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Turkish Press Review, 05-12-12
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
12.12.2005
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
CONTENTS
[01] PM ERDOGAN: “RELIGION IS A UNIFYING CEMENT”
[02] GUL DENIES ALLEGED CIA INTERROGATIONS IN TURKEY
[03] CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “NEGLIGENCE, DENIAL AND DISCRIMINATION REINFORCE EACH OTHER IN THE EAST”
[04] DYP’S AGAR URGES EARLY ELECTIONS
[05] LAND FORCES COMMANDER BUYUKANIT VISITS US
[06] PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE 2006 BUDGET THIS WEEK
[07] IRAQIS IN TURKEY TO BEGIN VOTING TOMORROW
[08] CIA DIRECTOR GOSS VISITS ANKARA
[09] STATE MINISTER KURSAT TUZMEN HEADS FOR WTO CONFERENCE
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[11] IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS IN TURKISH-US RELATIONS BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
[01] PM ERDOGAN: “RELIGION IS A UNIFYING CEMENT”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday returned from his trip to
Australia and New Zealand. Speaking at a press conference at Esenboga
Airport, Erdogan said, “Religion is a cement that unifies the Turkish
people. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk also stated that religion is the cement and
the unifying factor of people living in Turkey. You’ll find this statement
if you read his book, The Speech.” Stating that citizenship in the Turkish
Republic is the primary identity of all people living in Turkey, Erdogan
said that he’s always said that Turkey is one nation with one flag and is
one country but that some people were trying to twist his words to mean
that he had said there are two nations in the country. /Star/
[02] GUL DENIES ALLEGED CIA INTERROGATIONS IN TURKEY
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul over the weekend denied recent allegations
that officials from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had
interrogated terror suspects on a plane stopover in Turkey. Gul said that a
“civilian passenger plane” had stopped twice at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen
Airport en route from Barcelona to Baku at the end of October and on its
way back last month. “The plane was under our complete control,” Gul said.
“Abduction or interrogation of any suspect from a military or civilian
plane is impossible and out of the question.” On the other hand, the main
opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) last week called for
parliamentary inquiry into allegations that the CIA was using Turkey as a
stopover or interrogation point while transporting terror suspects. /Sabah/
[03] CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “NEGLIGENCE, DENIAL AND DISCRIMINATION REINFORCE
EACH OTHER IN THE EAST”
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal
yesterday said that economic revival and investment problems in Turkey’s
east and southeastern regions couldn’t be solved just by encouraging the
private sector, and added, “This is the Justice and Development Party (AKP)
government’s dilemma. We want this dilemma to be solved and we want the
state to throw its weight in that region with investments, new fields of
business and qualified personnel.” Baykal also emphasized that negligence,
denial and discrimination in the region reinforce each other. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] DYP’S AGAR URGES EARLY ELECTIONS
True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar yesterday said that his party
wanted to rule country. Speaking to a rally in the southern province of
Hatay, Agar criticized the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
government, saying that it had not kept the promises it made before the
last general elections. Stressing that the government’s current policies
had failed to resolve the terrorism issue, the DYP leader called for early
elections to be held next year. /Turkiye/
[05] LAND FORCES COMMANDER BUYUKANIT VISITS US
Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit yesterday began his six-
day visit to the US as the official guest of Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the
chief of staff of the United States Army. Buyukanit yesterday had contacts
at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Buyukanit will go to
Washington today and he is expected to meet with Gen. Schoomaker and Eric
Edelman, the undersecretary of defense and a former ambassador to Ankara.
During his contacts, Buyukanit is expected to convey the Turkish Armed
Forces’ view on the position of northern Iraq after the US occupation ends,
the fight against the terrorist PKK, and the Cyprus issue. Buyukanit will
leave Washington on Saturday. /Aksam/
[06] PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE 2006 BUDGET THIS WEEK
Parliament is facing a busy week with debates on the 2006 budget. The
assembly is expected to begin debates on Wednesday and to take up the
budgets of 144 separate state institutions over a two-week period.
/Turkiye/
[07] IRAQIS IN TURKEY TO BEGIN VOTING TOMORROW
Iraqis living abroad will be allowed to begin voting tomorrow for the
country’s parliamentary elections set for Thursday. Iraqis in Turkey will
have an opportunity to vote at ballot boxes in Istanbul and Ankara. Some 3,
500 Iraqis in Turkey voted for the country’s provisional constitution on
Jan. 30. /Milliyet/
[08] CIA DIRECTOR GOSS VISITS ANKARA
The visits of high-level officials of US intelligence services to Turkey
are continuing as part of regional developments and the fight against
terrorism. After FBI Director Robert Mueller’s contacts, Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Porter Goss yesterday came to Ankara.
Goss is to be received today by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. During
the meeting, the issues of the PKK and al-Qaeda terrorist groups and the
prospect of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq are expected to be discussed.
After Mueller’s contacts, a decision was made to pursue cooperation against
terrorism between the FBI and Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization
(MIT). /Cumhuriyet/
[09] STATE MINISTER KURSAT TUZMEN HEADS FOR WTO CONFERENCE
A fresh opening should be made and confidence should be renewed at the
World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference scheduled to be held
in Hong Kong, State Minister Kursat Tuzmen said on Sunday. Tuzmen held a
press conference and spoke about the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference set
to start in Hong Kong tomorrow. A 34-person delegation, including
representatives from the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat, Foreign Ministry,
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Ministry, WTO Turkey Permanent
Representations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), will attend the
WTO conference, which is held every other year. Pointing out that he has
attended the WTO Ministerial Conference three times before, Tuzmen said
that success has eluded the WTO over the past eight years despite its
facilities and the efforts of the trade ministers of 140 countries.
/Hurriyet/
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[11] IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS IN TURKISH-US RELATIONS BY SEMIH IDIZ
(MILLIYET)
Columnist Semih Idiz comments on the important developments in Turkish-US
relations. A summary of his column is as follows:
“If the CIA director visits Turkey just after the head of the FBI, this
must be an important sign. However, there are certain details to be careful
with. The FBI represents the domestic front of US national security and the
CIA the foreign front. Therefore, successive visits by these officials show
that there’s a comprehensive dialogue ongoing. These contacts coinciding
with Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buhuyanit’s visit to Washington
strengthens the picture of coordination. I checked with the US side about
CIA Director Porter Gross’ visit, but they were tight-lipped. However, they
underlined one point: They said that this visit wasn’t a sudden one, but
the final link in a chain which began with US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice’s visit to Ankara in February and which covers a great
many high-level mutual military and civilian visits. They said that this
situation was putting the lie to claims that relations were facing hard
times and was moreover a concrete indication of the cooperation which is
‘gradually deepening.’ As for the issues to be discussed by Gross in Ankara
and Buyukanit in Washington, they are known. The Turkish side confirmed
this as well. These issues can be listed as follows: the general situation
in Iraq and the presence of the terrorist PKK in northern Iraq, Iraqi
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s controversial remarks that threaten
instability in the region, and the Syrian issue vis-a-vis Iraq and Lebanon.
Meanwhile, new US Ambassador Ross Wilson finally came to Turkey, and
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer didn’t make him wait to present his letter of
credentials. This should be considered an extension of this coordination.
In sum, the situation points to important developments which require the
ambassador’s presence in Ankara. Otherwise, he would have come after
Christmas. Certainly, these developments are first and foremost about Iraq.
Meanwhile, the future of cooperation against the PKK is still uncertain.
The US side says to expect developments on this issue. If this is the case,
we’ll see the signs of this soon. Otherwise, as a recent report published
by the Washington Institute warned, the PKK issue will continue to poison
Turkish-US relations. The US has started to listen to Turkey considering
the Iraq issue more and now perhaps the US understands this better today.
ARCHIVE
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