Atacanli: Incident In Sulaymaniyah Does Not Have Anything To Be Excused

ANKARA - Presidential Foreign Affairs Chief Adviser Sermet Atacanli said on Wednesday that the incident which occurred in Sulaymaniyah did not have anything to be excused.
Atacanli told a press briefing that President Ahmet Necdet Sezer shared the rightful sensitivity of the public.
The incident was ''saddening and thought provoking,'' Atacanli said.
Atacanli noted that Sezer closely followed the developments from the outset and added that he shared rightful sensitivity of the public.
Upon a question, Atacanli emphasized that the incident had nothing to be excused, adding, ''it is our right to expect the United States to make a satisfactory statement.''
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President Ahmet Necdet Sezer closely followed the developments in contact with relevant Turkish authorities as of July 4 when the incident was heard in Ankara, Atacanli noted.
Atacanli said, ''President Sezer also shares rightful reaction and sensitivity of the public about this incident which has many concerning dimensions.''
A problematic period was experienced in Turkish-U.S. relations in the last few months, Atacanli stated.
Atacanli said, ''officials of the two countries have exerted sincere efforts to overcome this problematic period and give a new content to the relations which would be for the benefit of the two countries. This incident which occurred in Sulaymaniyah and which hurt Turkish people when we thought that progress was recorded in leaving behind some misunderstandings in former months is an unfortunate development.''
''There is no doubt that authorities of the two countries will derive necessary results and make their own evaluations regarding this saddening incident. We hope that the joint commission formed by high-level officials of the two countries will take up the issue and conclude as soon as possible. Current alliance and relationship between Turkey and the United States will continue to serve interests of the two countries in the light of the results of the efforts of the commission and the evaluations,'' Atacanli noted.
Replying to questions of reporters, Atacanli said that Sezer did not have any direct contact with U.S. officials after the detention of Turkish soldiers.
Atacanli stated that Sezer decided to hold a high-level meeting on Sunday but there was no need to hold that meeting since it became certain that soldiers would be released the same day.
When recalled about words of Chief of General Staff Hilmi Ozkok, who said that ''the incident could not be considered a local incident'' and asked about Sezer's evaluation, Atacanli said, ''I have stated that the incident was saddening. Undoubtedly, the issue has many parts to be explained. I think that there will be opportunities to acquire more accurate information and make evaluation on the issue in the following few days.''
Atacanli said that the opposition parties criticized the government since it did not give sufficient reaction.
When asked whether or not President Sezer considered the reaction of the government sufficient, Atacanli said, ''the government is responsible for giving answer to reaction of opposition parties. Thus, it is not appropriate for us to make any statement on the issue.''
Asked whether President Sezer had contact with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the process, Atacanli said, ''I did not hear anything about Sezer's direct contact with Erdogan. President Sezer had some contacts with Chief of General Staff. But there has been communication between Prime Ministry, Foreign Ministry, General Staff and Presidential Office.''
When asked whether or not a note should be given, Atacanli said, ''note is an instrument of communication between countries. What is important is content of note. Turkish side's reactions have been conveyed clearly to the U.S. side for few days. But the government and the Foreign Ministry deal with its method.''
Upon another question, Atacanli said that Sezer did not think of making a phone conversation with U.S. President Bush currently.
Recalling that joint commission would work, Atacanli said, ''we should see works and results.'' When asked how Turkish-U.S. Strategic Partnership would be affected by this incident, Atacanli said, ''the importance of Turkish-American relations is obvious. The two countries have friendly and ally relations coming from the past. Continuation of those relations is benefit to both countries.''
When asked whether the United States should apologize from Turkey, Atacanli said that the U.S. side should make a satisfactory explanation to Turkey.
Asked why President Sezer was not involved in the issue, he said, ''the government, Foreign Minister, Turkish Embassy in Washington and General Staff have been involved in the issue from the beginning of the incident. Sezer followed closely developments and was informed about the issue. Those offices have initiatives. President Sezer did not think of launching any initiative apart from those. If the incident had extended, Sezer would have done what was necessary.''
(BRC-EÖ-AÖ) 09.07.2003