Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RMSTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZETi
As an international org3nization of writers working to defend our colleagues' right
to practice their profession without fear of har3ssment or intimidation, we deplore
the killing of Ferhat Tepe. We respectfully call on your government to Emsure that
an investigation into the killing is carried out swiftly, that allegations of security
police involvement be carefully examined, and that those found responsible be
punished to the full extent of the law. In addition, we ask that an investigation
also be conducted into the disappearance of Aysel Malkaç, that a strong statement
be made denouncing both Mr. Tepe's murder and Ms. Malakaç's kidnapping, and
that measures be taken to ensure that, in future, journalists may practice their
profession safely in Turkey.
Turkey's Fading Role as U.S. Proxy to
Emerging Central Asian Nations
N"" York Timn Senia
ISTANBUL - When the Cold War ended and
atf the remote Soviet fiefs of Central Asia became
l- independent states, an idea emerged here and in
fil Washin&ton that Turkey should expand its role
8 from bulwark of the Western alliance to patron of
3 emergina nations stretching east to the Chinese
"' border.
.. The idea had instant allure for many Turks,
~ revivina forgotten dreams of pan- Turkic influence
Cl among distant Muslim kin awaiting a march to-
fil ward Western prosperity. For the United States,
flCÎn4 ~ prospect of ~ more complex nationalist
strife a6road as SoVIetpower crumbled, Turkey
~
seemed a reliable proxy to fill the Central Asian
vacuum.
~ These days, that dream appears to be fading.
~ Fmg ill own economic troubles recently, this
~ natÎOll of 60 million has been unable to provide the
.. aid to cement its influence over the region, Weste:
ern diplomats say. Its diplomacy has been hesj-
Q tant, ief1ectina a deep fear of being drawn into
~ Central Alia's ethnic strife. Only now are ill poli.
< cymabrs Lknowledging how difficult the region's
=: ethnic and political crosscurrents can be.
~ While T~ has carefully avoided disputes
= with Russia, diplomats also worry that Ankara
.1 may cad up at l~erheads with Moscow in the
~ Caucuus, a region nch in oil where their historical
e rivalry bu led to wars in centuries put.
!"" Most of all, the chaos in Azerbaijan - the
t"'! centerpiece of Turkey's regional aspirations - has
~ exposed Ankara's reluctance to act as an aggres-
~ sive patron, still less a protector. Its protég6 in
~ Baku. Abulfaz Elchibey, has beenoverthrown,
l- devaluing Turkey's influence in the eyes of other
Z countries farther east. -
"Azerbaijan was the model to show what would
happen in the future," said Nur Batur, the diplomal1ceditor
of the Istanbul dailr Milliyet. "Now
they will be much more distant'
A Western diplomat said: "A couple of years
ago, it was possible to talk of Turkey bein& the
patron of Central Asia, but the results have been
Jifferent. If ~ can't do it in Azerbaijan. ~o
thinks Turkey is going to be a.major player in
other places?" . .
Turkish government officials dispute such conclusions,
but they have begun to scale back their
assessment of w&at Ankara can do or should be
expected to do in a region where ~)' speak
Turkish and supposedly.trive for Turkey'S brand
of secular democracy but bave not fcqotten more
recent ties to Moscow.
"It is not up to Turkeyto play the role of
regional superpower," said Ozdem Samberk, a
high-ranking Foreign Ministry official in Ankara.
'1ùrkey's effort was to be1p Azerbaijan make a
soft landing after the collapse of the communism.
In no way was Turkey claiming that we were
pretending to run the country. It bu never been
the Turkish intention to impose any model."
. President Suleyman Demirel, who has been
faulted for his caution in diplomacy, said: "If
anything happens in these countries, why should
Turks be responsible?"
Developments in the Caucasus region have also
shown the limits of Turkey's influence in an area
whose history and faith anchor Turkish appeal to
Muslim lands. .
Its effort to mediate in the territorial dispute
between Azerbaijan and predominantly ChriItian
Armenia, for instance, has faltered. Some Azerbaijanis
have accused Turkey of sel1ing them out by
supplying electric power to Armenia this year
wheu Azerbaijan was trying to squeeze the Armenian
economy through a fuel blockade, Miss Batur
said.
Government offIcials and diplomats also speculate
that disputes are likely to surface between
Turkey and Russia over the issue that may end up
at the center of the regional struggle: oil.
A source of cheap oil during Soviet rule, Azerbaijan
is now viewed as one of the world's 1a'8~
major untapped reserves. When the Soviet Union
collapsed in December 1991, Azerbaijan was one
of the few components that declined to join the
Commonwealth of Independent States. As U.S.
and British oil companies sought exploration deals
in Azerbaijan, talk turned to shipping the oil out
throudl a pipeline rullJ1ina throudl Turkev.
The problem was getting the Azerbaijani oil into
Turkey so it could link up with the pIpeline that
carried Iraqi oil to the Mediterranean before the
United Nations embargo severed Baghdad's outlets.
American oil companies did not like the idea
of their oil passing through Iran. But how secun:
could a pipeline through the Caucasus be while
Armenia and Azerbaijan were at war?
The answer, diplomats here said, was to build
spurs through both areas and link them up in
Turkey.
As negotiations on the pipeline progressed.
however, Mr. Elchibey was overthrown .
nie timing stirred suspicions among diplomats
and commenta tors here-echoed by Mr. EIchibey
- that Russia was somehow behind it all.
"The Russians are terribly upset," Miss Batur
said. "They don't want Turkish influence in the
area. They want to control it, especially Azerbai-
jani~en senior Foreign Ministry officials acknowledge
that Ankara and Moscow may have competing
interests in the Caucasus. - ALAN COWELL
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