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Turkish Press Review, 06-03-06
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
06.03.2006
ERDOGAN: “WE’RE TRYING TO
IMPROVE CONDITIONS IN EDUCATION, HEALTH,
JUSTICE, AND SECURITY”
FM GUL: “THE AIM OF THE GME IS
PEACE IN THE MIDEAST, NOT INTERVENTION”
CICEK: “THERE WILL BE NO MORE
AMNESTIES”
AGAR: “THE GOVT HAS FAILED TO
ACHIEVE STRUCTURAL CHANGE NEEDED BY THE ECONOMY”
PROSECUTORS REPORTEDLY ACCUSE
BUYUKANIT OF INTERFERING WITH JUDICIARY
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
GAINS FOR BOTH RUSSIA AND HAMAS
BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “WE’RE TRYING TO IMPROVE
CONDITIONS IN EDUCATION, HEALTH, JUSTICE, AND
SECURITY”
[02] FM GUL: “THE AIM OF THE GME IS
PEACE IN THE MIDEAST, NOT INTERVENTION”
[03] CICEK: “THERE WILL BE NO MORE
AMNESTIES”
[04] AGAR: “THE GOVT HAS FAILED TO
ACHIEVE STRUCTURAL CHANGE NEEDED BY THE ECONOMY”
[05] PROSECUTORS REPORTEDLY ACCUSE
BUYUKANIT OF INTERFERING WITH JUDICIARY
[06] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[07] GAINS FOR BOTH RUSSIA AND HAMAS
BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN: “WE’RE TRYING TO IMPROVE
CONDITIONS IN EDUCATION, HEALTH, JUSTICE, AND
SECURITY”
Speaking
at a meeting of his party over the weekend,
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that
the government was trying to improve conditions
in areas such as education, health, justice and
security. Addressing the participants, Erdogan
said that the government had achieved important
reforms in education and added that 75,000
classrooms had been built since his party came
to power. “In Izmir, over 1,500 classrooms were
completed and with the support of donations,
this number rose to 1,715,” said Erdogan. “A
total of 967 schools have Internet connections,
and we’ll try to boost this figure as soon as
possible.” Erdogan stressed that the
government’s education efforts would not flag
until illiteracy is wiped out, adding that in
three years of Justice and Development Party
(AKP) rule the literacy rate had risen from 80%
to 89%. The premier stressed that the government
had also made important reforms in health care,
adding that various state hospitals were taken
under the Health Ministry. Later, Erdogan
attended the opening ceremony of a natural gas
circuit plant in Izmir’s Kemalpasa district.
Addressing the crowd, Erdogan said that nuclear
energy was important for Turkey, adding that the
government aimed at inexpensive, quality
electricity production. “We place importance on
seeking domestic energy resources,” he added.
/Turkiye/
[02] FM GUL: “THE AIM OF THE GME IS
PEACE IN THE MIDEAST, NOT INTERVENTION”
Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday that
initiatives under the U.S.’ Greater Middle East
Initiative (GME) don’t foresee political or
military intervention in regional countries.
Gul’s remarks came in a written response to a
question motion submitted by main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Mustafa
Ozyurek. “Efforts for change and reform should
first of all be nourished by the region’s own
internal dynamics,” Gul said, adding that there
was no single pattern of reform that would work
in all countries. “An approach which doesn’t
take every country’s specific characteristics
and sensitivities into consideration cannot be
successful. Things cannot be forced.
Democratization is a process, and it should be
expected to proceed at different rates in
different countries.” /Star/
[03] CICEK: “THERE WILL BE NO MORE
AMNESTIES”
Speaking
at a ruling party branch congress in Ankara
yesterday, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said
that from now on there would be no more
amnesties and that all amnesties should be ended
immediately, adding that these remarks would
bind him in the future. Stating that the statute
of limitations is one of the key factors
preventing some cases from coming to
satisfactory resolutions, Cicek said that they
had lengthened the statute in the revised
Turkish Penal Code (TCK) for just that reason.
/The New Anatolian/
[04] AGAR: “THE GOVT HAS FAILED TO
ACHIEVE STRUCTURAL CHANGE NEEDED BY THE ECONOMY”
Opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet
Agar yesterday attended a meeting of the Turkish
Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges
(TOBB). Speaking before the meeting, Agar
criticized the government, saying that in the
three years it has been in power, it had failed
to achieve the structural change which the
economy needed. Asked about comments accusing
Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit of
trying to interfere in judicial proceedings over
last year’s Semdinli incidents, Agar said that
this was a judicial issue, adding that there was
no need for further comment. /Aksam/
[05] PROSECUTORS REPORTEDLY ACCUSE
BUYUKANIT OF INTERFERING WITH JUDICIARY
Land
Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit has been
charged with interfering with the judiciary by
making remarks about an officer alleged to have
been involved in the Semdinli incidents, reports
claimed over the weekend. According to dailies
Milliyet and Sabah, the Van Public Prosecutor’s
Office, which is probing the Semdinli incidents,
has accused Gen. Buyukanit with interfering with
the judiciary through remarks he made saying he
knew one of the non-commissioned officers
alleged to have been involved and that he didn’t
believe the man who would do such a thing. /The
New Anatolian/
[06] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[07] GAINS FOR BOTH RUSSIA AND HAMAS
BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
Columnist Semih Idiz comments on Hamas’ weekend
visit to Moscow and Turkey’s stance. A summary
of his column is as follows:
“Certain important aspects of Hamas’ visit to
Moscow didn’t get much attention in Turkey.
However, there are some hints showing that Hamas
gained much from this visit. Obviously, Russia
gained something from it. Those who supported
Hamas’ visit to Ankara in our country are glad,
because they see the subsequent visit to Moscow
as a point against people like me who consider
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal’s visit to Ankara
last month as ill timed. However, this
criticism, coming from nationalists and
Islamists, ignores the real picture. Neither the
US nor Israel is most angry about Meshaal’s
visit to Moscow. This visit angered the Chechens
the most. I will call them ‘Chechen insurgents,’
because the last time I called them ‘militants’
some people got mad at me. Movladi Udugov, one
of the leaders of the resistance, last week
said, ‘We regret this decision of Hamas. Through
this action, the leaders of Hamas will shake the
hands of the killers of 250,000 Chechen Muslims,
including 42,000 Chechen children.’ Udugov added
that people justifying the murder of the Chechen
people could in no way be seen as friends or
comrades of the Chechens. This statement, made
by a group which used to declare its close
cooperation with Hamas, shows why Russia
benefited from Meshaal’s visit. This was shown
when Meshaal took a question about Chechenya
during a press conference in Moscow, replying
that it was Russia’s domestic affair and they
can’t interfere in it.
In
short, Russia managed to break an important link
of Muslim solidarity. Russia had already
weakened the Shiite dimension of this solidarity
due to its nuclear flirtation with Iran.
Meanwhile, former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeni
Primakov said that Hamas’ January election
victory showed the bankruptcy of the US’ project
of bringing democracy to the Middle East. Russia
considers its support for Hamas within the
framework of its competition with the US over
the Middle East. In addition, it believes that
the US will give up ‘irritating’ Central Asia
with a similar ‘democracy project.’ As for
Hamas, its gain is of course great, because it
gained certain legitimacy with its visit to
Moscow without having to give up its harsh
stance against Israel and with no hint of
renouncing terrorism. This isn’t similar to the
support it gained from nationalists and
Islamists during its visit to Turkey, because
Russia is a key member of the Mideast Quartet
also including the US, UN, and European Union.
Likewise, although Meshaal had already visited
Turkey and Iran, the Moscow trip was seen as
more important. In sum, balances are rapidly
changing in Moscow and not raw dreams and
shallow suspicions, but bitter truths are
speaking. Strategies which fail to consider this
have no future.”
ARCHIVE
The news and articles issued in the Turkish Press Review
may be quoted from provided due acknowledgement is made.
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