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Turkish Press Review, 04-12-15Turkish 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 morning15.12.2004FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “WE’VE DONE OUR PART, NOW THE EU MUST MEET OUR EXPECTATIONS”Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accompanied by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Central Executive Board (MYK) members. During their nearly five-hour meeting, Erdogan gave important signals on Turkey’s stance towards the European Union’s decision on Turkey during its summit this Friday. The premier stated that Ankara would not tolerate any decision contrary to Turkey’s expectations and suggested that it could break off from the EU if it faces a negative decision. “Turkey has done its homework well. Now, it’s the Union’s turn,” said Erdogan. In related news, Erdogan is set to travel to Brussels today accompanied by some 40 staff members in advance of the summit. /Turkiye/[02] ERDOGAN: “WE EXPECT THE EU TO GIVE ANKARA AN UNCONDITIONAL, DEFINITE AND CONCRETE DATE FOR ENTRY TALKS”Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday hosted a dinner at the Prime Ministry’s Official Residence for the Ankara ambassadors of European Union member states. Addressing the ambassadors, Erdogan said that at its summit this Friday the EU should give Turkey an unconditional, definite and concrete date to begin its accession talks. “The talks should begin in the first half of next year,” he said. Touching on the Cyprus issue, Erdogan said that Turkey had done its best to reach a resolution on the island, adding that now the EU should do the same. He added that recognizing Greek Cyprus was out of the question at this point. /Aksam/[03] GUL: “TURKEY CAN’T RECOGNIZE GREEK CYPRUS BEFORE A RESOLUTION IS REACHED”Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday that the European Union would make a very crucial decision on Turkey’s membership bid at its summit this Friday. Addressing Parliament on behalf of the government during its debates on the EU, Gul said, “We all want Turkey to successfully join the Union.” He stated that Ankara had fully implemented the Copenhagen criteria and so Europe had no possible excuse to take a negative stance. Commenting on the Cyprus issue, the foreign minister said that Turkish side was not responsible for the current impasse on the island. Stressing that it had been a great mistake for the EU to integrate Greek Cyprus in the absence of a settlement, Gul said that Ankara would neither directly nor indirectly recognize the Greek Cypriot administration before a resolution is reached on the island. He added that Turkey would continue its goodwill and hope for a settlement. /Turkiye/[04] IRAQ’S AL-HAKIM VISITS TURKEYPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq political party. Afterwards, al-Hakim, a candidate in Iraq’s upcoming elections, told reporters that the two had exchanged views on recent developments in Iraqi politics and security issues. Asked about the recent controversial Fallujah military operation, al-Hakim said that Fallujah’s citizens had suffered greatly from terrorist groups, and that operation had been carried out at their request to save the city. The Iraqi leader added that Turkey was a powerful country in the region which treats Iraq’s many indigenous groups impartially, and went on to thank the Turkish nation for its solidarity with Iraqis in trying times. Later al-Hakim met with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. /Turkiye/[05] BAYKAL: “THERE’S NO CHOICE BESIDES FULL MEMBERSHIP FOR TURKEY”For the European Union, there is no choice besides accepting full membership for Turkey, said opposition Republican People’s Party leader Deniz Baykal yesterday. Baykal decried the efforts of some to block Turkey’s EU bid despite its fulfilling the criteria and being ready for membership. Baykal also criticized the EU for speaking of Kurdish “forces,” saying, “Since when are terrorist groups mentioned as if they were armies of a proper state? Is the ETA, the terrorist group in Spain, called ‘Basque forces,’ or the Irish IRA called ‘Catholic forces’?” Emphasizing the request in a recent EU report that Kurdish political representatives be represented in Ankara’s Parliament, Baykal pointed out that under the Turkish Constitution, no political party could be established on the basis of ethnicity or religion. /Star/[06] FRENCH FM: “RECOGNIZING THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISN’T A CONDITION FOR ANKARA’S EU TALKS”Appearing on television yesterday, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said that Ankara recognizing the so-called Armenian genocide wouldn’t be a condition for beginning its European Union accession talks. Barnier stressed that the issue could be discussed during the process of the talks. “We can debate the issue over a decade,” he added, referring to the talks’ expected length. /Aksam/[07] DOZENS INJURED IN MOVIE THEATRE FIREA fire in a cinema in Istanbul yesterday injured dozens of people attending a film premiere, but no one was killed. Fabric draped to add to the atmosphere for the premiere of Turkish horror film “Buyu” (Spell) caught fire from candles, sparking the blaze, a theatre employee told reporters. Hospital staff treated 130 people for the effects of smoke inhalation but nobody was badly hurt, said city police. /All papers/[08] BABACAN: “NEXT MONTH THE IMF DIRECTORS WILL APPROVE OUR NEW STANDBY PACT”Alongside International Monetary Fund Turkey Desk Chief Riza Moghadam, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan yesterday held a press conference announcing the completion of a new standby agreement with the IMF. Babacan said that next month the new standby pact would be approved by the IMF Board of Directors, adding that thereafter Turkey would receive the first credit tranche under the pact. “In total, we will receive $10 billion credit over three years,” he said, adding that the credit would be used to finance the budget, not to boost the Central Bank’s reserves. For his part, Moghadam praised the positive economic results yielded by previous standbys, including drastically lower inflation along with growth and stability. “The new standby aims to provide sustainability of these indicators,” added Moghadam. In related news, IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato predicted that with its new economic program, Turkey’s need for the Fund’s fiscal assistance would be reduced. Rato stressed that over the last three years, Turkey’s last economic program helped to raise production and bring down inflation and public debt, adding that if Ankara successfully implements the new standby, it would achieve sustainable growth. /Milliyet/[09] BLAIR MAKES THREE OFFERS TO EASE ANKARA’S EU BID FOR FRANCE, GERMANYBritish daily The Guardian reported yesterday that Prime Minister Tony Blair made three offers to make it easier for Paris and Berlin to give Turkey the green light on Friday to open its European Union membership talks. The first is agreeing to a French proposal to delay the opening talks until the latter half of next year, which would allow Paris to hold its referendum on the EU Constitution first. The second is inserting an unprecedented “get-out” clause in the negotiations, which would hold out the prospect of refusing entry to an aspiring member. The third is rewriting the rules of the EU to ensure that Turkey is not allowed to dominate its bodies. /Sabah/[10] EDELMAN: “WASHINGTON FULLY SUPPORTS TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP HOPES”Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with US Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman. During the meeting, while requesting Turkey’s support for Iraq’s upcoming elections, Edelman reiterated Washington’s full support for Ankara’s EU membership bid. The two men also for the first time reportedly reached a concrete decision concerning the terrorist organization PKK. Erdogan reminded Edelman of past promises from the US regarding the PKK, whose continued presence in northern Iraq has irked Ankara. To deal with the issue, Erdogan and Edelman decided on a major three-party summit including the US, Turkey and Iraq. /Star/[11] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…[12] 48 HOURS TO DEC. 17 BY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)Columnist Cuneyt Ulsever comments on this week’s historic European Union summit. A summary of his column is as follows:“There’s just about 48 hours left until Friday’s crucial EU summit. Now the EU member states know that they have no choice but to give us a date for starting our membership talks. This new era of world history demands it. They should bargain well. Actually, the member states are bargaining with us but also with each other and Washington. After great effort, everybody has accepted the following: 1. Since the Sept. 11 attacks Islamic terrorism has been the West’s new enemy, and not even the most developed country in the world can fight terrorism itself. The attacks in Barcelona, Spain this March showed that terrorism’s reach extends to Europe as well. Nobody in the West can take the risk of excluding Turkey, which is the most Western country in the East, from the project of reshaping the new era. 2. In sum, Turkey has enacted harmonization laws to meet the Copenhagen criteria to a great extent and fulfilled the EU’s conditions. European history shrinks from the idea of jumping into the melting pot with Turkey. However, the new face of history says that this must be done. This dilemma is putting Europe into a difficult spot. In the midst of this dilemma, every day the EU members are coming up with new requests, while Turkey’s position is clear. Ankara has said what it had to say, and now we have to get through the next 48 hours.” [13] THE PM’S STATE OF MIND BY ASLI AYDINTASBAS (SABAH)Columnist Asli Aydintasbas writes on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s state of mind in the runup to the critical EU summit on Friday. A summary of her column is as follows:“What Ankara is now wondering about most is how Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is feeling about Friday’s EU summit, rather than what the summit’s final statement will say. ‘I think he wants to reach an agreement,’ said one foreign diplomat who met the premier earlier this week. ‘However, he’s also ready to say no to any deal which would dissatisfy him.’ ‘We fear the possibility that the premier’s colleagues could urge him to reject any undesirable agreement,’ said another foreign diplomat. ‘In such a case, he would become a hero, but it would have long-term negative consequences for Turkey.’ At last night’s banquet Erdogan held in honor of EU ambassadors, foreign diplomats recommended that the prime minister not act emotionally. ‘The best deal is one which partially satisfies all the parties,’ said one. ‘Don’t expect to get everything you want.’ Can Erdogan really leave the negotiating table if the EU offers him a text he doesn’t like? What’s his emotional state on the eve of the summit? According to both his colleagues and foreign diplomats, Erdogan wouldn’t hesitate to reject entry talks if ‘unacceptable issues’ are raised. He is particularly angry with France, which is still implying that a ‘privileged partnership’ should be proposed to Turkey in lieu of full membership. Erdogan considers this position an insult to Turkey. Paris angered and upset him by suggesting that Brussels should hold out to Ankara a form of privileged partnership or a ‘third way’ if it fails to meet the full EU criteria. He also objects to the expression of ‘open-ended negotiations,’ which he fears could cause more Brussels pressure on Ankara to sign an additional protocol on the Greek Cypriots, and which also might result in new regulations hindering the free movement of Turkish workers in Europe. Erdogan thinks that the EU is applying double standards to Turkey’s membership bid. ‘Erdogan is right when he said Ankara wouldn’t recognize the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that Turkey had fulfilled all of the necessary criteria,’ said one foreign diplomat. ‘The Netherlands must prepare a text which would also please Ankara, not just Greece.’ Erdogan believes that he has taken many risks to bring his country to this point, but what the EU is offering him now is unfair. Erdogan used harsh words when he spoke recently with the EU ambassadors and earlier US Ambassador in Ankara Eric Edelman, underlining his expectations from Brussels. The EU envoys asked him to prioritize his demands, but he refused, arguing that they all were equally important. Erdogan has been truly disillusioned by the recent developments. Therefore, say his colleagues, he’s ready to walk away from the table if the EU fails to offer him a fair deal.” 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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