|
|
|
Turkish Press Review, 06-05-02
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
<LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css"
rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css>
<style type="text_css">
<!--
.baslik {
margin-right:0cm;
margin-left:0cm;
margin-top:1cm;
font-size:12.0pt;
color:#000099;
text-align: justify;
}
-->
<_style>
e-mail :
newspot@byegm.gov.tr
<caption> <_caption>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
02.05.2006
GOVT SPOKESPERSON CICEK:
“OCALAN IS INELIGIBLE FOR AMNESTY UNDER
ANTI-TERROR BILL”
ANTI-TERROR BILL DUE IN
PARLIAMENT TODAY
FM GUL: “WE CAN’T OPEN
HEYBELIADA SEMINARY”
TURKEY CELEBRATES MAY DAY
AGAR: “FARMERS ARE SUFFERING
UNDER AKP RULE”
BAHRAINI FM VISITS TURKEY TO
BOOST TIES
IRAN PLEDGES TO FIGHT PKK
NEWSWEEK: “TURKEY LOSING
PATIENCE OVER US STANCE ON PKK”
BARZANI: “WE WANT TO SOLVE OUR
PROBLEMS WITH TURKEY”
TOBB: “THE GREATEST NEED FOR
REFORMS IS IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR”
IMF DELEGATION TO VISIT TURKEY
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
GULER’S REJECTION
BY MUHARREM SARIKAYA (SABAH)
CONTENTS
[01] GOVT SPOKESPERSON CICEK: “OCALAN IS
INELIGIBLE FOR AMNESTY UNDER ANTI-TERROR BILL”
[02] ANTI-TERROR BILL DUE IN PARLIAMENT
TODAY
[03] FM GUL: “WE CAN’T OPEN HEYBELIADA
SEMINARY”
[04] TURKEY CELEBRATES MAY DAY
[05] AGAR: “FARMERS ARE SUFFERING UNDER
AKP RULE”
[06] BAHRAINI FM VISITS TURKEY TO BOOST
TIES
[07] IRAN PLEDGES TO FIGHT PKK
[08] NEWSWEEK: “TURKEY LOSING PATIENCE
OVER US STANCE ON PKK”
[09] BARZANI: “WE WANT TO SOLVE OUR
PROBLEMS WITH TURKEY”
[10] TOBB: “THE GREATEST NEED FOR
REFORMS IS IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR”
[11] IMF DELEGATION TO VISIT TURKEY
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[13] GULER’S REJECTION
BY MUHARREM SARIKAYA (SABAH)
[01] GOVT SPOKESPERSON CICEK: “OCALAN IS
INELIGIBLE FOR AMNESTY UNDER ANTI-TERROR BILL”
Yesterday’s
Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan lasted for six-and-a-half hours.
After the meeting, government spokesperson and
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek told a press
conference that Article 6 of the bill, a recent
subject of debate, wouldn’t be withdrawn and
that experts agreed that Ocalan was ineligible
for an amnesty under this article. Cicek said
that main opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP) leader Deniz Baykal was being misleading
on the matter, adding, “Debates over Article 6
led to baseless agitation in society. Freeing
this person is out of the question. Misleading
evaluations were made by the CHP leader. A legal
arrangement is being used as fodder for
political debates. As the bill is before
Parliament, it is the decision-making body.”
/Star/
[02] ANTI-TERROR BILL DUE IN PARLIAMENT
TODAY
Parliament’s Justice Commission
will today debate the anti-terror bill which has
been in the public spotlight. Article 6 of the
bill, which was discussed by Parliament’s
Interior and EU Harmonization Commissions last
week, was criticized by main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz
Baykal, who claimed it would enable Abdullah
Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the terrorist
PKK, to go free in two years. Under the bill
certain crimes that are covered by other laws
would be defined as terrorist crimes. The bill
also includes a redefinition of terrorism in its
first article on the definition of terrorism and
terrorist groups. It also stipulates that crimes
laid out in the Firearms, Knives and Other
Implements Law; deliberately burning down
forests; crimes covered by the Anti- Smuggling
Law that result in a prison sentence; crimes
that lead to a state of emergency being
declared; searching, excavating and drilling
without permission; and smuggling materials
abroad will also be counted as acts of terrorism
if they’re committed as part of the activities
of a terrorist group set up to commit crime.
/Star/
[03] FM GUL: “WE CAN’T OPEN HEYBELIADA
SEMINARY”
Greek
Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis reportedly did
not get a positive response on reopening
Istanbul’s Heybeliada seminary from her Turkish
counterpart Abdullah Gul, whom she met during
the NATO meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria. During the
meeting, Bakoyannis reportedly said that Turkey
should take further steps on religious freedom
during its European Union negotiation process,
and within this context she touched on the
importance of reopening the Heybeliada seminary.
Gul replied that Turkey had no problems with
religious liberty and that minorities could
practice their religions. But Gul added that the
seminary giving religious education would
violate the Constitution and the principle of
secularism. In related news, Fener Greek
Patriarch Bartholomeos told a group of Greek
tourists in Cappadocia, “Athens is the only
European city lacking a mosque. If you support
construction of a mosque, we can seek
authorities’ protection for the churches here.”
/Hurriyet/
[04] TURKEY CELEBRATES MAY DAY
The first of May was celebrated
nationwide yesterday with the participation of
thousands of people. A heavy police presence and
calls for peace by union leaders prevented
violence during demonstrations. There were minor
incidents in Istanbul, Izmir, and Elazig. Police
prevented 50 people from trying to enter
Istanbul’s Taksim Square. In related news,
Turk-Is Chairman Salih Kilic said that May 1
should be an official holiday. /Aksam/
[05] AGAR: “FARMERS ARE SUFFERING UNDER
AKP RULE”
Speaking
on the second day of a conference in Istanbul to
examine problems in the agriculture sector
during Turkey’s European Union accession
process, True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet
Agar said yesterday that farmers and villagers
were suffering under the rule of the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) government. Criticizing
the government’s agriculture policies, Agar said
the country could not be ruled by neglecting
farmers. The government hasn’t given money to
the farmers, but rather has enriched farmers
from other countries, claimed the DYP leader.
/Milliyet/
[06] BAHRAINI FM VISITS TURKEY TO BOOST
TIES
Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheik
Khalid bin Ahmad al-Khalifa arrived in Ankara on
Monday for talks with his counterpart Abdullah
Gul to explore ways to further strengthen and
deepen ties. Besides meeting with Gul, the
visiting Bahraini foreign minister will also be
received by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan today in
Ankara. Ways to further develop bilateral
relations, regional and international
developments and increasing threats are expected
to dominate his talks with high-ranking Turkish
officials. /The New Anatolian/
[07] IRAN PLEDGES TO FIGHT PKK
Iranian Interior Minister
Mustafa Pur Muhammedi said yesterday that Iran
and Turkey share common interests. During a
meeting with Turkey’s Ambassador to Tehran
Gurcan Turkoglu, Muhammedi stated that Iran
would do its best to prevent attacks of
terrorist groups on Turkey along the two
countries’ common border. In related news, the
Firat News Agency, known for its close links to
the PKK, said that Iran had carried out an
operation over the weekend targeting to PKK
militants’ camps in the Kandil Mountains in
northern Iraq. Meanwhile, Iraq’s ethnic Kurdish
President Jalal Talabani said yesterday that
entry into northern Iraq by other countries’
forces was unacceptable. /Turkiye/
[08] NEWSWEEK: “TURKEY LOSING PATIENCE
OVER US STANCE ON PKK”
Newsweek international
magazine, in its current issue, reports that
Turkey is losing patience regarding the US’
stance on PKK terrorists in northern Iraq.
Stressing that Turkey was deploying 200,000
troops to its border with Iraq, the magazine
said that serious clashes in the region were
possible. Furthermore, claiming that the US is
standing between the Iraqi Kurds and Turkey, it
stated that the US was urging Iraqi Kurds to
crack down on the PKK. /Turkey/
[09] BARZANI: “WE WANT TO SOLVE OUR
PROBLEMS WITH TURKEY”
Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said yesterday
that he wanted to solve northern Iraq’s problems
with Turkey. Appearing on television, Barzani
stated that Iraq’s neighboring countries,
especially Turkey, are concerned about the
northern Iraqi Kurdish region. “We want to
establish friendly relations with neighboring
countries, but we’re having problems with
Turkey,” he said. “But I believe that we’ll
solve these problems.” In related news, Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani said that the Iraqi
borders were “red lines,” adding that no country
should cross these borders. /Sabah/
[10] TOBB: “THE GREATEST NEED FOR
REFORMS IS IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR”
Addressing
a conference entitled “Agriculture in Turkey’s
European Union Process” yesterday, Turkish Union
of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB)
head Rifat Hisarciklioglu said that Turkey had
the potential to meet the agricultural needs of
all European Union member states, adding,
however, that the country’s greatest need for
reform was in the agriculture sector. Saying
that 5% of the EU population was employed in
agriculture, Hisarciklioglu compared this to 35%
in Turkey. /Sabah/
[11] IMF DELEGATION TO VISIT TURKEY
A
delegation from the International Monetary Fund
headed by IMF Turkey Desk Chief Lorenzo
Giorgianni is due to arrive in Istanbul on
Friday. The delegation is expected to meet with
the representatives of private banks to discuss
developments in the banking sector. The
delegation is expected to proceed to Ankara next
week to discuss macroeconomic developments,
public finance, and structural reforms. /Sabah/
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[13] GULER’S REJECTION
BY MUHARREM SARIKAYA (SABAH)
Columnist Muharrem Sarikaya comments on US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s suggestion
to Turkey and Turkey’s answer to this. A summary
of his column is as follows:
“US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last
week that the US was against making Russian
Gazprom a partner of the Turkish-Greek pipeline
on the grounds that Russia is becoming the only
energy monopoly in the region and that the US is
disturbed that Gazprom is using a strategic
card. Rice gave a similar message to Athens
before she arrived in Ankara. It’s no secret
that Washington suggested to the two capitals
that it would be better to be directed towards
the Azerbaijani pipeline. Will Turkey go along
with this? Energy and Natural Resources Minister
Hilmi Guler said that it was important for
Turkey to continue with this pipeline. Guler
stated that the question of including Gazprom in
the Turkish-Greek pipeline partnership didn’t
depend on Ankara’s decision alone. He added,
‘Turkey has a clear stance: It will continue its
efforts to become an energy corridor. We can’t
make a decision concerning the Gazprom issue
alone. Greece should make a decision on that as
well.’ Guler said that the issue shouldn’t be
considered as the Turkish-Greek gas pipeline
alone.
He
also mentioned the project called ‘Nabuco’ which
he called important. In other words, the
pipeline to be extended through Turkey to
Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Australia and then
Slovakia and the Czech Republic… Guler said that
other countries were also interested in this
project and added, ‘Firstly, the gas should be
brought from Azerbaijan, because its
construction hadn’t been completed yet. In
addition, the Caspian passage is important. This
issue should be solved as well.’ Concerning the
difficulty of going along with Rice’s
suggestion, Guler said that in the Turkish-Greek
pipeline, Russia wants to give us gas totaling
4.5 billion cubic meters which we haven’t taken
from the pipeline before, that is, only make us
use the excess capacity. ‘Turkey can’t give up
this pipeline,’ he added. ‘In addition, supplier
countries’ opinions should be listened to as
well. Nobody can make the decision alone. All
the countries should come together and make a
decision.’ What’s interesting is Washington’s
paradox. While Washington suggested that Ankara
and Athens exclude Gazprom, it ignored how US
energy companies signed developments
strengthening Russia. For example, the first oil
in Baku was transported from Russia’s
Novorossisk harbor through the pipeline, and
another line was laid through the Georgian Supsa
harbor. Meanwhile, the Dagestan pipeline which
was built due to the problems in Chechnya made
things easier for Russia. It became an 80%
partner in Turkmenistan natural gas and raised
its energy leverage in the region through a new
agreement with Uzbekistan. All these
developments happened because Western countries,
mostly American ones, gave way to Moscow. Now
Washington, which says that we should break
Russia’s domination, should present an
alternative place to receive the gas. Otherwise,
the suggestion would mean Turkey giving up
becoming an energy terminal, which is
impossible.”
ARCHIVE
<script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js">
</script>
|
