TURKEY VERY SENSITIVE TO THE CONFLICT IN KOSOVA

ISTANBUL - TIRANA, March 10. We are perhaps not mistaken in affirming that, after Albania, Turkey is the country where events in Kosova are followed with the highest sensitivity. Turkish top politicians and the diplomacy of this country are involved in a flurry of diplomatic activities, which reflects the very active stand of Turkey.

Ankara does not conceal the fact that it is dissatisfied with the sluggishness of the West in the past, in the case of Bosnia, and fears this may also be repeated now, in the case of Kosova. ÏThe errors of the past should not be repeated and violence should be stopped. The situation in Kosova, if it is not followed attentively, might become explosive for the whole of the BalkansÐ, said President Demirel in closing the International Conference ÏThe Future of the BalkansÐ, which was held in Istanbul during the week of the bloody events in Kosova.

In the meantime, Foreign Minister Cem has gone to Belgrade with a Demirel's personal letter to Milosevic, while Prime-Minister Jillmaz has visited Sofia in an attempt to achieve a common stand of the Balkan countries. Asked if his Government had contacts with Mister Rugova, Demirel replied that he was waiting for the results of the visit of his Foreign Minister to Belgrade. However, during the proceedings of the International Conference ÏThe Future of the BalkansÐ, Demirel granted a brief interview to Edita Tahiri, who is in charge of international relations in Rugova's Party.

The most repeated phrase of the Turkish politicians is that ÏTurkey cannot stand unconcerned about the conflict in KosovaÐ. If we try to analyse these words, we come to the following conclusions:

First, as a Balkan country, Turkey is concerned that the conflict in Kosova may spread as far as the gates of Instanbul, because this time the conflict might easily spill over from Kosova to Albania and Macedonia and involve also Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.

Second, Turkey has a double connection with the Albanians of Kosova. One one hand, there are the cultural ties, which imply first of all the Muslim religious identity, because the majority of the population of Kosova profess Islam. On the other hand, the presence in Turkey of a great number of Albanians, or Turkish citizens of Albanian extraction, mainly from Kosova, is bound to raise Turkish sensitivity to this question.

The Turkish analyst of Balkan problems, Cengiz Candar, says that in Turkey the question is not about who is right, the Albanians or the Serbs. For Turkish opinion Albanians are the Muslim brothers and should be supported. According to the Turkish analyst, the Albanians of Turkey, who are in excess of two million and are very influential, are in a condition to exercise pressure on the Government, indeed he predicts that the question of Kosova will soon become a matter of discussion in the Turkish internal policy.

Last Sunday the three thousand Albanians who demonstrated in Istanbul were on the front pages of all Turkish newspapers and TV screens. During the demonstration they were prevented by the police from getting near the Yugoslav Embassy, but they allowed to lay a black-ribboned wreath and burn a Serb flag.

Although Ankara shares with its Western allies the view that a solution to the problem of Kosova should be found in the framework of Yugoslavia, that is,it does not support the demands for indepence, still it seems that Ankara calls for more resolute action on the part of the international community. The announcement made by Defense Minister Ismet Zesgin that Turkey would be prepared to take part in an eventual NATO force entrusted with bringing peace back to Kosova actually is a Turkish indirect proposal to send NATO troops to Kosova.

In a broader Balkan context, Turkey has always seen the Albanians as its allies in the Balkans. If the Greeks and Serbs have stood on one scale, the Turks and the Albanians have stood on the other. Relations between Tirana and Ankara have always been good, not excluding the time of Enver Hoxha's regime. Although in Ankara some kind of dissatisfaction is felt with Nano's Government over what in the Turkish capital is considered Tirana's pro-Greek orientation, Turkey continues having close military ties with Tirana, indeed, it is playing an important role in the re-organization of the disintegrated Albanian Army.

Turkey¾s moves on the Balkan chessboard have doubtlessly a weight of their own. The most important Balkan power is in search of its role. In June Turkey will play host to the foreign ministers of the Balkan countries in Istanbul, and in summer to the heads of States or governments in Antalya. Let us hope that until then they will not be fighting with one another.

REMZI LANI, AIM TIRANA