What Is Expected From The President?

AKSAM- Columnist Ismail Kucukkaya writes on President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's Iranian visit and what is expected from it. A summary of his column is as follows:
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has gained the esteem of the people with his principled stance since his election to office. His fervent belief in the rule of law and modesty as a person has made the presidency one of the most respected institutions in the country. Recently, his performance has improved as a president. Following the illness of Prime Minister Ecevit, Sezer began to take the initiative and is trying to fill a probable gap in our diplomatic relations which could lead to disastrous results. Due to its geographic location, Turkey has to be on alert at all times. Currently, many intrigues and complex plans by various countries and diplomatic strategies taking all calculations into account are taking place around us. Therefore, Turkey has to be vigilant, strong and at peace while moving on the road Ataturk has charted out for it. The best way to accomplish this lies in strengthening its economy and increasing its volume of trade with its neighboring countries. We aim to bring our relations with Iran on a sound track, a country with which we had tense relations for some time. In trade relations there is an unfavorable picture for Turkey. We plan to export more to Iran in order to balance this out. However, Iran has to desist from its stance supporting terrorism and quit acting as an exporter of its regime. That is why Turkey approaches Iran rather shyly. Turkish intelligence units have reported that the PKK-KADEK terrorist organization is in close contact with Iran. The terrorist organization has requested that Iran turn a blind eye to its activities on Iranian soil, which means not interfering with its trafficking of money, goods, arms, and humans. The report stated that Osman Ocalan, Islamic Movement representative Ali Abdullah Aziz, Iranian Intelligence representative Ferzadi Mahmudi and two members of the Iranian liaison team met in Gelan, Iran on May 26 to discuss these problems. President Sezer will present this report during his talks and call on Iranians not to support terrorism.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION