The Weekly Newspaper of Foreign Policy and International Relations Club

Volume 6, Issue 15

3 April 2012

Obama and Hu to co-ordinate on North Korea rocket launch

UN – Arab League peace plan was accepted by Syrian President Bashar al Assad on Tuesday. How-

ever, the international community is still doubt about future of plan.

On Tuesday, Bashar al Assad visited the Baba Amr district of

Hums which is besieged and he said that the city will be re-

constructed and destructive effects of bombardment will be

compensated. Meanwhile, Damascus administration accepted

the peace plan prepared by UN – Arab League joint Syria en-

voy Kofi Annan after support of Russia and China to the plan.

Annan’s peace plan includes an end to violence, multi-party

peace talks and humanitarian aid. After these happenings,

Kofi Annan will inform UN Security Council second time

about the implementation of the peace plan.

Continues on page 7

THIS

WEEK

EUROPE

PAGE 2

AMERICAS

PAGE 3

OPINION

PAGE 4-5

ASIA

PAGE 6

MIDDLE EAST&AFRICA

PAGE 7

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

PAGE 8-9

TURKEY

PAGE 10

SOCIAL

PAGE 11

EDITORIAL

PAGE 12

China and the US have agreed to co-ordinate their response to any "potential provocation" if North

Korea goes ahead with a planned rocket launch, the White House says.

North Korea says the long-range rocket will carry a satellite. The

US says any launch would violate UN resolutions and be a missile

test. US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu

Jintao met on the margins of a nuclear summit in South Korea.

The White House said Mr Hu indicated to Mr Obama that he was

taking the North Korean issue very seriously and was registering

China's concern with the government in Pyongyang. "We both

have an interest in making sure that international norms

surrounding non-proliferation, preventing destabilising nuclear

weapons, is very important," Mr Obama said ahead of the

meeting. But a US national security official cast doubt on any

change in Chinese policy, the Associated Press reported.

Continues on page 6

Assad’s Mission: Impossible?

EUROPE

PAGE 2

Greece to open new detention centres for illegal migrants

The Republic of Ireland will

hold a referendum on the

European fiscal treaty on

31 May, Deputy Prime

Minister Eamon Gilmore

has said.

BBC News / March 27,

2012

The Organisation for

Economic Co-operation and

Development (OECD), which

produces quarterly figures

showing year-on-year

growth, said that UK

output declined at an

annual rate of 1.2% in the

final quarter of 2011 and

will decline at an annual

rate of 0.4% in the first

three months of 2012.

The Guardian / March

29, 2012

After weeks of intense

pressure, Sten Tolgfors has

quit as Sweden’s defence

minister over reports the

Nordic state planned to help Saudi Arabia build a

w e a p o n s f a c t o r y .

Euronews / March 29,

2012

Athens plans up to 30 camps on disused military sites across country

to house migrants blamed for 'crime epidemic'

Merkel: Greek euro exit would be "catastrophic"

Merkel faced opposition in the German parliament over the Greek bailout

from critics who said Athens should have been allowed to default and leave

the euro. While Greece faces a "long and arduous road", Merkel said European leaders must keep Athens within the euro zone or risk a domino

effect that would lead to speculation about more countries abandoning the

currency. "This is not only a monetary decision it is a political one. It would

be catastrophic if we were to say to one of those who have decided to be

with us 'we no longer want you'," Merkel told ."The euro area would be

incredibly weakened.It would be a huge political mistake to allow Greece to leave," she added. Reuters / March 26, 2012

Greece's exit from the euro would be a "catastrophic" political and economic mistake that would

severely weaken Europe's single currency bloc, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Greece will open the first of up to 30 camps for illegal immigrants within

weeks, in what some describe as a "desperate bid" to contain the social

chaos prompted by the economic crisis. In Athens officials have approved the construction of three of the 30 detention centres that the government

has vowed to build on disused military sites. "The first centre will begin

operating in the next 30 to 45 days," the deputy public order minister,

Manolis Othona, said. "It will open as long as the buildings are in

sufficiently good shape." It was the first official confirmation that the camps

would be operational before the Greek general election in early May. The Guardian / March 29, 2012

Interior Ministry official Cristina Diaz said 58 people had been detained.

The cause was not immediately clear.Spanish unions are protesting the

new conservative government's labor reforms and austerity cuts.The gene-ral strike is the first one against the

government of Prime Minister Mariano

Rajoy, which was elected in November

and took office in December, in the

midst of Spain's deep economic

crisis.Spain's jobless rate is nearly 23% overall, and nearly 50% for

youth. Nearly 5.3 million Spaniards

are out of work. The union also said

wholesale food markets and large

distribution centers for the big supermarket chains were disrupted.

CNN / March 29, 2012

Arrests, injuries reported as Spanish workers strike

Huge traffic jams snarled central Madrid Thursday, as Spain's first ge-

neral strike in more than a year kicked off with nine people slightly

injured in demonstrations, including police officers, the Interior Ministry said

AMERICAS

PAGE 3

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Saudi Arabia's king and foreign minister in Riyadh on

Friday to discuss the Syria conflict against a backdrop of tension with Iran and oil policy differ-ences.

Although the two states have mended the rift, differences persist on regional policy and how to tackle high oil prices. The United States and other consumer countries fear Saudi Arabia may cut oil output if

they release emergency reserves, neutralizing their effort to cool world energy markets. Oil prices have

risen sharply since the start of the year, at one point breaking $128 a bar-

rel, largely because of expanded sanctions imposed on major oil exporter

Iran aimed at slowing its disputed nuclear program. The Saudis now want to see stronger action against Assad, including the arming of rebels, something

the US is reluctant to do for fear of being drawn into a messy civil war. "The

policy options are very limited. The US is in no position to assist in arming

the rebels or to provide any kind of military support for them. So my guess

is there will be efforts from the Saudis to coordinate proposals and at least

buy time for the rebels." the former U.S. envoy Jordan said. After meeting Saudi and other Gulf Arab foreign ministers on Saturday, Clinton will head

to Turkey for meetings with the Syrian opposition. Reuters / March 30,

2012

Chavez threatens to seize banks and firms that back opposition

Pope Benedict criticises US trade embargo on Cuba

On Friday, the White

House formally certified

that global oil supplies are

sufficient to accommodate deeper cuts in Iranian oil

imports, a technical step

that clears the way for the

implementation of even

t o u g h e r e c o n o m i c

sanctions set to take effect three months from now.

The Washington Post /

March 31, 2012

Colombian forces killed 35 leftist guerrillas in an

o f f e n s i v e M o n d a y ,

authorities said, striking

the group for the second

time in as many weeks.

CNN / March 22, 2012

Chilean prosecutors say

they will seek murder

charges against four

suspected neo-Nazis

accused of attacking and killing a young gay man.

BBC / March 28, 2012

Clinton meets Saudi king amid Syria, Iran tensions

Pope Benedict XVI has criticised the 50-year-old US trade embargo im-

posed on Cuba, as he ends a visit to the island.

The Pope called for greater rights in Cuba, saying he wanted a society in

which no-one was denied basic freedoms. This aim was not helped by eco-

nomic measures which "unfairly burden" Cuba's people, he said. Earlier, Pope Benedict met Cuba's revolutionary leader and former president, Fidel

Castro, and celebrated Mass in front of vast crowds in Havana. The Pontiff

made his parting comments in the airport in Havana, in the presence of the

current president, Raul Castro. He said all Cubans should be able to share

in "forging a society of wide horizons, renewed and reconciled". "No-one

should feel excluded from taking up this exciting search by the limitations of their basic freedoms, or excused from this by indolence or a lack of mate-

rial resources - a situation which is worsened when restrictive economic

measures, imposed from outside the country, unfairly burden its people," he

said. The US trade embargo, known as the blockade or "el bloqueo" in Span-

ish, was introduced soon after the 1959 Revolution. BBC / March 29, 2012

The Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has threatened to nationalise

banks and companies that back the opposition ahead of elections later

this year.

On return from his latest trip to Cuba for cancer treatment, he was keen to

show there were no ill effects, as he danced alongside children on stage in Caracas. Chavez said he had a list of private banks that were financing

what he called the opposition’s ‘destabilising plans’. “There are big national

companies and some international firms that earn a lot of money and sup-

port the opposition’s plans. It would not be a bad idea to order the nation-

alisation of big companies for attempting to act against the constitution and

national peace,” he said. He’s already seized billions of dollars in assets from foreign firms. The government faces several arbitration cases after fail-

ing to reach compensation agreements. Euronews / March 30, 2012

PAGE 4

OPINIONS

Hande KAYMA

The Coordinator of Europe

Rising ‘‘Lone Wolves’’ Danger and Sarkozy’s Tactics to Win Elections

Last week, four people -including three children- have been killed in a shooting outside a Jewish school, Ozar Hatorah, in the south-western French city of Toulouse.

Then, French anti-terrorism police killed the young Islamic radical gunman Mohammed Merah, who admitted killing three off-duty soldiers, three Jewish school children and a rabbi in an eight-day terrorism spree. Merah did not re-gret for massacres, public prosecutors said. On the contrary, he was proud of him. It was said that the aim of his massacres was taking the Palestinian child’s revenge and protesting the prohibition of the veil in France. According to some conspiracy theories, that was only an act to sabotage to the upcoming elections. These tragic deaths may have basically impacts on two significant issues. Firstly, there is an ongoing election process in France. Immigration and race have already been trump cards in the campaign for the presidential election. Sarkozy declared this month there were "too many foreigners" in France, while Le Pen has argued the production of Islamic halal meat in Paris. It is obvious that these murders under the name of jihad will be exploited mostly by the center-right candidate Sarkozy and also far right’s Le Pen. On the other hand, the rising Islamophobia will probably cut down the votes of the strongest candidate, Hollande. Before the crisis, Hollande was ahead in the polls thanks to a strong showing on eco-nomic issues. However, Sarkozy certainly want to keep the focus on security and the Toulouse attacks, in other words, the issues on which he looks strong .The other possible consequence is that Merah’s attacking style could give inspiration to next generation of terrorists. Security experts has warned about the ‘‘lone wolves’’ who plan to

carry out small-scale attacks on soft targets, like in French case. Starting with the Anders Breivik ‘lone wolf’ term emerged and formed a dangerous trend. It is known that this kind of terrorism is also encouraged by al-Qaeda lead-

ers. Only hope for discourage is the miserable ending of gunmen.

EUROPE

ASIA

Mehmet YETİM

The Coordinator of Asia & The Co-Editor of News Report

Russia and the U.S. Maintain Stance on Missile Defense

President Medvedev told President Obama at the nuclear security summit in Seoul last week that Russian-US relations are at an all-time high, but not high enough, it seems, to find a common stance on deployment of missile defense in Europe.

This commitment shows us that Russia had both willingness and fears about the deployment of missile system in Europe. There are some reasons for Russia. While Russia is willing to cooperate with the US, it is also afraid of the possible results of this cooperation. Firstly, after the end of Cold War, there emerged new unpredictable international system and Russia’s policy in this system is to cooperate with the West with regard to her national interests. Russia improved economic relations with the EU. Moreover, there started cooperation between Russia and NATO in 1991, and since then, the relations have been developing in several issues such as war on terrorism, military cooperation, non-proliferation etc. Secondly, why Russia has fears about missile defense in Europe is because Moscow sees the deployment of missile defense in Europe as a threat to the security of Russia. What Moscow seeks during negotia-tions with the US is to get a legally binding written agreement from Washington. On the other hand, Washington in-sists the defense system will not be used against Russia; however, they have so far declined to give a written guaran-tee. The latest talk of White House’s deputy press secretary is that President Barack Obama hopes to reach a com-promised agreement with Russia on the American missile defense system in Europe next year or in 2014 which

shows the flexibility of the US on this issue. And now, there are two important questions arising here:

1) Will Barrack Obama hold his place in the White House in the coming elections?

2) What will the response of Putin, who is much tougher than Medvedev, against the latest developments on this is-

sue?

PAGE 5

OPINIONS

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

Alper AKGÜN

The Coordinator of Middle East & Africa

Hard times for Iran

Economic sanctions and political turmoil have continued to cause new problems

for Iran in Middle East.

In an intelligence report generally agreed by the U.S., European allies and Israel, it was

stated that Tehran does not have a bomb, has not decided to build one and having a

nuclear warhead can only be a long term project for Iran. Unfortunately, this report will not reduce the

escalating tension between Iran and Israel. Furthermore, "in the face of aggression from the U.S. or Is-

rael, Iran will attack to defend itself”, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. I think this statement of Khamenei is the proof of the escalating tension in the region. On the other hand, I think economic sanctions are one

of the significant issues in Iran's agenda, because of not only economic reasons but also political causes.

In my opinion, US government aims to create an internal opposition against Ahmadinejad with economic

sanctions. Meeting a new wave of Arab Spring in Iran is still a low possibility, in spite of increasing oppo-

sition against Ahmadinejad in Iran. In addition, internal turmoil related with Arab Spring in Syria and

Bahrain is the sign of new problems of Iran in foreign policy area because weakened or new governments in these states mean the losing allies in the region. This kind of situation may decrease the room of Iran

to maneuverer or to product new policies in foreign policy, so Iran is trying to find the ways to ease the

pressure on Assad. For example, the railway project and creating an air corridor are discussed with Iraq

government to achieve these goals. In short, to make prediction about the future of Iran, many variables

should be added to the equation because if economic sanctions cause to increase opposition against Ahmadinejad and Syria and Bahrain cannot endure the effect of Arab Spring, Iran can meet harder

times.

TURKEY

Erman AKSÜT

A 4th Year-Student in International Relations

Release of Turkish Journalists

On 12 March 2012, four Turkish journalists, namely, Ahmet Şık, Nedim Şener,

Coşkun Musluk and Sait Çakır, accused of being involved in Ergenekon, an alleged military-based organisation against the government, were freed.

Four journalists, accused of preparing a plot to topple the government, were released and among them was Coşkun Musluk, one of the research assistants in the department of International Relations at the

Middle East Technical University (METU). That is why it was an evangel for METU. But, it was also an

evangel for all the Turkish citizens – like me- who want to experience freedom of expression and freedom

of media in Turkey. This news was not only an evangel, but also a contribution to Turkey’s mission in the

international context in terms of promoting democratic values in the rest of the Muslim world. Indeed, as

it has been observed since Arab Spring came to the scene, Turkey has started to play a role, trying to promote democracy and rule of law in the Middle East. While Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of

the Republic of Turkey, was trying to create an image of Turkey going hand in hand with democratic val-

ues, freedom of expression and freedom of speech, many journalists were in jail due to an alleged plot

against the government – according to some, they were in jail since they had ideas and perceptions which

are opposite to those of the government-. Thanks to this release, 4 of them were freed after one-year pe-riod in jail. Moreover, this release has positive implications about the accession of Turkey to the Euro-

pean Union (EU), as the EU, in its last progress report on Turkey, had already expressed its concerns

about human rights in Turkey. Hence, in my humble opinion, if Turkey is to be a democracy model for

the rest of the world, especially for the Middle East, and to get close to the accession to the EU, these re-

leases should continue.

PAGE 6

ASIA

An Afghan soldier killed two British troops in southern Afghanistan

and a member of a U.S.-trained militia turned his weapon on a third NATO soldier in the east, officials said, the latest in a string of

incidents that have undermined trust between allies.

Obama and Hu to co-ordinate on North Korea rocket launch

China and the US have agreed to co-ordinate their response to any "potential provocation" if North

Korea goes ahead with a planned rocket launch, the White House says.

"China has expressed those concerns before and North Korea has continued

on with its behaviour," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said,

according to AP. "Therefore, China needs to look at whether it needs to be doing more above and beyond the types of messages and warnings it's been

giving to the North Koreans." Mr Hu said the North Korean issue was "very

complicated and sensitive", the official Xinhua news agency reported. "We

do not hope to see a reversal of the hard-won momentum of relaxation of

tension on the peninsula," Mr Hu said, according to Xinhua. On Sunday, Mr Obama criticised China for not being tough enough with North Korea,

saying Beijing's approach was not working. BBC / March 26, 2012

The gunman in the incident in the south started shooting at a group of NA-

TO troops at the entrance of the Provincial Reconstruction Team

headquarters in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, said Daud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the governor. A NATO statement said the

gunman was killed when some of the foreign forces returned fire. It

provided no other details, including the nationalities of the slain service

members, but the British Defense Ministry confirmed that they were both

British. Ahmadi said the gunman was a soldier in the Afghan army. A NA-

TO military spokesman said officials were investigating. The Washington Post / March 26, 2012

BRICS summit: Emerging economies condemn military threats against Iran,

Syria

Leaders of five of the world’s fastest-growing economies called

Thursday for an end to the rhetoric of military action against Iran and

Syria, as they met in India to develop measures to boost mutual trade in their local currencies.

The BRICS leaders, meeting in a five-star hotel

under heavy security, discussed adjusting the

balance of the global economic order and decision-making. They signed new trade agreements, made

frequent reference to their shared goal of growth,

decried the lack of parity in international

organizations and called for reforms in the U.N.

Security Council. “We must avoid political

disruptions that create volatilities in global energy markets and affect trade flows,” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. “We agreed that a

lasting solution to the problems in Syria and Iran can only be found

through dialogue.” The Washington Post / March 29, 2012

Afghan forces fatally shoot 3 NATO troops in Afghanistan

Tokyo resumes use of

capital punishment by hanging three multiple

murders after 20-month

break from using the

practice.The Parliamentary

Assembly of the Council of Europe has strongly

condemned the execution

o f t h r e e c onv i c t ed

murderers by Japan.

Aljazeera / March 30,

2012

Karachi has observed a day

of mourning following the

murder of a local leader of the city 's governing

M u t t a h i d a Q a u m i

Movement (MQM) party,

and the deaths of several

others in subsequent violence in Pakistan's

b u s i n e s s c a p i t a l .

Aljazeera / March 28,

2012

The Russian Defense

Ministry will invite NATO

Secretary General Anders

Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday to attend an

international conference on

missile defense in Moscow

on May 3-4,a senior

defense official said.

RIA Novosti / March 28,

2012

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

PAGE 7

However, the significant question is that whether Assad will be loyal to plan

and can realize the expectation from him to end violence in Syria. Further-more, “in implementation, the first step should be the withdrawal of the Syr-

ian army from the city centres and that will be a significant test for the reli-

ability of Bashar al Assad”, Mark Grant, Britain’s Ambassador to the United

Nations said. On the other hand, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

said that Assad will be “judged on his actions” given his history of “over-promising and under-delivering”. That statement is seen as the sceptical

view of the US administration against Assad. Moreover, Annan expects the

government to implement his plan immediately to end violence because the

UN says at least 9,000 people have been killed since pro-democracy protests

erupted last March. The government says about 3,000 members of the secu-

rity forces have died combating "armed terrorist gangs" Euronews / March 28, 2012

With 60 of the 100 panelists Islamist supporters

including the panel’s chairman, activists carried banners declaring “we did not die for the Muslim

Brotherhood to write the constitution”. Activist

and Lawyer, Amir Lotfy warned: “The country is

going along the wrong path. If the Muslim Broth-

erhood continues to lead it that way, Egypt may turn into something like Afghanistan or Paki-

stan.” “I am here today to say the constitution

belongs to the Egyptian people, the Egyptian people including all its sects,”

said activist Asmaa Salam. Secularists fear their calls for a civil state will be

muffled, but their tussle over the new charter comes against the backdrop

of a wider struggle between the military rulers and the Muslim Brotherhood. Perhaps as a bid to undermine Islamist support the military has now lifted

a ban preventing the hugely popular liberal politician Ayman Nour from

running for the presidency. Euronews / March 29, 2012

Egypt's constitutional panel meets amid protests

Israel summons envoys over settlement probe

Israel has been lodging protests with several European countries who voted

in favor of a UN Human Rights Council resolution ordering an investiga-tion into Jewish settlement activity. Israel has already summoned ambassa-

dors from Belgium and Austria to its foreign ministry to discuss the investi-

gation decision which authorized a probe into the impact of settlements on

Palestinian rights. “Most of the other countries who voted for this probe are

part of the automatic Muslim majority that is systematically anti-Israel," an Israeli official said. Israel has sharply criticized the council for authorizing

the inquiry. Aljazeera / March 27, 2012

Three days of clashes

between tribes in the southern Libyan town of

Sabha have killed more

than 70 people and left

150 wounded, a Libyan

government spokesman has said. Local officials

said the fighting pitting the

African Toubou tribe

against Arab tribes in

Sabha had eased

Aljazeera / March 29, 2012

Shaul Mofaz was elected as

the new leader of Israel’s

Kadima Party. In the

election, he competed against the former foreign

minister Tsipi Livni. He

was the former defence

minister of Israel.

Euronews / March 28, 2012

Sudan and South Sudan

are trying to resolve the

border clashes however;

the peace talks between two countries have been

delayed because chief

mediator Thabo Mbeki had

not yet arrived.

Aljazeera / March 29, 2012

Assad’s Mission: Impossible?

UN – Arab League peace plan was accepted by Syrian President Bashar al Assad on Tuesday. How-

ever, the international community is still doubt about future of plan.

Two EU ambassadors called to foreign ministry over their support for

UN inquiry into impact of West Bank settlements.

First meeting of the panel charged with drawing up new constitution,

brought out protesters complaining about the domination of Islamists.

PAGE 8

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK Jorge G Castaneda Former Mexican foreign minister Jorge Castaneda is Global Distinguished Professor of

Politics at New York University.

The summit of muted intentions The Summit of the Americas, largely held to be ineffective, sometimes proves to be an

important litmus test in politics.

Mexico City, Mexico - The Summit of the Americas, which takes

place roughly every three years, could be viewed as the sort of

Latin American boondoggle that convenes heads of state for a few

days, either south or north of the Rio Grande, to make endless

speeches that lead nowhere. But every now and then, the

summit - an initiative of the US, launched by President Bill

Clinton in 1994 - actually helps to place key issues on the

hemispheric table.

One such issue was the so-called Free-Trade Area of the Americas, which was proposed by

former US President George HW Bush in 1990, and which then collapsed at the Mar del Plata

summit in Argentina in 2005. Incensed by the presence of Bush père's son, President George W

Bush, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez rallied thousands of anti-US demonstrators to pro-

test against the agreement.

The Summit of the Americas thus serves as a bellwether of United States-Latin American

relations, even if it fails to accomplish much of significance.

This year's summit, which will take place in Cartagena, Colombia, in mid-April, has already

generated controversy. Two traditional hot-button issues will dominate the discussions: Cuba

and drugs.

Cuba has never been invited to the Summit of the Americas, because the meeting was designed

to include only members of the Organisation of American States (OAS) and democratically

elected presidents (although Peru's then-president, Alberto Fujimori, attended in 1998, despite

having suspended the country's constitution in an "auto-coup" in 1992).

In February, Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, declared that if Cuban President Raúl Castro

were not invited to the Summit, the ALBA countries (Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua,

Bolivia, and some of the Caribbean islands) would not attend. This was clearly intended to pro-

voke the US, Canada, and a handful of other countries opposed to Castro's presence.

Several Latin American leaders and commentators recommended that US President Barack

Obama attend, despite Castro's presence, in order to confront him about Cuba's dearth of

democracy. Obama did not take the bait: an accidental photo opportunity or public debate with

Raúl Castro in the middle of an election campaign is not how a US president wins a second

term.

PAGE 9

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos tried to defuse the issue by first ascertaining

whether the Cubans actually wanted to be invited. Having sent his foreign minister to Havana

to ask, he received a surprising response: Cuba did wish to attend, despite having rejected a

2009 invitation to return to the OAS.

It was clear to Santos that, if Castro attended, the Cartagena summit would take place without

Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and perhaps a few other heads of state. If,

on the other hand, Castro did not attend, some of the ALBA members, including two

neighbours with which Colombia hopes to improve relations - Ecuador and Venezuela - might

not show up, either.

In the end, Santos, like his summit-hosting predecessors, had no choice but to inform the

Cubans personally that they were not welcome, as "there was no consensus regarding their

participation". Despite talk of growing Latin American independence and Castro's recent

reforms, most countries, when forced to choose between Cuba and the US, choose the latter.

Indeed, even Cuba's supposed allies in the region refrained from urging Santos to invite Castro.

So Castro will not attend, Obama will, and the ALBA leaders will probably be divided. The

participants will try to ensure that Cuba is invited to the next summit in 2015, but it is difficult

to predict what will happen. Cuba remains Latin America's black sheep for now.

Because Obama will be present, other leaders may seize the opportunity to share with him their

views on what is increasingly called the "failed war on drugs", the anti-drug programme

originally launched by US President Richard Nixon in 1971. Recently inaugurated Guatemalan

President Otto Pérez Molina, together with Santos and other heads of state, question today's

punitive, prohibitionist approach, owing to its enormous costs and meagre results, and propose

a different strategy: legalisation.

Obama sent Vice President Joe Biden to Mexico and Central America a few weeks ago to

forestall this trend, and he may have partly succeeded. Nevertheless, whereas only a smattering

of political leaders and intellectuals advocated legalisation in the past, nowadays officials are

coming "out of the closet" on drugs in droves. Those who used to say that they favoured a

debate on the issue now support legalisation; those who opposed it now accept the need for

debate; and those who continue to oppose legalisation do so on moral, rather than rational,

grounds.

But Obama has other priorities. His foreign-policy challenges, with the exception of Iran's

nuclear enrichment programme and Israel's reaction to it, come second to the US economy's

health, and its impact on his re-election. Latin America - even Mexico - is not on his radar

screen at the moment.

Nonetheless, Obama will go to Cartagena, as he should. The US has learned by now that it is in

the country's best interests to pay close attention to its southern neighbours. Aljazeera /

March 31, 2012

TURKEY

PAGE 10

The developments came as Syrian state media suggested for the first time

that parliamentary elections set for May 7 would be delayed, as the government slapped new international travel restrictions on all Syrian men

of conscription age, and as a member of a United Nationscommission

investigating rights abuses in the Syria conflict said she had resigned

because of the government’s refusal to allow the panel access inside the

country. Taken together, the news suggested that Syria was heading deeper into mayhem, diplomatic isolation and uncertainty, even as Kofi

Annan, the former United Nations secretary general who is trying to halt

the hostilities with diplomacy, reported that President Bashar al-Assad’s

government had formally responded to his cease-fire plan. No details on

Mr. Assad’s response were immediately released. The New York Times /

March 26, 2012

Ankara expects summit to yield pressure on Russia, China

Turkey hopes the upcoming meeting of the Friends of Syria coalition

in İstanbul this weekend will put more pressure on Russia and China to reverse their pro-Bashar al-Assad stance.

Ankara also dismisses suggestions that the efforts of the Friends of Syria, a

group of about 70 nations, run counter to joint UN-Arab League envoy Kofi

Annan's peace plan. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said

both initiatives have the same goal, with the exception that Annan's plan has more “flexible” language to secure Russian and Chinese backing. The

United States, Arab League countries, EU member states and Turkey are

among the 70 nations that will gather in İstanbul on April 1 to discuss

Syria, where the UN says 9,000 people have been killed since anti-Assad

protests began more than a year ago. Today’s Zaman / March 29, 2012

The United States has

announced a list of

countries that have taken

steps to reduce oil imports

significantly from Iran, adding that it expects other

countries, including Turkey,

to do so in the near future. Hurriyet Daily News /

March 31, 2012

EU Commissioner for

Enlargement Stefan Füle has

called on Turkey to continue

democratically drafting a new constitution with the

largest participation possible

and welcomed a consensus

among the Turkish public.

Today’z Zaman / March 29, 2012

EU foreign policy chief

Catherine Ashton is mulling whether to boycott the

Friends of Syria meeting on

April 1 in Istanbul due to

T u r k e y ’ s r e f u s a l t o

invite GreekCyprus to the key meeting. Hurriyet Daily

News / March 30, 2012

Turkey and Norway Shut Embassies in Syria; New Shelling Is Reported in Homs

Turkey and Norway closed their embassies inSyria on Monday and ordered all diplomatic staff

withdrawn in response to the government’s harsh repression of the year-old uprising

Syria crisis tops diplomatic agenda at Turkey-Iran meeting, Arab League

summit, Clinton talks Turkey’s prime minister arrived in Iran on Thursday for talks

dominated by the violence engulfing Syria.

The Turkish leader , Recep Tayy ip Erdogan, met with Iran’s parliamentary speaker,

Ali Larijani, in Tehran and discussed ways “to

help resolve complicated problems in the region,”

Iranian state media reported. Iran is optimistic

about the six-point peace plan put forward by Kofi

Annan, the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told

journalists in Tehran. The plan has been endorsed by Syrian officials,

although its call for an end to hostilities has not been implemented. On

Thursday, Syrian media quoted President Bashar al-Assad as saying that

he would “spare no effort to make this mission successful, since it is hoped that it will contribute to the return of security and stability to the country.”

The Washington Post / March 29, 2012

2 April 2012:

Fatih Erkoç Akustik Trio (Concert) MEB Şura Hall / 20.30 Onca Yoksulluk Varken (Theater) Cüneyt Gökçer Stage / 20.00 CERN “Accelerating Science” (Exhibition)

METU KKM A Hall / 16.30

3 April 2012:

Evlilik Senedi (Opera) Operet Stage / 20.00 Aşk Her Yerde (Theater) Şinasi Stage / 20.00

4 April 2012:

Ceza Kanunu (Theater) Gençlik Parkı Kültür Merkezi / 20.00 Vanya Dayı (Theater) Şinasi Stage / 20.00

5 April 2012:

Bilkent Senfoni Orkestrası (Concert) Bilkent Concert Hall / 20.00 Değişen Işık – Henk Lassche (Exhibition) Cermodern Sanat Merkezi / 18.30

6 April 2012:

Göksel (Concert) Jolly Joker / 23.00 PAJAMAS NIGHT (Party) Models & Bottles / 23.00 Cumhurbaşkanlığı Senfoni Orkestra

(Concert) CSO Concert Hall / 20.00

7 April 2012:

NERVANA (Nirvana Tribute Concert) IF Performance Hall / 22.30 Ferhat Göçer (Concert) Anadolu Gösteri Merkezi / 21.00 Levent Yüksel (Concert) Jolly Joker / 22.00

8 April 2012:

Şarkılarla Yaşamak (Musical Play) Operet Stage / 16.00 Kutular (Theater) 1112 Garaj / 20.00

ODDLY ENOUGH

PAGE 11

What is OECD?

The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-

operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social

well-being of people around the world.

The OECD provides a forum in which governments

can work together to share experiences and seek

solutions to common problems. It works with gov-

ernments to understand what drives economic, so-cial and environmental change. It measures pro-

ductivity and global flows of trade and investment.

It analyses and compare data to predict future

trends. It sets international standards on a wide

range of things, from agriculture and tax to the safety of chemicals.

It looks; too, at issues that directly affect the lives of

ordinary people, like how much they pay in taxes

and social security, and how much leisure time

they can take. It compares how different countries’

school systems are readying their young people for modern life, and how different countries’ pension

systems will look after their citizens in old age.

Drawing on facts and real-life experience, it recom-

mends policies designed to make the lives of ordi-

nary people better.

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