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Turkish Press Review, 05-08-16
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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e-mail :
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
16.08.2005
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN TRUMPETS ECONOMIC PROGRESS UNDER AKP RULE
[02] IN LETTER TO ERDOGAN, BUSH PROMOTES STRONGER TIES, ANKARA’S EU BID
[03] TURKEY WELCOMES ISRAEL’S WITHDRAWAL FROM GAZA STRIP
[04] GEN. BUYUKANIT: “THE GME IS A PART OF THE WORLD’S TRANSFORMATION PROCESS, AND TURKEY MUST CONTRIBUTE”
[05] BAYKAL: “TERRORISM CAN’T BE OVERCOME BY SOLVING ETHNIC PROBLEMS”
[06] AGAR CALLS ON AKP TO HOLD EARLY ELECTIONS
[07] TURKISH DRIVER KILLED IN IRAQ
[08] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[09] FRANCE’S OPPOSITION TO TURKEY BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN TRUMPETS ECONOMIC PROGRESS UNDER AKP RULE
Addressing a ceremony marking his party’s fourth anniversary, Prime
Minister Minister and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader
Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized some media organs for saying that he was
negotiating with the terrorist group PKK. “I haven’t spoken with the PKK
and I never will,” said Erdogan, adding that he was aware of his
responsibility as the prime minister of Turkey. Erdogan stressed that there
were different ethnic groups in the country, but no division. “We’ll
embrace anyone who says, ‘I am a Turkish citizen’,” said the premier,
adding that the AKP came to power four years ago to reverse the bad
fortunes of the nation. He stressed that his party had achieved a silent
revolution and that there was a great difference between 2002, the year the
AKP came to power, and 2005, and touted positive economic developments.
“We’ve achieved high growth and brought down inflation,” added Erdogan.
Also present at the ceremony were Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu,
Communication Minister Binali Yildirim, and Agriculture Minister Mehdi
Eker. /Turkiye/
[02] IN LETTER TO ERDOGAN, BUSH PROMOTES STRONGER TIES, ANKARA’S EU BID
US President George W. Bush last week sent a letter to Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan expressing his wish for developing relations and cooperation
in every area with a strategic vision. The letter was delivered by US
Embassy in Ankara Charge d’Affaires Nancy McEldowney to Erdogan. In his
letter, Bush reiterated his support for Turkey’s European Union membership
and ending the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, adding that the US
considered the PKK a “murderous terrorist organization.” Bush also stated
in his letter that the fight against terrorism was important and that the
US is ready for a wide range of cooperation towards this end. He added that
the US stands with Turkey in the fight against terrorism. /Turkiye/
[03] TURKEY WELCOMES ISRAEL’S WITHDRAWAL FROM GAZA STRIP
The Foreign Ministry yesterday issued a statement saying that this week’s
withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip would contribute to peace in the
region. The statement stressed that Ankara welcomed Israel beginning to
implement its plan to withdraw from the entire Gaza Strip and part of the
West Bank, adding that this would promote the region’s atmosphere of peace.
/Turkiye/
[04] GEN. BUYUKANIT: “THE GME IS A PART OF THE WORLD’S TRANSFORMATION
PROCESS, AND TURKEY MUST CONTRIBUTE”
Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said yesterday that the US’s
Greater Middle East Project (GME) was part of the world’s ongoing
transformation process, adding that how Turkey would contribute to this
process was key. At a command handover ceremony in Izmir, Buyukanit stated
that Turkey should participate in the shaping of the future and not merely
watch developments. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] BAYKAL: “TERRORISM CAN’T BE OVERCOME BY SOLVING ETHNIC PROBLEMS”
Speaking at a meeting of his party in Bursa yesterday, opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said that terrorism
couldn’t be overcome by solving ethnic problems, adding that the
government’s mistake was confusing ethnic problems with terrorism. Baykal
stressed that terrorism was supported by various circles, adding that the
government should take necessary measures to counter this. He further
criticized Erdogan for charging that some party leaders were using the
terrorism issue for political fodder. /Turkiye/
[06] AGAR CALLS ON AKP TO HOLD EARLY ELECTIONS
Opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar yesterday criticized
the government’s economic policies and urged the need for early elections.
Agar said that unemployment had worsened during the ruling Justice and
Development Party’s (AKP) time in office. He further stressed that Turkey’s
debts both domestic and foreign had risen under the AKP. /Turkiye/
[07] TURKISH DRIVER KILLED IN IRAQ
A Turkish truck driver was killed yesterday in an attack to the north of
Baghdad. An Iraqi military spokesman said that the driver had been killed
in an attack, but declined to give his identity. /Aksam/
[08] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[09] FRANCE’S OPPOSITION TO TURKEY BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)
Columnist Taha Akyol comments on France’s opposition to Turkey and Ankara’s
reaction to this. A summary of his column is as follows:
“While we were returning from Diyarbakir, I asked Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul what Turkey is doing to counter France’s efforts to hinder the Oct. 3
start of our membership talks with the European Union. Gul said they were
following a quiet or low-key diplomatic strategy so as not to alarm the
public. He added that Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ali Tuygan would
visit Finland and Sweden and Deputy Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan would go
to visit Paris and London on Monday. Kaya Turkmen, one of our diplomats
most experienced with the EU, will take part in these visits to pursue the
‘silent diplomacy.’ French President Jacques Chirac and his circle had
supported Turkey’s EU membership, but now they’re opposed. The only reason
for this is the prejudiced isolationism and waves of opposition against
Turkey.
There are two critical dates for us: the extraordinary meeting to be held
by EU ambassadors in Brussels on Aug. 25 and the EU foreign ministers’
meeting on Sept. 1. The shape of how our membership talks will start on
Oct. 3 will start to take form during these two meetings, and Turkey will
do intensive lobbying until these meetings. Concerning what we’ll say and
our basic message, Gul said, ‘We’re telling our European friends, including
France, that Turkey absolutely cannot recognize the Greek Cypriot
administration and that if you stipulate this, then Europe won’t be keeping
its promise and the EU’s reliability would be shaken. Then you would be
hindering the start of full membership talks on Oct. 3, and the
responsibility for this would fall on you.’ Gul’s remarks were cool and
calm. What I read between these lines is as follows: ‘Turkey will never
recognize the Greek Cypriot administration, because such recognition would
mean negating the referendum held last year under the UN.’ Then Turkey
would tell its own nation and the world what Europe has done. Turkey would
say that although Ankara fulfilled all of its responsibilities, the EU
didn’t keep its promises and changed the rules of the game in the middle.
Then the EU’s reliability would be shaken internationally. So, how can
Europe, including France, explain this about-face to the world? Who would
believe in the pretext of Cyprus? Everybody knows that religious and
nationalistic European prejudice is the basis of the rising opposition to
Turkey over the last six months. Meanwhile, such countries as Britain,
Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Finland, Sweden and Portugal are supporting
Turkey for strategic reasons. Gul said that though there might be such
fluctuations in policies, our membership talks will start on Oct. 3. Of
course, this is the reasonable path.”
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