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Turkish Press Review, 05-10-18
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
18.10.2005
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN SET TO VISIT GERMANY, MEET WITH SCHROEDER AND MERKEL
[02] GUL HOLDS TALKS IN FINLAND
[03] ERDOGAN TO TRAVEL TO QUAKE-STRICKEN PAKISTAN
[04] US STATE DEPT INVITES TALAT TO WASHINGTON
[05] TRNC PARLIAMENT URGES UN TO RESTART CYPRUS TALKS
[06] EARTHQUAKES HIT AEGEAN REGION
[07] EU EXPERTS ARRIVE TO PROBE BIRD FLU
[08] CHINESE MILITARY DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY
[09] AKP DEPUTY OZYEGER QUITS PARTY, EXPECTED TO JOIN ANAVATAN
[10] BRITISH AMBASSADOR WESTMACOTT SPEAKS AT EU CONFERENCE AT TRAKYA UNIVERSITY
[11] TURKEY DECRIES NEW MONUMENT IN FRANCE
[12] IMF DELEGATION TO LEAVE ANKARA ON THURSDAY
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[14] TALAT PLEASED BY MURAT YETKIN (RADIKAL)
[01] ERDOGAN SET TO VISIT GERMANY, MEET WITH SCHROEDER AND MERKEL
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to pay an official visit to
Germany within the next month and meet with former Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder to discuss Turkey’s European Union membership bid and bilateral
relations. During his visit, Erdogan is also expected to meet with Angela
Merkel, Schroeder’s successor. In related news, Merkel said that Turkey’s
EU talks would take a long time, but they would be friendly. /Milliyet/
[02] GUL HOLDS TALKS IN FINLAND
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday left for Finland to pay a two-day
official visit at the invitation of his Finnish counterpart Erkki Tuomioja.
It is his first visit abroad since the beginning of Turkey’s European Union
accession talks on Oct. 3. Speaking to reporters before his departure, Gul
pointed out that Finland would assume the EU term presidency in the second
half of next year, adding that his visit aimed at boosting solidarity and
cooperation with Finland during Turkey’s EU accession process. Regarding
the recent South Asian earthquake disaster, Gul said that Incirlik Airbase
would be used to dispatch United Nations humanitarian aid to Pakistan.
After his arrival, Gul was received by Finnish President Tarja Halonen at
the Presidential Palace in Helsinki and then met with Finnish
parliamentarians. /Turkiye/
[03] ERDOGAN TO TRAVEL TO QUAKE-STRICKEN PAKISTAN
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to travel to quake-
stricken areas of Pakistan on Thursday to lend support to the country. A
plane with food relief on board will precede him, and, in addition, the
premier will present a $20 million donation check to Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf. Erdogan, accompanied by a number of Cabinet ministers, is
set to return to Ankara on Saturday. Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines (THY) has
volunteered its services to deliver aid from Turkey to Pakistan. /Turkiye/
[04] US STATE DEPT INVITES TALAT TO WASHINGTON
The US’ embrace of Northern Cyprus is continuing. In the wake of a US
Senate delegation visiting Northern Cyprus, yesterday Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus President (TRNC) Mehmet Ali Talat was invited to visit
Washington on Oct. 28. The invitation was delivered by Douglas Silliman,
deputy director of the US State Department’s Office of Southeastern
European Affairs, during his meeting with Talat. After the meeting, Talat
and Silliman held a joint press conference. Silliman said that the
invitation was part of efforts towards seeking a settlement on Cyprus.
Talat praised the invitation, noting that every measure taken to understand
and listen to the Turkish Cypriots is a very positive step. In related news,
former Greek Cypriot administration leader George Vassiliou called on
current leader Tassos Papadopoulos to begin an initiative to prevent the
partition of the island. /Star/
[05] TRNC PARLIAMENT URGES UN TO RESTART CYPRUS TALKS
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Parliament yesterday passed
a resolution calling for the United Nations to resume Cyprus talks towards
a resolution on the island. The resolution further stated that certain
provisions in Turkey’s European Union negotiating framework document made
reaching an agreement with the Greek Cypriots more difficult. It also
emphasized that Turkey wouldn’t recognize Greek Cyprus before a resolution
is found. The resolution is expected to be sent to the UN, EU member states,
the US Congress, and to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
Secretariat General. /Milliyet/
[06] EARTHQUAKES HIT AEGEAN REGION
In the Aegean Sea region an earthquake struck yesterday at 8:45 a.m. with a
magnitude of 5.7 on the Richter scale. Magnitude 5.9 and 5.6 tremors later
struck at 12:46 p.m. and 12:55 p.m. All were centered some 60-70 kilometers
from the Seferihisar area of Izmir. The quakes were also felt by residents
in the provinces of Aydin, Manisa and Canakkale. The three strong undersea
quakes caused terrified residents of Izmir to run from their homes, damaged
some buildings and smashed windows. Around 30 people who jumped off
balconies in a panic were being treated in hospitals. /Aksam/
[07] EU EXPERTS ARRIVE TO PROBE BIRD FLU
An expert team sent to Turkey by the European Union yesterday started their
investigation of the local bird flu outbreak. An EU Commission spokesman
stated that they would conduct an analysis and investigation of the
affected area with Turkish officials. Similar teams have been dispatched to
Bulgaria and Croatia, he added. In related news, European Commission
President Jose Manuel Barosso stated that the outbreak should not affect
either Turkey or Romania’s membership talks. Barosso added that he cannot
see any connection between the membership talks and the disease. He also
cautioned people against panic. /Star/
[08] CHINESE MILITARY DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY
Ankara yesterday hosted a Chinese military delegation led by Gen. Xu Caihou,
vice chairperson of the Central Military Commission of the People’s
Republic of China. After meeting with Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi
Ozkok, the delegation was received by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer at the
Cankaya Presidential Palace. During their talks, ways to boost military
cooperation were sought. /Hurriyet/
[09] AKP DEPUTY OZYEGER QUITS PARTY, EXPECTED TO JOIN ANAVATAN
Justice and Development Party (AKP) Mugla Deputy Hasan Ozyer yesterday
resigned from the party. Before the 2002 general elections, Ozyeger
resigned from the Motherland Party (ANAP) to join the soon-to-win AKP.
Ozyer is expected to rejoin ANAP, now called ANAVATAN. With Ozyer’s
resignation, the number of AKP deputies in Parliament fell to 355. In
related news, AKP Bursa Deputy Zafer Hidiroglu yesterday prepared a bill
meant to prevent deputies from transferring between parties. /Hurriyet/
[10] BRITISH AMBASSADOR WESTMACOTT SPEAKS AT EU CONFERENCE AT TRAKYA
UNIVERSITY
British Ambassador to Ankara Peter Westmacott yesterday spoke at a
conference on “The European Union and Turkey” held at Trakya University.
Westmacott stated that the European Union’s status will be enhanced by
Turkey’s participation. He also stated that the European Union should act
together with Turkey as a partner instead of like a headmaster at a school.
/Star/
[11] TURKEY DECRIES NEW MONUMENT IN FRANCE
Turkey yesterday sharply condemned the opening of a monument in Paris
dedicated to an alleged genocide committed against Assyrians and Chaldeans
in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire. A statement from the Foreign Ministry said:
“Those who baselessly accuse a state of the gravest crime to be committed
against humanity, genocide, are only humiliating themselves.” /Cumhuriyet/
[12] IMF DELEGATION TO LEAVE ANKARA ON THURSDAY
A delegation from the International Monetary Fund headed by IMF Turkey Desk
Chief Lorenzo Giorgianni, currently in Turkey for the first and second
review of the nation’s economic program, is expected to leave Ankara on
Thursday. The delegation decided not to wait for the passage of social
security and tax reforms in order to complete the first review and move on
to the second. /Star/
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[14] TALAT PLEASED BY MURAT YETKIN (RADIKAL)
Columnist Murat Yetkin comments on US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s
invitation to Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet
Ali Talat to visit her in Washington. A summary of his column is as
follows:
“The US administration used an interesting diplomatic maneuver to invite
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat to
visit Washington and meet with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Actually, this visit was leaked to the press in Washington. At that time,
Douglas Silliman, the US State Department’s deputy director of southern
European affairs, was holding contacts in Ankara. During a press conference
last Friday, US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli was asked about the
step being seen by the Greek Cypriot administration as a move towards
recognizing two separate political groupings on the island. Ereli said that
it shouldn’t be seen that way, but as part of efforts to find a solution to
the problem. The invitation was announced by Silliman yesterday, after two
days, that is, after providing the Greek Cypriot-Greek lobby in Washington
and Greek Cypriot-Greek governments sufficient time for an initiative.
When Ereli said that Rice had previously met with Talat, he was hiding the
fact that at that earlier meeting Talat was not yet TRNC president. The
truth is Talat is the first TRNC president to be invited to Washington
specifically to meet with the administration. When I spoke with Talat on
the phone yesterday, he said, “Of course the Cyprus issue won’t be solved
with this visit, but this invitation is important for several reasons. This
is a step taken to end the isolation of the TRNC. This is also an
indication that the great change in Turkish society has started to be
recognized and understood and that the US wants the Cyprus issue to be
solved. This is an important development confirming that Turkish Cypriots
can be represented only by Turkish Cypriots. It showed that Greek Cypriots’
insistence as being seen as the sole representatives on the island will be
in vain. This is a very good development which pleases me. This provided us
with a very important opportunity. We’ll have the opportunity to tell Mrs.
Rice of Turkish Cypriots’ needs in the US capital. Consequently, a
foundation for finding a solution to the Cyprus issue on the basis of
United Nations is being laid under the influence of Turkey’s European Union
membership process. We expect that a solution will be reached on the UN
basis which can be accepted by Turkish Cypriots as well.’
Of course this invitation doesn’t mean the US recognizing the TRNC. However,
US sources say the aim of the invitation is ‘another step to end the
Turkish Cypriots’ isolation.’ The timing of the invitation was also
interesting. Today, that is, when news of this invitation was published in
newspapers, Washington hosted an important guest. EU Commission President
Jose Manuel Barroso will be at the White House to meet with US President
George Bush. US presidents have met with EU commission heads before.
However, for the first time there is a format of a bilateral meeting as if
he is welcoming a head of state. Issues of cooperation in the Greater
Middle East Initiative (GME), world trade quotas and transatlantic
cooperation are on the official agenda of the meeting. I wonder if Barosso
will tell of the difficult situation suffered by EU member Greek Cyprus due
to Talat being invited.”
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