ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN TURKEY, 17 - 23 NOVEMBER

Press Release
SG/T/2209

ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN TURKEY, 17 - 23 NOVEMBER

The Secretary-General arrived in Istanbul in the evening of Wednesday, 17 November.

On Thursday morning, he participated in the opening ceremony of the Summit of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

In his address, the Secretary-General said we must all feel shame and sadness at our collective failure to prevent conflicts. Even in its final year, he added, this century's darker side is very much with us. He called for more sophisticated responses to terrorism, but said the force we use to fight it should be proportional and focused on terrorists, not innocent civilians. Inflicting indiscriminate violence and terror on civilians, he stated, is immoral and contrary to international law (see Press Release SG/SM/7224).

After the opening ceremony, the Secretary-General attended a series of bilateral meetings, the first with the Prime Minister of Norway and Chairman in Office of the OSCE, Kjell Magne Bondevik. Following that, he met with the Foreign Minister of Turkey, Ismail Cem.

The Secretary-General then attended a luncheon hosted by the Prime Minister of Turkey, Bulent Ecevit, in honour of the heads of delegations attending the OSCE. After lunch, the Secretary-General met with the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Walter Schwimmer, and then with the President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, who is also serving as President of the European Union until the end of December.

During the bilateral meetings held that day, the Secretary-General discussed a wide range of topics with his interlocutors, ranging from specific situations like Kosovo, Myanmar, Cyprus, and Chechnya, to issues such as traffic of small arms, the need to address world poverty, and cooperation between the United Nations, regional organizations, and the Bretton Woods institutions.

The Secretary-General spoke via satellite to the opening of the Fourth World TV Forum in New York and participated in a dialogue and a question-and- answer session. In his message, the Secretary-General asked journalists to reflect on the concept of "preventive journalism" -- in which journalists, by drawing attention in time to abuses or potential conflicts, could focus international attention on crises "before they explode in all-out warfare" (see Press Release SG/SM/7225).

On Friday, 19 November, the Secretary-General held a number of bilateral meetings, the first of which was with Robin Cook, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom. Among the topics

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discussed were the OSCE Istanbul Summit, Chechnya, Cyprus and Kosovo. Following that, the Secretary-General met with President Jacques Chirac of France. They reviewed the situations in Kosovo and in the African continent. They also discussed Iraq.

At mid-morning, he met with Glafkos Clerides to discuss preparations for the proximity talks on Cyprus planned to begin in New York on 3 December. The Secretary-General later met with Rauf Denktash on the same subject.

Later in the morning, the Secretary-General met with Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission. They discussed the Commission's contribution to the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe, and the situation in the former Yugoslavia, in particular, Kosovo. He also met with Constantine Simitis, Prime Minister of Greece. Cyprus and Kosovo were among the issues discussed in that meeting.

The last meeting of the morning was on the Kosovo situation, with Hubert Vedrine, Minister for Foreign Affairs of France; Joschka Fischer, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany; Umberto Ranieri, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Italy; Robin Cook of the United Kingdom; and Madeleine Albright, United States Secretary of State. Bernard Kouchner, the Secretary- General's Special Representative for Kosovo, was also present.

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan flew by helicopter to the earthquake site at Izmit-Kosekoy region, south-east of Istanbul. The epicentre of the 17 August earthquake was the second most destructive of the century, located some 10 kilometres from the centre of Izmit. Upon arrival, the Secretary-General was briefed by Kutluay Oktem, Disaster Area Coordinating Governor. The earthquake affected an area of over 54,000 square kilometres, or twice the surface of Belgium, and killed 17,190 people, leaving close to 24,000 others injured.

Following the briefing, the Governor showed the Secretary-General and his party the Logistical Support Base, where aid arrives, is stored and distributed from. They visited two of the 100 tent cities in the area, housing some 70,000 people, one at the Support Base and one in Kirazlidere.

The Secretary-General officially opened the recently finished United Nations tent city in Kirazlidere, saying that "we cannot even begin to imagine how your lives have been disrupted in one day, or to be precise in 46 seconds, but what I see here today is a people determined to rebuild, a people determined to look to the future and prepare life for their children, for themselves and their children's children. You must know you are not alone, there are lots of support and enthusiasm and sympathy for what you are trying to do. It is remarkable the whole world responded. The whole world reacted to your needs, including your neighbour Greece".

On Sunday, 21 November, the Secretary-General arrived in Ankara, where that evening he and Mrs. Annan were the guests of honour at a dinner hosted by Professor Ihsan Dogramaci, President of Bilkent University.

The Secretary-General's first activity on Monday was a visit to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic and its first President. He laid a wreath at Ataturk's tomb and observed one minute

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of silence. He also visited the Ataturk museum in the mausoleum complex, and igned the visitors' book. The Secretary-General wrote "a great monument befitting a visionary and wise leader".

From there, the Secretary-General and his delegation went to the office of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. They met for 45 minutes. They discussed Cyprus, Iraq, the Balkans and cooperation between the United Nations and Turkey.

The Secretary-General then visited United Nations House, where he was briefed by heads of United Nations agencies (UNDP, FAO, ILO, UNDCP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIDO, WHO) on their programmes in Turkey. After the briefing, the Secretary-General had the opportunity to spend time with United Nations staff working in Turkey. From United Nations House, the Secretary-General went to the Presidential Palace for a meeting with President Suleyman Demirel. Among other topics, they discussed Iraq, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and the Northern Caucasus.

After a working luncheon with the President, the Secretary-General went to the Turkish Grand National Assembly. He met with Speaker Yildirim Akbulut, who thanked him for the United Nations assistance to Turkey in response to the recent earthquakes. He also said he supported United Nations ideals and principles and that Turkey will continue to support the efforts to reform the United Nations.

In late afternoon, the Secretary-General had a press conference where most questions were on the Cyprus issue. Other topics covered were Iraq and the Northern Caucasus.

On Monday evening, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan attended a dinner in their honour hosted by Prime Minister Ecevit.

The Secretary-General departed early on Tuesday morning, 23 November, for Geneva, Switzerland.

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