-Caveat Lector-
Tuesday, August 7 7:55 PM SGT
Sentiments chilly in Turkey ahead of Sharon visit
ANKARA, Aug 7 (AFP) -
A chilly climate awaits Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon when he
arrives in Turkey
Wednesday for a one-day visit amid protests and media highlights of his
hardline policies
against the Palestinians and controversial past.
The reactions are unusual for this mainly Muslim country, whose ties
with Israel have been
flourishing since 1996 when the two sides signed a military cooperation
accord at the
expense of criticism from most of the Arab world and Iran.
Riot police in Istanbul detained about 15 people Tuesday, mostly women
in black
chadors, who were protesting at deadly Israeli crackdowns on the
Palestinians, Anatolia
news agency reported.
The detainees were among protestors who were gathering for a planned
larger
demonstration in the area amid heavy police presence.
Also in Istanbul, police took into custody three journalists from two
pro-Islamic
publications on the grounds that they had last week called for an
"illegal action" by
encouraging anti-Sharon protests, Anatolia said.
Both pro-Islamic and mainstream newspapers echoed the anti-Sharon
sentiment and
criticized the Turkish government for hosting the controversial leader
at a time when Israel
is under harsh international criticism for using excessive force
against the Palestinians.
"He is a war criminal," the pro-Islamic Yeni Safak said of Sharon in a
front-page headline,
charging him with holding "primary responsibility" for the recent
bloodshed in the Middle
East.
In a piece in Yeni Safak, leading columnist Cengiz Candar dubbed
Sharon's visit an "ugly
development" and blasted Ankara for "embracing Israel, which is
governed by a prime
minister who is under accusations of human rights breaches and even
massacres."
Despite its close ties with Israel, Turkey has full-fledged diplomatic
relations with the
Palestinians and backs their demands for statehood.
Ankara has harshly criticized Israel recently for using excessive force
against the
Palestinians.
But Turgut Tarhanli, from Radikal newspaper, warned that deepening ties
with the
incumbent Israeli government would erode the credibility of Turkey's
stance against Israeli
violence.
Ahead of Sharon's visit, Turkish activists have also formed a so-called
Palestinian
Initiative Group with the sole aim of drawing public attention to
Sharon's controversial
past.
"We want Turkey to back an international trial for Sharon for his
murderous acts," group
spokesman Hilmi Ozturk told AFP.
Inspired by a Belgian probe into Sharon's role in the 1982 massacres of
Palestinian
refugees in Lebanon, the group filed two symbolic complaints with
courts in Ankara and
Istanbul last week, accusing the Israeli leader of crimes against
humanity.
The group also opened in Istanbul an exhibition of photographs
depicting Palestinian
victims of the conflict.
"Stop killing Palestinian children," read a banner at the exhibition,
which was meant to
coincide with Sharon's visit.
And a parliamentary deputy has submitted a formal question to Prime
Minister Bulent
Ecevit, asking him what gains Ankara expected from Sharon's visit at a
time when Israel
was under strong international fire, parliamentary sources told AFP.
Sharon, due to arrive on Wednesday morning, will meet with Ecevit,
President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer and Economy Minister Kemal Dervis before leaving Turkey in
the
afternoon.
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