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Turkish Press Review, 02-10-24Turkish 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> <map name="FPMap1"></map> Press & Information Turkish Press Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning24.10.2002FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...CONTENTS
[01] SEZER’S LETTER TO EUROPEAN LEADERS URGES EU TO SET DATE FOR ACCESSION TALKSPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer has sent a letter to the heads of state of European Union countries in the leadup to the key Brussels summit beginning today, the Presidential Press Office announced yesterday. The letter emphasizes that Turkey expects to receive a date at December’s Copenhagen summit for its EU accession negotiations to begin in 2003. In his letter, Sezer warned the European leaders that the Turkish public would be greatly disappointed, and Turkish-EU relations be badly affected, were the EU to issue a decision contrary to Turkey’s expectations. “We hope that the EU will make a fair and just decision, one which will serve not only Turkey’s interests but also those of the EU,” stated Sezer. “And this decision should be one which sets a date for Turkey’s accession talks to begin in 2003.” /Cumhuriyet/[02] BUSH PHONES SEZER TO DISCUSS IRAQ, CYPRUS, OTHER REGIONAL ISSUESUS President George W. Bush yesterday made a telephone call to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told a daily press briefing. “The presidents discussed a range of issues pertaining to the United States-Turkey strategic partnership, which stretches from the Balkans to the Caucuses, and the Middle East to Afghanistan,” said Fleischer. “They discussed cooperation on Iraq and agreed on the need for Iraq to comply fully with the United Nations Security Council resolutions. They also conferred on other issues of mutual concern, including Cyprus, support for Turkey's progress toward EU ascension, and Turkey's strong record on economic reform.” /Aksam/[03] ECEVIT: “THE US’ CHANGE OF HEART GIVES US HOPE”Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit told reporters yesterday the view that war is not the only solution to the Iraqi issue was gaining increasing currency among top US decision makers, adding that this development gave him hope. Ecevit also stated that the US had made no specific requests towards Turkey concerning a possible military operation in Iraq. “Turkey attaches great importance to Ataturk’s principle of ‘Peace at home, peace in the world’,” said Ecevit. “I hope that the Iraqi problem will be solved through peace, not war.” /Hurriyet/[04] CILLER: “THE DYP WILL KEEP ALL ITS PROMISES AFTER COMING TO POWER”Speaking at the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) yesterday, True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller said that her party was different from Turkey’s other political parties, pledging that it would keep all its promises after coming to power in next month’s elections. Criticizing the rival Republican People’s Party (CHP), she stated that the public stances of various CHP deputy candidates were at odds with each other. “One of them says he opposes the International Monetary Fund, and the other says that it’s good for Turkey to continue cooperating with the IMF,” said Ciller. “This mixed message is incomprehensible.” She also criticized the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the frontrunner in some opinion polls, charging that it lacked a prime minister candidate should it come to power. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the AKP’s leader, has been banned from running as a deputy, which would produce an unprecedented and unclear situation should the AKP win a plurality in Parliament. /Milliyet/[05] BAYKAL REBUFFS AKP CLAIMSDeclaring that the Republican People’s Party (CHP) had no “special ties” with anybody, CHP leader Deniz Baykal yesterday firmly denied claims from the rival Justice and Development Party (AKP) that his party had a special relationship with a particular Turkish media group. “Everyone should lay all their cards on the table, since democracy is based on transparency,” added Baykal. “The CHP hasn’t made a ‘special bargain’ with anyone.” /Milliyet/[06] ERDOGAN: “THE AKP WON’T BE HELD BACK BY THIS CLOSURE CASE”Responding yesterday to news that Turkey’s chief prosecutor had asked the Constitutional Court to close his party down, Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish democracy had once again been dealt a serious setback. “Filing such an motion mere days before elections has clear significance,” said Erdogan. “However, these kinds of efforts won’t affect our party either legally or politically. We will continue to walk on our way together with the citizens.” Meanwhile, Erdogan, accompanied by AKP Deputy Chairmen Vecdi Gonul and Yasar Yakis, last night attended a dinner hosted by Ireland’s ambassador to Turkey. At the occasion, which the 14 other EU member states’ ambassadors also attended, Erdogan reportedly expressed his party’s views and told of its policies should it come to power in the Nov. 3 elections. /Turkiye/[07] GUREL-FISCHER MEETING HOPEFUL ON TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP PROSPECTSDuring talks in Berlin yesterday with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, Turkish Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel reportedly received assurances that Germany would do its utmost to support Turkey’s European Union membership bid. Fischer told Gurel that Germany would push at December’s EU Copenhagen summit for Turkey to receive a date to start its accession negotiations as soon as possible, reports say. In related news, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder reportedly told EU Term President Denmark’s Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen that Germany favored Turkey getting a date at the December summit. /Milliyet/[08] BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER STRAW: ”WE SUPPORT TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP”Speaking at a press conference yesterday, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said that Great Britain hoped the EU would set a date at December’s Copenhagen summit for Turkey’s accession talks to begin. “We want to see Turkey, which has taken giant steps towards full membership and passed rapid political reforms, receiving a date at the Copenhagen summit,” said Straw.[09] IRAQI TRADE MINISTER VISITS TURKEYIraqi Trade Minister Mohammed Mehdi Saleh yesterday arrived in Istanbul to participate in an Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Permanent Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (ISEDAK) meeting. Saleh told reporters that Iraq was ready to cooperate with Turkey in every field, adding that he was pleased with Turkey’s opposition to a US military campaign against his country. /Cumhuriyet/[10] NECIRVAN BARZANI ARRIVES IN ANKARA, SAYS HE WANTS TO IMPROVE IKDP- TURKISH RELATIONSNecirvan Barzani, the nephew of Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) leader Massoud Barzani as well as prime minister of the so-called Kurdistan regional government, yesterday arrived in Turkey together with IKDP international relations chief Hoshyar Zabari to hold a series of meetings with Turkish Foreign Ministry officials. Speaking to reporters at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport, the two northern Iraqi officials stated that they were visiting in order to exchange views with Turkish officials on the latest developments in northern Iraq. Remarking that the IKDP wanted to improve its relations with Turkey, Barzani said, “I don’t believe that the situation in the region is out of Turkey’s control. The IKDP always respects Turkey’s national interests and understands its concerns.” /Star/[11] CHIEF PROSECUTOR SEEKS CLOSURE OF AKPHigh Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Sabih Kanadoglu yesterday filed a motion at the Constitutional Court seeking the closure of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) on the grounds that the party had failed to obey completely the decision of the top court. At the beginning of this year, the Constitutional Court ordered AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down as a party founding member and gave him six months to leave. Last week, Erdogan gave up his party founding member position but retained his post as chairman. In a separate case, an Ankara court judge yesterday ordered police to bring Erdogan to court to face charges of illicit earnings. He had failed to appear at two previous hearings. The next hearing is set for Dec. 25, well after the Nov. 3 general elections. /All Papers/[12] OZILHAN: “TURKEY’S ECONOMY HAS FUMBLED”Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) Chairman Tuncay Ozilhan yesterday say that though Turkey had been very successful in football, it had failed both politically and economically. “The best thing to do now would be to save Turkey from this crisis situation,” he stated. Addressing the opening of the 11th National Quality Congress in Istanbul, Ozilhan said, “In order to promote Turkey as a brand worldwide, we need to put our policy, economy and international relations back on track.” Also speaking at the congress, prominent scholar and author Francis Fukuyama predicted that the European Union would raise its barriers to enlargement, thus making it more difficult for other countries to join the Union, including Turkey. Pointing to Turkey’s recent reforms, Fukuyama stated that the EU had no good reason to exclude Turkey. /Turkiye/[13] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[14] THE CLOUDS OF WAR BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)Columnist Fikret Bila writes on Turkey’s stance on the northern Iraq issue and recent developments regarding US plans to strike Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:“Recent statements from US President George W. Bush indicate that the Bush administration is willing to try diplomacy ‘one more time’ in the hope that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will disarm and pledge to give up all his weapons of mass destruction. Bush's remarks gave the strongest signs to date that the US could accept Saddam's remaining in power if he complied with the UN disarmament resolutions. Which brings this question to mind: Are the clouds of war gathered over Iraq now dispersing? Reading Bush’s comments, the answer would probably be ‘yes.’ However, if we look at the ongoing US military preparations, our response to such a question would definitely be ‘no.’ Why is the Bush administration acting so apparently contradictorily? Is this just a strategic tactic, or is Bush really planning to alter his ‘zero tolerance’ Iraq policy? Ankara is quite pleased with Bush’s recent statements. There are no countries besides Britain which support a military operation in Iraq, since US has failed to win widespread international support. However, it’s still too early to say that Bush has abandoned his plans to strike Iraq. The most important figure during this critical juncture in history is surely Saddam Hussein himself. If he shows no inclination to live up to the UN demands, then everything might be turned upside down, once again destroying the world’s hopes for a peaceful solution. If we look at the situation from Ankara’s point of view, wee see that Washington’s diplomatic efforts are extremely important to Turkey. Meanwhile, Ankara is closely following the latest developments in northern Iraq. Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel yesterday stated that Turkey has troops deployed in northern Iraq in order to protect its own security and national interests. ‘The world is well aware why Turkey has troops deployed in the region,’ said Gurel. ‘We can stockpile more weapons and ammunition there if our country’s national interests require us to do so. This has nothing to do with US policy on Iraq, it is a purely national matter. Our main objective is to block certain groups’ attempts to establish an independent Kurdish state in the region. Everybody remembers how certain groups tried to take advantage of the power vacuum which emerged in northern Iraq in the wake of the Gulf War. Turkey has been fighting against terrorists for years, which are headed by such groups in northern Iraq. I wish the Baghdad administration could have total control over the region so as to eliminate such groups. However, it doesn’t. That’s why Turkey has to take its own measures to protect its territorial integrity and national security.’ In brief, Ankara is closely watching both the US and northern Iraq, and it considers its northern Iraq policy a separate issue from US plans to oust Saddam Hussein.’ [15] POLITICS’ TEST OF THE LAW BY MUSTAFA BALBAY (CUMHURIYET)Columnist Mustafa Balbay comments on relationship between politics and the law. A summary of his column is as follows:“Here are my initial thoughts concerning the legal action seeking the closure of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). The situation is quite clear, but let’s summarize it thusly: 1. Just after the AKP was established, the High Court of Appeals’ chief prosecutor applied to the Constitutional Court, arguing, ‘The newly established AKP’s leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is a person who was sentenced under Turkish Penal Code [TCK] Article 312. According to the laws in force, a person who was sentenced under this article cannot be a founding member or leader of a party. Do what is necessary.’ 2. The Constitutional Court evaluated the situation immediately and made the following decision on April 19: The application of the High Court of Appeals chief prosecutor is correct. It’s not right for him to be a founding member. This situation must be rectified within six months. 3 On Oct. 19 this six-month period granted to the AKP came to an end, during which time its administrators hashed out the issue in detail. One of the opinions expressed was, ‘We’re moving towards winning power, let’s not face off with the judiciary. Let Erdogan resign from his posts as founding member and leader. If necessary, we can eventually convene a general assembly and re-elect him leader, or another of our allies can take up this duty.’ But others replied, ‘No, this would be unnecessary. Let him resign only from his post as founding member. If he quits his post as leader, our rise to the top would be threatened. 4. In the end, the second opinion won out. The AKP’s decision was conveyed to the office of the chief prosecutor two days ago. The chief prosecutor had two alternatives: Would he make his decision according to the person, or according to the law? He chose the second alternative. He reasoned that the laws should be applicable to everybody and that one cannot talk about the ‘rule of law’ if the laws bend according to the person concerned. 5. There will be various responses towards this initiative. Expect to hear this a lot: - Democracy in Turkey has yet to be settled. Are we going to join the European Union with such a democracy? We sincerely hope that there won’t be any party closure filings in this country and that our political parties, which are an indispensable element of democracy, take firm root. Who bears the greatest responsibility for making this a reality? The political parties… If politicians treat the parties with favoritism, will it ever end? 6. Let’s recall three well-known examples from Europe: - The racist leader in Austria proved incapable of being elected as prime minister as a result of pressure from its fellow EU countries. - The Basque party Batasuna in Spain was closed by that country’s Constitutional Court, as it failed to condemn an ETA attack which left two people dead. - Britain’s Northern Ireland Parliament was suspended for not taking the necessary measures against an espionage scandal. There is a lesson that we should take from these examples: Democracy is a regime of rules. If you interpret the rules however you see fit, or make any decision you want, other parties will make up their own rules, and this can hardly be called a democracy. 7. There will be elections on Nov. 3. Two important parties participating in the elections, the AKP and the Democratic People Party (DEHAP), are at odds with the law. If a party runs the risk of violating the law, that means that it’s lost control. The AKP has described the True Path Party (DYP) as ‘adventurous,’ the Motherland Party (ANAP) as ‘dark,’ and the Democratic Left Party (DSP) as ‘a threat to the regime.’ If these harsh descriptions aren’t mere ploys to get more votes, all the parties should defend ‘democracy based on the law’ and condemn tricks against the law. What we see now is a political test of the law.” ARCHIVE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js"> </script> Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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