The Weekly Newspaper of Foreign Policy and International Relations Club

Volume 6, Issue 8

THIS

WEEK

PAGE

EUROPE 2

AMERICAS 3

ARTICLE OF

THE WEEK 4-5

ASIA 6

MIDDLE

EAST &

AFRICA

7

OPINIONS 8-9

TURKEY 10

SOCIAL 11

EDITORIAL 12

13 December 2011

Eurozone crisis: Late night summit talks to save

euro EU leaders are locked in late night talks at a summit called to tackle the eurozone debt crisis.

The key item on the agenda in Brussels is a Franco-German plan on budgetary discipline, with automatic

penalties for eurozone nations that overspend. Reports say Berlin and Paris failed to secure backing from

all 27 EU members to change the bloc's treaties to proceed with reforms. Any deal will now likely in-

volve only the 17 eurozone members. World shares

have fallen after the European Central Bank ruled

out any substantial aid for indebted nations. Just

before the summit started on Thursday, UK Prime

Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held

45-minute talks. UK Prime Minister David Cameron

has repeatedly warned he will veto anything which

harms British interests. President Sarkozy warned

that "never has the risk of disintegration been greater" for Europe. Continues on page 2

Poll protests continue in Russia, more arrests

Hundreds of people have gathered in different cities across Russia on

Saturday to protest against alleged electoral fraud in favor of Prime

Minister Vladimir Putin‟s United Russia party, RIA Novosti correspondents reported from the scene.

International observers and the United States also criticized the elections,

which saw United Russia's worst ever nationwide performance. The party

did, however, manage to hang onto its majority. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for an

investigation into Sunday‟s

parliamentary elections in Russia

amid reports of widespread vote

fraud and election violations, in

comments a senior Russian official described as "strange".

The United States will continue

to support the rights of citizens

for peaceful protests everywhere

in the world, including Russia, a Department of State deputy

spokesperson Mark Toner said.

Continues on page 6

EUROPE

Belgium ends record-breaking government-free run

German interior ministers seek ban on far-right NPD

Italy's new prime minister

presented lawmakers with his

proposal for €30 billion in new

taxes and spending cuts,

saying the "painful measures"

would end the country's

budget crisis. CNN/December

6, 2011

With talks to advance Serbia’s

European Union membership

bid happening soon, minority

Serbs in Kosovo have begun

taking down barricades at the

northern border. Euronews/

December 6, 2011

Croatia on Friday signed a

treaty to join the European

Union in 2013, a bittersweet

milestone as the bloc prepares

to take on a sluggish economy

it will have to drag along at the

time of its worst crisis ever.

CBCNews World/ December

8, 2011

PAGE 2

It follows news of the murders of 10 people, most of them ethnic Turks, al-

legedly by a neo-Nazi cell. One of the people subsequently arrested on sus-

picion of assisting the group is a former NPD official. An attempt to ban the party failed in 2003 because the case had relied on evidence from paid in-

formers within the organisation. The interior ministers, meeting in Wies-

baden, agreed to set up a working group to put forward a new case. The

group of ministers would not themselves be responsible for making an ap-

plication to the court that is the responsibility of parliament or the federal

government. Hessen's interior minister, Boris Rhein, told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung that the NPD was "inhuman, anti-democratic and anti-Semitic". A

ban would have to be prepared carefully; he added. BBC News/ December

9, 2011

Eurozone crisis: Late night summit talks to save euro

As Mrs Merkel arrived at the summit venue in Brussels, she told journal-

ists: "The euro has lost credibility and that needs to be restored." She said

the European Commission and the European Court of Justice would have more powers in future to enforce the rules, declaring: "We must make clear

that we accept more co-ordination." The draft text proposes a limit on

structural deficits of 0.5% of GDP, compared with the present limit of 3%

including debt repayments. It also includes a way of increasing the fire-

power of the eurozone bailout fund above 500bn euros (£426bn; $670bn) -

a measure which Germany has staunchly opposed. However, the draft con-clusions are likely to change substantially before a final text is adopted at

the end of the summit. BBC News/ December 9, 2011

Germany's state and federal interior ministers have agreed to make a second

legal attempt at banning the far-right National Party of Germany (NPD).

The only country that has gone without a government for longer than post-Hussein Iraq ended its record-breaking run Tuesday. It's Belgium, which went 589 days without an elected government.

New Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and his ministers met the king and took the oath of office. After Prime Minister Yves Leterme's resignation was accepted April 26, 2010, a temporary caretaker government had been in place since then. Di Rupo, of the Belgian Socialist Party, is leading a coalition gov-ernment of six parties. Some argued that political gridlock has even had its bene-fits."A government without power can't in-troduce new taxes." said Herman Matthijs, a professor at the Free University of Brus-sels. "On the other hand, a government

without full powers can't take new measures concerning the outlays. The political crisis relating to the public finance saved money. Belgium needs a central govern-ment to make massive mandatory budget cuts and introduce reform of public fi-

nances.”BBC News/ December 6, 2011

EU leaders are locked in late night talks at a summit called to tackle the eurozone debt crisis.

Although Israel remains one of the US closest allies and the two countries'

officials are in regular contact, U.S. officials have a "sense of opacity" re-garding what might prompt an Israeli military strike on Iranian nuclear

sites, and about when such an attack might occur, according to a senior

U.S. national security official. In one way, the ambiguity is an advantage for

the United States, because Washington could claim it had no foreknowledge

of any Israeli attack, which would almost certainly increase anti-American sentiment among many Muslims in the Middle East. Israeli leaders have not

suggested an attack on Iran's suspected nuclear weapons sites is imminent.

But neither have they - or U.S. President Barack Obama, for that matter -

ruled it out. Israel, widely believed to have the only nuclear arsenal in the

Middle East, says a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten its existence. Iran

says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and denies Western accusa-tions it is seeking an atomic bomb. Reuters/ December 7, 2011

The 22 final declarations ranged wordily but mildly

over the need to combat global ills like price specula-tion, drugs, terrorism, nuclear arms and cruelty to mi-

grants. Chavez and other left-wing leaders like Raul

Castro of Cuba, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Evo

Morales of Bolivia and Rafael Correa of Ecuador say

the hemisphere-wide Organization of American States is too eager to please Washington. But conservative-led

nations like Colombia, Chile and Mexico have clearly

ensured the CELAC does not become a mouthpiece for them, with the final

declarations relatively mild and next year's meeting set for Santiago, Chile.

Although they will raise eyebrows in Washington and London, the commu-

niqués over the Falklands - or Malvinas islands as they are known in Argen-tina - and the U.S. embargo on Cuba were fairly standard positions around

the region. The final declaration backed Argentina's "legitimate rights" and

urged Britain to resume negotiations. The New York Times/ December 3, 2011

AMERICAS

New Latin American Body Raps Britain

United States ready to help Greece

"I am here to tell you that we stand with you in solidarity as you meet some

difficult requirements of the IMF and European Union," Biden told reporters before a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos. Biden trav-

elled to Greece before a key EU summit on the debt crisis in Brussels on

Friday, in what has been called a crucial week for the common currency.

U.S. officials speaking in Washington on Geithner's mission stressed that he

would bring advice and encouragement rather than money, at a time of se-vere budget constraints back home. Greece, mired in its deepest financial

woes in decades, is on a cash lifeline from the IMF and larger members of

the euro zone to prevent a disorderly default and an exit from the common

currency bloc of 17 nations that use the euro. "It is overwhelmingly in the

interests of the United States that Greece works its way through this

financial crisis and that it remains a strong and vital part of the European Union," he said. Sabah/ December 5, 2011

Iran’s foreign ministry said

in comments published Thursday that a web-based

U.S. “virtual embassy” will

fail to win over the Iranian

people. Washington Post/

December 8, 2011

President Hugo Chavez said

Tuesday that China could

surpass U.S. as Venezuela's

No. 1 trade partner due to a

strategic alliance between the

two countries and added that

trade between Venezuela and

China has reached $20 billion

this year, up from $600

million just over a decade ago.

It is growing at a rate of $2

billion a year. Associated

Press/ December 6, 2011

The United States and

Canada announced new border security, trade and

regulatory agreements

i n t en d e d t o b o o s t

economic growth and job

creation in both countries. ABCnews/ December 7,

2011

PAGE 3

Wary U.S. uncertain of Israel's Iran plans The Obama administration does not know Israel's intentions regarding potential military action

against Iran, and the uncertainty is stoking concern in Washington.

The U.S. will support Greece during these difficult times, U.S. Vice

President Joe Biden said during a visit to Athens on Monday, in re-

marks that offered reassurance rather than concrete aid.

A new Latin American and Caribbean organization (CELAC) backed Ar-

gentina's claim to sovereignty over the British-ruled Falkland Islands.

On Dec. 7, Egypt's largest-circulation

privately owned newspaper, al-Masry al-

Youm, published anunsigned editorial under

the title, "The British Independent Publishes

a Fabricated Article Aboutal-Masry al-Youm."

In the editorial, the paper accused The

Independent's Cairo correspondent, Alastair

Beach, of being linked to Western intelligence

agencies. It also alleged that I, a professor at

the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in

Monterey, California, was seeking to foment a

coup d'état in Egypt.

Correspondent Beach was the target of these

ludicrous assertions as a result of his coverage of al-Masry al-Youm's censorship of an article I had been

commissioned to write by the editor of that newspaper's new English language weekly, rather

paradoxically named Egypt Independent. To appear in the second issue of that new weekly, scheduled for

publication on Dec. 1, my article noted the favorable image of the Egyptian military as reported in various

domestic public opinion polls since Feb. 11. It went on to argue that Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi,

the country's official leader since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, would nevertheless be unwise

to interpret this data as support for the ruling Supreme Council for the Armed Forces (SCAF). The

available polling data suggests that SCAF's image is much less favorable than the military's and in fact is

in precipitous decline.

I concluded that the field marshal's implied threat against civilian rule as embodied in the trial balloon

he floated in his Nov. 22 speech, which referred to a possible referendum on military rule, could backfire

against him. Not only would many civilian political forces in Egypt be dismayed by such an effort to

prolong the SCAF's rule, but so too might military officers disapprove out of fear that their institution's

reputation could thereby be damaged. This assertion was not just speculative, but based on substantial

evidence to that effect. I also referred to Washington's explicit disapproval of efforts to prolong the SCAF's

political role, for example, a Nov. 25 White House statementcalling for Egypt's new government to be

"empowered with real authority immediately."

It was these observations that resulted in the article being censored by Magdy el-Galad, the editor-in-

chief of al- Masry al-Youm. I do not know whether he did so on direct orders from the SCAF or because he

anticipated General Tantawi's negative reaction. What has been reported to me is that the editor in

question is known to have close ties to the military and intelligence services. (The Egyptian Independent's

brave reaction to the incident was to refuse to produce another edition of their weekly until it was

granted editorial freedom from al-Masry al-Youm.)

Whatever happened behind the scenes, the censorship suggests marked sensitivity about the leadership

and role of the SCAF and its relations with the broader military. General Tantawi must be aware that his

perch atop both the SCAF and the military (indeed, for the moment, the entire state), is precarious. For

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

PAGE 4

What Egypt's Military Doesn't Want Its Citizens to

Know

Political censorship is back in the new Egypt. But hiding the truth is a losing strategy.

years he was Mubarak's instrument to control the military. The measures he employed -- including

promoting the incompetent over the competent, minimizing training and general preparedness,

redirecting the institution's primary efforts to economic rather than military pursuits, and ladling out

dollops of patronage to retain loyalty -- resulted in an indulged officer corps, but also one that harbors

profound resentments. Those resentments have been greatly exacerbated by the SCAF's mishandling of

the transition, especially the deployment of military units for crowd control, outright intimidation and

even killing of demonstrators, and converting military bases into detention facilities.

As the political pressure on the SCAF intensifies, the question becomes whether or not its members might

seek to defend its and the military's interests by dumping Tantawi, just as the field marshal dumped

Mubarak. After all, the second in command is Chief of Staff General Sami Abul Enan, whose good

reputation appears yet to be badly tarnished by Tantawi's and the SCAF's misdeeds. What could trigger

an internal coup? Grumbling in the officer corps, combined with a growing fear of the appeal of Islamism

among enlisted men -- especially in the wake of the electoral triumph of the Muslim Brotherhood and the

Salafis -- are incentives for the SCAF to turn on Tantawi lest the military, possibly in some sort of

alliance with Islamists, turn on the SCAF.

In sum, the political pressure on Tantawi, now heightened by the results of the first round of

parliamentary elections and the SCAF's immediate attempt to disempower parliament even before it is

seated, is enough to make anyone nervous. That he was Mubarak's manager of the military economy -- a

vast enterprise including factories, bakeries, and other businesses -- for more than two decades, hence

with plenty to hide, may cause him to wonder if he might end up on the wrong side of the dock with his

old boss.

But clumsy censorship simply exacerbates his and the SCAF's problems. One lesson of the Arab Spring

is that news now travels very fast indeed. Within hours of the 20,000 copies of the second issue of Egypt

Independent being pulped, the story had spread not only in Egypt, but globally, as the article in

London's The Independent attests. It did not used to be this way. A previous publisher ofal-Masry al-

Youm, Hisham Kassem, former chairman of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, clashed several

years ago with the owners of the paper over the issue of editorial freedom. He ultimately resigned. That

the ostensibly liberal owners of the paper, including Naguib Sawiris, founder of the possibly misnamed

Free Egyptians Party, were not then revealed as having endorsed censorship suggests the profound

enhancement of information flow over the past three or four years, to say nothing of commitment to that

flow. (Indeed, the bravery of the staff of Egypt Independent provides ample evidence of that.)

But there are some worrying implications here, too. That even Egyptians nominally on the liberal side of

the country's political spectrum drag out the old canards of foreign conspiracies and spies to discredit

those whose views they fear might upset powerful actors does not augur well for a possible transition to a

more liberal political order. And as far as the most powerful actor is concerned, the SCAF, its profound

sensitivities, overreactions, and outright duplicity suggest that both its commitment and its capacity to

orchestrate a successful transition are in grave doubt. Its misdeeds unfortunately threaten not only itself

and its leader, but, paradoxically, the integrity of the military -- to say nothing of the stability and well

being of the country as a whole. This in turn poses a huge challenge to Washington, which is now caught

between an incompetent SCAF and a potentially hostile Islamist government, with no obvious place to

turn given the apparent political weakness of liberal secularists.

In sum, there is lots of bad news in Cairo, but censorship will not prevent it from getting out.

ROBERT SPRINGBORG/ FP MAGAZINE

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

PAGE 5

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Wednesday that the suicide bombing that targeted Shiite Muslim worshipers in Kabul and killed dozens of people was plotted in Pakistan.

ASIA

PAGE 6

Poll protests continue in Russia, more arrests Hundreds of people have gathered in different cities across Russia on Saturday to protest against

alleged electoral fraud in favor of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin‟s United Russia party, RIA Novosti

correspondents reported from the scene.

Speaking at a hospital where victims of Tuesday‟s attack outside a shrine in

the Afghan capital were being treated, Karzai said he would demand

answers from the Pakistani government about the bombing. “We are investigating this issue, and we are going to talk to the Pakistani

government about it,” Karzai told reporters. A spokesman for Lashkar-i-

Jhangvi, the Pakistani militant group that has carried out attacks against

Shiites in Pakistan, asserted responsibility for the bombing, according to

news outlets in Pakistan. A senior Pakistani official said his government

has no link with Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, the Associated Press reported. The Washington Post/ December 7, 2011

NATO chief rebuffs Russian threats to counter missile shield

Russia‟s threat to install countermeasures against a planned missile-

defense system in Europe are reminiscent of “the confrontation of a

bygone era” and reflect a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the West‟s intentions, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

said Wednesday.

“NATO‟s position is clear,” Rasmussen said

at a news conference following a meeting of

NATO foreign ministers. “We need missile defense for our own security. We believe

our defenses would be more effective if we

cooperate . . . this is why we invited our

Russian partners” to participate in the

system. A U.S. official who attended the

meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that NATO will “continue to deploy” with or without

Russia‟s participation. The Washington Post/ December 7, 2011

Karzai says Kabul attack was plotted in Pakistan

Large quantities of highly radioactive water have leaked through a crack in the wall of a treatment facility at the Fukushima power plant, and some may have founds its way into the sea, the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco], said. Guardian/ December 5, 2011

The world's three biggest polluters China, the United States and India refused to move toward a new legal commitment to curb their carbon emissions Tuesday, increasing the risk that climate talks will fail to clinch a meaningful deal in coming days. Reuters/ December 6, 2011

China is sending its top African affairs envoy to mediate in negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan in a dispute that threatens a source of oil exports to the Far East. The Telegraph/ December 5, 2011

President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that all allegations of fraud

during Sunday's parliamentary polls should be investigated. “The main

thing now is to calm [our] nerves and let parliament begin its work,”

Medvedev said at a news conference in Prague. Russian Prime Minister

Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. authorities on Thursday of sponsoring the

opposition in Russia and urged harsher punishments for those acting on

orders from “foreign states.” His remarks followed comments by U.S.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other senior Washington officials

about the outcome of Russia‟s parliamentary elections, in which the pro-

Kremlin United Russia party gained almost half of the vote. RIA Novosti/

December 10, 2011

'Massacre' feared brewing in Syrian city

Main opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi has rejected official results and de-clared himself the winner, raising fears of violence. Mr Tshisekedi along with the EU, the US, Britain, France and former colonial power Belgium appealed for calm. Riot police are patrolling the capital, Kinshasa, and gunshots have been heard. The city, in the west of the country, is an opposition stronghold and columns of smoke were seen rising over districts backing Mr Tshisekedi as groups of young men burned tyres. On Friday eve-ning, election commission chief Daniel Ngoy Mulunda announced that President Kabila had gained 49% of the vote against 32% for Mr Tshisekedi. "I reject these results, and in fact I see them as a provocation against our people," said 78-year-old Mr Tshisekedi. "It is scandalous and vulgar. We have done our own calcula-tions and I received 54% to Kabila's 26%. His term is finished. I am the president."However, he added that he was waiting to see if diplomatic efforts would

change the situation. BBC News/ December 10, 2011

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

Appeals for calm after disputed DR Congo election

Fear, speculation in Iran over military strike

United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran's

nuclear facilities if diplomacy fails to resolve a dispute over a program they suspect is aimed at developing atomic weapons.In Washington on

Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States was

considering all options on Iran and would work with allies to prevent

Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon."No options off the table means

I'm considering all options," he said. Sanctions and diplomatic pressure still appear to be Washington's preferred course of action. Tensions with

the West rose after hardline students stormed two British diplomatic

compounds in Tehran last week in protest against new sanctions imposed

after the U.N. nuclear agency suggested that Iran was pursuing nuclear

weapons. Reuters/ December 8, 2011

PAGE 7

Syria's leading opposition movement warned Friday of an impending government "massacre"

designed to crush activists in the city of Homs, a metropolis that has emerged as a center of anti-

regime unrest.

The Syrian National Council said military troops and vehicles have surrounded the western city and thousands of troops are manning more than 60 checkpoints just inside the city. "These are all signs of a security crackdown operation that may reach the level of a total invasion of the city," the council said in a news release. It warned that a "massive number of casualties" could occur. "Evidence received from

reports, videos and information obtained by activists on the ground in Homs indi-cate that the regime is paving the way to commit a massacre in order to extinguish the Revolution in Homs and to discipline, by example, other Syrian cities that have joined the Revolution," the council said. The United Nations said last week that more than 4,000 people have died in Syria since a brutal government crackdown

against protesters erupted in mid-March. CNN/ December 9, 2011

The threat of military strikes on Iran has upturned the quiet and

comfortable lives once enjoyed by many Iranians, ushering in a new

era of struggle and fear.

There have been appeals for calm in the Democratic Republic of Congo

following the victory of President Joseph Kabila in disputed elections.

An Israeli air strike killed two

Palestinian militants in the

Gaza Strip Thursday and

Palestinians in the territory

fired rockets deep into

southern Israel in the latest

round of cross-border

violence. Reuters/ December

8, 2011

The disgraced former Israeli

President, Moshe Katsav, has

arrived at Maasiyahu prison

near Tel Aviv to begin a seven

-year sentence for rape. BBC

News / December 7,2011

The playboy son of the late

Libyan dictator Moammar

Gaddafi was plotting to sneak

into Mexico under a false

name, authorities said

Wednesday. The Washington

Post/ December 7, 2011

About two weeks ago, international peacekeeping forces and protestors from the Serbian minority clashed in Northern Kosovo on the borderline between Serbia and Kosovo, causing more than twenty peacekeepers and many Serbian protestors to be wounded. The clashes took part as the peacekeeping forces attempted to remove the barricades that were set by the Serbian protestors to block the roads that connects Serbia and Kosovo. Tension on the border areas has been high since the summer, when the protests started and the roads were blocked. Other clashes also took part since then, indeed. However, this latest incident took place right before another criti-cal event: The European Union’s summit on the 8th and 9th December. As the heads of the EU countries got together in Brussels, they assessed Balkan countries and their readiness for the acceptance to the EU. While Croatia was granted an “Accession Treaty” with the EU to be a full member in 2013, the European Union de-cided to postpone the decision of whether Serbia will be given a “candidate country” status or not to the next European Council meeting, which will be held in March 2012. The decision was taken as some of the EU countries, Germany at the first place, were doubtful about the readiness of Serbia to start negotiations for full membership. In fact, even in August, long before the last clashes, German leader Angela Merkel stated that relations with Kosovo will be decisive for Serbia’s chances for joining the EU. However, the EU’s decision to postpone the process may significantly reduce the support for the current Serbian leader Boris Tadic in the national elections of Serbia, to be held in May 2012. As Boris Tadic has already shown his interest in being integrated to the EU, it is not hard to foresee that the EU’s decision may cause Serbia to be less coop-erative on the certain issues related to Balkans in case of a government change. As the most apparent exam-ple, Kosovo could be also one of the places that we can see the effects of such a government change. Conse-quently, the situation in Northern Kosovo may become even more problematic because of the setback of Ser-bia on the way to the EU; which is, paradoxically, also a result of the problems in Northern Kosovo.

Serhat SAKIN

OPINIONS

PAGE 8

European leaders, with the exception of the United Kingdom, have backed a tax and

budget pact aimed at solving the eurozone debt crisis and preventing the implosion of

the single currency.German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the deal was a "tremendous step towards a stable Europe".On the other hand, she stated that the

eurozone's sovereign debt crisis would take years to resolve. In spite of Sarkozy‟s

concerns about disintegration of EU, Merkel does not to mention that possibility at

all. After this summit, Merkel‟s massive impact on decision making of EU revealed as

a striking reality.One more thing is definitely understood after the summit: It is

impossible to find a solution for the approval of all 27 states. The main reason is that under the pressure of conservatives in the country, the UK does not want to be

affected by the Euro-rescuing process. It is arguable whether the UK isolated from the

EU.However, the UK will not tolerate any harm on its own interests.This fact is

crucial to determine the fate of the EU. Another important point is that Sarkozy and Merkel have become

the best partner in this process. Moreover, the strong and stable fiscal union with strict rules has been the motto of both leaders, whose names have been merged into „„Merkozy‟‟. They say that when the

control over individual budgets is brought together to the centralized EU institution will, they agree on a

pooling of European debt.This signifies that the European Union can be evolved into a federal structure

without the UK in the long run. Hande KAYMA

Time for „United States of Europe‟ or Collapse of EU

EUROPE

Tension in Northern Kosovo and setback for

Serbia on the way to the EU

For a new treaty in order to tighten fiscal discipline in the eurozone, EU leaders came together in

Brussels,last week on 8-9 December which resulted in a financial unity to be suppressed by

Germany.

Some recent developments indicate that the Balkan region still needs attention.

OPINIONS

PAGE 9

Will Belgrade give up Kosovo Serbs for the sake

of EU membership? The Serbian President Boris Tadic called on Serbs in northern Kosovo Saturday to remove barri-

cades in the restless area, a move that may help the Balkan country in removing a key obstacle

for its European Union accession bid.

Tadic also urged Kosovo Serbs to implement an agreement on border controls

reached in Brussels between his country and Kosovo. He said the solution reached

in Brussels under EU auspices was not ideal but he fully supported the border deal. "We have achieved what was possible at the moment," he told reporters in Berlin. On

the other hand, Belgrade’s stance was taken as a betrayal by Kosovo Serbs. Serbs in

the north of Kosovo reject the 2008 declaration of independence by Kosovo's ethnic

Albanian majority. They have been manning barricades since the government in

Pristina in July tried to send police and customs officers to impose control of bor-

ders between this mainly Serbia and Kosovo. Serbia expectedly has not recognized Kosovo’s independence too. However, it seems to me that Serbia is softer more than

before because she wishes for EU membership and wants to eliminate the border

problem immediately. Serbia is an EU applicant country, which the European Commission recommended

as candidate state as of 2011. Morover, that German Chancellor Angela Merkel said clashes between

NATO soldiers and Serbs on the border with Kosovo showed Serbia was not yet ready to be a candidate for European Union membership may push Serbia to change its stance against Kosovo. Besides the

European Union had already wanted Belgrade to recognise Kosovo’s independence if it is to have any

chance of joining the bloc. Mehmet YETİM

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

Is there a double end?

The leader of the Lebanese Shia Islamist group, Hezbollah, has made his first public appearance

for several years at a rally in Beirut.

The time in which the whole world is specificly interested in Syrian issue, another

explanation came from a quite different and “somewhat forgotten” figure, the

leader of the Lebanese Shia Islamist group, Hezbollah, has made his first public

appearance for several years. He claimed that his group was stronger than ever

and would never give up its arms. He also made further explanations

emphasizing the anger against Syrian opposition group saying that a new

government would drop the relationship with Hezbullah. Hezbullah emerged with

financial backing from Iran in the early 1980s and began a struggle to drive

Israeli troops from Lebanon and the popularity of group had continued until the

last Israeli troops left Lebanon due in large part to the success of Hezbollah's

military arm, the Islamic Resistance. Also, Hezbullah has become the strongest opposition group against

pro-Western government during the first decade of 2000s. They finally overcame pro-Western government

in January. If we come back to the subject, the leader of group has not been the arena since Hezbollah's

34-day war with Israel in 2006 and interestingly he suddenly appeared last week. The point why I

mention about this subject is the close relationship between Syrian regime and Hezbullah. These two

actors have supported each other for a long time. Through this detail, most of the specialists think that

the end of Syrian Government might also probably mean the end of Hezbullah. Seemingly, he is aware of

the danger therefore he started to challange. Nevertheless, as long as the momentum is on the hands of

western powers, it seems unrealistic that these two actors will survive. Anıl TOLUNAY

Washington and Ankara have both called for Assad to go, but both worry it

could deepen instability in a region already rocked by the Arab Spring, and as U.S. troops leave Iraq by the end of the month. "There was a sense in

our discussions that it would be able to be handled without any

conflagration going beyond Syria, and that it could be localized to Syria,"

said Biden, characterizing his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip

Erdogan on Saturday. Turkey has joined the Arab League in slapping tough sanctions on Syria in response to Assad's bloody crackdown on

protests, and has talked openly about the need to be ready for any

scenario. Reuters/ December 4, 2011

TURKEY

IMF warns Turkey growth to slow sharply

The IMF said growth would slow to 2 percent in 2012 from 7.5 percent in

2011. The fund urged Turkey to adjust its policies to ensure a soft economic landing. Turkey expects its current account deficit to soar to 9

percent to 10 percent of gross domestic product this year from 6.7 percent

in 2010. But the government expects the deficit to diminish as the

economy slows due to global concerns, notably the debt crisis in the euro

zone. "More limited foreign financing would constrain the current account deficit to about 8 percent of gross domestic product and compresses

imports," the IMF said in a review of Turkey's economy. "In line with

Turkey's previous capital flow-driven corrections,GDP growth is forecast to

be sharply scaled down," the fund added in its annual assessment.

Reuters/ December 7, 2011

The debt crisis in the euro zone

has not dampened Turkey's

desire to join the European

Union, Deputy Prime Minister

Ali Babacan said on Tuesday,

as it seeks to carry out political

reforms to meet conditions of

membership. Speaking at a

news conference Babacan also

urged European countries to

act decisively to deal with the

sovereign debt crisis there.

Reuters/ December 6, 2011

Libyan Minister of Education

Suleiman Sahili has stated

that the Libyan government needs the support of Turkey

in education as well as in

many other social and

economic areas in order to

establish a well-functioning

regime after the end of Gaddafi’s long rule. Today’s Zaman/ December

7, 2011

PAGE 10

U.S. ready to help Syria after Assad falls: Biden

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday projected a sharp

slowing in Turkish growth as capital inflows decline on concerns

about the country's worryingly large current account deficit.

The United States and Turkey are reviewing how to help Syria if pro-democracy protests drive

President Basher al -Assad from power, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday, but the two

allies have not discussed concrete "next steps".

EU express „sadness‟ over Turkey‟s decision

EU foreign ministers have expressed “sadness” at Turkey‟s threat to

freeze relations during Greek Cyprus‟ upcoming term presidency.

Foreign ministers from the bloc debated the matter at a Dec. 5 meeting

that came ahead of an EU summit scheduled to take place from tomorrow

until Dec. 9 in Brussels. The Greek Cypriot delegation reportedly put pressure on member states to issue a strong reaction to Turkey‟s threat to

freeze relations during Greek Cyprus‟ term presidency, which will begin in

June 2012. Ministers, however, only decided to express “sadness” at

Turkey‟s earlier statements. The Turkish diplomatic sources said the EU

did not want to further antagonize Ankara by endorsing strong wording in

an EU statement that will be released following a summit of the union‟s heads of state slated for June 2012. The foreign ministers said Turkey had

not made any progress in normalizing relations with Greek Cyprus and

that they expected progress in the matter without further delays.

Hürriyet Daily News/ December 9, 2011

Eight Ferraris, Lamborghini in Japan luxury

car pileup, damage could exceed $1 million

A convoy of luxury cars

including eight Ferraris,

a Lamborghini and three

Mercedes-Benz vehicles

ended up in a pileup

Monday when one driver

skidded while trying to

change lanes. An

outing of luxury

sportscar enthusiasts in Japan ended in an expensive

freeway pileup — smashing a stunning eight Ferraris,

a Lamborghini and two Mercedes likely worth more

than $1 million together. Police declined to comment

on the total amount of damage, but said some of the

vehicles were beyond repair.

12 December 2011

Küçük Şeyler – Üstün Dökmen (Play), 14:30, Necip

Fazıl Kısakürek Cultural Center

Camaltında Renkli Dünyalar (Art Exhibition), TR

Central Bank Art Gallery

Ölümden Bile İyi Bir Şey (Film Screening), 18:30,

German Cultural Center

13 December 2011

Çankaya Bld Ankara – İstanbul Büyükşehir Bld.

(Volleyball Match), 18:00, Başkent Sports Hall

Bir Tayyare Serüveni (Play), 20:00, Ankara Opera

House

Libya’nın İki Farklı Yüzü (Photography Exhibition),

AFSAD

14 December 2011

Babel Project (Concert), 20:00, Nazım Hikmet

Culture Center

Zübük (Play), 20:00, Ankara Sanat Tiyatrosu AST

Tosca (Opera), 20:00, Ankara Opera House

15 December 2011

Krapp’s Last Tape (Play), 20:00, Bilkent Theatre

and Concert Hall

Gece (Concert), 23:00, If Performance Hall

Soğuk Bir Berlin Gecesi (Play), 20:00, Küçük

Tiyatro

16 December 2011

Sibel Köse & Young @ Hearts (Concert), 21:00,

CerModern

Genç Osman (Play), 20:00, Çayyolu Tiyatrosu

Cüneyt Gökçer Sahnesi

17 December 2011

Levent Yüksel (Concert), 22:00, Jolly Joker

Paçi (Play), 20:00, METU KKM

Ne Romeo Ne Juliet (Play), 20:00, Ertan Gösteri

Merkezi

Türk Telekom – Banvit (17:00), Ankara Sports Hall

18 December 2011

Giderayak (Play), 15:30, Ankara Sanat Tiyatrosu

AST

Kadın Hakları (Caricature Exhibition), Union of

Turkish Bar Associations

ODDLY ENOUGH

What is this….IUCN

PAGE 11

The International Union for Conservation of

Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is

an international organization dedicated to finding "pragmatic solutions to our most pressing

environment and development challenges. IUCN is a

unique organization - a democratic membership

union - composed of over 1,000 Members, 11,000

scientific experts in its thematic Commissions and

1,000 staff, who work together in more than 160 countries to help the world find pragmatic solutions

to the most pressing environment and development

challenges. Conserving biodiversity is central to the

mission of IUCN. The union demonstrates how

biodiversity is fundamental to addressing some of the world‟s greatest challenges: tackling climate

change, achieving sustainable energy, improving

human well-being and building a green economy.

IUCN has offices in more than 45 countries and runs

hundreds of projects around the world. We have

member organizations in more than 160 countries and a network of 10,000 voluntary scientists and

experts spanning the globe. Members within a

country or region are often organized into National

and Regional Committees to promote cooperation

and help coordinate the Union's work.

EDITORIAL

GENERAL DIRECTOR

PELİN YAVUZ

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

ERMAN AKSÜT

PELİN KÜNEY

CO- EDITOR

SİBEL DÜZ

COORDINATORS

MEHMET YETİM

GİZEM ÖZTEN

TALYA YÜZÜCÜ

ÖZLEM MELİS MUTLU

CORRESPONDENTS

ANIL TOLUNAY

ESİN TURHAN

SERHAT SAKIN

FIRAT OLGUN

YİĞİT AYDOĞ

HANDE KAYMA

MANSUR ALİ GEDİK

FULYA YETİŞ

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