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Turkish Press Review, 04-09-03Turkish 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 morning03.09.2004CONTENTS
[01] THREE MORE TURKISH DRIVERS KILLED IN IRAQThree corpses found north of Baghdad yesterday are reportedly those of three Turkish truck drivers. Two of the bodies were identified as Mecit Yigitbas and Yahya Donmezbas, while the identity of the third has yet to be determined. /Turkiye/[02] FOREIGN MINISTRY DISCUSSES TURKISH WORKERS’ SECURITY IN IRAQFollowing a number of recent abductions and killings of Turkish workers in Iraq, a meeting of Foreign Ministry officials chaired by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul convened yesterday to discuss the terrorist threat in that country, including attacks on Turkish citizens. After the meeting, a statement condemned the recent wave of terrorist attacks on innocents. Stressing that the meeting had addressed all aspects of the issue, the Foreign Ministry said that a task force would be formed to deal with it in greater detail. The ministry also urged Turkish citizens traveling to Iraq take all available security measures. In addition, yesterday Gul was briefed about the issue of Sudan’s Darfur region by Foreign Ministry officials. Turkey plans to send two planes of humanitarian aid to the famine-stricken region in the near future. /Turkiye/[03] PUTIN POSTPONES VISIT TO TURKEY DUE TO HOSTAGE CRISISDue to the ongoing hostage crisis in his country, Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday postponed his planned three-day visit to Turkey. After a phone call yesterday to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Putin also spoke with Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Stressing his great regret at having to put off the long-planned visit, the Russian leader stated that he wanted to keep his pledge to visit Turkey soon. In addition, Erdogan expressed his sympathies over the hostage crisis at a school in north Ossetia. /Turkiye/[04] VERHEUGEN: “TURKEY’S PROGRESS REPORT WILL ASSESS WHETHER IT[05] HAS FULFILLED THE COPENHAGEN CRITERIA”Speaking to German daily Die Welt yesterday, European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen, who is soon due to retire, said that this fall’s pivotal EU progress report on Turkey would be fair and objective, adding that the report would assess whether or not Ankara had fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria. He said that there was a variety of views on the European Commission, which issues the report, on Turkey’s EU membership bid, adding that some commission members had reservations about Turkey joining. In related news, Verheugen is due to arrive in Ankara on Sunday for an official visit, during which he is expected to meet with representatives of human rights organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. /Cumhuriyet/[06] FISCHER: “EUROPE WILL GROW STRONGER WITH TURKEY’S MEMBERSHIP”Speaking to German daily Bild yesterday, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer declared that Europe would be stronger with Turkey’s European Union membership, predicting however that it could take Ankara some 10-15 years to join the Union. “Turkey’s EU membership will contribute to our fight against terrorism,” said Fischer, adding that the nation belonged in Europe. Fischer further praised Ankara’s recent EU reforms and efforts towards membership. /Aksam/[07] DUTCH FM: “IF THE EU MAKES A POSITIVE DECISION THIS DECEMBER,[08] ACCESSION TALKS SHOULD BEGIN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE”Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot said yesterday that if the European Union makes a positive decision on Turkey’s membership bid at its December summit, Ankara’s accession negotiations should begin as soon as possible. Bot stated that his country was waiting for the EU Commission to release its progress report and added that he hoped it would be fair and objective. Netherlands currently holds the EU rotating Term Presidency. /Aksam/[09] BABACAN BRIEFS GERMAN BUSINESSMEN ON ANKARA’S POLITICAL REFORMSIn Frankfurt yesterday, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan briefed a group of German businessmen on Ankara’s political reform process, stressing that the nation expected to get a date from the European Union this December to begin its accession talks. Babacan stated that in the last seven months Turkey had attracted $1.8 billion in foreign capital owing to its economic and political stability and positive investment climate. Also touching on an expected new standby agreement between Ankara and the International Monetary Fund, Babacan added that the program would include structural reforms to reduce inflation further. /Milliyet/[10] TRNC’S TALAT LAUDS HISTORIC CHURCH SERVICEIn the first Eastern Orthodox church service in Northern Cyprus since the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation, some 2,000 Greek-Cypriot Orthodox pilgrims and various dignitaries yesterday packed the Aghios Mamas church in Guzelyurt, in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Despite security fears due to a bomb which exploded outside the church last week, causing minor damage but no injuries, the service went smoothly and peacefully. Over 600 Turkish-Cypriot policemen set up security checks and patted down people entering the venue. TRNC Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat said that by giving permission to the service, his country had proven to the world that the TRNC is indeed a tolerant and democratic country, contrary to Greek Cypriot assertions. /Star/[11] UNAKITAN: “TURKEY WILL BE AN ENERGY BRIDGE”Turkey will serve as an energy bridge between Europe and Asia, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan said yesterday in his speech to the Seventh Eurasian Economy Summit. “With the energy markets’ recent focus on Eurasian supplies, Turkey’s importance as a bridge between the two continents is on the rise,” he declared. “Our country must act as a bridge between energy sector users and producers. Neither we nor our neighbors can afford to pass up this opportunity.” /Star/[12] TURKISH PARLIAMENTARIANS RETURN FROM MIDDLE EASTAfter completing a three-day visit to Israel, a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) delegation yesterday returned to Turkey. Speaking to reporters on the group’s behalf, Omer Celik said that they had held a series of contacts with both Israeli and Palestinian officials. The two sides asked Turkey to play a more active role in the peace process in the region, said Celik, adding that Israeli officials had also conveyed their desire to host a visit of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to their country. /Turkiye/[13] TUSIAD’S SABANCI: “TURKEY AND RUSSIA MUST SEE EACH OTHER AS POLITICAL[14] AND ECONOMIC PARTNERS”In his address to Istanbul’s Seventh Eurasian Economy Summit, Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) Board of Directors’ head Omer Sabanci yesterday urged Turkey and Russia to see each other as political and economic partners. Sabanci underlined the importance of Eurasian markets in the world economy, arguing that economically speaking, Europe and Asia should not be considered separately. “The two continents are connected to each other through Eurasia,” he added. “Turkey and Russia, two Eurasian countries, must see each other as friends rather than rivals.” /Hurriyet/[15] FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS[16] WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?[17] BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on how Russian President Vladimir Putin deals with terrorism. A summary of his column is as follows:“Unfortunately Russian President Vladimir Putin cancelled his visit to Turkey due to the hostage crisis in his country. Actually his cancellation should be considered natural because when hundreds of his countrymen (including many children) are being held captive, it would be unthinkable for him to conduct his ‘crisis administration’ from Turkey. The action by Chechen militants in Russia’s north Ossetia region has put Putin in quite a bind. He will either maintain his old stance that ‘there is no bargaining with terrorists’ or, if the militants don’t release the hostages, try to solve the situation through force. Putin has tried force many times but the results haven’t been good. For example, when Chechens attacked a theatre two years ago in Moscow, the operation against them led to the deaths of 129 people. Putin faced harsh criticism for this. Now he’s trying the other alternative. In other words, he has started a sort of negotiation. Will it be successful? Here the difficulty is that the terrorists had put forth certain conditions which are completely unacceptable. For example, they called for the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya. No country would give into such a demand. However, a consensus can be reached on the terrorists’ other conditions. It’s almost impossible to win an immediate success in the fight against terrorism. The best strategy against this new kind of war – that is, terrorism – is unknown. For many countries targeted by terrorism the most common strategy has been to refuse to bargain with them. For example, Turkey used this strategy in its fight against the PKK terrorist group. However, it’s sometimes impossible to be succeed through force, as the theatre incident showed. In other words, only using force against terrorism is not always a good solution. Using ‘flexible response’ tactics in the short-term and leaving the door open for direct or indirect contact or dialogue is usually a better way. Of course the real solution lies in addressing the political, social and economic factors causing terrorism. However, this is a longer-term goal.” [18] THE UNCLAIMED[19] BY YAVUZ DONAT (SABAH)Columnist Yavuz Donat comments on Turks deported from Germany. A summary of his column is as follows:“Germany deports 10-12,000 Turks each year without just cause. And it bases this action on ‘German law.’ However, under European Union law, Germany can deport at most 500 Turks. Hamburg’s Europe-Turkey Research Institute (ATA) objected, and it filed a legal challenge. And the court made a binding decision: ‘Article 47 of the German Law on Foreigners cannot be applied to Turks.’ The ruling applies retroactively, and covers all deportations since 1980. Afterwards many people called the ATA and asked: ‘Under the ruling, we have the right to return to Germany. What should we do now? Where should we apply?’ The institute supplied them with information and told them where to apply, but the applicants say the official organs are unhelpful. Some bodies aren’t even aware of the ruling. Germany deports 80 Italians every year, and Italy keeps the decisions on file and investigates each, determining the reason and law cited and whether the deportation is legal under EU law. And later Italy applies to the EU Commission, saying that Berlin violated European law. The result? Most Italians deported from Germany go back there. Italy does this for its 80 citizens whereas 10-12,000 Turks are deported, but Ankara does nothing. In the EU, individual countries’ laws don’t apply in cases such as deportation. This also goes for Turkey, according to the partnership agreement, and the German court stressed this in its ruling. This decision is also a model for other legal challenges and deportations in other countries. The only thing to do is to show the deported people the way.” 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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