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Turkish Press Review, 06-03-14
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
14.03.2006
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] OZKOK, SEZER OBSERVE 107TH ANNIVERSARY OF ATATURK’S ENTRY TO WAR ACADEMY
[02] PRESIDENT STARTING VISIT TO GEORGIA
[03] CONGOLESE SENATE PRESIDENT MEETS WITH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER ARINC
[04] EU CLOSELY FOLLOWS SEMDINLI CASE PROCESS
[05] GREEK FM BAKOYANNIS: “THE EU ISN’T YET READY FOR UNION WITH TURKEY”
[06] ANKARA TELLS ANNAN OF UNEASINESS OVER HIS STATEMENTS
[07] TOBB HEAD ATTENDS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION MEETING
[08] S&P: “TURKEY IS READY FOR THE EFFECTS OF RISING GLOBAL INTEREST RATES”
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[10] RISING NATIONALISM BY ERDAL SAFAK (SABAH)
[01] OZKOK, SEZER OBSERVE 107TH ANNIVERSARY OF ATATURK’S ENTRY TO WAR
ACADEMY
Speaking at a ceremony marking the 107th anniversary of Turkish Republic
founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s entry to the War Academy, Chief of General
Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok commented on accusations against Land Forces
Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, his apparent successor, concerning last
November’s Semdinli incidents, saying that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK)
hadn’t reacted rashly to the issue but reasonably. Ozkok stated that the
accusations were being examined by Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Isik
Kosaner. Also present at the ceremony were President Ahmet Necdet Sezer,
Buyukanit, Air Forces Commander Gen. Faruk Comert, Naval Forces Commander
Gen. Adm. Yener Karahanoglu, and Gendarmerie General Commander Gen. Fevzi
Turkeri. Speaking after the ceremony, Sezer declined to comment on the
Semdinli incidents, saying that the accusations against Buyukanit and
subsequent developments were not “ordinary.” Sezer stressed that there was
nothing to say on the issue and that the courts would decide. /Sabah/
[02] PRESIDENT STARTING VISIT TO GEORGIA
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is scheduled to depart for Georgia today for
an official two-day visit at the invitation of his Georgian counterpart
President Mikhail Saakashvili, the Presidential Press Office said in a
written statement. “During talks between the two presidents, international
and regional affairs are expected to be discussed as well as issues
concerning bilateral relations,” the statement said. The most recent senior-
level visit between the two countries took place last month, when Georgian
Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli visited Istanbul for a two-day working visit
during which he met with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
/Turkish Daily News/
[03] CONGOLESE SENATE PRESIDENT MEETS WITH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER ARINC
Pierre Marini Bodho, the president of the Republic of Congo’s Senate, came
to Ankara yesterday as the official guest of Parliament Speaker Bulent
Arinc and visited the Turkish Parliament. During their meeting, Bodho
lauded the example set by Turkish Republic founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
and thanked constitutional law Professor Mumtaz Soysal for his
contributions in the drafting of the Congolese Constitution approved in
2002. “If you see a shortcoming anywhere please let me know so that we can
correct it,” Bodho was quoted as saying when presenting Arinc a copy of his
country’s Constitution. /Sabah/
[04] EU CLOSELY FOLLOWS SEMDINLI CASE PROCESS
While domestic debates continue over the Semdinli indictments, in which
Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit is accused, the European Union
is also reportedly following the developments closely. Concerning the case,
the EU is reportedly focusing on five areas: judicial independence, the
military’s influence on politics, the southeastern problem, minority rights,
and human rights violations. According to European diplomatic sources,
developments and statements during the case and its eventual outcome will
shape the EU’s outlook on Turkey in these five areas. In related news, some
debates are continuing in the EU over the Copenhagen political criteria for
each chapter of Turkey’s membership negotiations. According to sources
close to the European Council, France, Germany, Greek Cyprus and Greece are
countries which want to draw attention to the political criteria.
/Cumhuriyet/
[05] GREEK FM BAKOYANNIS: “THE EU ISN’T YET READY FOR UNION WITH TURKEY”
Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said yesterday that the European
Union wasn’t yet ready for marriage with Turkey. Speaking to a Greek
newspaper, Bakoyannis said that there were many changes and reforms that
Ankara should fulfill in this process, adding that these reforms could help
Ankara’s accession to the EU. Saying that Turkey’s EU membership process
would last a long time, Bakoyannis stated that government’s decisions and
the determination of the Turkish nation to adopt the EU acquis would
determine the outcome of the negotiations. Asked to comment on the Turkish
policy of considering any attempt by Greece to extend its territorial
waters beyond six miles as a “casus belli,” or cause for war, Bakoyannis
underlined that this wasn’t in accordance with Ankara’s EU perspective.
/Hurriyet/
[06] ANKARA TELLS ANNAN OF UNEASINESS OVER HIS STATEMENTS
Feeling uneasiness over UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s statements
apparently seeking new concessions from Ankara, Turkey sent the following
message to him through diplomatic channels: “Turkey trusts in Annan’s good
will mission. We can’t understand your statements saying that you expect
Turkey to take steps on issues which should be part of an overall solution.
With this stance you also became a victim of the Greek Cypriots’
distraction tactics.” In reply, Annan’s office told the Turkish side that
his statements had been misunderstood and that Annan views Turkey’s recent
Cyprus action plan positively. /Hurriyet/
[07] TOBB HEAD ATTENDS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION MEETING
Speaking at the 44th General Assembly of the Economic Development
Foundation (IKV) yesterday, Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities
Exchanges (TOBB) Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu said that he didn’t agree
with the idea that the Turkish industry was ready for Turkey’s European
Union membership, adding that only about 1,000 companies could meet the
requirements of the membership process. Hisarciklioglu stated that it
wasn’t yet clear how the business world and economic and social actors
would contribute to the EU process, adding that this uncertainty shouldn’t
continue. For his part, IKV Board Chairman Davut Okutcu said that the
approval of financial aid for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC) by separating it from direct trade regulations had been
disappointing. /Star/
[08] S&P: “TURKEY IS READY FOR THE EFFECTS OF RISING GLOBAL INTEREST RATES”
Evaluating the effects of rising global interest rates on Turkey,
international rating agency S&P Turkey analyst Farouk Soussa yesterday said
that the country was ready for such a development. He added, however, that
if other problems arise in Turkey’s European Union membership process, then
the effects on Turkey could be worse. Saying that Turkey’s situation is
closely related to market conditions, Soussa said that the effect of the
interest rate rises on Turkey would be limited. /Milliyet/
[09] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[10] RISING NATIONALISM BY ERDAL SAFAK (SABAH)
Columnist Erdal Safak comments on the rise of nationalism in Turkey. A
summary of his column is as follows:
“Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed with those who are concerned
about the rising nationalism in Turkey. Erdogan said that 17 percent of
voters were Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) supporters and called for a
special strategy from his own party to reach those people. Let me say that
as long as young people are worried about the future, no strategy will
work. According to political scientists and sociologists, there’s one
criterion to measure the strength of nationalist movements in a country:
the concept of threat. If this concept is strong and the there are many
factors which can be considered threats, then nationalism rises. If we take
this criterion as a basis, there’s nothing Turkey has more of than threats.
Some of them are about contingent and some permanent. The Armenian threat,
the Greek Cypriot threat, the threat of separatism, the US threat since the
‘sack’ incident in Sulaimaniyah, northern Iraq, security threats due to
massive immigration changing cities, threats from unfair income
distribution, economic threats due to globalization and international
capital movements, threats feeding off the painful changes in our European
Union membership bid, and finally threats lurking in young people’s fear of
the future. It’s claimed that all these factors feed off or can feed the
tide of nationalism. Considering developments abroad, we can say consider
this true. For example, in many countries globalization and multinational
capital movements gave rise to economic nationalism and protectionism.
France, which faced the danger of national companies being seized by
foreigners, enacted a special law to prevent this. The US, which is the
locomotive of globalization, refused to sell its oil companies to China and
it also didn’t permit a company from Dubai to operate its ports.
Nationalism, in which concern about protecting the national identity rose,
is on the incline again. France, Denmark, Austria and Russia are examples
of this. In addition, nationalism based on economic reasons wrapped in the
cloak of history is rising again, just like the attacks targeted at
Japanese companies and representatives in China last year. The reason for
this is that Japan denied in its history books that it carried out
massacres in Manchuria in the ‘30s and ‘40s. We see all these strains of
nationalism in Turkey due to the perceived threats. But not all of them
would benefit the MHP. Are all the people who reject the so-called Armenian
genocide or the EU’s condition on Cyprus really nationalists? Are all the
people concerned about the US’ Iraq policy and developments in Iraq really
nationalists? There are liberals, nationalists and MHP supporters, etc.
However, the most important result of this development will be as follows:
All political movements and parties will embrace nationalist rhetoric. As
Erdogan decided that a special strategy is needed to appeal to nationalists,
it seems his Justice and Development Party (AKP) will go this way. I urge
them to research and report the reasons for the rise in nationalism,
because they will see that young people’s fear of the future is behind that
rise. Maybe then they will see the vital importance of taking concrete,
comprehensive steps.”
ARCHIVE
The news and articles issued in the Turkish Press Review
may be quoted from provided due acknowledgement is made.
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