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Turkish Press Review, 05-10-14
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
14.10.2005
MERKEL REASSURES ERDOGAN ON
TURKEY’S EU BID
EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS VISIT
TURKEY
ARINC PROPOSES RULES CHANGE
FOR SPEAKER POSITION
AMBASSADOR GROSSMAN
MEETS WITH ERDOGAN
TALAT: “PAPADOPOULOS MUST
SPEAK WITH ME, NOT ERDOGAN”
WASHINGTON INVITES TALAT
FOR OFFICIAL VISIT
US CONGRESSMAN WHITFIELD:
“I WILL WORK HARD TO END THE TRNC’S UNJUST
ISOLATION”
WITH ANOTHER DEFECTION FROM
CHP, ANAVATAN CAN FORM GROUP IN PARLIAMENT
FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMISSION
HEAD PROPOSES “PR CHIEF”
AVIAN H5N1 VIRUS CONFIRMED,
ACTION ALREADY TAKEN
POET ATTILA ILHAN SENT OFF
WITH GRIEF
BABACAN TRAVELS TO CHINA
TO ATTEND G-20 MEETING
VORKINK: “SINCE TURKEY’S
CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT IS HIGH, IT SHOULD
MAINTAIN A 6.5% PRIMARY SURPLUS”
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM
THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
WHAT THE EU DOESN’T SEE
BY ERDAL GUVEN (RADIKAL)
CONTENTS
[01] MERKEL REASSURES ERDOGAN ON
TURKEY’S EU BID
[02] EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS VISIT
TURKEY
[03] ARINC PROPOSES RULES CHANGE FOR
SPEAKER POSITION
[04] FORMER AMBASSADOR GROSSMAN
MEETS WITH ERDOGAN
[05] TALAT: “PAPADOPOULOS MUST SPEAK
WITH ME, NOT ERDOGAN”
[06] WASHINGTON INVITES TALAT FOR
OFFICIAL VISIT
[07] US CONGRESSMAN WHITFIELD: “I
WILL WORK HARD TO END THE TRNC’S UNJUST
ISOLATION”
[08] WITH ANOTHER DEFECTION FROM
CHP, ANAVATAN CAN FORM GROUP IN PARLIAMENT
[09] FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMISSION HEAD
PROPOSES “PR CHIEF”
[10] AVIAN H5N1 VIRUS CONFIRMED,
ACTION ALREADY TAKEN
[11] POET ATTILA ILHAN SENT OFF
WITH GRIEF
[12] BABACAN TRAVELS TO CHINA TO
ATTEND G-20 MEETING
[13] VORKINK: “SINCE TURKEY’S
CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT IS HIGH, IT SHOULD
MAINTAIN A 6.5% PRIMARY SURPLUS”
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[15] WHAT THE EU DOESN’T SEE
BY ERDAL GUVEN (RADIKAL)
[01] MERKEL REASSURES ERDOGAN ON
TURKEY’S EU BID
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday
telephoned incoming German Chancellor Angela
Merkel to congratulate her on her new job. “It’s
nice to speak to you after a long time. I
congratulate you,” he said, adding, “I hope that
Turkey’s European Union process will continue
positively.” Merkel reportedly replied, “You can
be sure of it. [Outgoing] Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder should have talked to you about this
issue. The process will continue as before. It
will be long but friendly.” Before last month’s
German elections, Merkel had been a vocal critic
of Turkey’s EU bid. /Aksam/
[02] EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS VISIT
TURKEY
A group of European Socialist Party members
headed by former Finnish Prime Minister Paavo
Lipponen and former Greek Foreign Minister
George Papandreou visited Ankara yesterday and
met with opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP) leader Deniz Baykal and Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After completing their
contacts, at a press conference, Papandreou
welcomed the beginning of Turkey’s European
Union membership talks, adding that Ankara’s
membership would greatly contribute to the bloc.
Regarding the Cyprus issue, Papandreou stated
that it was time to seek new talks to find a
settlement to the issue. /Turkiye/
[03] ARINC PROPOSES RULES CHANGE FOR
SPEAKER POSITION
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said yesterday that he working on an
amendment to Parliament’s internal regulations
on the the removeal of speakers from office. He
added that the amendment would force even
presidents to take a position on the issue, but
did not mention President Ahmet Necdet Sezer by
name. Arinc also said that these changes would
make him a pioneer in efforts to make his office
accountable. He stated that under the changes,
with an inqiry that has 110 deputies’ votes and
an absolute majority a Parliament speaker could
be dismissed. /Milliyet/
[04] FORMER AMBASSADOR GROSSMAN
MEETS WITH ERDOGAN
Marc Grossman, a top retired US State Department diplomat and former US
Ambassador to Ankara, yesterday met with Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Grossman
reportedly lent his support to Ankara’s Cyprus
policy and pledged to continue his efforts to
strengthen Turkish-US relations. /Turkish Daily
News/
[05] TALAT: “PAPADOPOULOS MUST SPEAK
WITH ME, NOT ERDOGAN”
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President said yesterday
that he, and not Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, was the interlocutor of Greek Cypriot
leader Tassos Papadopoulos, adding that he and
Papadopoulos should hold negotiations on the
Cyprus issue. Talat further called for an end to
the TRNC’s isolation. /Turkiye/
[06] WASHINGTON INVITES TALAT FOR
OFFICIAL VISIT
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday invited Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President
Mehmet Ali Talat to Washington for an official
visit. The visit is expected to help efforts to
end the TRNC’s isolation. During the visit, Rice
is expected to send a message to the Greek
Cypriots, saying that they are not the sole
owners of the island. Talat reportedly accepted
the invitation, adding that the date of the
visit would soon be clarified. During his stay
in Washington, Talat is expected to brief the US
administration on the measures taken by his
government to end the TRNC’s isolation.
/Turkiye/
[07] US CONGRESSMAN WHITFIELD: “I
WILL WORK HARD TO END THE TRNC’S UNJUST
ISOLATION”
Congressmen Ed Whitfield, chairman of the Turkish Caucus in the US
House of Representatives, said yesterday that he
would work hard in order to end the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC) isolation,
adding that the situation was unjust. “I believe
that everyone is determined to end this,” he
said. Whitfield further stated that the US
should begin direct trade with the TRNC. “Turkey
is a US ally and this will continue,” he added.
/Turkiye/
[08] WITH ANOTHER DEFECTION FROM
CHP, ANAVATAN CAN FORM GROUP IN PARLIAMENT
Following the resignation of Ankara Deputy Muzaffer Kurtulmusoglu
earlier this week, another member of the
opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP),
Mersin Deputy Huseyin Ozcan, yesterday resigned
from the party and joined the Motherland Party
(ANAVATAN). With these additions, the number of
CHP seats in Parliament fell to 155, while
ANAVATAN reached 21 deputies – one more than the
number necessary to form a parliamentary group.
ANAVATAN released a statement yesterday saying
that they would notify the Parliament Speaker’s
Office of their intention to form a group.
/Hurriyet/
[09] FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMISSION HEAD
PROPOSES “PR CHIEF”
Turkish Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission Chairman Mehmet Dulger
yesterday said that Turkey needs a “public
relations chief” as well as a chief negotiator
in order to dispel negative attitudes about
Turkey in Europe. Dulger added, “If the PR chief
works with an expert group and priority is
placed on this issue, negative views of Turkey
can be changed.” Dulger said that he had
conveyed his proposal to Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and got a positive reaction. “I
hope my suggestion will be taken into
consideration. It would help Turkey to get
ahead,” he said. /Star/
[10] AVIAN H5N1 VIRUS CONFIRMED,
ACTION ALREADY TAKEN
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, European Union Health
Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said that the
virus found last week in Turkey was the avian
H5N1 high pathogenic virus, adding that experts
feared that it could mutate into a strain
transmittable to humans. “It’s true that
scientists have cautioned there could be a
pandemic,” he said. In related news, EU experts
on avian flu and migratory birds will hold an
emergency meeting in Brussels. The commission is
expected to advise measures to be taken by
people traveling to Romania and Turkey. In
related news, an official from the Agriculture
Ministry said, “We received the results of the
tests. It is the H5N1 strain. However, Ankara
has no immediate plans for additional measures
because the authorities had already acted
according to a worst-case scenario since the
outbreak was first found in the province of
Balikesir last week.” /All papers/
[11] POET ATTILA ILHAN SENT OFF
WITH GRIEF
A memorial ceremony was held yesterday for poet and writer Attila
Ilhan, who passed away earlier this week. Beside
his family and a number of state officials,
3,000 people attended the ceremony. Another
service was held at Istanbul’s Ataturk Culture
Center (AKM). At the latter, Culture Minister
Ahmet Koc was heckled and booed by the audience.
Despite these protests, he voiced his admiration
for Ilhan. He also called the protests
unacceptable and accused the protestors of
trying to take advantage of his grief.
/Milliyet/
[12] BABACAN TRAVELS TO CHINA TO
ATTEND G-20 MEETING
State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan yesterday traveled to the
People’s Republic of China to attend a meeting
of the G-20 finance ministers and governors of
central banks. Speaking to reporters at Bejing
airport, Babacan remarked that the G-20 meeting
was a platform bringing together developed
countries and developing ones. He stressed that
he would have talks with the US treasury
secretary, Chinese finance minister and German
deputy economy minister as well as the
International Monetary Fund Executive Board
head. Babacan, accompanied by a delegation
including Central Bank Governor Sureyya
Serdengecti, is expected to complete his
contacts in Beijing and return to Turkey on
Sunday. /Turkiye/
[13] VORKINK: “SINCE TURKEY’S
CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT IS HIGH, IT SHOULD
MAINTAIN A 6.5% PRIMARY SURPLUS”
World Bank Turkey Director Andrew Vorkink said yesterday that Turkey
should maintain its primary surplus target of
6.5% since its current accounts deficit is high.
Vorkink stated that primary surplus was one of
most important issues between Ankara and the
International Monetary Fund, adding that 6.5%
was an achievable rate. He stressed that the
primary surplus was an important means to
control the high current accounts deficit. He
added that Turkey could reach its 5% growth
target for this year and reiterated the
importance of social security reform. /Aksam/
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[15] WHAT THE EU DOESN’T SEE
BY ERDAL GUVEN (RADIKAL)
Columnist Erdal Guven comments on relations between Turkey and the EU.
A summary of his column is as follows:
“During European Union Commissioner for
Enlargement Olli Rehn’s recent visit to Ankara,
many things were said. However, everybody
remembers only the Cyprus issue. In this
respect, the EU voiced its expectation that
Ankara will open its harbors and ports to planes
and ships from the Greek Cypriot administration
in the short term and normalize its relations
with Greek Cypriots in the middle and long term.
In return, Ankara stipulated that limitations on
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
will be lifted and the Cyprus issue solved. The
EU is determined and insistent, whereas Ankara
has bound itself with the declaration it
published with the Additional Protocol and
remarks made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Thus,
we’re facing a deadlock now, which doesn’t seem
to be being overcome by the parties themselves.
What’s more, both parties are tightening this
deadlock. The EU has made a strategic
miscalculation and Turkey is making tactical
mistakes. First of all, Ankara should find
answers to these questions: What will happen if
limitations on the TRNC aren’t lifted? What will
happen if the Cyprus problem isn’t solved during
the process of Turkey’s full EU membership? Is
the place for these questions the EU or the UN?
The EU is unable to see what the Cyprus issue
is. The problem is neither the embargo on the
TRNC, nor Ankara’s insistence on not recognizing
the Greek Cypriot administration. The problem
about Cyprus is the deadlock to finding a
solution. The others are only side effects of
this problem. If Ankara opens its ports and
harbors to the Greek Cypriot administration and
recognizes it, would the Cyprus issue be solved?
So, what would be the economic situation and
political status of the Turkish Cypriots? In a
sense, the EU is dealing not with the marsh, but
the mosquitoes.
However, the Greek Cypriot administration is
now an EU member and the EU has more impact on
member countries than non-member countries.
Thus, the EU has more power to make the Greek
Cypriot administration sit at the table for a
solution. I won’t say that the EU should
intervene to solve the Cyprus issue. This is not
the EU’s tradition and it wouldn’t be an
evenhanded move because the Greek Cypriot
administration is an EU member. However, the EU
is proud of its ‘soft power,’ and it can use
this and take an important role for a solution.
Of course, the UN has the leading role. The
UN is the pace for a solution of this issue. In
addition, the only platform where the parties
can feel comfortable is under the UN roof, and
only the UN can force the parties for a common
solution. However, at this point, there is a
problem. Unfortunately, Greek Cypriot leader
Tassos Papadopoulos is in pursuit of his own
solution, not a common one. According to his
solution, Turkish Cypriots should be under the
Greek Cypriot administration and Turkey should
withdraw from Cyprus. That’s why it rejects
being under the UN roof. Papadopoulos is seeking
a solution not through the UN’s activity, but
the EU’s passivity. Unfortunately, the EU can’t
see this. Brussels put forth Greek Cyprus’ EU
membership as a ‘profit for peace’ for the
parties on the Cyprus issue. There was no peace,
and one of the parties seized the profit without
deserving it. In any case, the EU has to
reestablish the equation.”
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