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Turkish Press Review, 03-09-22Turkish 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 morning22.09.2003FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS CLINTON IN DUBAIPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently in Dubai attending the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, yesterday met with former US President Bill Clinton. Erdogan told reporters that the Iraq issue and the Middle East conflict had been taken up during their talks, adding that Clinton said that he supported Turkish troop deployment in Iraq. In addition, the premier met with Peter Woicke, the head of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the IMF’s private sector lending arm. He is also set to meet today with IMF Director General Horst Koehler. /Turkiye/[02] GUL TO ATTEND UN MEETINGS IN NEW YORKForeign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday flew to New York to attend the 58th annual meetings of the United Nations General Assembly. Gul is expected to address the gathering on Friday. Additionally, he is scheduled to meet with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as well as 30 of his counterparts from other countries, including the US, Britain, China and Greece. Before leaving, Gul told reporters at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport that Turkey would greatly welcome a new UN resolution paving the way for Iraq troop deployment, adding however, that his government would make its own decision. Remarking that Turkey felt more responsibility on the issue than other countries, as Iraq was one of its neighbors, Gul said that Ankara wanted to help the Iraqis restore peace to their country. /All Papers/[03] CABINET TO CONVENE TODAYThe Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to meet today. After completing his contacts in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, Erdogan will return to Turkey this afternoon whereupon he is set to attend the meeting. The Iraq issue is expected to be the focus of today’s gathering. /Star/[04] CEM REELECTED TO NEW TURKEY PARTY HELMThe New Turkey Party (NTP) yesterday held its first convention in Ankara. In an election of party administrators, former Foreign Minister Ismail Cem was reelected to the NTP helm. Addressing the gathering, Cem charged that Turkey was being dragged into turmoil. Criticizing the government’s policy on Iraq, Cem alleged that decisions were being made with the permission of tribal leaders and sheikhs. /Sabah/[05] BAYKAL CRITICIZES AKP’S PRIVATIZATION POLICIESSpeaking at a regional congress of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) yesterday, Deniz Baykal criticized the privatization policies of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. “They say that the state will withdraw from education, ending its involvement in that area,” said Baykal. “How can they say this in a country in which 15 million students go to school through the help of scholarships?” Also touching on the Iraq troop deployment issue, Baykal said that the government shouldn’t send troops to Iraq without the United Nations first passing a resolution. /Hurriyet/[06] BABACAN, US TREASURY’S SNOW INDICATE PROGRESS ON LOAN DEALState Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan, who is currently in Dubai to attend annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, yesterday briefed reporters on his meetings there. Babacan said that there was no problem concerning an $8.5 billion US loan, adding that this matter was not related to the issue of Turkey sending troops to Iraq. “The process [of loan talks] is ongoing,” he said. “There won’t be any delay on the loan.” Babacan added that Ankara could also get a loan from other countries, but that conditions of the US loan were more suitable and favorable. “Our full implementation of our IMF-supported economic program has made the economy more resistant to shocks both domestic and foreign,” he said. He also stated that he had met with Brazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci Filho and that they had had the chance to discuss both countries’ economic programs. In related news, US Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor said on Saturday that a final deal on the loan could be signed by Babacan and US Treasury Secretary John Snow on Monday. /All papers/[07] CONSTITUTIONAL COURT HEAD TRAVELS TO STRASBOURG TO MEET EHCR PRESIDENTConstitutional Court Chief Justice Mustafa Bumin yesterday travelled to Strasbourg to meet with Luzius Wildhaber, the president of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). During their meeting, they are expected to discuss legal human rights reforms. Bumin will be accompanied by six of his Constitutional Court colleagues during his visit. /Cumhuriyet/[08] VERHEUGEN: “THERE ARE CIRCLES OPPOSED TO TURKEY’S EU BID, BUT ITS REFORMS SHOULD BE COMPLETED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE”Guenter Verheugen, the European Union’s commissioner for enlargement, said yesterday that Turkey could join the Union after carrying out certain needed reforms. There are some circles in Turkey who are opposed to the nation’s EU bid, added Verheugen, but notwithstanding this the reforms should be completed as soon as possible. However, he stated that the EU needed to make structural changes in order to accept Turkey with its large population, adding that the EU’s enlargement process would not continue forever. /Cumhuriyet/[09] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS[10] BARGAINING OVER THE PKK BY ASLI AYDINTASBAS (SABAH)Columnist Asli Aydintasbas writes on talks between Ankara and Washington on the PKK_KADEK terrorist issue. A summary of her column is as follows:“I think that the recent negotiations on the PKK issue between Turkey and the US have left a bad taste in the mouth of the Turkish public, as if our countries are bargaining over the issue, thus damaging the credibility of our partnership. The American side has made it clear that eliminating the PKK_KADEK presence in northern Iraq isn’t one of its military priorities, although they eventually want to end the activities of the terrorist group to help establish peace and stability in the region. Washington is also willing to bide its time to watch developments in the wake of our recent law offering amnesty to PKK terrorists in the hope of integrating them into society. However, if necessary, Washington is planning to launch new initiatives next year to force the PKK militants to disarm. Furthermore, Washington expects Ankara to protect the legal political sphere given to the political movement which we might call ‘Kurdish nationalism,’ so as to encourage PKK terrorists to lay down their arms and join a legitimate political formation. Although Ankara doesn’t oppose this strategy, it also wants the disarmament process to begin as soon as possible, since its concerns rose earlier this month when PKK leaders announced they were abandoning a four-year ceasefire with Turkey. In truth, the negotiations over the PKK issue seem to be on the right track. However, I don’t think that the public understands what’s really going on between our officials. First of all, people believe that the PKK business and possible Turkish troop deployments are two intertwined, inseparable issues. Turkish people think that Washington is blackmailing Ankara on this issue. If you ask the man on the street, Washington actually doesn’t care about the PKK presence in the region but is only trying to force Turkey to send its troops to Iraq. However, as a matter of fact, both sides share common views, recognizing the PKK_KADEK as a terrorist organization whose activities must be brought to an end. There’s no doubt that in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration has fought against most terrorist organizations worldwide. However, the devil lies in the details. Despite our common views, Ankara and Washington are likely to suffer certain problems in the future because the US generals in the region have an almost autonomous status. Their priority is to find Saddam Hussein. The question here is whether or not Washington will be able to persuade its generals to take effective moves to crack down on the PKK.” 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 |