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Turkish Press Review, 05-10-28
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
28.10.2005
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “WE WON’T OPEN OUR PORTS UNLESS THE TRNC EMBARGO IS LIFTED”
[02] TALAT ADDRESSES CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON, REITERATES HIS CALL FOR END TO TRNC’S ISOLATION
[03] TO BARZANI, BUSH STRESSES IRAQ’S UNITY, GOOD RELATIONS WITH TURKEY
[04] HEALTH MINISTER VOWS TO TAKE MEASURES TO PREVENT CHILD ABUSE
[05] REPUBLICAN PROSECUTOR SENDS ASKIN’S FILE TO YOK
[06] EU COMMISSION’S DAWSON: “TALKS ON RELATED ISSUES CAN’T BEGIN SINCE ANKARA HASN’T FULLY IMPLEMENTED THE CUSTOMS UNION”
[07] BRITISH DEPUTY PM’S REMARKS CONDEMNED BY FOREIGN MINISTRY
[08] DSP: “THE START OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EU IS POSITIVE”
[09] AGAR: “THE COUNTRY IS UNDER A ONE-MAN REGIME”
[10] IN PARIS, TUSIAD HEAD HAILS TURKEY’S IMPORTANT STEP IN BEGINNING EU TALKS
[01] ERDOGAN: “WE WON’T OPEN OUR PORTS UNLESS THE TRNC EMBARGO IS LIFTED”
At yesterday’s European Union summit at Hampton Court west of London, the
gathered leaders sought solutions for the social problems caused by
globalization. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan took part in the working
luncheon of the summit and had the opportunity to discuss Turkey’s
negotiation process and the Cyprus issue. Thirty-one leaders including
French President Jacques Chirac, Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Greece Prime
Minister Costas Karamanlis participated in the summit. President Tassos
Papadopoulos represented Greek Cyprus. After his contacts at the meeting,
Erdogan told a press conference, “Turkey has finished the presentation of
two chapters in the EU screening process, and reports will be submitted to
the European Commission. After next week’s religious holiday, five new
chapters will come up.” The premier also said, “Austria’s taking over the
EU term presidency in January is not an obstacle for our negotiations.”
Also touching on the Cyprus issue, Erdogan said, “The conditions needed for
Turkey to recognize Greek Cyprus were stated at last December’s EU summit.
We stated that Turkey’s signing the Customs Union is not recognition. There
is a promise made to Turkey. We won’t open our ports unless the embargos on
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are lifted.” /Star/
[02] TALAT ADDRESSES CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON, REITERATES HIS CALL FOR END
TO TRNC’S ISOLATION
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat,
currently in Washington for an official visit, yesterday attended a
conference co-organized by the Brookings Institute and the Center for
Strategic and International Studies think tanks. Addressing the gathering,
Talat reiterated that the TRNC’s isolation should be brought to an end.
“Now this is the most important issue,” he said. “Ending our isolation will
not make the division on the island permanent, rather it will even help
reunification. It will also put pressure on the Greek Cypriots to reach a
resolution.” Praising a number of gestures from Washington to the TRNC,
Talat said that now he expects the US to take more concrete steps. He
called for the US to urge other countries to make contact with the TRNC,
adding that direct flights from other countries to the TRNC would be a very
positive development. Talat further reiterated his call for direct flights
between the US and Ercan Airport as well as restarted Cyprus talks under UN
auspices. Talat is expected today to meet with US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice and next week with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to
discuss the Cyprus issue. /Milliyet/
[03] TO BARZANI, BUSH STRESSES IRAQ’S UNITY, GOOD RELATIONS WITH TURKEY
US President George W. Bush this week gave messages to visiting Iraqi
Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani which relieved Turkey. According to US and
Turkish diplomatic resources, the messages, “You must continue to depend on
the unity of Iraq” and, “You must have good relations with Turkey” were
given to Barzani. During Barzani’s meeting with Bush, the terrorist PKK in
northern Iraq was also discussed. One high-level Turkish diplomat said that
the Bush administration yesterday gave detailed information about Barzani’s
visit to Ankara. The messages conveyed to Barzani are as follows: the unity
of Iraq must be protected, the terrorist PKK in the region must be reined
in and it mustn’t have permission to operate, the cultural and political
rights of Turkmen must be safeguarded, and no de facto change can be done
in Kirkuk. /Star/
[04] HEALTH MINISTER VOWS TO TAKE MEASURES TO PREVENT CHILD ABUSE
Public anger over a child abuse scandal at the Malatya Childcare Center,
made public by a television show earlier this week, has continued to grow.
Speaking after a visit to the center yesterday, Health Minister Recep Akdag
said that a rehabilitation program for the abused children had begun,
adding that the ministry’s policy was zero tolerance for child abuse.
Stressing that the tragedy had saddened the entire nation, Akdag pledged to
implement the necessary measures to prevent further such cases. As part of
the investigation, nine officials were suspended, and five workers at the
center were arrested. In related news, the opposition Republican People’s
Party (CHP) sent a delegation to view the center and called for punishment
for all those responsible. Furthermore, the opposition urged State Minister
Nimet Cubukcu, responsible for women and social services, to resign
following the tragedy. Meanwhile, Cubukcu, paying an official visit to
London, is expected to arrive in Turkey today after cutting short her
program there. /Milliyet/
[05] REPUBLICAN PROSECUTOR SENDS ASKIN’S FILE TO YOK
Van’s Fourth Criminal Court has returned charges filed against arrested
Yuzuncu Yil University Rector Yucel Askin to the Republican Prosecutor’s
office. After reexamining the file, the Republican Prosecutor’s office
submitted it to the Board of Higher Education (YOK) for consideration.
Askin was arrested last week over allegations of corruption in a tender of
medical equipment. /Turkiye/
[06] EU COMMISSION’S DAWSON: “TALKS ON RELATED ISSUES CAN’T BEGIN SINCE
ANKARA HASN’T FULLY IMPLEMENTED THE CUSTOMS UNION”
Addressing a conference in Istanbul yesterday, European Union Commission’s
Turkey Delegation Undersecretary Martin Dawson said that European Union
accession talks on related issues have not been able to begin since Ankara
has yet to fully implement the provisions of the Customs Union with the
European Union, adding that the Union wanted to see full implementation.
“However, I believe that the dynamism of talks will help us overcome this
difficulty,” he said. Dawson stated that Turkey’s EU membership meant its
access to a market of 500 million people, but in order to benefit from this
opportunity, Turkey first needed to take steps which have results beyond
the harmonization of customs tariffs. /Milliyet/
[07] BRITISH DEPUTY PM’S REMARKS CONDEMNED BY FOREIGN MINISTRY
The Foreign Ministry yesterday issued a statement condemning remarks by
British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, currently visiting Cyprus,
which characterized Turkey as an “illegal occupier” on the island. Calling
Prescott’s remarks “unfortunate,” a ministry statement said that as a
guarantor country for Cyprus, Britain should have acted in a positive
manner to help to improve the situation on the island. Instead, said the
ministry, the deputy prime minister’s statement only served to distort the
reality on the island. /Star/
[08] DSP: “THE START OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EU IS POSITIVE”
Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Zeki Sezer said yesterday that the start
of the Turkey’s European Union negotiation process is a positive
development after 40 years of waiting. “However, this is not yet a hope,”
added Sezer. He also argued that Turkey would be accepted as a “privileged
partner” or a second-class partner, not a full member, by the EU. /Star/
[09] AGAR: “THE COUNTRY IS UNDER A ONE-MAN REGIME”
Opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said yesterday that the
country was going through a one-man regime. Speaking at a press conference
in Parliament, Agar criticized the government, saying that the democracy
had run amok, as the Parliament lacks a balanced structure. He stressed
that the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) majority in
Parliament had not led to a strong performance but rather one-man rule.
Commenting on the recent child abuse scandal in Malatya, Agar called on
State Minister Nimet Cubukcu to resign. /Turkiye/
[10] IN PARIS, TUSIAD HEAD HAILS TURKEY’S IMPORTANT STEP IN BEGINNING EU
TALKS
Addressing a conference of the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s
Association (TUSIAD) at the Organization for the Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) in Paris yesterday, TUSIAD head Omer Sabanci said that
Turkey had taken an important step by beginning its accession talks with
the European Union. Sabanci said that the EU negotiation process had to do
not only with technical and legal harmonization, but there was also a need
to persuade the European public owing to a lack of information or
disinformation about Turkey leading to opposition in Europe. “There are a
lot of question marks about Turkey’s harmonization with EU standards, but I
believe that this conference will change that,” added Sabanci. He further
hailed recent economic developments, saying that owing to its International
Monetary Fund-supported economic program, Turkey’s economy had become more
stable. /Hurriyet/
ARCHIVE
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