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Turkish Press Review, 04-11-29
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
29.11.2004
SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL TO CONVENE
IN ERZURUM, ERDOGAN URGES
QUAKE-RESISTANT CONSTRUCTION
ERDOGAN: “I BELIEVE THE EU WILL
MAKE A POSITIVE DECISION ON TURKEY’S TALKS”
EU COMMISSION HEAD: “TURKEY’S EU
BID SHOULDN’T BE DECIDED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS”
TUZMEN: “OUR TRADE VOLUME WITH
RUSSIA WILL SURPASS $10 BLN BY YEAR’S END”
NSC USHERS IN NEW ERA OF OPENNESS
JUSTICE MINISTRY SET TO PROPOSE NEW
POLITICAL PARTIES LAW
TRNC’S TALAT REELECTED CTP LEADER
BAYKAL: “THE CHP WON’T FALL”
DEMONSTRATORS PROTEST AMERICAN,
TURKISH POLICIES IN IRAQ
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
ARE WE READY FOR 2006?
BY ZEYNEP GURCANLI (STAR)
CONTENTS
[01] SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL TO CONVENE
[02] IN ERZURUM, ERDOGAN URGES
QUAKE-RESISTANT CONSTRUCTION
[03] ERDOGAN: “I BELIEVE THE EU WILL MAKE A
POSITIVE DECISION ON TURKEY’S TALKS”
[04] GUL TRAVELS TO THE HAGUE
[05] EU COMMISSION HEAD: “TURKEY’S EU BID
SHOULDN’T BE DECIDED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS”
[06] TUZMEN: “OUR TRADE VOLUME WITH RUSSIA
WILL SURPASS $10 BLN BY YEAR’S END”
[07] NSC USHERS IN NEW ERA OF OPENNESS
[08] MARDIN HOSTS EU MEETING
[09] JUSTICE MINISTRY SET TO PROPOSE NEW
POLITICAL PARTIES LAW
[10] TRNC’S TALAT REELECTED CTP LEADER
[11] BAYKAL: “THE CHP WON’T FALL”
[12] DEMONSTRATORS PROTEST AMERICAN,
TURKISH POLICIES IN IRAQ
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[14] ARE WE READY FOR 2006?
BY ZEYNEP GURCANLI (STAR)
[01] SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL TO CONVENE
The Supreme Military Council (YAS) is due to convene
tomorrow to discuss a number of issues, including
training of Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) staff,
disciplinary issues, and planned TSK activities. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will chair, and Chief of
General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok and Defense Minister
Vecdi Gonul are among those set to attend. The YAS’
decisions will be announced by the General Staff’s
Secretariat-General after being approved by President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer. /Aksam/
[02] IN ERZURUM, ERDOGAN URGES
QUAKE-RESISTANT CONSTRUCTION
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the southern Anatolian
province of Erzurum over the weekend to attend a series
of opening ceremonies. Speaking to a ribbon-cutting for
a new mass housing project, the premier urged
contractors and firms to construct buildings strong
enough to resist earthquakes. Touting the possibilities
created by the Incentive Law, Erdogan also called on
Erzurum’s businessmen to invest in their province.
/Turkiye/
[03] ERDOGAN: “I BELIEVE THE EU WILL MAKE A
POSITIVE DECISION ON TURKEY’S TALKS”
Speaking in this week’s issue of German magazine Focus, Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he believed the European
Union would make a positive decision at next month’s EU
summit on Ankara’s accession talks. “I believe the EU’s
leaders are far-sighted and have the political courage
to keep their promise concerning our talks,” said
Erdogan. Asked what would happen if the Union’s decision
is negative, Erdogan stated that Turkey would still
pursue its close relations with individual EU member
states. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] GUL TRAVELS TO THE HAGUE
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will attend a joint meeting of the
Turkish-European Union Mixed Consultation Committee at
The Hague today. Turkish-EU Joint Parliamentary
Commission Co-Chair Joost Lagendijk and Turkish
Ambassador to The Hague Tacan Ildem are also set to
attend the meeting, which will focus on recent
developments in Turkish-EU relations. /Turkiye/
[05] EU COMMISSION HEAD: “TURKEY’S EU BID
SHOULDN’T BE DECIDED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS”
European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said yesterday
that a decision on Turkey’s European Union membership
shouldn’t be made behind closed doors. Speaking to
German daily Bild, Barroso said that it was up to the EU
member states to decide whether or not to hold a
referendum on Turkey joining. Asked how Turkey’s
membership would affect the Union, Barroso stressed that
first Ankara’s accession talks should begin. “Turkey can
be an EU member if it fulfills all the political and
economic criteria,” he added. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] TUZMEN: “OUR TRADE VOLUME WITH RUSSIA
WILL SURPASS $10 BLN BY YEAR’S END”
State Minister Kursat Tuzmen said yesterday that trade volume between
Turkey and Russia would surpass $10 billion by year’s
end, jumping 65% over last year, predicting further that
within three years annual trade would reach $25 billion.
Tuzmen stressed that the investments of Turkish firms in
Russia now exceeded $2 billion, adding that he would
propose establishing a Turkish Trade and Investment
Region on Russia soil. /Aksam/
[07] NSC USHERS IN NEW ERA OF OPENNESS
Close on the heels of getting a civilian secretary-general for Turkey’s
European Union harmonization efforts, the 66-year-old
National Security Council (NSC) is now set to assume an
unprecedented degree of public openness. At a press
conference tomorrow on these changes, Secretary-General
Yigit Alpogan will be on hand to answer reporters’
questions. /Turkiye/
[08] MARDIN HOSTS EU MEETING
The southeastern Anatolian province of Mardin hosted a meeting on
Turkey’s European Union membership bid over the weekend.
In addition to businessmen and politicians, a number of
European parliamentarians attended the panel organized
by the Turkish Young Businessmen’s Confederation.
/Turkiye/
[09] JUSTICE MINISTRY SET TO PROPOSE NEW
POLITICAL PARTIES LAW
The Justice Ministry is expected early next week to open debate on a
new Political Parties’ Law proposing sweeping reforms to
the existing law. Culminating a year of work, the bill
will be taken up by the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP) and then sent to the opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP) to seek its support. Under the
bill, there would be a nine-year term limit for
political party leaders, and all parties would be
required to hold primaries to select their election
candidates. /Turkiye/
[10] TRNC’S TALAT REELECTED CTP LEADER
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali
Talat was reelected over the weekend to the helm of the
TRNC’s Republican Turkish Party (CTP). At the CTP’s 19th
regular meeting, Talat said that many efforts had been
made to end Turkish Cypriots’ isolation. /Turkiye/
[11] BAYKAL: “THE CHP WON’T FALL”
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) will not fall, CHP
leader Deniz Baykal yesterday told the party’s youth
branch. Baykal charged that the media and certain
politicians want Turkey to falter, but added that this
would not happen unless the CHP falls. /Sabah/
[12] DEMONSTRATORS PROTEST AMERICAN,
TURKISH POLICIES IN IRAQ
A demonstration in Istanbul against US and Turkish policies in Iraq was
led yesterday by the Felicity Party (SP). About 20,000
people attended the demonstration, which was also
supported by a number of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs). Speaking at the protest, former SP leader
Necmettin Erbakan criticized the government’s policies
in the Middle East. /Sabah/
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[14] ARE WE READY FOR 2006?
BY ZEYNEP GURCANLI (STAR)
Columnist Zeynep Gurcanli comments on Turkish-European Union relations.
A summary of his column is as follows:
“Ankara had hoped that its EU membership negotiations
would start in the first half of next year. Following
all our reforms, the EU encouraged high spirits.
However, the expected failed to materialize. Just two
weeks before the Dec. 17 EU summit, the EU’s stance on
Turkey is getting clearer while Ankara grows confused.
Firstly, let’s talk about a realistic estimate of what
we should expect on Dec. 17. During a recent meeting
between Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and the EU troika
at The Hague, Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot
summarized Turkey’s shortcomings on the Copenhagen
criteria by saying that six more laws were needed. Among
these is the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). If the new TCK is
enacted this spring, the EU won’t move on Turkey’s EU
partnership process before then. The Hague meeting
clearly signalled that new EU Commissioner for
Enlargement Olli Rehn believes a screening process
should be finished before our talks start. This process
means comparing Turkish laws to the EU acquis
communitaire. Experts say this will last at least six
months. If this process starts in April, it can be
completed by December.
In light of these developments, the current feeling
in Ankara is that the government would reject any talks
aimed not at full membership, but at some other formula.
However, in order to deny ammunition those who oppose
Turkey’s membership, Ankara isn’t stressing this. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Gul think that a
statement that Turkey would reject any formula short of
full membership and review relations with the EU in such
a contingency would be seen as a threat. Now Ankara is
keeping quiet in order to head off this charge. Ankara
doesn’t want to start talks as late as 2006. However, if
a date is given for spring 2006, Ankara might accept it.
Ankara has another condition for this acceptance,
namely, a celebration to send the message that Turkey is
advancing on the path of full membership. Next April’s
Turkish-EU Partnership Council meeting is planned for
the celebration, to say in effect, ‘the first step in
full membership talks, the screening process, is
starting.’ In sum, membership talks in the first half of
2005 are a fantasy. The most optimistic estimate is
starting them near the end of the year. The realistic
date put forth by the EU is the first half of 2006. We
should ready ourselves for this.”
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