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Turkish Press Review, 04-11-19
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
19.11.2004
FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN TELLS CHENEY OF ANKARA’S CONCERN OVER MILITARY OPERATIONS IN IRAQ
[02] ERDOGAN RECEIVES TOP SYRIAN BAATH PARTY OFFICIAL
[03] PRIME MINISTER TO PUSH FOR TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION TALKS
[04] GUL IN INTENSIVE EU EFFORT IN RUNUP TO SUMMIT
[05] BLAIR: “TURKEY WILL BE AN EXTRAORDINARY SYMBOL FOR EUROPE”
[06] GERMAN DEFENSE MINISTER: “TURKEY SHOULD BEGIN ITS EU ACCESSION TALKS”
[07] TUZMEN PAYS VISIT TO AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT
[08] US COMMANDER: “WE WILL COOPERATE WITH IRAQIS TO END THE PKK_KADEK PRESENCE”
[09] BARZANI, TALABANI SEEK POSTPONEMENT OF KIRKUK ELECTIONS TO ALLOW RETURN OF EXILED KURDS
[10] TURKISH RED CRESCENT SENDS AID TO FALLUJAH
[11] EP TO HOLD CONFERENCE ON TURKISH-KURDISH RELATIONS
[12] EURLINGS DENIES CHANGE OF HEART; TURKEY ISSUES WARNING
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[14] A HARD TEST FOR ALL BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN TELLS CHENEY OF ANKARA’S CONCERN OVER MILITARY OPERATIONS IN
IRAQ
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday telephoned US Vice President
Dick Cheney to express Ankara’s concerns over the recent US military
crackdown in Iraq, including attacks on mosques. Pointing to increasing
anger both in Turkey and Islamic countries over the offensive, Erdogan
asked Cheney to take necessary measures to prevent a further rise in ill
will. He also touched on attacks on Turkish truck drivers and efforts to
postpone local elections in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. /Aksam/
[02] ERDOGAN RECEIVES TOP SYRIAN BAATH PARTY OFFICIAL
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received Abdallah al-Ahmar,
the deputy leader of Syria’s ruling Baath Party. Saying that the United
Nations should act more assertively in both the Palestinian territories and
Iraq, Erdogan said that Ankara is ready to act as a negotiator if all the
parties agree. Al-Ahmar’s delegation also visited Anitkabir, Ataturk’s
mausoleum, and then met with Parliament’s Syrian Friendship Group. Al-Ahmar
stated that his country is planning to open its second consulate in Turkey
in the southeastern province of Gaziantep. /Sabah–Star/
[03] PRIME MINISTER TO PUSH FOR TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION TALKS
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to begin another round of
lobbying for an early start to Ankara’s European Union accession talks.
Erdogan is expected to meet with his Portuguese counterpart on Dec. 2 in
Ankara and also to travel to Brussels on Dec. 10 to meet with Belgian Crown
Prince Phillippe to discuss Turkey’s EU accession talks. Nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), the media and other politicians are also planning to
push for the talks in the weeks before the Dec. 17 EU summit. /Turkiye/
[04] GUL IN INTENSIVE EU EFFORT IN RUNUP TO SUMMIT
In the runup to next month’s European Union summit where Ankara expects to
get a date to begin its accession talks, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is
pursuing last-minute diplomatic efforts to firm up support for Turkey’s
bid. Next week he is set to attend a meeting on Iraq in Egypt, where he
will have bilateral talks with EU leaders. On Wednesday, he is scheduled to
attend a Turkey-EU Troika meeting in The Hague and to meet with EU Term
President the Netherlands’ Foreign Minister Bernard Bot and its successor
Luxembourg’s Jean Asseborn, as well as EU Commission members. At the end of
this month, he is expected to travel to The Hague to attend a meeting of
Euro-Mediterranean foreign ministers and on Dec. 8, he is due to host the
Netherlands’ EU minister. In addition, Gul will attend NATO’s Dec. 9-10
foreign ministers summit. /Turkiye/
[05] BLAIR: “TURKEY WILL BE AN EXTRAORDINARY SYMBOL FOR EUROPE”
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday that Turkey would be an
extraordinary symbol for Europe. Visiting London’s mayor, Blair said that
since May, when it inducted 10 new members, the European Union has stood at
a turning point. “A number of candidate countries are waiting for to join
the Union, Turkey among them,” said Blair. “In the future, Turkey will be
the harbinger of great change.” /Cumhuriyet/
[06] GERMAN DEFENSE MINISTER: “TURKEY SHOULD BEGIN ITS EU ACCESSION TALKS”
Visiting German Defense Minister Peter Struck was received yesterday by his
Turkish counterpart Vecdi Gonul. During their meeting, Struck stressed that
Germany was continuing to give its support to Turkey’s European Union
membership bid, adding that Berlin favored an early start to Ankara’s
accession talks. /Turkiye/
[07] TUZMEN PAYS VISIT TO AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT
State Minister Kursad Tuzmen and an accompanying delegation of 120
businessmen yesterday traveled to Azerbaijan to attend the Turkish-
Azerbaijani Joint Economic Forum. Estimating that this year trade between
the two countries will reach a half a billion dollars, Tuzmen said that the
figure is expected to double next year and then rise to $3 billion in 2006.
For his part, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev noted that Turkey was the
first nation to officially recognize his country in 1991, adding that
bilateral relations were continuing to develop. “Although relations are
going well overall, economic cooperation falls short of what it could be,”
Aliyev added. He called on both countries to boost economic ties so that
other countries in the region could take Turkish-Azerbaijani relations as a
model. /Hurriyet/
[08] US COMMANDER: “WE WILL COOPERATE WITH IRAQIS TO END THE PKK_KADEK
PRESENCE”
Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, deputy commander of Iraq’s US Central Command, said
yesterday that nobody wanted the continued presence of the terrorist group
PKK/KADEK in Iraq, adding that the US would cooperate with the Iraqis to
end this menace. /Aksam_
[09] BARZANI, TALABANI SEEK POSTPONEMENT OF KIRKUK ELECTIONS TO ALLOW
RETURN OF EXILED KURDS
Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKPD) leader Massoud Barzani and Iraqi
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK) leader Jalal Talabani have decided to
work jointly to postpone local elections in the northern Iraqi city of
Kirkuk to allow time for Kurds who were exiled under the reign of Saddam
Hussein to return to the city. Talabani’s spokesman stated yesterday that
the two leaders had discussed the issue on Wednesday and agreed to act
together until the interim government resolves the issue. /Milliyet/
[10] TURKISH RED CRESCENT SENDS AID TO FALLUJAH
The Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) will send humanitarian aid to Fallujah,
the scene of a recent US military offensive against Iraqi insurgents. Red
Crescent head Omer Tasli said that in the coming days, 20-25 trucks of food
and medical supplies would be dispatched to some 300,000 Iraqis in the
devastated region. /Turkiye/
[11] EP TO HOLD CONFERENCE ON TURKISH-KURDISH RELATIONS
The European Parliament is set to hold a two-day conference starting on
Monday focusing on Turkish-Kurdish relations. Participants will include EU-
Turkey Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-Chairman Joost Lagendijk and
Tunver Bakirhan, the leader of Turkey’s Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP).
/Star/
[12] EURLINGS DENIES CHANGE OF HEART; TURKEY ISSUES WARNING
Camiel Eurlings, the European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur, yesterday
denied media reports saying that he had altered his recent Turkey report in
the direction of favoring a speedy start to Ankara’s EU membership talks.
Ankara also sent a letter to Eurlings, a Dutch Christian Democrat, warning
him that his efforts to find alternative formulas for Turkey short of full
membership were unacceptable. Eurlings denied recent rumors that he had
rewritten the report, adding that he was only seeking new avenues for
compromise. /Star/
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[14] A HARD TEST FOR ALL BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on Turkey’s European Union membership bid. A
summary of his column is as follows:
“Reports from various European capitals show an atmosphere favoring the
start of our European Union membership talks. However, some things remain
unclear, namely their date and the conditions under which they will begin.
In addition, certain circles oppose starting the talks, favoring instead a
‘special membership’ status or arguing that there’s no place in the EU for
us. However, at least the leaders of most member states and important
political institutions believe that our talks should begin. Likewise,
messages from various capitals are also pointing this way. For example,
it’s significant that Luxembourg, which used to not favor Turkey, now
endorses talks in early 2005. It’s uncertain yet whether the talks will
start then or later in the year. In this respect, France’s stance is very
important. If the EU decides at next month’s summit to start talks, there’s
no guarantee this will happen before July 2005. In addition, if they begin
later, new problems might crop up.
The second unclear point has to do with whether the talks will carry
certain conditions. The European Commission report has two sections which
displease Ankara. One of them says that our talks will be an open-ended
process, and the other would restrict free movement. Turkish diplomats are
trying hard to get these parts taken out. However, it’s almost impossible
for EU leaders to ignore these issues. Even European diplomats working in
our favor say, ‘Everybody needs to be realistic. However, these issues
wouldn’t hinder full membership at the end of negotiations.’ If they are
included in the EU’s decision next month, the government’s stance will be
important. In other words, will Ankara accept or reject sitting at the
negotiating table under these conditions? Ankara has no desire to burn
bridges with the EU and change its basic foreign policy aims. The
government will also have difficulty with domestic policy issues. In the
final analysis, the political leadership facing this decision should
prepare itself for a hard test.”
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