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Turkish Press Review, 05-02-04
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
04.02.2005
ERDOGAN MEETS FRENCH PARLIAMENT
SPEAKER
ERDOGAN TO OPEN TURKEY’S NEW STOCK
MARKET
GUL VISITS THE GREAT WALL AND FORBIDDEN
CITY IN CHINA
ITC RECEIVES SOME 85% OF THE VOTES OF
IRAQI CITIZENS IN TURKEY
TALAT: “ANKARA DOESN’T NEED TO WAIT
UNTIL OCT. 3 TO SIGN CUSTOMS UNION PROTOCOL”
RICE TO ARRIVE IN ANKARA TOMORROW
AGAR: “TURKEY SHOULDN’T WITHDRAW ITS
TROOPS FROM CYPRUS BEFORE A JUST CYPRUS RESOLUTION”
BARZANI: “KURDISH STATE WILL BE A
REALITY WHEN THE RIGHT TIME COMES”
TALABANI DECLARES HIS CANDIDACY FOR
IRAQ’S TOP POSITION
DIE RELEASES JANUARY INFLATION FIGURES
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM
THE COLUMNS
EU, CYPRUS AND IRAQ
BY DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS FRENCH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
[02] ERDOGAN TO OPEN TURKEY’S NEW STOCK MARKET
[03] GUL VISITS THE GREAT WALL AND FORBIDDEN
CITY IN CHINA
[04] ITC RECEIVES SOME 85% OF THE VOTES OF IRAQI
CITIZENS IN TURKEY
[05] TALAT: “ANKARA DOESN’T NEED TO WAIT UNTIL
OCT. 3 TO SIGN CUSTOMS UNION PROTOCOL”
[06] RICE TO ARRIVE IN ANKARA TOMORROW
[07] AGAR: “TURKEY SHOULDN’T WITHDRAW ITS TROOPS
FROM CYPRUS BEFORE A JUST CYPRUS RESOLUTION”
[08] BARZANI: “KURDISH STATE WILL BE A REALITY
WHEN THE RIGHT TIME COMES”
[09] TALABANI DECLARES HIS CANDIDACY FOR IRAQ’S
TOP POSITION
[10] DIE RELEASES JANUARY INFLATION FIGURES
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS
[12] EU, CYPRUS AND IRAQ
BY DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS FRENCH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with visiting
French National Assembly Speaker Jean Louis Debre. Their meeting
focused on Turkey’s European Union membership bid,
allegations of a so-called Armenian genocide and the Cyprus
issue. Regarding France’s recent decision making a public
referendum on the accession of new members into the EU as of
2007, Erdogan called on French people to get rid of their
prejudices against Turkey’s EU membership. He also told that
historians were free to consult Ottoman archives and urged
Armenians to open their archives for scientific inquiries as
well. Concerning the Cyprus issue, Erdogan said that Turkish
side was hurt as promises given to the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC) were not kept, adding that his
government would work more active for a resolution to the
Cyprus issue. Debre also visited his Turkish counterpart
Bulent Arinc. After their talks, Arinc said that referendum
would be on agenda not for the time being, but rather when
accession to be discussed. “I believe that French people
will take a positive stance against Turkey’s EU membership
at that time,” said Arinc. /Turkiye/
[02] ERDOGAN TO OPEN TURKEY’S NEW STOCK MARKET
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to open Turkey’s new stock
market in Izmir today. The Forward Transaction and Option
Stock Market (VOB) is expected to contribute greatly to the
region’s economy. Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti
yesterday stated that the VOB would be a significant step
for Turkish economy, stressing that foreign investors were
very much interested in the new stock market. In related
news, Erdogan yesterday attended the banquette held by
Izmir’s businessmen and representatives of the
nongovernmental organizations in his honor. Stating that
Turkey was making good progress in its path towards being a
global power, Erdogan added that the world was impressed by
Turkey’s and his government’s recent successful steps
towards economic recovery and development. /Star/
[03] GUL VISITS THE GREAT WALL AND FORBIDDEN
CITY IN CHINA
On his third day in China, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and his
accompanying delegation visited the Great Wall and the
Forbidden City. Gul then had lunch with the ambassadors of
the neighboring countries and proceeded to Shangai. Today,
Gul is scheduled to be briefed by the government of the
Pudong region. He will attend a meeting to be held by
Turkish-Chinese businessmen. Besides, the Shangai
Municipality will hold a banquette in honor of Gul tonight.
/Star/
[04] ITC RECEIVES SOME 85% OF THE VOTES OF IRAQI
CITIZENS IN TURKEY
Some 85% of the Iraqi citizens who voted in Ankara and Istanbul for the
Iraqi elections voted for the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC).
While the Turkmen Nationalist Movement had 249 votes, the
Talabani-Barzani alliance received 59 and the Kurdistan
Democratic Resolution Party, 12. /Star/
[05] TALAT: “ANKARA DOESN’T NEED TO WAIT UNTIL
OCT. 3 TO SIGN CUSTOMS UNION PROTOCOL”
Addressing a conference in Istanbul yesterday, Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat said
that there was no need for Ankara to wait until Oct. 3 in
order to sign the Customs Union Protocol. “If Ankara waits
until Oct. 3, then Greek Cypriots will use this against us,”
he said. Talat stated that the European Union and the United
Nations should work hard to resolve the Cyprus issue, adding
that after joining the EU in May, Greek Cypriots didn’t
exert efforts for a resolution on the island. “The EU needs
to urge Greek Cyprus for a resolution,” he said. “The UN
should take action to help parts to reach a resolution and
the UN Security Council should approve the report prepared
by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.” /Cumhuriyet/
[06] RICE TO ARRIVE IN ANKARA TOMORROW
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to arrive in Ankara
tomorrow for an official visit. During her stay in Ankara,
Rice is expected to meet separately with President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to discuss a number of issues,
including Ankara’s concerns over Kirkuk. Rice is expected to
stress that the US takes into consideration Ankara’s
concerns about Kirkuk and the PKK_KADEK terrorist
organization. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also
expected to arrive in Ankara tomorrow to meet with Rice.
/Aksam/
[07] AGAR: “TURKEY SHOULDN’T WITHDRAW ITS TROOPS
FROM CYPRUS BEFORE A JUST CYPRUS RESOLUTION”
Opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar yesterday met with
visiting Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’s (TRNC)
Ambassador to Ankara Tamer Gazioglu to discuss the Cyprus
issue. Agar said that Turkey shouldn’t withdraw its troops
from Cyprus before a just resolution is reached on the
island, adding that there were two equal sovereign states on
the island. He also criticized Greek Cypriots, saying that
they were preventing a resolution. /Turkiye/
[08] BARZANI: “KURDISH STATE WILL BE A REALITY
WHEN THE RIGHT TIME COMES”
Massoud Barzani who heads the Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) said
yesterday that establishment of a Kurdish state in northern
Iraq was not likely in the near future, but was inevitable.
Commenting on an unofficial referendum held among Kurdish
people alongside the last weekend’s elections in Iraq,
Barzani said 95 percent of voters backed the independence of
Kurds. “When the right time comes, an independent Kurdish
state will be a reality,” said Barzani. /Turkiye/
[09] TALABANI DECLARES HIS CANDIDACY FOR IRAQ’S
TOP POSITION
Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani officially declared yesterday that he was
a candidate for the post of prime minister or president in
Iraq. He made this announcement at a press conference in the
northern Iraqi city of Salahaddin, after a meeting with
another Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani. He said that he was
a candidate from a democratic Kurdish list for the post of
prime minister or president, while Talabani would rice for
the leadership of autonomous Kurdish region including
Sulaimaniya, Arbil and Dohuk, in northern Iraq. He added
that Nechirvan Barzani would be appointed to a post to
establish regional government. Furthermore, Talabani
reiterated that Turkey or any other country had no right to
interfere in Iraq’s internal affairs. /Turkiye/
[10] DIE RELEASES JANUARY INFLATION FIGURES
The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) yesterday released
month-on-month inflation figures for January. Inflation last
month was 0.55 percent on the consumer price index (CPI) and
–0.41 percent on the wholesale price index (WPI), pushing
year-to-year CPI to 9.23 percent and WPI to 10.70 percent.
/All papers/
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS
[12] EU, CYPRUS AND IRAQ
BY DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)
Columnist Derya Sazak comments on the Cyprus and Iraq issues and the
EU. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Turkey has an intensive agenda mostly consisting of the
Iraq and Cyprus issues and the EU in foreign politics.
Following last weekend’s elections in Iraq, Ankara’s
concerns due to Kirkuk’s situation will be discussed during
the National Security Council’s (NSC) meeting on Feb. 25. US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Turkey as
part of his Middle East tour this weekend. Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s message to the US concerning the
remarks made by Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq and
elections’ threat on Iraq’s territorial integrity are
creating a tension between Ankara and Washington. Meanwhile,
initialing Ankara Agreement with 10 new members, which would
mean recognizing the Cyprus Republic de facto, will force
the government. The EU Commission stated its request that
the agreement will be initialed by the end of this month.
For the government, this situation won’t mean recognizing
the Greek Cypriot administration. Ankara was in favor of
initialing the agreement as part of a protocol to guarantee
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC) rights
before EU membership talks on Oct. 3. It’s trying to do this
earlier than planned. Surprisingly, the expectation of
solving the problem of signature until the end of this month
was put forth.
General elections will be held on Feb. 20 and the new
political power will be determined and there will be
presidential elections on April 17 in the TRNC. TRNC
President Rauf Denktas stated that he wouldn’t be a
candidate for presidency. He will end his career as an
active politician. TRNC Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat
should win the elections on Feb. 20 on the path to
presidency. Speaking to Milliyet daily yesterday, Talat
defended a solution and unification in Cyprus. He thinks
solving the Cyprus issue until the membership talks in
October would be in favor of Turkey. Actually it would be
difficult to start EU membership talks without a solution to
the Cyprus issue. Ankara is about to find itself in
opposition to the US due to the northern Iraq and Kirkuk. It
might also go against the EU due to the Cyprus issue. A
difficult agenda of foreign policy is awaiting the
government.”
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