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The Dalyan Newspaper
Maras Cad. No: 35
Dalyan/Mugla, Turkiye
Tele: 252 284 33 01
FAX: 252 284 34 87
GSM: 555 410 08 10


Turkey's Central Bank keeps the benchmark interest rate at 15.25 percent.

ISTANBUL - TDN with wire dispatches

After months of easing overnight borrowing rates, Turkey's Central Bank kept the benchmark interest rate at 15.25 percent for the second time Thursday, but signaled that it may start increasing the rate in the near future.

The benchmark rate has gradually fallen from 17.50 percent in September last year, down to 15.25 percent in February, a decline of 225 basis points.

The bank's benchmark interest rate stands as the second highest in the world, after Iceland's repurchasing rate of 15.50 percent.

The Turkish lira (YTL) has lost 14 percent against the dollar this year, threatening to spur inflation and drive up the cost of imports, reported Bloomberg. The Central Bank said it was now ready to reverse course if needed. ?The easing bias has been totally eliminated,? said Inan Demir, an economist at Finansbank in Istanbul. ?Last month, the bank spoke of future rate cuts. Now it's referring to hikes.?

The bank ?will not allow a breakdown in pricing behavior? and said it was tracking food and energy prices, as well as the situation on global credit markets, according to the official statement.

Predictions:

In a report, Lehman Brothers welcomed the decision, saying the bank did ?one of the best things it could,? according to a report in daily Hürriyet on Friday The benchmark rate may rise to 16.50 percent by the end of the year, Lehman predicted, and claimed that the first rate hike decision may come as soon as next month.

U.S. banking giant JP Morgan was more cautious and said their prediction on a possible rate hike may come only after the inflation report is announced April 30. Until then, JP Morgan will hold on to its previous prediction that interest rates will not change until the end of the year.

Speaking to Hürriyet, Asli Savranoglu, an economist at EFG Istanbul, said the bank may raise the benchmark rate half a percentage point next month.

Inflation rises:

Inflation accelerated to 9.2 percent in March, breaching the bank's limits and forcing Governor Durmus Yilmaz to make a public explanation for missing the target. Turkey imports nearly all its energy needs.

Expectations for future inflation rose after the March price data was announced, according to the bank's latest survey of economists and businessmen, released April 9. Inflation will probably be 6.8 percent over the next 12 months, the highest forecast since March last year, the survey said.

The bank will respond more vigorously to ?bad news than good,? the statement said, noting the rise in expectations.

Public anticipation of steeper inflation will force the bank to ?step up to the plate and raise interest rates soon,? Lucy Bethell, a strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland in London, told Bloomberg before the decision was announced. ?Their situation is very similar to South Africa's.

South Africa example:

The South African Reserve Bank lifted its main rate by 50 basis points to 11.5 percent on April 10, the highest in almost five years, citing rising energy costs and a weaker rand.

The decision to hold rates steady is ?a negative since it undermines credibility,? Bethell said.

Turkey's economy expanded 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, unchanged from three months earlier at the slowest rate in almost six years. Growth stalled in part because of the bank's 4.25 percentage-point increase in the benchmark interest rate in 2006 following a weakening of the YTL.

The central bank cut the rate by a total of 2.25 percentage points between September and February, arguing that core inflation was approaching its year-end goal of 4 percent.

The Constitutional Court on March 31 voted to hear a case to ban Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan from office and shut his party for mixing religion with politics. A verdict may take five or six months.

20 killed in blast at unlicensed fireworks manufacturer in Turkey

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- An explosion ripped through an unlicensed fireworks factory in an industrial section of Istanbul on Thursday, killing 20 people and injuring 117, officials said.

The city's governor, Muammer Guler, blamed fireworks manufactured illegally in the five-story building. He ruled out terrorism, and said an investigation was under way.

Mayor Kadir Topbas said a chain of explosions destroyed the top two floors of the building in the Davutpasa district.

The first blast, at about 9:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. EST), sparked a fire that drew onlookers, he said. Minutes later, there was a second explosion.

At least 20 people were killed -- including eight onlookers -- and 117 injured, eight seriously, he said.

"White smoke was rising into the sky from the factory as we came to the front of the building. People were running around. I helped carry out six injured people,'' a witness who identified himself as Ali told CNN-Turk television.

The force of the blast destroyed the top two floors and columns of nearby buildings, sending debris showering down on cars parked on the street below.

Police sealed off the area as rescue workers pulled bodies from the rubble. TV footage showed at least two men lying in the street as a man with blood on his face walked nearby.

The factory housed textile makers and an unlicensed fireworks manufacturer, reports said. The building had been shut down by authorities twice but the work continued illicitly, a municipal director, Murat Aydin, told NTV television.

Davutpasa is home to an industrial zone with many unregulated businesses. Topbas said regulation is difficult because there are so many factories in the city of more than 12 million people, and he appealed to residents to inform authorities about unlicensed manufacturers.

In 2005, a series of explosions at a fireworks depot in Istanbul killed six people. The explosions occurred in a section of the warehouse that was not licensed to hold fireworks.

By IBRAHIM USTA
Associated Press Writer

Mexico, Colombia and Turkey sell 3.5 billion in dollar bonds

Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) — Mexico, Colombia and Turkey sold a combined $3.5 billion of dollar bonds in international markets, locking in borrowing costs on concern a U.S. economic slump may crimp demand for higher-yielding securities in coming months.

``It's an issuance fest,'' said Edwin Gutierrez, who manages about $5.5 billion of emerging-market debt for Aberdeen Asset Management in London. ``Guys want to get their deals out the door while they can.''

Mexico sold $1.5 billion of bonds maturing in 2040 to yield 6.055 percent, or 1.7 percentage points above U.S. Treasuries of comparable maturity. Colombia sold $650 million of dollar bonds due in 2017 to yield 6 percent and $350 million of bonds due in 2037 to yield 6.6 percent. Turkey issued $1 billion of bonds due 2018 to yield 6.3 percent, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Demand for emerging-market securities has stabilized after central banks injected cash into global financial markets to shore up interbank lending amid mounting subprime loan market losses. The three-month London interbank offered rate, or Libor, for dollars fell 3.8 basis points today to 4.505 percent, bringing it down more than 60 basis points since Dec. 5.

The spread, or extra yield, investors demand to own emerging-market bonds instead of U.S. Treasuries has dropped 16 basis points from a two-year high of 2.66 percentage points reached on Nov. 27, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s EMBI Plus index. The spread today fell 4 basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 2.5 percentage points.

`Very Short'

``It's a window that guys will take advantage of,'' Gutierrez said. ``Who knows how long it will last, so get these deals done while you can.''

Investors put in bids for $2.8 billion of the Mexican bonds sold, placing the bid-to-cover ratio at 1.87, the Finance Ministry said. Mexico sold the securities at the lowest yield ever paid by the country for the maturity.

``We had very positive results in the midst of a very complicated backdrop,'' Gerardo Rodriguez, head of public credit at the Finance Ministry, said in a telephone interview from Mexico City. ``Market windows are very short. Today we had one and took advantage of it very quickly.''

The sale is part of Mexico's plan to create a new 30-year benchmark security, Rodriguez said. Credit Suisse Group and Deutsche Bank AG managed the sale.

`Vote of Confidence'

Colombia's two bond sales are re-openings of securities initially sold in 2006. The government first sold the 2017 bonds in July 2006 to yield 7.45 percent and first issued the 2037 bonds two months later at the same yield of 7.45 percent.

Investors bid for 1.4 times the amount of Colombian securities sold. Credit Suisse and Merrill Lynch managed the sale.

``These sales show a big vote of confidence for the asset class,'' said David Cortes, who oversees $120 million of Mexican and Brazilian bonds at Bulltick LLC in Miami. ``We've performed very well given a very negative backdrop in the U.S.''

Turkey's sale was a re-opening of its 6.75 percent notes due in 2018. The government first sold $1.25 billion of the bonds in September to yield 6.85 percent. JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch & Co. managed today's sale.

Turkey Broadened Fundamental Rights, Freedom While Combatting Terrorism

PARIS - Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Tuesday that Turkey has never weakened democracy while fighting terrorism and added that Turkey has broadened fundamental rights and freedom while several countries restrained them in the name of fight against terrorism. "Democracy isolates terrorism and terrorists. Turkey has broadened fundamental rights and freedom while several countries restrained them in the name of fight against terrorism. All these helped isolate terrorist group," Gul told a press conference at Turkish Embassy in Paris where he travelled to promote Aegean city of Izmir's bid to host EXPO 2015.

"Consolidating democracy in Turkey will strengthen our fight against terrorism," Gul told reporters.

Gul also said that the closure case regarding Democratic Society Party (DTP) was not discussed at his meeting with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon. He said it is Turkey's own business.


About Turkey

Flora & Fauna

The wide variation in topography and climate; the fact that Turkey is surrounded by four seas, each with its own ecological constitution; and the relatively late development of industry and agriculture has resulted in an phenomenal wealth of plant and animal life within Turkey’s borders. This extraordinary degree of biodiversity was augmented during the Ice Age, when northern animals strayed south seeking warmer climes, and many remained in their new homelands. Turkey is also situated on the main migratory routes for birds between Asia, Africa and Europe, thus increasing the number of species found here.

Climate and Weather

It is commonly said that you can experience each of the four seasons on the same day in some part of Turkey. During the spring months early tourists bask in the Mediterranean sunshine of the south while on the lofty mountain tops above people are skiing. The Black Sea region glistens under spring rains while Southeastern Anatolia still sleeps under a blanket of snow. In some areas the temperature variation over 24 hours can be as much as 20 oC. Average precipation from region to region also varies enormously. For a country located in a temperate climatic zone, this variety is unusual, and is due to the diverse nature of Turkey’s landscape, ranging as it does from low-lying plains to towering peaks, and in particular to the existence of mountain ranges running parallel to the coast.

Geography

Turkey is a big and respectively green country as opposed to what many people may think. It is between 35 and 42 long latitude, and 25 and 44 east longitude. Philadelphia, Tokyo and Beijing are some of the cities around the same latitude as Turkey.

Turkey is divided into 7 geographic regions :

  • Marmara (Marmara)
  • Aegean (Ege)
  • Mediterranean (Akdeniz)
  • Southeastern (Guney Dogu)
  • Eastern (Dogu)
  • Blacksea (Karadeniz)
  • Central Anatolia (Ic Anadolu)

    The total area Turkey covers is a bit less than 800.000 sq km ( 774,815 sq km ), which makes it one of the biggest countries in Europe and the Middle East. The neighbours are Greece and Bulgaria on the norhtwest,Armenia and Georgia on the northeast, Iran and Irak on the southeast and Syria on the south. Of all, the Turkish-Syrian border is the longest.Turkey has no direct border with Russia, but the Black Sea on the north.The other seas that cover Turkey are the Aegean on the west and the Mediterrenean on the south. In other words, Turkey is a huge big peninsula wrapped up by seas on three sides that looks like the head of a horse, as a Turkish poet has put it.

    The highest mountain of Turkey is the Mount Ararat in the east, on which Noah's Ark is believed to be ,and it is not far from the lake Van , the biggest lake of the country. Other known mountains are Mount Erciyes, Mount Hasan, Bursa Uludag ,and the mountainchain "The Tauruses".

    The Asian part of Anatolia comprises a large part of the present day Turkey, although the area mentioned above was only a small portion of the pre World War I. Once the Ottoman Empire had its widest borders from the Adriatic Sea to the Persian Gulf i.e. Indian Ocean. The eastern region of Turkey, Thrace, lies in Europe and has 23,000 sq km surface area. The elevation rises from west towards east and stabilizes at around 800m above sea level in the Central Anatolian Plateau.

    Further east, the elevation increases and reaches 2,000-2,200m on the average in eastern Anatolia. In the South, the taurus Mountains lay parallel to the Mediterranean with average elevations around 2,500m, sometimes reaching 4,OOOm above sea level. In Western Anatolia, the mountain ranges lie from east to west, perpendicular to the Aegean Sea creating fertile valleys and fields washed by the rivers of famous ancient times legends such as the Great Meander, Castros, Pactole and Selinus. These mountain ranges, perpendicular to the sea, created many peninsulas and bays and thus, a coastal line full of natural wonders.

    The high plateaus east of the sunken salt lake bowl contain many volcanoes with elevations of 3,000-4,OOOm and higher. The highest of these mountains is Mt. Ararat (5,165m). The largest lake in the country, Lake Van (3,600 sq km ) is also in this region. The high plains of Eastern Anatolia are generally large areas for animal husbandry, but there are lower, warmer and more fertile plains such as the Igdir plain. The rivers that originate in this region, like Euphrates and Tigris, flow south as the elevation decreases rapidly. They water the South Eastern Anatolia region and, forming Upper Mesopotamia, they leave Turkey.

    In the Black Sea, it is noticeable that the mountains generally lie close to the sea. As a result of this, only several (Carsamba, Bafra, etc.) fertile plains were formed, and other than these plains, the mountains are almost perpendicular to the coastline.

    The region around the Marmara Sea, both in Anatolia and in Thrace has very few changes in elevation , and is comprised of large, flat, fertile lands.

    www.turkishembassy.org

    A country of sun and history, Turkey straddles the point where Europe and Asia meet. It is located where the three continents making up the old world, Asia, Africa and Europe, are closest to one another.

    Because of its geographical location, the mainland, Anatolia, has witnessed the mass migration of diverse peoples shaping the course of history. Home to countless civilizations, Anatolia has developed a unique blend of cultures—each with its own distinct identity, each linked to its predecessors through history.

    As an ancient land and modern nation, Turkey today holds and protects the common past of all people.

    Fascinating Facts Illustrating Turkey’s Rich Heritage

    • Istanbul is the only city in the world located on two continents - Europe and Asia. During its 25,000-year history, it has been the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires.
    • Two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World stood in Turkey - the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Bodrum.
    • St. Nicholas, known as Santa Claus today, was born and lived in Demre (Myra) on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. The village contains the famous Church of St. Nicholas, which contains the sarcophagus believed to be his tomb.
    • The first man ever to fly was Turkish. Using two wings, Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi flew from the Galata Tower over the Bosphorus to land in Usküdar in the 17th century.
    • Many archeologists and biblical scholars believe Noah's Ark landed on Agri Dagi (Mount Ararat) in eastern Turkey. 
    • The famous Trojan War took place in western Turkey, around the site where a wooden statue of the Trojan Horse rests today.
    • Turks introduced coffee to Europe.
    • According to Turkish tradition, a stranger at one's doorstep is considered "a guest from God," and should be accommodated accordingly.
    • Julius Caesar issued his celebrated proclamation, Veni, Vidi, Vici (“I came, I saw, I conquered”), in Turkey upon defeating the Pontus, a formidable kingdom in the Black Sea region of Turkey.
    • Alexander the Great conquered a large territory in what is now Turkey, and also cut the Gordion Knot in the Phrygian capital (Gordium), not far from Turkey's present-day capital (Ankara).
    • Aesop - famous all over the world for his fables and parables - was born in Anatolia.
    • Homer was born in Izmir on the west coast of Turkey.  He depicted Troy in his epic Iliad.
    • Part of Turkey's southwestern shore was a wedding gift from Marc Antony to Cleopatra.
    • The number of archaeological excavations going on in Turkey every year is at least 150.
    • Writing was first used by people in ancient Anatolia. The first clay tablets - in the ruins of Assyrian Karum (a merchant colony) - date back to 1950 B.C.
    • The last home of the Virgin Mary is in Selçuk, Turkey.
    • Leonardo da Vinci drew designs for a bridge over the Bosphorus, the strait that flows through Europe and Asia. (Although da Vinci’s bridge was never built, there are now two bridges over the Bosphorus.)
      In 1492, Sultan Beyazıd II, after learning about the expulsion of Jews, dispatched the Ottoman Navy to bring them safely to the Ottoman lands.
    • Likewise, Jews expelled from Hungary in 1376, from Sicily early in the 15th century, from Bavaria in 1470, from Bohemia in 1542, and from Russia in 1881, 1891, 1897, and 1903 all took refuge in the Ottoman Empire.
    • As was the case during the Bolshevik revolution, Turkey served as a safe passage and haven for those fleeing their native countries during World War II.
    • Turkey was one of the few countries in the world to welcome Jewish refugees escaping the horrors of Nazism.
    • During the Gulf War in 1991, Turkey welcomed nearly half a million Kurds from Northern Iraq. The Kurds were fleeing the danger posed by Saddam Hussein’s regime.
    • Turkey provided homes for some 313,000 Bulgarian refugees of Turkish origin when they were expelled from their homelands in Bulgaria in 1989.

       


    Ankara - Referans
    HACER BOYACIOGLU

    Turkey will experience water shortages not because of global warming, but because of population increases in the short run, according to a recent water report prepared by economists and undersecretaries at a summit last week. The summit was dedicated to tackling the water resource and shortage problems of Turkey.

    Water per capita will drop from 1,735 cubic meters to 1,000 cubic meters by 2030 as Turkey's population is expected to reach 100 million. Countries with the per capita water ranging between 1,000 and 2,000 cubic meters are defined as water problem countries. Water resources are not used efficiently in Turkey. Currently 64 percent of consumable water in Turkey is not used. Water management and water legislation should be centralized, suggested the report.

    Participants of the summit concluded that the drought in 2007 did not derive from global warming, and decided to establish a commission under the presidency of Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to designate measures to address Turkey's water problem. Conclusions and recommendations will be submitted to the related units and government members in a report.

    Where does all the water go?

    Some 70 percent of the world's usable water is consumed by the agricultural sector, 22 percent by the industrial sector, while 8 percent is used to drink and for general other purposes. In Turkey 74 percent of all fresh and clean water is consumed in the agricultural sector, 11 percent in the industrial sector and 15 percent is used for drinking and other purposes.

    The total amount of usable water in Turkey is 112 cubic kilometers. While 36 percent of this water used in different capacities, the remaining 64 percent cannot be utilized. Moreover, a substantial proportion of the used water is consumed through irrigation activities. The share of irrigation water consumption is 40 percent in developed countries, 50 percent in developing countries and 85 percent in under-developed countries. Turkey uses 74 percent of its water for irrigation. This rate is expected to increase more with the completion of irrigation projects. Lack of central management creates distress

    Lack of central structure is regarded as the basic reason for the inefficient use of water resources. Currently the central and local investor institutions and enterprises regarding water management are: the State Waterworks Authority (DSI), the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Bank of Provinces and the Electrical Power Resources Survey and Development Administration. Monitoring-Supervisor institutions and enterprises of water are the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Turkish State Meteorological Service, municipalities, special provincial administrations, the Health Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, Finance Ministry, State Planning Organization, Turkish Statistical Institute and the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) Administration.

    There is also no centralized legislation regarding the planning, allotment, use and management of water resources thus preventing the efficient management of water resources. The efficient use of water resources emerges as a problem mainly in the agricultural sector. The share of drip irrigation method does not exceed 1 percent in agriculture. Excessive water usage – particularly in Gediz, Büyük Menderes and Burdur lakes and in river basins such as Akarçay – results in heavy decrease of the underground water levels. Network loss at 40 percent

    There are serious losses of Turkey's potable. It is generally accepted that losses through the network of pipes range between 30 and 40 percent, while illicit use devours 40 to 60 percent. Municipalities keep the water prices low in order to secure votes only aggravating the dissipation of water. Companies without effective treatment plants cause problems in the industrial sector. It is expected that a problem will inevitably emerge in electricity production following the completion of GAP irrigations, as the amount of water flowing to Atatürk Dam will decrease. Water amount to decrease with the rise in temperature

    The average world temperature increased 0.74 degrees centigrade between 1906 and 2005, according to the Turkish State Meteorological Service's presentation in the summit.

    In parallel to the global warming, temperatures in Turkey may increase 1.8 - 4.4 degrees between 2070 and 2100. The climate change will affect Gediz and Büyük Menderes Basins heavily. if the annual temperatures increase 1.2 degrees and the average rain decreases 5 percent by 2030, the aforementioned surface water will drop 20 percent.


    Elections

    People filled the waterfront as Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan campaigned for the parliamentary elections, during a rally by his ruling AK Party, in Turkey's western coastal city of Izmir.

    Elections 2007

    Turkish Voters Seek Stability, Not Radicalism

    In elections for the Turkish parliament on November 3, 2002, a new party formed out of a banned Islamic movement -- the Justice and Development Party (AKP) -- won 35 percent of the popular vote and 363 of the 550 seats. The Republican People's Party (CHP), which gained nearly 20 percent of the votes, was the only other party among the 18 parties contesting the elections that exceeded the minimum 10 percent threshold.1 Thus, for the first time in nearly fifty years there are only two political parties in the Turkish parliament, and Turkey expects to have a majority government that enjoys a comfortable margin in parliament.

    The identity of the new ruling party and its overwhelming strength in parliament have generated concern in many world capitals. Turkey, located at the crossroads of the Caucasus, the Balkans, and the Middle East, and at the door of Central Asia, holds a geopolitical position of major importance.

    To a large extent, the results of the recent Turkish elections reflected a protest vote -- a popular response to the chronic inability of a fragmented political system to act effectively to deal with fundamental challenges such as strengthening Turkey's economy, fighting corruption and cronyism, and working toward a more just distribution of wealth. Turkish voters dumped the ruling parties out of economic frustration, not out of a wish to embrace Islamic radicalism. The success of the AKP was more related to its image as a clean and efficient party than to its latent Islamist credentials.

    Actually, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a former popular Islamist mayor of Istanbul and the current party leader, made great efforts to distance his party from its more radical Islamist predecessors in Turkish politics, and he disclaimed any Muslim agenda. The AKP was marketed as a moderate conservative party that accepted the secular constitution and the democratic order. During the campaign, the AKP promised to deal primarily with economic and welfare issues, to maintain Turkey's bid for membership in the European Union, and to support a UN-sanctioned American action in Iraq. Yet, many of the party loyalists were previously members of more radical movements and it remains to be seen whether they will go along with the non-confrontational attitudes espoused by the current leadership.


    Misplaced Concerns in the West

    Much of the concern in the West over the results of the Turkish elections is rooted in ignorance about religion. Those educated in secular school systems often look down upon religion as a primitive and doomed phenomenon. Indeed, the fathers of that intellectual tradition, Max Weber and Karl Marx, each one in his own way, speculated that progress will wean the masses from primitive beliefs, and subsequently the world would become rational, despite occasional bouts of extremism. These secularists fail to see the vitality of religion and its ability to adapt to modernity. Indeed, religion remains a powerful social and political force even in the developed Western world. The prediction that the Turkish election results portend the potential failure of Turkish democracy relies on the cliché that every Muslim is at heart a fundamentalist.

    Yet Turkey has relied for decades on draconian rules concerning freedom of speech and dress code, as well as the periodic intervention of the military, to keep undemocratic or religious forces at bay. Thus, a Turkey that is more tolerant of religion has the potential for developing a synthesis between Islam and democracy. A secular-ruling, Islamic-based party could be the next step for Turkey in its role of showing other countries how political freedom and Islam can coexist.

    The Turkish attachment to secularism runs deep, primarily among the urban and middle-class elites, providing a significant balance to religious, non-democratic impulses. Indeed, the widespread secular opposition to the short rule of Necemettin Erbakan (1996-97), an Islamist prime minister, taught many of his colleagues greater caution. In this case, the Turkish military, which regards itself as the ultimate guardian of the secularist democratic tradition of modern Turkey's founder, Kemal Ataturk, elegantly eased Erbakan out of power.2 It is clear that the generals will not hesitate to step in again, if necessary, to preserve Turkey's status as a predominantly Muslim, yet secular and democratic, nation belonging to the Western camp.3


    A Fundamental Western Orientation

    Turkey is also economically dependent on European markets, as well as on American goodwill in the International Monetary Fund. Any improvement of Turkey's economic situation requires a Western outlook. Erdogan's first visit abroad was to Greece, in contrast to Erbakan's first visit to Iran. In accordance with the AKP's declared positions, the basic contours of Turkish foreign relations will remain intact as the new government develops its own policies. The great majority of Turkey's Islamists are nationalists, trying to further Turkish national interests, rather than pan-Islamists.

    Indeed, the new Turkish leadership has been working hard to convince the EU to announce a date for the beginning of accession talks. Despite Europe's lukewarm attitude toward Turkey's joining the EU, the AKP government preferred to portray the Copenhagen EU summit (where Turkey was not given a definite date for accession talks, in contrast to several Eastern European nations) as a partial success and an additional step in Turkey's journey into Europe. Erdogan also went to Washington to reassure the U.S. of Ankara's goodwill. In fact, the new Turkish government has expressed its willingness to allow the Americans to use its territory and airspace for an impending attack on Iraq, despite the fact that a majority of Turkish public opinion opposes an American war with Iraq.

    In this context, the good relations and strategic partnership between Turkey and Israel are likely to continue. Ankara and Jerusalem still share a common prism on international relations, in general, and on the Middle East, in particular. Both nations see themselves as living in a violent and unstable Middle East, maintaining an adversary relationship with Syria, and having growing concerns about the security risks emanating from Iraq and Iran, particularly in relation to weapons of mass destruction. Both nations also share concerns over the future of Central Asia, must contend with a problematic relationship with Europe, are suspicious of a resurgent Russia, and, above all, maintain a common pro-American orientation.4

    Therefore, Israeli-Turkish cooperation with regard to many important regional conflicts and global issues, including the war on terrorism, is likely to be sustained. Not surprisingly, in December 2002, Turkey accepted several high-level and well-publicized visits from Israeli leaders, including Yoav Biran, the Acting Director General of the Foreign Ministry, and Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, the IDF Chief of Staff. Moreover, in January 2003, two Turkish frigates participated in a joint U.S.-Turkey-Israel search and rescue naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean.

    While Israel and others will be keeping an eye on developments in Turkey, there is good reason to wish the new Turkish government success, because a strong and democratic Turkey is a vital Israeli and Western interest. While the integration of Turkey into the Western camp is much dependent upon domestic forces, American and European policies could make a difference.5 In today's world, anchoring Turkey in the West is a challenge that is more important than ever.

    *     *     *


    FRIENDSHIP DAM
    Izmir-TDN

    Turkey and Syria plan to build a dam on the Orontes (Asi) River. “We want to take the last steps toward starting the project,” said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday during his visit in Syria.

    Originating in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, the 400-kilometer-long Orontes River flows through Syria and Turkey and into the Mediterranean Sea. During the 1990's, sharing the river's water often led to political conflicts between Turkey and Syria. Syria, which criticized Turkey for not letting enough water from the Euphrates (Firat) River flow to Syria, was doing the same to Turkey with the Orontes River.

    Now the two countries, however, are discussing a jointly built “friendship dam” on the Orontes River. “We want to realize this project as soon as possible. We will look at further possibilities to co-operate on natural gas, water and energy,” said Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Güler, who accompanied Erdogan to Syria, on Tuesday.

    Turkish officials informed the TDN that both sides are continuing to work on ways to finance and build the dam. The dam will produce electricity for both sides and will help local people to regulate irrigation.

    Erdogan had a two-hour-long meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Tuesday and they discussed ways to promote bilateral ties. “We had talks on energy and natural gas. Besides this we also plan to build a dam over Orontes. We came to an important point and we want to take the last steps on the project,” Erdogan stressed.

    Orontes (Arabic 'Asi; ), river, southwestern Asia, forming part of the border between Lebanon and Syria and between Syria and Turkey. It rises near the city of Baalbek, Lebanon, and flows in a northerly direction between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains into Syria. It flows north to the city of Antakya, Turkey, and then west to the Mediterranean Sea, through a total course of about 400 km (about 250 mi). The damming of the Orontes River in Syria provides irrigation water for the rich river valley. In ancient times the valley of the Orontes River formed a corridor between Asia Minor and Egypt.

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