do you realize that we have begun carrying
it with pride?
Condemning the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is the code
of a certain political and diplomatic attitude in Turkeys eyes.
Countries or political leaders who condemn the PKK are con-
sidered to be Turkeys current or potential allies. It seems that
the leader of northern Iraq, Massoud Barzani, will be included
in this category from now on.
The Turkish foreign minister has welcomed him as his
brother and held a long meeting with him and his minis-
ters. The main topics of their joint press conference were con-
demnation of the PKK and Barzanis support in helping end
decades of terrorism that have claimed the lives of thousands.
They have reiterated their determination to strengthen coop-
eration between Turkey and northern Iraq. The common ght
against the PKK will naturally constitute the core; however
the cooperation cant be limited to this particular area because
taking a position against the PKK is for Barzani equivalent to
declaring that Turkey has become some sort of guarantor for
the status of northern Iraq.
The uncertainties concerning Iraqs future reinforce north-
ern Iraqs self-isolation from the rest of Iraq. However such
isolation will keep them stuck between Turkey, Iran and Syria.
There is no doubt that if an isolated northern Iraq keeps
supporting the PKK, Turkeys pressure will be more unbear-
able than ever. Northern Iraqi authorities once asked for as-
sistance from third players, such as the US, to free itself from
this situation, but they have nally noticed that the support of
some nations brings more problems than solutions.
At a time when Turkey is building friendship with Syria and
trying to pull Iran toward the international diplomatic scene, it
would be meaningless for northern Iraq to support the PKKs
activities, which would only incite Turkey to adopt more aggres-
sive policies. Thats why Barzani has decided to use cooperation
instead of violence in his relations with Turkey and send away
his old friends who think of nothing but shedding blood. In ex-
change, Turkey has promised to help northern Iraqs economic
recovery. However this also means that Turkey will have to deal
with the PKK issue alone, from an internal perspective, which
will necessitate resolving the dilemma of ghting against terror-
ism along with improving the human rights situation. Turkey
will also have to deal with other external contacts of the PKK.
The attacks on the humanitarian aid otilla heading for Gaza
by Israeli soldiers and on the naval reinforcement command in
skenderun by the PKK gave the impression that these two foes
are allied enemies of Turkey. In other words, the PKK-Israel
connection has been crystallized in the Turkish publics mind.
Since Saddam Husseins fall, weve continued to hear reports
of an Israeli presence in northern Iraq, and those who are closer
to intelligence services are sure of such a presence there. If this
is true, then one of the objectives of Turkeys strong reaction
toward Israel must be putting an end to the PKK-Israel link. In
other words, even though Israel is now present in northern Iraq,
it wont be able to maintain its presence there.
The intensifying PKK attacks and recent, rude declarations
from the organizations supporters prove that the terrorist or-
ganization has noticed that Turkey is actually developing new
cooperative agreements and so it is trying to sabotage them.
What is important now is to prevent Turkey from walking into
the trap of responding to violence with more violence, which
would make it impossible to gain new friends and build new
alliances in the region. If it does, there will be no solution for
the Gaza nor the Kurdish problem.
ABDLHAMT
BLC
a.bilici@todayszaman.com
KLAUS
JURGENS
k.jurgens@todayszaman.com
BERL
DEDEOLU
b.dedeoglu@todayszaman.com
MEHMET
KAMI
m.kamis@todayszaman.com
Today is World Environment Day. This day was established
in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference
on the Human Environment. The UN stimulates worldwide
awareness of the environment and enhances political attention
and action through World Environment Day. It is hosted every
year by a different city and commemorated with an international
exposition throughout the week that includes June 5. The slogan
for this years World Environment Day is Many Species. One
Planet. One Future, celebrating the incredible diversity of life
on Earth as part of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity.
This years host is Rwanda, a country of exceptional biodiversity
that has made huge strides in environmental protection.
Today is Constitution Day in Denmark. This day com-
memorates the anniversary of the signing of the constitution of
1849 that made Denmark a constitutional monarchy and com-
memorates the constitution of 1953, adopted on the same day.
Today is Liberation Day in Seychelles. This day celebrates
the initial resolution leading to the actual independence of
this archipelago nation of 158 islands in the Indian Ocean on
June 29, 1976. Previously Seychelles was a British colony and
it is now a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations.
On this day in 1967 one of the fateful wars between the
Arab states and the state of Israel began. The Six-Day War, or
the June War, as it came to be known, was fought between
Israel and its Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The na-
tions of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Algeria also contrib-
uted troops and arms to the Arab forces. Israel won the war in
just six days with clear victories on all fronts and occupied the
West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights.
Today is the anniversary of the birth of two influential West-
ern economists: Adam Smith (1723-1790) and John Maynard
Keynes (1883-1946). Scottish economist Adam Smiths celebrat-
ed treatise An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth
of Nations was the first serious attempt to study the nature of
capital and the historical development of industry and commerce
among European nations. Keynes is regarded rightfully as one
of the most influential economists of the 20th century. His ideas
profoundly influenced the economic policies of most non-Com-
munist governments after World War II (1939-1945).
Gregorian Calendar: 05 June 2010 C.E. Hijri Calendar: 22 Jumada al-Thani 1431 A.H. Hebrew Calendar: 23 Sivan 5770
calendar@todayszaman.com
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rado gude

Mr. DploMAT!
Sudoku
c.kzltug@todayszaman.com
H
A
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D
EASY
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S
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HOW TO PLAY? : The objective of the game is to fill all the blank squares in a game with
the correct numbers. There are three very simple constraints to follow. In a 9 by 9 square
Sudoku game:
Every row of 9 numbers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order
Every column of 9 numbers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order
Every 3 by 3 subsection of the 9 by 9 square must include all digits 1 through 9
t
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Ambulance: 112 Fire: 110 171 Police: 155156 Maritime: 158 Unknown numbers: 118 80 Turkish Airlines: 444 0 849 U.S. Embassy: 0312 455 5555 U.S. Con-
sulate: 0212 2513602-3-4 Russian Embassy: 0312 439 2122 Russian Consulate: 0212 244 1693-2610 British Embassy: 0312 455 3344 British Consulate: 0212
293 7540 German Embassy: 0312 455 5100 German Consulate: 0212 334 61 00 French Embassy: 0312 455 4545 French Consulate: 0212 292 4810-11 Indian
Embassy: 0312 438 2195 Pakistani Embassy: 0312 427 1410 Austrian Embassy: 0312 419 0431-33 Austrian Consulate: 0212 262 9315 Belgian Embassy:
0312 446 8247 Belgian Consulate: 0212 243 3300 Egyptian Embassy: 0312 426 1026 Egyptian Consulate: 0212 263 6038 Israeli Embassy: 0312 446 3605
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tv gude
E2
08:00 The Rachael Ray Show
10:00 The Martha Stewart Show
12:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
14:00 The Tonight Showwith Jay Leno
16:00 Merlin
18:00 Chuck
20:00 Later With Jools Holland
21:00 Bored to Death
22:00 Dexter
23:00 The Closer
00:00 The Pacific
01:00 The Sarah Silverman Program
02:00 Later With Jools Holland
03:00 The Tudors
05:30 The Closer
06:30 The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno
CNBC-E
08:00 The Fairly Oddparents
08:30 Go, Diego! Go!
09:00 Dora The Explorer
09:30 Spongebob Squarepants
10:30 The Penguins
Of Madagascar
11:30 Avatar
12:00 Klon Savalar
12:30 Demir Adam
13:00 Smallville
15:00 Gossip Girl
16:00 ER
17:00 Desperate Housewives
18:00 How I Met Your Mother
18:30 The Simpsons
19:00 Cold Case
20:00 3D documentary: Mega Shark
21:00 Desperate Housewives
22:00 24
23:00 The Pacific
00:00 Nip/Tuck
01:00 The Simpsons
01:30 How I Met Your Mother
02:00 Scrubs
03:00 Smallville
04:00 The Pacific
05:00 CSI: NY
06:00 Cold Case
Goldmax
06:45 Times Talks:
Julian Schnabel
07:40 Charlotte Gray
09:40 Burglar
11:25 The Time Machine
13:00 Laurel Canyon
14:45 Father Of The Bride
16:35 Kalifornia
18:35 Camille
20:15 Chaos
22:05 As You Like It
00:10 Eternal Sunshine
Of The Spotless Mind
02:00 Psycho II
03:55 Voces Inocentes
(Innocent Voices)
Movemax
06:50 Picture This
08:25 Superman / Batman:
Public Enemies
09:40 Till Proven Innocent
11:25 FromJustin To Kelly
12:55 Fireflies In The Garden
14:45 Jonas Brothers:
The Concert Exprience
16:15 Outlander
18:20 Blind Date
20:00 The Death And Life Of Bobby Z
21:55 Crank: High Voltage
23:45 Scar
01:15 The House Bunny
03:00 Jonas Brothers:
The Concert Exprience
04:20 Outlander
MGM
06:25 Castaway
08:20 The Barefoot Contessa
10:35 Barquero
12:35 Big House, U.S.A.
14:00 The Captive City
15:35 The Perez Family
17:30 Frankie And Johnny
19:00 Crisscross
20:45 The Tie That Binds
22:25 Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell
00:20 The Wonderful Country
02:00 Castaway
03:55 The Perez Family
05:50 Big House, U.S.A.
Actonmax
06:15 36th Chamber Of Shaolin
08:15 The Avenging Angel (1995)
09:55 When Eight Bells Toll
11:35 Deadly Family Secrets
13:15 Checkered Flag Or Crash
14:50 The Great Santini
16:50 Big Wednesday
18:55 Avalanche Express
20:25 Texas Part1
22:00 The Specialist
23:55 Cruising
01:40 Shaft
03:25 The House Next Door
16 TODAYS ZAMAN LEISURE
Crossword
ACROSS
1 Checkered
pattern
6 Gator relative
10 ___ and Span
(cleanser)
14 Die Lorelei
poet Heinrich
15 Indigenous
people of
Japan
16 Into ___ life
some rain
must fall
17 Planter with
no hired
hands
19 Out where
the air is salty
20 Drinkers
salute
21 Continental
connectors
23 Blood-typing
syst.
25 Heat-of-
the-moment
determiner
28 Auditioned
(for)
30 Grassy
meadow
31 Fireplace
tools
32 Being three
in one
35 Creator of
Easter eggs
37 Car
caretakers,
slangily
42 Gilligans spot
43 Beverly
Hills home,
typically
45 Shoulder
covering
49 Ebenezers
remark
51 Study at the
last minute
52 High school
subject
56 Workers with
RNs
57 Unabridged
58 Tortilla-chip
dip
60 Opposed
to, in the
backwoods
61 Smear
campaigner
66 Hold the
scepter
67 Merle
Haggards
___ From
Muskogee
68 Mexican
painter Rivera
69 Mast, boom
or gaff
70 Tennis ranking
71 Salts used
medicinally
DOWN
1 Degree of
distinction
2 Hawaiian
floral wreath
3 Kind of missile
4 ... ___ the
wild blue
yonder
5 Dispose of
the adipose
part
6 OPEC, e.g.
7 Basketball
net supporter
8 ___ for the
money ...
9 Antique shop
item
10 Baseball
usher, e.g.
11 One of
Afghanistans
official
languages
12 Old block
deliverers
13 Heads a
meeting
18 Holy
Wednesday
forehead
marker
22 Conceited
smiles
23 Gallery objects
24 Hazard of
northern seas
26 Vegetarians
no-no
27 BLT spread
29 Like library
books,
eventually
33 Carpenters
tool, or a
carpenter, at
times
34 Double-curve
letter
36 WSW
opposite
38 Place of
Napoleons
exile
39 End-of-
sentence
abbr.
40 Golf hole
numbers?
41 Have the
lead role
44 Letters on an
ambulance
45 Slanders
46 Psychological
block
47 Number one
Hun
48 Sniveling sort
50 Warned,
snake-style
53 Interoffice
communica-
tions
54 Oriole Ripken
55 Water park
chute
59 Make little
cuts
62 Its strummed
in Maui, briefly
63 Board-game
cube
64 The I in you
65 CD- ___
(computer
disk)
PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER
2010 Universal Uclick
www.upuzzles.com

S AT U R DAY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 0
move gude
EDENALOUEST
STANBUL: Beyolu 12:15 14:30 16:45 19:00
21:15 AFMstinyePark 11:00 13:30 16:00
18:30 21:00 23:30
LEHRISSON
STANBUL: AFMstinyePark 11:30 14:00
16:30 18:50 21:20 23:45 ili Megaplex
Cevahir 11:00 13:10 15:20 17:30 19:40 22:00
AltunizadeCapitol 11:20 13:40 16:10 18:45
21:20 23:40 CaddebostanAFM11:20 13:45
16:30 18:50 21:15 23:35
THECOVE
STANBUL: Levent Cinebonus Kanyon 11:45
14:00 16:15 18:30 21:00 23:15
THECOLLECTOR
STANBUL: Bakrky Cinebonus Capacity
11:15 13:15 15:15 17:15 19:15 21:15 23:15
BeyoluAFMFita 11:10 13:15 15:30 17:40
19:50 21:50 23:50 Levent Cinebonus Kanyon
11:00 13:00 15:15 17:30 19:45 22:00 00:15
Kadky Cinebonus 13:15 15:15 17:15 19:30
21:45 00:00 Kozyata Cinebonus Palladium
11:15 13:15 15:15 17:15 19:15 21:15
ANKARA: AFMAnkamall 11:10 13:10 15:20
17:30 19:40 21:45 00:00 Cinebonus Panora
11:30 13:30 15:30 17:30 19:30 21:30
EV
STANBUL: Bakrky Cinebonus Capacity
11:30 13:45 16:00 18:15 21:00 23:15 Beyolu
AFMFita 11:40 14:00 16:25 18:45 21:05
23:30 AFMstinye Park 11:15 13:45 16:15
18:45 21:15 23:45 Kadky Rexx 11:30 13:30
15:30 17:30 19:30 21:20 ANKARA: AFM
Ankamall 11:35 13:55 16:15 18:40 21:20
23:40 Bilkent Cinebonus 11:00 13:00 15:15
17:30 19:45 22:00 Cinebonus Panora 11:00
13:00 15:15 17:30 19:45 22:00 00:15 ZMR:
AFMPasstel 11:00 12:15 13:15 14:15 15:30
16:30 17:45 19:00 20:15 21:15 Cinecity Kipa
ili 11:45 13:45 15:45 17:45 19:45 21:45
23:45 ANTALYA: AFMLaura 11:45 13:45
16:00 18:30 21:00 23:00 Cinebonus Migros
12:00 14:15 16:30 18:45 21:15
CHUGYEOGJA
STANBUL: Bakrky Cinebonus
Capacity 11:15 13:45 16:15 19:00 21:30
00:00 ili Megaplex Cevahir 11:30 14:00
17:00 19:30 22:00 Kadky Cinebonus
11:00 13:45 16:30 19:15 22:00 23:30
HARD
Eden A Louest
Cem Kzltu
A pair of magical elves is hoping
to do for art what reality TV shows
Top Chef and Project Runway
did for cooking and fashion design. Work of
Art: The Next Great Artist, which debuts on
cable channel Bravo on Wednesday, June 9,
pits 14 very different artists against each oth-
er in weekly challenges and awards the win-
ner a $100,000 prize and a solo exhibition.
The question is, can highly personal, vi-
sual art be judged like a gourmet dish or a
ready-to-wear collection? And is the rarefied
world of art ready for a reality TV make-over?
The whole point of the show is that there
is no right opinion. Everyone has their own
subjective view. But it is amazing every week
that there is a consensus about the quality of
the work, and whats good and whats not,
said Dan Cutforth, one of the executive pro-
ducers. Good art really moves people and in-
spires a reaction. You know it when you see it.
The old chestnut I dont know much about art,
but I know what I like is true, he told Reuters.
Work of Art comes from the same
Magical Elves production company that
blended personality and the process of
fashion design in Project Runway, and
helped lift the lid on how food goes from
good to great in Top Chef.
The world of art, and its colorful char-
acters, is the latest community getting the
chance to share its creative process with a
wider audience.
In the first challenge, contestants ranging
from 23 to 62 years-old are randomly paired off
and asked to produce a visual work that cap-
tures the essence of their partner. A three-per-
son panel of judges decides who has responded
best to the challenge, and who will go home.
When we started reaching out to the
art community, we were worried that people
would be against the idea of a reality show.
What we found was that people were pretty
receptive, said Cutforth.
More than 2,000 people from oil paint-
ers to conceptual artists and silk-screen ex-
perimenters applied to take part, reflecting
the hunger for a larger public canvas for an
often misunderstood form of expression. In
future episodes, the contestants must create
unique pieces in mediums such as sculpture,
photography, collage and industrial design.
One of our goals for this show is for
people to realize that art is all around them.
It shouldnt frighten people to have opin-
ions, said Jane Lipsitz, Cutforths Magical
Elves business partner. People perceive art
as being possibly elitist and a rarefied world.
So it would be amazing if we were to bring
art more into the mainstream, she said.
Just as importantly, the TV show has
been embraced by professionals. Mixed-
media artist Jon Kessler and photographer
Andres Serrano are among the guest judges,
while the permanent panel is made up of
New York gallery owners Bill Powers and
Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, and New York
Magazine art critic Jerry Saltz. Art auctioneer
Simon de Pury acts as mentor to the contes-
tants, and the series winner gets a prestigious
solo show at the Brooklyn Museum, the sec-
ond-largest art museum in New York City.
In the past eight years, Cutforth and
Lipsitz have built a business celebrating
creative talent in a reality TV genre often
dismissed as superficial and gimmicky.
But Work of Art is one of their bolder
projects. I think the art world is definitely
risky. It would be very easy for people to
think this show is not for them. But I think
people who actually watch will be sucked
in, said Cutforth. Los Angeles Reuters
Thecast of Bravonetworksnewreality competitionseriesWorkof Art: TheNext Great Artist. TheshowdebutsonJune9.
Rarefed art world gets
realty TV competton
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2 9 8
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3 6 5
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8 5 7
1 4 2
7 5 2
4 1 9
8 3 6
4 8 1
2 3 6
5 7 9
5 7 8
6 9 3
4 2 1
9 6 3
1 2 4
5 8 7
1 4 2
7 5 8
6 9 3
5 1 9
6 7 8
2 3 4
3 8 6
2 5 4
7 1 9
2 4 7
3 9 1
6 5 8
8 4 3
7 9 6
1 2 5
9 2 7
1 3 5
6 4 8
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P
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CONTINUATION
SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2010
TODAYS ZAMAN17
Does Israel need a
foregn mnster?
US shift of Israel
policy to make Jewish
state more isolated
Or imagine a Country X where the non-Jewish Country
Xians are scared to death to say anything negative about Isra-
el due to their fear of losing their public, private or academic
positions on the grounds of allegedly being anti-Semitic. It
is quite difcult to distinguish between those extremists that
condone every act of aggression and terrorism for the sake
of the so-called Jewish state from those extremists like the
al-Qaeda and Taliban bandits who perpetrate every kind of
aggression and terrorism in the name of the so-called Isla-
mic state. What is the difference? One blows up a hotel with
hundreds of innocent civilians in it just to punish those ofci-
als who oppose the establishment of the so-called Jewish sta-
te and the other blows up a bus full of innocent civilians in or-
der to spread the sense of fear among those who oppose the
establishment of a so-called Islamic state.
It is equally difcult to discern where the real loyalty of
Country Xs Jews lie, when some of them rush to suffocate
Country Xs relationship with its allies every time the latter en-
counters a problem with Israel, even if doing so would be det-
rimental to the interests of Country X. In such cases, a pro-
paganda machine starts to run at full force. The latest crisis
between Turkey and Israel is just one example of this. All of
a sudden, so-called op-ed pieces by so-called Turkey experts
from so-called prominent think tanks started to appear in the
so-called foreign policy journals, reminding Country Xians of
the Islamist roots of the Turkish government and seeking
to sow seeds of discord among Turkish leaders by seemingly
praising one while smearing the other. Similarly, so-called
prominent columnists of so-called newspapers of record star-
ted to propagate the false argument that Turkey is a more
dangerous enemy to Country X and Israel than Hamas is.
So, the situation has always been quite complicated for
non-Israeli Jews. As such, it becomes an ever more critical qu-
estion as to whether Israel should have a foreign minister and
what kind of foreign minister Israel should have, because he or
she is in a position to determine what kind of impact that comp-
licated situation would have on public opinion not only abo-
ut Israel, but also about the non-Israeli Jews around the world.
The kind of foreign minister Israel needs
Given the unchecked and abundant political, military and -
nancial support it is receiving from states such as Country X,
one may be tempted to conclude that Israel does not really
need a foreign minister that has to explain Israels actions to
and foster friendships within the international community.
Moreover, recalling the example of the former US Secretary
of State Henry Kissinger, who reportedly once told his Syri-
an counterpart seeking US intervention to stop the so-called
Six-Day war between Israel and Egypt-Jordan-Syria that we
do not have any problem with the war going on, so long as
Israel is the one winning it, some may actually suggest that
Israel already has more than one foreign minister.
However, given the magnitude of the troubles the conse-
cutive Israeli governments have been creating not only for the
Palestinians, but also for Jews around the world and for the
international community in general, Israel needs not a fore-
ign minister, but perhaps a group of foreign ministers. A gro-
up of foreign ministers whose sole responsibility would be to
foster constructive relations with Israels immediate neighbors
in particular and with the international community in general.
A group of foreign ministers who would formulate long-term
constructive foreign policies that would help Israel be accep-
ted as an ordinary and legitimate member of the internatio-
nal community. Again, a group of foreign ministers who would
earn Israels right to exist through gaining the consent of other
countries, not through squandering the political and economic
resources of a few countries such as Country X.
It is only obvious toward that end that Lieberman is comp-
letely useless as foreign minister of Israel. As a matter of fact,
Lieberman as a foreign minister is quite detrimental to the in-
terests of Israel as well as of the non-Israeli Jews who feel so-
mehow connected to the state of Israel. Perhaps Prime Minis-
ter Netanyahu too subscribes to the idea that Israel does not
really need a foreign minister and that is why he left an other-
wise very important post in his cabinet to Mr. Lieberman.
*Mehmet Kalyoncu is an international relations analyst and
author of the book A Civilian Response to Ethno-Religious
Conict: The Glen Movement in Southeast Turkey.
The Obama administration considers Israels bloc-
kade of Gaza to be untenable and plans to have a
new approach to Gaza, a senior US ofcial said, as repor-
ted by The New York Times on Wednesday.
According to the ofcial, the US plans to press for
another approach to ensure Israels security while allo-
wing more supplies into the impoverished Gaza Strip.
There is no question that we need a new approach
to Gaza, the US ofcial said to New York Times, adding
that the policy shift is still in its early stages. The New
York Times reported that the ofcial was reecting a bro-
adly held view in the upper reaches of the administration.
Observers believe the US policy shift regarding Isra-
el and Gaza will make Israel increasingly isolated and will
put the Jewish state in dire straits considering its location.
Gaza has become the symbol in the Arab world of the
Israeli treatment of Palestinians, and we have to change
that, the senior American ofcial said. We need to remo-
ve the impulse for the otillas. The Israelis also realize this
is not sustainable. Analyzing the shift in US policy, an ob-
server from the Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) think tank
said this was deeply troubling for the state of Israel; times
have changed and Turkey is a more valuable ally to Was-
hington than Israel at this point in time. stanbul Todays Zaman
Turkey, Kurds have talks on deepening economic ties
Bishops driver charged
with murder, probe ongoing
Tension rises in Southeast as terrorist PKK scraps cease-fire
Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish ofcials are dis-
cussing ways to expand economic coope-
ration during a landmark visit by Kurdish leader
Massoud Barzani, the rst in six years.
A top ofcial in Barzanis delegation, Ashti
Hawrami, the Kurdish regional administrations
minister for natural resources, said the Kurdish
authorities were ready to help the Europe-
bound Nabucco pipeline project, offering the
surplus gas extracted in northern Iraqi gas -
elds to the proposed pipeline.
Hawrami said seven elds had been discove-
red in the last three years in northern Iraq, under-
lining that the region housed a signicant reserve
of natural gas. We want to be one of the suppli-
er countries for Nabucco and we are ready to give
our extra gas to the Nabucco pipeline project,
Hawrami said after talks with Turkish Energy Mi-
nister Taner Yldz in Ankara late on Thursday.
He said Turkish companies had made impor-
tant contributions to oil and gas explorations and
made major discoveries. A Turkish company will
make the rst oil exports from Iraq, said Hawra-
mi. He said the Kurdish government recently sig-
ned an agreement with the federal government
in Iraq, adding that initially 100,000 barrels of oil
would be exported per day and this would gradu-
ally increase to 1 million barrels per day.
Yldz said that new oil and gas pipelines wo-
uld be needed between Turkey and Iraq, adding
that the Turkish government was holding talks
with the Iraqi party on the issue.
Yldz also said that Iraq wanted to be one
of the supplier countries for the Nabucco pipe-
line project. Referring to Iraqi Premier Nouri
al-Malikis earlier remarks saying that Iraq was
ready to provide 15 billion cubic meters of gas
to Nabucco, Yldz said he believed this would
be achieved in the future.
Barzani is on a landmark visit to Turkey af-
ter years of tension in ties over Turkish accusa-
tions that the Kurds provided a safe haven for
the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Barzani had talks with Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdoan and Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutolu on Thursday. He is expected to have
talks with Turkeys largest business group, the
Turkish Industrialists and Businessmens As-
sociation (TSAD) today.
Barzani will meet TSADs chairwoman, mit
Boyner, and other representatives from the associa-
tion. Turkeys consul general in Arbil, Aydn Selcen,
and ofcials from the Turkish Foreign Ministry are
also set to participate in the meeting, which is ex-
pected to discuss economic and trade relations bet-
ween Turkey and northern Iraq. Ankara Todays Zaman
A driver for a Roman Catholic bis-
hop was arrested on charges of mur-
der upon the order of a Hatay court on
Friday. The skenderun Courthouse said Mu-
rat Altun had been jailed pending trial over his
alleged stabbing to death of 63-year-old Lui-
gi Padovese. The decision came a day after the
apostolic vicar of Anatolia was killed in the city.
The bishop was attacked outside his home
in the southern Mediterranean port city of s-
kenderun on Thursday afternoon. Police la-
unched an investigation into the incident,
which resulted in the capture of Altuns driver.
Altun reportedly suffers from serious depres-
sion and was pronounced mentally unsound by
the skenderun State Hospital psychiatry depart-
ment last week. Italian news agency ANSA re-
ported that an Italian Franciscan nun, Sister Ele-
onora de Stefano, spoke with Padovese on the
phone less than an hour before his murder. She
said the bishop had explained he was trying to
help the driver deal with his problems.
Hatay Governor Mehmet Celalettin Le-
kesiz said the investigation into the murder
was ongoing. Ofcials believe the murder
not to be politically motivated.
Altuns lawyer, Cihan nal, ruled out any
political motive for the killing, emphasizing that
his client had been suffering from psychological
problems for some time. My client confessed to
every detail about the killing. He said he carried
out the attack by himself and that he did not re-
ceive aid or instruction from anyone, the lawyer
said. nal says that Altun had been working as
Padoveses driver for three or four years, but dec-
lined to provide any further details, citing client
condentiality. During the police interrogation,
Altun reportedly said he killed the bishop upon
receiving a revelation from God.
The lawyer said his client testied in that
way because he was not mentally sound. He
has problems. He was undergoing psychologi-
cal treatment. He told police he received a re-
velation. He said that because he has men-
tal problems, nal commented. The attorney
also denied media claims that his client beca-
me a Christian after beginning to work as the
bishops driver. My client is a Muslim, he said.
Hatay police are now looking into claims
that the Padovese murder could have links to
previous killings of Christians in Turkey, inclu-
ding the murder of Catholic priest Father And-
rea Santoro in Trabzon and three Christian mis-
sionaries in Malatya. The priest was stabbed to
death in his church by a teenager in the nort-
hern Black Sea port city of Trabzon on Feb. 5,
2006. The Malatya missionaries were brutally
murdered in April 2007, bound to chairs, tortu-
red and stabbed at the Zirve Publishing Hou-
se before their throats were slit. The publishing
house printed Bibles and Christian literature.
The bishops remains were sent to his
Hatay home after an autopsy. Padovese
will be buried following a service at a Cat-
holic church in the city today.
Suspects mother saddened by
bishops death, not sons arrest
Murat Altuns mother has said she was saddened
by the death of Bishop Luigi Padovese, not by the
arrest of her son who was charged with murder
on Friday after the bishop was found stabbed to
death in the southern province of Hatay.
I am saddened to learn that the bishop
passed away, but not to learn that my son was
sent to jail, remarked Sultan Altun. Padove-
se, the popes apostolic vicar in Anatolia, was
found dead at his house in Hatay on Thursday.
The bishops driver, Murat Altun, was charged
with murder yesterday and sent to prison.
My son used to love the bishop. He
complied with all his orders and directives. He
respected him very much, said Sultan Altun,
addressing members of the press in tears. She
said her son saw Padovese as his father but
was suffering from psychological problems.
Hed been having severe psychological
problems for the past two months. His problems
were obvious. He had stayed in the church for the
past week. I called him to invite him back to our
house, but he refused, saying he was comfortable
at the church. He was resting at home two days
ago when the bishop called him and asked him to
pick him up for a walk. My son said he was tired,
but the bishop insisted. I talked with the bishop,
and he said he would take my son for a walk and
lunch. I am in a state of deep grief. I am sorry for
the deceased bishop, Sultan Altun said. Sources
said Altuns uncle Kudbettin Altun is also emplo-
yed at Padoveses church. stanbul Todays Zaman
Tensions have been running high recently
in Turkeys Southeast with attacks on poli-
ce departments and police ofcers in the region by
the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after
the organization announced the end of a year-long
unilateral cease-re. Two police ofcers were inju-
red on Thursday evening when PKK terrorists at-
tacked a police car in the southeastern province of
Hakkaris ukurca district. The police ofcers were
hospitalized at the Hakkari State Hospital. Soon af-
ter the incident, as security forces launched an ope-
ration to locate the terrorists, another police car in
the same region also came under attack by terrorists
with long-barrel guns. No one was injured.
Another attack was staged at the Geva Dist-
rict Police Department and police lodging facilities
in the province of Van. There were no casualties, of-
cials said, adding that security had been increased
in the province.
Terrorists also threw explosives at the Nusaybin
District Police Department on Thursday, which blew
up in garden of the building. Nobody was injured in
the explosion but some cars were damaged.
Tension was also high in the Silopi district of
rnak on Thursday as pro-Kurdish Peace and De-
mocracy Party (BDP) supporters staged a demons-
tration and marched towards the Habur border gate
to protest recent operations against the PKK. In a
clash which erupted during the demonstration, BDP
rnak deputy Sevahir Bayndrs leg was broken.
According to recent intelligence reports, the
PKK ordered its operatives to launch attacks in city
centers in response to Turkish security forces acce-
lerating counterterrorism operations with the onset
of summer. According to these reports, the PKK is
planning bombings in city centers as well as the as-
sassination of high-level state ofcials such as go-
vernors and district governors. Security has been
strengthened in all southeastern provinces in res-
ponse to possible attacks. Turkish authorities have
said the PKKs attacks this spring include remote-
controlled bombings, ambushes on military bases
and reghts. Ofcials said May has been the de-
adliest month this year so far, with 23 soldiers killed
and 33 wounded. Two days ago, we started waging
attacks against the Turkish army in response to the-
ir repeated military attacks against the party and po-
litical attacks facing Kurds in Turkey, a PKK spo-
kesman, Ahmed Danees, told Reuters on Thursday.
Stating that the organization has decided to bre-
ak the unilateral cease-re with Turkey that it anno-
unced in April last year, he blamed a lack of progress
on a political reform package announced last year by
the Turkish government and military operations of
the kind late last month when Turkish warplanes at-
tacked some 50 PKK targets in northern Iraq.
The PKK announcement coincides with a land-
mark visit to Turkey by Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud
Barzani, underscoring deepening trade ties between
Turkey and northern Iraq. stanbul Todays Zaman with wires
contnued from page 14
Touching upon the lethal Israeli raid on a Gaza aid flo-
tilla east of the island, which killed nine civilians, the pope
said that hope for Middle East peace should not be lost.
In all of these episodes we have been living through, the-
re has always been the danger that people lose patience
and say, I no longer want to seek peace, the pope told
reporters en route to Cyprus. In the face of each instan-
ce of violence, you must not lose patience or courage, he
said. You always have to begin again afresh in the certa-
inty that you can go forward and achieve peace. He said
peace would not come from one day to the next.
It is very important not only to take the necessary policy
steps but also to ready the men capable of taking these ne-
cessary steps so that they can open their hearts to peace,
he added. Benedict, meanwhile, also underlined that he ho-
ped that Cypruss divided Greek and Turkish communities co-
uld find the desire for harmony to reach peace.
The pope was scheduled to meet in Cyprus with prelates
from the region to set an agenda for an October meeting in
Rome to build a strategy to stem an exodus of Catholics from
the Holy Land, Iraq because of violence and economic hard-
ship. The Middle East includes Christian communities.
Benedict alsofacesissuesonthedivisioninCyprus, splits
intheOrthodox Christiancommunity andconcernsover dama-
ged Christian and Muslimhouses of worship. Cyprus was eth-
nically split in 1974 when Turkey militarily intervened on the
island after a coup by supporters of a union with Greece. Tur-
kish Cypriots declared an independent republic in the north,
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), in 1983, but
only Turkey recognizes it and maintains 35,000troops there.
The Greek Cypriot ambassador to the Holy See, Ge-
orge F. Poulides, said Benedict will be staying at the Vati-
can Nunciature, located right on the so-called Green Line
in Nicosia -- the UN-patrolled buffer zone between bullet-
pocked buildings and army sentry posts separating the
ethnically divided communities. A government official in
Ankara said Turkey would be watching the visit closely
and may comment if there is a sign of political support for
the Greek Cypriots or any allusion to the alleged destruc-
tion of churches in the north. Ankara Todays Zaman with wires
Pope: Turkey cant
be held responsible
for bishops murder
contnued from page 1
Roman Catholic bishop,
Luigi Padovese, was
attacked outside his
home in the southern
Mediterranean port
city of skenderun
on Thursday.
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SAT URDAY, JUNE 5, 2010

SPORTS
Stosur faces Schiavone for French title
Samantha Stosur vs. Francesca Schiavone sounds a little like a
first-round pairing, and a year ago at the French Open, it was.
Stosur won that match between two veteran players who had
never made a splash in a Grand Slam singles tournament. Today
theyll meet again, this time in an improbable final. Paris, AP
S
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Rafael Benitez, whose reign as Liver-
pool manager ended on Thursday, will
always be remembered on Merseyside
for winning the Champions League in 2005 at
the end of his rst season at Aneld.
He boosted his status with Liverpool fans a
year later when Liverpool beat West Ham Unit-
ed in the FA Cup nal.
Although the Reds lost two nals in the fol-
lowing season to Chelsea in the League Cup and
AC Milan in the Champions League, it seemed
the fans had found a man who would bring them
the coveted English league title.
The problem for Benitez, though, was that the glory
days were already over.
The arrival of the clubs new owners, Americans
Tom Hicks and George Gillett in 2007 three months be-
fore the second Champions League nal against Milan,
began a long period of uncertainty between Benitez and
the board, who he publicly criticised for a lack of support.
Their courting of Juergen Klinsmann, the
former Germany coach to replace him in No-
vember 2007, did nothing for the inner harmony
at Aneld, but Benitez saw off the threat and re-
vealed some of his own inner steel.
I cannot control everything, he said after the ap-
proach to Klinsmann became public. I would rather
concentrate my efforts on getting the best out of the play-
ers. I have been a manager for 21 years. That has helped
me learn to cope with things like this. It has helped me
realize there is no problem with my ability, just as there is
no doubt about the quality of our squad.
Restricted budget
Although he was able to spend a total of 249.0 million
pounds ($367 million) on new players and recoup 139
million in sales, his transfer budget became more and
more restricted as Liverpool became burdened with
debts which now total around 350 million pounds.
Although Liverpool nished fourth in the Pre-
mier League in 2008 and was the runner-up to
Manchester United in 2009, Benitez never seemed
close to bringing Liverpools most cherished prize
back to Aneld for the rst time since 1990.
He also began to appear under pressure, culminat-
ing in the famous Rafa rant in January 2009 when he
read a list of facts about Manchester United manager
Alex Ferguson at one of his weekly media briengs.
One of the real facts for Benitez to have to deal with
was that although his side were able to turn the tide
against Milan on that magical night in stanbul in May
2005 when they scored three times in the second half to
force a 3-3 draw before winning the Champions League
title on penalties, they were unable to overturn Man-
chester Uniteds domestic dominance.
Despite topping the table for a few weeks during
the 2008-09 season and winning 4-1 at Old Trafford in
March 2009, Liverpool could not prevent United win-
ning a third successive Premier League crown to equal
Liverpools record of 18 league titles.
Benitez, though, believed that by nishing as
runner-up, his side was equipped to mount a serious
title challenge in the season just ended.
But the departure of the irreplaceable Xabi
Alonso, who left Liverpool for Real Madrid a year
ago, seriously unbalanced the side.
The Reds made a poor start to the season,
never recovered, and failed to make any impact in
the Champions League or in either of the domes-
tic trophies. Londan Reuters
Fabregas back for
Spain as defending
champ Italy loses
Cesc Fabregas returned to action after
two months out injured and played for
an hour in Spains 1-0 World Cup warm-up
win over South Korea.
World Cup holder Italy did not fare as well, los-
ing 2-1 to Mexico, and Germany midelder Bastian
Schweinsteiger converted two penalties to give his
side a 3-1 winover Bosnia intheir last warm-up be-
fore the tournament inSouthAfrica.
Arsenal midelder Fabregas had a good chance
to openthe scoring for Spainwhenhe hit the cross-
bar after 35 minutes but Jesus Navass stunning late
goal secured victory for the European champions
whoeldedmainly second-choice players.
The rst half was better than the sec-
ond for me. This has all been a bit like a
pre-season for me, but I am feeling good,
Fabregas told Spanish state television.
Striker Fernando Torres, recovering from knee
surgery, remained the only Spanish player not to
have featuredinthe warm-upmatches.
Italy went down to goals from Mexicos Car-
los Vela and Cuauhtemoc Blanco before substitute
Leonardo Bonucci pulled one back in a goalmouth
scramble three minutes fromtime.
I dont think we could have met a worse team
today, said Italy coach Marcello Lippi, explaining
that his side had just completed 10 days altitude
conditioning andwere not fully matcht.
There are no alarm bells... We need to get t
gradually and peak at the right time. Its true I ex-
pected to see us better prepared physically, he told
a news conference.
Mexicofaces SouthAfrica inthe openingmatch
of the WorldCuponJune 11.
Lahm captain
Philipp Lahm marked his debut as Germany
captain with the equalizer against Bosnia hav-
ing played a part in the 15th-minute opener
when his clearance struck striker Edin Dzeko
and sailed over keeper Manuel Neuer.
Schweinsteiger calmly converted penalties in
the 73rdand74thminutes togive Germany victory.
Inthesecondhalf, despitethreeweeks of prep-
aration, we increased the tempo again and that was
goodtosee, saidGermany coachJoachimLoew.
The potential is there. Everyone has worked
hard and I think we have a good team, the mood
is good in the team and we can play a good tour-
nament. France play their nal warm up on Fri-
day against China and centre back William Gallas
shouldbe t after recovering froma stomachache.
Hes really well, coach Raymond Domenech
told reporters at the teams training camp in the
FrenchIndianOceanislandof Reunion.
Domenech was less pleased that around
200 children were prevented from watching
training by security staff who had planned for
a crowd of no more than 3,000. The fact 200
fans stayed at the door is unacceptable, he
said. They were kids, not hooligans.
I dont know who took the decision but its
a scandal. The players were looking forward to
seeing lots of kids in the stadium and there were
plenty of empty seats. Brazil coach Dunga was
also venting his anger with renewed criticism of
the World Cup ball, saying players from other
countries were unhappy with it too.
FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke was
in the ring line after he implied during a news
conference that, in criticizing the ball, Brazil were
looking for excuses in case they failed to win the
tournament. London Reuters/AP
Spanish player Cesc Fabregas
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Countdown to World Cup
Bank Asya League 1 honors 2009-10 stars
The Bank Asya League 1 (second
division) honored its stars of the
2009-10 season in an elaborate ceremony
at stanbuls Swisstel on Thursday night.
In other words, honor was given to whom
honor was due as awards were presented
to the team of the year, coach of the year,
player of the year and so on.
The ceremony attracted top sports per-
sonalities across the country as well as peo-
ple from all walks of life, including Turkish
Football Federation (TFF) Vice Presidents
Lut Arboan and Levent Kzl, Youth
and Sports General Director Yunus Akgl,
Press Ad Agency General Director Mehmet
Atalay and other senior sports ofcials.
Doctor-singer Ferhat Ger thrilled the
audience with her magnicent performance.
And the winners were
Teams of the Year: Kardemir Karabk-
spor, Bucaspor
Coach of the Year: Ycel ldiz (Kar-
demir Karabkspor)
Player of the Year: Yasin Avc (Kar-
demir Karabkspor)
Rising Star of the Year: Musa aran
(Altay)
Goal King Award: Yasin Avc (Kar-
demir Karabkspor)
Foreign Player of the Year: Emmanuel
Emenike (Kardemir Karabkspor)
Playoff Star Award: Ramazan Kahya
(Konyaspor)
Devotion Award: Branimir Poljac
(Konyaspor)
Fair Play Award: Boluspor
First XI of the Year: Tolgahan Acar (Ad-
anaspor), mer Hacsaliholu (Konyaspor), Anl
Karaer (Adanaspor), Muhammet zdin(Kardemir
Karabkspor), Veli Kzlkaya (Bucaspor), Fevzi
zkan (Adanaspor), Kvan Karaka (Karyaka),
Bekir Ylmaz (Bucaspor), enol Akn (Kardemir
Karabkspor), Yasin Avc (Kardemir Karabkspor)
andMehmet Batdal (Bucaspor). stanbul Todays Zaman
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Winners of the 2009-10 Bank Asya League 1 awards pose with their trophies
at theendof theelaborateceremony at stanbuls Swissotel onThursday night.
AMay25, 2005filephotoof Rafael Benitezholdingthecovetedtrophyafter Liverpoolsvictoryin
theUEFAChampionsLeaguefinal against ACMilanat theAtatrkOlimpiyat Stadiuminstanbul.
Rafael Benitezs
eventful reign as Liv-
erpool manager has
come to a grinding
but inevitable halt.
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19 TODAYS ZAMAN SPORTS
SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2010
Lindsey Vonns home mountains in Colorado
will host the Alpine skiing world champion-
ships in 2015. The International Ski Federation (FIS)
picked the Vail and Beaver Creek ski resorts Thursday
ahead of rival bids from Cortina dAmpezzo, Italy,
and St. Moritz, Switzerland at a vote in the southern
Turkish resort of Antalya.
Im so excited!!!! Vonn wrote on Twitter min-
utes after the result was announced. Congrats to ev-
eryone in Vail and for all of your hard work!
The decision sends the biennial event back to
North America after seven straight championships
in Europe. Olympic downhill champion Vonn was
a 14-year-old course volunteer when Vail-Beaver
Creek last staged the worlds in 1999. Vail also hosted
the event in 1989.
Our nation is deeply honored to have been se-
lected as the site of the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski
Championships, Bill Marolt, head of the US Ski and
Snowboard Association, said in a statement.
Vail won on the rst round, receiving a major-
ity eight of the 15 votes cast by members of the FIS
ruling council. Cortina got four votes and St. Moritz
three. We knew from the outset that we had our
work cut out for us with three world class candi-
dates, said Ceil Folz, president of the Vail Valley
Foundation. We cant wait to get home and share
this with our community.
The winning bid calls for a new womens down-
hill course to be created for the championships in
Beaver Creek. It will share a nish area with the ad-
joining mens Birds of Prey course that was created
for the 99 worlds. Womens technical races will be
run on the Giant Steps course at Vail.
Vail-Beaver Creek nished second in the
vote two years ago when all three of Thursdays
candidates lost to the Austrian resort of Schlad-
ming for the 2013 championships. Garmisch-
Partenkirchen in Germany will hold the 2011
worlds next February. stanbul Todays Zaman
Red Bull teammates Sebastian Vettel and
Mark Webber say they have no problems
working together despite the collision that wrecked
chances of a 1-2 nish at the Turkish Grand Prix
last Sunday and handed the race to McLaren. The
embarrassing bump on lap 40 put Vettel out of the
race while Webber, who had led from the start, re-
covered to nish third behind Lewis Hamilton and
Jenson Button. After discussions with team bosses
Thursday, Vettel said the two teammates were right
to race each other. Webber, whose champion-
ship lead is ve points over Button, said
he would make sure it wouldnt happen
again but the incident would not prevent
the two drivers continuing to work to-
gether. The next race is in Canada
on June 13. Milton Keynes, England AP
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Kobe Bryant and the Los An-
geles Lakers produced a siz-
zling, physical display at both
ends of the court to overpower the
Boston Celtics 102-89 in Game One
of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
In a bruising contest at Staples
Center, 12-times All-Star guard
Bryant scored 30 points and Span-
ish forward Pau Gasol added 23 for
the Lakers, chasing a second consec-
utive title and 16th overall.
Los Angeles, outplayed and
outmuscled by Boston in the
2008 Finals, delivered one of
their toughest performanc-
es of the season, out-re-
bounding their opponents
42-31 and sweeping the
second-chance points
16-0. Gasol, consid-
ered soft by some
critics two years
ago, contributed
14 rebounds and
three blocked
shots while
forward Ron
Artest, a formi-
dable defender
who joined the
Lakers in the off-
season, weighed in
with 15 points.
The Lakers shot
48.7 percent from the
oor while holding the
Celtics to 43.3.
It wasnt the prettiest
basketball game Ive ever
watched in my life but it was
a good win for us, Lakers
coach Phil Jackson told re-
porters. We sustained
the lead in the second
half even though we
had some tough sequences out there.
Ominously for the Celtics, Jackson
has never lost a playoff series in 47 at-
tempts with either the Chicago Bulls or
the Lakers when his team has won the
opening game.
I wish I had put it in the bank, so to
speak, said the veteran coach, who has
won a record 10 NBA Championship
rings. Weve got a lot of work ahead of
us, but its nice to know that (the 47-0
run) is on our side.
Physical encounter
Boston captain and forward Paul Pierce
nished with 24 points but guard Rajon
Rondo was held to 13 points on six-for-14
shooting for the Celtics, who are bidding
for a record 18th NBA championship.
The Lakers were clearly the more
physical team today, Boston coach
Doc Rivers said. They attacked us the
entire night. I didnt think we handled
it very well. We take pride in our de-
fense, and we didnt do it.
Game Two in the best-of-seven se-
ries between the leagues most storied
franchises takes place in Los Angeles
Sunday. A physical encounter was al-
ways on the cards and Pierce and Art-
est were slapped with technical fouls
in the opening minute following an
off-the-ball grapple under the basket.
Defending tigerishly, the Lakers
twice led by six points early on but were
pegged back to 18-18, before taking a
26-21 advantage after a rst quarter lit-
tered with 28 fouls and 27 free throws.
The Lakers tightened their grip in
the second period, Artest sparking an
11-2 run with a three-point jumper and
a driving layup as the home team built
a 50-41 lead at half-time.
With a sellout crowd chanting Bos-
ton sucks in the third quarter, Los An-
geles maintained control, a superb assist
from Derek Fisher setting up Bryant for an
alley-oop dunk to put them 75-62 clear.
An Artest three-pointer with 28
seconds left on the clock in the third
earned the Lakers a commanding 84-64
lead going into the nal period.
Although Boston hit back with a
10-1 run at the start of the fourth, Los
Angeles rallied and Bryant ttingly end-
ed the scoring for the night with a three-
point jump shot. Los Angeles Reuters/AP
LA LAKERS WIN UGLY AGAINST
BOSTON CELTICS IN GAME ONE
Vail-Beaver
Creek to host 2015
Alpine worlds, beats
Swiss and Italians
Red Bull drivers
forgive and forget
after stanbul crash
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Los Angeles Lakers
Pau Gasol takes a
shot over Rasheed
Wallace (R) of the
Boston Celtics
during the second
half in Game One of
their 2010 NBA Fi-
nals in Los Angeles.
WWW. T ODAYSZ AMAN. COM SAT URDAY, JUNE 5, 2010
Lee DeWyze makes lukewarm debut
American Idol winner Lee DeWyze failed to crack Billboards Top 10 singles and digi-
tal charts in one of the most tepid debuts yet from a champion of the top-rated real-
ity TV show. DeWyzes cover version of U2s Beautiful Day entered in 12th place
on the digital charts and in 24th place on the Hot 100 singles charts. LA, Reuters
Actress Rue McClanahan, best known for her
award-winning role as a man-crazy Southern
belle on television comedy The Golden Girls,
has died after suffering a massive stroke. She was 76.
McClanahan died in a New York City hospital in the
early hours of Thursday morning with family members
by her side, according to her manager. The actress suf-
fered a minor stroke last November while recovering
from heart bypass surgery. McClanahan, who was mar-
ried six times in real life, won an Emmy award for her role
as Blanche Devereaux on hit sitcom The Golden Girls.
McClanahan's death leaves Betty White, 88, as the
only surviving member of The Golden Girls main
cast, following the deaths of Bea Arthur in 2009 and
Estelle Getty in 2008. In a statement, White called
McClanahan a close and dear friend and said she
treasured their relationship. It hurts more than I even
thought it would, if that's possible, White said.
Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, who once
wrote for Golden Girls, said Devereaux was his favorite
character for whom to pen dialogue. In addition to winning
an Emmy, US television's top honor, McClanahan earned
Emmy nods three other times and was also nominated for
three Golden Globe honors in the same role.
While Devereaux may have been Mc-
Clanahan's best-remembered character,
it was by no means her only one. Her
work includes well over 100 lm, TV
and stage roles spanning six decades.
Born Eddi-Rue McClanahan in Heald-
ton, Oklahoma, in 1934, McClanahan began
her career on the stage, working off Broad-
way until the late 1960s when she found herself
on the Great White Way in the musical Jimmy
Shine. In the early 1970s, she joined daytime TV show
Another World for a brief stint, and in 1972 landed
on groundbreaking TV comedy Maude, where she
played a friend of the show's title character, who in turn
was portrayed by Bea Arthur. Later in life, she wrote
a memoir called My First Five Husbands...And the
Ones who Got Away, and in 2005 returned to Broad-
way as Madame Morrible in the hit musical Wicked.
Her TV work also includes guest appearances on
shows from The Love Boat to Law and Order.
She is survived by her current husband, Morrow
Wilson, whom she married in 1997. Los Angeles Reuters/AP
The Golden Grls actress Rue
McClanahan des of stroke
McClanahans death leaves Betty White, 88, as the only
surviving member of The Golden Girls main cast, following
the deaths of Bea Arthur in 2009 and Estelle Getty in 2008
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Thisundatedfilephotoshowscast membersof theTVseriesGoldenGirls,posingfor aphoto-- clockwise
from left, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Estelle Getty. McClanahan died on Thursday.
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Rue McClanahan