d the peaceful
transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have
multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of
instability and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980),
which in each case eventually resulted in a return of political
power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the
ouster - popularly dubbed a "post-modern coup" - of the then
Islamic-oriented government. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus
in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since
acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,"
which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984
by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - now known as the People's
Congress of Kurdistan or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - has dominated the
Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives.
After the capture of the group's leader in 1999, the insurgents
largely withdrew from Turkey mainly to northern Iraq. In 2004, KGK
announced an end to its ceasefire and attacks attributed to the KGK
increased. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a
member of NATO. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member of the
European Community; over the past decade, it has undertaken many
reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy enabling it to begin
accession membership talks with the European Union.

Turkmenistan
Eastern Turkmenistan for centuries formed part of the
Persian province of Khurasan; in medieval times Merv (today known as
Mary) was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an
important stop on the Silk Road. Annexed by Russia between 1865 and
1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved
independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Extensive
hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this
underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects were to
be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to
develop alternative petroleum transportation routes to break
Russia's pipeline monopoly. President for Life Saparmurat NYYAZOW
died in December 2006, and Turkmenistan held its first
multi-candidate presidential electoral process in February 2007.
Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW, a vice premier under NYYAZOW, emerged as
the country's new president.

Turks and Caicos Islands
The islands were part of the UK's Jamaican
colony until