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Turkish Press Review, 05-09-28
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
28.09.2005
FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “IRAQ PUT A LARGE BURDEN ON US”
[02] ANTI-TERROR COUNCIL MEETS
[03] FIVE CRITICAL DAYS IN COUNTDOWN TO EU TALKS
[04] ARINC MEETS WITH FRENCH SENATE’S HAENEL, DISCUSSES TURKEY’S EU TALKS
[05] EU PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL
[06] US DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY
[07] EU PARLIAMENT VP: “TURKEY HASN’T FULFILLED ALL THE OBLIGATIONS FOR BEGINNING ITS TALKS”
[08] COSKUN MEETS WITH EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS
[09] BAYKAL: “TURKEY’S EU BID AND CYPRUS ARE SEPARATE ISSUES”
[10] 467TH ANNIVERSARY OF PREVEZE NAVAL VICTORY CELEBRATED
[11] IDEF 2005 BEGINS IN ANKARA
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[13] THE ANKARA-BRUSSELS-WASHINGTON LINE BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)
[01] ERDOGAN: “IRAQ PUT A LARGE BURDEN ON US”
As part of his tour of Gulf Arab countries, Prime Minister Erdogan
accompanied by some 100 businessmen yesterday traveled to Oman. First
Erdogan met with Omani Sultan Qaboos and then attended the Turkey-Oman
Business Council meeting, where he delivered a speech. In his speech
Erdogan touched on recent developments in the region and economic issues.
“Turkey bore a large burden as a country neighboring Iraq,” said Erdogan,
and added, “The situation in Iraq has not developed as hoped. Preparations
for the constitution did not reach the expected point. In order to change
this, the neighboring countries must assemble. Iraq must have a
constitution in which all the people living in Iraq participate, a
constitution which says that all of Iraq’s treasures, above ground and
below, belong to the Iraqi people.” Prime Minister Erdogan proceeded to the
United Arab Emirates last night. /Star/
[02] ANTI-TERROR COUNCIL MEETS
The Anti-Terror Higher Council chaired by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul met
yesterday. During the four-and-a-half-hour meeting, the ministers of
interior, finance, defense and justice and the National Security Council
(NSC) secretary general as well as other high-level officials discussed the
recent rise of terrorist incidents in the country. A statement made
following the gathering stated that the government would determinedly fight
terrorism with full coordination and cooperation with all organizations and
institutions. The council is an advisory one making proposals to the
Cabinet. /Turkiye/
[03] FIVE CRITICAL DAYS IN COUNTDOWN TO EU TALKS
Turkey is determined to begin its negotiations with the European Union on
next Monday, Oct. 3, but is firmly against the “privileged partnership”
option being included in the framework document. For this reason, Ankara
wants to examine the draft of the framework document. If the “privileged
partnership” option is not included in the document, which will determine
its talks with the EU, Turkey will accept the document and start the
negotiations. Expectations contained in EU Term President Britain’s Foreign
Minister Jack Straw’s opening address for the talks will get a response
from Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. The EU’s Permanent Representatives
Committee (COREPER) is expected to approve the framework document tomorrow
if the objection of Austria, which is insisting on the “privileged
partnership” option, is rejected. In related news, German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder said, “With Turkey’s accession, the European Union would
be more secure and more stable, but Ankara had to speed up the reform
process.” Denmark’s Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the EU’s
politicians must listen to people opposing Turkey’s membership, and added,
“Can we imagine an EU bordering Syria, Iraq and Iran?” /Milliyet/
[04] ARINC MEETS WITH FRENCH SENATE’S HAENEL, DISCUSSES TURKEY’S EU TALKS
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday received Hubert Haenel, the head
of the French Senate’s European Union delegation, who is currently in
Ankara for an official visit. During their meeting, Haenel stated that
Turkey’s EU talks should begin on next Monday, Oct. 3, adding that this was
inevitable. “We want to extend our hand to Turkey, and we brought a letter
from the chairman of the senate,” he said. “Our relations should be
strengthened.” Haenel also stressed that French President Jacques Chirac
had never used the term “privileged partnership,” unlike some other
politicians, including German Christian Democrat leader Angela Merkel.
/Cumhuriyet/
[05] EU PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL
The European Parliament is set to debate and vote on an additional protocol
today regarding extension of Turkey’s Customs Union to new European Union
members. The additional protocol was planned to be taken up at the full
Parliament in the beginning of this month, but debates were postponed to
meetings at month’s-end. Ankara signed the additional protocol in July, and
then, with an additional declaration, stated that by so doing it was not
recognizing the Greek Republic of Cyprus. /Turkiye/
[06] US DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY
A delegation of US senators visiting Turkey to hold a series of official
and unofficial meetings with Turkish officials was briefed yesterday by the
Turkish-American Business Council in Istanbul on recent developments in
Turkey. Speaking to reporters, California State Senator Bob Margett said
that Turkey and the US were close allies sharing common interests, adding
that his country would continue to back Turkey’s EU membership to the end.
/Turkiye/
[07] EU PARLIAMENT VP: “TURKEY HASN’T FULFILLED ALL THE OBLIGATIONS FOR
BEGINNING ITS TALKS”
European Parliament Vice President Ingo Friedrich yesterday claimed that
Turkey had not fulfilled all of its obligations for the beginning of its
accession talks, adding that it should have recognized Greek Cyprus and
dealt with the so-called Armenian genocide issue. “The recent Armenian
conference was positive, but it was a first step,” he said. Friedrich
further stated that Turkey still had human rights problems. /Aksam/
[08] COSKUN MEETS WITH EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS
On the second day of his visit to Egypt, Industry and Trade Minister Ali
Coskun met with Egyptian Premier Ahmed Nazif, Public Works Minister
Muhammad Ibrahim and then Finance Minister Yusuf Bodros Gali. Speaking at a
press conference, Coskun said that his talks with Egyptian officials had
been very fruitful, adding that they had agreed to work to eliminate
bureaucratic hurdles holding back the development of bilateral trade
relations. He added that work on the Turkey-Egypt Free Trade Agreement was
expected to be completed by the end of this year. /Turkiye/
[09] BAYKAL: “TURKEY’S EU BID AND CYPRUS ARE SEPARATE ISSUES”
Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, who is
currently in Britain to attend a meeting of the Workers’ Party, yesterday
criticized the linkage some try to make between Turkey’s European Union
membership bid and the Cyprus issue, adding that they were separate issues.
“Cyprus is a complex and longstanding problem, the solution of which is
very difficult,” he said. “Ankara’s EU membership bid has the same
characteristics. Therefore, trying to find links between these has made
solving both only more difficult.” Baykal further expressed that Turkey
wouldn’t accept anything except full EU membership. /Aksam/
[10] 467TH ANNIVERSARY OF PREVEZE NAVAL VICTORY CELEBRATED
The 467th anniversary of the Preveze Naval Victory was celebrated yesterday
at a ceremony. Naval Forces Commander Adm. Yener Karahanoglu also attended
the ceremony. In related news, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer issued a
message marking the day, saying that he was pleased that the Naval Forces
had reached the capacity to fulfill its obligations. /Cumhuriyet/
[11] IDEF 2005 BEGINS IN ANKARA
The Seventh International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF 2005) yesterday began
in Ankara. Addressing the opening ceremony, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul
said that this year the Turkish defense industry is expected to reach $2
billion in exports, adding that IDEF has become an important meeting point
of the international defense, aviation and space sectors. “IDEF and similar
events are important platforms to meet the needs of the armed forces,” he
added. /Aksam/
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[13] THE ANKARA-BRUSSELS-WASHINGTON LINE BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)
Columnist Ismail Kucukkaya comments on relations between Ankara, Brussels
and Washington. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Turkish-European Union relations are so strange now that it seems they
have included the US in this. Some people think that establishing a bridge
between the East and West and the Christian and Muslim worlds or deepening
the gulf between them depends on incidents along on this axis. The US is
very careful and wants Turkey to stay within Brussels’ orbit. The US
Embassy in Ankara has never been so active these days, as Charge d’Affaires
Nancy McEldowney visits the Foreign Ministry every week and reporters in
Ankara are being invited to receptions almost weekly. McEldowney organized
a reception in the honor of a US delegation who came for the International
Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) yesterday. The issue was the repairing of
Washington-Ankara relations as well as Oct. 3, when our EU talks are to
start. Now an Ankara-Brussels-Washington line has been established and the
US is lobbying in favor of Turkey because neither the US nor the EU wants a
Turkey out of the EU process. Washington is telling both parties to ‘be
calm and balanced.’ All Turkish diplomats and US representatives whom we
talked with there agreed that Turkey’s membership talks with the EU will
start and a solution can be found once everybody sits at the table.
Both the Foreign Ministry and Ankara are afraid of and reject the
suggestion of a privileged membership. If this issue weren’t on the agenda,
the other conditions would be bearable. In other words, there is an
atmosphere of ‘at least we can find a solution within the process.’ There
is a war of tactics now. The calm one will be the winner, or the one which
doesn’t make mistakes will stay in the game. Meetings were held with
diplomats from the EU Commission at the EU Secretariat General yesterday,
and lines of communication are open. Cutting Ankara loose wouldn’t be
beneficial for the EU, and Europe is trying to establish a strategy for the
future over Turkey. Meanwhile, the US is trying to make new openings in the
Middle East. The negative picture in Iraq shook the US’ image. A developed
Turkey could save it. Ankara’s importance rose on this basis, and more
visits prove this. According to the common interest, Ankara should stay
within the EU orbit. However, Ankara is now in a difficult situation. If we
can stay calm, we can save ourselves from this bind.”
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