Category: Turkey

  • The Aegean is a new retirement hot-spot

    The Aegean is a new retirement hot-spot

    By Zoe Dare Hall

    12th March 2009

     

    Turkey is featuring prominently in the plans of Britons looking to retire overseas. With falling property prices, a warm and sunny climate and, crucially, no euro, the attractions are obvious.

    One in eight British people over 55 will live abroad by next year, says the Institute for Public Policy Research. But the strength of the euro has made many would-be émigrés wary of old favourites such as the Costa del Sol, while the collapse of the property market in the U.S. has put people off crossing the Atlantic.

    Instead, many people are looking to Turkey’s Mediterranean and Aegean coasts, where the vast majority of the 20,600 British owned properties are located, and where the cost of living is up to 60 per cent cheaper than in the UK.

    Appealing: The ancient harbour at Bodrum, which is lively even out of season

    ‘Turkey is one of the few logical choices for those seeking to balance lifestyle and financial advantage in their retirement,’ says Julian Walker, from the Turkish property specialist Spot Blue.

    ‘The warm climate in the south allows people to spend a healthier life outdoors, and the cost of day-to-day living is significantly cheaper than back home.’

    Stephen Hughes, director at Foreign Currency Direct, has seen a 36 per cent increase in British clients changing their sterling to lira in the past year, most of them pensioners retiring to Turkey.

    ‘The Turkish lira has increased by 6.5 per cent against the pound in the past year, which means that those who changed to lira find their money goes much further than before,’ says Hughes.

    He also believes that house prices have risen by 10-15 per cent in the past 12 months.

    Bodrum is undoubtedly one of the most appealing regions for those with retirement in mind. The countryside is dotted with olive groves and whitewashed houses.

    Its glitzy marinas are lined with boutiques and yachts. And as a lively working town, Bodrum doesn’t shut down as soon as the summer tourists leave. In addition, easyJet is to fly to Bodrum from April 23.

    At Cumberland’s Woodland Regency development, set in pine forests just outside Bodrum, apartments cost from £47,000, and three-bedroom houses from £158,000, with a shared spa, fitness centre and clubhouse on the site.

    In Gundogan, a 15-minute drive from Bodrum, the Seaview Regency Prestige villas are the most striking example of value for money on a sought-after peninsula, with three-storey, three-bedroom villas costing from £175,000.

    Each has indoor/outdoor living rooms that open onto private gardens, a shared pool and a citrus fruit valley leading to the sea.

    Eric Kaya, director of Cumberland Properties, says: ‘There’s no building work in summer because this is where rich and influential Turks have their holiday homes, so it’s protected.’

    Attracted by low prices, Britons have flocked to the Aegean resorts of Altinkum and Didim, where new apartments cost as little as £25,000.

    More attractive and less developed is Dalaman, says Dominic Whiting, author of Buying In Turkey, who singles out The Hills development in Akkaya as among the best.

    The three-bedroom villas near a golf course and marina cost from £149,000 – or apartments from £46,200 – through Curbanoglu Homes.

    On the Mediterranean coast, Place Overseas is seeing interest from retiring Britons in Beycik, where detached, three to four-bedroom houses at Quattro Villas cost from £219,000 off-plan.

    ‘Turkey is not in the euro zone, which makes this an interesting investment for British buyers,’ says Cameron Deggin, UK director of Place Overseas.

    Avoiding the euro zone was part of the appeal for Adam Jacks, 68, and his wife Julia, 59, who moved from Chester to their two-bedroom villa in Ovacik, near Fethiye on the Turkish Riviera, a year ago.

    Mr Jacks says: ‘We combine a good level of living on a pension with a lot of sunshine.

    The Daily Mail

  • Turkey, US pinpoint areas of cooperation in new era

    Turkey, US pinpoint areas of cooperation in new era

    In a joint statement, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed their countries will consult each other and cooperate closely on a wide array of issues, ranging from peace in the Middle East and Cyprus to Turkish-Armenian rapprochement and energy security.

    Babacan and Clinton shake hands at the end of a news conference in Ankara on Saturday.

    In the text, announced during Clinton’s brief visit to Ankara on Saturday, the United States backed Turkey’s calls for ending the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, Turkish-Armenian efforts to normalize relations and international efforts to resolve Armenia’s dispute with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, while Ankara vowed to continue its contributions to the US-led efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.

    The text of the Joint Statement by Turkey and the United States is as follows:

    Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan today reaffirmed the strong bonds of alliance, solidarity and strategic partnership between the Republic of Turkey and the United States, as well as the commitment of both countries to the principles of peace, democracy, freedom, and prosperity enshrined in the Shared Vision and Structured Dialogue document agreed to in July 2006.

    Turkey and the United States reiterated their determination to continue close cooperation and consultation on all issues of common concern. They pledge to contribute to peace and stability in the Middle East and in this context, to support a permanent settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, including alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of a two-state solution; to enhance energy security and to expand the Southern corridor of natural gas and oil infrastructure to enable Caspian basin and Iraqi energy producers to reach European and world markets; to promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the south Caucasus, including through U.S. support for the efforts of Turkey and Armenia to normalize relations and joint support for the efforts of the Minsk Group to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict; to continue to cooperate in the Balkans; to support strongly a comprehensive and mutually-acceptable settlement of the Cyprus question under the auspices of the UN and in this context ending the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots; and to enhance their cooperation in the fight against terrorism, particularly against their common enemies, the PKK and al-Qaeda. The United States will continue its intelligence support for Turkish operations against the PKK and is reviewing ways to be more supportive. As members of the G-20, Turkey and the United States pledge continued cooperation to deal with the global economic crisis and efforts to increase and diversify bilateral economic relations with particular emphasis on trade, investment, scientific and technological cooperation.

    Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Babacan discussed Turkey’s accession to the European Union as a member, a goal the United States continues to strongly support, as well as the Government of Turkey’s continued emphasis on reform process. With their commitment to Transatlantic relations and as Allies in a strong NATO, they pledge continued cooperation in Afghanistan, including through continued Turkish contributions to Afghanistan. They reiterated their commitment to the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Iraq as well as reiterated their support for a democratic, pluralistic, unified and federal Iraq. They also welcome Turkey’s deepening relations with the Government of Iraq as evidenced by high level visits as well as trilateral meetings to discuss cooperation against the PKK. Turkey and the United States will strongly back the United Nations Security Council in its work to maintain global peace and security for the prevention and removal of threats to the international community and in this context will cooperate in dealing with issues including terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime and the threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery in the region and beyond.

    Finally, they reaffirmed their determination to diversify the broad based bilateral relations particularly between the Turkish and American people. In that context, the Secretary and Minister announced the establishment of “Young Turkey/Young America: A New Relationship for a New Age.” This initiative will enable emerging young leaders in Turkey and the United States to develop initiatives that will positively impact people’s lives and invest in future ties between the leadership of our two countries.

    09 March 2009, Monday
    TODAY’S ZAMAN  İSTANBUL
  • Sultan Abdulhamid II and Descendants:

    Sultan Abdulhamid II and Descendants:

    UNCOVER MYSTERY HUNT


    Against Sultan Abdulhamid II and Descendants:


    Present and Past Plots and Slanderous Propaganda

    http://nadinevalidesultan.org/uncovermysteryhunt.html

    For some time now, my family and myself have been the victims of malicious propaganda in which our names are stolen for the purpose of presenting us FALSELY at functions to which we are not present. One of the motives seem to be prompted by the embezzlement of inheritance by these dubious people.

    Recently, a person named “Princess Nilufer” (former Mrs Katherine Luigi de Andrea) wrote a book in which she USURPED the name of my daughter, Karina, in order to present a person of bad character to an impressive Gala in Montreux, Switzerland. Not only, my daughter is the exact opposite, both physically and morally, from the person that was presented as my daughter (see one of her photos in Family Album on this site), but my daughter has NEVER been in Montreux, Switzerland, and she does not reside in Europe.

    Book published in French by Princesse Nillufer, entitled: “POUR L’AMOUR DE TATIANA: La sultane des enfants malades”.  Published in September 2006 by “PRESSES DE LA RENAISSANCE, BUSSIERE GROUP CPI.

    Below are the pages written by Nilufer.

    Verbatim quote from her book pages 182-183-184:

    QUOTE:— “…Nous allions donc, ma mère et moi, parmi les invités du gala, saluant ici et là, lorsque Méthaf Daouad, un ami et le manager général S.P.A. de la clinique La Prairie (fort connue à Montreux), voulut nous présenter une Sultane ottomane! J’en fus très étonnée car les seules Sultanes, en Suisse, à ma connaissance, étaient S.A.I. la princesse Nejla Ibrahim, qui d’ailleurs avait déménagé de Pully pour aller s’installer à Madrid, et moi-même! Était-ce S.A.I. la princesse Nejla dont parlait Méthaf Daouad?

    Pas du tout. Car, au lieu de voir ma tante Nejla, longue et svelte, s’avancer vers nous, nous vîmes, maman et moi, une personne blonde, assez corpulante, pas très grande et habillée d’une façon très clinquante, que Méthaf nous presenta en ses termes: “ Voici la princesse Karina!”

    Immédiatement, ma mère et moi-même lui fîmes subir un véritable interrogatoire, malgré le cocktail qui battait son plein, et tout le bruit environnant.

    Très embarrassée, la soi-disant “princesse” essayait d’esquiver nos questions. Elle ne se rappelait plus ni le nom de son père ni celui de son grand-père et finalement proposa d’aller chercher sa mère qui, elle, pourrait répondre à toutes nos questions.

    “C’est très bien, allez trouver votre mère et dites -lui que la princesse Nilufer Sultane voudrait la rencontrer.”

    Complètement décontenancée, elle tourna les talons. On ne la revit plus de la soirée! Des amis, les Badoux, qui nous rejoignaient, nous demandèrent en riant: “Qui est-ce? — “Encore un de ces imposteurs!” répondîmes-nous, ne croyant pas si bien dire!

    Nous avions raison, il s’agissait, en effet, de la fille de la fameuse madame Nadine Dawson qui se faisait passer pour une Sultane de la Famille Impériale ottomane depuis des années.

    L’histoire de l’imposture de Nadine Dawson était déjà ancienne. Il y a presque quinze ans de cela, apès un article paru dans Point de Vue Images du Monde, où un certain Serge Arabian se faisait passer pour le prince Selim….”

    Page 184:

    “…Ce ne fut d’ailleurs pas le seul cas. Une journaliste, qui travaillait pour le magazine l’Illustré, Shadya Ghemati, voulait aussi se faire passer pour une “authentique princesse ottomane” Cette fois-là, le doyen d’âge de notre Famille le Beyzadé Ömer Nami, qui était juriste, s’était chargé d’écrire, à notre demande, au magazine L’Illusté, un démenti pour que l’on cesse d’imprimer de telles bêtises!….”— UNQUOTE

    Too many erroneous statements and slanders in this book to report all of it here.

    Following is the translation in English of the above writing published in French by “Nilufer”

    Translation of pages 182, 183, 184 of libelous writings by the author against (Mrs) Nadine Dawson and her family. Starting from: “ Nous allions donc, ma mère et moi…”

    ——“We were going, my mother and I, amidst the gala’s guests, greeting them, here and there, when Methaf Daouad, a friend [of ours] and manager general S.P.A. from the clinic La Prairie (well-known in Montreux), wished to introduce to us an Ottoman Sultana! I was very surprised because the only Sultanas, in Switzerland, to my knowledge, are S.A.I. Princess Nejla Ibrahim, who by the way had moved from “de Pully” to reside in Madrid, and myself! Was it S.A.I Princess Nejla that Methaf Daouad was speaking of?

    Not at all. For, instead of seeing my aunt Nejla, tall and slim, walking toward us, we saw, mom and myself, a blond person, quite stout, not very tall and dressed in a very gaudy outfit, that Methaf introduced to us, and in these terms: “here is the princess Karina!”.

    Immediately, my mother and I submitted her to an intensive cross-examination, in spite of the cocktail-party that was in full swing, and lots of noise around.

    Very embarrassed, the so-called ‘princess’ was trying to dodge our questions. She could not remember neither the name of her father nor grandfather and finally she proposed to go find her mother, who, could answer to all our questions.

    “Very well, go find your mother and tell her that the princess Nilufer Sultana would like to meet her”.

    Completely mortified, she took to her heels!. We did not see her for the remaining of the evening! Some of our friends, Badoux, who were rejoining us, asked us in laughting: “Who was that?”

    Again one of these impostors! We replied, not thinking to be true!

    We were right, it was, in fact, the daughter of the famous madame Nadine Dawson who passed herself for a Sultana of the Ottoman Imperial Family for years.

    The story of the imposture of Nadine Dawson was already ancient. There are nearly 15 years of that, after an article published in “Point de Vue Images du Monde”, where a certain Serge Arabian was claiming to be prince Selim,…”

    Incidentally, this was not the only case. A journalist who worked for the magazine Illustre, Shadya Ghemati, tried also to pass for ‘an authentic Ottoman princess”. There also, the doyen of our Family, Beyzade Omer Nami, who is a jurist, took upon himself to write, upon our request, to the magazine Illustre, a denial so as to stop the printing of such stupidities. There were others.”——



    This is the second time (to my knowledge) that our identity is being used in order to spread false rumors. The Turkish journalist, Murat Bardakçi ( a friend of this Nilufer) STAGED an interview with a man proclaiming falsely to be my Father under the Armenian name of “ARABIAN” (see below his article verbatim in Turkish, and English translation). Not only my Father has never given an interview to Mr. Bardakçi, but his name has never been Arabian, but always Selim bin Hamid Han. Much later ( around the early 30’s), while in exile, the name “Arabi” was added to be used as a last name. This was due to the translation of the Ottoman word i rabi (meaning the fourth, since Prince Selim was the fourth Crown Prince by that name or Selim i rabi) into the name of the Sufi philosopher, Arabi. The identity of my father is well documented, both by official papers and by photographs.

    Article Verbatim in Turkish of Murat Bardakci:

    Quote
    “ARAPYAN’IN HIKÂYESI…


    On-on iki sene önceydi…Ingilizce konusan bir hanïm telefon etmis, benimle çok önemli ve gayet gizli bir hususta konusmak istedigini söylemisti…Kïrk yaslarïnda, Meksika sïnïrïnda falcïlïka mesgul, gayet heyecanlï bir hatun çïkagelmisti gazeteye…

    Adï, Nadine Dawson’du…Ilk sözü, “Ben, Abdülhamid’in torunuyum…Babam, yani Sultan’un oglu hayatta ve gizleniyor…Sizden onu Türkiye’ye tanïtmanïzï istiyorum” olmustu…

    Bu defa, ben sasïrmïstïm…Öyle ya, Sultan Hamid’in hayattaki son oglu Abid Efendi öleli, yirmi seneyi geçmisti o zamanlar ve hatunun hikâyesi, “Acaba gizlenmis bir baska ç,ocuk mu var” diye dert olmustu bana…Babasïnïn, Fransa’da yasadïgïnï söylemisti Nadine Dawson…”Gidip bir konusun, herseyi ondan dinleyin…” diyordu…Kalkïp gitmis, Paris’in banliyölerinden birinde, seksenine merdiven dayamïs halis muhlis bir Osmanlï Ermenisiyle karsïlasmïstïm…Isin altïnï biraz desince de, “sehzade-i civan-baht” adyïnïn, ömrünün yarïsïnï Istanbul’da, yarïsïnï da Kahire’de geçirmis Arapyan diye antikacï bir Ermeni’nin oglu oldugu cïkmïstï ortaya Hatta adamcagïzïn hiçbirsey iddia etmedigI, sultanlïk takïntïsïndaki kïzïnïn tarihleri bile birbirini tutmayan hayali senaryolarla babasïnï pazarlamaya kalktïgï anlasïlmïstï…

    Iste bugünlerde bir baska nevzuhur sehzadenin hilâfete hazïrlandïgï haberi, Nadine Dawson’u ve Avrupa’da hâlâ “Osmanlï Prensi” diye dolasan düzmece asilleri hatïrlattï bana…”. Unquote


    Recapitulation in English of the above article:
    In the above article, Mr. Bardakçi claimed that I had contacted him by telephone from the US, and that I had stated that I was a professional fortune-teller, and at the same time had arranged a meeting between him and my father. He claimed that the ensuing interview had occurred in the outskirts of Paris, at the residence of my pseudo-father. Murad Bardakçi reported that this gentleman gave his name as “Sehzade-I Civan Baht”, and was the son of Mr. Arapyan. He also said that he was an Ottoman Armenian, with no pretension to the House of Osman, and had been an antique dealer trading between Istanbul and Cairo. The story went on to say that “Sehzade-I-Civan-Baht” confided that his daughter (supposedly me) was of unsound mind. To sum up, the story’s aim, through the proliferation of false rumors, was to influence public opinion and perhaps also confuse members of the Ottoman Family.

    The libelous story was an instant success; it spread like wildfire.

    AGAIN, I AM STATING THAT NOT ONLY I AM NOT A FORTUNE TELLER, BUT MY FATHER NEVER MET OR GIVEN AN INTERVIEW TO MR. MURAT BARDAKCI AND THAT THE NAME OF MY FATHER HAS NEVER BEEN ARABIAN BUT SELIM BIN HAMID HAN AS CONFIRMED BY ALL OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATION.

    Mr. Bardakçi carries on still the propagation of his lies with the confidence that I shall not be aware of his writings since I reside in the USA, and, that alas I have forgotten the Turkish language of my childhood.

    The “Armenian theme” is an obsession as well as a favorite subject of these detractors of Sultan Abdülhamid II and some of his descendants; one wonders why?

    Both Murat Bardakci and “Nilufer” used the example of Paul Fesh, but they went even further in order to deceive their listeners/readers.

    In the case of “Nilufer” SHE STOLE THE IDENTITY OF MY DAUGHTER IN ORDER TO PRESENT HER FALSELY AND IN A VERY BAD TASTE TO A LARGE GATHERING IN A FUND RAISING GALA IN MONTREUX, SWITZERLAND. Thus, the persons (in these events) who thought in all innocence that they met us, shall perpetuate her lies and discredit us further.

    This was probably the same aim with the journalist Murat Bardakci who Staged an interview with a man claiming falsely to be my father!!

    Similar plots were used during the Ottoman Empire against the Ottoman Family, and in particular against Padishah Abdulhamid II, so as to discredit their integrity. Why against some members rather than others? For the same reason that it was done against Padishah Abdulhamid II rather than his brothers: his qualities and competence were obstacles to the greed and ambitions of a few, both within and outside the Empire as well as family members in the Palace itself. Today the motives are much more crude.

    Against the late Padishah Abdulhamid II, one of the many slanderous rumors had it that Sultan Abdulhamid II was an Armenian and an impostor. This incredible tale was told, not by a common journalist of no status, but by no less than a respected scholar and diplomat, Paul Fesh, who published in 1907 a book in which he states:

    Quote: —“On s’étonne de ne découvrir, dans Abdul-Hamid, aucune des qualités morales ou des prédispositions physiques d’Abdul-Medjid. Tandis que ses frères et soeurs tiendraient plus ou moins de leur père, sous un rapport ou sous un autre, lui n’a rien, absolument rien. Le fait est explicable si l’on ajoute créance au récit suivant que nous tenons d’une personne généralement bien renseignée. Selon un usage ancien Abdul-Medjid acceptait parfois les invitations des chefs des communautés non musulmanes. On le traitait en grand seigneur, par des dîners et des divertissements somptueux, après quoi on lui offrait une jeune fille vierge, qui, si une conception suivait ces relations passagères, entrait au harem impérial en qualité d’épouse. Or, certain jour, Abdul-Medjid se rendit chez un haut personnage Arménien où on le reçut avec le cérémonial consacré. Un mois plus tard, la jeune fille qui lui avait été offerte, ayant été jugée en état de grossesse, fut admise au harem. Mais il fut prouvé peu après que la grossesse était antérieure au jour où Abdul-Medjid la connut, au sens latin du mot. Celui-ci le sut-il par indiscrétion ou l’apprit-il de l’infortunée jeune Arménienne, prise de remords ? Q’importe ! Par bonté d’âme, cependant, et pour éviter un scandale, il garda la mère, dans l’espoir que peut-être elle donnerait le jour a une fille. Ce fut un fils qui naquit, et l’on comprend ainsi le geste de douloureuse colère que ne put maitriser Abdul-Mejid en apprenant cette naissance. Il prévit, dès lors, et prédit que ce fils régnerait, mais que ce serait pour le malheur de la Turquie. Certains philosophes verraient ainsi dans ce fait l’explication de la haine que, de tout temps, Abdulhamid a témoigné envers les Arméniens.” – Unquote

    Following is the translation of the above passage:

    QUOTE:—“We are surprised to find in Abdulhamid none of the moral qualities or physical characteristics of Abdul-Mejid. While his brothers and sisters resemble more or less their father in one trait or another, he [Abdulhamid] has absolutely none [resemblance]. This fact is easily explained, if we consider the following story, made known to us by a relatively well-informed person. Following an old custom, Abdul-Mejid sometimes accepted invitations given by leaders of non-Moslem communities. He was treated as a great lord, with sumptuous meals and entertainment, followed by the offering of a young virgin, who, should she become pregnant after these temporary encounters, would enter the imperial harem as a spouse. One day, Abdul-Medjid was invited by a high ranking Armenian who received him with the usual pomp. One month later, the young girl who had been offered him having been pronounced pregnant was admitted to the harem. Soon after, it was proven that the girl had been pregnant before her encounters with Abdul-Medjid. Did Abdul-Medjid learn this by indiscretion or from the unfortunate and repentant young Armenian herself? Never mind! Out of kindness and also to avoid a scandal, he [Abdul-Mejid] kept the [future] mother in the hope perhaps that the child might be a girl. Instead, a son was born, which makes it easy to understand Abdul-Mejid’s inability to repress a gesture of anguished wrath on learning of this birth. He foresaw, right then, and predicted that this son would reign, but that it would be for the misfortune of Turkey. Some philosophers would see in this explanation the source of the hatred that Abdul-Hamid has always shown towards Armenians”.— UNQUOTE


    Below are a couple of photographs representing a child “a little girl” that the author, Nilufer would like us to believe are pictures of the Ottoman Prince Burhaneddin Djem, that she claims is her father. I let the readers draw their own conclusions!! In comparison see the photograph of my Father, Prince Selim i rabi bin Hamid Han, taken in 1909 at the palace, in the Family Album of this site. I think it is obvious who is a true Ottoman Prince!!

    The photograph below of “a little girl” was published in “Nilufer’s” book with the caption: quote — “Le Père de la princesse Nilufer, SAI le prince Burhaneddin Djem, dans son palais avant l’ exil à l’âge de 4 ans.”—unquote

    ANOTHER PICTURE OF “A LITTLE GIRL” THAT THE AUTHOR “PRINCESS” NILUFER CLAIMED TO BE THE OTTOMAN PRINCE BURHANEDDIN DJEM !!! A PICTURE SUPPOSED TO BE TAKEN DURING THE RULE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND CALIPHATE!!

  • US Secretary of State Mrs. Clinton’s Visit Turkey

    US Secretary of State Mrs. Clinton’s Visit Turkey

    March, 9, 2009 TDN Opinion on Mrs. Clinton’s visit to Turkey.
    Opinion ‘She came, and we were with her’

    At this point, the best summary we could offer of the “Clinton Show” over the weekend would be to put the name of the TV program on which she appeared in the past tense: “Hey, she came and she was with us.” Or, “Haydi, bizimle geldi, bizimle oldu.” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton put a new communications ball into play with the intimate, chatty hour or so she spent among four prominent feminists on NTV in front of a cheerful studio audience. Then she went on to pop the surprise that her visit would be followed by one from her boss, President Barack Obama, in a few weeks.
    We expect no less a departure from the conventions of press conferences and staid interviews with well-known pundits when Obama arrives. The guessing game now begins on Obama’s choice of venue: Will it be the “Beyaz Show,” the “Sabah Sabah Seda Sayın Show,” “A’dan Z’ye Esra Ceyhan”? The race to line up what is no doubt Ğ at least in ratings terms Ğ the best guest in the world has surely already begun. We might have expected as much. After all, upon assuming office in the White House, Obama did not call the New York Times or an American television network for his very first interview. No, he invited Hisham Melhem, a distinguished Lebanese journalist in Washington and now the bureau chief for Dubai-based Al Arabiya television station.
    This was Round Two of what we might call “asymmetrical communication.” No filters, no canned questions. And, from Clinton’s perspective, no control. Our hats are off to a job well done. She spoke and communicated from her heart to the heartland of Turkey.
    We will not embrace with great relish the request to send more Turkish troops to Afghanistan. We will want to read the fine print in any deal to help America extract itself from Iraq. What’s that sign you’ll find in any American curio shop? “You break it, you bought it.” Turkey should help America and Obama glue back together the superpower’s fractured relationship with the rest of the world. But we will be looking for the “Made in America” stamp on the glue.
    Those minor reservations aside, we thank Clinton for her refusal to retreat on the matter of human rights generally, and the right of press freedom specifically. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blustered all week before her arrival that he would clarify the “real” situation in Turkey. It was clear when the meetings were over that Clinton had clarified to the prime minister the “real” meaning of press freedom.
    The fact Clinton timed her visit to coincide with International Women’s Day sent another powerful message that we both salute and we heed. We don’t want to get carried away. America’s interests and Turkey’s are no more one and the same today than they were when George W. Bush was trying to run the world. But we are impressed. And we are hopeful.
    It is clear a new era has begun.

    9 Mart 2009

  • Obama Trip to Include Turkey Visit

    Obama Trip to Include Turkey Visit

    Non-Arab Muslim Nation Is Central to Diplomatic Approach Toward Islamic World

    President Obama, with first lady Michelle Obama yesterday on his way to Camp David, is likely to schedule his visit to Turkey at the end of next month’s European trip. At left, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who announced the visit yesterday in Ankara, poses for photographers with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey is well-placed to serve as a key administration ally on issues of importance to a population dismayed by U.S. policy in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories. (By Pablo Martinez Monsivais — Associated Press)

    By Scott Wilson Washington Post Staff Writer
    Sunday, March 8, 2009; Page A03

    President Obama will visit Turkey at the end of his European trip next month, a decision that reflects the moderate Muslim nation’s central place in his emerging diplomatic approach to the Islamic world

    Obama’s stop in Turkey, announced yesterday in Ankara by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, partly fulfills Obama’s pledge to engage the Muslim world in a substantive way within his first 100 days in office. But the president is not expected to use the Turkey visit to deliver his anticipated address on Islam, a speech he promised during his campaign to give in a Muslim capital soon after taking office.

    Turkey’s place on his itinerary gives the young administration more time on the Muslim speech as Obama begins new diplomatic efforts with Syria and Iran, regional Muslim powers isolated for years by the George W. Bush administration. The visit extends the administration’s public-relations campaign toward Islamic nations that began when Obama gave his first television interview as president to an Arabic satellite channel, a signal, administration officials said, of a new approach toward a population dismayed by U.S. policy in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories.

    As a non-Arab Muslim nation, Turkey is well-placed to serve as a key administration ally on those issues. Governed by a moderate Islamist party, Turkey has managed to accommodate religious and secular values in its democratic system, something other governments in the Arab Middle East have been unable to achieve with the same success.

    “Turkey is one of those countries that shows that there doesn’t have to be a clash of civilizations,” said Marc Grossman, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and vice chairman of the Cohen Group, a Washington-based consulting firm.

    Obama’s visit to Turkey is likely to conclude a European tour scheduled to begin early next month. On his second trip abroad since taking office, Obama’s agenda will focus squarely on the worsening global financial crisis and security, particularly the flagging war effort in Afghanistan.

    The president will first visit London for the Group of 20 summit, where leaders of the world’s largest and emerging economies will discuss the global economic downturn. He then will travel to Strasbourg, France, for a NATO summit expected to feature a forceful U.S. appeal for more European troops in Afghanistan with fewer constraints placed on their deployment in combat zones.

    Then Obama will go to Prague for a meeting of European Union leaders. Like many Eastern European economies, the Czech Republic is suffering the effects of the economic downturn more severely than many countries in the West.

    In summarizing Obama’s goals, Mike Hammer, the National Security Council spokesman, said, “The president looks forward to his trip to Europe in order to lead a coordinated effort to resolve the global economic crisis while also revitalizing our security alliance with our European partners and keeping Americans safe.”

    By concluding a European trip with a stop in Turkey, Obama is seeking to highlight its importance as a growing market, military ally and key player in securing oil and future natural gas from the Caspian region, administration officials and outside analysts said. Grossman, a former undersecretary of state for political affairs in the Bush administration, said the Turkey visit “will have the effect of tying together all of his previous stops on the trip.”

    Turkey is a NATO member, and although it barred U.S. forces from invading northern Iraq through its territory, the Turkish government has about 800 troops deployed in Afghanistan. But Turkey has been kept out of the European Union — something that has caused friction within the NATO alliance at a time when the Obama administration is seeking more European troops for Afghanistan — despite U.S. support for its membership.

    Some opponents of Turkey’s E.U. bid have argued that its Muslim character is at odds with an alliance comprising Christian-majority countries, although most of the resistance has focused on Turkey’s economic reform requirements.

    A senior Obama administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue, said: “This visit is not about healing some E.U.-NATO rift. This is about underscoring our deep alliance with Turkey, that it is an important part of Europe, and that it is an important voice in the Muslim world.”

    Turkey’s elected Islamist government, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been presented as a model in the Arab Muslim world where some more radical Islamist parties are gaining political influence. But there is a constant contest in Turkish politics between the Islamist parties and the nation’s military leadership, which has intervened several times over the years to topple governments that it believed strayed from modern Turkey’s secular founding principles.

    Under Erdogan, Turkey has served as an intermediary in talks between Israel and Syria over the status of the Golan Heights, the key to an eventual peace agreement between the two countries. Those efforts were waylaid by the recent Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which drew condemnation across the Muslim world.

    But Turkey, which also has relations with the armed Islamist movement Hamas, which controls Gaza, is viewed by many European and U.S. diplomats as an essential bridge between the Jewish state and its Arab Muslim neighbors.

    Last week, the Obama administration sent two envoys to Damascus, the Syrian capital, in an effort to revive diplomacy between the countries that has been largely dormant since the Bush administration recalled its ambassador four years ago. Some analysts said Obama’s visit will provide an opportunity for him to hear firsthand from Turkish leaders what they have learned working with Syria as he begins to do the same.

    Turkey is also a key link in the delivery of oil and natural gas from the resource-rich Caspian basin. The administration has great interest in the development of a natural-gas pipeline that would follow roughly the same route as an oil pipeline now running from the Caspian region through Turkey. In a statement issued with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, Clinton reiterated the administration’s desire to “enhance energy security and to expand the Southern corridor” for natural gas and oil delivery.

  • On Clinton’s Travels, a Duality in Style

    On Clinton’s Travels, a Duality in Style

    Unlike Straight Talk in Asia Trip, Caution Rules Mideast and Europe Visits

    The Washington Post Company

    By Glenn Kessler


    Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, flanked by hosts Pinar Kur, at far left, Mujde Ar, second from left, and Cigdem Anad, second from right, attends a talk show in Ankara, Turkey. (Pool Photo By Osman Orsal Via Associated Press)

    ANKARA, Turkey, March 7 — When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with foreign officials, the initial welcome is formal, as in “Greetings, Madame Secretary.” But invariably, the officials slip into calling her “Hillary” — a global brand name on par with “Diana” or “Tiger.”

    Clinton’s celebrity status — and her skill at exploiting it — were again apparent during her first visit as secretary to the Middle East and Europe this past week.

    At a private dinner with European foreign ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, she was the center of attention, patiently answering questions from her counterparts — who took the unusual step of bursting into applause after the meal.

    When she spoke to hundreds of young political activists at the European Parliament on Friday, President Hans-Gert Poettering gushed that there is “enormous goodwill toward you” in Europe. He later paid her what he probably considered the ultimate compliment — that her answers “mostly could have been said by Europeans.”

    But compared with her visit to Asia last month, this trip had a different diplomat on display.

    In Asia, Clinton generated headlines with frank remarks, such as when she questioned the efficacy of sanctions against the repressive junta in Burma, spoke openly about a possible succession crisis in North Korea and said she expected to make little progress on human rights in China.

    This week, she was more cautious, especially in the Middle East. She was often careful to hew to talking points, and her answers to reporters’ questions were more opaque. She also was less available for sustained give-and-take with the reporters traveling with her. Not counting short news conferences, she conducted one briefing for reporters on her plane in seven days of travel.

    In Israel, she never publicly mentioned long-standing U.S. concerns about settlement expansion in Palestinian territories. When questioned about settlements in Ramallah, on the West Bank, she avoided uttering a word that might have upset Israeli leaders: Instead of “settlements,” she referred to “that issue.”

    Clinton conducted no interviews with Israeli media, even though secretaries of state generally take time to meet with Israeli reporters. Nor did she meet with Palestinian reporters; instead, she met with a group of high school students, who asked her mostly personal questions.

    But, in contrast to the “listening tour” of Asia, Clinton was much more diplomatically active. Throughout the week, she engineered an effort to reach out to nations, especially adversaries, that the Bush administration had spurned.

    She dispatched two senior U.S. diplomats to meet with top Syrian officials on Saturday; she extended an invitation to Iran to be part of an international gathering on Afghanistan; and she tried to “reset” relations with Russia by winning NATO approval to restore high-level meetings and by having dinner with her Russian counterpart.

    In each case, Clinton said she would look for areas in which the countries could work with the United States, while acknowledging and confronting topics of disagreement.

    “We are being extremely vigorous in our outreach because we are testing the waters, we are determining what is possible, we’re turning new pages and resetting buttons, and we are doing all kinds of efforts to try to create more partners and fewer adversaries,” she said on National Public Radio.

    Clinton also had to soothe allies unnerved by some of these moves. Arab and Israeli leaders are worried about the outreach to Iran, while Eastern and Central European countries are wary of potential deal-making with Russia on missile defense.

    By week’s end, Clinton could claim progress, at least in terms of process. In Syria, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem and other officials met for about four hours with Acting Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman and White House official Dan Shapiro. “We found a lot of common ground today,” Feltman told reporters in a conference call from Damascus. “It is my view that Syria can play an important and constructive role in the region.” But he added, “The differences between our two countries will require more work.”

    At a news conference Saturday in the Turkish capital, where she held talks with Turkish officials, Clinton said it was too soon to say whether the United States would send an ambassador to Syria for the first time since 2005.

    But she emphasized that the administration will press for peace talks between Israel and Syria, saying that the “importance of this track cannot be overstated.” Turkey last year brokered indirect talks between Israel and Syria, but the Bush administration stayed aloof from that effort.

    n Saturday, Iran responded positively to Clinton’s plans to invite it to the conference on Afghanistan, an overture that could bring the secretary face to face with her Iranian counterpart by the end of the month. “The U.S. and global powers have realized that the issues in Afghanistan cannot be solved without the presence of the Islamic republic,” Gholam Hossein Elham, a spokesman for the Iranian government, told reporters in Tehran.

    The dinner meeting in Geneva on Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yielded no breakthroughs on arms control, missile defense or other thorny issues. But the atmospherics were strikingly different than Lavrov’s often-stormy sessions with Clinton’s predecessor, Condoleezza Rice.

    “I hope Hillary will agree with me,” said Lavrov after the two diplomats emerged from the dinner. “I venture to say we have a wonderful personal relationship.”