Denktas’s sudden move

Both the officials in Ankara and in the U.N. drew attention to a very interesting point. Denktas has not yet submitted the Constitution which was supposed to be prepared by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) to the U.N. I have been told that Mumtaz Soysal played an important role in this.

Here is how the U.N. officials interpret these developments:

"There has not been a proper negotiation process to date. The Turkish side still thinks the May 1 deadline can be passed. It still acts as if there is a long period for a negotiation process. They think the cards in their hands are more valuable than they really are. They are taking things slowly."

When I asked the U.N. officials if they know what the "red-line points" of the Turkish side are and if they would be able to meet these, they replied to me:

"We know them in general. Denktas gave us a very long list including these red-line points. However, there should not be so many. In addition, the details of these points of ‘sine qua non’ are not yet clear."

Denktas’ decision not to go to Switzerland surprised both Ankara and the U.N.

Ankara says, "Denktas has derailed the plans that we had talked about together. He made us look as like we are the side running from the negotiation table once again."

Foreign Ministry officials are planning to keep Denktas in as long as possible. However, Denktas is not a "sine qua non." They say that they can continue on their on way without Denktas, too.
GS should select its president for its 100th anniversary

Today is a very special day for Galatasaray fans. Galatasary passed through an unfortunate period this season — it failed to meet the expectations of its fans.

I am not trying to find who is responsible for such a bad season. The delegates will do this for me. What I want to express here is that next year is Galatasary’s 100th anniversary.

Galatasaray’s history in fact reflects Turkey’s recent history of a hundred years.

Galatasaray will celebrate its 100th anniversary not only as a sports club but as an institution which raised many valuable people of this country. Galatasaray members should select a president for the 100th anniversary of the establishment of their institution. A person who is respected and who has the spirit of being a Galatasaray supporter should be selected.

As I mentioned in one of my previous articles, Inan Kirac or Selahattin Beyazit could be selected for such a post.

I am calling on every Galatasary supporter convening in today’s congress to think about this.