As France, Europe‟s second-largest economy, becomes

swept up in the market turbulence, it is calling for more

radical steps. But Germany, by far the region‟s largest

economy and still viewed as a safe haven for investors,

is far more cautious. The growing gap between the euro

zone‟s two core powers has raised a question, particu-

larly for the Germans: How far are they willing to go to

save the euro? At the center of the debate is whether

the European Central Bank should fire up its printing

presses, creating euros that would guard against a po-

tential string of government defaults in the region. Con-

tinues on page 2

Australia has agreed to host a full US marine task force in the coming years,

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced at a news conference with US Presi-

dent Barack Obama in Canberra.

The Weekly Newspaper of Foreign Policy and International Relations Club

Volume 6, Issue 5

EUROPE 2

AMERICAS 3

OPINIONS 4-5

ASIA 6

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

7

ARTICLE OF

THE WEEK

8-9

TURKEY 10

SOCIAL 11

EDITORIAL 12

European financial crisis: A growing gap between France and Germany

Obama: Australia agrees the US ma-

rine deployment plan

THIS

WEEK

Even as Europe’s debt crisis sharply escalates, the region’s two largest economies, Germany and France, ap-

pear increasingly divided over how and whether to deploy large-scale financial firepower to calm nervous

markets.

Julia Gillard said about 250 US Marines would arrive next year, eventually being

built up to 2,500 personnel. The

deployment is being seen as a

move to counter China's growing

influence. But Mr. Obama said

the US was "stepping up its com-

mitment to the entire Asia-

Pacific", not excluding China.

"The main message that I've said,

not only publicly but also pri-

vately to China, is that with their

rise comes increased responsibil-

ity," he said. Continues on page

3

EUROPE

Germany to set up Neo-Nazi registry after ten murders

France drops inquiry into 'dirty

cash' from Africa

The allegations were made by lawyer Robert Bourgi, who is widely seen as being

close to current French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said that he had been involved in

handing over several suitcases to Mr Chirac during his tenure as mayor of Paris in

the 1980s and 1990s. The first handover of money in Mr de Villepin's presence oc-

curred in 1995, he said, involving 10m francs from the then Zairean President

Mobutu Sese Seko. Mr Bourgi alleged that money from the leaders of several former

African colonies was then passed to Mr Chirac and Mr de Villepin over the next 10

years. But he added there was "no proof, no trace" of the alleged secret payments.

Both Mr Chirac and Mr de Villepin deny the claims and have vowed to sue Mr

Bourgi. BBC News/ November 16, 2011

Several thousand

demonstrators took to the

streets of the Spanish capital

Sunday, protesting

unemployment a week before

voters elect a new government.

CNN/ November 14, 2011

Italy's new Prime Minister

Mario Monti unveiled his new

cabinet. He now heads a team

of technical specialists, devoid

of politicians, designed to

restore confidence in Italy's

finances.

BBC News/ November 16,

2011

The head for Europe at

International Monetary Fund

(IMF) has resigned at a crucial

time in the efforts to tackle the

continent's debt crisis.

BBC News/ November 17,

2011

PAGE 2

European financial crisis: A growing gap between

France and Germany Even as Europe’s debt crisis sharply escalates, the region’s two largest economies, Germany and France, ap-

pear increasingly divided over how and whether to deploy large-scale financial firepower to calm nervous

markets.

But the ECB, which acts as the central bank for the 17 countries that share the euro,

has always been conservative, in part because Germany has bitter memories of De-

pression-era hyperinflation. “The ECB‟s role is to ensure the stability of the euro but

also the financial stability of Europe,” French Budget Minister Valerie Pecresse said

Wednesday in Paris. “We trust that the ECB will take the necessary measures to en-

sure financial stability in Europe. At a political convention this week, Merkel said the

debt crisis was “maybe Europe‟s most difficult hours since World War II.” Her party

agreed to push for changes to bolster economic integration in the euro zone, unthink-

able in Germany just a year ago. The Washington Post/ November 17, 2011

Paris prosecutors have dropped a preliminary inquiry into claims that ex-

French President Jacques Chirac and ex-PM Dominique de Villepin were given

up to $20m (£13m) by African leaders.

Germany's interior minister has said a national database of neo-Nazi extremists will

be set up. Hans-Peter Friedrich said the registry could be similar to one created for

Islamist extremists after 9/11.

Germans are shocked that a suspected neo-Nazi cell went undetected for a decade

during which it allegedly killed nine immigrants and a policewoman. A lack of co-

ordination between various police and intelligence agencies is blamed for allowing

the group to remain undetected for so long. The police are now reopening all un-

solved cases with a possible racist motive since 1998. Mr Friedrich said “the registry

would compile information about right-wing extremist perpetrators so that it is pos-

sible to automatically match up data". German media has reported that security

agencies discovered a list of 88 people, including two prominent MPs and members

of Turkish and Islamic organisations, who were considered at risk of attack by right

-wing extremists. Police believe eight ethnic Turks, an ethnic Greek and a police-

woman were murdered by members of the hitherto unknown National Socialist Un-

derground. BBC News/November 16, 2011

In an operation that began, military helicopters buzzed

the sky, and tanks rolled through the narrow streets of

the Rocinha slum. Elite police squads patrolled the al-

leys, and snipers perched on rooftops. The authorities

said the occupation was an effort at the “pacification” of

the sprawling slum, or favela, and it was carried out

peacefully. By early Sunday evening, the police, accom-

panied by contingents from the Brazilian Army and

Navy, had not fired a shot. Critics said the operation,

called “Shock of Peace,” seemed somewhat overdone,

given the relative calm in Rocinha compared with the

atmosphere in other favelas in Rio. Still, the operation

allowed officials to highlight the security gains of recent

years. The New York Times/ November 13, 2011

AMERICAS

Pacific trade pact boost for Obama but China remains cool

Obama had made progress on the pact, one of his top priorities for the Asia-Pacific

Economic Co-operation summit. The progress was a major coup after a disappoint-

ing G20 meeting in Cannes earlier this month. Japan confirmed on Friday that it

wanted to join the nine Asia-Pacific nations aiming to reach a Trans-Pacific Partner-

ship (TPP) accord within a year. The agreement would be the biggest US pact since

1994's North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). It may also help the US regain

influence lost to China in the fast-growing Pacific region. The news came as Obama

launched one of his most strongly-worded attacks on China's economic policy.

"Enough is enough," Obama said at a closing news conference a day after face-to-

face talks with Chinese president Hu Jintao. The Guardian/ November 14, 2011

The United States reserves

the right to retaliate with

military force against a cyber-

attack and is working to

sharpen its ability to track

down the source of any

breach, the Pentagon said in

a report made public on

Tuesday. Reuters/ November

15, 2011

Colombia‟s main rebel group

FARC announced Tuesday

that it has named a successor

to its leader and the ruling

junta of the Revolutionary

Armed Forces of Colombia

designated 52-year-old

Timoleon Jimenez as the

chief. Washington post/

November 15, 2011

Colombia's president Juan

Manuel Santos has called for

governments around the

world, to debate legalizing

certain drugs – even cocaine.

He is the highest-profile

incumbent politician to

openly question whether

there needs to be a

comprehensive overhaul of

global drugs laws.

The Guardian/ November

12, 2011

PAGE 3

Obama: Australia agrees the US Marine deployment plan Australia has agreed to host a full US Marine task force in the coming years, the Prime Minister

Julia Gillard has announced at a news conference with US President Barack Obama in Canberra.

Obama's plan to forge a Pacific-region trade pact received a big boost as Canada

and Mexico joined Japan in expressing support for a deal.

About 3,000 police officers and soldiers moved into slum lawless areas of the

city ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.

Rio Slum Is ‘Pacified’ in Advance of Games

And he added that "It is important for them to play by the rules of the road." Chi-

nese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin questioned whether the move was in

keeping with the region's peaceful development. "It may not be quite appropriate to

intensify and expand military alliances and may not be in the interest of countries

within this region," he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency. Luo Yuan, a sen-

ior officer at the People's Liberation Army's Academy of Military Sciences, told that

while neither the US nor China wanted to start a war, "if China's core interests such

as its sovereignty, national security and unity are intruded on, a military conflict

will be unavoidable". Mr. Obama said the deployment would allow the US to "meet

the demands of a lot of partners in the region" in terms of training, exercises and

"security architecture". BBC News/ November 16, 2011

When the policy of “zero problem with neighbours” was first put forward by Ahmet

Davutoğlu, there were two aims, the first of which was to change the “old-fashioned” mentality that “Turks do not have friends other than Turks”, and the

second was to stop implementing the security-based foreign policies and increase

the soft power (a phrase used by Joseph Nye in 1990) of Turkey via improving eco-

nomic and political cooperation with the neighbouring countries. How were the

outcomes? By looking at these two aims more closely, one can realise that the suc-cess of the second one depends on the success of the first one. In other words, if

you change the mentality that Turkey has always been surrounded by the threats

coming from all over the world (which is not an absurd mentality when one re-

members that Turkey was the first country that waged a war against the imperial-

ist aims of the big powers during the Independence War), then you can improve

your trade (economic in general) relations with the neighbouring countries. In this respect, Turkey was successful. For example, with regard to the economic relations between Syria and Turkey, the trade vol-

ume reached up to $2.272.415. Also, When it comes to other Middle East and North Africa countries, the

economy increased by 67, 5% with Lebanon, by 10, 4% with Algeria, by 83, 6% with Egypt and by 5,2%

with Senegal. But, does this mean that the mind-changing zero-problem policy is an unproblematic one?

I do not think so: You can change the mentality, but not the reality. In fact, regardless of what you are noting verbally and thinking mentally, if the reality refutes your mentality, then your mentality is mean-

ingless. It is quite overt that Turkey could not solve her problems with Cyprus and Armenia. It is still

quite obvious that she has problems with Iran and Israel. As an example, in the history of the Turkish

Republic, it was the first time that the Turkish citizens were killed by the Israeli soldiers within the inter-

national waters, and we all saw that the United Nations supported Israel on this issue. How come can

you have „zero-problem‟ in such an environment? The problems are still valid and there is an impasse with respect to the bilateral relations (the recent one being with Syria). Thus, in the light of the points

above, it is possible to argue that although changing mentality via „zero problem‟ policy may lead to the

empowerment in the soft-power field, it has not and will not spill-over into the hard-power field. That is,

„zero problem with neighbours‟ cannot go further than being an unachievable desire. Erman AKSÜT

OPINIONS

PAGE 4

The IAEA( International Atomic Energy Agency) report of November 8, 2011, put to-

gether mainly by the IAEA chief Yukiya Amano, expressed “deep and increasing con-

cerns” over the nuclear program of Iran "regarding possible military dimensions to

Iran's nuclear program". The report has alarmed the big powers such as the United

States of America and its Western allies, i.e. Britain, France and Germany, who have

been calling for sanctions for a period of time. Some commentators claim that the nu-

clear program of Iran is mainly the exploitation of the power vacuum in the region, to

become the next big power after the US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan make their

way out. One way or another it would be very naïve to neglect Iran and its deeply-

rooted influence in the region while we are talking about Middle Eastern politics. In

the end, I believe, what we must consider should be whether Iran has peaceful purposes while developing

her nuclear program as Ahmadinejad and others claim and if not, what the reaction of Israel would be,

now that it has increased her warnings about an attack to stop the program. In my opinion, it will be very

hard for the world community to be exactly sure about Iran‟s intentions and it will be much harder for it

to impose sanctions through UN, because two other veto-holding powers, namely China and Russia are

strongly opposed to any harsh criticism of Iran. Thus, the Western alliance and the United States are left

with a deadlock situation at hand, one that is always present in Middle Eastern politics. Pelin KÜNEY

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

THE WEST, THE MIDDLE AND THE MIDDLE

EAST

TURKEY

‘ZERO PROBLEM’: A POLICY OR A DESIRE?

EUROPE

OPINIONS

PAGE 5

ASIA

Who’s next?

From the last period of 2009 and 2010 European debt crises have intensified as a re-

sult of budget deficits and they have become a big issue of the European Union as well

as of the world. Previous crises had taken place in some states such as Portugal, Ire-

land, and some rescue plans were designed for the relief of Eurozone; however, these

last crises have come into existence more severely, and reactions have become more

powerful. In May 2011, Greece became more concerned regarding the governmental

debt; however, Greek people were generally against the austerity measures, and they

started some protests in a state of dissatisfaction. The adjustment program, new pack-

age plans were not efficient and therefore, on 27 October 2011, Eurozone leaders and

IMF procured an bailout plan for Greece, but this plan created an atmosphere that

caused Italy to sink into the quicksand, and Berlusconi quitted after the resignation of

Papandreou. While Italy tries to create a stable government, now many people are discussing about what

state is going be the next. After Greece and Italy, France is asserted as the following state of debt crisis.

They already designed a new disposal plan , yet there is no any guarantee for the success. The real prob-

lem is that Eurozone cannot provide sufficient loan for states because it has not much money in its bail-

out fund. Under these circumstances, even Belgium, which has not had a government for 520 days, is

mentioned as the next victim after Italy. In this conjuncture, the European Union has turned out to be

an unstable and unreliable association and therefore, it is not easy to forecast the next financially failed

state of the EU. Pelin YAVUZ

China in Dilemma Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said on 30 October it made sense for China to invest its

surplus in Europe to help the region overcome its debt crisis, but this would not involve political

concessions.

Sovereign debt crisis, with its reputed name, the Eurozone crisis appeared on De-

cember 2009 when Greece admitted that its debts have reached 300bn euros - the

highest in modern history. It was followed by some other European countries such

as Italy, Portugal and Spain. In time, the EU and IMF tried to provide bailout pack-

ages to those countries, mainly to Greece. However, when we look at the situation

today, it has gotten even worse: the Prime Ministers of Greece and Italy resigned

due to this crisis, and there is still no exact solution to it. Few days ago, the EU

turned her eyes to China as a savior. Being one of the world's largest economies,

China would be willing to help Eurozone crisis because the EU is China's biggest

economic partner. Similarly, China looks willingly to provide aid to Eurozone as be-

ing the world‟s biggest creditor, with her foreign exchange reserves of around $3.2

trillion. However, China tried to take advantage of this situation and laid down some conditions: a- hav-

ing more voice at the International Monetary Fund, b- giving preference her market economy status in

the World Trade Organization, c- the lifting of a European arms embargo. China's conditions were re-

fused by the EU. Under these circumstances, I think the EU‟s attitude will not be a compromising one.

On the other hand, I propose that China, who sought to gain advantage for her national interest, will

soon help to the Eurozone crisis because she would not be happy with the deterioration of the situation

in the EU, which is China's biggest economic partner. Taking her national interests into account, of

course, China would be savior even if its conditions are not accepted. Mehmet YETİM

From the previous weeks we have been witnessing a dramatic debt crisis within the EU and they

are getting worse. After Greece and Italy, new states are discussed as the new victims of Eurozone

crisis, but who is next?

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, have

approved Myanmar's request to chair the Southeast Asian regional bloc in

2014, giving the country some long-sought international recognition.

ASIA

PAGE 4

China's Wen warns "outside forces" off sea dispute Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Friday that "outside forces" had no excuse to get involved in a complex

dispute over the South ChinaSea, offering a veiled warning to the United States and others not to stick their

noses into the sensitive

The 10-member bloc made the decision two years before schedule, as they began their 19th summit on Thursday in the Indonesian resort island of Bali, with maritime territorial disputes, free trade and other regional issues topping the agenda. Marty Natalegawa, Indonesia's foreign minister, confirmed that the leaders agreed that Myanmar could chair ASEAN in 2014. "Be assured that we are now growing into a democratic society and we will do all our responsibilities and duties

as a responsible government, reflecting the desires of the Myanmar people," Ko Ko Hlaing, chief political adviser to the Myanmar president, said in Bali.

Aljazeera / November 17, 2011

At least 20,000 Kosovo Serbs, who applied for Russian citizenship last week,

were acting out of despair and disillusion in Belgrade’s ability to defend the

ethnic minority, a Serbian leader in Kosovo, Marko Jaksic, said on Tuesday.

Last week, Kosovo Serbs handed over a

petition with signatures to the Russian

Embassy in Belgrade, asking for Russian citizenship. “Those who turned in the petition

live mostly in the southern enclaves in

Kosovo, further away from the administrative

border between Kosovo and Serbia,” Jaksic

said. He added this showed how hard their

lives were. “As Russian citizens they would be more secure compared to their current status

when Belgrade has turned its back on them,”

Jaksic said.

RIA Novosti/November 15, 2011

ASEAN agrees to let Myanmar lead bloc

But Wen also struck a softer line during a summit with leaders of the Association of

Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, offering

$10 billion in loans and lines of credit and saying China only wanted to be friends.

China claims a large swathe of the South China Sea, which straddles key shipping

lanes and is potentially rich in energy resources. Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan,

Malaysia and Brunei are the other claimants to parts of the sea, and along with the

United States and Japan, are pressuring Beijing to try and seek some way forward

on the knotty issue of sovereignty, which has flared up again this year with often

tense maritime stand-offs. While the White House says U.S. President Barack Oba-

ma will bring up the issue at another summit on Saturday, also in Bali, China has

said it does not want it discussed, preferring to deal with the problem bilaterally

amongst the states directly involved. Japan has also expressed concern over the

dispute, and India has become involved via an oil exploration deal with Vietnam in

the South China Sea. Reuters / November 18, 2011

Nursu l tan Naza rbayev ,

Kazakhstan‟s president, has

set an early parliamentary

election in the Central Asian

state for Jan 15, just days

after the end of the long New

Year holiday.

Telegraph / November 16,

2011

The Arab League should urge

not only the Syrian authorities

but also the opposition forces

to end the escalating violence

in the country, Russian

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

said on Thursday.

RIA Novosti/ November 17,

2011

Chinese people are paying for

the country’s heavy pollution

(poor air quality) with their

health the head of the UN

Environment Programme says.

BBC News / November 16,

2011

Kosovo Serbs turn to Russia over

Belgrade's negligence

Karzai aims to set limits on American troops

Major powers closed ranks on Thursday to increase pressure on Iran to address

fears about its atomic ambitions, and the U.N. nuclear chief said it was his

duty to "alert the world" about suspected Iranian efforts to develop atom

bombs.

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

Powers pressure Iran, IAEA chief "alerts world"

Kenya offers to boost AU force in Somalia

Kenya launched military action in Somalia last month after blaming the al-Shabab

group for a spate of abductions on its territory. Al-Shabab, which denies involve-

ment in the abductions, has vowed to retaliate. The AU has about 9,000 troops in

Somalia, but they are confined to the capital, Mogadishu. Al-Shabab, which is

linked to al-Qaeda, controls most other parts of southern and central Somalia. Mr

Wetangula told the BBC Kenya was prepared to beef up the AU force."That is on

offer. In case a request is made, Kenya will avail a few of its battalions [made up of

about 1,000 soldiers each] to join Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti to help keep the

peace in Somalia," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme. "It's not difficult to

do that." The 9,000-strong AU force is currently made up of Ugandan and Burun-

dian soldiers, with Djibouti and Sierra Leone expected to bolster its numbers to

12,000 by the end of the year. BBC News/ November 17, 2011

PAGE 5

Libyan factions in deadly

clashes near Zawiya.Several

days of fighting between rival

factions near the Libyan

coastal city of Zawiya have left

at least seven people dead,

reports say. BBC/ November

14, 2011

Israel is easing restrictions on

the Palestinian territory of

Gaza, allowing building

materials for the private sector

to enter the densely populated

sliver of land for the first time

since Hamas took control

there in 2007. CNN/ November

16, 2011

Angry protesters demanding

that the prime minister step

down broke into the

Parliament in Kuwait City late

Wednesday, said a witness

who is a Kuwaiti journalist

and asked not to be identified

because of the sensitivity of

the matter. CNN/ 17

November, 2011

Afghan President Hamid Karzai sought to set limits on what American and NATO troops could -- and could

not -- do in his country Wednesday in a lengthy speech to tribal elders.

"America is powerful, has more money, but we are lions here. Lions have the habit

of not liking strangers getting into their house," Karzai said. "We want our sover-

eignty from today. Our relations should be between two independent countries."

he said in a speech that appears to have been designed to boost his nationalist

credentials with a domestic audience. He was also broadly critical of NATO, saying

the intended departure of NATO troops in 2014 was "good for Afghans." Karzai

called the national assembly, or loya jirga, to sound out tribal elders on a long-

term pact with the US military and harness their consent. The conditions Karzai

spelled out on a long-term foreign military presence were mostly formalizations of

long-held Afghan complaints about the international presence here. CNN/ No-

vember 16, 2011

Kenya is prepared to send troops to bolster the African Union (AU) force in So-

malia to tackle militant Islamists, Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula says.

The six powers involved in diplomacy on Iran -- the United States, Russia,China,

France, Britain and Germany -- overcame divisions exposed by a hard-hitting U.N.

nuclear report on Iran last week and presented a united front toward Tehran. They

hammered out a joint resolution in intense negotiations and submitted it to the 35-

nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a Vienna-based U.N.

body, which is expected to debate and vote on it on Friday. But it will not satisfy

those in the West and in Israel, Iran's arch-enemy, who had hoped IAEA head Yu-

kiya Amano's document would trigger concrete international action to rein in Te-

hran, such as an IAEA referral of its case to the U.N. Security Council.

Reuters/ November 17, 2011

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

It all started on 17th September 2011. Initiated by the Canadian activist group Ad-

busters, hundreds of American people took to the streets to protest unjust economic

and social conditions, corporate greed, and corruption. It was these hundreds of peo-ple that enabled the continuation and growth of demonstrations, since the same rule

applies for all revolutions, uprisings or social changes: “It is hard to get the first hun-

dred people to actually do something. Once the first hundred people are on the streets,

it is easy to get another hundred, eventually thousands will join them.” So the num-

bers grew. It would be fair to say that, although Adbusters Foundation brought up the

idea, today the crowd feels no allegiance to any organization; they formed a larger or-ganic organization that consists of people from wide range of places, beliefs, economic

conditions and way of lives. They had an impressive slogan, emphasizing the huge gap

between the rich and the poor, a solid critique of capitalism: “We are the 99%”. They chose Zuc-

cotti Park in Lower Manhattan to demonstrate, because it was privately owned and the protestors could

not be forced to leave. At least that was the idea until the events of the last week. By the request of the owner of the park, the police forcibly evicted the protestors. By the court order came late that day the

protestors returned to the park but they are no longer allowed to set tents there. There had been hun-

dreds of people practically living in Zuccotti Park up until then, who formed their own way of life. Against

all obstacles, they are still fighting for a cause that somewhere some people have always been fighting for

hundreds of years, even though this struggle had its ups and downs. With or without tents, the Wall

Street protestors are determined to go on with their cause.

The optimism that entered the lives of the US citizens when Obama came to power on January 2009 ob-

viously caused the protests to be delayed. These protests could have been done soon after the 2008 eco-

nomic crisis hit the US, the crisis which caused millions of people lose their jobs. Obama gave especially

the young people a feeling that he would pass laws to regulate the banking system and reverse the nega-

tive effects of the crisis. This never happened, and people could take it only so much. Is situation that

bad? One must look closer to the situation to answer that. Three years have passed since the crisis and

still, the unemployment rate is at the highest level since Great Depression: 9% which equates to 14 mil-

lion people. And that is just the number of people who meet the criteria for “unemployed”. When the

number of people who work part-time jobs and want to have full-time jobs and who have not looked for a

job in a while added to the picture, unemployment rate becomes 17%. Corporate profits are higher than

they have been since 1950‟s, thus a yearly average CEO pay is 350 times more than a labor‟s. As for la-

bors, after adjusting the inflation, average hourly earnings have not increased in 50 years. Another sad

but familiar (for so called free liberal democracies, at least) statistic shows that the top 1% Americans

own 42% of the financial wealth in the USA, meanwhile the top 5% own 70%. The slogan makes more

sense upon knowing these.

Regardless of the curiosity about how the form, organization or participation would be if these demon-

strations were to start in 2008, or early 2009, one could easily argue that the protestors are very much

inspired by the Arab Spring. The dictatorships in the Middle East were considered to be the strongest re-

gimes in the contemporary world. No one could have predicted that the self-immolation of Mohammad

Bouazizi would set the whole Middle East on fire, bringing 40 year old regimes down and putting fear in

the hearts of any authoritarian leaders left in the region. Wall Street protestors (protestors-to-be at the

time) drew mainly two conclusions from the Arab Spring: Firstly, that the change is always possible, no

matter how strong the enemy is or how difficult it seems to be achieved. The determination of the people

in the Tunisia, Egypt and Libya created an excitement not only in the region, but among all the individu-

als of the world who believe in change. Secondly, it was seen that a match is all is needed to set the

whole world on fire. A rightful cause, if made public in an efficient and decent way, will eventually gain

support, people will join the cause. If, even the Middle East people, who have been seen by Americans as

the greatest example of the social backwardness, can bring their governments down, why would not

Americans, again who saw themselves as the most conscious society in the world, achieve something.

Especially the successful uprising and social determination in Egypt is an event that the Wall Street Pro-

testors look up to. They have Tahrir, and we have Zuccotti, claimed by the protestors. It is not the only

similarity between the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movement of course. Both events are mainly

caused by economic reasons, or the social conditions that are shaped by the economic conditions. Unem-

ployment is the real monster in both cases, along with huge gap between the rich and the poor, the cor-

ruption.

PAGE 8

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK Denial is present in both cases as well. Arab dictators denied the crowds until they are dead or brought down. In some cases it was too late when they stopped denying. US government has been denying the pro-testors from the day one. Mainstream media ignored them for a while, until the saw that this was not some-thing that would go away easily. On the other hand, differences between cases are obvious too. The main difference is that the Arab protestors were against the regimes, the leaders, the dictators that had been rul-ing their homelands with iron fist for many years; whereas the Wall Street protestors are against the system, capitalism, or at least they are against it to some degree, a degree that prevents them from welfare. It is the structural problems of capitalism that the Wall Street protestors are unhappy about, and they are willing to change this situation. Another major difference is violence. Middle Eastern dictatorships have practices of oppression which were instituted decades ago, while Americans are exercising their established rights to lawfully protest. For the Egyptians, fear was very real. Pepper spray used against a Wall Street protestor cannot be compared to the live ammunition used against Egyptian civilians. At the end of the day, there are American protestors who would return to their homes, at least satisfied with their sense of political partici-pation, regardless of whether Occupy Wall Street achieved its goals or not. There comes the question of the composition of the Wall Street protestors. Jean Jacques Rousseau was the first person to, in a way, legiti-mize the uprising against the ruling class. He argued that if the ruling people do not address the needs of society, it is up to the society to claim their rights, be that a revolution or a forced reform in the current sys-tem. Needles to say, that views grew popular and added an important chain to the road that led to the French Revolution. That was in 18th century. In 19th century, came a greater dynamism to the idea of upris-ing, namely Marxism. Karl Marx claimed the struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat would eventually cause a physical fight between two which would end with a socialist revolution. That way, he took the legitimization of any uprising against the ruling people one step further. However one would be wrong if one is to analyze the Wall Street protests under the umbrella of Marxist dynamism. There are obviously Marxists among the protestors, demanding the deepest structural change of all, a shift from a capitalist United States of America to a socialist one. Bu they are minority. Other than them, there are libertarians, environmentalists who are against the polluter face of capitalism, those who are only against the education and health policies, those formerly working in the financial sector and lost their jobs after the crisis, poor people who are not against the whole system but want the system to be more fair by the means of distribu-tion of wealth. They have one common goal only, change. The United States of America, arguable the most developed capitalist country in the contemporary world, the state that has an article on its Declaration of Independence guaranteeing the pursuit of happiness of its citizens, advertising the American Dream for many decades, obviously fails to address the needs and rights of its citizens. When it comes to the people in the Middle East, the administration of the USA emphasize on the freedom of speech, right to live free of op-pression and violence, seeking the civil rights, economic welfare of the whole society; but when the same concepts are spoken out loud by its own citizens, the Obama administration looks the other way. There is a beautiful world in English language to describe this behavior: Hypocrisy. These demonstrations are per-ceived differently by different groups. There are mainly three groups of people with unique perspectives on the matter. First group largely consisting of nostalgic freedom seekers claims that the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations are another ‟68, and this time, it will change everything as the uprising will grow and mil-lions will join the cause. This view is taking a romantic approach to the matter, and fails to see the real pic-ture. Anti militarism in the USA mostly caused by the Vietnam War, relative welfare after the Second World War and the existence of an alternative way of state system, namely the huge Eastern Block of socialism, which are the main elements that created the ‟68 generation are no longer there. Those ideas are not dead of course, against all the liberal thinkers‟ arguments especially after the collapse of the USSR, but the Wall Street protestors have to and do act accordingly with the current political conjuncture of the world. Their demands for a better world are shaped within the framework of today. Second group, consisting of liberals and conservatives, claims that all these demonstrations are for nothing. Nothing will happen in the end; the protestors will just get tired and go home. This is an ignorant view. Luckily, ignorance to see the enthusias-tic struggle of these people do not harm the Occupy Wall Street movement, it just makes the struggle more enthusiastic. The final group emphasizes the importance of this movement but is more realistic than the first group. Something will change, it must change, they argue, since the time has come. But the nature of the change is vague. It may not be a very deep structural change, but at least some reforms must be done to please these people.

To sum up, American Dream is over for those protesting in Zuccotti Park. It had long been over actually. Hypocrite leaders are no longer able to deceive them. “In those hard times, when we have to be united against threats” lies are no longer believable. Social forces and conservative mainstream media are no longer an obstacle for the demands of the unhappy. People are finally out there, they have something to say. Nei-ther the brutality of the police force nor the arrests do intimidate them. To what extent, this movement will be successful, time will show. In the meantime, we, as the people that are thousands of kilometers away from the USA, not only could enjoy the optimism for a better world, but take the example of the Occupy Wall Street movement and look for ways to get our voices to be heard.

Umut YILMAZ

PAGE 9

In a possible signal Turkey was readying economic sanctions against Damascus, the country's Economy

Ministry also said it had established a Syria desk to monitor developments and to assist Turkish businesses doing trade in Syria. "Nobody now expects the (Syrian) people's demands to be met. We all

want the Syrian administration, which is now on a knife-edge, to turn back

from the edge of the cliff," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a party

meeting. He also demanded an immediate apology following attacks on

Turkey's diplomatic missions in Syria. Non-Arab Turkey, after long courting Assad, has lost patience with its neighbor's failure to end an eight

-month crackdown on protests against the president and implement

promised democratic reforms."Right now we are supplying electricity there

(Syria). If this course continues, we may have to review all of these

decisions," Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters. Reuters /

November 15, 2011

TURKEY

Iran ready to help Turkey with nuclear plant: aide

The United States, European Union and their allies suspect Iran is trying

to develop nuclear weapons and, along with the U.N. Security Council,

have imposed sanctions to try to stop it from enriching uranium. But

Tehran says its nuclear program is to generate electric power and refuses

to halt it."Iran developed a very sophisticated nuclear science and

technological capability, which we are quite ready to share with ...

neighboring countries and friendly countries in the region," the adviser,

Mohammad Javad Larijani, said. MSNBC/ November 15, 2011

President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan

Republic (SOCAR), Rovnak

Abdullayev, said Thursday

that Turkey and Azerbaijan

began working on the 'Trans Anatolia Natural Gas

Pipeline' that will extend

from the eastern part of

Turkey all the way up to the

western part. World

Bulletin/ November 17, 2011

Turkey won’t participate in

any armed intervention on

Syria, though it may create a

buffer zone if the UN calls

for it, Foreign Minister

sources say. Hürriyet Daily News/ November 18, 2011

PAGE 10

Turkey says Syria on "knife-edge," may cut power

An adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader said on Tuesday that Tehran was

willing to share its controversial nuclear technology with neighboring

countries, suggesting it could help Turkey build an atomic power plant.

Turkey kept up pressure on its one-time ally Syria Tuesday, warning President Bashar al-Assad his

government was on a "knife-edge" and saying it may review its supplies of electricity to Damascus

if it does not change course.

Partnership with Turkey in emerging

markets can save EU from impasse Benefiting from Turkey's experience (or close cooperation with Turkish investors) in emerging markets can be an antidote to a current disease in the EU as increased trade with these markets which have become the driving force behind global growth is now more than vital, participants of a panel

discussion on Turkey-EU partnership held in Ġstanbul on Friday have concluded.

Speakers at Friday's “Turkey-EU: Common Interests Revisited,” a panel

discussion organized by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and

Industrialists (TUSKON) with the participation of senior officials and

academics from Turkey and the EU, discussed possible solutions for problems

stemming from a sovereign debt crisis experienced in EU markets.

Underlining that Turkey and the EU have cultivated strong trade ties over the past decades and that the union is by far the largest export market for

Turkey, the participants said both parties understood better the importance

of healthy cooperation now than in the past. Turkey needs a financially strong

EU and the union needs Turkey's dynamism, speakers argued, adding that

the union should make use of Turkey's growing existence in fast-emerging

markets. Today’s Zaman/November 18, 2011

Benetton pulls pope-

imam kiss ad after

Vatican protests

Italian clothing company

Benetton has pulled an

ad showing Pope

Benedict XVI kissing a

senior Egyptian imam after the Vatican launched a

strong protest.

Austrian airline in fuel charge fiasco

Austrian airline Comtel is investigating claims that

some of its passengers were forced to pay for refuelling

when their plane stopped in Vienna.

21 November 2011

16. Ankara International Theatre Festival – 63 plays and 86 events until 28 November 2011

Her Yöne 90 Dk. (Play), 20:00, MEB ġura Salonu

Ali Baba & Kırk Haramiler (Opera), 20:00, Ankara Opera House

22 November 2011

Figaro (Play), 20:00, Küçük Tiyatro

Bulutsuzluk Özlemi (Concert), 22:00, Hayal

Kahvesi

23 November 2011

Annem Yokken Çok Güleriz (Play), 20:00, ġinasi

Stage

Luxus Oriental Blues (Concert), 22:00, Hayal

Kahvesi

Wateresque (Art Exhibition) - until 27.11.11- TAD

Turkish American Association

24 November 2011

Zakkum (Concert), 22:00, If Performance Hall

ġahane Züğürtler (Play), 20:00, Akün Stage

Gazi Üniversitesi – Fenerbahçe Universal

(Volleyball Match), 18:00, BaĢkent Hall

25 November 2011

Mor ve Ötesi (Concert), 22:00, Jolly Joker

Hacettepe Music Hall (Concert), 21:30, Manhattan

Bir Delinin Hatıra Defteri (Play), 20:00, Stüdyo

Sahne

26 November 2011

Ġlhan ErĢahin (Concert), 22:00, Hayal Kahvesi

Troyalı Kadınlar (Play), 20:00, Akün Stage

Cheers 28 (Entertainment), 21:30, Saklıkent

27 November 2011

Kerem Gibi (Play), 18:00, METU KKM

ġems! Unutma! (Play), 18:00, MEB ġura Salonu

Kadınlar Meclisi (Play), 15:00, Akün Stage

ODDLY ENOUGH

What is this….ICJ

PAGE 11

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the

principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It

was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. The

seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague

(Netherlands). Of the six principal organs of the

United Nations, it is the only one not located in New

York (United States of America). The Court’s role is

to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give

advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by

authorized United Nations organs and specialized

agencies. The Court is composed of 15 judges, who

are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security

Council. It is assisted by a Registry, its

administrative organ. Its official languages are

English and French. In order to ensure a measure of

continuity, one third of the Court is elected every

three years. Judges are eligible for re-election. Should a judge die or resign during his or

her term of office, a special election is held as soon

as possible to choose a judge to fill the unexpired

part of the term.

EDITORIAL

GENERAL DIRECTOR

PELĠN YAVUZ

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

ERMAN AKSÜT

PELĠN KÜNEY

CO- EDITOR

SĠBEL DÜZ

COORDINATORS

MEHMET YETĠM

GĠZEM ÖZTEN

TALYA YÜZÜCÜ

CORRESPONDENTS

ANIL TOLUNAY

ESĠN TURHAN

SERHAT SAKIN

FIRAT OLGUN

YĠĞĠT AYDOĞ

HANDE KAYMA

MANSUR ALĠ GEDĠK

ÖZLEM MELĠS MUTLU

FULYA YETĠġ

http://eurosima2012.org