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Turkish Press Review, 05-07-15Turkish 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 morning15.07.2005ERDOGAN DENOUNCES BCC, REUTERS OVER PKK MISCHARACTERIZATION GUL: “RELIGION AND TERRORISM ARE INCOMPATIBLE” GEN. MYERS: “WE’RE COOPERATING WITH TURKEY TO FIGHT THE PKK” ERDOGAN SPEAKS AT ANKARA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ITALIAN FM MEETS WITH ARINC FRENCH AMBASSADOR: “WE SUPPORT TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID” SYRIAN PRESIDENT CANCELS HIS TRIP TO TURKEY, BUT KARAMANLIS DUE IN AUGUST TURKMEN FRONT: “WE HAVE LOST KIRKUK” UN ANNOUNCES NEW PROJECT TO BE SPONSORED JOINTLY BY TURKEY AND SPAIN MERKEL RETREATS ON MOVING AGAINST TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID TURKISH, GREEK TRANSPORT MINISTERS INAUGURATE FRIENDSHIP TRAIN TRNC TO RECEIVE AID PACKAGE TWO TURKISH CITIZENS EXECUTED IN LIBYA FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... PROFILE OF A TERRORIST BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN DENOUNCES BCC, REUTERS OVER PKK MISCHARACTERIZATIONPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday denounced British-based news organizations the BBC and Reuters for failing to describe the PKK as a terrorist group. Addressing the Ankara Chamber of Industry (ATO) after observing two minutes of silence for the victims of last week's bomb attacks in London, Erdogan warned against double standards in tackling terrorism. "I condemn two important global television and media companies, the BBC and Reuters, for both declaring the PKK terror group in Turkey to be a ‘militia’," said Erdogan. "I call on the global media to show an objective stance at this point. If this mentality continues, they should know that the terror which strikes Turkey and the children of this country today will strike them tomorrow, and will cause them pain." According to a statement by the BBC, it avoids describing armed groups as terrorist in line with policies of avoiding “emotive language,” unless the term is attributed. Reuters has a similar policy. /Sabah/[02] GUL: “RELIGION AND TERRORISM ARE INCOMPATIBLE” After observing two minutes of silence for the victims of last week's bomb attacks in London in front of the Foreign Ministry building in Ankara, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday remarked that terrorism did not distinguish between religion, language or race and could see anybody as a target. “No cause can justify killing innocent people,” Gul said. “Having lost 30,000 innocent people in its fight against terrorism, Turkey shares and understands the grief of the families of the victims very well. Since terrorism threatens human life, it cannot be tied to any religion.” /Turkiye/[03] GEN. MYERS: “WE’RE COOPERATING WITH TURKEY TO FIGHT THE PKK”If Turkey plans to conduct a trans-border military operation in northern Iraq, Iraq will have the right to comment on the issue, Gen. Richard Myers, the US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said yesterday at a news conference in Washington. “In case of a trans-border operation, Turkey will have to negotiate with a sovereign Iraq,” he added. “I believe a series of negotiations would have to be held in such a case.” Gen. Myers also added that the terrorist PKK was already part of the Bush administration’s terrorist groups list. “This terrorist group has killed many Turkish citizens, and this is unacceptable,” he remarked. “Thus we’re cooperating with Turkey to fight the terrorist PKK.” /Sabah/[04] ERDOGAN SPEAKS AT ANKARA CHAMBER OF COMMERCESpeaking to the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan argued that the privatization of the Erdemir Steel and Iron Factory should go forward. “Erdemir currently has difficulties updating its technology and it also has an unstable position,” he said. “If it started to earn money, it started doing this under our government.” Erdogan said that the state should largely withdraw from the industry and that the government was determined to go ahead with privatization. He criticized charges that Turk Telekom would be “given away,” saying, “If Turk Telekom’s sale is blocked, we won’t have another such opportunity anytime soon.” Erdogan added that a severance package similar to the Unemployment Fund had been proposed and that this issue would be explored. /Star/ [05] ITALIAN FM MEETS WITH ARINCItalian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, who has been holding high-ranking contacts in Ankara, visited Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday and discussed Turkey’s EU membership bid and the threat of terrorism. Arinc thanked Italy for its support for Turkey on its membership path and said that he believed this would continue during Turkey’s EU membership talks. Meanwhile, Fini emphasized that Turkey’s joining the EU would be advantageous for other Mediterranean countries and their development. “Turkey’s EU membership should be realized by [the EU] keeping its promises,” Fini said. Stating that the two countries share common values in the fight against terrorism, Fini said, “Terrorism can and should be defeated. As a country with a majority Muslim population, Turkey’s situation is evidence of its success in its fight against terrorism. Turkey also proves that such a big country can fight terrorism not by depending on its religious beliefs. It shouldn’t be forgotten that terrorism struck Turkey long before Europe.” Following his contacts in Ankara, Fini went to Istanbul and after a brief visit, he returned to Italy. /Star/[06] FRENCH AMBASSADOR: “WE SUPPORT TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID”Bastille Day was celebrated yesterday with a reception at the French Embassy in Ankara. “We’re proud of living and working in Turkey,” said French Ambassador to Ankara Paul Poudade, who hosted the reception. “France supports Turkey’s EU membership bid and follows the path laid out by the EU Council on Dec. 17 last year.” For his part, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul remarked that bilateral relations between the two countries are based on historic foundations, stressing that he believed mutual ties are strong and will be even stronger in the future. Due to the recent chilly period between the two countries due to certain French politicians’ open opposition to Turkey’s EU membership bid, the number of Turkish officials who attended the reception was lower than expected. /Milliyet/[07] SYRIAN PRESIDENT CANCELS HIS TRIP TO TURKEY, BUT KARAMANLIS DUE IN AUGUST Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has cancelled his trip to Turkey. Assad recently telephoned Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and told him that he wanted to go on a vacation in Turkey with his wife. Due to media reports characterizing Al-Assad’s trip as an “official visit,” the Foreign Ministry last week issued a statement that there was no such official program. Prime Ministry spokesman Akif Beki also denied the media reports, stating that Assad’s visit was not certain. In related news, another neighboring leader, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, is due to visit Turkey on Aug. 28. /Milliyet/[08] TURKMEN FRONT: “WE HAVE LOST KIRKUK” Addressing a panel in Washington, Iraqi Turkmen Front Representative to the US Orhan Ketene complained that Turkey’s efforts to aid Iraqi Turkmen had been blocked. “The situation in Kirkuk isn’t good,” he said. “The city center and administrative affairs are both controlled by Kurdish terrorist groups. Turkmen groups are living under various threats, as they are afraid to go out or send their children to school.” He also underlined that Kirkuk had already become a Kurdish city. “Since many Turkmen and Christians could not vote in the [January] elections, their participation in Iraq’s political affairs is only symbolic,” he added. /Turkiye/[09] UN ANNOUNCES NEW PROJECT TO BE SPONSORED JOINTLY BY TURKEY AND SPAIN UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday announced the launch of a new initiative to overcome misunderstanding between different civilizations. The project, called "Alliance of Civilizations," will be jointly sponsored by Turkey and Spain. "This new project will overcome prejudice, misconceptions, misperceptions, and polarization which potentially threaten world peace," said a UN statement. The call for the alliance was initiated by Spanish Prime Minister Rodriguez Zapatero and co-sponsored by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Annan called on the international community to contribute to a trust fund to support the alliance. According to the statement, the Spanish and Turkish governments will continue, as co-sponsors, to provide support, and several other governments and organizations have expressed interest in joining them. "The co-sponsors have already pledged substantial initial contributions to a trust fund set up to finance the initiative, and the secretary-general will be inviting other governments and entities to contribute,” it added. /Hurriyet/[10] MERKEL RETREATS ON MOVING AGAINST TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BID German opposition leader Angela Merkel yesterday stated that if her party won forthcoming elections it would not change the government’s decisions made on Turkey’s EU membership bid. “We believe that Turkey should be given a privileged partnership,” Merkel said at a press conference in Berlin. “However, there is a resolution to start Turkey’s membership talks on Oct. 3. If we become the ruling party in Germany, we will remain committed to this decision. We will of course try to shape talks with Ankara as we want them to be, but the decision is unquestionable now.” /Turkiye/[11] TURKISH, GREEK TRANSPORT MINISTERS INAUGURATE FRIENDSHIP TRAINTransportation Minister Binali Yildirýim yesterday welcomed his Greek counterpart Michalis Liapis at the Sirkeci train station in Istanbul. Liapis came via the new Friendship Train between Salonica and Sirkeci to visit Istanbul and celebrate the opening of the route. Yildirým said that this was a historic day for the cause of friendship between Turkey and Greece. Liapis, for his part, said that this train will be a new bridge of friendship between the peoples of Greece and Turkey. /Star/ [12] TRNC TO RECEIVE AID PACKAGEIn the wake of last year’s landmark referendums on the reunification of Cyprus, an aid package totaling $30.5 million, approved by the US Congress for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is finally due to reach the TRNC. Washington is starting a consultancy project of $10 billion to develop the business environment and banking sector in the TRNC. For this purpose, the BearingPoint corporation won a $10 billion contract from USAID to consult with the TRNC. US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said that the aim of the project as part of the “aid package for the economic growth on Cyprus” was to support the unification of the island. /Star/[13] TWO TURKISH CITIZENS EXECUTED IN LIBYAThe Foreign Ministry said yesterday that two Turkish nationals had been executed in Libya. The pair, Selim Aslan and Yunus Ozkan, had been convicted of murder. The ministry also said that Turkey had tried to prevent their execution by interceding on their behalf with Libya. /Hurriyet/[14] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[15] PROFILE OF A TERRORIST BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on last week’s bomb attacks in London and terrorism. A summary of his column is as follows:“As the investigations of last week’s bomb attacks in London widen and clues to the perpetrators of this are found, the complexity of terrorism is understood better. It was discovered that the perpetrators were British citizens of Pakistani origin. For example, one of them was 30 years old with a child and worked for a primary school. This is an odd terrorist profile. Why would such a person carry out a suicide bomb attack and kill himself and other innocent people? Of course, this is not the result of an instantaneous madness. This is a case from which psychologists, sociologists and terrorism experts will draw interesting findings. As I wrote earlier, there’s a tendency to generalize the reasons for violent acts directly or indirectly related particularly with al-Qaeda. The lists of reasons for this include poverty, corruption, social imbalances, injustice, the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Palestinian issue, the West’s policies of globalization, etc. We don’t know where to look for the reasons for the London bomb attacks on this list. As they were Pakistani, maybe the Kashmir issue should be included. We can’t ask them their reasons. What we must do is to analyze the actual source which prepared this terrible plan. As it emerged from the investigation, the above-mentioned terrorist had been meeting with fundamentalists and receiving training. Obviously, this training was brainwashing him. British intelligence officials discovered there were such activities in certain regions in Britain at radical Islamic centers. In other words, those who plan these kinds of terrorist attacks can establish a ‘potential’ among Muslim society in Britain and probably in other European countries. Those who are trained this way aren’t afraid of carrying out horrifying attacks at the expense of losing their lives. Obviously, there are various political, economic and social reasons for these terrorist attacks. However, emphasizing these reasons and almost justifying them are extremely wrong. As we were angered by foreigners who took a similar stance concerning past and present terrorist actions in Turkey, we should also maintain the same stance against international terrorism targeting others. This is the way to make others accept the justness of our cause.” 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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