Turkish Newspaper Columns

Summaries of selected opinions from Turkish newspapers on September 3 ANKARA - Turkish Daily News Monday, September 4, 2006

Soldiers had the last say:

Radikal's Murat Yetkin in yesterday's column said he was informed by Foreign Ministry sources that despite the government's request for Turkish troops to be deployed closer to locals, it was the Office of the Chief of General Staff and the Foreign Ministry bureaucracy that had the final say on the Lebanon troop deployment proposal that was submitted to Parliament on Saturday.
He said the same sources said the proposal aimed to minimize the risk posed by clashes to Turkish troops.
The aid Turkey may give to UNIFIL was categorized under three headings.
1-- Naval vessels to patrol the eastern Mediterranean region;
2-- Providing logistical support to allies by allowing them to use Turkish ports and airports; and
3-- Training the Lebanese army.

Those who support troop dispatch:
Cumhuriyet's Oral Çalışlar on Sunday wrote about Turkey's decision to send troops to Lebanon as part of a U.N. force there.
Çalışlar recalled that Parliament on March 1, 2003 voted down a government resolution allowing U.S. ships and planes to use bases in Turkey to attack Iraq. To this day, some who supported backing the U.S. attack against Iraq have claimed the rejection cost Turkey dearly. Proponents of aiding the United Stats in Iraq say Turkey's decision alienated it from the region. It is because of that rejection that it can't intervene in the emerging process of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq. Çalışlar says Turkey made the right decision staying away from the chaos in Iraq. Turkey was protected from the reaction and anger from the Arab world and was praised for the attitude symbolizing dignity as it rejected billions of dollars offered by the United States. Turkey has also increased its influence in the region by not taking sides in the Iraq war, Çalışlar contends.
Çalışlar, however, admits that the situation in Lebanon -- troop deployment under the United Nations -- is quite different from the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Çalışlar says -- although he is opposed to sending troops to Lebanon in principle -- drawing a parallel with the situation in Iraq as most opponents of sending troops to Lebanon do is unfair and wrong.

Although reckless gun owners might get angry:
Hürriyet's Oktay Ekşi yesterday wrote about a recent decision of the state-owned gun producer MKEK to cancel a marketing plan to sell guns with long-term payment options after drawing much reaction from the media and civil society organizations against private gun ownership.
Ekşi said that for the first time a folk singer who fired shots into the air with an unlicensed gun was fined YTL 12,000 for his crime. In addition, an investigation was started for having violated the law on firearms. Ekşi called on other prosecutors to do the same. Ekşi also noted that about 600 people annually are killed by bullets fired at weddings or other celebrations. According to Ekşi stricter gun control laws could be the only way to prevent deaths caused by stray bullets.

The Lebanon debate:
Zaman's Ahmet Selim yesterday called on all sides to employ a peaceful and calm manner in discussions about the country's fate. Recent debates on whether Turkey should contribute troops to strengthen a U.N. force in Lebanon are overly sensitive. However, according to Selim both opponents and proponents share the same concerns. Both sides are worried about Turkey's future in the Middle East and its problem with Kurdish separatists. The Kurdish state in Iraq will become increasingly independent. This is why Turkey should have allowed the United States to use military bases in Turkey when attacking Iraq, according to Selim. However, experiencing that feeling of regret should not be a part of the debates on the Lebanon force. Everyone should understand the seriousness of the situation and act responsibly when discussing dispatch of troops to Lebanon.

Towards Iran:
Daily Milliyet's Melih Aşık yesterday wrote about the recent violence in Iraq. In his opinion, clashes in Iraq have long transformed into an outright civil war, with more than 300 deaths within the past week and over 1,000 in the past month. Iraq is likely to be separated into three parts, according to Aşık. The Kurds there are closer to establishing a fully independent state. The United States, as it works to disintegrate Iraq, is preparing to hit Iran. President George Bush's latest statements against Iran's nuclear ambitions clearly show that the United States is determined to attack Iran, Aşık said.
Aşık refers to those who support the idea that sending troops to Lebanon would protect Turkey from danger in the Middle East and that for this reason Turkey should go with the U.S. flow in Lebanon. Aşık disagrees with this idea, saying that once Turkey is dragged into the Lebanese quagmire it will be hard to get out. In addition, a United States that would like to separate Turkey cannot be a reliable and honest ally.

The ‘lynch operator':
Sabah's Umur Talu yesterday wrote about the statement of a police chief praising a lynching attempt in Istanbul. Four young people who demonstrated against the dispatch of Turkish troops to Lebanon as part of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were kicked and punched by bystanders. Eventually the security forces managed to drag the bloodied demonstrators to a police station. In a statement that came shortly after the incident, Cerrah had told the press: “Unfortunately, they are university students. There is a lot of reaction against such people in society these days. It is a nice reaction.” According to Talu, Cerrah's praise was not a Freudian slip but rather a confession of Turkey's state tradition that often disregards the supremacy of law. Cerrah's statement was by no means an accident. Talu says the opposition party, and even the former chief of general staff, praised for his democratic stance, had either kept silent in similar incidents or even praised some past events. Everybody in Turkey has a part of Cerrah inside them, according to Talu.