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Turkish Press Review, 04-05-10Turkish 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 morning10.05.2004FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] LEADERS MARK MOTHERS DAYA message issued by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday to mark Mothers Day praised the key societal role mothers play through raising children. “Arrangements should be made to improve the situation of women in society,” urged Sezer. In addition, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal also issued messages marking the occasion. /Sabah/[02] ERDOGAN ATTENDS GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY OF BOSPHORUS TUBE PROJECTPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended the groundbreaking ceremony of Marmaray, the new Istanbul Bosphorus tube passage project. Speaking at the ceremony, Erdogan explained that the project had been on the drawing boards for a decade but was only now going forward. “When this project is completed, railways will meet 27% of Istanbul’s transportation needs, not just 3%,” stated Erdogan. The project is expected to be completed in four years and to be paid for in 10. A number of international institutions are helping to finance the project, with the Japanese International Credit Bank already having allocated $815 million for it. /Aksam/[03] CHIRAC: “TURKEY’S EU HARMONIZATION WILL BE A LONG PROCESS”French President Jacques Chirac said yesterday that Turkey’s integration to European norms would take a long time but would ultimately be “desirable.” Speaking at a gathering to mark Europe day, Chirac said that Turkey had taken important steps to integrate with the European Union, “But,” he added, “it should work harder.” Stressing that the EU Commission’s report on Turkey this fall would make its situation clearer, Chirac underlined that Ankara’s negotiations would be hard and take a long time. "But [its accession] will happen and it is desirable for that to happen," he stated. /Milliyet/[04] DEPUTY PM SENER SPEAKS ON ECONOMY CONGRESS’ DECLARATIONSpeaking at a press conference yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener briefed reporters on the final declaration of last week’s Turkish Economy Congress. Sener stressed that income distribution and poverty were Turkey’s most pressing problems, adding that the nation’s short-term goal should be lifting people out of poverty, followed by income distribution like Portugal’s in the medium-term and one in line with European Union norms in the long-term. “The most efficient way to fight poverty is to create jobs,” said Sener. He further urged the reining in of the unregistered economy as well as tax cuts in order to boost investment and growth. “We should eliminate bureaucratic rules which discourage entrepreneurship,” added Sener. /Aksam/[05] BULGARIAN PREMIER OPENS ST. GEORGIA CHURCH IN EDIRNEAfter completion of its renovation, the St. Georgia Church in Edirne was reopened yesterday by Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Sakskoburggotski. After being welcomed by Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan at the Kapikule border gate with Bulgaria, the premier and Unakitan visited the Selimiye Mosque. Sakskoburggotski stated that the church would be not only a spiritual center but also a symbol of the two nations’ rapprochement. /Sabah/[06] WB’S VORKINK: “ANKARA MAY CUT ITS PRIMARY SURPLUS TARGET AFTER ENSURING ECONOMIC STABILITY”World Bank Turkey Representative Andrew Vorkink yesterday praised Turkey’s recent positive economic developments, adding that Ankara could reduce its primary surplus target after fully ensuring economic stability. “Inflation and interest rates are continuing to fall,” said Vorkink. “The current accounts deficit is proportional with the economy and so doesn’t pose any threat as yet.” /Cumhuriyet/[07] FENERBAHCE ON TRACK FOR SUPER LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPFenerbahce yesterday all but captured the Turkish Super League football crown by shutting out its rival Denizlispor, 4-0. The team, likely to represent Turkey in the European Champions League, is set to become champion for the 15th time in its history. /All Papers/[08] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[09] TOWARDS A MODERN CONSTITUTION BY ERGUN BABAHAN (SABAH)Columnist Ergun Babahan comments on constitutional reforms for Turkey’s EU membership bid. A summary of his column is as follows:“Not only has Turkey made a more democratic Constitution out of a restrained one, but also taken serious steps towards a liberal justice system. A country is democratic not just for its constitution, but also by virtue of the inviolability of fundamental rights, freedom of thought and conscience, and an impartial justice system. In its reforms, Turkey took important strides towards establishing the foundations of a modern rule of law. The best method would be to establish a broad new concise text to replace the current version, which micromanages rather than functioning as a basic law, but for now the atmosphere in Turkey won’t allow this. A bill proposing reforms to the Penal Code slated to face Parliament is an important part of the reform package. With this law Turkey will have a penal code in which the rights of individuals are prior to those of the state. Contrary to popular belief, the greatest obstacle to foreign investment in Turkey is our justice system and a lack of confidence in the rule of law. Therefore the main task is not so much preparing laws, but actually implementing them. In order to start accession talks with the European Union, Turkey must find a solution to this problem, because our country, with its development, capital and constitutional history spanning more than a century, deserves a modern justice system. ” [10] A STRANGE COUNTRY BY SEMIH IDIZColumnist Semih Idiz comments on the pictures of US soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners. A summary of his column is as follows:“Since the photos of US soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners came out, we’ve been hearing people say, ‘This is too much,’ ‘it’s a crime against humanity’ and ‘this shames the US.’ The photos are truly disgusting. No matter if they are from the US or Turkey, such torturers lack a proper sense of humanity. Such reactions from our officials, politicians and the nation should please us, and they do. However, there’s a great contradiction here. People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. ‘These pictures are disgusting and make me feel ashamed as a US citizen,’ one US diplomat told me yesterday. ‘If this is what we do, what have we got to offer to the world? These torturers aren’t aware of the damage they did to our flag and our nation. So we must punish them to satisfy the nation’s conscience. Not only others, but the American people want this as well.’ However, he didn’t hide his anger at Turkey’s ‘moral outrage’ against the US over this torture. Complaining about Turks’ ‘double standards,’ he said, ‘With such outrage, one would think that Turkey is completely innocent. What Turkish leader owned up to the torture, as President George W. Bush did, and said that such people blackened the name of your country? What government minister of yours was obliged to face the representatives of the nation like Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld did?’ Then I suddenly remembered the torturers who had stayed hidden for years, the courts which didn’t give them the punishment they deserved, and dirty bloody campaigns against human rights campaigners. Then I thought, ‘Our country is really strange. Who do we think we’re fooling’?” 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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