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Turkish Press Review, 05-12-15
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
15.12.2005
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] GEN. BUYUKANIT: “THE TURKISH ARMY GETS ITS AUTHORITY FROM ATATURK”
[02] ERDOGAN CALLS ON OPPOSITION PARTIES TO COOPERATE FOR THE NATION’S GOOD
[03] BAYKAL, MUMCU, AND AGAR CRITICIZE AKP GOVT
[04] MHP LEADER BAHCELI: “IF NEED BE, IT WOULD BE BETTER TO SHOW UP AT THE KANDIL MOUNTAINS”
[05] RECTOR ASKIN’S TRIAL BEGINS
[06] OPEN HIGH SCHOOL REGULATIONS GO INTO EFFECT
[07] ISRAELI CHIEF OF STAFF HALUZ TO VISIT TURKEY
[08] UNAKITAN: “THE ECONOMY IS MUCH BETTER THAN IT ONCE WAS”
[09] IMF: “OUR PRIORITY FOR NEXT YEAR IS THE COMPLETION OF SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM ON TIME”
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] ELECTIONS IN IRAQ BY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)
[01] GEN. BUYUKANIT: “THE TURKISH ARMY GETS ITS AUTHORITY FROM ATATURK”
Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, currently in Washington
as the official guest of Chief of Staff of the US Army Gen. Peter
Schoomaker, on Wednesday met with US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen.
Peter Pace, US Secretary at the Army Francis Harvey, and Undersecretary of
Defense and former US Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman. Buyukanit said,
“Unfortunately there have been several news reports claiming that I came
here to get some sort of authority from the US. Such reports are slander
against the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The Turkish Army gets its authority
from Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (founder of the modern Turkish Republic) and
from the law.” /Star/
[02] ERDOGAN CALLS ON OPPOSITION PARTIES TO COOPERATE FOR THE NATION’S GOOD
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that instead of wasting
time on pointless arguments, all political parties should work in harmony
to further develop the country. Addressing Parliament’s General Assembly in
debates over the 2006 budget, Erdogan touted the record of his Justice and
Development Party (AKP) government. Dismissing criticisms from the
opposition parties, the premier said that the government had made great
strides in Turkey over its three years in power. Stressing that since the
nation had chosen his party to rule the country for five years, they were
resolved to complete their term and serve the people to the very end, he
added that there was no need to consider early elections. Speaking on
Turkey’s European Union membership bid, Erdogan stated that his government
had never made commitments contrary to the nation’s interests. /Turkiye/
[03] BAYKAL, MUMCU, AND AGAR CRITICIZE AKP GOVT
Addressing Parliament yesterday in debates on the 2006 budget, opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal criticized the
government and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “primary identity”
argument, warning that defining Turkish identity as a sub-identity could
divide Turkey. “This is our red line,” he said. Baykal further criticized
alleged corruption in government tenders. Also addressing Parliament,
opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said that immunity for
deputies should be ended and further criticized recent economic
developments and oil price hikes. For his part, Motherland Party (ANAVATAN)
leader Erkan Mumcu criticized the government’s economic policies, adding
that Vodafone, the winner of the Telsim tender this week, would benefit
from the government’s recent corporate tax cuts. /Aksam/
[04] MHP LEADER BAHCELI: “IF NEED BE, IT WOULD BE BETTER TO SHOW UP AT THE
KANDIL MOUNTAINS”
Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday
accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of espousing the same opinions
as terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is imprisoned in Imrali. Bahceli
held a breakfast meeting with the representatives of media outlets in
Ankara on Wednesday morning. Bahceli said that Turkey cannot be just an
onlooker to the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq, and
added, “If need be and if we get to that point, we can say it’s better to
show up one night at the Kandil Mountains” where the terrorist PKK is said
to be based. Referring to the primary and sub-identity issues, which came
into the spotlight due to the prime minister’s statements, Bahceli asked,
“Whom do these words belong to? Is it Erdogan or the villain in Imrali?”
/Hurriyet/
[05] RECTOR ASKIN’S TRIAL BEGINS
The trial of Van Yuzuncu Yil University Rector Yucel Askin and nine other
defendants accused of forming a criminal gang for financial gain began
yesterday at the Van Third Criminal Court. Testifying before the court,
Askin denied any wrongdoing. Representatives from the opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP) and the Board of Higher Education (YOK) were present
at the session. Rejecting a petition for Askin’s release, the court decided
to hold the next hearing on Dec. 29. /Sabah/
[06] OPEN HIGH SCHOOL REGULATIONS GO INTO EFFECT
Following Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s approval, open high school
regulations were published in yesterday’s Official Gazette. The new
regulations enable graduates of imam-hatip and vocational high schools to
receive an ordinary high school diploma from the open high schools. Board
of Higher Education (YOK) Chairman Professor Erdogan Tezic said that they
would apply to the court to get the regulations annulled. The graduates of
imam-hatip and vocational schools until now lost points in university exams
if they wanted to enter a department unrelated to their high school degree.
/Turkiye/
[07] ISRAELI CHIEF OF STAFF HALUZ TO VISIT TURKEY
Ankara is preparing to host another important guest next week in the wake
of the visits of FBI Director Robert Mueller and CIA chief Porter Goss. New
Israeli Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Haluz will come to Turkey next
Thursday for a one-day visit. Haluz will meet with Chief of General Staff
Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, and is also expected to have talks with Defense Minister
Vecdi Gonul. /Hurriyet/
[08] UNAKITAN: “THE ECONOMY IS MUCH BETTER THAN IT ONCE WAS”
Addressing Parliament yesterday on the 2006 budget, Finance Minister Kemal
Unakitan said that the economy was much better now than it used to be,
adding that it would get even better in the future. Unakitan said that
there had always been a budget deficit since 1971, but that it fell for the
first time during this government’s term in office. “We reached the
Maastricht criteria on the budget deficit,” he said. Unakitan further
stated that inflation had fallen to under 8%, adding that the salaries of
workers were rising faster than inflation. “Our priority is to better the
standard of living for low wage earners,” added Unakitan and called on
Parliament’s deputies to support social security laws. /Milliyet/
[09] IMF: “OUR PRIORITY FOR NEXT YEAR IS THE COMPLETION OF SOCIAL SECURITY
REFORM ON TIME”
International Monetary Fund Turkey Director Hugh Bredenkamp yesterday urged
Ankara on social security reform, saying that the IMF’s priority for next
year was the completion of the reforms on time. Bredenkamp predicted that
next year the Central Bank’s interest rate cuts would slow down compared to
this year. He further stated that there was no letter of intent (LOI) on
changing the foreign exchange regime, adding that the floating exchange
rate was the best choice for Turkey. Bredenkamp predicted that the current
accounts deficit would be a little more than 6% of the gross national
product (GNP) by the end of this year and lower than 6% next year. He added
that if the deficit continues to rise, then measures could be taken such as
reducing demand and controlling imports. /Aksam/
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] ELECTIONS IN IRAQ BY CUNEYT ULSEVER (HURRIYET)
Columnist Cuneyt Ulsever comments on today’s parliamentary elections in
Iraq and their possible impact on Turkey. A summary of his column is as
follows:
“The elections to be held in Iraq today will determine the fate of not only
Iraq and the Middle East, but also Turkey. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t
expect that these elections will guarantee Iraq’s integrity. Since the
October referendum on the new constitution, Iraq has been in the process of
division not de jure but de facto. Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis are in essence
preparing to determine their own fate, and they all plan to act just as
soon as the US makes its exit. There are two irreversible facts: the US has
been very unsuccessful in establishing peace and order Iraq, and efforts to
end the war in Iraq have been gaining momentum in the US every day. The US,
mostly led by the neocons, is now stuck its failure. Meanwhile, it’s
sweating to tell the entire world how right it was to invade Iraq and find
a reason for its lack of results. Leaving the world aside, the US
administration even has difficulties expressing itself to its nation, its
party the (Republicans), and dissenting commanders at the Pentagon. The US
knows that it has to withdraw soldiers from Iraq and that it was unable to
establish national security units to ensure the US’ interests there.
The US is also aware of these three facts: It has to leave Iraq slowly; if
it leaves Iraq without additional help, there will be only chaos awaiting
it; and the US has to continue its course to Iran and Syria. Meanwhile, it
sees that it won’t be supported by the United Nations. Perhaps the US will
seek the individual help of relevant countries under the umbrella of NATO
or a regional group of Middle Eastern countries. Turkey is the most
important among these countries. The remarks made by the new US ambassador
and the visits paid by the FBI and CIA heads are signs of a great symbolic
meaning that the US has new needs. It’s not easy for an imperialistic
country to go begging at the door of a country which it’s had problems with
before. The US now openly accepts that it was unsuccessful in Iraq. Now
Turkey has a very strong hand.”
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