AKSAM- Columnist Ergun Babahan writes on Prime Minister Ecevit's talks in Washington. A summary of his column is as follows:
Ecevit has probably held the most important meeting of his life with World Bank Chairman James Wolfenson. It was important as it covered one of the projects to which Ecevit has attached great importance all through his political life. Prime Minister Ecevit began his talks in Washington yesterday. He has a busy schedule as if to silence all speculations about his ailing health. In his program, there was also a meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney. During the meeting which four of our government ministers also attended, Cheney praised Ecevit due to the efforts of the Turkish government and reiterated US support for the Baku-Ceyhan project. Cheney said that they supported this project both from an economic and strategic viewpoint. Both sides agreed on the signing of the project. The prime minister stressed that during his visit to the US he would try to erase the mistaken and unfair prejudices against Islam seen recently in the international community. As the prime minister is preparing to discuss a wide spectrum of issues ranging from the economy to the Middle East, American public opinion is preoccupied with the Enron scandal. The collapse of energy giant Enron which claimed far greater profits than the actual figures bore out has deeply affected the US. The campaign contributions this company made candidate Bush during the 2000 elections has deepened the impact of the event. Enron's bankruptcy hurt the US badly. However, no one is trying to cover up the incident. Both the Congress and judicial authorities are taking action to uncover all aspects of the situation, including any connection to President Bush. Even though the US president has stated that he had no connection to the incident, he also hasn't accused anyone of pressuring prosecutors. Against this background, Prime Minister Ecevit will try to to boost Turkey's share of US the economic and political support. However, the Enron incident shows that it is not only economic aid that we should carry back from the US. We have to learn transparency and control open to the public and the need to investigate all claims of corruption in order to get an accounting of the people's money. These are all indispensable parts of the American culture. If don't want to come to the brink of collapse again, we have to accept these values as basic in our lives. Regarding the Middle East, Turkey's only objection concerns the foundation of a Kurdish state. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem has underlined the issue once again. Cem said that the Middle East will be taken up as a whole during the discussions. These are the impressions of our first day in Washington.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION