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Turkish Press Review, 05-10-27
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
27.10.2005
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN VISITS YEMEN, DISCUSSES BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH YEMENI PM
[02] ERDOGAN TO ATTEND EU SUMMIT IN LONDON
[03] BAYKAL: “WE WON’T COOPERATE ON CHANGING CONSTITUTION FOR YOK LAW”
[04] ANKARA CLOSELY FOLLOWS DEVELOPMENTS ON NORTHERN IRAQ
[05] TALAT TRAVELS TO WASHINGTON
[06] WASHINGTON CALLS ON GREEK CYPRIOTS TO RESUME TALKS
[07] SECOND CHAPTER OF EU SCREENING STARTS
[08] EUROPEAN UNION TO PRESSURE ANKARA ON KURDISH LANGUAGE SCHOOLS
[09] UNAKITAN: “WE WON’T RETREAT FROM 15% WITHHOLDING TAX ON TREASURY BILLS AND BONDS”
[01] ERDOGAN VISITS YEMEN, DISCUSSES BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH YEMENI PM
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, currently in Yemen for an official
visit, yesterday met with his Yemeni counterpart Abdul Qadir Bajamal to
discuss a number of issues, including bilateral relations. During their
meeting, Erdogan and Bajamal signed three cooperation agreements on
preventing double taxation between the two countries, forging cooperation
in the fields of oil and natural gas, and protecting the environment.
Speaking at a joint press conference, Erdogan lamented the low volume of
trade between Turkey and Yemen of only $215 million, adding that this
figure should be boosted. Erdogan reiterated that Ankara had officially
begun its European Union accession talks on Oct. 3 and that this was
helping to attract more foreign capital. “Turkey can play an important role
in Yemen’s infrastructure,” he said. Erdogan stressed that there were 133
islands in Yemen with natural beauties, adding that Turkish and Yemeni
investors could make joint investments on these islands. For his part,
Bajamal said that the two countries could cooperate in the economic, social,
and cultural areas. He further expressed support for Ankara’s EU membership
bid, saying that Turkey would be a bridge between Europe and the Arab
world. Later, Erdogan met with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
/Turkiye/
[02] ERDOGAN TO ATTEND EU SUMMIT IN LONDON
European leaders will debate details of EU financing and agricultural
policy today at Hampton Court west of London. The main agenda of the summit
will be the EU budget. The leaders will try to find common ground on the
budget issue. Luxembourg’s proposal of a supplementary budget of 5.5
billion euros set aside for agriculture will be debated. Jose Manuel
Barroso, president of the EU Commission, will ask for a fund to be
established for businesses closed due to globalization. Illegal immigration
is another topic of the summit. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will
attend the summit as the leader of a country which recently started
membership negotiations. Critical articles of Turkey’s upcoming progress
report are expected to be on Erdogan’s agenda. The premier will meet with
the EU leaders at a luncheon and will take part in discussions regarding
the future of the Union. Erdogan is expected to meet with a number of heads
of state and government of member countries, including Britain, Austria and
Italy. /Sabah-Hurriyet/
[03] BAYKAL: “WE WON’T COOPERATE ON CHANGING CONSTITUTION FOR YOK LAW”
Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said
yesterday that there was no way his party would cooperate with the
government to amend the Constitution for the Board of Higher Education
(YOK) law. “We won’t cooperate with the government until it changes its
stance towards universities. How can we cooperate with a government which
is always clashing with YOK?” asked Baykal, adding that the government
would get no CHP support for such an amendment. “So there’s no need to
bring the issue to the agenda.” Baykal further criticized Erdogan for being
absent from debates in Parliament on a censure motion over the Galataport
project. “We don’t see Erdogan at such important debates.” Touching on
Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani’s visit to the US this week, Baykal
criticized the US administration, saying that first it created a power
vacuum in Iraq and then legitimized it. /Star/
[04] ANKARA CLOSELY FOLLOWS DEVELOPMENTS ON NORTHERN IRAQ
Ankara was disturbed by Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani’s reception
this week at the White House. Summoning US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Nancy
McEldowney to the Foreign Ministry, Turkish diplomats conveyed Turkey’s
concern over the matter. Asked about Barzani’s talks in the US at a press
conference yesterday, however, Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said
that Turkey’s policy for the region and the necessity to protect Iraq’s
territorial integrity were well received by both US and Iraqi officials.
Barzani is the president of northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region,
and Turkish officials say Ankara has no problem with the use of titles
provided in the Iraqi constitution and other documents. /Sabah/
[05] TALAT TRAVELS TO WASHINGTON
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat
yesterday left for the US to have talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other officials.
Before his departure from Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, Talat told reporters
that he would urge top leaders to take concrete steps to ease the
international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, adding that his primary
objective was reaching a permanent settlement on the island. He stated that
Turkish Cypriots expected the UN to do more to resolve the longstanding
Cyprus issue. /Turkiye/
[06] WASHINGTON CALLS ON GREEK CYPRIOTS TO RESUME TALKS
Following the United Nations, the US administration also lent support to
Ankara and the Turkish Cypriots’ proposal to resume peace talks on Cyprus
with the Greek Cypriots. US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said
yesterday that Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet
Ali Talat’s visit to Washington this week was an opportunity to discuss the
Cyprus issue and plans to find a settlement to the issue. At a press
conference, commenting on Talat’s scheduled meeting with Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice tomorrow, Ereli said that his administration was in
constant contact with the Turkish Cypriot leader. Stressing that US
administration’s policy on Cyprus had not changed, Ereli said that they
called on the leaders of two nations to sit down to the negotiating table
to find a permanent resolution to the issue in line with UN Secretary-
General Kofi Annan’s plan. /Turkiye/
[07] SECOND CHAPTER OF EU SCREENING STARTS
The introductory screening on education and culture, the second chapter of
Turkey’s screening process with the European Union, began yesterday in
Brussels. There are 38 officials in the Turkish delegation representing
leading ministries, institutions and Turkey’s Permanent Representation in
Brussels. The EU Commission is expected to submit its report covering the
chapters on science, research, education, and culture to EU member states
for approval on Dec. 19. Turkey signed the EU’s Culture 2000 Program before
the introductory meeting, which will subsidize projects for promoting
cultural activities. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] EUROPEAN UNION TO PRESSURE ANKARA ON KURDISH LANGUAGE SCHOOLS
The European Union is expected to include a tough demand on Turkey in its
progress report set to be published on Nov. 9. Lack of progress on cultural
rights will be criticized, with a call to lift restrictions on freedom of
education in mother tongue languages. Better access to education in Kurdish
will especially be urged by the EU. These demands mean that the section of
the Constitution saying the only language of education is Turkish may be
changed. One top EU official stated that the important point is not to
offer language instruction, but rather education in people’s mother
tongues. /Sabah/
[09] UNAKITAN: “WE WON’T RETREAT FROM 15% WITHHOLDING TAX ON TREASURY BILLS
AND BONDS”
Speaking at a press conference yesterday alongside State Minister for the
Economy Ali Babacan, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan said yesterday that
the government would not retreat from a plan to withhold 15% tax on all
treasury bills and bonds. Unakitan said that the new taxation system would
eliminate the confusion seen in the old system. “We’ll take necessary
measures in order to prevent technical problems in implementation of the
new taxation regime,” he said and called for banks and stockbrokers, which
will need to withhold the tax, to complete their preparations. For his part,
Babacan said that under the new taxation system, balances would again be
established in the market as of next January. /Star/
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