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Turkish Press Review, 04-02-25Turkish 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 morning25.02.2004FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] ISTANBUL TRUCK CRASH CAUSES DEATH, CHAOSNine people were killed and 22 others injured yesterday in Istanbul when a tanker truck carrying diesel fuel rammed into more than 20 vehicles on a crowded street of the metropolis. According to officials, the truck’s brakes failed, causing it to lose control and hit the other vehicles. Several vehicles burst into flames before their occupants could escape. Fire brigades used foam to prevent gas and diesel leaking from the tanker and cars from igniting. /All Papers/[02] ERDOGAN, SCHROEDER ATTEND OPENING CEREMONY OF POWER PLANT IN ADANAPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and visiting German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder yesterday attended the opening ceremony of a power plant in the southern province of Adana. The Sugozu plant, built with German funds of 1.5 billion euros, is currently the largest German investment in Turkey. “When we consider that in 1980-2002 the total sum of German investments in Turkey was $4.3 billion, we can better understand the significance of this new plant,” Erdogan told the ceremony. The premier stated that the plant would meet 7 percent of Turkey’s annual energy needs. “You are welcome to make use of German technology in setting up new power plants,” said Erdogan. For his part, Schroeder said that Turkey was an attractive country for investment, adding that he appreciated Ankara’s support in setting up the plant. /Milliyet/[03] GUL MEETS WITH RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTINDuring his current official visit to Moscow, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. Putin said that since Turkey’s ruling party formed a government in late 2002, Turkish-Russian relations had grown stronger. “Annual trade volume between our two countries recently rose 15-20%,” said the Russian president. “Including the suitcase trade and tourism, it has reached some $12 billion.” Pointing to Turkey’s sensitivity to terrorism, Gul praised its serious anti-terror efforts and urged its neighbors to trust and support Turkey in these. Gul afterwards met with Federation Council Speaker Sergey Mironov and then Moscow Mayor Yuri Lujkov. /All Papers/[04] ERDOGAN URGES MEDIA RESTRAINT IN CYPRUS TALKS COVERAGEAppearing on television yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the media to show voluntary restraint in its coverage of the current Cyprus negotiations. “The media should censor itself, since it could damage the negotiating process,” said Erdogan, adding, “Our government wants a resolution on the island by May,” referring to the scheduled accession date of Greek Cyprus. He further stated that if the sides fail to reach an agreement, then Ankara and Athens would intercede in the talks. “If agreement still proves elusive, then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will make a final decision,” the premier added. /Aksam/[05] CYPRUS TALKS TENSIONS MOUNTAccording to diplomatic sources, tension between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot representatives at the current peace talks mounted yesterday when the two sides came to loggerheads on certain key issues. Both sides refused to accept the timetable presented by UN Envoy Alvaro de Soto and asked the UN not to put pressure on them. The atmosphere of the talks grew especially tense after the Turkish side asked about Greek Cypriot plans to buy long- range missiles, to which Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos reportedly responded, “How can you ask this while you keep 25,000–30,000 Turkish soldiers on the island?” Papadopoulos left the negotiating hall before the other participants and without shaking hands. /Cumhuriyet/[06] ISRAEL’S PERES VISITS TURKEYFormer Israeli Prime Minister and current opposition leader Simon Peres yesterday arrived in Ankara at the invitation of Deniz Baykal, Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader. Upon his arrival at Esenboga Airport, Peres told reporters that during his contacts, he would exchange views with Turkish officials on various issues. Perez pointed out that Turkey’s modern structure was an unparalleled achievement among Muslim countries of the Middle East. He added that Turkey would serve as a bridge between the Middle East and the European Union when it becomes an EU member and would also play an active role in the Union. /Turkiye/[07] VERHEUGEN: “I BELIEVE TURKEY WILL FULFILL THE CRITERIA BY YEAR’S-END, BUT THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES”European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen said yesterday that he supported German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s recently reiterated positive stance towards Turkey’s EU membership bid. “The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the US served to raise Turkey’s strategic importance for Europe,” he said. “Turkey, as an EU member, might play an important role in Europe’s future political and economic security.” Verheugen further stated that he believed Ankara would fulfill the Copenhagen criteria by the end of this year, but cautioned that no one could guarantee full membership at the end of this process. /Milliyet/[08] FRENCH SENATORS PLEDGE SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIPA delegation from the French Senate’s European Union Commission yesterday visited Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission. During their meeting, the senators stressed that France had supported Turkey’s EU bid since 1963, adding that during this December’s EU summit they would strive to ensure that Ankara gets a date to begin talks with the Union. Commenting on German opposition party leader Angela Merkel’s recent proposal of “a special partnership” with Turkey in lieu of membership, one senator said, “We don’t want Turkey to get a special status, but rather a date for negotiations.” /Turkiye/[09] CIA HEAD TENET: “THE DHKP-C IS A THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES”In an annual public report on security threats to the United States, CIA Director George Tenet yesterday told the Senate Intelligence Committee that although radical Islamist terrorist groups still posed the greatest threat to the US, it would be a mistake to ignore leftist terrorist organizations, ones active particularly in Turkey, Latin America and Europe. Tenet cited the DHKP-C among the leftist terrorist groups which should not be forgotten, recalling that it was responsible for the killing of two Americans in Turkey. He also argued that despite recent successes in attacking al Qaeda's leadership, the network is still capable of “conducting an attack on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001” using its links to dozens of smaller extremist organizations in countries such as Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. /Cumhuriyet/[10] BAYKAL ANNOUNCES CHP MAYORAL CANDIDATES FOR LOCAL ELECTIONSSpeaking at a press conference yesterday, Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal announced his party’s mayoral candidates for local elections scheduled for March 28: Yilmaz Ates for Ankara, Sefa Sirmen for Istanbul and Ahmet Pristina for Izmir. Some party members who disagreed with the candidate choices held protests outside the press conference. /Aksam/[11] FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS[12] LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL BY TUFAN TURENC (HURRIYET)Columnist Tufan Turenc comments on hopeful developments in Turkey’s European Union membership bid. A summary of his column is as follows:“Last year both those who favor and oppose Turkey said, ‘Whatever Germany orders, happens. For this reason, Turkey must persuade German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.’ And Schroeder’s statements in Turkey this week show that he’s been persuaded. Actually I didn’t expect such a clear and determined stance from him. If our governing party avoids serious blunders and continues its policies, we will be successful. For me, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. However, nobody in Turkey should say, ‘If we can’t join the EU, it’s not the end of the world. We’ll just pursue other goals.’ We should single-mindedly focus on and work for EU membership. We should try to adopt the standards of European civilization. However, there’s one problem. As the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government considers the EU a guarantee for its staying in power, it has strived up to this point. It needs to avoid mistakes from now on. Its obsession with religion should be overcome. During his speeches on the EU, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan shouldn’t forget that he’s the leader of a secular country. We should separate Turkey’s status as an Islamic country from its relations with the EU, because recently Europe has reacted against political Islam. This movement started in France and is spreading across the continent. It has nothing to do with Turkey. For this reason, the AKP should advocate this stance because when Europe takes precautions against political Islam, it’s not treating Muslims disrespectfully. It just wants to protect its democracies against fanatical fundamentalists. Schroeder stated that Turkey’s membership negotiations might start in May or June 2005. We all should act very carefully and responsibly so there won’t be any unexpected hurdles on our road to EU membership. We have but one step left to reach our goal.” [13] MOSCOW MISUNDERSTANDINGS BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s visit to Moscow this week. A summary of his column is as follows:“The first Turkish foreign minister’s visit to Moscow in eight years shows that contacts between our countries are neither frequent enough nor close enough. Gul’s current visit is an important development in terms of addressing a deficiency in Turkish foreign policy. It’s difficult to understand why there was such a ‘break’ in visits and why the former governments didn’t see the need for any. On the other hand, there have recently been noticeable developments in Turkish-Russian relations: Bilateral trade has risen, new economic ties have been established, tourism is flourishing and agreements in various areas have been signed. Yet relations, especially political and strategic ties, are still lagging, and reciprocal trust hasn’t been established… Sinan Ogan, a Russia analyst at Ankara’s Eurasian Strategic Research Center (ASAM), says there is still a problem of understanding between Ankara and Moscow. One can see this lack of understanding in the Russian press. Turkey has been unable to counter an anti-Turkish campaign in the Russian press – due especially to events in Chechnya. As Ogan stresses, Turkey isn’t getting through to Russian intellectuals, the media or public opinion. For example Gul’s visit should be an opportunity to meet with nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and in good media settings… As he did during his visits to the US and Europe… Actually, both the necessary conditions and foundation for improving Turkish-Russian relations are available. Even if the prior foreign policy targets of the two countries are at variance, both have significant interests in establishing closer strategic relations. Relations with the US and Europe are foreign policy priorities for both Moscow and Ankara. Besides, Russia has a special interest in Asia and its ‘backyard.’ As Turkey has in its close neighbors… But Russia should have a particular role as a ‘balancing element’ in Turkish diplomacy. As a matter of fact, officials in Ankara stress the importance of the ‘Russian dimension in foreign policy.’ But there’s still the fact that Turkish-Russian relations aren’t ‘unproblematic’ and that serious obstacles remain to their development. The most important of these is Chechnya, the key issue overshadowing Turkish- Russian ties from the Russian point of view. Under its ‘fight against terrorism,’ Turkey is trying to allay Russia’s concerns on this matter. But in practice, Moscow is claiming that Ankara isn’t taking the necessary measures. In this area, mutual understanding should be established between what Ankara has done and Moscow’s expectations. One way of establishing this mutual understanding and trust is dialogue, and Gul’s visit is paving the way for this …” 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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