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Turkish Press Review, 03-08-19Turkish 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> e-mail : newspot@byegm.gov.tr <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning19.08.2003CRITICAL WEEK FOR TURKEY’S IRAQ POLICY ZIYAL MEETS TOP PAKISTANI DIPLOMAT TO DISCUSS POSSIBLE IRAQ TROOP DEPLOYMENT FIRST US CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION ARRIVES IN ANKARA IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL STRESSES BILATERAL TIES WITH TROOP-DEPLOYING COUNTRIES, SAYS TURKISH FORCES COULD GO TO WESTERN IRAQ US WARNS TALABANI TO WATCH HIS WORDS ON TURKEY AKP’S IPEK: “PARLIAMENT MAY RE-CONVENE ANY TIME NOW” US ADM. JOHNSON: “NATO’S MILITARY MUST BE TRANSFORMED INTO A RAPID-RESPONSE FORCE” DENKTAS: “IF WE GIVE UP OUR STATE, TURKISH CYPRIOTS WOULD BE RELEGATED TO MINORITY STATUS” CABINET DISCUSSES PROBLEMS OF QUAKE-STRICKEN SAKARYA CIVIL SERVANTS AWAIT GOVERNMENT’S SALARY OFFER TREASURY OFFICIALS VISIT WASHINGTON TO DISCUSS $8.5 BLN LOAN JOINT STATE-BUSINESS DELEGATION TO VISIT LIBYA IN SEPTEMBER FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... IN THE STRUGGLE FOR MODERNITY, WHERE ARE WE NOW? BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE) NEED FOR A CHANGE IN MENTALITY BY ALI BAYRAMOGLU (YENI SAFAK)CONTENTS
[01] CRITICAL WEEK FOR TURKEY’S IRAQ POLICYAccording to sources familiar with the matter, this week is shaping up as a critical one for the government’s emerging policy on Iraq, even as important discussions continue over possible Turkish troop deployments there. A delegation from the General Staff Office, Foreign Ministry and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), plus a separate delegation made up of parliamentarians and members of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), are both set to pay visits to Iraq at the end of this week. The two delegations are set to meet with Iraqi authorities and US military officials there. In addition, Iraqi local officials are also expected to visit Ankara in the coming days. /Star/[02] ZIYAL MEETS TOP PAKISTANI DIPLOMAT TO DISCUSS POSSIBLE IRAQ TROOP DEPLOYMENTForeign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal yesterday met with his visiting Pakistani counterpart Riaz Khokhar to discuss the prospect of Islamabad sending troops to Iraq, a measure Turkey is also seriously considering. Both nations have been requested to do so by the United States. During their talks, the two discussed details of the issue, with Ziyal reportedly saying that sending troops would enhance Pakistan’s international prestige. For his part, Khokhar said that if Pakistan decides to send soldiers, he expected that the US would meet their expenses, something the US has pledged to partially do for Polish soldiers. Speaking after the meeting, Ziyal stressed that they had discussed a number of issues, including regional and bilateral issues and recent developments in Iraq. He underlined that Turkish-Pakistani relations were strong. /Milliyet/[03] FIRST US CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION ARRIVES IN ANKARAA United States congressional delegation led by Representative John Murtha, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, yesterday arrived in Ankara. The delegation came to Turkey via Iraq to discuss recent developments in the region with Turkish military officials. The delegation, the first of two separate congressional groups due in Ankara this week, also includes Representative John Larson, a member of the House Armed Services Committee as well as the Caucus on Armenian Issues. /Cumhuriyet/[04] IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL STRESSES BILATERAL TIES WITH TROOP-DEPLOYING COUNTRIES, SAYS TURKISH FORCES COULD GO TO WESTERN IRAQAppearing on news channel NTV, Ibrahim Al-Jaffari, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the Iraqi Governing Council, yesterday offered his views on planned foreign troop deployments in Iraq. Stressing that the council considers the deployments a serious and sensitive matter, Al-Jaffari said, “The key factor our council must take into consideration is Iraq’s bilateral relations with the country in question. The other significant thing is both Iraq’s and the region’s sensitivities. In order to head off future problems, these issues should be given close attention.” During even the 1990s, Turkey kept diplomatic channels open with Iraq and urged it to take steps to rejoin the international community. Meanwhile, council member Adnan Pachaci stated that according to his sources, Turkish troops would be deployed in western Iraq. /Cumhuriyet/[05] US WARNS TALABANI TO WATCH HIS WORDS ON TURKEYIn the wake of Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK) leader Jalal Talabani’s recent declaration of opposition to Turkish troops deploying in Iraq, the US has reportedly warned him to be more careful what he says about Turkey, stressing that it was Washington which requested the troop deployments. “The US wants Turkey to participate into the Iraq stabilization force, and that’s what’s important at the present,” said an anonymous official from the US Embassy in Ankara. /Cumhuriyet/[06] AKP’S IPEK: “PARLIAMENT MAY RE-CONVENE ANY TIME NOW”Speaking to reporters yesterday, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Parliament Group Deputy Chairman Haluk Ipek said that party leaders were urging their deputies to be ready for an extraordinary session at the beginning of next month. “Everybody is expecting an extraordinary session,” stated Ipek. “No date has been settled yet. It could be at any time next month.” Regarding what matters would face Parliament, Ipek said that a motion on sending troops to Iraq as well as a recently vetoed bill for the sale of state-owned former forestland might be taken up among other matters. Commenting on President Ahmet Necdet Sezer’s veto of the forestland bill, Ipek criticized the action. “The president can’t send a bill back to Parliament to be re-debated, as it was approved with more than 367 votes [a two-thirds majority],” said Ipek. “Instead he can either ask for a referendum or sent it on to the Official Gazette.” /All Papers/[07] US ADM. JOHNSON: “NATO’S MILITARY MUST BE TRANSFORMED INTO A RAPID-RESPONSE FORCE”NATO’s military units must be transformed into a rapid-response force, urged the alliance’s commander for Southern Europe yesterday. Speaking at the command handover ceremony at NATO’s Joint Command Southeast (JCSOUTHEAST) in Izmir, Johnson praised Turkish Republic founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as a model leader both as soldier and politician. In an apparent echo of recent remarks by Turkey’s Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit concerning Iraq, Johnson said Ataturk had stated that nobody should remain indifferent to trouble anywhere in the world, but rather should be concerned about it. NATO cannot deal with today’s threats as a reaction force only, he added, but must become a rapid-response force to developing situations. At the handover ceremony, departing commander Gen. Oktar Ataman told how though JCSOUTHEAST is due to be closed next year, NATO’s South Air Forces Command was due to be transferred from Naples, Italy to Izmir within two years. Incoming commander Gen. Orhan Yoney said the new command center would further the cause of peace, security, and stability in the region. /Anatolia News Agency/[08] DENKTAS: “IF WE GIVE UP OUR STATE, TURKISH CYPRIOTS WOULD BE RELEGATED TO MINORITY STATUS”Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas yesterday stated that a permanent resolution on Cyprus could only be reached by maintaining the two current separate states, warning that otherwise Turkish Cypriots would become relegated to a minority status. “We mustn’t forget that the Greek Cypriots make up 80% of the island’s total population,” said Denktas. “What we want is a settlement based on idea of two states, both of them permanent and well-established. [UN Secretary-General Kofi] Annan’s plan would not only eliminate our state but also cut the ties of Cyprus’ Turks with Turkey.” Meanwhile, in an attempt to restart the stalled peace talks over the island, Washington is reportedly planning to call on the two parties to hold new meetings in October, little more than eight months from Greek Cyprus’ scheduled May 2004 European Union accession. Sources stated that US Cyprus Special Coordinator Thomas Weston is expected to meet with Denktas and Greek Cypriot administration leader Tassos Papadopulos next month in Washington to prepare for the October meetings. /Turkiye/[09] CABINET DISCUSSES PROBLEMS OF QUAKE-STRICKEN SAKARYAThe Cabinet convened yesterday in Sakarya in Turkey’s northwest, the city hardest hit by the massive Aug. 17, 1999 Marmara earthquake. During the special meeting, the ministers’ discussion led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan centered on the city’s continuing problems in the long-term aftermath of the quake. Erdogan stressed that civil servants involved in corruption would face punishment. “Education in Sakarya will no longer take place in prefabricated shacks,” pledged Erdogan. “Within two years, prefabricated schools will be replaced with permanent structures.” Following the meeting, Erdogan attended the foundation-laying ceremonies for a new highway and mass housing projects as well as the opening ceremony for a new Ulker Cola Turka production facility in the city. /All Papers/[10] CIVIL SERVANTS AWAIT GOVERNMENT’S SALARY OFFERAs part of collective bargaining talks that began last week, government officials and civil servants’ union representatives are set to convene on Thursday. During this second meeting, the government is expected to make an offer to the unions for an increase in civil servants’ salaries next year. /Turkiye/[11] TREASURY OFFICIALS VISIT WASHINGTON TO DISCUSS $8.5 BLN LOANA delegation of three Treasury officials yesterday flew to Washington, DC. The delegation headed by Melih Nemli, the Treasury Undersecretariat’s director general for foreign trade, is set to hold three days of meetings with their US counterparts regarding the details of an $8.5 billion loan set to be extended to Turkey for its Iraq war economic losses. /Turkiye/[12] JOINT STATE-BUSINESS DELEGATION TO VISIT LIBYA IN SEPTEMBERState Minister Kursad Tuzmen yesterday said that a government trade delegation is scheduled to travel to Libya next month. Stressing that the visit aimed to boost bilateral trade relations, Tuzmen said businessmen urging Libyan companies to pay off their outstanding debts would also accompany the group, and that the issue was expected to be resolved during this visit. The announcement came amid Libyan efforts to end the sanctions on it and rejoin the international community, including an offer to pay compensation for the 1988 Lockerbie airplane bombing. /Turkiye/[13] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[14] IN THE STRUGGLE FOR MODERNITY, WHERE ARE WE NOW? BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on what Turkey’s priorities should be. A summary of his column is as follows:“For a long while now, we’ve been preoccupied with the Iraq issue. We’ve all democratically aired our views on the issue and eventually the state decided that we would send soldiers to Iraq. No matter which force is within Iraq, we would take an interest in it. Especially if the US is there, it would be impossible for us to remain impartial. If Ankara assumes an attitude at odds with Washington and rejects its strategic ally, the US would make certain irrevocable decisions. Now we stand on the brink of such a dilemma. I hope we won’t fall prey to it. We should certainly try to recover our relations with the US and meanwhile stress our interest in Iraq. However, this shouldn’t be our first priority. Instead, firstly we should push our European Union candidacy and implement the EU’s standards. When we succeed at this, we can be considered to be at the level of civilized modernity. Then Turkey will have its place in the sun, having reached the goal first set out by Ataturk. Quarreling with the US or sending soldiers to Iraq are second-order issues for Turkey. However, our constant move towards the West and winning the struggle for modernity would be turning points in our history. The line on which we now stand will be discussed in Brussels this October. Among the host of issues and problems we now face, I hope we don’t trip ourselves up.” [15] NEED FOR A CHANGE IN MENTALITY BY ALI BAYRAMOGLU (YENI SAFAK)Columnist Ali Bayramoglu writes about the need for a mentality change in Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows:“Democratization reforms, the shift of the periphery towards the center and the emerging interaction between the two are all developments long needed in Turkey. Despite certain setbacks, our country is effectively making progress on certain political and social issues. However, change is a multidimensional phenomenon. Modernity dictates institutional improvement, bridging the gap between the center and the periphery, and political and economic standardization. But just securing these won’t suffice to solve all our problems. There is yet another very crucial point, one which constitutes the hard nut of the issue: The need for a change in mentality. The grave contradiction between ‘ideas’ and ‘sheer interests’ is difficult to overcome in a social setting dominated by a patriarchal mentality and an overwhelmingly centralist political structure. In this order, interests turn ideas into mere tools. Thus, the power alliances are inevitably built not on an ideological basis but on shallow interests. Since Ottoman times, the Turkish political system has been plagued by this very contradiction. The problem is in fact related to our definition of power and expectations from it. It has to with the dominant imagery through which we perceive power not as a transforming force but rather as an instrument to distribute the vast resources of the state. The problem is closely related to the state’s perception of society, and, in turn, to society’s expectations from the state. The most important consequence of this contradiction is perhaps the failure of politics and politicians to effect the transition from a ‘community understanding’ to a ‘societal understanding.’ In other words, no matter what anyone says, this country’s politicians have no sense of what a society is. They lack a perspective which would embrace society in all its various and sundry elements. Instead, the state substitutes this understanding of society with an over-arching, obscure definition of ‘nation’ and ‘national will,’ thus papering over our differences. The agents of community politics – be they Kurds, Islamists, secularists, or urban or rural groups – then begin to seek to expand their own living space by worshipping power at the expense of others. This mentality must change before our country’s system can be reformed and a broad consensus achieved. But first the state should alter its understanding of society. Seeing society as an undifferentiated totality cannot secure a lasting rehabilitation of the system.” 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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