!�="justify">Armenian conference:

  The Turkish Young Businessmen's Association held a meeting to provide its members with knowledge on the Armenian question, said Milliyet's Melih A??k.

  He said retired ambassador and Eurasian Strategic Research Center (ASAM) Chairman Gündüz Aktan was a speaker at the meeting and added that Aktan had explained the unacceptability of genocide allegations to members in attendance.

  Aktan said Nazis were tried at Nuremburg for their acts of genocide, adding that there had been no judicial verdict on the Armenian issue, thus constituting a reason for not accusing Turkey of the alleged genocide, A??k said. 

Ah, Chirac:

  Milliyet's Sami Kohen said it was not only Turkey that was upset by French President Jacques Chirac, noting that Chirac's behavior had upset or annoyed other countries as well.

  “France's neighboring country, Spain, is one of these countries. Chirac attempted to block membership negotiations with Spain years ago,” Kohen said. “I learned this from former Spanish Foreign Minister Marcelino Oreja Aguirre, Spain's chief negotiator for talks with the European Union, at a dinner yesterday in Istanbul.”

  He said at the time (in 1979) when Spain wanted to start accession talks with the European Economic Community, the first objection came from France. “French officials demanded a review of the bloc's enlargement policy before the conclusion of the talks with then-candidates Spain, Portugal and Greece. At that time, Chirac was France's agriculture minister, and he was not warm towards enlargement.”

  Kohen said Chirac found an excuse to block Spain's membership by claiming that if Spain joined, the community's agriculture policy would turn upside down.

  “Of course, Spain got annoyed with Chirac, but what happened? As Oreja said, Spain proceeded with patience. The negotiations, actually, were quite protracted, but in the end what Spain hoped came to pass,” he added.

  Kohen said Oreja expressed hope that the EU would sit at the negotiating table on Oct. 3 despite some disagreement on the counter-declaration and the negotiating framework. “This historic chance shouldn't be missed,” said Oreja.

  “The problems concerning the recognition of Greek Cyprus and the opening of ports can be solved. What is important is to avoid deviating from the target. Perhaps we'll also forget the words uttered by Chirac, just like the Spanish. Who knows?” Kohen added. 

Steps expected to be taken on Kurdish problem:

  Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an's acknowledgment of the Kurdish problem and his visit to Diyarbak?r have led to expectations and questions, said Milliyet's Fikret Bila.

  He said pro-Kurdish Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) and Democratic Society Movement (DTH) spokesmen including former Kurdish lawmakers Leyla Zana and her colleagues expected new steps, and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK/Kongra-Gel) declared a unilateral one-month cease-fire.

  Bila said the National Security Council (MGK) convened immediately after Erdo?an's Diyarbak?r visit and the constitutional framework drawn at the MGK drew reactions from certain circles.

  “Protests have increased; a scheduled rally in Gemlik, lynching attempts in western Turkey, attacks against soldiers and the police in the Southeast and demonstrations have all escalated tension,” said Bila, adding that the danger of Turk-Kurd clashes had appeared.

  “Leaders began calling for common sense,” he said.

  Bila went on to say that the PKK and certain pro-PKK circles expected Turkey to draft a new constitution, to re-establish the country and to consider the Kurds one of the two founding nations in the new structure.

  “This is the essence of the policy devised by Abdullah Öcalan on ?mral?.”

  Asking what Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an would do, Kohen said he would not meet the expectations and instead, he would try to solve the problem under Article 3 of the Constitution, stipulating that the Turkish state, with its territory and nation, is an indivisible entity.

  Bila said the steps considered to be taken by the government were expanding Kurdish television broadcasts and providing private television stations with the opportunity to air Kurdish broadcasts.

  He said the second step was to amend the election law, namely, reducing the 10 percent threshold requisite for sending deputies to Parliament. “This will help DEHAP and other small political parties to be represented in Parliament.”