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Turkish Press Review, 03-09-19Turkish 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 morning19.09.2003ERDOGAN: “OUR GOVERNMENT USHERED IN A NEW ERA FOR TURKEY” PREMIER TO ATTEND IMF-WORLD BANK MEETINGS IN DUBAI GUL: “TURKEY SHOULD SEIZE ITS EU OPPORTUNITY” NSC TO CONVENE TODAY; DEPLOYMENT ISSUE ON AGENDA GERMAN CHANCELLOR ENDORSES 2004 START TO TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION TALKS PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT SAMPAIO HAILS NEW BANK’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO BILATERAL ECONOMIC TIES CICEK: “LAW AND JUSTICE ARE AS ESSENTIAL AS THE AIR WE BREATHE” US AMBASSADOR EDELMAN: “PKK_KADEK IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION” TRNC GENERAL ELECTIONS SET FOR DEC. 14 DENKTAS TELLS UNITED NATIONS THAT MINES MUST BE CLEARED FROM BUFFER ZONE AT COE GATHERING IN ANTALYA, ARMENAN OFFICIAL CALLS FOR “UNFORTUNATE HISTORICAL INCIDENTS” TO BE FORGOTTEN MERCAN: “SOURCE, TRANSIT AND TARGET COUNTRIES MUST WORK TOGETHER TO CONTROL ILLEGAL MIGRATION” NINTH INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE FAIR OPENS IN ISTANBUL TURKMEN CHAPOOK: “IRAQ’S GOVERNING COUNCIL DOESN’T WANT TROOPS FROM ANY COUNTRY” CITING THE EU’S FAILURE TO CONDEMN PKK_KADEK, TURKEY REJECTS REVISED TERRORIST GROUP LIST IMF PREDICTS 5.3% GROWTH FOR TURKEY THIS YEAR TREASURY UNDERSECRETARY CANAKCI: “THERE IS NO DEBT ROLLOVER PROBLEM” FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... SCHROEDER AND BAYKAL BY HASAN CEMAL (MILLIYET)CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “OUR GOVERNMENT USHERED IN A NEW ERA FOR TURKEY”Speaking at a seminar on public relations and political communication yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government had ushered in a new era for Turkey. “We are all striving to serve our nation,” said Erdogan. He said that as fighting corruption was a top goal for the AKP, it had not interfered in the work of Parliament’s Anticorruption Commission. Erdogan also touted recent positive economic developments. /Turkiye/[02] PREMIER TO ATTEND IMF-WORLD BANK MEETINGS IN DUBAIPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled today to travel to Dubai, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to attend joint International Monetary Fund-World Bank meetings, the first such gathering to take place in the Middle East. Erdogan is expected to meet with IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler, World Bank President James Wolfenshon and Donald Johnson, head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), before returning on Monday. /Sabah/[03] GUL: “TURKEY SHOULD SEIZE ITS EU OPPORTUNITY”A new government body known as the Group for the European Union chaired by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday held its first meeting. The group, whose other members include Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu and Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, was established to monitor the nation’s implementation of EU accession reforms. Before the meeting, Gul told reporters that Turkey had legislated radical reforms on its path to the Union. “Now it’s time to see their implementation,” said the minister. Stressing that Turkey was in a critical period in the runup to this fall’s EU Progress Report on Turkey, Gul called for state institutions to work in particular to tackle certain human rights problems. Meanwhile, the group decided to establish a sub-commission headed by Ambassador Murat Sungar. /Turkiye/[04] NSC TO CONVENE TODAY; DEPLOYMENT ISSUE ON AGENDAThe National Security Council chaired by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is set to convene today at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. Today’s meeting is expected to focus on a comprehensive consideration of whether or not to send Turkish troops to Iraq. /All Papers/[05] GERMAN CHANCELLOR ENDORSES 2004 START TO TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION TALKSSpeaking at a meeting on the European Union in Passau, Germany yesterday, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder endorsed a start to Turkey’s European Union accession talks in 2004, after the EU’s December summit. “Turkey has been vying for European Union membership for 40 years,” said Schroeder. “Domestic politics are no good reason to hold back its EU aspirations.” He added that Turkey’s membership might also help the Middle East peace process move forward. /Turkiye/[06] PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT SAMPAIO HAILS NEW BANK’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO BILATERAL ECONOMIC TIESVisiting Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio yesterday attended a luncheon given by Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler. Sampaio also attended the opening ceremony of BankEuropa, a new bank entering the Turkish market in league with the Banco Comercial Portugues (BCP) Group, one of Portugal’s biggest financial institutions. Saying that he was very pleased to be in Turkey, Sampaio predicted a rise in commercial ties between the two countries with this new initiative. He also visited the Neve Shalon Synagogue, stressing that the religion did not constitute an obstacle to Turkey’s European Union membership. / Anatolia News Agency, Cumhuriyet/[07] CICEK: “LAW AND JUSTICE ARE AS ESSENTIAL AS THE AIR WE BREATHE”Speaking at a swearing-in ceremony for new judges and prosecutors yesterday, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek told the new officials that he believed they would do much to advance the rule of law in Turkey. He added that law and justice were as essential as the air we breathe. /Turkiye/[08] US AMBASSADOR EDELMAN: “PKK_KADEK IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION”US Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman yesterday met with Mehmet Agar, a parliamentarian and leader of the True Path Party (DYP). Speaking to reporters afterwards, Edelman stated that there was no ambiguity in the US stance on the KADEK issue since Washington had added the group to its official list of terrorist organizations soon after it changed its name from the PKK. Asked about Washington’s evident failure to take any concrete steps to eliminate the PKK_KADEK presence in northern Iraq, Edelman said that US forces suffered from a surfeit of tasks in postwar Iraq and so were unable to do everything at once. “Turkish-US negotiations on this issue will continue,” said the US ambassador. “With good will on both sides, I’m sure our countries will make good progress.” /Cumhuriyet/[09] TRNC GENERAL ELECTIONS SET FOR DEC. 14The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Supreme Board of Elections (YSK) announced yesterday that general elections would be held on Dec. 14. Elections are held every five years in the TRNC. Bans on campaigning in the two months prior to elections will go into force on Oct. 14. /Anatolia News Agency/[10] DENKTAS TELLS UNITED NATIONS THAT MINES MUST BE CLEARED FROM BUFFER ZONETurkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas yesterday reiterated to the United Nations that he sought the clearing of mines from Cyprus’ buffer zone. Speaking to reporters, Denktas said his government wanted to start clearing mines in the vicinity around Lefkosa because this was the most heavily travelled crossing area since the borders opened this spring. Asked if a joint TRNC-Greek Cypriot commission would be set up to look into the matter, Denktas said that such issues should be decided by both sides. /Anatolia News Agency/[11] AT COE GATHERING IN ANTALYA, ARMENAN OFFICIAL CALLS FOR “UNFORTUNATE HISTORICAL INCIDENTS” TO BE FORGOTTENThe Council of (CoE) yesterday began its Third Ministerial Colloquy of southern Caucasian countries participating in the STAGE (Support for Transition in the Arts and Culture of Greater Europe) project, hosted by Turkey’s coastal city of Antalya. The Caucasian countries in question are Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, and Turkey took part in the meeting as one of five observer nations. Speaking at the meeting, Georgian Culture Minister Sesili Gogiberidze briefed participants on his country’s current and future cultural and artistic activities. He added that Georgia had benefited from its cooperation with the COE. For his part, Armenian Deputy Culture Minister Karen Arisakesyan said that cooperation between intellectuals and scientists would help to prevent disputes and improve cross-cultural dialogue. Arisakesyan stated that good neighborly relations were possible if nations understood each other and exert common efforts towards that goal. Stating that all nations should establish friendly relations, Arisakesyan said that unfortunate incidents which occurred in the past should be forgotten. /Anatolia News Agency/[12] MERCAN: “SOURCE, TRANSIT AND TARGET COUNTRIES MUST WORK TOGETHER TO CONTROL ILLEGAL MIGRATION”The Council of Europe!’s Parliamentary Assembly (COEPA) Sub-Commission for Refugees convened in Istanbul yesterday. Speaking to the gathering, COEPA Turkish Delegation Chairman Murat Mercan said that there was a need for cooperation among source, transit and target countries. Mercan said that Anatolians had accepted people from other countries to their land long before anyone knew the words “immigrant” and “refugee,” adding that the issue was a global problem. He further stated that as of May approximately 11,000 refugees were present in Turkey, and that more than 90% of these were from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. /Anatolia News Agency/[13] NINTH INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE FAIR OPENS IN ISTANBULThe ninth International Automotive By-industry, Spare Part, Accessories and After-Sale Equipment Fair began yesterday in Istanbul. Around 300 companies from such countries as Germany, Russia, Italy, Japan, Iran, Singapore, Poland, Taiwan and China are participating in the fair, which ends on Sunday. /Anatolia News Agency/[14] TURKMEN CHAPOOK: “IRAQ’S GOVERNING COUNCIL DOESN’T WANT TROOPS FROM ANY COUNTRY”An ethnic Turkmen member of Iraqi’s Governing Council yesterday gave a conflicting message on how the interim government views the prospect of foreign troop deployment. During a recent visit to Ankara, Songul Chapook (Cabuk) had called on Turkey to send its troops to Iraq. However, appearing on television yesterday in Kirkuk, she said, “Our council isn’t seeking troops from any country period, Turkey included.” Chapook, who did not attend last week’s Turkmen convention and does not belong to the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF), added, “I’m a Turkmen, but first of all an Iraqi.” /Turkiye/[15] CITING THE EU’S FAILURE TO CONDEMN PKK_KADEK, TURKEY REJECTS REVISED TERRORIST GROUP LISTThe European Union yesterday announced that all of its member candidate countries except Turkey had approved its recently revised official list of terrorist groups. Ankara has refused to approve the list since it failed to include the terrorist PKK_KADEK. Signatory countries to the list pledge to take EU-proposed measures against the organizations listed. It is the first time that Ankara has refused to sign onto the EU list, but not the first time the EU has failed to recognize PKK/KADEK under either name as terrorist. /Cumhuriyet/[16] IMF PREDICTS 5.3% GROWTH FOR TURKEY THIS YEARTurkey’s economy will grow 5.3% this year and 5% in 2004, predicted the IMF’s semiannual report on the global economy released yesterday. The report also predicted that the nation’s inflation would fall to 26% by the end of this year and 13.4% next year. Though it praised Ankara for sticking to the IMF-supported economic program and urged it to continue, the report added that interest rates remained too high. /Milliyet/[17] TREASURY UNDERSECRETARY CANAKCI: “THERE IS NO DEBT ROLLOVER PROBLEM”Treasury Undersecretary Ibrahim Canakci said yesterday that helped by a recent considerable drop in public sector debt stock, there was no problem in rolling over Turkey’s public sector debt. Canakci also said that sixth review of Ankara’s International Monetary Fund-supported economic program, due to begin next week, would be completed on time. /Milliyet/[18] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[19] SCHROEDER AND BAYKAL BY HASAN CEMAL (MILLIYET)Columnist Hasan Cemal comments on how both German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s and opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal approach the Iraq issue. A summary of his column is as follows:“Statesmen shouldn’t get stuck in the past, because being a slave to the past blocks one’s road to the future. However, we mustn’t forget the mistakes of the past so as not to repeat them. Therefore statesmen should treat the past properly in planning for the future. I thought about these issues while reading recent statements by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, leader of Germany’s social democrats. He harshly opposed the Iraq war and criticized US President George W. Bush, and he blocked the US’ bid for international legitimacy for its war through the UN. Then, however, the US attacked Iraq and overturned Saddam Hussein’s regime, but a new one has yet to be established. The US has been neither successful nor unsuccessful, and now it’s in a bind. Speaking to The Wall Street Europe Journal yesterday, Schroeder said that both those who opposed the war and those who favored it shared a common responsibility, namely working to make Iraq’s reconstruction succeed. ‘The idea that it’s enough to follow the mixed developments in Iraq is wrong,’ he added. ‘Our common responsibility means uniting to support democracy and development in Iraq. We must fulfill the requirements of this responsibility, and it’s no time for finger-pointing.’ Schroeder openly called for cooperation in Iraq. Another interesting point is that Schroeder didn’t link this cooperation with a UN Security Council resolution. This development might influence France too, and the UN might pass a consensus resolution on Iraq. Both this probability and the change in Berlin can give Ankara more room to maneuver and take some pressure off the government. Iraq is too important to be left to its own fate. The US’ failure and the chaos and anarchy in Iraq would only warm the hearts of terrorists supporting Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and radical fundamentalists. It’s only reasonable to pave the road for stability and democracy in Iraq and contribute to it. In sum, Schroeder was against the war and didn’t cooperate with the US during it, but since the war ended, he’s called for cooperation for democracy in Iraq. This stance reminded me of how Republican People’s Party (CHP). CHP leader Deniz Baykal was against the war, and I wonder about his view now. Is he stuck in the past or can he look to the future? What kind of an Iraq vision does he have? Or does he have one at all?” 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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