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The Citizen, 1988-01-27, Page 5The International Scene Nepotism with a vengeance BY RAYMOND CANON It strikes me as rather humor­ ous, whenever I read of some politician in this country finding a job for one of his relatives. Everybody seems to take a dim view of such an action yet it continuesasifthe protagonists had never heard of the rule. If you think things are bad here as far as nepotism is concerned, you should go to Turkey. For those of you who are not up on modern Turkish history, the country is currently being run by Prime MinisterTurgutOzal. As prime ministers go, he has turned out to be rather competent but it is hard to surpass his skills in finding jobs for his relatives. He has gone at it with great determination with the result that, if he manages towin the next national election later this year, which he is expected to do, it is a safe bet that the country will be run virtually as a family business. No less than two of his brothers are involved in high levels of government. Turgut, Korkut and Yusuf have, among them, things pretty well tied up. Yusuf is considered by many Turks to be the Letter from the editor Big stories we'll gladly do without BY KEITH ROULSTON 1 think if there was one common thought going through the minds of community newspaper editors in this part of the country when the tragedy wasgoingon in Kincar­ dine in recent weeks it was: “thank God it didn’t happen here.’’ Now I know nearly everybody living close enough to Kincardine to feel the tragedy of a little boy first going missing then being found dead and his mother being charged with murder was grateful it hadn’t happened in their own community, but newspaper people are on the front line when things like this happen. They can’t just sit back, they have to be involved. I suppose there might, some­ where, be a small town newspaper editor who would relish the opportunity a tragedy like this gives to cover a really hot story, right along side the representa­ tives of the big league press, but I’m certainly not among them. This kind of story probably illustrates the difference between a community newspaper and a big city daily. We get a little defensive when we’re around the “big time” journalists because they love to make fun of weekly newspapers, putting us down as reporters of the “Mrs. Smith visited Miss McGin­ ty” type of news. So if a case like the Dustin Bowers one happens in your back yard, you’re put in direct contact and competition with the big time press. It is not a place for the faint of heart. There is only one goal for the big city reporter: getting the story and getting it before anybody else. They’ve had plenty of practice playing hardball in such cases, asking hard, persistent questions of the police or interviewing people who have been bereaved. They know that they’ll be there for a few most brilliant of the three and he has held, thanks to his brother, some pretty impressive jobs. Threeyears ago he was on the staff of the World Bank in Washington butwascalled home to take over the job as head of the state planning organization. He is not doing too badly there but the betting is that after the next election, if things go as predicted, he will find himself as foreign minister. Korkut, at 58, is the middle brother and should be considered as the businessman of the three. He has managed to amass not only agreatfortune but also develop excellent business relations with other Moslem countries, espe­ cially Saudi Arabia. In his coun­ try’s relations with the Arab world, Korkut probably has more clout than any career diplomat in the foreign minstry. It must be a fascinating conversation when the three brothers get together. The nepotism does not stop there, however. There is a second tier of relatives that have somehow found their way into the govern­ ment. The current minister of agriculture is also a relative, a nephew to be exact. One of Ozal’s in-law’s was minister of the interior for a period of time and is reported to be in the running for another senior position. Since Ozal is 60, his children are days and then gone. They’re aim isn’t to make friends but to tell the story. And before we get too critical of the lack of human compassion on the party of the big-city press, we need to examine ourselves. I know I, as a reader, picked up the daily newspaper every day wondering if some light had been shone on the mysteries of the event, first on who could have done such a thing and la ter on what would make such a thing happen. If there weren’t people like me buying the paper, the papers wouldn’t have spent all the money having their reporters camped out in Kincardine for days. Yet local readers would be horrified if community newspaper reporters behaved the same way. To some extent we should have an advantage over the outsiders Students conduct mock meeting for Ed. week One of the activities the Plann­ ing Committee has suggested to mark this year’s Education Week in Huron County is a mock school board meeting, which would be held at the Education Centre in Clinton on April 18. Education Week across the province is scheduled for April 17-23. The committee, comprised of teachers, principals, board mem­ bers and association representa­ tives from across the county, suggests that students selected from the county’s five secondary schools be invited to observe the regular session of the Huron County Board of Education on April 11, and then return on April 18 to present their own mock meetings. Members of local government, teacher federation representa­ tives, parents and others would be invited to attend the mock meet­ ing. The official opening of Educa- old enough to be considered for some posts. Sure enough, there is his son Ahmet who has recently come back to Istanbul after serving a period of time at the World Bank in Washington. Right now he is employed by an American Bank in Turkey; this bank must know a good thing when they see it since Ahmet is fast turning into a personal aide for his father; the most frequently heard observation is that he can be considered as something of a talent scout. Let it not be said that Prime MinisterOzal has neglected the distaff side of his family. His mother Hafize, who is in her 80’s, is not above making public pro­ nouncements when she feels the urge. She recently shook up the nation by making a call for all Turkish women to follow strict Islamic dictates in the matter of dress. His wife Semra, who has taken to smoking cigars, is at odds with her mother-in-law and her adherance to traditionalism and has gone public with this opinion. The prime minister’s daughter, Zeynep, seems to take after her mother more than her grandmoth­ er; she is married to a drummer of a disco pop group and -is the proprietor ot one ot Istanbul’s most avant-garde boutiques. With three women like these in the family, Turgut had better be a polished diplomat. He will need all the skills that diplomacy brings with it. because we have more local contacts. But we’re at a disadvan­ tage because we have to live in the community when the incident is all over. We have to hope for co-operation from the local police in the future so we can’t be too demanding for facts right now. And most of all, of course, we know the people involved in the case and don’t want to bring any more grief than we can. So when a big case like this breaks, a weekly newspaper editor is in a no-win situation. If he doesn’t have good coverage in the paper then he looks foolish beside the dailies. If he throws himself into covering the story he’s apt to gain a lot of enemies from bad news. Which is why most of us hopewe nevergetachancetocover a really big, tragic story in our own back yards. tion Week in Ontario will be held in Stratford, hosted jointly by the Perth County Board of Education and Huron-Perth Roman Catholic Separate School Board. The Huron committee has had several meet­ ings to plan and co-ordinate school activities in the county to mark the annual observance of the week set aside to highlight education across the province. Free Trade discussed at HFA The Canada-U.S. Free Trade agreement will be discussed when Charlie Mayer, Minister of State for grains and oils seeds speaks to the Huron County Federation of Agriculture Monday night, Feb. 1 in Clinton. Also speaking at the meeting in Clinton Public School will be Murray Cardiff, M.P. for Huron- Bruce. The meeting will be held at 8 p.m. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1988. PAGE 5. Letters to the editor Trustees decision puts Huron students at a disadvantage THE EDITOR, In most countries of this world children are taught their own language plus one or possibly even two or three other languages. The educational officials in those cou n- tries realize what an asset another language is to people interested in understanding their neighbours and in broadening themselves. Canada is attempting to become a bilingual country; information and encouragement is given at every turn to assist people to learn a second language. Why is the Huron County Board of Education saying no to additional French? Dr. Goddard seems tothink “our students are demonstrating their choice.” 1 think our students are demonstrating the Huron County Board of Education’s inadequacy in providing a more broadly based second language programme which would make French a viable choice for our students. Simply - the students do not choose French because they have had less Generosity of Huron People applauded THE EDITOR, 0 nee again Family a nd Child­ ren’s Services of Huron County and those involved in the organiza­ tion of the 1988 Christmas Bureau wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge the generousity and goodwill demonstrated by the people of Huron County. This project, designed to ensure no child is missed at Christmas, and that each family may enjoy a Christmas dinner, is completely supported by donations. Church groups, service clubs, children’sgioups, businesses, and individuals have donated time, gifts and funds in order that the spirit of Christmas could be shared Lucknow couple gets tourism award Murray Cardiff. M.P.forHuron- Bruce has announced on behalf of the Honourable Bernard Valcourt. Minister of State (Small Business a nd Tourism) that Mr. and Mrs. Ewan MacLean of Lucknow have been awarded a Tourism Ambass­ ador Certificate by the Govern­ ment of Canada. Launched in May 1986 bv Tourism Canada, the Tourism Ambassador Program (T. A.P.) is a hospitality awareness program which rewards and recognizes Ca nadia ns who have been espe­ cially hospitable towardsvisitors to Canada. To date over 2000 Cana­ dians have been designated as Tourism Ambassadors. The T.A.P. nomination form is contained in a brochure containing factual information about Canada which is presented to visitors entering Canada through land border crossings from the United States. Visitors wishing to nomi­ nate an especially hospitable Canadian arc encouraged to com­ plete the form and mail it to Tourism Canada. Ewan and Marjorie MacLean have gone above and beyond the call ofduty by going out of their way in helping Tim and Kathleen McDaniel of Ann Arbor Michigan. “1 am pleased tobe able to present this Tourism Ambassador Certifi­ opportunity to experience a fuller French programme which is offer­ ed in other countries and has been offered for years. The time given to a second language - French, - in Huron County Elementary Schools is at the low end of the scale. Why? Do Huron County children notdeserve the chance to learn another language as well as children in other counties do? Do the 8 trustees that voted no realize the impact of this decision? Don’t they care that Huron County students are being disadvantaged before they even start serious academics. Why is it that Mr. Allan, Mr. McQuail and Ms. Triebner and some others under- standandseem tobecurrent on the French Education situation but the others are not? Do they need educating on this subject, or do we need change on our Board of Education here in Huron County? JEANETTE HARRIS BLYTH, ONTARIO. by all families. We wish to express special thanks to the following groups who managed Bureaux in their towns: Clinton Christian Reformed Church; Exeter Pentecostal Taber­ nacle; Salvation Army, Goderich: Optimist Ladies, Seaforth; and Salvation Army. Wingham. May the spirit of brotherhood that we share at Christmas contin­ ue throughout the year as we work together to support children and families in our communities. [Mrs.] Pauline Lingard Volunteer. Jim Barnes President Board of Directors. cate on be half of t he Government of Canada,” said Murray Cardiff. “The tourism industry is a vital contributor to the Canadian econ­ omy. Our renowned hospitality is a key factor in ensuring that visitors to Canada enjoy their stay and come back again,'' said Mr. Cardiff. Mabel's Grill Continued from page 4 the price of success these days with the demands for higher salaries for all the big players. “Ever notice they all think they should be paid more if they ever do anything well but if they play poorly, they never think they should get less?” Tim said that if George Bell thinks he's worth 32,105,000 for what he did last year, what would he think he was worth if he hadn’t gone into a slump in the last week of the season and the Blue Jays had won the World Series? Billie Bean was pointing out that there's a measly $300,000 betw een what George wants and what the team offered. What’s really up­ setting. he said. is to know that whichever side loses, the differ­ ence in money for one year will be more than he earns in (he next 10 or 15 years.