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Turkish Press Review, 05-08-11
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
11.08.2005
ERDOGAN MEETS WITH
INTELLECTUALS, SAYS GOVT WON’T TOLERATE PKK
PREPARATIONS BEGIN FOR
CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES
US CONGRESSIONAL
DELEGATION MEETS WITH SOYER, DISCUSSES
CYPRUS
TRNC PREMIER CRITICIZES
CHIRAC’S REPORTED LETTER TO PAPADOPOULOS
FRANCE DENIES REPORTS
OF LETTER TO GREEK CYPRUS
WASHINGTON CONFERENCE
FOCUSES ON KIRKUK
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM
THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
COMMON TASK AGAINST
VIOLENCE
BY NURAY MERT (RADIKAL)
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH
INTELLECTUALS, SAYS GOVT WON’T TOLERATE PKK
[02] PREPARATIONS BEGIN FOR
CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES
[03] US CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION
MEETS WITH SOYER, DISCUSSES CYPRUS
[04] TRNC PREMIER CRITICIZES
CHIRAC’S REPORTED LETTER TO PAPADOPOULOS
[05] FRANCE DENIES REPORTS OF
LETTER TO GREEK CYPRUS
[06] WASHINGTON CONFERENCE
FOCUSES ON KIRKUK
[07] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
[08] COMMON TASK AGAINST
VIOLENCE
BY NURAY MERT (RADIKAL)
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH
INTELLECTUALS, SAYS GOVT WON’T TOLERATE PKK
Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met
with a group of intellectuals to discuss a
recent wave of bombings and other attacks by
terrorist PKK. The intellectuals last week
issued a call on the PKK to cease its
terrorist attacks. Speaking before the
meeting, Erdogan said that he was honored to
meet with the intellectuals, adding that he
hoped the nation would benefit from their
discussions. The premier stressed that the
Kurdish problem and several other problems
were problem of democracy. “We need to solve
our cultural, political, and economic
problems through democratic means,” he said,
adding that his party coming to power had
turned a new page for Turkey. Erdogan said
that the government had taken a firm stand
against the PKK and its violent campaign of
killing innocents and soldiers using the
pretext of social problems. “The PKK has
done the greatest harm to the Kurds,” said
Erdogan, adding that the terrorist group
would never be tolerated. The premier
stressed that the PKK couldn’t be considered
a representative of any area or sector of
the country. /Hurriyet/
[02] PREPARATIONS BEGIN FOR
CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES
Justice
and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Sadullah
Ergin said yesterday that he had met with
Parliament Constitution Commission Head
Burhan Kuzu and State Minister Mehmet Ali
Sahin to discuss possible constitutional
amendments. Speaking after the meeting,
Ergin said that they would thoroughly review
the Constitution and then present proposals.
Ergin added that they would do their work in
light of the needs and requests of the
nation. /Turkiye/
[03] US CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION
MEETS WITH SOYER, DISCUSSES CYPRUS
A delegation of US Congressional
staffers, currently in the Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), yesterday met
separately with TRNC Prime Minister Ferdi
Sabit Soyer, Parliament Speaker Fatma
Ekernoglu and other political leaders to
discuss recent developments on the Cyprus
issue. Speaking after his meeting with the
delegation, Soyer said that he had briefed
the group on recent developments on Cyprus,
adding that the visit had been a fruitful
one. “I briefed the group on the realties of
the island, and they listened attentively,”
he said, adding that he hoped such visits
would continue in the future. Soyer further
criticized Greek Cypriot leader Tassos
Papadopoulos’ refusal to meet with Talat to
discuss social issues. /Turkiye/
[04] TRNC PREMIER CRITICIZES
CHIRAC’S REPORTED LETTER TO PAPADOPOULOS
Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime
Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer yesterday lashed
out at French President Jacques Chirac for
reportedly sending a letter to Greek Cypriot
leader Tassos Papadopoulos saying that
Ankara can’t begin its European Union
accession talks without first recognizing
Greek Cyprus. Soyer called such French
stance “undemocratic and inconceivable,”
adding that if Chirac had indeed written
such a letter, it would hurt the chances for
a resolution on the island. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] FRANCE DENIES REPORTS OF
LETTER TO GREEK CYPRUS
Ankara’s French Embassy yesterday denied
news reports that French President Jacques
Chirac had sent a letter to Greek Cypriot
leader Tassos Papadopulos saying that Turkey
couldn’t start its European Union talks
before recognizing Greek Cyprus. An official
from the embassy said that no message,
verbal or written, had been sent. According
to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, Chirac’s
office also denied the reports. /Milliyet/
[06] WASHINGTON CONFERENCE
FOCUSES ON KIRKUK
The future of the northern Iraqi city of
Kirkuk, a potential flashpoint between
Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen, was discussed
Tuesday at a conference sponsored by the
United States Institute of Peace. At the
conference in Washington, Judith Yaphe from
the Institute for National Strategic Studies
stated that neither the city’s Arab nor its
Kurdish population should be allowed to
increase. If Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen can’t
find a way to work together, there is a
danger of division, she warned. Citing
military statistics, Japhe said that over
last two years the city’s population rose by
95,000, adding, “Throughout history, Kirkuk
has not only been a Kurdish city but also
Arab and Turkmen.” According to US figures,
more than 35% of the population in Kirkuk is
Kurdish, less than 35% is Arab, and 26% is
Turkmen. In a question and answer session,
Yaphe said that Turkey, Iran and Syria were
all closely watching developments in Kirkuk,
fearful that Kurds in their countries may be
influenced by Iraqi Kurds. /Milliyet/
[07] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
[08] COMMON TASK AGAINST
VIOLENCE
BY NURAY MERT (RADIKAL)
Columnist Nuray Mert comments on
yesterday’S meeting of a group of
intellectuals with Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. A summary of her column is
as follows:
“We issued a declaration bearing 150
signatures against the atmosphere of
violence and then held a series of meetings.
As part of this, we called on everybody
sharing the same worries and concerns to
support us and requested an appointment with
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The
Prime Ministry accepted our request and
yesterday we held a meeting with him. We
aimed, firstly, to contribute to
establishing an atmosphere free of violence.
Before his visit to Diyarbakýr, Erdogan’s
stance underlined that he wouldn’t make
concessions from democratization, which gave
us hope. We were concerned that bombs and
mines are killing people again and spoiling
the peace. We wanted this to end. At this
point, Erdogan’s reception of a group of
civilians sharing the same concerns has an
important symbolic meaning. The issues he
underlined at the beginning of the meeting
and his stance during their talks indicated
that the democratic will and process won’t
surrender to bombs and mines.
As our colleagues indicated during the
meeting, while developed Western democracies
are suffering from a backslide into
authoritarian policies, Turkey’s resistance
against compromising the democratic will is
truly important. Nobody should squander the
steps taken on this vitally important issue
as a political tool to weaken the
government. Most of the people who met with
Erdogan or who signed the declaration
criticize the majority of the government’s
policies. But the government isn’t using
this meeting just for self-promotion, as
some have claimed. Similarly, ‘evil’
intellectuals aren’t using the government as
a tool for their bad intentions, as others
charge. Both parties share a common concern.
The meeting isn’t open to interpretations of
secret or ambiguous intentions. In addition,
some asked if we have concrete suggestions
concerning democratization. First of all,
we’re not a homogeneous group, but a group
with several issues in common. Naturally, we
have different views, but most of all we
want to help establish a basis on which
everything can be discussed in a democratic
framework in a violence-free atmosphere.
Secondly, the efforts we made for this
process and his receiving us are concrete
developments. The issue should be evaluated
this way, and the people must be told that
democratization isn’t a ready-made program,
but a process. Otherwise, the efforts we
make on the civilian platform will be the
victim of endless, meaningless arguments.”
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