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Turkish Press Review, 04-11-17
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
17.11.2004
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN VISITS LUXEMBOURG
[02] FOREIGN MINISTRY TO HOLD IRAQ SUMMIT
[03] BAYKAL DENOUNCES KILLING OF UNARMED IRAQI BY AMERICAN SOLDIER
[04] OZKOK ISSUES MESSAGE MARKING TRNC’S 21ST ANNIVERSARY
[05] PORTUGAL LENDS SUPPORT TO TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID
[06] EP DISCUSSES DUTCH PARLIAMENTARIAN’S REPORT ON TURKEY
[07] PAPADOPOULOS: “I’VE TOLD UN AND EU MEMBER STATES OUR CONCERNS OVER THE ANNAN PLAN”
[08] STATE MINISTER BABACAN TOURS EUROPE
[09] BAHCELI CRITICIZES EU’S DEFINITION OF MINORITY
[10] FORMER FRENCH PREMIER: “TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP WILL CONTRIBUTE TO WORLD PEACE”
[11] GERMAN SOCIOLOGIST: “THE EU SHOULD OPEN ITS DOORS TO TURKEY”
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[13] WILL THE US CHANGE THE MIDDLE EAST THIS WAY? BY MURAT YETKIN (RADIKAL)
[01] ERDOGAN VISITS LUXEMBOURG
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday traveled to Luxembourg, which
is due to take over the European Union term presidency early next year, to
pay an official visit at the invitation of his counterpart Jean-Claude
Juncker. Before his departure from Ankara’s Esenboga airport, Erdogan told
reporters that during his contacts with Luxembourg officials, Turkey’s EU
membership bid would be taken up. He added that Luxembourg had lent its
support to Ankara’s EU’s aspirations from the very beginning and that he
expected this would continue. Commenting on French President Jacques
Chirac’s stance on Ankara’s membership, Erdogan said that he could
personally attest that Chirac favors Turkey beginning its accession talks.
/Turkiye/
[02] FOREIGN MINISTRY TO HOLD IRAQ SUMMIT
Foreign Ministry officials chaired by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul are set
to hold a meeting this week concerning the Iraq issue. During the gathering,
recent developments in Falluja, security issues of Turkish citizens,
preparations for an international conference on Iraq in Egypt next week,
and humanitarian aid will be taken up. In addition, possible developments
in the post-Yasser Arafat Mideast will be discussed. /Turkiye/
[03] BAYKAL DENOUNCES KILLING OF UNARMED IRAQI BY AMERICAN SOLDIER
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal
yesterday denounced the killing of an unarmed injured Iraqi prisoner by a
US marine in a mosque in Fallujah. The killing was captured on tape by an
American reporter on Saturday. Baykal harshly criticized the US’ Iraq
policy, accusing American forces of committing crimes against humanity in
the country. He further condemned American forces’ attacks on mosques and
civilian settlements, arguing that the US is violating the international
rules of war. “Such inhumane and unlawful acts will not bring peace and
stability to the region,” he added. “On the contrary, the US will grow more
and more isolated in the region if it continues to act like this.”
/Hurriyet/
[04] OZKOK ISSUES MESSAGE MARKING TRNC’S 21ST ANNIVERSARY
In a message marking the 21st anniversary of the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok yesterday
said that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) would continue to be the guarantor
of the security of Turkish Cypriots. “The TSK has both the determination
and ability to fulfill this mission,” he said. Ozkok further urged that the
isolation of the TRNC be brought to an end. /Star/
[05] PORTUGAL LENDS SUPPORT TO TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID
In the runup to next month’s European Union summit, Portugal has lent its
support to Turkey’s EU membership bid. During a press conference yesterday,
Portuguese Foreign Ministry spokesman Antonio Carneiro Jacinto said that by
virtue of political, strategic and cultural reasons, his country favored
Ankara beginning its accession talks with the EU. /Turkiye/
[06] EP DISCUSSES DUTCH PARLIAMENTARIAN’S REPORT ON TURKEY
The European Parliament yesterday discussed a report on Turkey prepared by
Dutch Deputy Camiel Eurlings. During the meeting, Socialist, Liberal, and
Greens group members criticized the report, saying that it had failed to
take into consideration Turkey’s reforms and also didn’t give a clear
message to begin Ankara’s accession talks. Former French Prime Minister
Michael Rocart said that it would be unjust to expect Ankara to fulfill
criteria different from those required of other EU candidates. For his part,
Greens group member Dutch Deputy Joost Lagendijk stated that his group
supported Ankara beginning its EU accession talks, adding that the Union
should make it clear when the talks would begin in 2005. “We want Ankara to
begin its accession talks in the second half of next year,” he added. One
British deputy, Andrew Duff, charged that the report had ignored positive
developments in Turkey. For his part, Eurlings said that he was ready to
change the report in light of the criticisms. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] PAPADOPOULOS: “I’VE TOLD UN AND EU MEMBER STATES OUR CONCERNS OVER THE
ANNAN PLAN”
Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos said yesterday that he had sent
letters to both United Nations and European Union member states laying out
his concerns over the Annan plan for Cyprus’ reunification, adding that the
Greek Cypriot government had a strategy to amend the plan. Speaking to his
ruling party, Papadopoulos stated that he didn’t expect any initiative on
the Cyprus issue before next month. Greek Cypriots’ rejection of the UN
plan this spring, despite international support, derailed hopes of
reunifying the island before Greek Cyprus’ EU accession. /Star/
[08] STATE MINISTER BABACAN TOURS EUROPE
As part of a tour of three European countries, State Minister Ali Babacan
yesterday traveled to Brussels, Belgium to hold meetings with finance
officials and international investors. During his six-day tour, Babacan is
also scheduled to visit London and Berlin. /Turkiye/
[09] BAHCELI CRITICIZES EU’S DEFINITION OF MINORITY
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahceli yesterday
criticized the European Union’s definition of minority as used in the last
month’s EU Commission progress report on Turkey. “We won’t allow anyone to
divide our country through such definitions,” he said. “Nobody has the
right to call our Kurdish, Sunni and Alawite citizens ‘minorities,’ for
many of them gave their lives during the establishment of our country.
Every person in the nation is tied to one other by bonds of citizenship.”
/Hurriyet/
[10] FORMER FRENCH PREMIER: “TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP WILL CONTRIBUTE TO
WORLD PEACE”
In an interview in French daily Le Figaro, former French Prime Minister
Michel Rocard stated that he believed that Turkey’s European Union
membership would greatly contribute to world peace. “I don’t see any
conflict between Ankara’s EU membership and the European project,” he said.
/Star/
[11] GERMAN SOCIOLOGIST: “THE EU SHOULD OPEN ITS DOORS TO TURKEY”
Speaking to Italian daily Corriere della Serra yesterday, German
sociologist Ralph Dahrendorf said that the European Union should open its
doors to Turkey. “I believe that it’s important for Ankara to join the
Union,” he added. /Turkiye/
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[13] WILL THE US CHANGE THE MIDDLE EAST THIS WAY? BY MURAT YETKIN (RADIKAL)
Columnist Murat Yetkin comments on the Iraq issue and the stances of the US
and Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Just after a two-year-old child lost his leg during the US operation in
Fallujah, US television network CBS began reporting on how an injured
unarmed Iraqi was shot in a mosque by a US soldier. The Pentagon stated
that it would start an investigation. However, some analysts said that that
soldier who shot the Iraqi might not be punished on the grounds that Iraqi
insurgents booby trap themselves with explosives attached to their bodies.
In 1992, the body of a PKK militant who died during the conflict in the
southeastern Anatolian region was tied to a tank and dragged. Turkey faced
weapon, economic and political embargoes due to photos of this incident. Do
you think such a thing will happen due to the mosque incident in Fallujah?
Does anybody remember the torture scandal in Iraq’s Abu Gharib prison just
eight months ago? I also thought this incident would hurt US President
George W. Bush’s reputation before the presidential elections. However,
most Americans ignored it. Following the elections, Bush stepped up the
violence of the Iraq military operation. What’s more, he announced this in
Brussels, when Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was invited to an EU
interim summit. Allawi sent envoys to Iraq’s neighbors, including Turkey,
saying, ‘Don’t be in a rush to protest. You also favor stability in Iraq.
We all need it.’ Following Secretary of State Colin Powell’s resignation,
Bush now feels he has free rein to do whatever he wants.
However, when incidents like that in Fallujah began to be heard, these
violations of human rights started to fall over Europe and the Middle East
like a black shroud. Not even Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s death
could overshadow it. The Turkish public is anxious about incidents in Iraq
for other reasons as well. Beyond the Kurdish fait accompli and the
presence of the PKK, every day another Turkish truck driver or worker dies
there. One-fourth of those kidnapped in Iraq are Turkish. What’s more,
yesterday the war drew nearer to our border. US forces began an operation
in Mosul. Last week, a retired ambassador from an American think-tank
visited Ankara. His aim was to find the sources of anti-American feelings
in Turkey and ways to address this. Now we should say to him, ‘Just open
your eyes to what is happening’.”
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