Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit meets today with President Clinton at the White House, with earthquake relief, UN sanctions against Iraq and Cyprus on the agenda. Ecevit said he is planning to ask the US for financial compensation for Turkey’s losses resulting from the sanctions against Iraq, although the US says that most of those losses have been compensated by the UN food-for-oil program.

As the two leaders meet, Turkey plans to try a reporter with the Inter-Press Service on charges of insulting the State. Nadire Mater, a journalist based in Istanbul, faces one to six years in prison for publishing a book of interviews with Turkish soldiers based in the Southeastern area of Turkey known as Kurdistan–a name banned from use in Turkey. The soldiers tell of army killings and other forms of government repression against Kurds in the region. Nadire Mater has a court date tomorrow, and we are now joined by one of her colleagues.

Guest:

• Farhan Haq, United Nations correspondent for the Inter-Press Service, a Third World news agency.