TURKPULSE No:140
TURKEY VIEWS “DEMOCRACY
SORTIES” FROM FERGANA WITH
SUSPICION
TURKPULSE No:140
TURKEY VIEWS “DEMOCRACY
SORTIES” FROM FERGANA WITH
SUSPICION
The recent disturbances in Uzbekistan are viewed in Turkey with suspicion and utter caution in that they were a new step in Washington’s Fergana-Valley-centred attempts to bring “democracy” to Central Asia in the aftermath of the disintegration of the Soviet system there. As these activities have so far brought nothing else but bloodshed and confusion for these Turkic nations, Ankara is following the events very closely, but silently, as low profile policy is the wisest on the eve of President Bush’s audience to PM Erdogan on 8 June. For the reasons of this silent diplomacy on the part of Ankara and an analysis of its prospective consequences please read the article below which unfortunately could not possibly be squeezed into our four-page limit for the convenience of the reader.
TURKPULSE No:141
DID BUSH APPRECIATE
ERDOGAN AS A MAN OF HIS WORD?
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has certainly dropped lots of bricks with his sudden and surprising jump into the world diplomatic arena from obscurity, and the force behind this phenomenal political achievement, Washington, has been suffering the most from the mistaken behaviours of this newcomer. The Turkish Prime Minister’s official visit to the United States, including President Bush’s audience to him in the White House on 8 June, was certainly meant to be a major occasion to patch up the accumulating grievances of the Superpower. Was this mutual target of bridging the differences obtained from this important occasion? For the answer please read the background and the analysis below.
TURKPULSE No:142
NOTHING NEW IN
TURKISH-AMERICAN RELATIONS
Mass circulation daily Hurriyet’s exciting news a couple of weeks ago was hardly worth the bother in that it was nothing unusual for analysts of Turkish-American relations of the post war period. The newspaper banner headlined all over the front page on Thursday (30th), “Handcuffing (to American soldiers) in Incirlik.” While the Turkish General Staff (TGS) denied that there was any handcuffing, “An American authorized person in Washington” told the reporter, Kasim Cindemir, “Yes, in that hustle at least one of our men was taken away handcuffed.” The next day, the American Embassy of Ankara joined the TGS in rebutting the handcuffing and stated that Turkish-American relations in Incirlik were continuing in perfect harmony. For an appraisal of this news within the overall context of mutual relations and its place in the heating up today’s world developments please read the article below.