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Turkish Press Review, 02-08-06
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
06.08.2002
ECEVIT: “CONVENING PARLIAMENT TO CHANGE
ELECTIONS SYSTEM WOULD BE DIFFICULT”
THREE MINISTERS REPLACED DUE TO ELECTIONS
HALICI CRITICIZES DERVIS OVER POLITICAL
CONTACTS
CAKMAKOGLU: “TURKEY OPPOSES ANY MILITARY
ACTION AGAINST IRAQ”
FOREIGN MINISTER GUREL TO VISIT JORDAN
YILMAZ: “NOW IT IS THE EU’S TURN”
VURAL: “TURKEY WANTS TO WIN A DATE TO
START NEGOTIATIONS FROM THE COPENHAGEN SUMMIT”
US STATE DEPARTMENT: “THE EU REFORMS AIM
TO BOOST TURKEY’S CHANCES OF JOINING THE EU”
FRANCE PLEASED ABOUT REFORMS IN TURKEY
BROK: “TURKEY WAS COURAGEOUS IN ADOPTING
EU REFORMS”
FIORI: “TURKEY’S EU REFORMS ARE A GREAT
STEP FORWARD”
DENMARK: ”PASSING HARMONIZATION PACKAGE
WILL HELP TURKEY WITH THE EU”
ROMAN COLOSSEUM ILLUMINATED TO MARK
DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION IN TURKEY
FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM
THE COLUMNS…
PRESSURE FOR DERVIS TO STEP DOWN BY
FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
DERVIS AND THE NATURE OF POLITICS BY
OMER CELIK (STAR)
CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT: “CONVENING PARLIAMENT TO CHANGE
ELECTIONS SYSTEM WOULD BE DIFFICULT”
[02] THREE MINISTERS REPLACED DUE TO ELECTIONS
[03] HALICI CRITICIZES DERVIS OVER POLITICAL
CONTACTS
[04] CAKMAKOGLU: “TURKEY OPPOSES ANY MILITARY
ACTION AGAINST IRAQ”
[05] FOREIGN MINISTER GUREL TO VISIT JORDAN
[06] YILMAZ: “NOW IT IS THE EU’S TURN”
[07] VURAL: “TURKEY WANTS TO WIN A DATE TO START
NEGOTIATIONS FROM THE COPENHAGEN SUMMIT”
[08] US STATE DEPARTMENT: “THE EU REFORMS AIM TO
BOOST TURKEY’S CHANCES OF JOINING THE EU”
[09] FRANCE PLEASED ABOUT REFORMS IN TURKEY
[10] BROK: “TURKEY WAS COURAGEOUS IN ADOPTING EU
REFORMS”
[11] FIORI: “TURKEY’S EU REFORMS ARE A GREAT STEP
FORWARD”
[12] DENMARK: ”PASSING HARMONIZATION PACKAGE WILL
HELP TURKEY WITH THE EU”
[13] ROMAN COLOSSEUM ILLUMINATED TO MARK DEATH
PENALTY ABOLITION IN TURKEY
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE
COLUMNS…
[15] PRESSURE FOR DERVIS TO STEP DOWN BY FIKRET
BILA (MILLIYET)
[16] DERVIS AND THE NATURE OF POLITICS BY OMER
CELIK (STAR)
[01] ECEVIT: “CONVENING PARLIAMENT TO CHANGE
ELECTIONS SYSTEM WOULD BE DIFFICULT”
Speaking on news channel NTV yesterday, Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit said that it would be difficult to convene
Parliament in order to change the elections system.
“Parliament has just taken a decision for early elections and
it would be improper to convene it again,” Ecevit said. He
declined to comment on reports that some deputies from his
Democratic Left Party (DSP) wanted Economy Minister Kemal
Dervis to resign, stating, “It wouldn’t be proper for me to
say anything on this issue.” /Cumhuriyet/
[02] THREE MINISTERS REPLACED DUE TO ELECTIONS
Interior Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen, Transportation
Minister Oktay Vural and Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk
resigned today, as required by law, five days after a decision
for elections was published in the Official Gazette.
Independent candidates were assigned to these posts as follows:
Professor Aysel Celikel will be the new justice minister,
Professor Naci Kinacioglu will be the new transportation
minister and Muzaffer Ecemis, former Manisa governor and
Interior Ministry undersecretary, has been assigned as the new
interior minister. /Star/
[03] HALICI CRITICIZES DERVIS OVER POLITICAL
CONTACTS
Democratic Left Party (DSP) group deputy leader Emrehan
Halici held a meeting with DSP Secretary General Suleyman
Yagiz and Accountant General Mecit Sekercioglu at Parliament
yesterday. The meeting was similar to one in which Halici
called on then Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan to
resign. At a press conference after the meeting, Halici told
reporters that State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis was
participating in tricks against the DSP whether he intended to
or not. “Even while those who left the DSP are still seeking
to define themselves, Dervis is acting like the leader of a
formation made up of them and other circles,” he added.
“What’s more, he has suggested to Prime Minister Bulent
Ecevit, who since the day he established the DSP has never
heeded calls to ‘unite the left,’ a union which is broader but
which lacks principles. Dervis thinks that a union is
necessary on the left, but we must ask Mr. Dervis why he
stayed silent when the DSP’s group in Parliament was being
divided.” Stating that Dervis participating in a political
formation was perfectly normal, Halici added, “However, as a
member of the government, we will have nothing to do with
those who play tricks on our party.” /Aksam/
[04] CAKMAKOGLU: “TURKEY OPPOSES ANY MILITARY
ACTION AGAINST IRAQ”
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Defense Minister
Sabahattin Cakmakoglu stated that Turkey was opposed to any
military operation being taken against Iraq. Iraq’s
territorial integrity should be protected, he added.
Cakmakoglu commented that Turkey was continuing to recommend
to the Iraqi regime that it fulfill what the US is asking of
it, namely letting United Nations inspectors enter the country
and carry out their mission. Cakmakoglu remarked that a
possible military intervention would not affect Turkey’s
election agenda. /Turkiye/
[05] FOREIGN MINISTER GUREL TO VISIT JORDAN
Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel along with an
accompanying delegation will travel to Amman, Jordan today to
pay an official visit. Jordan’s possible role in a US
operation and King Abdullah’s recent talks with the US on the
issue make this a key visit in efforts to head off US plans
for military intervention. The Turkish delegation will be
briefed by Jordan’s officials about recent developments in the
Arab world and Baghdad. During the meeting the two sides,
which oppose an operation in the region, will search for a
peaceful solution to the issue. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] YILMAZ: “NOW IT IS THE EU’S TURN”
Deputy Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader
Mesut Yilmaz yesterday met with ambassadors from the European
Union member states at the Secretariat General for European
Union Affairs. Yilmaz told the ambassadors that Turkey had
done its part for its EU membership bid and that now it was
the EU’s turn to respond in kind. /Turkiye/
[07] VURAL: “TURKEY WANTS TO WIN A DATE TO START
NEGOTIATIONS FROM THE COPENHAGEN SUMMIT”
Appearing on NTV yesterday, Secretary-General for European
Union Affairs Volkan Vural said that Turkey could obtain full
EU membership by 2008 if it obtains a date to start
negotiations at December’s Copenhagen summit. “We expect to
get a date for negotiations during the summit,” added Vural.
Vural also said that the Copenhagen summit would be a turning
point for Turkey. /Milliyet/
[08] US STATE DEPARTMENT: “THE EU REFORMS AIM TO
BOOST TURKEY’S CHANCES OF JOINING THE EU”
US State Department spokesman Phil Reeker yesterday said
that the historic steps towards European Union accession that
Turkey’s Parliament took on Friday were meant to boost the
nation’s chances of joining the European Union. Reeker
stressed the United States’ “firm support” for Turkey’s EU
membership bid. /Turkiye/
[09] FRANCE PLEASED ABOUT REFORMS IN TURKEY
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero stated
yesterday that France had been pleased last week to see the
Turkish Parliament adopt a package of European Union
harmonization laws. He remarked that the reforms constituted a
step towards achieving further democratization in Turkey and
that by abolishing the death penalty, Turkey had also
fulfilled a requirement of the Council of Europe, a European
organization committed to promoting such principles as
democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and to which
Turkey is a member. /Sabah/
[10] BROK: “TURKEY WAS COURAGEOUS IN ADOPTING EU
REFORMS”
European Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission Chairman
Elmar Brok, also an EU rapporteur responsible for submitting
evaluation reports to the commission, told Hurriyet yesterday
that he believed Turkey had been courageous in adopting the
harmonization reforms and that the EU would take into account
the recent positive developments in its Progress Report this
October. However, Mr. Brok also pointed out that the EU
Commission would shape its report by taking into consideration
the actual implementation of these laws. On the subject of the
coming elections in Turkey, Brok emphasized the importance of
a government committed to the implementation of the EU laws.
“I believe that in the elections, parties who said ‘yes’ to
the reforms will enjoy greater public support than those who
said ‘no’,” he added. /Hurriyet/
[11] FIORI: “TURKEY’S EU REFORMS ARE A GREAT STEP
FORWARD”
European Union Commission spokesman Jean-Christophe Fiori
said yesterday that the EU considered the reforms recently
adopted by the Turkish Parliament to be a great step forward
for the nation. He added that the EU would issue a Progress
Report on Oct. 15 containing an initial assessment of the
progress of all the candidate countries, including Turkey.
However, he continued, if Turkey makes further progress in
reforms after October, the EU will take this into
consideration before the Copenhagen summit in December. On the
issue of giving Turkey a date for the start of accession
negotiations, Fiori said that everything depended on how the
reforms were implemented and that it was hard to tell at the
moment what decision would be made at the summit. Fiori also
pointed out that the EU expected Turkey to support the direct
talks process in Cyprus, adding however that Turkish-EU
relations were a separate matter from the Cyprus issue. /Hurriyet/
[12] DENMARK: ”PASSING HARMONIZATION PACKAGE WILL
HELP TURKEY WITH THE EU”
European Union Term President Denmark appreciates Turkey’s
passage of a package of EU harmonization laws and believes the
action will help it in relations with the EU, said yesterday a
high-placed official at the Danish Embassy in Ankara who
wished to remain nameless. “After these reforms’ passage, we
will encourage Turkey to enact the laws passed by Parliament,”
he added. “Our first impression of the reforms is that they
will play an important role for Turkey making a strong showing
at December’s Copenhagen summit.” /Cumhuriyet/
[13] ROMAN COLOSSEUM ILLUMINATED TO MARK DEATH
PENALTY ABOLITION IN TURKEY
Following the decision taken late last week by Turkey’s
Parliament to abolish the death penalty from its laws, the
ancient Colosseum in Rome was illuminated to mark this
historic action. The practice of illuminating the Colosseum
was started in 1999 by the Municipality of Rome, the Italian
Ministry of Culture and Arts and Amnesty International in an
international campaign to encourage all countries worldwide to
abolish capital punishment. /Sabah/
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE
COLUMNS…
[15] PRESSURE FOR DERVIS TO STEP DOWN BY FIKRET
BILA (MILLIYET)
Columnist Fikret Bila comments on Democratic Left Party
(DSP) group deputy leader Emrehan Halici’s call for Economy
Minister Kemal Dervis to resign. A summary of his column is as
follows:
“DSP group deputy leader Emrehan Halici yesterday held a
press conference yesterday indicating he wanted State Minister
Kemal Dervis to make a decision. He emphasized that Dervis
would not be able to continue his political contacts with
groups which are splitting the DSP. The meaning of Halici’s
message is very clear, namely that Prime Minister Bulent
Ecevit is calling on Dervis to resign. Husamettin Ozkan was
also called to resign this way, and he got the message and
resigned, and I wonder if Dervis will follow. Obviously Dervis
must have understood the call for resignation that Ecevit sent
through Halici. Most probably, he will follow Ozkan. However,
another message from circles close to Dervis states that the
IMF will release a loan totaling $1.1 billion for Turkey
tomorrow and that Dervis will wait for this news. However, in
the current atmosphere Ecevit and the government don’t want
Dervis to wait for this. In other words, the message to
‘tender your decision in a reasonable period of time’ amounts
to ‘resign as soon as possible.’ What brought Ecevit to this
point? Why did Ecevit, who previously said that he would not
stay if Dervis leaves and also twice asked Dervis to join his
own party, decide that Dervis should withdraw? According to
circles close to Ecevit and his staff, the story is as follows:
‘The prime minister and the president wanted Dervis to stay in
the government, so they got him to withdraw his resignation.
However, while they wanted him to stay in the government, they
also emphasized that he should keep his political contacts to
a minimum level and tend to the economy first of all. Dervis
accepted this. However, Dervis increased his political
contacts instead of decreasing them. What is more, he
continued these contacts in a way that worked against the DSP.
He continued to show support for everybody who divides the
DSP. This is not a proper way to do things. Dervis was treated
with tolerance so he could act properly, but he started to
abuse this.’ According to Ecevit’s staff, the latest
development that stretched his patience to its limits was
Dervis’s contacts in Istanbul: ‘After returning from the US,
Mr. Dervis met with Mr. Ecevit. Following this meeting, he
said that he would hold political contacts to the degree that
his duty as a minister allowed but still concentrate on the
economy. However, he proceeded to neglect the economy while
dealing with an intensive round of contacts. During his last
visit to Istanbul, he met not only with Erdal Inonu, but also
with Ozkan. Before these meetings, he also met with former
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. He said that he supported their
movement, meaning New Turkey (YT). His meeting with Ozkan
stretched Ecevit’s patience to its limits. He is clearly the
one who is dividing the DSP and he stated that he would
continue to support the YT’s movement. This situation can no
longer be endured. If he traffics in politics with people and
institutions who initiated a campaign against the DSP, he
should leave his DSP chair as a minister and start to deal
with politics in the movement which he says he supports.’ What
will happen if Dervis wants to continue his duty as a minister
in spite of this call? Will he be dismissed from his post? In
reply to this question, Ecevit’s staff says, ‘We don’t think
that dismissal will be necessary. We think Mr. Dervis got the
message and he will do what is necessary.’ This development
shows that Ecevit and the DSP have burned Dervis’ bridges. And
then the YT and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) remained.
If Dervis continues to hold more contacts, these last choices
might be decreased to one.”
[16] DERVIS AND THE NATURE OF POLITICS BY OMER
CELIK (STAR)
Columnist Omer Celik writes on State Minister Kemal
Dervis’s search for a broader political formation embracing
different colors of the political spectrum. A summary of his
column is as follows:
“Kemal Dervis is trying to achieve a very difficult task,
but if he is able do it, Turkey will certainly be the winner.
Creating a broad political formation with a ‘social-liberal
stance’ is really a remarkable endeavor which deserves
appreciation. However, Dervis has some serious problems
concerning both the definition of his goal and his methods of
reaching it. A question more crucial than which party or
formation will emerge victorious in coming elections is the
‘widening of the political sphere.’ Nowadays, there is a
heated debate going on about the search for the best
government model which can both lead Turkey to the European
Union and which can play its cards wisely in case of a US
attack on Iraq. Yet, this debate is again at the expense of
narrowing the political sphere, and is evolving around a quest
to prevent a legal political party, namely the Justice and
Development Party (AKP), from coming to power. However, the
aim of politics should be sustaining the rule of democratic
legitimacy in the system. If political movements which argue
that they are ‘new’ or those who rally for a large formation
in the center pursue a goal somewhat counter to the above one,
Turkey is doomed to suffer from deeper political crises in the
future. Dervis cannot be said to have such an outlook on
things. Yet, still he has done nothing to indicate that any
such exclusion would harm democracy. Moreover, his quest for a
broader political formation is proving contradictory to the
nature of politics pushing the system to a deadlock. He is
trying to bring together a group of very different political
stances towards each other, such as the Republican People’s
Party (CHP), the Motherland Party (ANAP), the Democratic
Turkey Party (DTP) and New Turkey (YT), into a whole. This is
nothing but creating a technocratic government or an
extraordinary situation in order to catch up with the
integration process with the EU and to stay on track with the
economic program at the expense of what is political. The
social-liberal synthesis which Dervis is putting forth is
worthy of serious consideration. I think that what Turkey
needs is a political line of this kind. However, leaving aside
a model proposed by him in order to achieve such a line, it is
impossible to call anything ‘social’ in what he has done up to
now. Dervis would do better to rethink the concept of the
political and the nature of politics.”
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