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Turkish Press Review, 06-06-06Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: 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 morning06.06.2006FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] SEZER MEETS WITH RECTORS OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITIESIn the wake of his meeting last month with rectors of state universities, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday met with the rectors of private universities at a cocktail party. The rectors gathered at the Higher Board of Education (YOK) before meeting with Sezer to discuss the situation. Later, during the party, the rectors briefed the president about the problems of the education system. The rectors said that more private universities should be established in Turkey. The “brain drain” due to low wages for academics was another topic of the meeting. “We should encourage our academics to return to Turkey,” they said. For his part, Sezer said that the higher education system in Turkey should be in line with the European Union. /Milliyet/[02] SEZER TO SEEK INTL SUPPORT FOR CYPRUS CAUSEPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer will seek support for the Cyprus issue during his official visits to Israel to begin today and to Russia later this month. Pointing out that Turkey is doing its best for a just settlement on the island, Sezer will ask the countries to back lifting the international embargo on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Another topic to be taken up during his talks will be the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. He is expected to express Turkey’s desire for a region free of nuclear weapons. During his two-day stay in the Mideast, Sezer is scheduled to meet with Israeli President Mosche Katsav and President Ehud Olmert. He will not meet with Palestine’s Hamas leaders, but only Palestinian Premier Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah party. In addition, Sezer is set to travel to Moscow on June 25 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. /Turkiye/[03] CICEK: “OUR EU TALKS WILL BEGIN AT MONDAY’S PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL MEETING”Speaking after yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Justice Minister and government spokesman Cemil Cicek said that Turkey’s official negotiations with the European Union would officially begin at the Partnership Council Meeting to be held in Luxembourg next Monday. “This meeting is very important,” he said. “We think that talks will officially begin with this meeting. Our government is ready for this process.” Cicek said that the recent criticisms of the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) of the government’s efforts for Turkey’s EU bid and the economy had been discussed at the meeting. Saying that there was no slowdown in the government’s progress for the EU bid, Cicek added that pre-negotiations screening process was continuing. Asked about a possible interest rate hike from the Central Bank, Cicek said that the CB was an autonomous, independent institution. “The government won’t forsake budgetary discipline and structural reforms,” he added. /Aksam/[04] WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY OBSERVEDWorld Environment Day was observed throughout the world yesterday. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer issued a message to mark the day, saying that environmental problems due to reckless consumption of natural resources and polluting land and air damaged the quality of life and threatened humanity. Issuing a message to mark the day, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said that the environment, an important part of human life, is faced with a grave threat today due to people’s irresponsible behavior. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also issued a message to mark the day, saying that protecting the nature and helping to solve environmental problems was very important. In related news, Environment Minister Osman Pepe attended a ceremony to mark the day. Addressing the gathering, Pepe told the participants about Turkey’s program to fight forest fires. /Aksam/[05] SENER: “THERE IS NO DEVIATION FROM INFLATION TARGETS”Commenting on last month’s inflation figures which exceeded expectations, State Minister Abdullatif Sener said yesterday that the increase was still within the government’s inflation targets. Speaking at a meeting of the Ankara Chamber of Industry, Sener said that the worst data in the last three or four years was caused by rises in the price of international oil and certain raw materials, adding that high inflation in May was triggered by seasonal increases in textile products. Last month saw annual 9.86% inflation on the consumer price index (CPI), and 7.66% on the producer price index (PPI). /Milliyet/[06] ATALAY: “TURKEY’S GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY INCLUDES ARMENIA”State Minister Besir Atalay said yesterday that the government’s policy of seeking to avoid problems with neighboring countries included Armenia. “The government’s policy is, first of all, the elimination of all problems with our neighbors,” Atalay told reporters in the Romanian capital of Bucharest, where he was attending a summit aimed at fostering cooperation in the Black Sea region. Stating that Turkey has so far settled many of its disputes with neighboring Syria and Greece within a reasonable framework, Atalay said, “There are problems with Armenia due to well-known reasons. We expect Armenia to act reasonably and wish as a neighbor to normalize our relations with Armenia.” /Turkish Daily News/[07] US DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR CROUCH TELLS OF MEASURES ON IRANJ.D. Crouch, deputy to US National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, reportedly told Ankara on Sunday about an embargo to be imposed on Iraq as possible economic sanctions. Crouch also asked Turkey to tell Tehran to take into consideration the recent US and European Union incentive package. During meetings held in Ankara, Crouch told of the sanctions planned to be imposed on Iran, saying that the most important of these sanctions would be on oil and oil products. Should Iran refuse the package conveyed by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, he said sanctions were quite likely, and Turkey should be prepared for this eventuality. Ankara reportedly said that if an economic embargo was imposed on Iran, Turkey and a large part of the Middle East would suffer too. /Cumhuriyet/[08] OIC’S IHSANOGLU VISITS RUSSIAOrganization for Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu yesterday met in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Aleksiy II. Ihsanoglu, a Turkish scholar, was accompanied by a delegation and exchanged views with Russian leaders on the issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq and Iran. In addition, preparations were reviewed for the OIC’s World Religions Summit to be held in Moscow next month. /Turkiye/[09] TUSIAD HEAD: “TURKEY FELT A BIG IMPACT FROM LAST MONTH’S ECONOMIC BUMPS”Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) head Omer Sabanci yesterday said that last month’s economic fluctuations resulted in investors fleeing developing economies, adding that Turkey was worst hit by this process. Speaking at a conference held by the Eskisehir Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association, Sabanci stated that current account deficit was at a dangerous level, but that there was no need to worry since the Central Bank was closely following the situation. Sabanci stressed that Turkey should fulfill necessary structural reforms for the nation’s European Union membership bid as soon as possible and take necessary steps to solve problems such as unemployment, migration, and terror. /Sabah/[10] DYP LEADER AGAR: “TUSIAD WILL FAVOR ELECTIONS IN TWO MONTHS’ TIME”Opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar yesterday said that he couldn’t understand the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) saying that the government couldn’t rule the country well while at the same time not favoring early elections. “This is incomprehensible,” said Agar, adding, “But they will think differently after two months … I believe that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is aware of everything. Four years is enough. It’s difficult to continue without getting a mandate from the people again. If a new wave hits the economy, you can’t carry it out successfully. So elections are a must.” /Hurriyet/[11] IRAQ TRADE FAIR TO OPEN TOMORROW IN GAZIANTEPThe Iraq International Fair jointly organized by the Iraqi Trade Ministry and Gaziantep Chamber of Industry (GSO) will open tomorrow in Gaziantep, Turkey. The fair is expected to host over 800 firms from 30 countries. Some 3,000 Iraqi businessmen accompanied by purchasing delegations will visit the fair. GSO head Nejat Kocer told reporters that the fair has not been held in Iraq for the last three years due to security concerns, and expressed their pleasure at hosting an international fair in Gaziantep. /Turkiye/[12] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[13] WILL BUSH GRANT AN APPOINTMENT? BY SERDAR TURGUT (AKSAM)Columnist Serdar Turgut comments on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s request to meet with US President George W. Bush. A summary of his column is as follows:“One of the issues causing concern is if US President George W. Bush will give a positive answer to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s request for a meeting. This answer started to gain a vital importance for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Before the AKP came to power, Turkey was discussing if its power would be accepted by the system and the world. At that time, Bush received Erdogan in November 2002 at the White House before he became prime minister and gave a very important and clear message to the protectors of the system in Turkey and the world. Now people think that if Erdogan can’t get an answer to his request, this would send a very negative message. In addition, certain circles often said that relations between the US and the AKP have been very bad in recent years and that the US has continued its relations with Turkey through other routes. The AKP has to counter such a message and close the alternative routes in order to exercise vigorous political power. So Ankara is waiting for an answer from Bush. However, Bush is postponing giving an official answer. Maybe he’s taking revenge for high anti-US sentiments in Turkey and such developments as the February Hamas visit or searches for alternative against the US. However, if Bush gives a negative answer, the price of this would be too high for Erdogan and the AKP. If the political power in Turkey wants to rule the country properly, it needs the US. The government needs to receive an official answer of acceptance from the American administration. I wonder what kind of suggestions Erdogan’s advisors give him now.” [14] RETHINKING THE KURDISH QUESTION BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the Kurdish question. A summary of his column is as follows:“The Kurdish question has been around since the mid-1980s and will also remain in the coming years. This question has many dimensions. Turkey has won the armed struggle against terrorism. However, the times spent for the fight against terrorism haven’t helped a recovery in the fields of culture, the economy, politics and social life. The Kurdish question will have an important place in Turkey’s future. If Kurdish and Turkish nationalism are fomented against each other and the problem is spread to the social structure, then Turkey will have to make efforts on this question. This process can also bring irreversible results. Our young people should do research on this issue and develop solutions for this problem. Mustafa Akyol, a young researcher, gave an example of this. In his book ’Rethinking the Kurdish Question: What Went Wrong and Where Will It Go?’ he treated the Kurdish question in a multidimensional way. His research is quite scholarly. The work, which makes use of national and international resources, handles the question in its regional framework. Akyol bases his study on scientific resources and analyzed his findings from a liberal point of view. Akyol reaches the conclusion that approaches such as autonomy, a federation or independence can’t be seen as workable, permanent solutions. As a young researcher, Akyol sees the solution in integration. He gives advice on how to improve this. He sees democracy and Islam as a common point in solving this problem (in this respect, I think secularism should be highlighted more). Akyol suggests that Turkish identity should be seen as an upper identity and that a democratic, economic integration in a unitary structure would bring a solution. It is of great value that researchers, scholars and the young population are thinking about this problem.” ARCHIVE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js"> </script> Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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