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Turkish Press Review, 06-03-08
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
08.03.2006
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] PM ERDOGAN: “NOBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO WEAR DOWN THE MILITARY OR THE JUDICIARY”
[02] SENER: “THIS PARLIAMENT WILL ELECT THE NEXT PRESIDENT”
[03] FM GUL: “WE STAND WITH THE TURKISH ARMED FORCES”
[04] CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF OZKOK MEETS WITH PRESIDENT
[05] BAYKAL URGES GOVT TO STAY OUT OF MILITARY’S BUSINESS
[06] AMBASSADOR WILSON: “THE US IS COOPERATING WITH TURKEY AGAINST THE PKK”
[07] GOVT CUTS TEXTILE TAXES
[08] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[09] STORM OVER BUYUKANIT BY MURAT YETKÝN (RADIKAL)
[01] PM ERDOGAN: “NOBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO WEAR DOWN THE MILITARY OR THE
JUDICIARY”
Speaking yesterday about the ongoing debates over the Semdinli indictment,
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that a cloudy atmosphere was being
created between the military and the judiciary, both basic foundations of
the country. Speaking at his party’s group meeting, Erdogan said, “There
are miserable people trying to contaminate the government through these
debates. Nobody has the right to wear down these two foundations, since
there’s no civil jurisdiction. We all have to act responsibly, especially
the leader of the main opposition party.” Prime Minister Erdogan also
blasted the media and columnists again, accusing them of sowing tension
between the government and the military. /Star/
[02] SENER: “THIS PARLIAMENT WILL ELECT THE NEXT PRESIDENT”
Saying yesterday that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had
ended the debates over the next presidential and general elections, State
Minister Abdullatif Sener added, “General elections will be held in (fall)
2007, and this Parliament will elect the president.” Sener criticized
characterizations of him as the opposition within the party and said that
he had no problem with the party or the Cabinet. Sener added that he didn’t
agree with former Economy Minister Kemal Dervis’s views of the economy and
that Turkey had made itself known to the world with the new Turkish lira’s
gains in value. /Turkiye/
[03] FM GUL: “WE STAND WITH THE TURKISH ARMED FORCES”
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul left yesterday for Vienna to represent Ankara
today at a Turkey-European Union Troika meeting. Before his departure,
taking questions about the allegations over Land Forces Commander Gen.
Yasar Buyukanit, Gul said, “In an atmosphere when we’re engaged in a bitter
fight against terrorism, it’s our duty to protect all members of the
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).” In related news, Foreign Ministry spokesperson
Namik Tan said that the Cyprus issue would be topic A of the Turkey-EU
Troika meeting. About the allegations that Turkey’s Cyprus action plan was
shelved after UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Greek Cypriot
administration leader Tassos Papadopoulos had changed it, Tan said,
“Turkey’s plan still remains on the table.” /Star-Cumhuriyet/
[04] CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF OZKOK MEETS WITH PRESIDENT
The expected meeting between President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Chief of
General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok came to pass yesterday. The meeting, which
started at 3:15 p.m. and lasted for an hour, was announced to the media at
the last moment. The sides didn’t make any statements after the meeting, at
which Ozkok reportedly conveyed the military’s concerns to Sezer.
Afterwards, Ozkok went to General Staff Headquarters and spoke with his
lieutenants, including Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, who is
named in the recent Semdinli indictment, and his colleagues. /Hurriyet/
[05] BAYKAL URGES GOVT TO STAY OUT OF MILITARY’S BUSINESS
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal
yesterday warned the government not to meddle in the appointments of
commanders in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), as doing so would have
dangerous consequences. Speaking at a party group meeting in Parliament,
Baykal said, “Shame on us if Turkish people don’t feel it necessary at this
point to say ‘enough.’ If the public allows it, and the TSK becomes
politicized, there will be very dangerous consequences. Trying to determine
commanders according to one’s wishes always has dangerous consequences.
Don’t toy with the structure of the TSK.” In related news, asked his
opinion of the indictment over the Semdinli incident, True Path Party (DYP)
leader Mehmet Agar reiterated that the issue shouldn’t be a matter of
polemics since the law, and even more so, the internal laws of the TSK are
going to deal with the issue. /The New Anatolian/
[06] AMBASSADOR WILSON: “THE US IS COOPERATING WITH TURKEY AGAINST THE PKK”
US Ambassador to Ankara Ross Wilson said yesterday that the US was
cooperating with Turkey against the terrorist PKK and that it was trying to
cut off the PKK’s financial resources in Europe. Speaking at a press
conference in Adana, Wilson said that when he took up his duties three
months ago, firstly he visited Istanbul and Adana where there are US
consulates and said that the US wants to develop commercial and industrial
ties in the region. Saying that the US stood with anybody who suffered
unjust treatment due to terrorism, Wilson said that the US was fighting the
terrorist PKK both in league with Turkey and alone. He added that Ankara
and Washington were exchanging intelligence about the PKK in northern Iraq.
/Turkiye/
[07] GOVT CUTS TEXTILE TAXES
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) government would continue to make the people happy
before proceeding to announce a 10% cut on the value-added tax (VAT) on
textile goods. Speaking at the AKP parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday,
he said the decision to cut the VAT on textiles from 18 to 8% was the
continuation of their efforts to boost the economy, noting their prior tax
cuts, the decrease in corporate taxes from 33% to 20% and income taxes from
45% to 35%. /Turkish Daily News/
[08] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[09] STORM OVER BUYUKANIT BY MURAT YETKÝN (RADIKAL)
Columnist Murat Yetkin comments on the indictment prepared by the Van
Public Prosecutor’s Office against Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar
Buyukanit. A summary of his column is as follows:
“As he entered the Justice and Development Party (AKP) group meeting, I
asked Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan what he had told Chief of General
Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok the day before. He said that he wouldn’t speak in
haste. Then I asked him if Ozkok had given him something written. He
hesitated for a moment and seemed to be holding himself back. He thanked me,
wished me good day and entered the hall to make his speech. Actually,
Erdogan was planning to speak on economic issues, mostly the textile
sector. Following a meeting with a delegation chaired by the Turkish Union
of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) last week, he said that certain
measures to solve their problems could be announced after the Cabinet
meeting on Monday. However, the leak of the indictment on the Semdinli
incidents changed things. After Ozkok met with Erdogan, Erdogan’s advisors
started to prepare notes on the new situation. The draft document turned
into something that is ready to be read in the morning. Let’s put aside
Erdogan’s criticisms of the media concerning the crisis which emerged due
to the Van Public Prosecutor’s Office’s indictment containing accusations
against Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit. Anyway, criticizing the
media turned into Erdogan’s daily job and thus it started to lose its
effectiveness. However, it was very interesting that Republican People’s
Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal blasted the indictment as ‘coup initiative’
against the army and said that the government was behind Public Prosecutor
Ferhat Sarikaya. Erdogan used the most laudatory and clear words that he
ever used for the military during yesterday’s group meeting. He talked
about efforts to soften up our ‘esteemed and valuable commanders’ without
mentioning Buyukanit. He said that that nobody could exploit our Turkish
Armed Forces (TSK) or the independent judiciary, which are both the apples
of our eyes. He said that some people were trying to put the military and
judiciary and the government and military at odds Then he accused Baykal of
being the ‘engineer of the crisis.’ In addition, he said that methods of
discipline and promotion in the army were conducted according to its own
rules. Thus, he announced that the government would have no concern about
the expectations that Buyukanit will replace Ozkok this August. When
Erdogan was speaking, we got the news that Van’s 3rd High Criminal Court
had accepted the indictment for review. However, Justice Minister Cemil
Cicek stressed Turkish Penal Code Article 174 and that the indictment
hadn’t been accepted yet and that there was still time for that. This way,
he showed the path to the court in a sense. Cicek’s directions, which
didn’t help this time. The indictment was in the arms of the government
like a bomb ready to explode.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, at a press conference at Esenboga Airport
before leaving for Vienna for the European Union Troika meeting, upped his
praise for the TSK. He said that he was the chairman of the Higher Anti-
Terror Council and added, ‘It’s our duty to protect and stand in solidarity
with all our security forces, the TSK and security bodies in such an
atmosphere in which we’re fighting against terrorism. Individual mistakes
might happen everywhere. If something like this happens, this will be
discussed as part of the law.’ At the same time, Gen. Ozkok was going to
the Presidential Palace to meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. He met
with Sezer for one hour. The issue was known and nobody made a statement
after this meeting. However, lobbies in Ankara started to calculate over
the possibilities. If the public prosecutor had a calculation while he was
writing this indictment, the first result of this would be trying the
military, government and judiciary to each other. The storm hasn’t blown
over yet.”
ARCHIVE
The news and articles issued in the Turkish Press Review
may be quoted from provided due acknowledgement is made.
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