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Turkish Press Review, 02-04-05Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr><LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css" rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css> <map name="FPMap1"> <_map> Press & Information Turkish Press Foreign Press Guide Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning05.04.2002CONTENTS
[01] SEZER: “TURKEY’S SUPPORT FOR NATO WILL CONTINUE”President Ahmet Necdet Sezer issued a message yesterday to mark the 53rd anniversary of NATO. In his message Sezer said, “NATO will continue to fulfill its mission and address the new threats and risks that have come with globalization.” NATO, the foundation of our defense and security policy, will get support from Turkey during this process, Sezer added. Turkey is a founding member of NATO. /Cumhuriyet/[02] ECEVIT: “MIDEAST IS AT A BREAKING POINT”Prime Minister and Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit yesterday addressed the DSP’s parliamentary group meeting. Addressing the current situation in the Mideast, Ecevit said, “Conditions in the region have now reached a breaking point. Israeli Prime Minister Sharon has chosen war and occupation rather than peace. I am calling on Sharon and Palestinian leader Arafat to meet face to face in Turkey or in some other country to reach a consensus.” Accusing Israel of carrying out a genocidal policy against the Palestinians, Ecevit stated, “During a conversation with Sharon last year, he spoke of war and his intention to terminate Arafat. When I aired these remarks publicly, the Israelis said that I had misunderstood him. But now Sharon’s true intentions stand uncovered.” Calling Arafat a “captive” of Israeli soldiers, Ecevit said that the Palestinian leader faced exile or death. “Israel is challenging the whole world,” Ecevit remarked. He added that some Arab countries were opposed to an independent Palestinian state, even though they were pretending as if they were in favor of it. /All Papers/[03] IRTEMCELÝK: “TURKEY SHOULD DO MORE TO PUSH FOR MIDEAST PEACE”Independent Istanbul Deputy Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik issued a statement earlier this week on the current violence in the Middle East. Stressing that Turkey should act to counter the terrible developments in the region, Irtemcelik called on Foreign Minister Ismail Cem to travel to Washington and to dispatch another Cabinet minister to Tel-Aviv to hold meetings in order to put an end to bloodshed in the region. Irtemcelik stated that if the Israeli government didn’t change its stance, a volatile situation which would harm both sides would prevail. Irtemcelik remarked that it would be “extreme optimism” to expect Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to act voluntarily with common sense, inasmuch as a “reliance on the use of force” had characterized Sharon’s career. The Bush administration will share the responsibility for the consequences if they delay intervening in the situation, he added. Commenting that Turkey was in a position which was very prone to be affected by developments, Irtemcelik said, “Turkey should behave in a manner befitting this grave situation.” /Gozcu/[04] HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION TO VISIT PALESTINIAN TERRITORIESParliament’s Human Rights Commission announced yesterday that it would travel to the Palestinian territories to observe and examine Israel’s military operation in the region. Three parties announced the names of their deputies who would be part of the delegation. Huseyin Akgul from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Nihan Ilgun from the True Path Party (DYP) and Mehmet Bekaroglu from the Felicity Party (FP) will all take part in the trip. The Democratic Left Party (DSP), the Motherland Party (ANAP), and the Justice and Development Party (AK) are to announce their representatives today. /Star/[05] NEW ISAF HEAD IN AFGHANISTAN TO EVALUATE SITUATIONTurkish Maj. Gen. Hilmi Akin, who has been designated the new head of the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, arrived in Kabul yesterday with a military entourage to examine the current situation in the country. Maj. Gen. Akin Zorlu said that after completing their visit, the group would present a report on the region to the Chief General of Staff’s Command. /Star/[06] TURKEY TO IRAN: “EXTRADITION WOULD SHOW GOOD RELATIONS”After asking Iran earlier this week to extradite top PKK terrorist commander Cemil Bayik, Turkey has conveyed that agreeing to this request would be a show of goodwill and friendly relations on Iran’s part, diplomatic sources said yesterday. Otherwise Ankara might have to reexamine relations between the two countries, the sources added. /Cumhuriyet/[07] VAN OVEN: “DUTCH PARLIAMENT SUPPORTS TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP”Gerrit Jan van Oven, a Dutch parliamentarian currently visiting Turkey at the head of a delegation, met yesterday with Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, Parliament Foreign Commission Chairman Kamran Inan and Turkey- European Union Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-chairman Kursat Eser, Van Oven told the Turkish officials that the Dutch Parliament supports Turkey’s EU membership. /Cumhuriyet/[08] DANISH PRIME MINISTER ARRIVES IN TURKEYDanish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, whose country will assume the rotating EU presidency this July, traveled to Ankara yesterday for an official visit as the guest of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. After arriving, Rasmussen said that Turkey should fulfill the criteria to start its EU membership negotiations. He added that during his visit he would express Denmark’s satisfaction with the progress Turkey had shown on human rights. /Hurriyet/[09] NAVAL MARTYRS COMMEMORATEDTurkey’s naval martyrs were commemorated yesterday in ceremonies held in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Canakkale, Mersin, Golcuk, Marmaris and Eregli on the occasion of April 4, Naval Martyrs’ Commemoration Day. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Chief of General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu issued messages to mark the occasion. /Turkiye/[10] CORANTIS: “TURKISH-GREEK COOPERATION CAN CREATE AN ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE”Greek Ambassador to Turkey Ioannis Corantis said yesterday “If Turkey and Greece work hand-in-hand, we can create a new economic powerhouse.” Cooperation not competition is the order of the day, he remarked. Cooperation in the tourism sector would bring in more money to both countries, Corantis added. /Hurriyet/[11] KARZAI CALLS ON TURKISH BUSINESSMEN TO INVEST IN AFGHANISTANAfghan interim government leader Hamid Karzai’s two-day official visit to Turkey began yesterday. Following a stop at Ataturk’s mausoleum Anitkabir in Ankara, Karzai proceeded to the Afghan delegation’s meeting with Turkish officials. Then he met with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. After the meeting, Ecevit told reporters that Turkey attached great importance to developing its relations with Afghanistan and that it was determined to help the new administration. Inviting his Turkish counterpart to visit Afghanistan, Karzai said, “We discussed cooperation between our two countries. We expect Turkish businessmen to make important investments in terms of both the economy and healthcare areas Afghanistan during its reconstruction process.” /Turkiye/[12] LETTER OF INTENT TO BE SENT TO IMFThe Letter of Intent (LOI) prepared by Turkey to be submitted to the IMF was signed yesterday by State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis and Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti. The letter includes the work done under the IMF’s first review and a new road map to be followed by Turkey for its economy. The LOI will be sent to the IMF as soon as possible. Following debates on it and its expected approval at the IMF Executive Board’s meeting later this month, a loan tranche of $1.1 billion should be extended to Turkey. /Turkiye/[13] DERVIS NAMED “ECONOMY MINISTER OF THE YEAR”Prominent international economic journal The Banker has chosen State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis “Economy Minister of the Year 2001,” the magazine announced yesterday. Dervis will receive his award during an international conference on “Turkey: New Country of Opportunities, New Dynamism” sponsored by The Banker, the International Herald Tribune and Finance World on April 29-30. The magazine added that a meeting would be held in Istanbul on April 9 concerning the awards ceremony. /Aksam/[14] YAPI KREDI HOUSING PROJECT GETS ACCOLADESYapi Kredi Koray’s residential housing project “Istanbul Istanbul,” a 100, 000-square-meter development in Istanbul’s Gokturk district, has won accolades throughout the world. The project was recently chosen “World’s Best Housing Project” at the MIPIM international real estate fair held in Cannes, France. Saying that the company had been a finalist at last year’s MIPIM with another project, Yapi Kredi Koray head Hakan Kodal said, “We won the competition with the votes of 15,000 visitors at the fair. While Turkey is experiencing an economic crisis, we are very proud to have a Turkish project achieve such success in Europe.” /Aksam/[15] SOCIETE GENERALE IN TALKS WITH VAKIFBANKSociété Générale, France’s second-largest bank, is in merger talks with Turkey’s Vakifbank, the French concern announced yesterday. New York’s Dow Jones Agency reported that the meetings were progressing positively and that the French bank might purchase the bank in league with another shareholder. A purchase of Vakifbank’s majority interest would cost Société Générale 300 million euros. Rival bids for Vakifbank from Turkey’s Akbank, Dogan Holding, Turk Dis Ticaret Bankasi, Oyakbank and Turk Ekonomi Bankasi Investment are also being prepared and could be submitted by the first week in June, according to state banking officials. Vakifbank is a state bank but is due to be privatized under Turkey’s reform pledges to the World Bank. /Milliyet/[16] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…[17] ISRAEL’S PLAN HAS BACKFIRED BY DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)Columnist Derya Sazak writes on the latest developments in the Middle East. A summary of his column is as follows:“Israel’s plan to overthrow Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has backfired as the international media is now throwing the spotlight on the escalating violence in the Palestinian territories. Not only Western countries but also certain Israeli circles are now voicing their opposition to recent developments in the region. Former Israeli Prime Minister Eduh Barak’s recent statements published in German magazine Stern are quite striking in this regard. He strongly criticized the policy Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is currently pursuing. ‘Israel has lost its righteousness in its fight against Arafat,’ said Barak. ‘The world sees us as the more powerful side in the current conflict, and Israel’s policy can no longer be justified. Sharon must show the world that his main goal is not to destroy Arafat. Neither overthrowing Arafat nor finding another politician to lead the Palestinians should be Israeli’s mission. The Palestinians have the right to choose their own leaders.” Sharon has begun a campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Palestinian territories. Approximately 1,000 Palestinians have been killed with many more missing. A few months ago, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit warned the world after a phone conversation with Sharon that Israel was planning to destroy Arafat’s administration. Ecevit reiterated his concerns yesterday at his Democratic Left Party (DSP) group meeting: ‘Arafat will either be killed or sent into exile. It is not merely Arafat who will be eliminated but also all of his administration will be destroyed.’ Ecevit also reiterated his call for peace, stressing that both the Israeli administration and those Palestinians who committed suicide bombings and armed attacks against Israeli civilians were responsible for the current violence. ‘Islamic fundamentalism is likely to gain ground in the region unless the United States takes urgent action to stop the Sharon administration in its tracks,” said Ecevit. ‘The current situation is totally out of control. Sharon has chosen war rather than the pursuit of peace. If he is not stopped, then an atmosphere which will pave the way to new fundamentalist groups similar to Al Qaeda is likely to emerge.’ The US which has set itself up as the guardian of world peace in the wake of Sept. 11 attacks, is now choosing to sit on the sidelines and watch the bloodshed in the Middle East. Why can’t people see that violence only begets more violence? We shouldn’t forget that occupying another nation’s territories is a crime against humanity.” [18] PALESTINIAN WAR OVERSHADOWS TURKISH-SYRIAN RELATIONS BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the ill effects of mounting tension in the Middle East on Turkey’s relations with its neighbors. A summary of her column is as follows:“The mounting tension in the Middle East is likely to impact negatively on Turkey’s relations with its neighbors. Following the lead of US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell recently added Syria to the US’ list of the countries forming the ‘axis of evil’ and backing terrorist organizations. The justification for this addition is how Syria’s UN representatives left the latest UN Security Council meeting to protest Israel soon after Syria’s admittance to the Council as a temporary member. Meanwhile, Syrian Higher Education Minister Hassan Risheh and Syrian Tourism Chambers’ Chairman Saeb Nahhas were visiting Istanbul with an accompanying delegation made up of Syrian businessmen. Significant decisions were made during the meetings between Syrian and Turkish businessmen. For example, new arrangements for daily flights between the two countries were made. Furthermore, Syrian and Turkish tourism companies are currently working on joint projects. I have suddenly become aware how bilateral relations between the two countries are improving after PKK terrorist commander Cemil Bayik’s capture. Bayik was caught with the cooperation of Syrian and Turkish intelligence units. We know how in the past Syria refused to give information to Turkey on PKK files and bank accounts. However, it is clear that the two countries have recently agreed to act collaboratively in their fights against terrorism. These positive developments are so great that they should not be overshadowed by any other development! ‘Syria supports efforts for peace,’ said Syrian Minister Risheh at a recent meeting in Istanbul in response to Rumsfeld’s and Powell’s statements. ‘We believe the United Nations resolutions and the decisions made at the Madrid Conference are very important for the future of the Middle East. We always stand against terrorist groups.’ Furthermore, Syrian Ambassador Said Al Bunni said, ‘We shouldn’t turn an blind eye to the developments in the Palestinian territories. The crimes committed in those territories will adversely affect stability in our region. Without peace and security, development is impossible.’ Peace cannot prevail in this region until the war in the Palestinian territories ends.” ARCHIVE Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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