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Turkish Press Review, 02-03-07
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Turkish
Press Review >>
Foreign
Press Guide
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
07.03.2002
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER: “TURKEY’S ECONOMIC POLICY IS SCORING SUCCESSES”
[02] ANKARA WARNS TALABANI OF PKK’S ULTERIOR MOTIVES
[03] DISCUSSIONS OVER ISAF COMMAND CONTINUE
[04] YILMAZ: “PEOPLE WHO OPPOSE EU MEMBERSHIP SHOULD NOT HIDE BEHIND THE TSK”
[05] DERVIS INVITES 20 BUSINESS LEADERS TO ISTANBUL SUMMIT
[06] ERDOGAN: “THE AKP SUPPORTS TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP”
[07] CILLER WARNS OF NEW ECONOMIC CRISIS
[08] CHHIBBER: “RATHER THAN BORROW, TURKEY MUST ATTRACT CAPITAL”
[09] KAHKONEN: “IT’S NOW HIGH TIME FOR TURKEY TO IMPLEMENT ITS REFORMS”
[10] IMF’S DEPPLER PRAISES TURKISH ECONOMY
[11] ERBAKAN GETS PRISON TIME FOR EMBEZZLING PARTY FUNDS
[12] RAMAZAN: “TURKEY SHOULD SUPPORT IRAQ, NOT THE US”
[13] ARMENIAN LOBBY IN THE US GEARS UP FOR NEW CAMPAIGN
[14] KIVRIKOGLU OPENS HANDICAPPED EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION CENTER
[15] TALAY TOUTS CULTURE MINISTRY’S INTERNET SHOP
[16] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[17] HOW IS OUR CASE DIFFERENT? BY OKAY GONENSIN (SABAH)
[18] THE EU USED FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)
[01] SEZER: “TURKEY’S ECONOMIC POLICY IS SCORING SUCCESSES”
During a state visit to Slovakia yesterday, Turkish President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer said that the government’s economic policy was proving successful.
Sezer stated that for the last year Turkey has strived to overcome a deep
economic crisis and that towards this end the government had taken several
important steps, especially in the banking and finance sector. After his
stay in Slovakia, Sezer proceed to the Czech Republic. /Hurriyet/
[02] ANKARA WARNS TALABANI OF PKK’S ULTERIOR MOTIVES
This week Ankara reacted swiftly to make Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
leader Jalal Talabani reconsider his recent statement arguing that the
terrorist group PKK was preparing to dissolve and then reform itself into a
political movement. Talabani, who recently visited Ankara, claimed that the
PKK was preparing to change its program and disband its armed militant
groups. He also asserted that the terrorist organization would no longer
pose a threat to Turkey. However, Ankara conveyed to Talabani the message
that the PKK’s recent efforts should be considered a tactical front to
conceal its actual goals and that the PUK must continue to fight those
terrorists in northern Iraq. “Initially, Talabani had indicated in his
remarks that the PUK would support the PKK’s recent so-called
politicization efforts,” said a high-level Turkish official. “However, he
changed his statement after Ankara warned him of the PKK’s ulterior
motives.” In the end, Talabani gave his assurances to Turkish officials
that the PUK would continue to fight against the PKK in northern Iraq.
/Cumhuriyet/
[03] DISCUSSIONS OVER ISAF COMMAND CONTINUE
Discussions over Turkey’s possible takeover of the command of the
international peacekeeping force (ISAF) in Afghanistan are continuing among
Turkey, the United States and Great Britain. US diplomats have stated that
they expect a decision to be made prior to US Vice President Dick Cheney’s
visit to Turkey which is scheduled for March 19. Meanwhile, US President
George W. Bush is expected to make a decision soon on the conditions set
out by Turkey to take over the ISAF command. Turkey’s conditions can be
summarized as follows: 1) The ISAF’s mission must be clearly defined. 2)
The positions of the US and Britain, the latter of which currently leads
the peacekeeping force, must be openly stated. 3) The number of the
countries which will continue to deploy their military troops in
Afghanistan after April must be determined. 4) The financial cost of the
operation must be shared among other participating countries. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] YILMAZ: “PEOPLE WHO OPPOSE EU MEMBERSHIP SHOULD NOT HIDE BEHIND THE
TSK”
Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz said yesterday that certain
circles were trying to depict the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) as opposed to
Turkey’s EU membership, and that they were trying to hide their own anti-EU
stance behind this. “This only helps Turkey’s foes,” he added. In a speech
to his party’s Parliamentary group meeting, Yilmaz compared Turkey’s EU
accession period to a marathon. He said, “No individual or party has the
right to pull Turkey out of this race.” Pointing out that national policies
were being followed in Turkish-EU relations, Yilmaz said that Turkey was
experiencing a difficult test and that it had entered this process
consciously. /Turkiye/
[05] DERVIS INVITES 20 BUSINESS LEADERS TO ISTANBUL SUMMIT
State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis announced yesterday that he had
sent invitations to 20 international business leaders to attend an
“Investment Council” meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
on July 18 in Istanbul. Among those invited to summit are Microsoft
Chairman Bill Gates, Cisco Systems Executive Board Chairman John Chamber,
DaimlerChrysler Executive Board Chairman Jurgen E. Schrempp, as well as
other chief executives from large companies in Japan, Korea, Italy, France
and Germany. World Bank Chairman James Wolfensohn and International
Monetary Fund Chairman Horst Koehler are to attend the summit as well.
/Milliyet/
[06] ERDOGAN: “THE AKP SUPPORTS TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP”
Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
yesterday that politicians should fulfill the promises that they made prior
to elections both orally and in their parties’ programs. Stressing that
“sentimental” approachs should be avoided when the country’s interests were
at stake, Erdogan said, “The AKP supports Turkey’s EU membership and to
achieve this goal, necessary amendments should be implemented soon.” He
underlined that the EU called upon Turkey to bolster its democracy and the
rule of law, to improve individual and cultural rights, and to make its
market economy work better. /Turkiye/
[07] CILLER WARNS OF NEW ECONOMIC CRISIS
True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller said that Turkey was in a new
“stagflation” period and that it could face a new economic crisis this
fall. Addressing her party’s Parliamentary group meeting yesterday, Ciller
said that since citizens could not affort to buy anything, inflation and
interest rates would continue to drop through autumn. “However,” she warned,
“this is a stagflation period, and it will bring forth a new crisis.”
/Turkiye/
[08] CHHIBBER: “RATHER THAN BORROW, TURKEY MUST ATTRACT CAPITAL”
Speaking at a conference on foreign capital in Istanbul yesterday, World
Bank Turkey Director Ajay Chhibber said that Turkey’s future economic
growth lay in investments, not more loans, which he added were not in the
offing in any case. Chhibber stated that Turkey had to attract foreign
capital investments if it wants to grow its economy, and that additional
investments are needed to achieve growth this year. Turkey should have
attracted more foreign capital after signing the Customs Union agreement
with the European Union, he remarked but the last decade was not successful
in this respect. Turkey’s macroeconomic program cannot be successful in the
medium term if foreign capital doesn’t start to flow in, Chhibber
predicted. /Hurriyet/
[09] KAHKONEN: “IT’S NOW HIGH TIME FOR TURKEY TO IMPLEMENT ITS REFORMS”
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Turkey Desk Chief Juha Kahkonen met
yesterday with representatives of the Turkish banking sector in Istanbul to
discuss the recent problems of the financial sector. Speaking to the press
after the meeting, Kahkonen said the participants had discussed the
economic stability program and difficulties of the financial and private
sectors. He remarked that the government had recently legislated very
substantial reforms and that it was high time for Turkey to implement these
reforms. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] IMF’S DEPPLER PRAISES TURKISH ECONOMY
International Monetary Fund European Director Michael Deppler voiced praise
for Turkey yesterday in an interview with NTV’s Washington correspondent
Umit Enginsoy. Stating that Turkey could succeed under the prevailing
economic conditions, Deppler said that he agreed with the government’s
assessment that a new crisis was not likely. He added that recent
developments in inflation and interest rates were very positive. /Sabah/
[11] ERBAKAN GETS PRISON TIME FOR EMBEZZLING PARTY FUNDS
The Ankara Higher Criminal Court yesterday sentenced former leader of the
defunct Welfare Party (RP) Necmettin Erbakan to two years and four months
in prison for embezzling party funds. The decision of the court will
strongly affect the political future of the veteran Turkish politician. If
the Court of Cassation upholds the decision of the court, Erbakan will be
unable to either join a political party and be elected to Parliament. Under
the Legislators Law, any person convicted of crimes such as embezzlement,
abuse of religion, or bribery in Turkey cannot be elected as a
parliamentary deputy. /All Papers/
[12] RAMAZAN: “TURKEY SHOULD SUPPORT IRAQ, NOT THE US”
Iraqi deputy head of state Taha Yasin Ramazan said yesterday that Turkey
should ally itself with Iraq, not the United States. In an interview with
news channel NTV Ramazan both accused and warned Turkey concerning the
status of northern Iraq as well as a possible US intervention in Iraq. He
said, “Iraq has no intention of crossing the Turkish border and cooperating
with terrorists who want to establish a Kurdish state.” He further stated
that an US operation in his country would not serve Turkey’s interests.
/Turkiye/
[13] ARMENIAN LOBBY IN THE US GEARS UP FOR NEW CAMPAIGN
The Armenian lobby in the US is relaunching its annual campaign to pressure
on the US President to recognize April 24 as the commemoration day of a so-
called Armenian genocide. Some 36 members of the US House of
Representatives recently sent a letter to US President George W. Bush in an
effort to persuade him to recognize their allegations. /Cumhuriyet/
[14] KIVRIKOGLU OPENS HANDICAPPED EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION CENTER
The Gulhane Medical Military Academy’s (GATA) Special Education and
Rehabilitation Center for Handicapped Children was opened for service
yesterday in a ceremony attended by Chief of General Staff Gen. Huseyin
Kivrikoglu. Retired physician Col. Ali Ihsan Guner spoke on behalf of the
families during the ceremony, and told Kivrikoglu, “You have lit a torch
for the handicapped in our country.” Gen. Kivrikoglu watched a dance
performance by a group of handicapped children and a basketball match of
the Land Forces Physically Handicapped Team. Air Forces Command Gen. Cumhur
Asparuk and National Security Council (MGK) Secretary General General
Tuncay Kilinc also attended the ceremony. /Sabah/
[15] TALAY TOUTS CULTURE MINISTRY’S INTERNET SHOP
A new “cultural portal” and virtual shop posted at the Culture Ministry’s
website were promoted by Culture Minister Istemihan Talay yesterday at
Ankara’s Sheraton Hotel. Education Minister Metin Bostancioglu, Court of
Cassation Chief Justice Sami Selcuk and Court of Audit Chief Justice Nuri
Alan were among the distinguished guests, attending the event. The new
virtual shop will feature Turkish handicrafts and rare books, Talay stated.
He said that with the increasing importance of international tourism,
people were becoming more interested in the cultural treasures of the
countries the visit. Following Talay’s speech were a multimedia
presentation and performances by the Modern Dance Group and the
Presidential Symphony Orchestra. Then Talay made the first purchase at the
new “e-shop,” which can be accessed at www.kultur.gov.tr, www.culture.gov.tr
and www.cultura.gov.tr. /Sabah/
[16] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[17] HOW IS OUR CASE DIFFERENT? BY OKAY GONENSIN (SABAH)
Columnist Okay Gonensin asks questions about Turkey’s relations with the
EU. A summary of his column is as follows:
“In the dispute over our entering the EU, those who say ‘yes, but... are
trying hard to find new evidence to resist the reshaping of Turkey’s
economic, legal and administrative structure in line with the most advanced
principles. It is impossible for them to find new proof, as history and
recent events are clear in our memories. Not only the strides forward
achieved by the EU member countries but the improvement of the 12 candidate
countries over the last few years can be seen clearly, while the backward
trend in Turkey is also obvious. A campaign based on fear and intimidation
is being waged. The main factor of this intimidation is that Turkey has
enemies within, and they are reactionaryism and separatism. These two pose
the greatest threat for Turkey. Turkey is also surrounded by enemies. All
Turkey’s neighbors are enemies of Turkey. Furthermore, the Armenian and
Greek lobbies are continuing their hostile campaigns against Turkey. Now
this is not a policy pursued for the good of Turkey or the Turkish people,
but just a paranoia. This is not a situation peculiar to Turkey. However,
it hampers the activities of the state, as in Turkey. For example, during
the communist regime in Bulgaria, there was such a paranoia regarding the
Turkish minority. The Turkish minority was being oppressed as it was
believed that it posed a danger to Bulgarian security. This paranoia period
ended, Bulgaria agreed on advanced democracy principles, Turks obtained all
their rights, and everything returned to normal. Today Bulgaria is
preparing to enter the EU with all its citizens and completing its economic
initiatives. In the 1980s it was believed that Spain had moved too fast on
the road to democracy and that the country was going to be divided. But now
for a very long time there has been no dispute over democracy in Spain. The
separatist Basque organization’s terrorist wing ETA has diminished to a
marginal position. France is continuing to solve the Corsican issue.
However, no one in France is saying that they are different and therefore
asking for special rules. The conditions of every society are peculiar to
itself. During World War II, the countries of Europe fought against each
other. Now France and Germany have solved or buried all their problems. If
Turkey is hooked on the paranoia of ‘my enemies within are strong, I am
surrounded by foes, my opponents are spread all over the world, our per
capita income will never exceed $2,000. “
[18] THE EU USED FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)
Columnist Semih comments on the recent discussions over relations with EU
and how they are being used for political purposes. A summary of his
column is as follows:
“In the discussions over the EU, sometimes we are so entranced by the trees
that we are unable see the forest. As Fatih Cekirge said in his recent
column, the real problem is the poor economic state of the country and the
miserable living standards of the people. As a concept, membership in EU
is a very complicated issue, which must be thought over carefully and
requiring a serious intellectual effort. So much so, that even the educated
societies in Europe are hard pressed in comprehending everything. The aim
of the European Convention which began its studies recently is to make this
concept more understandable and accessible for the average European.
Despite these developments, we have delved into discussions which cannot be
clearly understood by all. Therefore, it is impossible for us to grasp how
undignified the death penalty is for a modern society, and how
incomprehensible a stance it is not to be able to broadcast in native-
tongue for an EU candidate member. Nationalist Action Party (MHP) Chairman
Devlet Bahceli stated that the EU should clearly specify its decision on
Turkey. The EU has shown its preference by recognizing Turkey’s candidacy
at the Helsinki Summit and by putting the concept of a start to accession
negotiations in the Laeken Summit declaration. The party which has to
clarify its stand is Turkey. Chief of General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu
said that Turkey’s membership in the EU and organizations such as the ESDP
is a geopolitical must. This ‘geopolitical obligation’ is closely concerned
with Turkey’s defense and future security. However, despite these facts,
Mr. Bahceli, without clearly explaining his reasons can say that to liken
Turkey to other EU countries would be turn the country into a political and
cultural monstrosity. This suggests that the real concern is not EU
membership but rather domestic political calculations. In other words, the
EU issue which is closely concerned with Turkey’s future is being used for
political purposes through discussions over the ‘death penalty’ and
‘Kurdish TV’. People who are watching these discussions cannot say that
there is a single state which has been divided after entering the EU, as
their immediate concern is poverty.”
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