Gül: Bad apples should be eliminated from institutions

Answering journalists' questions while on a visit to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Sunday, President Gül said Turkey is becoming more transparent and that cases like Ergenekon and Balyoz, which are accepted as being preparatory work for overthrowing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), are part of the “process of normalization.”

Regarding the probe conducted by specially authorized prosecutors, Gül said they are supposed to thoroughly investigate the issue.

“Those prosecutors are specially authorized. They are required to make a thorough investigation,” Gül said. “There could be wrongdoings in institutions. Those things happen, but they should be eliminated, that's it.”

Gül was referring to cases and detentions related to the Sledgehammer plan which was allegedly devised by military members of Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal organization accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Several retired generals and colonels on active duty were detained last month as part of an investigation into an alleged coup plot.

A young girl presented flowers to President Abdullah Gül in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Sunday.   Turkey is Africa’s voice, says Gül Turkey’s unfinished business with Africa is continuing, Turkish President Abdullah Gül said on Monday, while adding that Turkey is “Africa’s voice” in international platforms, during a joint news conference with Democratic Republic of the Congo President Joseph Kabila in Kinshasa. Gül and Kabila held a bilateral meeting and then jointly chaired a committee gathering between the two countries after an official ceremony hosted by Kabila. During the meeting, the two countries signed an agreement to establish a political counseling mechanism. The agreement was signed by Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ünal Çeviköz and DR Congo Foreign Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba. Noting that this visit marks the first time that a Turkish president has visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gül said he believes his visit will open a new page in bilateral relations. Underlining that Turkey attaches great importance to relations with DR Congo, Gül said Turkey’s African initiative continues. “We have a 34-year-old embassy here, and this shows how we value our relations with DR Congo,” Gül said. Saying that he believes the Turkish businessmen accompanying him will have successful meetings with their local counterparts, Gül said DR Congo has enough political will to develop economic relations with Turkey. Stressing that DR Congo is awash with natural resources and needs to efficiently use them, Gül said DR Congo has displayed an important transformation in the last few years. President Gül stressed they expressed the decisiveness to develop bilateral relations in every sphere and exchanged views on ways to achieve that. In his speech President Kabila said they have already decided to open an embassy in Ankara to advance their relations with Turkey. He also added that the agreement they signed with Turkey would contribute greatly to the development of relations with Turkey. President Abdullah Gül was expected to travel to Cameroon today and return Turkey on Wednesday. İbrahim Varlık Kinshasa

When asked about the meeting in which President Gül brought Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ together at the end of February following the detention of about 50 retired and currently serving generals, admirals and military officers of various ranks, Gül said they had “a very good evaluation.”

“The prime minister and the chief of General Staff talked about how they see the issue, and I had recommendations,” he said and added that he also talked with political party leaders about the meeting. “They were all happy that I had hosted such a meeting,” he said.

‘This parliament is important’

Regarding some news reports about Gül’s statements referring to Parliament and indicating that it had missed the opportunity to draft a new constitution, the president said he had never made such a statement undermining Parliament.

“My words were not interpreted correctly. Parliament knows what to do. This Parliament is very valuable because it represents important political views in Turkey. The previous one was not like that. Nobody can undermine the importance of this Parliament,” he said.

Gül also said the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Deniz Baykal, had told him that they are opposed to constitutional and judicial reforms.

“They think those should be handled by the new Parliament after the elections,” Gül said.

About the concerns of top judicial officials over reforms, Gül said that he had shared his views with members of the government.

‘So-called genocide claim carries disrespect for history’

President Gül said that recognizing “genocide claims” in various parliaments around the world was a mistake. “We resent the politicization of the issue,” he said.

He was referring to the recent acts of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Swedish parliament labeling the killings of Anatolian Armenians during World War I as genocide at the cost of damaging bilateral relations between Ankara and Washington. Ankara recalled its ambassadors to Sweden and the United States in a show of protest.

Gül mentioned what he had heard from some US representatives in Congress in the past.

“There was a similar debate. I had a speech at this committee. I talked and talked. A female member of Congress approached me and said, ‘Mr. Gül, why do you exhaust yourself? Accept this and go. When you go back, you can pass a resolution in your Parliament regarding the Americans’ extinction of the Indians, and that’s it.’ That’s how they see it,” the president said.

Gül added that members of Congress, indeed, do not know about the past killings in Turkey. He said that he had asked them and had not received any adequate responses.

Regarding Turkey’s approach to establishing a commission of historians to look at events in the past, Gül said the Americans and French could participate in that commission as well. The “Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations” between Turkey and Armenia says that the two countries have agreed to “implement a dialogue on the historical dimension with the aim of restoring mutual confidence between the two nations, including an impartial scientific examination of historical records and archives to define existing problems and formulate recommendations.”

Drawing attention to the tragic events in the Balkans in Word War I, Gül recommended Ivo Andric’s book, “The Bridge on the Drina.”

Asked by journalists how he sees the future of the protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia in October of last year, Gül said the recognition of “genocide” in various parliaments does not help the process.

“We will continue to work towards a solution. The protocols are not dead. Sometimes difficult matters can be solved by silent diplomacy. The important thing is to continue with decisive and silent diplomacy,” meaning that the issue will not be elaborated on in the media.

‘Turkey supports Africa’

In DR Congo Gül was accompanied by State Ministers Selma Aliye Kavaf and Faruk Nafız Özak, Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergün, businessmen and representatives of nongovernmental organizations.

He had a meeting with Turkish businessmen working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the Grand Hotel in Kinshasa.

Turkey attaches great importance to its relations with Africa, the Turkish president said, and recalled the Turkey-Africa Cooperation Council meeting that took place in İstanbul in 2008 within the scope of the government’s Africa initiative.

President Gül also said that Turkey had extended humanitarian aid to several African countries without expecting anything in return and that Turkey’s aid exceeded $1 billion.

Gül added that they supported Turkish businessmen in African countries, which have tremendous potential. Currently, there are hundreds of Turkish firms operating in various African countries; the contracting services provided by Turkish firms in those countries alone have reached a total of $18 billion.

Turkey’s trade volume with African countries was only $5.4 billion in 2003; since then it has increased more than twofold, exceeding $12 billion in 2007. Yet, considering that Turkey’s total global trade volume amounts to almost $300 billion, its current trade volume with African countries is still not significant. Turkey’s target is to reach a trade volume of $30 billion with Africa by the end of 2010.

Gül also noted that the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA) currently has three offices in Africa, in Ethiopia, Sudan and Senegal. TİKA offices support development projects in their respective regions, and from these three offices it operates in 37 African countries.