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Turkish Press Review, 02-08-07
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
07.08.2002
ECEVIT: “DERVIS NEEDS TO MAKE A DECISION”
FOREIGN MINISTER GUREL: “WE WILL NOT
CONDUCT AN OPERATION IN IRAQ WITH JORDAN”
CEM VISITS FORMER PRESIDENT DEMIREL
DERVIS: “PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT KNOWS I AM
SEEKING A BETTER FUTURE FOR TURKEY”
DERVIS: “WITH EU MEMBERSHIP, TURKEY COULD
ACHIEVE 8% GROWTH”
TALABANI VISITS TURKEY TO DISCUSS IRAQ
SITUATION
ERTUGRULOGLU: “THE EU IS APPLYING DOUBLE
STANDARDS IN CYPRUS”
EU TERM PRESIDENCY PRAISES TURKEY’S EU
REFORMS
VERHEUGEN: “HARMONIZATION LAWS WILL HELP
TURKEY TAKE ITS PLACE IN EUROPE”
IMF DISCUSSES LETTER OF INTENT, LOAN
TRANCHE TODAY
AGREEMENT REACHED ON WATER SALE TO
ISRAEL
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM
THE COLUMNS
TOWARDS ELECTIONS BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
VERY FIRST CLUE ON AUGUST 30 BY HIKMET
BILA (CUMHURIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT: “DERVIS NEEDS TO MAKE A DECISION”
[02] YILMAZ MEETS WITH ECEVIT
[03] PARLIAMENT RESUMES SUMMER RECESS
[04] FOREIGN MINISTER GUREL: “WE WILL NOT CONDUCT
AN OPERATION IN IRAQ WITH JORDAN”
[05] CEM VISITS FORMER PRESIDENT DEMIREL
[06] DERVIS: “PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT KNOWS I AM
SEEKING A BETTER FUTURE FOR TURKEY”
[07] DERVIS: “WITH EU MEMBERSHIP, TURKEY COULD
ACHIEVE 8% GROWTH”
[08] TALABANI VISITS TURKEY TO DISCUSS IRAQ
SITUATION
[09] ERTUGRULOGLU: “THE EU IS APPLYING DOUBLE
STANDARDS IN CYPRUS”
[10] EU TERM PRESIDENCY PRAISES TURKEY’S EU
REFORMS
[11] VERHEUGEN: “HARMONIZATION LAWS WILL HELP
TURKEY TAKE ITS PLACE IN EUROPE”
[12] IMF DISCUSSES LETTER OF INTENT, LOAN TRANCHE
TODAY
[13] AGREEMENT REACHED ON WATER SALE TO ISRAEL
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM
THE COLUMNS
[15] TOWARDS ELECTIONS BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
[16] VERY FIRST CLUE ON AUGUST 30 BY HIKMET BILA
(CUMHURIYET)
[01] ECEVIT: “DERVIS NEEDS TO MAKE A DECISION”
Speaking on CNN Turk yesterday, Prime Minister Bulent
Ecevit said that it was unacceptable for Economy Minister
Kemal Dervis to continue “travelling to and fro” conducting
political business, adding that Dervis needed to make a
decision between staying with the government and leaving it.
Echoing DSP deputy leader Emrehan Halici’s words from earlier
this week, which were widely interpreted as calling for
Dervis’s resignation, Ecevit spoke of both his Democratic Left
Party’s (DSP) and his own personal uneasiness with Dervis’s
situation. Calling on Dervis to act in a manner “appropriate
for a state minister,” Ecevit said that Dervis must choose
between joining the New Turkey (YT) or continuing to serve the
government. “Before moving into politics, it was Dervis’s duty
to work on the Turkish economy,” said the prime minister. “He
had been doing a good job but recently his interest in
politics has predominated. He spoke of instability in Turkey,
saying that politics and the economy shouldn’t be mixed, but
then he proceeded to do just that. Dervis is an important
member of our government. However he is involved in intense
negotiations with other parties and political formations.
Certain circles in Turkey have lured him with the prospect
that he could orchestrate Turkish politics, but this isn’t so
easy as he may think.” Also in the CNN Turk interview, Ecevit
said that his health was good but he was avoiding feeding the
rumor mill with a checkup. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] YILMAZ MEETS WITH ECEVIT
Speaking to reporters after meeting with Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit, Deputy Prime Minister and Motherland Party
(ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz stated that Ecevit was opposed to
creating alliances between parties. Yilmaz said that he had
presented to Ecevit a model under which parties could create
such alliances. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] PARLIAMENT RESUMES SUMMER RECESS
Following last week’s passage of a historic package of
European Union harmonization laws, Parliament adjourned
yesterday to resume its summer recess. The recess interrupted
by the extraordinary EU law session will last through Oct. 1,
said Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Murat Sokmenoglu. Some
deputies had wanted to extend the extraordinary session to
consider a job security bill or supplementary budget measures,
but calls for this were rejected. /Turkiye/
[04] FOREIGN MINISTER GUREL: “WE WILL NOT CONDUCT
AN OPERATION IN IRAQ WITH JORDAN”
Speaking in Ankara yesterday before flying to Jordan to pay
an official visit, Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel said that
there he would discuss regional issues with his counterpart,
Marwan Muasher. “There is no possibility of Turkey conducting
an operation in Iraq with Jordan,” he said. “Jordan’s King
Abdullah spoke recently with the United States about the
recent developments, and the purpose of my visit is to learn
about his talks and evaluate regional issues with our good
neighbor Jordan.” /Turkiye/
[05] CEM VISITS FORMER PRESIDENT DEMIREL
New Turkey (YT) leader Ismail Cem visited former President
Suleyman Demirel yesterday at his office for nearly an hour.
Speaking to journalists afterwards, Cem said that he and the
senior statesmen had discussed recent events and that he
always benefited from Demirel’s wisdom and experiences
concerning developments both at home and abroad. Praising
Demirel as a valuable source of experience for Turkey, Cem
said, “The meeting we held today was very beneficial and
important. Our conversation was pleasurable and meant a great
deal to me.” peaking to journalists, Demirel said that certain
legal arrangements were necessary so the parties can establish
alliances in the coming elections. /Hurriyet/
[06] DERVIS: “PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT KNOWS I AM
SEEKING A BETTER FUTURE FOR TURKEY”
Responding to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit’s criticisms of
him in a televised interview yesterday, Economy Minister Kemal
Dervis called the charges that he was mixing politics and his
government duties “surprising” and characterized the prime
minister’s comments as “an outburst.” Dervis said that similar
comments earlier this week by Emrehan Halici, the group deputy
leader from Ecevit’s Democratic Left Party (DSP), should have
sufficed, since he had understood their meaning. “I expected
that Halici’s message would be enough, and that they would
wait for me to act,” Dervis stated. “Mr. Ecevit’s outburst
about me was surprising. Actually after I heard Halici’s
comments, I thought about meeting Mr. Ecevit, but then changed
my mind because he knew I was in the midst of a political
search to seize the opportunity for a better future for Turkey.
I had told him as much previously. Remember, I resigned before
but my resignation wasn’t accepted. When we talked at that
time, even then I was in a political search. Now, what has
changed since then? I wonder if my rejecting offers to join
the DSP has anything to do with this.” Dervis added that he
had begun to suspect that certain circles were working to turn
Ecevit against him. /Aksam/
[07] DERVIS: “WITH EU MEMBERSHIP, TURKEY COULD
ACHIEVE 8% GROWTH”
Speaking at an Eskisehir Trade Union meeting yesterday,
State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis said that European
Union membership would help the Turkish economy gain momentum.
Even during the EU membership process, more foreign investors
would invest in Turkey, and eventually Turkey could achieve
annual growth of 8%. Dervis added that Union itself needed
Turkey in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. /Sabah/
[08] TALABANI VISITS TURKEY TO DISCUSS IRAQ
SITUATION
Iraqi Patriotic Union Of Kurdistan (IPUK) leader Jalal
Talabani yesterday arrived in Ankara in the leadup to an Iraqi
opposition meeting in Washington set for this Friday. Turkey
will reportedly focus on finding a peaceful resolution to the
Iraqi issue with Talabani. Talabani today is expected to meet
with Foreign Ministry and defense officials. He is also
scheduled to meet with former President Suleyman Demirel and
Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip
Erdogan. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] ERTUGRULOGLU: “THE EU IS APPLYING DOUBLE
STANDARDS IN CYPRUS”
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Foreign and
Defense Minister Tahsin Ertugruloglu charged yesterday that
the European Union was not being sincere in its approach to
the Cyprus problem. “In 1980 when Greece was about to join the
Union, the EU didn’t ask it to solve the Cyprus problem,” he
observed. “Yet when it comes to Turkey they say that first the
Copenhagen criteria should be fulfilled.” This double standard
shows that the EU is not being sincere, he added. Ertugruloglu
also said that his criticism of the EU’s policies should not
be seen as a rejection of the EU itself, since EU membership
is a goal. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] EU TERM PRESIDENCY PRAISES TURKEY’S EU
REFORMS
The European Union Term Presidency, currently held for six
months by Denmark, issued a statement yesterday voicing its
support for Turkey’s recent legislative reforms, adding that a
definite decision on Turkey’s EU membership bid was dependent
on the steps the nation takes before December’s Copenhagen
summit. These reforms are important, said the statement, but
they must be implemented as soon as possible. In related news,
EU Commisioner Romano Prodi said yesterday that now was too
early for Turkey to get a date to start negotiations with the
EU. /Milliyet/
[11] VERHEUGEN: “HARMONIZATION LAWS WILL HELP
TURKEY TAKE ITS PLACE IN EUROPE”
European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter
Verheugen said yesterday that the EU had been pleased with the
EU harmonization laws enacted last week by the Turkish
Parliament, calling their passage “wonderful.” Verheugen
phoned Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz two days ago and
reiterated that Turkey could take its place in Europe with a
number of legal amendments, among which are abolition of the
death penalty and the right to education and broadcasting in
mother tongue languages, both part of the EU reform package
passed. Yilmaz said that Verheugen’s views were of the utmost
importance for Turkey. Verheugen added that at December’s
Copenhagen summit the European Commission would do its best to
give a date to Turkey for membership negotiations. /Hurriyet/
[12] IMF DISCUSSES LETTER OF INTENT, LOAN TRANCHE
TODAY
The International Monetary Fund Executive Board will
discuss Turkey’s Letter of Intent (LOI) today. The board is
expected to release a third loan tranche totalling $1.1
billion to the country after the meeting. The loan tranche is
expected to be approved before tomorrow, when the IMF is to
begin its summer recess. /Turkiye/
[13] AGREEMENT REACHED ON WATER SALE TO ISRAEL
The Energy and Natural Resources Ministry stated yesterday
that Turkey and Israel had reached an agreement under which
the latter would buy 50 million cubic meters of water annually
from Turkey over 20 years. The statement added that a
committee to be jointly chaired by Turkish and Israeli
officials would be established to discuss and finalize
arrangements on transporting the water from Turkey to Israel.
The committee will hold its first meeting in Ankara, it added.
/Aksam/
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM
THE COLUMNS
[15] TOWARDS ELECTIONS BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna writes about Turkey’s newly adopted
reforms and the importance of implementing these reforms
regardless of membership in the EU. A summary of his column is
as follows:
“Now that the Parliament has passed the European Union
harmonization laws, what Turkey has to do is calmly wait for
the EU Copenhagen summit on Dec. 12. General elections will be
held in Germany in September. In addition, congressional
elections will be held in the United States in November. Both
of these elections will have repercussions in Turkey. November
is also going to be the month when parties will be trying to
form a government in Turkey in the post-election period. It is
in October that election propaganda will be at its peak in
Turkey. Let’s hope that political parties don’t waste millions
of dollars on party posters and flags. The parties should know
that people don’t vote for bits of paper. There exist circles
in Turkey who are opposed to the EU. In fact these circles
will retain their opposition to the EU even after Turkey
becomes a full member. Such circles also exist even in the EU
member countries; they complain about being in the Union and
wish to leave. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, this is
what democracy is all about. Therefore, the two sides (those
in favor of and those opposed to the EU) should not accuse
each other of not loving their country. In EU candidate
countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and
Hungary, 60 percent of the population was initially against
abolishing the death penalty but it was abolished anyway. Now,
capital punishment no longer exists in Europe. Furthermore, we
should accept that people may want to go to language courses
to learn Kurdish instead of French or English for instance.
The duty of the state is to teach Turkish to all of its
citizens. Apart from this obligation to learn Turkish, every
citizen has the right to learn whichever language they may
desire. We must genuinely implement these latest reforms
without exception, regardless of whether or not we become a
member of the EU.”
[16] VERY FIRST CLUE ON AUGUST 30 BY HIKMET BILA
(CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Hikmet Bila writes about future developments in
Turkey’s EU membership bid after the passage of harmonization
laws in the Parliament last week. A summary of his column is
as follows:
“No matter what anyone says, the passage of the EU
harmonization laws is the work of Motherland Party (ANAP)
leader Mesut Yilmaz. Surely, Yilmaz tackled a very difficult
task in attracting the support of the majority of the assembly,
and Parliament passed the most controversial laws when no one
expected from it to do so. Yet, everything starts after that
point. A commentary in the New York Times last weekend said
that Turkey’s gaining EU membership would not be easy, adding
that the bulk of the question hinged more on the EU’s
sincerity and its member countries’ doubts about Turkey’s
identity in the EU than on Turkey’s honesty about the
harmonization laws. This comment proved to be spot on when
European Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission Chairman Elmar
Brok said that Turkey was still unable to meet the Copenhagen
criteria. Moreover, a Belgian diplomat said that the passage
of the harmonization laws gave rise to more anxiety than
appreciation in the EU and that its 15 member countries will
hardly be able to reach a consensus about Turkey’s membership
in only four months. Furthermore, the Cyprus issue still
persists unsolved. We are at the threshold of a period which
will reveal the EU’s real attitude towards Turkey. The member
countries’ foreign ministers will hold an unofficial meeting
on Aug. 30-31 in Denmark which will give the very first clue
about the general framework drawn for Turkey. On Sept. 18, the
European Parliament rapporteur will prepare a draft report and
on Oct. 16, Turkey’s Progress Report is going to be delivered.
On Nov. 2 the EU Council will update its terrorist
organization list and will reach a decision about whether to
include KADEK, the PKK’s terrorist successor, on the list or
not. On Dec. 13-14, the member countries’ presidents and prime
ministers will gather in Copenhagen. Starting on Aug. 30, this
busy schedule and the decisions taken during it will certainly
affect the results of elections in Turkey.”
ARCHIVE
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